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"hath been graciously pleased to add still stronger evidence; by giving us A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY.

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But the general subject of the EPISTLE will furtheri support the truth of this Paraphrase.

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It is a farewell address to the CHURCHES, qn hist baving received intimation, from the holy Spirit, of his approaching Martyrdom.

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The Apostle begins with repeating to them from ver 3d to the 15th that elegant summary of Christian Religion*, as was his wont, on all occasions, to inculcate. But, at this juncture, CONSOLATION being what the afilicted Church most needed, he takes his topic from the REWARDS, now supposed to be approaching, at the second coming of our Lord in the consummation of all things. PERSECUTION had soothed the Sufferers into this flattering error, which was now become general, and i not likely to be soon redressed, while they continued unable (as they yet were) to distinguish the two parts off which this PREDICTION, Concerning the second coming a of our Lord, was composed. Each part had its distinct completion, commencing at different periods. The first, » when our Lord came to judgment, on the JEWISH! PEOPLE, in putting a complete period to their ECONOMY, by the destruction of their TEMPLE; The other, when he was to pass judgment on the whole race of mankind, and make a final end of the MUNDANE SYSTEM.

Or rather, to speak with more exactness, this prediction of the SECOND COMING was delivered in two Prophecies joined together; and, in intimation of the Jewish mode, ́mixed and interwoven with one another; generally as little understood, at the time of the delivery, as all those of a like import were, which had either a secondary sense, or included a double subject. But for a larger account of these, and particularly of the sort now. in question, I beg leave to refer the Reader to the sixth Section of the sixth Book of this Worky phone:20, A SIT

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Such was the Error, hichihs we say) gave birth to...! the consolatory Epistle, hiperexplained.. Batas alki ERRORS, together with the accidental good which,qby q the directing hand of Providendo;s they are made toni * See the Discourse on this text, Vol. . ofpthis Edit YESU

produce,

produce, are easily attended with much evil; so it was here.

At first, the Error produced sobriety, vigilance, and perseverance in the FAITH. But afterwards, it had a contrary effect. There shall come in the last days (says: this Apostle) scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and· saying, WHERE IS THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING? For since the Fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation*.

After the censure of this Impiety, the Apostle proceeds to upbraid their ignorance of the natural constitution of the Earth; which is physically ordained to bring on its own destruction, by FIRE, in some future period, as heretofore, by the destruction of WATER: and that the delay of this dreadful Catastrophe, which affords these scoffs of Impiety, is not owing to the Lord's slackness in the performance of his promise; but to his long-suffering; that all might come to repentance. He then describes this final dissolution of all things, by fire. Out of which (he tells them) shall arise (according to the promise of PROPHECY) a new heaven and a new earth, wherein shall dwell righteousness§. And with this the FAREWELL EPISTLE concludes:

Such being the subject of it, who can doubt but that a true account of the reasoning in the latter part of the first chapter is here given? and, consequently, that the Apostle's purpose is not to speak of indefinite Prophecies already fulfilled IN, OR UNDER, the OLD TESTAMENT, but of some precise Prophecy to be fulfilled under the NEW; in order as the several parts of it (extending through a course of many Ages) should come into existence.

To THIS the Church of Christ is bid TO TAKE HEED, as to a more sure word of prophecy. But had the description ended here, it would have been much too vague to enjoin our attention in so earnest and particular a manner. The Apostle, therefore, goes on to give it this characteristic Mark-that it was A LIGHT SHINING IN A DARK PLACE. A Prophecy, of which the principald parts were, at that time, surrounded and partly? involved in obscurity and darkness; but yet, emitting so * Ch. iii. 3. & seq. † Ver. 9. Ver. 10, 11, 12. § Ver. 13.

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many scattered Rays, as to make a careful observer inclined to think some great scene was just beginning to open, which would, amply reward our attention to this light shining in a dark place, by the change of its cóndition, first into a dawn; and then, into still clearer dayspring.

The Apostic having thus prepared our way to this SURER WORD, or superior excellence of PROPHECY, proceeds to acquaint us with the very IDENTICAL PROPHECY he had in his eye; which will now appear to be no other than the predictions of St. Paul and St. John concerning ANTICHRIST, or the future fortunes of the Church, under the usurpation of the MAN OF SIN; a prediction elegantly called, by way of eminence, THE WORD OF PROPHECY. For this Man of Sin began to work before the writing of this farewell Epistle. So St. Paul assures US-THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY (says he) DOTH ALREADY WORK *. St. Peter, therefore, towards the conclusion of his Epistle, recurring again, as his subject required, to God's long-suffering, in the delay of his second coming to judge the world, adds, even as our beloved PAUL also, according to the WISDOM given unto him, hath written unto you: as also in all his Epistles,

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SPEAKING IN THEM OF THESE THINGS; IN WHICH ARE SOME THINGS HARD TO BE UNDERSTOOD, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction t. Now what are these OBSCURE PARTS in St. Paul's Epistles, here characterized, but the Prophecies in St. John's Book of the REVELATIONS concerning ANTICHRIST, abridged by St. Paul in his Epistles, and referred to by St. Peters.

2 Thess. ii. 7.

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+ Chap. iii. 15, 16. See Sir Isaac Newton's Observations upon the Apocalypse of St. John, chap. i.

§ See the remainder of this argument in Discourse On the Rise of Antichrist, Vol. x. pp. 165, &c. of this Edit.

END OF THE NINTH BOOK.

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N this point it will be sufficient to refer the reader to those two excellent Writers, Dr., Samuel Clarke and Mr. W. Baxter, for a full Demonstration of the immateriality of that Substance, in which the faculties of sense and reflection reside. [See Clarke's Tracts against Dodwell and Collins, and Baxter on the Nature of the Soul. These Writers have gone much further than Locke and others on the same Subject; who contented themselves, with shewing the possibility, nay, great probability, that the thinking substance in us is immaterial. [See Locke's Second Reply to the Bishop of Worcester, p. 600. of his Works.] But Clarke and Baxter have clearly proved, from the discovered qualities of a thinking Being, that the Soul cannot possibly be material, whatever undiscovered qualities it may be possessed of. And this conclusion was made (in my opinion) neither rashly or at random. For, to unsettle our assurance in the truth of their Opinion, their Adversaries must shew that such undiscovered qualities are contrary to the qualities discovered; yet contrary qualities can never subsist together in the same substance, without one destroying the other. Hence, we understand the futility of Mr. Locke's superinduction of the faculty of thinking to a system of Matter; conceived, by that excellent Writer, m the modest fear of circumscribing Omnipotence; b Omnipotence is not circumscribed by denying its power of making qualities, destructive of one another, to reside in the same substance (for a power which produces nothing is no exercise of power); but by denying his power to change, .together with consistent qualities, the nature of the substance in which those qualities reside. This power (supposing Mr. Locke contended for no

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more) will be readily granted; but his argument will gain nothing by it. On the contrary, by changing materiality into immateriality, it ends the dispute with the Bishop; but to Mr. Locke's disadvantage, by proving, that the Soul, or thinking Substance in us, is immaterial.

2P. 251. [B] The impious notion of the human Soul's being part or portion of the Divine Substance, made the Theistical Philosophers give no credit to the Doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments. [See the Divine Legation, book iii. § 4.] To avoid this impiety, certain Christian Enthusiasts taught that eternity was the condition of the Soul by nature as well as by grace. And so, before they were aware, fell into the very error of the Philosophers, which they were so anxious to avoid. For eternity being confessed by all to be one of the attributes of the Deity, it followed, that the human soul was indeed part or portion of the Divine Substance. This execrable frenzy, of which Religion could never get entirely free, (known by the name of SPINOZISM) hath of late appeared under its ugliest for in the Writings of Mr. W. Law, collected from the exploded ravings of Jacob Behmen. [See a book, intitled, An Appeal to all who doubt or disbelieve the Truths of the Gospel.]-But when learned men wake out of one delirium, it is not to recover their senses, but to fall back again into another; and that, generally, is its opposite. So it was here. The Philosophic Converts to the Christian Faith, in the first ages of the Church, were no sooner convinced of the folly of fancying that the human Sout was a part of the Godhead, than, in their haste to be at distance from that monstrous opinion, they ran 'suddenly into a contrary folly, and maintained, that the Soul had not one spark of the Divinity in her whole composition; ut was MATERIAL as well as mortal: now degrading man to a brute, whom before they had exalted to a God. Nor hath this extravagance been destitute of of Y for what extravagance hath ever wanted) the patronage of modern Divines. We have seen it lately employed in support of a fresh whimsy, viz. THE SLEEP OF THE SOUL. One thing however seenis to be defective in the Scheme; which is, the not rectifying the old error of a REST REC

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