登陆注册
5214200000390

第390章

The evangelist John has spoken of these two resurrections in the book which is called the Apocalypse, but in such a way that some Christians do not understand the first of the two, and so construe the passage into ridiculous fancies.For the Apostle John says in the foresaid book, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven....Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."(1) Those who, on the strength of this passage, have suspected that the first resurrection is future and bodily, have been moved, among other things, specially by the number of a thousand years, as if it were a fit thing that the saints should thus enjoy a kind of Sabbath-rest during that period, a holy leisure after the labors of the six thousand years since man was created, and was on account of his great sin dismissed from the blessedness of paradise into the woes of this mortal life, so that thus, as it is written, "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,"(2) there should follow on the completion of six thousand years, as of six days, a kind of seventh-day Sabbath in the succeeding thousand years; and that it is for this purpose the saints rise, viz., to celebrate this Sabbath.And.this opinion would not be objectionable, if it were believed that the joys of the saints in that Sabbath shall be spiritual, and consequent on the presence of God; for Imyself, too, once held this opinion.(3) But, as they assert that those who then rise again shall enjoy the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only to shock the feeling of the temperate, but even to surpass the measure of credulity itself, such assertions can be believed only by the carnal.They who do believe them are called by the spiritual Chiliasts, which we may literally reproduce by the name Millenarians.(4) It were a tedious process to refute these opinions point by point: we prefer proceeding to show how that passage of Scripture should be understood.(5)The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, "No man can enter into a strong man's house, and Spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man"(6)--meaning by the strong man the devil, because he had power to take captive the human race; and meaning by his goods which he was to take, those who had been held by the devil in divers sins and iniquities, but were to become believers in Himself.It was then for the binding of this strong one that the apostle saw in the Apocalypse "an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand.

And he laid hold," he says, "on the dragon, that old serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,"--that is bridled and restrained his power so that he could not seduce and gain possession of those who were to be freed.

Now the thousand years may be understood in two ways, so far as occurs to me: either because these things happen in the sixth thousand of years or sixth millennium (the latter part of which is now passing), as if during the sixth day, which is to be followed by a Sabbath which has no evening, the endless rest of the saints, so that, speaking of a part under the name of the whole, he calls the last part of the millennium--the part, that is, which had yet to expire before the end of the world--a thousand years; or he used the thousand years as an equivalent for the whole duration of this world, employing the number of perfection to mark the fullness of time.For a thousand is the cube of ten.For ten times ten makes a hundred, that is; the square on a plane superficies.But to give this superficies height, and make it a cube, the hundred is again multiplied by ten, which gives a thousand.Besides, if a hundred is sometimes used for totality, as when the Lord said by way of promise to him that left all and followed Him "He shall receive in this world an hundredfold;"(1) of which the apostle gives, as it were, an explanation when he says, "As having nothing, yet possessing all things,"(2)--for even of old it had been said, The whole world is the wealth of a believer,--with how much greater reason is a thousand put for totality since it is the cube, while the other is only the square? And for the same reason we cannot better interpret the words of the psalm, "He hath been mindful of His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations,"(3) than by understanding it to mean "to all generations.""And he cast him into the abyss,"--i.e., cast the devil into the abyss.

By the abyss is meant the countless multitude of the wicked whose hearts are unfathomably deep in malignity against the Church of God; not that the devil was not there before, but he is said to be cast in thither, because, when prevented from harming believers, he takes more complete possession of the ungodly.

同类推荐
  • 晁氏墨经

    晁氏墨经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 广志绎

    广志绎

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 诫初心学人文

    诫初心学人文

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 洞真太上紫度炎光神元变经

    洞真太上紫度炎光神元变经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 扶天广圣如意灵签

    扶天广圣如意灵签

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 盗墓狂徒

    盗墓狂徒

    祖传的图谱之中,隐匿着一只神秘的凤凰图案。因为故友的电话,图谱的持有人无意中发现了这个惊天的秘密。在一股无形力量的牵引之下,他们来到一座春秋古墓之中却发现了自己的尸体。永存在地下的千年宫殿将揭露出一个迷一般的开始.
  • 佛说普法义经

    佛说普法义经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 校园实用经典歇后语(实用一生的语言精华丛书)

    校园实用经典歇后语(实用一生的语言精华丛书)

    《实用一生的语言精华丛书:校园实用经典歇后语》是一本科普类读物。歇后语、座右铭、格言等无疑都是一种浓缩的语言精华,可能经过千百年来人们的不断提炼和传承,才得以流传至今。《实用一生的语言精华丛书:校园实用经典歇后语》主要内容包括:歇后语类型的语言精华。集趣味性和知识性于一身,可以作为广大青少年朋友修身养性、努力学习的一个指路明灯。
  • 桔梗胎记之王妃很妖孽

    桔梗胎记之王妃很妖孽

    齐素锦一朝为后,哪曾想阴谋层出不穷,被打入冷宫,夫君厌弃自己,一直疼爱的庶妹竟然是造成自己不幸的罪魁祸首,心灰意冷之际,冷宫起火,火光中却见血色冲天,正是凤栖梧桐,涅火重生。
  • 湖泊:自然佩戴的明珠

    湖泊:自然佩戴的明珠

    本套作品知识全面、内容精炼、图文并茂,形象生动,能够培养我们的科学兴趣和爱好,达到普及科学知识的目的,具有很强的可读性、启发性和知识性,是我们广大青少年读者了解科技、增长知识、开阔视野、提高素质、激发探索和启迪智慧的良好科普读物。
  • 南诏图传

    南诏图传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 怪楼房客

    怪楼房客

    这是一部短篇悬疑小说集。每个城市或小镇都有着奇怪的楼房,那里住着一些性情怪异、行为莫测的房客。譬如巫荣城广场的抢劫事件,旁观者因为“旁观罪”引发的那一系列的故事。事发后,社会上的每个人都在谴责那群见死不救的旁观者,旁观者也因为良心的不安,渐渐地反省,醒悟……但那些受害人,是否能原谅旁观者的冷漠,走出阴影?
  • 思路决定出路:成功策划36法

    思路决定出路:成功策划36法

    《影响时空管理丛书》由影响力训练集团组织十几位专家、几十位学者、上百位培训界精英历经三年时间精心创作,内容注重实战,以解决企业管理实际问题为导向;论述深入浅出,通俗易懂;工具多、方法多、案例多,且经过多轮培训课程使用并经过多次修订,受到各层次管理者的欢迎和好评。本书介绍了策划的6大思路、策划人的6大能力、策划的6大步骤、策划的7大误区等内容,以案例和图表分析为辅,将三十六计的策划思想和方法充分应用到实战策划中。
  • 水云间

    水云间

    航业钜子之女杜芊芊,无意间邂逅菁英群聚的“醉马画会”,画会中个个才子都对她青睐有加,惟独家梅若鸿对芊芊却不敢觊觎与亵渎,他瑟缩在自己简陋的画室“水云间”中,眼见众全心撮合年轻有为的子默和芊芊,他的心宛如在淌血…… 而芊芊呢,一次坦诚的示为,却遭若鸿莫名奇妙的侮辱与拒绝,她自此从杭州远避到上海。理应消遥快乐的一群才子佳人,就在这错综复杂的爱情纠葛下迷惘了,他们任情徜徉于水云间,却没想到,更在水云天地间踏遍红尘路,尝尽人间的苦与乐!梅若鸿和杜芊芊第一相遇是在苏堤上一个叫做“望山桥”的地方,梅若鸿被杜芊芊的美丽惊呆了,他迫不及待的要把芊芊带回“醉马画会”给朋友们看。
  • 正思维+逆思维心理学(全集)

    正思维+逆思维心理学(全集)

    本套装包含《正思维心理学》《逆思维心理学》两册。改变千万中国人思维模式的读本,中国企业家们都推崇的开窍手册!