the false Prophet who is the great Antichrist being thrust down a little before the beginning of the thousand yeers do endure their punishment There they shall be tormented day and night without intermission for ever and ever that is For all ages so that for the time to come they shall never scape forth again 11. I saw also a great cloud like a great white Throne and Christ the Son of GOD the Judge of the living and dead sitting thereon with great Majesty and prepared to give Judgement From before his face the Earth and the Heaven fled away and there was no place found for them For this earth and this heaven shall passe away at the coming of Christ and all things shall be made new 12. I saw also all the dead small and great standing before God and ready to hear the sentence of the Judge What happens then The books of mens Consciences are opened the counsells of all mortell men and the secrets of their hearts being brought to light Now lest the elect children of God should be disheartned every one by the particular survey of his own book or conscience behold another book is opened for them I mean the Book of Life in which according to the fatherly acceptance of God in Christ their names are written from everlasting These books being thus opened the dâ—ad are judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works and that after such manner that the works of the Saints are judged out of the book of life which contains the books of their Consciences washed and cleansed with the Blood of Christ But the works of the ungodly are numbred and surveyed and so judged out of the books of their own consciences not cleansed from sins nor purged with the Blood of Christ 13. Hereupon then the Sea gave up its dead which had been concealed in the bosome thereof Death also and the Grave that is The fire ayr and the earth and indeed all the Elements dâ—livered up their dead which having received formerly they had partly consumed partly yet preserved They were therefore all judged and every one in particular none at all excepted and they were judged justly for the judgement was according to every ones works of which their consciences bare them record 14. And this being performed ungodly men Death and Hell that is Men deserving both were cast into that lake of fire that there for ever they might swallow up waters running with fire and there suffer the second death that is by dying the second death never to die 15. For whose name soever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into that lake of fire both by the just Judgement of God and by the heynousnesse of his own deservings V. The Questions arising in this Chapter THe chief Questions of this Chapter are these 1. Whether these thousand yeers severall times here mentioned are alwayes to be understood literally 2. Whether they be already finished 3. What year ought to be put for the beginning of them 4. What is to be understood by the first Resurrection 5. Who are to be understood by Gog and Magog 6. Whether the Martyrs with Christ shall reign here on Earth All which Questions I will bring into this one Whether there shall be any happinesse of the Church here upon earth before the last day and of what kinde it shall be This question I will handle somewhat more largely both by way of confutation and confirmation I will in the first place therefore by certain Classes or ranks of Arguments confirm the truth to be maintained herein After that I will confute the Objections of the adversary part I. The Confirmation of the Truth THere shall be three Classes or ranks of Arguments for the maintaining of this Truth which we comprehend in the following Thesis or Position The happy estate of the Church in this life shall consist of the Resurrection of the Martyrs and their kingdom here on earth of the freedome of the Church from the persecution of the enemies of the Gospel by an utter overthrow of them of a lasting peace which shall arise from thence of the encrease of the Church or the multitude of the believers by the conversion of the Iews and Nations not yet converted of the Reformation of Doctrine or a greater enlightment and life among all estates of men of the Majesty also and great glory of the Church and lastly of the sincere joy thereof Now this happinesse shall begin in that very year wherein it shall come to passe That the kingdom of that great Antichrist shall be destroyed and it shall last for a thousand years The truth hereof we will make good 1. Out of the Context and Coherence of this Chapter 2. Out of other sayings of the Scripture 3. Lastly by Arguments taken from reason and the consent and agreement of some holy and learned men The first Classis of Arguments From the Context of the Chapter we draw these Arguments THe first Argument is taken from the connexion of this Vision with the former which is described chap. 19. verse 19 20 21. For Iohn saith in the first verse of this Chapter And I saw that is Afterwards to wit After I had seen the Beast and the false Prophet cast into the Lake of fire Now lest any one should think that this casting of them in shall be in the end of the world Iohn doth presently adde and the rest were slain with the sword of him that sate on the horse and all the fowls were filled with their flesh From which words it is manifest That it is spoken here concerning the destruction of Antichrist and his followers which shall not happen in the last and Universall Judgement but shall be a particular Judgement by it self which is thus demonstrated The coming of Christ to the last Judgement shall at length happen after the Warre of Gog and Magog which is a distinct War from that which is described chap. 19. ver. 19. For the Warre of Gog shall be against the Saints having now enjoyed a long-lasting Peace But the Warre of Antichrist shall be against the Saints being now brought almost to nothing by some great persecution Again in this 20â—h Chap. vers. 10. it is said That the Devill should be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone after the Warre of Gog where the Beast and the false prophet * WAS which words have a plain respect to those chap. 19. ver. 20. These both the Beast and the false prophet were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with Brimstone The second Argument is from the Connexion of this Vision with the following which is set down in the 21 Chapter For saith Iohn in the first verse thereof After that I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth that is The thousand yeers being finished the Warre of Gog and Magog being ended and the execution of the last Judgement of which in the
be welcome to us because it contains the last Divine Revelation of Gods will after which no Prophecy following is to be expected and because this Book is very profitaâ—le in this Age in which the lively performance of things hitherto abstruse and concealed is presented before our eyes 2. Of the Subject of this Chapter THis Chapâ—er discourseth of the singular happinesse of the Church both under it's Warfare and Triumph The singular happinesse of the Church during it's warfare or being militant is let down in three respects 1. In its security from the hostile incursions of the wicked for a 1000 yeers 2. In the resurrection of the Martyrs before the generall resurrection 3. In the wonderfull dâ—livâ—rance of the godly from the last persecution of the wicked which shall happen after those thousand yeers The happinesse of the Church Triumphant is hâ—re described so farre forth as the beginning of its Triumph in the last Iudgement That these things may be made more plain I will from the very beginning make a repetition of the state of the Church here upon earth and I will say something briefly concerning the State and condition thereof in Heaven The State of the Church hereupon earth was either that before the fall of the first man and that was wholly Legall or that after the fall and this is wholly Evangelicall Again The State of the Church after the fall is either Internall and perpetuall or Externall and temporall The State of the Church Internall and perpetuall consists in the Union and Communion with Christ as also in the enlightning and guidance of the Spirit Isa. 54.5 Hos. 2.15 19 20. Iob. 6.56 1 Cor. 6 17. Eph. 5.30 1 Cor. 10.17 2 Cor. 11.2 Eph. 3.6 Gal. 3.28 Câ—l 3.15 Hence it is that the Church is one Holy and Invincible The Externall or temporall State of the Church is as well under the Crosse and Persecution as Light and Comfort or refreshing which two changes the Church undergoes here on earth by turns as well under the Old Testament as the New and that either more or lesse For Adam and Eve after their most grievous fall were raised up again by the most sweet promise of the Gospel and after they had begot Cain and Abel and their Sisters they were comforted with this Infancy as it were and first foundation of the Church But no small grief followed hard upon this joy when as Cain slew his brother Abel However this breach was made up again in Seth whose posterity propagated the Church although not without grievous persecution by the race of Cain which had an end put unto it by the delâ—ge in the yeer of the world 1656. From whence the Church was enlarged to the yeer 1757 without any notable persecution which at that time the building of the Tower of Babel brought and hence sprung the division of Languages In the yeer of the world 2023 the Church was contracted into the Posterity of Abraham only And here begin the four hundred and thirty yeers dwelling of the Israelites in Egypt where Abraham Isaac Iacob and Ioseph underwent manifold changes both of prosperity and affliction And their posterity after the death of Ioseph was detained under a most horrid slavery from the yeer of the world 2360 even to yeer 2453 in which the Israelites were brought out of Egypt From which time to the yeer 2493 they had experience of divers blessings and judgements of God in the Wildernesse Now after they were brought into the Land of Canaan which happened in the yeer of the world 2493. Iosuah with very good successe for the six first yeers conquered the Canaanites vanquishing one and thirty Kings After the death of Iosuah to the yeer of the world 2879 the Israâ—lites were vexed with divers slaveries and persecutions and rescued from the same by severall Judges namely Deborah Gedâ—on Samson and Samuel And now the Kingly power being established in the dayes of Saul or yeer 2879 the Church presently in the very beginning thereof suffered persecution from Saul himself After that it underwent divers chanceâ— and changes namely under David and Solomon it exceedingly flourished under Rehoboam it suffered a great losâ—e ten Tribes falling of to Ieroboam By occasion whereof a most sad rent of the Kingdom happened the Church by little and little degenerating in Israel whose ten Tribes under Hoshea in the yeeâ— of the world 3228. were led away into a most grievous and yet continuing captivity as farre as the Col. hi Iberi c. As for the Church remaining in the Kingdom of Iuda it had severall entercourses of deformation as well as reformation of calamities as well as victories unto the yeer 3350. in which began the Babylonian captivity continuing Lxx yeers In the yeer 3419 Cyrus released this captivity giving the Iews free leave to return into their Country and to establish their own Laws and Religion as farre as their own Country did reach But not withstanding this Priviledge of using their own Laws was many wayes interrupted untill the yeer 3527 that is for 107 yeers From which time to the yeer 3781. the Church of the Iews enjoyed happy and Halcyonian dayes under the Persians and in like manner under Alexander the Great But under the Successors of Alexander especially the Kings of Syria they were divers wayes afflicted untill in the yeer of the world 3783 and so downward the Maccabees fought with happy successe for their Religion and possessions From the yeer 3887. Iudea was laid wast and severall wayes oppressed by the Romans and Parthians so that the whole State thereof was exceedingly troubled Let us now come to the estate of the Church of the New Testament which we will divide into four periods The first period is of the Church of the godly Iews in Iudea from the time of Iohn the Baptist to the Councell of Ierusalem that is from the yeer of the world 3948. to the fiftieth yeer of Christ In all which space of time Christ was born Baptism instituted Iohn put to death the twelve Apostles and Lxx. Disciples called by Christ Christ himself suffered the Holy Ghost was powred out upon the Apostles the Apostles were whipped for their bold preaching of the Doctrine of Christ c. The seâ—ond period is of the Church spread over the whole world and contains the calling and conversion of most nations from the 51. yeer of Christ to the beginning of the thousand yeers And this period hath four branches I. Under the Henthâ—n Roman Emperours till Constâ—ntine the Great 's time wherein the Church was propagated under divers Persecutions of which tenne were more notable from the 64. yeer of Christ to the 3â—3 II. Under Christian Emperours from Constantine the Great to Phocas in which time it was adorned with divers priviledgâ—s by Constantine the Great and other godly Princes yet so That notwithstanding it felt great persecutions by the Arians by Iulian by the Persians Sandals Gothâ—â— c. to the yeer of Christ
thousand years shall be finished For they being ended Christ not long after shall come to Judgement which both the living and the dead must expect This is * that first Resurrection In which the Bodies of the Martyrs shall rise in the beginning of those thousand years We must not therefore understand in this place a Spirituall Resurrection by which we are said to rise out of the sleep and death of sinne For that Resurrection is common unto all good men and happeneth daily Wherefore thus we are to think concerning the Word Resurrection when we finde it mentioned in Scripture Resurrection is either of our Spirit Flesh * Particularly in the time of Elisha whose bones raised the the dead man which was thrown upon them Christ Who raised Lazarus and the daughter of the widow of Naim When divers rofe at his hanging upon the Crosse Matth. 27. Paul who raised a dead man to life The 1000. years And this is called the First Resurrection Universally which shall happen in the end of the World And this is the second Resurrection 6. Blessed With a speciall blessing and proper onely to the Martyrs And holy That is Out of singular favour set apart by God for the priviledge of this peculiar blessing Who hat'â— part in that first Resurrection Who shall be in the number of the Martyrs who shall rise in this first Resurrection On him the second death shall have no power The second death is the casting away of the damned to eternall torments Compare the 14. verse with this Otherwise it is called Eternall death But they shall be Priests of God and Christ Not in that common respect whereby all the elect in this life are spirituall Priests who by the Spirit of Christ offer themselves up unto God But by a speciall prerogative whereby the Martyrs being raised from the dead shall obtain chief power in the Church as it were Priests of God and Christ as before these thousand yeares the Priests of Antichrist were cheif And they shall raign with him for a thousand years In the Church the profession of Christianity being no way hindred See Revel. 5.10 and the Questions following Therefore the peculiar happinesse of the Martyrs consisteth in the first Resurrection in their reign with Christ in their Priesthood in the same manner as we have described it 7. And when those thousand years shall be finished To wit of the happinesse of the Church and of a free and universall profession of Christianity Satan shall be loosed out of his prison That is he shall recover his power and liberty to attempt and seduce without restraint which power had lain asleep as it were and been buryed for the thousand years the Angel now giving him leave in whose hands it was according to the pleasure and command of God to binde and loose Satan 8. And he shall go forth That is out of his prison or place of his custody whereof in the foregoing verse namely Out of the bottomelesse pit where he was detained That he may seduce the Nations in the four corners of the earth That is Wicked men who shall heer and there remain in the World at the end of the thousand years These Satan shall seduce urging them to make warre against the Saints Gog and Magog That is those Nations which at that time Satan shall seduce and which at the end of those 1000. yeares shall by warre make an attempt against the Church and shall endeavour to destroy it as in old time Gog and Magog vexed the people of the Iews Therefore by Gog and Magog are heer to be understood all the professed enemies of the Church even as Gog that is the people of the Lesser Asia which environed Iudea on the North and Magog that is the Scythians which inhabited places situate on the South of Iudea were the professed enemies of the Iews Thus then we must understand it The Devill shall seduce the Nations in the four corners of the Earth the Nations I say which are endued with a spirit like that of Gog and Magog Read the 38. and 39. chapters of Ezekiel But you will say How can it be that those wicked men should reassume their power after these thousand years I answer This shall be brought to passe by the just judgement of God whereby not only the great Antichrist shall flourish again but also Pagan and barbarous people and other monsters of the same batch shall gain encrease And shall gather them together to battle Against the profession of Christ in generall that it being quite as it were thrust out of the world they may substitute in the room thereof Antichristianisme Barbarisme and unbelief Whose number shall be aâ—â—he Sand of the Sea So that it shall be a most compleatly furnished army whose like hath never been heretofore And Satan being conâ—ident in the strength of these forces shall hope thereby to swallow up the Church 9. And they went up on the breadth of the Earth So great an army shall be gathered together that no part of the earth shall be free from it All the ground shall be covered with Souldiers They shall come up that is they shall rely upon much force and ayde And here is an allusion to Gog and Magog the Type who being to besiege Ierusalem which was placed upon a hill were of necessity to ascend And thâ—y * encompassed it The allusion to the type still holds For the Church at that time shall be encompassed on every side with enemies as in old time Iudea was encompassed by Gog and Magog those fierce and barbarous people The campe of the Saints That is Wheresoever the true souldiers of Christ were making warre in their own stations And the beloved City The whole Church which is one City at that time scattered through the whole world And fire came down from God out of heaver and devoured them Some such thing verily shall happen as we read of Gen. 19. concerning Sodome and Gomorrha And as the first world perished with the deluge of water so Gog and Magog shall perish in â—â—e end of the world by the destruction of fire 10. And the Devill that deceived thâ—â— was cast Otherwise then in the third verse for here he is so cast that he shall not beloosed again thence for ever Into the lake of fire and brimstone This is a description of Hell Where the beast was That is The former Beast which is described in the 16. chapter v. 13. For that beast is distinguished from the false-Prophet who is the same with the latter beast And the false-Prophet Great Antichrist Apollyon the Babylonian whore who with his subtle wiles seduceth men perswading and pressing a counterfeit religion wholly seeking after the honours and riches of this world no otherwise then the false Prophets in the old Testament were wont to do Wherefore in a speciall manner Antichrist is called the false-Prophet And shall be tormented To wit they three The Devill
and troubled Verse 7 8 9 10. 3. Is concerning the throne of Christ the Judge Vers. 11. 4. Is concerning the Vniversall Judgement and the processe thereof Verse 12 13 14 15. IV. The Paraphrase of the Chapter THe condition and estate of the Militant Church being laid open unto me from the yeer of Christ 94 together with the temptations and assaults wherewith it was shaken the labours wherewith it was afflicted the deliverances whereby it was freed the Victory whereby it was ennobled but specially and last of all the fall of Babylon being foretold and declared 1. I saw in my extasie a good Angel the Minister of the Judgements of God such as I had seen in my former Visions Him I say I saw coming down from the heaven of the blessed who had by God entrusted to him the key of the bottomlesse pit of hell that according to the appointment of God he might shut and open it also a great chain in his hand wherewith he might binde some powerfull enemy 2. This Angel laid hold of the Dragon that infernall old Serpent who from the beginning vomited forth his poyson upon man-kinde and deceived them with his winding Sophismes who is both the Devill slandering God before men and on the other side men before God who is also Satan the adversary of God and men of Nature in generall and of the Church This Deceiver being found and apprehended in his Sophistry and Tyranny the good Angel bound with his chain and that for a thousand Solar years and commonly used in the generall course of life 3. Neither was it enough for him to binde him but moreover he cast him being bound and threw him headlong into the bottomlesse pit and being thrown down thither he shut him up and being shut up he sealed the Cover of the bottomlesse pit lest breaking forth by any means he might seduce partly to Idolatry partly to the persecution of the Church any more as he had done before the Nations as well Jews as Gentiles untill the thousand yeers are finished For afterwards he must God so appointing it be Ieâ— loose out of his prison for a short time which God hath limitted and which shall not befor a thousand yeers as the time of his binding and his being shut up was 4. A joyfull Catastrophe or issue shall follow this Tragedy of the Dragon For I saw Thrones set in order and and Christ with his holy Angels sate upon them For unto these power was given to judge partly by giving and executing sentence partly by approving thereof I saw also the souls of them who were beheaded and tormented with innumerable kinds of punishments not indeed for their own offences but for the testimony which they gave concerning Christ the Son of God and onely Advocate of the Church and for the Word of God which they had boldly maintained against the corruptions of men and who had not worshipped that second Beast which I made mention of that I saw it before nor the image of that Beast which is two-fold both in respect of doctrine and life neither had received his mark in their foreheads publikely making shew and witnessing by their words that they belonged to the family of the Beast Lastly they had not so much 〈◊〉 received this mark in their hands expressing the same either in their life manners or actions Such at these lived their bodies being raised again and restored to life Neither did they only live again but also reigned in the Church freed now from Persecutions with Christ that King of kings for a thousand years 5. But the rest of the dead as well the godly who before these 1000 yeers received not the Crown of Martyrdom as the ungodly lived not again till the thousand yeers were finished And this is the first Resurrection due onely to them as a â—rerogative who above others have glorified the Lord Christ in their bodies nothing terrified with the threats curses and torments of men 6. These Martyrs therefore who have their part in the first Resurrection are deservedly esteemed happy above others as also peculiarly separated and set aside by God for the receiving of such a reward For the second death shall have no power over them By reason that though they live the second time here upon earth yet they shall no more by any sin engage themselves so that they need to fear any danger of an eternall death For they shall be here upon earth Priests of God and of Christ not of this world and they shall reigne with Christ not as the kings of the Nations but in the Majesty of the Spirit for these thousand yeers 7. Now when these thousand yeers shâ—â—â— be fulfilled the happinesse of the Church shall on the sudden begin to fail here on earth For Satan in an instant shall be â—et loose out of his prison in which he was most carefully kept for those thousand yeers 8. But being thus set at liberty he shall not rest so but shall return to his old game and so he shall go forth that he may the more freely seduce the Nations which are in the four corners of the earth towards the East and towards the West towards the North and the South Now he shall not onely by heresies of all kindes lead on the blinde world to Apostasie or falling away from the faith but also he shall behave himself as a Captain or Leader to bring on a grievous Persecution upon the Church stirring and raising up against it Gog and Magog the sworn enemies thereof and of God himself such as were of old those people who under these names were bitter enemies to the Iews And having thus stirred them up he shall gather them together to Batteâ—â— farre more cruell and bloody then hath been from the beginning of the world For men shall enter into this Battell barbarous in their monstrous cruelty and monstrous cruell in their barbarousnesse whose number shall be as the sand of the Sea 9. Wherefore these vast forces under the conduct of Satan shall come upon the earth and shall cover the breadth thereof with their multitudes And straightway they shall encompasse the Camp of the Saints wheresoever it shall be and with their utmost diligence and devices shall endeavour quite to deface the Church that beloved City of God But however in the very midst of this their rage and fury being greater then that either of the Cyclops or Giants on a sudden a fire shall come down from Heaven God himself sending forth lightnings and flashings of fire upon them and shooting out his Arrows against them This fire shall devour those his innumerable enemies like stubble 10. But neither shall their Leader the Devill who conducted and seduced them carry it away so without his due punishment for opposing the Church of God by the seduced Nations For he shall be cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone that is into hell it self where his companions the first beast and
been Indeed Satan was bound at that time but not in that manner and measure as he shall be bound for the thousand years Again by Nations in the place quoted we must understand not the Gentiles onely but also the Iews who truely are yet seduced as also the Indians Turks and others XI Object Is from Revel. 20.1 Where it is said That the Angel which bound Satan came down from Heaven By this Angel therefore we must understand Christ who came down from Heaven Ioh 3.13 Hence we may conclude That these thousand years began about the time of Christs Birth For at that time the Graeâ—es ceased from given Answers Whereupon Apollo being enquired of by Augustus Caesar answered thus Me puer Ebraeus Divos Deus ipse gubernans Codere sede juber tristemque redire sub Orcum Ergo dehine aris tacitus discedito nostris The Hebrew Child himself a God that rules the gods Bids me give place and back unto sad Hell return Silent therefore depart from hence mine Altars leave See the devill himself confesseth That he is bound from this time Answ. 1. As in the former Visions good Angels were the executioners of Gods Judgements so it is likely that a created Angel was used also in this Vision 2. Christ in the 3 of Iohn is said to have come down from Heaven that is To have assumed the humane Nature But the Angel in this place who hath the key of the bottomlesse pit came down from Heaven by a locall motion that he might binde the Devill for a thousand years after the downfall of Antichrist 3. It is true the devill was bound at the time of the Nativity of Christ but not after that manner as is here declared Look before in the Analysis For there are many measures and degrees whereby the devill is bound XII Object Is this This Interpretation concerning the Resurrection of the Martyrs seems to oppose the Article of our Faith I beleeve the Resurrection of the flesh For so a double Resurressiion of the flesh is maintained contrary to the Apostolique Faith Answ. That Article speaketh of the finall and universall Resurrection which shall be in the last day and in which all the dead shall rise again Now this Resurrection is not contradicted or denyed by the Resurrection of the Martyrs which is to go before it no more then by the Resurrection of the Saints who rose again when Christ breathed forth his Spirit hanging upon the Crosse Matth. 27.50 51 52. XIII Object Is taken out of Revel. 20.6 Where all and only they are proclaimed blessed and freed from the second death who have their part in the first Resurrection Whence it follows That either there shall be no Resurrection after the first or that none in the second Resurrection shall be blessed both which are absurd Answ. 1. Nay the latter is onely absurd being granted from the antecedent or foregoing 2. The antecedent is false neither is it in the Text For it is not said there They onely are happy Now that they are in particulars said to be blessed that is in respect of their Prerogative in that they are blessed above others of the faithfull as being to reigne 1000 years with Christ before the last day And this is intended by the word Holy being added whereby is signified that they should be separated from the other faithfull believers and set aside for this happinesse in that they are to rise again to reign with Christ before them 3. Thirdly this blessednesse consists of three parts the first of which being considered apart suits also with the other believers But as it is joyned with the other two parts it cannot be expressed but of the Martyrs only as it will appear to any one that will examine the Context of the 6 verse XIV Object Is taken out of Revel. 20.6 Whence it is gathered That the first Resurrection hath opposed to it the first death Therefore by the first Resurrection the second Life or living again of the soul from the death of sin by Faith and Repentance or in a word Regeneration is to be understood Certainly all and onely the truely regenerate are delivered from the second or eternall death and certainly obtain heavenly happinesse Whence it may be sufficiently proved That the first Resurrection is not particular or bodily Answ. The first Resurrection as it is spoken of in this place is not opposed to the first death of which there is here no mention but it is opposed to the second Resurrection as appears out of these words But the rest of the dead lived not again untill the thousand yeers were finished This is the first Resurrection XV Object Is this The first Resurrection is not a bodily Resurrection because if it be bodily it is not the first For the Resurrection of others namely of those Saints who rose again while Christ hung on the Crosse went before it Answ. That Resurrection of the Martyrs is called the first by way of Excellence by reason also of the multitude of them in respect of which that Resurrection of the Saints comes not within reckoning of by reason of the fewnesse For although many bodies of the Saints are said then to have risen yet in regard of the Martyrs they were but few as which came forth of the Graves onely which were neer unto Hierusalem XVI Object It is a usuall Axiome in the School of Divines That the first Resurrection is the living again of the Souls from the death of sin by faith and repentance which otherwise is called Regeneration and it is opposed to the first death which is a defection and a casting a way of the soul from God But the second Resurrection shall be the raising of the bodies to be united to the souls to eternall life to which the second death is opposed which shall be the casting a way of the damned to eternall torments Ans. Resurrection is tearmed to be the First ambiguously For either it is opposed to the first death and so it is spirituall and is proper to all believers or it is opposed to the second Resurrection and so it is corporeall and of the Martyrs onely XVII Object The thousand years of Satans binding contain an obscure mystery and hidden from us In vain therefore and too boldly we labour in so scrupulous an uniting thereof Ans. 1. There are many Mysteries in the Revelation which in successe of time receive light more and more 2. We dislike all boldnesse but we commend holy diligence and industry XVIII Object From the end of Satans binding the Epocha is to be collected of the thousand years in the Revelation Now the term of his binding expired in the year of Christ 1073. wherein * Gregory the 7 that devillish Juggler and Cozener possessing himself of the Popedome confounded Heaven and earth together and filling the Christian world with Wars and slaughters declared himself to be a singular instrument of Satan let loose from his bonds Hence