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.

Which vision, [ 79] as it is the next to that of the battell, wherein the Beast and false Prophet are taken; so doubtl••sse it shall not till then receive its accomplishment; for seeing Antichrist is but the devills instrument, we cannot imagine, that his power shall out-last the devills li••erty: especially if we consider, that while Satan is in hold, there shall be a generall peace over the world, as the u 1.1 Prophets say expressely: and as is here implyed, in that as soone as he is loosed againe, * 1.2 presently he shall gather all the rest of the world to fight against the Saints. But their malici∣ous attempt shall finde no better successe, then that of the Beast, the false Prophet, and the Kings of the earth, (their predeces∣sours) had done at the beginning of the 1000 yeers. * 1.3 For fire shall come downe from God out of heaven, and devoure them.

Mr. Petrie's Answer.

This vision is next to that battell in ••••d••r of writing: but it follows not, that it shall not beginne to be accomplished, till the former vision be fully accomplished: for albeit Autichrist be the devills instrument, it may be understood, (as histories doe verifie,) that his power may be in

the time of Satans imprisonment, that is, while Satan is not permitted to rage and persecute openly, as he did in the dayes of the heathenish Em∣perours, in the meane time Antichrist may sit in the Church of God, and deceive the world with lies, and fained miracles; so that even when peace is in the world from warres, there be not peace from the children within, (as Bernard complaines in his time in Cantic. ser. 33.) and when he hath deceived the greatest part of the world, (except some few persons in comparison of them who are deceived,) then Satan may stirre up Antichrist to wage warre against the disclosers of his deceits, as he did against the Albigenses and Tolosani about the yeare 1220. and against the Bohemians about the yeare 1420. in the dayes of the Em∣perours Sigismund, Albert, and others: and so the malicious attempt of Satan may have the same successe with that of the Beast; I say not the like, but, the same both in place, time, and number.

Reply.

That the binding up of Satan, and the thousand yeares reigne of the Saints were to con••emporate, you doe not deny; but that the binding up of Satan is to succeed the destruction of the beast and false prophet as well in the execution thereof, as it doth in the order of its revelation [it doth not follow] you say; and yet you bring no reason against it, whereas we have these unanswerable evidences in the Text for it. First, that upon the binding up of Satan a thousand yeares peace is to follow in the world: and secondly, that throughout this time, Satan is to be withheld from deceiving the Nations; neither of which was ever yet ac∣complished: For when was there amongst men such a time of rest from warre as this? or any time at all of immunity from Sa∣tans temptations? Whereas therefore you understand by Satans imprisonment, no more then his restraint from [raging and perse∣cuting openly,] it is flat against the Text, which saith, that when Satan is shut up, he shall not deceive the Nations: and not that he shall not stirre them up to open persecution: which is but a par∣tioular effect of his deceiving of them. And besides may not a se∣cret persecution be farre worse then an open? And is not a pow∣er to deceive Christians [by lies, and fained miracles,] more ob∣noxious to the Church of God, then both these? What com∣fort then could this prophecy afford the faithfull, if, notwith∣standing Satans imprisonment, Antichrist should still prevaile so

much amongst men? Or what new thing had been here revealed unto Saint John, if no more but this had been meant, by the bin∣ding up of Satan? But indeed when Satan shall be cast into the bottomlesse pit, and a seale set upon him, he shall be debarred, not onely from tempting, but from walking up and downe a∣mongst men; and therefore it is no better then meere non-sence to say, that when Satan is bound up, and withheld from decei∣ving men, he may yet have an instrument [sitting in the Church of God, deceiving the world, &c.] For can any man be an instru∣ment to Satan, when Satan himselfe shall neither have power to deceive him, nor liberty to come neare him? Thus then your con∣ceit of Antichrists existence, and continuance in the Church after Satans imprisonment, and restraint, doth plainely crosse not onely the order of this Revelation, but the evidence of the Text. And your historicall narration holds no correspondence with this pro∣pheticall history of Saint Jobn.

Notes

• u 1.1

  Isai. 2.4. Mich. 4.3.
• * 1.2

  R••v. 20.7.8.
• * 1.3

  Ver. 9.