the onely occasion of their sorrow by whose mourning this Prophecie is to be fulfill'd And our Saviour himselfe also hath foretold Matth. 24. at the 30. ver that this mourning is to be fulfill'd at his next appearing his words are Then shall appeare the signe of the Sonne of man in Heaven and then shall all the Tribes of the earth mourne and they shall see the Sonne of man comming in the n Act. 1. v. 11. clouds of Heaven with power and great glory Whom then shall wee believe our Saviour and the Prophet or you For what though the Iewes which shall mourne for him so long after his suffering did not in their owne persons either pierce or see him pierced yet as Levi is said to pay tithes in the loynes of his Father Abraham so these are said to have done what their Fathers did and Mr. Brightman in his exposition of the 7. ver of the first chap. of the Rev. understands that too of the accomplishment of these words of Zech. which he expounds almost in the same termes as I have done pag. 16. 17. of his Rev. of the Apocalyps Israel's Redemption And what comparison is there betwixt the griefe of a few fearfull and scattered Disciples for a day or two and the solemne mourning of all Iudah and Jerusalem and that to every Family apart and their wives apart As therefore this Prophecie doth concerne the Jewes onely and chiefly the Tribes that crucified their Saviour so doubtlesse it shall then receive its accomplishment when God at their generall conversion shall poure upon them the Spirit of grace and supplications Zech. 12. v. 10. that so they may at once obtaine the forgivenesse of their sinnes and thus lament their forefathers malicious and cruell contrivance and their owne hereditary and wilfull approbation of the death of Christ who shall then descend unto them to restore their Kingdome and to reigne over all the earth as it is in the 14. chap. of the same Prophet at the 5. and 9. ver c. Mr. Petrie's Answer It is said ver 11. There shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem and ver 12. and the Land shall mourne every Fâ—mily apart c. whereby is intimated a distinction of the mourning in respect of place and as they did mourne at Jerusalem publikely so we may easily conceive that these who had resorted at these publick Feasts unto Jerusalem did likewise mourne apart after their returning and were not contented with one dayes mourning all facts that are credible are not written And therefore this Prophecie doth concerne the Jewes but not onely seeing even the Gentiles may be said to have pierced his sides by their sinnes meritoriously and to looke on him by faith and mourne for their guiltinesse c. and chiefly the persons that crucified their Saviour So doubtlesse it is great impudence to affirme that the same Prophet chap. 14.5 and 9. ver saith Christ shall descend unto the Jewes to restore their Kingdome for there is not one word of restoring nor of the Jewes Kingdome in these two verses Reply As in the preceding answer you have applied the accomplishment of Zech. words ch 12. ver 10. to the Jewes converted by St. Peters first Sermon so in this you endeavour to parallel their mourning with the great and solemne mourning so largely exprest in the following verses of the same Prophecie For it is said ver the 11. There shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem c. and ver 12. The Land shall mourne everie Familie apart c. whereby is intimated say you a distinction of the mourning in respect of place and as they did mourne at Jerusalem publickly so wee may easily conceive that these who had resorted at these publick Feasts unto Jerusalem did likewise mourne apart after their returning all facts that are very credible are not written And therefore on the contrary you have written here what is not credible For is it credible that the mourning of 3000. is any way comparable to the solemne and universall mourning of all Judah and Jerusalem for Josiah 2 Chron. 35. ver 24 25. to which the mourning in this Prophecie is compared Or is it credible that any of these Jewes who resorted unto Jerusalem out of so many Countries as are rehearst Acts 2. ver 9 10 11. were of the Families of David and Nathan when as the Tribe of Judah wat not then carryed into captivitie by the Romans And if they mourned after their returne into their severall Countries into Mesopotamia Cappadocia Pontus and Asia c. this was out of the Land whereas the mourning the Prophet foreshewes is to be fulfill'd onely in Lerusalem and in the land of Iudea and it is to be observed by men and their wives apart and what circumstance is there in the 2. chap. of the Acts from which you can gather that any of the 3000. you speake of were women yea it is to be observ'd by all the Families of the Jewes that remaine that is that are living at the accomplishment of this Prophecie and therefore the repentance of these 3000. could not possibly be the mourning here spoken of by the Prophet You say next that this Prophecit doth concerne the Jewes and chiefly the persons that crucified their Saviour but not onely seeing even the Gentiles c. And did you not tell us even now that you give no other interpretation of the Prophecies then is chiefly intended How then can you say here that this Prophecie is chiefly meant of the Jewes in a proper sense and yet meant also of the Gentiles in a figurative sense is not this to give another sense besides that which is chiefly intended and doe you thinke that both these senses are intended if so how shall we know certainly which is chiefly intended Surely to affirme that the Holy Ghost doth intend a double sense in these Prophecies is no small errour seeing it makes God to have as it were a heart and a heart to be I say as a double dealer who speakes one thing and meanes another and shall we conceit thus of God God forbid Yea let God be true and every man a lyar as truth then is but one so doubtlesse there can be but one true sense of any place in the Scripture but one sense intended by God and thefore to make the Scripture Janus-like to looke two wayes is from man and not from God and it is the readiest way that I know to foment division amongst men But there is yet the heaviest charge behinde for it is great impudence you say to affirme that Zech. chap. 14. ver 5. and 9. saith Christ shall descend unto the Jewes to restore their Kindome for there is not one word of restoring or of the Jewes Kingdome in these two verses And yet his descending and reigning over all the earth is expresly foretold in these two verses and shall he come to be King over all the earth and yet not
Jewes did enquire and search diligently will inferre this conclusion Therefore at the redemption of their bodies at the perfecting of their salvation through the revelation of Jesus Christ they shall not reigne with Christ on earth Israel's Redemption And here we may call to minde too our Saviours words to Iames and Iohn when they requested that one might sit on his right hand and the other on his left in his Kingdome To sit on my right hand and on my left said he is not mine to give but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father Mr. Petrie's answer We may call to mind too his words ye know not what you aske Matth. 20.22 and the words of the Evangelist ver 24. When the ten heard it they were moved with indignation against the brethren Which words shew that howbeit Christ had spoken of his Kingdome yet at that time Iames and Iohn were both ignorant and ambitious Reply You tell us here that we may call to mind too our Saviours reprehensive words Matth. 20.22 and the Evangelists words ver 24. touching the indignation of the ten against the brethren But surely it is best to call to mind the truth which as it is plainly taught in our Saviours direct answer ver 23. so it is necessarily implyed in the other disciples indignation who doubtlesse would rather have marvelled at the strangenesse of their suite then have been any whit offended with them for it had they sought that which no man should at any time enjoy And therefore although you may charge the two brethren with ambition for seeking to be preferred above the other disciples and with an erroneous conceit touching our Saviours unlimited choise of the persons that should sit at his right and left hand yet you cannot charge them with ignorance touching the subject and matter of their request to wit that there were such places to be had which they aimed at Israel's Redemption Which saying as it doth shew that our Saviour had before acquainted the Apostles of his Kingdome so it intimates that his Kingdome is to be held on earth where onely this may be fulfilled for in heaven it cannot be done unlesse we will grant that other men shall be as highly exalted there as our Saviour is to wit to the right hand of God Mr. Petrie's Answer 1. Albeit never one shall sit on his right hand nor his left yet nothing in these words is for this purpose seeing he saith not there that any shall sit but onely To sit on my right hand is not mine to give 2. Matth. 19.28 he speakes of sitting on the Throne of his glory which must be in heaven seeing he speakes absolutely his glory and his glory is greater in heaven then can be on an earthly Throne And he saith unto his Disciples When he shall sit on that Throne ye who have followed me in the regeneration shall sit upon twelve thrones And may not some of these thrones be on his right hand and some on his left hand I enquire not now what these thrones may be but there ye see multitude of thrones in glory as Kings in their State may have thrones for their greatest Peeres Reply 1. Doubtlesse if never one shall sit on Christs right hand nor his left there can be nothing in our Saviours answer to prove this for no scripture doth teach that that shall be done which is never to be done But how shall we know whether any shall sit at his right hand and his left but from scripture And if the scripture is to be sole Iudge in this case as indeed it is our Saviours answer is an unquestionable evidence to prove this For he saith not onely as you answer for him It is not mine to give but he saith It is not mine to give but to them for whom it is prepared of my Father What! were the places on his right hand and on his left then prepared of his Father to be given by him to some and yet can you say that never one shall sit on his right hand nor his left and that nothing in these words is for this purpose Alas that of all Gentiles a Christian of all Christians a scholar of all scholars a Divine should so wilfully and presumptuously beare false witnesse against Christ himselfe 2. 'T is true that Matth. 19.28 our Saviour speakes of sitting on the Throne of his glory and that he said unto his Disciples when he should sit on that Throne they also should sit not on multitude of Thrones but on twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel And therefore that Throne of his glory is not to be in heaven as you say but on earth as we say seeing neither our Saviour nor the Disciples shall judge any in heaven And we willingly grant that some of these Thrones are to be on his right hand and some on his left And therefore we say also thâ—t they cannot be in heaven because then some of the disciples if not all should be as highly exalted there as our Saviour to wit to the right hand of God Which is a dignity that no creature but the Sonne of man shall have Israel's Redemption Which is a Prerogative peculiar to the Sonne alone a preheminence I say which the chiefest of the Angels never enjoyed For to which of the Angels said he at any time Sit on my right hand untill I make thine enemies thy footstoole Heb. 1.13 Mr. Petrie's Answer Christ sitting on a Throne sits on the right hand of God but to speake absolutely To sit on a Throne in heaven is not to sit on the right hand of God no more then any Prince is advanced to the right hand of a King albeit be sit on a Throne and inferiour to the King and his eldest Sonne Reply 'T is true that Christ sits on a Throne in heaven as he himselfe saith Rev. 3 21. and t is true likewise that he sits on the right hand of God as the Apostle saith Heb. 1.13 and chap. 10. ver 12. but it is not true that I have said To sit on a Throne is to sit at the right hand of God And therefore this instance as it is alledged by you being a meere perverting of my words you answer your selfe not me And yet your answer is but a bundle of superfluous words For who knows not that to sit on a Throne onely is one thing and to sit on a Throne at the right hand of a King is another thing and therefore that though to sit on a Throne onely be not to be advanced to the right hand of a K ng yet to sit on a Throne or out of a Throne at the right hand of a King is to be advanced to the right hand of a King As Bathsheba was to the right hand of her sonne Solomon 1 King 2.19 Israel's Redemption And the same Apostles words in 2 Tim. 4. may not be forgotten I charge thee saith he before
and greatnesse of the Kingdome under the whole Heaven may be possest by the people of the Saints of the most High That is as the former prophecies doe expound it by the i people of Israel Psal 148.14 And this as I thinke is the time of which he spake these words Verely verely I say unto you k Ioh. 1.51 Heb. 1.6 Hereafer shall ye see heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the l sonne of man Mr. Petrie's Answer That these words shal be fulfilled or have been fulfilled it is most certaine and it is as certaine that they shall never be fulfilled in the proper acceptation of the words seeing the body of Christ is not so tall as that 〈◊〉 shall reach from heaven to earth for this cause some as Cyril on this place have expâ—ned unto for upon in this sense as if the Heavens were open the Angels shâ—ll come downe and ascend unto my Service So doth Chrysostome apply these words to the Angels ministring unto Christ in time of his passion and resurrection Others thinke it to be an exposi ion of that vision of Iacob Gen. 28. whereby was signified that Christ is the Mediatour making way betwixt heaven and earth Col. 1.10 And these expositions for the matter doe agree with other Scriptures Reply It seemes by your first words that you are doubtfull of the accomplishment of this prophecy for that it shall be fulfilled or hath been fulfilled it is most certaine you say And your next assertion that it shall never he fulfilled in the proper acceptation of the words doth appaâ—ently contradict that which followes for by and by after you tell us that Cyril hath exponed it as if the heavens were open the Angels shall come downe and ascend unto my Service and that Chrysostome doâ—h apply it to the Angel ministring unto Christ in time of his passion and resurrection And is not this a proper exposition of the prophecy then shew us one more proper And doubtlesse it is to be understood as Cyril understands it of the Angels ministring to our Saviour But yet we beleeve not that it was fulfilled when in his agony there appeared an Angel unto him strengthening him Luke 22.43 and much lesse when after his resurrection and Angel appeared at his sepulchre Matth. 28 2. For it is evident that when this prophâ—cy shall be fulfilled they that are in our Saviours presence shall as plainely see heaven open 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the starry firmament part asunder and the Angels ascending from and descending â—o him as they shall see each other as plainely I say as Saint Stephen looking stedfastly into heaven saw 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the heavens open and the Sonne of man standing on the right hand of God Acts 7.55 56. And as Saint John Baptist saw the heavens opened unto Christ and the Spirit of God descending liâ—e a dove and lighting upon him Matth. 3.16 And Saint Paul assures uâ— Heb. 1.6 That when God againe bringeth in the first begotten into the world he sayth And let all the Angels of God worship him And to what time then can our Saviours Hereafter can this visible attendance of the Angels on him belong but to the time of his next appearing of his comming againe into the world the time and place of which God hath said that all the Angels of God shall doe homage unto him And besides it is more then probable that the Evangelist would as well have recorded the accomplishment as the prediction of this thing if he had knowne of the fulfilling of it But the acute reason of your denying the proper sense of the prophecy is yet behinde and may well remaine to posterity as the wonder of your worke and the monument of your wit For the Angels you say shall not ascend and descend upon the Sonne of man seeing the body of Christ is not so tall as that it shall reach from heaven to earth Doubtlesse a very tall proofe and yet it comes short of the marke you aime at For surely the proper acceptation of the prophecy as it depends not on so it is not proved but infallibly disproved by the proper acceptation of the word upon which preposition having relation onely to the participle descending the full expression had been thus ascending from and descending upon or unto which is meant by upon in this place And which the originall word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth as well signifie as upon and might have been here so exprest as well as it it is Luke 10.6 and chap. 19. ver 5. and in other places had there been any likelihood of a modesâ— Christians misunderstanding of this prophecy by reason of the word upon However the learned had need beware that in translating the scriptures they follow not the common liberty of speech in the smalest word when as the wilfull are so ready to make it an occasion of venting their vaine conceits Israel's Redemption For that this may be fulfilled it is requisite that he be on earth whither these messengers may descend unto him and from whence againe they may ascend which argues too his continuance here for a greater space of time then the judgement of the dead requites Mr. Petrie's Answer A poore proofe for as it is requisite that he be on earth whither that these messengers may descend unto hint so I may say it is requisite that he be in heaven whence they may descend on him and whither they may ascend to him and so taking the words in that sense they may be fulfilled albeit he never were on earth even as they may be fulfilled when he is on earth and not in heaven but according to the first exposition he was on earth when they were fulfilled farre lesse it his â—ominuance on earth necessary for these words Reply A poore proofe you say And surely were it not much more powerfull then the answer it were poore indeed For may you say as well from the order of our Saviours words That it is requisite he be in heaven whence the Angels may descend from him and ascend to him as we may that it is requisite he be on earth whence they may ascend from him and descend to him Certainely nothing can be said more direct against the truth For such a conclusion doth necessarily change and pervert our Saviours words into this contrary forme Hereafter ye shall see heaven open and the Angels ascending to and descending from the Sonne of man Whereas our Saviour said ascending and descending to the Sonne of man which necessarily proves that he is not to be in heaven at the accomplishment thereof seeing he must be the terminus a quo the person from whom and not to whom the Angels shall ascend and the terminus ad quem the person to whom and not from whom they shall descend And therefore taking these words no otherwise then our Saviour spake them they may be fulfilled on earth as we say but
meant is nothing to the purpose and wee have answered you in that already more then wee need have done unlesse you had named plainly what other Kingdom they spake of and stood to that onely 2. What you give with one hand you plucke backe with the other In the former part of this answer you say that it was likely the Apostles understood of the true Kingdom of Israel as Christ did and yet here you tell us that it was not unlikely that before Christ's ascension they might be miscaried with that opinion of the Jewish Monarchy What and yet when they askt the Question understand it too of the true Kingdom of Israel which you by opposing this part of your answer to the former doe take to be a different Kingdom from this surely it is a plaine contradiction for they could not understand it both waies at the same time And therefore impossible it was that they could and could not meane an earthly Kingdom when they askt the Question But Romae Tibur amas veniosus Tibure Romain you say and unsay because you know not what to say And as for the instance you bring to confirme this part of your answer to wit the Apostles not beleeving for a time the calling of the Gentiles it hath been already shewed to be false And if by the words as Christ did in the former part of this answer you meane his reply to the theife which you have quoted before it hath been shewed already too that it could not be meant of this Kingdom but if by these words you meane otherwise you should have told us what it was Israel's Redemption A second reason which makes me disi ast the censure here cast on our Apostles is because our Saviour's answer is alledged as a sufficient ground tor it whereas it will appeare even to a weake judgement that by his answer the Apostles opinion is as much established as their curiosity is reprehended for they askt whether he would at that time restore againe the Kingdom to Israel To which he answered It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in his owne power As if he should have said it is enough for you to know that such a thing shal be done and by whom but as for the time when it shall be done this the Father hath put in his owne power and therefore ought not to be enquired of by you nor to be reveal'd by me This is the whole meaning of the reply and now give you your verdict whether you finde the Apostles hereby condemned for holding of an untruth or rather for an over curious affection to acquaint themselves with the very day in which they should behold the glorious accomplishment of so great a blessing Mr. Petrie's Answer This cause is a mistaking as if the Question were granted for albeit they did meane so yet Christ's words have nothing of that point but â—nely taxeth the disciples of their curiosity and therefore the paraphrase following in this reason is vaine Reply This cause is no mistaking for the Question must needs be granted and that even because Christ's words have nothing expressely of that point unlesse you will be so irreverent as to think that Christ who reprehended them onely for a curious desire to know when this thing should be would not much rather have reprehended them for misunderstanding of the thing it selfe if it should not have been Yea doubtlesse if it should not have been he could not have said It is not for you to know the times and the seasons Seeing that which shall never be can have no time nor season And thus while you grant that Christ did reprehend their curiosity in seeking to know the time when Israel should be restor'd and yet deny that he did therein grant Israel should be restor'd you make him say that there should be a time for that which should never be and so in effect put the ly upon him So much have you over-shot your selfe in denying that the subject in the Question is granted because our Saviour doth expresly say nothing of it And besides if the Question be an untruth and so nothing meant by it then what doth our Saviour's answer meane doth that meane nothing likewise you will not say it for you tell us that it taxed their curiosity and therefore surely it meant something for an answer that meanes nothing doth taxe nothing And therfore also the Apostles meant something that was true for that knowledge is not curious which thinks it knows something when it knows nothing or which knows the truth but that which would know more then it ought to know touching some truths And thus it appears that the paraphrase in this reason which you have cunningly conceal'd from the readers sight is not vaine but valid Israel's Redemption Another reason which makes for our Apostles is the answer our Saviour gave the sonnes of Zebedee when they besought him that one might sit on his right hand and the other on his left in his Kingdom or as Saint Marke paraphraseth it Mat. 20.21 22. ch 10.37 in his glory ye know not said he what ye aske this reproofe you will grant goes neerer to the quicke then that before used to the Apostles and yet if you marke what follows you shal find that the matter of their petition is allow'd of and onely the motives thereof condemned to wit their ambition in seeking the highest roome and their unadvisednesse in supposing that Christ could then give that to any which none could have but they for whom it was from all eternity prepared of his Father And therfore seeing this is all Mat. 20.23 that these two were rebuk't for by such a sharpe reply how can wee mistrust that more then this should be included in a milder answer Mr. Petrie's Answer 1. These two spake of Christ's Kingdom in his glory and therefore we may justly thinke that they meaned of his greatest glory or of his Kingdom of Heaven and not of an earthly Kingdom 2. If Christ in his answer had spoken of an earthly Kingdom how was it not in his power to choose his Princes in that Kingdom and seeing they weâ—â— only taxed for their ambition and unadvisednesse concerning the glorio as Kingdom of Christ and the Apostles were taxed for their curiosity concerning the particular time of that Kingdom how shall we mistrust that they understood any other Kinngdom Reply 1. Not this reason nor any other was brought to shew what Kingdom the Apostles meant which interpreters grant to be an earthly Kingdom but to shew they did not thinke amisse in looking for such a Kingdom which is that that interpreters doe accuse them of and that because our Saviour gave them such an answer from which answer my foregoing reason doth shew that no such harsh conclusion doth arise seeing the Apostles are not excepted against by our Saviour for not rightly understanding that about which they
no certaine dwelling place And labour working with our owne hands being reviled wee blesse being persecuted we suffer it Being defamed we intreate we are made as the filth of the world and are the off-scouring of all things unto this day I write not these things to shame yâ—u but as my beloved sonnes I warne you 2 TIM 2. v. 12. If we suffer we shall also reigne with him REV. 5. V. 10. And hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall reigne on earth DANIEL 12. v. 6 7. How long shall it be to the end of these wonders And I heard c. Therefore so is the end of the wonders when all these things shall be fulfilled that is to say when the resurrection shall be the glory of the Saints shall shine the glory of the teachers shall be chiefest and all other things brought to perfection whereby Christs Kingdome shall have the preheminence over all which things if any man judge to be meant of the internall Kingdome already obtained he destroyeth the Prophecy which is specially conversant in foretelling things which shall be accomplished being proper to certaine places and times and not alike common to all whereof what observation or prediction or admiration can there be as is of these things which in the former verse are called wonders Mr. Thomas Brightman in his Exposition of the last and most difficult part of Dan. Prophecie pag. 954. on the 7. ver of the 12. chap. ISRAELS REDEMPTION REDEEMED The SECOND PART Israels Redemption CHAP. 1. That Christ shall reigne personally on Earth prov'd necessary consequence THat our Mediatour hath undergone the Offices of a Priest and Prophet the Gospel is our witnesse but considering that the Jewes are yet to receive a Kingdome a Kingdome in which they shall hold them captives whose captives they are Isai 14. ver 1 2 3. and in which peace and righteousnesse shall flourish on the earth considering this I say we may justly doubt whether our Saviour hath as yet executed the office of a King and so much the rather because he tooke our nature upon him as well to performe his Kingly office therein amongst us as either his Priestly or Propheticall the glory of this being indeed the reward of that contempt and torment which he suffered in the others and though it cannot be denyed That he hath already a Col. 2. v. 15. spoyled Principalities and powers that is the evill spirits and hath made a shew of them openly triumphing over them in his Crosse nor that he is b Ephes 4.8 ascended up on high and hath led captivity captive and given gifts unto mâ—n Noâ— that he is become the c Col. 2.10 Head of all Principality and power that is of the Saints and holy Angels and is d Heb. 1. v. 3. chap. 8. v. 1. chap. 10. v. 12. chap. 12. v. 2. set downe at the right hand of the Throne of God so that he is e Phil. 3. v. 21. able even to subdue all things unto himselfe Yet that he doth not now reigne in that Kingdome which he shall govern as man and consequently in that of which the Prophets speake his owne words in the third of the Revelation at the one and twentieth verse doe clearely prove To him that overcometh saith he will I grant to sit with mee in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set downe with my Father in his Throne f Heb. 2. v. 8. chap. 10. v. â—2 13. From whence it followes that the Throne which here he calls his owne and which he hath not yet received must needs belong unto him as man because the place where he now sits is the Fathers Throne a Throne in which he hath no proper interest but as God Againe it followes that seeing he is now in his Fathers Throne therefore neither is this the time nor that the place in which his Throne is to be erected Not the place for in one Kingdome there can be but one Throne and not the time for then he should sit in his owne Throne which now he doth not doe Mr. Petrie's Answer He grants that Christ is now a King and that he hath executed the Kingly office but he denyeth that he hath reigned in an earthly Kingdome as mâ—n in all which we agree but we disagree in two particulars First That the Prophets have spoken of such a Kingdome this remaineth as yet to be proved Secondly That he sâ—â— on a Throne in heaven as man If these words as man be understood according to the Logicall acceptation it may be granted for what agreeth unto any man as man belongeth unto all men and indeed it belongeth not unto all men to sit on the Throne of Majesty And neverthelesse Christ sits at the right hand of the Father as God-Man or Mediatour and in this sense we deny this assertion as it seemes this Author takes it Reply What a miscellany of untruth and contradiction is here we need not then enquire what spirit had the guidance of your pen. It is evident enough that it was he who once undertooke to be a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahabs Prophets For that Christ is a King it is unquestionable Where is he that is borne King of the Jewes said the wise men Matth. 2. ver 2. And Saint Matthew and Saint Luke have given us his regall genealogy have registred his princely parentage At his birth then he was a King authoritative as Divines speake The Authority of a King did then of right belong unto him but he was not then nor hath been since a King executive by putting his royall Authority in execution Neither have I said it but the contrary for my words are but considering this we may justly doubt whether he hath as yet executed the office of a King yea that our Saviour as man as the Sonne of David hath not yet executed the office of a King is the very hinge of the difference we are now entring upon for you hold that our Saviours reigning as the Sonne of David is to be fulfilled while he is in heaven where and when he was not to restore the Kingdome to Israel and we hold that his reigning as man as the Sonne of David is to be fulfilled on earth at his next appearing when and where he is to restore the Kingdome to Israel In this then is our disagreement and not our agreement as you report And seeing you affirme that he hath executed his Kingly office for you say though falsely in all which we agree How can you conceive that he doth now reigne when as that which is already done cannot possibly be as yet in doing or to doing It seemes by this therefore that you neither rightly understand what we nor what your owne side doe hold of our Saviours Kingdome and yet as I take it you are the man that uttered this selfe-conceited query Whether doe they understand the differences betwixt Jewes and
over al that he delivers up Yea although you here make Christ to reign only over a part of his Fathers Kingdome and say also That the areh-traytour gain-stands in malice to the honour of the King and his Sonne that Satan still opposeth by deceiving some and vexing others yet you say pag. 7. That Christ is great over all the world seeing all the Gentiles doe prayse him and all people land him And pag. 52. That he hath made all Kingdomes of the world acknowledge his authority and hath put downe all contrary power and authority c. And pag. 58. That now is no Kingdome but our Lords and his Christs And pag. 40. That his enemies are made subject to him even his greatest enemies So contrary are you to the truth and to your selfe Sixthly and lastly you tell us That at the delivering up of our Saviours Kingdome the Father will not say Thy reward is not in heaven therefore let them goe againe into the earth and inherit glory for a 1000 yeares And doubtlâ—sse he will not For when our Saviour shall give up his Kingdome to the Father his owne Kingdome on earth shall be fulfilled And we say that his Kingdome is to beginne at his appearing when none but the Saints then departed shall rise and not at the last judgement when all others shall rise as you to delude the reader doe purposely misunderstand us And so your pretended explication of the whole matter is indeede no other but an intended implication of a plaine truth Israel's Redemption Of this Kingdome also speakes Saint Peter in Acts 3.19 Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sinnes may be blotted out when the o 1 Pet. 1.13 times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord and he shall send Jesus Christ which was before preacht unto you p Luke 19 11 12. c. whom the heavens must receive untill the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy q Rev. 10.7 prophets siâ—ce the world began where if by the times of refreshing and times of restitution of all things nothing else can be meant but the Jowes inhabiâ—ing agâ—ine of their owâ—e land and the bringing of all other Nations into subjection to them with which a blessed and wonderfull change of the creatures shall concurre then it is evident that when Christ comes at this time he shall accomplish this thing to Israel and consequently receive his appointed Kingdome but that these words can have no other meaning a small acquaintance with the Prophets will informe you who as they speake of nothing more so they have nothing which can be applyed to our Saviours second comming as a comfortable effect so generally foreshewne but this Mr. Petrie's Answer I am sure no man can imagine that these words in themselves import that our Saviour shall reigne among the Jewes as an earthly Monarch which is the point pag. 45. And therefore this if by the time c. is as if one would say If I be a King I am a King 2. That the Prophets have another meaning may be seen by all interpreters and partly by that is said here 3. It is wonder if any Jew will say that the Prophets speake of nothing more for if his meaning be They speake not more of any other thing it is questionable seeing there is much spoken of Gods precepts But if he doe meane as it seemes that they speake not of any other thing that can be applyed unto our Saviours comming I will cite one Prophet for all Dan. 2.1 2. Where is mention of the great Prince of great trouble even to the time of deliverance and then awaking of some not for a space of time but to everlasting life and of others at the same time unto shame and everlasting contempt And is not this a more comfortable effect foreshewne generally unto every one that shall be written in the booke Now the cause why the Prophets write so much of Jerusalem and that Kingdom to be restored was That the godly hearing of the destruction of that Kingdome did greatly feare that that Common-wealth should never be restored wherein Christ our Saviour was to be borne and performe the worke of redemption we may justly thinke that their feare was not so much the want of bodily liberty as the not comming of our Saviour and therfore the Prophets insist much upon that point for the comfort of the godly that howsoever that Kingdome shall be ruined yet it shall be restored and all Nations shall by the preaching of Jewes come into the obedience of Christ and so receive lawes from the Jewes as being captives unto them whose captives they might be for a time But to imagine that the faithfull did expect and the Prophets did speake of no other thing but this earthly Monarchy is too grosse and directly contradicting the Apostles bearing another testimony of them Heb. 11.16 They desire a better countrey that is heaven And 1 Pet. 1.9 10. Receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your soules Of which salvation the Prophets have enquired and searched diligently who prophecied of the grace that should came unto you c. Reply 1. If these words in themselves import not that our Saviour shall reigne among the Jewes as a Monarch on earth yet compared with the prophecies to which they doe direct us for an explanation of the times of refreshing and times of restitution of all things â—hey doe certainely import as much And this forme If by the times of refreshing and times of restitution c. the Jewes restoring to and prosperity in their land must needes be meant thâ—n it is evident that when he comes at these times he shall accomplish this unto Israel is not to prove idem per idem the same thing by the same thing as you untruely affirme But this forme If by the times of refreshing c. the Jewes restoring to and prosperity in their land be meant then by the times of refreshing c. the Iewes restoring to and prosperity in their land is meant And your silence touching the meaning of the times of refreshing and the times of restitution of all things doth manifest that you did thus traduce the forme of this argument onâ—ly because you could not gâ—insay the evidence f it You say pag. 23. T at aâ—l interpreters except a few Millenaries have expounded the prophecies touching the Jewes future prosperity in their owne land of the Jewes onely And you say here That all without exception have said that the Prophets have another meaning But surely we have shewed that such interpreters cannot prove what they say Yea seeing it is evident by Saint Peters words here That our Saviour shall not come againe till the times of refreshing c. and that it is as evident by the writings of the Prophets to which the Apostle directs us for an interpretation of these times that nothing appliable
their former distinst titles and governments should hereby be meant Certainely you cannot finde in all the scripture nor in any humane writer such a signification of these words And as for the Christian beleefe it doth not alter the form of civill government in any Nation But be it Democraticall Aristocraticall or Monarchicall it agrees alike with all of them Yea it consisted in the primitive times with the profession of Pagans and doth now consist in the Easterne Churches in the religion of the Mahometans so farre is it in its purity and integrity from teaching us to disturbe the peace of any Kingdome to seeke I say the suppression and removeall of the government or religion thereof by outward violence by the helpe of the sword And therefore it cannot be said of the preaching of the Christian faith that it breakes in peeces and consumes the Kingdomes in which it is profest 3. There was reason you say to expresse the Kingdome of God ver 44. by a thing different from the image because the foure Kingdomes were of one quality and this of another But doubtlesse as the four were no more of one quality then gold silver brasse and iron are all of one quality so though they were all of different qualities from this yet this could not be the reason wherefore the Kingdome of God ver 44. was represented by no part of the image but by a thing different from it For if notwithstanding their different qualities they had been to continue together as you say they might notwithstanding this difference of qualities have been represented together also as well as the contemporating Kingdomes of the divided Empire are by the mixture of iron and clay but the reason was because the setting up of this Kingdome should be the beginning of a new world of a world in which all the Kingdomes on earth should make but one Kingdome under Christ when once the time comprehended by the image should be at an end as it is said ver 35. Then was the iron the clay the brasse the silver and the gold broken in peeces together and became like the chaffe of the Summers threshing-flores and the winde carried them away that no place was found for them And the stone that smote the image became a great mountaine and filled the whole earth And againe ver 44. But it shall breake in peeces and consume all these Kingdomes and it not it with any other but it alone shall stand for ever And that text John 18.36 My Kingdome is not of this world doth helpe also to confirme this for it either points out unto us the time of our Saviours reigne or the authority by which he is to reigne And so is as if he had either said thus My Kingdome is not to be now in the time of this world in the time before my next appearing but hereafter in the time of that world to come spoken of Psal 8. that is at the time of my appearing againe when all creatures shall be actually put in subjection unto me Or thus My Kingdome that is the authority by which I must reigne is not from hence is not to be given unto me of the world that is of men but I am to have it from God I am to fetch it from him and to come againe as it is in the parable Luke 19.11 c. and in this sense the expression agrees very well with that Querie Matth. 21.25 The baptisme of John whence was it from heaven or of men And besides all this the Kingdome of grace of which you understand the Kingdome which the God of heaven should set up ver 44. was set up at the first promise of Christ as you confesse pag. 9. and so was in the world even from the beginning whereas that Kingdome ver 44. was then to come when this vision was revealed to Nebuchadnezzar And if you say that the Kingdome ver 44. did represent the Kingdome of grace as it was to be set up amongst the Gentiles at the preaching of the Gospell to them after our Saviours ascension Surely it was set up thus also before the division of the Romane Empire and therefore it cannot in this sense be the Kingdome meant in ver 44. which was to be set up after the division of the Empire and when some of the Kingdomes into which it was divided should be Christian or rather Protestant Kingdomes as these words ver 43. doe intimate And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men but they shall not cleave one to another even as iron is not mixed with clay And in the dayes of these Kings to wit of these amongst whom some that are Christian or Protestant Princes shall mingle themselves with the seed of men shall joyne themselves in marriage with unbeleeving or misbeleeving Princes shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdome which shall never be destroyed And at the setting up of this Kingdome it is that the contents of Psal 2.8 and of Psal 110.2 c. and of Psal 149.2 c. which agree so well with the breaking of the image in peeces shall be accomplished And if their very expression doth not sufficiently declare that they are properly to be understood yet certainely all the prophecies which foreshew the Gentiles subjection to the Jewes doe render it unquestionable Israel's Redemption And that nought else is meant by the world to come in Heb 2.5 but this Kingdome of our Saviour it is evident by the authority there alledged out of Psal 8. which prophecy is therefore made use of by the Apostle as a plaine proofe that Christs manhood is exalted above the chiefest of the Angels because it shewes that it is to Christ as man and not to any of the Angels that God hath put in subjection the world to come Mr. Petrie's Answer None denyeth it Reply If none denieth that the Kingdome of our Saviour is to be in the time of the world to come why doe you so much condemne us for beleeving this truth and why also doe you affirme flat against this truth that it is now in this present world Israel's Redemption And if there be yet a world which is to be put in subjection to Christ as man then it must needes be a distinct world from that in t 1 Cor. 15.24.28 Rev. 21. â— which as man he shall give up the Kingdome to his Father Mr. Petrie's Answer The Kingdome or the World whereof the Apostle speakes there was then to come not in respect of Christ but of the Apostle for he meaneth the Kingdome of heaven as appeares by these words whereof we speake which have relation to the words preceding ver 3. If we neglect so great salvation where he opponeth the Evangelicall promises unto the typicall promises these was an earthly Canaan and this is heaven Christ at the time of writing this Epistle was in possession of it and the Apostle did then
the beleeving Iew was he not so before Christs incarnation as well as since was he not Abrahams seed before as well as since was he not heire according to the promise before as well as since What hinders then but that the Iewes may notwithstanding this spirituall union and fellowshâ—p with the beleeving Gentiles be as heretofore so at their generall conversion againe advanced above all other Nations by many not onely outward favours and priviledges but by a greater measure of inward gifts and abilities also Israel's Redemption Neiâ—her was the Temple then destroyed but afterwards and therefore the things here spoken of are all to be accomplished at his second comming and that not in heaven but on earth On earth I say and in e Jerusalem where f Davids Throne was For his feete shall stand in that day Isai 33.20 â—hap 50. ver â— 2 3.9 10. Psal 122 5. to wit when he comes or if God himselfe be here by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 figuratively described when he brings him to receive his appointed Kingdome on the Mount of Olives which is before Ierusalem on the East from which Mount our Saviour ascended and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the East and toward the West and there shall be a very great valley and halfe the mountaine shall remove toward the North and halfe of it toward the South And ye shall flâ—e to the valley of the mountaines for the valley of the mountaines shall reach unto Azal yea ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the Earthquake in the dayes of Uzziah King of Judah And the Lord my God shall come and all the g Iu de ver 14 15. Rev. 19.11 12 13 14 15 16. Saints with theâ— And it shall come to passe in that day that the light shall not be cleare nor darke but it shall be one day which shall be knowne to the Lord not day nor night but it shall come to passe that at evening time it shall be light And it shall be in that day that h Psal 46.4 Eze. 47.1 c. Ioel. 3.8 living waters shall goe out from Jerusalem halfe of them toward the former sea and halfe of them toward the hinder sea In Summer and in Winter shall it be and the Loâ—d shall be King over all the earth In that day shall there be one Lord and his Name one All the Land shall be turned as a plaine from Ceba to Rimmon South of Ierusalem and it shall be lifted up and inhabited in her pl ce from Benjamins gate unto the place of the first gate unto the corner gate and from the Tower of Hananiel unto the Kings wine-presses And men shall dwell in it and there shall be no more utter destruction but Ierusalem shall be safely inhabited Zech. 14.4 c. Mr. Petrie's Answer Christ said Destroy this Temple and in three dayes I will raise it up againe Then said the Iewes Forty and sixe yeares was this Temple in building and wilt thou reare it up againe in three dayes but he spake of the Temple of his body saith the Evangelist Iohn 2.19 So the true Temple is Christs body which the Iewes destroyed and he raised it up againe and in this sense the Disciples did beleeve the Scriptures after the resurrection of Christ ver 22. And therefore the things spoken in these Scriptures are accomplished at his first comming not onely in heaven last on earth according to the different portions thereof In heaven and on earth I say and in true Ierusalem and on the true Throne of David for his feete stood in that day to wit when he went to receive the fuller accomplishment of his Kingdome on the Mount of Olives which is by Ierusalem on the East from which also he ascended and the Mount or Olives hath been cloven in the midst thereof toward the East and toward the Wâ—st when not onely the members of the Church but all the world was shaken at the powerfull preaching of the Gospell even more gloriously then at the giving of the Law Heb. 12.26 So that nothing could hinder the course thereof And the Iewes have fled to that valley of the mountaines when they did imbrace the Gospell which is low in worldly mens esteeme and of high esteeme before God And the valley of the mountaines hath reached unto Azal For the preaching of the Gospell hath been an excellent stone marke shewing the righ way as it is exponed 1 Sam. 20.19 on the margine of the late translation to the Kingdome of heaven Yea they have fled like as they did flee from before the earth quake in the dayes of Vzziâ—h King of Iudan to wit they have been astonished at the wonderfulnesse of Gods workes And the Lord hath come And so forth as it followes in Zach. 14. where he shewes the perpetuall light of the glorious Gospell ver 6 7. and the continuall flowing of the wholesome waters in the Kingdome of Christ ver 98. and the removing of all impediments for the security of the elects conversion and salvation You see here that our Saviour came not onely to conquer death which is the last enemy that he shall destroy and therefore not to be destroyed till the last resurrection but also to take the Kingdomes of the world unto himselfe and hath made them all acknowledge his authority and hath put downe all contrary power and authority for all Nations have praised Christ and given laud unto him Rom. 14.9 10.11 That there is one shepheard and one sheepfold that the Dominions Kingdomes and greatnesse of the Kingdomes under the whole Heaven have been possessed by the People and Saints of the most High that is as the Gospell hath exponed it by the faithfull Israel Rom. 14.12 bowbeit all hath not been possessed at the same period of time Reply Was ever scripture more apparently wrested more impertinently alledged Behold saith Zechariah the man whose name is the Branch and he shall grow up out of his place and he shall build the Temple of the Lord even he shall build the Temple of the Lord c. chap. 6. ver 12. This is the prophecy and your interpretation this Christ said Destroy this Temple and in three dayes I will raise it up againe c. John 2.19 And interpretation doubtlesse as wide from the sense of the Prophet as the Iewes apprehension was from the meaning of our Saviours words For shew us where the Temple of the Lord is in all the old Testament which was then all the scripture taken in any other sense then for the house of Gods worship at Ierusalem Or the building of the Temple of the Lord in any other sense then for the building of that Temple Yea looke but into the 14 and 15 verses immediately following and it is unquestionable that the same words are there taken for the Temple of the Lord in Ierusalem And besides seeing the Prophets shew so plainely that our Saviour shall
entrance and end of his reigne and an eternall judgement upon them and all other ungodly sinners at the last resurrection of the dead All which judgements the Prophets doe foreshew to be in the last day and not the last of these onely And therefore our Saviours comming shall not be at the last of these but at the first And whereas you alledge Psal 110. to shew that Christ shall not come till the last judgement it is false that this Psalme doth teach us any such thing for it shewes onely that Christ shall not come till that day in which God hath appointed to make his enemies his footstoole of which day the last judgement is but the last act And it is false also that Christs sitting at the right hand of God is his reigning For the Apostle Saint Paul saith That he sits not there reigning over his enemies but expecting the time in which they shall be made his footstoole Heb. 10.13 that is in which God shall bring him to reigne over them And that which followes in the Psalme doth shew what is to follow Christs comming from the right hand of God and not what is to goe before it as is shewed before Object 5 Fifthly you say That Christs Kingdome is an heavenly Kingdome 2. Tim. 2.17 and the reward of the godly is in heaven Matth. 5.10 11. as our Saviour spake of it and never of an earthly Kingdome unlesse by way of aversation Who made me a Judge saith be Luke 12.14 and the godly have prayed and wished to be with him in the heavens and never prayed to reigne in his earthly Kingdome 2 Cor. 5.1.6 Phil. 1.3 Sol. 5 And we say that the Kingdome of Christ is to be heavenly in condition and no way earthly but in place And that the reward of the godly departed before Christs comming is to be both in heaven and on earth Although the text Matth. 5.10 is meant onely of Christs Kingdome on earth called the Kingdom of heaven partly because of the heavenly constitution thereof but especially because the God of heaven shall mightily manifest his power in the setting of it up and because Christ and the Saints now in heaven shall come from heaven to governe it And we confesse that Christ at his first comming refused to be made a King and to undertake the actions belonging to his Kingly office because that was not the time in which he was to sit on the Throne of David but when he should come againe into the world as hath been plentifully proved And as Saint Peter Acts 2.30 31. doth plainely prove from the prophecy of David Psal 16. That Christs sitting on Davids Throne was not to foregoe but to follow his resurrection And what though the godly living in this world have prayed and desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ in heaven did they not therefore expect and wish to come with him againe from heaven certainely it is notoriously false to affirme that the godly never prayed to reigne in Christs Kingdome on earth For what is it that Christ taught them to aske in these petitions Thy Kingdome come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven and what was it that the sonnes of Zebedee and the penitent theife sought for or what was it that the Elders sang praise to the Lambe for Rev. 5.9 10 was it not because by his death he had purchased for them a Kingdome then to come on earth Object 6 Sixthly you say That God hath raised up Christ from the dead and set him at his right hand in the heavens farre above all principality and power and every name that is named not onely in this world but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his feete and gave him to be the head over all things Eph. 1.20 21 22. Whence it is manifest that seeing our Saviour governeth his Church and all Spirits are subject to him which authority is given unto him and so as God-man his Kingdome is not to beginne as yet Sol. 6 But certainely it is not manifest from hence that Christ doth now governe his Church any otherwise then he did before his incarnation that is outwardly and openly by mortall agents and inwardly and secretly by his Spirit and divine power Neither is it manifest from hence that all things are actually put under his feet or that all things are now thus subject to his manhood For who can better expound the Apostles meaning then the Apostle himselfe who in Heb. 2.9 saith We see Jesus who was made a little lower then the Angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour that is raised from the dead and set at the right hand of God in the heavenly places farre above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not onely in this world but also in that which is to come as it is exprest in Ephe. 1.20 21. But now we see not yet all things put under him saith the Apostle too Heb. 2.8 which words are quite contrary to these And hath put all things under him c. Ephes 1.22 What shall we say then that the Apostle speakes contradictions God forbid For they are put under him in a propheticall sense by a certaine appointment of it which is the meaning of the Apostle in the Ephesians where he speakes as the Prophet doth of what God intends to doe as if it were already done And they are not put under him in a proper and grammaticall sense by an actuall performance and visible manifestation of it which is the meaning of the Apostle in the Hebrews nor doubtlesse shall they be thus put under him untill that world to come of which the Apostle speakes Heb. 2.5 c. shall be put under him And then also he shall be visible Head over all things to the Church For then he shall sit and rule upon his Throne on the Throne of David on which God hath sworne with an oath to set him Acts 2.30 And shall be a Priest upon his Throne as Zechariah hath foretold chap. 6. ver 13. Object 7 Seventhly you say That when Christ shall descend from heaven with a shout and voice of the Arch-Angel with the trumpet of God the dead in Christ shall rise first and they who are alive and remaine shall be caught up together with them in the cloudes to meet the Lord in the aire and so shall be ever with the Lord 1 Thes 4. Here he is speaking of the same resurrection whereof be speakes 1 Cor. 15. as appeares by ver 52. and here he shewes the rising of the dead and change of the living to be together and that they both together shall meet the Lord and be ever with him Sol. 7 And what then will you conclude from hence that therefore these Saints shall not live with Christ on earth no you cannot for though they shall meet the Lord in the aire yet
cannot be a long time to the Lord. And therefore albeit the last part of Saint Peters reciprocall proposition may favour your interpretation yet the first part will not suffer it Seeing that which is but one day with us cannot possibly be as a thousand yeares with the Lord although the space of a thousand yeares with us may be but as one day with the Lord. And consequently the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the one day in ver 7. must needes be meant of a propheticall day of a day consisting of yeares of so many yeares at least as the Apostle here speakes of and not of a naturall day of a day consisting of houres for how else should one day be with the Lord as a thousand yeares in regard of continuance of time And whereas you say That it is not said one day is a thousand yeares but is as a thousand yeares I pray what difference in sense is there betwixt these propositions certainely the adverbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as doth not alwayes intimate a comparison but hath divers acceptions amongst which Pasor reckons its denoting of the truth and certainty of a thing for one And when it is used comparatively it doth include an exposition also as it were easie to prove by many instances and we need looke no further then the 10 verse of this chapter for an instance But the day of the Lord will come saith the Apostle as a thiefe in the night here the comparing of it to the comming of a thiefe doth shew that as it is unknowne to all so it is unexpected too of the ungodly on whom it shall come as a thiefe in the night that is altogether unlookt for and to whom also it shall be as the comming of a thiefe in the night that is fearefull unavoidable and full of horrour and amazement And thus it is evident that our exposition of ver 7. is the onely adequate and full exposition of the Apostles words and that yours is but a defective and partiall exposition of it Israel's Redemption This then being so I see not but that Gods fore-appointment of a thousand yeares continuance to the world for * Sicut e septenis annis septimus quisque annus remissionis est it 〈◊〉 e septem millibus annorum mundi septimus millenarius millenarius remissionis est R. Ketina Vid. Com. Apoc. par 2. pag. 287. each severall day of its first weeke the weeke of its creation might in all likelihood be the ground of this propheticall sense of the word Day wherein it was afterwards delivered by the infallible Pen-men of holy writ Mr. Petrie's Answer The certainty of all the appointments of God we acknowledge and the infallibility of his pen-men but where is it revealed that God hath appointed a thousand years continuance to the world for each severall day of the first weeke On the margine he cireth Rab. Ketina comment Apoca. par 2. p. 287. where are some testimonies in the Rabbines to this purpose Let Jewes follow Jewish fables to us Christians hath God spoken in the last dayes by his Sonne Heb. 1.2 whom he hath bidden us heare Certainely with a limitation to heare none others Reply I do not say it is revealed in Scripture that God hath appointed unto the world a thousand yeares continuance for each severall day of its first weeke but that Gods fore-appointment of so many thousands of yeares continuance unto the world might happily be the ground of this propheticall sense of the word Day in the scriptures Which space of time it doth comprehend whensoever it is emphatically applyed to the time of our Saviours appearing or the Jewes redemption as Isai 11.11 chap. 27.12 13. and Amos 9.11 and 2 Thes 1.10 and 2 Tim. 4.8 doe testifie And these texts in which it hath the epithet great annext to it Joel 2.31 Mal. 4.5 Jude ver 6. Rev. 6.17 chap. 16.14 And the learned doe so understand the word Day too in Gods threatning to Adam Gen. 2.17 because that threatning must needes be meant of a punishment that should come on Adam for his disobedience and consequently of a bodily death which yet he suffered not till neere nine hundred and thirty yeers after And thus it is manifest that we take this word in no other sense then the Prophets doe to whom God spake by his Spirit in time past or then the Apostles doe to whom God spake by his Sonne first and by his Spirit afterwards or then God did as many learned Divines acknowledge in the foresaid passage to Adam And therefore we borrow it not from the Jewish sables although we will not reject any truth that the Jewes hold for feare of being upbraided with their sables or with the name of Jewes But what I so much out of charity with the Jewes now Is not this the Name whose mysticall interpretation hath stood you in such stead in the wresting of the prophecies which concerne them by Name and none else and did you not say pag. 16. that the faithfull are called Jewes not onely typically but likewise for the speciall comfort of the Jewes How did you dare then so boldly to abuse that Name by which you say the faithfull are so frequently â—iled in Scripture And what comfort can it be to the Jewes that you lay claime to this Name in the scriptures where it belongs not to you that you seeme to take delight in it there and yet in your writings and common discourse use it as a by-word and terme of reproach or how can we thinke that you apply the prophecies touching the Jewes to the Christians for any other reason but because you thinke such great and glorious mercies too good for the Jewes how I say can we thinke otherwise when as we see they are so odious unto you that in meere scorne and derision of the truth we hold you call us Jewes by way of opposition to Christians I pray remember what our Saviour is as man is he not a Jew me thinkes then if â—â—ought else could yet the reverence you owe to him should have with held you from such an uncivill usage of this Name Israel's Redemption To this also may be added that iâ— Matth. 24.31 which shewes that when the Sonne of man desâ—ends He shall send his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet and they shall gather together his Elect from the foure windes from one end of the heaven to the other at which time two shall be in the field the one shall be taken and the other left two women shall be grinding at the Mill the one shall be taken and the other left and as Saint Marke record two men shall be in one bâ—d 〈◊〉 one shall be taken and the other left chap. 17.34 But if our Saviour at his comming shall presently give â—â—ntence on all that are not writteâ— in the Booke of life if he shall make no stay on earth before he undertake this businesse then why shall the
my text to be encompast I here give over the pursuit of these meditations and commend to as mâ—ny as wish well to themselves and to Zion these instructions following Mr. Petrie's Answer If you be throughly satisfied why have you so oft used the words of probability conjectures my conceit it may be thus or thus these words smell not of satisfaction nor of that certaine knowledge and stedfastnesse which is required 2 Pet. 3.17 As for that double jury it may evidently appeare that both Prophets and Apostles are contrary to such fancies It may be the Vses of this doctrine are commendable yet if wrong premisses be powerfull to perswade Neverthelesse heare all Reply We bring not onely probable but demonstrative and necessary arguments also to justifie the truth of our tenet And besides all this we alledge for it a large Catalogue of cleare and invincible prophecies from which as we receive full satisfaction our selves so that we might shunne the guilt of keeping backe any part of the counsell of God Acts 20.27 we hold them out to others too that as many as God hath appointed by our Ministery to call to the knowledge of this truth may be partakers of the like satisfaction with us And what though I have in some places used the word probable and once the word conjecture and sometimes said in my conceit shall that therefore of which I so speake be suspected for an untruth I pray tell me why my conceit may not be as agreeable to the truth as any others or why without any disadvantage to the truth I may not use such expressions as the pen-men of holy writ have done How much was Saint Peter beside the truth when in answer to our Saviours demand touching the two creditours Luke 7.42 43. Tell me which of them will love him most he said I suppose he to whom he forgave most Certainely nothing at all for Christ replyed Thou hast rightly judged Or what was Saint Pauls counsell the worse for saying I suppose that this is good for the present distresse 1 Cor. 7.26 Or will you say that it was doubtfull whether Saint Paul had received the Holy Ghost because ver 20. he saith And I thinke also that I have the Spirit of God Or can you imagine that the Apostles tooke not the best course for the pacifying of the difference that was risen in the Church of Antioch betwixt the Gentiles and some beleeving Iewes about circumcision Acts 15. because they wrote in this forme It seemeth good unto us ver 25. and againe ver 28. It seemeth good unto the Holy Ghost and to us If you dare not say or once imagine that these words doe argue unstedfastnesse or uncertaine knowledge in these then how can that be true which you say here that words equivalent with these smell not of satisfaction And if these words argue uncertaine knowledge and unstedfastnesse in us then what do they argue in you who even in the second and third pages have your may be me thinks why may we not thinke thus or thus it is likely it is not unlikely Certainely as to câ—vill at words and phrases shewes the weakenesse of your cause so to blame another for that which you your self may as well be blamed doth shew the malice of your mind Israel's Redemption First to praise God for his abundant mercy who through the fall of the Iewes hath brought salvation unto us Gentiles that together with them we might partake of the roote and fatnesse of their Olive tree Mr. Petrie's Answer Whether is it more to the praise of Gods mercy and bountifulnesse that the godly shall come againe from the heavens to abide so long on the earth or to abide in that glory of heaven for ever and ever certainly the gift of the greater and uninterrupted glory deserveth the greater praise and while they were on earth they professed themselves to be strangers from home and pilgrimes on their journey towards their home Heb. 11.13 and shall they come as pilgrimes againe Reply Doubtlesse God is not to be taught by us what reward is most to the praise of his mercy and bountifulnesse towards the godly But we are to account that reward most to the praise of his bountifulnesse and mercy towards them which we find in his word to be appointed unto them And we doe conceive that the glory of the Saints after their reunion to their bodies will be greater because more perfect though they live on earth then the glory of their soules is now without the fellowship of their glorified bodies And we know not what should interrupt their glory on earth when as Christ himselfe on whom the Angels shall visibly attend shall be on earth with them and God himselfe also may here manifest his glory unto them in what measure hee pleaseth And though Abraham and some other of the Patriarches to whom God had promised the possession of the Land of Canaan did in their corruptible estate here live as strangers and pilgrimes in that land yet they shall not after their resurrection possesse it as strangers and pilgrimes but as heires and coheires with Christ And where as you say That it is a greater gift of God that the godly should abide in that glory of heaven for ever and ever then to come againe from the heavens to abide on earth You seeme to me to imagine that the godly shall never againe come from thence as your denying also pag. 54. that Christ shall bring all the Saints with him doth testifie against you which conceit is contrary to all the scriptures that affirme the resurrection and the Saints appearing with Christ And I pray where doe you finde in scripture that the Saints shall after their resurrection live in a place separate from the earth Certainely they are after the last judgement to be translated into the new Jerusalem and that City is then to descend to the new earth as we read Rev. 21.2 3. And lastly what affinity hath ought that you have said here with the use you answer what shall we not praise God for his mercy in making us partakers of the fatnesse of the Jewes Olive tree while we are here although it were a greater happinesse for us to be ever in heaven after our departure then to come againe to the earth Israel's Redemption Secondly to beware of unbeliefe which was the cause that the Jewes were broken off from their Olive And if God spared not the naturall branches much lesse will he spare us if by faith we continue not in his goodnesse Mr. Petrie's Answer It is greater unbeliefe to despise the revealed truth of God then to despise the fancies of men as this Monarchy is proved to be Reply 'T is true that it is greater unbeliefe to despise the revealed truth of God then to despise the fancies of men And it is as true that it is a sinne but little inferiour to that against the Holy Ghost wilfully to call a revealed truth
should not know the Prophet though they heard and followed him so it hath been your utmost endeavour all along to corrupt and dazle the readers judgement that he might not know the truth of the Prophecie that is set before his eyes and publisht in his eares Now the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who commanded the light to shine out of darkenesse shine in our hearts that as of sincerity as of God we may give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ That Isay without handling of the word of God deceitfully we may by manifestation of the truth commend our selves to every mans conscience in the sight of God that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever Amen Glorificetur Deus praedicetur veritas exerceatur pietas restituatur integritas Let God be glorified truth taught piety practised righteousnesse restored Redeat Pax regnet Rex regat Lex Let peace returne the King reigne the Law rule To my Booke excus'd THy wounds are heal'd and now thou must along To tell thy torturers they did thee wrong That thou wast no deceiver although They Did straine their wits to hide thy truth away Lest passing * John 11.48 unexcus'd the simplest might Have taken too much heed of the upright Report thou mak'st and claspt thee with such love As no * Acts 5.34 c. Gamaliel should e're remove Tell this to them and after greet thy friends Who prize the truth more then their private ends Courteous Reader THere was of late in this Kingdome one Mr. Mede a grave and learned Divine of the University of Cambridge who in his Treatises on the Revelation which he publisht to the world some yeares before his death doth plainely professe that he held not onely the Jewes generall conversion but their returne to their countrey too and the thousand yeares reigne of Christ and the Saints on earth Of which reigne as he hath a particular Tract so in the fourth synchronisme of the second part of his Clavis Apocalyptica he shewes by infallible arguments that it is to succeed the utter destruction of the Beast and false Prophet and to contemporate with the 1000 yeares binding up of Satan That it is I say to be in the time betwixt the destruction of the two Armies revealed in Rev. 19.20 which he there clearâ—ly proves to be two distinct Armies Against this Authour while he lived no man moved his pen although there was both time and opportunity to have done it but since his decease which is an usuall course with the enemies of the truth as there have been many who have voted against him without answering any of his workes so there have been some who have undertaken to examine here and there a piece of his labours amongst whom Mr. Petrie is one who in pag. 14.60.61 of his answer to Israels Redemption doth assay the confutation of two of Mr. Medes synchronismes The first is the seventh synchronisme of the first part of Clavis Apocalyptica which he thus encounters Mr. Petrie And here by the way observe that the renowned Authour of Clavis Apocalyptica is mistaken in his seventh synchronisme wherein he saith that the powring forth of the seven vials is contemporary with the end of the Beast and Babylon Answer He saith indeed that they contemporate with the ending that is with the declining estate with the totall destruction of the Beast and Babylon which the vials shall by their severall plagues gradually bring to passe but not that they doe all contemporate with the very end with the last moment of the Beast and Babylon which is proper onely to the powring out of the last viall For then shall great Babylon come in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fiercenesse of his wrath as it is revealed Rev. 16.19 And then shall the Army in Armageddon be destroyed and the Beast and false Prophet taken in battell and cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone as it is declared Rev. 19.20 Mr. Petrie For albeit it be said chap. 15.2 That they who had gotten the victory over the Beast sang the song of Moses it followes not that the Beast was then destroyed Answer Surely it followes as well that the Beast shall be destroyed when the song of Moses is sung by the conquerours of the Beast as it doth that Pharaoh and his Host were destroyed when it was sung by Moses and the Israelites For seeing it is againe to be sung upon the like occasion and noâ— before the destruction of the Beast must as necessarily precede the second singing of it as the destruction of the Egyptians did the first And this the fourth verse doth confirme which shewes that by reason of Gods judgments which shall be made manifest unto the world at the singing of this song All Nations together shall come and worship before the Lord as the Prophets have said and as Saint Paul doth intimate by the comming in of the fulnesse of the Gentiles Rom. 11.25 which thing cannot come to passe while Satan the deceiver of the Nations is at liberty and the Beast and false prophet his instruments are subsisting Mr. Petrie Neither albeit the first and fift and last vials be powred on the Beast followeth it that they were not powred till the last time of the destruction of the Beast seeing the Saints in heaven and on earth too may rejoyce for their particular victory over the Beast as yet reigning and the vials may be powred on the Beast at severall times even some of them on the Beast in the height of her pride to the end that men may have warnings of the judgements of God on the Beast in her greatest pompe Answer This also followes as the 1 verse of the 15 chapter doth witnesse where the seven vials are called the seven last plagues and why are they called so but because they were not to be powred out till the last time the time of the destruction of the Beast Impossible then it is that these last plagues these plagues which were to befall the Beast in her last time onely should befall her in her height of her pride in her greatest pompe that is long before her last time For this is all one as if you had said that the Beast then began to be destroyed when she was most insensible of her destruction when she had least cause to feare it And therefore though the Saints in heaven and on earth too may rejoyce for their particular victory over the Beast as yet reigning yet doubtlesse they shall not sing Moses song of thanksgiving for the utter overthrow of the Beast before the Beast be utterly overthrowne And though the vials were to be powred out at severall times yet as in their orderly powrings out they were suddenly to succeed each other so likewise they were all
shall cast them alive into the lake of fire And therefore your application of the story of Ziseah's drumme to this argument is a very ridiculous answer The third argument But most of all clearely in chap. 11. ver 15 16. c. where at the sound of the seventh trumpet the dayes of the witnesses and the mouthes of the Beast and Nations being out-runne were great voices in heaven saying The Kingdomes of the world are become the Kingdomes of the Lord c. This is the consummation of the mystery of God foretold by the Prophets Mr. Petrie's Answer This indeed is the consummation of all the promises foretold by the Prophets and Apostles and therefore it is not to be understood of any earthly Kingdome seeing thâ—â—full accomplishment of the prophecies is not on earth And so this synchronisme being false and the like synchronismes and all expositions following upon them must faile with it Reply This argument shewes that the Kingdomes of this world are to become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ at the sounding of the seventh trumpet and not before That is at the time of our Saviours descending from heaven at which time the reigne of the beast shal end And consequently it provs first that this reigne of Christ must needes follow the reigne of the beast seeing it beginnes not till his appearing by which the Beast shall be utterly destroyed And secondly it proves that this reigne must needes be on earth seeing the Kingdomes which shall then become his are the Kingdomes of this world And thirdly it proves that the time in which these Kingdomes shall become Christs cannot possibly be the time in which he shall deliver up his Kingdome to the Fathers seeing they shall then cease to be his And so the time of our Saviours reigne over them must needes be the interim the time betwixt the reigne of the Beast and the delivering up of his Kingdome to the Father To these consequences you had nothing to say and therefore you catch at these words which follow the argument to wit This is the consummation of the mystery of God foretold by the Prophets which you thus pervert This indeed is the consummation of all the promises foretold by the Prophets and Apostles and therefore it is not to be understood of any earthly Kingdome But surely as the mystery of God foretold by the Prophets and recorded chap. 10. ver 7. is meant onely of Christs reigne on earth at his next appearing when the Kingdomes of this world are to become his so you can shew us no promise either in the writings of the Prophets or Apostles which after the resurrection of mens bodies is to be enjoyed by them in heaven in your sense that is in a place of glory separate from the earth For as the raised Saints that are to come with Christ shall be on this earth all the time of his reigne so at the delivering up of his Kingdome to the Father the whole number of the elect shall be with him in the new Jerusalem which is the Paradise of God on the new earth whither it shall then descend And so this synchronisme being true all the like synchronismes and all expositions following upon them must be true also The Authors Judgement of the Contents of the Trumpets and Vials which he commends to the serious consideration of every intelligent READER THat the plagues of the vials should be literally and properly interpreted and not figuratively and mystically Revel 16. these reasons doe in my conceit require 1. Because there is no necessity of interpreting them otherwise 2. Because God hath already shewed many such wonders as the vials speake of 3. Because the last plague is properly to be understood and we may not take one plague properly and the rest improperly 4. Because the powring out of all the vialls shall not take up so much time as the mysticall sense of them doth allow to the powring out of one of them For 1. We finde that on the same persons on which the first viall the plague of the noysouâ—e sore is powred on the same the sift viall is powred For ver 10 11. it is said And they gnawed their tongues for paine and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their paines and their sores And at the powring out of the fourth viall also ver 9. it is said And men were scorched with great beat and blasphemed the Name of God wich ba h power over these plagues c. not over this plague whereby it is intimated That the men who were to feele the fourth plague were to feele more of the plagues besides that And it is very likely that the same persons may live to be the objects of all these plagues For 2. The vials are not to be powred out till after the Jewes conversion whose returne to their countrey is apparently exprest at the powring out of the sixt viall they being the Kings of the East that are to passe dry shod over Euphrates as the comparing of the 12 verse with the latter part of the 11 chapter of Isaiah doth prove And whose full deliverance from all their enemies is plainely revealed in the extraordinary destruction of the Armies in Armageddon at the powring out of the last viall the time of our Saviours descending as the â—9 chapter doth evince For what are the Armies of the Beast and of the Kings of the earth against which our Saviour is there said to descend but the Armies of the Beast and of the Kings of the earth which here are said to be gathered into Armageddon And indeed who can thinke that God who shewed such great signes and wonders at the deliverance of his people out of Egypt from the slavery of that one Nation will not shew as great wonders as those yea as great as any the vials or trumpets doe containe at their redemption from their captivity in all countreys And as for the plagues of the Trumpets it is manifest from the Text Rev. 7.8 9. c. That they were not to be powred out till after the sealing of the 144000 of all the Tribes of Israel Which if it be understood of the generall conversion of the Jewes as many learned Expositours understand it it is cleare That the things contained in the Trumpets are not yet begunne and consequently that they are literally to be taken also Now that the 12 Tribes of Israel there are to be properly understood these reasons doe evince 1. Because there is no necessity to interpret them otherwise 2. Because the 12 Tribes of Israel cannot in the same place be taken both properly improperly Properly for them that are to be saved of all the Tribes of Israel and improperly for them that are to be saved of all other Nations 3. Because it is not probable that by one Nation by the 12 Tribes of Israel all Nations and kindreds and people and tongues should be meant Or that Saint John knew