words that we may come as near their sense and meaning as possibly we can I shall endeavor to explain and make clear these three things following viz. 1. What Thrones and what Judgment is here meant what must we understand by them 2. What are the Souls of those that were beheaded and worshipped not the Beast c 3. What is their life and reign with Christâ— thousand years Qu. 1 What Thrones and what Judgment is here meant or what must we understand by them Answ Let us observe the words in the original which runs thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the right understanding of these words two things are to be premised which are these next following 1. That these Thrones are set for the Conquerours of the Beast and false Prophet For it is expresly said they sate upon them and Judgment was given to them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 namely to them of whom mention is made in the 14th verse of the foregoing chapter For to suppose the words they sate upon them to relate only to the following words the souls of them that were beheaded is to place the relative before any antecedent The Thrones therefore are set for them who descended from Heaven with Christ to make war against the Beast and false prophet Rev. 19 14 And the Armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linnen white and clean For these and not others are next mentioned whom he had before more clearly described Rev. 17 1â— These namely the ten Kings who have given their power to the Beast shall make War with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcom them for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful for these that come with the Lamb and war with the Lamb are these Thrones set 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Judgment here is the same and signifies the same with the word reâ—gn or Kingdom for it immediately follows and they reigned Which Kingdom is in this place given to the Saints after the destruction of the Beast Antichrist And it is the same Kingdom which Daniel speaks before handled The Thrones therefore here set are the Thrones in which the Saints shall sit at the second coming of Christ at the final destruction of Antichrist And judgment is that Kingdom which the Saints shall then obtain not a horary oâ— diary properly so called But a Millenary upon earth as the text plainly and totidem verbis expresseth to be perpetuated in Heaven afterwards to all eternity after the last Judgment properly and strictly taken which shall be the last effect of this Kingdom on earth consisting in the final justification of the just and absolution of the faithful and in the final reprobation and condemnation of the wicked and ungodly Of these Thrones and of this Judgment Christ speaks Mat 19.28 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 judging the twelve tribes of Israel So Luke 22.29.30 I appoint unto you a Kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me that ye may eat and drink at my Table in my Kingdom and sit on Thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Where in the former Text by twelve Thrones all the Thrones are meant but they are called twelve in reference to the twelve Apostles in whom are represented the multitude of the faithful judging and reigning As Austin well noteth in his 20th Book de Civitate Dei cap. 5. For of all the faithful the Apostle Paul speaks 2 Cor. 6.2 Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the World that is govern the same And lastly John in the Revelation Rev. 3.21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne But thus we see what Thrones and what Judgment is here meant The next Question which was proposed follows which is Qu. 2 What is meant by the Souls of them that were beheaded Answ The words in the Original run thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are to be added or supplied And so do all Interpreters and some do repeat them as the Arabick vidi animas And I saw the soules of them thaâ— were beheaded He saw sitting on Thrones the souls of them that were beheaded Now here let the Reader weigh these particulars following for the right understanding of these words viz. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Soules are here put for the dead The Souls of them that were beheaded is the same with the dead that were beheaded Animae percussorum idem sint quod mortui percussi And this interpretation is manifest from the opposite clause or sentence Caeteri mortuorum the rest of the dead lived not again and therefore the first are considered as dead Animae in sacris literis non tantum personas sed cadavera denotat saith Mede Souls in Sacred Wriâ— denotes not only persons but dead bodies Sâ— in the Hebrew Text souls are often taken for the dead Amongst those many places where they are so taken see a place or two Levit. 21.1 There shall none of the sons of Aaron be defiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro anima in populis suis for the soul for the dead saith our English among his people So Levit. 19. ver 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 incisionem pro anima non dobitis in carne vestra ye shall make no cuttings in your flesh for the soul dead So Psal 16.10 Thou shalt not leave my soul in Hell i. e. me dead in the grave 2. These souls are those very souls that did cry under the Altar for the avenging of theiâ— blood and waited for the redemption of their bodies Rev. 6.9 10. which appears not only from the Anaphorical Article here twice repeated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 illas animas illorum the very souls of them but chiefly from the identical description of those souls Apoc. 6 â—0 And these here Apoc. 20 4. Souls of them that were slain in the former text Souls of them that were beheaded in this viz. the Martyrs of the first period under the Dragon 3. Now to these souls are adâ—oyned also the souls of those that did not worship the Beast nor receive his mark who also for this cause refusing to do it were killed Rev. 13.15 The words in the Greek are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where after the Conjunction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must necessarily be understood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if he had said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the men whosoever had not worshipped the Beast nor his Image souls and men are here joyned quasi termini convertibiles and those and these both taken in And lest we should doubt here to be fulfilled what was mentioned Rev. 6.9.10 To
that day upon the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the East Jer. 23.5 He shall reign and prosper and shall execute Judgment and Justice in the Earth And we with him Rev. 5.10 shall reign on the earth I confesse what they may do to others I know not but to me for that little knowledge the Lord of his goodnesse hath bin pleased to impart to a poor worm me thinks they are very clear and perspicuous See also that Text Acts 1.7 Lord wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel viz. what was promised by the Prophets The Lord answers it is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father hath put in his own power In which I conceive he plainly insinuates these three things 1. That the Kingdom promised is one day to be restored to Israel 2. That there is a time appointed for it by the Father viz. the time of the restitution of all things Acts 3.21 which God hath spoken by the month of all his holy Prophets since the world begun All prophesied and soake of this 3. That the time when this shall be is known only to God as proper to him not to be communicated to any creature So also before in Lukes Gospel chap. 29. Our Lord Jesus Christ hath daught us that the time of his second coming in glory is the time of the Redemption of Israel promised or the promised Kingdom which after the Winter of the Cross and Affliction should come which he calls a certain Summer v. â—8 and 31. ¶ Nextly see Luk. 22 29 30. Ye are they that have continued with me in my temptation and I appoint unto you a Kingdom c. Now where is this Kingdom not in Heaven there is no eating and drinking in Heaven no judging the twelve tribes of Israel therefore it is on the earth in the time of Christs second coming ¶ Let us also take notice of that passage Acts 15.14 Simeon hath declared how God at first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his Name and ver 15. to this agree the words of the Prophets which are spoken of the first calling of the Geniles before the restoring of the Kingdom of Israel as it is written viz. in Amos 9.11 12 especially from whom alone we may judge of the meaning of the rest of the Prophets ver 16. After this viz. after their first calling I will return and build again the Tabernacle of Daviâ— which is fallen down and I will build again the remains thereof and will set it up where it is carefully to be marked that the word posthaec afterward is not to be found in the Prophet Amos but is added here by the Spirit of God for Declaration-sake with manifest relation to that first calling that we might certainly know that this should com to passe after the first calling of the Gentiles in the very return of the Lord Jesus Christ to his Kingdom which is called the Kingdom of David Ier. 23.5 Ezek 37.14 and 24. Hos 3.5 see the words I set them not down lest these sheets should swell And that which follows both in Amos and in this text very much helps this Exposition viz. v 17. that the residue of men might seek after the Lord and all the Gentiles upon whom my Name is called viz. upon whom my Name is called in the first calling of the Gentiles who as I said before were but few in comparison But the second calling will be far more universal when the Devil shall be bound up from seducing the Nations any more as formerly he had done then shall the residue of men come in and all the Gentiles as the Text saith be converted to God ¶ This is that Kingdom joyned with the Appearance of Christ ready to judge the world of which St Paul to Timothy makes mention 2 Tin 4 1. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom His appearance is personal for he appears to judg and then doth this his Kingdom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 begin and dures the time of his stay which John tells us Rev. 20 4. is a thousand years and then comes the second or general resurrection which is another order in the resurrection and the general and last judgment when according to this self same Apostle 1 Cor 15.24 to 23. Jesus Christ the last enemy being destroyed shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father that he may be subject to him who subdued all things to hâ—mself that God may be all in all so far is he then from being said to enter upon any new Kingdom that then he delivers up the old That Kingdom therefore which neither shall be before the appearance of our Lord nor after the last Judgment is necessarily to be included between them This is not nothing ¶ See also those words Heb. 2 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For unto the Angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enim terra est non coelum For this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate world is Earth not Heaven but you will say where did the Apostle speak in his preceding discourse of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 world to come that he should say whereof we speak I answer in v. 6 of the preceding chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. i. e. But when he shall bring AGAIN his only begotten Son into the world he saith c. For those things which out of the Book of the Psalmes to the end of the chapter are cited concerning the worship of Angels of his Scepter of Righteousnesse of the renewing of the world and of the treading of his enemies under his feet are all if we crecit the Apostle to be referred to the second coming of Christ But that Admonition which is contained in t he sour first verses of this chapter is to be read as a parent hesis the which being ended the Apostle in the fifth verse returns again to his former Proposition and more largely handles the Prerogative of human Nature above the Angels which he had disputed And amongst other things saith he unto the Argels hath he not put in subjection the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 world to come whereof we speak which is to be when God brings again his only begotten son into the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 world I have here but one word more to adde for I spake before of the strange transposition of the words ch 1. v. 6. that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to bring in hath a future signification for so much as it is the second Aorist of the Subjunctive mood ¶ Peter also 2 Pet. 3.10 speaks if I be not deceived clearly to this Behold the day of the Lord cometh How As a Thief in the night i. e. suddenly yet shall not as a Thief disappear the
of crying There shall be no more thence an Infant of dayes nor an old man that hath not filled his dayes For as the days of a tree are the dayes of my people and mine Elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands The Wolf and the I amb shall feed together and the Lion shall eat straw like the bullock they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain saith the Lord Jâ—r 23.5 ' Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch and a King shall reign and prosper and shall execure Judgment and Justice in the earth In his dayes Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his Name whereby he shall be called the Lord our Righteousnesse Jer. 32.37 to the end see the words Also Hos a 3.5 ' Afterward 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 This is said of Israel after many days and in the latter dayes See also Fzek. 37.11 12 13 14. and v 20. and so on to the end And the stickes whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes And say unto them Thus saith the Lord God Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen whither they be gone and I will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land And I will make them one 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 divided into two Kingdoms any more at all Neither shall they defile themselves any more with idols nor with their detestable things And David my servant shall be a King over them And they shall all have one Shepherd they shall also walk in my Judgments and observe my Statutes and do them And they shall dwell in the Land that I have given unto Jacob my servant wherein your fathers have dwelt and they shall dwell therein even they and their children and their childrens children for ever and my servant David shall be their Prince for ever Moreover I will make a Covenant of Peace with them it shall be an everlasting Covenant with them My Tabernacle also shall be with them yea I will be their God and they shall be my people And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctifie Israel when my Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore See also Mich. 4.1 to the end of v. 7. Zach. 14.14 to the end See the words In which places though there be not an express mention of a thousand years yet as it is clear the things therein contained were never yet fulfilled so they require a long tract of time upon earth for the fulfilling of them especially when Isaiah minds us of a childe an hundred years old and of the dayes of a tree which words saith Justin Martyr do secretly hint the thousand years Certainly it was reserved for John who was the last of the Prophets and writ last to make express mention of the time how long it should be to wit a thousand years and give light to all the Prophets And I verily believe that he that will be that I may give it you in their own words as the Syrians phrase it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Discipulus in Tabernaculo temporis A Disciple or Scholar in the Tabernacle of time shall understand those Prophets and see clearly mysteries contained in them better then ever we have done 2. Becaus all the Prophets do chiefly prophecâ—e of the Kingdom of the Messiah upon his second coming as appears Acts 3.21 Whom the Heavens speaking of Christ must receive until the time of this restitution of all things which God hath spoken of by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the World begun So Amos 9.11 with Acts 15.15 Vnto this agree the words of the Prophets As it is written After this viz. after their first Conversion I will return and build again the Tabeâ—nacle of David which is fallen downâ— viz. in the second coming of the Messiah Sâ—â— Isa 59.20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob saith the Lord. Who would have taken this for a cogent proof of what we have in hand since this seems to fall so far short of those sublime expressions which are to be found in many other places both of this and almost all the rest of the Prophets If the Apostle Paul had not so applied it Rom. 11.25 26 So all Israel shall be saved as it is written and so quotes the words before cited So John tells us speaking of the finishing of the Mystery of God and the Seventh Trumpet sounding Rev. 107. that all is as he hath declared to his servants the Prophets Verily all those transcendent exprestions in the Prophets which hitherto by too too many have been very strangely to Christs first low and mean appearance in his humiliation ought to be referred to and never yet were nor shall be fulfilled but at the time of his second coming in exaltation and gloriously in his Majesty to reign And with the glorious brightness of this his second coming shall the eyes of the Jewes a Zach. 12.10 And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced they shal mourn for him c. be opened who hitherto had bin so dazled that they scarce could entertain into their thoughts his first low and obscure coming yea the Prophets themselvs through the Glory and Majesty thereof suffered a kinde of extasie or rapture which occasioned as it were when they spake of Christ and of his coming a leaping presently from the Maters of his first to the things of his second coming as is easie to observe in the reading of a their Prophesies 3. Because unless this be believed and held many Arguments will be taken from the Christians whereby they may convince the Jewe of their obstinate infidelity and bring them to Conversion For they have so drunk in these principles and sucked the milk of them from alâ— their teachers and predecessors viz. That the times of the Messiah will be times of Righteousnesse Peace and Blessednesse knowledge and all Joyes and that in great fulnesse And when the Scriptures also are so appostie for them and many texts otherwise unanswerable that without some competent satisfaction herein we have found by experience and are like to finde they are not to be dealt withal nor will ever think of coming over to us A Jewish woman in London said lately to a friend That your Messiah he speaking to her of Christ is not the true Messiah for when he cometh there will be great peace and love the wolf shall dwell with the Lamb none shall hurt or destroy in all his holy Mountain c. wheras you Christians are
and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the Land of Israel Moreover take theâ— one stick and write upon it for Judah and for the Children of Israel his companions then take another stick and write upon it for Joseph the stick of â—phraim and for the house of Israel his companions and joyn them one to another into one stick and they shall become one in thine hand And ver 20. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes And say 〈…〉 thus saith the Lord God behold I will take the Children of Israel from among the Heathen whicheâ— they be gone and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own Land And I will make them one 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 divided into two Kingdoms any more at all And David my servant shall be King over them and they all shall have one Shepherd and they shall dwell in the Land that I have given unto Jacob my servant wherein your fathers have dwelt and they shall dwel therein even they and their children and their childrens children for ever anâ— my servant David i. e. Christ shall be their Prince for ever Hosea 3.4 5. The Children of Israel shall abide many days without a King and without a Prince and without a Sacrifice and without an Image and without an Ephod and without a Teraphim Afterward shall the Children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their King and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter dayes Amos 9.11.14.15 See also Isai 11. the whole chapter So Hosea 1. ult Zach. 12. And many other places which for brevity sake I forbear to recite 2. As the Scripture proves their reduction into their own Land again so it tells us many particulars about the manner of their conversion and reduction as for instance 1. That this conversion and reduction shall be in the height of their misery when the greatest misery and affliction shall be upon them that ever was since their diâ—persion Dan. 12.1 At that time shall Michael i.e. Christ stand up the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people and here shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a Nation even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be delivered when they shall be dry bones and all hope shall be past with them so that they shall say our bones are dry our hope is lost we are out off for our parts then those dry bones shall live then God will open their Graves and bring them out of their Graves c. Ezek 37.11 12. Gods time of love above all other times is when men lie wallowing in their blood when their hopes are at the lowest then is their deliverance nearest In the Mount will God appear when none is shut up or left then will his own arm bring salvation and be their deliverance so that when he shall turn again the captivity of Zion it will appear to them as a dream Psal 126.1 their deliverance being come when almost all hope was gone 2. That in this conversion and reduction they shall return unto Christ and then embrace him whom they formerly crucified and rejected saying we will not have this man rule over us And his blood be upon us and upon our children But when this time shall come Israel and Judah shall be gathered together Hos 1.11 which yet hath never been since their resection and they shall appoint themselves one head this head can be none other but Christ whom they shall by their own election in that day appoint to be their Head or King It is true he was appointed by the Father in his eternal decree and in the covenant between the Father and the Son before the world was as appears a The word in both places is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to appoint 0129 0 King or inaugurate regem constitui Pro. 8 22 23. and Ps 2.6 But now their hearts shall be turned about and they that rejected the Covenant of God against themselvs would not have him to be their Head whom the Lord had appointed now they shall chuse the same and consent to him they shall appoint to themselves one Head and elect for themselves the same Head Hos 3 5. ' They shall return and ' seek the Lord and David their King i. e They shall come to seek God and Christ their King in this latter day of their conversion and reduction ' They shall then look on him whom they have pierced and mourn and turn to him 3. The Scripture tels us that at their conversion and reduction there shal be wrought in them a very great and real humiliation Jer 31.18.19 I have heard Ephraim mark it not Judah bemoaning himself c. Surely after that was turned Irepented I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth Hos 14 8. Ephraim shall say what have I to do any more with Idols Zach. 12.10 They shall lock on him whom they have peireed and they shall mourn for him and be in bitterness c. Jer. 31 8 9. Behold I will bring them from the North country and gather them from the coasts of the Earth they shall come with weeping and with supplications will I lead them to Zion they shall come but they shall come with weeping and supplications c. But is not this spoken of their return from Babylon How can it did they come out of Captivity weeping and looking on him whom they had pierced when as then they had not pierced him It cannot be meant immediately and ultimately of that return though there are different degrees of the accomplishment of Prophecies But if we look a little back to ver 1. we shall find another argument At the same time saith the Lord I will be a God to all the families of Israel and they shall be my people The ten Tribes or as the phrase is all the families of Israel did never yet return out of their captivity unto this day There were indeed two tribes who returned from Babylon but we no where ever read of the returning of the ten tribes but we read that they shall return And as they went into captivity with weeping so with weeping they shall return 4. The Scripture seems to speak of their conversion and reduction as if it should be in an extraordinary way Not by the preaching of the Gospel as the Gentile Churches were brought in unto the Lord but by light and by a visible appearance of the Lord Jesus to them I will not be positive in it but set before the Reader some Scriptures that seem to speak so much Zach. 12.10 And they shall look upon me a 〈◊〉
Thy two horns indeed made the world to take thee for a Lamb Rev. 13.11 but thy speech against the Saints was alwaies like a Dragon Therefore full well art thou cast into Rev. 19.20 the Lake of fire for ever as thine own dung to perish though thy branches shot up to Heaven and thy roots down as low as Hell yet the Saints now do reign and rejoyce in thy ruine II. Satan also is Rev. 20.2 now chained up and imprisoned in the pit That 1 Pet. 5.8 roaring Lyon who went about seeking by what means or whom he might devoure O! happy time when Lyons lye in chains and the Dragons dwelling is in the deep III. Moreover now there is a perfect and compleat end of all godless Governours who did alwaies oppress disquiet and vex the Church and Spouse of Christ God then Rev. 11.18 destroys all those that destroy the Earth Yea then and in that day shall our â—ord Jesus Christ the Lamb and the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah the Spouse and husband of his Church the Lord of Lords and King of Kings who at the first went out conquering and to conquer who did before hand signifie all these things to his servants by his Angel take to himself his great power and reign and let the Nations be as angry as they will or can yet in despite of all their fury he shall give rewards unto his servants the Prophets and to his Saints and to them that fear his Name both small and great Then Rev. 19.6 shall the Lord God Omnipotent reign with the shoutings and Hallelujahs of his Elect. Yea the Saints shall sit on Thrones 1 Cor. 6.2 Dan. 7.22.27 Matth. 19.28 and judge the World This well may stain the beauty and dazel the glory of all Earthly powers For then Isa 24.23 the Moon shall be confounded and the Sun ashamed when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before his Ancients gloriously Then shall Righteousness run up and down and be as a mighty stream IV. Moreover then will be a lasting peace and wars shall cease to the ends of the Earth when Christ the Prince of peace shall sway the Scepter judging amongst many Nations and rebuking many people Then shall their swords be beaten into plow-shares and their Speares into pruning books Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation nor shall they learn war any more Isai 2.4 In that day saith God Hos 2.18 I will break the Bow and the Sword and the Battle ax out of the Earth and I will make them to lye down safely Peace before had been full oft desired but 't will be then compleatly attained V. Also then will all persecution be brought to an end and cease Then the envy of Ephraim shall depart and the Adversaries of Judah shall be cut off Ephraim shall not envy Judah and Judah shall not envy Ephraim Isa 11.13 Ezek 28.24 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 See also Ezek. 28.25 and 26. then Christ weeds out of his Kingdom all things that offend and them that do iniquity For it is a righteous thing with him to render tribulation to them that trouble his Church and to them that are troubled rest 2 Thes 1.7 VI. Then likewise will be an and of all oppression For who is left to oppress the Beast and false prophet they are gone the Dragon is bound all wicked men are now under the Hatches and laid at Christs footstool Violence shall no more be heard in her Land wasting nor destruction within her borders Isa 54.14 Ezek. 45.8 My Princes shall no more oppress my people they shall be far from oppression The New Heavens and New Earth is a place wherein dwells righteousnesse Psal 72.2 He shall judge the people with Righteousnesse and the poor with Judgment v 4. He shall judge the poor of the people he shall save the children of the needy and shall break in pleces the oppressor VII At that day also and in that time there shall not be any that shall hurt or harm one beast shall no more hurt another nor one man his fellow For Isa 11.6 7 8 9. the wolf shall also dwell with the Lamb and the Leopard shall lie down with the Kid and the Calf and the young Lion and the Fatling together and a little child shall lead them And the Cow and the Bear shall feed their young ones shall lie down together and the Lion shall cat straw like the Ox. And the sucking childe shall play on the hole of the Asp And the weaned childe shall put his hand on the Cockatrice den They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy Mountain Understand we this of men or Boasts and neither shall be hurtful or offensive each to other but great agreement will be among them And this some understand to be the meaning of the Apostle Rom. 8.19 20 21. in which words these four following things seem to be observable viz. 1. That now the creature is under the bondage of corruption that is prone and apt to devour destroy and make a prey one of another 2. That the creature hereafter shall be delivered from that bondage that is they shall not as heretofore hurt and destroy one another 3. That there shall be a time when the sons of God shall have a glorious liberty that is they shall not hurt one another nor receive hurt from any 4. That the creatures in their kind shall partake of their liberty and they shall not be hurtful one to another but live in peace and quietnesse VIII Moreover then shall be an end of fear terrour and dread For they shall no more be a prey to the Heathen neither shall the Beast of the Land devour them but they shall dwell safely and none shall make them afraid Isa 54.14 In righteousnesse saith the Prophet shalt thou be established thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shal not fear And from terrour for it shall not come near thee Jer. 30 10. Therefore fear thou not O my servant Jacob saith the Lord neither be dismayed O Israel for lo I will save thee from far and thy seed from the land of their captivity and Jacob shall return and be in rest and be quiet and none shall make him afraid IX Lastly this will be a time of such purity and holinesse of the fear of the Lord and righteousnesse as never was nor will be till that time This will make it to be Millennium aureum or oureum seculum It will be a golden day and Age indeed for the holy City the New Jerusalem that City of gold and pearl mentioned Rev. 21. doth contemporate and synchronize with the thousand years as might be abundantly proved if Reverend Mede had not done it to my hand so that it would but be act a agere which I intend not This will be