should still be attended by others, through all the stages and
periods of it; that secular empires should rise and fall, unnoticed,
as it were, by the Spirit of God, while the kingdom of his Son is
so peculiarly distinguished, and its whole history, in a manner,
anticipated, by the most express predictions: that Jesus should be,
as he says of himself, _the alpha and omega, the beginning and the
end_[232], of all God’s religious dispensations to mankind: that
his _first coming_, or personal appearance in the flesh, should be
signified from the foundation of the world, and from time to time more
explicitly declared in a variety of successive prophecies, till the
great event, at length, fulfilled them all: and that, together with
this event (the foundation of others, still more illustrious) his
_second coming_, in the future and gradual manifestations of his power
(for they were to be _gradual_) should be distinctly marked out, and
duly accomplished, in the fortunes of the Christian church, or of that
kingdom, which he came to erect in the world; while this subject, and
no other, engaged the ultimate attention of all the prophets: There
is, I say, in this scheme of things, something so astonishingly vast,
something so much above and beyond the attention that was ever known
to be paid to any other person or thing in the compass of universal
history, as must strike an awe into the hearts of all men, who consider
Christianity in this point of view; and must compel the most negligent
to confess, or suspect at least, That _such_ a dispensation is a matter
of no light moment, but, indeed, the most important in the eyes of
Providence, and the most interesting to mankind, that can be conceived,
or expressed.
If, then, there be reason, to _admit_ the completion of such
prophecies, respecting such a subject, in any considerable number
of instances, within that space of time which is already elapsed;
and, therefore, to _expect_ that the remaining prophecies will, in
like manner, be fulfilled, The conclusion is, that the dispensation
of God through Christ is of the last consequence to the inhabitants
of this world: And the obvious _use_ of this conclusion will be,
that it further obliges all serious men who have thus far profited
by a study of the sacred oracles, to put that salutary question
to themselves—_How shall we escape, if we neglect so great
salvation[233]?_
Connected with _this_ use of prophecy,
II. A _second_ is, That it sets before us, not the importance only, but
the _truth_ of Christianity, in the strongest light.
So many illustrious events falling in, one after another, just as the
word of prophecy foretold they should, must afford the most convincing
proof, That our Religion is, as it claims to be, of divine institution:
a _proof_, the more convincing, because it is continually growing upon
us; and, the farther we are removed from the source of our religion,
the clearer is the evidence of its truth. Other proofs are supposed to
be, and, in some degree, perhaps, are, weakened by a length of time.
But this, from prophecy, as if to make amends for their defects, hath
the peculiar privilege of strengthening by age itself: till hereafter,
as we presume, the accumulated force of so much evidence shall
overpower all the scruples of infidelity; and bring about, at length,
that general conversion both of Jew and Gentile, which the sacred
oracles have so expressly foretold.
In both these ways, then, by impressing on the mind the most affecting
sense of Christianity; that is, by giving us, _first_, the most _awful
view of its pretensions_, and _then_, by producing the _firmest
conviction of its truth_, the word of prophecy hath an evident
tendency, in proportion as we see its accomplishment, to promote the
great ends, for which it was given, till _the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of the Lord_, and _all the inhabitants of the world
shall learn righteousness_[234].
These uses are general, and concern _all_ men: The
III. _Next_, I shall mention, is more especially addressed to
_thinking_ and inquisitive men.
When the view of things, exhibited under the two preceding articles,
has raised our admiration, to the utmost, of the divine councils in
contriving, preparing, and at length executing so vast a scheme, as
that of Christianity, for the benefit of mankind; we are led to expect
that the _effect_ will correspond to the _means_ employed, and that a
striking change will, at length, be brought about in the condition of
the moral world.
But, in surveying the history of this new religion, the theme of so
many prophecies, and the great, the favourite object, if I may so
speak, of divine Providence, “some are not a little scandalized to
observe that nothing hath come to pass in any degree equivalent to
such an expence of forethought and contrivance; that, for a season,
indeed, virtue and piety seemed to triumph, in the exemplary lives of
the first converts to this religion, and in the overthrow of Pagan
idolatry; but that this golden age was soon over; and that, now, for
more than fourteen hundred years, the passions of men have kept their
usual train, or rather have expatiated with more licence and fury in
the Christian world, than in the Pagan; that _idolatry_, in all its
forms, has revived in the bosom of Christianity; and, as to _private
morals_, that this Religion has even made men worse than it found them,
or, at best, of corrupt sensualists, has only made them intolerant and
vindictive bigots; that, in a word, the _kingdom of heaven_, as it is
called, has, hitherto, neither served to the glory of God, nor to the
good of mankind; at least, to neither of these ends, in the _degree_,
that might have been expected from such high pretensions.”
The colouring of this picture, we will say, is too strong: but the
outline, at least, is fairly given. The corruptions of the Christian
world have been notorious and great; and though they are indeed the
corruptions of men calling themselves Christians, and not the vices of
Christianity, yet he who the most dispassionately contemplates so sad
a scene, can hardly reconcile appearances to what must have been his
natural expectations.
Here, then, the prophecies of this book, I mean, of the Apocalypse,
come in to our relief. This book contains a detailed account of
what would befall mankind under this last and so much magnified
dispensation. It foretells all that history has recorded. It sets
before us the corrupt state of the Christian world in almost as strong
a light, as that in which our indignant speculatist himself has placed
it. But it, likewise, opens better things to our view. It shews, that
the _end_ of this dispensation is to promote virtue and happiness; and
that this end shall finally, but through many and long obstructions,
be accomplished. It represents the cause of righteousness, as still
maintaining itself in all the conflict, to which it is exposed; as
gradually gaining ground, and prevailing, through the secret aid of
divine Providence, over all opposition, till it obtains a firm and
permanent establishment; till _the Saints reign_ (not in a fanatical,
but in the sober and evangelical sense of that word, _reign_) _in the
earth_[235]; till _the Lord God omnipotent reigneth_[236].
So far, then, as these prophecies appear to have been completed,
they reconcile us to that disordered scene, which hath hitherto been
presented to us; and give repose to the anxious mind, in the assured
hope of better things to come. The worst, that has _happened_, was
foreseen; and the best, that we _conceive_, will hereafter come to
pass. Thus, the reasonable expectations of men are answered, and the
honour of God’s government abundantly vindicated.
IV. The _last_ use, I shall suggest to you, is that which immediately
results from the study of the Apocalyptic prophecies _concerning
Antichrist_; I mean, _the support that is hereby given to Protestantism
against all the cavils and pretensions of its adversaries_.
For, if these prophecies are rightly applied to Papal Rome, and have,
in part, been signally accomplished in the history of that church, it
is beyond all doubt, that our communion with it is dangerous; nay, that
our separation from it is a matter of strict duty. _Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not
of her plagues_[237]—are plain and decisive words, and, if allowed to
be spoken of that church, bring the controversy between the Protestant
and Papal Christians to a short issue.
I know, the advocates of Rome pretend, that, not a sense of duty, but
a _spirit of revenge_ operates in the minds of Protestants, when they
affect to lay so great a stress on the Apocalyptic prophecies. “_Reward
her, even as she rewarded you_[238]”—is, they say, another of their
favourite texts, by which they take themselves to be as much obliged,
as by that which they so commonly alledge for quitting her communion.
It is not, therefore, to cover themselves from the imputation of
schism, but to authorize the vengeance, they meditate against us, that
we are stunned with the cry of Antichrist and Babylon[239].”
To this charge, I can only reply, That, if any Protestant writers
have put that sense on the words—_reward her, as she rewarded
you_—they must answer for their own temerity and indiscretion. They,
who understand themselves, and the language of prophecy, disclaim the
odious imputation. They say, That they neither admit the lawfulness
of persecution in any case, on the account of religion, nor have the
least thought of instigating the Christian world to any sanguinary
attempts against the Papacy. What the _event_ may be in the councils
of Providence, is another consideration: But they neither avow, nor
approve those principles, which tend to produce it. They, further,
insist, That the two passages under consideration, though, both of
them, expressed in the _imperative_ form, require a very different
construction: That the language of prophecy _seems_ very often to
authorise what it only foretells; and to command that which it
barely permits: that, therefore, the sense of such passages is to be
determined by the circumstances of the case; that, where obedience
is lawful, there the _preceptive_ form may be admitted; but, where
it is not, there nothing more is intended than the certainty of the
_event_: That this distinction is to be made in the present case; for
that Christianity doth not allow vindictive retaliations, or _holy
wars_, for the sake of religion, and that offensive arms taken up in
the cause of God (how confidently soever some have justified their
zeal by the authority of the Jewish Law, ill-applied) are abominable
and _antichristian_: Whence we rightly conclude, that—_reward her, as
she rewarded you_—are words not to be taken injunctively; while those
other words—_come out of her, my people_—expressing nothing but what
it was previously our duty to do, are very clearly to be so taken.
Lastly, We say, that the context in the two places alledged, justifies
this distinction. _Come out of her, my people._ Why? _That ye be not
partakers, of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues._ The
reason is just, and satisfactory. _Reward her._ Why? No reason is
assigned, or could be assigned consistently with the spirit of the
Christian religion: It only follows, _as she has rewarded you_—words,
which express only the _measure_, and the _equitable grounds_ of the
allotted punishment, not the _duty_ of Christians to inflict it.
I return, then, from the confutation of this cavil (the most plausible,
however, as well as invidious, which the wit of Rome has started on
this subject) to the conclusion, before laid down, That the completion
of the Apocalyptic prophecies in the Papal apostasy, if seen and
confessed, affords an unanswerable defence and vindication of the
Protestant churches.
This conclusion, that THE POPE IS ANTICHRIST, and that other, that THE
SCRIPTURE IS THE SOLE RULE OF CHRISTIAN FAITH, were the _two_ great
principles, on which the Reformation was originally founded. How the
_first_ of these principles came to be DISGRACED _among ourselves_,
I have shewn in another discourse[240]. It may now be worth while to
observe, in one word, through what fatal mismanagement the _latter_
principle was even _generally_ DISAVOWED and DESERTED.
When the Reformers had thrown off all respect for the Papal chair, and
were for regulating the faith of Christians by the sacred scriptures,
it still remained a question, _On what grounds, those scriptures should
be interpreted_. The voice of the church, speaking by her schoolmen,
and modern doctors, was universally, and without much ceremony,
rejected. But the Fathers of the primitive church were still in great
repute among Protestants themselves; who dreaded nothing so much as
the imputation of novelty, which they saw would be fastened on their
opinions, and who, besides, thought it too presuming to trust entirely
to the dictates of what was called _the private spirit_. The church
of Rome availed herself with dexterity, of this prejudice, and of the
distress to which the Protestant party was reduced by it. The authority
of these ancient and venerable interpreters was sounded high by the
Catholic writers; and the clamour was so great and so popular, that the
Protestants knew not how, consistently with their own principles, or
even in mere decency, to decline the appeal which was thus confidently
made to that tribunal. The Reformers, too, piqued themselves on
their superior skill in ancient literature; and were ashamed to have
it thought that their adversaries could have any advantage against
them in a dispute, which was to be carried on in that quarter. Other
considerations had, perhaps, their weight with particular churches:
But, for these reasons, chiefly, all of them forwardly closed in with
the proposal of trying their cause at the bar of the ancient church:
And, thus, shifting their ground, maintained henceforth, not that
the scriptures were the sole rule of faith, but the scriptures, _as
interpreted by the primitive fathers_.
When the state of the question was thus changed, it was easy to see
what would be the issue of so much indiscretion. The dispute was not
only carried on in a dark and remote scene, into which the people
could not follow their learned champions; but was rendered infinitely
tedious, and, indeed, interminable. For those early writings, now to be
considered as of the highest authority, were voluminous in themselves;
and, what was worse, were composed in so loose, so declamatory, and
often in so hyperbolical a strain, that no certain sense could be
affixed to their doctrines, and any thing, or every thing, might, with
some plausibility, be proved from them.
The inconvenience was sensibly felt by the Protestant world. And, after
a prodigious waste of industry and erudition, a learned foreigner[241],
at length, shewed the inutility and the folly of pursuing the contest
any further. In a well-considered discourse, _On the use of the
Fathers_, he clearly evinced, that their authority was much less, than
was generally supposed, in _all_ points of religious controversy;
and that their judgment was especially incompetent in _those_ points,
which were agitated by the two parties. He evinced this conclusion by
a variety of unanswerable arguments; and chiefly by shewing that the
matters in debate were, for the most part, such as had never entered
into the heads of those old writers, being, indeed, of much later
growth, and having first sprung up in the barbarous ages. They could
not, therefore, decide on questions, which they had no occasion to
consider, and had, in fact, never considered; however their careless or
figurative expression might be made to look that way, by the dextrous
management of the controversialists.
This discovery had great effects. It opened the eyes of the more candid
and intelligent inquirers: And our incomparable Chillingworth, with
some others[242], took the advantage of it to set the controversy
with the church of Rome, once more, on its proper foot; and to
establish, for ever, the old principle, THAT THE BIBLE, and that only,
(interpreted by our best reason) IS THE RELIGION OF PROTESTANTS.
Thus, ONE of the two pillars, on which the Protestant cause had been
established, was happily restored. And, though Mr. Mede, about the
same time, succeeded as well in his attempts to replace the OTHER,
yet, through many concurring prejudices, the merit of that service
hath not, hitherto, been so generally acknowledged. Whether _the Pope
be the Antichrist of the prophets_, is still by some Protestants made
a question. Yet, it seems as if it would not continue very long to be
so: And it may not be too much to expect, that this institution will,
hereafter, contribute to put an end to the dispute.
The Reformation will, then, be secured against the two invidious
charges of SCHISM and HERESY (for _neither_ of which is there any
ground, if _the Pope be Antichrist_, and if _the sole Rule of faith
to a Christian be the canonical scriptures_) and will, thus, stand
immoveably on its ancient and proper foundations.
In saying this, I do not, however, mean to assert, that the Reformation
has no support, but in this principle—_that the Pope is Antichrist_.
There are various other considerations, which are decisive in the
controversy between us and the Papists. So that, if the prophecies
should, after all, be found to suit any other person or power, better
than the Roman Pontif, we shall only have one argument the less to
urge against his pretensions, and the Protestant cause, in the mean
time, stands secure. But, on the supposition that the prophecies are
rightly, and must be exclusively, applied to the church of Rome (of
which every man will judge for himself, from the evidence hereafter to
be laid before him) on this supposition, I say, it must be allowed that
the shortest and best defence of the Protestant cause is that which is
taken from the authority of those prophecies, because they expressly
enjoin a separation from that society, to which they are applied.
Ye perceive, then, in all views, the utility of studying this prophecy
of the _Revelations_, provided there be reason to admit the completion
of it in the history of the Christian Church, and particularly in the
history of Papal Rome. The _importance_ and the _truth_ of Christianity
will be seen in their full light—The _wisdom_ of the divine councils,
in _permitting the Apostacy to take place for a time_, will be
acknowledged—And the _honour_ of our common _Protestant profession_
will be effectually maintained.
CONCLUSION.
This Lecture is now brought down to that point, from which, possibly,
ye expected me to set out. But, in the entrance on an argument, new
to many persons, and misunderstood by most, it seemed expedient to
take a wide compass. The true _scriptural idea_ of the subject, was
to be opened, at large[243]; the _general argument_ from prophecy,
enforced[244]; the _method_ of the prophetic system deduced, and
further illustrated in a view of the prophecies more immediately
respecting the Christian church[245]; Of _these_ prophecies, those
concerning _Antichrist, or the apostasy of Papal Rome_, were to be
cleared of all prejudices and objections[246]; and the _principles_, on
which the _Apocalyptic_ prophecies, in particular, are to be explained,
proposed and justified[247]: It was, further, necessary to bespeak
your attention to the _argument_ from the Apocalyptic prophecies,
especially, concerning Antichrist, by shewing the several presumptions
there are of its _force_[248]; and by setting before you the _uses_,
to which this whole inquiry may be applied[249].
This preliminary course, then, though it has been tedious, will not
be thought improper, if it may serve, in any degree, to prepare and
facilitate the execution of the main design, which is, _To interpret
and apply particular prophecies_: A work, of labour indeed; but not
unpleasant in itself; and (if carried on with that diligence and
sobriety, which are, in reason, to be supposed) capable, I think, of
affording to fair and attentive minds the fullest satisfaction.
The SEASON, I know, may be thought unfavourable to such an attempt.
For the main stress must be laid on prophecies, about which Christians
themselves are not agreed, at a time when the number of those persons
is supposed to be very great, and increasing every day, who are not
easily brought to acknowledge the reality of _any_ prophecies.
This _last_ would be an unwelcome consideration, if the fact were
certain; I mean, if the present state of religion were altogether
such as some, perhaps, wish, and as others too easily apprehend, it
to be. But I hope, and believe, it is not; the truth of the case, so
far as I am able to form a judgment of it, being no more than this.
A few fashionable men make a noise in the world; and this clamour,
being echoed on all sides from the shallow circles of their admirers,
misleads the unwary into an opinion, that the irreligious spirit is
universal and uncontroulable. Whereas, the good and wise, are modest
and reserved: having no doubt themselves concerning the foundation of
their faith, they pay but little regard to the cavils, which empty or
corrupt men throw out against it. They either treat those cavils with a
silent contempt; or, they lament in secret the libertinism of the age,
without taking any vigorous measures to check and oppose it. Besides,
they rarely come into what is called, _free company_; and they are too
well employed, and at the same time too well informed, to hearken after
every idle publication, on the side of irreligion.
For these, and the like reasons, the number of true believers is
overlooked; or thought to be less considerable than, in fact, it is,
and would presently be known to be, if a just estimate were taken of
them.
Let me then, under this persuasion, express myself in the spirit, and
almost in the words, of an ancient apologist[250]—“Let no man too
hastily despair of the cause, we are now pleading. When we stand up in
its defence, there are those who will lend an ear to us. For, whatever
the vain, or the vicious may pretend, the prophetic writings are not
fallen so low in the esteem of mankind, but that there are numberless
persons of good sense and serious dispositions, who wish to see the
truth of the Gospel confirmed by them; and are ready to embrace that
truth, when fairly set before them, and supported by the clear evidence
of historical testimony and well-interpreted scripture.”
Such is the language, which I am not afraid to hold to the desponding
party among us. But should my confidence, or my candour, transport me
too far, should even _their_ apprehensions be ever so well founded, the
zeal of those, who preach the Gospel, is not to abate, but to exert
itself with new vigour under so discouraging a prospect. If there be a
way left to strike conviction into the hearts of unbelievers, it must
probably be, by pressing this great point of prophetic inspiration, and
by turning their attention on a _miracle_, now wrought, or ready to be
wrought before their eyes. Or, let the event be what it will, our duty
is to illustrate the word of prophecy, and to enforce it; to withstand
the torrent of infidelity with what success we may, and, if it should
prevail over all our efforts, to make full proof, at least, of our
sincerity and good will.
In the mean time, it becomes all _others_ to retain and cultivate in
themselves a respect for the prophetic writings; which either are, or,
for any thing that has yet appeared, may be divine. To treat them,
without the fullest conviction of their falshood, with neglect and
scorn, is plainly indecent, and may be highly criminal and dangerous.
Josephus tells us, that, in the last dreadful ruin of his unhappy
countrymen, it was familiar with them, _to make a jest of divine
things, and to deride, as so many senseless tales and juggling
impostures, the sacred oracles of their prophets_[251]; though they
were then fulfilling before their eyes, and even upon themselves.
But the case, perhaps, is different; and _we_ have no concern, in the
prophecies concerning Papal Rome.