Chapter IV: Book III: Concerning the CONFLAGRATION (2)

Some have thought it a Kind of Impiety in a Christian, to enquire after the End of the World; because of that Check which our Saviour gave his Disciples, when, after his Resurrection, enquiring of him about the Time of his Kingdom, he answer’d, _It is not for you to know the Times or the Seasons, which the Father hath put in his own Power, Acts i. 7._ And before his Death, when he was discoursing of the Consummation of all Things, He told them expresly, that though there should be such and such previous Signs as he had mention’d, yet, _Of that Day and Hour knoweth no Man; no, not the Angels that are in Heaven, but my Father only, Matt. xxiv. 36._ Be it so, that the Disciples deserv’d a Reprimand, for desiring to know, by a particular Revelation from our Saviour, the State of future Times; when many other Things were more necessary for their Instruction, and for their Ministry. Be it also admitted, that the Angels, at that Distance of Time, could not see thorow all Events to the End of the World; it does not at all follow from thence, that they do not know it now; when, in the Course of 1600 Years, many Things are come to pass, that may be Marks and Directions to them to make a Judgment of what remains, and of the last Period of all Things. However, there will be no Danger in our Enquiries about this Matter, seeing they are not so much to discover the Certainty, as the Uncertainty of that Period, as to human Knowledge. Let us therefore consider what Methods have been used, by those that have been curious and busy to measure the Duration of the World.

The _Stoicks_ tell us, _When_ the Sun and the Stars have drunk up the Sea, then the Earth shall be burnt. A very fair Prophecy! But, how long will they be a drinking? For unless we can determine that, we cannot determine when this Combustion will begin. Many of the Antients thought that the Stars were nourish’d by the Vapours of the Ocean and of the moist Earth, (_Cicer. de Nat. D. lib. 2._) and when that Nourishment was spent, being of a fiery Nature, they would prey upon the Body of the Earth it self, and consume that, after they had consum’d the Water. This is old-fashion’d Philosophy, and now, that the Nature of those Bodies is better known, will scarce pass for current. ’Tis true, we must expect some Dispositions towards the Combustion of the World, from a great Drought and Desiccation of the Earth: But this helps us nothing on our Way; for the Question still returns, _When_ will this immoderate Drought or Dryness happen? and that’s as ill to resolve as the former. Therefore, as I said before, I have no Hopes of deciding the Question by Physiology or Natural Causes; let us then look up from the Earth to the Heavens, to the Astronomers and the Prophets: These think they can define the Age and Duration of the World; the one by their Art, and the other by Inspiration.

We begin with the Astronomers; whose Calculations are founded either upon the Aspects and Configurations of the Planets, or upon the Revolutions of the fixed Stars: or, lastly, upon that which they call _Annus Magnus_, or the _Great Year_, whatsoever that Notion proves to be when it is rightly interpreted. As to the Planets, _Berosus_ tells us, the _Chaldeans_ suppose Deluges to proceed from a great Conjunction of the Planets in _Capricorn_, (_Sen. Nat. qu. l. 3. c. 29._) And from a like Conjunction in the opposite Sign of _Cancer_, the Conflagration will ensue. So that if we compute by the Astronomical Tables how long it will be to such a Conjunction, we find at the same Time how long it will be to the _Conflagration_. This Doctrine of the _Chaldeans_ some Christian Authors have owned, and followed the same Principles and Method.

If these Authors would deal fairly with Mankind, they should shew us some Connexion betwixt these Causes and the Effects which they make consequent upon them. For ’tis an unreasonable Thing to require a Man’s Assent to a Proposition, where he sees no Dependance or Connexion of Terms; unless it come by Revelation, or from an infallible Authority. If you say, the Conflagration will be at the first great Conjunction of the Planets in _Cancer_, and I say it will be at the next Eclipse of the Moon, if you shew no more Reason for your Assertion than I for mine, and neither of us pretend to Revelation or Infallibility, we may justly expect to be equally credited. Pray what Reason can you give why the Planets, when they meet, should plot together to set on Fire their Fellow-Planet, the Earth, who never did them any Harm? But now there is a plausible Reason for my Opinion; for the Moon, when eclips’d, may think herself affronted by the Earth interposing rudely betwixt her and the Sun, and leaving her to grope her Way in the Dark: She therefore may justly take her Revenge as she can. But you’ll say, ’tis not in the Power of the Moon to set the Earth on Fire, if she had Malice enough to do it. No, nor say I, is it in the Power of the other Planets that are far more distant from the Earth than the Moon, and as stark dull Lumps of Earth as she is. The plain Truth is, the Planets are so many Earths; and our Earth is as much a Planet as the brightest of them. ’Tis carried about the Sun with the same common Stream, and shines with as much Lustre to them, as they do to us: Neither can they do any more Harm to it, than it can do to them. ’Tis now well known, that the Planets are dark opake Bodies, generally made up of Earth and Water, as our Globe is; and have no Force or Action, but that of reverberating the Light which the Sun casts upon them. This blind superstitious Fear or Reverence for the Stars, had its Original from the antient Idolaters: They thought them Gods, and that they had Domination over human Affairs. We do not indeed worship them, as they did; but some Men retain still the same Opinion of their Vertues, of their Rule and Influence upon us and our Affairs, which was the Ground of their Worship. ’Tis full Time now to sweep away these Cobwebs of Superstition, these Relicks of Paganism. I do not see how we are any more concern’d in the Postures of the Planets, than in the Postures of the Clouds; and you may as well build an Art of Prediction and Divination, upon the one, as the other. They must not know much of the Philosophy of the Heavens, or little consider it, that think the Fate, either of single Persons, or of the whole Earth, can depend upon the Aspects, or figur’d Dances of those Bodies.

But you’ll say, it may be, Tho’ no Reason can be given for such Effects, yet Experience does attest the Truth of them. In the first Place, I answer, no Experience can be produced for this Effect we are speaking of, the Conflagration of the World. Secondly, Experience fallaciously recorded, or wholly in favour of one side, is no Proof. If a publick Register was kept of all Astrological Predictions, and of all the Events that followed upon them, right or wrong, agreeing or disagreeing, I could willingly refer the Cause to the Determination of such a Register, and such Experience: But that which they call Experience, is so stated, that if one Prediction of ten hits right, or near right, it shall make more Noise, and be more taken Notice of, than all the Nine that are false. Just as in a Lottery, where many Blanks are drawn for one Prize, yet these make all the Noise, and those are forgotten. If any one be so lucky as to draw a good Lot, then the Trumpet sounds, and his Name is register’d, and he tells his good Fortune to every Body he meets; whereas those that lose, go silently away with empty Pockets, and are asham’d to tell their Losses. Such a Thing is the Register of Astrological Experiences; they record what makes for their Credit, but drop all blank Instances, that would discover the Vanity or Cheat of their Art.

So much for the Planets. They have also a pretended Calculation of the End of the World, from the fix’d Stars and the Firmament. Which, in short, is this: They suppose these Bodies, besides the Hurry of their Diurnal Motion from East to West, quite round the Earth in 24 Hours, to have another retrograde Motion from West to East, which is more slow and leisurely: And when they have finished the Circle of this Retrogradation, and come up again to the same Place from whence they started at the Beginning of the World, then this Course of Nature will be at an End; and either the Heavens will cease from all Motion, or a new Set of Motions will be put a-foot, and the World begin again. This is a Bundle of Fictions tied up in a pretty Knot. In the first Place, there is no such Thing as a solid Firmament, in which the Stars are fix’d, as Nails in a Board. The Heavens are as fluid as our Air, and the higher we go, the more thin and subtle is the ethereal Matter. Then, the fix’d Stars are not all in one Surface, as they seem to us, not at an equal Distance from the Earth, but are placed in several Orbs higher and higher; there being infinite Room in the great Deep of the Heavens, every Way, for innumerable Stars and Spheres behind one another, to fill and beautify the immense Spaces of the Universe. Lastly, the fix’d Stars have no Motion common to them all, nor any Motion singly, unless upon their own Centres; and therefore, never leaving their Stations, they can never return to any common Station, which they would suppose them to have had at the Beginning of the World. So as this Period they speak of, whereby they would measure the Duration of the World, is merely imaginary, and hath no Foundation in the true Nature or Motion of the cœlestial Bodies.

But in the third Place, they speak of an ANNUS MAGNUS, a _Great Year_: A Revolution so call’d, whatsoever it is, that is of the same Extent with the Length of the World. This Notion, I confess, is more antient and universal, and therefore I am the more apt to believe that it is not altogether groundless. But the Difficulty is, to find out the Notion of this _Great Year_, what is to be understood by it, and then of what Length it is. They all agree that it is a Time of some grand Instauration of all Things, or a Restitution of the Heavens and the Earth to their former State; that is, to the State and Posture they had at the Beginning of the World; such therefore as will restore the Golden Age, and that happy State of Nature wherein Things were at first. If so, if these be the Marks and Properties of this Revolution, which is called the _Great Year_, we need not go so far to find the true Notion and Interpretation of it. Those that have read the _first Part_ of this _Theory_, may remember, that in the _2d Book, Chap. 3._ we gave an Account what the Posture of the Earth was at the Beginning of the World, and what were the Consequences of that Posture, _a perpetual Spring_ and Equinox throughout all the Earth: And if the Earth was restor’d again to that Posture and Situation, all that is imputed to the _Great Year_, would immediately follow upon it, without ever disturbing or moving the fix’d Stars, Firmament, or Planets; and yet at the same Time all these three would return, or be restored to the same Posture they had at the Beginning of the World; so as the whole Character of the _Great Year_ would be truly fulfill’d, tho’ not in that Way which they imagin’d; but in another, more compendious, and of easier Conception. My Meaning is this, If the Axis of the Earth was rectified and set parallel with the Axis of the Ecliptick, upon which the Planets, Firmament, and fix’d Stars are suppos’d to move, all Things would be as they were at first; a general Harmony and Conformity of all the Motions of the Universe would presently appear, such as they say, was in the Golden Age, before any Disorder came into the Natural or Moral World.

As this is an easy, so I do not doubt, but it is a true Account of that which was originally call’d the _Great Year_, or the Great Instauration; which Nature will bring to pass in this simple Method, by rectifying the Axis of the Earth, without those operose Revolutions, which some Astronomers have fancied. But however, this Account being admitted, how will it help us to define what the Age and Duration of the World will be? ’Tis true, many have undertaken to tell us the Length of this _Great Year_, and consequently of the World; but, besides that their Accounts are very different, and generally of an extravagant Length, if we had the true Account, it would not assure us when the World would end; because we do not know when it did begin, or what Progress we have already made in the Line of Time. For I am satisfied, the Chronology of the World, whether Sacred or Profane, is lost; till Providence shall please to retrieve it by some new Discovery. As to profane Chronology, or that of the _Heathens_, the _Greeks_, and the _Romans_ knew nothing above the _Olympiads_; which fell short many Ages of the Deluge, much more of the Beginning of the World. And the Eastern barbarous Nations, as they disagreed amongst themselves, so generally they run the Origin of the World to such a prodigious Height, as is neither agreeable to Faith, nor Reason. As to sacred Chronology, ’tis well known, that the Difference there is betwixt the _Greek_, _Hebrew_, and _Samaritan_ Copies of the Bible, make the Age of the World altogether undetermin’d: And there is no Way yet found out, how we may certainly discover which of the three Copies is most Authentick; and consequently, what the Age of the World is, upon a true Computation. Seeing therefore we have no Assurance how long the World hath stood already, neither could we be assur’d how long it hath to stand, tho’ by this _Annus Magnus_, or any other Way, the total Sum, or whole Term of its Duration was truly known; I am sorry to see the little Success we have had in our first Search after the End of the World, from Astronomical Calculations. But ’tis an useful Piece of Knowledge to know the Bounds of our Knowledge; that so we may not spend our Time and Thoughts about Things that lie out of our Reach. I have little or no Hopes of resolving this Point by the Light of Nature, and therefore it only remains now to enquire, whether Providence hath made it known by any Sort of Prophecy or Revelation. Which shall be the Subject of the following Chapter.

CHAP. V.

_Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of the World: Of what
Order soever, Profane or Sacred; Jewish or Christian. That no
certain Judgment can be made from any of them, at what Distance we
are now from the Conflagration._

The Bounds of human Knowledge are so narrow, and the Desire of knowing so vast and illimited, that it often puts Mankind upon irregular Methods of inlarging their Knowledge. This hath made them find out Arts of Commerce with evil Spirits, to be instructed by them in such Events as they could not of themselves discover. We meddle not with those Mysteries of Iniquity: But what hath appear’d under the Notion of divine Prophecy, relating to the Chronology of the World: Giving either the whole Extent of it, or certain Marks of its Expiration; These we purpose to examine in this Place: How far any Thing may, or may not, be concluded from them, as to the Resolution of our Problem, _How long the World will last_.

Amongst the Heathens, I do not remember any Prophecies of this Nature, except the _Sibylline Oracles_, as they are usually called. The antient Eastern Philosophers have left us no Account that I can call to mind, about the Time of this Fatality. They say, when the _Phœnix_ returns, we must expect the Conflagration to follow; but the Age of the _Phœnix_ they make as various and uncertain, as they do the Computation of their _Great Year_, _Symbolum_ ἀποξαταστάσεως πολυχρονίου, _Phœnix. Hor. Apol. l. 2. c. 57._ which two Things are indeed, one and the same in Effect. Some of them, I confess, mention 6000 Years for the whole Age of the World: Which being the famous Prophecy of the _Jews_, we shall speak to it largely hereafter; and reduce to that Head, what broken Traditions remain amongst the Heathens of the same thing. As to the _Sibylline Oracles_, which were so much in Reputation amongst the _Greeks_ and _Romans_, they have been tamper’d with so much, and chang’d so often, that they are become now of little Authority. They seem to have divided the Duration of the World into ten Ages, and the last of these they make a Golden Age, a State of Peace, Righteousness, and Perfection: But seeing they have not determin’d, in any definite Numbers, what the Length of every Age will be, nor given us the Sum of all, we cannot draw any Conclusion from this Account, as to the Point in question before us: But must proceed to the _Jewish_ and _Christian_ Oracles.

The _Jews_ have a remarkable Prophecy, which expresseth both the Whole, and the Parts of the World’s Duration. The World, they say, will stand Six thousand Years: _Two thousand before the Law, Two thousand under the Law, and Two thousand under the Messiah_. This Prophecy they derive from _Elias_; but there were two of the Name, _Elias_ the _Thesbite_, and _Elias_ the _Rabbin_, or _Cabbalist_; and ’tis suppos’d to belong immediately to the latter of these. Yet this does not hinder, in my Opinion, but that it might come originally from the former _Elias_, and was preserv’d in the School of this _Elias_ the _Rabbin_, and first made publick by him. Or he added, it may be, that Division of the Time into three Parts, and so got a Title to the whole. I cannot easily imagine, that a Doctor that lived Two hundred Years, or thereabouts, before Christ, when Prophecy had ceas’d for some Ages amongst the _Jews_, should take upon him to dictate a Prophecy about the Duration of the World, unless he had been supported by some antecedent Cabbalistical Tradition: Which being kept more secret before, he took the Liberty to make Publick, and so was reputed the Author of the Prophecy: As many Philosophers amongst the _Greeks_, were the reputed Authors of such Doctrines as were much more antient than themselves: But they were the Publishers of them in their Country, or the Revivers of them after a long Silence; and so, by forgetful Posterity, got the Honour of the first Invention.

You will think, it may be, the Time is too long, and the Distance too great, betwixt _Elias_ the _Thesbite_, and this _Elias_ the _Rabbin_, for a Tradition to subsist all the while, or be preserv’d with any competent Integrity. But it appears from St. _Jude_’s Epistle, that the _Prophecies of Enoch_, (who liv’d before the Flood) relating to the Day of Judgment and the End of the World, were extant in his Time, either in Writing or by Tradition: And the Distance between _Enoch_ and St. _Jude_ was vastly greater than betwixt the two _Elias_’s. Nor was any fitter to be inspir’d with that Knowledge, or to tell the first News of that fatal Period, than the old Prophet _Elias_, who is to come again and bring the Alarum of the approaching Conflagration. But however this Conjecture may prove as to the original Author of this Prophecy, the Prophecy itself concerning the _Sexmillennial_ Duration of the World, is very much insisted upon by the Christian Fathers. Which yet I believe is not so much for the bare Authority of the Tradition, as because they thought it was founded in the History of the _six Days Creation_, and the _Sabbath_ succeeding: As also in some other typical Precepts and Usages in the Law of _Moses_. But before we speak of that, give me Leave to name some of those Fathers to you, that were of this Judgment, and supposed the great Sabbatism would succeed after the World had stood Six thousand Years. Of this Opinion was St. _Barnabas_ in his Catholick Epistle, _ch._ xv. Where he argues, that the Creation will be ended in Six thousand Years, as it was finish’d in six Days: Every Day according to the sacred and mystical Account, being a Thousand Years. Of the same Judgment is St. _Irenæus_, both as to the Conclusion, and the Reason of it, _l. 5. c. 28, 29, 30_. He saith, the History of the Creation in six Days, _is a Narration as to what it past, and a Prophecy of what is to come_. As the Work was said to be consummated in 6 Days, and the Sabbath to be the Seventh: So the Consummation of all Things will be in 6000 Years, and then the great Sabbatism to come on in the blessed Reign of Christ. _Hippolytus_ Martyr, Disciple of _Irenæus_, is of the same Judgment, as you may see in _Photius_, _c. 202._ _Lactantius_ in his _Divine Institutions_, _l. 7. c. 14._ gives the very same Account of the State and Condition of the World, and the same Proofs for it, and so does St. _Cyprian_, in his _Exhortation to Martyrdom, c. 18_. St. _Jerome_ more than once declares himself of the same Opinion; and St. _Austin_, _C. D. l. 20. c. 7._ tho’ he wavers, and was doubtful as to the _Millennium_, or Reign of Christ upon Earth, yet he receives this Computation without Hesitancy, and upon the foremention’d Grounds. So _Johannes Damascenus de Fide Orthodoxâ_, takes seven Millennaries for the intire Space of the World, from the Creation, to the general Resurrection, the Sabbatism being included. And that this was a receiv’d and approv’d Opinion in early Times, we may collect from the Author of the _Questions and Answers, ad Orthodoxos_, in _Justin Martyr_. Who, giving an Answer to that Enquiry about the six thousand Years Term of the World, says, _We may conjecture from many Places of Scripture, that those are in the right, that say, six thousand Years is the Time prefix’d, for the Duration of this present Frame of the World_. These Authors I have examin’d my self: But there are many others brought in Confirmation of this Opinion: As St. _Hilary_, _Anastasius Sinaita_, Sanctus _Gaudentius_, _Q. Julius Hilarion_, _Junilius Africanus_, _Isidorus Hispalensis_, _Cassiodorus_, _Gregorius Magnus_, and others, which I leave to be examin’d by those that have Curiosity and Leisure to do it.

In the mean time, it must be confess’d, that many of these Fathers were under a Mistake, in one respect, in that they generally thought the World was near an End in their Time. An Error, which we need not take Pains to confute now; seeing we, who live twelve hundred or fourteen hundred Years after them, find the World still in being, and likely to continue so for some considerable Time. But it is easy to discern whence their Mistake proceeded: Not from this Prophecy alone, but because they reckon’d this Prophecy according to the Chronology of the _Septuagint_: Which setting back the Beginning of the World many Ages beyond the _Hebrew_, these six thousand Years were very near expir’d in the Time of those Fathers; and that made them conclude, that the World was very near an End. We will make no Reflections, in this Place, upon that Chronology of the _Septuagint_, lest it should too much interrupt the Thread of our Discourse. But it is necessary to shew how the Fathers grounded this Computation of six thousand Years, upon Scripture. ’Twas chiefly, as we suggested before, upon the _Hexameron_, or the Creation finish’d in _six Days_, and the _Sabbath_ ensuing. The Sabbath, they said, was a Type of the Sabbatism, that was to follow at the End of the World, according to St. _Paul_, _ch. v._ to the _Hebrews_; and then by Analogy and Consequence, the six Days preceding the Sabbath, must note the Space and Duration of the World. If therefore they could discover how much a Day is reckon’d for, in this mystical Computation, the Sum of the six Days would be easily found out. And they think, that, according to the Psalmist (_Psal. xc. 4._) and St. _Peter_, (_2 Epist. iii. 8._) _a Day_ may be estimated _a thousand Years_, and consequently six Days must be counted six thousand Years, for the Duration of the World. This is their Interpretation, and their Inference: But it must be acknowledged, that there is an essential Weakness in all typical and allegorical Argumentations, in comparison of literal. And this being allow’d in Diminution of the Proof, we may be bold to say, that nothing yet appears, either in Nature, or Scripture, or human Affairs, repugnant to this Supposition of six thousand Years: Which hath Antiquity and the Authority of the Fathers, on its Side.

We proceed now to the Christian Prophecies concerning the End of the World. I do not mention those in _Daniel_, because I am not satisfied that any there (excepting that of the fifth Kingdom itself) extend so far. But in the _Apocalypse_ of St. _John_, which is the last Revelation we are to expect, there are several Prophecies that reach to the Consummation of this World, and the first Resurrection. The _seven Seals_, the _seven Trumpets_, the _seven Vials_, do all terminate upon that great Period. But they are rather Historical Prophecies than Chronological; they tell us, in their Language, the Events, but do not measure or express the Time wherein they come to pass. Others there are that may be call’d Chronological, as the _treading under Foot the Holy City, Forty and two months, Apoc. xi. 2._ The _Witnesses_ opposing Antichrist _One thousand Two hundred and sixty Days, Apoc. xi. 3._ The Flight of the _Woman into the Wilderness_, for the same Number of Days, or for a _Time, Times, and half a Time, Apoc. xii. 6 & 14._ And lastly, The War of the Beasts against the Saints, _Forty-two Months, Apoc. xiii. 5._ These all, you see, express a Time for their Completion; and all the same Time, if I be not mistaken: But they do not reach to the End of the World. Or if some of them did reach so far, yet because we do not certainly know where to fix their Beginning, we must still be at a Loss, when, or in what Year they will expire. As for Instance, if the Reign of the Beast, or the Preaching of the Witnesses be 1260 Years, as is reasonably suppos’d; yet if we do not know certainly when this Reign, or this Preaching begun, neither can we tell when it will end. And the _Epocha_’s, or Beginnings of these Prophecies are so differently calculated, and are Things of so long Debate, as to make the Discussion of them altogether improper for this Place. Yet it must be confest, that the best Conjectures that can be made concerning the approaching End of the World, must be taken from a judicious Examination of these Points: And accordingly as we gather up the Prophecies of the _Apocalypse_, in a successive Completion, we see how by degrees we draw nearer and nearer to the Conclusion of all. But till some of these enlightening Prophecies be accomplish’d, we are as a Man that awakes in the Night, all is dark about him, and he knows not how far the Night is spent; but if he watch till the Light appears, the first Glimpses of that will resolve his Doubts. We must have a little Patience, and, I think, but a little; still eyeing those Prophecies of the _Resurrection_ of the _Witnesses_, and the _Depression_ of _Antichrist_: ’Till by their Accomplishment, the Day dawn, and the Clouds begin to change their Colour. Then we shall be able to make a near Guess, when the Sun of Righteousness will arise.

So much for Prophecies. There are also _Signs_, which are look’d upon as Forerunners of the Coming of our Saviour; and, therefore, may give us some Direction how to judge of the Distance or Approach of that great Day. Thus many of the Fathers thought the _coming of Antichrist_ would be a Sign to give the World Notice of its approaching End. But we may easily see, by what hath been noted before, what it was that led the Fathers into that Mistake. They thought their six thousand Years were near an End, as they truly were, according to that Chronology they followed: and therefore they concluded the Reign of Antichrist must be very short, whensoever he came, and that he could not come long before the End of the World. But we are very well assur’d, from the Revelation of Saint _John_, that the Reign of Antichrist is not to be so short and transient; and from the Prospect and History of _Christendom_, that he hath been already upon his Throne many hundreds of Years. Therefore this Sign wholly falls to the Ground; unless you will take it from the Fall of Antichrist, rather than from his first Entrance. Others expect the _coming_ of _Elias_, to give Warning of that Day, and prepare the Way of the Lord. I am very willing to admit that _Elias_ will come, according to the Sense of the Prophet _Malachi_, _Chap. iv. 5, 6._ but he will not come _with Observation_, no more than he did in the Person of _John_ the Baptist; He will not bear the Name of _Elias_, nor tell us he is the Man that went to Heaven in a fiery Chariot, and is now come down again to give us Warning of the last Fire. But some divine Person may appear before the second coming of our Saviour, as there did before his first coming, and by giving a new Light and Life to the Christian Doctrine, may dissipate the Mists of Error, and abolish all those little Controversies amongst good Men, and the Divisions and Animosities that spring from them: Enlarging their Spirits by greater Discoveries, and uniting them all in the Bonds of Love and Charity, and in the common Study of Truth and Perfection. Such an _Elias_ the Prophet seems to point at; and may he come, and be the great Peace-maker and Preparer of the Ways of the Lord! But at present, we cannot from this Sign make any Judgment when the World will end.

Another Sign preceding the End of the World, is, _The Conversion of the Jews_; and this is a wonderful Sign indeed. St. _Paul_ seems expresly to affirm it, _Rom. xi. 25, 26._ But it is differently understood, either of their Conversion only, or of their Restoration to their own Country, Liberties and Dominion. The Prophets bear hard upon this Sense sometimes, as you may see in _Isaiah_, _Ezekiel_, _Hosea_, _Amos_. And to the same purpose the antient Promise of _Moses_ is interpreted, _Deut. xxx._ Yet this seems to be a thing very unconceivable: Unless we suppose the ten Tribes to be still in some hidden Corner of the World, from whence they may be conducted again to their own Country, as once out of _Ægypt_, by a miraculous Providence, and establish’d there: Which, being known, will give the Alarm to all the other _Jews_, in the World, and make an universal Confluence to their old Home. Then our Saviour, by an extraordinary Appearance to them, as once to St. _Paul_, _John xix. 37._ and by Prophets, _Apoc. i. 7._ _Mat. xxiii. 39._ rais’d up amongst them for that purpose, may convince them that he is the true _Messiah_, and convert them to the Christian Faith; which will be no more strange, than was the first Conversion of the _Gentile_ World. But if we be content with a Conversion of the _Jews_, without their Restoration; and of those two Tribes only, which are now dispersed throughout the Christian World, and other known Parts of the Earth: That these should be converted to the Christian Faith, and incorporated into the Christian Commonwealth, losing their National Character and Distinction: If this, I say, will satisfy the Prophecies, it is not a Thing very difficult to be conceived. For when the World is reduc’d to a better and purer State of Christianity, and that Idolatry, in a great measure remov’d, which gave the greatest Scandal to the _Jews_, they will begin to have better Thoughts of our Religion, and be dispos’d to a more ingenuous and unprejudic’d Examination of their Prophecies concerning the _Messiah_: God raising up Men amongst them of divine and enlarged Spirits, Lovers of Truth more than of any particular Sect or Opinion; with Light to discern it, and Courage to profess it. Lastly, It will be a cogent Argument upon them, to see the Age of the World so far spent, and no Appearance yet, of their long expected _Messiah_. So far spent, I say, that there is no Room left, upon any Computation whatsoever, for the Oeconomy of a _Messiah_ yet to come. This will make them reflect more carefully and impartially upon him whom the Christians propose, _Jesus of Nazareth_, whom their Fathers Crucified at _Jerusalem_: Upon the Miracles he wrought in his Life, and after his Death; and upon the wonderful Propagation of his Doctrine throughout the World, after his Ascension. And lastly, upon the Desolation of _Jerusalem_, upon their own scattered and forlorn Condition, foretold by that Prophet, as a Judgment of God upon an ungrateful and wicked People.

This I have said to state the Case of the Conversion of the _Jews_, which will be a Sign of the approaching Reign of Christ. But, alas! what Appearance is there of this Conversion in our Days? or what Judgment can we make from a Sign that is not come to pass? ’Tis ineffectual as to us, but may be of Use to Posterity. Yet even to them it will not determine, at what Distance they are from the End of the World, but be a Mark only that they are not far from it. There will be Signs also, in those last Days, in the Heavens, and in the Earth, and in the Sea, Forerunners of the _Conflagration_; as the Obscuration of the Sun and Moon, Earthquakes, Roarings of the troubled Sea, and such like Disorders in the natural World, ’tis true; but these are the very Pangs of Death, and the Strugglings of Nature just before her Dissolution, and it will be too late then to be aware of our Ruin when it is at the Door. Yet these being Signs or Prodigies taken Notice of by Scripture, we intend, God willing, after we have explained the Causes and Manner of the _Conflagration_, to give an Account also whence these unnatural Commotions will proceed, that are the Beginnings or immediate Introductions to the last Fire.

Thus we have gone through the Prophecies and Signs that concern the last Day and the last Fate of the World. And how little have we learned from them as to the Time of that great Revolution? Prophecies rise sometimes with an even gradual Light, as the Day riseth upon the Horizon: and sometimes break out suddenly like a Fire, and we are not aware of their Approach ’till we see them accomplish’d. Those that concern the End of the World, are of this latter Sort, to unobserving Men; but even to the most observing, there will still be a Latitude; we must not expect to calculate the coming of our Saviour, like an Eclipse, to Minutes and half Minutes. There are _Times and Seasons which the Father hath put in his own Power_. If it was design’d to keep these Things secret, we must not think to out-wit Providence, and from the Prophecies that are given us, pick out a Discovery that was not intended we should ever make. It is determin’d in the Councils of Heaven just how far we shall know these Events beforehand, and with what Degree of Certainty: And with this we must be content, whatsoever it is. The _Apocalypse_ of St. _John_ is the last Prophetical Declaration of the Will of God, and contains the Fate of the Christian Religion to the End of the World, its Purity, Degeneracy, and Reviviscency. The Head of this Degeneracy is call’d _The Beast, the false Prophet, the Whore of Babylon_, in Prophetical Terms: And in an Ecclesiastical Term is commonly call’d _Antichrist_. Those that bear Testimony against this Degeneracy, are call’d the _Witnesses_: Who, after they have been a long Time in a mean and persecuted Condition, are to have their Resurrection and Ascension; that is, be advanc’d to Power and Authority. And this Resurrection of the _Witnesses_, and Depression of _Antichrist_, is that which will make the great Turn of the World to Righteousness, and the great Crisis, whereby we may judge of its drawing to an End. ’Tis true, there are other Marks, as the passing away of the _second Woe_, _Apoc. c. ix._ which is commonly thought to be the _Ottoman_ Empire; and the Effusion of the _Vials_, _Apoc. c. xvi._ The first of these will be indeed a very conspicuous Mark, if it follow upon the Resurrection of the Witnesses, as by the Prophecy it seems to do, _ch. xi. 14._ But as to the Vials, tho’ they do plainly reach in a Series to the End of the World, I am not satisfied with any Exposition I have yet met with, concerning their precise Time or Contents.

In a Word, though the Sum and general Contents of a Prophecy be very intelligible, yet the Application of it to Time and Persons may be very lubricous. There must be Obscurity in a Prophecy, as well as Shadow in a Picture. All its Lines must not stand in a full Light. For if Prophecies were open and barefac’d as to all their Parts and Circumstances, they would check and obstruct the Course of human Affairs; and hinder, if it was possible, their own Accomplishment. Modesty and Sobriety are in all Things commendable, but in nothing more than in the Explication of these sacred Mysteries; and we have seen so many miscarry by a too close and particular Application of them, that we ought to dread the Rock about which we see so many Shipwrecks. He that does not err above a Century, in calculating the last Period of Time, from what Evidence we have at present, hath, in my Opinion, cast up his Accounts very well. But the Scenes will change fast towards the Evening of this long Day, and when the Sun is near setting, they will more easily compute how far he hath to run.

CHAP. VI.
_Concerning the Causes of the Conflagration._

_The Difficulty of conceiving how this Earth can be set on Fire.
With a general Answer to that Difficulty. Two suppos’d Causes of the
Conflagration, by the Sun’s drawing nearer to the Earth, or the
Earth’s throwing out the central Fire, examin’d and rejected._

We have now made our Way clear to the principal Point, _The Causes of the Conflagration_: How the Heavens and the Earth will be set on Fire, what Materials are prepared, or what Train of Causes, for that purpose. The Antients, who have kept us Company pretty well thus far, here quite desert us: they deal more in Conclusions than Causes, as is usual in all Traditional Learning. And the _Stoicks_ themselves, who inculcate so much the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and make the Strength of it such, as to dissolve the Earth into a fiery Chaos, are yet very short and superficial in their Explications, how this shall come to pass. The latent Seeds of Fire, they say, shall every where be let loose, and that Element will prevail over all the rest, and transform every Thing into its own Nature. But these are general Things, that give little Satisfaction to inquisitive Persons. Neither do the modern Authors, that treat of the same Subject, relieve us in this Particular: They are willing to suppose the Conflagration a superficial Effect, that so they may excuse themselves the Trouble of enquiring after Causes. ’Tis no doubt, in a Sort supernatural; and so the Deluge was: Yet _Moses_ sets down the Causes of the Deluge, the Rains from above, and the Disruption of the Abyss. So there must be Treasures of Fire provided against that Day, by whose Eruption this second Deluge will be brought upon the Earth.

To state the Case fairly, we must first represent the Difficulty of setting the Earth on Fire; tye the Knot, before we loose it; that so we may the better judge whether the Causes that shall be brought into View, may be sufficient to overcome so great Opposition. The Difficulty, no doubt, will be chiefly from the great Quantity of Water that is about our Globe; whereby Nature seems to have made Provision against any Invasion by Fire, and secur’d us from that Enemy more than any other. We see half of the Surface of the Earth cover’d with the Seas, whose Channel is of a vast Depth and Capacity: Besides innumerable Rivers, great and small, that water the Face of the dry Land, and drench it with perpetual Moisture. Then within the Bowels of the Earth, there are Store-Houses of subterraneous Waters; which are as a Reserve, in case the Ocean and the Rivers should be overcome. Neither is Water our only Security, for the hard Rocks, and stony Mountains, which no Fire can bide upon, are set in long Ranges upon the Continents and Islands; and must needs give a Stop to the Progress of that furious Enemy, in case he should attack us. Lastly, the Earth itself is not combustible in all its Parts. ’Tis not every Soil that is fit Fewel for the Fire. Clay, and Mire, and such like Soils, will rather choak and stifle it, than help it on its Way. By these Means one would think the Body of the Earth secur’d; and though there may be partial Fires, or Inundations of Fire, here and there, in particular Regions, yet there cannot be an universal Fire throughout the Earth. At least, one would hope for a safe Retreat towards the Poles, where there is nothing but Snow, and Ice, and bitter Cold. These Regions sure are in no Danger to be burnt, whatsoever becomes of the other Climates of the Earth.

This being the State and Condition of the present Earth, one would not imagine by these Preparations, ’twas ever intended that it should perish by an universal Fire. But such is often the Method of Providence, that the exterior Face of Things looks one Way, and the Design lies another; ’till at length, touching a Spring, as it were, at a certain Time, all those Affairs change Posture and Aspect, and shew us which way Providence inclines. We must therefore suppose, before the Conflagration begins, there will be Dispositions and Preparatives suitable to so great a Work: and all Antiquity, sacred and prophane, does so far concur with us, as to admit and suppose that a great Drought will precede, and an extraordinary Heat and Dryness of the Air, to usher in this fiery Doom. And these being Things which often happen in a Course of Nature, we cannot disallow such easy Preparations, when Providence intends so great a Consequence. The Heavens will be shut up, and the Clouds yield no Rain; and by this, with an immoderate Heat in the Air, the Springs of Water will become dry, the Earth chapp’d and parch’d, and the Woods and Trees made ready Fewel for the Fire. We have Instances, in History, that there have been Droughts and Heats of this Nature, to that Degree, that the Woods and Forests have taken Fire, and the outward Turf and Surface of the Earth, without any other Cause than the Dryness of the Season, and the Vehemency of the Sun. And, which is more considerable, the Springs and Fountains being dry’d up, the greater Rivers have been sensibly lessen’d, and the lesser quite empty’d, and exhal’d. These Things, which happen frequently, in particular Countries and Climates, may, at an appointed Time, by the Disposition of Providence, be more universal throughout the Earth; and have the same Effects every where, that we see by Experience they have had in certain Places: And by this Means, we may conceive it as feasible to set the whole Earth on Fire in some little Space of Time, as to burn up this, or that Country after a great Drought. But I mean this, with Exception still to the main Body of the Sea; which will indeed receive a greater Diminution from these Causes, than we easily imagine; but the final Consumption of it will depend upon other Reasons, whereof we must give an Account in the following Chapters.

As to the Mountains and Rocks, their lofty Heads will sink when the Earthquakes begin to roar, at the Beginning of the Conflagration; as we shall see hereafter. And as to the Earth itself, ’tis true there are several Sorts of Earth that are not proper Fuel for Fire; but those Soils that are not so immediately, as clayey Soils, and such like, may, by the Strength of Fire, be converted into Brick, or Stone, or earthen Metal, and so melted down and vitrified. For, in Conclusion, there is no terrestrial Body that does not finally yield to the Force of Fire, and may either be converted into Flame, incorporated Fire, or into a Liquor more ardent than either of them. Lastly, As to the Polar Regions, which you think will be a safe Retreat and inaccessible to the Fire; ’tis true, unless Providence hath laid subterraneous Treasures of Fire there unknown to us, those Parts of the Earth will be the last consum’d. But it is to be observ’d, that the Cold of those Regions proceeds from the Length of their Winter, and their Distance from the Sun when he is beyond the Æquator; and both these Causes will be removed at the Conflagration. For we suppose the Earth will then return to its primitive Situation, which we have explain’d in the second Book of this _Theory_, _chap. iii._ and will have the Sun always in its Æquator; whereby the several Climates of the Earth will have a perpetual Equinox, and those under the Poles a perpetual Day: And therefore all the Excess of Cold, and all the Consequences of it, will soon be abated. However, the Earth will not be burnt in one Day, and those Parts of the Earth being uninhabited, there is no Inconvenience that they should be more slowly consum’d than the rest.

This is a general Answer to the Difficulty propos’d about the Possibility of the Conflagration; and being general only, the Parts of it must be more fully explain’d and confirm’d in the Sequel of this Discourse. We should now proceed directly to the Causes of the Conflagration, and shew in what manner they do this great Execution upon Nature: But to be just and impartial in this Enquiry, we ought first to separate the spurious and pretended Causes from those that are real and genuine; to make no false Musters, nor any shew of being stronger than we are; and if we can do our Work with less Force, it will be more to our Credit; as a Victory is more honourable that is gain’d with fewer Men.

There are two grand capital Causes which some Authors make use of, as the chief Agents in this Work, the _Sun_, and the _Central Fire_. These two great Incendiaries, they say, will be let loose upon us at the Conflagration; the one drawing nearer to the Earth, and the other breaking out of its Bowels into these upper Regions. These are potent Causes indeed, more than enough to destroy this Earth, if it was a thousand Times bigger than it is. But for that very Reason, I suspect they are not the true Causes; for God and Nature do not use to employ unnecessary Means to bring about their Designs. Disproportion and Over-sufficiency is one sort of false Measures, and ’tis a Sign we do not thoroughly understand our Work, when we put more Strength to it than the Thing requires. Men are forward to call in extraordinary Powers, to rid their Hands of a troublesome Argument, and so make a short Dispatch to save themselves the Pains of further Enquiries; but as such Methods as these commonly have no Proof, so they give little Satisfaction to an Inquisitive Mind. This Supposition of burning the Earth, by the Sun drawing nearer and nearer to it, seems to be made in Imitation of the Story of _Phaeton_, who driving the Chariot of the Sun with an unsteady Hand, came so near the Earth, that he set it on Fire. But however, we will not reject any Pretensions without a fair Trial: Let us examine therefore what Grounds they can have for either of these Suppositions, of the Approximation of the Sun to the Earth, or the Eruption of the Central Fire.

As to the Sun, I desire first to be satisfied in present Matter of Fact: Whether by any Instrument or Observation it hath or can be discover’d, that the Sun is nearer to the Earth now, than he was in former Ages? Or, If by any Reasoning or comparing Calculations, such a Conclusion can be made? If not, this is but an imaginary Cause, and as easily deny’d as propos’d. Astronomers do very little agree in their Opinions about the Distance of the Sun: _Ptolemy_, _Albategnius_, _Copernicus_, _Tycho_, _Kepler_, and others more modern, differ all in their Calculations; but not in such a Manner or Proportion, as should make us believe that the Sun comes nearer to the Earth, but rather goes further from it. For the more modern of them make the Distance greater than the more ancient do. _Kepler_ says, the Distance of the Sun from the Earth lies betwixt 700 and 2000 Semidiameters of the Earth: But _Ricciolus_ makes it betwixt 700 and 7000: And _Gottefred Wendelme_ hath taken 14656 Semidiameters, for a middle Proportion of the Sun’s Distance; to which _Kepler_ himself came very near in his later Years. So that you see how groundless our Fears are from the Approaches of an Enemy, that rather flies from us, if he change Postures at all. And we have more Reason to believe the Report of the modern Astronomers, than of the antient, in this Matter; both because the Nature of the Heavens and of the celestial Bodies is now better known, and also because they have found out better Instruments and better Methods to make their Observations.

If the Sun and Earth were come nearer to one another, either the Circle of the Sun’s diurnal Arch would be less, and so the Day shorter; or the Orbit of the Earth’s annual Course would be less, and so the Year shorter: Neither of which we have any Experience of. And those that suppose us in the Centre of the World, need not be afraid ’till they see _Mercury_ and _Venus_ in a Combustion, for they lie betwixt us and Danger; and the Sun cannot come so readily at us with his fiery Darts, as at them who stand in his Way. Lastly, this languishing Death, by the gradual Approaches of the Sun, and that irreparable Ruin of the Earth, which at last must follow from it, do neither of them agree with that Idea of the _Conflagration_, which the Scripture hath given us; for it is to come suddenly and unexpectedly, and take us off like a Violent Fever, not as a lingring Consumption. And the Earth is also to be destroyed by Fire, as not to take away all Hopes of a Resurrection, or Renovation: For we are assur’d by Scripture, that there will be new Heavens and a new Earth after these are burnt up. But if the Sun should come so near us, as to make the _Heavens pass away with a Noise, and melt the Elements with fervent Heat_, and destroy the Form, and all the Works of the Earth, what Hopes or Possibility would there be of a Renovation, while the Sun continu’d in this Posture? He would more and more consume and prey upon the Carcass of the Earth, and convert it at length either into an Heap of Ashes, or a Lump of vitrified Metal.