Arise shine for thy light is come and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee For behold darkness shall cover the Earth and gross darkness the People but the Lord shall rise upon thee and his Glory shall be seen upon thee For as the Lord is said in Numb 14.14 to be over Israel in a Cloudy Pillar when he delivered them out of Egypt which was but a Figure of the great deliverance to come at which time the Lord will be in the Clouds and his Spouse his chief raised Saints with him This Tabernacle Covert or City is said to be twelve thousand furlongs not only in length and breadth but the same in heighth by which it does appear that the top thereof may reach to Heaven and that the Heavens may remain open above it as it was when it descended until this Glory that shall be Revealed be drawn up again and that the Throne of God in the highest Heavens may be placed over Mount Sion That as it is said in Gen. 28.12 That the Ladder which Jacob saw set upon the Earth the top of which reached to Heaven and that the Angels of God did ascend and descend upon it and the Lord God stood above it By which it doth appear that this Ladder will prove the white Clouds and that the Top of them will reach to Heaven whilst one part of them may extend so low as Mount Sion and these appear to be the Ladder upon which the Angels ascended and descended upon the Son of Man as the Lord saith John 1.51 Hereafter ye shall see Heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man The which words of the Lord in saying that you shall see the Heavens open doth seem to signify the continuance of their remaining open for some time And St. John saith Rev. 21 22. He saw no Temple in this City which came down from Heaven for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it 23. And the City had no need of the Son neither of the Moon to shine in it for the Glory of God did lighten it and the lamb is the Light thereof Now if the Heavens be open over this City and the Throne of God just above it as it is said of the Ladder God stood at the top of it then must the Glory of God inlighten this City as well as the Lamb is the light thereof And according to all these places of Scripture it doth so appear to be neither can it properly be said that there is a distinction of Glory between the Father and the Son for Christ saith to the Father in John 17.5 Glorify thou me with thine own self with the Glory which I had with thee before the World was Therefore where the Glory of the Son is there is the Glory of the Father also And St. John speaking of the Angel saith Rev. 22.1 He shewed me a pure River of water of Life clear as Crystal proceeding out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb. Now we read nothing of the Holy Ghost but whereas it is said This River proceeded out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb and it is said of the Spirit to proceed from the Father and the Son and the Lord termeth the Holy Spirit to Water in John 4.14 But whosoever drinketh of the Water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the Water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of Water springing up into everlasting life And the Lord farther saith in John 7.38 He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of Living Water 39. But this spake the Lord of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive And in Isa 44.3 God saith I will pour Water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed and my blessing upon thy Off-spring And in Psal 46.4 There is a River the streams thereof shall make glad the City of the most High Therefore this River here spoken of the which proceedeth from the Throne of God and of the Lamb must be meant of the Spirit And it is said of this Heavenly City Rev. 22.3 There shall be no more Curse but the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it 4. And they shall see his Face and his Name shall be in their foreheads These words shew that the Saints will always be about the Throne both in the time that is to come and also in Eternity And to what Isaiah saith in the 60. c. which treats of the Heavenly Jerusalem and also of the new Earthly one For it is there said the Lord shall rise upon thee 3. v. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and Kings to the brightness of thy rising By which it does appear that the Gentiles and Kings that is as many of them as have had an interest in Christ and are departed this World shall come to the brightness of their Rising or Glory the which is in the Jerusalem which comes down from Heaven And from the 4. v. of the same Chap. to the 18. it treats of them that are to be call'd in with the Jews at the second coming of the Lord. But it is said 9. v. Surely the Isles shall wait for me Now this waiting could not be at Christ's first coming for then the Isles had no knowledg of the Lord and therefore could not be said to wait for him they knew not And in the 19. and 20. verses of this 60. chap. speaking of the Heavenly Jerusalem where it is said The Sun shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightness shall the Moon give light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God the Glory 20. Thy Son shall no more go down neither shall thy Moon withdraw it self for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended And in the 21. v. it speaks of the People of Israel Thy People shall be all righteous they shall inherit the Land for ever the branch of my planting the work of my hands that I may be glorified 22. v. A little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong Nation I the Lord will hasten it in his time Here the Prophet speaks of the People of Israel who in a more peculiar manner belongeth to this City that they should be all righteous and that they shall Inherit the Land for ever and that they should multiply therein and increase and that this should be in its time which will be at the Restitution of all things and then will there be a new Earthly Jerusalem built upon her own heap as Jer. 30.18 And then as the Lord sath Isa 54.12 I will make thy windows of Agates and thy Gates of Carbuncles and all thy Borders of pleasant Stones According to this Tobit
fore-mentioned promised new Covenant will not be made with the rest of the Nations that then will be called in as God by the Prophet hath declared Ezek 16.61 And after the thousand years when Satan is again loosed and the eminent glory of the Lord is not so visible among them then Satan will again draw off some of them that are spared of those Nations which are not secured by the everlasting Covenant and fire shall come down from Heaven and destroy them And then the Devil that deceived them will then be cast into the lake of Fire and Brimstone where the Beast and false Prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever and for ever Rev. 20.3,9,10 From which words we are to take notice the Lord here declareth the continuance of day and night as also in Psa 89.36 â—7 And after the Devil is cast into Hell we read of no other than a temporal punishment inflicted on them of the Nations that will not go up to worship the King the Lord of Hosts and keep the feast of Tabernacles Zec 14.16,17 And how many thousand years it will be after Satan is cast into the fire of Hell before the final judgment the Lord best knoweth But by the word it is clear it will be many thousand years For God hath said He will keep Covenant and mercy to a thousand Generations Deut 7.9 And from Adam to this time we cannot well reckon above a hundred Generations For where St. Luke counts the Genealogy from Adam to Christ he reckons up but about three score Generations Luke 3. And this fore-mentioned Kingdom is the Kingdom of which the Angel told the blessed Virgin that Christ should Reign over the House of Jacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no end Luke 1.33 This ever chiefly includes the ever of the world to come in which time Christ will have his Reigning Power and at the time of the last Judgment when the Heavens and Earth are said to fly away Re. 20.11 The fore-mentioned Book explaineth the meaning thereof fully making it appear by the word there is two sorts of Heavens and Earth whereby it is clearly proved that the Kingdom of Christ will have no end according to the word of the Angel to the Blessed Virgin and according to the word of the Lord in Daniel But the Saints of the most High shall take the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom for ever even for ever and ever Dan. 7.18 And God saith in Isaiah For as the New Heavens and the New Earth which I will make shall remain before me saith the Lord so shall your Seed and your Name remain Isa 66.22 For then it is God will give Israel a place of their own so as they shall move no more 2 Sam. 7.10 But we not apprehending there is three Evers three Times three Generations and three Worlds spoken of in Scripture thereby we have been much in the dark concerning this world to come And this world to come being the time that is chiefly comprehended in Psal 89.2 For I have said mercy shall be built up for ever thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very Heavens I have made a Covenant with my Chosen I have sworn to David my Servant Thy Seed will I establish for ever and build up thy Throne to all Generations Chap. X. The Meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles being again kept NOw in that the feast of Tabernacles is again to be kept when all the other great Feasts are laid aside Zech. 14.16 it doth thereby appear that when Israel and those of the Nations which are saved are first gathered they will then again for some time dwell in booths as Israel did when they came out of Aegypt And therefore this feast to be kept for a remembrance in the ever of the time to come But some may say How can the Nations come up yearly to Jerusalem the Journy being so far distant from some But none need Question but God will make them of ability to do what he requires of them And whereas it is said That every one that is left of all the Nations That is every one of the Nations that were left should go up yearly to Jerusalem but not that it is there meant that every individual person of the Nations will be required to go up year by year unto Jerusalem but some of the heads of the Nations And therefore said in the 18 verse If the Family of Aegypt go not up c. Then a National punishment is threatned Now what we find written in the old and new Testament and nothing therein to contradict the plain meaning thereof that will of certain be fulfilled in the plain and clear way as it is expressed But that is a figurative Speech and not to be taken in the letter of the word where we find other Scriptures in contradiction to it There God hath a secret vail'd in it which he reserves until such time as he will have it revealed But what God commands to be done And what God declares he will have done And what God hath sworn he delights not in And what God hath absolutely promised to do And what God hath sworn he will do These things are to be taken as they are exprest or we are apostatized from the truth And it is at the Restauration of Israel that the Everlasting Covenant will be established as to which time God has sworn to Israel That he will not be wroth with them nor rebuke them any more Isa 54.8,9,10,11,12 For then God will put his fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from him Jer. 32.39,40,41 And concerning that time The Lord hath sworn by his right hand and by the arm of his Strength that he will no more give their Corn to be meat for their enemies neither shall the Sons of Strangers drink the Wine for which they have laboured Isa 62.8 This promise will be fulfilled when Jerusalem is made the praise of the earth as in the 7th ver Which is at the time of the Restitution of all things when the Lord again comes Acts 3.20,21,22,23,24 And then it is There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob Rom. 11.26 Isa 59.20 Then shall the Lord rore out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the Heavens and Earth shall shake but the Lord will be the hope of his People and the Strength of the Children of Israel Joel 3.16 This Zion or Jerusalem is meant of the glorious Tabernacles spoken of Heb. 8.2 But we all coming out of the Darkness of Popery have lost the right apprehension of this Kingdom or World to come whereby we are involved in great mistakes so as to think the promised everlasting Covenant is now established and that such as belong to it may fall foully but not finally but when that Covenant is established then it is that God will put his fear into their hearts so as
a Month according to the Egyptian Account it doth just amount to one thousand two hundred and sixty days of years at which time the Lord will come and then the Beast shall be taken and cast alive into a Lake burning with Fire and Brimstone and the Devil bound up and then will be the first Resurrection of which St. John speaks in Rev. 20.4 And I saw Thrones and they that sat upon them and judgment was given unto them and I saw the Souls of them that were beheaded for the witnesses of Jesus and for the word of God and which had not worshiped the beast neither his image neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years 5. But the rest of the Dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished this is the first Resurrection V. 6. Blessed and Holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection on such the second Death hath no Power but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years It is said in Isa 1.26 where God telleth them I will restore thy Judges as at the first and thy Counsellors as at the beginning afterward thou shalt be called the City of Righteousness the Faithful City Pray mark the Words Here the Lord doth not tell them that they should have such Judges as they had at the first and such Counsellors as they had at the beginning but that the Lord would restore them Judges that they had at the first and those Counsellors which were at the beginning Therefore the Lord said unto Daniel in Chap. 12.13 But go thou thy way till the end be for thou shalt rest and stand in thy Lot at the end of the days Now the Lord in the fore part of the Chapter tells him of the end of the world and what shall then happen and also tells him that he shall rest and stand in his Lot at the End of the Days Here the Lord doth not tell him that he shall stand in his Lot at the End of his Days but at the End of the Days after he has rested which is at the Resurrection By this of Daniel it doth further clear to us the first Resurrection on whom the second Death shall have no Power but that they shall be Priests of God and Christ and reign with him a thousand years And Isaiah saith Chap. 24.23 Then the Moon shall be confounded and the Sun ashamed when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Sion and in Jerusalem and before his Ancients gloriously Not that Christ and his Saints shall reign no longer than the Thousand Years but that the Visible Glory may not so eminently appear among them after Satan is loosed that thereby he may accomplish his final Overthrow when he has deceived his Gog and Magog of which I shall speak more to in another place Whereas the Angel saith Rev. 10.6 That there should be time no longer That is no longer time for this wicked World to have Power and time of Repentance for their time should be no longer But there will be a glorious Time for the People of God in the renewed Heavens and Earrh when the Lord reigneth And as there will be another World so another Generation and another Time Of which times the Lord saith in Esdras 9.6 The Times also of the Highest have plain beginnings in wonders and powerful workings and endings in Effects and Signs The Lord grant that we may be awakened by the Signs of the End which End is now approaching And in John Martha said to the Lord concerning her brother chap. 11.24 Martha said unto him I know that he shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day The which last Day is the last day of this wicked World and when this World shall be judged For the Saints are raised before the Wicked are condemned Therefore by this last day must be meant the last day of their Time For to take it otherwise it cannot be for it is said when this World is past that Day and Night lasteth for ever and for ever as in Revelations where the Devil receives his Last Judgment he is there said to be cast into Hell to be tormented day and night for ever and for ever The same is said of God That he liveth for ever and for ever Rev. 4.9 And as to what St. Paul saith in 1 Thess 1.5 VVhich is a manifest Token of the Righteous judgment of God that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which ye also suffer Verse 6. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence Tribulation to them that trouble you 7. And to you that are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels 8. In flaming fire taking Vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 9. VVho shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power 10. VVhen he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that believe Now whereas he saith counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which they did also suffer In answer to which it is said in Rev. 11.15 The Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our God and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever Verse 17. Saying we give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned Verse 18. And the Nations were angry and thy wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy Servants the Prophets and to the Saints and them that fear thy Name small and great and shouldest destroy them which destroy the Earth Now it is at this time when the Lord cometh that the Kingdoms of this World will become the Kingdoms of God and Christ And it is then God will give Rewards to his Servants at which time the wicked Worldlings that are dead in sin will be judged and then shall they be destroyed which destroyed the Earth which Earth is their fellow brethren upon the Earth And also by the words of St. Paul before mentioned it is when the Lord shall be revealed that then to the wicked will be recompensed Tribulation and to the Saints Rest and Consolation And when God and Christ have taken possession of the Kingdom then shall the Saints reign on the Earth as in Rev. 5.10 And hast made us unto God Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the Earth And according to this it is said in Ephes 2.7 And also in 1 Pet. 2.9 Where he mentions those things which are to come as if they were present which way of speaking is often used in
my name Now what is here said it is certain it was spoken for the time that is to come in which God will be magnified in Israel For at that time it is evident the ways of Israel did not please the Lord as to the capacity they were then in And although the Seed of Jacob had the Oracles of God and the Temple yet they had not the promised new Covenant made with them as to be put into a Capacity not to offend but through sin might become as obnoxious to God as any People And Israel saying wherein hast thou loved us Now God said was not Esau Jacob Brother and I loved Jacob and hated Esau That is God had chosen Jacob as the figure of the world to come to whom the most high hath promised to establish an everlasting covenant with his Seed at that time and it is this other world in which is comprehended the love of God to Israel here in this world Esau was a Kingdom before Israel and remained so after Israel as it is said in Obadiah verse 12. Therefore this Esau here spoken of in Malachy could not be the real Esau And also though the people of Esau were destroyed yet God has not curst the Land to be an Habitation for evil creatures For in Obadiah 19. it is said They of the South shall inherit the Mount of Esau But the Inheritance of this figurative Esau is for ever to lie waste for the Dragons of the Wilderness according to the saying of Isaiah and St. John in the Revelations to fullfil the Scriptures Now whereas St. Paul saith Rom. 11.25 For I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this Mystery lest ye should be wise in your own conceit that bliwdness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in Verse 26. And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written Isa 59.20 There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Verse 27. For this is my covenant unto them when I shall take awaytheir sins Verse 28. As conterning the Gospel they are enemies for your sake but as touching the Election they are beloved for the Fathers sake Now whereas St. Paul saith that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in And the Lord himself saith in Luke 21.28 That Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled That is that Jerusalem shall not be restored until the Gentile power is quite vanquished destroyed or extirpated And that will not be till the Lord cometh at which time all Gentile power will be destroyed and laid low And whereas it is said in Isaiah 60.10 That the Sons of strangers shall build thy walls and their Kings shall minister unto thee That is those that are Kings at the coming of the Lord which are and may be converted shall become serviceable and minister to Israel And whereas St. Paul saith until the Gentiles be come in That is the fullness or the greater Number of the Gentiles be come in Rom. 11.25,26,27,28,29 So then all Israel shall be saved As it is written there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob for this is my Covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins Here we see that the Apostle did not say that the Lord was come out of Sion that should turn away ungodliness from Jacob but that he would make this promise good to them when he again comes to Sion And in Isa 52.17 at the latter end the Lord speaks of putting on Garments of Vengeance for cloathing in which he will judge his Enemies and at the same time he will deliver Israel as the Apostle saith And in verse 28. he saith concerning the Gospel they are Enemies for your sakes but as touching the Election they are beloved for their fathers sakes For he there tells us 29. The gifts and calling of God are without Repentance Which is as much as to say that they cannot be forgotten of God Here we see St. Paul bears his Witness as to God's making good his promises to Israel and that we are not taken in as to disappoint them of their Inheritance at the Restitution of all things But that then they shall be again taken in and the Everlasting Covenant be made with them according as God has before promised to them Rom. 11.30 For although through their unbelief we are taken into mercy whereby their Number is diminished yet the Covenant that God has by Oath promised to make with them even with both the Houses of Jacob at that time of Restitution they cannot be disappointed of For we that are taken in to be of the Seed of Abraham in and through Christ we must come in as of the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah of which Race Christ came And St. Paul speaking of the conversion of the Jews Rom. 11.15 saith What shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead And the Patriarch Levy in his last will and Testament foretold his Sons that they should call him Heretick that goeth about to renew the Law by the power of the highest and in the end they should kill him out of hand as they think not knowing that he shall rise again and so shall ye receive his innocent blood wilfully upon your own heads For his sake shall your holy place be left desolate which you shall have defiled by utter forswearing and your dwelling shall not be clean but you shall be curst among the Heathen and despair shall vex you till he visit you again And he further saith then will God raise up a new Priest unto whom all the Lords words shall be opened and he shall execute true Judgment upon the Earth many days And his Star shall rise in Heaven as a King shall he shew forth the light of knowledge in the open Sunshine of the day and he shall be magnified over all the world and be received and shine as the Sun upon the Earth and drive away all darkness and there shall be peace upon all the Earth In his days the Heavens shall rejoyce the Earth shall be glad the clouds shall be merry the knowledge of the Lord shall be poured out upon the Earth as the waters of the Seas and the Angels of Glory that are in the Lords presence shall rejoyce in him The Heavens shall be opened and out of the Temple of Glory shall sanctification come upon him with the fathers voice as from Abraham the father of Isaac and the Glory of the highest shall be spread out upon him and the Spirit of understanding and sanctification shall rest upon him whereof he shall give abundantly and mightily to his children in truth for evermore and there shall none succeed him from Generation to Generation World without end In his Priesthood all sin shall come to an end and the
Father is not in him For all that is in the World the Lust of the Flesh and the Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life is not of the Father but is of the World And the World passeth away and the Lust thereof but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever Which World is the People as I before shewed you And the same Apostle saith John 5.19 We know that we are of God and the whole World lyeth in Wickedness Now all these Warnings and Admonitions were given us by the Apostles in the height of Christ's Spiritual Kingdom when there was such wonderful pourings forth of the Holy Ghost speaking with Tongues Healing all manner of Diseases casting out Devils and on whomsoever they laid their Hands they received the Holy Ghost And St. Paul saith in the Collosians The Gospel had been Preached through the World Yet Satan was not then bound up for he saith He sent a Messenger of his to Buffet him All which is to inform us his Power will continue to the end of this World That is till Christ comes to Judg the World And then he shall be bound up and the wicked receive their Condemnation and all things restored to their first purity And not that he was bound up in the Apostles time till after the Reign of Constantine the great For the Emperor turning Christian had so loaded the Church with Honours and Riches whereby they abounded with Pride whereupon their Contentions grew so hot one with the other that the good Emperor could not allay their Feuds so that he removed his Throne to Constantinople by which removing his Court from Rome made way for the Rise of the beast which is made mention of by St. Paul whereas he saith in 2 Thes 2.7 The mistery of iniquity doth already work only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way By which words we may plainly see that the Devil was not bound for he tells us the Mystery of Iniquity was already working in carrying on his design to set the Beast upon the Throne altho it was not fully accomplisht till about two hundred years after the Departure of the Emperor from Rome and he was daily increasing in his Power and the more by the Vacancy of the Throne which was one cause of his getting up into that Pestilential Chair And St. Paul saith in the forementioned Chapter 8. v. Then shall the wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his Mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his Coming 9. v. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all Power and signs and lying wonders 10. v. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receceived not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved Here we are fully inform'd when the Beast shall be destroyed That is when the Lord cometh to Judg the World whom he then will destroy with the Breath of his Mouth and with the brightness of his coming And John saith Rev. 19.20,21 The Beast was takes and with him the false Prophet that wrought Miracles before him with which he deceived them the had received the Mark of the Beast and them the Worshiped his image these were both cast alive into a Lake of Fire burning with Brimstone And the Remnant were slain with the Sword of him that salt upon the Horse which Sword proceeded out of his Mouth and all the Fowls were filled with their Flesh And he saith Rev. 20.1,2,3 He saw an Angel come down from Heaven having the Key of the Bottomless Pit and a great Chain in his hand And he laid hold on the Dragon that old Serpent which is the Devil and Satan and bound him a thousand years and cast him into the Bottomless Pit and shut him up and set a Seal upon him that he should not deceive the Nations no more till the Thousand years should be fulfilled after that he must be loosed a little season The next verse treats of the Raising of the Saints by which we see the Prophets and Apostles as I before shewed do all agree that the destroying of the Beast the Judgment of the World the binding of Satan and the raising of the Saints to be all at one and the same time and that time will be at the coming of the Lord And it is said that the Beast and the False Prophet these both were cast alive into the Lake of Fire burning with Brimstone whilst the others that are Slain their Carkasses lay for the Fowls to be filled with their Flesh all this is set down to be done when the Lord again comes Now the Thessalonians apprehending the Day of the Lord was near whereupon the Apostle informs them 2 Thes 2.3 That that day shall not come except there came a falling away first And St. Peter doth plainly speak much to the like Effect 2 Pet. 3.3 of the Christians declining and falling from their Purity and not of an inlargement before the Coming of the Lord Luke 20.21 And our Lord being demanded of the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God should come he answered them and said the Kingdom of God cometh not with observation That is appeareth not with Grandeur or Greatness For they shall not say lo here or lo there for behold the Kingdom of God is within you As much as to say I have no other Throne or Kingdom here but where I am Inthron'd in the Heart is all the Throne I have in this World And in John 16.33 The Lord saith In the World ye shall have Tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the World And the Apostle to the Hebrews tells us Heb. 11. what dreadful Afflictions the Church suffered in the old time knowing here they had no continuing City but they sought one that was to come And the same Apostle saith Heb. 6.7,8 Whom the Lord loveth he chastneth and Scourgeth ever Son whom he receiveth If ye endure chastning God dealeth with you as with Sons for what Son is he whom the Father Chastneth not But if ye be without Chastisement whereof all are partakers then are you Bastards and not Sons And St. John in his Revelations tells us what dreadful Afflictions the Church of Christ would suffer even to the end Rev. 12.13,14 And when the Dragon saw that he was cast into the Earth he Persecuted the Woman And to the Woman were given two great Wings of an Eagle that she might fly into the Wilderness where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the face of the Serpent And the Serpent cast out of his Mouth waters as a Flood after the Woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the Flood And the Earth helped the Woman and the Earth opened her Mouth and swallowed up the Flood which the Dragon cast out of his Mouth And the Dragon was wrath with the Woman and went to make
the Work to be his own And as for most of the great Judgments spoken of in the Revelations they will be upon the Earth after the Lord comes And as for the drying up the River Euphrates it was never given us by Christ or his Apostles as a sign before his coming Neither was the Fall of Babylon given us as a sign before the coming of the Lord. But if Babylon does fall before the coming of the Lord it will be upon the Discovery of the great Delusions that is now made manifest being accompanied with the Angry Face of Heaven in the Earthquakes and fiery Mountains that have been amongst them But if the City as well as the Beast do remain till the Lord come at which time Dan. 7.11,12 The Beast will be destroyed and given to the burning flame and then the rest of the Beast or Kings will have their Dominion taken away Yet their Lives will be prolonged for a Season and a Time Then may the Kings that gave their Power to the Beast when they become sensible of the intolerable Vengeance that they are fallen under then may they make good that which is said in Rev. 17.16 And the Ten Horns which thou sawest upon the Beast these shall hate the Whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire Now in the destruction of this City there is no other mentioned but them that had given their Power to the Beast And what is faid here and in Daniel and what the Lord in Matth. 22.8 where he speaks concerning his Invitation to us by the Gospel it doth not appear to be after the Lord comes for it is said in the 5. v. They made light of it and went their ways one to his Farm another to his Merchandise 6. v. And the remnant took his Servants and intreated them despightfully and slew them 7. v. But when the King hear'd thereof he was wrath and sent forth his Armies and destroyed those Murderers and burnt up their City Now we here have had the Call of the Gospel and neglected it But it has and is the Roman Power that does take the Servants of Christ and use them despightfully and slay them for which it is said that the King sent his Armies and destroyed those Murderers and burnt up their City Now the Murderers being said to be destroyed when the City is burnt up whereby it doth more clearly appear to be after the Lord comes And the Lord hath inform'd us of this City by St. John in Rev. 17. That it is mistical Babylon as in the 5. v. And upon her forehead was a Name written Mistery Babylon the great the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the Earth Here the Lord mentions this City under the Name of a Woman And in the following verse it is said And I saw the Woman Drunk with the Blood of the Saints and with the Blood of the Martyrs of Jesus and when I saw her I wondred with great admiration And in Rev. 18.1 I saw an angel come down from Heaven 2. And he cryed mightily with a strong Voice saying Babylon the great is fallen is fallen and is become the habitation of Devils and the hold of every foul Spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird This being the same as Isaiah saith in Isa 34.10 and so to the end And in the forementioned Chapter of the Revelations 3. v. For all Nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her Fornication and the Kings of the Earth have committed fornication with her And in the 4. v. And I heard another voice from Heaven saying come out of her my People that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues 5. v. For her sins have reached unto Heaven and God hath remembred her iniquity 6. v. Reward her even as she rewarded you and double unto her double according to her works in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double 7. v. How much she hath glorified her self and lived deliciously so much torment and sorrow give her for she saith in her heart I sit a Queen and am no Widow and shall see no sorrow 8. v. Therefore shall her Plagues come in one day Death and Mourning and Famine and she shall be utterly burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her Now that we might not be mistaken as to the City her Merchandise makes it clearly out where it is said in Rev. 18.13,17,18 She makes Merchandise of the Souls of men And in the 17. c. by the Angels words we are fully assured which this City is For in the 18. v. he saith The Woman which thou sawest is the great City which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth Now by this demonstration here it is fully made evident that this City here mentioned is Rome in that no City under the face of the whole Heavens can be said to Reign over the Kings of the Earth but Rome and she doth by her Pope and Cardinals and the rest of her Crew which are there situated And also of this City or Woman it is said in Rev. 17.4 She was arrayed in Purple and Scarlet Colour and decked with Gold and Precious Stones and Pearls having a Golden Cup in her Hand full of Abominations and the filth of her Fornications This Cup being another clear proof that it is Rome that is here ment for it is said in the Cup is the abomination and the filth of her Fornications The which she sets up as a God and Worships and with which she commits Spiritual Fornication And now having shewed you who this City is I leave her to her near approaching Judg. Now as to what is said in Zachariah chap. 12.7 v. The Lord also shall save the Tents of Judah first that the Glory of the House of David and the Glory of the Inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnifie themselves against Judah Now the house of David came of the Tribe of Judah and they were the Chief of that Tribe and yet here 't is said that they should not magnifie themselves against Judah and therefore underneath these Words appears there 's something veil'd and the true Christians come in by the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah and therefore it does appear to be these of Judah that will de saved first of whom Christ saith Two shall be in one Bed the one shall be taken and the other left two Women grinding at the Mill the one shall be taken and the other left whilst Israel and the promised Elect come in Multitudes And in Zach. 12.8,9,10 verses it is said In that day shall the Inhabitants of Jerusalem and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David and the house of David shall be as God as the Angel of the Lord before them 9. v. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the
the Holy Jerusalem descending out of Heaven from God Here he does not say that it did descend down upon the Earth Neither in the same Chap. at the 2. v. He doth but say he saw it coming down from God out of Heaven but he did not say that he saw iâ— upon the Earth And as to what the Lord saith Rev. 3.12 Where he speaking of the New Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God By these places we see there is no mention made of its being seated upon the Earth But it is certain that it will come down out of Heaven And the Psalmist speaking of Christ Glorious Kingdom in the Psalm 68.33,34,35 To him that rideth upon the Heavens of Heavens which were of old Lo He doth send forth his voice and that a mighty voice 34. Ascribe the strength unto our God his excellency is over Israel and his strength is in the Clouds 35. O God thou art terrible out of thy Holy places The God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people blessed be God Here we see the strength and Glory of the Lord in the time of his Kidgdom is said to be in the Clouds The which is plain there is something more comprehended in it than we have hitherto apprehended The which Isaiah doth fully make appear in Isa 4.4,5,6 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the Daughters of Sion and shall have purged the Blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of Judgment and by the Spirit of burning And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Sion and upon all her Assembles a Cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming Fire by night for upon all the glory shall be a defence And there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the Heat and for a place of refuge and for a Covert from the Storm and from the Rain In the first of these Verses the Prophet tells us when this Glory shall be Revealed which will be at the time when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the Daughter of Sion by the Spirit of Judgment and by the Spirit of burning This appears to be the Baptism St. John speaks of where he saith Mat. 3.11,12 He that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoes I am not worthy to bear he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with Fire Whose fan is in his hand and he will throughly purge his Floor and gather his Wheat into his Garner but he will burn up the Chaff with unqueuchable Fire Now it is said that Christ Baptised none but after his Ascension the Disciples were Baptised with the Holy Ghost But then Christ did not gather his Wheat into his Garner neither then did he burn up the Chaff with unquenchable Fire therefore this has a more special reference to the Lords second coming at which time he will throughly purge his Floor and gather his Wheat into his Garner and then it is that he will burn up the Chaff with unquenchable Fire And whereas the Prophet saith Isa 4.5,6 That the Lord will Create upon every dwelling place of Mount Sion and upon all her assemblies a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming Fire by Night These words does not only take in the dwelling Places of Mount Sion but all her Assemblies the which comprehends all Israel whose Dominions accoring Scripture is larger than whatever they have yet had in possession over which this glorious cloud here spoken of will be extended which does fully appear to be the Tabernacle spoken of in Heb. 8.2 Which the Lord shall pitch and not man According to which Isaiah saith in the 6. v. And there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the Heat and for a place of refuge and for a covert from the Storm and from the Rain Now the Cloud that Isaiah speaks of being like unto flaming Fire and I cannot conceive that there could be a more fit resemblance than Gold that is like to clear Glass to the appearance of flaming Fire And it is said Rev. 21.18 The City was pure Gold like unto clear Glass And in the 21. v. And the Street of the City was pure Gold as it were transparent Glass Now Isaiah saith in the 4. c. at the 6. v. That the Tabernacle should be a shadow from the Heat and a place of Refuge and a Covert from the Storm and from the Rain Under which the Elect will be secured from the Judgments that will be poured upon the Earth after the Lord comes Here you see in this Rev 21. he saith that the Street of the City was pure Gold like to Transparent Glass And here by this one street he comprehends the Pavement of the whole City the which being over the Heads of the Children of Israel will appear though of the Colour of Gold yet it is said to be so clear as to look like Transparent Glass so that Israel underneath this Tabernacle may all see the Glory that is there Revealed And in Isa 60.1 Arise shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee Now the City that St. John speaks of in the 21 c. 2. v. He therein comprehends the raised Saints but herein the same chap. at the 18. and 21. v. he there speaks of the outward fabrick or glorious Mansion for in Scripture the People are termed a City as well as a material Building is so termed And St. John saith in the forementioned Chapter after he had related the coming down of the City He then speaks of the Glory of the same Rev. 21.11 Having the glory of God and her light was like a stone most precious even like a Jasper clear as Cristal 12. And had a Wall great and high and had twelve Gates and at the Gates twelve Angels and names written thereon which are the Names of the twelve Tribes of the Children of Israel And St. John saith c. 21. 15. v. And he that talked with me had a Golden Reed to measure the City and the gates thereof and the Wall thereof 16. And the City lieth four square and the length is as large as the breadth and he measured the City with the Reed twelve thousand furlongs the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal Now we see by the large extent of this City which according to account of eight furlongs to a Mile to be fifteen hundred Miles not only in length but that the breadth and heighth thereof are equal this being the Tabernacle which the Lord shall pitch and not Man and then will the Lord make good his Promise to Israel that there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat and for a place of Refuge and for a covert from the storm and from the rain And in Isaiah it is said Isa 60.1.2
hath committed he shall die for it According to this is the Words of Christ in the Gospel where he saith He that believeth in me shall be saved the which Words includes no longer than they so continue believing which belief must be a practical belief the which is to believe in Christ and his Word so as to live in Obedience thereunto for it is said Without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. And between Holiness and Righteousness it is hard to make a distinction But as to what the Lord saith John 5.24 was spoken for the time to come when God shall have committed all Judgment to the Son for which time this was spoken that is those that then shall be found believers are then passed from Death to Life so as they shall never come into condemnation And as for the Sheep that so securely stand of whom Christ saith none can pluck them out of my Fathers Hand is spoken of those that are Christs standing Witnesses thorough the World they being those very Elect of whom Christ said it was impossible to deceive and of whom it is said in the Revelations they follow the Lamb wheresoever he goeth This being clearly proved where I have spoken of the very Elect I do but here mention it that thereby we may know that we do not so securely stand but as St. Paul saith in Hebrews We like Israel having a Promise of entering into life should take heed lest any of us should sall short of entering into that promised Rest therefore he advises us to make our Calling and Election sure and Christ also invites sinners to come to Repentance and if we are not wanting to our selves Christ will not be wanting to us And by the Watchmans Warning there may be great part of the people saved from the near approaching danger by what God saith in Ezekiel for there is but few Soldiers but when they have the warning given them but they will seek to deliver themselves and God saith in Ezekiel 33.5 He that taketh warning shall deliver his Soul Methinks this promise should make us with life and vigour laborious to gain life for our souls so as we may be delivered from the near approaching danger for that we are in the time in which the Lord will come is certain The which time will be according to that of the Children of Israel with signs and wonders the which we have seen what the Lord foretold should be before his coming And now with the Prophet Daniel's Vision made good to us so that knowledg shall be increased by the unsealing of the Book at the now time of the end the which will occasion great running to and fro so as knowledg may be increased to prepare for the coming of the Lord according to which the Lord saith in Luke 14.17 That he sent forth his Servants at supper time to say to them that are bidden come for all things are now ready The which gives us also certain information that Light should break forth as thereby warning should be given for preparation to be made for the coming of the Lord to Judg the World and give rewards to the Righteous the Old World had by Noah warning given them whom the Scripture terms a Preacher of Righteousness but because they would not believe and amend therefore they were destroyed And the Lord saith in Mat. 25.6 At midnight there was a cry made behold the Bridegroom cometh go ye out to meet him Which shows in midst of the Night of darkness as to the coming of the Lord that light will break forth so as the cry of the Voice of his Ministers may be heard to warn the People for to prepare to meet the Bridegroom yet upon the Wicked unbelieving World it will come as a Thief in the Night And also as to the Day and Hour no man knoweth Now whereas God saith in Isaiah That that day shall come as a snare upon all flesh Yet as I have already proved the word all in Scripture doth not signify the whole but the major part Now as to what is faid in Rev. 14.6 And I saw another Angel flying in the midst of Heaven having the everlasting Gospel to Preach unto them that dwell on the Earth to every Nation Tongue and People 7. Saying with a loud voice fear God give glory to him for the hour of his Judgment is come and worship him that made Heaven and Earth the Sea and the Fountains of Water This appears to be after the Lord comes in the Clouds with his Saints and Angels and that as the Christians that were before bidden and sent to by his Servants at Supper time to come to his Supper So it doth appear that those that knew him not may afterwards be invited by the Angel by which means Israel and the Promised Elect may be brought in For John Baptist first Preached Christ to the Jews before he was made publick to the World Afterwards when he was made publick the Lord sent his Disciples to Preach the Gospel to the Gentiles Now this being most agreeable to the word and what I apprehend 't will be but however the Ministers may press forward for a publication of the Gospel every where but if they find not blessed success to forbear and to bestow their Labour amongst the Christians and Turks and such as have the Knowledg of God who must stand or fall as their Master finds them but as for the Jews and promised Elect if they come not in they will be sure to be received into Mercy after the Lord comes as many as have not estranged themselves from God by wicked Practices Now whereas the Lord saith in Daniel 12.11 And from the time the daily Sacrifice shall be taken away and the Abomination that maketh desolate set up there should be a thousand two hundred and ninety days And in the following Verse 't is said Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days Here is 45 days of years difference between this and the forementioned number And it is said that he is blessed that waiteth and cometh to the last Number of the Thousand three hundred and five and thirty days Now this being the exact number of years Israel knew after they were delivered out of Egypt before they had Conquered their Enemies so as to be settled in the Land of Canaan for they lay forty years in the Wilderness and five years they were Conquering their Enemies before they peaceably settled in the Land of Canaan Now the like time being mentioned in Daniel whereby it doth appear from the time of the visible signs of the Lord 's Coming till the time he comes and also until the time that all the wicked are cut of doth seem to be the exact number of years because the Lord saith he that waiteth and cometh to the five and forty days of years beyond the forementioned Number are said to be blessed which Argues by
branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned Herein is my father glorified that ye bear much fruit so shall ye be my disciples As the father hath loved me so have I loved you continue in my love If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love even as I have kept my fathers commandments and abide in his love Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you By all these words of the Lord it is fully evident that although we were grafted in him and beloved of him yet if we bear not fruit and keep not his commandments we shall neither remain in him nor be beloved of him Now St. Paul saith to the Galatians Gal. 1.6,8 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another Gospel And he saith in the 8. v. But though we or an angel from heaven preach another Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed Now by the words of St. Paul there was deceivers got in among the Church of Galatia which would have brought them to circumcision and made them also to observe the ceremonial law Therefore he saith Gal. 5.2 I Paul say unto you that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing And again he saith Gal. 2.16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified Now whereas he saith no man is justified by the works of the law That is man is not able to fulfil all the works of the law in that perfection as is required of him Neither can it take away original sin so as a man cannot become justified by it yet they were so far able to fulfill the law as to walk blamelesly in it as in Luke 1.6 And in the Old Testament time accepted of God for it through the then promised Messiah And whereas he saith not by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ That is by the faith that Jesus Christ requires of us And he saith we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ Now whereas he saith they had believed in Christ that includes a belief in his whole revealed will in his word And in his word he tells us if we will enter into life we must keep the commandments Therefore St. Paul by what he here saith hath no intention to take them off the moral law for they cannot be saved if after they are received into the Church of Christ they will not walk in obedience to it But it is the ceremonial law which some false Brethren would have brought in to have burthened the Church withal whereby they would have made the sufferings of Christ of none effect for man's salvation and justification Therefore he saith Gal. 3.1,2,3,4,5,6 O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you This only would I learn of you receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith Are ye so foolish having begun in the Spirit are ye now made perfect in the flesh Have ye suffered so many things in vain if it be yet in vain Here we see that these Galatians had upon the preaching of the Gospel received the Spirit and that they had suffered many things as the Church of Christ Yet St. Paul was here afraid of their final falling off by reason of deceivers that were got in among them which would have had them trusted to Circumcision Purifications and Sacrifices for Justification and not unto Christ Which Laws were all abolished at the death of Christ he being that only Sacrifice that could make satisfaction to take away sin and all other Sacrifices were but to figure out him who was alone able to make that great atonement with God Therefore St. Paul reproves them sharply that having begun in the Spirit they should think to be made perfect by the flesh And he saith to them in the 5. v. He therefore that ministreth to you the spirit and worketh miracles among you doth he it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith 6. v. Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness Faith or belief in us toward God and Christ consists of three distinct parts first a belief in and a practical consent to the conditions upon which life and salvation is offered by God! the second is a belief in the power and faithfulness of the promiser for the thing promised The third is an intire affection with real thankfulness to the promiser for the thing promised Now these three things were found in the belief of faithful Abraham for he left his own Country to follow the Lord and gave himself wholly up to love and obey him as witness the offering of his Son and also judging him faithful that had promised him the Blessing And St. Paul saith to the like effect of himself in the foregoing Chap. Gal. 2.19,20 For I through the law am dead to the law that I might live unto God That is dead to the ceremonial law not to the moral law for he as well as Abraham was conformable to the law of the Lord to do justice and judgment for which the Lord did confirm his promise to Abraham As in the 19. v. Gen. 18.19 God said I know him that he will command his children and his houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him And St. Paul saith in the 20. v. Gal. 2.20 I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me We see here St. Paul saith he was crucified with Christ That is he was dead to the World and to the pleasures thereof yet he said that he lived yet he says again not I but Christ liveth in me That is he had so wholly given himself up to Christ and brought down his thoughts into subjection unto him so as Christ had the reigning power in him so as the life which he then lived was by faith in the Son of God Which faith was he
by-end or other neither out of hatred to good but to attain that which they have desired And that through the fervent Prayers of the Faithful God hath made the Devil to Resign up their bond again the which Faustus thought to do but in the end he was miserably deceived And whereas St. John saith 1 John 2.1,2 My little Children these things write I unto you that ye sin not And if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous He is the propitiation for our sins And he farther saith in 1 John 5.16,17 If any man see his Brother sin a sin which is not unto Death he shall ask and he shall give him Life for them that sin not unto Death There is a sin unto Death I do not say that he shall pray for it All unrighteousness is sin and there is a sin not unto Death And the Lord saith Mat. 12.31,32 All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men but the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven unto men And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him neither in this world neither in the World to come That is whosoever ignorantly speaks against the Son of Man which is Christ it shall be forgiven him But if he speaks against the Son of Man Christ Knowingly so as the Spirit of God doth bear Witness to them that he is the Son of God then there appears to be no forgiveness for them in this World nor in the World to come And although all these sins and Blasphemies are to be forgiven unto men except the sin against the Holy Ghost The which forgiveness is before Conversion upon Repentance but after they are Regenerated there is no such Pardon for such crying sins as the words of St. Paul makes clearly Evident as in Heb. 6.4,5,6 and in Heb. 10.26,27,28,29 2 Pet. 20.21 and Christ himself saith in Mat. 10.33 Whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven Now the sins in the Saints consists of three sorts First sins of Ignorance Secondly sins of Infirmity Thirdly sins of Surprisal The which if we so fall it is said in Psal 37.24 He shall not utterly be cast down for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand Now Peter is no example to us for the Lord withdrew from him for having any confidence in himself and to admonish us that we might not trust ourselves but go to God for strength Of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledg both of good and evil When God Created Man he so far Created them as he did the Angels in that he gave them Eternal Life so if they had never sinned they had never died and also in that God made Man perfectly Righteous and gave them a freedom of will so as they might have chosen the Good and refused the Evil but there being then in Paradice an opposite to God and all Good God forewarned Man of it underneath the Name or by the representation of the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil for all was of God made Good but by the Devils departure from him he became Evil and so thereby he became as the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil. Now where the Trees are spoken of Gen. 2.9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every Tree that is pleasant to the Sight and good for Food the Tree of Life also in the midst of the Garden and the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil. Whereas it is said That out of the Ground the Lord made to grow every Tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for Food after which it is said the Tree of Life also in the midst of the Garden and the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil. Now it is not plainly said that these two Trees grew out of the Ground but by the words that go before we have taken it to be so But by what Esdras saith it appears but as a Vail put on that word but however it is certain that the Tree of Life was the representative of Christ and the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil was the representative of the Devil And had Man first taken and eaten of the Tree of Life without doubt he had then been past the power of Satan's delusion so that he should in no wise have adheard to him which in Scripture is term'd eating as in John 6.57 As the living Father hath sent me and as I live by the Father So he that eateth me even he shall live by me So Adam eating of the contrary Tree it became Death in him for they had no sooner eaten of that Tree but the whole mass of mankind was corrupted and then they found their Natures and Inclinations changed whereby the shame of their Nakedness did appear and by which way Satan got an entrance into the Soul so as to suggest what he pleaseth and also to sute his temptations according to our inclinations but when the time of restitution cometh as the bodies of the Saints are raised and Israel again restored then in paradice also is the Tree of Life but then the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil is not there but seal'd up from them as in Esd 8.51 But understand thou for thy self and seek out the Glory for such as be like thee 52. v. For unto you Paradice is opened the Tree of Life is planted the time to come is prepar'd plenteousness is made ready a City is builded rest is allowed the perfect goodness and wisdom 53. v. The Root of evil is sealed up from from you weakness and the moth is hid from you and corruption is fled into Hell to be forgotten Here the Lord saith the evil root shall be sealed up And in Revelations it is shewed who this evil root is that will be sealed up As in the Rev. 20.1 And I saw an Angel come down from Heaven having the Key of the Bottomless Pit and a great Chain in his hand 2. v. And he laid hold on the Dragon that Old Serpent which is the Devil and Satan and bound him a thousand years 3. v. And Cast him into the Bottomless Pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should not deceive the Nations no more till the thousand years be fulfilled And after that he must be loosed a little Season Here it is clearly shewed who this evil root is that shall be sealed up and although it said he shall be loosed for a little season yet never after to deceive them of the Glorious Tabernacle nor Israel And in Rev. 22.2 There is made mention of the Tree of Life but no mention of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil Therefore by all these places it is sufficiently proved that the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil
are put out of a Capacity of being such any longer And had this City been in Heaven as some would have it when the Wine-press is trod it must have taken up the whole confine of the Heavens or otherwise the Wine-press of God's wrath would appear to be trod in the Heavens without the City But this being too great an absurdity St. John to end all Controversy saith in Rev. 2. He saw the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven And in the first verse he saith I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away and there was no more Sea The New Heavens and the New Earth is as I before shewed you The New Powers and New People in whom dwelleth Righteousness As Christ and his raised Saints the New Heaven and his Elect the New Earth Now whereas he saith there was no more Sea And St. Jude terms the wicked The Raging Waves of the Sea foaming out their own shame And where the Destruction of Babilon is spoken of the Multitude that came against her is said to be the Sea Jer. 51.42 The Sea is come up upon Babilon she is covered with the multitude of the Waves thereof Now the Sea has a prevailing Power therefore the Sea spoken of in Revelations which shall be no more is that the wicked shall then have no more prevailing Power For altho the Devil does gather together after the thousand Years his Gog and Magog yet it will be to their utter Destruction And the Lord spenking in Isa 57.20,21 of Israel's Peace and Healing and of the Wicked Worlds Destruction as in the 20. v. But the wicked are like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt There is no Peace saith my God to the Wicked Here the wicked are said in the day of their Destruction to be like the troubled Sea And at the time when Israel shall be delivered from under the Power of all his Enemies it is said Psal 68.22 The Lord saith I will bring again from Basham I will bring my People again from the depths of the Sea Here we see that the wicked are the depths of the Sea from which God will bring his People from under their Power And the wicked as a Sea shall never more prevail And it is said Jer. 33.23,24 Thy tacklings are losed they could not well strengthen their Mast they could not spread the Sail. Then is the Prey of a great spoil divided the lame take the prey The Inhabitants shall not say I am sick the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their Iniquity When the Lord comes then the wicked can neither spread their Sail nor strengthen their Mast Then will the prey of a great spoil be divided then will the lame take the prey That is the Afflicted People of Israel And at that time the Inhabitants shall not say I am sick And whereas St. John saith Rev. 21.2,3,4 And I John saw the Holy City New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband And I heard a great Voice out of Heaven saying behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his People and God himself shall be with them and be their God And God shall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are past away And the Lord saith Rev. 3.12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the Name of my God and the Name of the City of my God which is the New Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God and I will write upon him my New Name Here the Lord as well as St. John saith the New Jerusalem comes down out of Heaven from God Now as to what this City is that comes down out of Heaven from God it does plainly appear to be the whole Church triumphant for St. John saith it is this City the New Jerdsalem which he saw prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband Then it cannot be any outward glorious Fabrick which the Lord is said to espouse or is fit to be the Lamb's Wife But the Lord has promised to espouse his Church to himself at the great Wedding-Supper For as yet the Souls are said to be under the Altar and therefore not yet made Partakers of the Glory that shall be revealed But at the Last Trumpet when the Dead shall be raised incorruptible and the Bodies of the Saints again to them re-united and those that have been the Lord's Witnesses mentioned in the Revelations with them caught up in the Clouds to meet the Lord in Air. And then as it is said God shall wipe away all tears from their Eyes and then there shall be with them no more Death neither sorrow nor crying And by the promised new Covenant Israel will then fall little short of this when the Lord hath taken away their sins and so secured them in himself as they shall never more sin against him For altho afterward thay shall know a temporal Death Yet the Lord in John 11.26 John 6.50 Terms that not a dying And Revelations 19.11 It is there declared how the Lord shall come For St. John saith Râ—v 19.11,14 That he saw Heaven opened and behold a white horse and he that sate upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he doth Judge and make war 14. And the Armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses cloathed in fine Linen white and clean By which we see these Armies here spoken of come out of Heaven And St. John in the 14 Chap. 14. v. Doth open to us what these white horses are For he there saith Rev. 14.14 He beheld a white Cloud and upon the Cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man having on his head a Golden Crown and in his hand a sharp sickle You see here that the white horses are white Clouds and that the Lord will come in the Clouds of Heaven as was declared by the Angels in Acts 1.11 And the Lord also told his Disciples John 14.2 In my fathers house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you 3. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self Now without doubt in the Clouds there will be Receptacles of Glorious mansions for the Lord and his chief raised Saints and Angels And St. John saith Rev. 21.9 There came unto him an Angel and talked with him Saying come up hither and I will shew the bride the lambs wife 10. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high Mountain and shewed me that great City