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

¹And in this matter let us hear the apostle Peter speaking most sharply in the .ij. of the second epistle / where he painteth the popedom and setteth it out with his colours to the uttermost point / for after that he had prophesied that false masters should come which in covetousness with feigned words should make merchandise of the people of Christ / which should bring in sects of perdition. And draw many after them / Even denying Christ that hath bought them / then doth he fear them with .iij. notable examples. Of the Angels. Of the flood that was in the time of Noah. And of the Zodomites. And ⟨p. liiij⟩he sayeth that all these were / punished of god / for the example of the wicked which should come / then he prosecuting his matter (as concerning these wicked mistress) doth say Namely them that wall after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness / and despise the rulers / Presumptuous are they & stubborn / and fear not to speak evil of them that are in authority / Peter speaketh not of them that do not obey Bishops / but (as he began) of the wicked mistress them self / that is to say of Bishops / Cardinals / & the Pope / for these are they that this epistle speaketh of. First who seeth not that the Popes sect above all other walketh after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness? For sith they are forbidden matrimony / and abound in riches and idleness / what should they do but walk after the flesh? They labour not / as other men do / therefore their iniquity springeth with their fat / Nether canst thou assign me any masters and rulers of the people / which do thus / but only the papists. The clerks are daily increased / and matrimony forbid (and both through the rule and authority of the Pope) and every man may perceive what profit cometh unto the church by it / for alas where as by matrimony many women might be good and please god living chastely / they ⟨image 56⟩are now compelled to be harlots / and that for .ij. causes the one is the mischievous enticing through gifts and fair words that these venomous locusts use. The other is that their is such scarceness of clean men out of his orders that they are not sufficient to the hole nature of women. So that if this should long continue it would be the destruction of the hole world.

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