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.

Israel's Redemption.

And as it is evident from his owne words, [ 50] that the Throne of his Kingdome is not now in heaven: so it is plaine from Saint Pauls, in 1 Cor. 15.12. that it shall not be thereafter the judge∣ment of the dead; his words are these, As in Adam all dye, even so in Christ shall all be made alive: But every man in his owne order, Christ the first fruites, afterwards * 1.1 they that are Christs at his com∣ming, (and therefore not the m 1.2 Martyres onely.) Then commeth the end, (what, presently after his comming? no, but) when be hath delivered up the Kingdome to God, even the Father, (and when shall that be?) when he shall have put downe all rule, and all authority, and power. For he must reigne till He, (that is, the Father,) hath put all his enemies under his feete: which will be fully accomplished, when the last enemy shall be destroyed, which is death, and when all things shall be thus subdued unto him, then (shall follow that inutterable glory, that height of happinesse, where) the Sonne also himselfe shall be subject unto him, that did before put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Mr. Petries Answer.

1. Whether the Apostle might have said so, or so: Can any man gather necessarily out of these words so great a distance of time, betwixt the resurrection of the godly, and of the ungodly? Here the Apostle nameth the godly, and not the ungodly, not importing any notable distance of time: but because he had said, ver. 22. In Christ all shall be made alive, which words cannot be properly and univecally meaned of the ungodly, whose rising shall be for the accomplishment of the second deaths: therefore here ver. 23. he justly omits the mention of the ungod∣ly, and speakes of the godly, as also he doth, 1 Thes. 4.16, 17. where we find expressely an order among the godly, saying, The dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we who are alive and remaine, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meere the Lord in the aire. The Apostle in both texts speakes of the same comming of Christ, (as this Author acknowledgeth and applyeth the words to the same purpose, pag. 50.) As none will say, that there shall be any no∣table priority in time betwixt the one and the other sort meeting Christ: so, and farre lesse doe these words speaking onely of them that are in Christ, import two resurrections, different the one from the other, the space of a 1000 yeares. Yea, and the Apostle saying, That we shall be caught up, and meete the Lord in the aire, and so shall be ever with him: How can any imagine that we shall come downe againe from the aire to abide so long a space upon the earth: and therefore be speakes there of the generall resurrection, when they who are in Christ, shall be ever with him, not in a temporall, but everlasting glory. And seeing the Apostle speakes both here and there of the same resurrection, certainely he speakes not here of a resurrection before the time of the generall judgement. 2. pag. 49. After these words of Paul, at his comming: Mr. Maton inserteth, and not the Martyrs onely. Why inserteth he these words? doth any (who denyeth this earthly Monarchy) say, that the Martyrs and no more shall come with Christ? no, but some Millenaries say so. And here he would marke a word against them. Be it so. 3. He wresteth the words thus, Then commeth the end, (what presently after his comming? no, but) when he hath deliver∣ed up the Kingdome to God, even the Father; and when shall that be? when he shall have put downe all rule, and authority, and power, &c. Here instead of explication is a very contradiction of the text by inserting a negative, and conveighing it closely with a query:

The particle Then hath relation to the words preceding, and the word Comes, is not in the originall, as yee may see by the divers characters in the translation, and it may as well be rendred, Then, or at that time is the end, when he shall have delivered up, &c. So that the very time when he shall deliver the Kingdome, is when they who are Christs shall arise at his comming: And therefore there shall be no notable distance of time betwixt the resurrection and the generall judgement, and consequently these words of Paul doe clcarely prove, that the reigne of Christ as God-man doth not beginne after his next comming, nor can (without contradiction unto the Apostle) any nota∣ble space of time be betwixt his next comming, and the last subduing of all things. The 25 verse proveth the same: for when it is said, For he must reigne till he hath put all his enemies under his feete; thereby is teached (more clearely in the originall language) that now he reigneth, and continues reigning, and consequently, he is not to begin his reigne, (even as it is said, Heb. 2.8. Thou hast put all things un∣der his feete,) and when they who are in Christ shall be made alive, death the last enemy shall be destroyed, and then is the end of administra∣tion.

Reply.

1. The reason which you alledge against the distance of time betwixt the resurrection of the godly and ungodly, to wit [that the last clause of the 22 verse, So in Christ shall all be made alive, is not properly and univocally meant of the ungodly, whose rising shall be to the accomplishment of their second death;] this reason is a meere mistake, or rather a groundlesse untruth. For as in Dan. 12.2. the words, [Sleepe and Awake,] are indifferently applyed to the death and resurrection of the just and unjust; as in this chap. ver. 20. the word [Sleepe] is indifferently applyed to all that are dead; and ver. 12, 13.15, 16.21.29. [The dead] are opposed to the living in generall, to all that live a naturall life on earth; and so are meant of all that are departed out of this life, both e∣lect and not elect. In like manner the word [Shall be made alive,] ver. 22, is opposed onely to the first and naturall death of the bo∣dy, to the corruptible state of it in the grave: and not to the spirituall death of the soul, or to the second and supernaturall death of the body; and consequently doth equally comprehend the resurrection of the good and bad: as the 21 verse doth fur∣ther

confirme, For since by man came death, (to all, both good and bad) by man came also the resurrection of the dead (of all, both good and bad.) So that the Apostle discoursing here of a proper and bodily resurrection, speakes onely of such a death, as is com∣mon to all, (which is a bodily death,) and such a resurrection as is common to all; (which is a bodily resurrection.) And having proved the resurrection, and shewed also in what order it shall be fulfilled: towards the end of the chapter, he tells the Saints with what bodies they themselves shall arise, to wit, with incor∣ruptible, with glorified, with spirituall bodies. And as for the text, in 1 Thes 4 16, 17. it doth shew onely that the Saints which are living, at our Saviours comming, shall not be caught up to meete Christ, before those that are dead. For when the Saints who are dead, shall be raised out of their graves, then the Saints that remaine alive shall together with them be caught up into the cloudes to meete the Lord. So that this order, (as you call it) is an order betwixt the Saints remaining alive at our Saviours com∣ming, and the Saints deceased before his comming: and not an order touching the distinct rising of all those that are dead, which is that which Saint Paul affirmes in the 1 Cor. 15.23. &c. And whereas you would make it a matter incredible, that our Savi∣our and the Saints shall come downe againe, from the aire, to abide so long space on earth, onely because it is said, [That they shall meete the Lord in the aire, and so shall ever be with the Lord.] You doe shew your selfe to be either very forgetfull of what you have read in Gods word, or that you tooke but little notice of it, when you did read it; For doth not Z••ch. 14.5. tell us, That the Lord shall come and all the Saints with him? Seeing then the Saints shall meete the Lord in the aire, as Saint Paul saith: and seeing also when they are met, the Lord shall come, and all the Saints with him, as the Prophet saith, whither shall they come, but from the aire to the earth? Surely whatsoever you or any other through your perswasion may imagine of it, Job makes no doubt of it. For chap. 19. ver. 25, 26, 27. he saith, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skinne, wormes destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for my selfe, and mine eyes shall be∣hold, and not another, though my reines be consumed within me. And

Jeremiah seconds him, chap. 23. ver. 5. in expresse termes touch∣ing our Saviours abode on earth. Yea seeing our Saviour at his comming with his heavenly host, shall take the Beast and false Prophet alive in battell, and make a feast of their Armies for the fowles of heaven, as it is revealed in the 19 chap. of the Revel. and tread them in the winepresse of his wrath, that the bloud shall come even unto the horse-bridles, by the space of a 1000 and 600 furlongs, as it is foretold Revel. 14.19, 20. Shall be descend to the earth to doe this, thinke ye, or shall he not? And why also may not the Saints, when they have met the Lord, as well be ever with him, though he first descend with them to reigne on earth, as if he should goe immediately backe with them into heaven? Nescis, haud dubio nescis.

2. You might well have spared this passage, unlesse you could have shewed, that I had markt any thing against the truth. But doth the Apostle prove them onely to be in an errour, who hold that none besides the Martyrs shall rise & reign with Christ at his coming? Surely he markes a word against those too, who hold that all the dead shall rise at Christ comming; for—every man, saith he, in his owne order, Christ the first-fruites, afterwards they that are Christs at his comming. Loe here the order of the Saints that dye before Christs appearing, is, to be the next that shall rise after Christ himselfe. And when then is the order of the rest of the dead; but when the time of Christs 1000 yeares reigne on earth, is finished? when the last enemy is destroyed, which is death? which shall not be utterly destroyed till the last resurre∣ction, till all men be raised from the dead. For seeing the Apostle without any relation to the severall estates of the just and unjust, after their resurrection, speakes here onely of the rising of their bodies, which equally and univocally belongs to them all; why should we thinke, that he would not as well have mentioned the resurrection of the unjust too at Christs comming, as he doth the resurrection of the just, if they were to rise at the same time with these? if the words [But every man in his owne order] doe not in∣timate any order? doe not intimate a priority of time betwixt the godly and ungodly, as well as they doe betwixt Christ and them?

3. If you were as able to justifie your accusations, as you are

forward to accuse, there were no contending with you; but it is so common with you to awe the Reader with great words, when you have least to say to the purpose, that he is by this time well acquainted with your craft, and therefore your bare affir∣ming that here is a contradiction, will be taken for no evidence. Although then the word [commeth] be not expressed in the ori∣ginall, yet to make the sense compleate, this word, or a word equivalent to this, (as your owne translation doth witnesse) is here to be understood. For then, [or at that time, say you, is the end.] I pray at what time? at the time of our Saviours descen∣ding? surely the Apostle answers not so: but when he shall have deli∣vered up the Kingdome to God, even the Father: When he shall have put downe all rule, and all authority, and power, &c. So that the [Then] here is referred by Saint Paul, to these [Whens] which follow it, and not to the words foregoing, as you wrest it. And besides whereas the Apostle shews us, when the end shall be by these converti••le expressions, When he shall have delivered up the King∣dome to God: When he shall have put downe all rule, and all authority, and power: you skippe from this, and falsely and fallacioufly in∣ferre, [That the time when he shall deliver up the Kingdome, is, when they who are Christs shall rise at his comming:] so that according to your explication of the text, the words, [Then commeth the end] are superfluou••, and the text should runne thus, Christ the first-fruites, afterwards they that are Christ's at his comming, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdome, &c. And thus it appeares, how much this place of the Apostle doth puzzle you. And yet you tell us also, [That the 15 ver. doth teach us that Christ reigneth now, because it is said there, for be must reigne, &c.] But this is no truer then the rest that you have said. For the Apostle referres these words to the time after his comming, and not to the time that now is; so that the full meaning of his words, is this. After∣wards they that are Christs at his comming, Then commeth the end, when (after his comming) he shall have delivered up the Kingdome to God; When (after his comming) he shall have put downe all rule, and all authority, and power; When (after his comming) the rest of the dead are risen. For he must reigne (after his comming) till he hath put all his enemies under his feete: And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death, at the last resurrection of the dead. And whereas

you adde that text Heb. 2.8. [Thou hast put all things under his feete, to prove also that Christ doth now reigne;] You doevery unad∣visedly contradict your owne Tenet, and the Apostles words. For if all things are now actually put under him, then he doth not now reigne, seeing the Apostle saith, That he must reigne untill he hath put all his enemies under his feate, and no longer. And there∣fore it is evident that those words, Heb. 2.8. are spoke in rela∣tion to Gods fore-appointment of it, and not to the actuall per∣formance of it: to Gods committing of that power to the Sonne by which he is now able to subdue all things unto himselfe, as it is Phil. 3.21. and not to the Sonnes putting of this power in exe∣cution, which shall not be till his comming againe, as both the order and sense of Saint Pauls words here doe shew; and the vol∣ces in heaven at the sounding of the seventh Trumpet, Rev. 11.15. And the thanksgiving of the Elders, ver. 17. doe confirme. And so the beginning and not the end of the administration of Christs Kingdome is to be when they who are dead in Christ, shall be made alive. And though these Saints shall dye no more, yet death the last enemy shall not be then utterly destroyed, for as much as none but these Saints shall then rise: and that the Jewes which are then to be delivered, and the Gentiles which shall be called at and through their deliverance, and those who are borne in the time of our Saviours reigne, shall be subject unto death as well as we, though not to the like persecution by men, or temptation from Satan, who is then to be bound up for the space of a 1000 yeares.

Notes

• * 1.1

  They that are Christs at his comming. If there were not to be some distance of time betwixt the resurre∣ction of these, and other men, it had been as easie for the Apostle to have said, they that are dead, or, all that are in the grave. And if there shall be a precedencie of time, then no doubt but it shall be such a precedency, as may bring some advantage and honour unto the Saints: and therefore not onely of a few houres or dayes, but of a more notable continuance, and length of time; of many yeares. For if Christ should descend for no other purpose, but to call all men to judgement, then, as there would be need of none, so there could not well be any priority of time to distinguish their resurrection; because in that act, both good and bad must be assembled before him at the same time: and the wicked doubtlesse should then be raised as soone, to see his comming, as the just, to meete and accom∣pany him therein.
• m 1.2

  Zech. 14.5. 1 Thes. 3.13. chap. 4. ver. 14, 15, 16. 2 Thes. 1.10. Col. 3.4.