A pistle to the Christen reader The revelation of Antichrist. Antithesis

And his strength shall be stablished / and not in his own might and power.¹

And his strength shalbe stablisshed / and not in his awne might and power.¹

1. 1Danie. viij.

¶This third property of this monstrous kingdom is also marvellous and unlike all other empires / by cause it shall be strengthened & stablished with a strange power. For who hath hard any such thing in all other kingdoms? The empery of Rome was gotten / increased / & maintained through his own strength. The hole scripture doth rebuke the horses and flesh of Egypt and other kingdoms / in the which the Jews did put their trust and confidence / furthermore the kingdom of Christ doth more consist in his own power then any of the other. For the trueth of it self is strong enough. And only this kingdom is stablished with others strength Strength in this place doth signify the power / which our philosophers do call the power to work outwardly / which is not of the soul / ¹but of the members So Hezekiah in the xix. of the fourth book of kings. The children came to the birth / & the mother had no power ⟨p. xlv⟩to deliver them. And in th• xxxj. of Genesis. I have served your father it […] all my power. And Job. I counted f•• hinge the power of their hands / thu•• to say that they were able to do. In the Hebrew tongue it was called •uth / and the Apostle in the greek tongue calleth it energeran. And the interpreter called it in the latin tongue / efficaciam / and in the english tongue it must be called might and power as in the .ij. to the Galatians / he that was mighty in Peter in the apostleship over circunsition / the same was mighty in me among the gentiles.