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

It greatly for thinketh me and maketh me a shamed / ye and to lament for sorrow / as often as I remember what fools and laughing stocks the Pope hath made him of the kings / princes / and hole nation of england. Good lord / how boldly and at his pleasure hath he mocked them / leading and tossing them as though they had been unreasonable and brute bests / whom he might abuse to murder / extortion / fraud and deceit / ye and to any thing else / that Satan would entice the Pope to move and exhort them. Calling them in the mean season the defenders of the faith of Christ. And the beloved children of the church? O this is a worthy reward by the which they are persuaded to serve Satan. And ⟨p. xlvii⟩yet in all these signs and miracle […] than he hath so prevailed / that […] thing which he intendeth to do / […] be bold to execute it / ye and he bring• to […] to pass prosperously / which he could neve• do with out he were holpen and so cured by the great works and miracles of Satan. But what is their intent and what seek they in all these things? Seek they the glory of Christ? The health of souls? Or the Gospel and faith? Nay forsooth But only faces and riddles. Only the holy church of Rome / and the Apostolic seat. The patrimony of Christ crucified / and goods of sanct Peter are the hole cause and matter of all this troublesome business. We feel these signs and tokens well enough And yet through the so•le operation of Satan we can not see and perceive the lye which is cloaked under them / Antichrist hath so dimmed and blinded our eyes / through the holy names of God / Christ / Peter / the church / and such other / with the which a weak and unlearned conference / ye and sometime the very chosen / are soon taken and deceived.

It greatly for thinketh me ād maketh me a shamed / yee and to lament for sorow / as often as I remembre what foles and lawghing stockes the Pope hath made him of the kinges / princes / and hole nation of inglonde. Good lord / how boldly and at his pleasure hath he mocked them / leding and tossinge them as though they had bene vnresonable and brute bestes / whom he might abvse to murther / extorsion / fraude and deceate / yee and to any thinge els / that Sathan wold entyse the Pope to move and exhorte them. Calling them in the meane ceason the defenders of the faith of Christ. And the beloved children of the chirche? O this is a worthy reward by the which they are persuaded to serve Sathan. And