The true State of the Millennium, according to Characters taken from Scripture; some Mistakes concerning it examin’d.
We have made sufficient Proof of a millennial State, from Scripture and Antiquity; and upon that firm Basis have settled our second Proposition. We should now determine the Time and Place of this future Kingdom of Christ: not whether it is to be in Heaven, or upon Earth; for that we suppose determin’d already; but whether it is to be in the present Earth, and under the present Constitution of Nature, or in the new Heavens, and new Earth, which are promis’d after the Conflagration: This is to make our third Proposition: And I should have proceeded immediately to the Examination of it, but that I imagine it will give us some Light in this Affair, if we enquire farther into the true State of the Millennium, before we determine its Time and Place.
We have already noted some moral Characters of the millennial State; and the great natural Character of it is this in general, that it will be Paradisaical; free from all Inconveniencies, either of external Nature, or of our own Bodies. For my part, I do not understand, how there can be any considerable Degree of Happiness without Indolency; nor how there can be Indolency, while we have such Bodies as we have now, and such an external Constitution of Nature. And as there must be Indolency, where there is Happiness; so there must not be Indigency, or want of any due Comforts of Life: For where there is Indigency, there is Solicitude, and Distraction, and Uneasiness, and Fear; Passions that do as naturally disquiet the Soul, as Pain does the Body. Therefore Indolency and Plenty seem to be two essential Ingredients of every happy State; and these two, in Conjunction, make that State we call Paradisaical.
Now the Scripture seems plainly to exempt the Sons of the new Jerusalem, or of the Millennium, from all Pain or Want, in those Words, Apoc. xxi. 4. And God shall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes: And there shall be no more Death, neither Sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more Pain: For the former Things are passed away. And the Lord of that Kingdom, He that sat upon the Throne, said, Behold I make all Things new, ver. 5. This Renovation is a Restauration to some former State; and I hope, not that State of Indigency and Misery, and Diseasedness, which we languish under at present; but to that pristine Paradisaical State, which was the Blessing of the first Heavens and the first Earth.
As Health and Plenty are the Blessings of Nature; so, in Civil Affairs, Peace is the greatest Blessing: And this is inseparably annex’d to the Millennium; an indelible Character of the Kingdom of Christ. And by Peace, we understand not only Freedom from Persecution upon religious Accounts, but that Nation shall not rise up against Nation, upon any Account whatsoever. That bloody Monster, War, that hath devoured so many Millions of the Sons of Adam, is now at length to be chain’d up; and the Furies, that run throughout the Earth, with their Snakes and Torches, shall be thrown into the Abyss, to sting and prey upon one another: All evil and mischievous Passions shall be extinguished; and that not in Men only, but even in brute Creatures, according to the Prophets. The Lamb and the Lion shall lie down together, and the sucking Child shall play with the Basilisk. Happy Days, when not only the Temple of Janus shall be shut up for a thousand Years, and the Nations shall beat their Swords into Plowshares; but all Enmities and Antipathies shall cease, all Acts of Hostility, throughout all Nature. And this universal Peace is a Demonstration also of the former Character, universal Plenty; for where there is a Want and Necessitousness, there will be quarrelling.
Fourthly, ’Tis a Kingdom of Righteousness, as well as of Peace: these also must go together: For unrighteous Persons will not live long in Peace, no more than indigent Persons. The Psalmist therefore joins them together; and Plenty, also, as their necessary Preservative, in his Description of the Kingdom of Christ, Psal. lxxxv. 10, 11, 12. Mercy and Truth are met together: Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the Earth, and Righteousness shall look down from Heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give good, and our Land shall yield her Increase. This will not be a Medley-State, as the present World is, good and bad mingled together; but a chosen Generation, a royal Priesthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People. Those that have a Part in the first Resurrection, the Scripture pronounceth them Holy and Blessed; and says, The second Death shall have no Power over them. Satan is also bound and shut up in the bottomless Pit, and has no Liberty of tempting or seducing this People, for a thousand Years: but at the End of that Time, he will meet with a degenerate Crew, separate and Aliens to the holy City, that will make War against it, and perish in the Attempt. In a word, those that are to enjoy this State, are always distinguish’d from the Multitude, as People redeemed from the Earth, (Apoc. v. 9.) that have wash’d their Robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb; and are represented as Victors over the World; with such other Characters as are incompatible to any but the Righteous, ch. vii. 14. ch. xiv. 3, 4. ch. xxi. 27.
Fifthly, This will be a State under a peculiar divine Presence and Conduct. It is not easy indeed to determine the Manner of this Presence; but the Scripture plainly implies some extraordinary divine Presence to enlighten and enliven that State. When the new Jerusalem was come down, St. John says, Apoc. xxi. 3. And I heard a great voice out of 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. And the like is promis’d to the Palm-bearing Company, ch. vii. 19. where they are admitted to the Privileges of the new Jerusalem. When our Saviour was incarnate, and vouchsafed to dwell amongst the Children of Men, the same Phrase is us’d by this same Author, ἐσχήνωσε. Joh. i. 14. The Word was made Flesh, and tabernacled amongst us; and we beheld his Glory, &c. We read it, He dwelt amongst us, but render’d more closely, it is, He set his Tabernacle amongst us. And that which the Hebrews call the שכינה Shekinah, or divine Presence, Maimon. Mor. Nev. par. 1. c. 25 comes from a Word of the like Signification and Sound with the Greek Word here us’d. Therefore there will be a Shekinah in that Kingdom of Christ; but as to the Mode of it, I am very willing to confess my Ignorance.
The last Character that belongs to this State, or rather to those that enjoy it, is, that they are Kings and Priests unto God. This is a Character often repeated in Scripture, and therefore the more to be regarded. It occurs thrice in the Apocalypse in formal Terms, ch. i. 6. ch. v. 10. ch. xx. 6. And as to the Regal Dignity apart, that is farther exprest, either by the Donation of a Kingdom, as in Daniel’s Phrase, chap. vii. 18, 22, 27. Or by placing upon Thrones, with a judicial Power; which is the New Testament Style, Mat. xix. 28. Luke xxii. 29, 30. Rev. xx. 4. These two Titles, no doubt, are intended to comprehend the highest Honours that we are capable of; these being the highest Dignities in every Kingdom; and such as were by the Antients, both in the East and in the West, commonly united in one and the same Person; Their Kings being Priests, like Melchisedeck, or, as the Roman Emperor was, Pontifex Maximus. But as to the sacerdotal Character, that seems chiefly to respect the Temper of the Mind; to signify a People dedicated to God and his Service, separate from the World, and from secular Affairs, spending their time in Devotion and Contemplation, which will be the great Employments of that happy State. For where there is Ease, Peace, and Plenty of all Things, refin’d Bodies, and purified Minds, there will be more Inclination to intellectual Exercises and Entertainments; which they may attend upon, without any Distraction, having neither Want, Pain, nor worldly Business.
The Title of King implies a Confluence of all Things that constitute temporal Happiness. ’Tis the highest thing we can wish any in this World, to be a King; So as the Regal Dignity seems to comprehend all the Goods of Fortune, or external Felicity, and the Sacerdotal, the Goods of the Mind, or internal; both which concur in the Constitution of true Happiness. There is also a further Force and Emphasis in this Notion of the Saints being made Kings, if we consider it comparatively, with respect to what they were before in this World; where they were not only mean and despicable, in Subjection and Servility, but often under Persecution, abus’d and trampled upon by the Secular and Ecclesiastical Powers. But now the Scene is chang’d, and you see the reverse of Providence, according as Abraham said to the Rich-Man; Son, remember that thou in thy Life time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Now they are set upon Thrones and Tribunals, who were before arraigned as Criminals, and brought before tyrannical Judicatures: They are now Laws and Law-givers to themselves, in a true State of Royal Liberty, neither under the Domination of evil Men, nor of their own evil Passions.
Some possibly may think, that this high Character of being made Priests and Kings to God, is not general to all that enjoy the Millennium; but a Prerogative belonging to the Apostles and some of the chief Martyrs, who are eminently rewarded for their eminent Services. But Scripture as far as I perceive, applies it to all that inherit that Kingdom. The redeemed out of every Kindred, and Tongue, and People, and Nation, are made Kings and Priests to God, and shall reign on the Earth, Apoc. v. 9, 10, And in the xxth chap. ver. 6. all the Sons of the first Resurrection are made Priests of God, and shall reign with him a thousand Years. Here is no Distinction or Discrimination thus far: Not that we suppose an unversal Equality of Conditions in the millennial State; but as to all these Characters which we have given of it, I do not perceive that they are restrain’d or confin’d by Scripture to single Persons, but make the general Happiness of that State, and are the Portion of every one that is admitted into the new Jerusalem.
Others possibly may think that this Privilege of the first Resurrection is not common to all that enjoy the millennial State. For tho’ St. John, who is the only Person that hath made express mention of the first Resurrection, and of the thousand Years Reign of Christ, does join these two as the same thing, and common to the same Persons; yet I know there are some that would distinguish them as things of a different Extent, and also of a different Nature. They suppose the Martyrs only will rise from the Dead, and will be immediately translated into Heaven, and there pass their Millennium in celestial Glory; while the Church is still here below, in her Millennium, such as it is: A State indeed better than ordinary, and free from Persecution, but obnoxious to all the Inconveniences of our present mortal Life, and a Medley of good and bad People, without Separation. This is such an Idea of the Millennium, as, to my Eye, hath neither Beauty in it, nor Foundation in Scripture. That the Citizens of the new Jerusalem are not a miscellaneous Company, but a Community of righteous Persons, we have noted before, and that the State of Nature will be better than it is at present. But, besides this, what Warrant have they for this Ascension of the Martyrs into Heaven at that Time? Where do we read of that in Scripture? And in those things that are not Matters of natural Order, but of divine Oeconomy, we ought to be very careful how we add to Scripture.
The Scripture speaks only of the Resurrection of the Martyrs, Apoc. xx. 45. but not a Word concerning their Ascension into Heaven. Will that be visible? We read of our Saviour’s Resurrection and Ascension, and therefore we have Reason to affirm them both. We read also of the Resurrection and Ascension of the Witnesses, (Apoc. xi.) in a figurative Sense; and in that Sense we may assert them upon good Grounds. But as to the Martyrs, we read of their Resurrection only, without any thing exprest or imply’d about their Ascension. By what Authority then shall we add this new Notion to the History or Scheme of the Millennium? The Scripture, on the contrary, makes mention of the Descent of the new Jerusalem, Apoc. xxi. 2. making the Earth the Theatre of all that Affair: And the Camp of the Saints is upon the Earth, ver. 9. and these Saints are the same Persons, so far as can be collected from the Text, that rose from the Dead, and reign’d with Christ, and were Priests to God, ver. 4, 5, 6. Neither is there any Distinction made, that I find, by St. John, of two sorts of Saints in the Millennium, the one in Heaven, and the other upon Earth. Lastly, the four and twenty Elders, chap. v. 10. tho’ they were Kings and Priests unto God, were content to reign upon Earth. Now who can you suppose of a superior Order to these four and twenty Elders? Whether they represent the twelve Patriarchs and twelve Apostles, or whomsoever they represent, they are plac’d next to him that sits upon the Throne, and they have Crowns of Gold upon their Heads, chap. iv. 4. ch. xi. 16. There can be no Marks of Honour and Dignity greater than these are; and therefore seeing these highest Dignitaries in the Millennium or future Kingdom of Christ, are to reign upon Earth, there is no Ground to suppose the Assumption of any other into Heaven, upon that Account, or upon that Occasion.
This is a short and general Draught of the millennial State, or future Reign of the Saints, according to Scripture. Wherein I have endeavour’d to rectify some Mistakes or Misconceptions about it; that viewing it in its true Nature, we may be the better able to judge, when and where it will obtain: which is the next Thing to be consider’d.
The third Proposition laid down, concerning the Time and Place of the Millennium: Several Arguments us’d, to prove, that it cannot be till after the Conflagration; and that the new Heavens and the new Earth are the true Seat of the blessed Millennium.
We now come to the third and last Head of our Discourse; to determine the Time and Place of the Millennium. And seeing it is indifferent, whether the Proofs lead or follow the Conclusion, we will lay down the Conclusion in the first Place, that our Business may be more in View; and back it with Proofs in the following Part of the Chapter. Our third and last Proposition therefore is this, That the blessed Millennium, Propos. 3. (properly so called) according as it is describ’d in Scripture, cannot obtain in the present Earth, nor under the present Constitution of Nature and Providence; but it is to be celebrated in the new Heavens and new Earth, after the Conflagration. This Proposition it may be, will seem a Paradox or Singularity to many, even of those that believe a Millennium: We will therefore make it the Business of this Chapter, to state it, and prove it, by such Arguments as are manifestly founded in Scripture and in Reason.
And to prevent Mistakes, we must premise this in the first Place; that tho’ the blessed Millennium will not be in this Earth; yet we allow that the State of the Church here, will grow much better than it is at present. There will be a better Idea of Christianity, and according to the Prophecies, a full Resurrection of the Witnesses, and an Ascension into Power, and the tenth Part of the City will fall; which things imply ease from Persecution, the Conversion of some Part of the Christian World to the reformed Faith, and a considerable Diminution of the Power of Antichrist. But this still comes short of the Happiness and Glory wherein the future Kingdom of Christ is represented; which cannot come to pass till the Man of Sin be destroyed, with a total Destruction. After the Resurrection of the Witnesses, there is a third WOE yet to come; and how long that will last, does not appear. If it bear proportion with the preceeding WOES, it may last some hundreds of Years. And we cannot imagine the Millennium to begin till that WOE be finished: As neither till the Vials be pour’d out, in the xvth chap. which cannot be all pour’d out till after the Resurrection of the Witnesses; those Vials being the last Plagues that compleat the Destruction of Antichrist. Wherefore allowing that the Church, upon the Resurrection and Ascension of the Witnesses, will be advanc’d into a better Condition, yet that Condition cannot be the millennial State; where the Beast is utterly destroy’d, and Satan bound, and cast into the bottomless Pit.
This being premis’d, let us now examine what Grounds there are for the Translation of that blessed State into the new Heavens and new Earth; seeing that Thought, it may be, to many Persons, will appear new and extraordinary. In the first Place, we suppose it out of Dispute, that there will be new Heavens and a new Earth after the Conflagration. This was our first Proposition, and we depend upon it, as sufficiently prov’d both from Scripture and Antiquity. This being admitted, how will you flock this new Earth? What use will you put it to? ’Twill be a much nobler Earth, and better built than the present; and ’tis a pity it should only float about, empty and useless in the wild Air. If you will not make it the Seat and Habitation of the Just in the blessed Millennium, what will you make it? How will it turn to Account? What hath Providence design’d it for? We must not suppose new Worlds made without Counsel or Design. And as, on the one Hand, you cannot tell what to do with this new Creation, if it be not thus employ’d; so, on the other Hand, it is every way fitted and suited to be an happy and paradisaical Habitation, and answers all the natural Characters of the millennial State; which is a great Presumption that it is design’d for it.
But to argue this more closely upon Scripture-grounds: St. Peter says, the Righteous shall inhabit the new Heavens and the new Earth: 2 Pet. iii. 13. Nevertheless, according to his Promise, we look for new Heavens and new Earth, Wherein Dwelleth Righteousness: that is, a righteous People, as we have shewn before. But who are these righteous People? That’s the great Question. If you compare St. Peter’s new Heavens and new Earth with St. John’s Apoc. xxi. 1, 2. it will go far towards the Resolution of this Question: For St. John seems plainly to make the Inhabitants of the new Jerusalem to be in this new Earth. I saw, says he, new Heavens and a new Earth, and the new Jerusalem descending from God out of Heaven; therefore descending into this new Earth, which he had mention’d immediately before. And there the Tabernacle of God was with Men, ver. 3. and there he that sat upon the Throne, said, Behold I make all Things new. Referring still to the new Heavens and new Earth, as the Theatre where all these Things are acted, or all these Scenes exhibited; from the first Verse to the eighth: Now the new Jerusalem State being the same with the Millennial, if the one be in the new Heavens and new Earth, the other is there also. And this Interpretation of St. John’s Word is confirm’d and fully assur’d to us by the Prophet Isaiah; who also placeth the Joy and Rejoicing of the new Jerusalem in the new Heavens and new Earth, Chap. lxv. 17, 18. For behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth; and the former shall not be remembred: but be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a Rejoicing, and her People a Joy: Namely, in that new Heavens and new Earth; which answers to St. John’s Vision of the new Jerusalem being let down upon the new Earth.
To these Reasons, and Deductions from Scripture, we might add the Testimony of several of the Fathers; I mean of those that were Millennaries: For we are speaking now to such as believe the Millennium, but place it in the present Earth before the Renovation; whereas the antient Millennaries suppos’d the Regeneration and Renovation of the World before the Kingdom of Christ came: As you may see in [1]Irenæus, [2]Justin Martyr, [3]Tertullian, [4]Lactantius, and [5]the Author ad Orthodoxos. And the Neglect of this, I look upon as one Reason, as we noted before, that brought that Doctrine into Discredit and Decay. For when they plac’d the Kingdom of the Saints upon this Earth, it became more capable of being abus’d, by fanatical Spirits, to the Disturbance of the World, and the Invasion of the Rights of the Magistrates, Civil or Ecclesiastical, under that Notion of Saints; and made them also dream of sensual Pleasures, such as they see in this Life: Or at least gave an Occasion and Opportunity to those, that had a Mind to make the Doctrine odious, of charging it with these Consequences. All these Abuses are cut off, and these Scandals prevented, by placing the Millennium aright: Namely, not in this present Life, or on this present Earth, but in the new Creation, where Peace and Righteousness will dwell. And this is our first Argument why we place the Millennium in the new Heavens and new Earth; and ’tis taken partly, you see, from the Reason of the Thing itself, the Difficulty of assigning any other use of the new Earth, and its fitness for this; and partly from Scripture-evidence, and partly from Antiquity.
The second Argument for our Opinion, is this; the present Constitution of Nature will not bear that Happiness, that is promis’d in the Millennium, or is not consistent with it. The Diseases of our Bodies, the Disorders of our Passions, the Incommodiousness of external Nature; Indigency, Servility, and the Unpeaceableness of the World; these are things inconsistent with the Happiness that is promis’d in the Kingdom of Christ. But these are constant Attendants upon this Life, and inseparable from the present State of Nature. Suppose the Millennium was to begin nine or ten Years hence, as some pretend it will; how shall this World, all of a sudden, be metamorphos’d into that happy State? Apoc. xxi. 4. No more Sorrow, nor crying, nor Pain, nor Death, says St. John: All former Things are past away. But how past away? Shall we not have the same Bodies; and the same external Nature; and the same Corruptions of the Air; and the same Excesses and Intemperature of Seasons? Will there not be the same Barrenness of the Ground, the same Number of People to be fed; and must they not get their living by the Sweat of their Brows, with servile Labour and Drudgery? How then are all former Evils past away? And as to publick Affairs, while there are the same Necessities of human Life, and a Distinction of Nations, those Nations sometimes will have contrary Interests, will clash and interfere one with another; whence Differences, and Contests, and Wars will arise, and the thousand Years Truce, I am afraid, will be often broken. We might add also, that if our Bodies be not chang’d, we shall be subject to the same Appetites, and the same Passions; and upon those Vices will grow, as bad Fruit upon a bad Tree: To conclude, so long as our Bodies are the same, external Nature the same, the Necessities of human Life the same; which things are the Roots of Evil; you may call it a Millennium, or what you please, but there will be still Diseases, Vices, Wars, Tears and Cries, Pain and Sorrow in this Millennium; and if so, ’tis a Millennium of your own making, for that which the Prophets describe, is quite another thing.
Farthermore, if you suppose the Millennium will be upon this Earth, and begin, it may be, ten or twenty Years hence, how will it be introduc’d? How shall we know when we are in it, or when we enter upon it? If we continue the same, and all Nature continue the same, we shall not discern when we slip into the Millennium. And as to the moral State of it, shall we all, on a sudden, become Kings and Priests to God? Wherein will that Change consist, and how will it be wrought? St. John makes the first Resurrection introduce the Millennium; and that’s a conspicuous Mark and Boundary: But as to the modern or vulgar Millennium, I know not how ’tis usher’d in. Whether they suppose a visible Resurrection of the Martyrs, and a visible Ascension; and that to be a Signal to all the World that the Jubilee is beginning; or whether ’tis gradual, and creeps upon us insensibly; or the Fall of the Beast marks it: These things need both Explication and Proof: for to me they seem either arbitrary or unintelligible.
But to pursue our Design and Subject: That which gives me the greatest Scandal in this Doctrine of the vulgar Millennium, is their joining Things together that are really inconsistent; a natural World of one Colour, and a moral World of another. They will make us happy in spight of Nature; as the Stoicks would make a Man happy in Phalaris his Bull; so must the Saints be in full Bliss in the Millennium, tho’ they be under a Fit of the Gout, or the Stone. For my part, I could never reconcile Pain to Happiness; it seems to me to destroy and drown all Pleasure, as a loud Noise does a still Voice: It affects the Nerves with Violence, and over-bears all other Motions. But if, according to this modern Supposition, they have the same Bodies, and breath the same Air in the Millennium, as we do now, there will be both private and epidemical Distempers, in the same Manner as now. Suppose then a Plague comes and sweeps away half an hundred thousand Saints in the Millennium, is this no Prejudice or Dishonour to the State? Or a War makes a Nation desolate; or, in single Persons, a lingring Disease makes Life a Burthen; or a burning Fever, or a violent Cholick tortures them to Death; where such Evils as these reign, christen the thing what you will, it can be no better than a Mock-Millennium. Nor shall I ever be persuaded that such a State as our present Life, where an aking Tooth, or an aking Head, does so discompose the Soul, as to make her unfit for Business, Study, Devotion, or any useful Employment; and that all the Powers of the Mind, all its Virtue, and all its Wisdom, are not able to stop these little Motions, or to support them with Tranquillity: I can never persuade my self, I say, that such a State was design’d by God or Nature, for a State of Happiness.
Our third Argument is this; the future Kingdom of Christ will not take place, till the Kingdom of Antichrist be wholly destroy’d: But that will not be wholly destroy’d till the End of the World, and the appearing of our Saviour; therefore the Millennium will not be till then. Christ and Antichrist cannot reign upon Earth together; their Kingdoms are opposite, as Light and Darkness: Besides, the Kingdom of Christ is universal, extends to all the Nations, and leaves no room for other Kingdoms at that time. Thus it is describ’d in Daniel, in the Place mention’d before, chap. vii. 13, 14. I saw in the Night Visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, came with the Clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days; and there was given him Dominion and Glory, and a Kingdom; that all People, Nations, and Languages, should serve him. And again ver. 27. And the Kingdom 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; whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominion shall serve and obey him. The same Character of Universality is given to the Kingdom of Christ by David, Psal. ii. and Psal. lxxii. Isaiah ii. 2. and other Prophets. But the most direct Proof of this, is from the Apocalypse, where the Beast and false Prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, (chap. xix. 20.) before the Millennium comes on, chap. xx. This, being cast into a Lake of Fire burning with Brimstone, must needs signify utter Destruction: Not a Diminution of Power only, but a total Perdition and Consumption. And that this was before the Millennium, of the Beast and false Prophets being in the Lake of Fire, as of a Thing past, and formerly transacted. For when Satan, at length, is thrown into the same Lake ’tis said, he is thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the Beast and the false Prophets are, Apoc. xx. 10. They were there before, it seems; namely, at the beginning of the Millennium; and now at the Conclusion of it, the Devil is thrown in to them: Besides, the Ligation of Satan proves this Point effectually; for so long as Antichrist reigns, Satan cannot be said to be bound; but he is bound at the Beginning of the Millennium, therefore Antichrist’s Reign was then totally expir’d. Lastly, the Destruction of Babylon, and the Destruction of Antichrist go together; but you see Babylon utterly and finally destroy’d, (Apoc. xviii. and xix.) before the Millennium comes on: I say, utterly and finally destroy’d. For she is not only said to be made an utter Desolation, but to be consum’d by Fire; and absorpt as a Millstone thrown into the Sea; and that he shall be found no more at all, chap. xviii. 21. Nothing can express a total and universal Destruction more effectually, or more emphatically. And this is before the Millennium begins; as you may see both by the Order of the Prophesies, and particularly, in that upon this Destruction, the Hallelujah’s are sung, ch. xix. and concluded thus, ver. 6, 7. Hallelujah, for the God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give Honour to him; for the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made her self ready. This, I suppose, every one allows to be the millennial State, which now approaches, and is making ready, upon the Destruction of Babylon.
Thus much for the first Part of our Argument, that the Kingdom of Christ will not take place, till the Kingdom of Antichrist be wholly destroy’d. We are now to prove the second Part, that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not be wholly destroy’d till the End of the World, and the coming of our Saviour. This, one would think, is sufficiently prov’d from St. Paul’s Words alone, 2 Thess. ii. 8. The Lord shall consume the Man of Sin, who is suppos’d the same with Antichrist, with the Spirit of his Mouth, and shall destroy him with the Brightness of his coming. He will not then be destroyed before the coming of our Saviour; and that will not be till the End of the World. For St. Peter says, Acts iii. 21. The Heaven must receive him, speaking of Christ, until the Times of Restitution of all things; that is, the Renovation of the World. And if we consider that our Saviour’s coming will be in Flames of Fire, as the same Apostle St. Paul tells us, 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. ’tis plain, that his coming will not be till the Conflagration; in which last Flames Antichrist will be universally destroy’d. This Manner of Destruction agrees also with the Apocalypse and with Daniel, and the Prophets of the Old Testament. As to the Apocalypse, Babylon, the Seat of Antichrist, is represented there as destroy’d by Fire, ch. xviii. 8, 18. ch. xiv. 11. ch. xix. 3, 20. And in Daniel, when the Beast is destroy’d, ch. vii. 11. His Body was given to the burning Flame. Then as to the other Prophets, they do not, you know, speak of Antichrist or the Beast in Terms, but under the Types of Babylon, Tyre, and such-like; and these Places or Princes are represented by them as to be destroy’d by Fire, Isa. xiii. 19. Jer. ii. 25. Ezek. xxviii. 18.
So much for this third Argument; the fourth Argument is this; the future Kingdom of Christ will not be till the Day of Judgment and the Resurrection; but that will not be till the End of the World: Therefore, neither the Kingdom of Christ. By the Day of Judgment here, I do not mean the final and universal Judgment; nor by the Resurrection, the final and universal Resurrection; for these will not be till after the Millennium. But we understand here the first Day of Judgment and the first Resurrection, which will be at the End of this present World; according as St. John does distinguish them, in the xxth chap. of the Apocalypse. Now that the Millennium will not be till the Day of Judgment in this Sense, we have both the Testimonies of Daniel and of St. John. Daniel, in chap. vii. ver. 9, &c. ver. 26, &c. supposes the Beast to rule till Judgment shall sit, and then they shall take away his Dominion, and it shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most High. St. John makes an explicit Declaration of both these, in his xxth chap. of the Apocalypse, which is the great Directory in this point of the Millennium; he says there were Thrones set, as for a Judicature, ver. 4. Then there was a Resurrection from the Dead, and those that rise, reigned with Christ a thousand Years: Here’s a judicial Session, a Resurrection, and the Reign of Christ joined together. There is also another Passage in St. John that joins the Judgment of the Dead with the Kingdom of Christ; ’tis in the xith Chapter, under the seventh Trumpet; the Words are these, ver. 15. And the seventh Angel sounded, and there were great Voices in Heaven, saying, the Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever, And the four and twenty Elders, &c. And the Nations were angry, and thy Wrath is come, and the time of the Dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give Reward unto thy Servants the Prophets, and to the Saints, and them that fear thy Name. Here are two things plainly express’d and link’d together, The judging of the Dead, and the Kingdom of Christ; wherein the Prophets and Saints are rewarded. Now as the judging of the Dead is not in this Life, so neither is the Reward of the Prophets and Saints in this Life; as we are taught sufficiently in the Gospel, and by the Apostles, Mat. xix. 28. 1 Thess. i. 7. 2 Tim. iv. 8. 1 Pet. i. 7. and ch. v. 4. Therefore the Reign and Kingdom of Christ, which is joined with these two, cannot be in this Life, or before the End of the World: And as a farther Testimony and Confirmation of this, we may observe that St. Paul to Timothy hath joined together these three things; the Appearance of Christ, the Reign of Christ, and the judging of the Dead. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead, at his appearing, and his Kingdom, 2 Tim. iv. 1.
This might also be prov’d from the Order, Extent and Progress of the Prophesies of the Apocalypse; whereof some are such as reach to the End of the World, and yet must be accomplish’d before the Millennium begins, as the Vials. Others are so far already advanc’d towards the End of the World, as to leave no room for a thousand Years Reign; as the Trumpets. But because every one hath his own Interpretation of these Prophesies, and it would be tedious here to prove any single Hypothesis in Contradistinction to all the rest, we will therefore leave this Remark, to have more or less Effect, according to the Minds it falls upon; and proceed to our fifth Argument.
Fifthly, The new Jerusalem State is the same with the millennial State; but the new Jerusalem State will not be till the End of the World, or till after the Conflagration; therefore neither the Millennium: That the new Jerusalem State is the same with the Millennium, is agreed upon, I think, by all Millennaries, ancient and modern: Justin Martyr, Irenæus and Tertullian, speak of it in that Sense; and so do the latter Authors, so far as I have observed. And St. John seems to give them good Authority for it; in the xxth chap. of the Apocalypse, he says, the Camp of the Saints, and the beloved City were besieg’d by Satan and his gigantick Crew at the End of the Millennium: That beloved City is the new Jerusalem, and you see it is the same with the Camp of the Saints, or, at least, contemporary with it. Besides, the Marriage of the Lamb was in, or at the Appearance of the new Jerusalem, for that was the Spouse of the Lamb, Apoc. xxi. 2. Now this Spouse was ready, and this Marriage was said to be come, at the Destruction of Babylon, which was the Beginning of the Millennium, chap. xviii. 7. Therefore the new Jerusalem run all along with the Millennium, and was indeed the same thing under another Name. Lastly, what is this new Jerusalem, if it be not the same with the millennial State? It is promis’d a Reward to the Sufferers for Christ Apoc. iii. 12. and you see its wonderful Privileges, chap. xxi. 3, 4. and yet it is not Heaven and eternal Life; for it is said to come down from God out of Heaven, ch. xxi. 2. and ch. iii. 12. It can therefore be nothing but the glorious Kingdom of Christ upon Earth, where the Saints shall reign with him a thousand Years.
Now as to the second Part of our Argument, that the new Jerusalem will not come down from Heaven till the End of the World; of this St. John seems to give us a plain Proof or Demonstration; for he places the new Jerusalem in the new Heaven and new Earth, which cannot be till after the Conflagration. Let us hear his Words, Apoc. xxi. 1, 2. And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth, for 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, coming down from God out of Heaven; prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband. When the new Earth was made, he sees the new Jerusalem coming down upon it; and this Renovation of the Earth not being till the Conflagration, the new Jerusalem could not be till then neither. The Prophet Isaiah had long before said the same thing, though not in terms so express; he first says, Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein you shall rejoice: Then subjoins immediately, Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, Isa. lxv. 17, 18. This rejoicing is still in the same Place; in the new Heavens and new Earth, or in the new Jerusalem. And St. John, in a like Method, first sets down the new Earth, then the new Jerusalem; and expresses the Mind of the Prophet Isaiah more distinctly.
This leads me to a sixth Argument to confirm our Conclusion: The Time of the Restitution or Restauration of all Things, spoken of by St. Peter and the Prophets, is the same with the Millennium; but that Restauration will not be till the coming of Christ, and the End of the World; therefore neither the Millennium. That this Restitution of all things will not be till the coming of our Saviour, St. Peter declares in his Sermon, Acts iii. 21. and that the coming of our Saviour will not be till the End of the World, or till the Conflagration, both St. Paul and St. Peter signify to us, 1 Thess. i. 7, 8. 2 Pet. iii. 10. therefore it remains only to prove, that this Restitution of all Things spoken of here by the Apostle, is the same with the Millennium. I know that which it does directly and immediately signify, is the Renovation of the World: but it must include the moral World as well as the Natural; otherwise it cannot be truly said, as St. Peter does there, that all the Prophets have spoken of it. And what is the Renovation of the natural and moral World, but the new Jerusalem or the Millennium?
These Arguments, taken together, have, to me, an irresistible Evidence for the Proof of our Conclusion; that the blessed Millennium cannot obtain in the present Earth, or before the Conflagration; but when Nature is renew’d, and the Saints and Martyrs rais’d from the Dead, then they shall reign together with Christ, in the new Heavens and new Earth, or in the new Jerusalem; Satan being bound for a thousand Years.
The chief Employment of the Millennium, Devotion and Contemplation.
We have now done with the Substance of our Discourse; which is comprehended in these three Propositions:
I. After the Conflagration of this World, there will be new Heavens and a new Earth, and that Earth will be inhabited.
II. That there is an happy millennial-State, or a future Kingdom of Christ and his Saints, prophesied of and promis’d in the Old and New Testament; and receiv’d by the Primitive Church, as a Christian and Catholick Doctrine.
III. That this blessed millennial-State, according as it is describ’d in Scripture, cannot take place in the present Earth, nor under the present Constitution of Nature and Providence; But is to be celebrated in the new Heavens and new Earth, after the Conflagration.
These three Propositions support this Work, and if any of them be broken, I confess my Design is broken, and this Treatise is of no Effect: But what remains to be spoken to in these last Chapters, is more circumstantial or modal; and an Error or Mistake in such things, does not wound any vital Part of the Argument. You must not therefore lay aside your Severity and rigorous Censures; we are very happy, if, in this Life, we can attain to the Substance of Truth; and make rational Conjectures concerning Modes and Circumstances, where every one hath Right to offer his Sense, with Modesty and Submission. Revelations made to us from Heaven in this present State, are often incompleat, and do not tell us all; as if it was on purpose to set our Thoughts a-work to supply the rest; which we may lawfully do, provided it be according to the Analogy of Scripture and Reason.
To proceed therefore; we suppose, as you see, the new Heavens and the new Earth to be the Seat of the Millennium, and that new Creation to be Paradisiacal: Its Inhabitants also to be righteous Persons, the Saints of the most High. And seeing the ordinary Employments of our present Life will then be needless and superseded, as Military-Affairs, Sea-Affairs, most Trades and Manufactures, Law, Physick, and the laborious part of Agriculture; it may be wonder’d, how this happy People will bestow their Time; what Entertainment they will find in a State of so much Ease, and so little Action. To this one might answer in short, by another Question, How would they have entertain’d themselves in Paradise, if Man had continued in Innocency? This is a Revolution of the same State, and therefore they may pass Time as well now as they could have done then. But to answer more particularly, besides all innocent Diversions, ingenuous Conversations, and Entertainments of Friendship, the greatest part of their Time will be spent in Devotion and Contemplation. O happy Employment, and next to that of Heaven it self! What do the Saints Above, but sing Praises unto God, and contemplate his Perfections! And how mean and despicable, for the most part, are the Employments of this present Life, if compar’d with those intellectual Actions! If Mankind was divided into ten Parts, nine of those ten employ their Time to get Bread to their Belly, and Cloaths to their Back; and what Impertinences are these to a reasonable Soul, if she was free from the Clog of a mortal Body, or if that could be provided for, without Trouble or lots of Time? Corporeal Labour is from Need and Necessity, but intellectual Exercises are matter of Choice, that please and perfect at the same Time.
Devotion warms and opens the Soul, and disposes it to receive divine Influences. It sometimes raises the Mind into an heavenly Ecstasy, and fills it with a Joy that is not to be express’d. When it is pure, it leaves a strong Impression upon the Heart, of Love to God; and inspires us with a Contempt of this World, having tasted the Pleasures of the World to come. In the State which we speak of, seeing the Tabernacle of God will be with Men, Apoc. xxi. 3. we may reasonably suppose that there will be greater Effusions and Irradiations of the Holy Spirit, than we have or can expect in this Region of Darkness; and consequently, all the Strength and Comfort that can arise from private Devotion.
And as to their publick Devotions, all Beauties of Holiness, all Perfection of divine Worship, will shine in their Assemblies. Whatsoever David says of Sion and Jerusalem, Psal. lxxxiv. are but Shadows of this New Jerusalem, and of the Glory that will be in those Solemnities, Psal. lxxxvii. Imagine what a Congregation will be there of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Christian Martyrs, and Saints of the first Rank, throughout all Ages: And these all known to one another by their Names and History. This very meeting together of such Persons, must needs create a Joy unspeakable: But when they unite in their Praises to God and to the Lamb, with pure Hearts full of divine Love; when they sing their Hallelujahs to him that sits upon the Throne, that hath wash’d them in his Blood, and redeem’d them out of every Kingdom, and Tongue, and People, and Nation: When, with their Palms in their Hands, they triumph over Sin and Death, and Hell, and all the Powers of Darkness; can there be any thing, on this side Heaven, and a Choir of Angels, more glorious or more joyful?
But why did I except Angels? Why may not they be thought to be present at these Assemblies? In a Society of Saints and purified Spirits, why should we think their Converse impossible? In the Golden Age, the Gods were always represented, as having freer Intercourse with Men; and before the Flood, we may reasonably believe it so. I cannot think, Enoch was translated into Heaven without any Converse with its Inhabitants before he went thither: And seeing the Angels vouchsafed often, in former Ages, to visit the Patriarchs upon Earth, we may with Reason judge, that they will much more converse with the same Patriarchs and holy Prophets, now they are risen from the Dead, and cleans’d from their Sins, and seated in the New Jerusalem. I cannot but call to mind, upon this Occasion, that Representation which St. Paul makes to us, of a glorious State and a glorious Assembly, too high for this present Earth: ’Tis, (Hebr. xii. 22, &c.) in these Words: But you are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable Company of Angels; to the general Assembly and Church of the First-born, which are written in Heaven; and to God the Judge of all, and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect. This, I know, several apply to the Times and State of the Gospel, in Opposition to that of the Law; and it is introduc’d in that manner; but here are several Expressions too high for any present State of Things; they must respect a future State, either of Heaven, or of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ: And to the latter of these Expressions agree, and have a peculiar Fitness and Applicability to it. And what follows in the Context, ver. 26, 27, 28. About shaking the Heavens and the Earth once more; removing the former Scenes, and bringing on a new Kingdom that cannot be shaken: All this, I say, answers to the Kingdom of Christ, which is to be establish’d in the new Heavens and new Earth.
But to proceed in their publick Devotions; Suppose this August Assembly, inflam’d with all divine Passions, met together to celebrate the Name of God, with Angels intermixt, to bear a Part in this holy Exercise: And let this Concourse be, not in any Temple made with Hands, but under the great Roof Heaven, (the true Temple of the most High,) so as all the Air may be fill’d with the chearful Harmony of their Hymns and Hallelujahs: Then, in the height of their Devotion, as they sing Praises to the Lamb, and to him that sits upon the Throne, suppose the Heavens to open, and the Son of God to appear in his Glory, Apoc. v. 11. with thousands and ten thousands of Angels round about him; that their Eyes may see him, who, for their Sakes was crucified upon Earth, now encircled with Light and Majesty. This will raise them into as great Transports as human Nature can bear: They will wish to be dissolv’d, they will strive to fly up to him in the Clouds, or to breathe out their Souls in repeated Doxologies of Blessing, Ch. v. 13. and Honour, and Glory, and Power, to him that sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever.
But we cannot live always in the Flames of Devotion; the Weakness of our Nature will not suffer us to continue long under such strong Passions, and such Intenseness of Mind. The Question is therefore, What will be the ordinary Employment of that Life? How will they entertain their Thoughts, or spend their Time? For we suppose they will not have that multiplicity of frivolous Business that we have now; about our Bodies, about our Children; in Trades and Mechanicks; in Traffick and Navigation; or Wars by Sea or Land. These things being swept away wholly, or in a great Measure, what will come in their Place? How will they find Work or Entertainment for a long Life? If we consider, who they are that will have a Part in this first Resurrection, and be Inhabitants of that World that is to come, we may easily believe that the most constant Employment of their Life will be Contemplation. Not that I exclude any innocent Diversions, as I said before; the Entertainments of Friendship, or ingenuous Conversation; but the great Business and Design of that Life is Contemplation, as preparatory to Heaven and eternal Glory. Ut paulatim assueseant capere Deum, L. 5. c. 32. as Irenæus says, that they may, by Degrees, enlarge their Capacities, fit and accustom themselves to receive God. Or, as he says in another Place, That they may become capable of the Glory of the Father; that is, capable of bearing the Glory and Presence of God; capable of the highest Enjoyment of him, which is usually call’d the Beatifical Vision; and is the Condition of the Blessed in Heaven.
It cannot be deny’d, that in such a Millennial State, where we shall be freed from all the Incumbrances of this Life, and provided of better Bodies and greater Light of Mind: It cannot be doubted, I say, but that we shall then be in a Disposition to make greater Proficiency in the Knowledge of all Things, divine and intellectual; and consequently of making happy Preparations for our entring upon a further State of Glory: For there is nothing certainly does more prepare the Mind of Man for the highest Perfections, than Contemplation, with that Devotion which naturally flows from it, as Heat follows Light. And this Contemplation hath always a greater or less Effect upon the Mind according to the Perfection of its Object; so as the Contemplation of the divine Nature is, of all others, the most perfective in it self, and to us, according to our Capacities and Decree of Abstraction. An immense Being does strangely fill the Soul; and Omnipotency, Omnisciency, and infinite Goodness, do enlarge and dilate the Spirit, while it fixily looks upon them. They raise strong Passions of Love and Admiration, which melt our Nature, and transform it into the Mould and Image of that which we contemplate: What the Scripture says of our Transformation into the divine Likeness; what St. John and the Platonists say of our Union with God; and whatever is not cant in the mystical Theology, when they tell us of being deified; all this must spring from these Sources of Devotion and Contemplation: They will change and raise us from Perfection to Perfection, as from Glory to Glory, into a greater Similitude and nearer Station to the divine Nature.
The Contemplation of God and his Works comprehends all Things; for the one makes the uncreated World, and the other the created: And as the divine Essence and Attributes are the greatest Objects that the Mind of Man can set before it self; so next to that are the Effects and Emanations of the Divinity, or the Works of the divine Goodness, Wisdom and Power in the created World. This hath a vast Extent and Variety, and would be sufficient to entertain their Time, in that happy State, much longer than a thousand Years; as you will easily grant, if you allow me but to point at the several Heads of those Speculations.
The Contemplation of the created World divides it self into three Parts; that of the intellectual World; that of the corporeal; and the Government and Administration of both, which is usually call’d Providence. These three, drawn into one Thought, with the Reasons and Proportions that result from them, compose that Grand Idea, which is the Treasury and Comprehension of all Knowledge; whereof we have spoken more largely in the last Chapter of the second Book of this Theory, under the Name of the Mundane Idea. But at present we shall only mention such Particulars, as may be thought proper Subjects for the Meditations and Enquiries of those who shall enjoy that happy State which we now treat of.
As to the intellectual World, excepting our own Souls, we know little, in this Region of Darkness where we are at present, more than bare Names: We hear of Angels and Archangels, of Cherubins and Seraphins, of Principalities and Powers, and Thrones, and Dominions: We hear the Sound of these Words with Admiration, but we know little of their Natures; wherein their general Notion, and wherein their Distinction consists; what peculiar Excellencies they have, what Offices and Employments, of all this we are ignorant; only in general, we cannot but suppose that there are more Orders and Degrees of intellectual Beings, betwixt us and the Almighty, than there are Kinds or Species of living Creatures upon the Face of the Earth; betwixt Man their Lord and Master, and the least Worm that creeps upon the Ground; nay, than there are Stars in Heaven, or Sands upon the Sea-shore. For there is an infinite Distance and Interval betwixt us and God Almighty, and all that is fill’d with created Beings of different Degrees of Perfection, still approaching nearer and nearer to their Maker. And when this invisible World shall be open’d to us, when the Curtain is drawn, and the Celestial Hierarchy set in order before our Eyes, we shall despise our selves, and all the petty Glories of a mortal Life, as the Dirt under our Feet.
As to the corporeal Universe, we have some Share already in the Contemplation and Knowledge of that; though little in Comparison of what will be then discover’d. The Doctrine of the Heavens, fixed Stars, Planets and Comets, both as to their Matter, Motion and Form, will be then clearly demonstrated; and what are Mysteries to us now, will become matter of ordinary Conversation: We shall be better acquainted with our neighbouring Worlds, and make new Discoveries as to the State of their Affairs. The Sun especially, the great Monarch of the planetary Worlds; whose Dominion reaches from Pole to Pole, and the Greatness of his Kingdom is under the whole Heaven: Who sends his bright Messengers every Day through all the Regions of his vast Empire; throwing his Beams of Light round about him, swifter and farther than a Thought can follow: This noble Creature, I say, will make a good part of their Study in the succeeding World. Eudoxus, the Philosopher, wish’d he might dye like Phaeton, in approaching too near to the Sun, provided he could fly so near it, and endure it so long, till he had discover’d its Beauty and Perfection. Who can blame his Curiosity? Who would not venture far to see the Court of so great a Prince, who hath more Worlds under his Command than the Emperors of the Earth have Provinces or Principalities? Neither does he make his Subjects Slaves to his Pleasure, or Tributaries to serve and supply his Wants: On the contrary, they live upon him, he nourishes and preserves them; gives them Fruits every Year, Corn, and Wine, and all the Comforts of Life: This glorious Body, which now we can only gaze upon and admire, will be then better understood. A Mass of Light and Flame, and ethereal Matter, ten thousand times bigger than this Earth; enlightning and enlivening an Orb that exceeds the Bulk of our Globe, as much as that does the least Sand upon the Sea-shore, may reasonably be presum’d to have some great Being at the Centre of it; but what that is we must leave to the Enquiries of another Life.
The Theory of the Earth will be a common Lesson there; carried through all its Vicissitudes and Periods from first to last, till its entire Revolution be accomplish’d. I told you in the Preface, the Revolution of the World was one of the greatest Speculations that we are capable of in this Life; and this little World where we are, will be the first and easiest Instance of it, seeing we have Records, Historical, or Prophetical, that reach from the Chaos to the End of the new Heavens and new Earth; which course of Time makes up the greatest part of the Circle or Revolution. And as what was before the Chaos, was but, in my Opinion, the first Remove from a fixed Star, so what is after the thousand Years Renovation, is but the last Step to it again.
The Theory of human Nature is also an useful and necessary Speculation, and will be carried on to Perfection in that State. Having fix’d the true Distinction betwixt Matter and Spirit, betwixt the Soul and the Body, and the true Nature and Laws of their Union, the original Contract, and the Terms ratified by Providence at their first Conjunction, it will not be hard to discover the Springs of Action and Passion; how the Thoughts of our Mind and the Motions of our Body act in dependance one upon another. What are the primary Differences of Genius’s and Complexions, and how our Intellectuals or Morals depend upon them? What is the Root of Fatality, and how far it extends? By these Lights they will see into their own and every Man’s Breast, and trace the Foot-steps of the divine Wisdom in that strange Composition of Soul and Body.
This indeed is a mix’d Speculation, as most others are, and takes in something of both Worlds, intellectual and corporeal; and may also belong in part to the third Head we mention’d, Providence: But there is no need of distinguishing these Heads so nicely, provided we take in, under some or other of them, what may be thought best to deserve our Knowledge now, or in another World. As to Providence, what we intend chiefly by it here, is the general Oeconomy of our Religion, and what is reveal’d to us in Scripture, concerning God, Angels, and Mankind. These Revelations, as most in Sacred Writ, are short and incompleat; as being design’d for Practice more than for Speculation, or to awaken and excite our Thoughts rather than to satisfy them. Accordingly, we read in Scripture of a Triune Deity; of God made Flesh in the Womb of a Virgin; barbarously crucified by the Jews; descending into Hell; rising again from the Dead; visibly ascending into Heaven; and sitting at the Right Hand of God the Father, above Angels and Archangels. These great things are imperfectly revealed to us in this Life; which we are to believe so far as they are revealed, in hopes these Mysteries will be made more intelligible in that happy State to come, where Prophets, Apostles and Angels, will meet in Conversation together.
In like manner, how little is it we understand concerning the Holy Ghost? that he descended like a Dove upon our Saviour, Mat. iii. 16. Like cloven Tongues of Fire upon the Apostles the Place being fill’d with a rushing mighty Wind, Acts ii. That he over shadow’d the blessed Virgin, and begot the Holy Infant, Mat. i. 18. That he made the Apostles speak all sorts of Tongues and Languages ex tempore, and pour’d out strange Virtues and miraculous Gifts upon the Primitive Christians, Luke i. 35. These things we know as bare Matter of Fact, but the Method of these Operations we do not at all understand. Who can tell us now, what that is which we call Inspiration? What Change is wrought in the Brain, and what in the Soul, and how the Effect follows? Who will give us the just Definition of a Miracle? What the proximate Agent is above Man, and whether they are all from the same Power? How the Manner and Process of those miraculous Changes in Matter may be conceiv’d? These Things we see darkly, and hope they will be set in a clearer Light, and the Doctrines of our Religion more fully expounded to us, in that future World. For as several things obscurely express’d in the Old Testament, are more clearly reveal’d in the New; so the same Mysteries, in a succeeding State, may still receive a farther Explication.
The History of the Angels, good or bad, makes another Part of this providential System. Christian Religion gives us some Notices of both Kinds, but very imperfect; what Interest the good Angels have in the Government of the World, and in ordering the Affairs of this Earth and Mankind? What Subjection they have to our Saviour? And what Part in his Ministry? Whether they are Guardians to particular Persons, to Kingdoms, to Empires? All that we know at present, concerning these Things, is but conjectural. And as to the bad Angels, who will give us an Account of their Fall and of their former Condition? I had rather know the History of Lucifer, than of all the Babylonian and Persian Kings; nay, than of all the Kings of the Earth. What the Birth-right was of that mighty Prince? What his Dominions? Where his Imperial Court and Residence? How he was depos’d? For what Crime, and by what Power? How he still wages War against Heaven, in his Exile? What Confederates he hath? What is his Power over Mankind, and how limited? What Change or Damage he suffer’d by the Coming of Christ, and how it alter’d the Posture of his Affairs? Where he will be imprison’d in the Millennium; and what will be his last Fate and final Doom? whether he may ever hope for a Revolution or Restauration? These things lie hid in the secret Records of Providence, which then, I hope, will be open’d to us.
With the Revolution of Worlds, we mention’d before the Revolution of Souls; which is another great Circle of Providence, to be studied hereafter: We know little here, either of the Pre-existence or Post-existence of our Souls. We know not what they will be, till the loud Trump awakes us, and calls us again into the corporeal World. Who knows how many Turns he shall take upon this Stage of the Earth, and how many Trials he shall have, before his Doom will be finally concluded? Who knows where, or what, is the State of Hell? Where the Souls of the Wicked are said to be for ever? What is the true State of Heaven? What our celestial Bodies? and, what that sovereign Happiness that is call’d the Beatifical Vision? Our Knowledge and Conceptions of these things are, at present, very general and superficial; but in the future Kingdom of Christ, which is introductory to Heaven it self, these Imperfections, in a great measure, will be done away; and such Preparations wrought, both in the Will and Understanding, as may fit us for the Life of Angels, and the Enjoyment of God in eternal Glory.
Thus you see in general, what will be the Employment of the Saints in the blessed Millennium: And tho’ they have few of the trifling Businesses of this Life, they will not want the best and noblest of Diversions. ’Tis an happy thing when a Man’s Pleasure is also his Perfection; for most Men’s Pleasures are such as debase their Nature. We commonly gratify our lower Faculties, our Passions, and our Appetites; and these do not improve, but depress the Mind; and besides they are so gross that the finest Tempers are surfeited in a little time. There is no lasting Pleasure but Contemplation; all others grow flat and insipid upon frequent Use; and when a Man hath run thorow a Set of Vanities, in the Declension of his Age he knows not what to do with himself, if he cannot Think; he saunters about, from one dull Business to another to wear out time; and hath no Reason to value Life, but because he is afraid of Death: But Contemplation is a continual Spring of fresh Pleasures. Truth is inexhausted, and when once you are in the right Way, the farther you go, the greater Discoveries you make, and with the greater Joy. We are sometimes highly pleased, and even transported, with little inventions in Mathematicks, or Mechanicks, or natural Philosophy; all these things will make part of their Diversion and Entertainment in that State, all the Doctrine of Sounds and Harmony, of Light, Colours, and Perspective, will be known in Perfection: But these I call Diversions, in comparison of their higher and more serious Speculations, which will be the Business and Happiness of that Life.
Do but imagine, that they will have the Scheme of all humane Affairs lying before them, from the Chaos to the last Period; the universal History and Order of Times; the whole Oeconomy of the Christian Religion, and of all the Religions in the World; the Plan of the Undertaking of the Messiah, with all other Parts and Ingredients of the Providence of this Earth: Do but imagine this, I say, and you will easily allow, that when they contemplate the Beauty, Wisdom and Goodness of the whole Design, it must needs raise great and noble Passions, and a far richer Joy than either the Pleasures or Speculations of this Life can exite in us; and this being the last Act and Close of all human Affairs, it ought to be the more exquisite and elaborate, that it may crown the Work, satisfy the Spectators, and end in a general Applause; the whole Theatre resounding with the Praises of the great Dramatist, and the wonderful Art and Order of the Composition.