Christs personall reigne on earth, one thousand yeares with his saints the manner, beginning, and continuation of his reigne clearly proved by many plain texts of Scripture, and the chiefe objections against it fully answered, explaining the 20 Revelations and all other Scripture-prophecies that treat of it : containing a full reply to Mr. Alexander Petrie ... who wrote against ... Israels redemption / by Robert Maton.

Reply.

1. The truth of God, say you, needeth not the boulstering of mans devices. And mans devices, say wee, are not a boulstering, but a be∣reaving; are not an upholding, but a destroying of the truth of God. But what is the device which you have found here? is it not the comparing of one place of Scripture with another, which speakes plainly of the same thing? and is not this warranted by the generall approbation of Divines, for a very remarkable rule in the right interpreting of the Scriptures? you cannot denie it. The device then which you speake of, is but a device of yours to make the Reader baulk the onely light Gods word holds out un∣to him for the true discoverie of the Apostles meaning, that so he may stick the closer to that sense, which mans device hath put up∣on it.

2. The Apostle saith, the creature it selfe also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, &c. and the Prophet saith, the Wolfe shall dwell with the Lamb, and the Leopard shall lie downe with the Kid—and the Cow and the Beare shall feed together. Whereby he shewes both what these creatures bondage of corruption is, and what their deliverance from it: whereby he shewes, I say, that the wild, un∣tamed, and hurtfull disposition which these creatures are now sub∣ject unto, is their bondage of corruption: and that the re-estating of them into that mild, peacefull, and harmlesse condition in which they were first created, shall be their deliverance from it. And when

shall this be fulfill'd? shall it be after the generall judgement of the dead mention'd, Rev. 20. ver. 12, &c.? surely no, for then this earth out of which these creatures were made, shall passe away, and be no more found, Revel. 20. ver. 11. then this earth and the workes (the creatures) that are therein shall be burnt up, 2 Pet. 3. ver. 10. And we read not of any Starres in the new heaven, or of any beasts on the new earth; yea, besides men and Angels, we reade of no more creatures then of a tree of life, and of a river of life in that holy Jerusalem which shall descend from God unto the new earth; the earth with which there shall be no Sea created: and consequently these creatures deliverance is to be fulfill'd at the restoring of Judes and Jerusalem, cal'd here by Isaiah, the holy mountaine, and chap. 2. the mountaine of the Lords house, and the mountaine of the Lord. And thus by conferring these two Prophecies of Isaiah and St. Paul, it is manifest, what these creatures deliverance from the bondage of corrup∣tion is, touching which you say onely [that the Apostle is speaking of the finall deliverance of the creature from the bondage of corruption: which is not cleared by that cohabitation of beasts, unlesse wee will be content with a small portion of deliverance for the generall deliverance of the creature.] So that you grant, that the cohabitation of the beasts is their deliverance from the bondage of corruption (and conse∣quently, that the foresaid Prophecies in which it is reveal'd, are properly to be understood, which before you so stoutly denied) but you say withall, that it is [a small portion of the creatures delive∣rance,] that it is a deliverance but of a part of the creatures: and surely we doe not say, that the deliverance of the sensitive crea∣tures is the deliverance of all the creatures; but we say that all the insensitive creatures too shall be restor'd to their Primitive perfe∣ction (and so delivered from the bondage of corruption) when these are, as other Prophecies doe foreshew of them. And seeing you acknowledge the Renovation of the creature to be its delive∣rance, we marvell what you meane in saying that [the Apostle is speaking there of the finall deliverance of the creature:] For if you meane by [the finall deliverance] a further renovation of it; surely we know but of one renovation of the creature that the Scriptures speake of, and that is to be a perfect renovation of it: but if you meane annihilation and dissolution of it; you hold one more de∣liverance of the creature then any other Divine doth, to wit, a de∣liverance

by renovation, and a deliverance by abolition, but wee denie that the Apostle speakes there of the dissolution of the crea∣ture; and that this is cal'd a deliverance of the creature from the bondage of corruption in any place of the Scripture: Yea, wee see not how the creatures deliverance from the bondage of corrup∣tion, should be a delivering of it into a greater corruption; nor how the creature should rather earnestly expect such a deliverance from the bondage of corruption, by which all the kinds of it shall be destroyed; then desire to continue subject to this bondage, un∣der which all the kinds are preserved. And seeing the creatures bondage of corruption, is the vanitie to which it was made sub∣ject by reason of mans sinne, after its creation; and so cannot be meant of that corruptible condition of the creature in which it was created subject to death and dissolution; it must needs fol∣low, as wee conceive, that the creatures dissolution cannot be its deliverance. For such as the bondage is, such must the deliverance be: but the bondage was the alteration which befell it through mans sinne: after its creation (which was adventitious to it) and not its corruptibilitie, which was made naturall to it by creation: and consequently the deliverance must be a restauration of it; the deliverance of the sensitive creatures a restauration from their hurt∣full and untamed disposition to a mild and harmelesse, and of the insensitive, of the Starres and Heavens from a malignant influence to a favourable, and from a dimmer to a clearer brightnesse, &c. And whereas you say, [that the Author collecteth nothing particular∣ly from that text, Isaiah 65. ver. 25.] Surely he collects as much from that Prophecie, as from the other; and to this end hath alledged both together, because both doe reveale the same thing: but if you want a particular observation from this text, you may take notice that he saith, And dust shall be the Serpents meat, whereby he shewes, that when the Lyon shall eate straw like the bullock, when all other beasts and creeping things of the earth, and fowles of the aire, shall live by that food which was appointed for them at the creation, Gen. 1. ver. 30. the Serpent onely shall feed still on the nourishment of his curse, Gen. 3. ver. 14. as a memoriall of his be∣ing the instrument of mans fall, and so of subjecting his fellow-creatures into vanity thereby. And how could you say [that there is not any word of the Jewish Monarchy in this Prophecie;] when∣as

these are the verses immediately foregoing? And I will rejoyce in Jerusalem, and joy in my people, and the voyce of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voyce of crying. There shall be no more there an infant of dayes, nor an old man that hath not filled his dayes: for the child shall dye an hundred yeares old: but the siner being an hun∣dred yeares old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant Vineyards, and eat the fruite of them, they shall not build and another inhabit, they shall not plant and another eate: for as the dayes of a tree, are the dayes of my people: and mine elect shall long enjoy the worke of their hands: they shall not labour invaine, nor bring forth for trouble: for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their off-spring with them: and it shall come to passe, that before they call I will answer: and while they are yet speaking, I will heare. The Wolfe and the Lamb shall feed together, &c. What thinke you of all this? doth it not plainly shew the future establishment and prosperity of the Jewes in their owne Land, as the latter part of the 11. chap. doth their returne to it? and are not the dumb creatures as plain∣ly distinguisht here from the Jewes, as in the 11. chap. from the Iewes and Gentiles? what then shall we say of you, who have so lit∣tle care of your credit, and regard of your Conscience, as to de∣nie, [that here is any word of the Jewish Monarchy? surely you have need of such Readers as will swallow all you say with an implicite faith: for if they take the course of the noble Bereans, and search whether it be as you say or not, you will often be found a traitour to the manifest truth of God; a crime doubtlesse of no low ranke, a sinne of no light dye.