A Wakening Call, Chapter 4
CHAP. IV. The infallible Consequents of the said preparatory Condescensions of God within himself, in pursuance and for the accomplishing of his abovesaid twofold Purposes in the twofold Creation of Angels and Men.
1. THUS were the Works determin'd of God to be set up in Angels and Men, by a first Creation of them, finish'd (Heb. 4. 3.) to his well-pleasing, by the right Use of the mortal, earthly, First-Covenant Law-life of the Creature, in order to receive the Heavenly-Creature New-Covenant Gospel-Life of the Creator. Finish'd they were, by the Mediator himself, as the Lamb slain in the Fountain-purity of the first, and ascended into the originally unchangeable Gospel-life of the second, Rev. 13.8. All this was done within God himself, by the Mediator, as the Lamb slain from (or in) the Foundation of both Worlds (natural and spiritual, this World and the World to come) laid in himself, the Creator of both. All, receiv'd by Angels or Men, in their first Creation, or restor'd in Men by the Redeemer (since their Fall in Adam) is (with the fallible Understanding and corruptible Will thereof, their discerning and desiring Powers, their own Righteousness, Wisdom, Glories, natural Excellencies and Perfections, therein) to be given up, in Sacrifice to the Will of God, by Passive Obedience. This is the only possible Means and Way, for their being transform'd and exalted into the originally unchangeable never-sinning Creature-life of God, in the Mediator, the only Life or Principle of everlasting Active Obedience to God, and Blessedness to Man. All true thorow-Followers of the Lamb slain (in the narrow unpleasing Way to Nature, at best) will find all their own Life and Things, with unspeakable Gain, in an infallible, all-discerning, spiritual Understanding, and incorruptible Will, by personal Union with Christ in his heavenly Creature-spirit of true Holiness and eternal Life. And so will they find themselves in unchangeable Harmony with, and Obedience to the infinite Divine Will. This is the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God, in which they that are born of God, by the new-creating Workmanship of Christ passing upon them (to the Death of their natural Spirit, and Resurrection into his spiritual Life) come to be Heirs and Coheirs, under and with Christ, of God, Rom. 8. 17.
2. Thus became the exalted Creature-Son and Branch in the Mediator, of the First-born of every Creature (in the Fountain-purity of a mortal earthly Life) the First-born from the Dead, (Col. 1. 15, 18.) in the originally immortal Creature-life of his Root and Father. So became he the living Word of God, (the Book of Life of the Lamb slain and exalted) in which were written ( by the super-wonderful mysterious Way of Divine Writing or Engraving) the Names of all God's Elect, predestinated to be conform'd to Christ their Head, in a like Passive Obedience to the Divine Will, by the Death of their natural Spirit or living Soul of the First Adam, and Resurrection into the quickning Spirit of the Second, the Life of their Creator, Rom. 8. 29. & 6. 3-6. Whoever do finally refuse to die with him, (and lose all their own mortal, earthly Life and Things, receiv'd in their first Creation, or restor'd since, with all Works or Fruits, done or brought forth by them, therein) will never attain that heavenly, eternal Creature-life of their Creator, in which to live and reign with him, 2 Tim. 2. 11, 12. True Followers of the slain Lamb of God, will be enabled to say with him, I was dead in my own mortal, earthly Law-spirit of Works, and am alive in his Gospel-spirit of Grace and Truth for evermore, Rev. 1. 18. All that establish themselves in their own Law-spirit of Works, and Righteousness of Man, will be found unchangeable Enemies of God's Righteousness, in his heavenly Gospel-spirit, and so in unchangeable Union with the God of this World, the Devil. Such mystical Sodomites, in Filth of Spirit, Enmity to God and his Gospel-spirit of Grace, will have worse of it for ever, under the Wrath of God, than common Sinners in Filth of Flesh, wallowing in the miry Filths and Brutalities of literal Sodom, Mat. 11. 23, 24.
3. Thus became the exalted Branch in the Mediator, the ready prepar'd immediate Hand and living Word of God, for performing his whole Divine Mind and twofold Purposes thereof, in the twofold Creation of Angels and Men, and for the dealing with them, both and all, as hating their own Life, given them in their first Creation, in love to his own, offer'd them by a Second; or, as from love to their own, in the first, unchangeably hating his own (offer'd by a second) in Union with the Devil.
The said exalted Son and Branch, did bring forth Angels and Men, out of their radical Existencies in himself, into their personal Subsistencies and Individuations in themselves. This was their first Creation, in the same kind of mortal, earthly First-Covenant Law-life, himself had first taken, in the supream Fountain-purity thereof, as First-born of every Creature therein, and rightly us'd in order to the second, in which he became the First-born from the Dead, in a Life above all Deaths, temporal or eternal. Thus was it true, in the immediate Creator, as well as in meer Creatures, Angels and Men; First, that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual, 1 Cor. 15. 46. Unchangeable Love to our selves in our own Life, receiv'd in our first Creation, is the unpardonable Sin against the Holy Ghost, or heavenly Creature-spirit of Christ, and Life thereof, offer'd by a second.
4. The exalted Creature-Son, or living Word of God, his prepar'd and fitted immediate Hand, for the twofold Creation of Angels and Men, was also his ready prepar'd infallible Mouth, Wisdom and Word, to declare to them, as soon as made, his whole Counsel, Will and Command, for the right Use of their natural Beings and Life, given them in their first Creation, in order to a second; and that, as their unspeakable Concern, as well as Duty, for finding the Salvation of Heaven, or scaping the Damnation of Hell. Final refusing the Loss of all their own, in the first, for his own, by a second, will be everlasting Destruction to all that so do.
5. Christ, as exalted Creature-Son and Branch, became the ready prepar'd immediate sacrificing High-Priest of God, after the Order (and in the Power) of the Original Melchisedec, (Heb. 5.6,10. & 6.20. & 7. 17.) his Creature-root and Father, who first perform'd the sacrificing Death-work upon himself, when in the Fountain-purity of all mortal First-creation Life. Thus is the immediate Creator of Angels and Men, by a first Creation, the immediate High-Priest of God, to perform the like sacrificing Death-work on them, therein, as his Creature-Father had before perform'd upon himself. This exalted Son and Branch, was the Melchisedec, Priest of the most high God, that met Abram, returning from the Slaughter of the four Kings, and bless'd him, Gen. 14. 18, 19. Heb. 7. 1. He was also one of the three Men, Abram pray'd to and worshipp'd, as God, (Gen. 18.) which no good Angels would ever own, Rev. 19.10. & 22.9. The Devil and his proud self-exalting evil Angels, own themselves as Gods, (in the uncontroll'd Soveraignty of their own Wills, above and against all that is truly called God, and to be worshipp'd) requiring Divine Worship to be paid them, Isa. 14.12-14. 2 Thess. 2. 3, 4. Yea, Satan most presumptuously attempted to bring the Lord himself to own, fall down and worship him as the true God, whom he knew to be the true Lord and God (Mark 1. 24.) he and all Angels and Men ought to worship, Mat. 4. 8-10. Christ own'd the wise Mens worshipping him, when born in our Nature (Mat. 2. 1, 11.) and after; others worshipping him, Mat. 8.2. & 9.18. with eight other Scriptures in the four Evangelists.
6. And lastly; Christ as exalted Branch, was in the fully partaken of Life of his Creature-root, the ready prepar'd infallible Example and unerrable Pattern for Angels and Men to follow, by the like Death of Nature in them, at best, in order to a happy Resurrection into the spiritual everlasting righteous Life of their Creator. All that finally refuse a Submission in Passive Obedience to this Change, will perish for ever. For this Change, as their Duty and unspeakable Concern, did he represent himself in such Transactions as had pass'd in the Creature-part of his Person, to all the Angels single and higher intuitive natural Understanding than Man's, though in but the same First-Covenant Law-life of the Creature, as Man. He appear'd to the Angels, immediately, as four living Creatures that had the Likeness of a Man, (Ezek. 1.5.) the comprehensive Sum of all changeable First-Creation-Being and Life. The word Man, comprehends all. Every individual Man is a Microcosm, or lesser World, having all found in the Macrocosm, or greater, without him, and something more, peculiar to himself. He has Being; an earthy Body, with Elements, and all inanimate Simples or Compounds; a threefold Life, or Spirit of Lives, (Gen. 2. 7.) Vegetable, with Grass, Herbs, Trees, &c. a Life of Sense, with Birds, Beasts, Fishes and creeping things; an intellectual Exercise of the Life of his natural Spirit, above and without the Body, while in it, with Angels, but inferiour to them, therein. Then, besides all this, has he the rational Exercise of his natural Understanding, by bodily Organs, not found in any Parts of the greater World, Angels or Beasts.
The four living Creatures, by which Christ represented himself to the Angels, had the Face or Likeness of a Man: And they are call'd again and again, the (or one) living Creature (Ezek. 1.20,21. & 10. 15, 17, 20. The good Angels figur'd by Wheels, or Chariots (Psal. 68. 17.) follow'd this Head, fully: Whithersoever his Spirit was to go, they went, and turned not (or looked back) as they went, Ezek. 1. 17, 20. The Reason hereof was, the Spirit of the living Creature was in the Wheels (v. 20, 21.) a Seed of his spiritual Life was in them. Hence, when the four living Creatures with the Face of a Man, did let down their Wings, the said Angelical Wheels did let down their Wings, v. 24. In Passive Obedience to the Divine Will, and Conformity to Christ's Death of the first Creation, they ceas'd from the mortal Life of their own Spirits, given them in their first Creation, and from the Exercise of their own fallible Understandings and corruptible Wills, therein, which are the mystical Wings, by which natural Angels and Men flie abroad, in this perishing World, to view and place their Thoughts and Affections on what seems desirable to them, in order to pick up a true Happiness to themselves, where it never is to be found. While Man thus rambles and flies abroad for a self-pleasing delusive Happiness, amongst the Delights of the Sons of Men, he never looks or seeks after God, and his heavenly Creature-life and Things, the peculiar Delights of the Sons of God. These heavenly Creature-things, offer'd by a new Creation, are out of the Reach of all single natural Understanding of Man, (1 Cor. 2. 9.) and the only way for attaining them, is most contrary to his natural Will. The Death and Loss of both and all, is the appointed way, in God's Wisdom, whose Thoughts and Ways are not as Man's, but quite contrary, about their true Salvation, Isa. 55. 8, 9.
When the good Angels had let down their Wings (importing a perfect Rest and Cessation from the Labours or Exercise of their own Spirits, Wills and Understandings) a Voice from the Firmament, over their Heads, calls them out of the said Death of Nature, into a living spiritual Faith, working by love to Christ, as seen by them, the Man upon a Throne, as exalted Son and Branch, in his heavenly Creature-life. Hereby were they actually possess'd of eternal Life, and infallibly sure of being compleated therein, in God's time. They patiently waited (with a holy kind of Impatience, well-pleasing to God, also) in longing Desires and Pantings after the actual Gift of the Holy Ghost or Gospel-Spirit of the Man, they saw upon his Throne, therein. They, with Old-Testament-Saints, waited four thousand Years, for this promis'd unspeakable Gift, which was not given to either or any of them till Christ was ascended in our Nature, Iohn 7.39. But, as inseparably united therewith, by a living spiritual Faith, working by Love thereto, they all had a good Report with God, as well-pleasing and acceptable to him, though they had not receiv'd his promis'd Holy Ghost, Heb. 11. 39. All along the said four thousand Years, the good Angels with Old-Testament-Prophets and other Saints, desir'd to pry, look into, and consider what time the Spirit of Christ in them (as enjoy'd by a spiritual Faith therein) did signify, when it testified before-hand, the Sufferings of Christ, and the Glory that should follow, with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven; and clear Gospel-preaching, experienc'd therein, 1 Pet. 1. 10-12. On this account, the good Angels had Cause of Rejoicing at the Birth of Christ, in our Nature, as their own concern, as well as Man's, though not in reference to Sin. For they never sinn'd, at all, nor were in danger of ever sinning, after their first change from Nature to Grace. They rejoic'd also, on behalf of Mankind, who are all born Sinners. The high Joy of the good Angels, on these Accounts, at Christ's Birth, is recorded. Luke 2. 8-14.
By the first Demeanour of the good Angels, is implied the contrary Behaviour of the evil ones. The good follow'd Christ, their Head: the evil ones turn'd from their true Head, as they went, or were going, a while, with the good, under the same Light. Satan made himself a contrary, opposite Head to Christ, and, with his Tail, drew a third part of the Angels, (Revel. 12. 4.) signified by Stars, (Iob 38. 7.) into the same Condition with himself, under him as their Head, in the self-chosen earthly Life of the first Creation, in unchangeable Enmity to God and his heavenly Life, offer'd them, by a second. As thus it was with the evil Angels, so, too oft, with Men. Under high spiritual enlightning Gifts, many that have gone a while with Gospel-Saints, after Christ, as their Head, finding his Cross, or the Death-work of his heavenly on their earthy Spirit, to be pass'd under, in order to be married to him, as risen from the Dead, they turn away from him under Satan's Witch-crafts (Gal. 3. 1, 3.) to set up for themselves in their holy Flesh, or righteous Life, given them in their first Creation, in unchangeable Enmity to God and his holy Gospel-Spirit, offer'd by a second. So Satan, as God and Prince of this World, brings them under his Influence, by which, he renders them the most enrag'd Antichristian Enemies of Gospel-Saints and Truths, 1 Iohn 2. 19.
A third part of the Angels will perish for ever. Of Mankind, the many in the broad, easy, self-pleasing Way to Hell, out-number Christ's few, in the narrow Way to Heaven, though they, also, out of all Generations, will be a numberless Multitude, Revel. 7. 9.