Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

face, heaven and earth were changed, and their pref ent form difappeared.

12.

"And I faw the dead fmall and great ftand, before God; and the books were opened; and a, nother book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works."

And I saw the dead, small and great, young and old, raised to life, and ftanding before the throne of God; and they all were judged, according, to their works, with the most perfect justice and equity.

13. "And the fea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead. which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works."

And, whether men had died on the fea, or on the land, the whole invisible state and place of the dead delivered up the dead that were in them; fo that the affembly was univerfal, including all that had lived; and they were all judged according to their works.

14. "And death and hell were caft into the lake of fire. This is the fecond death,"

And the number was fo great that were caft into the lake of fire, that death and hell, or the whole invisible state of the dead might be said to have been caft into the lake. This lake of fire causes the

fecond death.

15.

"And whofoever was not found written in

the book of life was caft into the lake of fire."

And

And all who were not found written in the book of life, were caft into the lake of fire; this makes their number fo great.

Chap. xxi. 1. "And I saw a new heaven and a a new earth; for the firft heaven and the first earth were paffed away and there was no more fea."

After I had seen the judgment paffed upon all ¡mankind, and the wicked caft into the lake of fire, to die the second death; I faw the preparation made for those whofe names were found written in the Lamb's book of life.. I saw a new regenerated heaven and earth, as the form of the present heaven and earth had paffed away. And in this renovated state of the heaven and earth there was no fea.

2.

"And I John faw the holy city, new Jerufa. lem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

And the form of the new heaven and earth was fo fplendid and glorious, that it feemed as though heaven itself, the bleft abode of the great Eternal, had defcended to earth; a moft ornamented dwelling for the bride, the Lamb's wife, the church composed of all the faints.

3. "And I heard a great voice out of heaven fay ing, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they fhall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."

And I heard a divine proclamation made, Behold,

the

the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will vouchfafe his divine prefence, like the Shekinah in the Jewish temple, and shall dwell among these blessed and holy ones, who fhare in the firft refurrection, in the new heaven and earth; and these fhall be the people of God.

St. John proceeds to a long defcription of this renewed earth, the dwelling place of faints.

We may institute a few enquiries, in order to render the meaning of this paffage of St. John plain and intelligible to every careful, judicious reader.

I. Where fhall we fix the fcene of St. John's vif

ion ?

2. Who those were whom he faw fitting on thrones? and who were thofe that were beheaded?:

3. What is meant by the thousand years life and reign of the faints with Chrift, and where fhall this thousand years be placed, whether before or after the general refurrection and judgment?

4. What we are to understand by the expreffion the rest of the dead lived not till the thousand years were finished?

5.

What is meant by the first resurrection ? 6. What by Gog and Magog, and when they were drawn together against the faints;

If we can answer these inquiries according to the analogy of scripture, it will doubtless, be fatisfactory to the reader, and open an entertaining profpect to his view.

[ocr errors]

Where shall we fix the scene of St. John's

vifion?

vifion? If we carefully confider and compare St. Peter and St. John, we may fatisfy ourselves that the earth is the scene of the vifion, and the place where the righteous will be rewarded, and the wicked punifhed, after the resurrection and general judgment.

The paffage in St. Peter, to which I refer, is in his fecond epiftle, Chap. iii. 7-13, inclufively. "But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the fame word are kept in ftore, referved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."—Here is a plain intimation that the earth, when changed by fire, fhall be the place of the perdition of ungodly men. And this is not at all incon. Gent with the place alfo of the happy refidence of the righteous; as we fhall fee more fully afterwards. Te proceed with St. Peter's prophetic representation. "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not flack concerning his promife, as fome men count flackness; but is long fuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all fhould come to repentance."-Here is fomething very worthy of notice, and, it being so happily coincident with my principal defign, I doubt not the reader will excufe me for adverting to it. The apostle had juft obferved that the earth was deftined as the place of judgment and perdition of ungodly men; and given us to understand that it would fuffer, by the change which fire would effect upon it, to such a degree, as to render it a proper

place

place for the execution of the divine judicial feh tence, to be paffed on the ungodly. Yet the apoftle expressly informs us, that God, from his defire of the repentance of the wicked, delayed the time of placing them in a far more difagreeable fituation on earth, than that which they now were in. This, at once, gives us - a most exalted opinion of the divine benevolence tówards finners, and fome rational idea of hell or the next state of those who die impenitent from under God's prefent difpenfation. This earth, when changed by fire, and, in fome part of it, made to fuffer very confiderably by the change, will be the place of hell to the ungodly.

[ocr errors]

To return; "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;" fuddenly and with furprising circumstances; "in the which the heavens fhall pass away with a great noife, and the elements fhall melt with fervent heat, the earth alfo, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Seeing then that all these things fhall be diffolved, what manner of petfons ought ye to be in all holy converfation and godlinefs, looking for and hafting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire fhall be diffolved, and the elements fhall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

This promise, referred to by St. Peter, we find in Ifa. lxv. 17, 18, 19.

heavens, and a new earth

"For behold, I create new and the former fhall not

bc

« AnteriorContinuar »