Records as they challenge no lesse then beleefe to what I have written from them that equall these Scriptures with the Canonicall and are indeed altogether incompatible with a Jewish Antichrist so they manifest also to the whole world that I have uttered no yesterdayes doctrine no deformed issue of a private and distempered Spirit hatcht in a corner and nurst in a conventicle studyed in a closet or cloister and preacht onely in a chamber or covent but such things as accompany (r) Heb. 6. v. 9. Salvation Such words as every free Christian every uncaptived conscience will plainely perceive and publikely confesse to be the (s) Act. 26. v. 25. words of sobernesse and Truth Even her words (e) Prov. 1. v. 20. c. whose wont it is to utter t her voyce in the streetes in the chiefe place of concourse in the opening of the gates and in the City saying How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and the scorners delight in their scorning and fooles hate knowledge Let old Tobit speake for the rest I beleeve that our Brethren shall lye scattered in the earth from that good land and Jerusalem shall be desolate and the house of God in it shall be burned and shall be desolate for a time And that againe God will have mercy on them and bring them againe into the land where they shall build a Temple but not like to the first untill the time of that age be fulfilled and afterwards they shall turne from all places of their captivity and build up Jerusalem gloriously and the House of God shall be built in it for ever with a glorious building (v) Act. 3. v 19 20 21. as the u Prophets have spoken thereof And all Nations shall turne and feare the Lord God truely and shall bury their (w) Is 2. v. 20. Idols So shall all Nations praise the Lord and his people shall confesse God and the Lord shall exalt his people and all those that love the Lord God in truth and justice shall rejoyce shewing mercy to our brethren Gloria Deo Vita Regi Pax Regno Glory to God on high on earth increase To the Kings age and to the Kingdome peace FINIS GOG AND MAGOG OR THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTIE By ROBERT MATON Minister and Mr of Arts and sometimes Commoner of Wadham Colledge in OXFORD Hab. 2. v. 3. The vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speake and not lie though it tarry wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry LONDON Printed by R. Cotes for Daniel Frere and are to be sold at his shop in little Britaine at the signe of the red Bull. 1642. DEUT. 32. v. 2.36.43 The Lord shall judge his people and repent himselfe for his servants when he seeth that their power is gone and there is none shut up or left Rejoyce O yee Nations with his people for he will avenge the blood of his servants and will render vengeance to his adversaries and will he mercifull to his land and to his people Jerem. 10. v. 11.10 The (b) Isa 2.20 Zeph. 3.11 gods that have not made the heavens and the earth even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens But the Lord is the true God he is the living God and an everlasting King at his wrath the (c) Isa 2.19 21. Rev. 6.15 16 17. earth shall tremble and the Nations shall not be able to abide his indignation Isaiah 14. v. 24. c. The Lord of Hosts hath sworne saying surely as I thought so shall it come to passe and as I purposed it shall stand That I will breake the Assyrian in my land and upon my mountaines tread him under foot then (d) Isa 10.24 25 26 27. shall his yoke depart from off them and his burden from off their shoulders This is the purpose that is purposed upon the (e) Eze. 38 39. Ioel. ch 3. Micah 4.12 13. Zeph. 3.5 Zek. 12.14 whole earth and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the Nations For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed and who shall disannull it and his hand is stretched out and who shall turne it backe Isaiah 30. v. 27 c. Behold the Name of the Lord commeth from farre burning with his anger and the burden therereof is heavie his lips are full of indignation and his tongue as a devouring fire And his breath as an over-flowing streame shall reach to the middest of the necke to sift the Nations with the sieve of vanitie and there shall be a bridle in the jawes of the people causing them to erre Ye shall have a song as in the night when an holy solemnity is kept and gladnesse of heart as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountaine of the Lord to the mighty one of Israel And the Lord shall cause his glorious voyce to be heard and shall shew the lighting downe of his arme with the indignation of his anger and with the flame of a devouring fire with scattering and tempest and hailestones For through the voyce of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten downe which smote with a rod. And in every place where the grounded staffe shall passe which the Lord shall lay upon him it shall be with tabrets and harpes and in battels of shaking will hee fight with it For Tophet is ordained of old yea for the King it is prepared he hath made it deepe and large the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a streame of brimstone doth kindle it GOG AND MAGOG OR THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTIE EZEK 38.2 Sonne of man set thy face against Gog the land of Magog the chiefe Prince of Meshech and Tuball and prophesie against him c. THat we may the better know what enemies are meant by Gog and Magog in the 20. chap. of the Rev. it will not be amisse first Vers 8. to examine who are meant by Gog and Magog in the 38 and 39. chap. of Ezekiel And this can no way be so well found out as by comparing Ezekiels prophesie with other Prophesies For albeit this of Ezekiel be in forme and manner of expression somewhat different from others and in matter much more copious than others that being delivered here plainly fully and together which is in some but obscurely glanc't at and in others revealed but in part or at most by parcels as we say that is some part in one place and some in another yet that Ezekiel goes not alone in the subject of this Revelation it is evident by the Querie made by God himselfe in the very same Prophesie Thus saith the Lord God Art thou hee of whom I have spoken in (a) Hab. 2.3 old time by my servants the Prophets of Israel which prophesied in those dayes many yeares that I would bring thee against them chapter the
the 1. vers Behold in those dayes and in that time when I shall bring againe the captivitie of Judah and Hierusalem I will also gather all Nations and will bring them downe into the valley of Jehosaphat which in the 14. vers is called the valley of decision and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel whom they have scattered among the Nations and parted my land And at 15. vers againe The Sunne and the Moone shall be darkned and the Starres shall withdraw their shining the Lord also shall roare out of Zion and utter his voyce from Hierusalem and the (u) Isa 2.19 c. Eze. 38.19 20. Hag. 2.22 Mat. 24.29 Rev. 16.18 c. 6.13.14 heavens and the earth shall shake but the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel I am not ignorant that the darkning of the Sun and Moone is sometimes taken allegorically and by way of allusion but that therefore it should be so understood here it doth not follow for where it is figuratively applyed it signifies the judgement it selfe which is to befall those people of whom it is spoken but where it is literally used it is put onely for a signe of an eminent destruction which shall suddenly follow it as the great and terrible day of the Lord shall do at the accomplishment of this Prophesie Neither have I forgotten that the first of these Prophesies was made use of by Saint Peter to stop the mouthes of such as jeered the Apostles when by the descent of the holy Ghost upon them they began to speake with other tongues Act. 2.4 but that this Prophesie was then fulfilled I deny for when some mocking said These men are full of new wine Cap. cjusd vers 13. c. Saint Peter replyed Ye men of Judea and all ye that dwell at Hierusalem be this knowne unto you and hearken unto my words for these are not drunken as ye suppose seeing it is but the third houre of the day but this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel And it shall come to passe in the last dayes saith God I will powre out my Spirit upon all flesh as if he had said My brethren these are not the effects of wine but of the Spirit of God which is now powred out on the first fruits of the Jewes as a pledge assurance of that bountifull effusion of it which as Joel hath said shall one day happen to the whole (u) Isay 32. vers 15. Ezek. 39. vers 29. Zech. 12 vers 10. Nation And that this is all S. Peter meant it may thus appeare first because the chief and most remarkeable effect of the Spirit in the Apostles at this time was the gift of tongues of which the Prophet makes no mention and secondly because as the Prophet revealed so hee repeats this powring out of the Spirit as a contemporary event with the wonders which shall be shewne in the heavens and in the earth before the great and terrible day of the Lord come Which day can no way be referr'd to the first comming of Christ when he came to (x) Luk. 9. vers 56. Chap. 19. vers 10. Joh. 12.47 save sinners and not to destroy them when hee would not take upon him to be (y) Luk. 12.14 Joh. 6.15 Judge and Ruler over them for then it must have beene an antecedent of his birth of the time he lived and not a subsequent of his death and departure which hath no analogie with a day Is remaines then that it is an expression of his second coming which is called a great and terrible day in regard of the generall destruction which shall be brought on all Nations that oppose themselves against the Jewes at that time For in mount Zion and in Hierusalem as you have heard shall be deliverance and in the Remnant whom the Lord shall callâ— And to put it out of doubt that Gods bringing downe of the heathen into the valley of Jehospaphat is meant onely of his gathering them together to a battell and consequently of a judgement on the living and not on the dead to put this out of doubt I say the Prophet makes it to be a concomitant of the Jewes (z) Rev. 16. v. 12 13 14. return from their captivitie and in the 9 10 11 and 12. vers provokes the Gentiles to prepare warre to assemble their mighty men and to breake their plough-shares into swords and their pruning-hookes into speares a preparation which as it would be fruitlesse so doubtlesse they shall neither have time power or will to make when they are summoned to receive the dreadfull sentence of Goe yee cursed And for my owne part I am perswaded that this great army here spoken of is the very same that shall be gathered together to the battell of that great day of God Almighty by the three uncleane spirits like frogs which Saint John saw come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false Prophet Rev. the 16. at the 13. vers Of this (a) Psal 2.1 2 3. Ps 46.6 8. Ps 68.30 Isa 2.12 13 c. Ch. 24.21 22. ch 26.20 21. ch 34.1 2 3 4 5 c. ch 49. v. 26. chap. 66. v. 14 15 16. Micah 4.12 13. destruction also speakes Zephaniah in his 3. chap. at the 8. vers Therefore wait upon mee saith the Lord untill the day that I rise up to the prey for my determination is to gather the Nations that I may assemble the Kingdomes to powre upon them mine indignation even all my fierce anger for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousie for then will I turne to the people meaning the Jewes a pure language that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent And at the 19. vers Behold at that time I will undoe all that afflict thee and I will save her that halteth and gather her that was driven out and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have beene put to shame At that time I will bring you againe even in the time that I gather you for I will make you a name and a prayse among all people of the earth when I turne backe your captivity before your eyes saith the Lord. And yet more fully Zechariah in his 12. chap. at the 3. vers In that day will I make Hierusalem a burdensome stone for all people all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it In that day will I smite every horse with astonishment and his rider with madnesse and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah and will smite every horse of the people with blindnesse In that day will I make the Governours of Judah like a hearth
(b) Obad. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 of fire among the wood and like a torch of fire in a sheafe and they shall devour all the people round about on the right hand and on the left and Hierusalem shall be inhabited againe in her owne place even in Hierusalem The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Hierusalem do not magnifie themselves against Judah In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Hierusalem and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David and the house of David shall be as God as the Angel of the Lord before them And in the 14. chap. at the 12. vers This shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall smite the people that have fought against Jerusalem their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feete and their eyes shall consume away in their holes and their tongues shall consume away in their mouth and it shall come to passe in that day that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his (c) Eze. 38.21 Hag. 2.23 neighbour and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour and Judah also shall fight at Hierusalem and the (d) Mich. 4.13 wealth of all the Heathen round about shall be gathered together gold and silver and apparell in great abundance and so shal be the plague of the horse of the mule of the camell and of the asse and of the beasts that shall be in these tents as this plague And in the 38. and 39. chap. of Ezek. the same army is foretold under the names of Gog and Magog Now how can wee forsake the literall interpretation of these prophecies if wee do but consider that the Jewes are here distinguished from all other Nations of which wee Gentiles who are now converted were then a part and are by this name in the writings of the Evangelists and Apostles still distinguished from them if wee consider what grosse absurdities would follow from the Tropicall construction of these or the like propheticall revelations wherein the event of things is so plainly and distinctly attributed to the Jewes who I am sure did never since the Prophets dayes returne from any captivitie with such an high hand and with such a wonderfull victory over their enemies as is here prophecied And as for the Church that now is let the lamentable experience of all ages witnesse whether she hath not beene more often crowned with martyrdome than victory whether the blood-thirstie Mahometan hath not gotten much ground upon her yea whether he who claimes the priviledge to be her head hath not and doth not most of all waste and devoure her according as it is written of him in the 13. of the Rev. at the 11. vers and therefore these prophesies can have no relation to the times of the Gentiles nor so much to the time of the Maccabees as Cornelius à Lapide endeavours to make these of Zachariah to have for neither were their enemies smitten with such plagues nor brought into such subjection as is here foretold neither was the house of David then so highly exalted as is here promised and Iudas and his brethren who then bare the chiefest sway were not of the Tribe of Iudah but of Levi neither was the wealth of all the heathen round about then gathered together neither did the Lord (e) Zech. 14.5 descend and all the Saints with him unlesse wee will say as our Commentator doth that this was fulfilled when the five comely men upon horses appeared unto the enemies from heaven as 't is in the 2. of the Maccab. the 10. chap. at the 29. and 30. vers which apparition doth as well expound these words as hee doth that other Prophesie of Zephaniah by which he would have us to understand Gods calling the Gentiles to repentance by the preaching of the Gospell when as the text saith plainly that Gods determination is to gather the Nations and to assemble the Kingdomes that he may powre upon them his indignation even all his fierce anger and if this be not to cry peace peace when there is no peace if this be not to call evill good and good evill to put darknesse for light and light for darkenesse bitter for sweete and sweete for bitter I know not what is But enough of the perplexity which shall happen to other Nations when the Jewes return Now againe of their returne and of the prosperity which shall then happen to themselves And it shall come to passe in that day saith Isaiah ch 11. v. 11. that the Lord shall set his hand againe the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left from Assyria and from Egypt and from Paphros and from Cush and from Eâ—am and from Shinar and from Hamath and from the Islands of the Sea and hee shall set up an Ensigne for the Nations and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and (f) Isa 49.12.25 ch 30.18 19. ch 62.10 11 12. Eze. 20.32 33 34 c. gather together the dispersed of Judah from the foure corners of the earth the envie also of Ephraim shall depart and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off Ephraim shall not envie Judah and Judah shall not vexe Ephraim and the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian Sea and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river and shall smite it in the seven streames and shall make men goe over dry-shod and there shall be an high way for the remnant of his people which shall be left from Assyria (g) Mica 7. 15 c. like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the Land of Egipt You see here that the Prophet speakes plainely of a miraculous recovery of Gods people of the recovery I say of Judah not from Babylon but from the foure (h) Jer. 16. v. 14 15. ch 23.7 8. corners of the earth and that together with Ephraim with the ten Tribes from Assyria which as (i) Joh. 7.35 yet never came back and therefore this is not yet fulfilled Such another Prophesie is that of Ezek. in his 37. chap. at the 19. vers Thus saith the Lord God I will take the sticke of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the Tribes of Israel his fellowes and will put them with him even with the sticke of Judah and make them one sticke and they shall be one in my hand And at the 21. vers Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the Heathen whither they be gone and will gather them on every side and will bring them into their owne Land and I will make them one Nation in the Land upon the Mountaines of Israel and one King shall be King to them all and
and I will cause them to lie downe saith the Lord God I will seeke that which was lost and bring againe that which was driven away and will binde up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sicke but I will destroy the fat and the strong I will feede them with judgement And at the 25. vers I will make with them a covenant of peace and will cause the evill beasts to cease out of the Land and they shall dwell safely in the Wildernesse and sleepe in the woods and I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing and I will cause the showre to come downe in his season there shall be showres of blessing and the tree of the field shall yeeld her fruit and the earth shall yeeld her encrease and they shall be safe in their Land and shall know that I am the Lord when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them out of the hands of those that served themselves of them And they shall no more be a prey to the Heathen neither shall the beasts of the Land devoure them but they shall dwell safely and none shall make them afraid And I will raise up for them a plant of renowne and they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the Land neither beare the shame of the Heathen any more And in his 36. chap. at the 8. vers O Mountaines of Israel yee shall shoot forth your branches and yeeld your fruit to my people of Israel for they are at hand to come for behold I am for you and I will turne unto you and yee shall be tilled and sowen and I will multiply men upon you (g) Isa 45. vers 25. Ezek. 37. v. 11.12 c. c. 36. v. 25. Ier. 12. v. 14.15 Rom. 11. v. 32. â— all the house of Israel even all of it and the Cities shall be inhabited and the wasts shall be builded and I will multiply upon you man and beast and they shall increase and bring fruit and I will settle you after your old estates and I will doe better for you then at your beginnings and ye shall know that I am the Lord yea I will cause men to walke upon you even my people Israel and they shall possesse thee thou shalt be their inheritance thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men Thus saith the Lord God because they say unto you Thou Land devourest up men and hast bereaved thy Nations therefore thou shalt devoure men no more neither bereave thy Nations any more saith the Lord God neither will I cause men to heare in thee the shame of the Heathen any more neither shalt thou beare the reproach of the people any more neither shalt thou cause the Nations to fall any more saith the Lord God And at the 24. vers I will take you from among the Heathen and gather you out of all Countries and will bring you into your owne Land then will I sprinkle cleane water upon you and yee shall be cleane from all your filthinesse and from all your idols will I clense you and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walke in my statutes and yee shall keepe my judgements and doe them and yee shall dwell in the Land that I gave to your fathers and yee shall be my people and I will bee your God I will also save you from all your uncleannesses and I will call for corne and will increase it and lay no more famine upon you and I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field that yee shall receive no more reproach of famine among the Heathen Then shall yee remember your owne evill wayes and your doings that were not good and shall loath your selves in your owne sight for your iniquities and for your abominations Thus saith the Lord God in the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the Cities and the wasts shall be builded and the desolate Land shall bee tilled whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by and they shall say This Land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden and the waste and desolate and ruined Cities are become fenced and inhabited Then the Heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places and plant that that was desolate I the Lord have spoken it and I will doe it And in his 39. chap. at the 25. vers Thus saith the Lord God Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob and have mercie upon the whole house of Israel and will be jealous for my holy Name after that they shall have borne their shame and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me when they dwelt safely in their Land and none made them afraid When I have brought them againe from the people and gathered them out of their enemies Lands and am sanctified in them in the sight of many Nations then shall they know that I am the Lord their God which caused them to be led into captivity among the Heathen but I have gathered them unto their owne Land and have left none of them any more there Neither will I hide my face any more from them for I have powred out my Spirit upon the house of Israel saith the Lord God And in the 10. chap. of Zechariah at the 6. ver It is said I will strengthen the House of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph and I will bring them againe to place them for I have mercy upon them And they shall be as though I had not cast them off for I am the Lord their God and will heare them And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man and their heart shall rejoyce as through Wine Yea their children shall see it and shall be glad their heart shall rejoyce in the Lord. I will hisse for them and gather them for I have redeemed them And they shall increase as they have increased and I will sow them among the people and they shall remember me in farre Countryes and they shall live with their children and turne againe I will bring them againe also out of the Land of Aegypt and gather them out of Assyria and I will bring them into the Land of Gilead and Lebanon and place shall not be found for them Which Prophecies as they doe containe many evident and unanswerable arguments for a future restauration of Israel I meane a restauration yet to come so they have such correspondence with that of Isaiah in his 59. chap. at the 20. ver And with that of Amos in his 9. chap. at the 11. ver both which Prophecies are alledged by the Apostles (h) Act. 15. v. 16. Saint James and (i) Rom. 11. v. 27.26 Saint Paul for the conversion of the Jewes after the fulnesse of the
Gentiles is come in that is after all those of the Gentiles which are appointed to be called before Christs comming againe be converted Or rather perhaps when the fulnesse of the Gentiles shall come in that is when the time shall come in which not a part as now but all the Gentiles that are left shall through the wonderfull deliverance of the Jewes together with them serve the Lord that seeing these are not yet fulfild neither can any of the other betwixt which and that of * The words in 15. of the Acts at the 14. ver upon which the Prophecy of Amos is inferred are taken by Doctor Mayer to be meant of the Song of old Simeon and not of the former speech of Simon Peteâ— But it matters not much which of the two is here spoken of for seeing the Prophet doth plainely shew a future restoring of the Jewes and yet the intent of the Apostle was onely to prove that God had then called the Gentiles it cannot otherwise be but that the words After this in the Prophecy being applyed to the foresaid visiting of the Gentiles by the Preaching of the Gospell must needes conclude that the extraordinary restauration of the Jewes foreshewne by the Prophet was to follow the calling of the Gentiles then begun by the Apostles And consequently that the Jewes endevour to 1 Thess 2 v. 14 15. hinder the growth of the Gospell was a sure proofe of the conversion of the Gentiles and their owne rejection Who unto the death of Christ were the peculiar people of God and not wholly cast off untill by their wilfull unbeliefe they forced the Apostles to Act. 13. v. 44 45 46. turne from them to other Nations to whom God had not formerly revealed himselfe and therefore could not at that time be said to Returne unto the Gentiles whom he had but then received no nor to the Jewes whom he had then and not till then quite forsaken So that if we consider the Returning of God here mentioned in the Prophecy to be appliable onely to the Jewes to whom alone God had so long before made himselfe knowne and yet that the Jewes were shortly after the calling of the Gentiles quite forsaken we must needs grant that their great happinesse here foretold hath not beene yet enjoyd but shall be when the fulnesse of the succedaneous Gentiles is come in And wherefore did the Apostle change the Prophets In that day will I raise up into After this I will returne and build Wherfore I say did he or rather the Holy Ghost in him make choyce of this Paraphrase in place of the Text if not of purpose to make that which hath been said the more planely appeare To wit that the day of the Jews deliverance is to await the accomplishment of the surrogated Gentiles vocation For though this consolatory Prophecy according to the order of the things revealed to the Prophet hath relation onely to a foregoing judgement denounced against the Jewes yet it is not therefore mis-inferred here by the Apostle as a subsequent too of the anticipated conversion of the Gentiles and that because the very same time which was foreappointed by God for the execution of that punishment upon the forsaken Jewes was also foreappointed by him to be the time for the promulgation of his mercy towards the substituted Gentiles as these next words That the residue of men might seeke after the Lord and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called doe most clearely intimate For what is meant by the Residue of men but the remainder of those Nations which are not to be converted till the foresaid redemption of the Jewes their Redemption I say as well out of all Countries into which they are scattered and from all Nations amongst whom as was foretold they have beene sifted so many hundred yeares as from all their sinnes which moved God to use such severity towards them And what by the Gentiles on whom Gods name is called but the remuant of those Nations which are now already or shall if any more shall while Davids Tabernacle layes waste become the people of God in the hardned Jewes stead So that this Prophecy doth as well prove a profession of the Gospell by a great part of the Gentiles before the Jewes deliverance and in the time of their blindnesse as by all that are left of them afterwards for that by a people on whom Gods name is called or which is called by Gods Name is to be understood a people beloved of God and called out from other Nations to serve him as the Jewes were heretofore and as the Christians are now I thinke none will deny or that by the Residue of men and all the Gentiles upon whom Gods name is called all other Nations besides the Jewes are meant And was there then ever as yet such an unanimous consent in the true worship of God betwixt the Jewes and all other Nations as is here foretold surely never betwixt them and any one Nation No nor long betwixt themselves and the more the pitty no lesse oddes hath a long time beene and still is amongst Christians both in their opinion and practise of Religious duties Vide Commentationum Apocalyp partem primam de sigillis pag. 55 56 Amos there is not any materiall difference and no other betwixt them and that of Isaiah then there is betwixt a Comment and the Text betwixt a briefe intimation and large explication of one and the same thing And yet there want not some who by the words All Israel in the 11. of the Romans understand onely the Church of the Gentiles to which some of the Jewes should be united but if the obvious and simple meaning of the 28 29.30 31. and 32. * Nihil potuit apertius de futura populi Israelitici salute proferri Josephus Acosta in locum Who also repeating the Prophecy in the third of Hosea at the 4. ver saith thus of it Hoc quoque quamvis nulla expositorum luce illustraretur per seipsum clarissimum testimonium est And then goes on with that in the 4. chap. of Deut. at the 30. ver Nec minus dilucide a Mose praedictum Postquam te invenerint omnia quae praedicta sunt praedixerat vero peccata illius populi terrae promissae amissionem dispersionem in omnes gentes novissimo inquit tempore reverteris ad Dominum Deum tuum audies vocem ejus quia Deus misericors Dominus Deus tuus non dimittet te neque omnino delebit neque omnino obliviscetur pacti in quo juravit Patribus tuis De teinp noviss lib. 3. c. 11. p. 547. verses following will not suffice to discover the weaknesse that I say not wilfulnesse of this interpretation yet surely to any man that is not without reason the (k) Vid D. Parei explicationem dubii 18. in cap. 11. ad Rom. p. 271 Pet. Mart. loc com class 2. cap. 4. pag. 206 207. class
the breasts of Kings and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and Redeemer the Mighty one of Jacob. And in the 49. chap. at the 22. ver and the 25. at the 6. ver Thus saith the Lord God Behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles and set up my Standerd to the people and they shall bring thy Sonnes in their armes and thy daughters shall be carryed upon their shoulders And Kings shall be thy nursing Fathers and their Queenes thy noursing Mothers they shall bow downe to thee with their faces towards the earth and licke up the dust of thy feet and thou shalt know that I am the Lord for they shall not be ashamed that waite for me And in this Mountaine shall the Lord of Hostes make unto all people a feast of fat things a feast of Wines on the Lees of fat things full of marrow of Wines on the Lees well refined And he will destroy in this mountaine the face of the covering cast over all people and the vaile that is spread over all Nations He will swallow up death in victory and the Lord will wipe away teares from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth for the Lord hath spoken it And in his 14. chap. at the 1. ver The Lord will have mercy upon Jacob and will (r) Dan 7. v. 18.22.27 yet chuse Israel and set them in their owne Land and the (s) Isa 55. v 5. Zech. 2. v. 9.11 strangers shall be joyned with them and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob and the people shal take them and bring them to their place and the House of Israel shall possesse them in the Land of the Lord for servants and for hand-maides and they shall take them (t) Ezek. 39 v. 10. captives whose captives they were and they shall rule over their oppressours And in chap. 2. ver 2. It shal come to passe in the last dayes that the mountaine of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountaines shal be exalted above the hils and al Nations shal flow unto it And many people shal go and say come ye and let us go up to the mountaine of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will (u) Isa 49. v. 6. cha 60. v. 3. 1 Tim. 2. v. 4. teach us of his wayes and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall goe forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem And hee shall judge among the Nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall breake their swords into plow shares and their speares into pruning hookes Nation shall not (w) Psal 46 v. 9. lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learne warre any more The same Prophecy also you may finde it the 4. chap. of Micâ—lâ— at the 1. ver And not much unlike this is that in the 8. chap. of Zech. at the 20. ver And that in the 14. chap. at the 16. ver Thus saith the Lord of Hostes it shall come to passe thâ—â— there shall come people and the inhabitants of many Cities and the inhabitants â—â—done City shall goe to another saying Let us got speedily to pray before the Lord of Hostes I will goâ—â—lâ—o Yea many people and strong Nations shall come to seeke the Lord of Hostes in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord. Thus faith the Lord of Hostes in those dayes it shall come to passe that ten men shall taketh old out of all languages of the Nations even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew saying We will goe with you for we have heard that God is with you And in shall come to passe that every one that is lest of all the Nations which came against Jerusalem shall even goâ— up from yearâ— to yeare to worship the King the Lord of Hostes and to keepe â—nd foâ—st of Tabernacles And it shall be that who so will not come up of all the Families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King the Lord of Hostes even upon them shall be no raine I know the most of these Prophecies are chiefly interpreted of the joyning together of the Jewes Gentiles in one Church and rightly but to say that this is now fulfilled in the time of the substituted Gentiles Vocation is to overthrow what was before affirmed and to take great paines to beguile our selves and others of the Truth It is I say to put out our owne eyes and bid others follow us For Saint Paul in the 11. of the Rom. tells us plainely that the Jewes are broken off from their Olive Ver. 19 20. v. 17. v. 15. v. 7. v. 32. ver 11. And that we are graffed in for them That they are cast away that they are hardned That God hath concluded them all in unbeleefe And that through their fall salvation is come unto us to provoke them to (x) Deu. 32 v. 21. jealousie And therefore it cannot possibly be maintained that the Jewes and Gentiles are as yet (y) Ioh. 10. v. 16. one sheepefold And as for those which were converted at the first Preaching of the Gospell and at other times since they are but the first fruites and roote as I may say of the branches and lumpe which shall follow after them by a generall conversion And therefore the calling of these can no more be accounted a conversion of the Jewes then the calling of those Gentiles which were gathered to the Church before Christs Nativity can be taken for the conversion of the Gentiles Who were as time hath shewne us but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the fore-runners and pledge as it were of al those Nations which were a long time after converted by the Ministery of the Apostles their successors And besides how the bringing of the Jews out of all Nations Vpon Horses in Litters and in Charets upon Mules upon mens shoulders can beare any other but a literal sense Or how The vaile that is spread over all Nationâ— can now be said to be destroyed when as so many of them run a whoring after their owne inventions I cannot conceive Yea Even unto this day saith Saint Paul of the Jews in his time when Moses is read the vaile is upon their heart Neverthelesse when it shall turne unto the Lord the vaile shall be taken away 2 Cor. 3.15 and 16. ver But we see not yet Israel returned yea we see it fallen into more grosse ignorance and superstition and therefore the vaile is not yet taken away and consequently is not yet Destroyed from all Nations Againe I know no reason why we should give more credit to the Metaphoricall interpretation of these Prophecies then to the Figurative exposition which some presume to put upon those words in the 12. of Zechariah at the 10. ver Although Saint John in his 19. Chap. at the
37. ver hath alledged them as the onely (z) Ioh. 12. v. 39. cause that our Saviours side was pierced of which fact doubtlesse there had beene no necessity if the Prophecy were not to be understood in a literall sense And to say with others that it was thus fulfilled in the Disciples who beheld our Saviours sufferings is not onely to rob the Prophecy of its right end but also to make the Disciples guilty of their Masters death For the Text saith expressely They shall looke upon me whom they have (a) Psal 22 v. 16. c. pierced Where also it followes And they shall (b) Mat. 24. v. 30. mourne for him as one that mourneth for his onely Son and shall be in bitternesse for him as one that is in bitternesse for his first borne In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Meggidon But who can at the same time earnestly bewaile that mans death whose punishment they themselves doe not onely procure but scoffe at As all that murdered Christ did at his And what comparison is there betwixt the griefe of a few fearefull and scattered Disciples for a day or two and the solemne mourning of all Judah and Jerusalem and that to every family apart and their wives apart As therefore this Prophecy doth concerne the Jewes onely and chiefely the Tribes that crucified their Saviour so doubtlesse it shall then receive its accomplishment when God at their generall conversion Zech. 12. v. 10. Shall powre upon them the Spirit of grace and supplications that so they may at once obtaine the forgivenesse of their sinnes and thus lament their forefathers malicious and cruell contrivance and their owne hereditary and wilfull approbation of the death of Christ who shall then descend unto them to restore their Kingdome and to raigne over all the earth as it is in the 14. Chap. of the same Prophet at the 5. and 9. verses 3. That the whole creation shall be restored to its originall perfection And thus much of the felicity of that remnant of the Nations which shall out-live the rest at the Jewes returne Now a word or two of the alteration of the sensitive and senselesse creatures at that time The Wolfe saith Isaiah in his 11. Chap. at the 6. ver shall dwell with the Lambe and the Leopard shall lie downe with the Kid And the Calfe and the yong Lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them And the Cow and the Beare shall feed their yong ones shall lye downe together and the Lyon shall eate straw (c) Gen. 1. v. 30. cha 6. v. 20 21. like the Oxe And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the Asse and the weaned Childe shall put his hand on the Cockatrice den They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountaine for the earth shall be (d) Hab. 2. v. 14. full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea And in the 65. Chap. at the 25. ver The Wolfe and the Lambe shall feed together and the Lion shall eate straw like the Bullocke And dust (e) Gen. 3. v. 1â— shall be the Serpents meate They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy Mountaine saith the Lord. Where we may observe against such as understand by these expressions the effects of Preaching on the hearts of cruell-minded men that they are a part of those Prophecies which concerne the Jewes deliverance and therefore can have no relation to the calling of the Gentiles And besides is there no hurt nor destruction in all the Christian world that we should thus flatter our selves with such vaine fancies or rather when was there none or where is the Nation shall I say or the City yea the Village amongst us where cruelty is not practised where such mischiefes are not to be found as can scarcely be paralleled in the common wealths of the most barbarous Heathen And as for those words For the Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord which seeme to have beene the occasion of the former interpretation in my conceit they imply but this that therefore God will restore to these creatures their primitive obedience and cause them to be no more offensive to his people because he hath determined to make himselfe at that time so well knowne over all the earth that his people shall no more offend him And so the feare of God shall at once be put againe into the hearts of men and the feare of men into the hearts of the creatures For the enmity of the creatures is but the issue of mans sinne and therefore when God shall pardon the House of Jacob and cleanse them from all their iniquities as hath beene said the sinnes of men which are the cause and the curse of the Creatures which is the effect shall depart together As then there can be no sufficient reason alledged for the allegoricall interpretation of these prophecies so if we beleeve Gods revelations touching the Jewes returne there can be no reason urged to the contrary that will force us to forsake the literall sense of them By which sense I am sure that passage of Saint Paul in the 8. Chap. of the Rom. at the 21. ver is so well explained that the great strife about the signification of the word Creature there may be soone decided and by which too the opinion of those who from that place would make the sensitive Creatures Co-partners with us of that glory which followes the last resurrection fals to the ground for is not the exchange of a ravenous disposition for a quiet and peaceable and the freedome from the abuse of sinne A delivery of the creature from the bondage of corruption and the (f) Dan. 7. v. 21 22. glorious liberty of the Sonnes of God what is it but the flourishing estate of the Jewes before spoken of under Christ their Head who accompanyed with all the Saints departed and then living shall come and receive dominion (g) Dan. 7. v. 14.27 ch 2 v. 44. Rev. 15. v. 4 ch 20. v. 4.6 and glory and a Kingdome that all People Nations and Languages may serve him as you shall heare anon Another Prophecy touching the renewed estate of the Creatures is to be seene in the 30. Chap. of Esay at the 23. ver Then shall he give the raine of thy seed that thou shalt sow the ground withall And bread of the increase of the Earth and it shall be fat and plenteous in that day shall thy cattle feed in lange pastures The Oxen likewise and the young Asses that eare the ground shall eate cleane Provender which hath beene winnowed with the shovell and with the Fanne and there shall be upon every high hill rivers and streames of waters in the day of the slaughter when the towers fall Moreover the light of the Moone shall be as the light
Jacob shall rejoyce and Israel shall be glad Psal 106. v. 4 5. Remember me O Lord with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people O visit me with thy salvation That I may see the (i) Ier. 32 v. 42. ch 33. v. 9. good of thy chosen that I may rejoyce in the gladnesse of thy Nation that I may glory with thine inheritance Micah 7. v. 14. c. Feed thy people with thy rod the flock of thine heritage which dwelleth solitarily in the wood in the midst of Carmel let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the dayes of old According to the dayes of thy comming out of the Land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things The Nations shall see and be confounded at their might they shall lay their hand upon their mouth their eares shall be deafe They shall licke the dust like a Serpent they shall move out of their (k) Isa 2. v. 19.20 Re◠◠v. 19 holes like wormes of the earth they shall be afraid of the Lord our God and shall feare because of thee Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the (l) Isa 65. v. 9.15 Zeph. 3. v. 12 13. Rom. 11. v. 5 28. Remnant of his heritage he retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy He will turne againe he will have compassion upon us he will subdue our iniquities and thou wilt cast all their sinnes into the depths of the Sea Thou wilt performe the truth to (m) Isa 65. v. 8. Rom. 11. v. 16.28 Jacob and the mercy to (m) Isa 65. v. 8. Rom. 11. v. 16.28 Abraham which thou hast sworne to our m Fathers from the dayes of old Isaiah 12. 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 Behold God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song he also is become my salvation Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the Wels of salvation And in that day shall yee say Praise the Lord call upon his Name declare his doings among the people make mention that his Name is exalted Sing unto the Lord for he hath done excellent things this is knowne in all the earth Cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Zion for great is the HOLY (n) Isa 55. v. 5. ch 60. v. 9.14 Luke 4. v. 34. Acts 2. v. 27 ch 3. v. 14. ONE of Israel in the midst of thee Isaiah 63. v. 15. c. Looke downe from Heaven and behold from the habitation of thy holinesse and of thy glory where is thy zeale and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercy towards me are they restrained Doubtlesse thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledgeth us not thou O Lord art our Father our Redeemer thy Name is from everlasting O Lord why hast thou made us to erre from thy wayes and hardned our heart from thy feare returne for thy servants sake the Tribes of thine inheritance The people of thy holines have possessed it but a little while our Adversaries have trodden down thy Sanctuary O that thou wouldest rent the Heavens Ch. 64. v. 1. c. that thou wouldest come down that the mountains might flow downe at thy presence As when the melting fire burneth the fire causeth the waters to boyle to make thy Name knowne to thine Adversaries that the Nations may tremble at thy presence When thou diddest terrible things which wee looked not for thou camest downe the mountaines flowed downe at thy presence For since the beginning of the world (o) 1 Cor. 2 v. 9. men have not heard nor perceived by the eare neither hath the eye seene O God besides thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him Nunc fera mucro fames nunc (p) Rev. 6.8 mórsque fidelibus instat Quos manet haec merces gloria vita quies Warre wilde beasts want and death doe now besiege The sacred troopes whose future priviledge Is this to shine in glory and to raigne In peace with him who makes their death their (q) Phil. 1.21 gain The Testimonies of the Authors quoted in the margent of the 19. page ISraelitae non fuerunt liberati unquam à suâ terrenâ captivitate nec redierunt in patriam ut patet ex superioribus Hoc etiam historiae docent abducti enim ab Assur in Assyriam Mediam non leguntur ab eo fuisse dimissi Regno verò Assyriorum Babyloniis per Merodacum subjecto in captivitate itidèm permanserunt Babyloniis subjecti Cùm verò posteà Deioces qui primus apud Medos regiâ dignitate usus est ab Assyriorum Babyloniorúmque jugo Medos liberasset Israelitae multis de causis fuerunt è terris Medorum in ulteriores regiones nempè in Septentrionem quò omnis spes redeundi ad suos illis tolleretur expulsi quidem dispersi Quâ de re videatur Funcc comment lib. 1. pag. 23. Itaque videamus cùm Media Babylonia Assyria in manū pervenit Cyri regis factâ libertate omnibus Israelitis redeundi in patriam solos Jehudaeos Benjamin quae conjuncta erat cum Juda Levitas qui quonià m noluerunt vitulis sacrificare expulsi à Jeroboamo redierunt Hierosolymam cum Judaeis se conjunxerunt ut est 2. Paralip 11. v. 13 14. ch 13. v. 9. rediisse ut est Ezra cap. 1. cap. 2. Nisi fuissent reliquae Tribus in ulteriores regiones dispersae illae potuissent quoque redire Tempore etiam quo natus est Dominus Samaria cum aliis terris Israelitarum occupata erat ab illis gentibus qui eò missi fuerant a rege Assur Israelitarum loco ut est 2. Reg. 17. Itaque videmus Israelitas nunquà m à captivitate terrenâ liberatos in patriam rediisse Hier. Zanch. Quaeritur ab interpretibus Nùm ex hâc prophetiâ certò colligatur decem tribus nunquà m ex captivitate rediisse quemadmodùm aliae duae post aliquot annos ex captivitate Babylonica redierunt Ratio dubitandi est quòd in hoc ipso cap. subditur Et cōgregabuntur filii Juda filii Israel paritèr c. Ezek. cap. 37. Sub Symbolo duorum lignorum in unum coeuntium vaticinatur Judam Israel conjungendos Jer. cap. 50. v. 4. apertè dicit Venient in tempore illo filii Israel ipsi filii Juda simul Ubi videtur certa spes restitutionis etiam decem tribubus fieri Nihilominus certum est Rempublicamillam decem tribuum nunquà m posteà coivisse eorum captivitatem dispersionem in populos perpetuam fuisse quod hic comminatur Deus nec solutam unquà m fuisse eorum captivitatem quod Josephus ipse Ant. Jud. lib. 11. cap. 5. agnoscit Dum scribit
sense no doubt can be made touching the name of Kings because it applyes the text to them that are properly and actually such yet why they should be called Kings of the East when as they are inhabitants of the West I thinke no tolerable reason can be given Object The next stumbling blocke that I meet with is in Pareus who tels us too that it was the maine cause of his dissenting from the literall interpretation of this place For saith hee either the sixt plague is intimated by these words which shew the drying up of Euphrates or else here is no plague at all spoken of seeing the following verses speake not of the plague comprehended under this viall but onely of the course the Beast shall take for his defense against this plague Whereby he seemes to mee to take it for granted that if the drying up to Euphrates should be understood literally as it ought to be in relation to the former exposition of the Kings of the East then it can nothing at all concerne the ruine and downefall of the Beast and false Prophet Answ 1 But what Is there any thing too hard for the Lord was his hand heavie upon all the Egyptians at the deliverance of the Jewes from the bondage of that Nation and can hee not as well make the whole world to feele the weight of it at their Redemption from all countryes did he then harden Pharaohs heart to follow after his people that he might be honour'd upon him and upon all his Host and that the Egyptians might know that hee was the Lord and can he not in the like manner and for the like end gather all Nations against them at their next returne Surely to deny this and either this or the foresaid argument must be denyed were to limit the power of God and to shorten the arme of the Almighty like those who spake against God and said Can God furnish a table in the wildernesse behold he smote the rocke that the waters gushed out and the streames overflowed can hee give bread also can he provide flesh for his people Psal 78. at the 19. and 20. vers Againe Hath God said and shall he not doe it or hath he spoken and shall hee not make it good hath he foretold the Jewes generall returne the generall opposing of them by all Nations at their returne the great and wondrous destruction and generall distresse of those Nations and the generall subjection of all the surviving Gentiles to the Jewes hath hee I say by many Prophets and for many yeares together repeated all these things to his people and that as plainly too as their generall conversion is revealed to which yet most Divines of note subscribe and shall they all come to nothing Shall his prophecies he even as a dreame when an hungry man dreameth and behold hee eateth but he awaketh and his soule is empty or as when a thirsty man dreameth and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint and his soule hath appetite Surely to affirme this and whosoever allowes the foresaid argument doth affirme it were to make God a lier while wee beleeve not his record And therefore seeing God both can and will de iâ—er his people and can and will (i) Micah 4 12 13. Ps 47. â—3 subdue all Nations to them at their deliverance when should we expect the accomplishment of it but under those vials where we find an apparent allusion to the Jewes Redemption in the drying up of Euphrates and an expresse revelation both of an extraordinary gathering of the Kings of the Earth and of the whole world to the battell of the great day of God Almighty and also of an extraordinary destruction of them Answ 7 To come then to a direct reply I say that Pareus supposeth much but proves nothing For first he takes it to be unquestionable that the plague of the sixt vial is intimated by the drying up of Euphrates when as the abominable meanes the devillish miracles which shall be used for the gathering together of the Kings of the whole world being a most apparent taken of Gods fierce anger against them that shall be thus deluded and a sure fore-runner of an imminent temporall death on their bodies and of an eternall on their soules may I thinke well passe for the plague contained under this vial especially if wee consider that at the effusion of the vials there is first mention of the mutation of the thing on which it is to be powred and then of the hurt and dammage which men are to receive thereupon to none of which the giving up of people to a reprobate mind to their hearts lusts to vile affections the sending of them strong delusions that they shall beleeve lies that they shall even be deceived by the signes and lying wonders of Satans instruments is any whit inferiour Secondly he supposeth as I said that the drying up of Euphrates in a literall sense can no way set forward the destruction of the Beast and false Prophet and this supposition doth spring from another which many interpreters deliver as an undeniable truth too to wit that the Beast and false Prophet are the adequate object of all the vials when as it is most manifest that the last vial doth as immediately concerne the rest of the world as that part under the Beast as well the Kings of the whole world and their subjects as the Beast and his And very probable it is that the second third and fourth vials do belong to others also besides the worshippers of the Beast and therefore though the first and fifth vials be appropriated to the Beast his dominions yet I see not why the extent of these should be made the measure of any of the other vials whose effects are indefinitely revealed rather than of the last vial of which it 's well knowne that it shall light heavie on all the earth Yea I am perswaded that if the drying up of Euphrates doth set forth the plague of the sixth vial this plague shall more neerly concerne some other country than that where the Beast inhabits For as I nothing doubt the literall accomplishment of the drying up of Euphrates so if these words do set forth the plague of the sixt vial I beleeve also that no other allegoricall and figurative sense of the words is so likely to be here implyed with the literall as that which Mr (k) Comment Apoc. part 2. p. 272.273 Mead observes to wit the removing of the inhabitants of that Province through which Euphrates passeth Now these frivolous raw and rash exceptions being thus remov'd I come to that interpretation so commonly received and so much preferred before the foresaid sense of Euphrates and the Kings of the East and it is this By the drying up of Euphrates say they is set forth the decay of the riches glory and dominion of the Roman See the profits which were wont to come from the Countries and
flaming fine taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ when he shall come to be glorifyed in his Saints and to be admired in all them that beleeve in that Day For seeing the beast to whom these Kings were to give their strength was to (q) Rev. 13 v. 12. exercise all the power of the first beast before him and that it was given to the first beast (r) ch 13. v. 7. to make warre with the Saints and to overcome them it necessarily followes that the warre which these Kings were to make while they should agree to give their Kingdomes unto the beast was likewise to be with the Saints whom they should overcome not with the Lamb who should overcome them Neither wil it suffice against the force of this argument to say that they who fight with the Saints doe fight with the Lamb that they who overcome the Saints by the Sword are yet over come by them through faith for the first beast did as much fight against the Lamb in this sense as these Kings was as much overcome by the Saints in this sense as they who yet is neither said to warre with the Lambe nor to be overcome by the Saints And sure I am it is recorded in the 7. chap. of Dan. that he beheld the presumptuous horne of the fourth beast exhibited to him in a dreame making warre with the Saints not the Lambe and prevailing against them Vntill the ancient of Dayes did sit and the time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdome And whether that horne be all one with the beast and false Prophet in the Rev. and so is to prolong his dominion his persecuting power in wearing out the Saints who were to be (s) Dan. 7. v. 25. given into his hand even untill the time of the (t) Rom. 8. v. 19.21 manifestation and glorious Liberty of the Sonnes of God spoken of by Saint Paul as a thing earnestly expected by the (v) cha 8. v. 19. Creature even the (w) ch 8. v. 22. whole creation let the (x) Dan. 7. v. 11. Apoc. 19. v. 20 21. Analogy of their destruction and the (y) Dan. 7. v. 11.18.22 26 27. Rev. 19. v. 11 12 c. expiration of the fourth beast the Roman Empire at the accomplishment thereof Let these things I say together with the interpretation of the vision made to (z) ch 7. v. 23 24 c. Daniel and the parallell observed by Master (a) Comment Apâ—c par 2. p. 279 280. Meade betwixt the Thrones Judgement and Kingdome of the Saints revealed in both prophecies determine the matter Thirdly the state of the world at our Saviours appearing shall be as it was in the dayes of Noah both for security and profanenesse for When the Sonne of man commeth shall he finde faith on tâ—e Earth saith Christ Luke the 18. at the 8. ver which is a plaine proofe that there shall not be whole Kingdomes and armies of faithfull Christians but onely here and there (b) Luk. 17. v. 34 35 36 one Neither doth this saying contradict the * Ob. If there shall be at Christs comming such scarsenesse of faith it is not lâ—kely that there shall be such a multitude of beleeving Jewes conversion of the Jewes Sol. Pareus giveth this solution that although there shall be in the end of the world a multitude of beleeving Jewes yet their number shall be but small in respect of the unbeleeving Gentiles To this Solution this further may be added that the failing of faith which Christ prophesieth of must be specially he should have said onely understood of the Gentiles where Christ had beene preached and beleeved upon that even there where it was more likely that faith should have beene none shall be found for when the Jewes shall be called faith shall waxe very faint and cold among the Gentiles Willet in his sixfold Comment upon the Epist to the Rom. Chap. 11. Quest 27. p. 511. at that time because the word Earth is figuratively put for the people of the Earth and by The People of the Earth all the Nations besides the (c) Num. 23 v. 9. Jewes are in the Scriptures usually understood So in the 28. of Deut. at the 10. ver we read All the peopâ—e of the earth shall see that thou art called by the Name of the Lord and they shall be afraid of thee in the 1 of the Kings the 8. Chap. at the 43. ver That all the people of the earth may know thy Name to feare thee as doe thy people Israel In the 2 of Chron. the 32. chap. at the 19. ver They spake against the God of Jerusalem as against the Gods of the people of the earth And in the 1 of Kings the 10. Chap. at the 24. ver All the earth sought to Solomon to heare his wisedome which God had put in his heart And they brought every man his present Where the word Earth alone is equivalent with the people of the earth in all the former instances and therefore seeing it doth as well by it selfe as together with its adjunct signifie the Nations of the Gentiles onely why should it not be so taken in our Saviours speech yea it must needes be so taken for as he said when the Son of Man commeth shall he find faith on the earth So he said also that as well of the Jews only as to the Jews only Behold (d) Mat. 23 v. 37 38 39 your house is left unto you desolate verily I say unto you ye shall not see me untill (e) Mar. 14. v. 62. Psal 118 v. 21 22 â— ye â—oâ—â— 3â— 16 the time come when ye shall say Blessed is he that commeth in the Name of the Lord Luke the 13. at the 35. ver And shall we thinke that our Saviour would have given such a testimony of the Jewes unlesse he had knowne that they should be a penitent and converted people a people endued with the (f) Zech. 12 v. 10. Spirit of grace and supplication when they saw him next doubtlesse he would not And therefore this gratulatory acclamation doth no lesse set forth unto us the comfortable estate of the Jewes at Christs appearing then the former saying doth the desperate estate of the Gentiles at that time For Blessed is he that commeth in the Name of the Lord are the very same words which with so much (g) Luk. 19. v. 37.38 alacrity and cheerfulnesse of minde were chanted out before our Saviour by his Disciples and those that met (h) Ioh. 12. v. 12.13 him when he was riding to Jerusalem to shew the City a glimpse of his royalty and can they ever then become the language of those that shall flye from his presence to hide themselves in caves and dens of the earth nay seeing they are to be resumed againe by the same people at the
the Cities of the (h) Num. 23. v. 9. Deut. 32. v. 43. Ps 95. v. 5. Luke 12. v. 30. Rev. 2. v. 29 ch 11. v. 18. ch 16. v. 19. Nations which are no where called by such names Secondly we finde in the 11. chap. of the Apocalypse that Jerusalem is intitled the holy City in a prophecy which concernes the very time of its desolation this present time wherein it is (i) Luke 21 v. 24. trodden under foote of the Gentiles And much rather then may it be call'd the beloved City in a prophecy which concernes the time of its exaltation the time wherein it shall become the royall City of Christ and the Saints in his Kingdome Thirdly Jerusalem is by ancient Geographers termed the Navell or Center of the habitable earth Yea it is said in the fifth of Ezek. at the 5. vers This is Jerusalem I have set it in the midst of the Nations and Countries round about her And where but neere the midst of the earth can that City be which the Nations of the foure quarters of the earth shall beset Fourthly and lastly In a prophecy which contemporates with this and such prophecies doe best expound each other it is thus written Out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem and therefore by the Beloved City here Jerusalem must needs be understood Now the foresaid prophecy is delivered by Isaiah in the beginning of the second chap. and by Micah at the entrance of the 4. chap. And as the title and superscription in Isaiah doth infallibly prove the literall interpretation of the prophecy So doth the subject thereof the impossibility of its accomplishment untill the things foreshewne here by Saint John shall come to passe to wit untill the shutting up of Satan a thousand yeeres and the living and reigning of the Saints with Christ all that time For seeing Satan is to bee bound up for no other end but this That he may not deceive the Nations and seeing that when he must be loosed againe he shall presently deceive the Nations it necessarily followes that no other time but the time of Satans imprisonment can concurre with that pious and peaceable condition of the world which Isaiah speakes of heare his words It shall come to passe in the last dayes saith he that the mountaine of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountaines and shall be exalted above the hils and all Nations shall flow unto it And many people shall goe and say Come yee and let us goe up to the (ii) Ezek. 43. v. 12. mountaine of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his wayes and we will walke in his paths for out of Sion shall goe forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Ierusalem And be shall judge among the Nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall beate their swords into ploughshares and their speares into pruning bookes Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learne warre any more And is not this the time then of which it is said in the 10. of the Revel at the 7. ver That in it the mystery of God shall be finished as hee hath declared by his servants the Prophets And is not this the Rest also which Saint Paul in the 4. of the Heb. at the 9. vers concludes to be yet remaining to the people of God Surely in my conceit if the Rest promised to that people the people of Israel were not to be enjoyed in the (k) Isa 8. v. 8. Land whither Joshua led them then the Apostle went a wrong way to worke The first resurrection the thousand yeeres reigne of the Saints on earth more fully examined◠confirmed when he endeavoured to prove a Rest yet remaining to them because Ioshua gave them none For no man can once imagine that by bringing them into Canaan he either did or could bring them to that Rest which was never to be had there And thus much may suffice in answer to the Querie it selfe But to make good what hath been said against all contradiction we must take into our consideration the thousand yeares reigne of the Saints as it is founded upon the spirituall interpretation of the first resurrection And because some Scriptures urged against the opposite Tenet are the onely props of this exposition I shall by the way propose a saying upon which the maine confidence of the Antimillinarians doth rely it being taken by them to be altogether inconsistent with a double resurrection of the dead and consequently with the literall sense of the first resurrection The words are in the 5. chap. of Saint John at the 28. vers and runne thus The houre is comming in which all that are in the graves shall beare his voyce and shall come forth They that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evill unto the resurrection of damnation I must confesse if touching the matter in question we had no light but from this present text or that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were of a simple signification onely the place alleadged might passe for an undoubted proofe of a single resurrection a resurrection of all mens bodies at one time But as we know that there are many passages in the Apostolicall writings which make more for us then this doth against us and which ought therefore rather to be the measure of this then this of them so we know also that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is of large use even in the Scripture it selfe For though it properly signifies that artificiall part of time which is called an houre as Matth. the 20. at the 6. vers Yet sometimes it is metonymically taken for a dangerous time as John the 12. at the 27. vers and sometimes synecdochically contracted to a moment as Luke the 12. at the 12. vers or lengthened to a day as Marke the 6. at the 35. vers or stretcht out to moneths yeares and ages and then it is usually interpreted by the word Time And there be nothing in this place of Saint Johns Gospel repugnant to such a translation nor in such a translation to the Millenarian assertion why should not we as well read The time is comming as others doe The houre For if the same word doth in the first (l) Phil. 4. v 5. James 5. v. 8. Ep. of Saint John the 2. chap. at the 18. vers comprehend all the time from our Saviours death unto his comming againe which amounts already to above one thousand and sixe hundred yeares much rather may it here include all the time from the beginning of our Saviours reigne unto the last judgement which is to be but a thousand and odde yeares and consequently this text may very well agree with a double resurrection and be thus ex ounded The time is comming in which that is