must not be meddled with The sum of all is this First That there is many things used amongst the Sons of Men pretending Worship to God which is abomination unto the Lord and yet no text of Scripture forbidding in so many words saying Thou shalt not do so And Secondly Whereas it hath been affirmed That there is no Example or Command for Women to Eat the Lords Supper It 's false for there is a plain Precept 1 Cor. 11.28 in these words Let a man examine himself and so let him eat which is Preceptory that is He must examine himself and so he must eat The word LET is preceptory Object But if it be Objected that the Text saith Let a Man Examine himself and let a Man eat Answ I Answer It is read in the Greek Let a Man or Woman examine themselves See 1 Cor. 11.28 the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a Woman as well as a Man and thus the Woman is to be understood implyed in many places although not mentioned in our Translation as well as the man And so it is said Gen. 5.2 That God made them Male and Female and blessed them and called THEIR name Adam And thus you may see that God hath not left us to be guided by blind Consequences but hath left us a plain Rule And as many as walk according to it Peace be unto them and Mercy upon all the Israel of God So then there being many things practised pretending Worshipping of God and are vain and yet not forbidden in so many words Thou shalt not do it So that these may see themselves Answered which hopes that Infants Baptism may be lawful because the Scripture no where saith Thou shalt not Baptize thy Children neither is it any where Thou shalt not Baptize thy Books and Bells and yet to do it is to practise a Tradition of Man in the Service of God and unlawful And thus I pass from this Objection and also from this Subject of Discourse and come to the next which is that of Original Sin Some Objections ANSWERED TOUCHING Original Sinne. AS touching Original Sin there hath been a great Controversie Whether it made Adam and his Posterity guilty and liable to the Second Death or to the First only or to both And it being the main Controversie between me and my Antagonist I thought good to give my Opinion further upon it and to Answer such Objections as are offered by my Adversary and possibly some others as time will admit of and my Way or Method to make the Matter plain shall be by laying down this Position which is Position 1. That the Sin which Adam committed in Paradice did not make him and his guilty of and liable to the Second Death Which I shall prove by several plain and evident Reasons drawn from the Scriptures but before I speak unto it be informed what I mean by the second Death and that is the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone which the Scripture calls the second Death Revel 20.14 for I do beleeve that the Wages of Sin is Death but as there is a twofold Covenant so there is a twofold death viz. a first and second Death And that sin in Paradice made Adam and his guilty of the first Death but sin against God manifest in Christ makes man guilty and liable to the second death And so I come to the Reasons to prove That Adams sin in Paradice did not make him and his guilty of and liable to the second Death And so to the First Reason which is Reas 1. Because God did neither threaten the second death neither did he pronounce a second death or any thing of that nature in the Sentence but the first death only with sorrow labor and such like things as the punishment due to that sin And first we may read the threatning Gen. 2.17 in these words But of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die or in dying thou shalt die Well for all this threatning Adam did eat and thereby did transgress Gods Law whereupon God goeth on to pass sentence upon Adam according to what he threatned to bring upon him if he did eat and transgress his Law and his sentence sheweth what death it was that he threatned which was the first death only and not so much as one tittle intimated of the second death in the sentence as you may read Chap. 3.17 18. in these words And unto Adam he said Because thou hast hearkned unto the voice of thy Wife and hast eat of the Tree whereof I commanded thee saying Thou shalt not eat of it Cursed is the ground for thy sake Thorns and Thistles shall it bring forth unto thee in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the ground for out of it was thou taken Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return From whence we may see that there is not so much as a tittle of a second death but only the first death Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return that was to be the end of all Object But it is Objected and said That the death mentioned in the threatning must be understood a death of the Soul for ever or a second death because Adam died not in his body or the bodily death that day which he sinned but lived many dayes afterwards Answ In Answer to this Objection Consider these two things The First is That one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day 2 Pet. 3.8 And Adam lived not a thousand years nor no man ever did and therefore Adam upon Gods account died the same day which day in Gods account is a thousand years which no man as before said ever attained to and so died according to what God threatned within the compass or time of the Day In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die And Secondly God that seeth all things at once and calls things that shall be as if they were saw Adam dead the same hour that he sinned and he was as really dead in Gods account as Christ was a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world or as Abrabam Isaac and Jacob living in a state of Resurrection when God appeared to Moses in the bush Matth. 22.30 31 32. And thus much briefly to the first Objection the second is Object 2. What is meant by the Hebrew word saith my Antagonist in dying thou shalt die Answ To which I Answer and say That so soon as Adam had sinned he was mortalized and in a dying condition never continuing in one stay but in the midst of life subject to drop into the dust and so in being in a dying condition till he did return to dust it was said in dying he should die that is he should be dying till he was dead and this is meant by the word
5.12 13 14. in which time lived Abraham Isaac and Jacob and Noah and Lot and several others over whom the second death had no power and yet that death which Adam purchased by his sin passed upon all men and also reigned over them which sheweth That the wages of Adams sin in Paradise was but the first death for that death Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the rest tasted of and so it reigned from Adam to Moses over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adams transgression that is against a prescript Law upon penalty of death which proveth That it was Adams sin and we in him which brought that first death upon us but as for the second death it reigned not over those holy men that lived between Adam and Moses neither doth it pass or reign over any till after the Resurrection and the eternal Judgement for THEN shall the Wicked be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second Death Rev. 20.12 13 14. So then that Death which entered into the World for Adams sin the which all tasted of from Adam to Moses is seen to be no other death but what God threatned and pronounced in the sentence namely Dust thou art and to Dust thou shalt return even the first death And thus I pass to the Answer of some few Objections offered by my Antagonist And the first is a Quotation Romans 5.16 with Chap. 8.1 Object 1. The offence of one sin came upon all to Condemnation i.e. Damnation compared with Rom. 8.1 Answ This Quotation hath been already Answered yet I shall speak a few words to it in this place which is That the word Condemnation is used for the first death as well as for the second as in Luke 23.40 And it is used indefinitely in Rom. 8.1 There is therefore no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus it may be read there is therefore no death to them that are in Christ Jesus But you will say Yea the Righteous do die the first death But if you take notice Paul is shewing in that place that Christ delivereth from that body of death and in Christ we have victory and shall conquer the grave and so in that sense there is no death to the Righteous for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being an adverb is undeclined but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the same only it being declined may be read Judgement or Punishment or Death and you do only say the words differ but give no Reason worth a figg to prove it only you say that one sin was against Man and the other against God your meaning is The Malefactors sin was only against Man and Adams against God But I pray be serious do you not think that the Malefactor sinned against God Or is not Murder or Stealing or the like a sin against God What means this Discourse if it argue not gross ignorance I am very much mistaken in my Judgement But looking a little forth I find you citing an old Argument of Mr. Perkins's which is That sin that is committed against an infinite God deserveth an infinite punishment but Adams sin was such Ergo Where art thou Hammon saith my Antagonist To which I Answer and say That it is not our Question what Adams sin deserved but what the punishment was which God was pleased to inflict upon Adam for that transgression the which I before have proved to be but the first death and such like punishment And also I do say and have said That Adams sin was so great that it caused him to lose all that God gave him and to lay his honor in the dust and yet notwithstanding it made him no more guilty of the second death than the Beasts which touched the Mountain and therein offended God and must be thrust thorow with a Dart and yet lost no more than what it had to lose Heb. 12.20 And if I should deny your Major Proposition you would be troubled to prove it because Mr. Perkins hath not done it already for you And whereas you ask by way of a jear Where I am I could tell you That I may be found through Mercy at my Native place although as for your part if I should ask where you are as in reference to either your Judgement or Habitation men know not and it is possible you care not they should know where you are to be found but this by degression I pass and come to the Third Objection which is say you Object 3. If Adam brought but a temporal death on men then Christ died but a temporal death to satisfie God Answ That Christ did not die the second death that is to say Christ did not suffer in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone is clear for if he had he had been irrecoverable Take notice that there is a great gulph fixed so that those that once come into that place take heed cannot go thence any more Fie fie what did Christ suffer in Hell with the Devil and Damned spirits No surely although your Creed have taught you so to beleeve And whereas you say That Christ was made a Curse for us it is acknowledged that he was hanged upon a Tree and cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree But I hope that it is but a temporal curse for otherwise there be many of the Saints that have so suffered and then are in a cursed estate and condition if your opinion be true but it is not And whereas you say That my Opinion makes Children but a little beholding to Christ for if he had not come they had died but a temporal death and so they do still To which I Answer and say It is true that if Christ had not come they had died but a temporal death for that sin committed in Paradice and also that they do die a temporal death notwithstanding and yet your Conclusion false for Christ is very beneficial to them notwithstanding so that if I had the tongue of men and Angels I could not express it as I should do Time is pretious take this in short That Christ brings them to a resurrection and brings all the glory that is spoken of in the Scripture to be there portion at the other side of the grave I could be very large but I must speak now by figures as we say and not by words at length and leave you and the Reader to enlarge it in your understanding And for as much as you desire me to inform you what should have become of the soul of man I shall shew you my opinion about it and the grounds and reasons from the Scripture and if I be mistaken in it I hope some sympathyzing tender heart will be as ready to inform me better in it as the captious Spirit will be to cavil at it and I hope I shall receive such information with humility of mind and thankfulness of heart and so I pass to the Subject of Discourse
the Scriptures and if thou find in this Treatise any thing that seems strange unto thee be not over hasty to condemn it or the Author but know assuredly that he is one that aimeth and strives after Truth as much as thy self who ever thou art and know that the things that are disapproved of by men are the things that are chosen of God and precious and that in all Ages as I have formerly said the Truth of God hath been accounted Heresie and the assertors thereof Hereticks and turners of the world upside down therefore it much concerns thee to be earnest with God in prayer and supplication to give thee a discerning spirit that thou mayest discern between Truth and Error I have in the following Treatise shewed in a methodical order what Baptism is and that it is not Sprinkling or scattering a little water in the face of the Subject no but a Dipping or Plunging or a thorow washing of the person Baptised and also that the Subjects to be Baptised are not Infants as such but such as have first believed in the Lord Jesus or at least such as do make a visible profession of faith such were those that John the Baptist Baptised for they came and confessed their sins and was Baptised of him in Jordan and also when the Eunuch said to Plilip See here is water What hindreth me that I may not be Baptised and he said If thou believeth with all thy heart thou mayest and the Samaritans when they did believe the things concerning the Kingdome of God and the name of Jesus they were Baptised both men and women So that the Scripture is plain that testifieth what Subject should be Baptised And that conceit or more properly great deceit about Original Sin in saying That Infants dying in their Infancy without being Baptised are damned and so bring in Infants Baptism to purge away Original Sin I have shewed is no such thing but a dream of mens own brains and that there is not one Text of Scripture from Genesis to the Revelation which saith that any shall die the second Death for Original Sin nay the second Death was not so much as threatned in any one Text of Scripture either upon Adam or any of his posterity for that sin but the Death of the Body was threatned and also executed for saith the Lord Dust thou art and unto Dust thou shalt return And as touching Mans Mortality it is a general received Opinion That the Soul of Man is Immortal and dyeth not although the Scripture saith that Christ poured out his Soul to death and made his Soul an offering for sin but it is supposed that when men die their Souls if they have done evil go immediately to Hell and in the Resurrection come again from thence to be judged to see whether they deserve it yea or nay as though Souls should be put into their torments before they are tryed and judged to see whether they have deserved it yea or nay for although some mens sins go before to Judgment so as that they are convicted before death yet some mens sins come after them that there is not the sense of their sins at the time of death but they come after them unto Judgment these things I have shewed my opinion upon also the which amongst men is strangely looked upon as a gross Error however peruse it for there is no dangerous consequence in it for he that believeth it or he that believeth it not may both meet with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God if they walk uprightly according to their several measures although if it be a Truth as it appears to me to be it is very necessary that every godly man know it for several reasons that I could give But as touching the Resurrection of the Body which I also have spoken to that is of such weight that without believing it and being stedfast in the same it makes Preaching voyd and Faith voyd and whosoever doth deny it their words eat as doth a Canker and indeed I do not see as yet how such men as deny it can be saved I have also shewed the great and universal love of God to all men which is the ground of Faith and Salvation to all that do believe and be saved which is a very comfortable Doctrine to all men and I think that none can have cause to be offended at it but such as have their eyes evil because Gods eye is good And as touching the Personal Reign of Christ upon Earth viz. on the Throne of his Father David in Zion in Jerusalem is that which causeth the godly to rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory and it is that which Christ hath commanded us to pray for though we understand it not as we should do when we pray Thy Kingdome come thy will be done in Earth as it is done in Heaven but that he is to receive a Kindome and Reign upon Earth I have proved in its particular order although briefly I have also added a second Part entituled The good ancient Laws and Statutes of King Jesus Vindicated wherein I have proved the continuance of all the Laws and Ordinances of the Lord Jesus given forth in his last Will and Testament with many Objections answered And also have shewed who is the travelling Woman spoken of in Revellations 12. and who is her Man-child and who is the Remnant of her Seed and to what Wilderness she is to flea into and for how long and who are the two Witnesses and the time and place of their Prophesie and many such like things which I have shewed my opinion upon in the following Treatise and therefore I desire thee courteous Reader to peruse these things seriously and desire the Lord to give thee an understanding heart to receive it so far forth as thou findeth it agreeable to the Word of the Lord and sound Reason It should have been published long before this time if extraordinary occasions had not hindred me therefore it is my desire that they that have long waited for it may excuse the matter because many are sensible of my great occasions taking me off from finishing of it sooner So desiring the Lord to make it to be a word in season unto thee and to fill thy heart with joy thorow believing and also with the fruits of righteousness that having thy fruit in holiness the end may be everlasting life which is the desire of Thy Friend and Brother in the Faith and Profession of the Gospel of Christ GEORGE HAMMON THE CONTENTS OF THE Principal Matters Contained in this BOOK B BAptism to be Dispenced to such as are of ripe years and of understanding Page 5. to page 12. Baptism may not be Dispenced to Infants for several Reasons page 13. to page 25. Of the Battel of the great Day and the Destruction of Gogg and his Company page 89. to page 92. G Of Gods universal Love unto all men and how far
in dying thou shalt die And so I pass to the second Reason to prove That Adams sin did not make him guilty of nor liable to the second Death which is Reas 2. Because Adam had no second life promised neither had he need of it while he stood in his Innocency and only a second life presupposeth a second death for a man cannot lose more than he hath to loose which was but only one life for the other came by Jesus Christ who did by death abolish death and brought life and immortality to light to which add this That if Christ had not died and also risen from the dead there had been no Resurrection and then having no second life there had been no second death for as by Man came Death so by Man came the Resurrection from the Dead So then it was Gods love to give man life and put him into that happy condition in Paradice but it was mans sin that brought death and a deprivation from that happy estate and condition it was Gods renewed love and unsearchable wisdom and mercy to bring man out of that Condition by a Resurrection from the Dead to a second life and happy estate but it is mans unsufferable perpetual wickedness which brings upon him the second death for this is THE condemnation that Light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light Joh. 3. And thus we see that there was no second life in Paradise to be lost and therefore that sin purchased not the second death And so I pass to the Third Reason to prove That Adams sin did not make him guilty of the second death which is Reas 3. Thirdly Because if Adam had been guilty of the second death and that was the death intended where it is said in dying thou shalt die then Gods Justice had not been satisfied unless Adam had died the second death and all that were made guilty by that sin but none did die the second death for that sin committed in Paradise although the first death or a change which is as death passeth upon the Righteous as well as the Wicked and that if they had been made guilty of the second death they should also have died the second death is because the Scripture saith That God will by no means clear the guilty Exod. 34.7 But if God did send Christ to take away the second death so that many taste it not and none taste it for that sin committed in Paradise Rom. 5.18 then God did use a means to clear the guilty and so his word is Yea and Nay and not Yea and Amen but it being the guilt of the first death God spares not his own pretious Ones but we must needs die and be as water spilt upon the ground which cannot be gathered neither doth God respect the Person of any man yet he hath used a means that his banished shall not be for ever expelled from him 2 Sam. 14.14 and in this sense man must die for that sin and so Justice satisfied and so gives way to Mercy And thus I pass to the Fourth Reason to prove That the sin committed in Paradise made not Adam guilty and liable to the second death which is Reas 4. Fourthly Because it argues a change in God in what he hath absolutely Decreed for God did absolutely decree That if Adam did eat that he should surely die and Adam did eat Therefore if that death that God threatned to inflict upon Adam were the second death as some say then God changeth in what he did absolutely Decree for Adam and his are not damned for that sin as is clear from many texts of Scripture as Rom. 5. c. Add this also It makes God to be a Liar and the Devil to speak the Truth which were blasphemy to assert for as God said That if Adam eat he should die so the Devil said They should not die now if this be the second Death there mentioned and Adam not die that death and yet did eat judge who it was that spoke the Truth but it being the first death that God intended in that place Gods Word was fulfilled Adam did so die and so Gods Word was true and the Devil was a liar from the beginning But saith my Antagonist God may alter in his threatnings as in Nineveh and Hezekiah and the like but my Antagonist knows well that I have given him such an Answer unto it that he is not able to Answer time will not suffer me hear to repeat it read my former Book only this in short Consider that before God sent Jonah to Nineveh to proclaim forty dayes and Nineveh shall be destroyed he did decree and declare it That in what instant he spake as touching the destroying of a People if they did repent then he also would repent of the evil that he said he would bring upon them Jer. 18. but Nineveh did repent and proclaim a Fast and therefore God was engaged according to his Word not to destroy them but the case was not so with Adam And also Hezekiah did repent and humbled himself with mourning and so God was constrained to hear and answer his desire according to his Word Hence he had Mercy on the House of Ahab when he humbled himself yet God changeth not in what he hath Decreed but doth Decree to alter the Dispensation of Mercy and Justice according to his Creatures actings And thus I leave the Objection having Answered it before and also the Reason and come now to the Fifth Reason to prove That Adams sin did not make him guilty of or liable to the second death which is Reas 5. Fifthly Because Adam was but a natural man and had but a natural life and yet should have lived for ever by eating of the Tree of Life had he not sinned but when he had sinned and thereby deprived himself of the Tree of Life then in respect of Mortality he had no prehemenence above the Beast of the field Eccles 3.18 19 20. And that he was but a natural man read 1 Cor. 15.44 45. Moreover know as aforesaid That there was no Promise of a second life till after the Fall and therefore God could not threaten man with the loss of that which he had not given or promised to give unto him and therefore that sin in Paradise could not make Adam guilty of the second death because he never had a second life or a promise of it in the state of Innocency neither sinned he against the new Covenant or God manifest in Christ which brought the second life and therefore not guilty of the second death And so I pass to the Sixth and last Reason to prove That Adams sin made him not guilty of the second death neither was that death intended by God either in the threatning or in the sentence Reas 6. Sixthly and Lastly Because that death which entered into the world by Adams sin passed and reigned over all men from Adam to Moses Rom.
9.5 And if the faculties of man be understood to be the Soul then it is easie to prove them Temperatures and Mortal because they are subject to increase and diminish as the Creator is disposed and madness that may happen to man by some obstruction in the body quite mollifieth them so then these things considered we may see that the whole man is mortal time would fail me to write the particular things appertaining to this subject of Discourse and therefore I shall pass to the answer of some few Objections which may comprehend the whole but by the way give me leave to shew you a glimpse of what the Scripture calls the Soul in which you may see how many things bear the name of Soul in Scripture and first it is taken for God Heb. 10.28 it is taken for the heart 1 Sam. 18.1 for the eyes Jer. 13.17 for the head Psalm 16.10 for the stomack Prov. 27.7 for hunger Prov. 6.30 for the whole man Lev. 7.20 Acts 7.14 Rom. 13.1 These and many more in Scripture is called by the name of Soul but I come now to the Objections which is Object 1. Fear not him that can kill the body but cannot kill the Soul Mat. 10.28 implying that there is a soul which cannot be killed Answ This is the most material Text that I know of to that purpose but Luke which is the most exact Writer hath recorded it thus Luke 12.4 5. And I say unto you my friends be not afraid of them that can kill the body and afterwards have no more that they can do but fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell yea I say unto you fear him which sheweth to us man can only destroy the body which is mortal and must dye but God can destroy both the body which is mortal and also cast the whole man into hell when it is immortal after the Resurrection and so he above all is to be feared and that this in short is the meaning of the words is evident because the soul hath been killed by man Josh 10.35 but after the Resurrection none can destroy it but God and so I pass to the next Objection which is Object 2. In Phil. 1.23 24. For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better Answ To which I answer and say That this text doth not contradict the state of Mans Mortality because there is no time to the dead that is to say that the time between Adams death and his Resurrection will be to him but as the twinkling of an eye so that as there was no time to us from the creation to our birth so when we shall return to dust from whence we were taken and become like water spilt upon the ground there will be no time also to us till the time of the resurrection for there is no remembrance amongst the dead as saith the Scripture so then Paul might say that he did desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ for the next thing to Death is the Resurrection and glory for the godly which time to them is as before said but as the twinkling of an eye Add this that Paul tells us that from the time of Death till the time of the Resurrection the crown is laid up to be received at that day mark that read the text 2 Tim. 4.6 7 8. in these words For I am now ready to be offered up and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith hence-forth there is laid up for me a crown of Righteousness which God the righteous Judge will give unto Me at that day not to me only but unto them also that love his appearance From whence we may learn that the godly mans glory is to be conferred upon him at the time of Christs appearance and not at the time of death only at the time of death it is laid up sure for those that have dyed in the faith VNTIL THAT DAY namely Christs appearance which time to the dead will be no more then a moment and so being dissolved we shall be with Christ which is far better and so I shall pass to the next Objection which is Object 3. There is such a thing as a soul that goeth to heaven at death because the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 5. We know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle shall be dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens ver 6. Therefore we are alwayes confident knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. Answ To which I answer and say That the Apostle in this place doth not so much as hint at such a thing as the soul being immortal or distinct from the body but speaks of the happy estate and condition of the godly at that time when mortality shall be swallowed up of life as you may see verse the 4. in these words For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan being burdened not that we would be uncloathed but cloathed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life From whence we may see that the Apostle speaks in this place of mortality being swallowed up of life meaning by the state of a resurrection as appears from the 9 and 10 verses where he saith That it was their care to labour that whether absent from the Lord or present they might be accepted of him for saith he we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ c. implying that our being present with the Lord is not to be till the day of Judgment which day of Judgment will not be until after the Resurrection so that Paul in this place Equivolent with David makes no distance of time between the putting off this body and the putting on immortality viz the Resurrection which sheweth that there is no time to the dead so that this text speaks not against man being wholly mortal And so I pass to the next Objection which is Object 4. In Luke 12.20 in these words Thou fool this night thy soul shall be required of thee And Luke 23.43 I say unto thee to day shalt thou be with me in Paradice And Luke 16.22 23. And it came to pass that the beggar dyed and was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosome and the rich man dyed also and was buryed and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments seeth Abraham a far off and Lazarus in his bosome c. Which sheweth there is an immortal soul Answ To which I answer and first to the first and so in order which is Luke 12.20 Thou fool this night shall thy soul be required of thee I answer to this take notice and remember that I have before shewed that the word Soul may be as well read life or breath from the word 〈◊〉
Ordinances and Statutes Christ commanded the Apostles and his Disciples which was the first Church the very same must be taught to the successive Churches in all ages to the worlds end the consequence is clear which is that Christs Ordinances and Statutes are to be taught upheld and practised after Christ and the Apostles by their successors in all ages till the worlds end And this further appears for as Christ promised them that in their so doing that he would be with them to the end of the world even so the holy Apostle Paul saith as touching that holy Ordinance of breaking of bread and eating of it and blessing of wine and drinking of it in commemoration of Christs death that their doing of it was to shew forth the Lords death till he came again To which I find these two objections viz. as first to that in Mat. 28. Loe I am with you always to the end of the world That is saith Mr. Henden to the end of that age and this he said to me in that discourse above mentioned to which I say now as I said then to him It seems very strange to me that a man that professeth Schollar-ship and godliness should say so without shame and blushing for confident I am that if Mr. Henden knoweth any thing he knoweth this that although the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be taken for age yet it is to be understood the end of age or the whole time at least of Christs ascention till his coming to judgement for if it were to be understood only that age or generation then in being then the word would have been rendred thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a word used by the same Evangelist for generation Mat. 24.34 and it is frequently used for the present age or generation but a few words to observe the sequal or obsurdities of the consequence which is By Mr. Hendens opinion preaching and baptizing and the promise of Christs presence with his people was to continue no longer than that present age that the Apostles lived in for preaching and baptizing and the promise of Christs presence is the things that Christ speaks of in Mat. 28.19 20 21. And that is to be understood but to continue but for that present age saith Mr. Henden and yet he saith in the second page of his book intituled A glass of some new discoveries That the Ministry and Baptisme and Communion was to remain and did not fall in all the times of Apostasie And how these things agree together or whether they come not from a Babel understanding I shall leave the serious reader to Judge and pass to the next Objection which is in answer to Saint Pauls words to the Corinths 1 Epistle 11. Chap. which saith So often as you eat of that bread and drink of that cup shew ye the Lords death till he comes But say some here I do not accuse Mr. Henden but rather the generation of men commonly called Quakers affirming that Christ is already come meaning that he is come in spirit dweling in the hearts of the Godly To which I answer and say that they which had obtained that injoyment even the Church of Thessalonica which was in God even they did expect that personal coming of the same Jesus that was crucified and raised again form the dead which delivered us from the wrath to come and that the Church of Thessalonica was a Chruch in God read 1 Thes 1.1 8. And that the word of the Lord sounded out from them read vers 8. and yet for all that they waited for Christs appearance vers 10. chap. 2.19 chap. 3.13 chap. 4.15 16 17 18. 2 Thes 1.7 many places of holy Scripture might be brought to prove this but time is pretious and also because this Church is a people much spoken of by them I only bring this Epistle although I could bring Peter and James and John to prove this at large but I leave this objection and the former and shall shew you several grounds and reasons why all the Ordinances of Christ shall continue practicable and to be practised by the Lords people till his second coming Reas 1. The first ground and reason is because the Commission doth not only direct command the Apostles Ministry to teach men to observe all things viz. all Christs Statutes and Ordinances but also commands that it should be made known to all the World successively that every creature may hear of it for the obedience of faith and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved Mark 16.15 16. Mat. 28.18 19 20. In short I shall observe only these three things which is First that it was the will of Christ that the Apostles should teach the observation of ALL HIS STATVTES Secondly as it was his will to have the observation of all his Statutes taught so also it was his will that the observation of all his Statutes should be taught to all men namely all Nations or every creature that is where ever the sound of the Gospel went which hath or shall be preached to all nations for a witness Mat. 24.14 Revel 14.6 Thirdly it was also his will that all men might know that in their observing all his Statutes and Ordinances unto the end that they should not only obtain salvation at the last but in the mean time in the observation of his Statutes and Ordinances they should have his spiritual presence with them alwayes to the end of the World that is he would as well manifest his spiritual presence with the successive generations to the end of age as to the age or generation then present Object But some will say that God doth not manifest himself in our age as he did in the primitive age for they could work mircales so cannot we To this I briefly say at present because I do intend to speak more largely to it anon that God hath manifested himself very gloriously to many that never wrought any miracle as I think none wil deny for John did no miriacle and yet God did manifest himself very excellently to him but more of that anon and at present I pass to the second ground reason to prove that all the Ordinances that Christ appointed in his last will and testament are to continue till his second coming Reas 2. Because when Christ ascended up on high as he left his mind and will what he would have done even so he gave gifts to men some to be Apostles viz. Messengers and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the gathering or perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto the perfect man unto the measure of the stature of Christ that we HENCEFORTH mark that be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of
thing represented or the figure of the thing called by the name of the thing figured and hence we may see although I could say much more of things of this nature that both Christs words and also Johns were true Christ calling John Elias it s to be understood John was a figure of Elias or represented Elias not only coming in the power and spirit of Elias but he being a forerunner of Christ in his first day to perswade the Jews to obedience to Christ as Elias is to be a forerunner of Christ in his second day namely the Great Dreadful day of the Lord and to perswade and establish the Jews in their waiting for their King Jesus and their obedience unto him And secondly Johns words are true also where he saith I am not Elias that is he was not that Elias really or simply understood that they looked for although he was a type of him and might by Christ be called by his name as well as the bread which Christ brake might be called his body or the pictures of Cherubims called Cherubims and Christ called David and many such like things that borrow their name from the things which they represent and thus much briefly by way of Answer to the Objection and the reconciliation of the words of Christ and the words of John which seemingly contradicts each other but being understood accordingly as they were spoken they agree together so then still it remains that Elias is to come before the GREAT AND DREADFVL DAY of the Lord and that it is to be Elias really so understood I give these reasons which before have been mentioned in general in a short and brief method First John the Baptist was not the real Elias as I think all will confess for he was the Son of Zacharias and Zacharias had a commandement from the Lord to call the name of his Son not Elias but John Luke 1.13 But ELIAS is to come as hath been proved before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Secondly John the Baptist was not the forerunner simply so considered of the great and dreadful day of the Lord for that day that John was a forerunner of was the day of Christs sufferings and not the day of dread unto his enemies so as it will be in that day that the chief Captains and great and mighty men of the earth shall call to the Mountains to fall upon them and hide them from the presence of the Lamb for the great day of his wrath is come say they and who can stand but Elias is to be the forerunner of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Thirdly The hearts of the Fathers shall be turned unto the Children and the hearts of the Children to their Fathers in that day which yet are at a distance for Christ sake so that the parents hate their Children and Children shall betray their parents to death for Christs sake although it be not denyed that John in a measure was a type of Elias in that thing according to the saying of the Angel to Zacharias Luke 1.13 18. For all men did account John a Prophet and he preparing the way of the Lord all Judah and Jerusalem came out to him to be Baptized of him in Jordan and yet notwithstanding afterwards were at great variance about Christ some saying that he was a good man and others saying nay he hath a Devil and is mad and after that laid violent hands on him and crucified him and the distance was so great that many families even Parents and their Children have been and are at a distance about him and so will be until that day of the coming of Elias and then the hearts of the Fathers shall thorowly be turned unto their Children and the hearts of the Children unto their Fathers and envy shall depart from Ephraim as before said which brings me to the fourth last reason to prove Elias one of the two Witnesses which is Fourthly Because the same judgments which was brought upon the earth by Elias when he was upon earth shall be again brought upon the earth by the two Prophets or witnesses Revel 11.6 compared with James 5.17 1 Kinge 17.1 which bespeaks such a thing as though Elijah should be one of those two Witnesses if we also consider that these Witnesses must be slain and therefore must be such as never yet have tasted of death because it cannot be rationally imagined that those Prophets which are so to die are any of the Prophets which are dead and shall be raised from the dead and then be slain again I speak this because some have supposed Moses to be one of these two Prophets which in reason cannot be so neither do I find any Scripture warranting any such thing neither do I find any where in my most serious search of the Scriptures of any extraordinary Prophets namely such Prophets as is mentioned in Revel 11. to be borne in the last dayes when this prophesie is to be accomplished but Elijah never yet was slain but was caught up to Heaven in a whirle-wind and so at present I shall leave this and pass to the next thing which is to shew my opinion who it is that is the other Prophet because the Text saith that there is to be two Prophets or two Witnesses which are to prophesie in sack-cloth and as to the other Prophet I shall be very brief because I do not find any such Objection as I meet with against the fore mentioned Prophet namely against Elias and therefore I shall briefly shew my opinion and leave it Secondly As for the other Prophet which is to be a fellow companion with Elias I understand to be John that holy Apostle the beloved Disciple of Jesus which leaned upon his breast at Supper for as Elias was a man highly in the love and favour of God although hated by men and persecuted and banished even so was John dearly beloved of God although hated and banished from men yet the Lord Jesus dealt with him by manifesting of himself to him as God did to Elijah when he fled from the face of Ahab and Jessibel 1 Kings 17. and Chap. 18. but being in hast I pass many things which otherwise were necessary to be spake by way of parallel and come to shew the reasons why I understand John to be one of the two Witnesses spoken of in Revelations the 11. which are these First because when John writ the Gospel of Christ which was supposed to be thirty years after the ascention of Christ it was then reported amongst the Disciples that John was not to die John 21.23 and yet at that time they had the spirit of the Lord to teach them But if it should be objected and said that John saith not that Christ said he should not die but what if I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee fellow thou me signifying Peters death To which I answer and say that it is true
Quer. 10. Whether shall the desolation of the Heavens spoken by Peter be at the time of his coming to raign or at the time when the thousand years shall be expired at the bringing in of the general judgment Answ It appears clearly from the Scriptures that Jesus Christ at his first coming to receive the Kingdome and to raign upon earth that then he is to come in flaming fire so as fiery streams shall issue forth from before him and that many of the ungodly shall perish by the flame and some by the baile and the like and also that he is to abide in the Heavens until the times or years of the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth af all the holy Prophets since the World began and yet also we find that at the end of the thousand years that when the ungodly that shall spring up in the time of Christs raign shall come up against Jerusalem by the counsel of the Devil that then fire shall come down from God out of Heaven and devoure them so that in short I understand that the corruptions of the Heaven and earth shall be burnt up or destroyed or the Heavens and earth refined at Christs first coming and yet the work to be totally finished at the end because it is called TIMES in the plural number of restitution and TIMES of refreshing Dan. 7.10 2 Thes 1.7 8. Ezek. 38.22 Isa 66.15 16. Acts 3.19.20 21. 2 Pet. 3.10 11 12 13 14. Revel 20.9 Quer. 11. What is the new Heaven and new Earth and how shall they become new Answ The Heaven and the Earth is understood to be a new Heaven and a new Earth when the imperfection and corruption is taken away and so all things are to become new and that the corruption of both the Heavens and Earth shall be taken away so as that the Earth shall bring forth in abundance and the Heavens also far excel their brightness which they have now so that the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the Sun shall be seven degrees better than what now she is read my Zions Redemption and you may see it proved to be glorious in the time of Christs raign in which time the Heavens and Earth shall be glorious Isa 30.24 25 26. cap. 65.17 18. cap 66.22 Quer. 12. Whether the new Heavens and new Earth and restoration shall be at Christs coming to raign upon Earth Answ The Heavens are to retain Christ until the times of restoration as I before have said so that the beginning of the work is immediately so soon as Christ comes and so to increase and grow more stronger and excellenter as now the Earth the things therein grow older and older and weaker and weaker Isa 9.7 chap. 29.19 Ezek. 36.27 28 29 30. Quer. 13. Whether or no shall Christ and the Saints raign for ever upon the Earth or not Answ It appears that Christ and the Saints shall not raign for ever because there is a time when the mediatour-ship shall be given up into the hands of the Father when the Son shall be in subjection unto him so as to lay down his government unto him and yet it shall be for ever in one sense that is for ever so long as there shall be a Nation upon earth to raign over but as for their scituation and abode I understand it shall be for ever in the new Jerusalem that cometh down from Heaven which is and for ever will be the Tabernacle of God which then shall remain in the Land of Canaan and so the Tabernacle of God to be with man and he for ever dwell with them for I do not find that the new Jerusalem shall be again removed 1 Cor. 15.24 25 26 27 28. Revel 21.1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Chap. 3.12 Quer. 14. If Christ and the Saints shall remain for ever in the new Jerusalem upon the earth where shall the Devil and man of sin with the wicked of the World be punished Answ It appears from the Scripture as though that the Land of Canaan were to remain for ever as the new Heaven and new Earth Isa 65.17 18 19. and that the punishment of the wicked should be without the gates or diases of the Land even in Babylon Caldea and Idumea and the like read Isa 34.4 5 to the 10. Ezek. 35.14 15. Isa 47.14 chap. 51.19 Revel 18.2 Quer. 15. Whether will Christ render vengeance to all the ungodly besides the perpetual torments that he will cast them into at the end of the thousand years Answ It appears that there are some that shall have only their power taken from them and their lives to be prolonged for a season Dan. 7.12 and also although great judgments shall fall upon the wicked yet there will a seed remain of them which shall be reserved to be destroyed at the end of the thousand years Isa 14.29 30. Revel 20 9. Quer. 16. Whether the punishment of the wicked be everlasting after the sentence is past at the general judgment Answ It appears to be everlasting although I know there be some that suppose a redemption out of Hell from the words of Christ Mat. 5.26 which saith Thou shalt by no means come from thence till thou hast paid the utmost farthing This place intends no such thing but is rather literally to be understood but if by prison there spoken of we may understand Hell yet it will not follow there is to be a redemption out of Hell as some suppose for the word until sometimes is never to be as it is said that Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death 1 Sam. 15.35 And he cannot then but suppose the word until should prefix a set time yet the Text saith that thou shalt not come from thence until thou hast paid the utmost farthing and suppose a man were cast into prison for five hundred pounds and had not five hundred pence nor in a capacity to gain while he lay in prison if he should not come from thence till he had paid the utmost farthing he could never come out and such is the condition of the wicked that as their debt is very great even so they are in an incapacity to gain when they are in Hell whereby to pay their debt and none can pay it for them Psal 49.7 8. And so if they must pay the utmost farthing it will never be paid no the punishment of the wicked is everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord where the worm shall not die nor the fire be quenched 2 Thes 1.8 Isa 66 24. Quer 17. When can it be truly said according to 1 Cor. 15.22 That in Adam all dyed when it is plain that Enoch was translated so as not to taft of death with Elijah and Iohn chap. 21.23 Answ Whereas the Text 1 Cor. 15.22 saith that as in Adam all dyed even so in Christ shall all be made alive All in Scripture is often taken for the Major part and not every individual person for we know that many shall be changed at the coming of Christ and be caught up to meet him and so was Enoch changed or translated which is all one as death but that which is spoken by St. Paul 1 Cor. 15.22 saying As in Adam all dyed even so in Christ shall all be made alive It is to be thus understood that so many as did die by Adams sin was made alive by Christs obedience and raised from the dust finally every particular person must die or be changed for this corruptable body cannot enter into the Kingdome of God but must first put on incorruption and immortality and this change had Enoch and as for Elijah and Iohn I have before shewed what will befal them when they have accomplished their prophesie and thus leaving this Query I shall pass to the next and last which is Quer. 18. If Christ be the first fruits of them that sleep that is to say the first that is to arise from the dead how is it then that some Saints did arise at the time of Christs sufferings Answ Those Saints that were seen to come out of their graves and enter into the holy City was after the resurâ—ction of Christ and not at his sufferings Mat. 27 53. So then Christ was the first which was raised from the dead I could have spoken somewhat more to this and other things but time fails me and as for the other particulars mentioned in thy letter I have spoken unto them in my Book as Objections and such occasions have offered themselves and therefore have no more at present to say unto thee only exhorting thee to stand fast in the faith and profession of the Gospel for dear Brother as thou well knowest the portion of the godly is to suffer tribulation for Christ and the Gospel sake because thorow many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdome of God for they that are born after the flesh will persecute such as are born after the spirit for so it was and is and will be unto the end and it shall come to pass that those that kill the godly shall think that they do God service but however let us know that all things shall work together for good to those that love God and that the end is a crown of life to such as are faithful unto the death and then it will be the time that God will recompence tribulation to them that trouble his people that it had been good for them that they had never been born or that a milstone hanged about their neck and they cast into the depth of the Sea than to offend the friends of Iesus Christ finally he that soweth in tears shall reap in joy and he that goeth forth weeping bearing precious seed shall doubtless return rejoycing with everlasting joy upon his head and all sighing and sorrow shall flee away and for their shame they shall have double and for their confusion they shall rejoyce in their portion for in their land double everlasting joy shall be their portion FINIS