¶As Iheronimus, sheweth In this begynnynge, so wyll I wryte of the .iiij. Tokens, the whiche shall be shewed afore the dredefull daye of Dome, of our lorde Ihesu Christe. For there shall we shewe ourself yonge and olde. &c. ✚
[Page] AND oure Lorde, wyl yt there shalbe shewed .iiij. tokēs after doctours saynge, For our lorde is so mercyfull that he wyl not punysshe vs but he wyl shewe some tokens afore. And yt we maye be sory of our synnes, and do penaūce. And after these foresayde .iiij. tokens shall yet be xv. other tokens be shewed. which Iheronimus had foū den in the rinskens Cronicle of the Iewes. Of whiche .xv. tokens foresayde shall be declared by order here after.
¶And the fyrste token of the iiij. shalbe that the myght of [Page] Sathan through the passion of our lorde was made lasser, and was boūden, and shalbe vnbonden. All be it that he by the myght of ye passion be boū den, and may not do so moche harme to the menshen as he was wonte to do. But the deuyl is boūden at certē tymes, and he shalbe vnboūden that he may do the more harme to the people with temptaciō & trybulaciō for to assaye them tho that be chosen.
¶But in the last tyme of the worlde, shall the good be very good, & the euyll, shalbe very badde. Lyke ye holy wryters shewe in the last chaptre of apocalipsis. [Page] ¶Tempus prope est qui nocet noceat ad huc et qui ī sordibus est sordescat ad huc. et iustus iustificetur, ad huc et qui sanctus est sanctificetur, ad huc.
¶The .ij. token.
THe seconde token, of the foure, shalbe, as loue shall be loste, & nomore be vsed. Lykewyse, as the menshen waxen olde, and the nature waxeth colde in them, whiche the Philosopher calleth it the lytell world. Lykewyse is it of the great world. who the more cōmeth to the ende, The more the loue waxeth colde ī [Page] her self. But the herte of a body is ghostly of lyuyng in the greatter worlde. And shal al hole fayle, for it gothe sore to the ende of the worlde. As apostolus ad hebreos. Qui antiquatur et se nescit prope interitum est. And a man maye nowe knowe howe that god is seruyd without deuocion. And how he is blasphemyd, and by them sweryng, and al so pull hym all a sonder in peces. And ye may well knowe that the loue is almoste done and is waxen colde, and dryed awaye, but some be naked, and pray hertely, but they fynde no helpe, And they that be [Page] hungery dye for hunger, and haue no socoure. The gate of mercy is shytte, the founteyne of compassyon hath shytte her conduytes. And through fayled amonge his frendes, & she shall not be founden afore God shall gyue sentence vpō them that haue hunted charite and pacyence out of this worlde.
¶The thyrde token.
THe thyrde Token, shalbe as al maner of euyll and syn̄es, shalbe ī this world, & the fere of God be put downe, & haue none thynkyng on hym. And whan faythfull & [Page] pacyence shall not be set by: but all maner of euyll shalbe vsed: and whan the mēschen shulde loue with a secrete loue and care of no mā: but for her owne profyte. And also we shall be afore the ende of the worlde: be poude and hye shall make moche of theym selfe: and shall blaspheme the name of the Lorde, and they shal not care of Father or mother, and than they shall loue flesshely nature more thanne God. As the Apostle in the .ij. Epistle of Thimotheum.
¶Therfore lette euery body remēbre in theym selfe what people now a dayes be lyuynge [Page] in this worlde, & loke well yf this aforesayd thynges be not nowe a dayes shewed & done, and set by no synne. For it is not well possyble that any bodye myghte wryte the great synnes that now a dayes be done Praye we to God that he wyll come to his people, that they maye do penaū ce afore theyr departynge.
¶ The fourth token.
THe fourth Token, that shalbe before the ende of ye worlde, and afore the other .xv. tokens, & afore the great orryble day of Dome. And than shall there [Page] be great peruerten and warre, and there shalbe warre in many dyuers Landes of the worlde, and also amonge all creatures in this worlde lyuyng. For as Matheus sayth in the .xiiij. Chapter. Fightynge and warres shalbe amonge vs, and also one body shall aryse agaynst the other, and also one kynge agaynst another, and also treason shalbe in cyties and townes, yet for all that they made peas, and peas shall be throughout the world, & layde downe agayn, and vp with warre agayne, throughout the worlde: and also the Prynce agaynst his [Page] cōmons: and his cōmons agaynst hym. Also there shall be no clouster of Monkes, nor of Nonnes, yet there shall be ful of peruertes contrary one the ocher. And than shal it be as Iheremias wryteth ī his .x. chapter. Vnusquis (que) se a suo proximo custodiat. That is for to say Euery man kepe hym of his neyghbour or frē de: and truste not in his brother, for one shall shewe another a fayre face, but the herte of hym is full false, And also one brother shall mocke that other, and he shall laye snares and grynnes for hym, to begyle hym yf he may. And thā [Page] is it fulfylled lyke. Messin as the Prophet sayde, Kepe you of, beware you of your owne wyfe, the whiche slepeth in your armes all nyght, for she shal begyle her owne husbande. And also the childe shal begyle the Father: and the Father the childe: & the doughter the mother: and the mother, the doughter. And also one brother shall delyuer the other to death. And the Father the sone, and the children the father. And whan all these thynges & peruerten shall be throughout all the worlde Than great men and meane men shal loke for theyr owne [Page] Synguler welth, and not for no cōmon welth, for they shal scrape twenty mens lyuyng, or a hondred, and care not for the Cōmaundemētes of our Lorde Ihesu christe, sayeng they hym regarde not a whyt Than shall it be a Token of the laste Termyne, or ende of this world. Other peruerten shalbe in the fyrmament: but cōmōly it shalbe a dere tyme. not alone in one prouynce, or kyngdome, but throughoute all the worlde: but it shall be that the earth shall bere none fruyte to our behoufe, or nede to lyue with all. And it shall be also great earthquakes be [Page] agaynst all nature, that there shall fallen downe Castels & howses. And also in the see & ryuers shalbe more peruerten than it hath be afore, And the eyer shalbe full of corrupcion and venym, therof shal come great Pestilence, as well ī the beests as in the menshen therof: they shall dye. And also it shalbe thonderynge, & lyghtenynge, and great tempestes, and wyndes shalbe more peryllous than they were wonte to be. And the people shall before aferde. And lykewyse as seynt Iheronimus hathe founde in the .xv. pryncipall tokens, they shalbe afore the [Page] dredefull day of Dome, of our Lorde Ihesus christe.
¶But we know not yf these xv. Tokens shall be shewed one after another, or yf there shalbe any other token shall be shewed betwene. Therof sayde seynt Iheronimus, no certeyne, nor no Doctour, but they put it in the wyll of oure Lorde, but our Lorde maye therwith doo his wyll, for he is almyghtye.