Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	king_n	prince_n	spain_n	7,228	5	8.4983	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19279	The true and perfect copie of a godly sermon preached in the minister at Lincolne, by the reuerend father in God, Thomas L. Bishop of Lincolne the .28. of August. Anno. 1575.	Cooper, Thomas, 1517?-1594.	1575 (1575)	STC 5691; ESTC S111168	25,439	76

whom when it pleased God in a vision to declare that state of the worlde that should be euen to the end thereof by the figure of the foure beastes he described y foure Empires that should follow one the other before the ende The Babylonians by a lyon whiche should be destroyed and eaten vp by the Beare of the Persians and that consumed and wasted by the foure Leopards of the Gretians and that rent and torne and trampled vnder foot by the terrible monster of the Romanes after which there is no mention made of any other Empire but onely that litle horne that grewe out of the Romanes Empire to great might and power by which is ment the king dome of Antichrist that shall fight against the Saints of God in the latter ende of the worlde Which kingdome of Antichrist now this many yeares hath shewen it selfe in the power of the Turke and of the Pops Now derely beloued waigh these things The Empire of the Babylonians continued not long after this vision but was subdued by the Persians The Empire of Persia continued 231. yeares and was conquered by Alexander and the Gretians The Gretian empire in Alexander and his successours deuided into foure kingdomes prospered about 300. yeres and after great and longe warres was consumed by the Romanes which in growing declyning hath now continued aboue a thousand yeres and an halfe and is come euen to the last pinche euen to the féete and toes mixed with brasse and claye as the same Daniel descriueth it Chap. 9. to note the weakenesse and small strength thereof in the ende For who séeth not nowe y the empire is almost nothinge and consisteth onely of a fewe free Cityes in Germanye For all the residue it hath left vnto the worlde as all men may sée the power of the Turke and of the Pope which both haue rysen and continued very neare about one time For Mahomet in Arabia and the Pope in Rome beganne their vsurpation within twelue yeres together Nowe immediately in the ende of the Romane Empire and power of Antichrist Daniell describeth the comming of Christ to iudgment And I beheld sayth Daniell vntill the thrones vvere set vp and the ancient of dayes did sit and so forth in suche sort as you shall after heare in the description of the laste iudgement Seing therefore experience of times hathe taught vs the trueth in the former part of this prophesie touching the rysing succession and decaye of other kingdomes we must néedes beléeue if we haue any Christian fayth in vs y the same spirit of God will performe the like trueth in the residue and that the ende of the worlde and the last iudgement shall folowe vpon the decaye of the Romane Empire and by the comming of our Sauiour Christ vtterly destroy and pull downe the power of Antichriste The seconde testimonie of the holy Scriptures for the aproching of the last daye in S. Paule to the Thessal Let no man deceiue you sayth he by any meanes For the Lorde shall not come except there come a falling avvay first and that the man of sinne be reuealed first the sonne of perdition what doth S. Paul meane thinke you by falling avvay vndoubtedly a great and wonderfull reuolting and falling from the fayth of Christ Nowe call to your remembrance that within a meane number of yeres after Christes ascention all the thrée partes of the worlde submitted them selues to the fayth of Christ as the hystories do euidently declare All Asia euen to the vttermost partes of the Indians All Affrike euen to the extreame borders of the Aethiopes All Europe without exception of any part Adde also the Iles about the mayne land among which we of this Realme of England are Conceiue wel in your mynde this general profession of Christian fayth that then was ouer all the earth and then viewe and consider in your myndes the state of Christianitie at this day and vndoubtedly you shal perceiue a maruellous reuolting and falling from the fayth of Christe to haue bene nowe a good many yeres The furthermost partes of Asia eastward fallen againe eyther to heathenishe Idolatrie or to such superstition as doth not much differ from it All the residue of Asia together with a great part of Affrike adde also no small portion of Europe vnder the Turke reuolted to the wicked blasphemie of Mahomet so that the countries of the world that nowe professe Christe are not the tenth part of them that before time haue bene christian Yea and among them that professe the christian religion in Europe for the more part a number of yeres haue bene caried away with the superstition and idolatrie of the Antichrist of Rome In so much that if Christe doe nowe come in comparison of the multitude of miscreants he shal find true that he spake in the Gospel vvhen the sonne of man shall come doest thou thinke he shall finde any fayth in the earth Seing therfore we sée now y general apostacy and reuolting from the fayth nowe in our time fallen out the want whereof principally S. Paul accounteth in his time to be the staye of Christes comming we must néedes be persuaded that it can not be farre off As touching the latter part of S. Paules wordes to the Thessal Of the reuealing of the man of sinne the sonne of perdition vvhich is an aduersarie and is exalted aboue all that is called God so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shevving him selfe that he is a God because the full discourse for the profe of the comming of this Antichriste woulde require a long processe and more then this time woulde beare for the tryall thereof call to your remembrance this briefe note That since the declination and decay of the Romane Empire for the space of certeine hundred yeres you haue séene euen in the church of God euen in Italy euen in the seate royall of the Empire of Rome a certeine power which vnder the pretence of holynesse hath aduanced it selfe aboue al kings and princes of the earth that hath claymed the full power of both swordes and to that purpose hath shewed it selfe in open procession the one day in his pontificall ornaments and the next in armour like a prince that hath also auaunted that he hath al power immediately from God and all kings of the earth by mediation from him that hath put the same in practise by deposing princes altring of titles at his pleasure in Arragon in Naples in Sicilie in Englād in Fraunce in the Empire it selfe and welnere in al places of Christendome that hath had Emperours Kings and Princes to holde his bridle to goe at his stirrop to kysse his féete to stande at the gates of his citie whole dayes together bare-footed and coulde not haue grace to come to his presence that hath driuen the noblest Prince in the earth to put his head vnder his féete and he in the meane time with outrageous blasphemie caused

you know nothing can be more sodaine for it is done in the twinkling of an eye Therfore Derely beloued you must be assured that in a moment yea euen in the twinkling of an eye when you be in most securitie the last day shall oppresse you And therefore no man is hable to assigne the day the moneth or the yere as some presumtuously haue taken vpon them For Christ himselfe saith it is not knowen to the Angels of heauen no nor the sonne of man in that he is man but to his Godheade nothing is vnknowne The wisdome of God hath kept this secret from all men thereby to stirre vp the faithful alway to be in a readinesse For such is the frowardnesse of our corrupt nature that if we vnderstand of any delaye we abuse the patience and long sufferance of God to our owne further condemnation We ought therfore so to frame our selues in al godlinesse as if euery day should be the last daye of the world or at the least the last daye of our life And although the houre day or yere of Christes last comming be to vs vnknowen yet hath he giuen vs certeine tokens whereby we may assuredly know when it approcheth or draweth nigh For thus he writeth Learne a parable of the figge tree vvhen his branche is yet tender and the leaues sprong ye know that sommer is nigh So likevvise vvhen ye shall see these thinges come to passe be ye sure that it is nere euen at the doores And truely dearely beloued there is nothinge mentioned there by Christ to come before the last day or by the holy Ghost in any other place of the Scriptures but it is euidently euen to the eye of al faithful people fulfilled so that for any thing that we know to the contrarie we may loke for it euen this yere euen this moneth euen this day euen this houre and I beséeche almightie God déepely to impresse this cogitation into our hearts that we may saye with S. Hierome VVhether vve eate or vvhether vve drinke or vvhatsoeuer vve doe vve may seeme to heare this voyce of the Archangel continually sovvning in our eares Surgite mortui venite ad iudicium Aryse ye dead and come to iudgement In the Gospel Christ first noteth these signes and tokens that shall appeare before the later day in the sunne the moone the starres and planets in the ayre in the water in the earth in the Church in the state of principalities and kingdomes in the life behauiour of mē which if I shoulde stande to rehearse particularly and for proofe adde the testimonie of times and witnesse of histories in this latter age an whole day would not suffice for the declaration thereof Haue we not had within this few yeres aboue an hundred eclypses of the Sunne and of the Moone haue we not sene many Cometes and other strange and wonderous fierie impressions in the ayre haue we not had many horrible tempestes of winde rayne hayle snowe thunder and lightening ▪ to the great hurt of man and beast What shal I say of the greatdeluges of water at Naples at Rome in Germanie in Flaunders in England snowe hath fallen twentie Cubites déepe the Sea about Pontus hath bene frosen to the thickenesse of thirtie cubites Earthquakes in Italie diuers in Gréece in Asia in Barbarie in Spaine in England many other places As for monsters both by sea and by land of men of beasts a marueilous number ▪ ●●● mainie of which are recorded and put in writing with the note of their times places signes and of these maner of figures before spoken sundrie haue lighted here with vs in this Realme so that we can not say but God forewarneth vs by the as deepely as he hath done a●●e Nation But these things are passed away with sleight consideration because they haue causes Incident to nature whereby they may be thought to come But christians ought not so lightly to let flippe those signes and forewarninges which our mercifull Lord and gracious Sauiour the trueest Prophet that euer was hath giuen vs to stirre vp our faith and expectation of his last comming that our maister when he commeth sodainely may not finde vs as lewde seruants sléeping in securitie and contempt of God and godlynesse and so being taken be cast into that place where shal be weping and gnashing of téeth for euer to continue in y portion of hypocrites Who is ruler of that nature and disposer and gouernour of those seconde causes vnto which they attribut these extraordinarie euents is it not our Lord and God maker of heauen and earth who guydeth al things that be done not onely by nature but suchs also as séeme to vs to fall by chaunce For if a sparowe fall net or a little worme of the earth créepe not or a rude Asse wander not without his certeine prouidence much more ought we to beleeue that so strange thinges as I haue spoken of before are not disposed by any other power to fall in these or those dayes but by his onely to veryfie the promises threatnings and forewarnings that his sonne our Sauiour hath giuen vs of his last cōming to iudgement By the like contempt and misinterpreting of those signes and wonderous tokens that God sent before the destruction of Hierusalem the stubbourne Jewes by gods iust iudgment hardened their heartes and foaded foorth themselues with vaine hope vntill the very daye that the wrath of God in most dreadful maner did light vpon thē with the vtter destruction of their citie and desolation of their people There appeared a Comet and other firie impressions but they assigned the causes to nature as we doe A man seuen yeres together neuer ceased crying VVo be to Jerusalem vvo be to Jerusalem and they imputed it to madnesse The great brasen gate of the temple which twentie men might scant open beeing fast barred and locked without handes sundrie times rushed open and they saide it was a signe of Gods fauour and of great prosperitie to come vnto them but in the end as I haue said they were surprised with most miserable desolation Christians should beware by their folly For surely I thinke that the ende of the people of the Jewes and the destruction of their citie and Temple is a type and figure of the last day and of those things that shall then happen in the Church as I coulde more largely declare if time would suffer me But because this kinde of signes is so neglected with mante and finde such shiftes in mans reason to auoid the signification of them for the assured proofe of the approching of the last daye I will rest onely vpon thrée or foure places of the worde of God which shall bring so euident testimonie thereof as no mā that hath anie sense of a true christian and is not altogether caried away with the loue of the worlde and luftes of the flesh can with safe conscidence denie it The first is Daniel To