Lord most high is terrible he is a King over all the earth he shall subdue the people under us and the Nations under our feet He shall choose our inheritance for us Psal 47. from 1 to 10 Psa 93.2 3 Ps 99.1 2 3 the excellency of Iacob Selah God is gone up with a shout the Lord with a sound of a trumpet sing praise to God sing praise sing praise unto oâ—r King sing praise For God is the King of all the earth God reigns over the heathen God sitteth upon the Throne of his holinesse The Princes of the people are gathered together even the people of the God of Abraham for the shields of the earth belongeth unto God Rev 19. from 5 to 12 he is greatly exalted And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thundrings Rev 20.6 7 saying Allelujah For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth let us be glad and rejoyce and give honour to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made her self ready And to her was granted that she should be arayed in fine linnen 1 Cor 6.2 1 Tim 2.11 12 and he said unto me write Blessed are they that are called to the marriage Supper of the Lamb And he said unto me these are the true sayings of God And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witnesse of Jâ—sus and for the Word of God and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years John 1.51 Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the world for is is a faithfull saying if we suffer with him Heb 1.14 we shall also reign with him Verily verliy I say unto you hereafter you shall see heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man Heb 2.5 6 7 For they are all ministring spirits sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation For not unto the Angels hath he put into subjection the world to come whereof we speak Rev 21.7 but in a certain place saith What is man that thou shouldst be mindfull of him for thou hast crowned him with glory and put all things under him although we yet see not all things put under him But he that overcometh shall inherit all things Dan 1.31 Verse 44 and I will be their God and they shall be my people For the stone that is cut out of the mounatin without hands shall smite the Image and make it like the chaff of the summer threshing floor and the stone shall become a great mountain and fill the whole earth And at that time the Saints shall possesse the Kingdom for ever Hosâ— 3.4 5 The children of Israel shall abide many dayes without a King and without a prince and without a sacrifice and afterwards shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their King and shall fear the Lord and his goodnesse in the latter dayes Isa 11. from 1 to 13 And in that day there shall be a root of Iâ—sse which shall stand up an ensign to the people And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tong of the Aegyptian sea and with his mighty winds shall he shake his hand over the river and shall smite it in the seven streams and make men go over dry-shod Isa 66 And there shall be an high way for the remnant of his peoâ—le which shall be left from Assyria like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt Ezek 39 28 29 And he shall bring them into their own land and feed them with judgement upon the mountains of Israel For he will rejoyce in Jerusalem and joy in his people Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God Isa 32.1 2 that caused them to be led into captivity amongst the heathen But I have gathered them into their own land Joel 2 32 and have left none of them any more there neither will I hide my face any more from them And a King shall reign in righteousnesse Rev. 11 15 and Prâ—nces decree judgement For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance And there was a great voice in heaven saying the KING-DOMES of this WORLD are become the KINGDOMS of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever From these Scriptures it doth plainly appear that the Jews shall yet return to their town of unwalled villages and repair their former desolations And also that Christ shall have his Tabernacle with them and be their KING in the midst of them according to the Scriptures and reign over the house of David where his Saints shall be as Saviours upon Mount Zion and enjoy the Kingdom according to Gods good pleasure Wherefore seeing we receive a Kingdom that cannot be moved let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for he that shall come will come and will not tarry even so Amen come Lord Jesus come quickly the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ be multiplied unto all such as wait for his appearance and Kingdome in sinâ—erity and truth FINIS ERRATA PAge 3 l 3 read benevolous p 5 l 30 r City for eighty l 37 reither p 11 l 2 r prayers p 16 r Heb. 9.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 13. r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p 21 l 27 r ask for affirm p 28 l 20 r Acts for Exod. p 29 l ul r new for communion p 35 l 8 r you draw p 36 l 10 r Poet p 38 mend the margin r there was not a state of Immortality in Paradice equivalent with that which was brought to light no more to be subject to corruption p 46 l 17 r to fear death for did fear death p 47 l 14 r Christ owned Church p 52 l ult r many made sinners p 58 mend the margin noter Mal. 1.11.12 p 55 l 1 r despised p 65 l 32 r no man to do p 76 l 13 r moulded for marred p 77 l 6 r tender p 78 l 2 r can for cannot p 80 l 15 r tender also in line ult r tender p 82 l 17 r condition for transgression p 83 men the margin note r preterperfectâ—n e for preterimperfâ—ctience p 86 l ult r be kin p 87 l 13 r visited for rejected p 88 l 3 r reach for wrath p 89 l 22 r there justice left him and there mercy found him to bring him again from the dead p 90 l 6 r threatened for here ended p 92 in the margin r Indifferently p 93 l 4 r threatened for there opened p 95 l 18 r tender l 2â— r premised p 96 l 10 r I suppâ—se for I passe p 99 l 11 r dolefull for doubtful p 100 l 12 r Abraham for Adam l 19 r gave for you In the same p r Eâ—omitâ—s for Adamics p 112 l 3 r to whom p 119 l 32 r translated for calculated p 123 l 20 r mared for made p 127 apply 26 v. of the 9th ch to the Romans to the remnant of Israel p 132 l 24 r bride for bridegrom p 133 l 2 r in a dispute l 11 r depend p 131 l 13 r not troubâ—ed p 137 l 15 r Diotrephes for Elias l 26 r Rulers for unless p 141 l 20 r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p 168 l 5 r stain for strain p 174 l 8 r Joshua for Hosea
the Lord Jesus THE GREAT KING shal take the KINGDOMS of the whol WORLD into his hands and 〈…〉 KINGS in his wrath and break them like a Potters vessell when he shall sit KING upon his holy hill of SYON and so I passe to a conclusion as briefly as may be not taking notice of every truffle yet I shall not let any thing that hath a colour of reason or strength go unexamined and unanswered as the Lord shall assist me But again whereas in your 34. page you say The Pope is Antichrist because he is against Christ and prayes to Saints To which I answer briefly and say that if all those may be fitly called Antichrist which sin against Christ or break his laws then he that goes to the Ale house and is drunk or he that covets that which is his neighbours is an Antichrist which if so I fear there is few of your tribe will misse that title Antichrist it s well if you do I could shew you your vain reasoning at large but I spare you but you tell me the Pope prayes to Saints The Pope praying to Saints proves him not to be the Antichrist but rather proves that he is not and therefore is Antichrist pray did you ever dream that such as pray to Saints are the Antichrist I am certain you never read it in the Scriptures but rather that proves him not to be Antichrist because he that is the Antichrist will be so far from praying to Saints that he will neither acknowledge God nor Saints but will oppose himself above God or Saints as I already have proved As for your other two reasons are triflles for in your second reason you tell me how The Latteran Council applauded the Pope saying That he was another God on earth To which I answer If you had added such a Letter as was sent from the Samaritanes to Antiochus Epiphanes Read Josephus p. 303. yet it would not have helpt you to prove the Pope to be Antichrist for what and if the Latteran Council did applaud the Pope and call him a God on earth will it therefore follow that either Council or Pope did affirm that they were above the God of heaven or spake as the Man of sin did marvelous things against the God of Gods 1 Cor. 8.5 We know there are gods many as saith the Apostle and so they might peradventure call him a God on earth but this proves him not to be the Antichrist so your second reason falls to the ground And thirdly you say The seven hills are the seat of Antichrist Rev. 17.9 and the Popes sits there and therefore the Pope is Antichrist Answer The text doth say Rev. 17.9 The seven heads are seven mountains on which the WOMAN mark that sitteth But I have shewed that the WOMAN there spoken of is the same WOMAN that is spoken of in the 18. verse which is to be destroyed by the Antichrist and therefore not Antichrist but the seven hills was never called the seat of Antichrist Dan. 11 45. neither shall it ever be his seat but his seat shall be in the glorious holy mountain Jâ—rusalem as I before have shewed And thus all your three reasons to prove the Pope to be Antichrist is chased and vanished away as a vision of the night and so I passe to the next thing considerable which is the examination of what you say to the Reign of Christ after the destructâ—on of the great Antichrist because the other intervening discourse of yours is but a story of the family of Gog and Magog the which peradventure I know near so well as your self what Historians say of the family of Gog and Gomâ—r and Tubal and Togamâ—r and the like and also possibly I might prove that some of all these families will be of that multitude that shall cover the mountains of Israel like a cloud but I have said enough to prove that the Pope is not THE Antichrist and so I come to examin your examinitâ—on of Christs reign on earth the which upon examinition I do marvel you would strain your reputation if you ever had any in bringing into a publick view that which hath so little reason or strength of argument in it but I pass briefly to the matter which is Page 36. Christ shall not reign upon earth say you because Christ tells Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world To which I answer and say when Christ tells Pilate his KINGDOME was not of this world at that time it was not of this world considered as it stands in the state of corruption and the government upon many mens shoulders for upon this account Christ speaks to Pilate but there is a time coming that the Kingdomes of this world shall become the Kingdomes of the LORD CHRIST The time is coming that Christ will have and hold a Kingdome on earth and the GOVERNMENT shall be upon his shoulders and he shall reign for ever and ever that is so long as there are KING-DOMES to reign over for this saith the Lord in several places of Scripture as I shall hint at some few of them and also shew you when the time will begin and that will be at the sounding of the seventh Trumpet that shall accomplish these three excellent things or these three excellent things shall be accomplished at that time first the dead Saints raised and secondly the Jews called home and thirdly the KINGDOMS of this world at that time shall become the KINGDOMS of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign and govern it in righteousness These three things I shall prove in order as God shall assist through whose strength I could be very large in this matter A discovery of the excellent effects of the 7th trumpet in the time of his sounding 1 Thes 4.16 but I shall be brief And first to the first What is the first thing that will be effected by the sound of the seventh Trumpet which is the dead Saints raised as will appear from the holy Scripture which saith For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first and that this is the seventh or last Trumpet is more plainly discovered by Paul to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 15.51 52. which saith Behold I shew you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinckling of an eye at the LAST TRVMP for the TRVMPET shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptable and we shall be changed From whence we may see that this will be effected in the sounding of the seventh TRUMPET namely that the dead Saints shall be raised and the living Saints changed and so I passe to hint at the second thing that will be effected in that time which is The drying up of the River Euphrates that the children of Israel may
for the Mâ—untains shall depart and the Hâ—llâ— be removed but my kindnesse shall not depart 〈…〉 â—hee neither shall the Covenant 〈◊〉 Jer 〈◊〉 22 23 24 2â— peace be removed saith the Lord that hath me cyon th 〈◊〉 turn again O Virgin Israel turn again 〈…〉 Corts and I will cause the Captivity of 〈…〉 Captivity of Israel to return and I will build them 〈…〉 first Jer◠〈◊〉 For 〈◊〉 set mine eyes upon them for good and will 〈◊〉 theâ— again to this Land and I 〈…〉 do 〈◊〉 and I will plant then 〈…〉 nor throw them doâ—nany 〈…〉 〈…〉 of Israel ye shall shoot 〈…〉 your fruit to say people Israel 〈…〉 For behold I am for 〈…〉 be alled and sown 〈…〉 the jouse of Isreal 〈…〉 be inhibited and the 〈…〉 upon you man 〈…〉 and bring fruit and I will 〈…〉 and I will do better unto you than at your beginning and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Thus faith the Lord of Hosts in those dayes it shall come to passe Zach. 8.22 23 that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the Nations even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew saying we will go with you for we have heard that God is with you And it shall come to passe in the last daies Isa 2.2 3 4 5 that the Mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the monntains and many people shall go and say come ye and let us go up to the Mountian of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob Mich. 4.1 2 3 4. and he will teach us of his wayes for the Law shall go forth of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem For Zions sake will I not hold my peace and for Jerusalems sake will I not rest untill the righteousnesse thereof go forth as brightnesse and the salvation as a lamp that burneth Is 62.1 2 3 4 The Gentiles shall see thy righteousnesse and all Kings thy glory and thou shalt be called a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal Diadem in the hand of thy God Thou shalt be no more termed forsaken Isa 51.3 neither shall thy Land be termed desolate any more but thou shalt be called Hephzibah and thy Land Beulah Isa 35.10 Chap. 51.11 for the Lord delighteth in thee For the Lord will comfort Zion and he will comfort all her wast places and he will make her wildernesse like Eden and her desâ—rt like the garden of the Lord joy and gladnesse shall be found therein thanksgiving and the voice of melody For the Ransomed of the Lord shall come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads They shall obtain joy and gladdesse and sighing and sorrow shall flee away Zeph. 3.19 For he will gather them out of all places where they have been driven and get them fame in every place where they have been put to shame and for their shame they shall have double and for their confusion they shall rejoyce in their portion Isa 61.7 For in their Land double everlasting joy shall be upon them and they shall be put into a place of their own and move no more neither shall the wicked afflict them as aforetime But the sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee and all that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet and shall call thee the City of the Lord the Zion of the holy one of Israel Isa 60.14 Ver. 18 21. Violence shall no more be heard in thy Land wasting nor destruction within thy borders but thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise thy people also shall be all righteous they shall inherit the Land for ever and thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a peaceable habitation Isa 66.10 11 12 13. rejoyce you with Jerusalem and be glad with her all ye that love her rejoice for joy with her all ye that mourn for her that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breast of her consolation that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory for thus saith the Lord behold I will extend peace to her like a river and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream then shall ye suck ye shall be born upon her sides and dandled upon her knees as one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you Chap. 65.18 Isa 30.19 and you shall be comforted in Ierusalem For behold I create Ierusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy for the people shall dwell in Zion at Ierusalem thou shalt weep no more He will be very gratious to thee at the voice of thy cry when he shall hear it he will answer thee Psal 102.13 14 15 16. For the Lord shall arise and have mercy upon Zion for the time to favour her yea the set time is come so the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord and all the Kings of the earth thy glory When the Lord shall build up Zion Ver. 21 22. he shall appear in his glory when the people are gathered together and the Kingdomes to serve the Lord to declare the name of the Lord in Zion and his praises in Ierusalem Look upon Zion the City of our solemnity thine eyes shall see Ierusalem a peaceable habitation a Tabernacle that shall not be taken down Isa 33.20 21 22 24. But there the glorious Lord will be to them a place of broad rivers And the inhabitants shall not say I am sick the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquities the Lord hath sworn by his right hand and by the arm of his strength surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies and the sons of strangers shall no more drink thy wine for which thou hast laboured but they that have gathered it shall eat it and praise the Lord and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the Courts of my holinesse Isa 62.8 9 10 11 12. Go through go through the gates prepare ye the way of the Lord cast up cast up the high-way gather out the stones lift up a standard for the people Behold the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world say ye to the daughter of Zion behold thy salvation cometh behold his reward is with him and his work before him And they shall call them the holy people Ezek. 34.12 13 28. the redeemed of the Lord and thou shalt be called sought out a City not forsaken As the Shepheard seeketh out his flock in the day when he is amongst his sheep that are scattered so will I seek out my sheep and deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day and I
and his Disciples should be for signs and wonders in Israel it was so and as it was prophesied that the Jews should smite him on the cheek it was so and as it was prophesied that they would give him vineger to drink it was so and as it was prophesied that one should betray him for thirty pieces of silver by which the Potters field should be bought it was so and as it was prophesied that they should cast lots for his vesture it was so and that a bone of him should not be broken but that he should be peirced it was so done to him These and many such like things as touching Christ and also concerning Israels Captivity by the Bibylonians which was foretold by the Prophets was fulfilled in the letter multitudes of such like things as I could speak of but the time fails me which was fulfilled in the very letter Therefore let us believe that what the Prophets as touching Christs glorified condition in Jerusalem and Peter knew well what he said when he speaks of Christs Kingdome saying We have not followed cunning devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus but we were eye-witnesses of his glory and we have a more sure word of prophesie to which you do well if you give heed mark that knowing first that no prophesie of Scripture was of any private interpretation neither came it by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost Hence we see the Prophets words are of great weight and also take notice that all the Prophets bare witnesse to the truth of what I have asserted and this intervening discourse I thought good to adde to that end that the courteous Reader might take notice that what the Prophets had foretold was and is to be fulfilled in the letter of the Scriptures unlesse they are proverbs or parables or the like and therefore I shall desire thee to read them the more diligently and distinctly they want not an interpretor but are very plain to him that hath any discerning spirit onely take notice of this that whereas the Prophet Ezekiel speaks of David he means the Son of David viz. Christ which is to sit upon his Throne for ever as the discourse of the Chapter will clearly shew as possibly I may give an hint of it in the marginal â—oat and these few things premised I come to the second part of the assertion which is That Christ shall Reign in Jerusalem And in order to the making of it appear to be truth I shall shew you that the Prophets have foretold it viz. that the Lord shall make Ierusalem or Zion at or in Jerusalem his seat and reign there before whom Kings shall fall down and shall worship before him therefore mark well the words of the Lord spoken by the mouth of his holy Prophets Psal 2.6 Zach. 2.10 11 12 13. which saith Yet have I set my King upon his holy hill of Zion Sing and rejoyce O Daughter of Zion for lo I will come and dwell in the midst of thee saith the Lord And many Nations shall be joyned unto the Lord in that day and shall be my people and I will dwell in the midst of thee Isa 31.4,5 6. and thou shalt know that the Lord of Host hath sent me unto thee And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy Land Jer. 13.7 and shall chuse Jerusalem again Be silent O all flesh before the Lord Isa 24.23 for he is raised up out of his holy habitation So will the Lord of Hosts defend Jerusalem and in defending of it he will deliver it Ezek. 34.23 24. Then shall the Sun be ashamed and the Moon confounded when the Lord of Hosts shall Reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem David being prophesied to be a Shepherd and Prince in Jerusalem and so to remain for ever is to be understood Christ before his Ancients gloriously At that time they shall call Jerusalem the THRONE of the Lord and all the Nations shall be gathered unto it to the name of the Lord to Jerusalem neither shall they walk any more after the imaginations of their evill heart And I will set up one Shepheard over them and he shall feed them even my Servant David he shall feed them and he shall be their Shepheard And I the Lord will be their God and my Servant David viz. Christ a Prince a-amongst them I the Lord have spoken it Behold I will take the children of Israel from amongst the heathen whither they be gone Ezek. 37.21 10 29. and I will gather them on every side and will bring them into their own Land And I will make them a Nation in the Land upon the mountains of Israel and one King shall be King to them all and they shall be no more two Nations neither shall they be devided into two Kingdomes any more at all Neither shall they defile themselves with any of their transgressions but I will cleanse them so shall they be my people and I will be their God And David my servant viz. Christ shall be King over them It cannot be meant that David in the letter shall be their Prince for ever but Christ that is called the Son of David and is to sit upon his Throne for ever and they shall have one Shepheard and they also shall walk in my judgements and observe my statutes and do them And they shall dwell in the Land that I gave to Jacob my servant and they shall dwell therein even they and their children and their childrens children for ever and my servant David viz. Christ shall be their Prince for ever Moreover I will make a Covenant of peace with them and it shall be an everlasting Covenant and I will place them and multiply them and will set my Sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore My Tabernacle also shall be with them and I will be their God and they shall be my people The heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctifie Israel when my Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore Rev. 21.3 4. And I heard a great voice from heaven saying the Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself will be their God And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes Rev. 5.9 10. And they sung a new song saying thou art worthy to take the Book and lose the seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy bloud out of every kindred tongue and Nation And hath made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the earth Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will perform that good thing that I promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah In those daies and at that time will I cause a
so as to come in the forme of a servant Christ and his waies was ever so mean and low and base in carnal mens account that they in all ages stumbled at it in a low mean way he became an offence to many or a stone that many stumbled at and so is called a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence not that he is so in himself as I have said but he is become so being in a mean low estate as to outward appearance that men which look for honour and greatnesse in this would stumble at him saying is not this the Carpenters Son We will not have this man to reign over us but we will reject him and his doctrine and yet saith the Lord I will set my King upon my holy hill of Zion and thus Christ is laid a chief corner stone in Zion at which stone men stumble for the cause as a foresaid and yet he is such a precious tryed corner stone and such a sure foundation that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it so that whosoever believeth on him shall never be ashamed or confounded he being the rock of their salvation But peradventure some will object and say Obj. That the eyes of the people were to be made dim and their ears dull and their hearts grosse lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn and he healed Answ To which I answer and say That it is just with God to give such men up to hardnesse of heart who will chuse their own wayes and reject the counsel of God against themselves as this people did as I have at large before proved unto you and whereas Christ saith Obj. Unto you is given to understand the mystery of the kingdome but to other in parables that seeing they might see and not perceive c. Answ The answer is thus Such as seek to know the mysteries of the kingdome and follow him that is able to make it known as Christs Disciples did to such it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdome for then shall we know him if we follow on to know him for his secrets are with them that fear him but such as seek not after him nor fear his name his counsel is far from them and as for his judgements they know them not but their feet shall stumble upon the dark mountains and thus having given you the meaning or mystery contained in this ninth Chapter to the Romans I shall passe to the examination of your lawful Ministery but by the way curteous Reader take this use of information exhortation and comfort and first be informed that God hath not appointed any souls to be damned before they are born but from preconsideration of sin committed in time neither doth God harden men or give them up to hardness of heart but for their personall sin committed in time Secondly be exhorted then to seek the Lord while he may be found and neglect not the precious time and opportunity of grace but seek him and he will be found of thee because he hath sworn that he desireth not the death of him that dieth Thirdly for comfort with God there is mercy and forgivenesse our God will abundantly pardon insomuch that the Spirit and Bridegroom saith come and let him that heareth say come and let him that is a thirst come and who ever will let him take of the water of life freely and in so doing they shall finde rest to their souls even so be it The lawful Ministery falsely so called examined and disproved IN this subject of discourse I shall be very brief Read Sam. Fisher p. 553. to 588. first because it is but as it were to strip a naked man that is your Ordination hath been very largely disproved already and you shewn that your calling is from Rome by one which once was one of your own tribe and therefore the better able to discover you also once made dispute in my hearing when one of your tribe was tryed as in respect of his Ordination to the Ministerial function At a dipute at Headcorn in Kont Mr. Gotheredge did so affirm and shewn that his Ordination was from his Grandmother although father in God Pope Joan his answer was what though they did come through Rome yet they might be true Ministers for saith he Christ came through the liner of whores and yet was the true Christ but I suppose he was made ashamed so as to blush at the reply thereof but however I dwell not or dedend not on what this man or the other Author saith but do say that every man ought to walk in his own line or measure And secondly I shall be brief because I suppose that there be but few men but do or may know if they search the Scriptures that your kinde of Election and ordination is not of God First in respect of your Presbytery Secondly in respect of your charge or Office which is to absolve or remit sins like your Grandfather the Pope and so there came to be a pope in every Parish And thirdly in respect of your qualifications These I shall speak to briefly and also shew what the true Presbyters are and secondly the qualifications of such as are to be Ordained and thirdly what their work or Office is to do These in order but first I shall examine what you say and give a brief answer unto it And in the first place you tell me It would be too great an honour for you to answer me at large in this particular No great honour to prove the ministry of the Nation false because there by very few but know it already or may know it if they search the Scriptures and also that It would have argued some guilt in your call To which I answer and say It would not have conduced much to my honour before men to prove your Calling and Ordination not to be of God because there be very few but know it or may know it if they search the Scriptures and therefore no great piece of work so as to be admired at when all men may easily see it if they shut not their eyes against the light But I passe this and say I find that in this particular viz. the Characters of the false Ministery the burden lyeth very heavy upon you and pincheth very sorely and that causeth you to use such kicking expressions as followeth which is say you A fools bolt is soon shot and if an asse kick us we must not put him in the Court. To which I answer and say I do not envy the expression for these three reasons the first is because sometimes a patient beast will kick when his burden pincheth And secondly it troubleth me not to be called a fool because he that will be wise must become a fool that he may be wise and also we have a Proverb which in this is verified that children and fools
your honour for them to come and live here you might have spared your pains or otherwise sent it to your own tribe for they and not I contend against it but surely your garments smell so much of that mysticall Whore that they would abhor you But to the next thing the which is an answer to what you say to my third Argument as for your intervening discourse where you tell me what your eighteen Commentators say upon the 11 of the Revelations I matter not but say that me thinks he is blind that sees you not in a muddle of confusion for sometime you say that Hierusalem is to be understood the Church and sometimes the Temple but yet it wants proof that ever Hieausalem is taken to be the Church and I also discern your ignorance as touching the 11. and 12. Chapters of the Revelations the woman that travelleth to bring forth a man child is not the Gentile-Church but no more of that its possible that we may confer about that hereafter and so I come to take notice of your answer as aforesaid where you say The Temple of God spoken by Paul to the Thessalonians Page 33. 2 Thes 2.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. is to be understood the Church of God and Antichrists tyranny by saying he sate or set up his throne there which if this were the Temple of Jerusalem it were a poor piece of honour say you To which I answer and say First that it was not the Church of God will appear plainly because God never owned such a people to be his Church 2 Cor. 6.15 16. in whom Antichrist had his seat or Throne for Christ and Antichrist cannot dwell together so then if Antichrists seat was there then Christ seats not there if Christ not there then no Church of God so then Antichrist could not sit in the Temple of God in your sense The Temple mentioned 2 Thes 2. proved not to be the Church of God take this maxim the Antiquity of a thing proves not the verity of it my meaning is this although the Pope have sate in your Temple viz. Church along time and been your Governour as in chief and you suppose your selves the Church and therefore Antichrist may sit in the Temple viz. Church this proves not the verity of it And secondly whereas you say It is no great piece of honour for Antichrist to set his Throne in the Temple of Jerusalem To which I answer and say if you were not ignorant but knew the Scriptures you would know that it would be an honour to him to sit there provided he might be owned by the Jews to be their King viz. Christ as he will desire to be owned but that it is an honour unto him to set up his Throne there is plain because it is called the glorious holy Mountain by the Prophet Daniel Dan. 11.45 in these words And he shall plant the Tabernacle of his Pallace between the sea in the glorilus holy Mountain or the mountain of delight and holinesse as it is called in the margent yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him and at that time shall Michael viz. Christ appear Dan. 12.1 2 3. or stand up according to Pauls words and destroy him and that it is at his coming to take his kingdome and to reign is plain because the Text saith That many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise some to glory and some to shame And that Hierusalem will be the praise or glory of the whole earth I have also proved already so that what you have said is proved to be false and that it is the very same thing that the Apostle spoke of is plain for they that know any thing know that Christ when he cometh to judge the world in righteousnesse is to come to Ierusalem and first restore the kingdome unto them and to plead with all flesh not far from the valley of Jehoshaphat and that the Antichrist may perswade the world that he is the Christ and that he may shew himself as God and so be worshipped by the Jews he shall place his throne there and therefore saith the Apostle in order to the establishing of the people 2 Thes 2.1 2 3 4 5 6. that they might not be deceived by him 〈◊〉 saith The day of the Lord comes unawares when you little think of it yet be not deceived about his coming for there shall first come the Antichrist who shall perswade men that he is the Christ and to carry on his design the more subtilely shall shew great signs and also shall place his Throne in the very place namely the glorious holy mountain Jerusalem where the true Christ shall place his Throne And this is fully implyed in 2 Thess 2. compared with Dan. 12 and other Scriptures that I formerly have cited But I passe briefly because those that compare my Syons Redemption and your answer together may see your answer to be but as a scare-crow and not worth taking notice of But you tell me I understand not what is meant by Gog and Magog Answer It s very like I cannot be more ignorant of Gog and Magog Page 33. than you be of what is meant by the little Horn Dan 7. when you call him Antiochus Epiphanes the which although he might be a type of him was no more the same than the scape-Goat Levit. 16. was Christ first because this little Hâ—â—n Dan. 7. was took alive and given to the burning flame after which time the Saints did possesse the Kingdom of the whole world it being delivered into their hands by the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven Antiochus Epiphanes proved not to be the little Horn spoken of by Daniel ch 7.7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17. with much more that might be cited as an allusion thereunto Dan. 7 13 14 15 16 17 18. but Antiochus Epiphanes died after another manner neither was the Kingdome of Israel at peace after his death for he left a son which acted in the cruelty of his father who gathered together fifty thousand footmen and almost five thousand horsemen and fourscore Elephants and vexed the Jews as you may read in the first Chapter of the wars of the Jews recorded by Iosephus in his 559. page I could speak very largely unto it but he that reads the 7. of Dan. and compares it with Joel the 3. and Revelations the 19. may plainly discern that the little Horn mentioned in the 7. of Daniel which shall be taken alive and destroyed as aforesaid cannot be understood to be Antiochus Epiphanes which dyed before Christs Incarnation near one hundred sixty and two years And again Isa 14. whereas you say the 14 Chapter of Isaiah speaks not of the Antichrist but of the King of Babylon To which I answer and say Read Syons Redemption p. 101. that I have before said that the Antichrist is to be
will bring them out from the people Ezek. 28.24 25 26. and gather them from the Countryes and will bring them to their own Land and feed them upon the mountains of Israel And they shall be no more a prey to their enemies but they shall dwell safely and none shall make them afraid And there shall be no more a pricking bryer unto the house of Israel nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them that despised them and they shall dwell in their Land that I gave my servant Jacob Isa 12 1 2 3 4. and shall know that I am the Lord. And in that day thou shalt say O Lord I will praise thee though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation For thy waste and thy desolate places and the Land of thy destuction shall even now be too narrow by reason of the Inhabitants and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away the children that thou shalt have after thou hast lost the other shall say again in thine ears the place is too strait for me Give place to me that I may dwell then shalt thou say in thine heart who hath begotten me these seeing I have lost my children Isa 49 19 20 21 22. and am desolate a captive and a removing to and fro and who hath brought up these behold I was left alone where have these been Thus saith the Lord God behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles and lift up my Standard unto the people and they shall bring thy sons in their arms and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders Ver. 23. And Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and Queens shall be your nursing mothers they shall bow down to thee with their face to the ground and lick up the dust of thy feet and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Isa 6.10 11. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls and their Kings shall minister unto thee for in my wrath I smote thee but in my favour have I had mercy on thee Ver. 12. therefore thy gates shall be opened continually and they shall not be shut day nor night that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles and that their Kings may be brought for the Nation or Kingdome that will not serve thee shall perish Let Mount Zion rejoyce Psal 48 11. let the daughters of Judah be glad because of thy judgements FOR in that day will I make the Governours or Judah like a hearth of fire round about the wood like a torch of fire in a sheaf and they shall devoure all the people round about on the right hand and on the left and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place even in Jerusalem The Lord also shall save the Tents of Judah first Zach. 12.6 to 15. that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the Inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnifie themselves against Judah And thou O Tower of the flock the strong Hold of the daughter of Zion unto thee shall come the first dominions In that day shall the Lord defend the Inhabitants of Jerusalem Mich. 4.8 and he that is feeble amongst them at that day shall be as David and the house of David shall be as God as the Angels of the Lord before them And it shall come to passe in that day that I will seek to destroy all the Nations that come up against Jerusalem And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the Inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplications and they shall look upon me whom they have peirced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his onely son and shall be in great bitternesse for him as one that is in bitternesse for his first born In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of HADADRIMMON in the valley of MEGIDDON Isa 5â— 20. And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written There shall come a Deliverer to Zion and shall turn away transgression from Jacob Rom. 11.26 O the depth of the riches both of wisdome and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgements Isa 64.4 and his wayes past finding out For since the beginning of the world men have not heard or perceived by the ear 1 Cor. 2.10 neither hath the eye seen O God besides thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for thee But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God Therefore unto God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit be ascribed glory and thanksgiving might majesty and dominâ—on by all that fear him small and great for ever and ever world without end Amen Thus having from these Scriptures and many more that might be mentioned together with these above written proved the first part of the assertion viz. That the Jews shall yet return and possesse their own Land and be a very glorious people and their scituation viz. Jerusalem a very glorious scituation Although all that hath been said may comparatively be called as the gleaning of the vintage For I know nothing which the Scriptures proves more plainly and yet this is hid from the most part of the prudent and learned men in our times but this is the fulfilling of the Scriptures which saith God hath hid it from the wise and prudent and revealed his wisdome even his hidden wisdome to babes and sucklings not that I say that God hath hid it from all that are prudent and learned men according to humane sciences for I do know some of them do understand the mystery of the kingdome although to the greatest part it is a parable but however the truth of God stands sure and is unchangeable for the Scriptures shall not fall to the ground but shall be fulfilled although heaven and earth passe a way Hence it came to passe that that all which was spoken of Christ to be fulfilled in the dates of his flesh was accomplished in the very letter of the Scriptures that the Scriptures might be fulfilled and so shall all those Scriptures that speak of his glory and reign and the Jews glory be fulfilled in their time For as the Scriptures spake of Christs being born at Bethlehem Mich. 5.2 Isa 7.14 Hos 11.1 Zach. 9.9 Isa 8.18 Mich. 5.1 Isa 5.6 Psal 69.21 Zach. 11 12 13. Psal 22 18. Num. 9 12. Exod. 12 46. Psal 34.7 Zich 12.10 it was so and as the Scriptures spake that a Virgin should conceive it also was so and as the Scriptures prophesied of calling his son out of Aegypt it was so and as he was prophesied to ride to Jerusalem upon an Asses Colt it was so and as it was prophesied that he