alledging it as a reason of the darknesse And Piscator resolves the matter thus peremptorily against you Praeter-naturales istae trium borarum tenebrae quae totane terram occuparunt patiente Christo partenderunt haud dubie calamitates illus quas non multò post Deus iratus buic populo immisit quas et Christus suprà cap. 24. discipulis praedixit Sunt enien Tenebrae sigâ—â—â— irae Dei ut perspicitur ex eo quò dâ—signum erunt adventantis Christs ad judicium ut ipse testatur suprà cap. 24.29 Et passim in Scriptura nomine Tenebrarum calamitates significantur c. in cap. 27. verse 45. Mat. In which words he doth not onely say that this darknesse was a token of those miseries which shortly after befell the Jewert but also that the word darknesse in the Scripture whether properly or improperly taken doth every where signify calamities And in your next instance out of the 21 chap. of Luke ver 25. you your selfe doe fay that the signes there rehearst are all properly to be understood as signes before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. But amongst the rest you reckon the distresse of Nations with perplexity for a signe whereas it is rather an effect of the signes which shall be so extraordinary that they shall bring men into great perplexity and feare of the things which they shall shew to be comming on the earth But whereas you say that what is promised in the 28. and 29. ver of the 2. chap. of Joel was truely albeit not altogether fulfilled in the dayes of Peter even howbeit the words of the 30. and 31. ver be properly understood and not wholly fulfilled till the time immediately preceding the last comming of Christ It is utterly false as hath been already shewed and may further thus be shewed To wit because the powring out of the Spirit spoken of by Joel is to precede or at least to accompany the darkning of the Sun and Moone and both to precede the great and terrible Day of the Lord whereas the darkning of the Sun at our Saviour's first comming did precede the powring out of the Spirit and neither of them did precede the day of his birth For the Sun was darkened when he was about to leave both his life and the world together And the Spirit was not powred out til after his ascension And thus besides that there was not then any unusuall darkening of the Moone the very different order of the accomplishment of these things from that mentioned by Joel and their not preceding our Saviour's first comming as signes thereof doe abundantly shew the grosnesse of your interpretation Israel's Redemption Neither have I forgotten that the first of these prophecies was made use of by S. Peter to stop the mouthes of such as jeer'd the Apostles Act. 2.4 when by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon them they begun to speake with tongues but that this prophecy was then fulfilled I deny For when some mocking said These men are full of now wine S. Peter replyd ' ye men of Iudea and all ye that dwell at Hierusalem be this knowne unto you and hearken to my words for these are not 〈◊〉 as ye suppose seeing it is but the third houre of the theyâ— but this is 〈◊〉 which was spoken by the Prophet Ioel. And it shall come to passe in the last dayes saith God I will powre out my Spirit repon all flesh As if he had said My brethren these are not the effects of wine but of the Spirit of God which is now powred out 〈◊〉 the first 〈◊〉 of the Jews as a pledge and assurance of that bountifull 〈…〉 of it which as Joel hath said shall one day happen to the u Isa 32.15 Ezek. 39.29 Zech. 12.10 whole Nation And that this is all St Peter meant it may thus appeare First because the chiefe and most remarkeable effect of the Spirit in the Apostles at this time was the gift of vongues of which the Prophet makes no mention Mr. Petrie's Answer 1. If this exception were true it would prove that the Apostle citeth the words impertiuently and the Jews might have challenged him of babling and so these out hours fight against the Apostle and the Spirit of God who bath registred this argument ation of the Apostle as good and â—alid 2. The chiefe and most remarkeable worke of the Spirit at that time was a sound from Heaven as of a mighty rushing winde which filled all the house and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sate upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and this was noised abroad Whereby it is eâ—ident that the Apostle speaket especially not onely of the effect which is their speaking in strange languages but of the cause the powring downe of the Spirit of which Joel speakes expressely and therefore Peter citeth the words pertinently Reply 1. That the Prophet speakes not of any whom the Spirit should endue with the gift of tongues is so evident that you could not deny it and yet you dare say If this exception were true it would prove that the Apostle citeth the words impertinently Belike then the Apostle must be outin citing them rather then you in shewing to what end he cited them No Sir the Apostle alledgeth it very pretinently in that he shewes by it that the disciples spake not thus out of drunkenness as some accused them and consequently from an evil spirit but by reason of the effusion of that Spirit on them of which Joel had spoken And therefore the mistake is in you who doe very impertinently conclude from hence that the same effusion of the Spirit which Joel spake of was then fulfilled For although the same Spirit may be powred out divers times yet that powring out of it which Joel speakes of can be fulfilled but once consequently not at our Saviour's first comming and second comming too And now who fights most against the Apostle the Spirit of God he that understands them rightly and endeavours to make others do so too or he that misunderstanding them himselfe had rather condemne them both and draw all others into an error with him then yeeld to the truth and here I would intreat thee reader to take notice that when Mr Petrie hath little or nothing to say he commonly breaks out into the more violent speech thereby to disgrace what he cannot answer 2. This part of your answer is as much to the matter as the former For whereas I speake of the gift of tongues as the most remarkeable effect of the Spirit in the Apostles you speake of the manner of the Spirits descending upon them as the most remarkeable worke of the Spirit But doe you know what you say was it not a greater worke to make the Apostles speake divers lunguages then to cause the sound of a mighty winde or the appearance of tongues which were onely outward
words in 1 Thes 2. are not to be understood of a spirituall wrath doe indeed rather confirme then confute this exposition Seeing it is plaine that the Apostle in ver 28. speakes of such Jewes onely who for the Gentiles sakes that were to be received into their roome were become the enemies of the Gospell of Christ and consequently not of such on whom God had mercy or would have mercy any otherwise then in making of them instruments for the fulfilling of his promise made unto the Fathers touching that elect remnant of their posterity whom he purposed to call by a generall conversion Tenthly you say Object 10 That the estate of the Church is described such that the godly shall be mixed with the ungodly even till Christ come and gather the tares from the wheat to be burned Matth. 13.39 And surely we say not Sol. 10 that Christ shall reigne on earth before he comes to doe this but when he comes to doe this And therefore also his Kingdome for so he calls it ver 41. shall not be a Kingdome of such carnall delight as you to vilifie the truth ascribe unto it It being the onely scope of this parable and anonother in the same chapter to set forth the righteousnesse thereof Your last words are All these and such like passages the Millenaries willingly passe over But let the reader judge whether you have not more cause to be ashamed of such arguments then we have to be afraid to answer them Israel's Redemption And in my conceit Saint Peter in the very next verse doth intimate as much for having before used the word Day he warnes them not to be ignorant of this one thing That one day is with the Lord as a thousand yeares and a thousand yeares as one day As if he had told them that the day he spake of was indeed a thousand yeares the Holy Ghost alwayes using it in this sense when it is emphatically applied to our Saviours comming or the Jewes redemption Which as it is already proved shall happen at the same time And though God as he is eternall cannot be measured by time and as he is immutable feeles no alteration in time a thousand yea ten thousand times ten thousand yeares and one day houre or minute of a day being in this respect all one to him yet this shift cannot void the exposition already given seeing the apparent dependance of these words on the former doth clearely prove that Saint Peter intended not to shew what a thousand yeares and one day were to God in regard of his nature which it is like they knew before but only what is usually meant by one day in the word of God And indeed to what purpose had this sudden and serious advertisement been inferred if the Apostle did not hereby discover unto them besides the largest definite and limited acception of the word such a speciall relation of a thousand yeares to one day as cannot belong to any other number when as touching Gods immensity and immutability one day might as well have been compared with ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands as I said as with one thousand yeares Mr. Petrie's Answer Whatsoever be your conceit you may see that the Apostle hath another purpose there for ver 4. he telleth of seâ—ffers jeering at the promise of Christs comming because all things continue as they were and so all things seeme to have subsisting in themselves he refutes this imagination and shewes that the world both was made and continueth by the word of God who is able to destroy as sâ—netimes he did and bath appointed a day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men Here be putteth the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men for that the scoffers say where is the promise of his comming so that at his comming he will judge and punish the ungodly which is contrary to the opinion of the Millenaries Then ver 8. he answereth to that opinion of delay saying One day is with the Lord as a thousand yeares He saith not one day is a thousand yeares as the Millenaries make the commentary shorter then the text but is as a thousand yeares and therefore here is no exposition but comparison as if he had said albeit a thousand yeares seeme a long time to us and so the world seemeth to have continued long yet it is not so with the Lord to whom all time is short or none And then he shewes the end why God delayeth that comming to wit in long-suffering toward men awaiting the repentance of the last of them Whereby you see another meaning and another purpose even contrary to that conceit of the Millenaries The Apostle might have named many millions of yeares as one day in respect of Gods eternity but according to the usuall custome of speech be nameth a round great number for any number Reply You had no other shift to avoid the answering of my former answer but to call it a shift And here you have dealt no better with me then you have often done before to wit left out what was most unpleasing to your selfe and instructive to the reader and made a flourish against the rest and yet all this will not serve your turne for first it is a manifest slander to say That Christs judging and punishing of the ungodly is contrary to the opinion of the Millenaries For doe not we say that the destruction of the Army in Armageddon is to be at our Saviours descending as it is plainely revealed Rev. 19. and alluded unto chap. 14. ver 19 20. and that there shall be then also a destruction of all obstinate and rebellious sinners as it is foretold in 2 Thes 1.7 8 9 10. and Rev. 16 20 21. and intimated in the parable of the tares and the net câ—st into the sea Matth. 13. and doe we not say likewise that when the new insurrection of the Nations shall be at the end of the 1000 yeares peacefull reigne fire shall come downe from God out of heaven and devoure them Rev. 20 And doe we not hold that all this shall be before the last act of the great day of the Lambes wrath in which the sentence of damnation shall be pronounced against all unbeleeving sinners at the last resurrection All this then being undeniable there can be no truth in your foresaid words And as in ver 5 6 the Apostle shewes the faithfull why the wicked should make a scoffe at the promise of Christs comming and in ver 9. gives them the reason of Gods putting off of his comming so long so in ver 8. hee makes no answer to the opinion of delay but puts them in minde of the meaning of the day of judgement spoken of in ver 7 which two verses doe seeme to be brought in by way of Parenthesis For though a 1000 yeares which seeme a long time to us be but a short time with the Lord as you say yet doubtlesse that which
seemes a short time to us cannot be a long time to the Lord. And therefore albeit the last part of Saint Peters reciprocall proposition may favour your interpretation yet the first part will not suffer it Seeing that which is but one day with us cannot possibly be as a thousand yeares with the Lord although the space of a thousand yeares with us may be but as one day with the Lord. And consequently the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the one day in ver 7. must needes be meant of a propheticall day of a day consisting of yeares of so many yeares at least as the Apostle here speakes of and not of a naturall day of a day consisting of houres for how else should one day be with the Lord as a thousand yeares in regard of continuance of time And whereas you say That it is not said one day is a thousand yeares but is as a thousand yeares I pray what difference in sense is there betwixt these propositions certainely the adverbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as doth not alwayes intimate a comparison but hath divers acceptions amongst which Pasor reckons its denoting of the truth and certainty of a thing for one And when it is used comparatively it doth include an exposition also as it were easie to prove by many instances and we need looke no further then the 10 verse of this chapter for an instance But the day of the Lord will come saith the Apostle as a thiefe in the night here the comparing of it to the comming of a thiefe doth shew that as it is unknowne to all so it is unexpected too of the ungodly on whom it shall come as a thiefe in the night that is altogether unlookt for and to whom also it shall be as the comming of a thiefe in the night that is fearefull unavoidable and full â—f horrour and amazement And thus it is evident that our exposition of ver 7. is the onely adequate and full exposition of the Apostles words and that yours is but a defective and partiall exposition of it Israel's Redemption This then being so I see not but that Gods fore-appointment of a thousand yeares continuance to the world for * Sicut esâ—ptenis annis septimus quisque annus remissionis est it á e septem millibus annorum mundi septimus millenarius millenarius remissionis est R. Ketina Vid. Com. Apoc. par 2. pag. 287. each severall day of its first weeke the weeke of its creation might in all likelihood be the ground of this propheticall sense of the word Day wherein it was afterwards delivered by the infallible Pen-men of holy writ Mr. Petrie's Answer The certainty of all the appointments of God we acknowledge and the infallibility of his pen-men but where is it revealed that God hath appointed a thousand years continuance to the world for each severall day of the first weeke On the margine he citeth Rab. Ketina comment Apoca. par 2. p. 287. where are some testimonies in the Rabbines to this purpose Let Jewes follow Jewish fables to us Christians hath God spoken in the last dayes by his Sonne Heb. 1.2 whom he hath bidden us heare Certainely with a limitation to heare none others Reply I do not say it is revealed in Scripture that God hath appointed unto the world a thousand yeares continuance for each severall â—â—y of its first weeke but that Gods fore-appointment of so many thousands of yeares continuance unto the world might happily be the ground of this propheticall sense of the word Day in the scriptures Which space of time it doth comprehend whensoever it is emphatically applyed to the time of our Saviours appearing or the Jewes redemption as Isai 11.11 chap. 27.12 13. and Amos 9.11 and 2 Thes 1.10 and 2 Tim. 4.8 doe testifie And these texts in which it hath the epithet great annext to it Joel 2.31 Mal. 4.5 Jude ver 6. Rev. 6.17 chap. 16.14 And the learned doe so understand the word Day too in Gods threatning to Adam Gen. 2.17 because that threatning must needes be meant of a punishment that should come on Adam for his disobedience and consequently of a bodily death which yet he suffered not till neere nine hundred and thirty yeers after And thus it is manifest that we take this word in no other sense then the Prophets doe to whom God spake by his Spirit in time past or then the Apostles doe to whom God spake by his Sonne first and by his Spirit afterwards or then God did as many learned Divines acknowledge in the foresaid passage to Adam And therefore we borrow it not from the Jewish fables although we will not reject any truth that the Jewes hold for feare of being upbraided with their fables or with the name of Jewes But what so much out of charity with the Jewes now Is not this the Name whose mysticall interpretation hath stood you in such stead in the wresting of the prophecies which concerne them by Name and none else and did you not say pag. 16. that the faithfull are called Jewes not onely typically but likewise for the spesiall comfort of the Jewes How did you dare then so boldly to abuse that Name by which you say the faithfull are so frequently stiled in Scripture And what comfort can it be to the Jewes that you lay claime to this Name in the scriptures where it belongs not to you that you seeme to take delight in it there and yet in your writings and common discourse use it as a by-word and terme of reproach or how can we thinke that you apply the prophecies touching the Jewes to the Christians for any other reason but because you thinke such great and glorious mercies too good for the Jewes how I say can we thinke otherwise when as â—e see they are so odious unto you that in meere scorne and derifion of the truth we hold you call us Jewes by way of opposition to Christians I pray remember what our Saviour is as man is he not a Jew me thinkes then if nought else could yet the reverence you owe to him should have with held you from such an uncivill usage of this Name Israel's Redemption To this also may be added that in Matth. 24.31 which shewes that when the Sonne of man descends He shall send his Aagels with a great sound of a Trumpet and they shaâ—â— gather together his Elect from the foure windes from one end of the heaven to the other at which time two shall be in the field the one shall be taken and the other left two women shall be grinding at the Mill the one shall be taken and the other left and as Saint Marke records Chap. 17.34 two men shall be in one bed the one shall be taken and the other left But if our Saviour at his comming shall presently give sentence on all that are not written in the Booke of life if he shall make no stay on earth before he undertake this businesse
49.6 And he said It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the Tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel I will also give thee for a light unto the Gentles that thou maist be my salvation unto the ends of the earth and cha 52.9 Breake forth into joy sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem the Lord hath made bare his holy arme in the eyes of all the Nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God To the same purpose is chap. 60.1.3.19 and chap. 62.1 2.11 where wee see the faithfull are bidden rejoyce at the comming of Christ and so did Simeon when he saw him Christ is called the salvation of the Lord and Simeon speaking unto God saith of Christ my eyes have seene thy salvation the Messiah is called a light unto the Gentiles into all the ends of the earth and Simeon saith which thou hast prepared before the face of all people a light to lighten the Gentiles Christ is called the glory of Sion and Jerusalem and Simeon saith Christ is the glory of thy people Israel And so by the testimony of old Simeon which is approved and registred by the Spirit of God these and the like prophecies should not be restricted unto the second comming but were in part fulfilled at the first comming of Christ and therefore also all that followes in that long-tailed note is a frivolous discourse as we may see by the unanimous consent in the true worship of God betwixt the Jewes and other Nations in the same 15. chapter of the Acts where the Jewes and Gentiles conveene in the generall Synode howbeit the odds continue betwixt the obstinate both Jewes and Gentiles on the one part and the seed of Abraham beleevers both Jewes and Gentiles on the other part both in their opinion and practise of religious duties Reply Whether St. James meant Peter or old Simeon I left it as doubtfull and your maine reason touching the difference twixt Simon and Simeon is of no force to decide the Question Seeing Peter is in his 2. Epist 1. chap. at the 1. ver according to divers readings in the originall call'd both Simon and Simeon as you may see in the editi'on of the New Testament with Stephanus Scaliger's and Casaubons notes printed London 1622. And Casaubon who was as confident that he Apostle meant Peter as you are that he meant old Simeons feared not to say in his note on the 14. ver of this chap. of the Acts that your opinion in this matter is an ancient error grounded on the diversity of writing this Name His words are Simeon hic voca tur qui alibi Simon dicitur quae diversitas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fecit ut magno errore existimarint quidam êveteribus non Petrum hic intelligi sed Simeonem verum errasse eos qui ita senserunt notius est quà m ut longà refutatione opus habeat And doubtlesse if the Apostle had meant old Simeon he would not have said Simeon hath declared how God at first did visit the Gentiles But that God would first visit the Gentiles For Simeon shewed onely that they should be cal'd and not that they were cal'd and therefore the Apostle's words how God at first did visit the Gentiles having relation onely to the actuall performance of it by Peter who had told in what manner God had by him begun to visit them must needs be understood of Peter and not of Simeon who onely prophecied that it shou'd be done And yet if it had been meant of old Simeon it would have made the more with me seeing the word first alone compared with the order of Simeons words a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel had plainly shewed that a substituted part of the Gentiles should be cal'd before the Nationall conversion of the Jewes From this you proceed to shew that Simeon spake by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost which no Christian can doubt of and then repeating the prophecy you say Wee may see that he declares there the fulfilling at that time of the prophecy Isa 49. ver 6. and chap. 52. ver 9. and chap. 60. ver 1.3.19 and chap. 62. ver 1 2.11 How at that time certainly amongst prophecies touching the same thing one may be more plainly delivered then another and so may give some light for the true understanding of the other But to say that one prophecy doth shew the fulfilling of another is a ridiculous untruth seeing it is not the prophecying of the same thing but the actuall performance of it that shews the fulfilling thereof And therefore Simeon who prophecied of the calling of the Gentiles and restoring of the Jews as well as Isaiah could not herein declare the fulfilling at that time of Isaiah's prophecies unlesse you can prove that to foretel what should be done is to declare what was done And thus Simeon's words which you have alledged to prove that Isaiah's prophecies were then fulfilled doe indeed most evidently shew that they were not fulfilled And the reasons which you bring to confirme your doctrine are as meane as the doctrine is maimed For the faithfull say you are bidden to rejoyce at the comming of Christ and so did Simeon when he saw him No doubt but the faithfull that saw Christ when he was come did rejoyce that he was come and so did the faithfull too before Christ's comming and before Isa prophecied rejoyce that he should come for Abraham saith our Saviour saw my day and rejoyced Yea this was a thing ever performed by the Saints from the beginning of the world But yet it is not exprest in the text that Simeon rejoyced neither doth the Prophet in any of these texts which you have cited bid the faithfull rejoyce at the comming of Christ but chap. 52. at the 9. ver he calis to the waste places of Jerusalem to breake forth into joy for the Lord saith he hath comforted his people he hath redeemed Jerusalem Where the Prophet useth the like forme of speech as Zacharias doth in his prophecy Luke 1. ver 68. c. And therefore Zacharias speaking in the preter perfect tense Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people doth no more prove that Israel was then redeemed for which purpose you have before alledged it page 8. then this prophecy of Isaiah doth that it was redeemed when Isaiah prophecied And in confessing that this prophecy of Isaiah which agrees so well both in matter and forme with the first words of Zacharias was not fulfilled before Christ's first comming you doe as good as confesse that it is not to be fulfilled til his next comming For seeing the Prophet cals to the waste places of Ierusasalem to rejoyce and speakes of God's redeeming Jerusalem as well as of comforting his people it is manifest that this prophecy cannot be fulfilled til the city it selfe
and in which the roote of Jesse is expressely mentioned and fall backe to the first verse as the onely place in this chap. that shewes the first comming of our Saviour And fourthly you say that in the words following that testimony he speakes of the calling of the Jewes and Gentiles together as was exponed before And wee have before shewed this exposition to be notoriously false and that from the 11. ver to the end of the chap. nought but the wonderfull redemption of the Jewes is foretold As then you have not yet disproved the proper senfe of these prophecies so doubtlesse you cannot fit them with an allegoricall paraphrase For first as here are many severall kinds of beasts mention'd so you must finde out as many severall degrees or dispositions of men to expound them by And secondly seeing in an allegoricall sense these prophecies are apply'd to the conversion of men you must tel us why after their conversion some are cal'd Wolves Leopards Lyons Beares and Cockatrices and others Lambs Kids calves and oxen I say after their conversion for these names they are distinguished by when they are said to lie downe together and to feed together and to doe no hurt And thirdly you must give us the meaning of these phrases The sucking childe shall play on the hole of the aspe and the weaned child sâ—â—l put his hand on the cockatrice den The Lyon shall eate straw like the 〈◊〉 And dust shall be the Serpents meate And fourthly seeing here is mention not onely of irrationall creatures but of rationall also of mankind as well as of beastes you must tel us first what Convert are alluded unto under the names of these severall sorts of beastes and what Converts are meant by the little child the sucking châ—â—â— and the weaned child and secondly why the names of these beaâ—â—â— are not to be taken properly for the beastes themselves whâ—â—â— the things here rehearst doe so well agree with them and they are plainely distinguished from mankind too And unlesse you can give us reasonable satisfaction in all this you doe but vainely say that these words may be better exponed allegorically then properly Yea the proper sense of these Prophecies is further confirmed by the food which God created for every beast of the earth and every fowle of the aire and every thing that creepeth on the earth to live by to wit the green herb Gen. 1. ver 30. and by restraint of the wilde beasts and fowles both from their ravenous disposition and feeding the whole time of their being in the Arke for seeing Noah was to provide foode for them as well as for himselfe and his Family Gen. 6. ver 21. it must needs be granted that as the Wolfe the Lamb and the Leopard the cow the Lyon and the Beare c. did then lie downe together so they did feed together too and that the Lyon did eate straw or hay like the Oxe this I say must needs be granted unlesse we can imagine that Noah did take in flesh into the Arke for the ravenous creatures to live by at that time Israel's Redemption And besides is there no hurt nor destruction in all the Christian world that we should thus flatter our selves with such vaine fancies or rather when was there none or where is the Nation shall I say or the Citie yea the village amongst us where cruelty is not practised where such mischiefs are not to be found as can scarcely be parallelled in the Common-wealths of the most barbarous heathen And as for those words for the Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord which seeme to have been the occasion of the former interpretation in my conceit they imply but this that therefore God will restore to these creatures their primitive obedience and cause them to be no more offensive to his people because he hath determined to make himselfe at that time so well knowne over all the earth that his people shall no more offend him and so the feare of God shall at once be put againe into the hearts of men and the feare of men into the hearts of the creatures for the enmity of the creatures is but the issue of mans sinne and therefore when God shall pardon the house of Jacob and cleanse them from all their iniquities as hath been said the sinnes of men which are the cause and the curse of the creatures which is the effect shall depart together Mr. Petrie's Answer 1. Albeit this Author will not give glory unto God in fulfilling his promises yet wee see that others are not so ingrate as Act. 9.31 Then had the Churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria and in other times we finde that the Christians had their halcyonian dayes twixt these ten great persecutions and afterwards in the dayes of Christian Emperours and godly Kings 2. Neither doe the Prophets or Revelation speaking of these times say There shall never be hurt nor shall ever any man destroy one another but rather the propertie of the Church in this world is to be militant and neverthelesse Wolves and Lyons forsake their crueltie in the person of many converts and therefore these hyberbolicall complaints might well been spared 3. It doth puzzle the Author that Esay saith chap. 11.9 For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord and therefore fancieth a private conceit for exponing these words of which he gives no reason but we have given sufficient reasons for the allegoricall interpretation which is confirmed by these words to wit that the abundance of the knowledge of the Lord is the cause why wicked men leave their wickednesse and adjoyne themselves unto the meek of the earth as our Saviour saith Matth. 10.16 I will send you as sheep among Wolves Of whom certainly many became sheep of Christs fold which is a more proper effect of knowledge then the changing of beasts affections Reply 1. We thinke that God is best pleased with us and most glorified by us when we confesse the truth albeit against our selves and therefore as wee are not so ingrate to denie that God hath given particular Churches rest not onely from foraigne enemies but homebred also not onely from heathenish persecutors but from hereticall too so we are not so ungodly to denie our owne unrighteousnesse and unthankfulnesse towards God notwithstanding such mercy conferred upon us For even when these Churches have had such rest then have they provok't God afresh by more then heathenish impieties and oppressions so that rest from persecution hath been the very seed-time in which the tares of all impietie and injustice of all manner of misgovernment and misbeliefe have been sow'd afresh amongst us and the spring-tide in which that cursed and numerous brood of the flesh which St. Paul reckons up Gal. 5. ver 19. c. hath been manifest in us as adultery fornication uncleannesse lasciviousnesse Idolatrie witchcraft hatred variance emulations strife seditions Heresies envyings
Epistle was in possession of it and the Aposile did then hope for the house not made with hands eternall in the heavens 2 Cor. 5.1 And therefore that world is not a distinct world but even the same in which as Mediatour he shall give up the Kingdome to the Father Reply That the Apostle speakes of a world to come as well in respect of Christ as of himselfe it is evident first from Psal 8.4 c. which shewes that the world which the Apostle calls the world to come is the world in which those workes of God are that he made for man to have dominion over is the world I say in which the beasts of the field the fowles of the aire and the fishes of the sea doe inhabit And secondly it is cleare from the originall word by which it is exprest which is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the superiour world the third heaven as you take it but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the inferiour world the terrestriall globe the dwelling place of men and all other mortall creatures as we read Matth. 24.14 and Acts 17.6.31 And therefore the Kingdome of heaven in your sense that is Christs possession of heaven and his reigning over the Saints departed cannot possibly be meant by it but the Kingdome of heaven in our sense that is the heavenly Kingdome which Christ shall here visibly reigne over in time to come In the day the great day in which God hath appointed to judge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the world in righteousnesse by him as it is Acts 17.31 that is to execute judgement and justice on the earth as the Prophet Jeremiah expresseth it chap. 23. ver 5. So that the Apostles words are as if he had said For not unto the Angels hath be appointed this inferiour world of which we spake before chap. 1. ver 6. to be subject in time to come but unto Christ as one in a certaine place testified saying What is man that thou art mindfull of him or the sonne of man that thou visitest him Thou madest him a little lower then the Angels thou crownedst him with glory and honour and didst set him over the workes of thy hands c. And thus it is manifest that your referring of the words whereof we speake to ver 3. is but a private fancie crossing the Apostles explication of the world to come by the prophecy of David Psal 8.4 c. And imposing such a signification on the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as is not to be found in all the Scripture And therefore we still conclude that the world which the Apostle speakes of is to be a distinct world in time from this we now live in and both in time and place from that in which our Saviour shall give up his Kingdome to the Father And as for those who by the world to come doe understand the time of the Gospell betwixt Christs first and second comming they doe hereby make the Apostle either to call the time in which he himselfe lived the world to come or to distinguish the time betwixt Christs first and second comming into two worlds at the least Whereas the scripture doth divide the whole time appointed to the heavens and earth that now are but into three worlds or parts of time the first whereof containes the time from the creation to the floud and is the old world of which Saint Peter speakes 2 Epist chap. 2. ver 5. the world long since past The second containes the time from the floud to our Saviours next appearing and is the world that now is The third containes the whole day of judgement the 1000 yeares and little season mentioned Rev. 20. which is to beginne at our Saviours next appearing and to end with the world it selfe at the last resurrection and this is the world to come of which the Apostle here speakes Israel's Redemption or that which is to be given up is already past Mr. Petrie's Answer That which shall be given up is not past as yet neither shall it be given up altogether but in some manner as the Millenaries acknowledge at the end of their 1000 yeares Reply That which shall be given up is not past as yet you say true and that which shall be ginne is not come as yet But surely it is false to say that we acknowledge Christs Kingdome shall not be given up altogether that we acknowledge I say that Christ as man as the Sonne of David shall not then cease to reigne when the generations of men over which he must reigne shall cease And this earth on which he must reigne shall passe away In a word when at the last resurrection he shall take the elect with him into eternall glory and delight and turne the reprobate from him into endlesse horrour and contempt For we know that the Apostle in 1 Cor. 15.24.28 teacheth otherwise saying Then commeth the end when he shall have delivered up the Kingdome to God even the Father c. And when all things shall be subdued unto him then shall the Sonne also himselfe be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be allin all Israel's Redemption And it is no where said that the new Jerusalem the City of eternall glory shall be subjected to Christ as a creature but that Christ as a creature shall after the judgement of the dead be there subject to the Father Mr. Petrie's Answer He as God-man saith Matth. 28. To me is given all power in heaven and on earth And thus all the consequences for proving the earthly Monarchy of the Jewes are naught Reply That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the power our Saviour speakes of Matth. 28.18 was given to him as man and not as God for so he had it from all eternity interpreters agree And what though all power in heaven and on earth was then given to Christ as man What doth this make against my words which affirme that Christ as man shall after the judgement of the dead after all things are subdued unto him surrender againe this power as having no further use of it and in the new Jerusalem not reigne as man but be himselfe subject to the Father Or what doth it make against Christs 1000 yeares reigne on earth that he had then all power in heaven and on earth given unto him unlesse it will follow from hence that if he had been to reigne visibly on earth he might and would have done it at that time But certainely this will not follow for though our Saviour had then all power given him yet he was toexercise it to doe all that was to be done by it in that order and manner which God had appointed it to be done and no otherwise And therefore as we acknowledge that God had from all eternity the same power of creation which in the beginning of this world he first of all put into act and exercise so we acknowledge likewise that Christ hath now that power
the proper interpretation of them be called in question by most expositourâ— Yea if we should say that no more is plainely delivered in the scriptures but that which is not controverted by any what a small pittance of scripture should we acknowledge for plaine scripture And doubtlesse you your selfe will say that most of the texts controverted betwixt Protâ—ftants and Papists and betwixt orthodoxe and hereticall Proâ—estâ—nts are plaine texts for difference in opinion for the most part proceedes not so much from the obscurity of the text as from the obstiâ—acy of such who either out of prejudice or â—elfe-conceit or for self-ends wrest it from the scope and purpose of the Holy Ghost to counter ance their private and perverse sancies And whereas you say That Christians have given better warrants of their expositions then Millenaries are able â—o doe The reader may well guesse at the soundnesse of these words by the state of your charity For as without any warrant you exclude all Millenaries from the communion of Christians so the truth is that we justifie our expositions either by other scriptures or by the coherence of the precedent and subsequâ—nt verses or by the plainnesse of the texts themselves which are undoubtedly the best warrants whereas you without any necessity enforcing thereto do straine the words of the text from their proper meaning and so doe impose upon them a sense not minded by the Spirit of God not warranted by other scriptures and whereof they are scarcely yea in many places not at all capable as your answers doe sufficiently testifie against you Israel's Redemption Which vision as it is the next to that of the battell wherein the Beast and false Prophet are taken so doubtlâ—sse it shall not till then receive its accomplishment for seeing Antichrist is but the devills instrument we cannot imagine that his power shall out-last the devills liâ—erty especially if we consider that while Satan is in hold there shall be a generall peace over the world as the u Isai 2.4 Mich. 4.3 Prophets say expressely and as is here implyed in that as soone as he is loosed againe * Râ—v 20.7.8 presently he shall gather all the rest of the world to fight against the Saints But their malicious attempt shall finde no better successe then that of the Beast the false Prophet and the Kings of the earth their predecessours had done at the beginning of the 1000 yeers Ver. 9. For fire shall come downe from God out of heaven and devoure them Mr. Petrie's Answer This vision is next to that battell in â—â—dâ—r of writing but it follows not that it shall not beginne to be accomplished till the former vision be fully accomplished for albeit Autichrist be the devills instrument it may be understood as histories doe verifie that his power may be in the time of Satans imprisonment that is while Satan is not permitted to rage and persecute openly as he did in the dayes of the heathenish Emperours in the meane time Antichrist may sit in the Church of God and deceive the world with lies and fained miracles so that even when peace is in the world from warres there be not peace from the children within as Bernard complaines in his time in Cantic ser 33. and when he hath deceived the greatest part of the world except some few persons in comparison of them who are deceived then Satan may stirre up Antichrist to wage warre against the disclosers of his deceits as he did against the Albigenses and Tolosani about the yeare 1220. and against the Bohemians about the yeare 1420. in the dayes of the Emperours Sigismund Albert and others and so the malicious attempt of Satan may have the same successe with that of the Beast I say not the like but the same both in place time and number Reply That the binding up of Satan and the thousand yeares reigne of the Saints were to conâ—emporate you doe not deny but that the binding up of Satan is to succeed the destruction of the beast and false prophet as well in the execution thereof as it doth in the order of its revelation it doth not follow you say and yet you bring no reason against it whereas we have these unanswerable evidences in the Text for it First that upon the binding up of Satan a thousand yeares peace is to follow in the world and secondly that throughout this time Satan is to be withheld from deceiving the Nations neither of which was ever yet accomplished For when was there amongst men such a time of rest from warre as this or any time at all of immunity from Satans temptations Whereas therefore you understand by Satans imprisonment no more then his restraint from raging and persecuting openly it is flat against the Text which saith that when Satan is shut up he shall not deceive the Nations and not that he shall not stirre them up to open persecution which is but a partioular effect of his deceiving of them And besides may not a secret persecution be farre worse then an open And is not a power to deceive Christians by lies and fained miracles more obnoxious to the Church of God then both these What comfort then could this prophecy afford the faithfull if notwithstanding Satans imprisonment Antichrist should still prevaile so much amongst men Or what new thing had been here revealed unto Saint John if no more but this had been meant by the binding up of Satan But indeed when Satan shall be cast into the bottomlesse pit and a seale set upon him he shall be debarred not onely from tempting but from walking up and downe amongst men and therefore it is no better then meere non-sence to say that when Satan is bound up and withheld from deceiving men he may yet have an instrument sitting in the Church of God deceiving the world c. For can any man be an instrument to Satan when Satan himselfe shall neither have power to deceive him nor liberty to come neare him Thus then your conceit of Antichrists existence and continuance in the Church after Satans imprisonment and restraint doth plainely crosse not onely the order of this Revelation but the evidence of the Text. And your historicall narration holds no correspondence with this propheticall history of Saint Jobn ISRAELS Redemption CHAP. IV. The chiefe doubts Answered NOw against this which hath been said touching our Saviours Kingdome his owne words in the 18 of Saint John ver 36. may be objected For there he saith plainely My Kingdome is not of this world and in Matth. 25.31 he saith When the Sonne of man shall come in his glory and all the holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the Throne of his glory And before him shall be gathered all Nations and he shall separate them one from another as a shepbeard divideth the sheepe from the goates With which agreeth that of Saint Peter in his 2 Epist ch 3. ver 7. But the heavens and earth
which are now by the same word are kept in store reserved unto fore against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men And many other places there are of the like nature But to the first I answer that those words of our Saviour doe onely distinguish the time and condition of his Kingdome from the time and condition of the Kingdomes of this world at the setting up of whose Kingdome there shall be such an * Nec enim dubium quin maxima rerum naturalium humanarum mutatio regni hujus auspicia sit antecessura Antichristus enim cum totâ fuâ Synagogâ abolâ—bitur extinguetur hominum pars maxima gentilibus non nisi paucis relictis qui in posteris suis non extra sed intra regnum hoc mille annis supererunt ut prophetiae suprà memoratae cum aliis in Scripturâ passim occurrentibus abunde testantur sub decursum verò mille annorum mirum in modum aucti a Satana e carcere suo saluto iterum seducti Sanctorum castra oppugnabunt sed incassum Nec dubium est quin rerum quoque naturalium quae regni huius incolis ministrabunt longè alia sit futura facies quam impraesentiarum est siquiâ—â—m beatissimum tran quillissimum erit regni istius seculum omnis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quae in naturâ modò decurrit expers Mar. Frid. Wend. Contemp. Phys Sect. 2. cap. â—7 pag. 7â— 376. alteration over the whole frame of x Psal 46. Isai 2.12.19.21 ch 11.6 c. ch 30.25 26. ch 41.18 19. ch 55.13 Ezek. 38.19 20. Matth. 24.29.30 Mar. 13.24 25. Luke 21.25 26. Rev. 6.12 13. c. ch 16.18.19 c. nature and such a change of government on the earth that this time shall then as well be accounted the time of another world as the time before the floud is now taken for the oâ—â— world by us and was long agoe so stiled by Saint Peter in his 2 Epist chap. 2. ver 5. And therefore notwithstanding this proofe the place oâ— his Kingdome shall be the earth that now is though this be not the time nor any humane policy the patterne of his reigne Mr. Petrie's Answer Our Saviour distinguishes not betwixt the time of his and other Kingdomes for he saith in the same verse My Kingdome is not from hence that is My Kingdome is at hand as he said unto his Disciples Marth 16.28 Verely I say unto you there be some standing here who shall not tast of death till they have seene the Sonne of man come in his Kingdome that is reigning powerfully by the preaching of the Gospell and Matth. 24.14 This Gospell of the Kingdome shall be preached in all the world for a witnesse unto all Nations and then shall the end come There is his Kingdome before the end of this world and now is the time of his reigne albeit no humane policy be the patterne thereof 2. If he had said to that purpose as the Millenaries say that in time of his Kingdome being sonigh the Kingdome of the Romanes should be no Kingdome they might had more pretext of law for condemning him wherefore be distinguisheth the condition of the Kingdomes and not the time of them so that Caesar might been Emperour and Christ a mighty King both at once Non eripit mortalia quiregna dat coelestia Reply 1. That our Saviours Kingdome is to be a distinct Kingdome both in time and condition from the Kingdomes of this world is a truth apparantly delivered in the scriptures And for ought you have said to the contrary we may still thinke that these words of Christ doe in timate as much For though you first deny that these words doe distinguish betwixt the time of his Kingdome and other Kingdomes yet you presently give this sense to them your selfe when you say My Kingdome is not from hence that is My Kingdome is at hand And therefore it was not then in the world and if not then sure I am it hath not been yet and so it is distinct in time too from other Kingdomes as well as in condition I say it hath not been yet for what Kingdome of Christ hath been set up in the world since he spake these words which was not in the world when he spake these words Certainely his spirituall Kingdome was as much in the world at that time though not spread so much over the world as it hath been since That Kingdome therefore which you say was not then but was at hand is not yet come as the testimonies which you have alledged to prove that it was then at hand doe testifie a. gainst you also For that text Matth. 16.28 doth speake of a Kingdome to beginne at Christs appearing and not before it of a Kingdome I say when the Sonne of man shall come as it is in the same verse and when the Sonne of man shall come in the glory of the Father with his Angels as it is in the preceding verse And therefore doubtlesse these words of our Saviour Verely I say unto you there be some standing here which shall not tast of death till they see the Sonne of man comming in his Kingdome doe reveale a strange and extraordinary preservation of some then present till Christs next appearing For what doth the comming of the Sonne of man signifie but Christs descending from heaven and why did he subjoyne these words to his speech touching his comming in the glory of the Father with his Angels but because they are meant of the same comming And besides the Gospell had been before preacht by the Baptist by Christ himselfe and by the Disciples and not some but all the Disciples lived to see it preacht among the Gentiles also and therefore the seeing of this could not be the meaning of our Saviours words Thus then this first text doth shew that the Kingdome of our Saviour is not yet come And the other text Matth. 24.14 doth shew onely That the Gospell of the Kingdome that is which makes report of the Kingdome or by which men are made partakers of the Kingdome of Christ should be preached in all the world before the end should come that is the end and destruction of Jerusalem as the subsequent verses doe declare and not the end of the world as you affirme For would Christ thinke you have advised them to flye out of Judea into the mountaines from his presence at the end of the world Or how should it be worse for women with child and for them that give sucke at his comming then for others And now as for your exposition of these words My Kingdome is not from hence that is My Kingdome is at hand I pray what interpreters doe you follow in it or what colour have you for it What! are from hence and at hand all one or is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an adverbe of time or of place Doubtlesse these words My Kingdome is not from hence are to be
earth he shall cast them alive into the lake of fire And therefore your application of the story of Ziscah's drumme to this argument is a very ridiculous answer The third argument But most of all clearely in chap. 11. ver 15 36. c. where at the sound of the seventh trumpet the dayes of the witnesses and the mouthes of the Beast and Nations being out-runne were great voices in heaven saying The Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of the Lord c. This is the consummation of the mystery of God foretold by the Prophets Mr. Petrie's Answer This indeed is the consummation of all the promises foretold by the Prophets and Apostles and therefore it is not to be understood of any earthly Kingdome seeing thâ— full accomplishment of the prophecies is not on earth And so this synchronisme being false all the like synchronismes and all expositions following upon them must faile with it Reply This argument shewes that the Kingdomes of this world are to become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ at the sounding of the seventh trumpet and not before That is at the time of our Saviours descending from heaven at which time the reigne of the beast shal end And consequently it provs first that this reigne of Christ must needes follow the reigne of the beast seeing it beginnes not till his appearing by which the Beast shall be utterly destroyed And secondly it proves that this reigne must needes be on earth seeing the Kingdomes which shall then become his are the Kingdomes of this world And thirdly it proves that the time in which these Kingdomes shall become Christs cannot possibly be the time in which he shall deliver up his Kingdome to the Father seeing they shall then cease to be his And so the time of our Saviours reigne over them must needes be the interim the time betwixt the reigne of the Beast and the delivering up of his Kingdome to the Father To these consequences you had nothing to say and therefore you catch at these words which follow the argument to wit This is the consummation of the mystery of God foretold by the Prophets which you thus pervert This indeed is the consummation of all the promises foretold by the Prophets and Apostles and therefore it is not to be understood of any earthly Kingdome But surely as the mystery of God foretold by the Prophets and recorded chap. 10. ver 7. is meant onely of Christs reigne on earth at his next appearing when the Kingdomes of this world are to become his so you can shew us no promise either in the writings of the Prophets or Apostles which after the resurrection of mens bodies is to be enjoyed by them in heaven in your sense that is in a place of glory separate from the earth For as the raised Saints that are to come with Christ shall be on this earth all the time of his reigne so at the delivering up of his Kingdome to the Father the whole number of the elect shall be with him in the new Jerusalem which is the Paradise of God on the new earth whither it shall then descend And so this synchronisme being true all the like synchronismes and all expositions following upon them must be true also The Authors Judgement of the Contents of the Trumpets and Vials which he commends to the serious consideration of every intelligent READER THat the plagues of the vials should be literally and properly interpreted Revel 16. and not figuratively and mystically these reasons doe in my conceit require 1. Because there is no necessity of interpreting them otherwise 2. Because God hath already shewed many such wonders as the vials speake of 3. Because the last plague is properly to be understood and we may not take one plague properly and the rest improperly 4. Because the powring out of all the vialls shall not take up so much time as the mysticall sense of them doth allow to the powring out of one of them For 1. We finde that on the same persons on which the first viall the plague of the noysome sore is powred on the same the fift viall is powred For ver 10 11. it is said And they gnawed their tongues for paine and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their paines and their sores And at the powring out of the fourth viall also ver 9. it is said And men were scorched with great beat and blasphemed the Name of God which hath power over these plagues c. not over this plague whereby it is intimated That the men who were to feele the fourth plague were to feele more of the plagues besides that And it is very likely that the same persons may live to be the objects of all these plagues For 2. The vials are not to be powred out till after the Jewes conversion whose returne to their countrey is apparently exprest at the powring out of the sixt viall they being the Kings of the East that are to passe dry-shod over Euphrates as the comparing of the 12 verse with the latter part of the 11 chapter of Isaiah doth prove And whose full deliverance from all their enemies is plainely revealed in the extraordinary destruction of the Armies in Armageddon at the powring out of the last viall the time of our Saviours descending as the â—9 chapter doth evince For what are the Armies of the Beast and of the Kings of the earth against which our Saviour is there said to descend but the Armies of the Beast and of the Kings of the earth which here are said to be gathered into Armageddon And indeed who can thinke that God who shewed such great signes and wonders at the deliverance of his people out of Egypt from the slavery of that one Nation will not shew as great wonders as those yea as great as any the vials or trumpets doe containe at their redemption from their captivity in all countreys And as for the plagues of the Trumpets Rev. 7.8 9. c. it is manifest from the Text That they were not to be powred out till after the sealing of the 144000 of all the Tribes of Israel Which if it be understood of the generall conversion of the Jewes as many learned Expositours understand it it is cleare That the things contained in the Trumpets are not yet begunne and consequently that they are literally to be taken also Now that the 12 Tribes of Israel there are to be properly understood these reasons doe evince 1. Because there is no necessity to interpret them otherwise 2. Because the 12 Tribes of Israel cannot in the same place be taken both properly improperly Properly for them that are to be saved of all the Tribes of Israel and improperly for them that are to be saved of all other Nations 3. Because it is not probable that by one Nation by the 12 Tribes of Israel all Nations and kindreds and people and tongues should be meant Or that Saint John knew not