the words of God be fulfilled, and Revel. 18. 9.
It is said,
That the Kings of the earth, who have committed fornication, and lived deliciously with her, shall be wail her and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning: which shewes, that Kings, even those that have joyned with
Babylon, shall remain after her fall, yea and some Kings shall be the instruments of her destruction. And the Apostle 1
Cor. 15. 24. tells us,
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all Rule and all Authority and Power. Which words plainly intimate that afore the end, when Christ shall deliver up the Kingdom to God even the Father, all Rule and Authority and Power shall not be put down. Which may be also gathered from
Revel. 11. 15. where it is said,
And the seventh Angel sounded, and there were great voices in Heaven saying, the Kingdoms of the world are become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever,
which is said v. 18. To be
the time of the dead that they should be judged; and therefore till that time there shall be the Kingdoms of this world, and consequently civil powers.
A second is, That civil powers are to be dissolved by men. Whereas this is still asserted in Scripture as Gods prerogative, that the most High ruleth in the Kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, Dan. 4. 25. 32. 34, 35. and 5. 21. And even in the business of the fourth Monarchy, the stone that is said to smite the image upon his feet, is said to be cut out of the mountain without hands, Dan. 2. 34. 45. which is more likely to be meant of Christ, who was cut without hands out of the mountain, that is, without natural generation as o∣ther men, whether by the Mountain be meant Eternity, or Hea∣ven, or the Roman Empire, or the Universe of human kind, as I conceive, then of any other man or men. And if it be meant of the Kingdom, as v. 44. doth expound it, that it shall break in pieces and consume all these Kingdoms, it must be meant in respect of Christ the King, whose dominion is set up by the God of Heaven, and not by men, and therefore take it any way agreeable to the Text, the stones breaking in pieces and consuming all the Kingdoms must not be expoun∣ded of Subjects, now calling themselves Saints, destroying civil powers, to which they are subject.
A third is, That men shall dissolve civil powers by fighting with swords, which is very false: For the stone that smote the Image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth; which if it be understood of Christs spiritual Kingdom, it smote the Image by preaching the Go∣spel, by which the power of the Idols, who ruled in those Kingdoms,