Samuel Hopkins · 36 of 48

Section I. In which it is proved from Scripture, that the church of Christ in to come to a state of prosperity in this world, which it has never yet enjoyed; in which it will continue at least a thousand years. · Part 2

In the prophecy of Jeremiah, the following passages are found, which predict the utter abolition of idolatry on earth, and the conversion of all nations to christianity, which events have not yet come to pass. “At that time they shall call Jerusalem (i.e. the church) the throne of the Lord, (i.e. the Lord shall reign in and by it.) And all nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; (i.e. shall become members of the church.) Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.” They shall wholly renounce their idolatry, and all their wickedness. “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under those heavens. They are vanity, and the work of errors. In the time of their visitation they shall perish.” According to this prophecy, this will take place while this earth and the heavens remain, and therefore before the day of judgment.

This subject is set m a very clear light in the book of Daniel the prophet It is there repeatedly declared that the church or kingdom of Christ, shall be the last kingdom on earth; that it shall succeed four preceding monarchies, become great, and fill the world, and exist in a very happy and glorious state on earth. By the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, and the interpretation of it in the second chapter of Daniel, the kingdom of Christ is set m this light. The image which Nebuchadnezzar saw represents four kingdoms or monarchies, viz. 1. The Babylonian. 2. The Medo Persian, or that of the Medes and Persians. 3. The Macedonian or Grecian. 4. The Roman. These are all to pass away and be destroyed, to make way for a fifth kingdom, which shall be great, and fill the world; which is described in the, dream, by the following words: “Thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them in pieces. Then were the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshings floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” This is interpreted by Daniel in the following words: “And in the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter.” That this last kingdom is the kingdom of Christ, there can be no doubt. The same is called in the New Testament, “The kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven.” This is to succeed the kingdom of the Romans, and to fill the whole earth, in which all nations, all mankind will be included. The Roman empire or kingdom, is not yet wholly destroyed; therefore what is here predicted of the kingdom of Christ is not yet accomplished, but shall take place in some future day. Nothing can be plainer and more certain than this.

In the seventh chapter of this book there is a representation of the same thing in a vision which Daniel had. He saw the same four empires or kingdoms in their succession, represented by four great, wild, fierce beasts, coming up from the sea. The last kingdom turned into a little horn which came up last; and Daniel “beheld till this fourth beast with the little horn was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” And then the vision proceeds; “I saw in the night visions, and beheld one like the Son of man, come with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should serve him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” This vision is briefly explained to Daniel in the following words: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, (i.e. kingdoms) which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” Daniel requested a more particular explanation of the fourth beast, and of the ten horns, and of the little horn, “Even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than hie fellows. And the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” And he is then told, “That the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth. And the ten horns out of this kingdom, are ten kings that shall arise: And another shall rise after them, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: And they shall be given into his hand, until a time, and times, and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end. And the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”

As in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, so in this vision, the fifth and last kingdom, is the kingdom of Christ, consisting wholly of saints. It is Jesus Christ whom Daniel saw, “And behold, one like to the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should serve him.” His kingdom and dominion is universal, including all the inhabitants of the earth. And these shall be all saints or holy persons; as no others can be the proper subjects of this kingdom “The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shill be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” The strongest expressions are used and repeated, to assert the universality of this kingdom, comprehending all mankind who shall then live on earth. And it is repeatedly declared, that this kingdom shall stand forever. It shall not be destroyed by any succeeding power or kingdom, as the former kingdoms were, but shall continue to the end of the world, and then be removed to heaven, to a more perfect and glorious state; and there exist and flourish in the highest perfection forever and ever.

The little horn which was on the beast, and destroyed with the beast, whose body was given to the burning flame, is the Pope of Rome, with the kingdom and power, civil and ecclesiastical, of which he is the head. This beast, with this horn, is not yet destroyed. When this is done, the kingdom and power of sin and Satan in the world will fall; and then the kingdom of Christ will rise and fill the world, as is predicted here, and in the second chapter of this book. This is very evident by these prophecies, if there were no other; but this truth is greatly illustrated and established by those predictions of the same event which have been considered; and more so, by those which are yet to be mentioned.

The prophet Micah predicted the prosperity of the church of Christ, and the prevalence of his interest and kingdom in the last days. And there is a particular prophecy of the same event by Zephaniah. This is also particularly foretold by Zechariah: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of thee.” “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle-bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: And his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.” The whole of the fourteenth chapter relates chiefly to this great event, and happy time; of which only the following words will be transcribed. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. But it shall be one day., which shall be known to the Lord, not day and night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: Half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter it shall be. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one.”

This is a prophecy of the Millennial state in figurative language. Then, in the moral world, the church, there shall be no night or darkness; no change of day and night, as there was before, when the church was in a state of affliction, when her days of prosperity were short, and soon succeeded by darkness and night of degeneracy and affliction: But at the time when night used to come on, it shall be day; so that it shall be constantly light and day, and the enjoyment of prosperity, light and holiness, without interruption. And there shall be a constant flow of living waters, without any interruption, into all parts of the earth, among all nations; that is, spiritual blessings, consisting in spiritual life, holy joy and happiness. And then all idolatry and false worship shall be wholly abolished; and Christ shall reign in all the earth, and all nations shall trust in him, and obey him. This prediction agrees exactly with all those which have been mentioned, pointing the to same important glorious event.

The prophecies in the New Testament foretell the universal spread of christianity, until all nations shall become the servants of Christ; and that Christ and his people shall reign on earth a thousand years; when Satan shall be cast out of the earth, and his subjects and kingdom shall be destroyed; agreeable to the numerous prophecies in the Old Testament, which have been mentioned.

Jesus Christ has foretold this, by the following parables—“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which indeed is the least of all seeds: But when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree; so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them. The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” By the first of those parables Christ teaches, that his church and kingdom, though small in the beginning of it, should increase and become great in the world. In the next, he makes an advance, and more fully predicts the universal extent of this kingdom; that the gospel shall not cease to spread and influence the world, till all mankind, living on earth, the whole world, shall be formed by it, and imbibe the spirit of it; so as to become the children of this kingdom. If the kingdom of heaven shall not finally prevail and extend to all nations, and fill the whole world, how can this parable be a just or true representation of it? In this view of it, it agrees exactly with many of the prophecies which have been mentioned; and with others, which are yet to be considered.

Agreeable to this, are the following words of Christ, in which indeed he asserts the same thing,” Now is the judgment of this world: Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”—What is here foretold by Christ is not yet accomplished, except in a very small part, as the first fruits and pledge of the whole.— A foundation for this was laid in the death of Christ, when he was lifted up on the cross; but the prince of this world, the devil, is not yet cast out of the world; nor has Christ yet drawn all men unto him. Christ has drawn great numbers to him, who have become his faithful subjects and servants, and has made great inroads upon the interest and kingdom of the prince of this world; but very few of mankind, compared with the whole, have been drawn to Christ; by far the greatest number, even in the christian world, have rejected and opposed him; and the kingdom of Satan has been great and strong, including the most of men who have lived in the world, from the time in which these words were spoken by Christ, to this day. Both of these events are therefore yet future, and the former is to make way for the latter; or rather one is included in the other. The same things which are here foretold, are predicted in different words, in the twentieth chapter of the Revelation, which will be considered. When Christ says, He will draw all men unto him, he does not mean that every one of mankind shall come unto him; for this is contrary to known fact; and to many express declarations of Christ. But that m consequence of his death, the kingdom of Satan shall be utterly destroyed on earth, and then all nations, even all men then in the world, shall become his voluntary subjects, and believe in him.

This was suited to support and comfort his disciples and friends at that time, when he had been speaking of his own death as at hand, in the view of the glory that should follow his dying on the cross; and served to explain what was spoken by the voice from heaven, in answer to his petition, “Father, glorify thy name.”—“I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

What the Apostle Paul says in the eleventh chapter of his epistle to the Romans, of the Jews and Gentiles, which comprehend all mankind, holds forth this same truth. He there speaks of the Jews who were then, the most of them, broken off from the church by unbelief, as yet to come into the kingdom of Christ, even all of them, which he terms their fulness. And he says, that when they shall in their fulness be brought in, the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in also. The fulness of the Jews, and the fulness of the Gentiles, must include the whole of all nations. And he speaks of what had taken place in the days of the Apostles, in the conversion of Jews and Gentiles, as only the first fruits, the root, foundation and beginning, of the whole lump, and the tree which were to follow in the coming in of the Jews and Gentiles, of the whole world, in the fulness thereof.

This leads to recollect the many prophecies by the ancient Prophets, of the restoration of the Jews to a state of holiness and happiness, in the last days, which has not yet come to pass, some of which it may be proper to mention here, as they serve to confirm the point under consideration The thirty fourth, thirty sixth, and thirty seventh chapters of Ezekiel, relate chiefly to this event. Though the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon may be implied in this prophecy, and some expressions may have particular reference to that, yet it evidently looks farther, to a deliverance and salvation, of which their return from Babylon was a type or pledge: And there are many things predicted, which cannot be applied to the former, and were not true of it. Particularly the following: “I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David: And he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. One king shall be king to them all. And I will cleanse them, so shall they be my people, and 1 will be their God. And David, my servant, shall be king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd. They shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children, and their children’s children forever, and my servant David shall be their prince forever.” By David, Jesus Christ the Son of David is meant, as the former was an eminent type of the latter. Therefore this must refer to their restoration and happy state under Christ, which is certainly not yet come; but will take place, when there shall be one fold, and one shepherd, and Jews and Gentiles shall be united in one church under the Redeemer, which, after the Millennium, shall be transplanted from earth to heaven: where the spiritual David will reign over it forever.

The same is foretold by the Prophet Hosea. “The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a Prince and without sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and shall fear the Lord, and his goodness in the latter days.”—The children of Israel are now in the state here described, without a king, and without a prince, without a sacrifice; for their temple is destroyed, and they cannot go to Jerusalem, and their law forbids them to sacrifice in any other place. They are without an image, without an ephod and teraphim; for they have a great and obstinate aversion from all kinds of idolatry, to which they were once so much addicted. They have been a long time, many days, in this state, and will continue so, until they return, and seek Jesus Christ their king and submit to him, which is yet to come.

These prophecies, und others of the same kind, if they be considered as having reference to the Jews exclusively, and not including the whole church of Christ, in the latter day, composed of Jews and Gentiles, do prove that there is yet to be a time, when the church of Christ shall be universal, and include all nations: For it appears from what St. Paul says, that when those prophecies shall be fulfilled to the Jews, the fulness of the Gentiles will also come in, and all men in every nation will be subject to Christ, and his kingdom shall be glorious, and fill the world. And in this sense “All Israel shall be saved.”

In the revelation made by Jesus Christ to the Apostle John, the final victory and triumph of the church on earth, over all her enemies, and the happy stale to which it will be brought, which shall continue a thousand years, is, in some respects, more clearly set forth, than in the preceding prophecies; by which they are illustrated, and their meaning; is more fully fixed and confirmed. Here the general stale and circumstances of the church, from the time when the revelation was given, to this time, and down to the end of the world, are predicted. Here the afflictions and persecutions, through which the church should pass; the respite which she should have, and victory over the persecuting power of heathen Rome, in the days of Constantine; the grand apostacy which should take place in the church by the rise of the Pope, and the hierarchy of the false church of Rome; the gross idolatry which should be practised m that church: and the violent opposition of this power to the true followers of Christ; their cruel persecutions of them, and shedding their blood, for a thousand two hundred and sixty years; the judgments that should be executed on that corrupt church and her adherents, and on the whole world, for their obstinacy in wickedness; and the final overthrow of the Pope and all who support him, and of the kingdom of Satan in the world, and the deliverance of the church of Christ into a state of rest and peace when the kingdom of Christ shall increase, and spread, and fill the world; and continue in this happy state on earth a thousand years: All this is foretold; much of which is already come to pass; but the most happy and glorious events are yet to come. The great and remarkable things which have come lo pass, as they were foretold, are a standing, incontestible evidence and demonstration, that the prophecies in this book are from heaven: For it is as certain, that none but the omniscient God can know and predict such events, which take place according to the prediction, as it is that this world was made by him. And the events which are come to pass, and are now taking place in the world before our eyes, agreeable to the prophecies in this book, at the same lime that they prove that those predictions are from God, are also a pledge and assurance, that the prophecies of things not yet come, will be fulfilled in due season.

The subject now in hand will lead more particularly to consider what are the prophecies in this book, which relate to the future prosperity of the church and kingdom of Christ in this world, in which all the darkness and afflictions which do attend it, being oppressed and trodden down by enemies, while they prevail and triumph, shall issue; and to show that such a day is certainly coming, according to the predictions which are to be found here.

In the fifth chapter of the revelation, the four and twenty elders, who represent the church, appear rejoicing and praising Christ in the prospect of their reigning on the earth. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: And we shall reign on the earth.” This is spoken of the church, and is not literally true of every particular member of it, that then actually existed in heaven, or on earth. When the church shall reign on earth, consisting of the numerous members who shall then exist in this world; all those who are gone out of the world, and are in heaven, will reign in and with the church on earth, as members of the same society and kingdom; and will partake in all the joy and glory of this event, in a much higher degree than if they were personally on earth: They will reign in their successors, who represent them, and in the prevalence, victory and triumph of that cause, which is theirs, and in which they lived and died. But this will be more particularly considered hereafter.

“And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Here it is asserted, that under the seventh trumpet, which contains all the events from the time of its sounding, to the end of the world, all the nations and kingdoms in this world shall become one kingdom, under Christ, and shall be wholly swallowed up in this kingdom, which shall not be succeeded or give place to any other kingdom; but shall stand forever. It shall continue the only kingdom on earth to the end of the world, and exist forever in heaven. Which is perfectly agreeable to many other prophecies which have been mentioned. The meaning is not, that this event shall follow immediately upon the sounding of the seventh trumpet: but that this is comprehended in the events of this trumpet, to which all the preceding have respect, and in which they shall issue, as the most important and glorious event, to which all the inhabitants of heaven were attending, and in the prospect of which they had peculiar joy.

The same event is celebrated in heaven, as having actually taken place, in the former part of the nineteenth chapter. “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying. Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth: Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: For the tine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” Here the Lord Jesus Christ is represented as reigning, as he never had done before; which is the same event which is so often predicted in the Psalms, and by the Prophets, especially by Daniel, by the Lord’s reigning, that is Christ. And which is mentioned and celebrated in the tenth chapter; and in the twentieth chapter: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” By the bride having made herself ready, and being arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, is meant the eminent degree of holiness and moral beauty, to which the church will arrive at that day, in the Millennial state. This is represented as taking place upon the fall of Antichrist, and the great whore, the false idolatrous church of Rome. And it succeeds the overthrow of Satan’s kingdom in the world, and not only the destruction of the Roman empire under Antichrist, but of all the nations of wicked men; which is described in the sixteenth chapter, verse seventeenth, &c.

And the same event is again represented in the latter part of the nineteenth chapter, and in the beginning of the twentieth. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse: And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” From the following description it appears, that this person is Jesus Christ prepared, and going forth to destroy his enemies on earth. And an angel is seen standing in the sun, in the most conspicuous place, calling with a loud voice upon all the fowls of the air to come “to the supper of the great God, to eat the flesh of kings and captains, &c. and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And he saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together, to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.” And the beast and false prophet were destroyed by him; and the remnant of those who joined with the beast and were enemies to Christ, were slain by him. This battle, and the destruction of the enemies of Christ, does not follow in time, and is not to take place after the events mentioned in the first part of this chapter, viz. the joy and praise in heaven, upon the reigning of Christ on earth, and the bride, the Lamb’s wife, making herself ready, &c. but is a repeated and more particular representation of what is to precede that happy event, which had been before mentioned in the sixteenth chapter, from the thirteenth verse to the end of it. There the kings of the earth, and the whole world, are said to be gathered together to battle; “The battle of the great day of God Almighty.” So here “The beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies, are gathered together to make, war against him that sat on the horse,” And there the battle is described as coming on, upon the pouring out of the seventh vial, and great Babylon, which is the same with the beast, and the false prophet, and all the enemies of Christ, are destroyed in battle. Which is exactly parallel with the war and battle of which there is a more particular description in the nineteenth chapter, and must be one and the same event. This is confirmed by what immediately follows this destruction of the enemies of Christ, in the beginning of the twentieth chapter, which, as has been observed, is the same event with that described in the nineteenth chapter by the marriage of the Lamb, whose bride, that is the church, was made ready and arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. A more particular and remarkable description of this same thing, in the twentieth chapter, is in the following words.