Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of the World: Of what Order soever, Profane or Sacred; Jewish or Christian. That no certain Judgment can be made from any of them, at what Distance we are now from the Conflagration.
The Bounds of human Knowledge are so narrow, and the Desire of knowing so vast and illimited, that it often puts Mankind upon irregular Methods of inlarging their Knowledge. This hath made them find out Arts of Commerce with evil Spirits, to be instructed by them in such Events as they could not of themselves discover. We meddle not with those Mysteries of Iniquity: But what hath appear’d under the Notion of divine Prophecy, relating to the Chronology of the World: Giving either the whole Extent of it, or certain Marks of its Expiration; These we purpose to examine in this Place: How far any Thing may, or may not, be concluded from them, as to the Resolution of our Problem, How long the World will last.
Amongst the Heathens, I do not remember any Prophecies of this Nature, except the Sibylline Oracles, as they are usually called. The antient Eastern Philosophers have left us no Account that I can call to mind, about the Time of this Fatality. They say, when the Phœnix returns, we must expect the Conflagration to follow; but the Age of the Phœnix they make as various and uncertain, as they do the Computation of their Great Year, Symbolum ἀποξαταστάσεως πολυχρονίου, Phœnix. Hor. Apol. l. 2. c. 57. which two Things are indeed, one and the same in Effect. Some of them, I confess, mention 6000 Years for the whole Age of the World: Which being the famous Prophecy of the Jews, we shall speak to it largely hereafter; and reduce to that Head, what broken Traditions remain amongst the Heathens of the same thing. As to the Sibylline Oracles, which were so much in Reputation amongst the Greeks and Romans, they have been tamper’d with so much, and chang’d so often, that they are become now of little Authority. They seem to have divided the Duration of the World into ten Ages, and the last of these they make a Golden Age, a State of Peace, Righteousness, and Perfection: But seeing they have not determin’d, in any definite Numbers, what the Length of every Age will be, nor given us the Sum of all, we cannot draw any Conclusion from this Account, as to the Point in question before us: But must proceed to the Jewish and Christian Oracles.
The Jews have a remarkable Prophecy, which expresseth both the Whole, and the Parts of the World’s Duration. The World, they say, will stand Six thousand Years: Two thousand before the Law, Two thousand under the Law, and Two thousand under the Messiah. This Prophecy they derive from Elias; but there were two of the Name, Elias the Thesbite, and Elias the Rabbin, or Cabbalist; and ’tis suppos’d to belong immediately to the latter of these. Yet this does not hinder, in my Opinion, but that it might come originally from the former Elias, and was preserv’d in the School of this Elias the Rabbin, and first made publick by him. Or he added, it may be, that Division of the Time into three Parts, and so got a Title to the whole. I cannot easily imagine, that a Doctor that lived Two hundred Years, or thereabouts, before Christ, when Prophecy had ceas’d for some Ages amongst the Jews, should take upon him to dictate a Prophecy about the Duration of the World, unless he had been supported by some antecedent Cabbalistical Tradition: Which being kept more secret before, he took the Liberty to make Publick, and so was reputed the Author of the Prophecy: As many Philosophers amongst the Greeks, were the reputed Authors of such Doctrines as were much more antient than themselves: But they were the Publishers of them in their Country, or the Revivers of them after a long Silence; and so, by forgetful Posterity, got the Honour of the first Invention.
You will think, it may be, the Time is too long, and the Distance too great, betwixt Elias the Thesbite, and this Elias the Rabbin, for a Tradition to subsist all the while, or be preserv’d with any competent Integrity. But it appears from St. Jude’s Epistle, that the Prophecies of Enoch, (who liv’d before the Flood) relating to the Day of Judgment and the End of the World, were extant in his Time, either in Writing or by Tradition: And the Distance between Enoch and St. Jude was vastly greater than betwixt the two Elias’s. Nor was any fitter to be inspir’d with that Knowledge, or to tell the first News of that fatal Period, than the old Prophet Elias, who is to come again and bring the Alarum of the approaching Conflagration. But however this Conjecture may prove as to the original Author of this Prophecy, the Prophecy itself concerning the Sexmillennial Duration of the World, is very much insisted upon by the Christian Fathers. Which yet I believe is not so much for the bare Authority of the Tradition, as because they thought it was founded in the History of the six Days Creation, and the Sabbath succeeding: As also in some other typical Precepts and Usages in the Law of Moses. But before we speak of that, give me Leave to name some of those Fathers to you, that were of this Judgment, and supposed the great Sabbatism would succeed after the World had stood Six thousand Years. Of this Opinion was St. Barnabas in his Catholick Epistle, ch. xv. Where he argues, that the Creation will be ended in Six thousand Years, as it was finish’d in six Days: Every Day according to the sacred and mystical Account, being a Thousand Years. Of the same Judgment is St. Irenæus, both as to the Conclusion, and the Reason of it, l. 5. c. 28, 29, 30. He saith, the History of the Creation in six Days, is a Narration as to what it past, and a Prophecy of what is to come. As the Work was said to be consummated in 6 Days, and the Sabbath to be the Seventh: So the Consummation of all Things will be in 6000 Years, and then the great Sabbatism to come on in the blessed Reign of Christ. Hippolytus Martyr, Disciple of Irenæus, is of the same Judgment, as you may see in Photius, c. 202. Lactantius in his Divine Institutions, l. 7. c. 14. gives the very same Account of the State and Condition of the World, and the same Proofs for it, and so does St. Cyprian, in his Exhortation to Martyrdom, c. 18. St. Jerome more than once declares himself of the same Opinion; and St. Austin, C. D. l. 20. c. 7. tho’ he wavers, and was doubtful as to the Millennium, or Reign of Christ upon Earth, yet he receives this Computation without Hesitancy, and upon the foremention’d Grounds. So Johannes Damascenus de Fide Orthodoxâ, takes seven Millennaries for the intire Space of the World, from the Creation, to the general Resurrection, the Sabbatism being included. And that this was a receiv’d and approv’d Opinion in early Times, we may collect from the Author of the Questions and Answers, ad Orthodoxos, in Justin Martyr. Who, giving an Answer to that Enquiry about the six thousand Years Term of the World, says, We may conjecture from many Places of Scripture, that those are in the right, that say, six thousand Years is the Time prefix’d, for the Duration of this present Frame of the World. These Authors I have examin’d my self: But there are many others brought in Confirmation of this Opinion: As St. Hilary, Anastasius Sinaita, Sanctus Gaudentius, Q. Julius Hilarion, Junilius Africanus, Isidorus Hispalensis, Cassiodorus, Gregorius Magnus, and others, which I leave to be examin’d by those that have Curiosity and Leisure to do it.
In the mean time, it must be confess’d, that many of these Fathers were under a Mistake, in one respect, in that they generally thought the World was near an End in their Time. An Error, which we need not take Pains to confute now; seeing we, who live twelve hundred or fourteen hundred Years after them, find the World still in being, and likely to continue so for some considerable Time. But it is easy to discern whence their Mistake proceeded: Not from this Prophecy alone, but because they reckon’d this Prophecy according to the Chronology of the Septuagint: Which setting back the Beginning of the World many Ages beyond the Hebrew, these six thousand Years were very near expir’d in the Time of those Fathers; and that made them conclude, that the World was very near an End. We will make no Reflections, in this Place, upon that Chronology of the Septuagint, lest it should too much interrupt the Thread of our Discourse. But it is necessary to shew how the Fathers grounded this Computation of six thousand Years, upon Scripture. ’Twas chiefly, as we suggested before, upon the Hexameron, or the Creation finish’d in six Days, and the Sabbath ensuing. The Sabbath, they said, was a Type of the Sabbatism, that was to follow at the End of the World, according to St. Paul, ch. v. to the Hebrews; and then by Analogy and Consequence, the six Days preceding the Sabbath, must note the Space and Duration of the World. If therefore they could discover how much a Day is reckon’d for, in this mystical Computation, the Sum of the six Days would be easily found out. And they think, that, according to the Psalmist (Psal. xc. 4.) and St. Peter, (2 Epist. iii. 8.) a Day may be estimated a thousand Years, and consequently six Days must be counted six thousand Years, for the Duration of the World. This is their Interpretation, and their Inference: But it must be acknowledged, that there is an essential Weakness in all typical and allegorical Argumentations, in comparison of literal. And this being allow’d in Diminution of the Proof, we may be bold to say, that nothing yet appears, either in Nature, or Scripture, or human Affairs, repugnant to this Supposition of six thousand Years: Which hath Antiquity and the Authority of the Fathers, on its Side.
We proceed now to the Christian Prophecies concerning the End of the World. I do not mention those in Daniel, because I am not satisfied that any there (excepting that of the fifth Kingdom itself) extend so far. But in the Apocalypse of St. John, which is the last Revelation we are to expect, there are several Prophecies that reach to the Consummation of this World, and the first Resurrection. The seven Seals, the seven Trumpets, the seven Vials, do all terminate upon that great Period. But they are rather Historical Prophecies than Chronological; they tell us, in their Language, the Events, but do not measure or express the Time wherein they come to pass. Others there are that may be call’d Chronological, as the treading under Foot the Holy City, Forty and two months, Apoc. xi. 2. The Witnesses opposing Antichrist One thousand Two hundred and sixty Days, Apoc. xi. 3. The Flight of the Woman into the Wilderness, for the same Number of Days, or for a Time, Times, and half a Time, Apoc. xii. 6 & 14. And lastly, The War of the Beasts against the Saints, Forty-two Months, Apoc. xiii. 5. These all, you see, express a Time for their Completion; and all the same Time, if I be not mistaken: But they do not reach to the End of the World. Or if some of them did reach so far, yet because we do not certainly know where to fix their Beginning, we must still be at a Loss, when, or in what Year they will expire. As for Instance, if the Reign of the Beast, or the Preaching of the Witnesses be 1260 Years, as is reasonably suppos’d; yet if we do not know certainly when this Reign, or this Preaching begun, neither can we tell when it will end. And the Epocha’s, or Beginnings of these Prophecies are so differently calculated, and are Things of so long Debate, as to make the Discussion of them altogether improper for this Place. Yet it must be confest, that the best Conjectures that can be made concerning the approaching End of the World, must be taken from a judicious Examination of these Points: And accordingly as we gather up the Prophecies of the Apocalypse, in a successive Completion, we see how by degrees we draw nearer and nearer to the Conclusion of all. But till some of these enlightening Prophecies be accomplish’d, we are as a Man that awakes in the Night, all is dark about him, and he knows not how far the Night is spent; but if he watch till the Light appears, the first Glimpses of that will resolve his Doubts. We must have a little Patience, and, I think, but a little; still eyeing those Prophecies of the Resurrection of the Witnesses, and the Depression of Antichrist: ’Till by their Accomplishment, the Day dawn, and the Clouds begin to change their Colour. Then we shall be able to make a near Guess, when the Sun of Righteousness will arise.
So much for Prophecies. There are also Signs, which are look’d upon as Forerunners of the Coming of our Saviour; and, therefore, may give us some Direction how to judge of the Distance or Approach of that great Day. Thus many of the Fathers thought the coming of Antichrist would be a Sign to give the World Notice of its approaching End. But we may easily see, by what hath been noted before, what it was that led the Fathers into that Mistake. They thought their six thousand Years were near an End, as they truly were, according to that Chronology they followed: and therefore they concluded the Reign of Antichrist must be very short, whensoever he came, and that he could not come long before the End of the World. But we are very well assur’d, from the Revelation of Saint John, that the Reign of Antichrist is not to be so short and transient; and from the Prospect and History of Christendom, that he hath been already upon his Throne many hundreds of Years. Therefore this Sign wholly falls to the Ground; unless you will take it from the Fall of Antichrist, rather than from his first Entrance. Others expect the coming of Elias, to give Warning of that Day, and prepare the Way of the Lord. I am very willing to admit that Elias will come, according to the Sense of the Prophet Malachi, Chap. iv. 5, 6. but he will not come with Observation, no more than he did in the Person of John the Baptist; He will not bear the Name of Elias, nor tell us he is the Man that went to Heaven in a fiery Chariot, and is now come down again to give us Warning of the last Fire. But some divine Person may appear before the second coming of our Saviour, as there did before his first coming, and by giving a new Light and Life to the Christian Doctrine, may dissipate the Mists of Error, and abolish all those little Controversies amongst good Men, and the Divisions and Animosities that spring from them: Enlarging their Spirits by greater Discoveries, and uniting them all in the Bonds of Love and Charity, and in the common Study of Truth and Perfection. Such an Elias the Prophet seems to point at; and may he come, and be the great Peace-maker and Preparer of the Ways of the Lord! But at present, we cannot from this Sign make any Judgment when the World will end.
Another Sign preceding the End of the World, is, The Conversion of the Jews; and this is a wonderful Sign indeed. St. Paul seems expresly to affirm it, Rom. xi. 25, 26. But it is differently understood, either of their Conversion only, or of their Restoration to their own Country, Liberties and Dominion. The Prophets bear hard upon this Sense sometimes, as you may see in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos. And to the same purpose the antient Promise of Moses is interpreted, Deut. xxx. Yet this seems to be a thing very unconceivable: Unless we suppose the ten Tribes to be still in some hidden Corner of the World, from whence they may be conducted again to their own Country, as once out of Ægypt, by a miraculous Providence, and establish’d there: Which, being known, will give the Alarm to all the other Jews, in the World, and make an universal Confluence to their old Home. Then our Saviour, by an extraordinary Appearance to them, as once to St. Paul, John xix. 37. and by Prophets, Apoc. i. 7. Mat. xxiii. 39. rais’d up amongst them for that purpose, may convince them that he is the true Messiah, and convert them to the Christian Faith; which will be no more strange, than was the first Conversion of the Gentile World. But if we be content with a Conversion of the Jews, without their Restoration; and of those two Tribes only, which are now dispersed throughout the Christian World, and other known Parts of the Earth: That these should be converted to the Christian Faith, and incorporated into the Christian Commonwealth, losing their National Character and Distinction: If this, I say, will satisfy the Prophecies, it is not a Thing very difficult to be conceived. For when the World is reduc’d to a better and purer State of Christianity, and that Idolatry, in a great measure remov’d, which gave the greatest Scandal to the Jews, they will begin to have better Thoughts of our Religion, and be dispos’d to a more ingenuous and unprejudic’d Examination of their Prophecies concerning the Messiah: God raising up Men amongst them of divine and enlarged Spirits, Lovers of Truth more than of any particular Sect or Opinion; with Light to discern it, and Courage to profess it. Lastly, It will be a cogent Argument upon them, to see the Age of the World so far spent, and no Appearance yet, of their long expected Messiah. So far spent, I say, that there is no Room left, upon any Computation whatsoever, for the Oeconomy of a Messiah yet to come. This will make them reflect more carefully and impartially upon him whom the Christians propose, Jesus of Nazareth, whom their Fathers Crucified at Jerusalem: Upon the Miracles he wrought in his Life, and after his Death; and upon the wonderful Propagation of his Doctrine throughout the World, after his Ascension. And lastly, upon the Desolation of Jerusalem, upon their own scattered and forlorn Condition, foretold by that Prophet, as a Judgment of God upon an ungrateful and wicked People.
This I have said to state the Case of the Conversion of the Jews, which will be a Sign of the approaching Reign of Christ. But, alas! what Appearance is there of this Conversion in our Days? or what Judgment can we make from a Sign that is not come to pass? ’Tis ineffectual as to us, but may be of Use to Posterity. Yet even to them it will not determine, at what Distance they are from the End of the World, but be a Mark only that they are not far from it. There will be Signs also, in those last Days, in the Heavens, and in the Earth, and in the Sea, Forerunners of the Conflagration; as the Obscuration of the Sun and Moon, Earthquakes, Roarings of the troubled Sea, and such like Disorders in the natural World, ’tis true; but these are the very Pangs of Death, and the Strugglings of Nature just before her Dissolution, and it will be too late then to be aware of our Ruin when it is at the Door. Yet these being Signs or Prodigies taken Notice of by Scripture, we intend, God willing, after we have explained the Causes and Manner of the Conflagration, to give an Account also whence these unnatural Commotions will proceed, that are the Beginnings or immediate Introductions to the last Fire.
Thus we have gone through the Prophecies and Signs that concern the last Day and the last Fate of the World. And how little have we learned from them as to the Time of that great Revolution? Prophecies rise sometimes with an even gradual Light, as the Day riseth upon the Horizon: and sometimes break out suddenly like a Fire, and we are not aware of their Approach ’till we see them accomplish’d. Those that concern the End of the World, are of this latter Sort, to unobserving Men; but even to the most observing, there will still be a Latitude; we must not expect to calculate the coming of our Saviour, like an Eclipse, to Minutes and half Minutes. There are Times and Seasons which the Father hath put in his own Power. If it was design’d to keep these Things secret, we must not think to out-wit Providence, and from the Prophecies that are given us, pick out a Discovery that was not intended we should ever make. It is determin’d in the Councils of Heaven just how far we shall know these Events beforehand, and with what Degree of Certainty: And with this we must be content, whatsoever it is. The Apocalypse of St. John is the last Prophetical Declaration of the Will of God, and contains the Fate of the Christian Religion to the End of the World, its Purity, Degeneracy, and Reviviscency. The Head of this Degeneracy is call’d The Beast, the false Prophet, the Whore of Babylon, in Prophetical Terms: And in an Ecclesiastical Term is commonly call’d Antichrist. Those that bear Testimony against this Degeneracy, are call’d the Witnesses: Who, after they have been a long Time in a mean and persecuted Condition, are to have their Resurrection and Ascension; that is, be advanc’d to Power and Authority. And this Resurrection of the Witnesses, and Depression of Antichrist, is that which will make the great Turn of the World to Righteousness, and the great Crisis, whereby we may judge of its drawing to an End. ’Tis true, there are other Marks, as the passing away of the second Woe, Apoc. c. ix. which is commonly thought to be the Ottoman Empire; and the Effusion of the Vials, Apoc. c. xvi. The first of these will be indeed a very conspicuous Mark, if it follow upon the Resurrection of the Witnesses, as by the Prophecy it seems to do, ch. xi. 14. But as to the Vials, tho’ they do plainly reach in a Series to the End of the World, I am not satisfied with any Exposition I have yet met with, concerning their precise Time or Contents.
In a Word, though the Sum and general Contents of a Prophecy be very intelligible, yet the Application of it to Time and Persons may be very lubricous. There must be Obscurity in a Prophecy, as well as Shadow in a Picture. All its Lines must not stand in a full Light. For if Prophecies were open and barefac’d as to all their Parts and Circumstances, they would check and obstruct the Course of human Affairs; and hinder, if it was possible, their own Accomplishment. Modesty and Sobriety are in all Things commendable, but in nothing more than in the Explication of these sacred Mysteries; and we have seen so many miscarry by a too close and particular Application of them, that we ought to dread the Rock about which we see so many Shipwrecks. He that does not err above a Century, in calculating the last Period of Time, from what Evidence we have at present, hath, in my Opinion, cast up his Accounts very well. But the Scenes will change fast towards the Evening of this long Day, and when the Sun is near setting, they will more easily compute how far he hath to run.
The Difficulty of conceiving how this Earth can be set on Fire. With a general Answer to that Difficulty. Two suppos’d Causes of the Conflagration, by the Sun’s drawing nearer to the Earth, or the Earth’s throwing out the central Fire, examin’d and rejected.
We have now made our Way clear to the principal Point, The Causes of the Conflagration: How the Heavens and the Earth will be set on Fire, what Materials are prepared, or what Train of Causes, for that purpose. The Antients, who have kept us Company pretty well thus far, here quite desert us: they deal more in Conclusions than Causes, as is usual in all Traditional Learning. And the Stoicks themselves, who inculcate so much the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and make the Strength of it such, as to dissolve the Earth into a fiery Chaos, are yet very short and superficial in their Explications, how this shall come to pass. The latent Seeds of Fire, they say, shall every where be let loose, and that Element will prevail over all the rest, and transform every Thing into its own Nature. But these are general Things, that give little Satisfaction to inquisitive Persons. Neither do the modern Authors, that treat of the same Subject, relieve us in this Particular: They are willing to suppose the Conflagration a superficial Effect, that so they may excuse themselves the Trouble of enquiring after Causes. ’Tis no doubt, in a Sort supernatural; and so the Deluge was: Yet Moses sets down the Causes of the Deluge, the Rains from above, and the Disruption of the Abyss. So there must be Treasures of Fire provided against that Day, by whose Eruption this second Deluge will be brought upon the Earth.
To state the Case fairly, we must first represent the Difficulty of setting the Earth on Fire; tye the Knot, before we loose it; that so we may the better judge whether the Causes that shall be brought into View, may be sufficient to overcome so great Opposition. The Difficulty, no doubt, will be chiefly from the great Quantity of Water that is about our Globe; whereby Nature seems to have made Provision against any Invasion by Fire, and secur’d us from that Enemy more than any other. We see half of the Surface of the Earth cover’d with the Seas, whose Channel is of a vast Depth and Capacity: Besides innumerable Rivers, great and small, that water the Face of the dry Land, and drench it with perpetual Moisture. Then within the Bowels of the Earth, there are Store-Houses of subterraneous Waters; which are as a Reserve, in case the Ocean and the Rivers should be overcome. Neither is Water our only Security, for the hard Rocks, and stony Mountains, which no Fire can bide upon, are set in long Ranges upon the Continents and Islands; and must needs give a Stop to the Progress of that furious Enemy, in case he should attack us. Lastly, the Earth itself is not combustible in all its Parts. ’Tis not every Soil that is fit Fewel for the Fire. Clay, and Mire, and such like Soils, will rather choak and stifle it, than help it on its Way. By these Means one would think the Body of the Earth secur’d; and though there may be partial Fires, or Inundations of Fire, here and there, in particular Regions, yet there cannot be an universal Fire throughout the Earth. At least, one would hope for a safe Retreat towards the Poles, where there is nothing but Snow, and Ice, and bitter Cold. These Regions sure are in no Danger to be burnt, whatsoever becomes of the other Climates of the Earth.
This being the State and Condition of the present Earth, one would not imagine by these Preparations, ’twas ever intended that it should perish by an universal Fire. But such is often the Method of Providence, that the exterior Face of Things looks one Way, and the Design lies another; ’till at length, touching a Spring, as it were, at a certain Time, all those Affairs change Posture and Aspect, and shew us which way Providence inclines. We must therefore suppose, before the Conflagration begins, there will be Dispositions and Preparatives suitable to so great a Work: and all Antiquity, sacred and prophane, does so far concur with us, as to admit and suppose that a great Drought will precede, and an extraordinary Heat and Dryness of the Air, to usher in this fiery Doom. And these being Things which often happen in a Course of Nature, we cannot disallow such easy Preparations, when Providence intends so great a Consequence. The Heavens will be shut up, and the Clouds yield no Rain; and by this, with an immoderate Heat in the Air, the Springs of Water will become dry, the Earth chapp’d and parch’d, and the Woods and Trees made ready Fewel for the Fire. We have Instances, in History, that there have been Droughts and Heats of this Nature, to that Degree, that the Woods and Forests have taken Fire, and the outward Turf and Surface of the Earth, without any other Cause than the Dryness of the Season, and the Vehemency of the Sun. And, which is more considerable, the Springs and Fountains being dry’d up, the greater Rivers have been sensibly lessen’d, and the lesser quite empty’d, and exhal’d. These Things, which happen frequently, in particular Countries and Climates, may, at an appointed Time, by the Disposition of Providence, be more universal throughout the Earth; and have the same Effects every where, that we see by Experience they have had in certain Places: And by this Means, we may conceive it as feasible to set the whole Earth on Fire in some little Space of Time, as to burn up this, or that Country after a great Drought. But I mean this, with Exception still to the main Body of the Sea; which will indeed receive a greater Diminution from these Causes, than we easily imagine; but the final Consumption of it will depend upon other Reasons, whereof we must give an Account in the following Chapters.
As to the Mountains and Rocks, their lofty Heads will sink when the Earthquakes begin to roar, at the Beginning of the Conflagration; as we shall see hereafter. And as to the Earth itself, ’tis true there are several Sorts of Earth that are not proper Fuel for Fire; but those Soils that are not so immediately, as clayey Soils, and such like, may, by the Strength of Fire, be converted into Brick, or Stone, or earthen Metal, and so melted down and vitrified. For, in Conclusion, there is no terrestrial Body that does not finally yield to the Force of Fire, and may either be converted into Flame, incorporated Fire, or into a Liquor more ardent than either of them. Lastly, As to the Polar Regions, which you think will be a safe Retreat and inaccessible to the Fire; ’tis true, unless Providence hath laid subterraneous Treasures of Fire there unknown to us, those Parts of the Earth will be the last consum’d. But it is to be observ’d, that the Cold of those Regions proceeds from the Length of their Winter, and their Distance from the Sun when he is beyond the Æquator; and both these Causes will be removed at the Conflagration. For we suppose the Earth will then return to its primitive Situation, which we have explain’d in the second Book of this Theory, chap. iii. and will have the Sun always in its Æquator; whereby the several Climates of the Earth will have a perpetual Equinox, and those under the Poles a perpetual Day: And therefore all the Excess of Cold, and all the Consequences of it, will soon be abated. However, the Earth will not be burnt in one Day, and those Parts of the Earth being uninhabited, there is no Inconvenience that they should be more slowly consum’d than the rest.
This is a general Answer to the Difficulty propos’d about the Possibility of the Conflagration; and being general only, the Parts of it must be more fully explain’d and confirm’d in the Sequel of this Discourse. We should now proceed directly to the Causes of the Conflagration, and shew in what manner they do this great Execution upon Nature: But to be just and impartial in this Enquiry, we ought first to separate the spurious and pretended Causes from those that are real and genuine; to make no false Musters, nor any shew of being stronger than we are; and if we can do our Work with less Force, it will be more to our Credit; as a Victory is more honourable that is gain’d with fewer Men.
There are two grand capital Causes which some Authors make use of, as the chief Agents in this Work, the Sun, and the Central Fire. These two great Incendiaries, they say, will be let loose upon us at the Conflagration; the one drawing nearer to the Earth, and the other breaking out of its Bowels into these upper Regions. These are potent Causes indeed, more than enough to destroy this Earth, if it was a thousand Times bigger than it is. But for that very Reason, I suspect they are not the true Causes; for God and Nature do not use to employ unnecessary Means to bring about their Designs. Disproportion and Over-sufficiency is one sort of false Measures, and ’tis a Sign we do not thoroughly understand our Work, when we put more Strength to it than the Thing requires. Men are forward to call in extraordinary Powers, to rid their Hands of a troublesome Argument, and so make a short Dispatch to save themselves the Pains of further Enquiries; but as such Methods as these commonly have no Proof, so they give little Satisfaction to an Inquisitive Mind. This Supposition of burning the Earth, by the Sun drawing nearer and nearer to it, seems to be made in Imitation of the Story of Phaeton, who driving the Chariot of the Sun with an unsteady Hand, came so near the Earth, that he set it on Fire. But however, we will not reject any Pretensions without a fair Trial: Let us examine therefore what Grounds they can have for either of these Suppositions, of the Approximation of the Sun to the Earth, or the Eruption of the Central Fire.
As to the Sun, I desire first to be satisfied in present Matter of Fact: Whether by any Instrument or Observation it hath or can be discover’d, that the Sun is nearer to the Earth now, than he was in former Ages? Or, If by any Reasoning or comparing Calculations, such a Conclusion can be made? If not, this is but an imaginary Cause, and as easily deny’d as propos’d. Astronomers do very little agree in their Opinions about the Distance of the Sun: Ptolemy, Albategnius, Copernicus, Tycho, Kepler, and others more modern, differ all in their Calculations; but not in such a Manner or Proportion, as should make us believe that the Sun comes nearer to the Earth, but rather goes further from it. For the more modern of them make the Distance greater than the more ancient do. Kepler says, the Distance of the Sun from the Earth lies betwixt 700 and 2000 Semidiameters of the Earth: But Ricciolus makes it betwixt 700 and 7000: And Gottefred Wendelme hath taken 14656 Semidiameters, for a middle Proportion of the Sun’s Distance; to which Kepler himself came very near in his later Years. So that you see how groundless our Fears are from the Approaches of an Enemy, that rather flies from us, if he change Postures at all. And we have more Reason to believe the Report of the modern Astronomers, than of the antient, in this Matter; both because the Nature of the Heavens and of the celestial Bodies is now better known, and also because they have found out better Instruments and better Methods to make their Observations.
If the Sun and Earth were come nearer to one another, either the Circle of the Sun’s diurnal Arch would be less, and so the Day shorter; or the Orbit of the Earth’s annual Course would be less, and so the Year shorter: Neither of which we have any Experience of. And those that suppose us in the Centre of the World, need not be afraid ’till they see Mercury and Venus in a Combustion, for they lie betwixt us and Danger; and the Sun cannot come so readily at us with his fiery Darts, as at them who stand in his Way. Lastly, this languishing Death, by the gradual Approaches of the Sun, and that irreparable Ruin of the Earth, which at last must follow from it, do neither of them agree with that Idea of the Conflagration, which the Scripture hath given us; for it is to come suddenly and unexpectedly, and take us off like a Violent Fever, not as a lingring Consumption. And the Earth is also to be destroyed by Fire, as not to take away all Hopes of a Resurrection, or Renovation: For we are assur’d by Scripture, that there will be new Heavens and a new Earth after these are burnt up. But if the Sun should come so near us, as to make the Heavens pass away with a Noise, and melt the Elements with fervent Heat, and destroy the Form, and all the Works of the Earth, what Hopes or Possibility would there be of a Renovation, while the Sun continu’d in this Posture? He would more and more consume and prey upon the Carcass of the Earth, and convert it at length either into an Heap of Ashes, or a Lump of vitrified Metal.
So much for the Sun. As to the Central Fire, I am very well satisfied it is no imaginary Thing: All Antiquity hath preserv’d some sacred Monument of it: The Vestal Fire of the Romans, which was so religiously attended: The Prytoneia of the Greeks were to the same purpose, and dedicated to Vesta: And the Pyretheia of the Persians, where Fire was kept continually by the Magi. These all, in my Opinion, had the same Origin, and the same Signification. And tho’ I do not know any particular Observation, that does directly prove or demonstrate that there is such a Mass of Fire in the middle of the Earth; yet the best Accounts we have of the Generation of a Planet do suppose it; and ’tis agreeable to the whole Oeconomy of Nature: As a Fire in the Heart, which gives Life to her Motions and Productions. But, however, the Question is not at present, about the Existence of this Fire, but the Eruption of it, and the Effect of that Eruption; which cannot be, in my Judgment, such a Conflagration as describ’d in Scripture.
This Central Fire must be enclos’d in a Shell of great Strength and Firmness; for being of itself the lightest, and most active of all Bodies, it would not be detained in the lowest Prison without a strong Guard upon it. ’Tis true, we can make no certain Judgment of what Thickness this Shell is; but if we suppose this Fire to have a twentieth Part of the Semidiameter of the Earth, on either side the Centre, for its Sphere, which seems to be a fair Allowance; there would still remain nineteen Parts for our Safeguard and Security: And these nineteen Parts of the Semidiameter of the Earth will make 3268 Miles, for a Partition-Wall betwixt us and this Central Fire. Who would be afraid of an Enemy lock’d up in so strong a Prison? But you’ll say, it may be, tho’ the Central Fire, at the Beginning of the World, might have no more Room or Space than what is mention’d; yet being of that Activity that it is, and corrosive Nature, it may, in the Space of some thousands of Years, have eaten deep into the Sides of its Prison; and so come nearer to the Surface of the Earth by some hundreds or thousands of Miles, than it was at first. This would be a material Exception, if it could be made out. But what Phænomenon is there in Nature that proves this? How does it appear by an Observation, that the Central Fire gains Ground upon us? Or is increased in Quantity, or come nearer to the Surface of the Earth? I know nothing that can be offer’d in Proof of this: and if there be no Appearance of a Change, nor any sensible Effect of it, ’tis an Argument there is none, or none considerable. If the Quantity of that Fire was considerably increas’d, it must needs, besides other Effects, have made the Body of the Earth considerably lighter. The Earth having, by this Conversion of its own Substance into Fire, lost so much of its heaviest Matter, and got so much of the lightest and most active Element instead of it: and in both these respects, its Gravity would be manifestly lessen’d. Which if it really was in any considerable Degree, it would discover it self by some Change, either as to the Motion of the Earth, or as to its Place or Station in the Heavens. But there being no external Change observable, in this or any other respect, ’tis reasonable to presume that there is no considerable inward Change, or no great Consumption of its inward Parts and Substance; and consequently no great Increase of the central Fire.
But if we should admit both an Increase and Eruption of this Fire, it would not have that Effect which is pretended. It might cause some Confusion and Disorder in those Parts of the Earth where it broke out, but it would not make an universal Conflagration, such as is represented to us in Scripture. Let us suppose the Earth to be open, or burst in any Place; under the Pole, for Instance, or under the Æquator; and let it gape as low as the Central Fire: At this Chasm or Rupture we suppose the Fire would gush out; and what then would be the Consequence of this when it came to the Surface of the Earth? It would either be dissipated and lost in the Air, or fly still higher towards the Heavens in a Mass of Flame. But what Execution in the mean time would it do upon the Body of the Earth? ’Tis but like a Flash of Lightning, or a Flame issuing out of a Pit, that dies presently. Besides, this Central Fire is of that Subtilty and Tenuity, that it is not able to inflame gross Bodies: no more than those Meteors we call Lambent Fires, inflame the Bodies to which they stick. Lastly, in explaining the Manner of the Conflagration, we must have regard principally to Scripture; for the Explications given there are more to the purpose, than all that the Philosophers have said upon that Subject. Now, as we noted before, ’tis manifest in Scripture, that after the Conflagration, there will be a Restauration, new Heavens, and a new Earth. ’Tis the express Doctrine of St. Peter, besides other Prophets: We must therefore suppose the Earth reduc’d to such a Chaos by this last Fire, as will lay the Foundation of a new World, 2 Pet. iii. 12, 13. Which can never be, if the inward Frame of it be broke, the Central Fire exhausted, and the exterior Region suck’d into those central Vacuities. This must needs make it lose its former Poise and Libration, and it will thereupon be thrown into some other Part of the Universe, as the useless Shell of a broken Granado, or as a dead Carcass, and unprofitable Matter.
These Reasons may be sufficient why we should not depend upon those pretended Causes of the Conflagration, the Sun’s Advance towards the Earth, or such a Rupture of the Earth as will let out the Central Fire. These Causes, I hope, will appear superfluous, when we shall have given an Account of the Conflagration without them. But young Philosophers, like young Soldiers, think they are never sufficiently armed; and often take more Weapons, than they can make use of, when they come to fight. Not that we altogether reject the Influence of the Sun, or of the Central Fire; especially the latter: For in that great Estuation of Nature, the Body of the Earth will be much open’d and relaxated; and when the Pores are enlarg’d, the Steams of that Fire will sweat out more plentifully into all its Parts; but still without any Rupture in the Vessels, or in the Skin. And whereas these Authors suppose the very Veins to burst, and the vital Blood to gush out, as at open Flood-Gates, we only allow a more copious Perspiration, and think that sufficient for all Purposes in this Case.
The true Bounds of the last Fire, and how far it is fatal. The natural Causes and Materials of it, cast into three Ranks: First, Such as are exterior and visible upon the Earth; where the Vulcano’s of the Earth, and their Effects, are consider’d. Secondly, Such Materials as are within the Earth. Thirdly, Such as are in the Air.
As we have, in the preceding Chapter, laid aside those Causes of the Conflagration which we thought too great and cumbersome; so now we must, in like manner, examine the Effect, and reduce that to its just Measures and Proportions, that there may be nothing left superfluous on either side; then, by comparing the real Powers with the Work they are to do, both being stated within their due Bounds, we may the better judge how they are proportion’d to one another.
We noted before, that the Conflagration had nothing to do with the Stars, and superior Heavens, but was wholly confin’d to this sublunary World. And this Deluge of Fire will have much what the same Bounds, that the Deluge of Water had formerly. This is according to St. Peter’s Doctrine, for he makes the same Parts of the Universe to be the Subject of both: Namely, the inferior Heavens and the Earth, 2 Pet. iii. 5, 6. The Heavens and the Earth which were then, perish’d in a Deluge of Water: ver. 7. But the Heavens and the Earth that are now, are reserv’d to Fire. The present Heavens and Earth are substituted in the Place of those that perish’d at the Deluge, and these are to be over-run and destroy’d by Fire, as those were by Water. So that the Apostle takes the same Regions, and the same Space and Compass for the one, as for the other, and makes their Fate different according to their different Constitution, and the different Order of Providence. This is the Sense St. Austin gives us of the Apostle’s Words, and these are the Bounds he sets to the last Fire; whereof a modern Commentator is so well assur’d, that he says, Estius in loc. They neither understand Divinity, nor Philosophy, that would make the Conflagration reach above the elementary Heavens.
Let these be then its Limits upwards, the Clouds, Air, and Atmosphere of the Earth. But the Question seems more doubtful, How far it will extend downwards, into the Bowels of the Earth? I answer still, to the same Depth that the Waters of the Deluge reach’d: To the lowest Abysses, and the deepest Caverns within the Ground. And seeing no Caverns are deeper or lower, at least according to our Theory, than the Bottom of the great Ocean, to that Depth, I suppose, the Rage of this Fire will penetrate, and devour all before it. And therefore we must not imagine, that only the outward Turf and habitable Surface of the Earth will be put into a Flame and laid waste: the whole exterior Region of the Earth, to the Depth of the deepest Part of the Sea, will suffer in this Fire; and suffer to that Degree, as to be melted down, and the Frame of it dissolv’d. For we are not to conceive that the Earth will be only scorcht or charkt in the last Fire, there will be a Sort of Liquefaction and Dissolution; Rev. xv. 2. 2 Pet. iii. 10. Psal. xcvii. 5. it will become a molten Sea mingled with Fire, according to the Expression of Scripture. And this Dissolution may reasonably be suppos’d to reach as low as the Earth hath any Hollownesses, or can give vent to Smoak and Flame.
Wherefore, taking these for the Bounds and Limits of the last great Fire, the next Thing to be enquired into, are the Natural Causes of it: How this strange Fate will seize upon the sublunary World, and with an irresistible Fury subdue all Things to it self. But when I say Natural Causes, I would not be so understood, as if I thought the Conflagration was a pure Natural Fatality, as the Stoicks seem to do. No, ’tis a mix’d Fatality; the Causes indeed are Natural, but the Administration of them is from an higher Hand. Fire is the Instrument, or the executive Power, and hath no more Force given it than what it hath naturally; but the Concurrence of these Causes, or of these fiery Powers, at such a Time, and in such a Manner, and the Conduct of them to carry on and complete the whole Work without Cessation or Interruption, that I look upon as more than what material Nature could effect of itself, or than could be brought to pass by such a Government of Matter, as is the bare Result of its own Laws and Determinations. When a Ship falls gently before the Wind, the Mariners may stand idle; but to guide her in a Storm, all Hands must be at Work. There are Rules and Measures to be observ’d, even in these Tumults and Desolations of Nature, in destroying a World, as well as in making one, and, therefore, in both it is reasonable to suppose a more than ordinary Providence to superintend the Work. Let us not, therefore, be too positive or presumptuous in our Conjectures about these Things; for if there be an invisible Hand, Divine or Angelical, that touches the Springs and Wheels; it will not be easy for us to determine, with Certainty, the Order of their Motions. However, ’tis our Duty to search into the Ways and Works of God, as far as we can: And we may, without Offence, look into the Magazines of Nature; see what Provisions are made, and what Preparations for this great Day; and in what Method ’tis most likely the Design will be executed.
But before we proceed to mark out Materials for this Fire, give me leave to observe one Condition or Property in the Form of this present Earth, that makes it capable of Inflammation. ’Tis the Manner of its Construction, in an hollow cavernous Form: By reason whereof, containing much Air in its Cavities, and having many Inlets and Outlets, ’tis in most Places capable of Ventilation, pervious and passable to the Winds, and consequently to the Fire. Those that have read the former Part of this Theory, Book 1. ch. 6, 7. know how the Earth came into this hollow and broken Form; from what Causes and at what Time; namely, at the universal Deluge; when there was a Disruption of the exterior Earth that fell into the Abyss, and so, for a Time was overflow’d with Water. These Ruins, recover’d from the Water, we inhabit, and these Ruins, only will be burnt up; for being not only unequal in their Surface, but also hollow, loose, and incompact within, as Ruins use to be, they are made thereby capable of a second Fate, by Inflammation. Thereby, I say, they are made combustible; for if the exterior Regions of this Earth were as close and compact in all their Parts, as we have Reason to believe the interior Regions of it to be, the Fire could have little Power over it, nor ever reduce it to such a State as is requir’d in a compleat Conflagration, such as ours is to be.
This being admitted, that the exterior Region of the Earth stands hollow, as a well set Fire, to receive Air freely into its Parts, and hath Issues for Smoke and Flame: It remains to enquire, what Fuel or Materials Nature hath fitted to kindle this Pile, and to continue it on Fire ’till it be consum’d; or, in plain Words, what are the natural Causes and Preparatives for a Conflagration. The first and most obvious Preparations that we see in Nature for this Effect, are the burning Mountains, or Volcano’s of the Earth. These are lesser Essays or Preludes to the general Fire: set on purpose by Providence to keep us awake, and to mind us continually, and forewarn us of what we are to expect at last. The Earth, you see, is already kindled, blow but the Coal, and propagate the Fire, and the Work will go on, Isa. xxx. 33. Tophet is prepared of old; and when the Day of Doom is come, and the Date of the World expir’d, the Breath of the Lord shall make it burn.
But besides these burning Mountains, there are Lakes of Pitch and Brimstone, and oily Liquors dispers’d in several Parts of the Earth. These are to enrage the Fire as it goes, and to fortify it against any Resistance or Opposition. Then all the vegetable Productions upon the Surface of the Earth, as Trees, Shrubs, Grass, Corn, and such like; every thing that grows out of the Ground, is Fewel for the Fire; and tho’ they are now accommodated to our Use and Service, they will then turn all against us; and with a mighty Blaze, and rapid Course, make a Devastation of the outward Furniture of the Earth, whether natural or artificial. But these Things deserve some further Consideration, especially that strange Phænomenon of the Volcano’s or burning Mountains, which we will now consider more particularly.
There is nothing certainly more terrible in all Nature than fiery Mountains to those that live within the View or Noise of them; but it is not easy for us, who never see them, nor heard them, to represent them to ourselves with such just and lively Imaginations as shall excite in us the same Passions, and the same Horror as they would excite, if present to our Senses. The Time of their Eruption, and of their Raging, is, of all others, the most dreadful; but, many times, before their Eruption, the Symptoms of an approaching Fit are very frightful to the People. The Mountain begins to roar and bellow in its hollow Caverns; cries out, as it were, in Pain to be deliver’d of some Burthen too heavy to be born, and too big to be easily discharged. The Earth shakes and trembles, in Apprehension of the Pangs and Convulsions that are coming upon her; and the Sun often hides his Head, or appears with a discolour’d Face, pale, or dusky, or bloody, as if all Nature was to suffer in this Agony. After these Forerunners or Symptoms of an Eruption, the wide Jaws of the Mountain open: And first, Clouds of Smoke issue out, then Flames of Fire, and after that a Mixture of all Sorts of burning Matter; red hot Stones, Lumps of Metal, half-dissolv’d Minerals, with Coals and fiery Ashes. These fall in thick Showers round about the Mountain, and in all adjacent Parts; and not only so, but are carried, partly by the Force of the Expulsion, and partly by the Winds when they are aloft in the Air, into far distant Countries. As from Italy to Constantinople, and cross the Mediterranean Sea into Africk; as the best Historians, Procopius, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Dion Cassius, have attested.
These Vulcano’s are planted in several Regions of the Earth, and in both Continents, this of ours, and the other of America. For by Report of those that have view’d that new-found World, there are many Mountains in it that belch out Smoke and Fire; some constantly, and others by Fits, and Intervals. In our Continent, Providence hath variously dispers’d them, without any Rule known to us; but they are generally in Islands, or near the Sea. In the Asiatick Oriental Islands they are in great Abundance, and Historians tell us of a Mountain in the Island Java, that in the Year 1586, at one Eruption, kill’d ten thousand People in the neighbouring Cities and Country: But we do not know so well the History of those remote Vulcano’s, as of such as are in Europe and nearer Home. In Iseland, tho’ it lie within the polar Circle, and is scarce habitable by reason of the Extremity of Cold, and abundance of Ice and Snow, yet there are three burning Mountains in that Island; whereof the chief and most remarkable is Hecla. This hath its Head always cover’d with Snow, and its Belly always fill’d with Fire; and these are both so strong in their kind, and equally powerful, that they cannot destroy one another. It is said to cast out, when it rages, besides Earth, Stones, and Ashes, a Sort of flaming Water; as if all Contrarieties were to meet in this Mountain, to make it the more perfect Resemblance of Hell, as the credulous Inhabitants fancy it to be.
But there are no Vulcano’s, in my Opinion, that deserve our Observation so much, as those that are in and about the Mediterranean Sea; There is a Knot of them, called the Vulcanian Islands, from their fiery Eruptions, as if they were the Forges of Vulcan; as Strombolo, Lapara, and others, which are not so remarkable now, as they have been formerly. However, without dispute, there are none in the Christian World to be compared with Ætna and Vesuvius; one in the Island of Sicily, and the other in Campania, overlooking the Port and City of Naples. These two, from all Memory of Man, and the most antient Records of History, have been fam’d for the Treasures of subterraneous Fires, which are not yet exhausted, nor diminsh’d, so far as is perceivable; for they rage still, upon Occasion, with as much Fierceness and Violence, as they ever did in former Ages; as if they had a continual Supply to answer their Expences, and were to stand till the last Fire, as a Type and Prefiguration of it, throughout all Generations.
Let us therefore take these two Volcano’s as a Pattern for the rest; seeing they are well known, and stand in the Heart of the Christian World, where, ’tis likely, the last Fire will make its first Assault. Ætna, of the two, is more spoken of by the Antients, both Poets and Historians; and we should scarce give Credit to their Relations concerning it, if some later Eruptions did not equal, or exceed the Fame of all that have been reported from former Ages: That it heated the Waters of the Sea, and cover’d them over with Ashes; crack’d, or dissolv’d the neighbouring Rocks; darken’d the Sun and the Air; and cast out, not only mighty Streams of Flame, but a Flood of melted Ore, and other Materials: These Things we can now believe, having had Experience of greater, or and Account of them from such, as have been Eye-Witnesses of these Fires, or of the fresh Ruins and sad Effects of them.
There are two Things especially, in these Eruptions of Ætna, that are most prodigious in themselves, and most remarkable for our Purpose: The Rivers of fiery Matter that break out of its Bowels, or are spew’d out of its Mouth; and the vast burning Stones which it flings into the Air, at a strange Height and Distance. As to these fiery Rivers, or Torrents, and the Matter whereof they are compounded, we have a full Account of them by Alphonsus Borellus, a learned Mathematician at Pisa; who, after the last great Eruption on the Year 1669, went into Sicily, while the Fact was fresh, to view and survey what Ætna had done or suffer’d; and he says, the Quantity of Matter thrown out of the Mountain at that Time, upon Survey, amounted to ninety three Millions, eight Hundred thirty eight Thousand, seven Hundred and fifty cubical Paces. So that if it had been extended in Length upon the Surface of the Earth, it would reach further than ninety three Millions of Paces; which is more than four times the Circumference of the whole Earth, taking a thousand Paces to a Mile. This is strange to our Imagination, and almost incredible, that one Mountain should throw out so much fiery Matter, besides all the Ashes that were disperst through the Air, far and near, and could be brought to no Account.
’Tis true, all this Matter was not actually inflam’d or liquid Fire; but the rest, that was Sand, Stone, and Gravel, might have run into Glass, or some melted Liquor like to it, if it had not been thrown out before the Heat fully reach’d it: However, sixty Million Paces of this Matter, as the same Author computes, were liquid Fire, or came out of the Mouth of the Pit in that Form; this made a River of Fire, sometimes two Miles broad, according to his Computation; but, according to the Observation of others who also viewed it, the Torrent of Fire was six or seven Miles broad, and sometimes ten or fifteen Fathoms deep; and forc’d its Way into the Sea near a Mile, preserving it self alive in the midst of the Waters.
This is beyond all the infernal Lakes and Rivers Acheron, Phlegeton, Cocytus; all that the Poets have talk’d of: Their greatest Fictions about Hell have not come up to the Reality of one of our burning Mountains upon Earth. Imagine then, all our Volcano’s raging at once in this manner——But I will not pursue that Supposition yet: Give me leave only to add here, what I mentioned in the second Place, the vast Burning Stones which this Mountain, in the time of its Rage and Æstuation, threw into the Air with an incredible Force. This same Author tells us of a Stone fifteen Foot long, that was flung out of the Mouth of the Pit, to a Mile’s Distance; and when it fell, it came from such an Height, and with such a Violence, that it buried it self in the Ground eight Foot deep. What Trifles are our Mortar-Pieces and Bombs, when compared with these Engines of Nature? When she flings, out of the wide Throat of a Volcano, a broken Rock, and twirls it in the Air like a little Bullet; then lets it fall, to do Execution here below, as Providence shall point and direct it! It would be hard to give an Account, how so great an Impulse can be given to a Body so ponderous: But there’s no disputing against Matter of Fact; and as the Thoughts of God are not like our Thoughts, so neither are his Works like our Works.
Thus much for Ætna. Let us now give an Instance in Vesuvius, another burning Mountain upon the Coast of the Mediterranean, which hath as frequent Eruptions, and some as terrible as those of Ætna. Lib. 66. Dion. Cassius (one of the best Writers of the Roman History) hath given us an Account of one that happened in the Time of Titus Vespasian; and tho’ he hath not set down Particulars, as the former Author did, of the Quantity of fiery Matter thrown out at that Time: yet supposing that proportionable to its Fierceness in other Respects, this seems to me as dreadful an Eruption as any we read of; and was accompanied with such Prodigies and Commotions in the Heavens and the Earth, as made it look like the Beginning of the last Conflagration. As a Prelude to this Tragedy, he says, there were strange Sights in the Air, and after that followed an extraordinary Drought: Then the Earth begun to tremble and quake; and the Concussions were so great, that the Ground seem’d to rise and boil up in some Places, and in others the Tops of the Mountains sunk in, or tumbled down: At the same Time were great Noises and Sounds heard; some were subterraneous, like Thunder within the Earth; others above Ground, like Groans or Bellowings. The Sea roared, the Heavens ratled with a fearful Noise, and then came a sudden and mighty Crack, as if the Frame of Nature had broke, or all the Mountains of the Earth had fallen down at once. At length Vesuvius burst, and threw out of its Womb, first, huge Stones, then a vast Quantity of Fire and Smoke, so as the Air was all darkned, and the Sun was hid, as if he had been under a great Eclipse. The Day was turn’d into Night, and Light into Darkness; and the frighted People thought the Giants were making War against Heaven, and fansied they saw the Shapes and Images of Giants in the Smoke, and heard the Sound of their Trumpets: Others thought, the World was returning to its first Chaos, or going to be all consumed with Fire. In this general Confusion and Consternation, they knew not where to be safe; some run out of the Fields into the Houses, others out of the Houses into the Fields; those that were at Sea hastened to Land, and those that were at Land endeavoured to get to Sea; still thinking every Place safer than that where they were. Besides grosser Lumps of Matter, there was thrown out of the Mountain such a prodigious Quantity of Ashes, as cover’d the Land and Sea, and filled the Air, so as besides other Damages, the Birds, Beasts and Fishes, with Men, Women, and Children were destroy’d, within such a Compass; and two entire Cities, Herculanium and Pompeios, were overwhelm’d with a Shower of Ashes, as the People were sitting in the Theatre. Nay, these Ashes were carried, by the Winds, over the Mediterranean into Africk, and into Ægypt and Syria. And at Rome they choak’d the Air on a sudden, so as to hide the Face of the Sun; Whereupon the People not knowing the Cause, as not having yet got the News from Campania, of the Eruption of Vesuvius, could not imagine what the Reason should be; but thought the Heavens and the Earth were coming together, the Sun coming down, and the Earth going to take its Place above. Thus far the Historian.
You see what Disorders in Nature, and what an Alarum, the Eruption of one fiery Mountain is capable to make. These Things, no doubt, would have made strong Impressions upon us, if we had been Eye-Witnesses of them; but I know, Representations made from dead History, and at a Distance, though the Testimony be never so credible, have a much less Effect upon us, than what we see ourselves, and what our Senses immediately inform us of. I have only given you an Account of two Volcano’s, and of a single Eruption in either of them: These Mountains are not very far distant from one another; let us suppose two such Eruptions, as I have mentioned, to happen at the same Time, and both these Mountains to be raging at once in this Manner; by that Violence you have seen in each of them singly, you will easily imagine what Terror and Desolation they would carry round about, by a Conjunction of their Fury, and all their Effects, in the Air, and on the Earth. Then, if to these two you should join two more, the Sphere of their Activity would still be enlarged, and the Scenes become more dreadful. But to compleat the Supposition, let us imagine all the Volcano’s of the whole Earth to be prepar’d, and set to a certain Time; which Time being come, and a Signal given by Providence, all these Mines begin to play at once; I mean, all these fiery Mountains burst out, and discharge themselves in Flames of Fire, tear up the Roots of the Earth, throw hot burning Stones, send out Streams of flowing Metals and Minerals, and all other Sorts of ardent Matter, which Nature hath lodg’d in those Treasuries: If all these Engines, I say, were to play at once, the Heavens and the Earth would seem to be in a Flame, and the World in an universal Combustion. But we may reasonably presume, that against that great Day of Vengeance and Execution, not only all these will be employ’d, but also new Volcano’s will be opened, and new Mountains in every Region will break out into Smoke and Flame; just as at the Deluge, the Abyss broke out from the Womb of the Earth, and from those hidden Stores sent an immense Quantity of Water, which, it may be the Inhabitants of that World never thought of before: So we must expect new Eruptions, and also new sulphureous Lakes, and Fountains of Oyl, to boyl out of the Ground: and these, all united with that Fewel that naturally grows upon the Surface of the Earth, will be sufficient to give the first Onset, and to lay waste all the habitable World, and the Furniture of it.
But we suppose the Conflagration will go lower, pierce under Ground, and dissolve the Substance of the Earth to some considerable Depth: Therefore, besides these outward and visible Preparations, we must consider all the hidden invisible Materials within the Veins of the Earth; Such are all Minerals, or mineral Juices and Concretions that are igniferous, or capable of Inflammation; and these cannot easily be reckoned up, or estimated; some of the most common are Sulphur, and all sulphureous Bodies, and Earths impregnated with Sulphur, Bitumen, and bituminous Concretions; inflammable Salts, Coal and other Fossils that are ardent; with innumerable Mixtures and Compositions of these Kinds, which, being open’d by Heat, are unctuous and inflammable, or by Attrition discover the latent Seeds of Fire. But besides consistent Bodies, there is also much volatile Fire within the Earth, in Fumes, Steams, and Exudations, which will all contribute to this Effect. From these Stores under Ground, all Plants and Vegetables are fed and supplied, as to their oily and sulphureous Parts, and all hot Waters in Baths or Fountains, must have their Original from some of these, some Mixture or Participation of them; and as to the British Soil, there is so much Coal incorporated with it, that when the Earth shall burn, we have Reason to apprehend no small Danger from that subterraneous Enemy.
These Dispositions, and this Fewel we find, in and upon the Earth, towards the last Fire. The third Sort of Provision is in the Air; all fiery Meteors and Exhalations engender’d and form’d in those Regions above, and discharg’d upon the Earth in several Ways. I believe there were no fiery Meteors in the antedeluvian Heavens; which therefore Saint Peter says, were constituted of Water, had nothing in them but what was watery; but he says the Heavens that are now, have Treasures of Fire, or are reserv’d for Fire, as Things laid up in a Store-House for that Purpose. We have Thunder and Lightning, and fiery Tempests, and there is nothing more vehement, impetuous, and irresistible, where their Force is directed. It seems to me very remarkable, that the Holy Writers describe the Coming of the Lord, and the Destruction of the Wicked, in the Nature of a Tempest, or a Storm of Fire, Psalm xi. 6. Upon the Wicked the Lord shall rain Coals, Fire and Brimstone, and a burning Tempest; this shall be the Portion of their Cup. And in the lofty Song of David, Psal. xviii. (which, in my Judgment, respects both the past Deluge and the future Conflagration) ’tis said, Ver. 13, 14, 15. The Lord also thundered in the Heavens, and the Highest gave his Voice, Hail-stones and Coals of Fire. Yea, he sent forth his Arrows and scattered them, and he shot out Lightnings and discomfited them. Then the Channels of Waters were seen, and the Foundations of the World were discover’d; at thy Rebuke, O Lord, at the Blast of the Breath of thy Nostrils. And a like fiery Coming is described in the 97th Psalm, as also by Isaiah, Isa. lxvi. 15. Daniel, Dan. vii. 9, 10. and St. Paul, 2 Thess. i. 8. And lastly, in the Apocalypse, when the World draws to a Conclusion, as in the seventh Trumpet (Chap. xi. 19.) and the seventh Vial (Chap. xvi. 18.) we have still mention made of this fiery Tempest of Lightnings and Thunderings.
We may therefore reasonably suppose, that, before the Conflagration, the Air will be surcharg’d every where (by a precedent Drought) with hot and fiery Exhalations: And as against the Deluge those Regions were burthen’d with Water and moist Vapours, which were pour’d upon the Earth, not in gentle Showers, but like Rivers and Cataracts from Heaven; so they will now be filled with hot Fumes and sulphureous Clouds, which will sometimes flow in Streams and fiery Impressions through the Air, sometimes make Thunder and Lightnings, and sometimes fall down upon the Earth in Floods of Fire. In general, there is a great Analogy to be observed betwixt the two Deluges of Water and of Fire, not only as to the Bounds of them, which were noted before; but as to the general Causes and Sources upon which they depend, from above and from below. At the Flood, the Windows of Heaven were open’d above, and the Abyss was open’d below; and the Waters of these two join’d together to overflow the World: In like manner, at the Conflagration, God will rain down Fire from Heaven, as he did once upon Sodom; and at the same time the subterraneous Store-houses of Fire will be broken open; which answers to the Disruption of the Abyss: And these two meeting and mingling together, will involve all the Heaven and Earth in Flames.
This is a short Account of the ordinary Stores of Nature, and the ordinary Preparations for a general Fire; and, in Contemplation of these, Pliny the Naturalist said boldly, It was one of the greatest Wonders of the World, that the World was not every Day set on Fire. We will conclude this Chapter with his Words, in the second Book of his Natural Hist. ch. 106, 107. Having given an Account of some fiery Mountains and other Parts of the Earth that are the Seats and Sources of Fire, he makes this Reflection: Seeing this Element is so fruitful, that it brings forth it self, and multiplies and encreases from the least Sparks; what art we to expect from so many Fires already kindled on the Earth? How does Nature feed and satisfy so devouring an Element, and such a great Voracity throughout all the World, without Loss or Diminution of herself? Add to these Fires we have mentioned, the Stars and the great Sun; then all the Fires made for human Uses; Fire in Stones, in Wood, in the Clouds, and in Thunder; IT EXCEEDS ALL MIRACLES, IN MY OPINION, THAT ONE DAY SHOULD PASS WITHOUT SETTING THE WORLD ALL ON FIRE.