Miscellaneous Discourses, Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
The Teſtimonies of Scripture concerning the Diſſolution of the World.
1. THen, Let us conſider what we find delivered in the holy Scriptures, concerning the Diſſolution of the World. And firſt of all, This place, which I have made choice of for my Text, is in my opinion the moſt clear and full, as to this particular, in the whole Scripture; and will give light for the Solution of moſt of the propoſed Queſtions. V. 10. The day of the Lord ſhall come as a thief, &c. This anſwers the third Queſtion, Whether the Diſſolution ſhall be gradual or ſudden? Wherein the Heavens ſhall paſs away with a great noiſe, and the Elements ſhall melt with fervent heat, the Earth alſo, and all the works that are therein ſhall be burnt up. And again, V. 12. Wherein the Heavens being on fire ſhall be diſſolved, and the Elements ſhall melt with fervent heat. This anſwers the ſecond Queſtion, What the Means and Inſtruments of this Diſſolution ſhall be? V. 13. Nevertheleſs we according to his promiſe, look for a new Heaven and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth righteouſneſs. This gives ſome light toward the anſwering of the laſt Queſtion, Whether ſhall the Heavens and the Earth be wholly burnt up and deſtroyed, or only renewed and purified? Theſe Words as clearly as they ſeem to refer to the Diſſolution of the World, yet Dr. Hammond doubts not to be underſtood of the remarkable deſtruction of Jeruſalem and the Jewiſh State, he thus paraphraſing them.
V. 10.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the Heavens ſhall paſs away with a great noiſe, and the Elements ſhall melt with fervent heat, and the Earth alſo, and the works that are therein ſhall be burnt up.
But this Judgment of Chriſt, ſo remarkable on the Jews, ſhall now ſhortly come, and that very diſcernably; and the Temple ſhall ſuddenly be deſtroyed, the greater part of it burnt, and the City and People utterly conſumed.
V. 11.
Seeing then all theſe things ſhall be diſſolved, what manner of perſons ought ye to be in all holy converſation and godlineſs?
Seeing then this deſtruction ſhall thus involve all, and now approacheth ſo near, what an engagement doth this lay upon us to live the moſt pure ſtrict lives that ever men lived?
V. 12.
Looking for and haſtning unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, ſhall be diſſolved, and the Elements ſhall melt with fervent heat.
Looking for the coming of Chriſt, for our deliverance, and by our Chriſtian lives quickning and haſtning God to delay it no longer; that Coming of his, I ſay, which as it ſignifies great mercy to us, ſo it ſignifies very ſharp deſtruction to the whole Jewiſh State.
V. 13.
Nevertheleſs we according to his promiſe, look for new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth righteouſneſs.
Inſtead of which we look for a new Chriſtian State, wherein all proviſion is made by Chriſt for righteouſneſs to inhabit, according to the promiſe of Chriſt concerning the purity that he ſhould plant in the Evangelical State.
How he makes out and confirms this Paraphraſe, ſee in his Annotations upon this place. So confident is he of the Truth of this his Interpretation, that he cenſures the uſual one as a great Miſtake, in his Annotation on v. 10. where he thus writes; What is here thus expreſſed by S. Peter, is ordinarily conceived to belong to the end of the World, and by others applyed to the end of this World, and the beginning of the Millennium, or thouſand years. And ſo, as S. Peter here ſaith, v. 16. many other places in S. Paul's Epiſtles, and in the Goſpel, eſpecially Matth. 24. are miſtaken and wreſted▪ That it doth not belong to either of thoſe but to this fatal day of the Jews, ſufficiently appears by the purport of this whole Epiſtle, which is, to arm them with Conſtancy and Perſeverance till that day come; and particularly, in this Chapter, to confute them who object againſt the Truth of Chriſt's Predictions, and reſolve it ſhould not come at all: Againſt whom he here oppoſes the Certainty, the Speedineſs, and the Terribleneſs of its coming. That which hath given occaſion to thoſe other common Miſtakes, is eſpecially the Hideouſneſs of thoſe Judgments, which fell upon that People of the Jews, beyond all that ever before are re…ated to have fallen upon them, or indeed any other people, which made it neceſſary …or the Prophets, which were to deſcribe it … and who uſe Tropes and Figures, and not …lain Expreſſions, to ſet down their Predicti…ns) to expreſs it by theſe high Phraſes, of …he paſſing away and diſſolving of Heaven and Earth and Elements, &c. which ſounding very tragically, are miſtaken for the great …nd final Diſſolution of the World. So far the Doctor. Two things there are in this Chapter, which ſeem to contradict this In…erpretation; Firſt, That the Deſtruction …ere ſpoken of, is compared with Noah's …lood; and the Heaven and Earth to be diſ…olved by this, made parallel, and of equal extent to the World deſtroyed by that. Of this the Doctor was well aware, and therefore grants, that the 7th Verſe, But the Heavens and the Earth which are now, by the …me word are kept in ſtore, reſerved unto fire …gainſt the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men, is to be underſtood of the general and final deſtruction of the World by fire, but the following Verſes to be an Anſwer to the firſt part of the Atheiſts Objection, viz. Where is the promiſe of his coming? To me it ſeems, that all refer to the ſame matter. The ſecond thing which ſeems to contradict the Doctor's Interpretation, is, the Apoſtles citing for the inſtruction and confirmation of the Believers, and in anſwer to the Atheiſts Objection (Where is the promiſe of his coming? … that place of the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 90.4. Tha… one day is with the Lord as a thouſand years and a thouſand years as one day. For th… Apoſtle ſeems to ſuppoſe, that the time o… Chriſt's coming, might poſſibly be a thouſand years off; and that they were not to thin… much, or diſtruſt the promiſe, if it were ſo for though it were predicted as thin… ſhortly to come, yet they were to conſide… that a thouſand years in God's ſight, is but very ſhort time; ſo that it might be fore tol… as ſhortly to come, though it were a thouſand years off. Whereas it might ſeem improper to mention a thouſand years to ſupport them in expectation of an Event th… was not twenty years to come.
Another place where mention is made … Chriſt's coming to Judgment, and the Diſſ… lution of the World, is Matth. 24. to whic… may be added as parallel, Mark 13. an… Luke 21. In which places you have con… derable, 1. The Suddenneſs of Chriſt's coming, v. 27. As the lightning comes out of t… Eaſt, and ſhineth even unto the Weſt, ſo ſh… the coming of the Son of Man be. 2. The Sig… of his coming, v. 29. Immediately after t… tribulation of thoſe days, ſhall the Sun be darkned, and the Moon ſhall not give her light, and the Stars ſhall fall from Heaven, and the powers of Heaven ſhall be ſhaken. 3. The manner of his coming, v. 30. And then ſhall appear the Sign of the Son of Man in Heaven: and then ſhall all the Tribes of the Earth mourn, when they ſhall ſee the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with power and great glory. And he ſhall ſend his Angels with a great ſound of a Trumpet, and they ſhall gather together his Elect from the four Winds, from one end of Heaven to the other. 4. The Uncertainty of the time of his coming, and this diſſolution as to us, But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the Angels in Heaven: and Mark adds, neither the Son, but the Father only.
All this Prophecy Dr. Hammond underſtands of the deſtruction of the City and Temple of Jeruſalem, and whole Nation of the Jews; as may be ſeen in his Paraphraſe and Annotations upon this place. And indeed our Saviour himſelf ſeems to limit it to this, ſaying, v. 24. Verily I ſay unto you, this generation ſhall not paſs away, till all theſe things be fulfilled. For if theſe Prophecies look further than the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, even to Chriſt's coming to Judgment, how could it be true, that that generation ſhould not paſs away till all thoſe things were fulfilled? Whereas we ſee, that that Generation is long ſince paſſed away, and yet the end is not yet? And indeed Expoſitors that underſtand them of the end of the World, and Chriſt's ſecond coming to Judgment, are hard put to it to anſwer this Objection. S. Chryſoſtom will have this word foreign to be underſtood not of the Generation of men then living, but of the Generation of the faithful, which ſhould not fail till the end of the World. foreign (ſaith he) foreign, &c. He denominates a Generation not only from living together in the ſame time, but from having the ſame form and manner of religious Worſhip and Polity; as in that place, This is the generation of them that ſeek thee, that ſeek thy face, O Jacob. Beza underſtands foreign of the preſent Age, and will have it to be of the ſame valor with foreign in Hebrew, and foreign to refer not to all particulars mentioned in this Chapter, but only to thoſe which are ſpoken of the deſtruction of the City and Nation of the Jews; But (ſaith he) if any one urgeth the univerſal Particle, Vertere licebit, Fiant omnia, viz. quae ultimam illam diem praeceſſura dixit. Nam ab illo tempore coeperunt fieri, & adhuc perſeverant illa ſigna, ſuo demum tempore. Filio hominis venturo.
But on the other ſide, 1. Some paſſages there are in this Chapter, which are hardly applicable to the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, and the Diſſolution of the Jewiſh Commonwealth; as the appearing of the Sign of the Son of man in heaven, and the Tribes ſeeing the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And his ſending his Angels with a great ſound of a Trumpet. 2. The coming of Chriſt is in like manner deſcribed in places which undoubtedly ſpeak of his coming to Judgment at the end of the World. As in 1 Cor. 15.52. mention is made of the Trumpets ſounding at the time of Chriſt's coming: and 1 Theſſ. 4.16. it is ſaid, The Lord himſelf ſhall deſcend from heaven with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and v. 17. We that are alive ſhall be caught up together with them [that are riſen] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the Air. All which places are perfectly parallel, and ſeem manifeſtly to allude to the fore-mentioned words, Matth. 24.30, 31. I am apt to think, that theſe Prophecies may have a double reſpect; one to the City, Temple, and Nation of the Jews; another to the whole World at the great day of Doom: and that the former is indeed Typical of the latter: and ſo they have a double completion; the firſt in the deſtruction of Jeruſalem and the Jewiſh Polity: In reference to which, it is truly ſaid, This generation ſhall not paſs away till all theſe things be fulfilled. The ſecond in the final Diſſolution of the World, which is yet to come.
But to proceed, Another place which is uſually underſtood of the Diſſolution of the World by fire, is 2 Theſſ. 1.7, 8. When the Lord Jeſus ſhall be revealed from heave… with his mighty Angels in flaming fire, &c▪ Other parallel places may be ſeen, Rev. 6▪ 12, 13, 14. Rev. 10.6. Rev. 21.1. And … ſaw a new Heaven and a new Earth, for the firſt Heaven and the firſt Earth were paſſe… away, and there was no more Sea, Heb. 12▪ 26, 27. Theſe places ſpeak more directly of the Diſſolution of the World, and th… coming of Chriſt to Judgment. Others ther… are that ſpeak only concerning the time o… it, 1 Pet. 4.7. But the end of all things is a… hand. James 5.9. Behold the Judge ſtandet… before the door. 1 John 2.18. Little children it is the laſt time; or as ſome tranſlat… it, the laſt hour, foreign. Heb. 10.37▪ Yet a little while, and he that ſhall come, wil… come, and will not tarry. foreign Luke 18.17. I tell you he will avenge them ſpeedily. All theſe places the fore-mentioned Dr. Hammond ſtill applies to that famous Period of the deſtruction of the City, Temple and Polity of the Jews: and in concluſion hath left us but one place in the New Teſtament, to prove the general Conflagration of the World, viz. 2 Pet. 7.7.
Now becauſe ſome have been offended at theſe Interpretations of his; others have ſpoken very flightingly of them: I ſhall briefly ſum up what hath been alleged in defence of them, by this great man.
1. That the Prophets uſe to ſet down their Predictions in Tropes and Figures, and not in plain expreſſions, (their Style being Poetical). And therefore in deſcribing thoſe hideous Judgments which fell upon that people of the Jews, beyond all that ever before fell upon them, or indeed any other people, they found it neceſſary to employ thoſe High and Tragical Phraſes of the paſſing away and diſſolving Heaven, and Earth, and Elements. And that this was the manner of the Prophets, may be proved; becauſe we find the deſtruction of other places deſcribed in as High Strains, as Lofty and Tragical Expreſſions as this of Jeruſalem. For example, that of Idumaea, Eſay 34.9. The ſtreams thereof ſhall be turned into pitch, and the duſt thereof into brimſtone, and the land thereof ſhall become burning pitch. It ſhall not be quenched night nor day, the ſmoke thereof ſhall go up for ever. And in the 4th Verſe he ſeems but to Preface to this Deſtruction in theſe words, And all the hoſt of Heaven ſhall be diſſolved, and the Heavens ſhall be rolled together as a ſcroll: and all their hoſts ſhall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the Vine, and as a falling Fig from the Fig tree; For my Sword ſhall be bathed in Heaven: Behold it ſhall come down upon Idumaea. And in the Burden of Babylon. Chap. 13.8, 9. we have theſe words, Behold the day of the Lord Cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the Land deſolate: For the Stars of Heaven and the conſtellations thereof ſhall not give their light: The Sun ſhall be darkened in his going forth, and the Moon ſhall not cauſe her light to ſhine.
2. All the Predictions in that famous place, Matth. 24. to which all other places in the New Teſtament relating to this matter are parallel, are by our Saviour himſelf reſtrained to the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, and the full completion of them limited to the duration of that Age: Verſe 34. Verily I ſay unto you, This generation ſhall not paſs till all theſe things be fulfilled. What reaſon then can we have to extend them further;
3. In moſt of the places where this coming of Chriſt is mentioned, it is ſpoken of as near, and at hand; as in the places laſt cited. Now, (ſaith the Learned Doctor) in his Note upon Luke 18.7. I tell you he will avenge them ſpeedily: All which if (when it is ſaid to approach and to be at the door) it belonged to the Day of Judgment (now after ſo many hundred years not yet come) what a foreign were this? what a delaying of his coming? and conſequently, what an Objection againſt the truth of the Chriſtian Religion? As Mahomet having promiſed after his death he would preſently return to life, and having not performed his Promiſe in a thouſand years is by us juſtly condemned as an Impoſtor.
3. That this place of S. Peter, out of which I have taken my Text, doth not belong to the end of the World ſufficiently appears (ſaith he) by the purport of this whole Epiſtle, which is to arm them with conſtancy and perſeverance till that Day come, and particularly in this Chapter to confute them who object againſt the truth of Chriſts Predictions, and reſolve it ſhould not come at all; againſt whom he here oppoſes the certainty, the ſpeedineſs, and the teribleneſs of its Coming. And for that other famous Place, 2 Theſſal. 1.8, 9. that it belongs to the ſame Period; ſee how he makes out in his Annotations.
I ſhall now ſuperadd ſome places out of the Old Teſtament, which ſeem to ſpeak of the Diſſolution of the World, Job 14.12. Man lieth down and riſeth not till the Heavens be no more. Pſalm 102.5, 6. quoted Heb. 1.10, 11. Of old haſt thou laid the foundations of the Earth, and the Heavens are the works of thy hands. They ſhall periſh but thou remaineſt; and they all ſhall wax old as doth a garment, and as a veſture ſhalt thou change them, and they ſhall be changed. Eſay 34.4. And all the hoſt of Heaven ſhall be diſſolved, and the Heavens ſhall be rolled together as a ſcroll, and all their hoſt ſhall fall down as a leaf falleth from the Vine, &c. Eſay 51.6. The Heavens ſhall vaniſh away like ſmoke, and the Earth ſhall wax old like a garment. Joel 2.31. The Sun ſhall be turned into darkneſs, and the Moon into blood, before that great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Malachi 4.1. Behold the day cometh that ſhall burn like an Oven, &c. Deut 32, 22. For a fire is kindled in my anger, and ſhall burn to the loweſt Hell, and ſhall conſume the Earth with her encreaſe, and ſet on fire the foundations of the Mountains. I muſt confeſs that the Prophetick Books are full of figurative Expreſſions, being written in a Poetick Style, and according to the ſtrain of the Oriental Rhetorick, which is much different from the Euporean, affecting lofty and turned Metaphors and exceſſive Hyperbola's and Aggravations, which would either ſound harſh to our Ears, or import a great deal more to us than they did to them. This is obvious to any one that reads their Books; and may clearly be demonſtrated from the Titles that their Kings aſſumed to themſelves as well Anciently as lately, viz. Sons of the Sun, Brethren of the Sun and Moon, Partners of the Stars, Lions Crowned in the Throne of the World, Endued with the ſtrength of the whole Heaven, and Virtue of the Firmament. Now we cannot poſſibly imagine them ſo vain as to think themſelves literally to be ſuch: no ſure, all they meant by theſe Expreſſions was that they were great, and honourable, and powerful. Now the Prophetick Books of the Old Teſtament being written in a Style ſomewhat conformable to the Oratory of thoſe Countreys, are not (I humbly conceive) in every tittle to be ſo exactly ſcanned and literally expounded, but ſo to be interpreted as a Jew or an Aſiatick would then have underſtood them. And this I rather think, becauſe there be divers paſſages in the Prophets, which cannot be verified in ſtrict literal ſenſe; As in the place before quoted, Eſay 34.9. It is ſaid of the ſtreams of Idumaea that ſhould be turned into Pitch, and the duſt thereof into Brimſtone; and the Land thereof ſhould become burning Pitch; and ſhould not be quenched night nor day, but the ſmoke thereof ſhould go up for ever. And of the City of Tyre it is ſaid Ezek. 26.14. It ſhall be built no more. And verſe 19. When I ſhall make thee a deſolate City like the Cities that are not inhabited, when I ſhall bring up the Deep upon thee, and great waters ſhall cover thee. And verſe 21. which is thrice repeated, I will make thee a terror, and thou ſhalt be no more: though thou be ſought for, thou ſhalt never be found again, ſaith the Lord God. And yet we ſee that the City of Tyre, though it was indeed wholly diſpeopled at that time, the Inhabitants transferring themſelves into Africa, when it was beſieged by Nebuchadnezzar; yet was it afterward peopled again, and continues a City inhabited to this day. And of Babylon, it is ſaid that there ſhould none remain in it, neither man nor beaſt, but that it ſhould be deſolate for ever. Jer. 51.62. Eſay 13.20. and of the Land of Babylon, Verſe 29. that it ſhould be a deſolation without an Inhabitant. And though indeed this Propheſy was I think as to the City at laſt verified in the Letter; yet did Babylon long continue a great City after this Paraphraſe: And the Land of Babylon is now inhabited, there being at this day a great City not far from the place where Babylon ſtood. So that theſe places import no more, then that there ſhould be a very great Deſtruction and Devaſtation of thoſe Cities and Countries. As for thoſe places in the Old and New Teſtament, wherein mention is made of the laſt Days and the laſt Times, it is clear that they are to be underſtood of the Age of the Meſſiah, all the time from the Exibition of the Meſſiah to the end of the World, Eſay 2.1▪ And it ſhall come to paſs in the laſt days, that the Mountain of the Lords houſe ſhall be eſtabliſhed in the top of the Mountains, and ſhall be exalted above the Hills, and all Nations ſhall flow to it; which very words we have repeated Michah 4.1. So that Propheſie of Joel 2.28. quoted Acts 2.17. And it ſhall come to paſs in the laſt days ſaith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all fleſh, &c. is to be underſtood. Hence the laſt Days have among the Jews proverbially ſignified the days of the Meſſiah, as Doctor Hammon in his Annotations upon this place tells us; who alſo Notes, that in that place of Joel, the laſt days do literally ſignifie the laſt days of the Jews, immediately preceding their deſtruction, called there the Great and terrible Day of the Lord. So Heb. 1.2. by foreign, in theſe laſt days is meant the days of the Meſſias. So 1 Pe… 1.20. 2 Pet. 3.3. 1 Tim. 4.1. 2 Tim. 3.1▪ mention is made of the laſt days in this ſenſe In like manner the end of the World, foreign, Heb. 9.26. But now onc… in the end of the World hath he appeared t… put away ſin by the Sacrifice of himſelf. An… foreign the Ends of the World, i… 1 Cor. 10.11. Ʋpon whom the ends of th… World are come, ſignifie the Age of the Meſſias, though indeed the former ſeems mor… peculiarly to denote the ſhutting up of th… Jewiſh Age or Oeconomy.