The Revelation Unrevealed Concerning the Thousand Year Reign, Section 28 – Section 34
§. 28 But, I may meet with some of our Millenarian Brethren, The opinion of the first Resurrection of onelyonly Martyrs confuted.who disclaiming this more common opinion of the raising & raigning of all the Saints, will choose rather to adhere to the cōceit of Alstedius & his complices, who appropriate this priviledge of the first Resurrection, and thousand years-raign to Martyrs onelyonly; as the first-fruits unto God, as purchased by a particular prerogative, from among men. For which purpose, they think fit to interpret that, 1 Thess. 4. foreign propter quam.those that sleep in Jesus; by a strained cōstruction of the Preposition: those that sleep for the sake of Jesus; wherein certainly they are not wel advised; and will finde themselves strongly confuted, out of the very scope, and context of the place; It was the Apostles drift there, to comfort his Thessalonians, and to mitigate their extream sorrow for the death of those, which were dear unto them; whose decease he terms a sleep: can they thinke they grieved for the parting onelyonly from their martyred friends? or did none but they sleep? the word is first generall, and absolute, ere it be restrained by any preposition; and, in the sequel, those which are asleep are contradistinguished to those that are alive and remain unto the comming of the Lord, so as all the faithfull which died before, are those that are asleep in Jesus; Neither can their interpretation find any relief from Rev. 14.13. Blessed are those dead which die in the Lord, &c. that is, as they take it, for the Lord; The next words refell it; For they rest from their labours, and their works follow them; Do none but Martyrs find rest from their labours in death? do none else find the happy reward of their works?
And well may their opposers say; Revel. 4.4.We find not the four & twenty Elders, which sate clothed with white rayment, and with crowns of Gold on their heads, to have bin Martyrs; and yet we hear them say, Revel. 5.10Thou hast made us unto our God, Kings and Priests, and we shall raign upon earth.
Indeed, if there shall be any raign of the Saints one earth at all for those thousand years, Alstedius is sure too strait-laced to restraine this honour to Martyrs onelyonly: How many thousands of Saints have their been that have been no less holy, and won no lesse honour to God in their stations, then those which have bled for him? What shall we say to Abraham the Father of the faithfull, to him that wrestled with God and prevailed? to the rest of the holy Patriarks? to Moses the man of God that conversed so familiarly with the Almighty: So Elias that was rapt up to heaven, and to all the other holy Prophets? to the blessed Apostles, to the laborious Planters of the Evangelicall Churches amōgst Pagans? to those painfull Preachers of the Gospell which have willingly wasted themselves to give light unto others? shall we suppose that they shal lie stil in the dust, whiles one sudddain stroke of an Axe shall advance those other to the prevented resurrection, and raign of a thousand years.
Besides, if he will needs be literall, how much lower must the restriction yet fall? I saw (saith St. John) the souls of them that were beheaded for the witnesse of Jesus, and for the Word of God; and which had not worshipped the beast, nor his image neither had received his marke upon their foreheads, or in their hands, and they lived and raigned with Christ 1000 years. For how many thousands have suffered Martyrdome for good causes before the beast was bred, or his image or his marks heard of; or before Christ came in the flesh: such was the righteous Abel, the Proto-martyr of the world; such were the four score and five persons that wore a linnen Ephod, murthered by the command of Saul; 1 Sam. 22.18.such was Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, slaine by the command of Joash. 2 Chro. 14.21.Such were those many thousands of Gods people that were massacred under the Tyranny of Antiochus; Neither doubt I to say that whosoever he be, that suffers for the testimonie of a good conscience, because he dares not violate any one of the morall laws of God, is as true a Martyr, as he that dies for the maintenance of any of the twelve Articles of his Creed.
Besides, Socrat. hist. Eccles. 1.4. c. 27.our Histories tel us of some very Arrians, and other Hereticks, that have yet given their lives up to Heathen Persecutors, for the name of Christ: Shall wee say that those men shall shall receive more priviledge from God then the most orthodox Confessors which kept their souls within their teeth: yet suffered grievously, and lived and died more holily? Shortly then, if we shall count this preventive Resurrection a speciall blessing of God, it must needs be an injurious partiality in those, who shall make such a difference of Saints, as that the more holy shall in the retribution of the Just God, carry away the lesser reward, and the lesse holy shal for one act of an instantany suffering, be crowned with so great and long-lasting glory; before them.
Howsoever it be taken; Surely, that so much-urged text of 1 Thess. 4. favoureth neither of them; for when the Apostle saith, Those that sleep, in, or, for Christ, shall rise first, hee speaks of one and the same Resurrection, not of two Resurrections, a thousand years asunder: neither is there any clause in the whole Booke of God, that doth so much as seem to countenance (no not to intimate) this double Resurrection in the sense pretended, or this raign of either Martyrs, or other Saints upon earth.
Which in a verity of such importance, is without all example, for all the holy doctrines of divine scripture do (as that Father said aright) foreign, contruth with each other; making good both themselves, and their fellowes; whereas this, not onelyonly (if it could be true) stands alone; but, hath many sore brushes of contradiction both of text, and reason, to discard it from our belief.
§. 29 As for that evasion of Alstedius, Alstedius his evasion concerning this single expression of the Millenary raign answered.that the single expression of this supposed truth, is no more derogation from the undoubted certainly of it, then that of the seventy Weeks of Daniel; which though but once mentioned in Scripture, yet is, and ever hath been received as a most sure comfortable and undeniable verity; it cannot serve his turn in the case we have in hand; There is no lesse difference in the comparison, then in the time; The one a thing past, and punctually fulfilled, the other, in very pretence, future: The one clearly layed forth without any ambiguity in the relation (save onelyonly that weeks of years, not of days are plainly signified) the other full of doubtfull construction; As well might he have instanced in many hundred passages of Scripture, especially in matter of historie, wherein the holy Ghosts contents himself with single, and but light touches of report, and yet challenging no lesse belief then upon a thousand reduplications; Far be it from him to entertain so uncharitable thoughts of us, as if we durst not trust God on his word, though but once spoken; we know him to be Amen; and that repetitions adde nothing to plain Truths; but all the question is here, not of words, but of sense; not of what is said, but of what is meant; so as we have reason to expect and require, that when a strange doctrine is raised out of the cōstruction of a doubtful text, it should be shewed to be seconded by the accordant testimony of other Scriptures; which upon this matter lying now before us, can never be effected.
§. 30 We are now falne upon the last part of our taske, No necessity from the text of admitting this strange Tenet of the reign contended for.which is to shew, that we are not by any necessity of this text, cast upon the admission of these strange Tenets, of a double resurrection of the body; and of such a raigne of the Saints upon earth, as is pretended: since the words may well bear other more commodious and safe constructions, wherein our sober predecessors contented themselves to rest: for the terms here used, are (if we observe them) of much latitude. He saith, I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, &c. and they lived and raigned with Christ a thousand years, This is the first Resurrection. 1 We know the souls are sometimes taken for the spirit that animates us; somtimes for the whole person; so the Proto-martyr tels us. Acts 7.14.Jacob brought down into Egypt threescore & fifteensouls. 2 That were beheaded; though in a Grammer-sense it signifies the time past, yet commonly in a Propheticall sense it signifies the future; it being the ordinary phrase of the Prophets, by reason of the infallible certainty of the events, to speak of things to come, as already past; the instances are obvious, and infinite. 3 The living raigning with Christ is, either in this life, or in heaven; present, or future, In grace, or in glory; In way of government, or of a blessed fruition. 4 The thousand years, either punctually determinate, or indefinite. 5 The first Resurrection, either of the soul, or body; either the Resurrection of the soul from sin, and a dead state of unregeneration; or the Resurrection of the body from the grave; and in the former construction, A Resurrection either of a reformed Community, or of particular persons; All these then well put together, cannot but afford us our choice of orthodoxe, and probable interpretations, without any violence offered to the sense; Amongst the rest I shall pitch upon these two, as the most clear, and free from all just exception.
§. 31 The former, relating to the condition of Gods faithfull servants here on earth, The safe & allowed construction of the Text insisted on.after those bloudy and generall persecutions: thus; I saw upon the restraint of Satan from that furious and universall violence, which by the hands of those cruell Emperours, he had exercised against the Church of Christ, such honour put upon his faithfull and constant Confessors, during the time of Satans shutting up, as that the power was committed unto them of managing the affairs of Gods Church, and executing due censures upon the offenders; And I saw those godly persons, which in true Zeal of Gods glory either had suffered, or were ready to suffer and lay down their lives for the testimony of Jesus Christ, and those which conscionably refrained from, and abhorred the errours and Idolatries of the times, those I saw to enjoy a comfortable life and spirituall raigne with Christ, in a sanctified and gracious estate here on earth; all the time of the thousand years of Satans restraint: But for the rest, which lay spiritually dead in their sins, and impious courses, they did not, either in that space, or afterwards; at all, attain to this life of grace, and to the true knowledge and fruition of God: Now this abandoning of the sinfull corruptions of the times, and attaining to the true knowledge, and love of the saving Truth of God, and a conscionable obedience thereunto, is the first Resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath his part in this spirituall resurrection; for on such a one the second death, which is an eternall separation of the soul from the presence of God shall have no power, &c.
The other, relating to the happy estate of the souls glorified in heaven, to this sense. I saw the souls of the blessed Martyrs after they were by a violent death, for bearing witnesse to the name of Christ, freed from the calamities of this wretched life, received up to glory; and raigning in heaven with their glorious Redeemer in everlasting happinesse; even during those thousands of yeares, wherein Satan was in his setters, and after that, to all eternity.
If either of these constructions may fitly explicate the Text, and fully suit withal other Scriptures, to what purpose should we ransack the grave, and rake in the ashes of an odious Cerinthus, or an exploded Papias, for the long-since condemn'd conceits of old; and hitherto forgotten Millenarisme?
I might easily, if it would requite the cost of time, lay before my Reader the just exception that may be taken against divers of those other expositions, and the opinions thereon grounded, which I formerly specified, but I do willingly forbear them, as more worthy of silence and neglect. I had rather spend my time and breath in exhorting all good Christians to keepe close to their old Tenets; and to beware of all either new-devised, or re-divived errours of opinion: whereof this last age of ours is deplorably fruitfull.
§. 32 Amongst the rest, An exhortation to stick fast to the old Principles.let me beseech them to stick fast to their received principles in these four points which are incident to the matter that lies before us. And first not to believe any Kingdom of Christ but spirituall and heavenly.First, that they fix not their belief upon any Kingdome of Christ our Saviour, but spirituall and heavenly: I am sure no other can be enforced upon them by the text; for it is not said, Christ shall raigne with them on earth, but they shal raign with Christ; rather intimating, that they should be fetch up to him, then that he should come down to them; and besides this raign is attributed to the souls not to the bodies of the martyred Saints; If it be urged that this raign of theirs is upon a Resurrection from the dead, it is as easily return'd, that the resurrection intimated is no lesse spirituall then the soul which it concerns; Awake, thou that sleepest, Ephes. 5.14.and stand up from the dead, and Christ shal give thee light, saith the Spirit of God: Lo, that sleep is death, and both that dead sleep and the awaking out of it is purely spirituall. Neither indeed is this personall, and visibly Monarchicall raigne of Christ other then disagreable to the heavenly condition of the Son of God, in the fulnesse of his glorification; which certainly, if ever he would have exercised, it should have been when he was here like unto us, a man amongst men; that so he might have ruled over subjects sutable to himself; but now that his humane body is in a celestiall and glorious estate, and his blessed deity shining forth in the full beams of resplendent Majesty, which mortall eyes are not capable to behold, to bring him down from the highest heaven to take the personall government of men, subject both to sin and death, (as Alstedius yields them) seems to be extreamly incongruous: And if we would imagine a visible and personall Monarchie, here must be all things correspondent thereunto, the place, the forme, the attendants, the officers, the lawes, the processes, the rewards and punishments in an outward bodily, & little-other-then-secular way: all which how probably it may sound to Christian eares, I leave to the Judicious Reader to judge.
Had our blessed Saviour, whiles he was here on earth, or his inspired Apostles after him, given us the least hint of this his future Monarchie, we should humbly have prostrated our souls to the belief and expectation of it; but if men will be raising such Doctrines out of their private constructions of an aenigmaticall text, capable of a more safe and received sense, we must crave pardon to with-hold our assent, and to leave them to their own imaginations.
§. 33 Secondly, that they do not out of this conceit of a personall and visible Kingdom of Christ, Secondly, Not to think of any absolute freedome from sin, or affliction here below.flatter themselves into an opinion of an absolute freedome from either sin, or bodily affliction here in this earthly life; since both these are, and ever will be the unavoidable companions of frail humanity; and the miserable symptomes of our fleshly nature.
It is a true word of Eliphaz the Temainte: Job 15 14.What is man that he should be clean; and he that is born of a woman that he should be righteous? Certainly, we must cease to be men, when we begin to be sinlesse; Sin though it be not of the essence of our nature, as some have erroneously thought, yet it is a proper, and inseparable adjunct thereof: which we cannot hope to be quit of, by the most perfect regeneration; And as for affliction, he hath told us, that cannot deceive us, Job 16.33.even Truth it selfe, In the world ye shall have tribulation; and his blessed Apostles to the same purpose; That through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdome of heaven; And, Act. 14.22.if Alstedius shall hope to avoid the blow by shifting his foot, and referring the words to the present condition of the persecuted Disciples; which yet should afterwards be interchanged with vicissitudes of calme, and peaceable times; he might wel have considered, that this life of ours is necessarily obnoxious to many other afflictions, beside violent persecutions; and might have paralleld that sentence with the experimentall observation of the great pattern of patience: Man that is born of a woman is of few dayes, Job 14.1.and full of trouble.
Neither indeed can this conceit of theirs stand with that old, and never-contradicted distinction of the Church Militant and Triumphant; for if this Church of Christ upon earth shall after the next returne of him, be freed both from Satan (who is now chained up) and from all whatsoever afflictions, with what warfare shall we say it is exercised for the space of a whole 1000 years? what adversary can it meet with for confliction? And, if Alstedius shall tell us, that in this meane while the living Saints (though not the raised) are still combated inwardly in their brests with their rebelling corruptions; we send Mr. Archer to enter the lists with him; who offers to make good upon him that those very Saints, whom our returning Saviour shall find alive, are both in themselves, and in their children in all succeeding generations freed from all the power of sinne: so as though they have an originall corruption still within them, yet it shal never break forth to the prejudice of their souls. So as by this rule, there should be no Church in the world till towards the end of that thousand years but Triumphant: which surely a man had need of a strong faith to believe.
§. 34 Thirdly, Thirdly, To expect no other coming of Christ, but that one to his finall judgement.that they do not entertain the thought, or expectation of any other future comming of their Saviour, but that one onelyonly of his return to the finall judgement of the World: Surely, the blessed Apostle knew of no other, when he charged Timothy before God, and the Lord Jesus, 2 Tim. 4.1.who shall judge the quick and dead at his appearance, to preach the word; when he prayed for his Thessalonians, that God would stablish their hearts unblamable in holinesse, 1 Thess. 3.…3.at the comming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all his Saints: Lo, if there should be imagined a third comming of Christ, we cannot say that he comes with all his Saints, since the greatest part of them, according to this Tenet, are already upon earth before him; and do rather stay for him below then come from above with him. And, indeed, wherefore should it be imagined, that the Lord Jesus should make this middle descent from heaven to earth? Great actions must have answerable motives, what necessity, or use can they frame to themselves of this wonderfull appearance; Is it to receive his Kingdome? He hath it already; Host. 2.8.Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet, saith the Apostle: Already hath God highly exalted him, Philip. 2.9.and given him a name which is above all names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the earth, & things under the earth; Is it to settle the government of that his better reformed Church? Eph. 4.10.It is done already: He that descended, is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, 11.that he might fill all things; And he gave some to be Apostles some Prophets, some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers; 12.To what purpose? For the perfecting of the Saints, &c. for the edifying of the body of Christ. And how long? Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, Verse 13.unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulnes of Christ. Is it to subdue and destroy his enemies? Hath he not infinite power in his hand to effect that without a bodily descent? when he destroyed the first world of wicked men, did he descend from heaven to do it? So then we may with all Christian assurance, rest upon the word of his holy Apostle Peter, That the heavens must receive him, untill the time of the restitution of all things; Act. 3.21.which is, that of the generall Resurrection, as we may well see by comparing of St. Peter with St. Paul. Rom. 8.20, 21. termed by our Saviour, the day of our redemption: Till when, (which cannot be long) we have no ground to expect our Saviours return.