Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A46952
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A treatise concerning mans future eternity wherein the great doctrine of the eternity of all mankind in the world to come, either in happiness or misery is proved, explained, and applyed / by John Jackson.
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Jackson, John.
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1661
(1661)
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Wing J83; ESTC R24082
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38,904
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150
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to inherit life eternal and so all the world shall go into one of these two places or states of Eternity after that time shall be no more The truth of this weighty point of Divinity may appear these two waies 1. By Divine Testimonie 2. By Humane Testimonie First This appeares to be so by the Divine Testimonie of the Spirit of God in the holy Scriptures who saith concerning the wicked that they shall go into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternal Mat. 25. 46. When Jesus Christ shall sit upon the Throne of his glory the people of all nations shall be gathered before him and he will distinguish them into two sorts namely into sheep and goates Mat. 25. 31. 32. By Goats are meant the Reprobate of all mankind who dyed in their sins and out of Christ though many of them did profess saith yet none of them had that Faith unfained which worketh by Love for when Christ in his poor Members was an hungred they gave him no meat and when he was naked they clothed him not and these are the unbelieving and the ungodly of the world who shal go away into everlasting punishment that is they shall go into hell to suffer everlasting punishment By Sheep are to be understood the Elect of God taken out of all sorts of mankind who were redeemed justified and sanctified by Jesus Christ many whereof had opportunity to shew forth their faith in Christ and their love unto Christ by their Charity to the poor people of Christ for when Christ in his poor Members was sick and in prison they visited him and when he was hungry and naked they fed him and clothed him And these are the righteous in Christ Jesus who shall go into Life Eternal that is they shall go into heaven to enjoy life eternal Mat. 25. 35 36 37 46. Again This is proved by the Parable of the tares of the field in the thirteenth chapter of Saint Matthews Gospel If you well observe our Saviours Exposition of this â—arable you will find that all people in the world are compared unto good Seed and Tares By Tares are meant the children of the wicked one who were of their Father the Divel for his lusts they would do though many of them were Christians by name and Believers by profession yet they were but formal Christians and feigned Believers being such as did offend and such as were workers of iniquity And these in the end of this world shall be cast into a Furnace of fire that is into Hell-fiâ—e where there is for ever wailing and gnashing of teeth Mat. 13 40 41 42. Rev. 16. 10 11. By good Seed is to be understood the children of the Kingdom who were joint-heirs with Christ of the Kingdome of Glory and these at the last day shall be received up into the third Heaven and shall shine forth as the Sun in the kingdom of their Father and that for evermore for of his Kingdom there shall be no end Mat. 13. 38 43. This Divine Doctrine may be further illustrated and yet more strongly confirmed by these two Scripture-Arguments First at the great Assizes of the whole world when all mankind shall so appear before the tribunal of Christ as that the secrets of their hearts shall be laid open they will be found either such as were ignorant and disobedient and out of Christ or such as were knowing obedient and interessed in Christ. They who shal be found at that notable day of discovery such as had no part in Christ such as knew not God and as obeyed not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ shal be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power 2 Thes. 1. 7. But they who shall be found at that great day of Trial such as were in Christ such as did know the onely true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent and such as did truly believe in Christ and sincerely obey him shall be saved with eternal salvation Heb. 5. 9. Therefore all mankind at the end of the world shal go into an everlasting condition either of wo or weal. Secondly either all mankind after the day of Judgment shall go into an everlasting condition either of happiness or misery or else some of mankind shall be turned into nothing or else some of mankind shall go into some third place or state But not any of mankind shall be turned into nothing for the wicked of all mankind shall go into everlasting punishment therefore they shall have an everlasting being otherwise there would be a punishment inflicted none indured which is a contradiction and the righteous among mankind shall go into life eternal and therefore they shal subsist live for ever and so none of mankind shall be annihilated or consumed and turned into nothing Nor shall any of mankind go into any third place or state because there is no place nor state to be found in the Word of God for any of mankind to go into after this world is ended besides hell and heaven besides the cursed condition of everlasting punishment and the blessed state of life eternal and how can any of mankind go into that which is not Therefore we may certainly conclude That all mankind at the end of this world shall go in their bodies and souls into an everlasting condition either of glory or misery The wicked shall go into an everlasting condition of pain and calamity and the righteous shal go into an everlasting condition of rest and glory and so all shall go into an eternal state either of felicity or misery after that time shall be no longer Here it might be shewed that the Doctrine Of Mans everlasting condition in the world to come hath been received for a Truth ever since this world began The holy Partriarchs Prophets and Apostles and the Old and New Testament Saints believed it and acknowledged it so did the ancient Fathers after them the greatest part of Christians in all ages and parts of the world And all the Reformed Churches now in Christendom do confess it and do earnestly contend for this Fundamental Article of the Catholick faith But I labour to be brief and therefore instead of insisting upon the Antiquity of this point I shall refer you to the Scriptures and Authors in the Margin and to the last Article of Athanasius's Creed of the Nicene Creed and of that ancient Creed commonly called The Apostles Creed whereby you may see with your own eyes that this is no new but an ancient Truth which hath been received in the Church of God in all ages of the world Secondly This infallible Doctrine may be proved if further proof be needful by humane testimony and as I may say with the Apostle Acts 17. 28. by certain of our own Poets for the wiser sort both of Poets and
eternal God himselfe who is goodnesse and perfection wholly incomprehensible shall be with them and will be their God their exceeding great reward their portion their heaven their life eternall their happinesse and their all in all with whom they will be fully satisfied and in whom they will comfortably acquiesce and contentedly rest to all eternity yea the Lord their God will rejoyce over them with joy and will rest in his love unto them Zeph 3. 17. O Sirs if the blessedness of the life to come be but revealed in part and if we who know but part of that part of it which is revealed and that thorow a glasse darkly do conceive the glory and bliss of it to be unspeakably great How unconceivably glorious and blessed will the Saints in heaven find it to be when they shall fully know it by comfortable experience In summe the happiness of heaven and of the blessed life to come called by Divines the state of glorification is such as that it will please and satisfy all who shall have a part in it it is infinitely greater and better then can be uttered or conceived therefore let us humbly leave the rest of the felicity of it to the future experience of such as shall enjoy it as we may hope we shall within a short time if our hearts be right in the sight of God It is reported of the Duke of Bovillon and his army that when they went to Jerusalem as soon as they saw the high Turrers they shouted for joy â—rying out Jerusalem Jerusalem what cause have we poor pilgrims strangers on the earth who are travelling towards the â—elestial Jerusalem our heavenly country to rejoyce with joy unspeakable as soon as we see by faith any glimpse of the exceeding glory and happinesse of it saying with a joyful noyse to God Hallelujah Hallelujah blessed and for ever blessed be the Lord that we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens An house yea a pallace of heavenly state and magnificence neither is it lesse then a kingdome that abides there for us a kingdome so much above these worldly Monarchies as heaven is above this â—lod of earth CHAP. V. Renders the principall Reasons why all mankinde after the day of judgement shall go in their bodies and soules into an everlasting condition either of felicity or misery THe great and important Truth of mans eternal state to come having been both proved and explained I shall now give you the Reasons of it which are principally these two First the Elect of God amongst all mankind who were interessed in Christ shall go in their bodies and soules after they have received their joyful sentence of absolution into an everlasting condition of happinesse for the everlasting glorifying of the mercy of God Rom. 9. 23. When Jesus Christ shall say to his Elect people in the sight and hearing of all the world Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world and when afterward he shall bring them triumphantly into the possession of the everlasting kingdome of glory Then and from thenceforth and for ever it will be fully knowne that God is essentially mercifull and that his mercy towards them whom he hath chosen in Christ to life eternal is infinite everlasting and immutable to the everlasting glory and honour of the mercy of the Lord and to the perpetuall praise of the glory of his grace Rom. 9. 23. Ephes. 1. 5 6. As now the best of Saints do but see the saving mercy of God towards them thorow a glasse darkly and do but weakly believe it so they do very imperfectly praise him for it but when they shall perfectly know at the day of 〈◊〉 compleat Redemption that it was the mercy of God and nothing but his â—ender mercy and free grace in Christ towards them that elected them that created them that redeemed them that called them that justified them that sanctified them and that hath compleatly saved them and all for this great end that they might for ever magnify him for it Then they will perfecty praise the Lord and give him the glory due to his name for this gracious and golden chain of mercy that reacheth from their everlasting predestination to their everlasting glorification Ephes. 1. 3 4 5 6. Rev. 4. 8 9 10 11 12. As the saved in heaven will know by joyful experience the â—â—â—at things the Lord hath done for them and that it is eternal love unto them in Christ that hath delivered them from the nether-most hell and that hath brought them to the highest heaven so they will affectionately praise him for it and will delight to give glory to the Lord their God who hath brought them unto his incomprehensible bliss and glory through the communication of his grace and glory unto them And as they will perfectly apprehend that the favour that God beareth unto them in Christ shall endure for ever and ever so they will glorify him for it for ever and ever and will sing without ceasing the high praises of God not as the Acaemets at Constantinople who sung day and night divine praises to God onely one company after another But all the Elect angels and Saints in heaven will unanimously and perpetually praise the everliving God Father Son and holy Ghost for the infinite felicity they shall enjoy together in his beatifical presence Psal. 84. 4. Rev. 7. 10 11 12. Secondly all the Reprobate of Mankinde who had no part in Christ shall go in their bodies and souls immediately after the dolefull sentence of condemnation hath been pronounced against them into an everlasting condition of misery for the everlasting glorifying of the justice of God Rom. 9. 22. When Jesus Christ shall say to the Reprobate in the presence of his elect Angels and Saints Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devill and his Angels and when he shall at that instant cast them into hell to be everlastingly punished then and ever after it will be absolutely known that God is essentially just and that his justice is infinite eternal and unchangeable to the everlasting glory and honour of the justice of God and to the eternal praise of his unalterable purpose to punish final impâ—nitent and unbelieving sinners according to the desert of their sins Rom. 9. 22. 2 Thes. 1. 7 8 The wicked in the world will not now believe the justice anger and displeasure of God against sin and impenitent sinners nor will they glorify it when it is executed upon secure sinners either in temporal or spiritual judgements But when the great day of the Lords wrath is come then they shall feel it by woful experience and shall be forced to know and acknowledge the Lord to be just and their damnation to