_Concerning the Beginning and Progress of the Conflagration, what
Part of the Earth will first be burnt. The Manner of the future
Destruction of Rome, according to prophetical Indications. The last
State and Consummation of the general Fire._
Having remov’d the chief Obstructions to our Design, and shew’d a Method
for weakning the Strength of Nature, by draining the Trench, and beating
down those Bulwarks, wherein she seems to place her greatest Confidence:
We must now go to Work; making Choice of the weakest Part of Nature for
our first Attack, where the Fire may be the easiest admitted, and the
best maintain’d, and preserv’d.
And for our better Direction, it will be of Use to consider what we
noted before, _viz._ That the Conflagration is not a pure _natural
Fatality_, but a _mix’d Fatality_; or a divine Judgment supported by
natural Causes. And if we can find some Part of the Earth, or of the
Christian World, that hath more of these natural Dispositions to
Inflammation than the rest; and is also represented by Scripture as a
more peculiar Object of God’s Judgments at the coming of our Saviour, we
may justly pitch upon that Part of the World, as first to be destroy’d:
Nature and Providence conspiring to make that the first Sacrifice to
this fiery Vengeance.
Now as to natural Dispositions, in any Country or Region of the Earth,
to be set on Fire, they seem to be chiefly these two; Sulphureousness of
the Soil, and, an hollow mountainous Construction of the Ground. Where
these two Dispositions meet in the same Tract or Territory, (the one as
to the Quality of the Matter, and the other as to the Form) it stands
like a Pile of fit Materials, ready set to have the Fire put to it. And
as to divine Indications where this general Fire will begin, the
Scripture points to the Seat of Antichrist, wheresoever that is, for the
Beginning of it. The Scripture, I say, points at this two Ways: First,
In telling us that our Saviour at his coming _in Flames of Fire shall
consume the wicked One, the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, with the
Spirit of his Mouth, and shall destroy him with the Brightness of his
Presence, 2 Thess. i. 7. chap. ii. 8._ Secondly, under the Name of
_Mystical Babylon_; which is allowed by all to be the Seat of
Antichrist, and by Scripture always condemn’d to the Fire. This we find
in plain Words asserted by Saint _John_, in the xviiith _Chapter_ of his
_Revelations_ (_Verses 8, 19._) and in the xixth (_Verse 3_) under the
Name of the _Great Whore_; which is the same City, and the same Seat,
according to the Interpretation of Scripture it self, (_Ch. xvii,
xviii._) And the Prophet _Daniel_, when he had set the _Antient of Days_
upon his fiery Throne, says, _The Body of the Beast was given to the
burning Flame, Dan. vii. 9, 10, 11._ Which I take to be the same Thing
with what St. _John_ says afterwards, (_Apoc. xix. 20._) _The Beast and
the false Prophet, were cast alive into a Lake of Fire, burning with
Brimstone._ By these Places of Scripture it seems manifest, that
Antichrist, and the Seat of Antichrist will be consum’d with Fire, at
the coming of our Saviour. And ’tis very reasonable and decorous, that
the grand Traytor and Head of the Apostacy, should be made the first
Example of the divine Vengeance.
Thus much being allow’d from Scripture, let us now return to Nature
again; to seek out that Part of the Christian World, that from its own
Constitution is most subject to burning; by the Sulphureousness of its
Soil, and its fiery Mountains and Caverns. This we shall easily find to
be the _Roman Territory_, or the Country of _Italy_: Which, by all
Accounts, antient and modern, is a Store-house of Fire; as if it was
condemn’d to that Fate by God and Nature, and to be an Incendiary, as it
were, to the rest of the World. And seeing _Mystical Babylon_, the Seat
of Antichrist, is the same _Rome_, and its Territory, as it is
understood by most Interpreters of former, and latter Ages; you see both
our Lines meet in this Point; and, that there is Fairness, on both
Hands, to conclude, that at the glorious Appearance of our Saviour, the
Conflagration will begin at the City of _Rome_, and the _Roman_
Territory.
Nature hath sav’d us the Pains of kindling a Fire in those Parts of the
Earth; for, since the Memory of Man, there have always been
subterraneous Fires in _Italy_. And the _Romans_ did not preserve their
_Vestal_ Fire with more Constancy, than Nature hath done her fiery
Mountains in some Part or other of that Territory. Let us then suppose,
when the fatal Time draws near, all these burning Mountains to be fill’d
and replenish’d with fit Materials for such a Design; and when our
Saviour appears in the Clouds, with an Host of Angels, that they all
begin to play, as Fireworks, at the triumphal Entry of a Prince. Let
_Vesuvius_, _Ætna_, _Strongyle_, and all the _Vulcanian_ Islands, break
out into Flames; and by the Earthquakes, which then will rage, let us
suppose new Eruptions, or new Mountains open’d in the _Apennines_, and
near to _Rome_; and to vomit out Fire in the same Manner as the old
_Vulcano_’s. Then let the sulphureous Ground take Fire; and seeing the
Soil of that Country, in several Places, is so full of Brimstone, that
the Steams and Smoke of it visibly rise out of the Earth; we may
reasonably suppose, that it will burn openly, and be inflam’d, at that
Time. Lastly, the Lightenings of the Air, and the flaming Streams of the
melting Skies, will mingle and join with these Burnings of the Earth;
and these three Causes meeting together, as they cannot but make a
dreadful Scene, so they will easily destroy and consume whatsoever lies
within the Compass of their Fury.
Thus you may suppose the Beginning of the general Fire: And it will be
carried on by like Causes, though in lesser Degrees, in other Parts of
the Earth: But as to _Rome_, there is still, in my Opinion, a more
dreadful Fate that will attend it; namely, to absorp’d, or swallow’d up,
in a Lake of Fire and Brimstone, after the Manner of _Sodom_ and
_Gomorrah_. This, in my Judgment, will be the Fate and final Conclusion
of _Mystical Babylon_, to sink as a great Mill-stone into the Sea, and
never to appear more. Hear what the Prophet says, _A mighty Angel took
up a Stone, like a great Mill stone, and cast it into the Sea, saying,
Thus with Violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down, and
shall be found no more at all, Apoc. xviii. 21._ Simply to be burnt,
does not at all answer to this Description of its perishing, by _sinking
like a Mill-stone into the Sea, and never appearing more_, nor of _not
having its Place ever more found_; that is, leaving no Remains or Marks
of it. A City that is only burnt, cannot be said to _fall like a
Mill-stone into the Sea_; or, that it can _never more be found_; for
after the Burning of a City, the Ruins stand, and its Place is well
known: Wherefore, in both Respects, besides this exterior Burning, there
must be an Absorption of this _Mystical Babylon_, the Seat of the Beast,
and thereupon a total Disappearance of it. This also agrees with the
Suddenness of the Judgment, which is a repeated Character of it, _Chap.
xviii. 8, 10, 17, 19._ Now what kind of Absorption this will be, into
what, and in what Manner, we may learn from what Saint _John_ says
afterwards, _Chap. xix. 20._ _The Beast and the false Prophet were cast
alive into a Lake of Fire and Brimstone._ You must not imagine, that
they were bound Hand and Foot, and so thrown headlong into this Lake;
but they were swallow’d up alive, they and theirs, as _Corah_ and his
Company; or, to use a plainer Example, after the manner of _Sodom_ and
_Gomorrah_, which perish’d by Fire, and at the same Time sunk into the
_Dead Sea_, or a Lake of Brimstone.
This was a lively Type of the Fate of _Rome_, or _Mystical Babylon: _And
’tis fit it should resemble _Sodom_, as well in its Punishment, as in
its Crimes. Neither is it a hard Thing to conceive how such an
Absorption may come to pass, that being a Thing so usual in Earthquakes,
and Earthquakes being so frequent in that Region. And lastly, That this
should be, after the Manner of _Sodom_, turn’d into a Lake of Fire, will
not be at all strange, if we consider, that there will be many
subterraneous Lakes of Fire at that Time, when the Bowels of the Earth
begin to melt, and the Mountains spew out Streams of liquid Fire. The
Ground therefore being hollow and rotten in those Parts, when it comes
to be shaken with a mighty Earthquake, the Foundations will sink, and
the whole Frame fall into an Abyss of Fire below, as a Mill-stone into
the Sea. And this will give Occasion to that Cry, _Babylon the great is
fallen, is fallen_, and shall never more be found.
This seems to be a probable Account, according to Scripture and Reason,
of the Beginning of the general Fire, and of the particular Fate of
_Rome_. But it may be propos’d here, as an Objection against this
Hypothesis, that the _Mediterranean_ Sea, lying all along the Coast of
_Italy_, must needs be a sufficient Guard to that Country against the
Invasion of Fire, or at least must needs extinguish it, before it can do
much Mischief there, or propagate itself into other Countries. I thought
we had in a good measure prevented this Objection before, by shewing how
the Ocean would be diminished before the Conflagration, and especially
the Arms and _Sinus_’s of the Ocean; and of these none would be more
subject to this Diminution, than the _Mediterranean_; for, receiving its
Supplies from the _Ocean_ and the _Black Sea_, if these came to sink in
their Channels they would not rise so high, as to be capable to flow
into the _Mediterranean_ at either End; and these Supplies being cut
off, it would soon empty itself so far, partly by Evaporation; and
partly by subterraneous Passages, as to shrink from all its Shores, and
become only a standing Pool of Water in the Middle of the Channel: Nay,
’tis possible, by Floods of Fire descending from the many Vulcano’s upon
its Shores, it might itself be converted into a Lake of Fire, and rather
help than obstruct the Progress of the Conflagration.
It may indeed be made a Question, Whether this fiery Vengeance upon the
Seat of Antichrist will not precede the general Conflagration, at some
Distance of Time, as a Fore-runner and Fore-warner to the World, that
the rest of the People may have Space to repent; and particularly the
_Jews_, being Spectators of this Tragedy, and of the miraculous
Appearance of our Saviour, may see the Hand of God in it, and be
convinc’d of the Truth and divine Authority of the Christian Religion: I
say, this Supposition would leave Room for these and some other
Prophetick Scenes, which we know not well where to place; but seeing
_The Day of the Lord_ is represented in Scripture, as one entire Thing,
without Interruption or Discontinuation, and that it is to begin with
the Destruction of Antichrist, we have Warrant enough to pursue the rest
of the Conflagration from this Beginning and Introduction.
Let us then suppose the same Preparations made in the other Parts of the
Earth to continue the Fire; for the Conflagration of the World being a
Work of Providence, we may be sure such Measures are taken, as will
effectually carry it on, when once begun. The Body of the Earth will be
loosen’d and broken by Earthquakes, the more solid Parts impregnated
with Sulphur, and the Cavities fill’d with unctuous Fumes and
Exhalations, so as the whole Mass will be but as one great Funeral-Pile,
ready built, and wanting nothing but the Hand of a destroying Angel to
give it Fire. I will not take upon me to determine which Way this
devouring Enemy would steer his Course from _Italy_, or in what Order he
will advance and enter the several Regions of our Continent; that would
be an Undertaking as uncertain as useless: But we cannot doubt of his
Success, which Way soever he goes; unless where the Channel of the Ocean
may chance to stop him: But as to that, we allow, that different
Continents may have different Fires: not propagated from one to another,
but of distinct Sources and Originals; and so likewise in remote
Islands; and therefore no long Passage, or Trajection, will be requir’d
from Shore to Shore: And even the Ocean it self will, at length, be as
fiery as any Part of the Land; but that, with its Rocks, like Death,
will be the last Thing subdued.
As to the animate World, the Fire will over-run it with a swift and
rapid Course, and all living Creatures will be suffocated, or consumed,
at the first Assault; and at the same Time all the Beauty of the Fields,
and the External Decorations of Nature will be defac’d: Then the Cities
and the Towns, and all the Works of Man’s Hands, will burn like Stubble
before the Wind. These will soon be dispatched; but the great Burthen of
the Work still remains; which is, that _Liquefaction_ we mention’d
before, or a _melting Fire_, much more strong and vehement than these
transient Blazes, which do but sweep the Surface of the Earth: This
Liquefaction, I say, we prov’d before out of Scripture, as the last
State of the fiery Deluge, _Chap. IX._ And ’tis this which, at length
will make the Sea itself a _Lake of Fire and Brimstone_; when, instead
of Rivers of Waters which used to flow into it from the Land, there come
Streams and Rivulets of sulphureous Liquors, and purulent melted Matter,
which following the Tract of their natural Gravity, will fall into this
great Drain of this Earth; upon which Mixture, the remaining Parts of
sweet Water will soon evaporate, and the Salt mingling with the Sulphur,
will make a Dead Sea, an _Asphaltites_, a Lake of _Sodom_, a Cup of the
Dregs of the Wine of the Fierceness of God’s Wrath.
We noted before two remarkable Effects of the _burning Mountains_, which
would contribute to the Conflagration of the World, and gave Instances
of both in former Eruptions of _Ætna_ and _Vesuvius_; one was, of those
Balls, or Lumps of Fire, which they throw about in the Time of their
Rage; and the other, of those Torrents of liquid Fire, which rowl down
their Sides to the next Seas or Valleys. In the first Respect, these
Mountains are as so many Batteries, planted, by Providence, in several
Parts of the Earth, to fling those fiery Bombs into such Places, or such
Cities, as are marked out for Destruction; and, in the second Respect,
they are to dry up the Waters, and the Rivers, and the Sea it self, when
they fall into its Channel, _Annal. Sic. dec. 1. l. 2. c. 4._ _T.
Fazellas_, a _Sicilian_, who writ the History of that Island, tells us
of such a River of Fire (upon an Eruption of _Ætna_) near twenty eight
Miles long, reaching from the Mountain to Port _Longina_; and might have
been much longer, if it had not been stopt by the Sea. Many such as
these, and far greater, we ought in Reason to imagine, when all the
Earth begins to melt, and to ripen towards a Dissolution: It will then
be full of these sulphureous Juices, as Grapes with Wine; and these will
be squeez’d out of the Earth into the Sea, as out of a Wine-press into
the Receiver, to fill up that Cup, as we said before, _with the Wine of
the Fierceness of God’s Wrath_.
If we may be allowed to bring prophetical Passages of Scripture to a
natural Sense, as doubtless some of those must that respect the End of
the World; these Phrases which we have now suggested, of the _Wine-press
of the Wrath of God, Apoc. xiv. 10, 19._ _Ch. xvi. 19._ _Ch. xix. 15._
_Drinking the Fierceness of his Wine, poured, without Mixture, into the
Cup of his Indignation_; with Expressions of the like Nature, that occur
sometimes in the old Prophets, but especially in the _Apocalypse_:
These, I say, might receive a full and emphatical Explication from this
State of Things which now lies before us. I would not exclude any other
Explication of less Force, as that of alluding to the _bitter Cup_, or
_mixt Potion_, that us’d to be given to Malefactors: But that, methinks,
is a low Sense, when applied to these Places in the _Apocalypse_. That
these Phrases signify God’s remarkable Judgments, all allow; and here
they plainly relate to the End of the World, to the last Plagues, and
the last of the last Plagues, _Chap. xvi. 19._ Besides, the Angel that
presided over this Judgment, is said to be an Angel that _had Power over
Fire_; and those who are to drink this Potion are said to be _tormented
with Fire and Brimstone, Chap. xiv. 10._ This presiding Angel seems to
be our Saviour himself (_Chap. xix. 15._) who, when he comes to execute
Divine Vengeance upon the Earth, gives his Orders in these Words,
_Gather the Clusters of the Vine of the Earth, for her Grapes are fully
ripe, Ch. xiv. 18, 19._ And thereupon the destroying Angel _thrust in
his Sickle into the Earth, and gather’d the Vine of the Earth, and cast
it into the great Wine-press of the Wrath of God_. And this made a
Potion _compounded of several Ingredients, but not diluted with Water_;
Τὸ κεκερασμένου ἀκράτου, (Ch. xiv. 10.) and was indeed a Potion of Fire
and Brimstone, and all burning Materials mixt together. The Similitudes
of Scripture are seldom nice and exact, but rather bold, noble and
great; and according to the Circumstances which we have observed, this
_Vineyard_ seems to be the _Earth_, and this _Vintage_ the End of the
World; the pressing of the _Grapes_ into the Cup or Vessel that receives
them, the Distillation of burning Liquors from all Parts of the Earth
into the Trough of the Sea; and that Lake of red Fire, the Blood of
those Grapes so flowing into it.
’Tis true, this Judgment of the Vintage and Wine-press, and the Effects
of it, seem to aim more especially at some particular Region of the
Earth, _Chap. xiv. 20._ And I am not against that, provided the
Substance of the Explication be still retained, and the universal Sea of
Fire be that which follows in the next Chapter, under the Name of a _Sea
of Glass, mingled with Fire_, _Ch. xvi. 2._ This, I think, expresses the
highest and complete State of the Conflagration; when the Mountains are
fled away, and not only so, but the exterior Region of the Earth quite
dissolv’d, like Wax before the Sun: The Channel of the Sea fill’d with a
Mass of fluid Fire, and the same Fire overflowing all the Globe, and
covering the whole Earth, as the Deluge, or the first Abyss. Then will
the triumphal Songs and Hallelujahs be sung for the Victories of the
Lamb over all his Enemies, and over Nature it self, _Apoc. xv. 3, 4._
_Great and marvellous are thy Works, Lord God Almighty: Just and true
are thy Ways, thou King of Saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and
glorify thy Name? for thou only art holy: for all Nations shall come and
worship before thee; for thy Judgments are made manifest._