MarginaliaEsay 29.And a vision shalbe to you all together, lyke the wordes of a sealed booke, which when he shal geue to one that is learned, he shall say: Read here, and he shall aunswere, I cannot, for it is sealed. And the booke shalbe geuen to one, that is vnlearned and knoweth not his letters, and it shalbe said vnto him, Read. And he shall aunswere, I know not the letters, I am vnlearned, Wherfore þ^e Lord saith: For asmuch as this people draweth nigh me w^t their mouths, & glorifieth me w^t their lips, but their hart is farre from me, & they haue rather feared þ^e cōmaundementes of men, & haue cleaued to their doctrines: Behold therfore I will ad besids, and bring such a muse & maruel vpon this people which shall make mē amased w^t merueling. For wisedome shall perishe from their wise mē, & the vnderstāding of their prudent persons shalbe hidden. And soon after it foloweth in the same place, yet a litle while and Lybanus shall be turned in to Charmell,MarginaliaLibanus and Charmel, two hils, the one in Phoenicia, fruitfull & pleasaunt: the other in the borders of Iewry, barren & vnpleasaunt, which is Charmel. Daniel. 2. and Charmell compted for a cops or groaue, and in the same day shall the deafe folkes heare the word of this booke, and the eyes of the blinde (changed from darcknnes and blindnesse) shall see.

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Nabuchodonosor enquiring of Danyell sayd. Thinkest thou that thou canst truely declare me the dreame that I haue seene, and the meaning thereof? And Danyell sayd: As for the mistery wherof the king doth aske, neither the wyse men, magiciens, southsayers, nor inchanters can declare to the kyng: But there is a God in heauen, that discloseth misteries, who will declare to thee (O king Nabuchodonozor) what thynges shall come to passe in the last tymes of all. To me also is this sacrament or mysterie disclosed (not for any wisedome that is in me more then in all men liuing) but to that the interpretation myght be made manifest to the kyng, and that thou shouldest know the cogitations of thy mynde.

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It was also sayd to Daniell, and thou Daniell, shut vp the wordes, seale vp the booke, vntill the tyme appointed. Very many people shall passe ouer, & manifolde knowledge shall there be: And Daniell sayd to the man þ^t was clothed w^t linnen garments, who stoode vpon þ^e waters of þ^e floud: How long will it be before the end shall come of these marueilous thynges? And I heard the man that was clothed in linnen apparell, who stoode vpon the waters of þ^e flouds, when he had lifte vp his right hand and his lefte hand into heauen, and had sworne by him that liueth for euermore: that for a tyme, tymes, and halfe a tyme. And when the scattering abroad of the hand of the holy people shalbe accōplished: then shall all these thinges be finished. And I heard and vnderstoode not, and I sayd: O my Lord, what shall be after these thynges, and he sayd: Goe thy wayes Daniell, for this talke is shut and sealed vp, vntil the tyme that is before appoynted.

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MarginaliaDaniel. 12 All these thinges haue I written to shew, that he that hath the key of Dauid, who openeth and no man shutteth, shutteth and no man openeth: doth (when and how long it pleaseth hym) hide the mysteries, and the hid secretes of the Scriptures, from the wise, prudent, and righteous: and other whiles at hys pleasure, reuealeth the same to sinners and lay persons, and simple soules, that he may haue þ^e honor and glory in all thinges. Wherfore as I haue before said, if you shall finde any good thyng in my writinges, ascribe the same to God alone: If you shall finde otherwise, thinke ye the same to be written of ignoraunce, and not of malice. And if any doubt or errour be shewed me in all my writynges, I will humbly allow your information and fatherly correction.

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But why that such maner of matters ar moued touching the disclosing of Antichrist in thys kyngdome, more then in other kingdomes, and in this tyme also more then in tyme past: the aunswere, as concerning the tyme of the motion is, that it is the last coniunction of Saturne and Iupiter in the sign of theMarginalia* In Signo Gemeni.
Marke here (good Reader) by this astronomicall cōiunction of these two planets in Gemini, he meaneth couertly the schisme betwene the two popes which lasted 39. yeares, by the which cōiūction, his meaning is, that God would haue Antichrist to be disclosed, & his Church to be reformed. * Twins, which is the house of Mercury, being the signifier of & Christian people: which coniunction seemeth to me to betoken the second comming of Christ  

, to reforme hys Church, and to call men agayne by the disclosing of Antichrist, to the perfection of the Gospel, from their Hethenish rites and wayes of þ^e Gentiles. By whom the holy citie was trampled vnder foote, for 42. monethes, euen as the coniunction of the sayde two planetes beyng inclosed in the signe of the Virgine, which is also the house of Mercury: did betoken the first comming of Christ, for the saluation of all people that were perished of þ^e house of Israell, wherby to cal them through the same comming, to the full perfection of the Gospell. As touching this calling of the Heathen, speaketh Christ in the Gospell, I haue also other sheepe, that are not of this folde, and those must I bring, and they shall heare my voyce, and there shall be one shepefold, and one shepherd. For although the Gentiles be conuerted, from the infidelitie of their idolatry, to the fayth of Christ: yet ar they not conuerted to the perfection of the law of Christ.MarginaliaBy this perfectiō (I suppose) he meaneth the reformation of the church being out of the way. And therfore did the Apostles in the primatiue Church, lay no burthen vpon the Gentiles, but that they should abstaine from haynous things, as from things offred to idols, and from blood, and strangled, and fornication. As touching this second comming, speaketh Esay: On that day, the roote of Iesse which standeth for a signe or marke to the people, to hym shall the heathen make their homage and supplication, and hys sepulchre shall be glorious: and in that day shall it come to passe, that the Lord shal the second time put to hys hand, to possesse the remnant of hys people. &c. MarginaliaEsay. 11. And he shall lift vp a token toward the nations, and he shall assemble the runnagate people of Israel that were fled, and those that were dispersed of Iuda shall he gather together from the foure quarters of the earth. And the zealous emulation of Ephraim shall be broken to peeces, and the enemyes of Iuda shall come to nought. Paule to the Thessalonians sayth: We beseech you brethren, by þ^e commyng of our Lord Iesus Christ, and of our gathering together before hym: that you be not soone remoued from your vnderstanding, neither that you be put in feare, as though the day of the lord were at hand, neither as it were by letter sent by vs, neyther by spirite, nor yet by talke. Let not any bodye by any meanes bryng you out of the way, or seduce you: For except there shall first come a departing, & that the man of sinne, the sonne of perdition shalbe disclosed, which maketh resistance, and is aduaunced aboue all thing that is called God, or that is worshipped: MarginaliaThe reueling of Antechrist so that he doth sit in the temple of God, shewing himselfe as if he were God. Do ye not remember that whilest I was as yet with you, I tolde you of this: and now you know what kepeth hym backe, that he may be vttered in hys due tyme: For euen now doth he worke the mysterie of iniquitie, onely that he which holdeth, may holde still vntill he be come to lyght: and then shall that wicked one be disclosed, whom the Lord Iesus shall slaye with the breath of hys mouth, and shall destroy with the brightnes of hys comming, euen him: whose comming is according to the working of Sathan, in all power, wyth signes and lying wonders, and in all deceitfull leading out of the truth towards those that doe perish, because that they receiued not hartely the loue of truth, that they might be saued.

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Christ being demaunded of the Apostles, what should be the token of hys comming, and of the ende of the worlde: sayd vnto them. There shall come many in my name, saying, I am Christ, and they shall seduce many. Also he telleth them of many other signes, of batayles, famyne, pestilence, and earthquakes. But the greatest signe of all he teacheth to be this. MarginaliaThe abhomination of desolation.
Luke. 21. When you shall see (sayth he) the abhomination of desolation standing in the holy place, he that readeth, let him vnderstand. But Luke 21. in hys Gospell speaketh more playnely hereof. When you therefore shal see Ierusalem to be compassed about with an army, thē know ye that the desolation therof shall draw nigh. And afterward it foloweth: And they shall fall by the face of the sword, and shalbe led away captiue to all nations, and Ierusalem shalbe troden vnder foote of the heathen, vntill the tymes of the nations be fulfilled. Now, in Daniell thus it is written of thys matter. And after 72. weekes, shall Christ be slayne, neyther shall that be his people, that will deny hym. MarginaliaDestruction of the iewes temple. And as for the Citie and sanctuary, shall a people (with his captayne that will come wyth them) destroy the sayd citie and sāctuary, and hys ende shalbe to be wasted vtterly, to it be brought to naught, and after the ende of the warre, shall come the desolation appointed. In one weeke shall he confirme the couenant to many, and within halfe a weeke shall the offering and sacrifice cease. And in the temple shal there be the abhomination of desolation, and euen vnto the ende shall the desolation c?tinue. And els where in Daniell, thus it is wrItem:Marginalia1390. dayes, in Daniel expounded. From the tyme that the continuall sacrifice shalbe offered, and that the abhomination shalbe placed in desolation, there shall be 1290. dayes. Now, if any man will beholde the Chronicles, he shall finde, that after the destruction of Ierusalem was accomplished, and after the strong hand of the holy people was fully dispersed, and after the placing of the abhomination, that is to say, the Idol of desolation of Ierusalem, within the holy place, where the temple of God was before, there had passed 1290. dayes taking a day for a yeare, as commonly it is taken in þ^e Prophetes. And the tymes of the heathen people are fulfilled, after whose rites and customes God suffered the holy citie to be trampled vnder foote for 42. monethes.MarginaliaFor these 42. monthes, looke. pag. 401. For although the Christian Church, which is the holy citie, continued

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