of the World or the Golden Age as they call'd it namely Equality of Seasons throughout the Year or a perpetual Equinox We have also taken in all the adjuncts or concomitants of these States as they are mention'd in Scripture The Longevity of the Ante-diluvians and the declension of their age by degrees after the Flood As also that wonderful Phaenomenon the Rainbow which appear'd to Noah for a Sign that the Earth should never undergo a second Deluge And we have shewn wherein the force and propriety of that Sign consisted for confirming Noah's faith in the promise and in the divine veracity Thus far we have explain'd the past Phaenomena of the Natural World The rest are Futurities which still lie hid in their Causes and we cannot properly prove a Theory from effects that are not yet in being But so far as they are foretold in Scripture both as to substance and circumstance in prosecution of the same Principles we have ante-dated their birth and shew'd how they will come to pass We may therefore I think reasonably conclude That this Theory has performed its task and answer'd its title having given an account of all the general changes of the Natural World as far as either Sacred History looks backwards or Sacred Prophecy looks forwards So far as the one tells us what is past in Nature and the other what is to come And if all this be nothing but an appearance of truth 't is a kind of fatality upon us to be deceiv'd SO much for Natural Evidence from the Causes or Effects We now proceed to Scripture which will make the greatest part of this Review The Sacred Basis upon which the whole Theory stands is the doctrine of S. Peter deliver'd in his Second Epistle and Third Chapter concerning the Triple Order and Succession of the Heavens and the Earth That comprehends the whole extent of our Theory which indeed is but a large Commentary upon S. Peter's Text. The Apostle sets out a threefold state of the Heavens and Earth with some general properties of each taken from their different Constitution and different Fate The Theory takes the same threefold state of the Heavens and the Earth and explains more particularly wherein their different Constitution consists and how under the conduct of Providence their different fate depends upon it Let us set down the Apostle's words with the occasion of them and their plain sence according to the most easie and natural explication Ver. 3. Knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts 4. And saying Where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation 5. For this they willingly are ignorant of that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth consisting of water and by water 6. Whereby the world that then was being over flowed with water perished 7. But the heavens and the earth that are now by the same word are kept in store reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men 10. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up 13. Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness This is the whole Discourse so far as relates to our Subject S. Peter you see had met with some that scoff'd at the future destruction of the World and the coming of our Saviour and they were men it seems that pretended to Philosophy and Argument and they use this argument for their opinion Seeing there hath been no change in Nature or in the World from the beginning to this time why should we think there will be any change for the future The Apostle answers to this That they willingly forget or are ignorant that there were Heavens of old and an Earth so and so constituted consisting of Water and by Water by reason whereof that World or those Heavens and that Earth perish'd in a Deluge of Water But saith he the Heavens and the Earth that are now are of another constitution fitted and reserved to another fate namely to perish by Fire And after these are perish'd there will be New Heavens and a New Earth according to God's promise This is an easie Paraphrase and the plain and genuine sence of the Apostle's discourse and no body I think would ever look after any other sence if this did not draw them into paths they do not know and to conclusions which they do not fancy This sence you see hits the objection directly or the Cavil which these scoffers made and tells them that they vainly pretend that there hath been no change in the World since the beginning for there was one sort of Heavens and Earth before the Flood and another sort now the first having been destroyed at the Deluge So that the Apostle's argument stands upon this Foundation That there is a diversity betwixt the present Heavens and Earth and the Ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth take away that and you take away all the force of his Answer Then as to his New Heavens and New Earth after the Conflagration they must be material and natural in the same sence and signification with the former Heavens and Earth unless you will offer open violence to the Text. So that this Triplicity of the Heavens and the Earth is the first obvious plain sence of the Apostle's discourse which every one would readily accept if it did not draw after it a long train of Consequences and lead them into other Worlds than they ever thought of before or are willing to enter upon now But we shall have occasion by and by to examine this Text more fully in all its circumstances Give me leave in the mean time to observe that S. Paul also implyes that triple Creation which S. Peter expresses S. Paul I say in the 8th chap. to the Romver 20 21. tell us of a Creation that will be redeem'd from Vanity which are the new Heavens and new Earth to come A Creation in subjection to Vanity which is the present state of the World And a Creation that was subjected to Vanity in hopes of being restor'd which was the first Paradisiacal Creation And these are the three states of the Natural World which make the subject of our Theory To these two places of St. Peter and St. Paul I might add that third in St. John concerning the new Heavens and new Earth with that distinguishing Character that the Earth was without a Sea As this distinguisheth it from the present Earth so being a Restitution or Restauration as we noted before it must be the same with some former Earth and consequently it implies that there was another precedent
Earth be said to be stretched over the waters Or because there are waters in some subterraneous cavities is the Earth therefore founded upon the Seas Yet such lame explications as these you will meet with and while we have no better light we must content our selves with them but when an explication is offer'd that answers the propriety force and extent of the words to reject it onely because it is not fitted to our former opinions or because we did not first think of it is to take an ill method in expounding Scripture This Foundation or Establishment of the Earth upon the Seas this Extension of it above the waters relates plainly to the body or whole circuit of the Earth not to parcels and particles of it as appears from the occasion and its being joyn'd with the Heavens the other part of the World Besides David is speaking of the Origin of the World and of the Divine power and wisdom in the construction and situation of our Earth and these attributes do not appear from the holes of the Earth and broken Rocks which have rather the face of a ruine than of wisdom but in that wonderful libration and expansion of the first Earth over the face of the waters sustained by its own proportions and the hand of his Providence These two places in the Psalms being duly consider'd we shall more easily understand a third place to the same effect in the Proverbs delivered by WISDOM concerning the Origin of the World and the form of the first Earth in these words Chap. 8. 27. When he prepared the Heavens I was there when HE SET an Orb or Sphere upon the face of the Abyss We render it when we set a Compass upon the face of the Abyss but if we have rightly interpreted the Prophet David 't is plain enough what compass is here to be understood not an imaginary circle for why should that be thought one of the wonderful works of God but that exterior Orb of the Earth that was set upon the waters That was the Master-piece of the Divine art in framing of the first Earth and therefore very fit to be taken notice of by Wisdom And upon this occasion I desire you to reflect upon St. Peter's expression concerning the first Earth and to compare it with Solomon's to see if they do not answer one another St. Peter calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An Earth consisting standing or sustained by the waters And Solomon calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An Orb drawn upon the face of the Abyss And St. Peter says that was done 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the wisdom of God which is the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or wisdom that here declares her self to have been present at this work Add now to these two places the two foremention'd out of the Psalmist An Earth founded upon the Seas Psal. 24. 2. and an Earth stretched out above the waters Psal. 136. 6. Can any body doubt or question but all these four Texts refer to the same thing And seeing St. Peter's description refers certainly to the Ante-diluvian Earth they must all refer to it and do all as certainly and evidently agree with our Theory concerning the form and situation of it The pendulous form and posture of that first Earth being prov'd from these four places 't is more easie and emphatical to interpret in this sence that passage in Job ch 26. 7. He stretcheth out the North over the Tohu for so it is in the original and hangeth the Earth upon nothing And this strange foundation or no foundation of the exteriour Earth seems to be the ground of those noble questions propos'd to Job by God Almighty ch 38. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the Earth Declare if thou hast understanding Whereupon are the foundatâ—ons thereof fastned and who laid the corner stone There was neither foundation nor corner stone in that piece of Architecture and that was it which made the art and wonder of it But I have spoken more largely to these places in the Theory it self And if the four Texts before-mentioned be consider'd without prejudice I think there are few matters of natural Speculation that can be so well prov'd out of Scripture as the Form which we have given to the Ante-diluvian Earth But yet it may be thought a just if not a necessary appendix to this discourse concerning the form of the ante-diluvian Earth to give an account also of the ante-diluvian Abyss and the situation of it according to Scripture for the relation which these two have to one another will be a further means to discover if we have rightly determin'd the form of that Earth The Abyss or Tehom-Rabbah is a Scripture notion and the word is not us'd that I know of in that distinct and peculiar sence in Heathen Authors 'T is plain that in Scripture it is not always taken for the Sea as Gen. 1. 2. 7. 11. 49. 25. Deut. 33. 13. Job 28. 14. 38. 16. Ps. 33. 7. 71. 20. 78. 15. 135. 6. Apoc. 20. 1. 3. but for some other mass of waters or subterraneous storehouse And this being observ'd we may easily discover the nature and set down the history of the Scripture-Abyss The Mother-Abyss is no doubt that in the beginning of Genesis ver 2. which had nothing but darkness upon the face of it or a thick caliginous air The next news we hear of this Abyss is at the Deluge Gen. 7.11 where 't is said to be broke open and the waters of it to have drowned the World It seems then this Abyss was clos'd up some time betwixt the Creation and the Deluge and had got another cover than that of darkness And if we will believe Wisdom Prov. 8. 27. who was there present at the formation of the Earth an Orb was set upon the face of the Abyss at the beginning of the World That these three places refer to the same Abyss I think cannot be questioned by any that will compare them and consider them That of the Deluge Moses calls there Tehom-Rabbah the Great Abyss and can there be any greater than the forementioned Mother-Abvss And WISDOME in that place in the Proverbs useth the same phrase and words with Moses Gen. 1. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon the face of the Deep or of the Abyss changing darkness for that Orb of the exteriour Earth which was made afterwards to inclose it And in this vault it lay and under this cover when the Psalmist speaks of it in these words Ps. 33. 7. He gathereth the waters of the Sea as in a bag he layeth up the Abyss in storehouses Lastly we may observe that 't was this Mother-Abyss whose womb was burst at the Deluge when the Sea was born and broke forth as if it had issued out of a womb as God expresseth it to Job ch 38. 8. in which place the Chaldee Paraphrase reads it when it broke forth
Scripture-Testimonies with design chiefly to obviate and disappoint the evasions of such as would beat down solid Texts into thin Metaphors and Allegories The Testimonies of Scripture concerning the Renovation of the World are either express or implicit Those I call express that mention the New Heavens and New Earth And those implicit that signifie the same thing but not in express terms So when our Saviour speaks of a Palingenesia or Regeneration Matt. 19. 28 29. Or St. Peter of an Apocatastasis or Restitution Act. 3. 21. These being words us'd by all Authors prophane or Ecclesiastical for the Renovation of the World ought in reason to be interpreted in the same sence in the holy Writings And in like manner when St. Paul speaks of his Future Earth or an habitable World to come Hebr. 2. 5. or of a Redemption or melioration of the present state of nature Rom. 8. 21 22. These lead us again in other terms to the same Renovation of the World But there are also some places of Scripture that set the New Heavens and New Earth in such a full and open view that we must shut our eyes not to see them St. John says he saw them and observ'd the form of the New Earth Apoc. 21. 1. The Seer Isaish spoke of them in express words many hundred years before And St. Peter marks the time when they are to be introduc'd namely after the Conflagration or after the Dissolution of the present Heavens and Earth 2 Pet. 3. 12 13. These later Texts of Scripture being so express there is but one way left to elude the force of them and that is by turning the Renovation of the World into an Allegory and making the New Heavens and New Earth to be Allegorical Heavens and Earth not real and material as ours are This is a bold attempt of some modern Authors who chuse rather to strain the Word of God than their own notions There are Allegories no doubt in Scripture but we are not to allegorize Scripture without some warrant either from an Apostolical interpretation or from the necessity of the matter and I do not know how they can pretend to either of these in this case However that they may have all fair play we will lay aside at present all the other Texts of Scripture and confine our selves wholly to St. Peter's words to see and examine whether they are or can be turn'd into an Allegory according to the best rules of interpretation St. Peter's words are these Seeing then all these things shall be dissolv'd what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness Looking for and hasting the coming of the Day of God wherein the Heavens being on fire shall be dissolv'd and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat NEVERTHELESS we according to his promise look for New Heavens and a New Earth wherein Righteousness shall dwell The Question is concerning this last Verse Whether the New Heavens and Earth here promis'd are to be real and material Heavens and Earth or onely figurative and allegorical The words you see are clear And the general rule of interpretation is this That we are not to recede from the letter or the literal sence unless there be a necessity from the subject matter such a necessity as makes a literal interpretation absurd But where is that necessity in this Case Cannot God make new Heavens and a new Earth as easily as he made the Old ones Is his strength decay'd since that time or is Matter grown more disobedient Nay does not Nature offer her self voluntarily to raise a new World from the second Chaos as well as from the first and under the conduct of Providence to make it as convenient an habitation as the Primaeval Earth Therefore no necessity can be pretended of leaving the literal sence upon an incapacity of the subject matter The second rule to determine an Interpretation to be Literal or Allegorical is the use of the same words or phrase in the Context and the signification of them there Let 's then examine our cafe according to this rule St. Peter had us'd the same phrase of Heavens and Earth twice before in the same Chapter The old Heavens and Earth ver 5. The Present Heavens and Earth ver 7. and now he uses it again ver 13. The new Heavens and Earth Have we not then reason to suppose that he takes it here in the same sence that he had done twice before for real and material Heavens and Earth There is no mark set of a new signification nor why we should alter the sence of the words That he us'd them always before for the material Heavens and Earth I think none will question and therefore unless they can give us a sufficient reason why we should change the signification of the words we are bound by this second rule also to understand them in a literal sence Lastly The very form of the words and the manner of their dependence upon the Context leads us to a literal sence and to material Heavens and Earth NEVERTHELESS says the Apostle we expect new Heavens c. Why Nevertheless that is notwithstanding the dissolution of the present Heavens and Earth The Apostle foresaw what he had said might raise a doubt in their minds whether all things would not be at an end Nothing more of Heavens and Earth or of any habitable World after the Conflagration and to obviate this he tells them Notwithstanding that wonderful desolation that I have describ'd we do according to God's promises expect new Heavens and a new Earth to be an Habitation for the Righteous You see then the New Heavens and New Earth which the Apostle speaks of are substituted in the place of those that were destroy'd at the Conflagration and would you substitute Allegorical Heavens and Earth in the place of Material A shadow for a substance What an Equivocation would it be in the Apostle when the doubt was about the material Heavens and Earth to make an answer about Allegorical Lastly the timeing of the thing determines the sence When shall this new World appear after the Conflagration the Apostle says Therefore it cannot be understood of any moral renovation to be made at or in the times of the Gospel as these Allegorists pretend We must therefore upon all accounts conclude that the Apostle intended a literal sence real and material Heavens to succeed these after the Conflagration which was the thing to be prov'd And I know not what Bars the Spirit of God can set to keep us within the Compass of a Literal sence if these be not sufficient Thus much for the Explication of St. Peter's Doctrine concerning the new Heavens and new Earth which secures the second Part of our Theory For the Theory stands upon two Pillars or two pedestals The Ante-diluvian Earth and the Future Earth or in S. Peter's phrase The Old Heavens and Earth and the New Heavens and Earth And it cannot be