The Glorious Epiphany with the Devout Christians Love, Chapter 3
CHAP. III. A further Illuſtration of the APPEARING of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt.
THERE is nothing to be added to what hath been ſaid, but only this: That the word Epiphany or APPEARING denotes not meerly the preſenting of himſelf in Perſon to the view of all the World; but the whole SHOW (as we call it) that will accompany his coming from Heaven, and all the things that ſhall be done by him, as the Lord and Judge of the World. He ſits now on the Throne of his Glory, and there ſhines in the ſplendor of the Divine Majeſty; and in that Majeſty will one day deſcend from thence into this Air: which the King of Heaven will never ſuffer his Son to do, without a moſt Royal and Glorious Attendance; ſutable to the quality of his Perſon, and to the dignity of his Office, which is to judge the quick and the dead.
This illuſtrious SHOW is deſcribed by our Apoſtle in the 1 Theſ. iv. 16. where he tells us that firſt of all, He ſhall deſcend from Heaven, foreign, with a SHOƲT. That is, with great Acclamations, ſuch as uſe to be made when a mighty Conqueror appears and rides in Triumph. Thus we learn to underſtand it from xlvij. Pſal. 5. where God is ſaid to be gone up with a SHOƲT, the Lord with the ſound of a Trumpet. That is, the Ark (which was the token of Gods Preſence among them) returned to Mount Sion, with great and joyful Ovations of all the people, after the conqueſt they got by the Divine aid over their powerful enemies. In ſuch a manner will our Saviour deſcend, as being about to compleat his Victories by conquering Death it ſelf, the laſt enemy that ſhall be deſtroyed. For all the Heavenly Hoſts, we may well conceive, will be wonderfully pleaſed to ſee him go forth upon this deſign; and calling upon each other to perform to him the moſt cheerful ſervice upon that great day, will rejoyce to wait upon him in that moſt glorious Action, and triumph before-hand in the aſſured Victory which he will get over Hell and the Grave.
2. For then, ſaith the Apoſtle, will be heard the voice of the Archangel; that is, one of the chief Leaders and Commanders of the Coeleſtial Hoſts (MICHAEL, I ſuppoſe, the Protector of the Chriſtian Church) ſhall march before his Majeſty: calling aloud to all the reſt of that Heavenly company to follow after in their order.
3. And then will the Trump of God ſound; which the Apoſtle adds to ſignifie, after the manner of men, the powerful ſummons which will be iſſued forth to alarm all the World to attend at this great ſolemnity. For the gathering of the Congregation of Iſrael together was by the ſound of a Trumpet, as we find among other places, in iv. Jer. 5. Blow ye the Trumpet in the land; cry, gather together, and ſay Aſſemble your ſelves. To which the Apoſtle ſeems to allude, and calls it the Trump of GOD, to diſtinguiſh it from all other; and to expreſs ſuch a mighty and penetrating ſound as ſhall be heard every where: Such an one as is fit to precede none but GOD the Father Almighty himſelf, or Him that holds his place, his only begotten Son, when he comes to judge the World. In ſhort, this ſeems to be an expreſſion borrowed from the appearance of God at Mount *So Thenphylact & other Greek Interpreters.Sinai; whither all Iſrael being to be gathered together, they were ſummoned thither by Thunders and Lightnings and a thick cloud, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, which made all the people tremble, xix. Exod. 16. So that the meaning of the Apoſtle is, that our Lord ſhall come as the Great King of the World in a moſt venerable Majeſty; which ſhall make all Mankind ſtand in awe of him, and tremble before him, as the Iſraelites did at the Appearance of the Divine Majeſty on Mount Sinai. And a great deal more. For,
4. When he appears, it will be, as I have intimated already, with innumerable glittering troops of Angels (all clothed in very bright and ſhining Clouds) as his Guard or Retinue to attend upon him. So we are informed in ſeveral other places: For the Son of Man (ſaith our Lord himſelf, xvj. Mat. 27.) ſhall come in the glory of his Father, with his Angels, and then he ſhall reward every man according to his works. Which Saint Luke expreſſes thus more fully, ix. Luk. 26. Whoſoever ſhall be aſhamed of me and of my words, of him ſhall the Son of Man be aſhamed, when He ſhall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy Angels. Some of which glorious Creatures appeared to the Apoſtles and told them as much, when they ſtood gazing after our Saviour, as He aſcended up into Heaven, i. Act. 11. This ſame Jeſus, ſay they, which is taken up from you into Heaven, ſhall ſo come in like manner as ye have ſeen Him go into Heaven. Now he went thither in a moſt illuſtrious manner, in the bright Clouds of Heaven, attended by the Coeleſtial Miniſters; who came to conduct him into his Glory. For that is the meaning (it were eaſie to ſhew if this place were proper for it) of thoſe words a little before, ver. 9. He was taken (or lifted) up, and a cloud received him out of their ſight.
In brief, He will appear as the Lord of Hoſts; i.e. of all the Armies of Heaven, whether Archangels, or Angels, Thrones, or Dominions, or Powers, or whatſoever other name there is whereby they are called.
5. And then making the Air his Camp, where he will pitch his Royal Pavilion, a great White, i.e. moſt Royal and ſhining Throne will be ſet for Him, (Revel. xx. 11.) and leſſer Seats, it is likely, for all thoſe whom He intends to honour at that great day, 1 Cor. vj. 2, 3.
6. After which He will ſend forth his voice, his mighty voice, or moſt powerful and irreſiſtible word of Command; the efficacy of which will be ſuch that it will raiſe the dead out of their graves, and bring them before his Throne, or Judgment-ſeat. So He himſelf tells us in v. Joh. 28, 29. The hour is coming in which ALL that are in the graves ſhall hear his voice, and ſhall come forth; they that have done good unto the reſurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the reſurrection of damnation. Of which Authority and Power of his, He tells them (ver. 25.) they ſhould ſhortly have a proof: which was at the Reſurrection of Lazarus, when He did but ſay with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth, xj. Joh. 43. and immediately he that was dead (as it there follows, v. 44.) came forth, though bound hand and foot with grave-clothes.
In as eaſie a manner will He at the laſt day raiſe up all mankind; who being then gathered before him, and ſtanding at his Tribunal, ſhall be judged and ſentenced by him, to receive every one according as their works have been, Rev. xx. 12, 13. 2 Cor. v. 10.
Some indeed ſhall riſe before others, (as St. Paul informs us in that 1 Theſ. iv. 16.) but ſuch ſhall be the concluſion of this Glorious Appearance; which as far as the Holy Scriptures (our only guide in thoſe matters) would direct me, I have briefly explained. For after he hath taken an exact ſurvey of mens actions, and made a juſt diſtinction of their perſons, in ſuch ſort as he himſelf hath told us, Math. xxv. 31, 32, 33, &c. (where all belonging to this judgment is ſummed up) he will crown the fidelity of his obedient Diſciples: and returning back from the Air (whither they will be caught up in glorious Clouds to meet him) he will carry them along with him to his Heavenly Palace; And ſo, ſaith the Apoſtle, ſhall we be ever with the Lord, 1 Theſ. iv. 17.
And who is there now that would not wiſh to behold him come in this Royal Majeſty; and put ſuch an happy end to all our labours and troubles here? What ſoul is there that can forbear to love and earneſtly deſire this glorious ſight, if it hope to reap advantage by it? This is that on which all good Chriſtians ſhould ſet their hearts. This they ſhould wait and long for, as the moſt lovely ſpectacle, that can bleſs their eyes, whenſoever it ſhall pleaſe God to let it appear. They may be tempted rather to be impatient, becauſe it is ſo long deferred; than to be cold in their affection towards it, or indifferent whether it come or no. Nothing can hinder it from raiſing the moſt ardent deſires to enjoy it, unleſs any doubt creep into our hearts, whether there will be ſuch a time as I have deſcribed. That diſtruſt indeed, if we have any, muſt firſt be removed. We ought to look after a good aſſurance of the certainty of that, which we make the object of our love, and moſt paſſionate expectations.
For if we expect a SHOW, that is only painted in our own fancies, in curious colours, but hath no real exiſtence any where elſe, what an amazing diſappointment will it be to find we have ſet our hearts on that which is not, and have embraced a Cloud inſtead of God? How miſerable ſhould we feel our ſelves, if at laſt we perceived that we had preſſed a dream, and with long out-ſtretched arms (as I may ſpeak) moſt ardently claſpt about a ſhadow? Into what a gulph of ſhame ſhould we tumble, if we ſaw in the concluſion and iſſue of things, the whole weight of our ſouls and moſt hearty affections fall upon the thin air, and have nothing to ſupport them? Nothing can expreſs the confuſion it would throw us into, to find that we had courted, ſo many years or ages perhaps, a meer viſion of our own hearts; and let our affection looſe to wander in the paradiſe of fools.
That we may be out of fear therefore of any ſuch diſappointment; and have our affections powerfully excited towards ſo great a good, and be engaged moſt earneſtly to purſue it; I ſhall proceed to the ſecond part of this Diſcourſe, which is to ſhew the grounds we have to expect the APPEARING of the Lord Jeſus the ſecond time unto our eternal Salvation.