compare together if we desire to understand any thing of what shall befal the Christian Church or State in time to come This Text which I have made choice of for my Subject is part of a Prophecy concerning the greatest of all Events the Dissolution of the World 2 PETER iii. 11. Seeing then all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness CHAP. I. The Division of the Words and Doctrine contained in them with the Heads of the following Discourse THESE words contain in them two Parts 1. An Antecedent or Doctrine All these things shall be dissolved 2. A Consequent or Inference thereupon What manner of persons ought we to be The Doctrine here only briefly hinted or summarily proposed is laid down more fully in the precedent Verse But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in 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 These words are by the generality of Interpreters Ancient and Modern understood of the final destruction or dissolution of Heaven and Earth in which sense I shall chuse rather to accept them at present than with the Reverend and Learned Dr. Hammond and some few others to stem the Tide of Expositors and apply them to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Polity I say then That this World and all things therein contained shall one day be dissolved and destroyed by Fire By Heaven and Earth in this place the most rational Interpreters of Scripture do understand only the whole Compages of this sublunary World and all the Creatures that are in it all that was destroyed by the Flood in the days of Noah and is now secured from perishing so again that I may borrow Dr. Hammond's words in his Annotations on this place And again the word Heavens saith he being an Equivocal word is used either for the superior Heavens whether Empyreal or Ethereal or for the sublunary Heavens the Air as the word World is either the whole Compages of the superior or inferior or else only of the sublunary lower World we may here resolve that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heaven and Host or Elements thereof are literally the sublunary aereal Heavens and all that is therein Clouds and Meteors c. Fowls and flying Creatures and so fit to join with the Earth and Works that are therein In prosecution of this Proposition and in order to the Proof and Confirmation and likewise the clearing and illustration of it I shall 1. Give you what I find concerning the dissolution of the World 1. In the holy Scripture 2. In Ancient Christian Writers 3. In the Heathen Philosophers and Sages 2. I shall endeavour to give some answer to these seven Questions which are obvious and usually made concerning it 1. Whether there be any thing in Nature which might prove and demonstrate or argue and infer a future Dissolution of the World 2. Whether shall this Dissolution be brought about and effected by Natural or by Extraordinary Means and Instruments and what those Means and Instruments shall be 3. Whether shall the Dissolution be gradual or sudden 4. Whether shall there be any Signs and Fore-runners of it 5. At what Period of Time shall the World be dissolved 6. How far shall this Conflagration extend Whether to the Ethereal Heavens and all the Host of them Sun Moon and Stars or to the Aereal only 7. Whether shall the Heavens and Earth be wholly dissipated and destroyed or only refined and purified CHAP. II. The Testimonies of Scripture concerning the Dissolution of the World 1. THen Let us consider what we find delivered in the holy Scriptures concerning the Dissolution of the World And first of all This place which I have made choice of for my Text is in my opinion the most clear and full as to this particular in the whole Scripture and will give light for the Solution of most of the proposed Questions V. 10. The day of the Lord shall come as a thief c. This answers the third Question Whether the Dissolution shall be gradual or sudden Wherein the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and all the works that are therein shall be burnt up And again V. 12. Wherein the Heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat This answers the second Question What the Means and Instruments of this Dissolution shall be V. 13. Nevertheless we according to his promise look for a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness This gives some light toward the answering of the last Question Whether shall the Heavens and the Earth be wholly burnt up and destroyed or only renewed and purified These Words as clearly as they seem to refer to the Dissolution of the World yet Dr. Hammond doubts not to be understood of the remarkable destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish State he thus paraphrasing them V. 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat and the Earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up But this Judgment of Christ so remarkable on the Jews shall now shortly come and that very discernably and the Temple shall suddenly be destroyed the greater part of it burnt and the City and People utterly consumed V. 11. Seeing then all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness Seeing then this destruction shall thus involve all and now approacheth so near what an engagement doth this lay upon us to live the most pure strict lives that ever men lived V. 12. Looking for and hastning unto the coming of the day of God wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat Looking for the coming of Christ for our deliverance and by our Christian lives quickning and hastning God to delay it no longer that Coming of his I say which as it signifies great mercy to us so it signifies very sharp destruction to the whole Jewish State V. 13. Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness Instead of which we look for a new Christian State wherein all provision is made by Christ for righteousness to inhabit according to the promise of Christ concerning the purity that he should plant in the Evangelical State How he makes out and confirms this Paraphrase see in his Annotations upon this place So confident is he of the Truth of this his Interpretation that he censures the usual one as a great Mistake in his Annotation on
years For in one place it saith in these lasâ— days and in another Upon whom the ends of the World are come and in a third Wheâ— the fulness of time was come Now it iâ— evident that these things were spoken in thâ— sixth Millenary Irenoeus adv haeres lib. 5. cap. ult Whâ— gathers so much from tâ—â— Similitude of thâ— six days Creation after which six days waâ— the Sabbath that is the day of Rest Hâ—autem saith he est praeteritorum narrâ—tio futurorum prophetia Dies enim â—nus mille annos significabat sicut Scriptura testantur Mille anni ante Dominum sicâ— Dies unus ergo sicut consummatus fuit mundus in sui creatione intra sex dierum spatium postea quies sic in sui fine consummabitur intra spatium sex millium annorum deinde vera perpetua quies subsequeturâ— This is both a Narration or History of what is past and a Prophesie of things to come For one day signified a thousand years as the Scriptures testifie A thousand years in the sight of God are but as one day Therefore as the World at the first Creation was consummated in the space of six days and afterwards followed the Sabbath or Rest so in the end its duration shall be conâ—ummated within the space of six thousand â—ears and then shall follow the true and â—erpetual Rest To these I might add Lactantius in his Seâ—enth Book of Institut Cap. 14. who useth he same Argumentation with Irenoeus Ergo uoniam sex diebus cuncta Dei opera perfecta â—unt per secula sex id est sex annorum milâ—ia manere in hoc statu mundum necesse est Dies enim magnus Dei mille annorum circulo erminatur sicut indicat Propheta qui dicit Ante oculos tuos Domine mille anni tanuam dies unus c. S. Augustine l. 20. De Civitate Dei S. Hieronymus Comment in Mich. cap. 4. Most clear and full to this purâ—ose is Eustath in his Comment in Hexaëâ—eron 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. We reckon saith he that the Creation shall â—ontinue till the end of the sixth Chiliad beâ—ause God also consummated the Vniverse in six days and I suppose that the Deity â—oth account days of a thousand years long For that it is said A thousand years are in â—he sight of the Lord as one day Howbeit â—he most of them did not propose this Opinion as an undoubted Truth but only as a Modest Conjecture And S. Austine is very angry with them who would peremptorily conclude from so slight an Argumentation This Conceit is already confuted anâ— the World hath long outlasted this terâ— according to their Computation who followed the Septuagint or Greek account and recâ—ned that Phaleg lived about the three thoâ—sandth year of the World and had his Naâ— from his living in the division of Time theâ— being to come after him three thousaâ—â— years that is just so many as were past bâ—fore him As concerning the future Condition of tâ— World after the Conflagration I find it tâ— general and received Opinion of the Ancieâ— Christians that this World shall not be aâ—nihilated or destroyed but only reneweâ— and purified So Eusebius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The World shall not be wholly â—stroyed but renewed Divers passages I migâ— produce out of him to the same purpose Cyril of Jerusalem Catech. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He folds up the Heaven not that he might destroy them but thâ— he might rear them up again more beautâ—ful Again Cyril upon this place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. So that this Renovation iâ— respect of the Creation shall be such a kinâ— of thing as the Resurrection in reference tâ— Mans Body Oecumenius upon this place He saith new Heavens and a new Earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet not different in matter And again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They shall not be destroyed or annihilated but only renewed and purified And upon Revel 21.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This he saith not denoting the Non-existence of the Creation but the Renewing In this manner he expounds Psalm 102.5 6. and proceeding saith We may here take notice that the Apostle doth not use the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if the Heaven and Earth were annihilated and brought to nothing but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they passed away or removed or changed State Saint Hierome upon the Psalms Psalm 102. saith Ex quo ostenditur perditionem coelorum non interitum sonare sed mutationem in melius From which words as a Vesture shalt thou change them may be shewn and made out that the Dissolution of the Heavens doth not signifie their utter destruction or annihilation but only their change into a better State I might add abundance more Testimonies but these I think may suffice CHAP. IV. The Opinions of the Ancient Heathen Philosophers and other Writers concerning the Dissolution 3. IT follows now than I give you an account what the Ancient Philosopher and Sages among the Heathen thought anâ— delivered concerning this Point Two oâ— the four principal Sects of Philosophers helâ— a future Dissolution of the World viz. Thâ— Epicureans and Stoicks As for the Epicureans they held that aâ— the World was at first composed by thâ— fortuitous concourse of Atomes so it should at last fall in pieces again by their fortuitouâ— Separation as Lucretius hath it lib. 5. Principio maria ac terras coelúmque tuere Horum naturam triplicem tria corpora Memmi Tres species tam dissimiles tria talia texta Vna dies dabit exitio multósque per annos Sustentata ruet moles machina mundi But now to prove all this first cast an Eye And look on all below on all on high The solid Earth the Seas and arched Sky One fatal Hour must ruine all This glorious Frame that stood so long must fall This Opinion of theirs is consonant enough to their wild Principles save only in that point of its suddenness Vna dies dabit exitio c. one day shall destroy or make an end of it The Stoicks were also of Opinion that the World must be dissolved as we may learn from the Seventh Book of Laertius in the Life of Zeno. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. They hold that the World is corruptible for these Reasons 1. Because it was generated and had a beginning 2. Because That is corruptible in the whole whose parts are corruptible But the parts of the World are corruptible being daily transmuted one into another 3. That which is capable of Mutation from better to worse is corruptible But such is the World sometimes being afflicted with long Heats and Droughts â—ometimes with continued Showers and Inâ—ndations To those we may add 4. according to some of their Opinions Because the Sun and Stars being fed with Vapours exhaled from the Earth all the moisture will at length be drawn out and the World â—ly on fire They were afraid nè
described in places which undoubtedly speak of his coming to Judgment at the end of the World As in 1 Cor. 15.52 mention is made of the Trumpets sounding at the time of Christ's coming and 1 Thess 4.16 it is said The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with the voice of the Archangel and with the trump of God and v. 17. We that are alive shall be caught up together with them that are risen in the clouds to meet the Lord in the Air. All which places are perfectly parallel and seem manifestly to allude to the fore-mentioned words Matth. 24.30 31. I am apt to think that these Prophecies may have a double respect one to the City Temple and Nation of the Jews another to the whole World at the great day of Doom and that the former is indeed Typical of the latter and so they have a double completion the first in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Polity In reference to which it is truly said This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled The second in the final Dissolution of the World which is yet to come But to proceed Another place which is usually understood of the Dissolution of the World by fire is 2 Thess 1.7 8. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heave◠with his mighty Angels in flaming fire c Other parallel places may be seen Rev. 6 12 13 14. Rev. 10.6 Rev. 21.1 And ◠saw a new Heaven and a new Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passe◠away and there was no more Sea Heb. 12 26 27. These places speak more directly of the Dissolution of the World and th◠coming of Christ to Judgment Others ther◠are that speak only concerning the time o◠it 1 Pet. 4.7 But the end of all things is a◠hand James 5.9 Behold the Judge standet◠before the door 1 John 2.18 Little children it is the last time or as some translat◠it the last hour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 10.37 Yet a little while and he that shall come wil◠come and will not tarry 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luke 18.17 I tell you he will avenge them speedily All these places the fore-mentioned Dr. Hammond still applies to that famous Period of the destruction of the City Temple and Polity of the Jews and in conclusion hath left us but one place in the New Testament to prove the general Conflagration of the World viz. 2 Pet. 7.7 Now because some have been offended at these Interpretations of his others have spoken very flightingly of them I shall briefly sum up what hath been alleged in defence of them by this great man 1. That the Prophets use to set down their Predictions in Tropes and Figures and not in plain expressions their Style being Poetical And therefore in describing those hideous Judgments which fell upon that people of the Jews beyond all that ever before fell upon them or indeed any other people they found it necessary to employ those High and Tragical Phrases of the passing away and dissolving Heaven and Earth and Elements And that this was the manner of the Prophets may be proved because we find the destruction of other places described in as High Strains as Lofty and Tragical Expressions as this of Jerusalem For example that of Idumaea Esay 34.9 The streams thereof shall be turned into pitch and the dust thereof into brimstone and the land thereof shall become burning pitch It shall not be quenched night nor day the smoke thereof shall go up for ever And in the 4th Verse he seems but to Preface to this Destruction in these words And all the host of Heaven shall be dissolved and the Heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll and all their hosts shall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the Vine and as a falling Fig from the Fig tree For my Sword shall be bathed in Heaven Behold it shall come down upon Idumaea And in the Burden of Babylon Chap. 13.8 9. we have these words Behold the day of the Lord Cometh cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the Land desolate For the Stars of Heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light The Sun shall be darkened in his going forth and the Moon shall not cause her light to shine 2. All the Predictions in that famous place Matth. 24. to which all other places in the New Testament relating to this matter are parallel are by our Saviour himself restrained to the destruction of Jerusalem and the full completion of them limited to the duration of that Age Verse 34. Verily I say unto you This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled What reason then can we have to extend them further 3. In most of the places where this coming of Christ is mentioned it is spoken of as near and at hand as in the places last cited Now saith the Learned Doctor in his Note upon Luke 18.7 I tell you he will avenge them speedily All which if when it is said to approach and to be at the door it belonged to the Day of Judgment now after so many hundred years not yet come what a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were this what a delaying of his coming and consequently what an Objection against the truth of the Christian Religion As Mahomet having promised after his death he would presently return to life and having not performed his Promise in a thousand years is by us justly condemned as an Impostor 3. That this place of S. Peter out of which I have taken my Text doth not belong to the end of the World sufficiently appears saith he by the purport of this whole Epistle which is to arm them with constancy and perseverance till that Day come and particularly in this Chapter to confute them who object against the truth of Christs Predictions and resolve it should not come at all against whom he here opposes the certainty the speediness and the teribleness of its Coming And for that other famous Place 2 Thessal 1.8 9. that it belongs to the same Period see how he makes out in his Annotations I shall now superadd some places out of the Old Testament which seem to speak of the Dissolution of the World Job 14.12 Man lieth down and riseth not till the Heavens be no more Psalm 102.5 6. quoted Heb. 1.10 11. Of old hast thou laid the foundations of the Earth and the Heavens are the works of thy hands They shall perish but thou remainest and they all shall wax old as doth a garment and as a vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed Esay 34.4 And all the host of Heaven shall be dissolved and the Heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll and all their host shall fall down as a leaf falleth from the Vine c. Esay 51.6 The Heavens shall vanish away like smoke and the Earth shall wax old like a garment Joel 2.31
the common and received Opinion and Perswasion of the Ancient Christians that that day was not far off and had they been to limit it they would hardly have been induced to set the term so forward and remote from their own Age as by experience we find it proves to to be in their own times or shortly after and many places of Scripture seem to favour that Opinion so that some have presumed to say that the Apostles themselves were at first mistaken in this particular till after further illumination they were better informed But though this be too bold a Conceit yet that the Churches at least some of them did at first mistake the Apostles meaning in their Sermons and Epistles concerning this Point and so understand them as to think that the end of the World and final Judgment was at hand appears from 2 Thess 2.2 I beseech you Brethren that ye be not sooâ— shaken in mind or be troubled neither by Spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand Wee see the Apostle labours to rectifie and for the future to prevent this Mistake so likewise the Apostle Peter in the 8th and 9th Verses of this Chapter And yet this Opinion had taken such deep root in them that it waâ— not easie to be extirpated but continued for some Ages in the Church Indeed there are so many places in the New Testament which speak of the coming of Christ as very near that if we should have lived in their time and understood them all as they did of hiâ— coming to judge the World we could hardly have avoided being of the same Opinion But if we apply them as Dr. Hammoâ— doth to his coming to take vengeance on hiâ— enemies then they do not hinder but thaâ— the Day of Judgment I mean the generaâ— Judgment may be far enough off So â— leave this Question unresolved concluding that when that day will come God only knows CHAP. X. How far this Conflagration shâ—ll extend 6. A Sixth Question is How far shall this Conflagration extend Whether to the Ethereal Heavens and all the Host of them Sun Moon and Stars or to the Aereal only I answer If we follow Ancient Tradition not only the Earth but also the Heavens and heavenly Bodies will be involved in one common fate as appears by those Verses quoted out of Lucretius Ovid Lucan c. Of Christians some exempt the Ethereal Region from this Destruction for the two following Reasons which I shall set down in Reuterus's words 1. Because in this Chapter the Conflagration is compared to the Deluge in the time of Noah But the Deluge extended not to the upper Regions of the Air much less to the Heavens the Waters arising only fifteen Cubits above the tops of the Mountains if so much Therefore neither shall the Conflagration transcend that term So Beza upon 2 Pet. 3.6 Tantum ascendet ille ignis quantum aqua altior supra omnes montes That fire shall ascend as high as the Waters stood above the Mountains This passage I do not find in the last Edition of his Notes The ordinary Gloss also upon these words 2 Thess 1.2 In flaming fire rendring vengeance saith Christum venturum praecedet ignis in mundo qui tantum ascendet quantum aqua in diluvio There shall a fire go before Christ when he comes which shall reach as high as did the Water in the Deluge And S. Augustine De Civit. Dei lib. 20. cap. 18. Petrus etiam commemorans factum ante diluvium videtur admonuisse quodammodo quatenus in fine hujus seculi istum mundum periturum esse credamus Peter also mentioning the Ancient Deluge seems in a manner to have advised us how far at the consummation of time we are to believe this World shall perish But this Argument is of no force because it is not the Apostles design in that place to describe the limits of the Conflagration but only against Scoffers to shew that the World should one day perish by Fire as it had of old been destroyed by Water 2. The second reason is because the Heavenly Bodies are not subject to passion alteration or corruption They can contract no filth and so need no expurgation by Fire To this we answer not in the words of Reuter but our own That it is an idle and ill grounded conceit of the Peripateticks That the Heavens are of their own nature incorruptible and unalterable for on the contrary it is demonstrable that many of them are of the same nature with the Earth we live upon and the most pure as the Sun and probably too the Fixt Stars suffer Alterations maculae or opaque Concretions being commonly generated and dissolved in them And Comets frequently and sometimes New Stars appear in the Etherial Regions So that these Arguments are insufficient to exempt the Heavens from Dissolution and on the other side many places there are in Scripture which seem to subject them thereto As Psal 102.25 26. recited Heb. 1.10 which hath already often been quoted The heavens are the works of thy hands They shall perish Mat. 24.35 Heaven and Earth shall pass away Isa 65.17 51.6 The Heavens shall vanish away like smoke Yet am I not of opinion that the last Fire shall reach the Heavens They are too far distant from us to suffer by it nor indeed doth the Scripture affirm it but where it mentions the Dissolution of the Heavens it expresses it by such Phrases as seem rather to intimate that it shall come to pass by a consenescency and decay than be effected by any sudden and violent means Psal 102.25 26. They all shall wax old as doth a garment c. Though I confess nothing of Certainty can be gathered from such expressions for we find the same used concerning the Earth Isa 51.6 The Heavens shall vanish away like smoke and the Earth shall wax old as doth a garment The heavenly Bodies are none of them uncorruptible and eternal but may in like manner as the Earth be consumed and destroyed at what times and by what means whether Fire or some other Element the Amighty hath decreed and ordered CHAP. XI Whether shall the Whole World be consumed and annihilated or only refined and purified THere remains now only the Seventh Question to be resolved Whether shall the World be wholly consumed burnt up and destroyed or annihilated or only refined purified or renewed To this I answer That the latter part seems to me more probable viz. That it shall not be destroyed and annihilated but only refined and purified I know what potent Adversaries I have in this case I need name no more than Gerard in his Common Places and Dr. Hakewil in his Apology and the Defence of it who contend earnestly for the Abolition or Annihilation But yet upon the whole matter the Renovation or Restitution seems to me most probable as being most consonant to Scripture Reason and Antiquity The
Scripture speaks of an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Restitution Acts 3.21 Whom the Heavens must contain until the time of the restitution of all things Speaking of our Saviour and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Regeneration of the World the very Word the Stoicks and Pythagoreans use in this case Matth. 19.28 29. Verily I say unto you That ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the Throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve Thrones c. Psal 102.26 As a vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed Which words are again taken up and repeated Heb. 1.12 Now it is one thing to be changed another to be annihilated and destroyed 1 Cor. 7.31 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The fashion of this World passeth away As if he had said It shall be transfigured or its outward form changed not its matter or substance destroyed Isa 65.17 Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into mind Isa 66.22 As the new Heavens and new Earth which I shall make shall remain before me To which places the Apostle Peter seems to refer in those words 2 Pet. 3.13 Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness This new Heaven and new Earth we have also mentioned Rev. 21.1 And I saw a new Heaven and a neâ— Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away and there was no more Sea These places I confess may admit of an Answer or Solution by those who are of a contrary Opinion and are answered by Doctor Hakewil yet all together especially being back'd by ancient Tradition amount to a high degree of probability I omit that place Rom. 8.21 22. The creature it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God tho it be accounted the strongest proof of our Opinion because of the obscurity and ambiguity thereof 2. For Antiquity I have already given many Testimonies of the ancient Fathers and Doctors of the Church and could if need were produce many more the whole stream of them running this way And tho Dr. Hakewill saith that if we look back to higher times before S. Hierome we shall not easily find any one who maintained the World's Renovation yet hath he but two Testimonies to alledge for its Abolition the one out of Hilary upon the Psalms and the other out of Clemens his Recognitions To this Restitution of the World after the Conflagration many also of the Heathen Philosophers bear witness whose Testimonies Mr. Burnet hath exhibited in his Theory of the Earth lib. 4. cap. 5. Of the Stoicks Chrysippus de Providentia speaking of the Renovation of the World saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We after death certain Periods of time being come about shall be restored to the form we now have To Chrysippus Stobaeus adds Zeno and Cleanthes and comprehends together with Men all natural things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Zeno and Cleanthes and Chrysippus were of opinion That the Nature or Substance of things changes into Fire as it were into a Seed and out of this again such a World or Frame of Things is effected as was before This Revolution of nature Antoninus in his Meditations often calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Periodical Regeneration of all things And Origen against Celsus saith of the Stoicks in general 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Stoicks say That at certain Periods of time there is a Conflagration of the Vniverse and after that a Restitution thereof having exactly the same Disposition and Furniture the former World had More to the like purpose concerning the Stoicks we have in Eusebius out of Numenius Nature saith he returns 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the Resurrection which makes the Great Year wherein there is again a restitution made from it self alone to it self For returning according to the order wherein it began first to frame and dispose things as reason would it again observes the same Oeconomy or Administration the like Periods returning eternally without ceasing He that desires more Authorities of the Heathen Philosophers and Poets in confirmation of the World's Restitution after the Conflagration may consult the same Mr. Burnet in the place forequoted where he also shews that this Doctrine of the Mundane Periods was received by the Grecians from the Nations they call barbarous Pythagoras saith Porphyry brought it first into Grece and Origen witnesseth of the Egyptians Wise Men that it was delivered by them Laertius out of Theopompus relates That the Persian Magi had the same Tradition and Berosus saith that the Chaldeans also In fine among all the Barbarous Nations who had among them any Person or Sect and Order of Men noted for Wisdom or Philosophy this Tradition was current The Reader may consult the Book we refer to where is a notable Passage taken out of Plutarch's Tractate De Iside Osiride concerning a War between Oromazes and Arimanius somewhat parallel to that mentioned in the Revelation between Michael and the Dragâ—n 3. The Restitution of the World seems more consonant to Reason than its Abolition For if the World were to be annihilated what needed a Conflagration Fire doth not destroy or bring things to nothing but only separate their parts The World cannot be abolished by it and therefore had better been annihilated without it Wherefore the Scripture mentioning no other Dissolution than is to be effected by the Instrumentality of Fire its clear we are not to understand any utter Abolition or Annihilation of the World but only a Mutation and Renovation by those Phrases of perishing passing away dissolving being no more c. They are to be no more in that state and condition they are now in 2. There must be a material Heaven and a material Hell left A place for the glorified Bodies of the Blessed to inhabit and converse in and a place for the Bodies of the Damned a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Prison for them to be shut up in Now if the place of the Blessed be an Empyreal Heaven far above these visible Heavens as Divines generally hold and the place of the Damned be beneath about the middle of the Earth as is the Opinion of the Schoolmen and the Church of Rome and as the name Inferi imports and as the ancient Heathen described their Tartarus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then when all the intermediate Bodies shall be annihilated what a strange Universe shall we have Consisting of an immense Ring of Matter having in the middle a vast vacuity or space void of all Body save only one small point for an infernal Dungeon Those that are of this Opinion have too narrow and mean thoughts of the Greatness I had almost said Immensity of the Universe the glorious and magnifick Products of
v. 10. where he thus writes What is here thus expressed by S. Peter is ordinarily conceived to belong to the end of the World and by others applyed to the end of this World and the beginning of the Millennium or thousand years And so as S. Peter here saith v. 16. many other places in S. Paul's Epistles and in the Gospel especially Matth. 24. are mistaken and wrested That it doth not belong to either of those but to this fatal day of the Jews sufficiently appears by the purport of this whole Epistle which is to arm them with Constancy and Perseverance till that day come and particularly in this Chapter to confute them who object against the Truth of Christ's Predictions and resolve it should not come at all Against whom he here opposes the Certainty the Speediness and the Terribleness of its coming That which hath given occasion to those other common Mistakes is especially the Hideousness of those Judgments which fell upon that People of the Jews beyond all that ever before are reâ—ated to have fallen upon them or indeed any other people which made it necessary â—or the Prophets which were to describe it 〈◊〉 and who use Tropes and Figures and not â—lain Expressions to set down their Predictiâ—ns to express it by these high Phrases of â—he passing away and dissolving of Heaven and Earth and Elements c. which sounding very tragically are mistaken for the great â—nd final Dissolution of the World So far the Doctor Two things there are in this Chapter which seem to contradict this Inâ—erpretation First That the Destruction â—ere spoken of is compared with Noah's â—lood and the Heaven and Earth to be disâ—olved by this made parallel and of equal extent to the World destroyed by that Of this the Doctor was well aware and therefore grants that the 7th Verse But the Heavens and the Earth which are now by the â—â—me word are kept in store reserved unto fire â—gainst the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men is to be understood of the general and final destruction of the World by fire but the following Verses to be an Answer to the first part of the Atheists Objection viz. Where is the promise of his coming To me it seems that all refer to the same matter The second thing which seems to contradict the Doctor 's Interpretation is the Apostles citing for the instruction and confirmation of the Believers and in answer to the Atheists Objection Where is the promise of his coming â— that place of the Psalmist Psal 90.4 Thaâ— one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day For thâ— Apostle seems to suppose that the time oâ— Christ's coming might possibly be a thousand years off and that they were not to thinâ— much or distrust the promise if it were so for though it were predicted as thinâ— shortly to come yet they were to consideâ— that a thousand years in God's sight is but very short time so that it might be fore tolâ— as shortly to come though it were a thousand years off Whereas it might seem improper to mention a thousand years to support them in expectation of an Event thâ— was not twenty years to come Another place where mention is made â—â— Christ's coming to Judgment and the Dissâ—lution of the World is Matth. 24. to whicâ— may be added as parallel Mark 13. anâ— Luke 21. In which places you have conâ—â—derable 1. The Suddenness of Christ's coming v. 27. As the lightning comes out of tâ— East and shineth even unto the West so shâ— the coming of the Son of Man be 2. The Sigâ— of his coming v. 29. Immediately after tâ— tribulation of those days shall the Sun be darkned and the Moon shall not give her light and the Stars shall fall from Heaven and the powers of Heaven shall be shaken 3. The manner of his coming v. 30. And then shall appear the Sign of the Son of Man in Heaven and then shall all the Tribes of the Earth mourn when they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with power and great glory And he shall send his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet and they shall gather together his Elect from the four Winds from one end of Heaven to the other 4. The Uncertainty of the time of his coming and this dissolution as to us But of that day and hour knoweth no man no not the Angels in Heaven and Mark adds neither the Son but the Father only All this Prophecy Dr. Hammond understands of the destruction of the City and Temple of Jerusalem and whole Nation of the Jews as may be seen in his Paraphrase and Annotations upon this place And indeed our Saviour himself seems to limit it to this saying v. 24. Verily I say unto you this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled For if these Prophecies look further than the destruction of Jerusalem even to Christ's coming to Judgment how could it be true that that generation should not pass away till all those things were fulfilled Whereas we see that that Generation is long since passed away and yet the end is not yet And indeed Expositors that understand them of the end of the World and Christ's second coming to Judgment are hard put to it to answer this Objection S. Chrysostom will have this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be understood not of the Generation of men then living but of the Generation of the faithful which should not fail till the end of the World 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. He denominates a Generation not only from living together in the same time but from having the same form and manner of religious Worship and Polity as in that place This is the generation of them that seek thee that seek thy face O Jacob. Beza understands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the present Age and will have it to be of the same valor with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Hebrew and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to refer not to all particulars mentioned in this Chapter but only to those which are spoken of the destruction of the City and Nation of the Jews But saith he if any one urgeth the universal Particle Vertere licebit Fiant omnia viz. quae ultimam illam diem praecessura dixit Nam ab illo tempore coeperunt fieri adhuc perseverant illa signa suo demum tempore Filio hominis venturo But on the other side 1. Some passages there are in this Chapter which are hardly applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Dissolution of the Jewish Common-wealth as the appearing of the Sign of the Son of man in heaven and the Tribes seeing the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory And his sending his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet 2. The coming of Christ is in like manner
humore omni consumpto totus mundus ignesceret This Dissolution of the World they held should be by Water and by Fire alternately at certain periods but especially by Fire which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Stoicks say that the cause of the destruction of the World is the irresistible force of Fire that is in things which in lonâ— periods of time consumes and dissolves alâ— things into itself Euseb Praep. lib. 19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The moâ—â— ancient of that Sect held That at certain vâ—â— Periods of time all things were rarified intâ— Air being resolved into an Ethereal Fire This 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Stoicks we find mentioned by many both Christian and Heâ—then Writers as besides the fore-quoted Mâ—nutius Felix Justine Martyr Clemens Alexandrinus in 5 Strom. Plutarch Seneca anâ— others The time of this Conflagration Seneca determins not but saith only it shalâ— be when God pleases 3 Quaest nat capâ— 20.8 Cùm Deo visum vetera finire ordiâ—meliora When it shall seem good to God 〈◊〉 put an end to old things and to begin better Some there be who tell us of the Annus Platonicus or magnus by which they understand such a period of time as in which all the heavenly Bodies shall be restored to the same Site and distance they were once in in respect of one another As supposing that all the Seven Planets were at the moment of Creation in the first degree of Aries till they come all to be in the same degree again all that space of time is called the Great Year Annus magnus In this Year they tell us that the height of Summer is the Conflagration and the depth of Winter the Inundation and some Astrologers have been so vain as to assign the time both of the Inundation and Conflagration Seneca 3. Quaest Nat. cap. 20. Berosus qui Belum interpretatus est dicit cursu ista syderum fieri adeò quidem affirmat ut conflagrationi atque diluvio tempus assignat Arsura enim terrena contendit quando omnia sydera in Cancro convenerint inundationem futuram quando eadem syderum turba in Capricorno convenerit Berosus who interpreted Belus saith that those things come to pass according to the course of the Stars and he so confidently affirms it that he assigns the time both for the Conflagration and Inundation For that all Earthly Bodies will be burnt up when all the Stars shall meet in Cancer and the Inundation will fall out when the same shall be in conjunction in Capricorn Concerning the manner of this Conflagration they held it should be sudden Senec. Natura subitò ad ruinam toto impetu ruit licet ad originem parcè utatur viribus dispensétque se incrementis fallacibus Momento fit cinis diu sylva c. Nature doth suddenly and with all its force rush on to Ruin though to the rise and formation of things it useth its strength sparingly dispensing its influence and causing them to grow by insensible degrees a Wood is long in growing up but reduced to ashes almost in a moment And some of them were so absurd as to think that the Stars should justle and be dashed one against another Senec. lib. de consolatione ad Marciam Cùm tempus advenerit quo se mundus revocaturus extinguat viribus ista se suis caedent sydera syderibus incurrent omni flagrante materia uno igne quicquid nunc ex disposito lucet ardebit Here by the way we may with Doctor More Souls Immortality lib. 3. cap. 18. take notice how Coursly not to say Ridiculously the Stoicks Philosophize when they are turned out of their Road-way of Moral Sentences and pretend to give an account of the Nature of Things For what Errours can be more gross than they entertain of God of the Soul and oâ— the Stars they making the two former Corporeal Substances and feeding the latter with the vapours of the Earth affirming that the Sun sups up the Water of the great Ocean to quench his Thirst but that the Moon drinks off the lesser Rivers and Brooks which is as true as that the Asse drank up the Moon Such Conceits are more fit for Anacreon in a drunken Fit to stumble upon who to invite his Companions to Tiple composed that Catch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then to be either found out or owned by a serious Philosopher And yet Seneca mightily triumphs in this Notion of foddering the Stars with the thick Fogs of the Earth and declares his Opinion with no mean Strains of Eloquence c. As for the extent of this Conflagration they Held that not only the Heavens should be burnt but that the Gods themselves should not escape Scot-free So Seneca Resoluto mundo Diis in unum consusis And again Atque omnes pariter Deos Perdet nox aliqua Chaos Is not this wise Philosophy If their Morality were no better than their Physicks their Wise man they boast of might be so denominated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they of Gotham But let us look a little further and we shall find that the Stoicks were not the first Authors of this Opinion of the Conflagration but that it was of far greater Antiquity than that Sect. Others of the more ancient Philosophers having entertained it viz. Empedocles as Clemens Alexandrinus testifies in his 5 Strom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Heraclitus as the same Clemens shews at large out of him in the same place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 amp c. And Laertius in the Life of Heraclitus He taught 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That there is but one World and that it was generated out of Fire and again burnt up or turned into Fire at certain periods alternately throughout all Ages I might add to these the Ancient Greek Poets Sophocles and Diphilus as we find them quoted by Justine Martyr and Clemens Alexandrinus Neither yet were these the first Inventers and Broachers of this Opinion but they recieved it by Tradition from their Forefathers and look'd upon it as an Oracle and Decree of Fate Ovid speaks of it as such in the first of his Metamorphosis Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur affore tempus Quo mare quo tellus correptáque regia coeli Ardeat mundi moles operosa laboret Besides by Doom Of certain Fate he knew the time should come When Sea Earth ravisht Heaven the curious Frame Of this Worlds Mass should shrink in purging Flame And Lucan Hos Caesar populos si nunc non usserit ignis Vret cum terris uret cum gurgite ponti Communis mundo superest rogus ossibus Astra Misturus If now these Bodies want their Fire and Urn At last with the whole Globe they 'll surely burn The World expects one general Fire and Thou Must go where these poor Souls are wandring now Now through some are of an Opinion that by Fata here are
power of the Omnipotent God and instrumentality of an inexplicable multitude of Clouds amassed together wherewith it was filled changed into Water so that the upper and lower Air might seem to be transmuted into an Ocean not by the strength of Nature but of him to whose Will and Power all things are subject And he is so confident that this Deluge in which the Water was raised fifteen Cubits above the highest Mountains was not nor could be effected by natural Causes but by the right hand of the Most High God only that he saith No man can deny it but he who doth not penetrate how far the power of Nature can extend and where it is limited To conclude this Hypothesis hath the Suffrages of most Learned Men. But because the Scripture assigning the Causes or Means of the Inundation makes no mention of any conversion of Air into Water but only of the breaking up the Fountains of the Great Deep and the opening of the Windows of Heaven I suppose those Causes may be sufficient to work the Effect and that we need not have recourse to such an Assistance As for those that make the Deluge Topical and restrain it to a narrow compass of Land their Opinion is I think sufficiently confuted by the fore-mentioned ingenious Author to whom therefore I refer the Reader I shall not undertake the Defence or Confutation of any other Hypothesis only tell you which at present seems to me most probable and that is theirs who for a partial cause of the Deluge assign either a change of the Center of the Earth or a violent depression of the Surface of the Ocean and a forcing the Waters up from the subterraneous Abysse through the Channels of the Fountains that were then broken up and opened First then let us consider what Causes the Scripture assigns of the Flood and they are two 1. The breaking up the Fountains of the great Deep 2. The opening of the Windows of Heaven I shall first treat of this last By the opening of the Windows of Heaven is I suppose to be understood the causing of all the Water that was suspended in the Air to descend down in Rain upon the Earth the effect hereof here mentioned being a long continuing Rain of Forty nay perchance One Hundred and Fifty Days And that these Treasuries of the Air will afford no small quantity of Water may be made appear both by Scripture and Reason 1. By Scripture which opposes the Waters that are above the Heavens or Firmament to those that are under them which if they were not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in some measure equal it would never do Gen. 1.6 God is said to make a Firmament in the midst of the Waters and to divide the Waters which were under the Firmament from the Waters which were above the Firmament And this was the work of a whole day and consequently no inconsiderable thing By the Heavens or Firmament in this place is to be understood the inferiour Region of the Air wherein the Fowls fly who Gen. 1.20 are said to fly above the Earth in the open Firmament of Heaven though elsewhere it be taken for the Celestial Regions wherein the Sun and Moon and Stars are placed 2. The same may be made appear by Reason grounded upon Experience I my self have observed a Thunder-Cloud in passage to have in less than two hours space powred down so much Water upon the Earth as besides what sunk into the parched and thirsty ground and filled all Ditches and Ponds caused a considerable Flood in the Rivers setting all the Meadows on flote And Dr. Wittie in his Scarborough Spaâ— tells us of great Spouts of Rain that ordinarily fall every year some time or other in Summer that set the whole Countrey in a Flood Now had this Cloud which might for ought I know have moved Forty Miles forward stood still and emptied all its Water upon the same spot of ground it first hung over what a sudden and incredible Deluge would it have made there and yet what depth or thickness of Vapours might remain uncondensed in the Air above this Cloud who knows Now it is to be considered that not only the Air above the Dry Land but also all that covers the whole Ocean is charged with Vapours which are nothing else but diffused Water all which was brought together by Winds or what other Means seem'd good to God and caused to distil down in Rain upon the Earth And you may easily guess that it was no small quantity of Water that was supplyed this way in that it sufficed for a Rain that lasted more than Forty Days as I shall afterwards shew if I understand the Text a right And that no ordinary Rain neither but Catarracts or Spouts of Water for so the Septuagint interprets the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Catarracts or Spouts of Heaven were opened I return now to the first Cause or Means of the Deluge assigned by the Scripture and that is the breaking up of all the fountains of the great Deep By the great Deep in this place I suppose is to be understood the Subterraneous Waters which do and must necessarily communicate with the Sea For we see that the Caspian and Mediterranean Seas to mention no others receive into themselves many and great Rivers and yet have no visible Out-lets nay this latter receives also abundance of Waters from the great Ocean running in at the Streights of Gibraltar and therefore by Subterraneous Passages must needs discharge their Waters into the Abyss of Waters under the Earth and by its intervention into the Ocean again By the breaking up of the Fountains of the Great Deep is I conceive meant the making great Issues and Apertures for these Subterraneous Waters to rush out You will say how could that be sith the Water keeps its level and cannot ascend to a greater height above the common Center than the Superficies of the Sea is much less force its way remove Obstacles and break open Passages I answer According to them that hold that all Rivers come from the Sea by Subterraneous Passages it is no more than daily happens For they must needs grant thaâ— the Water in the Subterraneous Channels is raised as far above the level of the Ocean as are the Heads and Fountains of great Rivers Which considering the height of their first Springs up the Mountains the length of their Courses and swiftness of their Streams for a great part of the way is very considerable a constant declivity being necessary to their descent And therefore 〈◊〉 can by no means assent to the Learned Doctor Plot if I understand him alright That the Valleys are as much below the Surface of the Sea as Mountains are above it For how then could Rivers descend down to the Sea through those Valleys the Sea would rather run into them and make Siâ—uses or else if they were enclosed the Water would stagnate there and make Pools
Reasons I reject that Opinion and do rather think that the Conflagration shall be effected by a Superficial Fire Tho I must confess we read in Tacitus Annal. 13. at the end of a sort of Fire that was not so apt to disperse and vanish The City of the Inhonians in Germany saith he confederate with us was afflicted with a sudden Disaster for Fires issueing out of the Earth burned Towns Fields Villages every where and spread even to the Walls of a Colony newly built and could not be extinguished neither by Rain nor River-Water nor any other Liquor that could be employed until for want of Remedy or anger of such a Distraction certain Pesants cast Stones afar off into it then the Flame somewhat slacking drawing near they put it out with Blows of Clubs and other like as if it had been a wild Beast last of all they threw in Cloaths from their Backs which the more worn and fouler they were the better they quenched the Fire I use Dr. Hakewil's Translation CHAP. VII The Third Question Answered Whether shall this Dissolution be Gradual and Successive or Momentaneous and Sudden 3. THE Third Question is Whether shall this Dissolution be gradual and successive or momentaneous and sudden I answer The Scripture resolves for the latter The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night a Similitude we have often repeated in Scripture as in the tenth Verse of this Chapter in 1 Thessal 15.2 Revel 3 3. and 16.15 And the Resurrection and Change of Things it is said shall be in a moment in the twinkling of aâ— eye 1 Cor. 15.52 Consonant whereto both the Epicureans and Stoicks held theiâ— Dissolutions of the World should be suddeâ— and brief as Lucretius and Seneca in thâ— places forementioned tell us And it iâ— suitable to the nature of Fire to make a quicâ— dispatch of things suddenly to consume anâ— destroy And as it shall be sudden so also shall it be unexpected being compared to the coming of the Flood in the days of Noah Matth. 24.37 38 39. But as the days of Noah were so shall also the coming of the Son of man be For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entred into the ark And knew not until the flood came and took them all away so shall also the coming of the Son of man be And the raining of Fire and Brimstone upon Sodom Luke 17. Thessal 5.3 For when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child Now if it shall be thus sudden and unexpected it is not likely there should be in nature any manifest Tendency to it or remarkable Signs and Forerunners of it for such must needs startle and awaken the World into an expectation and dread of it That there is at present no such Tendency to Corruption but that the World continues still in as good state and condition as it was two thousand years ago without the least impairment or decay hath been as we before noted without any possibility of contradiction clearly made out and demonstrated by Dr. Hakewill in his Apology and therefore arguing from the past to the future it will in all likelyhood so continue two thousand years more if it be so long to the Day of Doom and consequently that day as the Scripture predicts will suddenly and unexpectedly come upon the World But if all these Prophecies as Dr. Hammond affirms be to be restrained only to the Destruction of Jerusalem and Jewish Polity without any further respect to the end of the World then indeed from thence we can make no Inferences or Deductions in reference to that final Period CHAP. VIII The Fourth Question Resolved Whether shall there be any Signs or Forerunners of the Dissolution of the World 4. THE Fourth Question is Whether shall there be any Signs or Forerunners of the Dissolution of the World In order to the Answering of this Question we shall distinguish Signs into natural and arbitrarious 1. natural Signs so the Aurora or Dawning of the Day is a Sign of the Sun-rising Now if the Dissolution be effected in the course of Nature and by natural Means there will be some previous natural Signs of it An old House will threaten Ruin before it falls The natural Death of Men and all Animals hath its Harbingers and old Men before their Dissolution feel the Impression of Age and proclaim to the World their approaching Fate by Wrinkles Gray Hairs and Dimness of Sight But we have formerly shewn that there is no Consenescency or Declension in Nature but that the World continues still as firm and staunch as it was three thousand years ago and why hereafter it should founder and decay more than it hath done for so many Ages heretofore what reason can be given It is not therefore likely there should be any natural Signs of the Dissolution of the World and consequently that it shall be effected by natural Means 2. There are arbitrary Signs as a Garland hung out is a Sign of Wine to be sold Now if the Dissolution of the World be effected by supernatural and extraordinary means as is most likely the Signs of it must be arbitrarious For tho they may be natural Effects and Productions yet would they not signifie the Destruction of the World if they were not ordered by providence to happen at that time and predicted as Forerunners of it with which otherwise they have no natural Connexion Such Signs are Matth. 24. The Sun being darkened and the Moon not giving her Light and the Stars falling from Heaven and the Shaking of the Powers of Heaven These and many other Signs of his coming we find mentioned in Scripture but what the meaning of these Expressions may be is not so clear For tho some of them may be taken in a Literal Sense yet it is manifest that others cannot The Sun may indeed be so covered with a Macula as to be quite obscured and thereupon the Moon necessarily lose her Light which she borrows only from the Sun-beams But how the Stars should in a literal Sense fall down from Heaven is inconceivable it being almost demonstratively certain that most of them are bigger than the whole Earth We may therefore keeping as near as we can to the Letter thus interpret them There shall be great Signs in Heaven dismal Eclipses and Obscurations of the Sun and Moon new Stars and Comets shall appear and others disappear and many fiery Meteors be suspended in the Air. The very Foundations of the Earth shall be shaken and the Sea shall roar and make a noise But I must not here dissemble a great Difficulty How can such illustrious Signs and Forerunners be reconciled to the suddenness and unexpectedness of Christ's coming and the end of the World Luke 21.25 After the Evangelist had told us That there shall be signs