three Patriarchs who could give an Account of all that time wherein they lived which was above 2000 years were able to keep their Families and all other People that were near them in the knowledg of the true Religion and where they err'd and offended to correct them Thus Religion and Divine Worship might be faithfully transmitted from the beginning of the World to above twenty Centuries by three persons only The Church was then sufficiently taught by Tradition from Father to Son vivâ— vâ—câ— because of the Longevity of the Patriarchs some of whom lived 700 years others 800 or 900. For this reason the Church was without Scripturâ— almost five and twenty hundred years But afterwards when the years of mans Life were shortned God used another Method he taught men by a Written Law 2. The Degeneracy of the World was another Reason why the Law was committed to Writing The World at first had many Pious as well as Antient Patriarchs who were as Philo notes Living and Rational Laws and so stood in need of no Written ones for these are but Commentaries on those Old Fathers Lives But the Vices of men grew proportionable to their Numbers and when Mankind was spread wide up and down the Earth Immorality and Sin were dispersed likewise and the World became notoriously wicked The Deluge did not wash away the Contagion but in a considerable time after men were as bad as ever and the very Dictates of their Reasonable nature were discarded by them When they had thus obliterated the Law written on their minds God thence ingraved it on Tables of Stone If men had not been wonderfully corrupted there had been no need of this So faith the Apostle speaking of this Law It was not made for the Righteous but for the lawless and disobedient for the ungodly and for sinners I Tim. 1. 9. The same he had intimated before in Gal. 3. 19. The Law was added because of transgression it was given to be a Check to their notorious Sins and that they might not offend uncontroul'd And this may be the meaning of the Apostle's words in Rom. 5. 20. The Law entred that the Offence might abound i. e. that men might see how their Sins abounded God gave his Law in Writing to shew them their Guilt to convince them of their gross Miscarriages and to reduce them to the way of Virtue and Obedience that when God himself had writ down their Duty with his own hand they might be inexcusable 3. The Law was committed to Writing that it might not be forgot One reputed to be a Judicious Writer is of opinion that the Patriarchs were happier without the Written Law than with it it was a mark of God's love and favour that they had no books and writings I suppose he means because they did not need them But afterwards there was occasion for them for the Impressions of the Law of Nature were almost defaced and obliterated the Instructions and Traditions of their Fathers were neglected and the knowledg of God and their Duty could not be kept pure by Oral Tradition when not only their Lives were short but corrupted and miserably depraved Therefore an exact Written Law was wanting to set before their eyes and to remind them of what they were to do to put them constantly in remembrance of what God required of them Hereupon the Moral Precepts were written by God himself and delivered to Mâ—sâ—s that the might communicate them to the People and they to the rest of the World This was out of kindness to them it was design'd to be a Remedy against their forgetfulness and negligence Lastly which comprehends all the Law was written that it might not be corrupted Tradition was unsafe when the numbers of men were increased and the World was dispersed and arrived to a great height of Impiety Therefore God thought it necessary to preserve and perpetuate the Law by Ingraving it on Tables of Stone which are Solid and Duâ—able and by lodging it in the Aâ—k as in a safe Treasury by ordering it to be Transcribed and to be Read to all the People and that they themselves should read it continually This was the best way to prevent all Error and Imposture all Fraud and Corruption about the Law This made it a thing impossible to deprave and pervert the Letter and plain Sense of it For these Reasons that Word which for near 25 Centuries of Years was delivered and promulged by Tradition was committed to Writing in Moses's time and not before For these Reasons the Common Law of Nature was turn'd into this Statutâ— Law of the Commandments I will not here speak particularly of the Ten Commandments because in the Body of the Work which I intend I am obliged to insist upon every one of them distinctly and largely and also because it is the Writing of the Moral Law of which I have given you an Account not the Law it self that is part of this Mosaick Dispensation as it is different from those which went before The Ten Commandâ—ents were given now not that they were of no force before this time but now they were Written on Tables and more Solemnly Promulg'd This was it which we were to take notice of as New and proper to this Iudaical Period If any man thinketh that these Ten Commandments because they were deliver'â— to the Iews were drawn up for that Body of People only and are not of universal Concernment I could silence that surmise by shewing that these Commandments were in force before the Law given by Moses to the Iews and that every one of them was a Law before the Mosaick Oeconomy and that those who lived in all the former Dispensations observed these Commandments Nay they are all of them excepting only the Determination of the Sabbath day the very Law of Nature written on the heart of man at his Creation They are Dictates of Natural Reason and therefore they ought to be done though they were not commanded For this Reason likewise it is not proper to insist upon them in this place for they are no special part of this Oeconomy But the Ceremâ—nial and Iudicial Laws are the grand things which make this a distinct and peculiar Administration Of those therefore I will hasten to speak The Ceremonial or Ecclesiastical Law is no other than the Precepts given by God to the Iews concerning External Rites belonging to Religion and the Worship of God Of these Ceremonial Usages several were in use before Moses's time viz. Priests Altars Sacrifices Oblations Tithes Distinction of Clean and Unclean Animals Not Eating Blood Circumcision But now all the former Rites and Ceremonies are digested into One Body and are become more Fixed and Certain The Ceremonial Service of the Iâ—ws was now precisely determin'd and there was no varying from it Agaiâ— whereas in some Agâ—s one Ceremony was used in another another Now they are all together and are observed at the same Time and by the same Persons
of Life that they might find out and discover things the more successfully and deliver to Posterity the things which they invented It is Iosepâ—'s opinion that God indulg'd the Autediluvians a long Life that they might study the Stars and find out the Nature Motion and Influence of the Heavenly Bodies for they could not attain to a Certainty and an Experience of these things without this And he adds that the Great Year comes not about till the period of 600 Years wherefore it was requisiâ—e they should live so long at least But whether we admit of this particular Conceit of his or no it is certain that Astronomy and other Arts could not be attain'd at first in a short time Long Observation was necessary for this purpose frequent and repeated Experiments being the great Basis of most Arts. These therefore could not be accomplish'd and perfected but by a large term of Years The persons who lived to a great age were able to convey and entail Knowledg more effectually than wâ— can now only this is to be said that wâ— have some other ways and advantages of promoting Knowledg which they had not 3. Their long Lives were serviceable to a higher and a nobler purpose viz. for the retaining and preserving of Religion and the true Worship of God in a more intire manner for 't is to be remembred that there was no Scripturâ— then and therefore Religion could not be more advantageously spread and propagated than by a saâ—e Tradition And that this was especially aim'd at and designed by the Wisdom and Providence of God is evident hence that as soon as the matchless Treasure of Religion was deliver'd and secured to the World by committing the Law to writing the Age of Man was presently stinted and reduced to a set Period This shews that one reason why the Dimensions of Mens Lives were far longer in those days than they were afterwards was that Religion might be the more surely kept up they having no Written Laws at that time Therefore these Living Laws for such were the long-lived Patriarchs were requisite whereby the Will of God was communicated with great ease and advantage to all men This could be done even by Four Persons for the space of 2000 Years and more for Adam's Auditor was Methuselah whom Noah succeeded and taught Shem and he those of his Age even till the Year of the World 2160 or thereabouts So compendious a way this was of instructing the World and upholding Religion in it But of this I shall speak afterwards 4. Another ground of the Long Lives of the Patriarchs before the Deluge was their Healthful Temper wherein they much exceeded others that follow'd them For tho we need not assert as some have done that the Earth was not situated before the Flood as it is now that there were no Summers and Winters but that there was a perpetual Equinox all over the World yet this we may with good reason hold that there was a greater Equality of Heat and Cold in those days and as the consequent of that there was a more constant and uniform Temperature of Mens Bodies For we cannot but think that there was a great change caus'd by that Universal Deluge which cover'd the Earth this could not but damp and chill the Air and thereby exceedingly affect Mens Bodies and contribute towards the shortning of their Lives But before this general Inundation they were healthful and lived a long time And this Account which I give le ts us see that this was not a peculiar Donation to those Persons only whom Moses mentions but that it was vouchsafed to all that lived in those early times 5. I might add that their Food was purer and wholesomer than that of the following Ages The Fruits of the Earth came up more kindly before the Deluge than afterwards for we cannot but conceive that they were endamaged by the briny Waters of the Seas which were let loose on the Ground By this means the products of the Earth were not so nutritive as befoâ—â— not so adjusted to the Constitutions and Tempers of Mens Bodies and thence the Plenitude of Years was abated 6. Their Health and Long-living may be ascrib'd to their Temperance and Moderation for their Diet being more simple and plain consisting wholly of Herbs and Plants and such like Products of the Ground they were not tempted to that Excess which prevail'd afterwards when several sorts of curious and delicatâ— Dishes were allow'd them Hereupon follow'd Wantonness Intemperance Luxury and Riot and by these the Hale Temper of Mens Bodies was impair'd and Diseases bred and their Days shortned But as long as they continu'd sober and temperate they werâ— bless'd with a sound Constitution they were strong and vigorous witness what you read in Gen. 5. 32. Noah was fivâ— hundred Yâ—ars â—ld and bâ—gat Shem Ham and Japhet I could adjoin in the next place that it is very probable they had greater Skill in Physick than there was afterwards tho they had seldom occasion to make use of it The Professors of the Spagyrick Art do indeed tell us that the Longevity of the Patriarchs is to be attributed to their Skill in Chymistry for it is of that Antiquity they say but it is to be question'd whether there was any such thing at that time we may rather content our selves with this belief that they understood well the Nature of Herbs and Plants and had more Time and Opportunity to study their Qualities and Operations than Men since have and thence perhaps they made especial choice of such of them as were great Strengthners of Nature and upheld the Life of Man Again their quiet and contented way of living contributed much to the lengthning of their Lives They were generally free from Care and Distraction they understood not the Intrigues and Perplexities which vain Men are now plagu'd with In those Golden Times there was more Simplicity and Honesty Men were satisfied with a little and could live at a cheap rate But afterwards the World was disorder'd Mens Desires and Wishes grew immoderate and extravagant and their Days were worn out with Troubles and Vexations This is the best Account I can give of the Long Lives of the Patriarchs of the first Ages and of the shorter Term of Years of those that succeeded them The Third Patriarchal Dispensation or the Abrahamick Oeconomy began with Abraham and continued till the giving of the Law by Moses which was 430 Years Ex. 12. 41. Gal. 3. 17. The Person from whom this Period hath its Denomination was a Chaldâ—an by Birth and lived in Vr the chief City of Chaldâ—a In this Idolatrous Country it is probable he was partly infected with the Vicâ— of the Place and thence perhaps he is said to be Vngodly Râ—m 4. 5. But tho he was not wholly free from the impious Practice of Idolatry which then reâ—gn'd in the World yet he retain'd his Integrity as to the main and would not suffer himself to
cogent Reasons to perswade us that they truly and faithfully delivered down to us those things This I will make good from the Consideration 1. Of the Persons that transmitted these things 2. Of the Evidence of the Cause First as to the Persons I will consider both their Lives and their Deaths Their Lives are sufficient proofs of their Integrity in delivering the Scriptures of the New Testament to us and of their confident belief of the Truth of all that is contain'd in them The Primitive Christians lived after another rate than we do now They did not wrangle and quarrel as we do they did not â—ight and devour one another as the manner of too many is of latter times but they were remarkable for their mutual Love and Concord for their Humility Meekness and Condescension to one another and they were admired for their Gravity Sobriety Self-denial and Patience they were eminent for their Piety towards God and their Innocent and Righteous dealing with all Men. The Ministers practised what they preached and the People were ambitious to imitate their Preachers and both were singularly Good and Virtuous This was it which gain'd so many Proselytes to Christianity in those first times this brought them to a perswasion of the Truth and Reality of Christ's Doctrine Therefore when Origen had excellently proved the Truth of Christianity to Alexander Severus that noble Emperor ingenuously confessed that he was more convinced of the Truth of that Religion by the humble and loving carriage of Christians than by all Origen's Arguments The exemplary and blameless Conversation of those Primitive Professors argued that the Doctrine and Principles of their Religion were real and certain For how can it enter into any sober Mans thoughts that such holy and upright Men true followers of the Apostles and Disciples of Christ would have constantly confessed and owned the Christian way unless they had been throughly convinced of the Truth of it and that it was the very same which was confess'd and acknowledg'd by the Apostles themselves These Holy and Godly Men made Conscience of a Lie and counted it a heinous Crime to falsify yea they esteem'd it no less than a damnable Sin to disbelieve or misreport those things concerning Christ and the Christian Doctrines They were really perswaded in their Minds that their Salvation lay at stake that their Eternal Welfare or Everlasting Ruin were concern'd in these things And can you imagin then that they would report them falsly and impose upon the World by delivering things which were counterfeit Again as the Lives so the Suffering and Death of the Saints in the Primitive Days and in the succeeding Ages are an undeniable Argument of the Truth of what was deliver'd to them and of what they conveyed to us They underwent the most exquisite Pains and Torments with ineffable Courage and Constancy and nothing could prevail with them to renounce the Christian Religion insomuch that when the Pagan Adversaries in those days would express any thing to be impossible they did it thus Ye may sooner make the Professors of Christ quit their Mastersâ— Doctrine This was a thing not to be effected for those Persons first of all forsook their worldly Goods and then parted with their Lives to hold fast their Religion This patient Suffering and undaunted Dying of so many thousands is an unquestionable Proof of the Truth of Christianity For those enlightned and sanctified Men would never lay down their Lives to maintain a Falshood and to perpetuate a Lie No they knew whom they believed in and for whom they suffer'd and that made them so couragious We may conclude then that the Christian Doctrine is confirm'd by the Blood of those Worthy Men those expiring Saints did testify the Truth of Christianity and therefore they are stiled Martyrs Secondly The Evidence of the Cause is an impregnable Argument of the Reality and Truth of these things which I am speaking of There is this following heap of Evidences 1. A great Presumption arising from just Causes and Circumstances yea and from a multiplicity of them which in all Courts of Judicature is of considerable weight and value with understanding Judges This first but lowest sort of Evidence the Christian Church since our Saviour hath not been destitute of for there were never higher Presumptions in any Cause under Heaven than there were in this But we need not mention this when we have 2. The Notoriety of the Facts i. e. when the things in trial are openly and commonly known when they are avouched by publick Fame and the universal Vogue of Men. And that this was the case of Christianity ever since Christ left the Earth cannot be denied by any Man of Modesty and Truth 3. The Succession of Christians and Churches in the World is a plain Proof that they verily believed those things which made them Christians and Churches Hereupon they deliver'd to us those Writings which they receiv'd from the Hands of the Evangelists and Apostles by their transmitting them to Posterity they shew that they believe them to be sacred and certain Verities 4. The Succession of Bishops and Pastors is an other Evidence for it was their Office to read publickly the Scriptures of the New Testament and to preach the Doctrines contain'd in them and consequently to own them to be Truth which is a good Motive to us to do the same 5. The frequent Disputes which Christians in all Ages have held with those who opposed the Scripture and Christianity are no mean Testimony in this Cause 6. To these may be added the famous Writings of the Christians in the several Centuries their Apologies Dialogues Sermons Homilies Orations Commentaries Histories All which proclaim their serious and firm Belief of what they have convey'd down to us 7. All Christian Churches have deliver'd to us certain Symbols or Articles of Belief which they reckon'd to be the Standards of Evangelical Faith and Truth 8. The Constant Communion of the Church and the publick Worship of God in the solemn Assemblies of Christians ever since the days of the Apostles the setting apart a Day for that Worship the reading of the Scriptures at such times the instructing the People out of them the celebrating the Lord's Supper the constant custom of openly rehearsing and proâ—essing the Christian Belief the Prayers and Praises offer'd to God in the name of Christ the yearly Commemoration of the Birth Death and Resurrection of our Saviour the Sacrament of Baptism which acknowledgeth the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost 9. The sundry Decrees and Canons of Synods and Councils held in the Christian Churches Lastly the many Laws and Edicts of Christian Emperours and Princes in defence and confirmation of our most holy Religion These and all the rest before-named are clear Proofs and Evidences that the Evangelical Writings which contain the Doctrine and Actions of our blessed Lord were rightly and truly convey'd to us and that we are in possession of the same Faith and
Innocent Christians This is sufficient to confute that Opinion Therefore Others hold the Thousand Years began under Constantine the Great when coming to the Empire he caused the Persecutions to cease and set up Christianity as the Religion of the Empire which was about the Year of our Lord 310. and they ended at the rise of the Ottoman Empire and with â—the Papacy of Boniface the Eight who made the Sanguinary Laws against the Waldenses and Albigenses which was about the Year 1300. Thus thought those Great Men Willet Forbes Napier Grotius Hammond And Brightman likewise seems to hold that the Reigning of the Saints and the Binding of Satan were from Constantine the Great to the beginning of the Fourteenth Century of thereabouts But this could not be the time of the Saints Reign for we read in Rev. 12. That the Woman viz. the Church as soon as she should be delivered was to be in the Wilderness a State of Distress how then could she Reign which denotes her Prosperity And she was to be in this State for the space of 1260. Days i. e. Years This began according to Mr. Brightman from the time that Constantine the Great was taken up to Heaven for he is the Manchild caught up to God v. 5. and to him the Context referreth Now reckon from the Death of that Emperour which was A. D. 337. till the time that the 1260. Years are expired and you will find that the Thousand Years ended later than he had set them for instead of ending in 1300. they could not according to this Computation have their Period till the Year of Christ 1597. Here you see one Prophecy of the Book of the Revelation is so interpreted as to thwart another which is an Argument that his Calculation is not right And indeed what Considerate Person can believe that the Thousand Years of Christ's Reign and of Satan's Imprisonment are part There hath been nothing yet that hath look'd like it When was Satan so bound that he seduced not the Nations Or when was he loosed again so that we may discern the palpable difference between either Do we not know that when the Ten noted Persecutions were expired yet others were raised against the Servants of God in this Period And all this time either Old Heresies were revived or New ones invented Therefore I infer that the time of the Thousand Years is not yet come when the Angel is to cast Satan into the Bottomless Pit and to shut him up and set a Seal upon him that he should deceive the Nations no more And as for Gog and Magog who were to appear soon after Satans being loosed where are they at this time If by those are meant thâ— Pope and Turk then they make the date of Popery and Turcism to be before Satans loosing and the expiring of the Thousand Years of the Saints Reign which is an Absurdity which they would willingly avoid Mr. Brightman hath an odd fancy of his own that though the Reigning of the Saints a Thousand Years be their Reigning all the Thousand Years in which the Devil was bound i. e. from Constantine the Great to the Year 1300. yet there is another Reigning a Thousand Years viz. from the Year 1300. till a Thousand Years after that be expired But if there be any good ground for this it is in this 20th Chapter of the Revelation where the Thousand Years of Christ's Reign are spoken of expresly and no where else But here it is manifest that the Reigning and the Binding are in the same Thousand Years for it is said v. 7. When the Thousand Years viz. of Christ's Reign expresly mention's in the verse immediately before are expired Satan shall be loose out of his Prison Therefore the Reigning of Christ and the Binding of Satan shall both expire together which proves also that they both began together the same Thousand Years including both The Opinion then of Mr. Brightman and others that the Thousand Years of Christ's Reign are past hath no Foundation at all but is a mere imaginary and precarious Assertion And yet this Assertion was taken up and believed by very Learned and Pious Men the cause of which I apprehend to be this they were prejudic'd against the Doctrine of the Old Millennaries and look'd upon it and that justly as a Groundless and Scandalous Opinion and thereupon were willing to resolve the Thousand Years into some past Time rather than into any that is to come and thereby quash'd that fond conceit of a Personal Reign This was an ill method they took but their great dislike of the other Opinion occasion'd it and therefore they are on that account excusable But if they had rejected what is amiss in the Doctrine of the Chiliasts and had retain'd what is true in the General viz. that there shall be a Future State of the Christian Church which shall be every ways better than its former one they had taken the right Course and had asserted a Truth which is founded on the Sacred Scriptures Thence any Unprejudiced Person may inform himself that the Thousand Years are so far from being past as some have thought that they are not yet come Only to assure us before hand that there shall be such a thing the Christian World hath had some foretasts of it already I cannot positively say with some that the Thousand Years began at the Reformation and that Luther was the Angel that had the Key of the Bottomless Pit and bound the Devil I cannot fix the beginning just here because Wickliff Ierom of Prague and Iohn Huss and several others before Luther did something of this Nature they in some measure restrain'd Satans Power and Jurisdiction by Converting many Persons from the Papal Impieties So that if we say Babylon began to Fall in those Times and mean no other than this that those forenamed Worthies made way for it I grant the Assertion to be true but it is to be remember'd that I am not now treating of the Preparatives and Forerunners of the Blessed Millennum but of that Determinate State and Time it self I grant that at the Reformation the Souls of those that were Beheaded for the Witness of Iesus and for the Word of God might truly be said to Live they were as it were raised from the Dead When Luther and the rest of God's Faithful Servants appeared and were active in Restoring and Reforming Religion the Holy Apostles and Martyrs and all the Primitive Professors of the True Faith were then as it were revived and came upon the Earth again This is a Forerunner and Pledge of that which is call'd the First Resurrection this is a Previous assurance of the Millennary Reign or Christ here on Earth in that Sence which I have before explain'd Mr. Mede's Conceit that the Thousand Years of Christ's Reign shall not begin till the Day of Iudgment is not worthy of so Learned a Person and is confuted from what you Read in this Chapter so
often made use of where the Battel of Gog and Magog and their Defeat are mentioned Who doubts that these Enemies of Christ and of his Servants shall be subdued before the Day of Judgment And if so then Christ's Reign all which time his Enemies are subdued and disappear and the Last Judgment cannot be the same I may add that according to Mr. Mede's Opinion the Day of Judgment shall be before the General Resurrection which will hardly be allowed by any thinking Persons And in this very Chapter you will find that this latter hath the Priority of the other v. 12 13. And 't is no other than what the Apostle St. Paul asserts in 1 Cor. 15. 28. He shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father viz. after the Resurrâ—ction which he had been speaking of all along before How then can he be said to come and Reign on Earth after he hath delivered up the Kingdom But yet we may understand this Writer in the fairest Sence and so we ought to do all Authors and then his Opinion is not to be disliked for largely speaking the erecting of Christ's Kingdom in the 1000. Years Reign may be call'd the beginning of the Last Iudgment and it is represented so in Dan. 7. 9 13 22 26. For with the Kingdom of Christ on Earth there is as it were a Iudicature set up and Sentence passes according to the different Qualities of the Persons that are found at that time The Enemies of God and Religion shall then be openly animadverted upon but the true Worshippers of Iesus all the Sincere Professors of Christianity shall be Favour'd Advanced Rewarded Thus the Millennary Reign and the General Iudgment are Contemporary or at least we may suppose some part of the Thousand Years Reign to be included in the General Judgment Thus it is if we take it in the Latitude as Mr. Mede seems to do but is cannot strictly be reckon'd as part of the Millennium for this Chapter expresly tells us that it shall be after is I saw a great White Throne and him that sat on it and I saw the Dead Small and Great stand before God and the Books were open'd c. v. 11. 12. There is no reason then to defer the Reign of Christ to that Time But it is more agreeable to Reason and Revelation to assert that it is not very far off that the Time is approaching when this Millennary State shall Commence when there shall be a greater Progress on the Gospel than ever yet hath been when the Church shall be wonderfully Advanced and Christianity shall arrive to its Maturity and Perfection Christ Iesus shall not visibly come in Person as some have fondly imagined but he shall come and Reign in the Spirit he shall Rectifie the Disorders that have been in the Christian World he shall throw down all False Worship and establish the True and he shall raise the Christian Dispensation to its utmost Perfection CHAP. XX. The Millenary Reign is attended with the Destruction of Antichrist i. e. Papists and Mahometans This proved from several Passages in Scripture How the Papal Antichrist shall be destroy'd by the Spirit of God's Mouth Another Attendant of the Reign of Christ upon Earth is the Conversion or Fulness of the Gentiles An Objection answered A twofold Calling or Conversion of the Gentiles Partial and Total The Parable in Luk. 14. speaks of this latter The Occasion and Manner of this Conversion The Progress of Arts and Sciences hath imitated the Motion of the Sun The like is observable of Religion The General Conversion of the Jews is a third Concomitant of the Reign of Christ. Whether the Jews shall be fixed in their own Countrey again The Author's Iudgment concerning the Texts of Scripture which are alledged to prove the National Conversion and Return of the Jews Lev. 26. 38 39 c. is meant of the General Return of that People In Deut. 30. 1 c. there is a Primary and a Secondary meaning The latter applied to the Ten Tribes The future Restauration of the Jews proved from Isa. 11. 11. from Isa. 60. from Hos. 3. 4 5. from Amos 9. 14. from Zech. 12. 10 c. from Luk. 2. 30 31. from Luke 21. 24. from 2 Cor. 3. 14 c. from several Passages in Rom. 11. What is meant by all Israel The 26 27 28 and 29 Verses particularly consider'd and shew'd to be Arguments for the Complete Conversion of the Jews The 7. Rev. 4. speaks of this The Occasion Manner and Means of it both ordinary and extraordinary enquired into BUT to pass from these Generals to a Particular Account of this Period of the Evangelical Oeconomy this Glorious State of Christ's Church which shall be before the Consummation of all Things comprehends in it these Things 1. The Destruction of Antichrist 2. The Fulness of the Gentiles 3. The Calling of the Jews 4. Universal Righteousness 5. Universal Peace These are the Five Things which are to be expected yet to come and which constitute the Heighth of the Christian Dispensation I. I begin with the Destruction of Antichrist For that it is probable is the first Thing which will be effected when the Thousand Years begin By Antichrist I mean the Church and Polity of Rome and the Impostures of Mahomet The latter is the Eastern and the former is the Western Antichrist For as the Roman Empire was made up of the Western and Eastern Dominions so proportionably Antichrist or the Antichristian Power signally so styled which was to succeed in the room of the Roman Emperours consists of both these Great Powers viz. The Papacy in the West and the Mahometan Usurpation in the East It is well known that both these had their Rise together and it is probable they shall fall together To speak of the latter first Mahometism hath been in the World above a Thousand Years but it must in due time have its Period the Cross shall triumph over the Crescent If it be ask'd Where there is any particular Place of Scripture that mentions this Catastrophe I answer That according to my Apprehension leaving every one to judge as they please the 38 th and 39 th Chapters of Ezekiel plainly foretel the Saracens and Turks invading the Holy Land and then their Destruction and Extirpation It is a most Eminent and Remarkable Portion of Scripture though little taken notice of but whoever will be pleased to consult the Whole with great Seriousness and Intensâ—tness of Mind they will be induced I question not to join with me in this Perswasion That this notable Prophecy hath respect to the Times of the Chiliastick Reign of Christ when the Turkish Infidels the right Gog and Magog with their Adherents shall endeavour by all means to oppose it and in order to that shall appear with a mighty Force against the People of God viz. against the Iews who at that time shall be looking towards the Messias and shall be ready to own Iesus to be
very reasonable to think that this Recovering of the Jews the Second Time is First Particularly meant of the Returning of the Posterity of the Ten Tribes who upon Salmanasser's invading Iudaea were either taken by him or fled into strange Countries There shall not only be a Return from Babylon and Assyria but from Egypt and AEthiopia and even from the most distant Regions Secondly more Generally and Comprehensively it is meant of those Times of the Gospel when the Jews dispersed through all Countries shall be restored to their own Land again and shall be Converted to the Christian Faith This is here called the Second and it is the Last and most Eminent Time of their Conversion when they shall be so Happy likewise as to have all the Gentiles for their Fellow-Converts as it follows in the next Verse of his Chapter He shall set up an Ensign for the Nations as well as assemble the Outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Iudah from the four Corners of the Earth The Sixtieth Chapter of Isaiah treats of this very Subject the Glorious Condition of the Church under the Messias's Reign when there shall be a General Conversion of the Iews as well as Gentiles which is most elegantly describ'd by this Lofty and Poetick Prophet And the 20th Verse plainly shews that whatever is said in this Chapter is to be understood not of the First Call of the Iews which is past but of the Second which is to come For the Words are these Thy Sun shall no more go down neither shall thy Moon withdraw it self Where is promised the perpetual Grace and Favour of God to this People without any Interruption but who sees not that this is not yet fulfillâ—d and therefore is not yet past The Sun and Moon have gone down upon the Iewish Nation though the Light shone upon them with great vigour after our Saviour's Coming and many were converted to Christianity yet since that time there hath been a miserable Defection and they have for many hundreds of Years been rejected and have remained in Darkness and have been deprived of the Divine Favour But though the sun and Moon have withdrawn themselves since the first Conversion yet there is a Time coming when they shall no more go down for as it follows the Lord shall be their everlasting Light and the Days of their Mourning shall be ended Therefore this Place of Scripture is meant of the future State and Restauration of this People In my Apprehension this is a a very remarkable Text to prove it And those Words of the Prophet Hosea Ch. 3. v. 4 5. may well be thought to refer to this Last Calling of the Iews The Children of Israel shall abide many days without a King and without a â—rince and without a Sacrifice and without an Image and without an â—phod and without Teraphim Afterward shall the Children of Israâ—l return and seek the Lord their God and David their King and shall fear the Lord and his Goodness in the latter days We see the former part of the Words verified Nothing is more evident than that this People have been many days and are are at this very time without a King c. they are destitute of a Head and Governor they are debarr'd the Use of Sacrifices which were the main part of their Religion But yet they do not erect Images and fall into Idolatry as they were wont to do This is the present State of this People which this Text speaks of viz. that they have neither the Mosaick nor Heathenish Worship however the hearts of some of them may be inclined to this latter But I do not judge them And as for the latter part of the Words they shall be verified in due time the Children of Israel shall return i. e. shall be converted unto the Lord as the Chaldee Paraphrast of Ionathan renders it and seek the Lord by Repentance and Faith and David their King i. e. the Messias as is acknowledg'd by that Chaldee Paraphrast and several of the Iewish Doctors on this Place because the Messias was of the Stock of David and because Christ was typified by him whence he is often called David in the Holy Scriptures This fiducial and penitential seeking the Lord and owning the Messias shall be accomplished under his Thousand years Reign which is here call'd the latter days and in other Places signally the last Days before the End of the World And it is impossible it should be meant otherwise because it is to follow this time of the Jews Exile in which they are at this day as we heard confess'd before by one of their Chiefest Rabbies But I found what I say not only on the Concession of this Great Man among them but upon the Words themselves of the Prophecy which tells us that the Israelites shall be without a King or Prince many days which in the Stile of Scripture especially in the Prophetick Writings usually signifies a very great number of Years as in Isai. 24. 22. 32. 10. Ier. 3. 7. Ezek. 12. 27. 38. 8. Dan. 8. 26. 10. 14. so that the time of their Captivity in Babylon whence they return'd as soon as 70 years were expired is not here intended but some much longer space of time And indeed it could not be the time of their being Captive there because that did not immediately precede the latter Days by which in Scripture are frequently denoted the Times of the Messias the last Age of the World and the Hebrew Writers and Commentators themselves freely grant this Here it is said they shall abide many Days without a King c. and afterwards i. e. in the latter Days as it is explain'd they shall return and seek the Lord their God and the Messias Which clearly argues that the time of acknowledging the Messias shall presently succeed after those many days wherein they have abode without a King c. This could not be any part of the time between their Return from the Babylonian Captivity and Christ's Coming in the Flesh for then they were not without a King Prince or Ruler c. therefore it must be since and the Time commenced when Shiloâ— the Saviour came for then the Sceptre departed from ludah then the Iews were left without King or Prince After this particular Period of Time is ended the Messias's Kingdom shall be erected in a more illustrious manner than ever and then the Children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord and shall have a King again they shall embrace that Messias whom their Ancestors crucified and they shall fear the Lord and his Goodness they shall with Reverence and Admiration acknowledge the exceeding Favour and Grace of God to them This I apprehend to be the genuine Import of this Prophecy and I leave it to the Reader to judge whether it be not a Proof of the Grand Point now in hand I might mention Amos 9. 14 15. with some of the preceding Verses which
now wearing off and that we shall have an end of it without any such thing But then when I consider'd that those Places of Holy Scripture which foretell the Calamities and Distresses of the Church of Christ may have respect only to the Times which preceed those Thousand Years I was again induced to believe that there shall be such a State as I have represented that Christ will set up his Kingdom in a more Illustrious and Effectual manner than ever and that this Kingdom shall be accompanied with lasting Peace and Righteousness with the General Conversion of Jews and Gentiles and the Ruin of Anti-christ As to some Particular Circumstances which I have mention'd relating to this Prosperous State of the Christian Church I am not Positive It hath pleased God to deliver things of this Nature Darkly and Mystically and there are no express places of Scripture on which a certain and unquestionable expectation of them can be grounded because we have no sure Word to ascertain our Determination Therefore as to the Particular Way and Manner of the things I have been Discoursing of I deliver nothing with Confidence It is the main of the Dispensation that I assert and which I verily believe though I censure no Man for thinking or saying otherwise I am sensible of this that when we see how the World is at this Day we may be enclined to think there is no probability of this Great Change There seems to be little likelihood at present of this Happy Reign in other parts of the World as well as among our selves for we seem to be every Day degenerating more and more and we run further from that excellent Temper and Genius which are required in that Future Paradise But then I consider that this is to be accomplish'd by a Divine Arm and Conduct and shall be the work of Heaven in a singular and particular Degree The Supreme Arbitrator and Manager of the World can of a sudden dispel all Difficulties and alter the Course of the Universe and frame Men's Minds as he pleaseth When we remember how mean and despicable Christianity was at first but how strangely it spread it self afterwards and made its Progress through the whole World against the greatest Opposition imaginable we may then believe the same may happen again and that what hath been foretold concerning that Glorious State may be fulfill'd Thus I will not despair of that happy Time Both Popery and Mahometism or either of them may for a time decay and grow less and then recover strength Or perhaps one or both of them may remain without any Diminution entire There may be a Superfoetation in the Mother of Harlots she may conceive and bring forth a New and replenish the Earth with her Children It may be the Reformation which hath been begun and set forward in some Parts of the Christian World may be put back Papal Superstition and Tyranny may return again and Rome may sit a Queen and know no Sorrow but what she creates to the true Professors of Religion One would be apt to think as much upon reading what is said concerning the Two Witnesses Rev. 11. 7. When they shall have finish'd the Testimony viz. at the end of 42. Months or 1260 Years the time of the Anti-christian Reign the Beast that ascendeth out of the Bottomless Pit shall make War against them and overcome them and kill them whereupon there is great rejoycing over them and making merry v. 10. It may come to pass that the Seven Hills may be exalted higher than ever and the Reformed Religion depress'd and trampled on Christianity may as Mr. Herbert presaged hoise Sail for America the Gospel may leave us to go to them and we may be half Pagans before it comes to us again Or if we hold fast-the Faith we may be forced to part with every thing else that is dear to us It may be our lot to undergo all Dangers Calamities Outrages and Persecutions before that Blessed Sabbatism arrives There may be a very Dark Night before that Lightsome Day is seen But at last it shall appear yea shine forth and the World shall be every ways the better for it Yea it may and I hope will shew it self in God's good time without any such Sad and Tragical Prologue to it as this I have ventured to offer my Conjectures about it and the freedom I have taken will not be disliked I conceive by Persons of sober Minds In my Judgment that is a very Curious and Notable Saying of Mr. Mede in his Epistle to the Reader before his Comment on the Apocalypse speaking of the interpreting of the Prophetical Writings and other Obscure Matters in Scripture Unless saith he there be liberty given to us to be somewhat free in our Thoughts and Opinions yea even in our Errors and Mistakes sometimes about these things we shall never clear our Passage to those Profound and Hidden Secrets of Truth Accordingly I have freely suggested my Thoughts and if therein I have represented some things amiss let it be remember'd that it was in the pursuit of Truth and of that Truth which it was difficult to attain to or rather let it be examined whether Truth be not here found out by that which some interpret a Mistake I declare I am not Dogmatical in what I have said nor will I perswade others to sit down with Peremptory Confidence that this is the certain meaning of all the Prophecies in Scripture before alledged But then this must be said there are several things highly Probable of which we have no Absolute Certainty and This that I have been Discoursing of is of that Nature Many Passages in Holy Writ do exceedingly favour it and there are no Contemptible Reasons to inâ—line us to a belief of it And when we have both Scripture and Rational Arguments on our side it is more than half of the Opinions which make a very plausible shew in the World can really lay claim to If after all you enquire concerning the Particular and Determinate Time when this Sabbatick State shall begin my Answer in brief is That I cannot neither will I attempt to assign any such thing When I say I cannot my meaning is that I apprehend no possible way of doing it in a Certain and Satisfactory way for otherwise I could as some have done pretend to present the Reader with a Punctual Calculation of the Time when these things shall happen Perhaps I might say without Ostentation that I have made enquiry into the Chronology of the Scriptures as well as others and have considered all that any Writers of Note have said on this Matter and have made search into these Mysteries my self but after all I declare that I find no Foundation for a Precise and Individual Assignation of Time In general we know Christ's Kingdom on Earth shall commence when the Seventh Angel soundeth his Trumpet for then the Kingdoms of the World become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of