A Hundred Sermons on Revelation, Sermons · Sermon 88
¶ What thoſe thouſande yeres ſhall be, and of the certayne felicitie of ſoules after the death corporall, and of the firſte reſurrection, and ſeconde death. The .lxxxviij. Sermon.
ANd I ſawe ſeates, and they that ſate vponupon thē, and the iudgement was geuen vntounto them: and I ſaw the ſoules of them that were beheaded for the witneſſe of Ieſu, and for the word of God, which had not worſhipped the beaſte, nother his Image: nother had taken his marke vponupon their foreheades, or in their hādes: and they liued and raigned with Chriſt a thouſande yeare: but the other of the dead men liued not agayne, vntill the thouſande yeres were finiſſhed. This is the firſt reſurrection. Bleſſed and holy is he that hath parte in the firſt reſurrection. On ſuche hath the ſeconde death no power, but they ſhal be the prieſtes of God and of Chriſte, and ſhal raigne with him a thouſande yeres.
By theſe S. Iohn declareth him ſelfe,Here is declared what thoſe thouſande yeres ſhall be. expoundyng what thoſe thouſande yeres ſhal be. Not ſuche doubtles, as very many, (emongs whom are accompted alſo the Millenaries or Chiliaſtes) do Imagine with themſelues, in the whiche they ſaye, there ſhould be tranquillitie vpō earth, and in the which yeres the ſainctes here in Earth ſhal raigne corporally with Chriſt in moſte exquiſite pleaſures and ioyes. For S. Iohn himſelfe confuteth this opinion, whileſt he ſheweth, how the ſainctes ſhould be beheaded of the beaſte and of his Image: and that the others which remayne in death, ſhould not liue agayne, or receyue the goſpel of Chriſt. It is manifeſt therefore that the beaſte, & his Image ſhal be in thoſe thouſandes yeres. It is euident that the Goſpell of Chriſte ſhall by thoſe thouſande yeres ſo ſhine, that Sathan ſhoulde be ſo ſtrayte tied in chaynes, that neuertheleſſe all ſhould not receyue the goſpell, nother ſhuld there be quiet tranquillitie: but that the Sainctes for Chriſtes veritie ſhould ſuffer perſecution of the beaſte, and that many ſhuld not beleue the goſpel, but rather withſtande the ſame and periſſhe. Yet that the Deuill in the meane time ſhall not hauehave ſo great power, as he hath obteyned ſins the thouſande yeres were finiſſhed: nother that the goſpel ſhould in thoſe thouſande yeres be ſo darkened, as it was after corrupted and depraued. And he toucheth with all certen opinions righte notable and neceſſarie, and openeth the ſame, to witte what ſhould be the ſtate of them, which eyther are killed for Chriſt, or reiecte Antichriſt: verely for that their ſoules do not ſlepe til the iudgemēt, but liue with Chriſt in heauen. He treateth moreouer of the firſt reſurrection, and ſeconde death. Thus vntounto them that maruaile, where the ſoules of the dead ſhal become, and what they ſhal do immediately after the corporal death, he aunſwereth, and ſo much as is requiſite to know declareth.
The ſoules of thē that be beheaded.Therefore S. Iohn ſeeth ſeates, and thoſe that ſitte on them. And who be thoſe that ſitte? he addeth by an expoſition, and ſayeth: and the ſoules of them that are beheaded. For by an expoſition it is taken, as though you ſhould ſaye, they that ſat on the Heauenly ſeates, were the ſoules of them that are beheaded. Soules are not beheaded, but bodies: the ſoules remayne in their ſtate and life. Wherefore he ſayeth the ſoules of them whoſe bodies were beheaded or ſlayne. And here lette vsus note, that S. Iohn ſpeaketh not of the bodies reaſſumpted, chaūged, or reyſed againe at the laſt iudgement, but of the ſoules deliuered from the bodies of the martirs. For he ſpeaketh of ſoules lowſed frō the bodies, before the Iudgement, accordynge as eueryevery one in his time liueth here in this worlde, and is called from hence by death. For Aretas alſo Biſhop of Ceſarea expoundeth this of the ſoules of Martirs: yet thinketh he not neuertheleſſe that no man ſhould be ſaued, vnleſſe he die by the tirauntes ſworde. For he addeth this moreouer: or verely he nameth to be beheaded tropically, which hauehave mortified their membres, that are on Earth. Hitherto he. And we alſo hauehave ſhewed before, that firſt and chiefly the holy martirs are rewarded with eternal life, ſecondely all they that hauehave honoured God truely, and hauehave done penaunce, and crucified their fleſh with al the concupiſcences thereof.
Beheaded for Chriſt.And he ſayeth expreſſely, that the ſainctes were beheaded, not for thefte, murder and miſchiefe, as alſo Saincte Peter teacheth, 1. Peter. 4. But for the worde of God and teſtimony of Ieſu Chriſt. The word of God, foreign is the very ſonne of God our Sauiour: and the teſtimony is, that holeſome goſpell, and the very preachyng and profeſſyng of the ſame: lyke as by the conference of Scriptures we hauehave declared before. They are rekened moreouer emonges the Sainctes, whiche hauehave not worſhipped the beaſte, &c. And ſuche are the Martirs beheaded or ſlayne, for that they hauehave worſhipped God, but the beaſt and his Image would they not worſhip. Howbeit al are not ſlaine, that reiecte Antichriſt, and therfore particularly as a peculiar membre he reherſed thē alſo. But what it is to worſhippe the beaſte, and his Image, and to receyue his marke, &c. I hauehave declared before at large in the .13. chapt. Nowe lette vsus ſee, what their ſtate is, that ſhede their bloud for Chriſt, and abhorre Antichriſt with all his inchaūtmentes: they liued, ſayeth he,Of ye ſtate of ſoules after death before the iudgemēt. to witte by fayth in this preſente worlde. As S. Paule ſayde alſo: I liue not I nowe, but Chriſte liueth in me. And of that ſame life followeth life euerlaſtyng, in an other worlde. Wherefore S. Iohn hath annexed, and they raigned with Chriſte a thouſande yeres: to witte all that whole proceſſe of time. Not for that they raigned not & liued with Chriſte afterwarde, but for that their ſoules hitherto, or to the iudgement, hauehave not ſlept, but hauehave liued rather in Heauen a bleſſed life. The whiche alſo from the beginnyng he declareth by an other notation. For he ſeeth a ſeate (foreign) ſet, and the ſoules ſitting in them. And by a figuratiue ſpeache he ſignifieth, that certen ſeates, and honourable places, are prepared in heauē for the bleſſed ſoules, as alſo the Lorde him ſelf ſayeth in the goſpel: In my fathers houſe are many manſions, and nowe I goe to prepare you a place. He calleth the ſeates thrones, alludyng to the royall Trones of kinges. But of theſe celeſtial ſeates, we muſt conceaue, greater, diuine, and ſpiritual matters. They ſitte in thē not for that they doe nothing els but ſitte on a cuſſhion: but they raygne, triumphe, reſt, liue, and hauehave fruitiō of the comforte, ioye, and glory euerlaſting. This I ſaye is the maner of the ſoules and ſpirites to ſitte. He addeth moreouer, howe to thoſe ſoules was geuen iudgement, verely for that they ar exempted from iudgement, and come not into iudgement (euen as our ſauiour ſayeth) but hauehave paſſed frō death to life. It is alſo declared in an other place, in what ſenſe the ſaincts are ſayed to ſitte vponupon the ſeates, and iudge the world: where it is manifeſte in dede, that all the iudgement of God is geuē to the ſonne. It is euident therfore by this vnfallible place of ſcripture, that the ſoules of ſaincts ſlepe not after the death of the body, vntill the laſte iudgement, but to liue in Heauen with Chriſte. But at the iudgemente they ſhall retourne to their bodies reyſed agayne, and together with their bodies ſhal be receyued into bleſſed ſeates. And this is the ſtate of the faythfull. From this hope lette vsus neuer ſuffer ourſelues to be withdrawen. In my Decades I hauehave diſcourſed more at large of the ſoules ſeparated from their bodies and hauehave ſhewed that they do not ſlepe.
A towle errour of Iohn the 22. pope.And here I can not refrayne, but muſt nedes ſet forth and recite that whiche D. Iohn Funceius, a learned man dilligent, and one that hath red much ſheweth in the .10. booke of his Chronologie, vnderunder the yere of our Lord .1332. in theſe wordes: aboute this time the moſte holy father Pope Iohn, the .22. of that name, felle into this hereſie, which alſo he profeſſed opē ly, and taught that the ſoules ſawe not God before the laſte daye. For ſo had his father taught him, deceaued by the viſions of Tantalus, which were cōmonly caried abroade in writyng. And Pope Iohn ſent two preachers to Paris, to witte a couple of Freres one of the order of preachers, an other Minorite, whiche might profeſſe his errour there. But one Thomas a preacher of Englande reſiſted the Pope ſtoutely, whome the Pope committed to pryſon. And the Kinge of Fraūce called a Synode in his palace, in the foreſte Vitinian, where all that were aſſembled ſubſcribed agaynſt the Pope. Than the kinge ſent Ambaſſadours to the Pope, exhortyng him to recante his errour, and that he would deliuer Thomas out of priſon. Which inlarged the priſonier: and alſo (as it is ſayde) following the admonitiōs of his frendes, at the houre of death repented. So much Funccius. It is a ſhame therefore for ſome, which at this day in ſo great light of the goſpel dare renewe that moſte foliſhe errour affirmyng that ſoules ſeparated from their bodies lie ſnoring I know not in what dormitorie or dortour, nother to fele any thing, till at the daye of Iudgement they be ioyned agayne to their bodies, and rife agayne.
The remnaunt of ye dead liued not againe.S. Iohn addeth: and the remnaunt of the dead liued not agayne, til the thouſande yeres were accompliſhed. Not that they liued afterwarde, but that they reuiued neuer at all. As the Scripture ſpeaketh in an other place, Michol Dauid his wiſe remayned barren, vntill the daye of her death: not that ſhe had childe after her death. But whom doeth he meane by the rēnaunt of the dead? ſurely all we that deſcende of Adam, are dead. As S. Paul right wel declareth in the .5. chapt. to the Romanes. But we hauehave hearde how ſome through faith hauehave receyued Chriſte, and ſo beyng quickened, hauehave ſhed their bloud for Chriſt, and would not worſhippe the beaſt, nor his Image. Now is added to this membre: but the remnaunt of the dead, whiche are nother regenerated through fayth, nor would beſtowe their life for Chriſte, but had rather worſhip the beaſt and his Image, theſe I ſaye for their vnbeliefe liued not. For without faith there is no trewe life in this worlde.A double life & double death. We ſpeake nothing here of the vital or naturall life. And we ſaye that life is double or of two ſortes, to witte the one ſpiritual, which is of faith and of the ſprete of God, and of Chriſt, whiche is by fayth receyued and liueth in the hartes of his, and his life in him. For the Lorde him ſelfe ſayeth: he that eateth me, he ſhal liue alſo for me. Thother life is euerlaſting, to witte of an other world, in the whiche we ſhal ſee God as he is, and ſhall be as he is, liuyng in God and with God for euermore. Cōtrariwiſe death is of two ſortes, ſpiritual, wherby wauntyng Chriſte, and his ſprete, and voide of fayth, we liue in ſinne. The Apoſtle ſpeakyng of this death, ſayeth, that a widdowe liuyng wauntonly, beyng a liue is dead. And the Lord alſo to the diſciple, that wold retourne home, and burie his parētes, ſayeth: ſuffer the dead to burie their dead. There is alſo a death euerlaſtyng, that is euerlaſtyng wretchednes and miſerie, whiche followeth the ſpiritual. Yet ſee what we hauehave ſayde of double death in the .3. chapt. of this boke, in expoundyng the Epiſtle to them of Sardis. Wherefore S. Iohn here ſignifieth, that there ſhall be many in theſe thouſande yeres, which ſhuld not receyue the goſpel with a liuely faith, and therfore ſhould remayne in death: as the Lorde ſayde in the .8. of Iohn. Therfore they erre ſhamefully, which ſuppoſe that al nations in the whole vniuerſal world ſhal come ones to an vnitie of fayth, and moſt aſſured peace in this life.
And S. Iohn himſelf agayne expoundyng himſelf ſayeth. This is that firſte reſurrection. Whiche I praye you? by the which menne receyue Chriſt by the true fayth,Of ye firſte reſurrectiō and the ſeconde. and riſe from ſinne in the newnes of life. Of this thapoſtle ſpeaketh muche in the .6. to the Romanes. The ſame to the Epheſ. out of Eſaye: awake, ſayeth he, that ſlepeth, and riſe from the dead, & chriſt ſhal ſhine vntounto thee. Therfore be they not pertakers of ye firſt reſurrection, ſo many as nother acknowledge their ſinnes, nor be regenerated, nother are quickened by fayth in Chriſt, nor riſe againe with Chriſt in the newnes of life. The ſeconde reſurrection is that vniuerſall reſurrection of al fleſh: wherein ſhall all menne arriſe in dede, but with vnlike ſtate for the faithfull riſe vntounto life euerlaſtyng: the vnfaythfull to death euerlaſtyng. Whiche the Lord him ſelfe alſo hath repeted out of the .12. chapt. of Daniel, in Iohn the .5. chapt.
Theffecte of the firſt reſurrectiōAnd he ſheweth by occaſion, and after an Apoſtolicke maner, a threfolde fruicte or effecte of the firſt reſurrection. Firſt ſayeth he, bleſſed and holy is he, which is pertaker of the firſt reſurrection. He is bleſte, ſayeth he, happy, and heyre of celeſtiall and eternall life. Holy: that is to ſaye purified, ſanctified, and iuſtified. For fayth in Chriſte doeth ſanctifie, and make bleſſed. Than in ſuch as be thus ſanctified the ſeconde death hath no place nor power. And the firſte death, is the death of ſinne: therefore is the ſeconde death eternall damnation. See what I hauehave ſpoken hereof before in the .2. chapt. of this boke, in the Epiſtle to the church of Smyrna. Finally the faythfull are made the prieſtes of God and of Chriſt, the electe I meane, ſegregated, notable, excellent, bothe of God and Chriſt moſte derely beloued, which in eternall life might offer eternal prayſes to God. It is repeted agayne, and they ſhal raygne with him a thouſande yeres. And this ſignifieth, that al Sainctes ſhal raigne with Chriſt for euer, but chiefely the ſoules, euen olſo before the iudgement.
Primaſius Biſſhoppe of Vtica expoundyng this place: it is not ſpoken, ſayeth he, not only of Biſſhoppes and Prieſtes: but like as we cal al chriſtes, by reaſon of the miſtical chriſme or oynctement: ſo are all prieſtes, for that they be membres of a Prieſte: of whom the Apoſtle S. Peter: an holy people, ſayeth he, a royall prieſthood: thus ſaieth he. But this whole place of the bindyng and lowſing of the Deuill, of the thouſande yeres, and of the firſte reſurrection, and ſeconde death S. Auſten hath wel and dilligently for his time, and for ſo much as he coulde ſee diſcourſed at large in the .20. boke De ciuit. dei. I propounde theſe thinges of mine to be dilligētly conſidered of the faithful. Let eueryevery mā holde that which he ſhal thinke moſt conſonaunt to the trewth. To the lord our God be praiſe & glory, now and euermore. Amen.