But this Reign is declared more expresly, in the Vision of the four Beasts, Ch. vii. ver. 13. For after the Destruction of the fourth Beast, the Prophet says, I saw in the Night Visions, and behold one like the Son of Man, came with the Clouds of Heaven, and came to the Antient of Days, and they brought him near before him: And there was given him Dominion, and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all People, Nations and Languages should serve him; his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion, which shall not pass away; and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Accordingly, he says, Ver. 21, 22. The last Beast, and the little Horn, made war against the Saints, until the Antient of Days came, and Judgment was given to the Saints of the most High; and the Time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom. And lastly, in Pursuit still of the same Argument, he concludes to the same Effect in fuller Words, ver. 26, 27. But the Judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his Dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the End. 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 Dominions shall serve and obey him.

Here is the End of the Matter, says the Prophet, Chap. vii. ver. 28. Chap. xii. ver. 13. Here is the Upshot and Result of all; here terminate both the Prophecies of Daniel and St. John, and all the Affairs of the terrestrial World. Daniel brings in this Kingdom of Christ, in the Conclusion of two or three Visions; but St. John hath interwoven it every where with his Prophecies, from first to last: And you may as well open a Lock without a Key, as interpret the Apocalypse without the Millennium. But after these two great Witnesses, the one for the Old Testament, the other for the New, we must look into the rest of the sacred Writers; for tho’ every single Author there, is an Oracle, yet the Concurrence of Oracles is still a farther Demonstration, and takes away all Remains of Doubt or Incredulity.

A View of other Places of Scripture concerning the Millennium or future Kingdom of Christ. In what Sense all the Prophets have borne Testimony concerning it.

The Wife of Zebedee came to our Saviour, and begg’d of him, like a fond Mother, that her two Sons might sit, one at his Right Hand, the other at his Left, when he came into his Kingdom, Matt. xx. 21. Our Saviour does not deny the Supposition, or general Ground of her Request, that he was to have a Kingdom; but tells her, the Honours of that Kingdom were not then in his Disposal. He had not drunk his Cup, nor been baptiz’d with his last Baptism; which were Conditions, both to him and others, of entring into that Kingdom. Yet, in another place, (Matt. xix. 28.) our Saviour is so well assur’d of his Interest and Authority there, by the Good-will of his Father, that he promises to his Disciples and Followers, that for the Losses they should sustain here, upon his Account, and for the Sake of his Gospel, they should receive there an hundred-fold, and sit upon Thrones with him, judging the Tribes of Israel. The Words are these: And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the Regeneration or Renovation, when the Son of Man shall sit in the Throne of his Glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve Thrones, judging the twelve Tribes of Israel. These Thrones, in all Reason, must be understood to be the same with those, which we mention’d in the foregoing Chapter out of Daniel vii. 9. and Apocal. xx. 4. and therefore mark the same Time, and the same State. And seeing, in those Places, they plainly signify the Millennial State, or the Kingdom of Christ and of his Saints, they must here signify the same, in this Promise of our Saviour to his suffering Followers. And as to the Word Palingenesia, which is here translated Regeneration, ’tis very well known, that both the Greek Philosophers, and Greek Fathers, use that very Word for the Renovation of the World; which is to be, as we shall hereafter make appear, at or before the Millennial State.

Our Saviour also, in his Divine Sermon upon the Mount, makes this one of his Beatitudes, Blessed are the Meek, for they shall inherit the Earth: But how, I pray, or where, or when, do the Meek inherit the Earth? Neither at present, I am sure, nor in any past Ages. ’Tis the great ones of the World, ambitious Princes and Tyrants, that slice the Earth amongst them; and those that can flatter them best, or serve them in their Interests or Pleasures, have the next best Shares: But a meek, modest and humble Spirit, is the most unqualified Person that can be, for a Court, or a Camp; to scramble for Preferment, or Plunder. Both he, and his self denying Notions, are ridicul’d, as Things of no Use, and proceeding from Meanness and Poorness of Spirit. David, who was a Person of an admirable Devotion, but of an unequal Spirit; subject to great Dejections, as well as Elevations of Mind; was so much affected with the Prosperity of the Wicked in this World, that he could scarce forbear charging Providence with Injustice. You may see several Touches of a repining Spirit in his Psalms, and in the lxxiiid Psalm, compos’d upon that Subject, you have both the Wound and the Cure. Now this Beatitude pronounc’d here by our Saviour, was spoken before by David, Psal. xxxvii. 11. the same David, that was always so sensible of the hard Usage of the Just in this Life. Our Saviour also, and his Apostles, preach’d the Doctrine of the Cross every where, and foretell the Sufferings that shall attend the Righteous in this World. Therefore neither David, nor our Saviour, could understand this Inheritance of the Earth, otherwise than of some future State, or of a State yet to come. But as it must be a future State, so it must be a terrestrial State; for it could not be call’d the Inheritance of the Earth, if it was not so. And ’tis to be a State of Peace, as well as Plenty, according to the Words of the Psalmist, But the Meek shall inherit the Earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of Peace. It follows therefore from these Premisses, that both our Saviour, and David, must understand some future State of the Earth, wherein the Meek will enjoy both Peace and Plenty; and this will appear to be the future Kingdom of Christ, when, upon a fuller Description, we shall have given you the Marks and Characters of it.

In the mean time, why should we not suppose this Earth, which the Meek are to inherit, to be that habitable Earth to come, which St. Paul mentions (Heb. ii. 6.) and represents as subject to our Saviour in a peculiar Manner, at his Disposal, and under his Government, as his Kingdom? Why should not that Earth be the Subject of this Beatitude, the promis’d Land, the Lot of the Righteous? This I am sure of, that both this Text and the former deserve our serious Thoughts; and tho’ they do not expresly, and in Terms, prove the future Kingdom of our Saviour, yet upon the fairest Interpretations they imply such a State. And it would be very uneasy to give a satisfactory Account, either of the Regeneration or Renovation, when our Saviour and his Disciples shall sit upon Thrones; or of that Earth which the Meek shall inherit: Or, lastly, of that habitable World, which is peculiarly subject to the Dominion of Jesus Christ, without supposing, on this side Heaven, some other Reign of Christ and his Saints, than what we see, or what they enjoy, at present.

But to proceed in this Argument, it will be necessary, as I told you, to set down some Notes and Characters of the Reign of Christ and of his Saints, whereby it may be distinguish’d from the present State and present Kingdoms of the World: And these Characters are chiefly three, Justice, Peace, and Divine Presence or Conduct, which uses to be called Theocracy. By these Characters it is sufficiently distinguish’d from the Kingdoms of this World; which are generally unjust in their Titles or Exercise, stain’d with Blood, and so far from being under a particular Divine Conduct, that Human Passions and Human Vices are the Springs that commonly give Motion to their greatest Designs: But more particularly and restrainedly, the Government of Christ is oppos’d to the Kingdom and Government of Antichrist, whose Characters arc diametrically opposite to these, being Injustice, Cruelty, and human or diabolical Artifices.

Upon this short View of the Kingdom of Christ, let us make Enquiry after it amongst the Prophets of the Old Testament; and we shall find, upon Examination, that there is scarce any of them, greater or lesser, but take notice of this mystical Kingdom, either expresly, or under the Types of Israel, Sion, Jerusalem, and such-like. And therefore I am apt to think, that when St. Peter, in his Sermon to the Jews, Acts iii. says, all the holy Prophets spoke of the Restitution of all Things, he does not mean the Renovation of the World separately from the Kingdom of Christ, but complexly, as it may imply both. For there are not many of the old Prophets that have spoken of the Renovation of the natural World, but a great many have spoken of the Renovation of the moral, in the Kingdom of Christ. These are St. Peter’s Words, Acts iii. 19, 20, 21. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your Sins may be blotted out, when the Times of refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you; whom the Heavens must receive until the Times of RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS. The Apostle here mentions three Things, the Times of refreshing, the second coming of our Saviour, and the Times of Restitution of all Things: And to the last of these he immediately subjoins, which God hath spoken by the Mouth of all his holy Prophets, since the World began. This Restitution of all Things, I say, must not be understood abstractly from the Reign of Christ, but as in Conjunction with it; and in that Sense, and no other, it is the general Subject of the Prophets.

To enter therefore into the Schools of the Prophets, and enquire their Sense concerning this Mystery, let us first address our selves to the Prophet Isaiah, and the royal Prophet David; who seem to have had many noble Thoughts or Inspirations upon this Subject. Isaiah, in the lxvth Chapter, from the xviith Verse to the End, treats upon this Argument; and joins together the Renovation of the natural and moral World, as St. Peter, in the Place fore-mentioned, seems to do: And accordingly the Prophet, having set down several natural Characters of that State, as Indolency and Joy, Longevity, Ease, and Plenty, from ver. 18. to the 24th, he there begins the moral Characters of Divine Favour, and such a particular Protection, that they are heard and answer’d before they pray. And lastly, he represents it as a State of universal Peace and Innocency, ver. 23. The Wolf and the Lamb shall feed together, &c.

This last Character, which comprehends Peace, Justice and Innocency, is more fully display’d by the same Prophet, in the xith Chapter, where he treats also of the Kingdom of Christ. Give me leave to set down his Words, ver. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. But with Righteousness shall he judge the Poor, and reprove with Equity, for the Meek of the Earth: and he shall smite the Earth with the Rod of his Mouth, and with the Breath of his Lips shall he slay the Wicked. And Righteousness shall be the Girdle of his Loins, and Faithfulness the Girdle of his Reins. The Wolf also shall dwell with the Lamb, and the Leopard shall lie down with the Kid; and the Calf and the young Lyon, and the Fatling together, and a little Child shall lead them. And the Cow and the Bear shall feed, and their young Ones shall lie down together; and the Lyon shall eat Straw like the Ox. And the sucking Child shall play on the Hole of the Asp, and the weaned Child shall put his Hand on the Cockatrice-Den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy Mountain; for the Earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea. Thus far the Prophet. Now if we join this to what we noted before, from his lxvth Chapter, concerning the same State, ’twill be impossible to understand it of any Order of Things, that is now, or hath been hitherto in the World; And consequently it must be the Idea of some State to come, and particularly of that which we call the future Kingdom of Christ.

The same pacifick Temper, Innocency and Justice, are celebrated by this Prophet, when the Mountain of the Lord shall be established in the Top of the Mountains, Chap. ii. 2, 4. And he shall judge amongst the Nations, and shall rebuke many People; and they shall beat their Swords into Plow-shares, and their Spears into Pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up Sword against Nation, neither shall they learn War any more. And as to Righteousness, he says, in the xxiiid Chapter, Behold a King shall reign in Righteousness, and Princes shall rule in Judgment, &c. These Places, I know, usually are apply’d to the first coming of our Saviour; the Peaceableness of his Doctrine, and the Propagation of it thro’ all the World. I willingly allow this to be a true Sense, so far as it will go: But ’tis one thing to be a true Sense to such a Degree, and another thing to be the final Sense and Accomplishment of a Prophecy. The Affairs of the first and second coming of our Saviour are often mingled together in the Prophecies of the Old Testament; but in that Mixture there are some Characters whereby you may distinguish what belongs to his first, and what to his second coming; what to the Time when he came to suffer, and what to the Time when he shall come to reign. For Instance, in these Prophecies recited, though there are many Things very applicable to his first coming, yet that Regality which is often spoken of, and that universal Peace and Innocency that will accompany it, cannot be verified of his coming in the Flesh, seeing it is plain, that in his State of Humiliation he did not come as a King, to rule over the Nations of the Earth, (Matt. xx. 21. Luke xxiii. 42.) And he says himself expresly, That his Kingdom is not of this World, John xviii. 36. And the Prayer of Salome, and of the good Thief upon the Cross, suppose it not then present, but to come. Then as to the Establishment of Peace in his Kingdom, it does not at all appear to me that there is more Peace in the World now, than there was before our Saviour came into it; or that the Christian Parts of the World are more peaceable than the Unchristian. Therefore these great Promises of a pacifick Kingdom, which are express’d in Terms as high and emphatical as can be imagin’d, must belong to some other Days, and some other Ages, than what we have seen hitherto.

You’ll say, it may be, ’Tis not the Fault of the Gospel that the World is not peaceable, but of those that profess it, and do not practice it. This is true, but it does not answer the Prophecy; for that makes no Exception, and by such a Reserve as this, you may elude any Prophecy. So the Jews say, their Messiah defers his coming beyond the Time appointed by Prophecy, because of their Sins; but we do not allow this for a good Reason. The Israelites had their promised Canaan, tho’ they had render’d themselves unworthy of it; and by this Method of interpreting Prophecies, all the Happiness and Glory promised in the Millennial Kingdom of Christ may come to nothing, upon a pretended Forfeiture. Threatnings indeed may have a tacit Condition; God may be better than his Word, and, upon Repentance, divert his Judgments; but he cannot be worse than his Word, or fail of Performance, when, without any Condition express’d, he promises or prophecies good Things to come: This would destroy all Assurance of Hope or Faith. Lastly, this Prophecy concerning pacifick Times or a pacifick Kingdom, is in the lxvth Chapter of Isaiah, subjoin’d to the Renovation of the Heavens and the Earth, and several Marks of a Change in the natural World; which Things we know did not come to pass at the first coming of our Saviour; there was no Change of Nature then, nor has been ever since: And therefore this happy Change, both in the natural and moral World, is yet to come.

But, as we said before, we do not speak this exclusively of the first coming of our Saviour, as to other Parts of these Prophecies; for no doubt that was one great Design of them. And in the Prophecies of the Old Testament, there are often three Gradations, or gradual Accomplishments; the first, in some King of Israel, or some Person or Affair relating to Israel, as National only: The second, in the Messiah at his first coming: And the last, in the Messiah, and his Kingdom at his second coming. And that which we affirm and contend for, is, that the Prophecies fore-mentioned have not a final and total Accomplishment, either in the Nation of the Jews, or at the first coming of our Saviour; and this we abide by.

The next Prophet that we mention’d as a Witness of the future Kingdom of Christ, is David; who, in his Psalms, seems to be pleas’d with this Subject above all others: And when he is most exalted in his Thoughts and prophetical Raptures, the Spirit carries him into the Kingdom of the Messiah, to contemplate its Glory, to sing Praises to its King, and triumph over his Enemies, Psal. lxviii. Let God arise, let his Enemies be scattered; Let them also that hate him flee before him: As Smoak is driven away, so drive them away; at Wax melteth before the Fire, so let the Wicked perish at the Presence of God: But let the Righteous be glad, &c. The plain Ground he goes upon in this Psalm, is the Deliverance out of Ægypt, and bringing the Israelites into the Land of Canaan; but when he is once upon the Wing, he soars to an higher Pitch (ver. 18.) from the Type to the Antitype; to the Days of the Messiah, the Ascension of our Saviour; and, at length, to his Kingdom and Dominion over all the Earth, ver. 32, &c. The xlvth Psalm is an Epithalamium to Christ and the Church, or to the Lamb and his Spouse. And when that will be, and in what State, we may learn from St. John, Apoc., xix. 7, 8. and chap. xix. 2, 9. Namely, after the Destruction of Babylon, in the New Jerusalem’s Glory. The Words and Matter of the two Prophets, answer to one another. Here, in this Psalm, there is a Fight and Victory celebrated as well as a Marriage; and so there is in that xixth Chapter of Saint John. Here the Prophet says, Gird thy Sword upon thy Thigh, O most Mighty, with thy Glory and thy Majesty. And in thy Majesty ride prosperously because of Truth and Meekness and Righteousness; and thy right Hand shall teach thee terrible Things. Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever: The Scepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter, &c. Psal. xlv. 3, 4, 6. There St. John says, having describ’d a Conqueror on a white Horse, Out of his Mouth goeth a sharp Sword, that with it he should smite the Nations, and he shall rule them with a Rod of Iron; and he treadeth the Wine-press of the Fierceness and Wrath of Almighty God: And he hath on his Vesture, and on his Thigh a Name written, KING of KINGS, and LORD of LORDS, Apoc. xix. 15, 16. This is the same glorious Conqueror and Bridegroom in both Places; and this Victory is not gain’d, nor these Nuptials compleated, till the second Coming of our Saviour.

In many other Psalms there are Reflections upon this happy Kingdom, and the Triumph of Christ over his Enemies, as Psal. ii. Psal. ix. Psal. xxi. and xxiv. and xlvii. and lxxxv. and cx. and others. In these, and such-like Psalms, there are Lineaments and Colours of a fairer State than any we have yet seen upon Earth. Not but that in their first Instances and Grounds they may sometimes respect the State of Israel, or the Evangelical State; but the Eye of the Prophet goes farther; this does not terminate his Sight: His Divine Enthusiasm reaches into another World; a World of Peace, and Justice, and Holiness; of Joy, and Victory, and Triumph over all the Wicked; and consequently such a World, as neither we nor our Fathers, have yet seen. This is an Account of two Prophets David, and Isaiah; and of what they have more openly declar’d concerning the future Kingdom of Christ. But to verify St. Peter’s Words, in that fore-mention’d Place, Acts iii. 21. viz. That all of the Holy Prophets since the World began, have spoken of the Restauration of all Things at the second coming of Christ. I say, to verify this Assertion of St. Peter, we must suppose, that, where the Prophets speak of the Restauration and future Glory of Judah and Jerusalem, they do, under those Types, represent to us the Glory and Happiness of the Church in the future Kingdom of Christ: And most of the Prophets, in this Sense, and under these Forms, have spoken of this Kingdom; in foretelling the Restauration of Jerusalem and Sion; and happy Days, Peace, Plenty, and Prosperity to the People of Israel.

Most of the Prophets, I say, from Moses to Malachi, have spoken of this Restauration. Moses, in the xxxth of Deut. ver. 4, 5, 9. David also in many of those Psalms we have cited: Isaiah, besides the Places fore-mentioned, treats amply of this Subject, chap. li. and in several other Places. So likewise the Prophets Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachary, Malachi: All these have, either expresly, or under the Types of Jerusalem and Sion, foretold happy Days, and a glorious Triumph to the Church of God. And seeing in the New Testament, and in the Prophecies of St. John, the Christian Church is still represented, as under Persecution and Distress, till the Fall of Anti-christ, and the millennial Kingdom; ’tis then, and not till then, that we must expect the full Accomplishment of these Prophecies; the Restauration that St. Peter says was spoken of, by all the Prophets; and the Mystery, which St. John says (Apoc. x. 7.) was declared by his Servants the Prophets, and would be finish’d under the seventh Trumpet, which ushers in the Kingdom of Christ.

It would be too long to examine all these Places in the Prophets, which you may consult at Leisure. However, it cannot seem strange that Jerusalem should be us’d in a typical or allegorical Sense, seeing we often find such Applications of it in the New Testament; as Gal. iv. 26. Heb. xii. 22. Apoc. iii. 12. And ’tis very natural that Jerusalem restor’d, should signify the same thing as new Jerusalem; and therefore that St. John, by his new Jerusalem, intended the same thing, or the same State, that the antient Prophets did by their Restauration of Jerusalem. And it neither can be understood in a literal Sense, which, I believe, you will not contend for, they must both be interpreted of the future Happiness and Glory of the Church in the Kingdom of Christ.

But to conclude this Point wholly as to Scripture; if we make Reflection upon all the Passages alledged in this and the foregoing Chapter, whether out of the Old or New Testament, we must at least acknowledge thus much, that there are happy Days, at one time or other: Days of Peace and Righteousness; of Joy and Triumph, of external Prosperity, and internal Sanctity; when Virtue and Innocency shall be in the Throne, and Vice and vicious Men out of Power or Credit. That there are such happy Days prophesied of in Scripture, and promised to the Church of God. Whether you call this the Reign of Christ and of his Saints or by any other Name, it is not material at present to determine; let the Title be what you will, as to the Substance it cannot be denied to be a general Doctrine of prophetical Scripture. And we must not imagine, that the Prophets wrote like the Poets; feigned an Idea of a romantick State, that never was, nor ever will be, only to please their own Fancies, or the credulous People. Neither is it the State of Heaven and eternal Life that is here meant or intended: For, besides that they had little or no Light concerning those Notions, in the Old Testament, the Prophets generally, in their Description of this Happiness, either express the Earth, or at least give plain Marks of a terrestrial State. Wherefore, the only Question that remains, is this, Whether these happy Days are past already, or to come? Whether this blessed State of the Church is behind us, or before us? Whether our Predecessors have enjoyed it, or our Posterity is to expect it? For we are very sure that it is not present. The World is full of Wars, and Rumours of Wars; of Vice and Knavery, of Oppression and Persecution: and these are things directly contrary to the Genius and Characters of the State which we look after.

And if we look for it in Times past, we can go no farther back than the beginning of Christianity. For St. John, the last of the Apostles, prophesied of these Times, as to come; and plac’d them at the End of his System of Prophecies; whereby one might conclude, that they are not only within the Compass of the Christian Ages, but far advanc’d into them. But however, not to insist upon that at present, where will you find a thousand Years, from the Birth of Christianity to this present Age, that deserves the Name, or answers to the Characters of this pure and pacifick State of the Church? The first Ages of Christianity, as they were the most pure, so likewise were they the least peaceable; continually, more or less, under the Persecution of the Heathen Emperors; and so far from being the Reign and Empire of Christ and his Saints over the Nations, that Christians were then, every where, in Subjection or Slavery; a poor, feeble, helpless People, thrust into Prisons, or thrown to the Lions, at the Pleasure of their Princes or Rulers. ’Tis true, when the Empire became Christian under Constantine, in the fourth Century, there was, for a time, Peace and Prosperity in the Church, and a good Degree of Purity and Piety; but that Peace was soon disturb’d, and that Piety soon corrupted. The growing Pride and Ambition of the Ecclesiasticks, and their easiness to admit or introduce superstitious Practices, destroy’d the Purity of the Church. And as to the Peace of it, their Contests about Opinions and Doctrines, tore the Christians themselves into Pieces; and, soon after, an Inundation of barbarous People fell into Christendom, and put it all into Flames and Confusion. After this Eruption of the Northern Nations, Mahometanism rose in the East; and swarms of Saracens, like Armies of Locusts, invaded, conquer’d, and planted their Religion in several Parts of the Roman Empire, and of the Christianiz’d World. And can we call such Times the Reign of Christ, or the Imprisonment of Satan? In the following Ages, the Turks overran the Eastern Empire and the Greek Church, and still hold that miserable People in Slavery. Providence seems to have so order’d Affairs, that the Christian World should be never without a WOE upon it, lest it should fancy it self already in those happy Days of Peace and Prosperity, which are reserv’d for future Times. Lastly, whosoever is sensible of the Corruptions and Persecutions of the Church of Rome, since she came to her Greatness; whosoever allows her to be Mystical Babylon, which must fall before the Kingdom of Christ comes on, will think that Kingdom duly plac’d by St. John at the End of his Prophecies, concerning the Christian Church; and that there still remains, according to the Words of St. Paul, (Heb. iv. 9.) a Sabbatism to the People of God.

The Sense and Testimony of the Primitive Church concerning the Millennium, or future Kingdom of Christ; from the Times of the Apostles to the Nicene Council. The second Proposition laid down. When, by what Means, and for what Reasons, that Doctrine was afterwards neglected or discountenanc’d.

You have heard the Voice of the Prophets and Apostles, declaring the future Kingdom of Christ: Next to these, the Primitive Fathers are accounted of good Authority; let us therefore now enquire into their Sense concerning this Doctrine, that we may give Satisfaction to all Parties; and both those that are guided by Scripture alone, and those that have a Veneration for Antiquity, may find Proofs suitable to their Inclinations and Judgment.

And to make few Words of it, we will lay down this Conclusion; That the millennial Kingdom of Christ was the general Doctrine of the Primitive Church, from the Times of the Apostles to the Nicene Council, inclusively. St. John out-liv’d all the rest of the Apostles, and towards the latter end of his Life, being banish’d into the Isle of Pathmos, he wrote his Apocalypse; wherein he hath given us a more full and distinct Account of the millennial Kingdom of Christ, than any of the Prophets or Apostles before him. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, and Martyr, one of St. John’s Auditors, as Ireneus testifies, Iren. Lib 5. c. 33. taught the same Doctrine after St. John. He was the familiar Friend of Polycarp, another of St. John’s Disciples; and either from him, or immediately from St. John’s Mouth, he might receive this Doctrine. That he taught it in the Church, is agreed on by all Hands; both by those that are his Followers, as Irenæus; and those that are not Well-wishers to this Doctrine, as Eusebius and Jerome.

There is also another Channel wherein this Doctrine is traditionally deriv’d from St. John, namely, by the Clergy of Asia; as Irenæus tells us in the same Chapter. For, arguing the Point, he shews that the Blessing promis’d to Jacob from his Father Isaac, was not made good to him in this Life, and therefore he says, without doubt those Words had a farther Aim and Prospect upon the Times of the Kingdom: (so they us’d to call the millennial State) when the Just rising from the Dead, shall reign; and when Nature renew’d and set at Liberty, shall yield Plenty and Abundance of all things; being blest with the Dew of Heaven, and a great Fertility of the Earth according as has been related by those Ecclesiaticks or Clergy, who saw S. John, the Disciple of Christ; and heard of him WHAT OUR LORD HAD TAUGHT CONCERNING THOSE TIMES. This you see, goes to the Fountain Head: The Christian Clergy receive it from St. John, and St. John relates it from the Mouth of our Saviour.

So much for the original Authority of this Doctrine, as a Tradition; that it was from St. John, and by him from Christ. And as to the Propagation and prevailing of it in the Primitive Church, we can bring a Witness beyond all exception, Justin Martyr, cotemporary with Irenæus, and his Senior. He says, that himself, and all the Orthodox Christians of his Time, did acknowledge the Resurrection of the Flesh (suppose the first Resurrection) and a thousand Years reign in Jerusalem restor’d, or in the new Jerusalem, Dial. with Tryphon the Jew. According as the Prophets Ezekiel, and Isaiah, and others, attest with common Consent. As St. Peter had said before, Acts iii. 21. That all the Prophets had spoken of it. Then he quotes the lxvth Chapter of Isaiah, which is a Bulwark for this Doctrine, that never can be broken. And to shew the Jew, with whom he had this Discourse, that it was the Sense of our Prophets, as well as of theirs, he tells him, that a certain Man amongst us Christians, by Name John, one of the Apostles of Christ, in a Revelation made to him did prophesy, that the faithful Believers in Christ should live a thousand Years in the New Jerusalem; and after that should be the general Resurrection and Day of Judgment. Thus you have the Thoughts and Sentiments of Justin Martyr, as to himself; as to all the reputed Orthodox of his Time; as to the Sense of the Prophets in the Old Testament, and as to the Sense of St. John in the Apocalypse; all conspiring in Confirmation of the millennary Doctrine.

To these three Witnesses, Papias, Irenæus and Justin Martyr, we may add two more within the second Age of the Church; Melito, Bishop of Sardis, and St. Barnabas, or whosoever was the Author of the Epistle under his Name. This Melito, by some, is thought to be the Angel of the Church of Sardis, to whom St. John directs the Epistle to that Church, Apoc. iii. 1. but I do not take him to be so ancient; however, he was Bishop of that Place, at least in the second Century, and a Person of great Sanctity and Learning: He wrote many Books, as you may see in St. Jerome; and, as he notes out of Tertullian, was by most Christians reputed a Prophet (De Script. Eccles. Dogm. Eccl. c. lv.) He was also a declar’d Millennary, and is recorded as such, both by Jerome and Gennadius. As to the Epistle of Barnabas, which we mention’d, it must be very ancient, whosoever is the Author of it, and before the third Century; seeing it is often cited by Clemens Alexandrinus, who was himself within the second Century: The Genius of it is very much Millennarian, in the Interpretation of the Sabbath, the promis’d Land, a Day for a thousand Years, and concerning the Renovation of the World. In all which, he follows the Footsteps of the Orthodox of those Times; that is, of the Millennarians.

So much for the first and second Centuries of the Church. By which short Account it appears, that the millennary Doctrine was Orthodox and Catholick in those early Days; for these Authors do not set it down as a private Opinion of their own, but as a Christian Doctrine, or an Apostolical Tradition. ’Tis remarkable what Papias says of himself, and his way of Learning, in his Book call’d, The Explanation of the Words of the Lord, as St. Jerome gives an Account of it: (De Script. Eccles.) He says in his Preface, He did not follow various Opinions, but had the Apostles for his Authors: And that he consider’d what Andrew, and what Peter said; what Philip, what Thomas, and other Disciples of the Lord; as also what Aristion, and John the Senior, Disciples of the Lord, what they spoke. And that he did not profit so much by reading Books, as by the living Voice of these Persons, which resounded from them to that Day. This hath very much the Air of Truth and Sincerity, and of a Man that, in good earnest, sought after the Christian Doctrine, from those that were the most authentick Teachers of it. I know Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a double Character of this Papias; in one Place he calls him, A very eloquent Man in all Things, and skilful in Scripture; and in another, he makes him a Man of a small Understanding, (Vid. Hieron. Epist. 28. ad Lucinium.) But what Reason there is to suspect Eusebius of Partiality in this Point of the Millennium, we shall make appear hereafter. However, we do not depend upon the Learning of Papias, or the Depth of his Understanding; allow him but to be an honest Man and a fair Witness, and ’tis all we desire. And we have little reason to question his Testimony in this Point, seeing it is back’d by others of good Credit; and all because there is no Counter-Evidence, nor any Witness that appears against him: For there is not extant, either the Writing, Name, or Memory, of any Person that contested this Doctrine in the first or second Century: I say, that call’d in question this millennary Doctrine, propos’d after a Christian Manner, unless such Hereticks as denied the Resurrection wholly, or such Christians as deny’d the Divine Authority of the Apocalypse.

We proceed now to the third Century; where you find Tertullian, Origen, Victorinus, Bishop and Martyr; Nepos Ægyptius, Cyprian, and, at the End of it, Lactantius; all openly professing, or implicitly favouring, the millennary Doctrine. We do not mention Clemens Alexandrinus, contemporary with Tertullian, because he hath not any thing, that I know of, expresly either for, or against the Millennium: But he takes notice that the Seventh Day hath been accounted Sacred, both by the Hebrews and Greeks, because of the Revolution of the World, and the Renovation of all Things. And giving this as a Reason why they kept that Day holy, seeing there is not a Revolution of the World, every seven Days, it can be in no other Sense than as the Seventh Day represents the seventh Millennary, in which the Renovation of the World and the Kingdom of Christ, is to be. As to Tertullian, St. Jerome reckons him, in the first place, amongst the Latin Millennaries. And tho’ his Book, about the Hope of the Faithful, as also that about Paradise, which should have given us the greatest Light in this Affair, be both lost or suppress’d; yet there are sufficient Indications of his millennary Opinion in his Tracts against Marcion, and against Hermogenes. St. Cyprian was Tertullian’s Admirer, and inclines to the same Opinion, so far as one can judge, in this particular; for his Period of six thousand Years, and making the seventh Millennary the consummation of all, is wholly according to the Analogy of the millennary Doctrine. As to the two Bishops, Victorinus and Nepos, St. Jerome vouches for them: The Writings of the one are lost, and of the other so chang’d, that the Sense of the Author does not appear there now. But Lactantius, whom we nam’d in the last Place, does openly and profusely teach this Doctrine, in his Divine Institutions, (Book vii.) and with the same Assurance that he does other Parts of the Christian Doctrine; for he concludes thus, speaking of the Millennium, This is the Doctrine of the holy Prophets, which we Christians follow; this is our Wisdom, &c. Yet he acknowledges there, that it was kept as a Mystery or Secret amongst the Christians, lest the Heathens should make any perverse or odious Interpretation of it. And for the same or like Reason, I believe, the Book of the Apocalypse was kept out of the Hands of the Vulgar for some time, and not read publickly, lest it should be found to have spoken too openly of the Fate of the Roman Empire, or of this millennial State.

So much for the first, second, and third Centuries of the Church: But by our Conclusion, we engag’d to make out this Proof as far as the Nicene Council, inclusively. The Nicene Council was about the Year of Christ 325. and we may reasonably suppose Lactantius was then living; at least he came within the Time of Constantine’s Empire. But however, the Fathers of that Council are themselves our Witnesses in this Point; for in their Ecclesiastical Forms or Constitutions, in the Chapter about the Providence of God, and about the World, they speak thus: The World was made meaner, or less perfect, providentially; for God foresaw that Man would Sin: Wherefore we expect new Heavens and a new Earth, according to the holy Scriptures, at the Appearance and Kingdom of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ. And then, as Daniel says (chap. vii. 18.) The Saints of the most High shall take the Kingdom, and the Earth shall be pure, holy, the Land of the Living, not of the Dead. Which David foreseeing by the Eye of Faith, cries out, (Psal. xxvii. 13.) I believe to see the good Things of the Lord, in the Land of the Living. Our Saviour says, happy are the Meek, for they shall inherit the Earth, Mat. v. 5. And the Prophet Isaiah says, (Chap. xxvi. 6.) the Feet of the meek and lowly shall tread upon it. So you see, according to the Judgment of these Fathers, there will be a Kingdom of Christ upon Earth; and moreover, that it will be in the new Heavens and the new Earth: And, in both these Points, they cite the Prophets, and our Saviour in Confirmation of them.

Thus we have discharg’d our Promise, and given you an account of the Doctrine of the Millennium, or future Kingdom of Christ, throughout the three first Ages of the Church, before any considerable Corruptions were crept into the Christian Religion. And those Authorities of single and successive Fathers, we have seal’d up all together, with the Declaration of the Nicene Fathers, in a Body. Those that think Tradition a Rule of Faith, or a considerable Motive to it, will find it hard to turn off the Force of these Testimonies: And those that do not go so far, but yet have a Reverence for Antiquity and the Primitive Church, will not easily produce better Authorities, more early, more numerous, or more uncontradicted, for any Article that is not fundamental: Yet these are but Seconds to the Prophets and Apostles, who are truly the Principals in this Cause. I will leave them all together, to be examin’d and weigh’d by the impartial Reader. And because they seem to me to make a full and undeniable Proof, I will now, at the Foot of the Account, set down our second Proposition, which is this, That there is a millennial State, or a future Kingdom of Christ and his Saints, prophesied of and promised, in the Old and New Testament; and receiv’d by the Primitive Church as a Christian and Catholick Doctrin. (Propos. I.)

Having dispatch’d this main Point; to conclude the Chapter and this Head of our Discourse, it will be some Satisfaction possibly to see, How a Doctrine so generally receiv’d and approv’d came to decay, and almost wear out of the Church, in following Ages. The Christian millennary Doctrine was not call’d into Question, so far as appears from History, before the middle of the third Century; when Dionysius Alexandrinus wrote against Nepos, an Ægyptian Bishop, who had declar’d himself upon that Subject. But we do not find that this Book had any great Effect; for the Declaration or Constitution of the Nicene Fathers was after; and in St. Jerome’s Time, who wrote towards the End of the fourth Century, this Doctrine had so much Credit, that he, who was its greatest Adversary, yet durst not condemn it, as he says himself; Quæ licet non sequamur, tamen damnare non possumus; quia multi Ecclesiasticorum virorum & martyres ista dixerunt: Which Things or Doctrines, speaking of the Millennium, tho’ we do not follow, yet we cannot condemn; because many of our Churchmen, and Martyrs have affirmed these things. And when Apollinarius reply’d to that Book of Dionysius, St. Jerome says, that, not only those of his own Sect, but a great Multitude of other Christians did agree with Apollinarius in that particular: Ut presagâ mente jam cernam, quantorum in me rabies concitanda sit; That now I foresee, how many will be enrag’d against me, for what I have spoken against the millennary Doctrine.

We may therefore conclude that in St. Jerome’s Time the Millennaries made the greater Party in the Church; for a little Matter would not have frighted him from censuring their Opinions. St. Jerome was a rough and rugged Saint, and an unfair Adversary, that usually run down with Heat and Violence, what stood in his Way. As to his Unfairness, he shews it sufficiently in this very Cause, for he generally represents the millennary Doctrine after a Judaical, rather than a Christian Manner. And in reckoning up the chief Patrons of it, he always skips Justin Martyr; who was not a Man so obscure as to be over-look’d: And he was a Man that had declar’d himself sufficiently upon this Point; for he says, Both himself and all the Orthodox of his time, were of that Judgment, and applies both the Apocalypse of St. John, and the lxvth Chapter of Isaiah, for the Proof of it; as we noted before.

As St. Jerome was an open Enemy to this Doctrine, so Eusebius was a back Friend to it; and represented every thing to its Disadvantage, so far as was tolerably consistent with the Fairness of an Historian. He gives a slight Character of Papias, without any Authority for it; and brings in one Gaius, that makes Cerinthus to be the Author of the Apocalypse and of the Millennium (Eccles. Hist. l. iii. c. 32.) and calls the Visions there, Τερετολογίας, monstrous Stories. He himself is willing to shuffle off that Book from John the Evangelist to another John a Presbyter; and to shew his Skill in the Interpretation of it, (l. 3. c. 32. de vit. Constan.) he makes the new Jerusalem in the xxith Chapter to be Constantine’s Jerusalem, when he turn’d the Heathen Temples there into Christian: A wonderful Invention. As St. Jerome by his Flouts, so Eusebius, by sinister Insinuations, endeavour’d to lessen the Reputation of this Doctrine; and the Art they both us’d was, to misrepresent it as Judaical. But we must not cast off every Doctrine which the Jews believ’d, only for that Reason; for we have the same Oracles which they had, and the same Prophets; and they have collected from them the same general Doctrine that we have, namely, that there will be an happy and pacifick State of the Church, in future Times. But as to the Circumstances of this State we differ very much: They suppose the Mosaical Law will be restor’d, with all its Pomp, Rites, and Ceremonies: whereas we suppose the Christian Worship, or something more perfect, will then take Place. Yet St. Jerome has the Confidence, even there where he speaks of the many Christian Clergy and Martyrs that held this Doctrine; has the Confidence, I say, to represent it, as if they held that Circumcision, Sacrifices, and all the Judaical Rites, should then be restor’d. Which seems to me to be a great Slander, and a great Instance how far Mens Passions will carry them, in misrepresenting an Opinion, which they have a Mind to disgrace.

But as we have Reason to blame the Partiality of those that opposed this Doctrine; so, on the other Hand, we cannot excuse the Patrons of it from all Indiscretions. I believe they might partly themselves make it obnoxious; by mixing some things with it, from pretended Traditions, or the Books of the Sybills, or other private Authorities, that had so sufficient warrant from Scripture; and things, sometimes, that Nature would not easily bear. Besides, in latter Ages, they seem to have dropt one half of the Doctrine, namely, the Renovation of Nature, which Irenæus, Justin Martyr, and the Antients, join inseparably with the Millennium: And by this Omission, the Doctrine hath been made less intelligible, and one Part of it inconsistent with another. And when their Pretensions were to reign upon this present Earth, and in this present State of Nature, it gave a Jealousy to temporal Princes, and gave occasion likewise to many of Fanatical Spirits, under the Notion of Saints, to aspire to Dominion, after a violent and tumultuary Manner. This I reckon as one great Cause that brought the Doctrine into Discredit. But I hope by reducing of it to the true State, we shall cure this and other Abuses for the future.

Lastly, It never pleas’d the Church of Rome; and so far as the Influence and Authority of that would go, you may be sure it would be depress’d and discountenanced. I never yet met with a Popish Doctor that held the Millennium; and Baronius would have it to pass for an Heresy, and Papias for the Inventor of it; whereas, if Irenæus may be credited, it was receiv’d from St. John, and by him from the Mouth of our Saviour. And neither St. Jerome, nor his friend Pope Damasus, durst ever condemn it for an Heresy. It was always indeed uneasy, and gave Offence to the Church of Rome; because it does not suit to that Scheme of Christianity, which they have drawn. They suppose Christ reigns already, by his Vicar, the Pope; and treads upon the Necks of Emperors and Kings: And if they could but suppress the Northern Heresy, as they call it, they do not know what a Millennium would signify, or how the Church could be in an happier Condition than she is. The Apocalyse of St. John does suppose the true Church under hardship and Persecution, more or less, for the greatest Part of the Christian Ages; namely, for 1260 Years, while the Witnesses are in sack-cloth. But the Church of Rome hath been in prosperity and Greatness, and the commanding Church in Christendom, for so long, or longer, and hath rul’d the Nations with a Rod of Iron; so as that Mark of the true Church does not favour her at all. And the Millennium being properly a Reward and Triumph for those that come out of Persecution, such as have liv’d always in Pomp and Prosperity, can pretend to no Share in it, or Benefit by it. This has made the Church of Rome have always an ill Eye upon this Doctrine, because it seem’d to have an ill Eye upon her; And as she grew in Splendor and Greatness, she eclips’d and obscur’d it more and more; so that it would have been lost out of the World as an obsolete Error, it it had not been revived by some of the Reformation.