Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	meaning_n	scripture_n	word_n	7,543	5	4.7702	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29100	The doctrine of the kingdom and personal reign of Christ asserted and explained in an exposition upon Zach. 14, 5, 9 / by Ed. Bagshaw.	Bagshaw, Edward, 1629-1671.	1669 (1669)	Wing B411; ESTC R5233	33,295	40

THE Doctrine OF THE KINGDOM And Personal Reign of CHRIST Asserted and Explained IN An Exposition upon Zach. 14.5.9 By Ed. Bagshaw Printed in the Year 1669. The Preface I Am not Ignorant Christian Reader that the Doctrine of the Personal Reign of Christ with his Saints upon Earth which thou wilt find asserted in the following Treatise is commonly entertained with very great prejudice the Scriptures which in plain terms affirm this and which I have indeavoured to restore unto their true meaning being ordinarily interpreted in a sense quite contrary to their literal import and significancy Which kind of exposition under the notion of being Misterious and Spiritual having held for many Ages and been embraced without any further enquiry by men of the greatest eminence for Holiness and Learning even among those of the Reformed Religion together with the Tragical Disorders occasioned in Germany by such who in words asserted the Reign of Christ but indeed under that pretence indeavoured to set up and establish their own this hath ever since made the True meaning of the Scripture Prophecies in this matter to be suspected either of Novelty or else of some Design to subvert all civil Government which men out of their impatience of subjection being naturally apt to throw off they may be supposed much more easily ready to be incited to it if they shall be brought to think that they do hereby God and his Christ good service in attempting to set up his Kingdom exalting themselves as the Robbers in the Jewish Nation did Dan. 11.14 to establish the Vision In answer to all these exceptions and prejudices which it is not strange that the truth is attended and received with no more then that the Sun doth ordinarily arise in a cloud I have this to say briefly that neither Prescription of time nor authority of Persons nor the Error of unstable Men should so far prepossess and fill our minds as to make us shut them up against the impression and entrance of Divine truth which like the Light shines sometimes more sometimes less according as it receives fainter or more vigorous influences from the Spirit of God its Fountain and it can be nothing at last but a resolved and peremptory Love of Darkness which will deny it admittan e by what imperfect Medium soever it be conveighed The first inquiry therefore by persons sincerely desirous of true knowledge should be to learn whether this state of things which I have undertaken from the Scriptures to demonstrate be indeed Revealed by God or not for then his words in this as well as in other Misteries must be received according to their plainest sense in spight both of our own and others pretendedly rational Contradictions And whoever are impartial and Unbiassed in this enquiry reading the Scriptures in their own Light and evidence and not viewing them thorough the false Perspectives which customary expositions have made for them I believe they will be forced to confess that they are not capable of any other Interpretation but what the Prophets and Godly Jews before the Disciples in and the Primitive Church for above 300 years after our Saviours time did understand them in What that is I have here faithfully and plainly delivered and as to myself I can say with the Apostle I believed therefore I spake so as to others I thought the truth to be of that importance and withal the time of its accomplishment so near that I was easily prevailed with by Publishing this small Treatise to do my duty in stirring up others to a more severe and strict examining and study of the Scriptures then commonly they are accustomed to I have no more to add but to recommend it to the blessing of God who can make shall and contemptible means instrumental for the effecting of the greatest Works 6th M. 6 1669. THE Doctrine of the Kingdom c. Zech. 14. v. 5. And the Lord my God shall come and all the Saints with thee or as it is in the Greek with him v. 9. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth in that day the Lord shall be One and his Name One. IN the beginning of this Chapter there is a Prophecy that Jerusalem after it is Rebuilt and the People of the Jews restored to it as is promised c. 1. 16. and c. 8. 3 4 5. shall by their enemies be besieged and taken v. 1. Presently after which Desolation the Lord himself will come down from Heaven and destroy those Nations v. 3. and 5. Jehovah of the Lord whose coming is here spoken of is no other then the Lord Christ or God Man the second Person in the Godhead who is called The Branch c. 6. 12. 13. so named either because he sprung from the stock of Jesse as a Branch doth from the Root of a Tree which is intimated Isa 11.1.10 Jer. 23.5 and so used by our Saviour Rev. 22 16. or else the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here translated Branch may be rendred as it is by the Greek Interpreters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Morning rise or Day-spring which very word is used by Zechary in his Prophetick Song concerning our Saviour Luke 1.78 with allusion to which Phrase the Apostle saith Heb. 7.14 It is manifest our Lord sprang Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Arose as light out of Judah To Christ in both these capacities for he is not only The Branch of Righteousness Jer. 33.15 but also The Sun of Righteousness as he is stiled Mal. 4.2 There is a Throne and supreme Dominion promised both in that 6th of Zechary and more expressly in Dan. 7.13 14. Where he is called The Son of Man which Name as I think principally with reference to that Prophecy of Daniel was by our Saviour all the while he convessed upon Earth most commonly used And that we might not doubt but is the same Person who suffered then that is spoken of to come and to Reign here mention is made v. 4. of his descent upon Mount Olivet which was a place where our Saviour whilst he was upon earth did much converse Upon the Mount of Olives He sate when he foretold the Destruction of Jerusalem and his own coming which was to follow after the Dispersion of the Jews was fully accomplished Mark 13.3 Upon this Mount he began his sufferings feeling here that Anguish and Grief of Spirit which made him sweat drops of blood Luke 22.39 From hence he ascended up to Heaven Acts 1.9.12 and hither according to the Angels promise is he to come down in the same manner v. 11. The fulfilling of which Promise and the Glory which shall follow upon it is in this place of Zechary prophecyed of Two observations are clear in the words First That the Lord Christ will come in Person and take to himself the Monarchy or Soveraign Dominion over the whole earth Secondly That when the Lord Christ comes to reign upon Earth all his Saints shall come with him

the Sons being given to them Is 9.4 Jer 30.8 9 10. c. Our Saviour in his reply doth grant their supposal but reproves them sharply for not being better acquainted with the Scriptures out of which they might have learn't That Christ ought to have suffered all those things and then to enter into his Glory where by his Glory is meant his Kingdom as is plain Mark 10 37. compared with Mat. 20 21. In the same manner after his Resurrection our Saviour doth blame his Apostles in that forementioned demand of theirs not for their expectation but for their hast and therefore he bids them v. prepare for suffering and witnessing as their next immediate work His Kingdom being to be prolonged as to the setting of it up till the number of his witnesses was compleated Rev. 6.11 And then there should be no longer time Rev. 10 6. i. No more delay but he would presently come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to reward his Servants and to destroy them which destroy the earth Rev. 11.15.18 4. In the Revelation which our Saviour saith cap. 1.1 That he had received from the Father to this end that he might show unto his Servants what things were to come to pass hereafter there we have this Reign fully manifested and the time of it duration for a Thousand years expresly mentioned Rev. 20.4.6 So that now there can rationally be no more scruple about it because the words of that book are declared to be the true and faithful sayings of God Rev. 19 9 and they are pronounced Blessed who read and hear the words of the Prophecy and keep the things that are written therein i. Who live up to a full belief and expectation of them But if such a reign and Kingdom as is there spoken of shall never be how can those sayings be true or if they are to have another interpretation put upon them then the words themselves do naturally and necessarily import how are they Faithful So that I conclude this third reason with this that our Saviour was so far from denying his personal reign and visible Kingdom upon Earth that he doth clearly own and assert it 4th Reas Fourthly Another reason why the Prophecies of Scripture concerning the reign of Christ are literally to be understood is this because this way of putting mystical and spiritual meanings upon plain and positive texts is very unsafe and dangerous many Heresies were of old introduced and still are fomented by it I believe it was upon this very prtence that some in the Church of Corinth did deny the resurrection of the dead and others as Hymaeneus and Philetas did affirme 1 Cor. 15 12. 2 Tim. 2.17.18 it was past already and indeed what truth can be so clearly revealed which may not by taking the words in a figurative sence be altogether eluded farre be it therefore from us to limit the holy One of Israel or to seek how we may darken his counsail by our words which if in any respect they contradict his must needs be without knowledge since it hath pleased God to promise that his Christ shall reign with his Saints upon earth let us not by unbeleif for I cannot yet see from what other root such denyal can proceed cast off the mercy but rather labour to receive the truths of God according to his own word in the utmost extent and most comprehensive meaning of it and not according to what seems possible in our own narrow conceptions Fiftly This reign of Christ in person serves to make up and to compleat Reason 5. the great Mystery of the Gospel which consists not only in having God our Saviour but the same God in the same humane Nature likewise our King and this was that Mistery which God revealed to the Prophets Rev. 10.7 and remained to be fulfiled under the seventh Trumpet as I have already observed from Revel 11.15 therefore when our Saviour was taken up into Heaven the Angels comforted his amazed and sorrowful Disciples with this that the same Jesus should return as he went i. in the same visible and apparent manner as he went away Acts 1.11 which also the Apostle Peter testifies c. 3.19 20 21. when the times of refreshing i. the time of calling the Jews which will be a time so glorious that it will be as life from the dead Rom. 11.15 shall come from the presence of the Lord whom the heaven must receive until that time which he then calls the time of the rectitution of all things which God hath spoken of by the mouth of his holy Prodhets to imagine that the eternal Son of God took a Body and Flesh upon him merrily contemned and crucified and that he will not bring the same body to receive it's promised glory Isa 52.13.15 this is neither sit for the Mistery of God nor the admirable contriveance ond discovery of his Grace in the Gospel For he must reign 1 Cor. 1.24.28 saith our Apostle till he hath put all his Enemies under his feet and till that be done which as the same Apostle o●●er Heb. 3.8 we see not as yet accomplished the end shall ●othe i. the end of the World and the final judgement This ●●●e Rom. 8.19.23 not only the Saints and the whole creation long for as hoping ●en to be delivered from the bondage of corruption because the ca● shall be taken away Zech. 14.11 but likewise ous Saviour said in Heaven to exspect it Heb. 10.13 that so he may be put into actual possession of his soveraignty promised Psal 2. and have all his Enemies become his footstool Psal 110. After the period of which reign the humane Nature of Christ it self shall be brought into a state of inferiority and subjection unto the Father that God may be all in all 1 Cor. 15 28. Reason 6. Lastly This was the general and fixed beleif of all the holy men both before and since our Saviours coming until the time of the Apostacy under Anti-Christ what the expectation of the Prophets was sufficiently appears from the concent and harmony of their predictions upon which the Prophet Zachary for at that time it is said that he prophecied Luk 1.67 doth make a breif and plain comment Luke 1.68.75 where he saith that now in sending of Christ God had done what he had promised by the mouth of his holy Prophets which have been since the world began that we i. we Jewes for of them he speaks especially as also doe the Prophets should be saved from our Enemies and from the hands of all that hate us with more words concerning the Peace Plenty and Righteousness which was to be in the time of Chrast as is more fully prophecied of Psal 72. Is. 11. Jer. 30. Ezeck 34 and 37. c. which time having never yet been in the world it is infallibly certain that it will be and ought to be expected what was the Faith and Hope of the Apostles I have already mentioned out of