Again, when the prophet Micah speaks of the Mountain of the Lord, being established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, and that people should flow unto it, Micah iv. 1. though this, and some other things that he there mentions, may refer to the first preaching of the gospel, and success thereof; yet what he farther adds, that they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; and nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig-tree, and none shall make them afraid, ver. 3, 4. This prophecy, so far as it may be taken otherwise than in a spiritual sense, seems to imply a greater degree of peace and tranquility than the gospel-church has hitherto enjoyed; therefore when he says, that this shall be in the last days, ver. 1. we have reason to conclude, that he does not mean barely the last, or gospel dispensation, which commenced on our Saviour’s ascension into heaven, but the last period thereof, viz. that time which we are now considering.
As to the account we have hereof in the New Testament, especially in many places in the book of the Revelation, that speak of the kingdoms of the world becoming the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and of his taking to himself his great power and reigning, Rev. xi. 15, 17. and what is spoken concerning the thousand years reign, chap. v. 20. whatever be the sense hereof, as to some circumstances of glory that shall attend this administration of the affairs of his kingdom, it certainly has not yet had its accomplishment, and therefore leads us to expect that it shall be attended with greater degrees of glory redounding to himself, which we call the latter-day glory.
2dly, Many privileges will redound to the church hereby; for as Christ is said to reign on earth, so the saints are represented as reigning with him, as they say, Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth, Rev. v. 10. and elsewhere, when the apostle speaks of Christ’s reigning a thousand years, adds, that they shall reign with him, Rev. xx. 6. which cannot be taken in any other sense than for a spiritual reign, agreeable to Christ’s kingdom, which is not of this world; therefore,
3dly, We have, from hence, sufficient ground to conclude, that when these prophecies shall have their accomplishment, the interest of Christ shall be the prevailing interest in the world, which it has never yet been in all respects, so that godliness shall be as much valued and esteemed, as it has been decried, and as universally; and it shall be reckoned as great an honour to be a Christian, as it has, in the most degenerate age of the church, been matter of reproach. And to this we may add, that the church shall have a perfect freedom from persecution in all parts of the world; and a greater glory shall be put on the ordinances, and more success attend them, than has hitherto been experienced. In short there shall be, as it were, an universal spread of religion and holiness to the Lord, throughout the world.
4thly, When this glorious dispensation shall commence, we have sufficient ground to conclude, that, the Anti-christian powers having been wholly subdued, the Jews shall be converted. This may be inferred from the order in which this is foretold, in the book of the Revelation, in which the fall and utter ruin of Babylon is predicted, in chap. xviii. And, after this, we read in chap. xix. of the marriage of the Lamb being come; and his wife, as having made herself ready; and others who are styled blessed, are called to the marriage-supper, in ver. 7, 9. This, as an ingenious and learned writer observes[[197]], seems to be a prediction of the call of the Jews, and of the saints of the faithful, namely, the gospel church, who were converted before this time, being made partakers of the spiritual privileges of Christ’s kingdom, together with them, and so invited to the marriage-supper; accordingly, by the Lamb’s wife, is intended the converted Jews, who are considered as espoused to him; and inasmuch as their being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish a righteousness of their own, and not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God, Rom. x. 3. occasioned their being rejected; so, when they are converted, and these new espousals are celebrated, it is particularly observed, that this righteousness shall be their greatest glory, the robe that they shall be adorned with; so that when this bride is said to have made herself ready, it follows, in Rev. xix. 8. To her was granted, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linnen is the righteousness of the saints. This prophecy, being placed immediately before the account of the thousand years’ reign, in chap. xx. gives ground to conclude, that it shall be before it, or an introduction to it.
Object. I am sensible there are some who question whether those prophecies, especially such as are found in the Old Testament, that foretell the conversion of the Jews, had not their full accomplishment in the beginning of the gospel-state, when many churches were gathered out of the Jews, and some of the apostles were sent to exercise their ministry in those parts of the world, where the greatest number of them resided, upon which account Peter is called the apostle of the Jews; for God wrought effectually in him to the apostleship of the circumcision, Gal. ii. 8. and he, together with James and John, direct their inspired epistles to them in particular.
Answ. But to this it may be replied, that there are some scriptures, in the New Testament, relating to this matter, which do not seem, as yet, to have been accomplished, but respect this glorious dispensation, in which there shall be, as it were, an universal conversion of them in the latter day; particularly what the apostle says, If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? Rom. xi. 15. And he adds, I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be brought in, and then all Israel shall be saved, ver. 25, 26. This seems, as yet, not to have been accomplished; and as for those scriptures, in the Old Testament, that predict many things in favour of the Jewish nation; though I will not deny that many of them had their accomplishment, either in their return from the Babylonish captivity, or in those that were converted in the beginning of the gospel-dispensation, yet I cannot think that they all had; for the prophet Hosea seems to foretell some things that are yet to come, when he speaks of them, as being many days without a king, without a prince, without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim, Hos. iii. 4. which seems to point at the condition in which they now are; and he adds, in the following words, Afterwards the children of Israel shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king, to wit, Christ, and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days; which seems to intend their conversion, which is yet expected.
Thus far our faith, as to this matter, may be said to be built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets: but, if we pretend to determine the way, and manner in which this shall be done, we must have recourse to uncertain conjectures, instead of solid arguments. That learned writer whom I have before mentioned,[[198]] gives his opinion about it, which I will not pretend to disprove, though, indeed the ingenuity thereof is more to be valued than its convincing evidence. He supposes it shall be somewhat like the conversion of the apostle Paul, by Christ’s appearing with a glorious light on earth, and then retiring to heaven again: but the accommodating one particular circumstance of providence, (in which Christ seems to have another end to answer, namely, that Paul might be qualified for the apostleship by this extraordinary sight of him) to this matter, as an argument of the Jews being converted in such a manner, proves nothing at all; therefore the best way is to leave this among the secrets which belong not to us to enquire after.[[199]] Thus concerning the conversion of the Jews, as what is expected to go immediately before those glorious times that we are speaking of. And to this we may add,
5thly, That there shall be a greater spread of the gospel through the dark parts of the earth; and so that scripture, which was but now referred to, concerning the Gentiles coming to the light of this glorious morning, or the forces of the Gentiles coming unto the church, Isa. lx. 3, 5. shall have a fuller accomplishment than hitherto it has had; as also another scripture in which the prophet says, that the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, ch. xi. 9. We will not deny but that this had, in part, an accomplishment, when the gospel was first preached by the apostles; and, indeed, the prophet intimates, that these things shall come to pass when a rod shall come out of the stem of Jesse, ver. 1. that is, after Christ’s incarnation, who was of the seed of David, according to the flesh. Therefore I cannot but think that those words, In that day, which we often meet with in scripture, ver. 10, 11. signify the whole gospel-dispensation, from the beginning thereof to its consummation, in Christ’s coming to judgment; and then we may look for some things, which the prophet here foretells, as what should come to pass in one part thereof, and other things in another. And as to what respects the knowledge of Christ being so extensive, as that it is said to cover the earth; or Christ’s being elsewhere said to be a light to the Gentiles, though it denote the first success of the gospel in the conversion of the Gentiles, it does not argue, that such-like texts shall not have a farther accomplishment when those other things shall come to pass, which the prophet mentions in the foregoing verses, under the metaphor of the wolf dwelling with the lamb, &c. and other things, which relate to a more peaceable state of the church, than it has hitherto experienced. And it seems sufficiently evident, that, when this happy time shall come, the interest of Christ shall be the prevailing interest in the world, and the glory of his kingdom shall be more eminently displayed, than, at present, it is. In these respects, we are far from denying the reign of Christ in this lower world, for we think it plainly contained in scripture; nevertheless,
(2.) There are several things in their scheme, which we do not think sufficiently founded in scripture. As,