THE 3. PART.
The Dragons incredulous & persecuting multitude, and Antichrist the cheefe head thereof.
4. The great dragon (the Diuel) watching the woman that brought forth a man child, to
deuoure it, God tooke away the child to himself, and fed the woman in the desert. 7. Michael
fighting with the dragon ouercommeth him. 13. Who being throwen downe to earth, persecuteth the
woman and her seed.
1. And a great signe appeared in heauen;
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This is properly and principally spoken of the Church: and by allusion, of our B.
Lady also.
a woman clothed with the sunne, and the moone
vnder her feet, & on her head a crowne of twelue starres:
2. and being with child, she cried also traueling, and is in anguish to be deliuered.
3. And there was seen another signe in heauen, and behold
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The great Diuel Lucifer.
a great red dragon hauing
seuen heads, & ten hornes: and on his heads seuen diademes,
4. and his taile drew
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The spirits that fal from their first state into Apostasie with him and by his meanes.
the third part of the starres of heauen, and cast them to the
earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be deliuered; that when she
should be deliuered, he might
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The Diuels endeauour against the Churches children, and specially our B. Ladies only
Sonne the head of the rest.
deuoure her sonne.
5. And she brought forth a man child, who was
*
Ps. 2,9.
Apoc. 2,27.
to gouerne al Nations in an yron rodde;
& her sonne was taken vp to God to his throne,
6. & the woman fled into the wildernesse where she had a place prepared of God, that
there they might feed her a thousand two hundred sixtie daies.
7. And there was made a great battel in heauen, Michael and his Angels fought with the
dragon, and the dragon fought and his Angels:
8. and they preualied not, neither was their place found any more in heauen.
9. And that great dragon was cast forth, the old serpent, which is called the Diuel and
Satan, which seduceth the whole world: and he was cast into the earth, & his Angels were throwen
downe with him.
10. And I heard a great voice in heauen saying: Now is there made saluation and force,
and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our Brethren is
cast forth, who accused them before the sight of our God day and night.
11. And
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When the Angels or we haue the victorie, we must know it is by the bloud of Christ,
and so al is referred alwaies to him.
they ouercame him by the bloud of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimonie,
and they loued not their liues euen vnto death.
12. Therfore reioyce, o heauens, and you that dwel therein. Woe to the earth & to the
sea, because the Deuil is descended to you, hauing great wrath, knowing that he hath a litle time.
13. And after the dragon saw that he was throwen into the earth, he persecuted the woman
which brought forth the man-child:
14. and there were giuen to the woman two wings of a great Egle, that she might flie
into the desert vnto her place, where she is nourished for
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This often insinuation that Antichrists reigne shal be but three yeares & a halfe
(Dan. 7,25. Apoc. 11,2,3. & in this chap. v. 6. c. 13, 5.) proueth that the heretikes
be exceedingly blinded with malice, that hold the Pope to be Antichrist, who hath ruled
so manes Ages.
a time & times, & halfe a time, from the
face of the serpent.
15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman, water as it were a floud:
that he might make her to be caried away with the floud.
16. And the earth holpe the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed vp
the floud which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17. And the dragon was angrie against the woman: and went to make battel with the rest
of her seed, which keep the commandements of God, and haue the testimonie of Iᴇꜱᴠꜱ Christ.
18. And he stood vpon the sand of the sea.
ANNOTATIONS.
Cʜᴀᴘ. XII.
6. The woman fled.)
This great persecution that the Church shal flee from, is in the time of Antichrist, and shal
endure but three yeres and a halfe, as is noted v. 14 in the margent. In which time for al
that, she shal not want our Lordes protection, nor true Pastors, nor be so secrete, but al
faithful men shal know and folow her: much lesse shal she decay, erre in faith, or degenerate
and folow Antichrist, as Heretikes do wickedly feine. As the Church Catholike now in England
in this time of persecution, because it hath no publike state of regiment nor open free
exercise of holy functions, may be said to be fled into the desert, yet it is neither vnknowen
to the faithful that folow it. nor the enemies that persecute it: as the hidde company that
the protestants talke of, was for some worldes together, neither knowen to their frendes
nor foes, because there was in deede none such for many ages together. And this is true, if
we take this flight for a very corporal retiring into wildernes. Where in deede it may be,
and is of most expounded, to be a spiritual flight, by forsaking the ioyes and solaces of the
world, and giuing her self to contemplation and penance, during the time of persecution vnder
Antichrist. And by enlarging the sense, it may also very wel signifie the desolation and
affliction that the Church suffereth and hath suffered from time to time in this wildernes of
the world, by al the forerunners and ministers of Antichrist, Tyrants and Heretikes.
7. A great battel.)
In the Church there is a perpetual combat betwixt S. Michael (protector of the Church militant as he
was sometime of the Iewes Synagogue Dan. 10, 21) and his Angels, and the Deuil and his ministers
the perfect victorie ouer whom, shal be at the iudgement. Marke here also the cause why S. Michael
is commonly painted fighting with a dragon.
15. To be caried away.)
By great persecution he would draw her, that is, her children from the true faith: but euery one
of the faithful elect, gladly bearing their part thereof, ouercome his tyranoie At whose constancie
he being the more offended, worketh malicious attempts in assaulting the frailer sort, who are
here signified by the rest of her seede that keepe the commaundemants, but are not so perfect as the
former.