I Now send you what you desire, my Thoughts of the Millennian Principle, and with such sim­plicity and freedom of Stile, as may assure you, I use no Artifice, nor manage any Design. I am not ignorant, as you say, that this Do­ctrine is grown popular, and has got great footing and credit in the World, but whether deservedly, or otherwise, I venture not to deter­mine, my present purpose being plain­ly to impart my Sentiments concern­ing it.

If we trace the Millennian Opini­on to its Original, we shall find it to be of Jewish Extraction, and that it sprang from a gross Mistake the Jews ever had of the Prophecies, touching the Kingdom of Messiah; to whom the Oracles of the Old [Page 2] Testament gave the Titles of Priest and Prophet, and in a more empha­tical and eminent manner, the Title of King: The principal Function of whose Royal Office, was to consist in the Administration and Govern­ment of a Kingdom. And the same Oracles for once calling Messiah a Priest after the Order of Melchize­deck, and twice or thrice a Pro­phet, they fifty times, saith a great Observer, give him the Title of King: And by the name of King­dom, they denote that Intendance and Authority which he was to have over the People of Israel, and the rest of the World. And that there might be some Proportion be­tween the condition of the King­dom and the Dignity of him who was to rule it, the Prophets repre­sent this Kingdom as marvellously great, and Sovereignly magnificent, setting Messiah as far above all other Potentates, as they were above their Subjects.

But because the Divine Scriptures do not evidently set down the na­ture of the Magnificence of Christ's Reign and Kingdom, the Jews took the liberty to figure to themselves such a Notion thereof, as agreed best with their Ambition and Inte­rest; and interpreted all Texts re­lating to the Kingdom of Messiah, of Temporal Greatness and Glory, without the least regard to any thing therein that was Spiritual.

And not to take notice of the par­ticular humoursome Extravagances of the Rabbins, and the fanciful O­pinions and Glosses with which they have abused and corrupted all things relating to the Kingdom of Christ, it may suffice to remark, That they expected a Messiah who should be an illustrious Conquerour, and by force of Arms subdue all the Nations of the Earth, and render their own Prosperity the Envy of the World. And that which chiefly cherish'd in them this exorbitant Imagination, and prompted them to such extrava­gant [Page 4] Hopes, was, their natural in­clination to earthly and sensible Pos­sessions; of which they were so strangely enamour'd, that they had no taste nor relish of any thing else: Make us; said the old Israelites, Gods that may go before us: An invisible Divinity did not content them, but they must have one endued with sensible Attributes, a God whom they might see and handle; as if one who was nothing but Spirit, had not been able to protect them, and to finish what they had undertaken. And this carnal Humour was so na­tural to the Jews, that it never left that Earthly-minded Nation, but had still so far the Ascendant over them, that they understood all Prophecies of Messiah accordingly.

And as once no God but one that was visible could please them, so af­ter they would be content with no Christ, but one invested with se­cular Splendour and Glory, with whom they were to reign in world­ly State and Magnificence.

And they were the easilier indu­ced to this Conceit, because they had never seen nor read of any Go­vernment but what was Temporal. Much had been told them of the Eastern Monarchs, and of the vast Extent and Prowess of their Domi­nions; but they had never observed that those puissant Emperors did e­ver pretend to have Authority over any other thing than the Body. And as to their own Kings, they like­wise never saw them noted for the exercise of any other Royalty than what was purely Earthly.

For tho the Reign of David and Solomon had something of Spiritual in it, which did prefigure the King­dom of Messiah; yet the Jews did not understand nor regard the Mystery, but stuck at the Letter, and look'd no farther than the Rind, or visible out side of the Empire of those two Kings, in whom so much of the Mes­siah was typified.

Indeed the Jews lived under the Dispensation of a Covenant, where­in things Spiritual were contain'd under the Cover of things Corpo­ral. They likewise believed the same Covenant to be perpetual, and not to be superannuated, but to last for ever. They believed the Bene­fits accrewing from the Messiah were likewise Earthly; and they interpre­ted all the great things spoken of him in Scripture, to respect his Pomps and Grandeurs in this present world, and that they were design'd to share in them as his Favourite people.

At several times they had under­gone severe Calamities, for which they hop'd for Reparation at the coming of that mighty Conqueror whom they had pourtraicted in their Minds, and that he should crown them with Victory over their Ene­mies, and reverse and pull down the Roman Power, to which they had a more peculiar Aversion. But when they saw a Man calling himself the Messiah, who in all outward appea­rance [Page 7] was mean and contemptible, that he appear'd in the Head of no more formidable an Army, than Twelve poor Fishermen; they were so offended thereat, that they could by no means bring themselves to be­lieve that he was Messiah.

And notwithstanding the Autho­rity of his Preaching, the Wonder­fulness of his Wisdom, and the Splen­dor of his Miracles, did astonish, and move them to pay him Veneration: Yet all their good Opinion of him sunk and fell to the Ground, when they saw he came not up to that Greatness they expected. They knew his Birth place was despicable, his Parentage mean; his Education his Parentage mean; his Education in a Carpenter's House (where they supposed he followed that abject Trade) his Company very ordina­ry, his manner of Life retired; all which, and the like things, were so contrary to the Opinion they, had imbibed of Christ, and to their Hopes of the power wherewith they expected him to come, that [Page 8] they concluded this could not be he, and so rejected him.

And tho there were some, who notwithstanding the meanness of our Lord's Appearance, did believe him to be the Christ, and became his Pro­selytes; yet they did not quit their Opinion of his Temporal Kingdom, but still flatter'd themselves with the expectation thereof. And tho it was not then, yet in due time they thought it would be manifested to their peculiar Satisfaction, and the Wonder of all the World. Had not the Disciples been fully perswa­ded Christ would have a Temporal Kingdom, they would never have contrasted which of them should be greatest therein. Men in their Wits seldom fall out about what they really believe neither is, nor ever will be. The Question the Disci­ples put to our Saviour at the point of his Ascention, viz. Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel? is very remarka­ble to this purpose. And what our [Page 9] Saviour returns for answer, viz. That it was not for them to know the Times and Seasons, does not in the least hint any such Kingdom ever to be; but it roundly rebukes their Curiosity in enquiring into the times, and in some measure their Opinion concerning his Kingdom. It is not to be doubted but that the Disciples, as well as the other Jews, had the same Notion and Hope of Christ's being to have a Pompous Reign up­on Earth. And as to the Modern Jews they are as fond of this Conceit, as ever their Ancestors were. For at this very day they feed themselves with the pleasing Idea of a Messiah to come, who shall deliver them out of the Hands of their Enemies, ren­devous them in Palestine, rebuild Je­rusalem for them, and by signal Vi­ctories and Triumphs, subdue all all the Kings of the Earth, and put the Nations under their Feet. A Messiah they wait for, in whom shall be abundantly fulfilled in the very Letter, all those great things spoken [Page 10] of in the Second and Seventy second Psalms: And they deride all those who interpret those Passages, of the wonderful Blessings of God upon the Preaching of the Apostles; by which not only many thousands of the Jews, but the Heathen over all the World were brought in to the Faith of Christ.

You ask me, Sir, what I think of Christ's delaying to give his Disciples a clear Description of the Nature of his Kingdom, and wherein it was to consist, seeing this would have been an Authentick Confutation of their Errors about it, and have ei­ther convinc'd, or left them excuse­less.

If it may be safe to conjecture in this Matter, it was because their Bot­tles John 16. 12. were not yet fit to receive this new Wine, and that it could not be put into them without danger of a considerable Rupture. A plain Declaration of the nature of his Kingdom was one of those [Page 11] things they were not yet able to bear.

For the utter rejection of the Jewish Nation (instead of restoring the Kingdom to Israel) together with the entire change of the whole Mosaick Dispensation, and the bringing in of all Nations in common within the Pale of the Church, were things belonging to Christ's Kingdom, and which were to happen when ever it began, and were indeed such hard Sayings to the Disciples, who entertain'd quite contrary Hopes, that they could neither swallow nor digest them. The glorious earthly King­dom of Messiah was the Jews topping Expectation, and of so long stand­ing, and become so popular, that it was not very safe to confront it. Besides, many Texts, as they fansied, seem'd not only to favour, but con­firm it; and above all, it was so ta­king with the Jews, and they had set their Hearts so much upon it, that it would scarce have been pru­dent [Page 12] to have endeavour'd all on the sudden to divert them from it. And therefore our Lord, who did all things with a marvellous Wisdom, used gentle Pauses, and Preparatives to wean his Disciples from this Er­ror: He dealt with them according to their Strength, and drew them off from their Misconceptions with the Cords of a Man. When they were at variance about Superiority in the Kingdom they expected, Christ gently diverts them from this pleasing Fancy, by telling them, The Kings of the Gentiles, did exercise S. Luk. 22. 25, 26. Lordship over them, but that it was not to be so among them. And he told the Wife of Zebedee, petitioning him for her Sons Preferment in his Kingdom, That it did not belong to him, but to S. Matt. 20. 23. the Father, to dispose of the first Seats, and highest Places in his Kingdom: And he advised them rather to think of partaking with him in his Suffer­ings, than of raising themselves higher than their Condition would bar. Indeed upon several Occasi­ons [Page 13] Christ spoke many things, which if the Disciples had attentively ob­served, they might have smelt the Air of his Kingdom. His entrance into Jerusalem was one of the most Solemn Passages of his Life, and bad fairest for Secular Royalty: His riding upon an Asses Foal was a Roy­al Gesture and Ceremony, as also his receiving the Acclamations due to him as a King; yet all this fell infi­nitely short of that Grandeur which the Jews believed was to attend the coming of the true Messiah.

But the nearer Christ drew to his Passion, the clearer Declarations he gave of his Kingdom. When the Disciples stood amazed at the Dif­ficulty Christ made of a Rich Man's entring into the Kingdom of Hea­ven, one of them (thinking them­selves loose enough from that impe­diment, having left all to follow him) demanded, What they should have for becoming poor for his sake; to whom Jesus answered; Ye which have followed me in the Regeneration, when [Page 14] the Son of Man shall sit on the Throne of his Glory, ye also shall sit on twelve Thrones, judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel, St. Matt. 19. 28. In these Words, I am humbly of Opinion, our Lord Christ had an Eye to that Renovation of the World, which the Jews, tho in an earthly carnal Sense, expected should come to pass at the coming of Messiah. Now, our Saviour to correct this Error, and to call back the Minds of the Disci­ples to a right apprehension of the thing they mistook, uses the Word [...], which our Translation renders Regeneration; but it pro­perly signifies a New or Second State: And the Grammarians say, it imports to be born, or made the second time. The Pythagoreans used it for the re­turn of the Soul; or when that Soul which was in him that is dead, comes back to life again in another Body. But in our Lord's use of the Word, it implies that Renovation which began at his Resurrection, or Ascension; and it is not to be un­derstood [Page 15] of the Body and Substance of the World; but it consisted in the renewing of the Manners, Doctrine, and a Dispensation conducing there­unto: Men, and not the Fabrick of the World; were to be renewed and regenerated.

In this new Age and State of the Church, the Disciples were to sit upon Thrones, they were to have a Power instated on them as Christ's Successors, somewhat proportionable to that of the several Rulers of the Tribes among the Jews. And with this Power they were invested by Christ at his departure from them into Heaven. But learned Men are of Opinion, that this Text is not to be understood of the Persons of the Twelve Apostles, because Judas, one of them, miscarried before it came to pass, but that it was meant of their Doctrine. As if our Lord had said, When I shall bring Judgment upon this most unjust Nation, then your Doctrine which you have preached in my Name, shall judge and con­demn them.

A few Hours before his Passion, Christ told Pilate, That his Kingdom was not of this World, John 18. 36. which Words of Christ, if they had been maturely considered, might have given a full Confutation of the Jews Error, and removed the Ro­mans Jealousie, concerning his King­dom: For he told them plainly e­nough, That he did not pretend to, nor aim at any Earthly Sovereignty: Which Declaration coming from his own Mouth at the time of his last Tryal, and in so great a Solemni­ty, was authentick beyond all Ex­ception?

But all this did not satisfie even his own Disciples, who still hanker'd after, what they most desired, a pom­pous temporal Kingdom; as appears by the Question they put to our Lord as he was ready to mount up to Heaven: Acts 1. 6. Wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel.

They seem still to have the same fanciful Conceptions about Christ's Temporal Reign with the rest of that Nation; tho they doubted and he­sitated as to the time: For they thought belike he would not then restore the Kingdom, or shew any such kindness to that Generation, who had dealt so basely and perfi­diously with him: who were faln under the actual Guilt of his Blood­shed, and had committed so many Wickednesses against him. Yet for all this they thought that that look'd like the most probable time for the Great Restauration which they were taught by their own Traditions, was to happen at some notable Resurre­ction. Now there could never be a Resurrection more remarkable than Christ's; of which themselves were unquestionable Witnesses. So that it was no wonder that they doubted whether the Kingdom of Messiah was not then to com­mence.

But the Disciples did still but on­ly guess at the Reign of the Mes­siah; and neither the time nor manner of it was yet clearly ma­nifested unto them, both seeming to be purposely reserv'd for the Stu­pendious Pentecost, when the Ho­ly Ghost descended on them, and taught them all things necessary both for themselves and the whole Church, and gave a compleat Form to the Christian Religion. Then it was that they began to have their Eyes opened, and plainly to see how Christ's Kingdom was no other than the Church, or the Society of Be­lievers, over whom he was to rule by his Word and Spirit; and in whose Government there was to be nothing Earthly and Carnal, but e­very thing wholly Spiritual, Hea­venly and Divine. Christ neither had, nor would have any Temporal Power, nor did the Apostles pre­tend to any by Virtue of the Com­mission they received from him. [Page 19] He communicated no other Power to his Church on Earth, than what himself claimed whilst he remain'd in it; which was purely Spiritual in order to a future State, and void of all Temporal Power and Coercion. And the first Principle upon which our whole Christani­ty lies, is, That all the Advantages, Privileges, and Preheminences, that the Church can pretend to derive from our Saviour, are purely Spi­ritual, relating only to the State of Souls in the World to come.

The preaching and propagation of the Gospel by Christ and his Apostles, is in several places of Scri­pture called the Kingdom of God, or of Heaven: And after Pentecost, when the Spirit sate upon the Apo­stles, we never find them interpre­ting Christ's Kingdom of any thing but the preaching of the Gospel; as being that whereby he came to reign in their Hearts who believed [Page 20] it. And now we find the Apostles to have quite laid aside their Expe­ctation of Christ's cutting off all those Nations that were disobedi­ent to the Jewish Law: and of re­deeming Israel from the Gentile Yoak, and of establishing a King­dom and Age among the Jews, which should be crown'd with all manner of Delights. And instead of the abundance and Prosperity they once dream'd to enjoy at the coming of Messiah, they now pre­pare for the Cross, and with Chear­fulness and Patience to undergo Ca­lamities and Persecutions, and by suffering for Christ on Earth, to fit themselves to reign with him in Heaven.

But the Apostles having retracted their Opinion concerning Christ's Temporal Kingdom, and consequent­ly subverted the Foundation of Millennianism, you wonder how it came to be followed by some Chri­stians, who lived, if not in, yet [Page 21] next Door to the times of the Apo­stles. Now, to cure you of this won­der, which betrays your good Will to Millennianism, I send you the fol­lowing Recipe.

It evidently appears by Eccle­siastical History, that in the first times of the Christian Church, vain Opinions began to take Foot, and that the Millennium appear'd with the earliest: For in the next Age to, if not in that of the Apostles, we read of some who held, That the Church should enjoy great Prosperity here below for the space of a thousand Years. Cerinthus is commonly produced for the first Author of this Opinion; and he is said to have written a Book concern­ing it; pretending that he was thereunto directed by the Revelations of the Apostle St. John, and by his own Revelations, which he gave out were sent him by the Ministry of Angels.

But the Millennians, unwilling their Opinion should have no bet­ter Father than Cerinthus, a noto­rious Heretick, derive its Pedigree from Men of much greater Honesty and Credit; such as Papias, Irenaeus, Justin, Athenagoras, Clemens, Tertul­lian, Lactantius, and others of the Ancients.

As to Papias, who is generally ac­counted the first that professed Chi­liasm; he was Bishop of Hierapolis in Asia, and, as most say, Dis­ciple of John the Evangelist, or of another of that Name. So that for his Office, and the Honour of his being Scholar to some great Master, his Person and Doctrine met with considerable Credit and Regard. 'Tis certain, that he was very warm in the Defence of the Millennium. and labour'd Tooth and Nail to make it the Doctrin of the Church. And he was wont to be out of Humour with all who would not hold as he did, viz. That Christ [Page 23] should come and gather the Elect to Jerusalem, there to reign with him for a thousand Years, and during that time to enjoy all man­ner of Delights. Eusebius reckons this among the extravagant Conceits whereof Papias was guilty. One saith, That he was wont to talk with great assurance of the many things he had learned from unwrit­ten Tradition, and instanced in new Parables, new Institutions of Christ, not mentioned in the Gospels, and certain fabulous Stories: among which Eusebius reckons his Opinion concerning Christ's thousand Years Reign upon Earth. And the same Historian avers, That Papias fell into this Error, by rudely understanding the Sayings and Institutions of the Apostles, and taking those things in a literal, which he ought to have taken in a mystical Sence. Papias had the name of a well-meaning Man; but he was look'd upon as no Conjurer. His stock of Learning [Page 24] was but little, and his Discretion less; as appears, saith Eusebius, by his Writings: And according to the general Character given of him, he was Homo simplex, & minimi inge­nii; much given to tell and hear Wonders and strange Stories; and so credulous that he would believe the most fabulous Reports that were told him. So that it is no wonder, that with other ridiculous Errors, he imbibed this of the Millennium. For being credulous and undiscerning, Fallacies went as easily down with him as Truths; and what was yet more to be lamented, he often fa­ther'd palpable Falsities upon the A­postles themselves. And certainly nothing in Religion is more perni­cious than easily to believe, and greedily to embrace things that have a shadow of Piety and Truth, with­out mature tryal and examination: For this will mix vain Visions, and false Representations with Religion; wherein the least Truth is more va­luable [Page 25] than all we can imagine of our own Heads: And in this case, a real Taper is more serviceable than a painted Sun.

Now Millennianism can have no great cause of boasting to have Pa­pias for its Patriarch, who was a Person, saith a late Author, not of any reverend Authority in the Church of God. He trusted to un­written Traditions, and thro' his easi­ness of Belief, was very apt to be put upon. Monsieur Amyraut is of the mind, That he was infected with Mil­lennianism by some of the Primitive Impostors, or that he suck'd it from the old Sybils: But to say that he re­ceived it from St. John, were to ru­ine the Authority of that great Apo­stle, and expose Christian Religion to the Laughter and Mockery of its Enemies.

The next we find cited in favour of this Opinion, is Holy Irenaeus, who having being Scholar to Papias, might be easily leavened with his [Page 26] Doctrine. This good Man was a most curious and critical Searcher into all Opinions, so that not any heretical Tenet was unknown to him: he had the Poets and Philo­sophers ad unguem, and was exqui­sitely acquainted with the Holy Scri­ptures; and though he was furnish­ed with all sorts of Learning; yet he avoided all Ostentation thereof: He loved that his Stile should be Si­newy, and not Corpulent, and tho very able to use, yet alway declin'd Elegancy of Speech; professing his Care was not to delight, but to in­struct his Reader.

But for all this he was not exempt from Errors, but held many things now condemn'd as Heterodox; as, That the Souls of wicked Men should cease to be at all, after they had been long tormented. But that which would be most for our pur­pose, is to find out in his Writings where Irenaeus asserts, That just Men after they have reigned a [Page 27] thousand years with Christ on Earth, and satiated themselves with Delights, shall enter into Heaven, and there enjoy eternal Blessedness. I would gladly see any place in Irenaeus, where such a Doctrin as this is main­tained by him: For as to those words which are alledged by Blondel to as­sert this Opinion, they are not to be found, as he cites them, in lib. 5. cap. 35. of the Edition of Gallasius, or Grynaeus; however I will put them down, as I find them quoted in French. The Days shall come, in which shall grow up Stocks of Vines, which shall have ten thousand Twigs, and on every Twig ten thousand Branches, and on every Branch ten thousand Sprigs, and on every Sprig ten thou­sand Grapes, and in every Grape ten thousand Grains, and every Grain being pressed, shall yield twenty five measures of Wine; and then every one of the Saints shall take one of these Raisins, and [Page 28] another Raisin shall cry, I am a better Raisin than that, take me and bless God for me: And all o­ther Fruits, and Seeds, and Herbs shall yield the same proportion. These are the Words out of Irenaeus, to prove that he held a Millennium but they are not to be found in ei­ther of the mentioned Editions. And it is well for the credit of that Holy Martyr of our Lord, that they are not to be found in his Writings: For tho he was, saith Photius, apt to cloud the most evident Truths of Religion with spurious Argu­ments and Reasons, yet he was never observ'd to be guilty of such Grotesques as these; which are more extravagant than the Phren­sies of the Rabbins, or the Revela­tions of Mahomet. Gallasius observes, That Irenaeus was thought to favour the Error of the Chiliasts, but that he could not conclude any such thing from the 21. Chap. of his 5th Book which was alledged to prove it.

But to grant what cannot be made out, That Irenaeus was a Millennary; yet no Man's Authority is sufficient to defend an Error, or to justifie our professing it: Besides, I am of Opini­on, That none of our Modern Chili­asts, will be able to demonstrate, that Irenaeus was of their Judgment; tho he might let some Words drop from his Pen in favour of an Opinion that was held by his Master Papias. Irenaeus by the consent of all, was an humble and mortified Man, and of great Austerity and Discipline, and so can hardly be imagin'd to have sed his Fancy with the Expe­ctation of a Kingdom on Earth, wherein Christians (according to the first Notion of the Millennium) should live for a thousand Years in all manner of bodily Pleasures, and have every Sense entertain'd with its proper Delight: For the Primitive Millennaries tell you, That during Christ's Reign on Earth, nothing should be seen but Feasts, Marria­ges [Page 30] and Jolities, like those of the ancient Sacrifices, which were kept with magnificent Festivals: which was a very fair Transcript of that Kingdom the Jews expected at the coming of the Messiah. Thus, in­stead of a Spiritual Paradise, such as Christianity teaches its Professors to hope for, the Millennians promised to themselves a Paradise fit to en­tertain the most Sensual and Animal among Men: From which Mahomet may well be supposed to have taken the draught of that Paradise where­in his Mussulmen are at last to be re­gal'd. Now a State having but the least affinity with this of the old Millennaries, cannot be thought to have ever enter'd into the mind of a Man so mortified and austere as the pious Irenaeus.

If Errors could receive any real value and approbation from those who maintain them, Millennianism might deservedly have a great Vogue and Esteem in the World. [Page 31] For it is generally believed, that not only the credulous Papias set it up, and the humble Irenaeus favour'd it for his sake, but that learned Justin openly profess'd, maintain'd, and press'd it as the Faith of all the Orthodox: And that Passage in his Decalogue, against Trypho, is preg­nant to this purpose; for there he saith plainly thus: As for me and all Christians who follow the Ortho­dox Faith, we hold, That there shall be a Resurrection of the Flesh: That Jerusalem shall be rebuilded, enlarged, beautified, and inhabited with Believers for a thousand years: according to what Isaiah, Ezekiel and other Prophets have foretold of these thousand years: Esaiah speaks thus. There shall be a new Heaven, and a new Earth, and there shall be no more remembrance of former things, &c. And there was among us a Man called John, one of Christ's twelve Disciples, who in the Revelation that was given unto him, hath prophesied, that the [Page 32] Faithful of Christ shall inhabit Jeru­salem a thousand years, and that after that time there shall come the general Resurrection and the Judgment.

And in the same Dialogue Trypho asks Justin, whether he believed, That Jerusalem should be builded a­gain, and whether the Christians should assemble there, and enjoy themselves with Christ in Compa­ny of the Patriarchs and Prophets? To which Justin makes this Peremp­tory Reply, That Christ shall come again to Jerusalem, and there eat and drink with his Disci­ples, &c. and enjoy Satiety of Plea­sures.

Justin was a very considerable Per­sonage, and one, who after he had run through all sorts of Philosophy, at last devoted himself to Platonism, as that which gave him, above all others, the clearest Notion of the true God. His Conversion to Chri­stianity was very singular, for it was effected by means of an old Man, [Page 33] who occasionally met him, and was wholly unknown to him. After he was made a Christian, he wore the Habit, and followed the Stu­dy of Philosophy, adding there­unto a profound Knowledge of Scri­pture: And none can justly blame you for wondring that a Man so skilful in Christianity, should so far Judaize as to hold, The re­building of Jerusalem, The reign­ing of Messias on Earth in Splen­dour and Puissance, together with his Followers the Patriarchs and Prophets.

But this was not the only Fai­lure of Justin; for it is very ob­servable, that both he and most of those who favour'd Millennianism, were guilty of such strange Vi­sions; as had for ever ruin'd their Memories, had they not been con­siderable for great Moralities. As to Justin, the renowned Apologist for Christianity, and Holy Martyr of our Lord, besides his Judaizing in point [Page 34] of the Millennium, he maintained o­ther Opinions, which are not now look'd upon as very Orthodox; as might be instanc'd in his Judgment concerning the Trinity, and the con­dition of departed Souls: For he held, That those of wicked Men were to die at last; and that when God had punished them as much as he would, they should surcease not only to be tormented, but to be at all. And for the Souls of just Men he was of the Opinion, that till Christ came, they were kept Pri­soners by the Daemons. The De­vils (he taught) were ignorant of their own Damnation until Christ came in the Flesh: That the Heathen who lived honestly, tho they knew not Christ, were saved. These Doctrines with more of the like sort, are to be met with in his Apologies and Dialogues: In which he was not singular, many of the Ancients being of the same mind with Justin.

But I will trouble you no more with this nor any other great names, that are usually produced as Vouch­ers for Millennianism, which in a short time began to sink mightily in its Reputation, and to be as much dislik'd as ever it had been before admired. And in the Fourth Age, when some attempted to revive and give it new credit among Christians, the Project was so odious and disgust­ful, that Damasus, Bishop of Rome, received a general Applause and Commendation for condemning and censuring the Millennary Doctrine, and those who favour'd it.

Damasus, as I told you, having with general Satisfaction and Ap­plause, condemn'd and censured Millennianism; after this it for a long long time seem'd quite extinct, and no more was heard of it till the en­trance of the last Century: About which time it began again to ap­pear, but in a Shape and Dress much [Page 36] diff'ring from the first Mellennianism. For the Modern Millennaries will have nothing to do with the gross and carnal Conceit of Cerinthus, but utterly disown all such brutal Enjoy­ments, as that Heretick made the Accomplishment of his Millennium. And they condemn the ancient Fa­thers for adhering to the same Hu­mour. And as for the Chiliasts of this Century, they have labour'd to make their Opinion come up to the Genius of Religion, and to the Taste of thinking Men.

But the Millennians are not at Unity among themselves, but dif­fer very much in the Traditive, or Method of delivering their Opinion. For there are some would have this prosperous State of the Church upon Earth not to last only a Thousand, but Millions of Years. But the soberer of them a­gree in these two principal Branches of the Opinion: First, That our Lord Jesus is to come visibly and [Page 37] bodily to reign upon Earth with Believers, his faithful Subjects, a thousand Years: And to execute the great, terrible, and general Judg­ment. And they build their Con­jecture upon these Words of St. John the Divine, viz. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand Years. Rev. 20. 4. These Words (with Christ) they say, are Emphatical, and signifie, That our Lord must needs come down and be upon the Earth, during the time his Kingdom is to be here below, or otherwise the Saints cannot be said to reign with him.

Secondly, The Chialists generally hold, That all those who have been put to death for the name of Christ, as well under the Roman Emperors as others, shall be raised and par­take of the Joy and Happiness of this Reign, together with those Saints, who shall then be found a­live. And for this Branch of their Opinion they alledge those other [Page 38] Words of St. John, viz. And I saw the Souls of those that were beheaded for the Witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not wor­shipped the Beast, neither his Image, neither had received his Mark upon their Foreheads, or in their Hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first Resurrection. And because it is here said, That the rest of the Dead li­ved not again until the thousand Years were finished, they conclude, that all those Believers who dyed natural Deaths, or by any accident, that had nothing in it common with Martyrdom for the Cause of Christ, were not to rise until the Last and Great Day.

Moyses Amyraldus writes of some who supposed this coming of our Lord to reign Personally on Earth for a thousand Years, was not con­venient for his Glory, nor agreeable [Page 39] to the Word of God; and therefore they understood Christ's presence upon Earth, not of the effective Transport and Removal of his Per­son, but of a more express and particular Revelation of his Power, accompanied with a more clear and perfect knowledge of the Truth. For the Lord in Scripture is said to come, when in some extraordinary manner he manifests his Power: These Men do believe that the Mar­tyrs shall be raised, but they could not comprehend, that being raised they should stay so long here below, because of the many inconveniences that would inevitably attend it. And therefore being risen, they be­lieved that they were to be received up into Heaven, and to take Pos­session of Happiness until the rest of the Faithful should come to be their Partners at the second Resur­rection.

But th [...]here were others, who understood these Words of the Di­vine, neither of Christ's Corporal Presence on Earth, nor of the real Resurrection of the Martyrs. For they observe, That the Scripture ge­nerally speaks but of one effective Resurrection of the Body, and that to be universal: So that they cannot be brought to think that all the o­ther inspired Pen-men should pass o­ver in silence so great and concerning a Point, if any such thing was ever to happen. And upon this Conside­ration they interpret St. John's first Resurrection metaphorically, and understand it of the Reparation of the Martyrs Credit: And that where­as they had been defam'd upon Earth, and traduc'd as Hereticks, and troublesome seditious Persons; who deserved the Punishments they endured, that the time would come, when they should be acknowledged to have been the good and faithful Servants of God, when their Memo­ries [Page 41] should be celebrated with Bles­sing and Praise; which to them should be a sort of Resurrecti­on.

Again, there were others who applyed and confin'd the Millennium to the Enlargement and Prosperity of the Reform'd Church; which though now lock'd up in a Corner, should then be extended through all the World; that both Jew and Gentile being brought into it, and become Professors of the Reformed Religion, the Church should enjoy a profound Peace, and a general Prosperity, and that none should dare to disturb it: For Babylon shall be destroyed, the Man of Sin discomfi­ted, and Satan restrained from sedu­cing the Nations; for he shall be imprisoned in the bottomless Pit▪ and bound in Chains, so that the Gospel shall be no more persecuted at his Instigation, nor suffer by any ill usage whatsoever: But the Church shall rule over those who before de­stroy'd [Page 42] her, and dispose of them as she pleases: And for this they pro­duce St. John, who saith, That he saw Thrones, and they that sat upon them reigned with Christ; And that of Daniel, where he foretold, That the Kingdom and Dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting King­dom, and all Dominions shall serve and obey him, Dan. 7. 27. And this hap­py condition of the Church is to last a very marvellous long time, e­ven for a thousand years; or as o­thers, who take that number inde­finitely, to Eternity. And when this comes to pass, all Earthly Pow­ers shall be destroy'd, and no Domi­nion shall appear but that of the People of the Saints; whose Sove­reignty and Rule will be over all ac­cording as was prefigured in that Stone cut out without Hands, which smote Nebuchadnezzar's Image, and broke it in pieces.

And yet notwithstanding that the Millennian Gentlemen are all for subjecting the World, yet they are not agreed how this great Con­quest will be effected: For those Scriptures which speak clearliest of the thing, are silent as to the manner. Some are so hardy as to affirm it must be done with Force; and that the Angel stand­ing in the Sun, shall cry with a loud Voice, and say to all the Fowls that fly in the midst of Heaven, Come and gather your selves toge­ther unto the Supper of the Great God; and eat the Flesh of Kings, and the Flesh of Captains, and the Flesh of mighty Men, &c. And when this sort of Cannibal-Sup­per is ended, the Millennium is to begin.

But formerly its Commencement was not ascertained; for there were some that held it was to begin be­fore the Resurrection, and some after it. And to reconcile this Diffe­rence [Page 44] they invented a double Resur­rection; one of the Martyrs, which they call the First Resurrection; and the other of all Men, which they term the Second. And the Millennium they say, shall begin af­ter the former and before the lat­ter.

But there are yet other Particu­larities in which the Chialists are not unanimous, for they differ a­bout the very Nature of the Opi­nion; some looking upon it as meer­ly probable, and leave the whole Business to the Event: and others would obtrude it upon the Church as a necessary Doctrin; and these, to hasten the Millennium, would have all impious Magistrates violently taken out of the way; because, according to their wild Opinions, till they be destroyed, this Kingdom cannot be­gin: For it is to consist in universal Peace, Plenty and Righteousness, which they have not hopes to see flourish upon Earth, while there [Page 45] are any wicked Powers left here below that may disturb it.

The Millennians were once at no better Agreement concerning the place where this wonderful Dis­pensation is to be transacted: For some confined it only to Palaestine; and others said it should be spread o­ver the whole Earth. The duration likewise of this Transcendent Reign has been controverted; for though they now limit it precisely to a Thousand Years, yet there have been not a few who durst not be so peremptory, but held that the length thereof was only made known unto God. There was a time too when no better Harmony was among the Millennaries con­cerning the Subjects of this King­dom; for some will have all the Saints to rise from the Dead and reign in it: And others will have none to partake of this Honour but the Martyrs; whom they thought were to die again before the Last [Page 46] Judgment; though others will have them to live and reign with Christ for ever. But what is yet farther re­markable, the Millennianists disagree about the Topicks of proving their Opinion; for some would prove it by Apostolick Tradition, and the Scriptures; others by the Sibylline Oracles, and Heathen Poets: And some for the Proof of it, have made use of all these together, with some Passages out of the A­pocryphal Books. And now seeing the Patrons of the Millennium are not well agreed among themselves concerning it, nor what Arguments are most proper to be used in its Defence, it is a shrewd Prejudice a­gainst them, that they have no good Ground for what they hold.

St. Jerom, out of the Writings of Lactantius, gives us a large De­scription of this Millennary State; and he makes it so charming and full of Delights, that I took it for a Character of Heaven. And I had [Page 47] still rested under the Power of that Notion, had I not met with brute Creatures in this Paradise; which according to their Capacity are as happy as the Saints; for they live in absolute Peace and Plenty, free from Fear and Servitude. Being de­liver'd from their natural Ferities, all Antipathies being extinguished in them; and the Lion has no more of Enmity left him, than Saint Laurence of a mischievous Passion: A happy State for the Brutes, if it might be everlasting! But what will become of the regenerate Bears and Wolves when the Mil­lennium is determined? their own harmless Deportment, one would think, should secure them from violent Destruction; but where their Happiness will be continu­ed, is not easie for the Millennian to find out: For he will scarce al­low them to go along with the Saints when the Millennium is end­ed. But my Business is not to argue, [Page 48] but represent. And if what I write may help to set the Mil­lennium in a full Light, I have my Design.

I would gladly here demand of the Millennian, where he places the chief Strength of his Opinion? Whether in the Authority of the Persons who first held it, or in the Validity of the Reasons which led them to hold it: If in the former, we may lay in the Balance against it, the Authority of others, as Wise and Learned, who were against it; if in the latter, viz. the Reasons brought for it, we must then con­sider if they will hold weight. But at present we will enquire whether Christ has spoken any thing in Countenance of this Kingdom, or rather whether he has not spoken against it; for if our Lord appear its Enemy, not all the Wit of Man can defend it.

To constitute the Millennium it is necessary that Christ descend from Heaven, and visibly reign on Earth in Pomp and Grandeur, and with Power and Dominion like other Earthly Kings, but in a way and Perfection far transcending them. Now this is such a Kingdom as our Lord seems quite to disown. For in his Conference with Pilate, who was very desirous to be informed of the Manner and Nature of his Kingdom, he gave him plainly to understand that he was to have no such Kingdom as the Jews expected, and the Romans feared. For, saith he, my Kingdom is not of this World, John 18. 36. that is, I have no Earthly Kingdom; for if I had, my Subjects would never suffer me to be thus treated: They would engage in a Military way to defend me from being delivered into the Hands of my Enemies, and assist me, as all good Subjects, ought to assist their King. And he was so far from [Page 50] favouring the Opinion some had of his having an Earthly Kingdom, that he took all occasions to declare a­gainst it.

Of which we have two remarka­ble instances: the one in the sharp Reprimand he gave that forward Disciple, who drew sword in his Defence, commanding him to put it into the Sheath, and letting him know, that he came not to be a King on Earth, but a Martyr, and pati­ently endure the malicious Injustice of his Adversaries, and not with armed Violence to repell them. The second instance of his being against an Earthly Kingdom, was his Re­tirement to his Privacy and Prayers in the Mountain, when he perceived they would take him by force, and make him a King, St. John 6. 15.

It was the received Opinion, saith Tacitus and Suetonius, that a­bout the time our Lord appear­ed in the World, a great King [Page 51] should arise in Judaea, whom the Jews believed should work their De­liverance, and revenge them on the Nations who had got the Domini­on over them. And when the Jews had seen Christ's Miracle in feeding a great Multitude with small Provision, they concluded that he was the mighty King they expected; and they conjectured rightly enough, that he was able to sustain the most numerous Army with a very little charge, whom they saw to have fed so great a Com­pany with Five Barley Loaves and Two small Fishes; and that the Fragments which remained were more than what was first set on the Table. And now in all haste they would make him their King; and in case he refused, they were re­solved to force him. But to con­vince them that he was to un­dertake no such Employment, he departed out of their Hands, and utterly rejected the Proposi­tion; [Page 52] and so prevented their De­sign.

Nor will it suffice to alledge, That Christ only declared against having a Kingdom on Earth at that time; and that he was to have one afterwards, when the Earth was regenerate and renewed, and fit to receive him from Heaven. For not one Word ever fell from our Lord's Lips to this purpose: And if our Lord were ever to have had such a Kingdom on Earth, as the Millennian asserts, he had now a fair opportunity to own, and to declare it, when the Roman Gover­nour urged him to declare what sort of Kingdom his was, and whe­ther or no he was a King? As to his Kingdom, he told him it was not of this World, not Corporal and Earthly; which St. Paul calls a good Confession, 1 Tim 6. 13. a fair and generous Acknowledgment that he was not to have any such Kingdom as Pilate suspected. And as to his [Page 53] being a King; he told him without any reserve, that he was incarnate, and born in humane Flesh to be a King; and that one end of his co­ming into the World, was to te­stifie this Truth, That he was a King; and that every true Servant of God was convinced thereof, and did receive and obey him as their King. But he still denyed to have any Corporal visible Kingdom on Earth; and gave not the least Inti­mation that he ever was to have such an one. And I appeal to the Holy Oracles of both Testaments, if they mention any other Kingdom of Christ than what is Heavenly, Spiritual, and Eternal.

That Christ's Kingdom is eminent­ly in Heaven, and that that is the place where he is exalted to the highest degree of Glory, and that from thence he is to come to judge the Quick and Dead, and return back as he came, with Power and great Glory, when that General [Page 54] Sessions are over, has ever been the Creed of the Catholick Church. That our Lord reigns in Believers Hearts by the Gospel, which is the Scepter of his Kingdom, and by the Holy Ghost which the Father sent down from Heaven to manage the Government of the Church, as it is a Truth acknowledged by all, so it is enough to denominate his King­dom to be Spiritual. That his King­dom is not to determinate after a certain number of years, but that thereof there is no end, is the Do­ctrine of the Nicene Belief, and at­tested by the Angel in St. Luke 1. 33. That Christ's Kingdom is essenti­ally but one, though by Reason of the various Dispensations and Conditions thereof, it has several Names (as of Grace, Glory, &c.) has ever been the Doctrine of the Scriptures. Now it will not be ve­ry easie to make these Properties of Christ's Kingdom applicable to the Millennium: Because the Millennium [Page 55] is a Kingdom on Earth, in which Christ is to reign over the Bodies of the Saints, and which after a Thousand years must have an end; and so is not eternal, but temporal and transitory.

And if it be said that the Mil­lennium is a Kingdom of it self, and has its own Particularities and Attributes, distinct from Christ's other Kingdom, then it will fol­low, that our Lord has more King­doms than one, which none hi­therto has been found to main­tain: Nor is there any Ground whereon to build such a Conclu­sion.

The taking up of the Cross is a Condition so inseparably annex­ed to the Profession of Christianity, that Three Evangelists have from Christ's own Mouth recorded it: And our Lord, who could not but be apprehensive how irksome the thoughts thereof must needs be to humane Nature, supported his Dis­ciples [Page 56] with the assurance, That their Afflictions should be rewarded with unspeakable Happiness: But then this Happiness was to be enjoyed only in Heaven; for he gives them not the least Intimation of any such thing, as a pleasant and glorious Millennium here on Earth. If our Lord had designed the Saints any such Felicity below, after they had for his sake undergone many Tri­bulations, one would think that either by himself or his Apo­stles, some mention would have been made thereof; it being a thing very remarkable, and of great use in all the Ages of the Church, to comfort and encourage Martyrs and Confessors: But not one Word is heard from them to this purpose. Now it is at least a probable Argument that the Apostles knew nothing of a Mil­lennium, because they no where mention it: And yet they knew all those places of the old Testa­ment [Page 57] the Millennians produce for their Opinion, and all the Visions that were ever addressed to any Pen man of the New Testament; and yet we find not one Syllable out of ei­ther is made use of by them in be­half of this earthly Reign.

How many things were foretold by St. Paul that were to come to pass in the latter times, touching the Vices and Immoralities that were then to happen; touching the revealing of the Man of Sin, and what it was that retarded it; touching the Calling of the Jews, and their Conversion; and touch­ing the fearful Judgments that were to befal the Persecutors of the Go­spel. Yet among all these things he is deeply silent concerning the Peace, Prosperity, Power, Plenty, Righteousness, &c. which (we are told) the Church shall enjoy on Earth for a Thousand years. The Apostle must needs have known as well as any of the Millennians▪ [Page 58] if ever there was to be such a King­dom upon Earth, as that of the Thousand years: He could not but also perceive how much the hope thereof would have supported the Minds of the persecuted Christians, and daunted their Persecutors: And yet for all this that St. Paul in the Account given by him of Christ's coming to take Vengeance of his Adversaries, and to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that Day, that he should not drop one Word of the Millennium, if he thought there would be any such thing, and when it would have been very na­tural to have mentioned it, must to a Man that thinks, seems somewhat strange.

But if after all this the Millenni­um appears to be a Scriptural Do­ctrine, then my Task is to turn Be­raean, and to search the Scriptures, and try if we can find it there.

I know but one place of Holy Writ where the Millennium Reign is expresly mentioned, and that is Rev. 20. We will set down the Pas­sage entire.

1. And I saw an Angel come down from Heaven, having the Key of the bottomless Pit, and a great Chain in his Hand.

2. And he laid hold on the Dra­gon, that old Serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a Thousand Years,

3. And cast him into the bottomless Pit, and shut him up, and set a Seal upon him, that he should deceive the Nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little Season.

4. And I saw Thrones, and they sat upon them, and Judgment was gi­ven unto them: And I saw the Souls of them that were beheaded for the Witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worship­ped [Page 60] the Beast, neither his Image, neither had received his Mark up­on their Foreheads, or in their Hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5. But the rest of the Dead lived not again untill the thousand years were finished. This is the First Re­surrection.

6. Blessed and Holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection. On such the Second Death hath no Pow­er; but they shall he Priests of God, and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

In these Words are laid the Foundation of Millennianism; but how fit they are to bear up that Opinion, comes to be considered.

The Divine in a Vision re­ceives the Representation of a won­derful prosperous State that the Christian Church was to enjoy. And then sets down wherein this Happy State of the Church was to [Page 61] consist; when it was to begin; and how long to continue.

The happy State of the Church here foretold, was to consist in chaining up the Devil, which was to be done by Christ the great An­gel of the Covenant. But it does not signifie that the Devil should be so bound up by Christ, as that he should not persecute, disturb, or disquiet the Church as he had done: And that all along these thousand years there should not one cloud of disquietude or disturbance be raised by him or his Instruments, to e­clipse the Church's Peace and Tran­quility. For there is not a Word that the Devil should be thus bound: But the binding of him was, That he should not deceive the Nations any more, as it is in the Greek. The Devil had deceiv­ed and kept the poor Heathen in a miserable Delusion by Idols, Oracles, false Miracles and horrid Mysteries of Irreligiousness: From their first [Page 62] casting off at the Confusion of Babel, till the Gospel was brought in a­mong them by the Apostles, which was above two thousand years. And the Gentiles had still continued un­der the Delusion of the Devil, if Christ by the Gospel had not dis­solved his Charms, brought down Idolatry, silenced his Oracles, and lying Wonders, and restrained his Malice in persecuting the Church, and shortned his Power in cor­rupting the World. And this seems clearly to be the meaning of bind­ing of Satan, and casting him into the Abyss, shutting and Sealing him up, that he should no longer de­ceive the Nations: And during all this time the Devil was thus re­strained, the Christian Profession was to flourish, and the Condition of the Church to be wonderful hap­py in respect of what it had been before: And this was here signified first, by the Thrones, and the sit­ting on them, and giving Judgment [Page 63] to them that sat on them; which Words may have double Reference, one to the Church, and another to the Civil State; and both expressing the prosperous Condition of Christianity. As they have a peculiar Eye to the Church, they foretell her great Happiness in ha­ving her Assemblies very numerous and in excellent Government, her Censures and Discipline having an effectual Force and Power over all her Members. And as they look unto the Civil State, they show that when the Gentiles should be converted, that God would set up Thrones, that is, Kings and Magi­strates, and put Judgment into their Hands, and that these Christian Powers should Rule and Judge in the World, as the Heathen had done before.

The Jews had a Conceit and Fan­cy, that when Messias came, he should Reign among them a Thou­sand years, and destroy the Heathen, [Page 64] and break them with a Rod of Iron, and dash them in pieces like a Pot­ters Vessel. To which Opinion the Divine here alludes; who, that he might be the better understood by the Jews, makes use of an Expres­sion well known among them, and tells them, That whereas they had an Imagination, that Messias will have a Pompous, Splendid, Glorious Kingdom among them; and that they should reign with him in Worldly State and Magnificence; That he would crush, and sub­due all those Heathen who shall then exercise Dominion over them. Now to rectifie this gross Mistake, he tells them, and that from God, That the Reign of the Messias shall be among the Nations, or the Gentiles; and that he would not destroy, as they erroneously ima­gined, but deliver them from the Power and Delusions of Satan; and that he would chain up that old Serpent, that he deceive the [Page 65] Nations no more as he had done: But that whereas before they for a very long time had been only taught of the Devil, now that of Esay should be fulfilled, viz. Thy Children shall be taught of God, Esay 54. 13. Which our Lord himself applies to the present purpose, St. John 6. 45.

And speaking how Christ would dispose of the Heathen when he should have brought them in from under the Deceiv­ings of the Old Serpent, to the Knowledge and Profession of the Gospel, he saith, He would give them Thrones; that is, he would plat-form them into Kingdoms, States, and Civil Government, and that he would set up Chri­stian Kings and Magistrates a­mong them, who should be Nursing Fathers of the Church, and Defenders of the Faith. And that whereas the Jews dreamed of reigning with the [Page 66] Messias, our Apocalyptick tells them, That they were greatly mistaken, and that none were to reign with Messias but those that suffer with him: The Souls of them that were beheaded for the Witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his Image, neither had received his Mark upon their Foreheads: These are they that were to Live and Reign with Christ a thousand years.

The Millennian Doctrine sup­poses, That Christ must come down on Earth, and have a new Kingdom here in this World. But here is no such thing spo­ken of, no mention at all of any new Reign of Christ on Earth. But the Kingdom of Christ here spoken of, is that which he had before, and that which is every where called his Kingdom; and that those who [Page 67] had been beheaded or killed, and that had not worshipped, &c. were to be admitted into a Par­ticipation of that Kingdom with him.

Two things are here to be enquired into: First, What is meant by the Beheaded, and non-Worshippers of the Image, &c? for I take them to be all one and the same Men: And next, What by Living and Reigning?

And first, by the [...] Securi percussi, which we render Beheaded, must be meant the constant persevering Servants of Christ, such as were Faithful unto Death, and in their Com­bats and Oppositions, of the Ido­latries and Practices of the Hea­then, resisted unto Blood: Such as in a Pious, Constant, Coura­geous Confession of the Truth, had held out against the Beast and his Image; that is, as some understand these Terms, Against [Page 68] worshipping Jupiter Capitolinus, or the Idols in the Capitol at Rome, and other such like as were set up in divers places of the Roman Empire.

Now I do not think the ve­ry same individual particular Per­sons, who at any time had been slain for the Sake of Christ, were, at the Millennium, to re­turn to Life again; and that their Souls should leave their State of Bliss and Quiet, and be reunited to their Bodies, then to be raised and restored. But I am rather inclin'd to understand this Branch of the Vision, of a Succession of Men, who were to be like those that with won­derful Constancy and Courage, had born Witness to the Truth, and seal'd their Testimony with their Blood. For I look upon the Church as a fluid Body, which always runs in a Succes­sion of Parts, and that it is like the [Page 69] River Euphrates, where one Stream instantly follows another with­out the least discontinuation or disunion. Labitur & labétur; The River is the same, though the Parts thereof are in continu­al Change and Motion, succeed­ing one another. For unless the Church be thus considered it would be hard to make her capable of the Promises God has made for her continual Preservation. For neither to particular Chri­stians, nor to the Church of all the Christians in one Age, can be applyed this Promise, viz. That the Gates of Hell shall ne­ver prevail against her. But it is most comfortably applicable to the Church in an uninterrupted Succession of Christians; against whom the most implacable Ad­versary shall never be able so far to prevail, as wholly to ex­tirpate or destroy this Succession. And I doubt not but these Words, [Page 70] [The Souls of them that were behead­ed, &c. lived and reigned with Christ a thousand Years,] are to be under­stood as those that follow, ver. 5. where it is said, [The rest of the dead lived not again until the thou­sand Years were finished.] Now, there is none that have conclu­ded from hence, That the same numerical Idolaters, and Apo­state Unchristian Livers, which liv'd before the Millennium, should at the end thereof, re­vive or come to life a­gain, and act over their old Impieties. But that when the Millennium is expired, Satan should again be let loose, and freed from his Confinement, and fall to his old Trade of deceiv­ing the Nations, and that there should spring up a Race of Ido­laters and Unchristian Livers, like those that were before the thousand Years began. So that in both places a Succession of [Page 71] other Persons, and not a reviving of the same, may very consistent­ly be understood.

As to the living and reigning of these Men with Christ, it does not imply that they revi­ved, and were rais'd, as the Chiliast affirms, but it is a Phrase, setting forth the Happy State and Condition of Christians; and that they should live, that is, be prosperous, and enjoy a wonderful great Quiet in their Religion, and Reign; or Sit up­on Thrones, and have Judg­ment given unto them, that is, peaceably possess Judicatures and Censures, and have a free and powerful Exercise of Discipline, which is the best Preserver of Purity. And, that the Earthly Powers at this time being Chri­stian, the Church, by their Countenance and Favour, should quietly enjoy the use of the Keys, until Satan was once more [Page 72] let loose, and instigated wicked Men to break these Bonds asun­der, and cast off these Cords from them.

The next thing to be conside­red, is the time when this Hap­py State began. And though this be a thing of some doubt, because of the several Periods of time wherein the Destruction of Heathenism in the Roman Empire may be placed: (For so great a Change was not done all at once, but by degrees, and at several times,) yet the Epoche of this Prosperity, is generally fix'd in the time of Constantine, when he set up Ecclesiastical Judica­tures in his Empire, and bestow­ed many eminent Immunities and Priviledges upon the Church, a­bove all that it ever had enjoyed before.

It was in his time that the Church was arrayed in fine Li­nen, Clean and White: It was [Page 73] in his time that the Nati­ons thunder'd Hallelujahs to God for the illustrious Enlarge­ment of Christ's Kingdom at the Conversion of the Imperial City to Christianity. It was in Constantine's time that the Pro­fession of the Christian Religion was free, safe, and publick: and that the Orthodox enjoy'd a peaceable, prosperous, flourish­ing Estate, instead of their for­mer unquiet, miserable, and per­secuted Condition. For when the Emperor embrac'd the Faith, put an end to the Persecutions, and by Decree proclaimed Li­berty of Christianity; it was then, I am of Opinion, that Satan was bound, and the Mil­lennium, or Prosperity of the Church began. And agreeable to this beginning may be as­signed an end to these thousand Years. For if the binding of Satan bare Date from Constan­tine's [Page 74] Edict, and the letting of him loose be placed at the ri­sing of the Ottoman Family, and bringing Asia and Greece to Ma­hometism, there will be about a Thousand Years. During which time the Christian Church was in a flourishing Condition, com­pared with her State, both be­fore this Millennium began, and after it was expired. Nor are the Practices of Julian against the Christians, which soon followed after Constantine's favour to them, yield any irreconcilable oppositi­on to what has been said. For those who give an Account of this Apostate's Carriage, tho' they every where acquaint us with his malicious Intentions a­gainst the Christians, yet they likewise shew how wonderfully God prevented him: And how his Power and Fidelity appear'd in making good his Promise to the Christian Church, in restrain­ing [Page 75] this Apostate's Malice from disquieting her.

And now by what has been last said, this Passage of Holy Writ appears to be but a very feeble Foundation to support Millennianism. For though the Prophet did here foretell an hap­py Millennium to the Church; yet it is such a Millennium, as had but little or no Resemblance with that which is modernly asser­ted. At the expiration of the Apocalyptick Millennium, the fet­ter'd Devil was to be let loose; and in revenge of his long Con­finement, we may well suppose him, with greater Malice and Activity, to endeavour the Cor­ruption and Disquietude of the Church. But at the end of the Modern Millennium no such thing is to happen; but there shall streightway follow the general Resurrection and Judgment; where every Man's Eternal Fate [Page 76] shall be decided by an irreversi­ble Sentence.

And yet after all, it cannot be deny'd but some eminent Per­sonages of the first Ages of the Church, did favour the Millen­nian Opinion; but they were but Men, whom we may as well think to err in this, as they did in Matters of far greater Impor­tance.

Had the Catholick Church (re­presented in some General Coun­cil) ever taken notice of this Doctrine, and approved it, then all Dispute concerning it had been at an end. But never any such thing has hitherto hapned. And therefore give me leave, with a learned Sorbonist, to call your celebrated Doctrine, Famo­sum Antiquitatis Delirium.