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A37813
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Eclectical chiliasm, or, A discourse concerning the state of things from the beginning of the Millennium to the end of the world
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T. F., 17th cent.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing E157A; ESTC R171901
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22,921
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80
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the House of the God of Jacob Intimating the reception of the Gospel by a great part of mankind and the continuance of the rest of the World in the state of Heathenism And now the wonder of this Invasion ceases For 't is easy to imagine the Camp of the Saints encompassed by an army of Infidels excited or provoked thereto by the Devil But there is some difficulty in conceiving how this army should be drawn together from so remote and distant places of the World For the Nations of which it is composed are said to be in the four Quarters of the Earth But it hath been observed by a learned Man that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in many places of the New Testament hath a Critical signification and does peculiarly refer to the Land of Judea And in this notion it is here to be understood as signifying not the whole World but that Part or Portion of it which by God was given to the Posterity of Abraham and which is here distinguished by a new Name the Camp of the Saints in allusion to their incamping in the Wilderness And then the Nations in the four Quarters or corners of the Land will be some people seated in the Countries not far distant from Judea whom we may easily conceive entring into a Confederacy against the Jews and uniting their forces for the destruction of these Saints of the most High And thus the greatest difficulties relating to this vision are removed And the plain meaning and signification of it appears to be the Invasion of Judea by some of the neighbouring Nations Which event if it were foretold by the Prophets there can be no reason to question or doubt of the truth of this Exposition Now concerning this Invasion there are several Prophecies but the most remarkable and express is that in Ezekiel between which and this vision there is an exact and admirable agreement Ezekiel's Prophecy Chap. 30. In the latter days thou viz. Gog shalt come into the Land that is brought back from the Sword and is gathered out of many People against the Mountains of Israel Invasurus montes Israelis Junius ver 8. Thou shalt ascend and come like a Storm thou shalt be like a Cloud to cover the Land thou and all thy Bands and many People with thee ver 9. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the Land of Israel saith the Lord God that my Fury shall come up in my Face And I will plead against him with Pestilence and with Blood and I will Rain upon him and his Bands and upon the many People that are with him an overflowing Rain and great Hail-stones Fire and Brimstone vers 18 22. St. John's Vision Rev. 20. And when the Thousand Years are expired Satan shall be loosed out of his Prison ver 7. And shall go out to deceive the Nations Gog and Magog to gather them together to Battel the number of whom is as the Sand of the Sea verse 8. And they went up and compassed about the Camp of the Saints and the beloved City vers 9. And Fire came down from God out of Heaven devoured them vers 9. And whereas it is objected that Gog in Ezekiel comes out of the North parts vers 15. whereas God and Magog in the Revelation are said to be Nations which are in the four Quarters of the Earth this seeming difference admits of an easy Solution For although Gog with the People of Magog came out of the North parts yet the rest of the people of which his army consists come from other parts Some from Persia some from Ethiopia and Lybia and others from the North Quarters of the lesser Asia viz. Gomer and Togarmah vers 5 6. So that here are several Nations in Confederacy against the Jews and these lying against the four Corners of their Land But whereas God and Magog are chief in this Expedition therefore they only are mentioned by St. John And for the same Reason the judgment of God against this Army is in Ezekiel denounced particularly against Gog. So that here is no difference but a most exact harmony and consent between the Prophet and the Divine But there is a farther Correspondence as to the time of this Invasion very remarkable and which abundantly confirms my Interpretation This in the Revelation is about a Thousand years after the Jews Conversion and repossession of their native Land And that in Ezekiel succeeds the Restauration of the Jewish Nation and their Subjection to Christ For in the seven and thirtieth Chapter is foretold the Return of the whole House of Israel vers 11 12. The Reunion of the two Kingdoms after this Return vers 21 22. And the perpetual government of David or Christ over them vers 25. And then follows in the next Chapter the Prophecy of Gogs invading the people of Israel in the latter days or towards the End of the World Chap. 38. 16. CHAP. VI. Of the general judgment and end of the World THE last vision is that of the general Judgment which is the concluding Scene and ends with the Conflagration of the World And I saw a great White Throne and him that sat on it from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away and there was found no place for them And I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened and another Book was opened which is the Book of Life and the Dead were judged out of those things which were Written in the Books according to their works And the Sea gave up the Dead which were in it and Death and Hell delivered up the Dead which were in them And they were judged every Man according to his works And Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire this is the second Death And whosoever was not found Written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of Fire Rev 20. 11 12 13 14 15. What St. John here saith of the dead standing before the Throne of God and their being judged according to their works needs not much explication The right of judging belongs to none but God nor is any besides a God qualified for so mighty a performance But we are assured from Scripture that this judgment shall be administred by God Incarnate in the Person of Jesus Christ who is ordained the Judge of quick and Dead Act 10. 42. For the Father judgeth no Man but hath committed all judgment to the Son and that for this reason as Our Saviour himself tells us because he is the Son of Man that is truly and really Man as well as God John 5. 27. For of the three Persons in the Blessed Trinity the Son only is personally united to Human nature And therefore being God-man is the most proper Judge of Men who must be judged in their Bodies The consequents of this judgment are not so clear and obvious For as for the casting Death and Hell into the lake
the Elders rejoyce for the approaching solemnity of the Lambs Marriage Rev 19. 7. Let us be glad and rejoyce for the Marriage of the Lamb is come and his Wife hath made her self ready Now the fall of Babylon and destruction of the seven-headed Beast or Roman Empire is the very point of time prefixt for the Conversion and Restauration of the Jewish Nation That their blindness and infidelity shall then be removed we learn from St. Paul Rom. 11. 25. I would not that ye should be ignorant of this Mystery that blindness in part is happen'd to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in And so all Israel shall be saved This coming in of the fulness of the Gentiles is of the same Import and Significancy with the fulfilling the times of the Gentiles which puts an end to the Miseries and dispersions of the Jews Luk. 21. 24. And they shall fall by the Edge of the Sword and shall be lead away captive into all Nations and Jerusalem shall be troden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled The times of the Gentiles are the times of the four Monarchies wherein the Gentiles have dominion And when the time of the fourth and last monarchy is expired and accomplished the Jews will every where embrace the Christian Religion and be restored to their ancient Countrey from which they have so long been banished Now if the Restitution of the Jewish Nation and the Marriage of the Lamb are co-incident and happen at the same time what can we imagine the New Jerusalem the Bride the Lambs Wife to be but the Jews once Gods peculiar people to whom after so long a divorce he will be graciously reconciled and receive them again into favour The greatness of the happiness they will enjoy in their native Land is here represented by a most splendid and magnificent City whose foundations are garnished with all manner of precious stones vers 19. Which had no need of the Sun or Moon to shine upon it being inlightned by the Glory of God ver 23. By a Chrystal River of Water of life proceeding from the Throne of God and of the Lamb. Chap. 22. 1. And lastly by the Tree of life bearing twelve manner of Fruits yielding her Fruit every Month vers 2. All which is nothing but a Rhetorical description of the flourishing state of the Jews after their return from Captivity Which kind of descriptions were familiar to the Jews and very frequently occurr in Prophetic writings see Isa 54. 11 12. 60. 19. Tob. 13. 16 17. 11. By the descending of the New Jerusalem from God out of Heaven I understand the Restitution of the Jews by the immediate Power of God That Jesus is the Christ is demonstratively evident from their own Books the Writings of the old Testament And yet in defiance of the most solid reasoning and discourse they have obstinately persisted in their unbelief near seventeen hundred years So that their Infidelity seems incurable by any human Methods of Conviction But that which to Men is impossible is possible to God who by the Power of his grace can reduce the most perverse and incorrigible Sinners How wonderfully and Suddenly was St. Paul converted who of a bitter and virulent Persecutor of Christians became a most active and zealous Preacher of the Gospel Whether the Conversion of the Jews shall be wrought after the same manner viz by a vision and voice from Heaven I cannot tell But whatever may be the external and visible means the Spirit of God will be the Principal Agent in this business Who by the internal Illumination of their minds with the light of Heavenly truth will Scatter the clouds and mists of prejudice and convince them of their Error and wickedness in rejecting the Holy Jesus This their repentance Isaiah speaks of Chap. 59. 20. Which is much clearer from St. Paul's application of this Prophecy Rom 11. 26 27. There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my Covenant with them when I shall take away their Sins With this agrees that of Zechary In that day I will pour upon the house of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and Supplication and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall Mourn for him as one mourneth for his only Son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first born Chap. 12. 10. And the same Divine Power that worketh this inward change in the Jews will incline the Hearts of the several Princes in whose Countries they are dispersed to give them liberty of returning to the land of Canaan and to furnish them with all things needful Surely the Isles shall wait for me and the ships of Tarshish first to bring thy Sons from far their Silver and their Gold with them Isa 60. 9. Some are of Opinion that their Captivity shall be perpetual But besides that the above-mentioned text Luke 21. 24. Which speaks of the dispersion of the Jews and the desolation of Jerusalem Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfill'd implies the contrary There are several Prophecies that foretell their return Particularly that of Amos Chap. 9. 14 15. And I will bring again the Captivity of my People Israel and they shall build the waste Cities and inhabit them and they shall plant vineyards and drink the Wine thereof they shall also make gardens and eat the Fruit of them And I will plant them upon their own land and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them saith the Lord. The perpetuity of the Settlement here spoken of shews that it is to come and cannot belong to their reestablishment after the return from Babylon which was not of much above five hundred years continuance But no where is the present Captivity and future return of the Jews so clearly Prophesied of as in the Book of Tobit Chap. 14. 4 5. Our Brethren shall lie scattered in the Earth from that good land and Jerusalem shall be desolate and the House of God in it shall be burned and shall be desolate for a time And again God will have mercy on them and bring them again into the land where they shall build a Temple but not like to the first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 till the sensons of the age be fulfilled which signifies the continuance of the second Temple till the dissolution of the Jewish Polity And again they shall go into a long and great Captivity viz. the present which words are wanting in the Greek and English Versions but are in the Hebrew Copy set out by Paulus Fagius and afterward they shall return from all places of their Captivity and build up Jerusalem gloriously and the House of God shall be built in it for ever with a glorious building as the Prophets have spoken thereof III. The same of the Jews return