also of which Paul speaks Heb. 12. 26. And therefore this is called Joel 2. 31. The great and terrible day of the Lord. But who shall live when God doth this When the Heavens and Earth shall shake c. Why it 's answered in the same 16. vers But the Lord shall be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel Of this day also Paul speaks 2 Thes 1. 7 8 9. Where he says that the day is coming when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power Thus doth Paul render this as a most terrible day and as the Prophet Isaiah in the forementioned place says the Lord will then render his anger and his rebukes with flames of fire So Paul here says that the Lord Jesus shall in flaming fire take vengeance on them that know not God c. punishing them with everlasting destruction from his presence But who shall live when God doth this The Apostle tells us that then the Lord Jesus shall come to be glorified in his Saints to be admired in all them that believe in that day v. 10 The Saints shall then live and glorifie him and admire him Of this day also speaks th Prophet Malachi Chap. 4. 1. For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud yea all that do wickedly shall be stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither root nor branch But who shall live when God doth this It follows in vers 2. 3. But unto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall And ye shall tread down the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this saith the Lord of hosts Thus in a terrible manner is this day here also represented being a day that shall burn as an Oven Of this day also speaks the Apostle Peter and represents it in the same terrible manner 2 Pet. 3. 7. But the Heavens and the Earth which are now saith he by the same word are kept in store reserved unto fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men or as Isaiah says the day in which the Lord will plead with all flesh rendering his rebukes with flames of fire But says Peter vers 10. This day will come suddenly upon men as a thief in the night And indeed this numerous Army that shall be gathered together against the Saints shall little dream of such an overflowing scourge as shall overtake them but rather promise themselves a victorious overcoming of the Saints but alas Miserable creatures this day of their destruction and perdition says Peter shall come as a thief in the night in which the Heavens shall pass away with a noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat The whole world shall be on fire about their ears on a sudden and there shall be an utter destruction of them and their corrupt and filthy courses shall perish with them The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up And vers 12. The Heavens being on fire shall be dissolved But what might some say shall the Elements melt with fervent heat and the Heavens being on fire be dissolved and the Earth with the works that are therein be burnt up Who shall live when God doth this Peter in the very next words seems to prevent this question and says Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness As if he had said it is the perdition and destruction of ungodly men onely that I speak of take notice of that And this day that shall burn as an Oven shall burn up onely such as do wickedly but it shall not in the least manner touch nor trouble the Saints But we when these wicked men are burnt up shall have new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness It shall be a new time to us when these corrupt men shall be burnt up And this we have a promise for And this promise they had in Isa 65. 17. where this day is spoken of the promise runs thus For behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into minde but be you glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy c. And so he goeth on to declare the happy estate that Saints shall live in in these new Heavens and new a rth But this terrible day to wicked men is again mentioned Isa 33. 14. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire Who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings Here are the same expressions or expressions to the same purpose with those we have already mentioned where Malachi says The day that cometh shall burn as an oven and Paul and Peter speak of the Lords taking vengeance in flaming fire on wicked and ungodly men The Prophet having this in his eye cries out Who shall dwell with devouring fire who shal dwell with everlasting burnings When the Lord comes to render his rebukes with flames of fire who shall dwell in those flames But lest the Saints should be discouraged he presently addes That though the sinners in Zion are afraid and fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites yet verses 15 16 c. he that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly he that despiseth the gain of oppressions that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes that stoppeth his ears from hearing of bloods and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil he shall dwell on high his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks bread shall be given him his waters shall be sure Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty they shall behold the land afar off c. Thus the righteous upright man that is free from dissimulations is no hypocrite that will not oppress though he may gain much thereby is so far from so doing as he disdains he despises such gain and he that not onely refuses a bribe when it is offered to him but when it 's put into his hand will not keep it shakes his hand from holding of it and he to whom the cruel and corrupt courses of men are irksome even to hear of it or see it and therefore he stops his ears and shuts his eyes from it This man shall hold proof in these times and he shall dwell on high he shall have as sure a defence in these times as the munitions of rocks for he is fixed in the
hundred and ninety but to the one thousand three hundred and five and thirty days So then the full and compleat deliverance of the Church when this great day will come when all the enemies of the Church will be subdued will be at the period of the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days Now if to the yeer 0366 there be added 1335 it makes up just 1701 And in this year or neer this yeer one thousand seven hundred and one I am perswaded that day will be having my ground of this perswasion from this Scripture as I have laid it down which I leave to the consideration of prudent Christians I shall now proceed And now I come to speak of those things which are to follow immediately upon this great day of which first a word in general and then I shall descend unto particulars But in general thus Immediately upon the ruining of the enemies of Christ and his Saints in the manner we have spoken of and upon the passing away of the old Heavens and the old earth shall be fulfilled that which is spoken in Rev. 21. 1 2 3. And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth and the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea And I John saw the holy city new Jerusalem come down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband And I heard a great voice from heaven saying Behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God c. That which I take notice of in these verses of which to speak a word in general before I descend to particulars is this That the new Jerusalem here is said to come dome down from God out of Heaven This glorious state and condition in which the Saints shall be put after this great day is to be here on Earth and therefore it is said to come come down from God out of Heaven First in that it is said to come down it argues that it is not above but below for it is to come down from above And secondly In that it is said to be from God out of Heaven it speaks plainly that it is not to be taken for that Glory which the Saints shall have in the * By the Heavens above I mean that place which is far above all Heavens to which the Apostle saies Jesus Christ ascended Eph. 4. 10. Of which Heaven the Lord says it is his Throne and the earth his footstool Isa 66. 1. The height and glory of which place the thoughts of men are alas too shallow to apprehend But the Heaven above it is called in respect of the height and transcendency of the glory of it above the earth that now is or above the new Heaven and the new Earth that shall be in the time we are speaking of which shall come down from God out of Heaven from that inaccessible glory and that unapproachable splendor that none eye hath seen or can see in the beholding of which the Angels do veil and cover their faces 1 Tim. 6. 16. Isa 6. 1. Heavens above to all eternity with God but a glorious estate which comes down from God out of Heaven unto them which they are to injoy for a thousand yeers here below in which time the Tabernacle of God shal be with men and they shall be visibly seen to be his people and God himself shall be among them and be their God and the effects therof shal be glorious as appears by what follows But this onely is that in general which I here take notice of that this new-Jerusalem-glory is to be on earth when there shall be a new molding and a new making of the Heaven and of the earth and of the particular mutations and changes that there shall then be I shall now speak Of the personal appearance of CHRIST And Of the Resurrection of his Saints to Raign with him on Earth ANd in the first place I shall speak of the personal appearance of Jesus Christ and the Resurrection of his Saints to raign on earth with him That Christ shall personally appear is a point that is I know much controverted and is very much doubted by many Saints who are eminently godly and whom I do very much honour and reverence who yet are confident that he will very gloriously appear in the treading down his enemies in the ruining of the Beast and the setling of his people in peace and filling of them with his Spirit but they question whether our Lord Jesus shall any otherwise appear then to be their spiritual eyes and then as now for now they spiritually discern him in his present footsteps in the world And it being thus dubious to many I was inclining to be silent in it but that the light shining so clearly to me in the following Scriptures which I shall mention hath such power and force with me as I cannot but hold it forth leaving it to the more serious consideration of intelligent Christians And the Position that I shall lay down is this That our Lord Jesus Christ having subdued his enemies shall personally appear on earth and shall raise up the Saints before departed out of this world to come and reign with him on earth To prove this we have several Scriptures and I shall begin first with that known clear place Revel 20. The description of the total overthrow of the Beast and all the Armies that were gathered together with him to make war against Jesus Christ and his Saints being laid down in the preceding Chapter in this Chapter follows a declaration of what things will succeed it and that which is to this purpose is in the 4 5 6 verses And I saw thrones and they sate upon them and judgement was given unto them And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God and which had not worshipped the beast neither his image neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand yeers But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand yeers were finished This is the first resurrection Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection 〈◊〉 such the second death hath no power but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand yeers In these verses this is laid down That the Saints of God which had been Martyrs and sufferers under the Beast should be raised from the dead and be advanced to sit upon thrones and judgement should be given unto them and they should live and reign with Christ a thousand yeers But though the Saints should be thus raised that yet this is not the General Resurrection wherein all the just and unjust shall be raised no for
they have been in a mourning and a sad condition wearing sackcloath for a time times and halfe a time Now the high praises of God shall be in their mouths and whereas the heathen viz. profane men have trampled upon them and made them as the filth of the world and as the off-scouring of all things Now they shall have together with the high praises of God in their mouth a two-edged sword in their hands to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people to bind their Kings in Chaines and their Nobles with Fetters of Iron to execute upon them the judgement written This honour have all his Saints Thus Kings and Nobles and mighty men are to be subjected to his Saints This honour have all his Saints The fourth Scripture which I shall produce for the illustrating of this truth shall be that in Isa 51. 21. c. which is a promise to this purpose also in these words Heare now this thou afflicted and drunken but not with wine Thus saith the Lord the Lord and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people Behold I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling even the dregs of the cup of my fury and thou shalt no more drink it again But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee which have said to thy soule bow down that we may go ever and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over Here it is expressy said that the cup of trembling and fury should be so taken out of the hand of the Church as they should never any more drink it againe and not only so but that it should be put into the hands of them that afflicted her So that those great and wicked ones that most ragefully and most bitterly have afflicted and destroyed the Saints of God must now drinke off the dregs of that cup both that scarlet Beast the Pope and all those Kings Princes Prelates and inferiour persons that continue implacable enemies of his Saints Another cleare passage to this purpose is in Isa 51. 8 c. in these words Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice with the voice together shall they sing for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring againe Sion break forth into joy sing together ye wast places of Jerusalem for the Lord hath comforted his people he hath redeemed 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 Here then its cleare that not only some but all the Nations shall see the glory and all the ends of the earth the Salvation of our God He will make bare his holy arme in the eyes of every Nation and People under heaven and they must all stoope to the Scepter of his Son Another clear confirmation of this truth we have Isa 60. 1 2 3 c. in these words Arise shine for thy light is come for the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee for behold the darknesse shall cover the earth and grosse darkness the people but the Lord shall rise upon thee and his glory shall be seen upon thee and the Gentiles shall come to thy light and Kings to the brightnesle of thy rising Then thou shalt see and flow together and thine heart shall feare and be inlarged because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee They shall bring Gold and Incense and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. Surely the Isles shall wait for me and the ships of Tarshish first to bring thy Sons from far their silver and their gold with them unto the name of the Lord thy God and to the holy one of Israel because he hath glorified thee and the Sons of strangers shall build up thy walls and their Kings shall minister unto thee and the Nation and Kingdome that will not serve thee shall perish yea those Nations shall bee utterly wasted The sonnes also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet and they shall call thee the City of the Lord the Sion of the holy one of Israel whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated I will make thee an externall excellency the joy of many generations Thy people also shall be all righteous they shall inherit the Land for ever the branch of my planting that I may bee glorified a little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong Nation I the Lord will hasten it in his time These words are a Prophesie of the glorious estate which the Church must in these latter daies after all her sufferings be advanced unto And first it is said of the Church that is the saints of the most high that the Light of the Lord shall rise upon them and his glory shall bee seen upon them and that so evidently and cleerly as that the Gentiles i. e. the prophane men of the world shall come to that light And not onely the poore and the mean among the Gentiles but some of their Kings and great ones shall be converted and imbrace the light and come to the brightnesse of the saints rising And secondly as abundance of the heathen shall bee converted so those of them that have formerly afflicted the saints of the most High shall come bending unto them and those that despised them shall bow themselves downe at the soles of their feet and that out of pure love to them because they shall see that they are the people of the Lord and the Sion of the holy one of Israel And thirdly those converted Gentiles shall further manifest their love to the saints of the most High by bringing in their wealth their riches their treasures their silver and their gold to them and by building their wals for them in this also their Kings ministring unto them And fourthly the Church the saints of God seeing these things and being thus favoured and blessed of the Lord shall be in in a sweet frame of spirit being filled with joy and therewith inlarged and heightned and this joy mixed with a holy feare and trembling walking altogether in the paths of righteousnesse And fifthly the Church or saints at this their rising shall grow so potent as that a little or despised one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong nation And sixthly The Nation and Kingdome that will not serve Sion i. e. the saints shall perish yea those nations shall bee utterly wasted And seventhly whereas the saints have been during the time of the prevalency of the Beast a despised and a contemned people they shall now be an eternall excellency and the joy of many generations Thus in this Scripture is this truth most evidently demonstrated That there must be such
And that when that time is the Saints must possesse the Kingdome and reigne on earth so Dan. 7. 22 27. and Rev. 5. 10. The first of these passages mentioned in the Revelation is that Chap. 5. 9 10. which runs thus Thou wast slaine and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall reigne on the earth These words are a part of a song sung by Saints wherein they praise the Lambe and herein they have in their eye as matter for which their hearts are ingaged to honour and glorifie Christ both that which he had already done for them and also that which he had not yet done but would doe for them That which hee had done for them in these words Thou wast slaine and thou hast redeemed us and thou hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and that which should bee done for them by Christ in these words and wee shall reigne on the earth this being that which they knew hee would doe hee having declared it by the mouth of all his Prophets therefore they sing it out we shall reigne on the earth The other passage which is Rev. 11. 15 16 17 18. runnes thus And the seventh Angel sounded and there were great voices in Heaven saying the Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reigne for ever and ever and the four and twenty Elders which sate before God on their seates fell upon their faces and worshipped God saying We give thee thankes O Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned and the Nations were angry and thy wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the Prophets and to the Saints and them that feare thy name small and great and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth And the Temple of God was opened in Heaven and there was seen in his Temple the Ark of his Testament and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail This Scripture being so pertinent unto the present purpose and having already in another Treatise opened the former part of this Chapter from the first to the 15 verse I shall therefore be the more copious in opening of this part which is from the 15 verse where I left unto the end of the chapter Verse 15. And the seventh Angel sounded and there were great voices in Heaven saying the kingdoms of this world are become c. The declaration of this truth that the Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of the Lord Christ is here held forth unto us to bee that great and glorious part and portion of the providence and counsell of God that is to be manifested under the sounding of the seventh Trumpet which brings in the seventh and last and greatest judgement of God upon that wicked as the Apostle termes him or that man of sinne That great Saint opposer the Roman Papall Beast and his adherents For by the seven Angels which were to sound the seven Trumpets is to be understood 7 severall remarkeable and great judgements that in so many severall periods of time by so many severall passages of the providence and purpose of God should be brought upon that beast and his associates whereby they should bee gradually ruined The first of them being one degree of bringing them down and the second bringing them lower then the first had done and the third bringing them lower then the two former and the fourth breaking down another part of their greatnesse and glory which was not broken by the three former but the three latter are to bee more terrible and dreadfull unto them then any of the former and therefore they are said to be three great woes which were to come upon that crew Chap. 8. 13. which are there stil'd the inhabitants of the earth for all along in this Prophesie they are cal'd the earth to distinguish them from the Saints who are all along cal'd heaven and as these are said to be woes so they prove woes indeed unto that miserable crew but it is to them and them onely and not to any others As for the Saints all the seven Trumpets produce matter of joy to them because therein Christs enemies and their enemies are from time to time brought low And indeed these seven Trumpets or seven severall judgements of God upon the Beast and his adherents were obtained from God in a great measure by their prayers being offered up by the Lord Jesus their blessed Mediator who perfumed them with the incense of his own righteousnesse and worthinesse in which they are acceptable For upon the offering up of the prayers of Saints with that incense these Judgements were powred out upon the earth that is upon that crew and these angels prepared to sound as appeares Chap. 8. 2 3 4 5 6 c. So that the Saints had cause to rejoyce when these judgements came upon that faction and they indeed did rejoyce and their hearts have been made glad in all these severall Judgements which have come upon them As in that their Doctrines and Doctors Bishops Jesuits and Priests and much of their power and authority which they had over the people have been brought down and laid in the dust in those six severall Trumpres sounding or glorious dispensations already past wherein that party have been troubled perplexed and pained at the heart and now this great and glorious dispensation we are treating of is to bee the seventh and last which is of greatest terror to them and greatest joy to the saints as it followes And the seventh Angel sounded and there were great voices in Heaven saying the kingdoms c. There were great voices in heaven that is there were many in heaven that is in the Church or among the Saints that in the Prophesies of this Book are stiled heaven that did trumpet forth sound forth or clearely hold forth and confidently speake out this truth that the Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever They were voyces it was not only the single voice of one but they are voices it is the voice of many in heaven many among the Saints And they are not the whimsicall notions of unsound and rotten men but they are voices in heaven voyces of reall Saints Great voyces in heaven Being great voices argues first that they are not some poore weak suppositions or may be 's Nor secondly are they some weake faint sayings but they are great that is effectuall convincing and unquestionable speakings such as shall be heard and be received and be beleeved among the Saints they shall be spoken with such
the resurrection from the dead and they that slept in the dust should awake and sing and the earth should cast out the dead and this should be a joyful and comfortable time which should make amends for all their sufferings And about this time he speaks of the Lords coming out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity and for all the blood of his Saints which they have spilt as appears vers 21. And it 's certain that the raising of the Saints to live and reign with Christ will soon follow upon this Again of this appearing of Christ it is that the Prophet speaks Isai 33. 17 18. when he speaks of him that is fire-proof that shall dwell with devouring fire and everlasting burnings and says he to such a one Thine eye shall see the King in his beauty This is the time when he shall appear in his glory and beauty indeed and his Saints shall visibly see him and then their eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation c. as it follows in that Chapter And further of this visible and corporeal coming of our Lord Jesus doth the Angels speak Acts 1. 10 11. when that our Lord being with his disciples upon the mount called Olivet while they beheld he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight and saith the text While the disciples looked stedfastly toward heaven as Jesus went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel and said unto them Why stand ye looking up into heaven this same Jesus which is taken from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven Now they visibly and corporeally saw him go into heaven and in the same manner did they and we are to expect that he shall come again And what but this doth our Saviour himself mean when he says to Philip who wondered that he should know him when under the fig-tree Thou shalt see greater things then these for I say unto you Hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man Certainly there is a truth in all these things and we shall see greater and more glorious and admirable things then yet we have seen And though the time be not yet come yet certainly it will come Again in Act. 3. 19 20. 21. Peter tells us that when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord which time Saints have long waited for that he shall send Jesus Christ whom the heavens must receive until the time of the restitution of all things That is until he make new Heavens and new Earth restore all things The Heavens says he must retain him until these times which were spoken of by all the holy Prophets which have been since the world began But then Jesus Christ shall appear in that presence which the heavens now do retain which is his corporal presence for it cannot be said of his spiritual presence which is alway with us for which appearing his Saints wait And thus have I laid down the several Scriptures which do cleer this truth wherein it is abundantly proved by several testimonies whereas two or three Scriptures might have been authority sufficient to prevail But the Scripture is full in speaking of it and indeed it was much in the hearts of the Saints in the primitive times as appears by their frequent expressions of it upon all occasions even of this coming of Christ As 1 Thes 5. 23. And the very God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ And 1 Tim. 6. 14. I charge thee to keep this commandment without spot unto the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ which in his time will appear who is the onely Potentate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords c. And 2 Cor. 1. 14. Ye also are our rejoycing in the day of the Lord Jesus And 1 Thes 1. 9 10. And how ye turned to God from Idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come And 1 Thes 2. 19. For what is our hope or joy or crown of rijoycing Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming And 2 Thes 2. 1 2. We beseech you by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him that you be not soon shaken in minde c. And 2 Tim. 4. 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me onely but to them also that love his appearing Thus these Saints had much in their eye the day of Christ the coming of Christ the appearing of Christ And the Apostle makes it a principal piece of Religion For speaking of the Thessalonians when they were converted he says They turned from Idols what to do To serve the living and true God and what To wait for his Son from heaven Though that day was far off as the Apostle himself elsewhere informs them yet they did so firmly believe this his coming from Heaven and their being gathered unto him as they might truly be said to be waiters for it Of the manner of the coming of Christ and his Saints and with what bodies they shall come But now this Question may be propounded It being granted to be an undoubted truth thaâ— Jesus Christ shall personally appear on earth and that the Saints departed shall be raised from the dead to raign with him in that day With what bodies shall Christ and his Saints come And how shall they be raised up Doth the Scripture say any thing to that I answer Yes For hitherto I have quoted the Scriptures that speak onely of his coming and the Saints being raised but there are other Scriptures which speak of the manner how as that Rev. 1. 7. Behold he cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him c. And Luke 21. 26 27. For the powers of the heaven shall be shaken and then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory And Mat. 24 30. 31. And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory And he shall send his Angels with a great sound of a trumpet and and they shall gather together his elect c. And v. 27. As the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the West so shall also the coming of the Son of man be So that it is cleer that as the Angels told his disciples when they saw a cloud to receive him out of their sight that he should so appear out of the clouds in like manner as they
spring as the grasse and when all the workers of iniquity doe flourish It is that they may be destroyed for ever but thou Lord art most high for evermore A new AND MORE EXACT MAPPE OR DESCRIPTION OF New Ierusalems GLORY when Jesus Christ and his Saints with him shall reign on earth a Thousand years and possess all Kingdoms WHEREIN Is discovered the glorious estate into which the Church shall be then put both in respect of externall and internall glory and the time when And also What hath been done these eight yeares last past and what is now a doing and what shall be done within a few years now following in order to this great work Wherein also That great Question whether it be lawfull for Saints to make use of the materiall Sword in the ruining of the enemies of Christ and whether it be the mind of Christ to have it so is at large debated and resolved in the Affirmative from clear Scriptures and all others answered By M. Cary a servant of Jesus Christ Rev. 22 6 7. And he said unto me These sayings are faithfull and true and the Lord God of the holy Prophets sent his Angell to shew unto his Servants the thing which must shortly be done Behold I come quickly LONDON Printed by W. H. and are to be sold at the sign of the Black spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls 1651. A description of new Jerusalems GLORY when Jesus Christ and his Saints with him shall reign on earth a thousand yeares and possesse all Kingdoms Dan. 7. 27. And the Kingdom and Dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given unto the people of the Saints of the most high whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and all Dominions shall serve and obey him THe Spirit of God in the former verses having declared the rise actions and end of the little Horne that was to afflict the Saints and shewing how that at last the Saints should overcome him Saies expresly They shall take away his Dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end and then saies in this verse that the Kingdome and Dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the Saints of the most high c. The assertion which is laid down in these words is plaine and cleare and needs no explanation at all which is this That not only this Kingdom of England and some few others but all the Kingdomes and Dominions in the whole world shall in a more peculiar and more eminent manner than yet they have been be subjected to the Lord Jesus Christ and by him given to his Saints to possess This same truth likewise is positively asserted in the 13 14 18 21 and 22 verses of this Chapter in the 13 and 14 verses where the Vision it self of which these verses are an interpretation is declared there it is thus exprest I saw in the night vision and behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of daies and they brought him neere before him and there was given him Dominion and glory and a Kingdom that all People Nations and Languages should serve him his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which shall not pass away and his Kingdome that which shall not be destroyed So that this is clearly asserted here also that the Dominion not only of some but of all people Nations and Languages should be given to the Lord Jesus Christ who is here exprest by this appellation The Son of man by which he is often exprest in the New Testament and this is to be done after the Beast is destroyed as is here exprest And what is in these verses said to be given to the Lord Jesus Christ is in the 18 20 21 and 27 verses said to be given to his Saints for in the 18 verse it is said that the Saints of the most high should take the Kingdome and possesse the Kingdome for ever even for ever and ever and in the 21 22 verses that the Horne prevailed against the Saints untill the Ancient of daies came and Judgement was giuen to the Saints of the most high and the severall beasts having had the Kingdomes of the world for their appointed times the time then came that the Saints possessed the Kingdome and in this 27 ver that the Kingdom and Dominion and the greatnesse of the Kingdome under the whole heauen should be given unto the people of the Saints of the most High Thus what was in the 18 verse said to be given to the Lord Jesus there called the Son of man is in these severall verses said to be given to his Saints The truth is that which is given to the head is given to the members that which is given to the Husband the wife must partake of for there is nothing that he possesses which she hath not a right unto And the Saints of Christ are the members of Christ they are the Lambs wife and having given himselfe unto them he will not with-hold any thing that is his from them but when all the Kingdomes and Dominions under the whole heaven are given to him they shall possesse them with him Thus is this assertion that is laid downe in this verse confirmed in severall other passages in this very Chapter namely That all Kingdomes all the Nations and Languages and People under the whole heaven shall be in a more peculiar and a more eminent manner than yet they have been be subjected to the Lord Jesus and by him be given to his Saints to possesse And as it is cleare here so there are very many other Scriptures wherein it is as clearly asserted severall of which Scriptures I shall here produce that out of the mouth of many witnesses it may be confirmed against all contradictions which I shall the rather do because this Doctrine is so much despised by profane men who jeering at Saints say these are the meek that must inherit the earth But first let me premise That though it be unquestionably true that the riches of this world which hath been hitherto equally dispensed alike to all shall in a very short time be abundantly given to the Saints of the most High as Canaans Land was to Israel of old which was but a shadow of what shall come to passe in the latter daies that yet First they that are indeed the Saints of the most High and that walke most with God will be the least seekers of this worlds wealth and Secondly They that seeke it least and least desire it shall have more than they that seek it eagerly and also shall injoy it most comfortably and with greatest joy in God Thirdly that those saints that God will most honour though they shall have abundance of the world yet they shall not set their hearts upon it but shall prefer the least degree of the flowings of the spirit of God which
they shall in these daies abundantly have above all the treasures of the whole world No their hearts shall not Zach. bee set upon the world but their 10. 7. hearts shall rejoyce in the Lord. Fourthly that the advanced saints of God shall not in these daies seeke the wealth of the Nations but the Nations themselves as Paul expresses himselfe 2 Cor. 11. 14. we seek not yours but you that is not their wealth but their weale not their treasure but their safety not their riches but their happinesse not their outward things but the salvation of their souls and they that seek not these things to wit the publike weale and safety and happinesse and salvation of all but that doe covet to treasure up most riches for themselves and to poll and rob and cheat the people to inhance their owne estates and make themselves great in the world and their children gay and splendid amongst men as doe Kings Princes and evill Governours not to mention some sorts of Committee-men these shall become the basest and the vilest among men and their children be despised and contemned for their sakes especially if they walk in their steps Fiftly and lastly it is heaven and not the earth It is the kingdom of God and Math. his righteousnesse that Saints will 6. 33. seek after and these things shall bee added unto them And now having thus premised I shall come to mention those Scriptures which do so cleerly demonstrate that which is here asserted and the truth is the Scripture is so pregnant and so full of such passages as it would be very tedious to mention them all and doubtlesse many saints are very well acquainted with them but for satisfaction to others I shall mention some of them and the first shall be that known place in the second Psalme where it is cleerly asserted that all the kingdomes of the world shall in a most eminent manner be subjected to the Lord Jesus Christ and that hee should rule over Kings Princes and Judges which would not obey him with a rod of Iron and break them in pieces like a potters vessell if they cast not their Crownes at his feet and kisse him with the kisse of faith and obedience In the three first verses of that Psalme the Prophet seemes to have in his eye the rage of the heathen and the fury and the madnesse of the Kings of the earth at that time when God shall set up the kingdom of Jesus Christ over the whole world as if that as soon as they see preparation unto such a thing that their spirits should be presently inraged and they their Kings and rulers especially should set their whole strength consultations and counsels against the effecting hereof as being being resolved not to suffer it and therefore when they see that God is setting up of his Christ or anointed they say among themselves Come let us break their bonds and cast away their cords from us But alas poore wormes what doe they He that sit in the heavens shall laugh saies the Psalmist * vers 4 5 6. The Lord shall have them in derision Yea he shall speake unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure when they shall so doe and notwithstanding hee will set his King upon his holy hill of Sion and shall give him the heathen for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession some of which being pertinacious and obstinate opposers he shall breake with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potters vessell And therefore the spirit exhorts all those Kings Rulers and Judges of the earth to bee wise and receive this instruction even to kisse the Sonne and and to serve the Lord with fear and rejoyce with trembling lest the Sonne bee angry and they perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little But for the comfort of others who long to see that day of the King the Lord Christ his exaltation hee addes Blessed are all they that wait for him Thus this Scripture fully concurres with the present Text in asserting this thing That all the Kingdomes of the world shall bee subjected to the Lord Jesus Christ and as it s said here that all dominions or as the word may be more rightly rendred all Rulers must serve and obey him so the same is cleerly declared in this Prophesie of the Psalmist also The next Scripture which I shall quote for the clearing of this point shall be that in the 110 Psalme which is also very full to this purpose for there the Psalmist speakes of a time when the Lord Jesus Christ there stiled a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedeck should be set up and exalted above all the Kings and Potentates of the world and when he should rule in the midst of his enemies and should have his enemies made his footstoole and should judge among the heathen and wound the heathen and wound the heads over many Countries and fill them with the dead bodies and his people should be willing in that day of his power so that hence it is cleare also that there is a time coming when Jesus Christ shall have the Kingdomes of the world subjected to him And because it is and will be so that when he comes thus to rule and raigne that many people but especially the great ones Kings Princes Rulers and Heads of Kingdomes shall endeavour to oppose the Lord Jesus in so doing therefore it is said here that he shall strike through Kings in the day of his wrath and wound the heads over many Countries The third Scripture which I shall cite for the confirming of this truth shall be that in the 149 Psalme a place already mentioned upon another occasion where it is said That the Lord taketh pleasure in his people and he will beautifie the meek with salvation and that the high praises of God shall be in their mouths and a two-edged sword in their hands to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people to bind their Kings in Chaines and their Nobles in Fetters of Iron to execute upon them the Judgement written This honour have all his Saints Now true it is that almost hitherto since the Primitive times the Saints have been as it were trodden under feet of the Gentiles that is of heathen or profane men and they have trampled upon them and sorely afflicted them For they have both imprisoned them and chain'd fetter'd and whipt and cropt and mangled and rackt and burnt them what not For all the cruelties that wit sharpened with malice could either invent or inflict have the meek the precious ones of God undergone at the hands of their cruell raging enemies BUT here they have a promise that the Lord who taketh pleasure in his people will at last beautifie the meek with salvation And what shall the issue thereof be It shall be this That whereas for thus long time
a time when the saints must bee so lifted up out of the dust as they must be the top and the head of all Nations and whatsoever Kingdome and Nation will not serve them must perish which yet hath not been accomplished the Kings and Princes of the Nations bringing in their treasures to Sion the redeemed of the Lord. And as full to this purpose also is that passage Esa 65. 8 9 c. Thus saith the Lord As the new wine is found in the cluster and one saies destroy it not for a blessing is in it so will I doe for my servants sake that I may not destroy them all and I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountaines and mine elect shall inherit it and my servants shall dwel there and Sharon shall bee a fold of flockes and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie downe in for my people that have sought me But ye are they that forsake the Lord that forget my holy mountaine Therefore thus saith the Lord behold my servants shall eate but ye shall be hungry my servants shall drink but yee shall be thirsty Behold my servants shall rejoyce but yee shall bee ashamed behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart but yee shall cry for sorrow of heart and shall howle for vexation of spirit and yee shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen For the Lord God shall slay thee and shall call his servants by another name that he who blesseth himselfe in the earth shall blesse himselfe in the God of truth and hee that sweareth in the earth shall sweare by the God of truth because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hid from mine eyes For behold I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into minde but be you glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy and I will rejoyce in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying There shall bee no more thence an infant of daies nor an old man that hath not filled his daies for the child shall die an hundred yeeres old but the sinner being an hundred yeeres old shall be accursed and they shall build houses and inhabite them and plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them They shall not build and another inhabit they shall not plant and another eate for as the daies of a tree are the daies of my people and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands They shall not labour in vaine nor bring forth for trouble for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their off-spring with them and it shall come to passe that before they call I will answer and whiles they are yet speaking I wil heare The Woolfe and the Lambe shall feed together and the Lion shall eate straw like the Bullock and dust shall bee the Serpents meate they shall not hurt nor destroie in all my holy Mountaine saith the Lord. This Scripture also fully concurres with the former in clearing this truth most sweetly holding forth that Christ who was to come of the seed of Jacob and of the tribe of Judah and his Saints here stil'd Gods elect shall inherit the Mountaines or Kingdomes of this world which are the Lords verse 12. And that when that time comes the saints former afflictions and sorrow shall be so done away as they shall be as forgotten and hid from their eyes verses 16. 19. And to make them joyfull yea full of joy they shall have all the good things that their hearts can wish for For first they shall be filled with the spirit and blesse themselves or see themselves blessed in the God of truth and the Lord will rejoyce in them and joy in his people verses 16 19. And secondly all their prayers shall bee speedily heard and answered ver 24. And thirdly as they shall bee the blessed of the Lord so shall their of-spring be also that so their joyes may be without mixtures of sorrow ver 23. And fourthly they shall inhabit the houses which they build and eate the fruite of the vineyards which they shall plant none shall take them from them but they shall long enjoy the work of their hands and they shall have abundance of flockes and herds and eate and drink and rejoyce in the Lord and sing for joy of heart verses 10 13 14 21 22. And fifthly they shall live till they come to a good old age and be blessed verses 20 22. And sixthly no ravenous or hurtfull or devouring creature shall then do any hurt to man or beast verse 25. And because the condition of the Saints shall be so happy and the Kingdomes of the world shall be put into such a new posture and be so changed from what they were therefore the spirit of God here calls them new heavens and a new earth ver 17. and the holy Mountaines of the Lord verses 9 25. for so they will bee when these things are accomplished and the confusions and combustions and oppressions and troubles that were in the old frame of the world shall be forgotten verses 16 17. Againe This is also cleared Jer. 30. 16 c. and 31. 1 2 c. in these words They that devoure thee shall be devoured and all thine adversaries every one of them shall go into Captivity and they that spoile thee shall be spoiled And ye shall be my people and I will be your God behold the whilewind of the Lord goeth forth with fury a continuing whirlewind it shall fall with paine upon the head of the wicked and the fierce anger of the Lord shall not returne untill he have done it and untill he have performed the intents of his heart in the latter daies ye shall consider it at the same time saith the Lord will I be the God of all the Families of Israel and they shall be my people Againe I will build thee and thou shalt be built a virgin of of Israel thou shalt againe be adorned with thy tabrets and go forth in the dances of them that make merry For thus saith the Lord sing with gladnesse for Jacob and shout among the chiefe of the Nations publish ye praise ye and say O Lord save thy people the remnant of Israel Heare the word of the Lord O ye Nations and declare it in the Isles afar off and say he that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepheard doth his flock therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Sion and shall flow together to the goodnesse of the Lord for wheat and for wine and for oyle and for the young of the flocke and their soule shall be as a watered garden and they shall not sorrow any more at all
then shall the virgin rejoyce in the dance both young men and old together for I will turne their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoyce from their sorrow Though these words do more particularly and peculiarly concerne the seed of Abraham after the flesh or the naturall Israelites who shall againe be received into the love and favour of God which shall be to them and others as life from the dead Ezek. 37. 5. Rev. 11. 15. and be pardoned and cleansed from all their sins Ezek. 36. and become very glorious yet in generall do they also concerne all the Saints and people of God and must be applied to them and whereas they have for many hundred of yeares been oppressed and devoured and spoyled and as captives imprisoned and afflicted the Lord here assures them that they that thus dealt with them shall be devoured and spoyled and captivated and destroyed themselves and that his fury and fierce anger that hath been so provoked by the unjust malicious and cruell dealings of those wicked ones with his own deare precious and beloved people shall go forth like a whirlewind and fall with paine with a witnesse upon the head of those wicked ones and not returne untill he have performed the intents of his heart and this must be in the latter daies And is this all God will then do for his people to avenge them upon their enemies and to bring down their power and pride No this is not all but at the same time will he lift up his people and build them and gather them and make them glorious and fill them with joy and rejoycing and turn their mourning into joy so that they shall not sorrow any more at all Thus this Scripture also speakes the same truth with the rest foregoing and by all these is this truth sufficiently confirmed And though I am sure that multitudes of faithfull and judicious ones are fully acquainted with these truths yet knowing that some yet are not and that those that are will be rather delighted than wearied by taking a review of these Scriptures compared together and considering the wilfulnesse of some in shuting their eyes against the light breaking forth both from the word and works of God in clearing these things I shall therefore add some other Scriptures in which this is further manifested and the next shall be thaâ— Dan. 2. 37 38. and so on where Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzars dreame declares that after the foure Monarchs the Golden the Silver the Brasse and the Iron Monarchs have been set up in the world and continued their appointed times that then the God of heaven shall set up another Kingdom which shall as a stone cut out of the Mountaines without hands break in peeces this last Monarch of Iron and clay and stone and shall it selfe become a great mountaine and fill the whole earth and this Kingdom shall never be destroyed nor be left to other people but it shall stand for ever This is that Kingdome that Christ and his Saints must possesse whose rise and beginning may seem small but as a little stone cut out of the mountain and that without hands without the help of the strength and power of the Kings and great ones of the earth and yet this seeming small rising of Christ and his Saints shall be hard enough and potent enough to break in peeces the Roman Iron legs that last and worst Beast and to make the Iron and the Clay and the Brass and the Silver the Gold to be as the chaffe that is carried away of the wind and this is undoubtedly that which is now a doing Another confirmation of this we have Joel 3. 1 3 c. For behold in those daies and at that time when I shall bring again the Captivity of Judah and Jerusalem I will gather all Nations and wil bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat and I will plead with them there Proclaime yee this among the Gentiles prepare war wake up the mighty men let all the men of war draw neer let them come up beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hookes into speares Let the weak say I am strong assemble your selves and come all yee Heathen and gather your selves together round about put yee in the sickle for the harvest is ripe get ye downe for the presse is full for the wickednesse is great multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the Lord is neer in the valley of decision The Lord also shall roar out of Sion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the Heavens and the Earth shall shake but the Lord wil bee the hope of his people and the strength of the Children of Israel So shall yee know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Sion And it shall come to passe in that day that the Mountaines shall drop downe new Wine and the Hils shall flow with milke and all the Rivers of Judah shall flow with waters and a Fountaine shall come forth of the house of the Lord and shall water the Valley of Shittim In these words here is a very great war proclaimed for what end To bring againe the Captivity of Gods people ver 1. or to inlarge and set them at liberty and bring them out of all their troubles and to this end the Lord saies that hee will plead with all Nations that have afflicted his people ver 2. And being determined to shew forth his great power and glory and his tender love to his people he proclaims a War and summons all the Nations to gather themselves together and to prepare for War and to awaken all their mighty men all their most puissant and valiant men of War and to make the greatest provision of men and ammunition that 't is possible for them to make To that end to beat their instruments of Husbandry into instruments of War and to gather together the greatest strength imaginable and when they have done this then will he sit to judge the heathen and thither cause his mighty ones to come to bee as a sickle to cut downe this ripe harvest of wicked men whose wickednesse is great and then by destroying their multitudes to decide the controversie between them and his owne people which shall be an occasion of calling the place where it is done the valley of decision for there the Lord will marvellously shew himselfe to the causing of the whole earth to shake but to the joy and consolation of his people for he will then be their hope and their strength and then it shall be knowne that the Lord dwelleth in Sion and they shall abundantly enjoy the blessings of the Lord and bee delivered from all their troubles for evermore Another Scripture which speakes of these same times though it doe not so fully declare particulars is that in Act. 3. 19 20. c. Where Peter speaking unto the Jews charges this upon them that they had denied the
saints I say not that they shall never any more make war against the Saints in these three Nations nor in France nor Spaine or Portugall or Germany or any of the other Kingdomes or any part of the world but this I say they shal never any more overcome them in war They shall no more tread them under feet for it was but * Rev. 13. 5 7. 1260. years that the Beast was to make war against the Saints so as to overcome them and that time is expired and in this ye are 1645. did it come to a period at the expiration whereof the Lord appeared in his glory and raised up his Saints out of their low condition and gave them to overcome their enemies and to go on by Jesus Christ their great Lord Generall conquering and to conquer causing them to tread downe strength to overcome the little Horne giving him into their hands causing them to do justice upon him and his Associates and to overcome all that rise up against them This hath already been done and now to describe what is to succeed as the Scripture declares it thus and now must they go on hence-forward to get victory over the Beast Of the overcomming of the ten Kings And as the Lord Jesus hath by his Saints already begun with that little Horne who came up in the room of three of the ten Kings so he will go on to overcome all the ten Kings as appeares Rev. 17. where at the 14. ver it is said that the ten kings while they were under the Beast should make war with the Lambe and this we know they did for as the Beast made war with the Lambe and with his saints so did the ten Kings also they gave up their power and strength unto him but what followes They shall make war with the Lambe and the Lambe shall overcome them But here it may be questioned how the Lambe shall overcome them And in what way And by what meanes To which I answer * The meanes by which the Lambe will overcome the ten Kings That as they are making war with the Lambe for in making war with his saints they do make war with the Lambe the Lambe shall overcome them we know how the late King made war with the Lambe and how the Lambe overcame him we see now how the King of Scots is making war with the Lamb and how the Lambe is overcoming him and so when the rest of the Kings shall make war with the Lambe shall the Lamb overcome them that is plainly thus the Lamb shall overcome the ten Kings that make war with him in his Saints by being in and among and with the Armies of his Saints subduing their enemies before them and as this is cleere by what he hath already done so also is it cleare in this very Scripture that speakes of the Lambe his overcomming of them thus And they shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithfull where it is clear that when the ten Kings make war with the Lambe and that he being Lord of Lords and King of Kings overcomes them that his servants that are called and chosen and faithfull attend him and are his instruments in this businesse else why are they said to be with him when he doth that worke But it cleerly implies that by the Armies of his saints he doth it as in the 19. of the Revelation it is said that when he commeth to destroy the Beast and that in righteousnesse he doth judge and make war that in that war also the armies in heaven or of his saints followed him so that the Lord Jesus is the great Lord Generall that goeth forth to overcome the ten Kings and his saints his choice called and faithfull ones are the Armies that follow him The lawfulness of fighting against the enemies of Christ with the materiall sword cleared But some may here object or say is it lawfull or warrantable for saints under the Gospell to fight upon such an account Doth not the Gospell require them to live peaceably and not to avenge their own quarrell but to suffer patiently the wrongs done unto them and whosoever smites them on the one cheeke to turne to him the other also and to blesse them that curse them and to do good to them that dispitefully use them and persecute them and are not saints appointed to a suffering condition in this world now under the Gospell especially and saith not the Apostle that he who would live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution and seeing these things are so how can it be lawfull for saints to fight to maintaine their own peace and to preserve themselves from suffering at the hands of those that would persecute them and do them wrong To which I answer first that it is indeed true that saints should be meek and peaceable and suffer wrongs and do good for evill in their own private cases they are not to avenge themselves and I beleeve they will not but rather than render evill for evill will do good for evill but yet withall we are to consider that this is as true that those saints that are Magistrates are indispensibly bound to do justice upon evill doers * Rom. 13. 4 5. and that those saints which are subjects are to be subject to those Magistrates in all just commands and this being not denied as it cannot be denied then it follows that if a Godly Magistrate hath some that are evill doers under him as that are the eves or robbers or murtherers or the like it is his duty to do justice upon them for he is appointed of God for that end to be an encouragement to them that do well and for the punishment of evill doers that justice may take place and that he suffer none of his people under him to be injured or wronged that would live peaceably and Godly and if such a Magistrate should neglect to do his duty in this case it would be his sin and he would not answer the end for which he is ordained of God This being so then if the case be so as that an Army of injurious men should rise up either within the territories of good Magistrates or without thus to rob and spoile and kill their subjects they are to command such of their subjects as they think fit to suppresse those evill doers and if possibly they can to prevent them from injuring and wronging and spoyling those people whom they are to protect and their subjects ought to obey them in these their just commands for it is the duty of godly people to obey their superiours in all lawfull things and now these things may be done by Magistrates and people now under the Gospell and yet they may inviolably observe those rules in respect to their own private cases of suffering patiently the wrongs
be preached to all nations how that when the Lambe had overcome the ten Kings that then before the ruine of Rome the Gospell should be universally Preached unto all Nations and this is cleer Rev. 14. In the five first verses of that Chapter we have a declaration of Jesus Christ his standing upon mount Sion his appearing for to own his people and of his peoples being gathered unto him which are described to be pure and undefiled and redeemed ones to God and to the Lord Jesus and they are said to be the first fruits and to follow the Lambe wheresoever he goeth implying that they are the first of those that were called to waite upon the Lambe in the services that he hath to do for them in order to the setting up of his Kingdome They were brought in to him before the everlasting Gospel was generally preached and before the fall of Babylon They were the first fruits Now who are these first fruits that now stand upon mount Sion with the Lamb and follow him whithersoever he goeth Doubtlesse those whom he hath now called forth to follow him and those that he will call out of the rest of the ten Kingdomes Well what follows In the 6 7 and 8. verses And I saw an Angell flye in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospell to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice feare God and give glory to him for the houre of his judgement is come and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountaines of waters and there followed another Angell saying Babylon is fallen is fallen that great City c. Here we see that before the fall of Babylon and yet after the first fruits are come in to the Lambe the Gospell must be preached to all Nations and doubtlesse glorious and wonderfull will be the proceedings of Jesus Christ in the world now that he hath begun to take the Kingdomes and Dominions thereof into his possession he hath done great things in some Kingdomes already and he will do the like in others shortly and will powre out his spirit withall upon them and so cause the light to appeare unto them as shall effectually discover unto them the basenesse the viciousnesse the filthinesse and the abominablenesse of the cursed Doctrines of the Beast and the whore and cause them to loath them and to publish and manifest their dislike and hatred of them to all the world and with much zeale and fervency of spirit will all such as shall bee enlightened and thereunto qualified preach and publish the cleare truths of the Gospell in opposition to the false Doctrines of Antichrist in all parts of the world and unto all nations discovering also unto them the glad tidings of the Gospell to the saving of their soules and the turning of them from Idols and vanities to serve the true and living God Of the Jews Conversion ANd by this meanes way will be made for the bringing in of the Jewes who are at this day earnestly expecting of and waiting for the comming of the Messias Christ the anointed to bee their King their Saviour and their Prophet But before the ten Kings doe hate the Whore and before they manifest to all the world a detestation of her they cannot come in but then shall the everlasting Gospell be preached to all Nations Jewes and Gentiles and a spirit of zeale for Christ will bee then upon the Saints so as they shall not bee able to withhold from preaching the Gospel more generally in all the world But if now any faithfull and able Minister of the new Covenant which is the Ministration of life and the Ministration of the Spirit should goe and preach Jesus Christ unto the Jewes and publish glad tidings to them and tell them that the Messias is come and that Jesus Christ is he who will bee their King and Lord and Prophet and Saviour and will save them from all their sinnes if they beleeve in him and that he will restore all things to them and do glorious things for them alas they would scarce now say of such Blessed is hee that commeth in the Name of the Lord and why because they cannot beleeve that the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we beleeve and rejoyce and glory and who is our light and life and peace and joy and strength and all in all is indeed the Messias and the Saviour of all the ends of the earth as we know and beleeve he is and why cannot they beleeve it because that great Whore the City of Rome who pretends to have power over all that are called Christians is such a filthy abominable hatefull strumpet such a mother of harlots and abominations * What is the present let of the Iewes cunversion Whereas the Jewes keep close to the Old Testament and to the Law contained therein which is holy just and good And they know and are assured in the Old Testament that when the Messias comes hee will turne away ungodlinesse from Jacob he will cleanse them from all their corruptions and all their waies that are not good and that they that are his shall be a holy people a people taught of God and therefore they cannot beleeve him to be the true Messias whom such polluted openly profane and impudently filthy creatures as the Romanists are professe to bee their Saviour For besides many others there are five things especially which the Jews take offence at in the practises of that cursed crew as First their worshipping of Images and statues and crosses and crucifixes and such like trumpery Secondly their loathsome hatefull and excessive giving up of themselves unto uncleane lusts tolerating and allowing themselves and others in them as in fornication adultery sodomie and beastiality practises which the very heathen abhor and yet these abominable sins the Popes Cardinals Bishops and Priests and others of all ranks are frequent in the practice of granting liberty to all that are under their jurisdictions to live in the practice of them if they do but purchase a pardon with mony from the Pope for them Thirdly frequent murthers teaching it to be no sin to murther an Hereticke and tolerating such as are murtherers Fourthly Their tolerating of drunkenness and oaths Fifthly Their allowing of sorcery and witchcraft most of their Priests being sorcerers For these things especially but for many others also are the Jewes offended and cannot beleeve him to be the true Messias that shall be the Saviour of such prophane persons for they are assured that such persons cannot be the people of God They know that Adulterers and Idolaters and Sorcerers and Murtherers and Swearers and Lyers shall not enter into the Kingdome of God None shall come into his holy * Ps 15. 1 2. and 24. 2 3. Hill saies David but such as have cleane hands and a pure heart and this they know and therefore do
destroyed and the manner how it shall be is this When these things we have spoken of shall be thus done viz. When the ten Kings are overcome and do yield obedience to the Lamb and the Gospel is universally preached and Jews and Gentiles are abundantly converted to Christ and Rome is ruined the Pope being then turned out of Rome and he with his Cardinals Bishops and Jesuits being lurking in some other places up and down in the world shall still act like himself and shew himself to be the Beast still retaining his cursed nature continuing in enmity against Christ and his Saints and being so shall resolve not to give all for lost yet though he be thus far prevailed against but shall resolve to make one desperate attempt more against the Saints and to this end shall send abroad his Emissaries unto all the unconverted Kings and great men of the earth whom neither the Gospel of peace nor sword of war hath overcome and shall gather them all together which shall make a very great Army with which they shall think to destroy all the Saints who at this time will be increased to a very great number the Jews and multitudes of the Gentiles being brought in before this last battel but when they are brought in they will meet with opposition from this man of sin and from the rest of the wicked of the world who will not have Christ to raign over them And this Beast I say will gather together all the unconverted Kings of the earth and all their Armies thinking to destroy the Saints Jews and Gentiles but they shall not neither first nor last prevail upon them but they shall be overcome and foiled still so that now at last they shall grow desperate and say as some now do they will now fight for it and they will either win all or lose all for the Beast and the Kings of the earth are gathered together with their Armies of prophane wicked men for none else are with them to make war against Jesus Christ and his Armies of Saints In which last battel wherein the utmost strength of all the enemies of Christ and his Saints shall be united together shall the controversie between the one and the other be decided and the flesh of these Kings and Captains and mighty men of the earth and of all their Armies shall be given to the fowles of the aire and all this more largely appears Rev. 19. 11. 12 c. And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he doth judge and make war his eys were as a flame of fire and on his head were many Crowns and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself And he was clothed with a vesture dipt in blood and his name is called the word of God and the Armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen white and clean And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the Nations and he shall rule them with a rod of Iron and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS And I saw an Angel standing in the Sun and he cryed with a lowd voice saying to all the fowls that flie in the midst of heaven Come and gather your selves together unto the supper of the great God that ye may eat the flesh of Kings and the flesh of Captains and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men both of free and bond both small and great And I saw the Beast and the Kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army And the beast was taken and with him the false Prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the Beast and them that worshipped his image These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sate upon the horse which sword proceeded out of his mouth and all the fowls were filled with their flesh In these words we see is a plain description of two Generals and their Armies and of a battel fought between them and of the success of the battel The description of the great Lord General of the Army of Saints The first General is described by his Name by his Frame and by his Aym. First by his Nanme And he is called faithful and true and his name is called the Word of God and he hath a Name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS And this is the Name and Title of the Lord Jesus Christ alone But secondly He is described also by his Frame and posture in which he is thus He sat upon a white horse Which manifests his purity And his eys were as a flame of fire Which shews the piercing discerning nature of them being the searcher of hearts and trier of the reins And on his head are many Crowns Which shews that all the Crowns of all Kingdomes must be put upon his head who is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS And this is the Frame and posture in which he is But thirdly He is described also by his Aym thus that in righteousness he doth judge and make war He ayms at doing justice making war against the Beast and judging that other Army according to righteousness and that he may so do his Aym is to give them blood to drink and that in righteousness for they are worthy and therefore he is said to be clothed in a vesture dipt in blood and that out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the Nations Out of his mouth it goeth that is he commandeth with the word of his mouth a sharp sword to smite the Nations and this justly And his Aym is to rule the nations with a rod of Iron And this in righteousness and to tread the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God And in all this may it be said unto him Righteous art thou O Lord who hast judged thus The Description of his Army But in the next place we have his Army described thus And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen white and clean Where first we may observe the place where they were and that is heaven which shews that they are armies of the Church that they are Saints for the Church of God is all along the Prophecy of the Book of the Revelation called Heaven Now these Armies that follow this General are the Armies in Heaven the Armies in the Churches of Christ and out of heaven also
had seen him go into Heaven and as Angels then attended him so will Angels much more at his appearing attend him and he shall come with power and great glory Now we know that as the Apostle says of the Resurrection of the body that it 's raised spiritual it 's sown a natural body it 's raised a spiritual body it 's sown in corruption it 's raised in incorruption it 's sown in dishonour it 's raised in glory it 's sown in weakness it 's raised in power So we know was the body of Christ after his resurrection it was not a natural body but a spiritual it was not corruptible but an incorruptible it was not mean nor weak but glorious and powerful and being thus a spiritual body and incorruptible c. it was quick in motion upon a sudden appearing to his Disciples and suddenly gone from them again And it was passable to all places it appears to the Disciples when the dores are shut and asccnds up into the Heavens in their sight These things a natural body cannot do but a spiritual and a glorious can And therefore he is said to come as the lightning that quickly shineth from one end of the Heaven to the other so can the body of Christ when he appeareth quickly pass from one end of the Heaven to another to be visibly seen of all his Saints to their joy but to the terrour of their enemies and so he will come in the clouds and every eye shall see him with power and great glory And as the Scriptures speak thus of Christ in his coming so there are Scriptures which speak of the Saints in their appearing with him As Col. 3. 4. When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall we appear with him in glory Thus the Saints then were fully perswaded of the appearing of Jesus Christ and spake often of it and knew that at his appearing as he should appear in power and great glory so they should appear with him in glory And so again 1 Joh. 3. 2. Beloved now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is And so again Phil. 3. 20 21. For our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself Thus in this manner shall the Saints that come with him appear with him in glory and their bodies being raised shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body And now I shall conclude all that I have said touching this glorious appearing of Christ on earth and the Saints raigning with him on earth with that precious Counsel of our blessed Saviour worthy the dayly observation of all Saints as the use which is to be made of all that which is in Scripture spoken of this appearing and kingdom of Jesus Christ which we have Luke 21. 36. Watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and stand before the Son of man Knowing what he hath said Rev. 22. 20. He which testifieth these things saith Surely I come quickly Amen Even so Come Lord Jesus Of the ceasing of wars and the perfect peace and tranquility that shall be enjoyed for a thousand yeers I now proceed in the further description of this new world the new Heavens and the new Earth which is to follow upon that great day we have spoken of And in the next place shall shew how that after this time and during this thousand yeers of the Saints raigning with Christ on earth all wars shall cease All the enemies of the Church being thus gloriously overcome as hath been shewed there shall be no enemy left that shall ever stir so much as to prepare to make war against the Saints any more And this is cleer Micah 4. 3. and Isa 2. 4. Where it is said that in the last days when the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains that then they shall beat their swords into plow-shares and their spears into pruning-hooks Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learn war any more There shall be such peace and tranquility and this peace so firm and they so certain of the abiding of it as that they shall see that they shall have no need of using swords and spears any more And therefore they shall beat these instruments of war which they shall no more use into instruments of husbandry which they then living in peace shall have occasion to use For they shall sow seed and reap it and plant vineyards and drink the fruit thereof And therefore Micah thus expresses the peace they shall have Mic. 4. 4. They shal sit every man under his vine under his fig-tree and none shall make them afraid They shall have no fear of war none shall make them afraid Such peace shall they have And Isa 33. 20. the Prophet speaking of these peaceful times speaks thus Thine eys shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation a tabernacle that shall not be broken down not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken Which fully manifesteth what security or rather what stability there shall be in these times of peace Again Isa 32. 18. the peace of these times is thus exprest And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation and in sure dwellings and in quiet resting places And Isa 60. 17 18. it is further exprest thus In that day saith the Lord to his Sion I will make thy officers peace and thine exactors righteousness violence shall no more be heard in thy land wasting nor destruction within thy borders thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise Thus with full and emphatical expressions is the peace and tranquility of the Church in these times set forth There are many other passages to this purpose but these being sufficient I shall adde no more in this place but proceed Of the binding of Satan for a thousand yeers And the next thing I shall speak of as that which is to be done immediately upon this great day of the overthrow of the Saints enemies and the setling of them in peace shall be this That not onely the external and visible enemies of the Saints shall be subdued and put under the * Mal. 4. feet of Christ and his Saints but that also their internal and invisible enemies shall be chained up for now the Saints wrestle not onely with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers and spiritual wickednesses in high places and now their adversary the devil goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour
but then this adversary of theirs shall have no power to oppose them for this thousand yeers but he shall be bound up for so says the holy Spirit Rev. 20. 1 2 3. And I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold on the dragon that old serpent which is the devil and Satan and bound him a thousand yeers and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand yeers should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed for a little season Here we see that for this thousand yeers after the destruction of the Beast and False Prophet and the Kings of the earth and all other enemies of the Saints that grand enemy of the Saints is laid lowe also even that roaring lion And that ye may be sure 't is he that is thus clapt under hatches he is here set out under those several denominations that the Scripture in several places gives him And first he is stiled the Dragon but lest it should be doubtful what the dragon is it follows that he is that old Serpent and lest this be not plain enough it is further said Which is the devil and Satan Thus this enemy of the Saints is we see to be bound up also and therefore it is said that an angel having a great chain in his hand laid hold of him and bound him for a thousand yeers and he did not onely binde him but cast him into the bottomless pit nay and not onely so but he shut him up in the pit and set a seal upon him importing the doing of it to purpose the doing of it securely that so he might deceive the Nations no more until the thousand yeers were finished Thus is it clear that in this thousand yeers this great enemy of the Saints shall have no power to molest them And this is that which Paul also speaks of Rom. 16. 20. The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly In that the Apostle speaks of the doing of it in the future time as that it shall be done shortly it is clear that he means not that treading down of Satan which was then already done even that which Christ had done upon the Cross when he conquered sin and Satan and so in a sence trod Satan under the feet of his Saints but of a further treading of him under feet which was to be done in future times But yet we have not seen Satan troden any more under feet then he was in the Apostles times for greater was his prevalencie in the midnight of Popery then in the Apostles time it was Therefore this treading under foot of Satan of which Paul speaks is yet to come and doubtless the Apostle speaks of this time when Satan shall be bound up and shut up in the bottomless pit and sealed And when this time is come will this prophecie of Paul be made good The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly And now having thus far described this new world shewing how it shall be setled in peace by the God of peace and that Satan shall be troden under the feet of his Saints I shall now proceed to declare the great and glorious priviledges that shall then and in this kingdom be conferred upon the Saints And they may be referred to two Heads 1. Spiritual and internal 2. Outward and external Of the spiritual priviledges and prerogatives that Saints shall then enjoy And first I shall speak of the spiritual priviledges and blessings which the Saints shall then enjoy for therein shall be their greatest joy and glory and without which the other sort of blessings would be rather hurtful then profitable to them Now the fountain of all their spiritual advantages and priviledges will consist in the abundant pouring out of the Spirit upon them of which I shall first speak and then of the particular effects and benefits of it And of this abundant pouring out of the Spirit the Scripture speaks plentifully in several places as Isa 44. 3. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine off-spring Thus abundantly will the Spirit be poured out as he here promises that he will pour it out by floods it shall not be by drops or by small streams but by floods shall it be poured out upon those that are dry and thirsty But how do some Saints now thirst after these waters of life being as dry and parched ground for want of it But alas they have but now and then some drops or at most some small streams of it that doth a little refresh them and quicken them But where is the soul that hath those floods of the Spirit yet poured upon it How do the best of Saints complain for want hereof But the time is coming when they shall have no cause to complain for they shall have floods of the Spirit poured out upon them And this is the time which is also spoken of Isai 32. 15. when the Spirit shall be poured out from on high and the wilderness shall be a fruitful field and the fruitful field be counted for a forest Here the holy Ghost says that at this time the Spirit shall be so abundantly poured out upon the Saints as that those that were lookt upon as a wilderness for barrenness shall now become a fruitful field and those that were formerly a fruitful field should be accounted as a forest in comparison of the fruitful fields that shall then be Again Joel 2. 28. And it shall come to pass that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesie your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit This prophecie is clearly a prophecie of this time for it is expresly said that this shall come to pass in that time when the Lord will plead with all Nations for the controversies which his Sion hath against them which now he will do in these later days and which never yet hath been so fully done as he then will do And he says that when he doth this his people shall never be ashamed any more which time is yet to come therefore this promise hath not yet been fulfilled Besides it 's clear that this promise was never yet fulfilled for when was ever this promise in the fulness in the altitude and latitude fulfilled When was the Spirit poured upon all flesh When was the Spirit generally poured out Was it ever poured out upon all flesh The greater number of people may indeed receive the denomination of All the people but the least number of people as one of an hundred or
shall be seen upon thee And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and kings to the brightness of thy rising And v. 19 20. The sun shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightness shall the moon give light to thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory Thy sun shall no more go down neither shall thy moon withdraw it self for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended How glorious shall the Church be when thus the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon them in such fulness It is true there is in every true Saint and hath been in the darkest times of Popery in the times of their greatest weakness and darkness some true glory But how hath it been besmeared and eclipsed with their weaknesses and corruptions that have appeared in them But now the Spirit shall be poured so abundantly upon them as they shall arise and shine Now the Sun and Moon shall be no more their light those means and appointments wherein formerly they received light and saw some brightness they shall now be no lights comparatively for being compared with those full pourings out of the Spirit that they shall then have and those immediate inlightnings they shall then receive from God they shall be no lights and be of no use unto them because the Lord will be their everlasting light and their God their glory And it being so their Sun shall no more go down nor their Moon withdraw its self and the days of their mourning shall be ended They shall no more have a midnight of Popery overspreading them nor no more be burthened and bowed down by corruptions nor no more be afflicted by their enemies Their mourning dark days are past away and they shall live in joy light and glory for ever But thus having spoken in the general of the happy condition in which the Saints shall be in regard of the fulness of the Spirit which shall be poured out upon them I shall now proceed to the particular effects which the Spirit shall then work in them as the Scripture declares that the Saints in these days shall be filled with the Spirit 1 By which they shall be filled with knowledge 2 By which they shall be in an humble frame 3 By which they shall be filled with love 4 By which they shall be filled with a holy filial fear 5 By which they shall be enabled to worship the Lord acceptably 6 By which they shall be all united 7 By which they shall be enabled to act justly and righteously 8 By which they shall be put into a meek and sweet frame 9 By which the weak shall be made strong 10 By which they shall be enabled to speak a pure language 11 By which their minds and affections shall be raised and made heavenly 12 By which their wills shall be swallowed up in the will of God 13 By which they shall walk in the integrity and singleness of their hearts 14 By which they shall be enabled to mortifie all corruptions 15 By which they shall appear very glorious in the eyes of all 16 By which they shall be enabled to make a holy use of all the creatures And 17 By which they shall abundantly be filled with divine joy I shall begin with the first That the Saints having an abundant measure of the Spirit shall then be filled with knowledg * How Saints shall be fil'd with knowledge And this appears cleerly in that known place Isa 11. 9 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea This whole chapter is a cleer Prophecie of this time when there shall be new Heavens and a new earth and an universal rectitude shall appear in all the world as appears in that chapter Then shall knowledge abound in the world the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. It is not said With humane knowledge but that knowledge which is infinitely transcendent unto all humane knowledge the knowledge of the Lord yea so full of divine light and knowledge shall they then be as they shall have no cause to complain that they have but little and they want more for if the Sea may be said to want waters then may they complain but they shall have no cause for they shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea in this day when Jesus Christ and his Saints shall gloriously reign on earth And then in a most eminent manner shall that part of the new Covenant be made good which saith they shall no more teach every man his neighbour saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them saith the Lord Jer. 31. 34. Though it is true that in a sence this is now made good to the Saints for the least of Saints hath a true knowledge of God though but in a weak degree but then most eminently shall this promise be made good Again Isai 54. 13. in which Chapter the Lord makes many glorious promises of what he will do for his people in this time wherein he will put more glory upon them then ever he hath yet done At the thirteenth verse it's said And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children Thus with an abundant measure of divine knowledge shall Saints be filled in that time But secondly being thus filled with the Spirit they shall be thereby made fully sensible of their own unworthiness and so walk humbly * That Saints shall be in an humble frame in those times before the Lord. For when they shall consider in that time what great and glorious things God hath done for them how he hath magnified his grace to them in giving of them full deliverance and times of peace and joy for all their times of sorrow and doubling their joys for their sorrow as Isai 61. 7. so as they never underwent so many sorrows but they shall partake of double joys and that everlastingly and when they shall consider that all this is from free love and tender mercy to an unworthy people it will put them into a very humble posture And this is clear Ezek. 16. 60 61 c. where the Lord having promised that notwithstanding all the unworthinesses of his people which are there enumerated yet he will do glorious things for them but he tells them that when he doth so for them that then they shall be ashamed of their ways and remember them and be confounded and never open their mouth any more because of their shame when he is pacified toward them The consideration of the grace of God to such as were unworthy shall so melt and humble their hearts before him the Spirit being abundantly in them as they shall never be lifted up in the pride of their hearts
it and the Lamb is the light thereof They shall then have no need of those men that shine as the Sun and Moon to the Church to inlighten others no but then as I have said They shall be all immediately taught of God and they shall not need to teach one another saying Know the Lord but the glory of the Lord and the Lamb shall lighten them And thus as far as I have been enabled and the Scripture giving clear testimony have I answered that Question What Ordinances shall be used at that time and how shall Saints then worship God I proceed Sixthly The Saints being filled with the Spirit they shall then be enabled to worship the Lord with one * The Saints shall then all worship the Lord in one way minde and one heart and in one way It shall not be then as now in these dark times it is wherein one is of this minde and another of that minde and a third of a third minde about several parts of the Ordinances of God and these divisions in Opinion rest not there onely but make divisions in Affection also But then it shall not be so and therefore we finde mention made but of one street in the New Jerusalem Rev. 22. 2. implying that they shall all walk in one way And Zeph. 3. 9. the Lord says that he will turn unto the people a pure language that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord and serve him with one shoulder And this appears also in that fore-mentioned place Zech. 8. 20 21. where it is said that the inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts I will go also Yea many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts Where it is clear that all people in all Cities and Nations shall be of one minde in the Worship of God And Jer. 32. 39. the Lord there says that in that time he will give his people one heart and one way And seventhly The Saints being thus in that time abundantly filled with the Spirit all * Justice and righteousness shall flourish in those days just and righteous things shall be done by them And this is clear Isai 60. 18. Violence shall no more be heard within thy land nor wasting nor destruction within thy borders Though there hath been violence in the Land formerly yet then there shall be no more but vers 21. Thy people shall be all righteous they shall inherit the land for ever the branch of my planting that I may be glorified And so full of the spirit of judgement and righteousness shall the Saints then be as it is said Isai 32. 16. that judgement shall dwell in the wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field In the verse before it is said that the Spirit shall be so poured out as that those that had been as a barren wilderness should now become as a fruitful field and in this verse it is said that in all whether they were such as had been a wilderness or such as had been a fruitful field judgement and righteousness should dwell And to this same purpose is that Isai 1. 26 27. Afterward thou shalt be called the citie of righteousness the faithful citie The like is said of it Jer. 31. 23. They shall use this speech of thee The Lord bless thee O habitation of justice and mountain of holiness How full are these expressions shewing how glorious for holiness this new world shall be And for this cause it is that when these new heavens and new earth are promised they are distinguished from the old or former heavens and earth by this character WHEREIN DWELLETH RIGHTEOVSNESS Thus the Saints in these times shall be so full of righteousness and judgement as they shall receive their very denomination from it And as it is said of the Lord God Almighty that his Name is holy so is it said of them They shall be called The city of righteousness the faithful city the habitation of justice the mountain of holiness so gloriously shall they then shine in righteousness and justice Eighthly By this abundant pouring out of the Spirit upon the Saints in that time they shall be put into a very * The meekness of the Saints in those days meek and sweet frame of spirit In Psal 149. which is a place I have already cited shewing that it is a Prophesie of these times at vers 4. it is said that the Lord will beautifie the meek with salvation whereby it is clear that they shall be meek spirits that shall then be beautified with salvation that shall be members of that kingdom And indeed it must needs be so for their Saviour is so they do learn and shall learn of him to be meek and sweet and lowly in in their hearts and carriages but not so but as that this meekness shall be consistent with courage stoutness and valour also when God calls them to exercise it And therefore as our Saviour is a Lamb and a Lion so they shall be as meek as * How a Lamb-like and a Lion-like nature may be consistent Lambs and yet as bold as Lions and not fear to do the work about which they are set as appears vers 6. 7. where it is said They shall have the high praises of God in their mouthes and a two-edged sword in their hands to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people to binde their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron Thus meek and sweet in spirit shall the Saints be and withal full of life and courage Again that the Saints shall be full of meekness at that time appears by that speech of our blessed Saviour Matth. 5. 5. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth Now the Saints could never be said so fully to have this promise made good to them as they shall in that time for many of the Saints in a sence never inherited the earth And as their Saviour spake of himself in the days of his humiliation so may it be said of them in these days of their humiliation That they have not many of them where to lay their heads And for the most part wicked men have possest the earth but many of them never had any inheritance in it And I am perswaded that our Saviour had this time in his eye when he said Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth So that though yet this promise was never fully made good yet there is a time coming wherein it shall be clearly and fully made good And of this time also speaks David when he says Psal 37. 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth shal delight themselvs in the abundance of peace He had said in the two former verses that evil doers should be cut off and that though the wicked did flourish for a
is an evil to come into a fashion after it hath been some time used if it be sober No I say not so for I know no Scripture that so says But I say that it becometh Saints to be more composed then others and not to be so forward as others in minding such vanities and not to put themselves into immodest habits but to do what in them lies to restrain the exorbitances of the times in such things And this I say That they do discover that they have very little of the Spirit that are not able to deny themselves not sometimes in very fooleries in this kinde Not but that rich apparel may be worn and comely ornaments may be used Holy women * Gen. 24. 22 30 47. have been and may be adorned with Bracelets and Rings and Jewels But fooleries and immodest apparel c. must be avoided and when the Spirit is more abundantly poured out it will be so And they will be very regardless of these vanities and be more grave composed and discreet in their carriages For then in all their clothing furniture and necessary utensils shall appear not vanity but Holiness to the Lord. They shall be so clothed and have such furniture as shall manifest that they are not a vain people but a holy people As appears Zech. 14. 20 21. For they shall make an holy use of all the blessings which God shall multiply upon them They shall no more abuse them but they shall be sanctified to their uses so as all shall have this inscription upon them in respect of their holy use of them HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD Thus Saints shall not minde vanity in these times But shall have their Spirits raised and lifted up into an heavenly and holy frame Again twelfthly Another effect of this more abundant pouring out of the Spirit upon the Saints will be this that they shall be more fully centred in the will of God and it shall be their resting place his * How Saints shall will the will of God Will will be their Will and be the satisfaction of their spirits This the Spirit always works in the hearts of the Saints where he comes and the more of the Spirit a Saint hath the more of this appears in him But in those times we are speaking of when the Spirit shall be thus gloriously seen upon the Saints then in a most eminent and full manner shall this appear in them all the will of God shall be sweet unto them And this is intimated in that excellent pattern of Prayer which our Lord and Saviour hath communicated unto his people in these words Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Where our Lord would have us to pray for the coming of this his Kingdom and for the doing of his will on earth as it is done in heaven which will be when that his Kingdom cometh For though now many know their Lords will and do it not yet it shall not be so then but knowing his will they shall do it and delight in the doing of it for his will is their will and theirs it is because it his so that they shall all pray and say Thy will be done and shall have strength to do it His will shall be done in earth as it is in heaven in that day Again in the thirteenth place The Saints in this time being filled with the Spirit shall * Saints shall then walk in the integriâ—y and singleness of heart all walk in the uprightness of their hearts Integrity and singleness of heart shall appear in them and hypocrisie and double-mindedness shall be loathsome to them and be utterly contrary to their natures They are children that will not lye and none but such shall be inheritors of this kingdom as appears Psal 24. 4. where the Psalmist says that none shall enter into this holy hill but he that hath clean hands and a pure heart who hath not lift up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully And so also Psal 15. 2. the Psalmist again saith that he that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousnesses and speaketh the truth in his heart shall dwell in it So that such and none but such shall possess this Kingdom And Psal 37. 18. this is again confirmed The Lord knoweth saith the Psalmist the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be for ever they shall possess this inheritance And of the upright ones is it said Isai 33. 15. that they shall dwell on high and shall see the King in his beauty This is their Character They that walk in righteousnesses and speak uprightnesses v. 15. And in the fourteenth place The Spirit being thus abundantly poured out upon the Saints they shall thereby be enabled to mortifie all corruption so that it shall not at * Corruption shall not at all break out in the Saints then all break out in them for though it be true that all that is born of the flesh is flesh and those that are in the state of mortality shall carry flesh about them yet they being all new born shall be then so filled with the Spirit as that they shall mortifie all the deeds of the body and the Spirit alone shall live and act and sway and bear rule in them and they being born of God shall not sin but shall hate every false way and not suffer the least evil motion to take place for indeed it is not possible it should they being so full of the Spirit for Saints do experiment this now that when the Spirit in the power and life and glory of it doth abide in them as some tastes of it some Saints sometimes have O then not the least evil motion will take place in their hearts there is an utter antipathy in their spirits at that time to every thing that is not pure But when this is withdrawn then they are often foiled with temptations and vanity hath too much place with them until a fresh supply of the Spirit come and mortifie it But when the Spirit shall be so abundantly poured out upon the Saints as the Scripture declares What a wide difference will there be between their condition now and their estates then Then shall they always walk up and down in the strength and power of the Spirit and never want its presence and then it shall be their continual delight to walk in the paths of holiness and nothing will be more irksome and more loathsome to them then any sin or sinful thought And though by the first Adam sin came into the world so that all are born sinners yet being new born the second Adam shall save them from all sin and that not onely from the guilt of sin but sprinkle clean water upon them pour out the waters of the holy Spirit upon them and they shall be clean from all the filth of sin in a more eminent and glorious manner then ever they have been so that corruption
them in deceiving of them as he did Eve that he will it's likely perswade them to believe that they shall by their power overcome the Saints and as he perswaded Eve to believe that in eating the forbidden fruit they should be as gods knowing good and evil so he will perswade these that in making war they shall overcome the Saints though Jesus Christ be with them Thus this old deceiver and lyer shall deceive the unconverted miserable people among the Nations of the world who during all the time of the thousand yeers will be quiet and never dare to attempt any such thing and yet then they shall gather togetner against the Saints and think to overcome them but when they shall attempt to do it the Saints shall then have no need of swords nor spears to defend themselves against that brunt that one assault for the text says Fire shall come down from God out of heaven and devour all these wicked men Thus is declared what will be done after Satan is loosed and what his reward for this work shall be is declared vers 10. And the devil that deceived the nations was cast alive into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever And now comes to be declared what shall follow immediately upon this and that follows in vers 11 12 13 14 15. And I saw a great white throne and him that sate upon it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them And I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire This is the second death and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire In these verses is declared that immediately upon the ruining of all the wicked of the Nations the last and general day of judgement is to follow When comes the Resurrection of all both just and unjust I say the last and general day of judgement and resurrection of all for in this twentieth chapter of the Revelation it is cleer that here is a mention made of two Resurrections and the one to be a thousand yeers before the other and the first is treated of in the 4 5 and 6 verses and is there called the FIRST RESURRECTION and the second is laid down in these verses where it is said that the Heavens and the earth are then to be annihilated to flie away at the presence of the Lord who upon his white throne of righteousness after these thousand yeers are finished is to appear and to judge all the dead small and great who are to stand before him being all raised out of the Graves and out of the Sea and all places where the dead have been laid and to be judged righteously according to the Gospel and according to their works and they being so judged it will follow that whosoever is not found written in the book of life shall be cast into a lake of fire And this general day of judgement here treated of is also treated of in several other Scriptures as in Mat. 25. 31 32 c. Where our Saviour thus describes it and says that in that day he shall 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 shepherd divideth his Sheep from the Goats and he shall set the Sheep on his right hand but the Goats on the left Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was c. And then shall he say also unto them on the left hand Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels for c. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternal Thus in this Scripture is this general day of the final judging of all spoken of also wherein to every one is to be rendred according to his works Again another Scripture to this purpose is that in the first of the Corinthians at the fifteenth chapter where Paul more largely discourses of the doctrine of the Resurrection in some particulars of it then it is any where else in Scripture treated of where in the first part of the chapter he makes it his work to prove the certainty of the Resurrection of the body against those Pharisaical spirits that denyed it And having proved the Resurrection by many undenyable and unanswerable Arguments he comes to declare at the twenty third verse and so on in what order the Resurrection shall be he having before said that all shall be raised But says he it shall be every man in his own order Christ the first fruits and afterward they that are Christs at his coming Here is the Order of the Resurrection Christ the first fruits Well Christ was to be raised first in order of time and that was done already Christ was raised when the Apostle writ this Epistle But who are to be raised next The Apostle tells us It must be they that are Christs And when must they be raised The Apostle answers At his coming Afterward they that are Christs at his coming This is the first Resurrection wherein the Saints must at the coming of Christ be raised to reign with him spoken of Revel 20. 4. But then the general Resurrection and the last great day he speaks of in vers 24. 25. and 28. Where he says Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet the last enemie that shall be destroyed is death And when all things shall be subdued unto him then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all Here he declares that Jesus Christ being come and having received his kingdome and his Saints being raised at his coming to reign with him that after his coming and reigning and ruling and putting all enemies under his feet and death it self Then cometh the end when he shall deliver up the kingdom to his father and the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all That is there shall be a cessation of the
is their General said to come ver 11. But it is no wonder for he always walks in the midst of his golden Candlesticks his Witnesses his Saints his Churches Rev. 1. 13. But again these Armies in Heaven are said to follow their General upon white horses As he is upon a white horse which shews his purity so also are they upon white horses which shews their purity For he hath put his own Frame and Spirit upon them which further appears in that they are also said to be clothed in fine linen white and clean which also imports purity and undefiledness And thus we have the Description of the Lord General and his Army on the one side On the other side The chief among them is called the Beast which shews his unworthy filthy beastly nature and with him are the Kings of the earth they are not of heaven but of the earth and of the earth they may be said to be in opposition to the heavenly nature of those whom they oppose And for the Armies that are under them they are said to be Their Armies implying that they were earthly corrupt Armies because they did belong to those that were of the earth And this is all the description that we have in this place of the other General and his Army Now these being thus described It is said that the Beast and the Kings of the earth and their Armies were gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse and against his Army It seems they have hopes to overcome him and his Army because they gather together against them The event of the Battel But what is the event of the battel The Beast and his Army are overcome and the Beast and the false Prophet is that with him are taken What this false Prophet is is doutful for there is no mention made of him before this at least not under this Title * The false Prophet not in all the book of the Revelation but it may be it is some new sort of deceiver which he will make use of to deceive the Nations by false miracles when he draws them to ingage in this battel But whether so or no whatever he be when this battel is sought the Beast and the false Prophet that wrought miracles before him are both taken and of them is it said That they particularly were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimston and the remnant are slain with the sword and their flesh is given to the fowls of the aire even the flesh of Kings and Captains and mighty men c. And this is the success of this battel or the event of it as far forth as it is in this place spoken of But because the day of the battel is to be such a great and terrible day to wicked men being that great and terrible day of the Lord so much spoken of by all the holy Prophets and Apostles and Saints of God which day is represented unto us in such a dreadful terrible and glorious manner as if it were the General day of judgement but that it is cleered not to be that day by the declarations of the things that must follow it which are laid down in the several Scriptures which speak of this day I say seeing it is represented unto us in a dreadful and wonderful manner and since so many wonders shall be shewn at that that time and so much of the glory and majesty of God shall then be seen and such strange changes shall then be made in the world I say these things being so wonderful and so glorious I shall be the larger in giving the description of this day from several other Scriptures Thus Of the great day of the Lord. This day is that great day which is called the day of the Lords vengeance and the year of recompences for the controversies of Sion Mentioned Isa 34. 8. That day of which he speaks when he says The day of vengeance is in my heart and the yeer of my redeemed is come Isa 63. 4. For though it be true that he hath already begun to take vengeance upon his and his peoples enemies and to plead the cause of his people and though he hath begun to recompence his wrath upon these enemies for the controversies his Sion hath against them yet the compleatment hereof is reserved unto that day which of all days shall be the most terrible to wicked men because it shall utterly overthrow them and they shall not escape nor avoid it for then he will tread them in his anger and trample them in his fury yea they shall be troden in the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God And their blood shall be sprinkled upon his Garments and he will stain all his rayment As Isa 63. 3. But who shall live when God doth this was Balaams expression when he spake of the ruine of several Nations Numb 24. 23. for let all wicked men look to it when this day comes for to them it will be very terrible For this is the day which is spoken of Isa 66. 15. For behold the Lord will come with fire and with Chariots like a whirl-wind to render his anger with fury and his rebukes with flames of fire for by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many How terrible will this day be when the Lord shall thus plead with all flesh by fire and sword and render his anger with fury and his rebukes with flames of fire Who shall live when God doth this It is answered by the Prophet in the same Chapter that at the same time The hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants and his indignation toward his enemies and their hearts shall rejoyce and their bones shall flourish like an herb They shall be so far from being quailed or discouraged or amated or terrified when this terrible day comes as they shall then flourish most and be most joyful at heart Again this day is spoken of Joel 3. 9 10. where the Lord summons all the Gentiles to gather together and make themselves as strong as they can for war and says that when they are gathered together round about in ver 11. that thither he will cause his mighty ones to come down at v. 12. That there he will sit to judge all the heathen round about then declares that the Sickle shal be put in to cut down this harvest of wicked men for the wickedness is great and that multitudes shall be cut down when the Lord shall thus judge these men and decide the controversies of his people for which cause it shall be called The valley of decision And then vers 16. The Lord shall roar out of Sion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth shall shake This is that once more wherein he will shake not the earth onely but the heavens