The whole body of Christian religion, by Hieron. Zanchius. Translated out of Latine by D. Ralph Winterton.

CHAP. XXIX. Of the glorious coming of the Lord Jesus to judge the living and the dead.

DOCTRINE. I. That the dead being rais'd and the living chang'd at the coming of the Lord Iesus from Heaven, Christ will immediately shew himself in the Clouds to be seen by all, and all the faithfull shall goe meet him in the aire.

WE believe that at the com∣ing of the Lord Jesus, the resurrection of the dead being performed by the ministry of Angels, they that are then alive shall not die, but shall be instantly chan∣ged into the same condition with them that are raised; and then Christ, being returned from heaven to the Clouds to judge and passe sentence upon all, will exhibit him∣self to be seen by all men; and being attended with his Angels and ap∣pearing

in his majestie and glory; all the godly shall be translated from earth even to the heaven of the Clouds to meet him,* 1.1 according as Christ himself and the Apostles have taught and left a recorded.

DOCT. II. That Christ will visibly move from place to place, and so with a visible, lo∣call and finite body.

THerefore we believe that Christ will so return visibly, as before he ascended from earth to heaven in the sight of his Apostles, and that he will return from that heaven where∣in he now is, and which is conse∣quently distant from the Clouds to which he shall descend, and from the earth: and so we believe he will de∣scend with his natural body, that it is necessary the same should be lo∣cal and finite and therefore not ubi∣quitary; seeing such a descending is by the holy Ghost described to the simple people, as is not possi∣ble to be made without mutation of place.

DOCT. III. That the reprobate unbelievers shall not go unto Christ sitting in the clouds, but remaining upon the earth shall heare the sentence of the Iudge.

BUt whereas the Scripture pronun∣ces only of the godly, that they shall be snatched up into the Clouds and goe meet Christ in the aire, we believe that the wicked shall not go unto Christ but remaining under his feet, heare the sentence of the Judge,* 1.2 Goe ye Cursed into eternall fire; all the Saints which shall be in the aire with Christ approving the sen∣tence according to the opinion of the Apostle a that the Saints shall judge the world & the Angels.

DOCT. IV. For what Causes that universall judgement is appointed.

WE believe that that judgement, wherein Christ shall judge all, being made visible to all, is appoint∣ed chiefly, for two reasons; first, to

the end that those things which are now hid unto men, aswell innocence faith and good conscience of the godly as the hypocrisie and crimes of the wicked may be layd open to the whole world, and thereby it may most evidently appeare at the last how just the judgements of God have alwaies been: whence that day is called by the Apostlea 1.3 the day of revelation. Secondly, that the re∣compense of good works promised to the good, and of bad to the bad may be rendred fully to every one, according to that of the Apostle, We must all appeare before the judgement seat of Christ,* 1.4 that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad: whence it is called by the same Apostlec 1.5 The day of the righteous judge∣ment of God.

DOCT. V. That eternall life, which is given to the elect, is called, and is a reward, but al together fully bestowed, & in no man∣ner due to us, saving through Christ.

FOr although what the elect shall then receive is the meer gift of

God obtained by the merits of Christ alone, yet we are not ignorant that it is, and is truly called a reward seeing; the Lord Iesus hath daigned to give it that term, namely a free reward, & seeing even the good works of the godly, & all the causes from whence they proceed, are the free gifts of God, free election, free redemption, free calling, faith, justification, rege∣neration, forgivness of sins, & lastly the pardoning of the defects and weaknesses wherewith our good works themselves are attended, & on the other side the free imputation of the perfect obedience of Christ, by which our imperfect is cloathed and rendred most acceptable to God; so that it followes, that if we will speak properly, the reward is not due to us, for our own works sake consider'd in themselves, but only for the im∣puted merits of Christ.

DOCT. VI. That judgement being ended, the godly shall immediately be in heaven with Christ, and the wicked in hell with the Devil and his Angels.

MOreover, we believe that imme∣diately after that judgement the godly shall follow Christ into hea∣ven, and the wicked with the Devils shall be thrust into hell: Christ say∣ing unto those, Come ye blessed of my Father; but to these, Goe ye cursed into fire everlasting.

DOCT. VII. That that day shall be most joyfull to the godly, and therefore to be desir'd; but to the wicked most sad, and so intolerable to them even to hear of it.

SO we believe that last day will be to them who are grafted into Christ most happy and joyfull, and that therefore it is beloved & wish∣ed for by them, and so ought to be

desired and loved by us, but the most unhappy and sad of all to the wicked; whence it is no wonder that they hate that day,* 1.6 and cannot endure the mention of it.

DOCT. VIII. Errours.

1. WE condemn those who deny that Christ is truly and real∣ly in his humane body to descend from heaven to the clouds, and from thence to return into heaven with the elect, but maintain that all this shall be without any mutation of place, only by a sort of appearance, as they call it, and disappearance; who are contradicted by sayings of Angels to the Apostles,a 1.7 As ye have seen him ascending into heaven, so shall he come. 2. We dissent from those who teach that works of godlinesse consider'd in themselves are the true cause for which eternall life is gi∣ven, and are the true deserts of the same; the Apostle being of the con∣trary opinion, and saying,b 1.8 The gift of God is life eternall. Neither do we

approve the opinion of the C••iliasts concerning a thousand years, where∣in after judgement Christ shall con∣verse with his elect in this world, who shall live in the delights of the flesh, but such as are seemly, and shall beget issue, but holy, and at length be translated into heaven. 4. We condemn and abominate their errour, who hold that the fire into which the wicked are sent, shall be in time extinct; so that even all the devils that live happily in the king∣dome of God, contrary to the ex∣presse words of Christ,a 1.9 Go into eter∣nall fire.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Mat 24.3. & 25.31. 1 Thes. 5.1. &c.
• * 1.2

  1 Cor. 6.2, 3.
• a 1.3

  Rom. 2.5.
• * 1.4

  2 Cor. 5.10.
• c 1.5

  Rom. 2.5.
• * 1.6

  2 Tim. 4.8.
• a 1.7

  Acts 1.11.
• b 1.8

  Rom. 6, 2••.
• a 1.9

  Matt. 25.41.