the House of the God of Jacob Intimating the reception of the Gospel by a great part of mankind and the continuance of the rest of the World in the state of Heathenism And now the wonder of this Invasion ceases For 't is easy to imagine the Camp of the Saints encompassed by an army of Infidels excited or provoked thereto by the Devil But there is some difficulty in conceiving how this army should be drawn together from so remote and distant places of the World For the Nations of which it is composed are said to be in the four Quarters of the Earth But it hath been observed by a learned Man that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in many places of the New Testament hath a Critical signification and does peculiarly refer to the Land of Judea And in this notion it is here to be understood as signifying not the whole World but that Part or Portion of it which by God was given to the Posterity of Abraham and which is here distinguished by a new Name the Camp of the Saints in allusion to their incamping in the Wilderness And then the Nations in the four Quarters or corners of the Land will be some people seated in the Countries not far distant from Judea whom we may easily conceive entring into a Confederacy against the Jews and uniting their forces for the destruction of these Saints of the most High And thus the greatest difficulties relating to this vision are removed And the plain meaning and signification of it appears to be the Invasion of Judea by some of the neighbouring Nations Which event if it were foretold by the Prophets there can be no reason to question or doubt of the truth of this Exposition Now concerning this Invasion there are several Prophecies but the most remarkable and express is that in Ezekiel between which and this vision there is an exact and admirable agreement Ezekiel's Prophecy Chap. 30. In the latter days thou viz. Gog shalt come into the Land that is brought back from the Sword and is gathered out of many People against the Mountains of Israel Invasurus montes Israelis Junius ver 8. Thou shalt ascend and come like a Storm thou shalt be like a Cloud to cover the Land thou and all thy Bands and many People with thee ver 9. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the Land of Israel saith the Lord God that my Fury shall come up in my Face And I will plead against him with Pestilence and with Blood and I will Rain upon him and his Bands and upon the many People that are with him an overflowing Rain and great Hail-stones Fire and Brimstone vers 18 22. St. John's Vision Rev. 20. And when the Thousand Years are expired Satan shall be loosed out of his Prison ver 7. And shall go out to deceive the Nations Gog and Magog to gather them together to Battel the number of whom is as the Sand of the Sea verse 8. And they went up and compassed about the Camp of the Saints and the beloved City vers 9. And Fire came down from God out of Heaven devoured them vers 9. And whereas it is objected that Gog in Ezekiel comes out of the North parts vers 15. whereas God and Magog in the Revelation are said to be Nations which are in the four Quarters of the Earth this seeming difference admits of an easy Solution For although Gog with the People of Magog came out of the North parts yet the rest of the people of which his army consists come from other parts Some from Persia some from Ethiopia and Lybia and others from the North Quarters of the lesser Asia viz. Gomer and Togarmah vers 5 6. So that here are several Nations in Confederacy against the Jews and these lying against the four Corners of their Land But whereas God and Magog are chief in this Expedition therefore they only are mentioned by St. John And for the same Reason the judgment of God against this Army is in Ezekiel denounced particularly against Gog. So that here is no difference but a most exact harmony and consent between the Prophet and the Divine But there is a farther Correspondence as to the time of this Invasion very remarkable and which abundantly confirms my Interpretation This in the Revelation is about a Thousand years after the Jews Conversion and repossession of their native Land And that in Ezekiel succeeds the Restauration of the Jewish Nation and their Subjection to Christ For in the seven and thirtieth Chapter is foretold the Return of the whole House of Israel vers 11 12. The Reunion of the two Kingdoms after this Return vers 21 22. And the perpetual government of David or Christ over them vers 25. And then follows in the next Chapter the Prophecy of Gogs invading the people of Israel in the latter days or towards the End of the World Chap. 38. 16. CHAP. VI. Of the general judgment and end of the World THE last vision is that of the general Judgment which is the concluding Scene and ends with the Conflagration of the World And I saw a great White Throne and him that sat on it from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away and there was found no place for them And I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened and another Book was opened which is the Book of Life and the Dead were judged out of those things which were Written in the Books according to their works And the Sea gave up the Dead which were in it and Death and Hell delivered up the Dead which were in them And they were judged every Man according to his works And Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire this is the second Death And whosoever was not found Written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of Fire Rev 20. 11 12 13 14 15. What St. John here saith of the dead standing before the Throne of God and their being judged according to their works needs not much explication The right of judging belongs to none but God nor is any besides a God qualified for so mighty a performance But we are assured from Scripture that this judgment shall be administred by God Incarnate in the Person of Jesus Christ who is ordained the Judge of quick and Dead Act 10. 42. For the Father judgeth no Man but hath committed all judgment to the Son and that for this reason as Our Saviour himself tells us because he is the Son of Man that is truly and really Man as well as God John 5. 27. For of the three Persons in the Blessed Trinity the Son only is personally united to Human nature And therefore being God-man is the most proper Judge of Men who must be judged in their Bodies The consequents of this judgment are not so clear and obvious For as for the casting Death and Hell into the lake
dead shall be raised is no where expresly declared This only we learn from St. Paul that the Good and the Wicked shall not arise at the same Instant but that the Righteous will have the Precedency 1 Cor. 15. 23. Every Man in his own order Christ the first Fruits afterward they that are Christs at his Coming Agreeable to this is that of the same Apostle 1 Thes 4. 13. The Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout and with the voice of the Arch-angel and with the Trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first Now a Resurrection of the Martyrs prior to the general Resurrection is very consistent with these assertions of the Apostle which do not deny the Resurrection of some particular Persons before the Coming of Christ to judgment but only declare that Such of the Righteous whom Christ at his coming shall find in the state of the dead shall have the Precedency of the wicked and be first restored to life St. Matthew tells us that at our Saviours Resurrection the graves were opened and many Bodies of Saints which slept arose and went into the holy City and appeared unto many ch 27. 52 53. And why may not the Privilege of a more early Resurrection be indulged the Martyrs in recompence of their Sufferings The invincible Courage and Resolution of the Primitive Christians proceeded in a great measure from the hope and expectation of it And perhaps the Revelation of such a distinguishing Favour was designed on purpose for the encouragement and support of their Constancy under those Persecutions wherewith God thought fit to exercise the Faith and Patience of the first Christians That the Martyrs after their Resurrection shall Reign on Earth is an opinion which hath no countenance from Scripture All St. John here saith is that the Beheaded lived again and reigned with Christ a Thousand Years which does not at all favour this Conceit but rather supposes the contrary The Dominion Christ was invested with at his Ascension he is to possess to the end of the World There is no new Kingdom to be erected for him upon Earth nor will he descend from Heaven where he now reigns until the time appointed by God for the judgment of the World Then he will arise from his Imperial Seat at his Fathers right Hand and come down into these lower Regions in order to the holding his general Assizes And this is the Concluding act and will put an end to his glorious Reign Now if the Martyrs shall be admitted to a participation of Christs Kingdom where should they reign but in Heaven where Christs Throne is where he reigns in Person and from whence he administers all the affairs of the World There is nothing of Paradox in this Supposition to them who believe the Principles and Doctrines of Christianity which teach that the bodies of good Men being raised out of the dust and fashioned like unto Christs glorious Body shall be translated from this Earth to the Mansions prepared for them in the Heavens And So far is this Hypothesis of the Millennial Reign from contradicting any text of Scripture that it seems to have a good foundation in it 1 One principal act of Regality is the power of judging Now St. Paul tells us that the Saints shall judg the World 1 Cor. 6. 2. Which to be understood of the last and final judgment the following verse does clearly evince Know ye not that we shall judge Angels That is such of them as for their Rebellion against God were condemn'd to Hell and are reserved in Chains unto the Judgment of the great day Jude ver 6. Which is the only judgment to which they are destined The judgment therefore of the World by the Saints is no other than that at the last day But who are the Saints to whom this autority and power is committed Not the Righteous in general for they as well as the wicked must appear before the judgment seat is Christ to give an account If their actions But perhaps when their Trial is finished and the Sentence of Absolution pronounced they shall be translated into the Air and being placed on Thrones around the Tribunal of Christ shall bear a part as Assessors in the ensuing judgment of Devils and wicked men But our Saviours description of the Process of the last judgment intimates the contrary For the sheep and the goats receive their different Sentences whilest they are standing the one at the Right the other on the left Hand of the Judge Matt 25. 34. Then shall the King say unto them on his right Hand Come ye Blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World But to them on the left Depart ye Cursed into everlasting Fire ver 41. Whence it appears that the Assumption of the Righteous into the Clouds of Heaven 1 Thes 4. 17. must Succeed the trial of the wicked and consequently they cannot be concerned in judging them The Saints therefore by whom the World of the ungodly shall be judged and in all probability the Martyrs who reigning with Christ in his Kingdom will joyn with him in the exercise of his judiciary autority and give their suffrages to the Sentence which he will pass upon the wicked This Solemnity 't is true is transacted after the Thousand years allotted for the Martyrs Reign are expired which seems to exclude them from bearing any part in this Regal act of judging the World But there is no necessity of concluding their reign with this term which may very well be extended to the end of Christs Mediatorial Kingdom But because the intermediate space from this period to the final judgment is but short Rev 20. 3. therefore the duration of their Reign is expressed by the complete number of a Thousand years the odd years that follow not being brought into the account 2. Besides the glorious Angels we read of Myriads of Saints that accompany Christ in his triumphant progress from Heaven Jude ver 14. 1 Thes 3. 13. To understand this of Angels is without reason to depart from the letter of Scripture against the generally received rule of Interpretation But to apply it to the Souls of just Men is much more absurd For these are disposed in Paradise or Abrahams Bosom till the Resurrection Then being reunited to their Bodies they appear before the judgment Seat of Christ and being finally absolved attend the judge in his return to Heaven And are now first of all admitted into the immediate presence of God where there is fulness of joy and perfection of happiness To send good Men directly to Heaven when they die and to fetch them from thence at the last day to be judged that after judgment they may return to their former happy seats with the greater Solemnity is such an odd preposterous method of proceeding as no considering Man will easily admit much less believe agreeable to the infinite wisdom of Almighty God
of Fire with all whose names are not found Written in the Book of Life and the flying away of the Earth and the Heaven from the face of him that sits on the Throne these are somwhat obscure expressions and not so easily understood 1. St. Paul tells us that the last Enemy that shall be destroyed is Death 1 Cor 15. 26. Which destruction is here expressed by casting Death and Hell or Hades the place of separate Souls into the lake of Fire And signifies that there shall be no more seperation of Soul and Body but that Men arise to an immortal and endless Life But whether this immortality and endless duration be common to all Men or peculiar only to the Blessed is made matter of dispute That good Men shall live for ever in a State of unspeakable happiness is a privilege beyond the merit of the most perfect virtue But eternal Life is a gift very becoming the infinite Goodness of God to bestow And no Man ever Quarrel'd with God on this Score for promising to reward the imperfect Services of Men with Eternal Happiness But by some it is thought very Hard and no way consistent with the laws of justice to punish the sins of a short life with an eternity of Torment that Men who sin but a few years must live for ever in insupportable Misery there being no proportion between Time and Eternity This indeed is a very great difficulty and hath inforced some Men to put a period to the miseries of the Damned as not knowing how to reconcile the Divine Justice to the Eternity of Hell Torments Whatever is necessary for the preservation of Government and securing obedience to laws must be allowed to be just and lawful Which justifies the severity of God in denouncing everlasting misery against impenitent sinners because nothing less would be a sufficient restraint upon most Men from breaking the laws of God For if the generality of Men despise these Terrors of the Lord what regard would they have for menaces less severe But that God should execute these threats according to the strictest sense of them there is no necessity For tho Promises oblige to a performance yet Threats do not induce any obligation nor does justice require the Execution of them And therefore God if he pleases may deal with Sinners more mercifully than he hath threatned But whether he will shew them favour and abate any thing of the utmost he has denounced I cannot tell This is most certain that no Man shall suffer beyond the just desert of his actions But who dare say that God cannot in justice inflict Eternal punishment For any Man upon such a presumption to harden himself against the clear and express threats of endless Misery is the height of madness For if at last the Torments of a future state are Eternal how sad and deplorable will his Condition be And if they prove finite and end in his final destruction yet what an amazing and insupportable thought is this for a Man to suffer the pains of Hell so long as the Divine justice can inflict them and at last with all sense of farther sufferings to lose his Being for ever This indeed is the mildest fate the Sinner can expect but a much more severe may be his doom II. This punishment of wicked Men is exprest by being cast into the lake of Fire Which some interpret according to the literal sense of Torment by real fire Others understand this to be a Metaphorical description of the unknown miseries of the Damned The truth seems divided between these two opinions For first it is clear from St. Peter that the Heavens and the Earth which are now are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment 2 Ep. 3. 7. And whatever operation this fire may have upon the Apostate Spirits it will doubtless affect the bodies of wicked Men with most painful impressions But secondly This seems only the Prologue to a more tragical state which they must enter upon when this Conflagration is ended and of which a lake of fire and Brimstone is only a representation The miseries of Hell are described in Scripture by the most sensible and painful things And because the most dreadful Idea of pain the mind can form is the suffering by a raging and devouring fire therefore this Metaphor of fire is most frequently used And as for the lake of Fire and Brimstone so often mentioned in the Revelation it relates to the lake Asphaltites or the Dead Sea the lasting Monument of those showrs of Fire and Brimstone wherewith the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed These and the like descriptions are lively Images and Representations of Hell Torments and signifie them to be intolerable great but they do not express the true nature of them This indeed is in a great measure unknown to us and the most affrighted imagination cannot reach the truth and terror of them For who can tell or conceive what evils and Miseries the wrath of God and his vengeance on the ungodly comprehends III. By the Earth and the Heaven flying away from the face of him that sits on the Throne I understand the destruction of their present frame I see no reason from this or any other place of Scripture to conclude the utter Abolition or Annihilation of the World The matter and Substance of the Earth and the rest of the Mosaic Creation will doubtless continue the same but they will receive a new form or rather be rudis indigestaque moles an indigested heap without form or order This Dissolution of things St. Peter speaks of and tells us that this wonderful Metamorphosis shall be effected by Fire 2 Pet. 3. Some are apt to fancy that this Conflagration of the World is in order to its refining and that the Heavens and Earth being purged by Fire God will erect a new World out of the old Materials for the seat and habitation of the Blessed But this is a mere Imagination and is directly contrary to Scripture which teaches us that the Kingdom which the Righteous must inherit was prepared for them from the foundation of the World Matt. 25. 24. And as for the New Heavens and the New Earth which St. John and St. Peter speak of I have shewed that they do not signifie the Creation of a New World after the day of Judgment but a New state of things in the old Others think this Conflagaation to be perpetual and to be designed for the punishment of the wicked who shall live and suffer in this Fire to Eternnl Ages This seems to have some foundation in Scripture which speaks of the condemnation of the wicked to everlasting Fire But this fire to which wicked Men will be condemned is the same with that prepared for the Devil and his Angels which cannot be a Real One. For the evil Angels are spiritual Substances and have no sense of Material Impressinns If then the punishment of the Devil and wicked Men be of
the same kind the means and instrument of their Torment will not be Fire And so this opinion of a burning World falls to the ground The fire therefore at the day of judgment is not intended chiefly for the punishment of ungodly Men though they as I said before will suffer by it but for the destruction or dissolution of the World to which God will then put an end and reduce it to its Primitive Chaos And this dark space out of which the Earth and Heaven are fled away I suppose to be that Blackness of Darkness mentioned by St. Peter and St. Jude and which is said to be reserved for the Damned For thus of the Angels that kept not their first estate but left their own habitation St. Jude saith vers 6. that God hath reserved them for everlasting Chains or to be bound in everlasting Chains under Darkness at the Judgment of the great Day Vid. Piscator in Loc. Mede Disc 4. And the fate of ungodly Men is the same for to them is likewise reserved the blackness of darkness for ever vers 13. And in this melancholy State of Darkness and Horror the Devil and his Angels and all whose Names are not found written in the Book of Life shall be tormented and endure greater Miseries than the mildest fears and jealousies of the most guilty minds can imagine Nisi in hisce talibus liberius paulo sentiendi imo errandi venia concedatur ad profunda illa latentia veritatis adyta via nunquam patefacta fuerit Mede FINIS General Titles of Books Printed for Charles Brome GEographical Dictionary Fol. L'Estrange's Divine Offices Fol. Bishop Wilkins Real Character Fol. Religious Conference between a Minister and Parishioner 4to Satan disrob'd from his Disguise of Light 4to Case of the Quakers relating to Oaths Blomes History of the Bible with Cutts 4to L'Estrange and Browns Erasmus Colloquies 8vo Colberts last Will and Testament 8vo Fundamental Charter of Presbytery 8vo Sir Charles Cottons Planters Manual 8vo Complete Gamester 8vo Scoffer Scoft 8vo Virgils Travistie 8vo Wonders of the Peake 8vo Centum Fabulae The best Cutts in Octavo for Common Prayers Earbery against Deism 8vo Desdiers City and Republick of Venice translated out of French by Fra. Terne Gent. 8vo St. Evremonts Case of the Duke and Dutchess of Mazarine 8vo Scholars Guide from the Accidence to the University 8vo Essay of Love and Marriage 12mo Stitcht 6 d. Portuguese Asia in 3 Vol. 8vo Dr. Popes Select Novels 8vo Bishop Sprats Sermons 8vo Plain Dealing Poulterer Stit. 8vo 6 d. Fords short Catechism Bish Wilkins Nat. Religion 8vo Anatomy of the Elder Tree 12mo Reformed Monastery or the Love of Jesus 12mo Seven Love Letters from a Nun to a Cavalier Sir P. Medows Wars of Denmark 12. Crums of Comfort 24. Godly Mans Companion 24. Guide to Heaven 24. Guide of a Christian 24. Rule of Life 24. All the Pieces of the Author of the Snake in the Grass Bish Kens Exposition on the Church Catechism or the Practice of Divine Love 8 vo Bish Kens Manual of Prayers for the use of the Scholars of Winchester College and all other Devout Christians Bish Kens Sermon at the Funeral of the Lady Mary All L'Estranges Tracts 4 to Bromes Horace in English 8 vo Bromes Songs 8 vo Dr. Combers Works Dr. Combers Catechism Christian Education of Children according to the Maxims of the sacred Scripture and the Introductions of the Fathers of the Church 8 vo