Sad and Serious Political Considerations, Part 3
III.
Since the spirituall sword was sheathed in England (which lopt off the serpentine Heads of Heresie and Schisme,The Confutation of the wicked Opinions of the Millenaries of the Personall Reign of Christ upon Earth after An. 1700. while they were yet growing) it is a wonder to see how all Sects and Schismaticall Opinions in the world have (like devouring Weed) overgrown and choked the seed of the Word. Above the rest, the Millenaries have exalted themselves, whose abominable Pamphlets have flown abroad like Atomes, wherein they dream of a Personall Reign of Christ upon Earth, how he shall descend from Heaven An. 1666, destroy all the works of darknesse in every corner of the Earth, make an easie passage to men from Earth to Heaven, so that they may ascend into Heaven, and leap down to Earth again, as oft as they list: how he shall keep a Quarter Sessions or Goal-delivery in his own Person upon Mount Olivet, call all Nations before him, rebuke them of sin face to face, and shall cut out of them their stony hearts, and shall sew in their bellies hearts of flesh in stead thereof: that An. Dom. 1700 shall be the day of Judgement, and that the Judgement shall last other 1700 years, because otherwise the glorious Attributes of Christ's Mercy and Justice cannot be sufficiently explained to the World and the Consciences of men. All which Fopperies with many mo too horrid to relate, are contained in M. Archers Personall Reign of Christ upon Earth, Rich. Stirreys Kingdome of King Jesus, and in A.R. his Caelestis Hierusalem, Printed A. 1642, 1644, and 1645. Now having unmasked the vanity of this Error (ut contraria juxtà se posita magis elucescant) I will epitomize in this Section the truth of the future estate of the World, from this time to the end, which afterward I intend (God willing) further to dilate and prosecute in this Treatise. This year 1650 all Europe are in civil Warres. These civill warres shall not cease till they have mustered out a great Army of the true worshippers of God to ruine Rome, which shall be about Anno 1666. Rome thus destroyed, the Western Jews shall begin to learn the waies of God, and believe his Gospel (which they cannot do so long as Rome standeth) and shall Anno 1683. enter upon the conversion of their Eastern brethren (the 10. Tribes now invisibly hid in Tartaria and India) and they two (none else) shall ruine the Mahumetan Empire about An. 1698. and so shall be restored to the holy Land to reinhabit Jerusalem. Then must begin a comparative felicity of the Church of God upon earth, because after these times both Turk and Pope shall be destroyed. Neverthelesse this felicity must be mingled with internall troubles and persecutions, within the bowels of the Church, because the Church shall never be wholly at rest, while the world standeth. Lo, here the difference betwixt Truth and Heresie, betwixt the opinions of the Millenaries and right sense of Scriptures. The Millenaries say, Christ must descend personally from heaven: The Scriptures on the contrary say, he shall not come from Heaven personally till the last day, when he shall descend with his holy Angels in flaming fire to judge the quick and the dead. He shall send power and strength from heaven to his true Worshipppers (as he hath done hitherto) to destroy Tu…k and Pope, from Heaven he shall give power to his ancient people the Jews, to regain their ancient Land of Judea, and not by his corporeall presence upon Earth: from Heaven about An. 1700. he shall transferre his Gospel from Europe, as he hath done from Asia, and raise up and inspire godly Ministers after his own will, who shall implant his holy word in all and every of the Kingdomes and Provinces of America, and in all countries of the Southern and Eastern India, China, Tartaria, and in all the regions of the North unto the worlds end, and make it shine in as great purity and glory as ever it hath done in England or Germany. This is the felicity of the Church, the fifth Monarchy in Nebuchadnezzars Image, the ministeriall (not personall) Reign and Kingdom of Christ upon …arth, which must not endure for ever (as Archer would have it) nor for a 1000 years (as Alsted dreams) but for a very short time, that all Nations (none excepted) may professe Gods worship, and none plead ignorance before his Tribunall, presently after which the dissolution of the world shall come, after which time shall be no more.