_Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of the World: Of what
Order soever, Profane or Sacred; Jewish or Christian. That no
certain Judgment can be made from any of them, at what Distance we
are now from the Conflagration._
The Bounds of human Knowledge are so narrow, and the Desire of knowing
so vast and illimited, that it often puts Mankind upon irregular Methods
of inlarging their Knowledge. This hath made them find out Arts of
Commerce with evil Spirits, to be instructed by them in such Events as
they could not of themselves discover. We meddle not with those
Mysteries of Iniquity: But what hath appear’d under the Notion of divine
Prophecy, relating to the Chronology of the World: Giving either the
whole Extent of it, or certain Marks of its Expiration; These we purpose
to examine in this Place: How far any Thing may, or may not, be
concluded from them, as to the Resolution of our Problem, _How long the
World will last_.
Amongst the Heathens, I do not remember any Prophecies of this Nature,
except the _Sibylline Oracles_, as they are usually called. The antient
Eastern Philosophers have left us no Account that I can call to mind,
about the Time of this Fatality. They say, when the _Phœnix_ returns, we
must expect the Conflagration to follow; but the Age of the _Phœnix_
they make as various and uncertain, as they do the Computation of their
_Great Year_, _Symbolum_ ἀποξαταστάσεως πολυχρονίου, _Phœnix. Hor. Apol.
l. 2. c. 57._ which two Things are indeed, one and the same in Effect.
Some of them, I confess, mention 6000 Years for the whole Age of the
World: Which being the famous Prophecy of the _Jews_, we shall speak to
it largely hereafter; and reduce to that Head, what broken Traditions
remain amongst the Heathens of the same thing. As to the _Sibylline
Oracles_, which were so much in Reputation amongst the _Greeks_ and
_Romans_, they have been tamper’d with so much, and chang’d so often,
that they are become now of little Authority. They seem to have divided
the Duration of the World into ten Ages, and the last of these they make
a Golden Age, a State of Peace, Righteousness, and Perfection: But
seeing they have not determin’d, in any definite Numbers, what the
Length of every Age will be, nor given us the Sum of all, we cannot draw
any Conclusion from this Account, as to the Point in question before us:
But must proceed to the _Jewish_ and _Christian_ Oracles.
The _Jews_ have a remarkable Prophecy, which expresseth both the Whole,
and the Parts of the World’s Duration. The World, they say, will stand
Six thousand Years: _Two thousand before the Law, Two thousand under the
Law, and Two thousand under the Messiah_. This Prophecy they derive from
_Elias_; but there were two of the Name, _Elias_ the _Thesbite_, and
_Elias_ the _Rabbin_, or _Cabbalist_; and ’tis suppos’d to belong
immediately to the latter of these. Yet this does not hinder, in my
Opinion, but that it might come originally from the former _Elias_, and
was preserv’d in the School of this _Elias_ the _Rabbin_, and first made
publick by him. Or he added, it may be, that Division of the Time into
three Parts, and so got a Title to the whole. I cannot easily imagine,
that a Doctor that lived Two hundred Years, or thereabouts, before
Christ, when Prophecy had ceas’d for some Ages amongst the _Jews_,
should take upon him to dictate a Prophecy about the Duration of the
World, unless he had been supported by some antecedent Cabbalistical
Tradition: Which being kept more secret before, he took the Liberty to
make Publick, and so was reputed the Author of the Prophecy: As many
Philosophers amongst the _Greeks_, were the reputed Authors of such
Doctrines as were much more antient than themselves: But they were the
Publishers of them in their Country, or the Revivers of them after a
long Silence; and so, by forgetful Posterity, got the Honour of the
first Invention.
You will think, it may be, the Time is too long, and the Distance too
great, betwixt _Elias_ the _Thesbite_, and this _Elias_ the _Rabbin_,
for a Tradition to subsist all the while, or be preserv’d with any
competent Integrity. But it appears from St. _Jude_’s Epistle, that the
_Prophecies of Enoch_, (who liv’d before the Flood) relating to the Day
of Judgment and the End of the World, were extant in his Time, either in
Writing or by Tradition: And the Distance between _Enoch_ and St. _Jude_
was vastly greater than betwixt the two _Elias_’s. Nor was any fitter to
be inspir’d with that Knowledge, or to tell the first News of that fatal
Period, than the old Prophet _Elias_, who is to come again and bring the
Alarum of the approaching Conflagration. But however this Conjecture may
prove as to the original Author of this Prophecy, the Prophecy itself
concerning the _Sexmillennial_ Duration of the World, is very much
insisted upon by the Christian Fathers. Which yet I believe is not so
much for the bare Authority of the Tradition, as because they thought it
was founded in the History of the _six Days Creation_, and the _Sabbath_
succeeding: As also in some other typical Precepts and Usages in the Law
of _Moses_. But before we speak of that, give me Leave to name some of
those Fathers to you, that were of this Judgment, and supposed the great
Sabbatism would succeed after the World had stood Six thousand Years. Of
this Opinion was St. _Barnabas_ in his Catholick Epistle, _ch._ xv.
Where he argues, that the Creation will be ended in Six thousand Years,
as it was finish’d in six Days: Every Day according to the sacred and
mystical Account, being a Thousand Years. Of the same Judgment is St.
_Irenæus_, both as to the Conclusion, and the Reason of it, _l. 5. c.
28, 29, 30_. He saith, the History of the Creation in six Days, _is a
Narration as to what it past, and a Prophecy of what is to come_. As the
Work was said to be consummated in 6 Days, and the Sabbath to be the
Seventh: So the Consummation of all Things will be in 6000 Years, and
then the great Sabbatism to come on in the blessed Reign of Christ.
_Hippolytus_ Martyr, Disciple of _Irenæus_, is of the same Judgment, as
you may see in _Photius_, _c. 202._ _Lactantius_ in his _Divine
Institutions_, _l. 7. c. 14._ gives the very same Account of the State
and Condition of the World, and the same Proofs for it, and so does St.
_Cyprian_, in his _Exhortation to Martyrdom, c. 18_. St. _Jerome_ more
than once declares himself of the same Opinion; and St. _Austin_, _C. D.
l. 20. c. 7._ tho’ he wavers, and was doubtful as to the _Millennium_,
or Reign of Christ upon Earth, yet he receives this Computation without
Hesitancy, and upon the foremention’d Grounds. So _Johannes Damascenus
de Fide Orthodoxâ_, takes seven Millennaries for the intire Space of the
World, from the Creation, to the general Resurrection, the Sabbatism
being included. And that this was a receiv’d and approv’d Opinion in
early Times, we may collect from the Author of the _Questions and
Answers, ad Orthodoxos_, in _Justin Martyr_. Who, giving an Answer to
that Enquiry about the six thousand Years Term of the World, says, _We
may conjecture from many Places of Scripture, that those are in the
right, that say, six thousand Years is the Time prefix’d, for the
Duration of this present Frame of the World_. These Authors I have
examin’d my self: But there are many others brought in Confirmation of
this Opinion: As St. _Hilary_, _Anastasius Sinaita_, Sanctus
_Gaudentius_, _Q. Julius Hilarion_, _Junilius Africanus_, _Isidorus
Hispalensis_, _Cassiodorus_, _Gregorius Magnus_, and others, which I
leave to be examin’d by those that have Curiosity and Leisure to do it.
In the mean time, it must be confess’d, that many of these Fathers were
under a Mistake, in one respect, in that they generally thought the
World was near an End in their Time. An Error, which we need not take
Pains to confute now; seeing we, who live twelve hundred or fourteen
hundred Years after them, find the World still in being, and likely to
continue so for some considerable Time. But it is easy to discern whence
their Mistake proceeded: Not from this Prophecy alone, but because they
reckon’d this Prophecy according to the Chronology of the _Septuagint_:
Which setting back the Beginning of the World many Ages beyond the
_Hebrew_, these six thousand Years were very near expir’d in the Time of
those Fathers; and that made them conclude, that the World was very near
an End. We will make no Reflections, in this Place, upon that Chronology
of the _Septuagint_, lest it should too much interrupt the Thread of our
Discourse. But it is necessary to shew how the Fathers grounded this
Computation of six thousand Years, upon Scripture. ’Twas chiefly, as we
suggested before, upon the _Hexameron_, or the Creation finish’d in _six
Days_, and the _Sabbath_ ensuing. The Sabbath, they said, was a Type of
the Sabbatism, that was to follow at the End of the World, according to
St. _Paul_, _ch. v._ to the _Hebrews_; and then by Analogy and
Consequence, the six Days preceding the Sabbath, must note the Space and
Duration of the World. If therefore they could discover how much a Day
is reckon’d for, in this mystical Computation, the Sum of the six Days
would be easily found out. And they think, that, according to the
Psalmist (_Psal. xc. 4._) and St. _Peter_, (_2 Epist. iii. 8._) _a Day_
may be estimated _a thousand Years_, and consequently six Days must be
counted six thousand Years, for the Duration of the World. This is their
Interpretation, and their Inference: But it must be acknowledged, that
there is an essential Weakness in all typical and allegorical
Argumentations, in comparison of literal. And this being allow’d in
Diminution of the Proof, we may be bold to say, that nothing yet
appears, either in Nature, or Scripture, or human Affairs, repugnant to
this Supposition of six thousand Years: Which hath Antiquity and the
Authority of the Fathers, on its Side.
We proceed now to the Christian Prophecies concerning the End of the
World. I do not mention those in _Daniel_, because I am not satisfied
that any there (excepting that of the fifth Kingdom itself) extend so
far. But in the _Apocalypse_ of St. _John_, which is the last Revelation
we are to expect, there are several Prophecies that reach to the
Consummation of this World, and the first Resurrection. The _seven
Seals_, the _seven Trumpets_, the _seven Vials_, do all terminate upon
that great Period. But they are rather Historical Prophecies than
Chronological; they tell us, in their Language, the Events, but do not
measure or express the Time wherein they come to pass. Others there are
that may be call’d Chronological, as the _treading under Foot the Holy
City, Forty and two months, Apoc. xi. 2._ The _Witnesses_ opposing
Antichrist _One thousand Two hundred and sixty Days, Apoc. xi. 3._ The
Flight of the _Woman into the Wilderness_, for the same Number of Days,
or for a _Time, Times, and half a Time, Apoc. xii. 6 & 14._ And lastly,
The War of the Beasts against the Saints, _Forty-two Months, Apoc. xiii.
5._ These all, you see, express a Time for their Completion; and all the
same Time, if I be not mistaken: But they do not reach to the End of the
World. Or if some of them did reach so far, yet because we do not
certainly know where to fix their Beginning, we must still be at a Loss,
when, or in what Year they will expire. As for Instance, if the Reign of
the Beast, or the Preaching of the Witnesses be 1260 Years, as is
reasonably suppos’d; yet if we do not know certainly when this Reign, or
this Preaching begun, neither can we tell when it will end. And the
_Epocha_’s, or Beginnings of these Prophecies are so differently
calculated, and are Things of so long Debate, as to make the Discussion
of them altogether improper for this Place. Yet it must be confest, that
the best Conjectures that can be made concerning the approaching End of
the World, must be taken from a judicious Examination of these Points:
And accordingly as we gather up the Prophecies of the _Apocalypse_, in a
successive Completion, we see how by degrees we draw nearer and nearer
to the Conclusion of all. But till some of these enlightening Prophecies
be accomplish’d, we are as a Man that awakes in the Night, all is dark
about him, and he knows not how far the Night is spent; but if he watch
till the Light appears, the first Glimpses of that will resolve his
Doubts. We must have a little Patience, and, I think, but a little;
still eyeing those Prophecies of the _Resurrection_ of the _Witnesses_,
and the _Depression_ of _Antichrist_: ’Till by their Accomplishment, the
Day dawn, and the Clouds begin to change their Colour. Then we shall be
able to make a near Guess, when the Sun of Righteousness will arise.
So much for Prophecies. There are also _Signs_, which are look’d upon as
Forerunners of the Coming of our Saviour; and, therefore, may give us
some Direction how to judge of the Distance or Approach of that great
Day. Thus many of the Fathers thought the _coming of Antichrist_ would
be a Sign to give the World Notice of its approaching End. But we may
easily see, by what hath been noted before, what it was that led the
Fathers into that Mistake. They thought their six thousand Years were
near an End, as they truly were, according to that Chronology they
followed: and therefore they concluded the Reign of Antichrist must be
very short, whensoever he came, and that he could not come long before
the End of the World. But we are very well assur’d, from the Revelation
of Saint _John_, that the Reign of Antichrist is not to be so short and
transient; and from the Prospect and History of _Christendom_, that he
hath been already upon his Throne many hundreds of Years. Therefore this
Sign wholly falls to the Ground; unless you will take it from the Fall
of Antichrist, rather than from his first Entrance. Others expect the
_coming_ of _Elias_, to give Warning of that Day, and prepare the Way of
the Lord. I am very willing to admit that _Elias_ will come, according
to the Sense of the Prophet _Malachi_, _Chap. iv. 5, 6._ but he will not
come _with Observation_, no more than he did in the Person of _John_ the
Baptist; He will not bear the Name of _Elias_, nor tell us he is the Man
that went to Heaven in a fiery Chariot, and is now come down again to
give us Warning of the last Fire. But some divine Person may appear
before the second coming of our Saviour, as there did before his first
coming, and by giving a new Light and Life to the Christian Doctrine,
may dissipate the Mists of Error, and abolish all those little
Controversies amongst good Men, and the Divisions and Animosities that
spring from them: Enlarging their Spirits by greater Discoveries, and
uniting them all in the Bonds of Love and Charity, and in the common
Study of Truth and Perfection. Such an _Elias_ the Prophet seems to
point at; and may he come, and be the great Peace-maker and Preparer of
the Ways of the Lord! But at present, we cannot from this Sign make any
Judgment when the World will end.
Another Sign preceding the End of the World, is, _The Conversion of the
Jews_; and this is a wonderful Sign indeed. St. _Paul_ seems expresly to
affirm it, _Rom. xi. 25, 26._ But it is differently understood, either
of their Conversion only, or of their Restoration to their own Country,
Liberties and Dominion. The Prophets bear hard upon this Sense
sometimes, as you may see in _Isaiah_, _Ezekiel_, _Hosea_, _Amos_. And
to the same purpose the antient Promise of _Moses_ is interpreted,
_Deut. xxx._ Yet this seems to be a thing very unconceivable: Unless we
suppose the ten Tribes to be still in some hidden Corner of the World,
from whence they may be conducted again to their own Country, as once
out of _Ægypt_, by a miraculous Providence, and establish’d there:
Which, being known, will give the Alarm to all the other _Jews_, in the
World, and make an universal Confluence to their old Home. Then our
Saviour, by an extraordinary Appearance to them, as once to St. _Paul_,
_John xix. 37._ and by Prophets, _Apoc. i. 7._ _Mat. xxiii. 39._ rais’d
up amongst them for that purpose, may convince them that he is the true
_Messiah_, and convert them to the Christian Faith; which will be no
more strange, than was the first Conversion of the _Gentile_ World. But
if we be content with a Conversion of the _Jews_, without their
Restoration; and of those two Tribes only, which are now dispersed
throughout the Christian World, and other known Parts of the Earth: That
these should be converted to the Christian Faith, and incorporated into
the Christian Commonwealth, losing their National Character and
Distinction: If this, I say, will satisfy the Prophecies, it is not a
Thing very difficult to be conceived. For when the World is reduc’d to a
better and purer State of Christianity, and that Idolatry, in a great
measure remov’d, which gave the greatest Scandal to the _Jews_, they
will begin to have better Thoughts of our Religion, and be dispos’d to a
more ingenuous and unprejudic’d Examination of their Prophecies
concerning the _Messiah_: God raising up Men amongst them of divine and
enlarged Spirits, Lovers of Truth more than of any particular Sect or
Opinion; with Light to discern it, and Courage to profess it. Lastly, It
will be a cogent Argument upon them, to see the Age of the World so far
spent, and no Appearance yet, of their long expected _Messiah_. So far
spent, I say, that there is no Room left, upon any Computation
whatsoever, for the Oeconomy of a _Messiah_ yet to come. This will make
them reflect more carefully and impartially upon him whom the Christians
propose, _Jesus of Nazareth_, whom their Fathers Crucified at
_Jerusalem_: Upon the Miracles he wrought in his Life, and after his
Death; and upon the wonderful Propagation of his Doctrine throughout the
World, after his Ascension. And lastly, upon the Desolation of
_Jerusalem_, upon their own scattered and forlorn Condition, foretold by
that Prophet, as a Judgment of God upon an ungrateful and wicked People.
This I have said to state the Case of the Conversion of the _Jews_,
which will be a Sign of the approaching Reign of Christ. But, alas! what
Appearance is there of this Conversion in our Days? or what Judgment can
we make from a Sign that is not come to pass? ’Tis ineffectual as to us,
but may be of Use to Posterity. Yet even to them it will not determine,
at what Distance they are from the End of the World, but be a Mark only
that they are not far from it. There will be Signs also, in those last
Days, in the Heavens, and in the Earth, and in the Sea, Forerunners of
the _Conflagration_; as the Obscuration of the Sun and Moon,
Earthquakes, Roarings of the troubled Sea, and such like Disorders in
the natural World, ’tis true; but these are the very Pangs of Death, and
the Strugglings of Nature just before her Dissolution, and it will be
too late then to be aware of our Ruin when it is at the Door. Yet these
being Signs or Prodigies taken Notice of by Scripture, we intend, God
willing, after we have explained the Causes and Manner of the
_Conflagration_, to give an Account also whence these unnatural
Commotions will proceed, that are the Beginnings or immediate
Introductions to the last Fire.
Thus we have gone through the Prophecies and Signs that concern the last
Day and the last Fate of the World. And how little have we learned from
them as to the Time of that great Revolution? Prophecies rise sometimes
with an even gradual Light, as the Day riseth upon the Horizon: and
sometimes break out suddenly like a Fire, and we are not aware of their
Approach ’till we see them accomplish’d. Those that concern the End of
the World, are of this latter Sort, to unobserving Men; but even to the
most observing, there will still be a Latitude; we must not expect to
calculate the coming of our Saviour, like an Eclipse, to Minutes and
half Minutes. There are _Times and Seasons which the Father hath put in
his own Power_. If it was design’d to keep these Things secret, we must
not think to out-wit Providence, and from the Prophecies that are given
us, pick out a Discovery that was not intended we should ever make. It
is determin’d in the Councils of Heaven just how far we shall know these
Events beforehand, and with what Degree of Certainty: And with this we
must be content, whatsoever it is. The _Apocalypse_ of St. _John_ is the
last Prophetical Declaration of the Will of God, and contains the Fate
of the Christian Religion to the End of the World, its Purity,
Degeneracy, and Reviviscency. The Head of this Degeneracy is call’d _The
Beast, the false Prophet, the Whore of Babylon_, in Prophetical Terms:
And in an Ecclesiastical Term is commonly call’d _Antichrist_. Those
that bear Testimony against this Degeneracy, are call’d the _Witnesses_:
Who, after they have been a long Time in a mean and persecuted
Condition, are to have their Resurrection and Ascension; that is, be
advanc’d to Power and Authority. And this Resurrection of the
_Witnesses_, and Depression of _Antichrist_, is that which will make the
great Turn of the World to Righteousness, and the great Crisis, whereby
we may judge of its drawing to an End. ’Tis true, there are other Marks,
as the passing away of the _second Woe_, _Apoc. c. ix._ which is
commonly thought to be the _Ottoman_ Empire; and the Effusion of the
_Vials_, _Apoc. c. xvi._ The first of these will be indeed a very
conspicuous Mark, if it follow upon the Resurrection of the Witnesses,
as by the Prophecy it seems to do, _ch. xi. 14._ But as to the Vials,
tho’ they do plainly reach in a Series to the End of the World, I am not
satisfied with any Exposition I have yet met with, concerning their
precise Time or Contents.
In a Word, though the Sum and general Contents of a Prophecy be very
intelligible, yet the Application of it to Time and Persons may be very
lubricous. There must be Obscurity in a Prophecy, as well as Shadow in a
Picture. All its Lines must not stand in a full Light. For if Prophecies
were open and barefac’d as to all their Parts and Circumstances, they
would check and obstruct the Course of human Affairs; and hinder, if it
was possible, their own Accomplishment. Modesty and Sobriety are in all
Things commendable, but in nothing more than in the Explication of these
sacred Mysteries; and we have seen so many miscarry by a too close and
particular Application of them, that we ought to dread the Rock about
which we see so many Shipwrecks. He that does not err above a Century,
in calculating the last Period of Time, from what Evidence we have at
present, hath, in my Opinion, cast up his Accounts very well. But the
Scenes will change fast towards the Evening of this long Day, and when
the Sun is near setting, they will more easily compute how far he hath
to run.
CHAP. VI.
_Concerning the Causes of the Conflagration._
_The Difficulty of conceiving how this Earth can be set on Fire.
With a general Answer to that Difficulty. Two suppos’d Causes of the
Conflagration, by the Sun’s drawing nearer to the Earth, or the
Earth’s throwing out the central Fire, examin’d and rejected._
We have now made our Way clear to the principal Point, _The Causes of
the Conflagration_: How the Heavens and the Earth will be set on Fire,
what Materials are prepared, or what Train of Causes, for that purpose.
The Antients, who have kept us Company pretty well thus far, here quite
desert us: they deal more in Conclusions than Causes, as is usual in all
Traditional Learning. And the _Stoicks_ themselves, who inculcate so
much the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and make the Strength of it
such, as to dissolve the Earth into a fiery Chaos, are yet very short
and superficial in their Explications, how this shall come to pass. The
latent Seeds of Fire, they say, shall every where be let loose, and that
Element will prevail over all the rest, and transform every Thing into
its own Nature. But these are general Things, that give little
Satisfaction to inquisitive Persons. Neither do the modern Authors, that
treat of the same Subject, relieve us in this Particular: They are
willing to suppose the Conflagration a superficial Effect, that so they
may excuse themselves the Trouble of enquiring after Causes. ’Tis no
doubt, in a Sort supernatural; and so the Deluge was: Yet _Moses_ sets
down the Causes of the Deluge, the Rains from above, and the Disruption
of the Abyss. So there must be Treasures of Fire provided against that
Day, by whose Eruption this second Deluge will be brought upon the
Earth.
To state the Case fairly, we must first represent the Difficulty of
setting the Earth on Fire; tye the Knot, before we loose it; that so we
may the better judge whether the Causes that shall be brought into View,
may be sufficient to overcome so great Opposition. The Difficulty, no
doubt, will be chiefly from the great Quantity of Water that is about
our Globe; whereby Nature seems to have made Provision against any
Invasion by Fire, and secur’d us from that Enemy more than any other. We
see half of the Surface of the Earth cover’d with the Seas, whose
Channel is of a vast Depth and Capacity: Besides innumerable Rivers,
great and small, that water the Face of the dry Land, and drench it with
perpetual Moisture. Then within the Bowels of the Earth, there are
Store-Houses of subterraneous Waters; which are as a Reserve, in case
the Ocean and the Rivers should be overcome. Neither is Water our only
Security, for the hard Rocks, and stony Mountains, which no Fire can
bide upon, are set in long Ranges upon the Continents and Islands; and
must needs give a Stop to the Progress of that furious Enemy, in case he
should attack us. Lastly, the Earth itself is not combustible in all its
Parts. ’Tis not every Soil that is fit Fewel for the Fire. Clay, and
Mire, and such like Soils, will rather choak and stifle it, than help it
on its Way. By these Means one would think the Body of the Earth
secur’d; and though there may be partial Fires, or Inundations of Fire,
here and there, in particular Regions, yet there cannot be an universal
Fire throughout the Earth. At least, one would hope for a safe Retreat
towards the Poles, where there is nothing but Snow, and Ice, and bitter
Cold. These Regions sure are in no Danger to be burnt, whatsoever
becomes of the other Climates of the Earth.
This being the State and Condition of the present Earth, one would not
imagine by these Preparations, ’twas ever intended that it should perish
by an universal Fire. But such is often the Method of Providence, that
the exterior Face of Things looks one Way, and the Design lies another;
’till at length, touching a Spring, as it were, at a certain Time, all
those Affairs change Posture and Aspect, and shew us which way
Providence inclines. We must therefore suppose, before the Conflagration
begins, there will be Dispositions and Preparatives suitable to so great
a Work: and all Antiquity, sacred and prophane, does so far concur with
us, as to admit and suppose that a great Drought will precede, and an
extraordinary Heat and Dryness of the Air, to usher in this fiery Doom.
And these being Things which often happen in a Course of Nature, we
cannot disallow such easy Preparations, when Providence intends so great
a Consequence. The Heavens will be shut up, and the Clouds yield no
Rain; and by this, with an immoderate Heat in the Air, the Springs of
Water will become dry, the Earth chapp’d and parch’d, and the Woods and
Trees made ready Fewel for the Fire. We have Instances, in History, that
there have been Droughts and Heats of this Nature, to that Degree, that
the Woods and Forests have taken Fire, and the outward Turf and Surface
of the Earth, without any other Cause than the Dryness of the Season,
and the Vehemency of the Sun. And, which is more considerable, the
Springs and Fountains being dry’d up, the greater Rivers have been
sensibly lessen’d, and the lesser quite empty’d, and exhal’d. These
Things, which happen frequently, in particular Countries and Climates,
may, at an appointed Time, by the Disposition of Providence, be more
universal throughout the Earth; and have the same Effects every where,
that we see by Experience they have had in certain Places: And by this
Means, we may conceive it as feasible to set the whole Earth on Fire in
some little Space of Time, as to burn up this, or that Country after a
great Drought. But I mean this, with Exception still to the main Body of
the Sea; which will indeed receive a greater Diminution from these
Causes, than we easily imagine; but the final Consumption of it will
depend upon other Reasons, whereof we must give an Account in the
following Chapters.
As to the Mountains and Rocks, their lofty Heads will sink when the
Earthquakes begin to roar, at the Beginning of the Conflagration; as we
shall see hereafter. And as to the Earth itself, ’tis true there are
several Sorts of Earth that are not proper Fuel for Fire; but those
Soils that are not so immediately, as clayey Soils, and such like, may,
by the Strength of Fire, be converted into Brick, or Stone, or earthen
Metal, and so melted down and vitrified. For, in Conclusion, there is no
terrestrial Body that does not finally yield to the Force of Fire, and
may either be converted into Flame, incorporated Fire, or into a Liquor
more ardent than either of them. Lastly, As to the Polar Regions, which
you think will be a safe Retreat and inaccessible to the Fire; ’tis
true, unless Providence hath laid subterraneous Treasures of Fire there
unknown to us, those Parts of the Earth will be the last consum’d. But
it is to be observ’d, that the Cold of those Regions proceeds from the
Length of their Winter, and their Distance from the Sun when he is
beyond the Æquator; and both these Causes will be removed at the
Conflagration. For we suppose the Earth will then return to its
primitive Situation, which we have explain’d in the second Book of this
_Theory_, _chap. iii._ and will have the Sun always in its Æquator;
whereby the several Climates of the Earth will have a perpetual Equinox,
and those under the Poles a perpetual Day: And therefore all the Excess
of Cold, and all the Consequences of it, will soon be abated. However,
the Earth will not be burnt in one Day, and those Parts of the Earth
being uninhabited, there is no Inconvenience that they should be more
slowly consum’d than the rest.
This is a general Answer to the Difficulty propos’d about the
Possibility of the Conflagration; and being general only, the Parts of
it must be more fully explain’d and confirm’d in the Sequel of this
Discourse. We should now proceed directly to the Causes of the
Conflagration, and shew in what manner they do this great Execution upon
Nature: But to be just and impartial in this Enquiry, we ought first to
separate the spurious and pretended Causes from those that are real and
genuine; to make no false Musters, nor any shew of being stronger than
we are; and if we can do our Work with less Force, it will be more to
our Credit; as a Victory is more honourable that is gain’d with fewer
Men.
There are two grand capital Causes which some Authors make use of, as
the chief Agents in this Work, the _Sun_, and the _Central Fire_. These
two great Incendiaries, they say, will be let loose upon us at the
Conflagration; the one drawing nearer to the Earth, and the other
breaking out of its Bowels into these upper Regions. These are potent
Causes indeed, more than enough to destroy this Earth, if it was a
thousand Times bigger than it is. But for that very Reason, I suspect
they are not the true Causes; for God and Nature do not use to employ
unnecessary Means to bring about their Designs. Disproportion and
Over-sufficiency is one sort of false Measures, and ’tis a Sign we do
not thoroughly understand our Work, when we put more Strength to it than
the Thing requires. Men are forward to call in extraordinary Powers, to
rid their Hands of a troublesome Argument, and so make a short Dispatch
to save themselves the Pains of further Enquiries; but as such Methods
as these commonly have no Proof, so they give little Satisfaction to an
Inquisitive Mind. This Supposition of burning the Earth, by the Sun
drawing nearer and nearer to it, seems to be made in Imitation of the
Story of _Phaeton_, who driving the Chariot of the Sun with an unsteady
Hand, came so near the Earth, that he set it on Fire. But however, we
will not reject any Pretensions without a fair Trial: Let us examine
therefore what Grounds they can have for either of these Suppositions,
of the Approximation of the Sun to the Earth, or the Eruption of the
Central Fire.
As to the Sun, I desire first to be satisfied in present Matter of Fact:
Whether by any Instrument or Observation it hath or can be discover’d,
that the Sun is nearer to the Earth now, than he was in former Ages? Or,
If by any Reasoning or comparing Calculations, such a Conclusion can be
made? If not, this is but an imaginary Cause, and as easily deny’d as
propos’d. Astronomers do very little agree in their Opinions about the
Distance of the Sun: _Ptolemy_, _Albategnius_, _Copernicus_, _Tycho_,
_Kepler_, and others more modern, differ all in their Calculations; but
not in such a Manner or Proportion, as should make us believe that the
Sun comes nearer to the Earth, but rather goes further from it. For the
more modern of them make the Distance greater than the more ancient do.
_Kepler_ says, the Distance of the Sun from the Earth lies betwixt 700
and 2000 Semidiameters of the Earth: But _Ricciolus_ makes it betwixt
700 and 7000: And _Gottefred Wendelme_ hath taken 14656 Semidiameters,
for a middle Proportion of the Sun’s Distance; to which _Kepler_ himself
came very near in his later Years. So that you see how groundless our
Fears are from the Approaches of an Enemy, that rather flies from us, if
he change Postures at all. And we have more Reason to believe the Report
of the modern Astronomers, than of the antient, in this Matter; both
because the Nature of the Heavens and of the celestial Bodies is now
better known, and also because they have found out better Instruments
and better Methods to make their Observations.
If the Sun and Earth were come nearer to one another, either the Circle
of the Sun’s diurnal Arch would be less, and so the Day shorter; or the
Orbit of the Earth’s annual Course would be less, and so the Year
shorter: Neither of which we have any Experience of. And those that
suppose us in the Centre of the World, need not be afraid ’till they see
_Mercury_ and _Venus_ in a Combustion, for they lie betwixt us and
Danger; and the Sun cannot come so readily at us with his fiery Darts,
as at them who stand in his Way. Lastly, this languishing Death, by the
gradual Approaches of the Sun, and that irreparable Ruin of the Earth,
which at last must follow from it, do neither of them agree with that
Idea of the _Conflagration_, which the Scripture hath given us; for it
is to come suddenly and unexpectedly, and take us off like a Violent
Fever, not as a lingring Consumption. And the Earth is also to be
destroyed by Fire, as not to take away all Hopes of a Resurrection, or
Renovation: For we are assur’d by Scripture, that there will be new
Heavens and a new Earth after these are burnt up. But if the Sun should
come so near us, as to make the _Heavens pass away with a Noise, and
melt the Elements with fervent Heat_, and destroy the Form, and all the
Works of the Earth, what Hopes or Possibility would there be of a
Renovation, while the Sun continu’d in this Posture? He would more and
more consume and prey upon the Carcass of the Earth, and convert it at
length either into an Heap of Ashes, or a Lump of vitrified Metal.
So much for the Sun. As to the _Central Fire_, I am very well satisfied
it is no imaginary Thing: All Antiquity hath preserv’d some sacred
Monument of it: The _Vestal_ Fire of the _Romans_, which was so
religiously attended: The _Prytoneia_ of the _Greeks_ were to the same
purpose, and dedicated to _Vesta_: And the _Pyretheia_ of the
_Persians_, where Fire was kept continually by the _Magi_. These all, in
my Opinion, had the same Origin, and the same Signification. And tho’ I
do not know any particular Observation, that does directly prove or
demonstrate that there is such a Mass of Fire in the middle of the
Earth; yet the best Accounts we have of the Generation of a Planet do
suppose it; and ’tis agreeable to the whole Oeconomy of Nature: As a
Fire in the Heart, which gives Life to her Motions and Productions. But,
however, the Question is not at present, about the Existence of this
Fire, but the Eruption of it, and the Effect of that Eruption; which
cannot be, in my Judgment, such a _Conflagration_ as describ’d in
Scripture.
This Central Fire must be enclos’d in a Shell of great Strength and
Firmness; for being of itself the lightest, and most active of all
Bodies, it would not be detained in the lowest Prison without a strong
Guard upon it. ’Tis true, we can make no certain Judgment of what
Thickness this Shell is; but if we suppose this Fire to have a twentieth
Part of the Semidiameter of the Earth, on either side the Centre, for
its Sphere, which seems to be a fair Allowance; there would still remain
nineteen Parts for our Safeguard and Security: And these nineteen Parts
of the Semidiameter of the Earth will make 3268 Miles, for a
Partition-Wall betwixt us and this Central Fire. Who would be afraid of
an Enemy lock’d up in so strong a Prison? But you’ll say, it may be,
tho’ the Central Fire, at the Beginning of the World, might have no more
Room or Space than what is mention’d; yet being of that Activity that it
is, and corrosive Nature, it may, in the Space of some thousands of
Years, have eaten deep into the Sides of its Prison; and so come nearer
to the Surface of the Earth by some hundreds or thousands of Miles, than
it was at first. This would be a material Exception, if it could be made
out. But what Phænomenon is there in Nature that proves this? How does
it appear by an Observation, that the Central Fire gains Ground upon us?
Or is increased in Quantity, or come nearer to the Surface of the Earth?
I know nothing that can be offer’d in Proof of this: and if there be no
Appearance of a Change, nor any sensible Effect of it, ’tis an Argument
there is none, or none considerable. If the Quantity of that Fire was
considerably increas’d, it must needs, besides other Effects, have made
the Body of the Earth considerably lighter. The Earth having, by this
Conversion of its own Substance into Fire, lost so much of its heaviest
Matter, and got so much of the lightest and most active Element instead
of it: and in both these respects, its Gravity would be manifestly
lessen’d. Which if it really was in any considerable Degree, it would
discover it self by some Change, either as to the Motion of the Earth,
or as to its Place or Station in the Heavens. But there being no
external Change observable, in this or any other respect, ’tis
reasonable to presume that there is no considerable inward Change, or no
great Consumption of its inward Parts and Substance; and consequently no
great Increase of the central Fire.
But if we should admit both an Increase and Eruption of this Fire, it
would not have that Effect which is pretended. It might cause some
Confusion and Disorder in those Parts of the Earth where it broke out,
but it would not make an universal Conflagration, such as is represented
to us in Scripture. Let us suppose the Earth to be open, or burst in any
Place; under the Pole, for Instance, or under the _Æquator_; and let it
gape as low as the Central Fire: At this Chasm or Rupture we suppose the
Fire would gush out; and what then would be the Consequence of this when
it came to the Surface of the Earth? It would either be dissipated and
lost in the Air, or fly still higher towards the Heavens in a Mass of
Flame. But what Execution in the mean time would it do upon the Body of
the Earth? ’Tis but like a Flash of Lightning, or a Flame issuing out of
a Pit, that dies presently. Besides, this Central Fire is of that
Subtilty and Tenuity, that it is not able to inflame gross Bodies: no
more than those Meteors we call _Lambent Fires_, inflame the Bodies to
which they stick. Lastly, in explaining the Manner of the Conflagration,
we must have regard principally to Scripture; for the Explications given
there are more to the purpose, than all that the Philosophers have said
upon that Subject. Now, as we noted before, ’tis manifest in Scripture,
that after the _Conflagration_, there will be a _Restauration_, _new
Heavens_, and a _new Earth_. ’Tis the express Doctrine of St. _Peter_,
besides other Prophets: We must therefore suppose the Earth reduc’d to
such a Chaos by this last Fire, as will lay the Foundation of a new
World, _2 Pet. iii. 12, 13._ Which can never be, if the inward Frame of
it be broke, the Central Fire exhausted, and the exterior Region suck’d
into those central Vacuities. This must needs make it lose its former
Poise and Libration, and it will thereupon be thrown into some other
Part of the Universe, as the useless Shell of a broken Granado, or as a
dead Carcass, and unprofitable Matter.
These Reasons may be sufficient why we should not depend upon those
pretended Causes of the _Conflagration_, the Sun’s Advance towards the
Earth, or such a Rupture of the Earth as will let out the Central Fire.
These Causes, I hope, will appear superfluous, when we shall have given
an Account of the _Conflagration_ without them. But young Philosophers,
like young Soldiers, think they are never sufficiently armed; and often
take more Weapons, than they can make use of, when they come to fight.
Not that we altogether reject the Influence of the Sun, or of the
Central Fire; especially the latter: For in that great Estuation of
Nature, the Body of the Earth will be much open’d and relaxated; and
when the Pores are enlarg’d, the Steams of that Fire will sweat out more
plentifully into all its Parts; but still without any Rupture in the
Vessels, or in the Skin. And whereas these Authors suppose the very
Veins to burst, and the vital Blood to gush out, as at open Flood-Gates,
we only allow a more copious Perspiration, and think that sufficient for
all Purposes in this Case.