that fome things which he will do when he comes to fet up his Kingdom, fhould be hid and kept fe, cret until the time of the End, until the Opening of the Vifion. Thefe Seven Thunders may contain in them fome of thofe ftrange things which the Lord will do in that great Day when he fall come to do his Work, his ftrange Work, and bring to pafs his Ads, his ftrange Ads, Ifa. xxviii. 21. Eleventhly and laftly, Then it followeth in the 5th and 6th Verfe, And the Angel which I faw Stand upon the Sea and upon the Earth. This great, this wonderful, this mighty Angel, this Angel of the Covenant) lifted up his Hand to Heaven, to fhew the Solemnity of the Act which he was now about, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created Heaven and the things that therein are and the Earth and the things that therein are; and theSea aud the things which are therein; that there should be Time no longer. This feems to me to carry another Argument, that by this Angel Chrift must be underftood, being reprefented to John in Vifion. As to the manner how he will appear, when he fhall come down perfonally from Heaven; and what it is that he will do upon his first defcending: And that is his fwearing with his Hand lift up to Heaven (as the manner of Swearing then was) by him that liveth for ever and ever, who is the Lord Jehovah, Creator of all things in Heaven, Earth, and Sea? And therefore fhews the Certainty of what is here fworn to, and that is that Time should be no longer; not only the Time allowed all for the Continuance of the Roman Empire. the Laft of the Four Momarchies fhould be no longer; but all Time relating to the Time of this World ball be no longer; that

is the Time allowed for the World to continue in its fallen, finful, and corrupted State; or theTime and Date which has run on from the Creation to Chrift's First Coming; from Chrift's Firft to his Second Coming; fhall be no longer. Time will not then be counted from the Creation as now, nor from the Time of Chrift's Finishing the Work of our Redemption; but we fhall begin a new Account, which will take date from the Time of Chriff's Kingdom; from the Time that the Kingdoms of this World are to become the Kingdoms of our Lord · and bis Chrift.

Thus we fee firft in what refpect Time shall be no longer, when the Lord Jefus Chrift fhall come from Heaven: There fhall be no longer Time for this World to continue in this finful State that now it is in: There fall be no longer Time for eating and drinking, buying and felling, building and planting, marrying and giving in Marriage; no longer Time for wicked Men to wallow in Sin and Wickedness; no longer Time for them to afflict, diftrefs, and perfecute the People of God; no longer Time for the poor Saints to be in Trials, Troubles, Diftreffes, and Afflictions: All Time on this account will have an end. But fecondly I fhall fhew in what refpect Time will not have an end, and that is the Time allotted, allowed, and appointed, for the Kingdom of Chrift to take place, to begin, continue, and endure, at least for a Thousand Tears, Rev. xx. 6. The Words Time fhall be no longer is not (I humbly conceive) in this place to be taken in a ftrict Senfe, as if all things were now to be fwallowed up in an abfolute Ete:nity For when this Angel defcended from Fleaver and ware that Time fhould be no longer; yet there

Lord and his Chrift. I need not infift upon the last part of the Text, And he shall reign for ever and ever, because I have opened in what refpect the Words for ever, when apply'd to the Reign or Kingdom of Chrift, is to be taken in already..

Thus I have endeavoured, according to my prefent Light, to prove the Reality and Certainty of Chrift's Vifible Kingdom and Reign with the Saints upon the Earth, from many Texts of Scripture both out of the Old and New Teftament: I might have taken notice of feveral more, the Word of God being fo full of this Divine Truth, as that I was at a lofs where to begin, and fo I am now where to end: The Time would fail (to allude to the Expreffion of the Apoftle) to take a particular notice of every Scripture which holds forth or contains the Kingdom of Chrift in it: But those which I have made mention of and obferv'd fomething from, I hope may be fufficient to fhew that in this we have not followed cunningly devifed Fables, when we made known unto you the Power and Coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift, 2 Pet. i. 6.

Chap.

20

XVI.

The Certainty of a Vifible Glory and 55 Kingdom of CHRIST in this World to issoft fure; but the Manner how sit fhall be in all the particular Parts 515 of it is very difficult to find out. Ye Jldeviirec

We must not be too pofitive in afferting the Manner 2of this Kingdom. 2. You have here, in a few Words, the different Thoughts and Opinions that are and -shave been in Good Men, as to the Manner of it. bu. That which seems to come the nearest to an Har molly in the Scriptures, is, That Chrift will fir reign by the great Effufion of his Starit supon his 9 People Secondly, In his perfonal Kingdom. 4. 4 resort Comment upon fome Texts, that there will be doto Converfion Work go on, after Chrift's Perfonal «Coming from Heaven, MSN

anoitoly stolda oad firw ndauts brolis T How ed doidw ni blnoWeidt or mobgațĂ sicîliv bes Shall now proceed to the fecond Thing, and that is to speak fomething about the Manner of this

Kingdom

f

Kingdom. I have been longer than I really did defign at the firft upon the Proof of the Doctrine, That a Vifible Kingdom of Chrift in this World there will certainly be But when I confidered that this precious Truth by many of the Saints is not believed, and by fome oppofed; I was willing to make the greater Enlargements, by fhewing the Certainty of fuch a Time, in order to the Fulfilment of the Scriptures.

And in fpeaking to the Manner, I defire not only to ftudy Brevity, but Modefty; I defire in this Point to fpeak with all Humility and Moderation, because I find this Matter very difficult for any Perfon diftinctly to define. As to the Certainty of Chrifti's Kingdom in this World there is not one Truth in the Word of God that fhines with greater Clearnefs than this does: But for any Perfon to define the Manner how it fhall be, in all the particular Parts and Branches of it, Ilcok upon to be very difficult; and the Reafon of that I conceive to be, Firft, Because our Light in thefe Things, at the beft, is but weak. Secondly, Because there is fome different Light given unto each one of the Saints, fome have Light given them into one, and fome have more Light given them into another Truth: It is my Thought, if I may exprefs it without Offence, that fome of the weak Members of Chrift may fee further, and have more Light into fome Texts of Scripture, than fome Men of greater Parts; and the Reafon why is very plain to me in 1 Cor. xii. 11. where the Apoftle fheweth, That all thefe worketh that one and the felf fame Spirit, dividing to every Man feverally as he will. If the Spirit of God will (who is a free Agent) lead fome of his

Children