The Resurrection Revealed, Book 3 · Chapter 2 · Section 46 – Section 47
SECT. XLVI.
THe ſecond place in Zecharie is in chap. 6. ver. 13, 13, 14, 15. which I need little more then name. V. 12. Thus ſpeaketh the Lord of Hoſts ſaying, behold the man whoſe name is the BRANCH; and he ſhall grow up out of his place, and HE ſhall BUILD THE TEMPLE of the Lord. 13. Even HEE ſhall build THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD, and he ſhall bear the glory, and ſhall ſit and RULE UPON HIS THRONE, and he ſhall be a PRIEST upon his throne, and the COUNSILL OF PEACE ſhall be between them both. 14. And the Crowns ſhall be to He…em, and to To…ijah, and to Jedajah, and to Hen the ſon of Zephania…, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15. And they that ARE FAR OFF ſhall come and build in the temple of the Lord.
Though this ſecond Temple was long ſince founded, and by this time in great part raiſed, chap. 8. ver. 9. and the carrying on of the work to a finiſhing by ſufficient and able men was now in hand; yet the Prophet here foretells that the man whoſe name is the BRANCH (the uſuall and frequent title of Chriſt) ſhall BUILD the TEMPLE of the Lord in verſ. 12. And preſently againe repeated with great Emphaſis in ver. 13. EVEN HEE ſhall build the temple of the Lord. And therefore the Prophet in theſe words, looked far beyond his owne time. Chriſt builds the Temple, firſt, in his natural body, ſecondly, in his myſticall (ſubordinates are no oppoſites; but doe ray forth a typicall radiation, from the one, ſucceſſively to the other.) Firſt, In his natural body, by his reſurrection, according to his owne expoſition, John 2.18, 19, 20. When his adverſaries demanded of him, What ſign ſhewest thou unto us, ſeeing thou doſt theſe things? Jeſus anſwered, deſtroy this Temple, and in three daies I will raiſe it up. Then ſaid the Jewes, forty and ſix years was this Temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three daies? But he ſpake of the Temple of his body. Secondly, In his Myſticall body, the Church of beleevers; By communicating unto whom his holy Spirit, he makes them his Temple, and the habitation of God, 1 Cor. 6.15, 16, 17, 18, 19. And 2 Cor. 6.16. Eph. 2.21, 22. This myſticall Temple was founded long ſince: but the Prophet here points mainly to the finiſhing of it. Or to ſpeake in a juſter proportion to the firſt and ſecond materiall Temple; The firſt myſticall Temple, that is, the Church of the Jewes being deſtroyed at Chriſts paſſion (the vaile then being rent, to ſignifie the tearing down of Jewiſh worſhip,) upon his aſcenſion, by ſending the Spirit hee began the building of the ſecond myſticall Temple, viz. the Chriſtian Church, Act. 2. &c. and throughout that booke. But when this ſecond myſtical Temple ſhall be finiſhed, (made up in its fulneſſe, Rom. 11.25, 26. of which St. John mainly propheſies in his Revelation) of which finiſhing Zecharie here in ver. 15. gives us this ſigne, That THEN, they that ARE AFAR OFF ſhall come and build in the Temple: Which can have no other adequate, and more certaine interpretation then this; that when the Gentiles that are afar off in Religion, ſhall in full come in; and the ten Tribes of Iſrael, that are to this day afar off in place too, ſhall come and be built into the Chriſtian Church; at that ſame THEN, even at that very time, the BRANCH Christ, that built this ſecond myſticall Temple, ſhall SIT and RULE upon his THRONE, and he ſhall be a Prieſt upon his Throne, and the Counſil of Peace ſhall be between them both. That is, as Chriſt hath ſenſibly appeared in acting his Prieſthood, when hee paid and prayed for his Church, at, and afore his Paſsion *In the 17, 18, and 19 chapters of John.; ſo ſhall he as manifeſtly be ſeen to act his Kingly-hood, in a glorious, univerſall evident peace, flowing from both, in the time of his Kingdome. Elſe nothing is propheſied; for meer inward ſpirituall peace into the hearts of the Saints had flowed in all ages of the Church afore, from his Kingly and Prieſtly office, preciſely conſidered as ſpirituall; and the Saints knew it upon much experience. But here is propheſied ſuch things, and ſuch effects, as many of the Church could hardly beleeve. And therefore there ſhould be crownes to Helem and Tabijah, and Jedajah, and to Hen for a memoriall in the Temple, i. e. They ſhould be in Zecharies time, hung up in the Temple, to be a conviction, and condemnation of them that beleeved not this Propheſie; and to draw men unto faith to beleeve the ſame, as Calvin, Pemble, and Junius expound it. But theſe things were never yet fulfilled, as Hiſtory, and experience ſhew. And the laſt univerſall reſurrection will be unſeaſonable, and unſuitable. Therefore it is yet to come.
SECT. XLVII.
§. I THe third place in Zecharie (which we need but touch) is in chap. 8. ver. 20. &c. to the end of the chapter. Ver. 20. Thus ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, it ſhall yet come to paſſe, that there ſhall come people *Heb. foreign Chal. foreign that is, Peoples, Sept. foreign Many peoples. And ſo tis expreſſe in v. 22., and the inhabitants of many Cities. 21. And the Inhabitants of one City ſhall goe to another, ſaying, let us goe ſpeedily to pray before the Lord, and to ſeeke the Lord of Hoſts; I wil goe alſo. 22. Yea many people, and ſtrong Nations ſhall come to ſeeke the Lord of Hoſts in Jeruſalem, and to pray before the Lord. 23. Thus ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, in thoſe daies it ſhall come to paſſe, that ten men ſhal take hold out of all languages of the Nations, even ſhall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, ſaying, we wil goe with you; for wee have heard that God is with you.
§. 2 There is no more to be ſaid to this ſo plaine a propheſie, but this, that we ſhall boldly aſſert that it was never yet fulfilled ſince the Jewes returne from captivity, till men or bookes can ſhew us the contrary. The Scriptures tels us no ſuch thing, Hiſtory tels us no ſuch thing, experience ſhewes us no ſuch matter, as that peoples, yea, many peoples, yea, and ſtrong Nations, did ever joyne with the Jewes in religious worſhip, as in prayer to God, &c. and that at Jeruſalem. As for thoſe mentioned Act. 2.5. &c. viz Parthians, Medes, Elamites, &c. They were neither Nations nor Gentiles, but were ſome certaine Jewes, who having been borne in thoſe forenamed Countries, did now for the preſent ſojourne *So the word in the Text. from foreign and foreign, is uſed by the Septuagint which the Apoſtles and Evangeliſts much follow in their new Teſtament quotations, Gen. 27.44. Son ariſe (ſaith Rebecka to Jacob) and flee unto Laban thy Brother to Haran, and foreign, and ſojourne with him a few dayes. 1 King. 17.20. O Lord my God (ſaith Elijah) haſt thou brought evill upon the widdow foreign, that is, with whom I ſojourne. In which places the word is plainly taken for ſojourning, and accordingly circumſcribed with a ſhort time.at Jeruſalem, for the buſineſſe of worſhip, at the feaſt of the Paſſeover, and Pentecoſt. Thus in this fifth verſe they are expreſſely called Jews, There were ſojourning, or abiding at Jeruſalem, JEWS of every Nation under Heaven. Ver. 22. when Peter ſpake to them, he ſaith to them, Yee men of ISRAEL. And that none put this off with an imagination that they were Proſelytes, that is, Gentiles converted to Judaiſme; let them heed, that Proſelytes are named ver. 10. diſtinctly from Jewes, and Jewes from them. The ſtrangers of Rome, were Jewes and Proſelytes. The truth is, tis moſt evidently declared to us by the holy Scriptures, Act. 10. that Cornelius was the firſt Gentile that was converted to the Chriſtian faith, next to the converſion of thoſe Jewes Act. 2. and Act. 4. And by that time a few Gentiles more began to hearken to the Goſpell of Chriſt; the Jewes for the generality began to reject the Goſpel, and ſo to give it a paſſe to go freely to the Gentiles, Act. 13. In a word, let oppoſite men uſe their wits what they can, …or their ſenſe to tackle circumſtances together, all will not reach to the ſence of this propheſie, as afore expreſſed and opened by us. The hot ten perſecutions for the firſt 300 years after Chriſt, hindred effectually the converſions of Nations of Gentiles. And long afore thoſe 300 years were expired, the Jews generally were blinded; which had ſeized upon them in Pauls time, Rom. 11. (He writing that Epiſtle about the year fifty foure after Chriſts birth, that is, about the twentieth yeare after Chriſts aſcenſion,) and ſo they continue to this day.
But God, that cannot lye, hath ſaid this propheſie ſhall come to paſſe, it ſhall be fulfilled; therefore we may boldly expect it afore the laſt judgement, or univerſall reſurrection.