shall propound matters as they come to hand Concerning the Constitution of the Church consider their judgement first what they think of others then what of themselves All other Churches they condemn so far as to professe and practise a Separation from them The edge of their Arguments is usually directed against the Church of England alone but when their Doctrine or Practise is looked upon a little more neer it appears they shoot their Bolts at all other Churches in the world which refuse their Way For the Church of England they say it ought not to be called a Church or at best that it is a false and Antichristian Church out of the which every one though not persecuted must flee as they would avoid damnation A Sometimes in their calm mood they will give better words and acknowledge it to be a true Church That the Doctrine and Sacraments thereof are true That many thousands of its members are gracious and elect people B But their ordinary language is of another strain to wit That the Church of England is a meer Harlot divorced from Christ C That the Worship thereof is grosse Idolatry and the Service of the devil D That all the members thereof are unclean beasts and the limbs of Antichrist E That her best Preachers that preach most for Reformation are but Pharisees and Deceivers F That the Faith Grace and Comfort which by their Ministery they seem to bring to the hearts of the hearers is but meer delusion G That their Sacraments are Seals not of Grace but of the wrath of God H That all Communion with her even in the Word and Prayer is to be forsaken I The Unconformists did always zealously plead against the Corruptions of that Church but never against the truth of her being or the comfort of her Communion When by the force of persecution they were driven out then they did flee Of their own accord they did never separate but were ever most glad to live and die in her bosome willing to partake of her Worship and Sacraments whenever they were permitted to dissent in Doctrine and to abstain in practice from those things which they conceived to be corruptions K Concerning other Reformed Churches though free both of Liturgies and Bishops and many other of the English stumbling-blocks notwithstanding all their Reformation yet they pronounce their Worship to be idolatrous L their Government tyrannous and Antichristian M yea their very Constitution both in matter and form to be so vitious N that with a good conscience they cannot communicate with any of them O that the reformed Presbyteries and Synods are no better then the English Episcopacy P yea to Episcopacy they are so favourable that they professe their willingnesse to acknowledge all their Civil Power and much of their Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Q 1. that the Presbyterian Divines have ever been as evil as Episcopal Q 2. that the vitious constitution and government of the most reformed Churches in Europe hath flowed from the ignorance and obstinacy of unhappie Calvin R 1. We must not be deceived with their pleasant words when they make fair professions of their hearty agreement in so many things with the other Reformed Churches and of their willingnesse to communicate with them both in Word and Sacraments R 2. These flatteries are contradictory both to their Doctrine and Practice for when they had left England they were so far from joyning with any of the Reformed that they ever erected new Churches after their own way and made it an open and avowed cause of Excommunication for any of their Members to communicate with the Churches of Holland among whom they did live R 3 also the crimes of the Church of Holland which they cry out upon are such which none of the Reformed Divines do condemn S On the other side the Nonconformists whom the Episcopal persecution did banish out of England were ever well content without erecting of a new Church to joyn themselves as Members to any of the forrain Churches Scottish Dutch or French according as they understood their Language or had occasion of abode among them Thus they do judge of others As for the form of that Tabernacle which they professe to build for themselves thus we may conceive it The matter or members of that Church they avow to be Saints but the Members of other Churches they pronounce them for the most part to be wicked and flagitious T The Nonconformists with all the reformed are willing to admit of no others to the Lords Table but these who are Saints by calling in whom they require three qualifications First That they have a good measure of knowledge and professe to beleeve the truth Secondly That in their life and conversation they be without scandal Thirdly That they be submissive to the Discipline of the Church But the Brownists presse a fourth qualification Were a mans profession never so fair and his knowledge never so great In all parts of Doctrine let him be most Orthodox and in his Conversation most harmlesse and inoffensive were he never so willing to joyn in all the Ordinances of God and to be governed according to the strictest Discipline of Christ notwithstanding all this they count him not qualified to be a Church Member except he declare publikely in the face of the Congregation such clear and certain signes of his real Sanctification and true Regeneration as gives full satisfaction not onely to the Minister and Elders and many of the people but to all and every one or at least the major part of the Church V If any prophane person should be admitted he should quickly so far pollute the whole Church that every Member thereof must needs become partaker of his sins X And if upon admonition they did not excommunicate him they themselves ought to be separated from as an infected and leprous Society Y They tell us yet more that not onely the profanenesse of one person doth pollute the whole Church but any one sin or errour of any one Member though godly and regenerate if after admonition he continue therein and be not excommunicate doth so defile the whole that it must be separated from Z To distinguish here betwixt sins greater and lesser to make some errours Fundamental and some preter-Fundamental it is to them a following of the Papists in their absurd distinction of mortal and venial sins the least Errour joyned with obstinacie to them is an Heresie and a just cause of Separation AA They acknowledge it is the fancy of the Anabaptists to separate for every fault and errour but that which alone displeaseth them in this fancy is a fault whereof the Anabaptists seem not to be guilty the not advertising of the Church of the fault and errour of the Member they complain of before they separate If this neglect be helped the rest of the fancy they seem to approve BB Thus much for the matter of their Church the
to this day which were much against the currant of scripture since all this while he hath beene sitting upon the Throne of his Father David and ruling his Church as King and Monarch thereof yet it were uncomely to confine the time of his reigne to come to a thousand yeares this were too small an endurance for his Monarchy Many humane Principalities sundry States and Empires which have beene and this day are in the world might contend for a longer continuance for this cause it seemes to be that Master Archer the most resolute Doctor in this question that I have met with makes the thousand yeares we debate of to be onely the evening of Christs Personall reigne but to the morning therof wherein at leisure all the processes of the Last Judgement are gone through he ascribes a great many more yeares readily another thousand and why not two or three or more thousands It is good to be wise to sobriety arrogant curiosity and presumptuous wantonnesse of wit â—s detestable though in the best men Seventhly the place makes Satan to be bound up onely from seducing the Nations that he should not be able as before the comming of Christ he was to misleade the Nations of the whole world to Idolatry a free doore then being opened to the Gospell in every Nation for their conversion to the truth but our new Doctors extend the place much further they will have Satan bound up for a 1000 yeares not onely from seducing Nations to Idolatry but from tempting any person to any sin this is contrary to these Scriptures which makes every Saint in all ages to fight not onely with flesh and bloud but with Principalities and Powers which makes Satan always to goe about like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devoure and that so boldly that in the very presence of Christ he doth seeke to winnow the best of his Disciples yea the place in hand gives to Satan in the very time of the thousand yeares so great power upon multitudes of men who never were sanctified but ever his vassalls led by him at his will that he makes them compasse the holy City and the Campe of the Saints to fight against God till fire from heaven did destroy them Beside this famous place Master Archer Master Mattoun and T. G. in his glimps bring a number of other scriptures for their Tenet wherewith we neede not meddle for Master Petree and Master Hayne in peculiar treatises have answered them all onely the cheife of them which Master Burrows in his treatise upon Hos 1. is pleased to chuse out we will consider He builds much upon Daniel 12. as if it did prove the resurrection of some of the godly to an earthly glory a thousand yeares before the last Judgement he borroweth from the glimpse foure arguments word by word there is a fifth also in the glimpse which the most of that party doe much insist upon the first is taken from the second verse of that 12 chap. At the last Judgement say they all shall rise but in that place many doe rise not all Answer We prove that the Prophet speakes here of the last resurrection by two grounds which our Brethren will not deny First the resurrection unto life eternall is onely at the last day but the resurrection whereof Daniel speakes is expresly to life eternall not that prior resurrection which out Brethren aime at to a temporall Kingdome of a thousand yeares Secondly the resurrection of the wicked to eternall shame is onely at the last day for according to our Brethrens Doctrine the wicked have no part of the first resurrection and rise not till the thousand yeares be ended now the resurrection whereof Daniel speakes in verse 2. is expressely of the wicked to shame and death as well as of the godly to life and glory As for their Argument from the word Many it proves not that all did not rise but onely that these that did rise were many and a great multitude Therefore Deodate Translates the words well according to the sence of the Originall The multitude of these that sleepe in the dust The Collectives omnes multi are sometimes Synonemy's according to the matter in hand as omnes must sometimes be taken for multi so multi must sometimes be taken for omnes Secondly They reason from the third verse that in the last resurrection the bodies of all the Saints shall shine as the Sunne But in the resurrection whereof the Prophet speakes no body shines as the Sunne but some as the Starres others as the Firmament Answ The preceding verse evinces unanswerably that the Prophet here is speaking of the last resurrection to life everlasting as for the argument it doth not follow that they who here are said to have so much glory may not elsewhere be said to have more for that which here the Prophet intends to expresse is not the absolute but the comparative glory of the Saints however the least disciple should shine as the Sunne yet if ye compare his glory with the greater light of an other you may expresse the glory of both in the similitude of lightsome bodies lesse glorious then the Sunne if so these bodies differ one from another in degrees of glory for all that the Prophet here aimes at is onely this difference of glory Christ in the Gospell makes all the Saints to shine as the Sunne yet the Apostle 1 Cor. 15.45 distinguishing the different degrees of glory that is among the Saints scruples not to expresse the glory of the most of them in the similitude of bodies lesse glorious then the Sunne There is one glory of the Sunne another glory of the Moone another of the Starres for one Starre differeth from another Starre in glory so also is the resurrection from the dead Further will our Brethren affirme that the bodies of the Saints on earth during the time of those thousand yeares shall be so farre changed as to shine like the Starres and yet to eate drinke and sleepe so much glory can hardly stand with so much basenesse Thirdly They reason from the fourth verse The last resurrection is no mystery nor any secret to be sealed up to the end of the vision But the resurrection here spoken of is such a mystery as must be sealed up Answer First according to Mr. Burrowes expresse profession in the same place the Argument may be inverted for the first resurrection to the thousand yeares of glory he makes a Doctrine very well knowne and much insisted upon by all the Prophets before Christ but the Generall resurrection and life everlasting he makes to be a hid and secret Doctrine which the Prophets in the old Testament doe scarcely touch Secondly Life eternall and death eternall heaven and hell are to this day very great Mysteries to the most of the world and Scriptures concerning these are hid and closed above any other Thirdly The words speake not onely of the resurrection but of the
whole preceding Prophecie especially of the peoples deliverance by Michael the Prince from the oppression of Antiochus which was not much to be understood till it came to passe Fourthly They reason from the last verse Life eternall is common to all the Saints and no singular priviledge of Daniels But the resurrection here spoken of is promised to Daniel as a singular favour Answer Mr. Archer who is deepest learned in these Mysteries affirmes That all the goldly as well as Daniel had their part in the first resurrection and indeede if once you begin to distinguish it will be hard to finde satisfactory grounds to give this glory to Daniel and to deny it to David to Moses to Abraham and many others Secondly We may well say that life eternall albeit common to all the Saints yet is so divine so rare and singular a mercy to every one that gets it that it may be propounded to Daniel and every Saint as a soveraigne comfort against the bitternesse of all their troubles Thirdly The place according to the best Interpreters speakes nothing at all of any resurrection onely it imports a promise to Daniel to live in peace all his dayes that notwithstanding all the troubles of the Church which he saw in these visions as Diodate Translates it yet so farre as concerned himself he should goe on to his end and rest stand or continue in his present honours and prosperous condition to his death and 〈…〉 of his dayes Fifthly from the 11. and 12. verse they conclude peremptorily the beginning of these thousand yeares to be in the yeare 1650 or at furthest 1695 for they make the 1290 dayes to be so many yeares and the 1335 dayes to be 45 yeares more these they make to beginne in the raigne of Julian the Apostate who after Constantine's death did re-establish Paganisme in the Empire and encouraged the Jewes to build the Temple of Jerusalem till God hindred them by an Earthquake which did cast up the foundation-stones of the old Temple Beginning their account at this time the end of their first number falls on the yeere 1650 and of the second on the yeare 1695. This is Archers calculation which T. G. and others follow precisely Answer We marvell at the rashnesse of men who by the example of many before them will not learne greater wisedome if they needes must determine peremptorily of times and seasons That they doe not extend their period beyond their owne dayes That they be not as some before them laughed at before their owne Eyes when they have lived to set the vanity of their too confident Predictions however in this calculation there seemes nothing to be sound neither the beginning nor the middle nor the later end If the thousand yeares begin in the 1650 yeare if Christ then come in person to the earth what will keepe him from perfecting his Kingdome to the 1695 yeare thereafter will he spend whole 45 yeares in warres against the Nations before they be subdued to his Scepter Secondly What warrant have they to begin their account with the Empire of Julian Did he set up any abomination at all in the Church of God He opened againe in the Territories of his Empire the Pagan Temples which by Constantine had been closed by counsell and example he allured men to idolatry but he troubled not any Christians in the liberty of their profession he did not set up idolatry in any Christian Congregation The Lord did quickly kill him and so prevented his intended persecution of Christians But although it could be verified of him that he did set up the abomination of desolation in the Temple yet how made he the daily Sacrifice to cease he was so far from this that to t◠uttermost of his power he laboured to set up againe the daily Sacrifice which some hundred yeares ceased Scripture speakes onely of two times wherein the solemne sacrifice was made to cease and the abomination of desolation was set up First by Antiochus Epiphanes and then by Titus Vespasian but of Julian his making the sacrifice to cease Scripture speakes nothing That Story of the Earthquake whereupon Mr Archer builds albeit reported by some of the Ancients seemes to be a great fable Certainely the application of it to Christs Prophesie of the Gospel A stone shall not be left upon a stone as if this had not been fulfilled till that Earthquake had cast up all the foundation-stones of the ancient Temple is very temerarious As The beginning and end of their calculation is groundlesse so also the midst and the whole body of it is frivolous What necessity is there to expound dayes by yeares especially in that place where yeares are divided into dayes In the very preceding words vers 7. the dayes here mentioned are expressed by a time times and halfe a time can they shew in any place of Scripture that ever a day is put for a yeare where yeares and dayes are conjoyned and a few yeares are extended in the enumeration of all the dayes that are in these yeares The words of the Prophet Daniel are cleare if they be taken as they lie but if they be strained to a Mysticall sense they become inexplicable The Lord is comforting the Prophet and the whole Church by the short indurance of the desolations which Antiochus was to bring upon them for from the time of his scattering of the Jewes and discharging of the solemne sacrifice unto the breaking of the yoake of his Tyranny it should be but three yeares and a halfe with a few more dayes yea unto that happy time when the plague of God should fall on his person it should be but 45 dayes more The History of Josephus and the Maccabees makes the event accord with this prediction Why then should we straine the Text any further to a new sence which neither agrees with the event nor with the words Another place alleadged by Mr. Burrowes is Psalme 102.16 When the Lord shall build up Sion he shall appeare in his glory As if this did import both the building againe of Sion and also Christs glorious appearance upon the earth Answer This place speaks of no such things the ordinary Exposition of late and old Interpreters agrees so well with the contexture of the whole Psalme that to drive it farther were needlesse the place speakes of the Babylonish Captivity and of the earnest desire of the godly at that time to have Jerusalem and Sion then in the dust againe restored This desire of the Saints is granted and a promise is made to them that Sion should be againe builded and that the Lord by this act of mercy should get great glory But for any third building of Sion after the dayes of the Messias or for any personall raigne of Christ upon earth no syllable in this place doth appeare His next place is Rom. 11.12 If the fall of them be the riches of the world and the diminishing of them be the riches
the Father gave to the Son at his Incarnation Luke 1.32 33. The Lord shall give unto him the throne of his Father David and he shall raigne over the House of Iacob for ever This Kingdome for the matter of it is truely everlasting being the glory which Christ and his Saints injoy for ever in the heavens albeit for the manner of the administration thereof it be rendred up by the Sonne to the Father when the worke of mediation is perfected and all enemies are fully destroyed To deny the beginning of Christs Kingdome over his Church unto the thousand yeares is many wayes absurd And because of the eternall indurance of his dominion and glory in the heavens to make the Church on earth in which he raignes to be voide of all tribulation of all changes to have a perpetuall day without any darkenesse is contrary to the Scriptures alleadged in the former arguments In the eleventh place he alledgeth Revel 19.13 And he was cloathed with a vesture dipped in blood And Ezek. 21 28. And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel nor any grieving them of all that are round about them Whence they inferre That in the beginning of the thousand yeares Christ with his owne hands shall kill so many of the wicked that his garments shall be dipped in blood and not one of them left to trouble the Church Answer It is a very strange conception to make the Lord Jesus embrue his holy hands in the blood of so many men That these battells are not fought with the hands of Christ in a literall way will appeare by a paralell place Isay 63.1 Who is this that commeth from Edom with died garments from Bozra Unto Christ here are ascribed garments died in blood because of the slaughter of the Edomites a little after the Babylonish captivity at which time Christ had neither a body nor a garment in propriety of speech As these battells were fought by Christ not in his owne person nor upon the earth so neither these battells of the Revel-which so much the lesse can be literally expounded as in the 14 and 15 verses of that 19 Chapter the instrument whereby Christ is said to fight these battells is not any Sword in his hand but the two-edged Sword of his mouth and the Souldiers whom he leads out to these battells are not armed with Sword and Speare but ride upon white Horses cloathed in fine linnen white and cleane As for that of Ezechiel if you consult either with the originall or the best Interpreters it must be expounded first and principally if not solely of the Towne of Sidon which the Lord was to destroy that it might no more be a thorne in the side of Israel From this to inferre the purging of the Christian Church of all other enemies in this life and that by killing of them all as cursed Canaanites were a dangerous conclusion farre from the justice and innocence of Christians in all by-gone times the beleefe whereof would quickly renew unto us the horrible tragedies of the Anabaptists In the twelfth place he cites Rev. 21.23 24. And the City had no need of the Sun neither of the Moone to shine in it and the Kings of the earth doe bring their glory and honour unto it also chap. 22. ver 1 2 3. and he shewed me a pure river of the water of life c. Ans The Divines who apply these two chapters to the condition of the Church upon earth after the calling of the Jewes take the most of the passages in a figurative and allegoricall sence To expound them literally and properly of any Church on earth the Text will not permit Shall ever the Church on earth be so free of sorrow and death as not to sorrow for sinne or to have none of its members mortall Shall they so immediately see the face of God as the use of Temples Tabernacles or any ordinance shall be needelesse shall ever man upon earth be without the Sunne and the Moone These things are true in a proper sence onely of the Saints of heaven What is here alleadged to the contrary That the Kings of the earth bring not their riches and honours to the Heavens we say it is but a part of the Allegorie to expresse under that similitude the glory wealth of the life to come as in the same place the Spirit of God expresses the happinesse of heaven by the Metaphors of gold and pretious stones of rivers and fountaines of trees and fruits To expound all these in a literall sence of any Church either in earth or heaven were incommodious except our Brethren would put us upon more fancies then any of them yet have spoke of In the last place they cite for the gifts of the Saints Zach. 12.8 He that is feeble among them in that day shall be like David and the house of David shall be as God and for the honour of the Saints that in the thousand yeares they shall be taken into private familiarity by Princes and great men Rev. 11.12 And they heard a great voyce from heaven saying unto them come up hither and they ascended up to heaven in a cloud and their enemies beheld them Ans The gifts meant by Zachary are such as are powred upon all the Saints of the New Testament with the spirit of grace and supplication which makes the least of the Kingdome of Heaven to be like unto David to Elijah and greater then John the Baptist as Christ speakes But what is this unto the imaginary glory of the Chiliasticke Kingdome The honour they speake of cannot be fetched out of that eleventh of the Revel For who but themselves will expound heaven in that place of the Thrones of Kings of the Privie Chambers of Princes and great men The calling up of the two witnesses to heaven by none else but them will be taken for the Saints familiarity with great States-men And according to their own Tenets in the Chiliasticke Kingdome there is no such degrees of honour as in this world For there Christ in his owne Person is King and all the Saints doe shine at least as the firmament and the glory of these Saints is greatest whose grace is most eminent Familiarity with Princes and worldly States-men is then for no purpose Beside the ascention of the two witnesses to the heavens is before the fall of the tenth part of Rome and so before the thousand yeares beginne There be yet some more places cited by Master Burrowes and others for their Tenet but these which we have answered are the principall and if they be cleared there is no difficulty in the rest Besides Scriptures Master Burrowes takes from the Glimpse of T. G. sundry testimonies of antiquity all which T. G. does borrow from Alstedius To the which I answer That no Protestants build their fayth upon humane testimonies and no men in the world make so small account of