approved schooles who have all confessed the same truth that I speake for and stucke to that proper interpretation of these scriptures which I follow For not to speake of the primitive Christians or of many of the Fathers after them there have been many approved men for learning in these latter tâ—nes that have been witnesses of this truth amongst whom are Brightman Alstedius Wendelinus and Mede whom you your selfe pag. 14. commend for a renowned Author although you shake off his choisest proofes as easily as Sampson shooke off the Philistins cords and breake through his strongest arguments as forcibly as Sampson did through the gates of Azzah which he carried away in a triumphing manner such wonders doe you worke by your canonicall or rather carelesse arguing And yet for all this you must give me leave to make so bold with you againe as to tell you That as the plainesse of this text in hand and of the fore-cited scriptures doth compell us to acknowledge the proper sense of them so I trust both the love of the truth the feare of God and a desire to keepe a good conscience will ever constraine us to sticke to it For it is manifest by your taunting termes that you could finde neither scripture contradicting nor necessity forbidding the proper sense of our Saviours words for the confirmation whereof this rule is here alledged Israel's Redemption For besides that there is little analogy and resemblance betwixt a perpetuall l Rev. 22.3 praising and worshipping of God and the businesse of a politicke government here spoken of besides this I say we are already informed that though our Saviour be now in heaven yet he sits not there in his owne Throne and consequently is not yet in the Kingdome which the Father hath appointed him Mr. Petrie's Answer What impudence is here Doth not David say Psal 16 11. In thy presence is the fulnesse of joy at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore and Psal 17.15 I shall be satisfied when I wake with thy likenesse and Psal 36.8 They shall be abundantly sitis fied with the fulnesse of thy bouse and thou shalt make them drinke of the river of thy pleasures These and many more are spoken of the joyes in heaven by resemblance with earthly Kigndomes and we have already shewed that he bath been misinformed or misinformeth of another Throne and another Kingdome Reply Here you startle the Reader with a very foule exclamation but an evill tongue as it doth not become you so it will nothing benefit you Yea it deepely staines you innocency before God very much impaires your reputation amongst men especially upright men and sets up your wounded conscience as an irreconcileable Judge against you Looke into the Epistle of Saint James chap. 3. ver 6. and you may see both the abominable off spring and originall of it So is the tongue saith he amongst the members that it defileth the whole body and settethou fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell That therefore it may not burne hereafter in those flames from whence it is now too much inflamed thinke seriously on this passage and from henceforth give better language to others though your enemies then you have done to me for telling you the truth Now as for your answer I conâ—sse these texts to be Davids words and that there are some metaphoricall phrases in them But I deny that they have any resemblance with the civill affaires of an earthly Kingdome or that there is any comparison to be made betwixt them and our Saviours saying Luke 22.28 so that the impudence you speake of may well recoile on your selfe For the text Psal 16.11 shews onely that the fulnesse of alljoy and delight is in the enjoyment of the sight of God and to be at the right hand of God doth betoken the highest place of honour and glory in heaven which is proper to our Saviour who is said to sit at the right hand of God in allusion to a custome amongst men who are wont to set those whom they will most honour whom they most delight in at their right hands And that Text Psa 17.8 shews that David after the resurrection when he shall have a glorified body as Christ now hath shall be perfectly happy shall be as he would be For these words to awake after thy likenesse are all one with those of Saint Paul in 1 Cor. 15. 42 43 44. To rise in incorruption in glory in power to rise with a spirituall body For if we have been planted together in the likenesse of Christs death we shall be also in the likenesse of his resurrection saith the same Apostle Rom. 6.5 and because we are laid into our graves as one that lies downe in his bed to sleepe and shall be raised out of them as one that riseth out of his bed from sleepe therefore it is that the Prophet useth awake in stead of arise And the text Psal 36.8 is referred by Musculus to Gods bountifull provision in this life for all men indifferently and by Calvine better as well to the outward and temporall as to the spirituall and eternall benefits of God towards the faithfull his words are Some restraine it to spirituall graces but unto mee it seemeth a more likelyhood that under it are comprehended all Gods benefits that pertaine as well to the use of this present life as to the eternall heavenly blessednesse And so refers it as well to joyes on earth as to joyes in heaven And happily seeing the Prophet makes mention here of the house of God it is best understood of the great comfort which men shall receive through Gods loving kindnesse towards them in the time of our Saviours Kingdome on earth when Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord shall again be rebuilt and all Nations shall flow unto it as it is Isai 2.2 or as it is Zech. 14.16 shall goe up from yeare to yeare to worshippe the King the Lord of Hosts and to keepe the feast of Tabernacles When I say in the mountaine of the Lords house in the restored Jerusalem the Lord of Hosts shall make unto all people a feast of fat things a feast of wines on the lees of fat things full of marrow of wines on the lees well refined And shall destroy the face of the covering cast over all people and the vaile that is spread over all Nations Isai 25.6 c. And besides every understanding man knowes that to drinke of the river of thy pleasures is a metaphoricall expression seeing pleasures are not the nourishment of the body and so properly and corporally dranke of but belonging to the soule to which they are as comfortable as sweete and wholesome waters to a thirsty body But to drinke wine to eate the Passeover to eate and drinke at our Saviours table to eate bread in the Kingdome of God to sit on seates and judge the twelve Tribes of Israel are all proper expressions and so
reigne over the Iewes in their owne land and that Ierusalem shall againe be built Why should we not beleeve that both the building of the Temple of the Lord and his reigning on the Throne of his Father David shall be as properly fulfilled in Christ the antitype as they were in Solomon the type Whereas then you say further That in this sense the Disciples did beleeve the Scriptures after the resurrection of Christ I pray what scriptures this prophecy Surely it is false that they did any where cite this prophecy to prove our Saviours resurrection from the dead And the words of the Evangelist are plaine When therefore he was risen from the dead saith Iohn his Disciples remembred that he had said this unto them to wit that he had said to the Iewes Destroy this Temple c. and they beleeved the Scripture that is the scripture which foreshewes our Saviours resurrection as Psal 16. alledged by Saint Peter Acts 2.25 c. and Psal 2.7 alledged by Saint Paul Acts 13.33 c. And the word which Iesus had said that is and they beleeved also that this saying of his to the Iewes was meant of the resurrection of his body and not as you say they did that it was an interpretation of Zechariah's prophecy which for shewes indeed the building of the Temple of the Lord but not the destroying of it by the Iewes nor the building of it in three dayes no nor the building of it untill the man whose name is the Branch should sit and rule on his Throne Neither did our Saviour say plainely Destroy the Temple of the Lord as the false witnessâ—s acâ—used him nor absolutely destroy the Temple but darkely and inrelation to his owne body destroy this Temple as his words touching the raising of it in three dayes doe intimate and the Evangelist doth afterwards expound it And he said also I will raise it and not I will build it which shewes the making of a Temple where was none before and therefore cannot be applyed to the quickening of our Saviours body a temple then in being and not to be corrupted in death And as for your confused exposition of the prophecy of Zech. 14.4 c. it is not onely contrary to the truth but to reason it selfe For first which is flat against the truth you ascribe the accomplishment of this prophecy to our Saviours ascending to the Saints in heaven and to the time succeeding his ascension whereas it is manifest by the words in the first verse which you have concealed And the Lord my God shall come and aâ—l the Saints with thee that it is to be fulfilled at his descending with the Saints from heaven and in the time succeeding his descension And secondly which is not onely against the truth but against reason also you affirme That by the cleaving of the Mount of Olives towards the East and towards the West is meant the shaking of all the world at the preaching of the Gospell And That by the Iewes flying to the valley of the mountaines is meant their imbracing of the Gospell Which is as if you had said that the Iewes did then imbrace the Gospell when they fled from it or that the Iewes in flying from the Gospell fled to the Gospell For as you interpret the cleaving of the Mount of Olivers from which the Iewes were to fly of the preaching of the Gospell so you interpret the valley of the mountaines to which the Iewes were to flee of the same also And who sees not by this and by your expounding of the 6 and 7 verses Of the perpetual â—ight of the Gospell and the 8 verse Of the continuall flâ—â—wing of the doctrine of the Gospell and all of the Gospell and of nothing but of the Gospell that by such a liberty of interpreting any one may make the plainâ—st scripture that is to say onely as he faith and so to patronize and defend any dangerous opinion against the truth clearely revealed in it The truth therefore of this prophecy is no other then that which the Prophet himselfe hath plainely told us to wit that the Mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst by an earthquake at the comming of our Saviour with all the Saints and that the Iewes which are gathered together neere unto it shall then flye for feare of this earthquake as they fled for feare from before the earthquake in the dayes of Vzziah King of Judah And the effect of this earthquake is described ver 10. where it is said And all the Land shall be turned as a plaine from Gâ—ha to Rimmâ—n South of Jerusalem and it shall be lifted up and inhabited in her place from Benjamins gate unto the place of tho first gate unto the corner gate and from the tower of Hananiel un to the Kings wiae-presser And man shall dwell in it and there shall be no more utter destruction but Ierusalem shall be safely inhabited And as this part so all the rest of the prophecy is to be understood likewise according to its owne stile and language which is so obvious that it needes no inter preration and the light thereof cannot be more obscured then by such a glosse as you have put upon it And thus it being undeniable that this prophecy of Zech. doth foreshew our Saviours second comming his comming with all the Saints and the things then no be performed by him it necessarily followes That he shall come not onely to conquer death first in part at the resurrection of the Saints that shall rise to meete him and to come with him and then wholly at the resurrection of all others when he shall passe the sentence of salvation on the elect and of damnation on the reprobate but in the interim in the space betwixt this first and second resurrection to be King over all the earth as this Prophet saith ver 9. to take the Kingdomes of this world unto himselfe as Saint Iohn reveals Rev. 11.15 to put downe all rule and all authority as Saint Paul affirmes 1 Cor. 15.24 and to set up that dominion glory and Kingdome at the manifestation whereof all people nations and languages shall serve him as Daniel foreshewes chap. 7. ver 14. which he shall doe by an extraordinary destroying of the most and greatest of his enemies in batte'l and by causing every one that is left of the Nations to goe up from yeare to yeare to Ierusalem to worship the King the Lord of Hafts as Zech. here and many other Prophets besides doe declare Israel's Redemption You see here that our Saviour comes not onely to conquer death which is the last enemy that he shall d stroy and therefore not wholly to be destroyed till the last resurrection but also to take the Kingdomes of this world unto himselfe to put downe as Saint Paul hath said all the authority and power of other Nations that there may be one shepheard and one sheep-fold Dan. 7.27 that the Kingdome and dominion
may not be taken spiritually for their regeneration for the renewing of their minder which is to precede their persecution and may more probably be referred to the sealing of the servants of God in their fortheads spoken of in chap. 7. But materially and properly for the quickning of their bodies when once the number of the persecuted is fulfilled whose consummation and glorious exaltatition this vision did represent Mr. Petrie's Answer This forme of discour song shewes manifestly that the Authour is a strange wrangler for 1. There is no more opposition nor agreement betwixt the first and second resurrection then is betwixt the first and second death but 〈◊〉 will say that the first and second deaths are in a like sort bodily and therefore there is 〈◊〉 nâ—cessity to expone the first and second resurrections in the same sense 2. What pâ—rfection of wit is it to iâ—â—â—ginâ— that men who shall be beheaded for the witnesse of Jesus are more perfect then the soules of them that are beheaded 3. If by these sâ—ules he under stouâ—â—s the spirituall pâ—rt of â—â—n are they were â—â—dapâ—â—â— fâ—â—â— theâ— hâ— must understand the soules other before they entred into the bodies or after they entred into the bodâ—â—s before their regeneration but both these conditions are before the first resurrection 4. If the first resurrection be their forsaking of Antichrisâ—iâ—â— eâ—â—ours or as it is said there their not worshipping the Beast and their not receiving his marks as all interpreters except Milkâ—aries exâ—one iâ— then the first resurrection followes not their death but goes before it Reply 1. Surely he is a wrangler and no other who multiplieth words without knowledge and agaiâ—st all â—eason and evidence still persists in his errour To make good then what I have said touching the opposition betwixt the first and second resurrection to wit that it doth impose the same seâ—se on both there is this logicall rule Quod in omni legitima distributione membra inter se oppâ—â—untur subâ—eodem genere That in every legitimate distribution the members are opposed under the same genus that is doe divide the same thing which according to your expounding the first resurrection of a bodily resurrection is so here For we make the resurrection of the dead or a bodily resurrection to be the genus the thing divided And the first and second resurrections to be the members dividing this genus And this â—â—position these words in ver 5. But the rest of the dead that is of them whose bodies were in the gâ—â—ve lived not till the 1000 yeares were finished doe confirme Seeing they doe necessarily imply that some of those that had been in the grave were then risen for the partitive pronoune 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rest doth shew that they who were risen wâ—re before their resurrection held in the same condition in which these other were left that is under the power and bondage of a bodily death as well as they From which death these other also were to be deliâ—â—â—ed at the last resurrection of bodies described ver 12 13. c. But your expounding the first resurrection of a spirituall resurrection and the second of a bodily resurrection doth make the firsâ— and second resurrections the members of no resurrection But parephruses oâ—ely and equivalent expressions of a spirituall and bodily resurrection that is the first resurrection to be all one with a spirituall resurrection and the second resurrection to be all one with a bodily resurrection And yet in your answer here you acknowledge what we affirme to wit that the first and second resurrection are to be expounded in the same sense For there is no more opposition nor agreement you say betwixt the first and second resurrection then is betwixt the first second death True and are not these opposed under the same genuâ— are not the first second death both bodily deaths doubtlesse the second death is not opposed to the spirituall death of the soule which is a death in sinne but to the naturall death of the body which is the first death of it for sin and this these words ver 6. On such the second death hath no power do confirme for they doe plainely intimate that the first death of the body the naturall death thereof had had power over them as well as over others although the second death of the body the supernaturall death thereof which is its destination to eternall torments should have no power over them 2. Looke againe and you shall finde that there is more perfection of wit in my words then there is in yours For furely I make no comparison betwixt the spirituall perfection of men who shall be beheaded and the soules of them that are beheaded but betwixt their naturall perfection for all that I say is this That John saw not at first perfect men that is men that should be beheaded for the witnesse of Jesus but the soules of men only and that as of men already beheaded And what perfection of wit is it to imagine that a part of a man the soule onely is a more perfect essence then the whole man then the soule and body both 3. In the preceding words you aske what perfection of wit it is to imagine that men who shall beheaded are more perfect then the soules of them that are beheaded And so in that passage you grant that I doe take the soules which Saint John saw for the soules of men beheaded And yet here you make your selfe ignorant of the sense in which I take them For you say If by these soules he understand the spirituall part of men ere they be made perfect then be must understand the soules before they entred into the bodies or after they entred into the bodies before thâ—ir regeneration But surely I understand neither of these by them but the soules departed from their bodies as the text saith they were and as any man may perceive by my words And what perfection of wit were it by soules onely to understand soules entred into bodies Or what are both these parts of your answer but a vaine wresting of the wordes perfect men which to avoide the answering of my argument you purposely mistake for regenerate men for men perfect in grace Whereas perfect men opposed to the soules of men onely must needs signifie men perfect in essence men consisting both of bodies and soules And therefore that the reader may see how poorely you have shifted off the force of my words I will lay it before him in this Syllogisme If Saint John at first saw the soules onely of them that were beheaded and not men that should be beheaded then by the word they lived is meant the living againe of them that had been beheaded the rising of men after their death and not the regenerating of them that should be beheaded the rising of men before their death But Saint John saw onely the soules of them that were beheaded and not men
therefore there shall be no notable distance of time betwixt the resurrection and the generall judgement and consequently these words of Paul doe clearely prove that the reigne of Christ as God-man doth not beginne after his next comming nor can without contradiction unto the Apostle any notable space of time be betwixt his next comming and the last subduing of all things The 25 verse proveth the same for when it is said For he must reigne till he hath put all his enemies under his feete thereby is teached more clearely in the originall language that now he reigneth and continues reigning and consequently he is not to begin his reigne even as it is said Heb. 2.8 Thou hast put all things under his feete and when they who are in Christ shall be made alive death the last enemy shall be destroyed and then is the end of administration Reply 1. The reason which you alledge against the distance of time betwixt the resurrection of the godly and ungodly to wit that the last clause of the 22 verse So in Christ shall all be made alive is not properly and univocally meant of the ungodly whose rising shall be to the accomplishment of their second death this reason is a meere mistake or rather a groundlesse untruth For as in Dan. 12.2 the words Sleepe and Awake are indifferently applyed to the death and resurrection of the just and unjust as in this chap. ver 20. the word Sleepe is indifferently applyed to all that are dead and ver 12 13.15 16 21.29 The dead are opposed to the living in generall to all that live a naturall life on earth and so are meant of all that are departed out of this l fe both elect and not elect In like manner the word Shâ—ll be made alive ver 22 is opposed onely to the first and naturall death of the body to the corruptible state of it in the grave and not to the spirituall death of the soul or to the second and supernaturall death of the body and consequently doth equally comprehend the resurrection of the good and bad as the 21 verse doth further confirme For since by man came death to all both good and bad by man came also the resurrection of the dead of all both good and bad So that the Apostle discoursing here of a proper and bodily resurrection speakes onely of such a death as is common to all which is a bodily death and such a resurrection as is common to all which is a bodily resurrection And having proved the resurrection and shewed also in what order it shall be fulfilled towards the end of the chapter he tells the Saints with what bodies they themselves shall arise to wit with incorruptible with glorified with spirituall bodies And as for the text in 1 Thes 4.16 17. it doth shew onely that the Saints which are living at our Saviours comming shall not be caught up to meete Christ before those that are dead For when the Saints who are dead shall be raised out of their grayes then the Saints that remaine alive shall together with them be caught up into the cloudes to meete the Lord. So that this order as you call it is an order betwixt the Saints remaining alive at our Saviours comming and the Saints deceased before his comming and not an order touching the distinct rising of all those that are dead which is that which Saint Paul affirmes in the 1 Cor. 15.23 c. And whereas you would make it a matter incredible that our Saviour and the Saints shall come downe againe from the aire to abide so long space on earth onely because it is said That they shall meete the Lord in the aire and so shall ever be with the Lord. You doe shew your selfe to be either very forgetfull of what you have read in Gods word or that you tooke but little notice of it when you did read it For doth not Zech. 14.5 tell us That the Lord shall come and all the Saints with him Seeing then the Saints shall meete the Lord in the aire as Saint Paul saith and seeing also when they are met the Lord shall come and all the Saints with him as the Prophet saith whither shall they come but from the aire to the earth Surely whatsoever you or any other through your perswasion may imagine of it Job makes no doubt of it For chap. 19. ver 25 26 27. he saith I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skinne wormes destroy this body yet in my flâ—sh shall I see God whom I shall see for my selfe and mine eyes shall behold and not another though my reines be consumed within me And Jeremiah seconds him chap. 23. ver 5. in expresse termes touching our Saviours abode on earth Yea seeing our Saviour at his comming with his heavenly host shall take the Beast and false Prophet alive in battell and make a feast of their Armies for the fowles of heaven as it is revealed in the 19 chap. of the Revel and tread them in the winepresse of his wrath that the bloud shall come even unto the horse-bridles by the space of a 1000 and 600 furlongs as it is foretold Revel 14.19 20. Shall he descend to the earth to doe this thinke ye or shall he not And why also may not the Saints when they have met the Lord as well be ever with him though he first descend with them to reigne on earth as if he should goe immediately backe with them into heaven Nescis haud dubio nescis 2. You might well have spared this passage unlesse you could have shewed that I had markt any thing against the truth But doth the Apostle prove them onely to be in an errour who hold that none besides the Martyrs shall rise reign with Christ at his coming Surely he markes a word against those too who hold that all the dead shall rise at Christ comming for every man saith he in his owne order Christ the first-fruites afterwards they that are Christs at his comming Loe here the order of the Saints that dye before Christs appearing is to be the next that shall rise after Christ himselfe And when then is the order of the rest of the dead but when the time of Christs 1000 yeares reigne on earth is finished when the last enemy is destroyed which is death which shall not be utterly destroyed till the last resurrection till all men be raised from the dead For seeing the Apostle without any relation to the severall estates of the just and unjust after their resurrection speakes here onely of the rising of their bodies which equally and univocally belongs to them all why should we thinke that he would not as well have mentioned the resurrection of the just if they were to rise at the same time with these if the words But every man in his owne order doe not intimate any order doe not intimate a priority of
Monarchy on earth and if the bodies shall be like unto his glorious body they shall not live an earthly life nor dye againe He quoteth 1 Thes 3.13 and chap. 4.14 c. but the first hath nothing of a second resurrection and chap. 4.14 saith We shall be ever with the Lord to wit in another manner then now now by grace and then in glory If we shall ever be with the Lord then we shall not dye againe and rise againe unlesse the L rd dye too which I thinke they will not say Lastly he cites Ezek. 37.12 13. which words certainly are allegoricall and shew the returne of the Jewes from their captivity notwithstanding the extâ—eamity of their misery and after these words he takes occâ—sion to speâ—ke of the spirituall Kingdome of the Chu ch as is said before but neither first nor last speakes the Prophet of a fiâ—st and second resurrection at or about the last day And so in all these testimonies nothing is to this purpâ—se of the concurring of the Iewish Monarchy with the first resurrection Reply The first resurrection of bodies importeth a second you say True but of other bodies not of the same bodiâ—s And I dare say that the conceite touching the dying againe of them that rise to rise the second tâ—me is your proper fancy Sure I am it is very slandâ—â—ously imputed to Mr. Archer who holds in deed thaâ— the raised Saints shall be made governours over our Saviours Kingdom in his absence but not that they shall again be subject unto death And when I say here that these Saints shall have a share in Christs Kingdome and be his assistants in it And elsewhere pag. 121. that the time of these Saints abode with Christ shall never have an end yea when you your selfe confesse that the testimonies on the margine doe prove the contrary doe I hold their dying againe thinke you or doe I not Certainely as we know not to what end the Saints should rise if they were to dye againe so we know that the bodies of the dead though they be sowne in corruption shall be raised in incorruption even the bodies of the greatest sinners who could not otherwise live in eternall torments and therefore it is manifest that you have here laid an errour of your owne devising to another mans charge partly that you might not seeme to take so much paines and confute nothing and partly to disgrace the truth we hold touching the order of the resurrection For as it is true that the dead shall rise but once so it is true also that they shall not rise all at once And this the prophecies of Saint John Rev. 20.4 c. and Saint Paul in 1 Cor. 15.22 23 24. doe so plainely reveale that we may well wonder why so many learned Interpreters should rather strive to extinguish thâ—se greater lights then by the brightnesse of them to discover the true meaning not onely of such texts as concerne the resurrection but of those also that concerne the prerogatives and priviledges which they who have part in the first resurrection are to enjoy on earth And now let us see how you deale with the texts on the margine of which the first that you alledge though not the first that is quoted is in Luke 20.35 36. But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtaine that world and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage neither doe they dye any more for they are equallanto the Angels and are the children of God being the children of the resurrection This is the text and yâ—ur â—â—ferences these If they can dye no more and be equall unto the Angels then they shall not rise at a second resurrection And who saith that they shall neither shall they live an earthly life say you And so say we if by an earthly life you meane a sinfull life or a mortall life but if you meane only that they shall not live on earth we deny your s quelli For our Saviour lived on earth before his death and yet hâ— lived not an earthly that is a sinfull life And he lived many dayes on earth after his resurrection in which he shewed himselfe openly to his Disciples who did eat and drinke with him after he rose from the dead Acts 10.42 And yet his glory was not diminished by it nor he made lower then the Angels or the more liable unto mortality for it Neither shall the raised Saints be lesse equall unto the Angels in their immunity from copulation in their holinesse of conversation or in the immortality of their bodies while they abide on earth then when they are carried into the presence of God himselfe And seeing our Saviour saith here But they that shall be accounted worthy to obtaine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that age or that time of the world and the resurrection from the dead doth he not plainely point out unto us a time in which none of the dead shall be raised but such as shall be accounted worthy of some peculiar happinesse which is kept in store for them against that time Certainly if we compare these words of our Saviour with the 14 and 15 verses of the 14. ch of Luke we cannot think otherwise For what is the resurrection which none but they that are accounted worthy shall obtaine but the resurrection of the just spoken of chap. 14. ver 14 which you passe over in silence and what did our Saviour meane when he said not onely thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection but at the resurrection of the just Did he not meane that he should receive a recompence at that time when all the just then dead and none but the just should be raised And what is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here That age or that time of the world but the time of the Kingdome of God spoken of chap. 14. ver 15 And what is this Kingdome of God of which it is said that he is blessed which shall eate bread in it but the Kingdome which God shall set up under Christ as man when he brings him againe into the world For whereas it is recorded chap. 14. that when one that sat at meate with our Saviour heard him tell the Pharisee who bad him to eate bread at his house that if he made a feast he should not call his rich kindred friends and neighbours but the maimed the blinde and them that could not recompence him and that he should be recompenced at the resurrection of the just whereas I say it is written that when one heard these things he said unto our Saviour Blessed is he that shall eate bread in the Kingdome of God What correspondence could there be betwixt these words and our Saviours touching the recompencing of the charitable at the resurrection of the just unlesse the Kingdome of God here spoken of should contemporate with the resurrection of the just unlesse the just I say should rise to receive their
recompence when this Kingdome of God shall beginne And it being evident from the text that this Kingdome of God is to be a Kingdome in which there shall be eating of bread that is according to the signification of this phrase in the Gospell of such creatures as God hath ordained for mans food on earth this Kingdome of God must needes be meant of a Kingdome on earth and consequently the recompence our Saviour spake of is to be given on earth and the resurrection of the Saints to enjoy this Kingdome is to precede the rising of all others which shall not be till the time of this Kingdome be sully expired The second testimony is in Joh. 6.39 40 44.54 of which the last ver is this Who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud hath eternall life and I will raise him up at the last day And these last words are the close of the other verses also whence you argue thus If the last day be the day of the generall judgement as certainely it is even supponing the temporall Monarchy for a 1000 yeares and the elect shall not be raised till the last day as these words imply then there shall not be a first and second resurrection unlesse the second resurrection be after the last day And what coherence is there in this argument what appearance of truth certainely it savours not of your great skil in Logique For neither the first not the last resurrection shall be till the last day and yet both shall be in the last day seeing the last day shall beginne with the first resurrection and end with the last But yet we have good reason to beleeve that our Saviour spake here only of the first of these resurrections because in v. 54. he speakes onely of raising them that should be worthy partakers of the Sacrament of his body and bloud which Sacrament is to shew forth the Lords death till he come as Saint Paul affirmes 1 Cor. 11.26 and for ought we yet know no longer If therefore you have no better arguments to support the spirituall interpretation of the first resurrection Rev. 20.4 5 6. then this it were farre better that you did lay your hand on your mouth then plead for it And indeede how could you imagine that God should reveale unto S. John the rising of men from sin as a secret then unknown unto the world that I say he should foreshew this as a thing then to come which began â—n Adam himselfe and was at that time the daily effect oâ— the preach ng of the Gospell The third text is that of Saint Paul in Phil. 3.11 If by any meanes I might aâ—t â—ine to the resurrection of the dead To which you answer these words name hâ— dead generally c. Certainely no more generally then the same Apostles words in 1 Cor. 15.42 c. doe Where he saith Sâ— also is the resurrection of the dead it is sowne in corruption it is raised in incorruption it is sowne in dishonour it is raised in glory it is sowne in weakenesse it is raised in power it is sowne a naturall body it is raised a spirituall body And doe any besides the just rise in glory in power and with spirituall bodies or do you thinke that it was need full for Saint Paul to use his utmost care and endeavour that he might attaine to rise at that time when thâ— unjust should rise The resurrection therefore which the Apostle strove so much to attaine unto was no other then the resurrection of the dead in Christ then the first resurrection of which it is said that he who hath a part in it the second death hath no power over him As on the contrary all that dye before this resurrection and are not raised in it shall perish everlastingly But because you had no more to say to the text which I have quoted you alledge the 20 ver of the same chapt out of which you raise these arguments If the Politeuma the freedome of the godly be in heaven then they expect not a Monarchy on earth And if their bodies shall be like unto Christs glorious body they shall not live an earthly life nor dye againe But as we allow your last argument for we know not who doth affirme the contrary to wit that the Saints shall after their resurrection be either mortall or sinneâ—ull so in your first argument we first deny your translation of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which you make the ground of your argument For it signifies not there a freedome or priviledge but a manner of living as by the Apostles opposing of his owne conversation to the conversation of some carnall minded Ministers of the Gospell it is apparent and therefore it is rendred by Piscator word for word for our civill life or behaviour is in heaven that is is as temperate as if we were inheaven in the presence of God and the holy Angels And secondly we deny the argument it selfe For though we suppose that the godly have now no outward freedome on earth for an inward and spirituall freedome you must needes grant them seeing he that is called in the Lord is the Lords free-man as it is said 1 Cor. 7.22 and all the royall dignity which you allow the Saints consists in this though then we suppose I say that they have now no outward freedome for this also they have as appeares in 1 Cor. 7.21 and chap. 9. ver 19. yet it will not follow from hence that they expâ—ct none on earth hereafter when Christ shall change their vile bodies that they may be like unto his glorious body The two next texts are one in 1 Thes 3.13 and the other chap. 4. ver 14 15 16 17. in both which the Apostle speaks of the rising of none at Christs comming but of the dead in Chr st And seeing the resurrection of their bodies doth equally belong to the godly and the ungodly why should we not thinke that he would as well have spoken of the resurrection of these also as of the other if they had been to rise at the same time with the other Doubtlesse you could shew no reason why the Apostle should speake so much and so often of the resurrection of the godly at Christs comming and nothing of the resurrection of the ungodly if they had been to rise all together And therefore you have here also strugled onely with your owne fancy and now the third time strangled this deformed issue of your slanderous imputation to wit that the raised Saints shall dye againe and rise againe For this opinion is indeed altogether inconsistent with the truth which we hold touching the reigning of the raised Saints with Christ a 1000 yeares before the last resurrection And suppose any one had vented this errour yet it is an argument of your malice to prosecute the confutation of it in your answer unto me I say thus to prosecute it as if it were the common opinion of us
that should be beheaded Therefore by the word they lived is meant the living of them that had been beheaded the rising of men after their death and not the regenerating of them that should be beheaded the rising of men before their death For the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they lived must needes be opposed to the death of the body to the death of the bâ—headed the death here mentioned and not to the death of the soule the death of men before they are regenerated a death not here mentioned 4. This argument is a meere petitio principii a begging of the point in question for it supposeth that the first resurrection is to be understood spiritually which in the very subject of the controversie And therefore it is just as if you had said If the first resurrection be that which we say it is then it goes before the Saints death as we say it doth surely if interpreters do expound the first resurrection of the Saints of the forsaking of Antichrist's errours of their not worshipping of the Beast nor receiving his marke and of their constant profession c then they doe understand it of the effects and consequents of the spirituall resurrection and not of the spirituall resurrection it selfe For the regeneration of the Saints is the change and renewing of their soules by the infusion of sanctifying and saving graces of their regeneration And they doe herein put a tautology upon the text which according to this interpretation must be thus paraphrased And I saw the soules of them that were beheaded for the witnesse of Jesus and for the word of God and which had not worshipped the Beast neither his image neither had received his marke upon their foreheads or in their hands and they lived that is and they worshipped not the Beast not his image nor received his marke c. And if for the word they lived you say they were regenerated I demand when they were regenerated were they regenerated again after they were beheaded c. after they had in their life time refused to worship the Beast c For all this was revealed as past when St. John saw their soules and yet it was after he saw their soules that they lived and reigned with Christ a 1000 yeares Thus then is the text by your interpretation deprived both of truth and sense which taken in its proper signification doth of it selfe speake in this manner to every understanding And I saw the soules of them that were beheaded for the witnesse of Jesus and the soules of them which had not in their life time worshipped the Beast neither his image and they lived that is and they that were thus beheaded lived againe in their bodies they rose from the dead and reigned with Christ a 1000 yeares But the rest of the dead lived not till the 1000 yeares were finished That is till the resurrection of the dead described ver 12 13. c. And now who hath shewed himselfe the strange wrangler hath this Authour or Mr. Petrie Israel's Râ—demption It is said also that they lived and reigned with Christ a 1000 yeares But how can it be that they should reigne immediately after their resurrection or beginne their reigne all at ouce or continue it but a thousand yeares which things these words imply if by their resurrection should be understood their regeneration and by their reigne their being in heaven Or if by the word they lived should be meant onely they were converted how can they reigne so long as a thousand yeares seeing the place of their reigne must be on earth for if they should be any where else how can they be encompast againe with warre when the thousand yeares are expired as ver 9. declares they shall Mr. Petrie's Answer If by their living and resurrection be meant their constant profession as is said and by their reigning their prevailing over these heresies all these mists are soone scattered to wit they reigned before their death and not after their resurrection they began their reigne not all at once but in their severall ages even as the Millenaries doe imagine that the Saints in that conceited Monarchy shall not live all at once but in their severall ages dye againe and succâ—ed one age to another for the space of a 1000 yeares and so they reigne not every one throughout the 1000 yeares and so long space have some ever opposed the errours of the Beast and they reigning on earth have been encompast with warre againe as it was foretold and Ecclesiasticall histeries declare Reply This answer is a fallacy of the same straine with the fourth part of the former answer So that all it signifies unto us is this That if you say the truth then you say the truth And seeing you affirme that by the Saints living and resurrection is meant their constant profession and by their reigning their prevailing over heresies I pray tell us whether amongst Christians there were to be constant professours and prevailers over heresies the space of a 1000. yeares only and no more if there were to be such longer then this cannot be the meaning of the Saints living and reigning with Christ a 1000 yeares And if there were to be such no longer then when did the 1000 yeares begin in which these constant Professors should be if they began in the time of the Apostles then there are no constant professions and prevailers over heresies now nor have been in some hundreds of yeares before this If they began not at that time then you will exclude the Apostles themselves out of the number of constant professours and prevailers over heresies unlesse you will divide the 1000 yeares and say that it is not meant that they lived and reigned a 1000 yeares together but at severall times and yet thus also you must exclude some ages from having any constant professours in them which is quite contrary to the word of God which shewâ— that when Satan should most prevaile should have most power to deceive there should be some elect whom he should not deceive And whereas you say That those constant professours reigning on earth have been encompassed with warrâ— againe I pray tell us when they were exempted from it the space of a thousand yeares or when they have beene onely encompast with it Surely they have knowne but little peace and have not been onely encompast but often destroyed and made away by the fury of their adversaries whereas in the time of the Saints 1000 yeares reigne on earth with Christ they are to enjoy peace so long and when after these yeares they shall be encompast by their enemies not one of them shall perish but their enemies shall wholly be destroyed by fire from God out of heaven as Rev. 20.7 8 9. doe manifest And consequently all that you have said or can say touching the present accomplishment of this prophecy touching the fulfilling of it before our Saviours appearing neither hath nor
not from beneath but from above I am not to be made a King by the power of mortall men but by the power of the immortall God onely So that in his former words My Kingdome is not of this world the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of doth not indeed intimate any difference in time or condition betwixt our Saviours Kingdome and other Kingdomes but in the cause and authour of them which sense it carries in our Saviours word Matth. 2â— 25 The baptisme o John whence was it from heaven or of men and in the saying of Saint John 1 Epist chap. 2. ver 16. For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but of the world And thus My Kingdom is not of this world is no more but my Kingdome is not of men if my Kingdome were of men then would my Servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews but now is not my Kingdom from hence from the men of this world 2 You tell us next That if Christ had said that in the time of his Kingdome the Kingdome of the Romanes should be no Kingdome they might have had more pretext for condemning him But surely Christ had no need to answer to that which was not askt neither did the Romanes but the Jewes desire his death And yet as before he spake openly to the world so now he spake plainely to Pilates demand too for when Pilate said unto him Art thou a King then he answered Thou sayest that I am c. Which forme of answering was taken for an affirming of that which was askt And therefore where Saint Matthew writes Jesus said unto him Thou hast said chap. 26. ver 64. Saint Marke hath And Jesus said I am chap. 14. ver 62. And doubtlesse Pilate by this answer tooke him for such a King to whom the Throne of Israel did belong and yet he made it not a pretext to condemne him but sought to deliver him And it is false also to imagine that the Kingdomes of this world shall not be taken out of the hands of their severall Governours of their mortall Kings when they shall become the Kingdomes of Christ himselfe when they shall be governed by him and the glorified Saints that shall come with him Israel's Redemption And to all such places that mention only the dissolution of the elements and the last judgement I answer that these are but a part of those things which shall be done by Christ at his next appearing and that as other scriptures shew onely that he must reigne on earth and what shall be done at the beginning of his reigne so these shew onely what shall be left undone till the close of his Kingdome when he shall deliver it up to God even the Father Mr. Petrie's Answer This shift will not serve their turne for the soriptures teach us That at Christs comming shall be the end and he shall deliver up his Kingdom 1 Cor. 15.23 24. c. I forbear to write any more of Mr. Petrie's objections here because I shall repeat them all in my reply Reply You alledged even now such scripture against our Saviours reigning after his comming as doth infallibly prove it to be then and not before to wit that text Matth. 16.28 which shewes that the Sonne of mans comming in his Kingdome is when he comes in the glory of the Father with his Angels as by comparing it with the former verse it is evident And yet here you call it a shift to say that some of the prophecies which concerne the Day of our Saviours appearing are to be accomplished at the time of his comming and some in the time of his abode on earth some at the close of his Kingdom And to countenance your censure you heape up these objections following against us Object 1 First you say That the Scriptures teach us that at Christs comming shall be the end and he shall deliver up his Kingdom 1 Cor. 15.23 24. Sol. 1 But that Text shewes onely that the Saints shall rise at Christs comming and not that the end shall be then For it saith That the end shall be when after his comming he hath reigned till God hath put all his enemies under his feete which will be fully accomplisht when death the last enemy is fully destroyed at the last resurrection as we have shewed before Object 2 Secondly you say That Christ shall come in a time when men looke not for him and all shall rise again both godly ungodly and then is the shutting of heaven as the parable of the ten Virgins teacheth Matth. 25. Sol. 2 But there is no mention of the rising of the godly and ungodly together but of the gathering of all Nations before Christ and the separating of them into two companies whereof one company the elect shall be received into life eternall and the other company the reprobate shall be sent away into everlasting punishment which separation we say shall be made at the close of our Saviours reigne at the last resurrection when he is to give up his Kingdome to the Father For we read Matth. 24.30 31. of the gathering of none but the elect at his comming to take possession of his Kingdome And as for the day and houre of his comming we know that it is unknowne to any but it will not follow from hence that he shall not reigne after his comming And the parable of the ten Virgins doth shew onely That those which at our Saviours comming are thought to be faithfull Christians and are indeed but hypocrites shall not be partakers of his Kingdome Hypocrites being of all others most odious to our Lord and his Christ Object 3 Thirdly you say That where Christ is the faithfull then shall be with him John 14.3 Sol. 3 And so say we for they shall be with him in his reigne on earth Object 4 Fourthly you say That the heavens must containe him till the time of the restitution of all things which God hath spâ—ken by the mouth of all his Prophets since the world began But the Prophets have foretold the last judgement and that he shall convâ—â—ce all the ungodly Jude ver 14 15. Therefore he shall not returne till that time And that is most plaine Psal 110.1 Sit at my right hand till I make thy enemies thy footestoole That sitting at Gods right hand is his reigning and it is not said His enemies shall be subdued and then he shall reigne but he shall reigne till then so that he reigneth conquering and he conquereth reigning Sol. 4 Surely we doe not say that Christ shall reigne on earth before he returne to the earth againe but when he doth returne we say that then he shall exercise a civill judgement over all in the time of his reigne and that he shall execute an extraordinary temporall judgement on all the ungodly that shall oppose him at the
quite different from the other And as spirituall pleasures appertaine to the Saints on earth as well as to the Saints in heaven so doe eating and drinking agree as well with glorified as unglorified bodies as well with the state of immortality as with the state of mortality For our Saviour did eate on earth at his Disciples table after his resurrection and he saith that the glorified Saints shall eate and drinke with him at his table after their resurrection And further he saith that after the last Judgement there is in the new Jerusalem the fruit of the tree of life to be eate of and the water of the river of life to be dranke of his words are To him that over cometh will I give to eate of the tree of life in the midst of the Paradise of God Rev. 2.7 and againe Rev. 22.14 15. Blessed are they that doe his Commandements that they may have right to the tree of life And whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely And indeed seeing God creates nothing in vaine it were vaine to thinke that the tree of life should beare twelve manner of fruites monthly unlesse they were to be fed on or that the river of the water of life should runne through the midst of the streete in the holy Jerusalem if it were not as well to be dranke of by the Saints in glory as to nourish the tree of life on the sides of it And therefore unlesse you can bring better proofes to shew that I am misinformed or doe misinforme then these texts of the Psalmist or any you have cited hitherto you your selfe will be found an over-hasty misinformer against the truth Israel's Redemption And as it is evident from his owne words that the Throne of his Kingdome is not now in heaven so it is plaine from Saint Pauls in 1 Cor. 15.12 that it shall not be thereafter the judgement of the dead his words are these As in Adam all dye even so in Christ shall all be made alive But every man in his owne order Christ the first fruites afterwards * They that are Christs at his comming-If there were not to be some distance of time betwixt the resurrection of these and other men it had been as easie for the Apostle to have said they that are dead or all that are in the grave And if there shall be a precedencie of time then no doubt but it shall be such a precedency as may bring some advantage and honour unto the Saints and therefore not onely of a few houres or dayes but of a more notable continuance and length of time of many yeares For if Christ should descend for no other purpose but to call all men to judgement then as there would he need of none so there could not well be any priority of time to distinguish their resurrection because in that act both good and bad must be assembled before him at the same time and the wicked doubtlesse should then be raised as soone to see his comming as the just to meete and accompany him therein they that are Christs at his comming and therefore not the m Zech. 14.5 1 Thes 3.13 chap. 4. ver 14 15 16. 2 Thes 1.10 Col. 3.4 Martyres onely Then commeth the end what presently after his comming no but when he hath delivered up the Kingdome to God even the Father and when shall that be when he shall have put downe all rule and all authority and power For he must reigne till He that is the Father hath put all his enemies under his feete which will be fully accomplished when the last enemy shall be destroyed which is death and when all things shall be thus subdued unto him then shall follow that inutterable glory that height of happinesse where the Sonne also himselfe shall be subject unto him that did before put all things under him that God may be all in all Mr. Petrie's Answer 1. Whether the Apostle might have said so or so Can any man gather necessarily out of these words so great a distance of time betwixt the resurrection of the godly and of the ungodly Here the Apostle nameth the godly and not the ungodly not importing any notable distance of time but because he had said ver 22. In Christ all shall be made alive which words cannot be properly and univocally meaned of the ungodly whose rising shall be for the accomplishment of the second death therefore here ver 23. he justly â—mits the mention of the ungodly and speakes of the godly as also he doth 1 Thes 4.16 17. where we find expressely an order among the godly saying The dead in Christ shall rise first and then we who are alive and remaine shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meete the Lord in the aire The Apostle in both texts speakes of the same comming of Christ as this Author acknowledgeth and applyeth the words to the same purpose pag. 50. As none will say that there shall be any notable priority in time betwixt the one and the other sort meeting Christ so and farre lesse doe these words speaking onely of them that are in Christ import two resurrections different the one from the other the space of a 1000 yeares Yea and the Apostle saying That we shall be caught up and meete the Lord in the aire and so shall be ever with him How can any imagine that we shall come downe againe from the aire to abide so long a space upon the earth and therefore he speakes there of the generall resurrection when they who are in Christ shall be ever with him not in a temporall but everlasting glory And seeing the Apostle speakes both here and there of the same resurrection certainely he speakes not here of a resurrection before the time of the generall judgement 2. pag. 49. After these words of Paul at his comming Mr. Maton inserteth and not the Martyrs onely Why inserteth he these words doth any who denyeth this earthly Monarchy say that the Martyrs and no more shall come with Christ no but some Millenaries say so And here he would marke a word against them Be it so 3. He wresteth the words thus Then commeth the end what presently after his comming no but when he hath delivered up the Kingdome to God even the Father and when shall that be when he shall have put downe all rule and authority and power c. Here instead of explication is a very contradiction of the text by inserting a negative and conveighing it closely with a query The particle Then hath relation to the words preceding and the word Comes is not in the originall as yee may see by the divers characters in the translation and it may as well be rendred Then or at that time is the end when he shall have delivered up c. So that the very time when he shall deliver the Kingdome is when they who are Christs shall arise at his comming And
time betwixt the godly and ungodly as well as they doe betwixt Christ and them 3. If you were as able to justifie your accusations as you are forward to accuse there were no contending with you but it is so common with you to awe the Reader with great words when you have least to say to the purpose that he is by this time well acquainted with your craft and therefore your bare affirming that here is a contradiction will be taken for no evidence Although then the word commeth be not expressed in the originall yet to make the sense compleate this word or a word equivalent to this as your owne translation doth witnesse is here to be understood For then or at that time say you is the end I pray at what time at the time of our Saviours descending surely the Apostle answers not so but when he shall have delivered up the Kingdome to God even the Father When he shall have put downe all rule and all authority and power c. So that the Then here is referred by Saint Paul to these Whens which follow it and not to the words foregoing as you wrest it And besides whereas the Apostle shews us when the end shall be by these convertible expressions When he shall have delivered up the Kingdome to God When he shall have put downe all rule and all authority and power you skippe from this and falsely and fallaciously inferre That the time when he shall deliver up the Kingdome is when they who are Christs shall rise at his comming so that according to your explication of the text the words Then commeth the end are superfluous and the text should runne thus Christ the first-fruites afterwards they that are Christ's at his comming when he shall have delivered up the Kingdome c. And thus it appeares how much this place of the Apostle doth puzzle you And yet you tell us also That the 15 ver doth teach us that Christ reigneth now because it is said there for be must reigne c. But this is no truer then the rest that you have said For the Apostle referres these words to the time after his comming and not to the time that now is so that the full meaning of his words is this Afterwards they that are Christs at his comming Then commeth the end when after his comming he shall have delivered up the Kingdome to God When after his comming he shall have put downe all rule and all authority and power When after his comming the rest of the dead are risen For he must reigne after his comming till he hath put all his enemies under his feete And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death at the last resurrection of the dead And whereas you adde that text Heb. 2.8 Thou hast put all things under his feete to prove also that Christ doth now reigne You doe very unadvisedly contradict your owne Tenet and the Apostles words For if all things are now actually put under him then he doth not now reigne seeing the Apostle saith That he must reigne untill he hath put all his enemies under his feete and no longer And therefore it is evident that those words Heb. 2.8 are spoke in relation to Gods fore-appointment of it and not to the actuall performance of it to Gods committing of that power to the Sonne by which he is now able to subdue all things unto himselfe as it is Phil. 3.21 and not to the Sunnes putting of this power in execution which shall not be till his comming againe as both the order and sense of Saint Pauls words here doe shew and the voices in heaven at the sounding of the seventh Trumpet Rev. 11.15 And the thanksgiving of the Elders ver 17. doe confirme And so the beginning and not the end of the administration of Christs Kingdome is to be when they who are dead in Christ shall be made alive And though these Saints shall dye no more yet death the last enemy shall not be then utterly destroyed for as much as none but these Saints shall then rise and that the Jewes which are then to be delivered and the Gentiles which shall be called at and through their deliverance and those who are borne in the time of our Saviours reigne shall be subject unto death as well as we though not to the like persecution by men or temptation from Satan who is then to be bound up for the space of a 1000 yeares Israel's Redemption Thus farre Saint Paul whose words doe clearely prove that the reigne of Christ as man of which alone we treate doth neither beginne before his comming nor extend it selfe beyond the death of Dâ—ath the last resurrection And therefore cannot without a palpable contradiction be taken for the time when he shall give up his Kingdome to the Father nor for the time that now is betwixt which and his Kingdome too our Saviour in my conceit hath put an irreconcileable distinction calling this the time not of a Kingdome but of temptation that is a time of persecution for righteousnesse sake a time wherein his Disciples must be delivered up to be afflicted killed and hated of all Nations for his Name that thus fulfilling the rest of the afflictions of Christ for his bodies sake which is the Church they may at last wholly and together for shall not their bodies as well reigne with Christ as their soules but these we know are and shall be yet captives to the grave or are the Saints that shall be found alive at Christs comming exempted from his Kingdome for if he should reigne till then and then give up his Kingdome to his Father they are exempted but if as our Apostle she ws his reigne beginne not till his comming then as the living shall at that time n Thes 4 15 6 17. together with the dead in Christ be caught up to meete him so the Saints shall then and till then they cannot wholly and altogether reigne with him I say together and at once be made partakers of their Masters Kingdome which as it appeares is not to be in heaven and therefore must needes beheld on earth where all things which our Saviour promised his Disciples may well be accomplished in a literall sense Mr. Petrie's Answer What God by his word and experience hath conjoyned let no man call irreconcileable for he saith Psal 110.2 Reigne thou in the midst of thy enemies and Rom. 8.37 In all these things that is in the midst of our sufferings we are more then conquerours so that when the enemies doe rage and persecute even then doth Christ reigne and the godly are Kings or if there be any title more transcendent Reply Certainely experience doth joyne nothing together but declares onely to us what God hath conjoyned and doubtlesse what God hath conjoyned Christ would not separate and yet Luke 22.28 he saith Yee are they which have followed mee in my temptations therefore I appoint unto you a Kingdome as
whether John signifieth by them the godly on earth If these words make any thing for this purpose these Elders were in heaven but all the interpreters even the Authour of Commentat Apocalypt pag. 8. expone them to be the godly on earth The words Rom. 4.13 are The promise that he should be the heire of the world was not to Abraham and to his seed through the law but through the righteousnesse of faith Certaintly albeit the Land of Canaan was promised to Abraham and his seed yet he never having possession of that land and his seed or the faithfull are more properly called the heires of eternall life Tit. 3.7 And heires of that Kingdome which he hath promised unto them that love him Iam. 2.5 And heires of God and joynt-heires with Christ Rom. 8.17 Which Kingdome was typified by Canaan and of this promise without doubt speakes Paul there The words of Luke 19.17.19 are a part of a parable and we know that every part of a parable is not argumentative These texts then serve nothing for this Monarchy On the margine is cited also a testimony of Windelin but we regard not the testimony of parties in their own cause and far lesse doe we regard the consequences of that testimony wherewith the next page is filled and with that question of the essential or accidentall change of the Elements seeing for one we may bring five thousand testimonies in this urpose Reply The question is you say whether Saint John saw these Elders in heaven And that he did the text it selfe doth witnesse For that these Elders were the same with the Elders in chap. 4. the continuation of the vision doth infallibly evince And that Saint Iohn saw those Elders in heaven the 1 ver of the 4 chap. doth clearly prove where it is said After this I looked and behold a doore was opened in heaven and the first voyes which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with mee which said Come up hither and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter Now what heaven was it in which Saint John saw a doore opened but the starry heaven the same heaven which Saint Stephen saw opened Acts 7.56 And what heaven was it from whence he heard a voice talking with him but the third heaven in the third heaven it was then whither Saint Paul was once caught up that Saint John heard and saw such wonderfull visions and revelations as soone as he was in the spirit that is as soone as hee was carried up by the spirit whither he was before called by the voice And consequently he saw these Elders in heaven and this also the 6 and 7 verses of the 5 chap. doe confirme which shew that these Elders were there where our Saviour represented by the Lambe that had been slaine was when the booke of Revelation was given unto him And as Saint John faw these Elders in heaven so Pareus makes report also of two sorts of interpreters who by these Elders doe understand Saints in heaven One which takes them for foure and twenty and no more for twelve Patriarches and twelve Apostles Another which takes them for all the Saints then in heaven to which interpretation he himselfe enclines And Piscator understands by them all the faithfull under both Testaments under the Law and under the Gospell and so makes these 24 Elders to represent not onely the Saints then departed but all others also which should depart before Christs appearing And now seeing the text shews that Saint John saw these Elders in heaven and interpreters say that they represented the Saints departed how can their words we shall reigne on earth be understood any otherwise then of their reigning after their resurrection Yea let them be taken for the Saints on earth and yet their words cannot be otherwise understood For if they did represent the Saints militant on earth they did then reigne spiritually when they spake these words And therefore seeing notwithstanding their spirituall reigne they said not we doe but we shall reigne on earth it is evident that their words cannot be meant of a reigne which they should enjoy on earth while they were in their bodies before their death which by your owne confession can be no other but a spirituall reigne but of a reigne which they should enjoy on earth when they are againe reunited to their bodies after their death And whereas the words in Rom. 4.13 For the promise that he should be heire of the world c. are by you thus interpreted That he should be heire of eternall life Tit. 8.7 When you can prove that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the visible world doth signifie eternall life we shall approve of this exposition In the meane while we shall understand it of the joynt-government of the world by Abraham and the rest of the raised Saints in the time of Christs reigne on earth At which time also they may well be said to be heires of eternall life and coheires with Christ seeing they shall rule the world with him and can dye no more The other words Luke 19.17.19 are a part of a parable and every part of a parable is not argumentative you say true that part which crosseth some truth plainely delivered in the scripture but that which agreeth with the plaine scriptures as this doth with the prophecies touching our Saviours and the Saints reginâ—ing on earth is argumentative â—iâ—e why iâ— iâ— said that our Saviour taught them in parâ—â—â—es if parables do comâ—â—â—e no certaine truth And what is the scope of this parable but to shew that Christ was not to reigne over the Jâ—wâ— then aâ— his first comming when the Jewâ—s should refuse to have him â—eignâ—â—ver them saying We have no king but Câ—sar but at his comming againe from heaven with power and great glory at which time he would make those that had in their life time improved his spirit all stocke governours under him And lastly your sâ—â—ighting of Wendelinus testimony as a party and of this murgâ—â—â—ll note as too meane for your meditation is a fine sleighâ— to excuse your not answering of them To which doubtles you had nothing to say for else we may well thinke that you would have been nibling at this marginall note too as well as you are at others and that among so many thousand opposite testimonies you would have pickt out an answer to this single â—â—stimony of Wendeliâ—us Israel's Redemption And this will appeare to a diligent eye even out of the controversed place in Rev. â—0 for besides that the opposition betwixt the first and last resurrection doth impose the same sense on both besides this I say the vision represented not unto St. John perfect men at the first that is men that should be beheaded for the witnesse of Jesus but soules onely and that aâ— of men already beheaded which most manifestly shewes â—â—at the resurrection after mentioned did follow their death and not goe before it And therefore
ever Amen Amen Mr. Petrie's Answer Whether can these more confidently beseech God for the conversion of the Jewes who thinke that the Jewes may daily be converted or these who thinke that they shall not be converted till the comming of Christ the former sort may be confident to be heard daily which these others cannot And moreover the former sort seeth as the Fathers did see Heb. 11.13 everlasting glory presently at hand and thereupon they doe minde and seeke heavenly things as they are commanded Col. 3.1 2. and the other sort are out of hope of glory in heaven at least yet for the space of a thousand yeares and they set their affections on things on earth Yea and it gives encouragement unto the wicked that they shall not be judged nor their bodies tormented these thousand yeares to come yet and on the other side the feare of imminent judgement and punishment is a more powerfull motive to depart from iniquity For which cause the Lord would not give unto men the knowledge of that time but will have us to be alwayes preparing and waiting for that comming to judgement Wherefore we pray unto our Lord Jesus who even now is King of Kings and reigneth in the midst of his enemies and is offended at the foolish conceites of unstable hearts That he would make his power manifest by conforming them whom he hath called and gifted with the knowledge of his eternall Gospell and by reducing all his elect both Jewes and Gentiles who goe astray and that he would now even now give us heavenly hearts and tie us all together in the acknowledgement and obedience of his truth to the praise of his Name and our spirituall comfort both now and evermore Come Lord Jesus and change our vile bodies that they may be like unto thy glorious body according to thy working whereby thou art able even to subdue all things unto thy selfe Reply Surely they that deny the generall conversion of the Jewes as you doe cannot pray at all for this conversion But they that beleeve it may confidently beseech God for it and be confident too that they are delightfully heard of him in it For as we ought alwayes to pray for that which may be done we know not how soone so though our prayers cannot hasten the accomplishment of any future blessings to our selves or others yet we are daily heard in them seeing by such a manifestation of out obedience towards God who taught us to pray for them and of our faith and hope in his promises which reveale them and of our charity towards all that are to be partakers of them we daily improve Gods mercy towards us here and our owne weight of glory with him hereafter And whereas you seeme to lay claime to heaven for your selfe and others of your minde onely and to shut us out of it because according to the tenour of Gods plaine revelations we affirme That the raised Saints are to beginne the eternity of their immortall and glorified estate in a regall condition here on earth with Christ where He and They have been formerly so much reviled and so vilely handled whereas I say you would for this exclude us from having any portion of the joyes of heaven with you till the 1000 yeares reigne be finisht Be it knowne unto you That we hope through Gods free mercy towards us in Christ Jesus to be received into the society of the Saints in heaven even as others if God hath appointed that our earthly house of this Tabernacle shall be dissolved before the appearing of our Lord Jesus if not we hope together with the whole number of the elect to be made Inhabitants of the new Jerusalem in that time in which God hath purposed to bring us thither and not before And we cannot conceive that we doe set our affections on things on earth in the Apostles sense Colos 3.2 when we doe with patience expect the accomplishment of the promises made to us in Christ albeit they are in part to be fulfilled on this earth And by the way it is worth the Readers observation That to confirme your seeing everlasting glory presently at hand you cite Heb. 11.13 where it is said These all died in faith not having received the promises but having seene them afarre off c. What I is to see the promises a farre off all one with the seeing of glory presently at hand But you goe on and tell us that our Tenet gives encouragement to the wicked that they shall not be judged nor their bodies tormented these thousand yeares to come yet Which is a confused and corrupt report of our words For though we say That the last judgement of the wicked the judgement of their bodies and foules together shall not be till the end of the thousand yeares reigne on earth yet surely we beleeve even as others That their soules are cast into hell immediately after their departure out of their bodies And doubtlesse if they will not forsake their evill courses for feare of the imminent damnation of their soules for feare of this partiall and particular judgement at their death which doth infallibly binde them over to the eternall damnation of their bodies and soules together at their generall and contemporating judgement they will neither forsake their wickednesse the sooner for their ignorance nor continue it the longer-for their knowledge of the large space of time that is yet to precede their generall judgement For what comfort can it be to them that it shall be yet so long before their bodies be tortured in hell when as their soules may suddenly be adjudged to such torments as are agreeable to the number and nature of their sinnes which the more and greater they are the more and greater will the punishment of their bodies be too at the last And therefore if you had said the truth you would have acknowledged that our Tenet doth warne all those that shall live in the time of the Jewes conversion and deliverance not to oppose them lest to the augmentation of their endlesse woe they therby perish from the earth by a fearefull death And it doth perswade men likewise to take off their affections from things on earth seeing it puts them in minde that if they now walke not after the flesh but after the spirit if they fashion not themselves to this present world they shall together with their Saviour be heires and inheritours of the earth when the whole creation shall be delivered from its bondage of corruption and when by the meanes of Christs and their government on it judgement shall runne downe as waters and righteousnesse as a mighty streame And thus the impartiall reader may plainely see what little alliance there is betwixt the title of your answer and the contents of it For you pretend to fetch him out of darkenesse into the light but doe indeed lead him out of the light into darkenesse And as the Syrians eyes were held by God that they