Samuel Hopkins · 46 of 48

Section IV. In which is considered, what events are to take place, according to Scripture Prophecy, before the beginning of the Millennium, and to prepare the way for it. · Part 4

There is another prophecy of this in the thirtieth chapter of Jeremiah. Here the deliverance of the church from her oppressors, and from all her sufferings and trouble, is promised; which shall be attended with the utter overthrow and destruction of the wicked, and all her enemies. That this prophecy looks beyond the deliverance of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, and the evil that came on their enemies then, to the greater deliverance of the church from spiritual Babylon, and the general destruction of the wicked, which shall attend it, of which the former was a type, is evident, not only from a number of expressions and promises which were not fully accomplished in the former, and have respect to the latter; but from the express promise, that God will raise up David their king to reign over them, by whom must be meant Jesus Christ, the Son of David, and of whom David was an eminent type. This will appear, by attending to the following passages: “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be delivered out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee. Though 1 make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee. Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind, it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: In the latter days ye shall consider it.”

In the book of Daniel, there is prophecy of the same event. “And at that time,” (i.e. when antichrist is to be destroyed, which is predicted in the paragraph immediately preceding these words) “shall Michael stand up, the great Prince who standeth for the children of thy people,) (that is, Jesus Christ, who will support and deliver his church.) “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time,” (this is the time of the battle of that great day of God Almighty.) “And at that time, thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” This is the time of the deliverance of the church from the power of antichrist, and from all wicked men, her enemies, and of her entering upon the prosperous, happy slate, in which the saints will reign on earth a thousand years.

The Prophet Joel speaks of the same events. From the twenty eighth verse of the second chapter of his prophecy, is a prediction of the Millennium, and the preceding evils that shall be inflicted on mankind: “And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,” &c. This prophecy began to be fulfilled when the Holy Spirit was first poured out after the ascension of Christ; but this, as has been before observed, was but the first fruits, and the prophecy will be fulfilled only in a very small part before the harvest shall come in the days of the Millennium. At the same time he speaks of the great evils, and terrible events which shall take place: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be delivered.” The prophet goes on in the next chapter to speak more particularly on this subject: “For, behold, m those days and in that time, when 1 shall bring again the captivity of Judah, and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehosaphat, and will plead with them there for my people, and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.”

Judah and Jerusalem are put for the church of Christ, being a type of that, as has been observed. The captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and their return from it, is typical of the afflicted, suffering state of the church during the reign of antichrist, and the deliverance of it from this state on the fall of antichrist, and in the Millennium. This is therefore meant, when it is said, “In those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem.” When the children of Moab, Ammon and Edom came with a great army, combined together to destroy Judah, Jehosaphat was directed to go forth with the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem and meet them; and had a promise that he should have no occasion to fight with them; but should stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, because the battle was not theirs, but God’s Accordingly they went out, and stood still, and saw their enemies fall upon, and destroy each other, until they were all wasted away. Jehosaphat and his people went out to their camp, and found great riches, silver and gold, and much spoil; and they spent three days in gathering it; and on the fourth day they assembled in the valley to bless and praise the Lord, which was from that called, “The valley of Berachah.” This is the valley of Jehosaphat. And to this story, these words of the prophet Joel refer. Moab, Ammon, and Edom, the enemies of Israel, were a type of the enemies of the church and people of God, under the gospel dispensation, among all nations. This battle and their destruction of the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem in the valley of Jehosaphat, was a type of the overthrow of all the enemies of Christ and his church, when they shall be gathered to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. This prophecy therefore is a prediction of the same event which is described in the sixteenth chapter of the Revelation. Here it is said, “I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehosaphat, and will plead with them there for my people.” That is, will punish and destroy them for their opposition to me and my church. There it is said, “The kings of the earth and of the whole world were gathered to the battle of that great day. And he gathered them together to a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.” Which passage has been before explained.

The Prophet farther enlarges on this subject in the following part of this chapter: “Proclaim me this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened and come up to the valley of Jehosaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord shall also roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Every one who attends to this passage, will observe what a striking similitude there is between this description of a battle, and that in the Revelation, which has been considered. God is here represented as fighting the battle against all the heathen, and destroying multitudes on multitudes. All the heathen, even all nations are gathered together, all armed for war, and come up to the valley of Jehosaphat, and there are cut off in this valley of decision. In the Revelation all the nations of the earth are gathered together to battle at Megiddo, typifying the same thing with the valley of Jehosaphat, and there they are slain. God causes his mighty ones to come down. And John says, “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse: And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness doth he judge, and make war. And his name is called. The word of God And the armies in heaven followed him upon white horses.” Here, there is a command to “put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: Come, get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow, fop the wickedness is great.” Much the same representation is made of this battle in the Revelation, which has been particularly mentioned already. The Prophet Joel goes on to the end of his prophecy describing the happy state of the church, which shall succeed this battle, which has never yet taken place, and is like other descriptions of the Millennial state, by the Prophets. “Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no stranger pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.”

The Prophet Micah prophesied of Christ and his kingdom, in the extent and glory of it in the latter day; and of the destruction of the wicked men, and the nations of the world, in favour of the church of Christ, and in order to the prosperity of his people. All this is contained in the fifth chapter of his prophecy. “And He (i.e. Christ) shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God: And they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lift up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.”

The prophecy of Zephaniah has respect to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, and the succeeding happy and prosperous state of the church in the Millennium. It has indeed a primary respect to the evils and punishment brought upon Jerusalem and the Jews by the Chaldeans, for their apostasy and idolatry; and to the calamities and destruction which came upon the nations at that lime, and previous to the restoration of the Jews; and to their restoration from their captivity, and return to their own land; which were types of the much greater and more important events, in the last days, in which all nations will be more immediately concerned; and to which the prophecy has an ultimate and chief respect. It was fulfilled but in part, and in a small degree, in the former events; and will have the chief and complete accomplishment in the latter; as has been before observed concerning other prophecies of the same kind. Jerusalem, in her most pure state, when the statutes and ordinances which God had prescribed, were in some good degree observed, was a type of the true church of Christ. Therefore, under this name, and that of Mount Zion, and Israel, the Prophets speak of the true church m all future ages. But Jerusalem, considered m her most corrupt state of apostasy, was a type of the false church of Rome, and of all christian churches when they apostatize from the holy doctrines and precepts of the gospel. Therefore, Christ is said lo be crucified in the great city, by which is meant the apostate church of Rome, and all who partake of her corruptions; because he was crucified at Jerusalem, which was then a type of that great city, in her apostasy, and enmity against Christ, and his true church. The nations round about the land of Israel and Judea, and all those who at times afflicted and oppressed the visible people of God, and were enemies to them, were types of the enemies of the church of Christ, in the time of her affliction; especially of all the idolatrous nations and wicked men, who oppose the prosperity of the church, and are to be destroyed, in order to her deliverance and salvation. With these observations in view, this prophecy may be read, and the whole of it applied to the battle and events which will take place previous to the introduction of the Millennium, predicted in the Revelation, under the seventh vial; and to the prosperity of the church which will then commence. Then it will have its full accomplishment; and many of the expressions in it, considered in their most natural and extensive meaning, cannot be accommodated to any events which have taken place, and are not yet fulfilled. Some of these will be now mentioned. The prophecy begins with the following words: “I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I will consume man and beast: I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off man from off the land, (the earth) saith the Lord Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: For the day of the Lord is at hand: For the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. The great day of the Lord is near: it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord. The mighty men shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: And their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung. Neither their silver, nor their gold, shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land (earth) shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: For he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land (earth.) Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness; seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger. Therefore, wait upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, and all my fierce anger:—for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” The parallel and likeness between this prophecy, and that of the battle in the Revelation, is worthy of particular notice. This is called “The great day of the Lord: the day of the Lord’s wrath: a day of distress and desolation: the day that God will rise up to the prey, to gather the nations, and assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them his indignation, and fierce anger.”—in the revelation, the whole world were gathered to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. The words, that great day of battle, seem to have reference to some day which had already been made known, and undoubtedly refer to the great day of God’s wrath, which is mentioned in the prophecy before us, and by the other prophets. “And he gathered them together into a place, called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial (of wrath) into the air. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great. And the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him who sat on the horse; and the fowls were filled with their flesh.” In this prophecy it is said, “The Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.” In the Revelation the fowls of heaven are invited to come to the supper of the great God, to eat the flesh of kings, &c.

According to this prophet, when the nations and kingdoms of the world have been gathered, and God has poured upon them his indignation, even all his fierce anger; and all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of his jealousy, the scene is changed, and the remnant which are left in the earth, the few afflicted and poor people, shall repent and pray, and humble themselves before God, and return and put their trust in him alone: and God will return to them in a way of mercy and build them up, and they shall be comforted, rejoice and prosper. This is represented in the last chapter, from verse ninth to the end of the prophecy: “For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my suppliants, even the daughters of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. I will also leave in thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Sing, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel, be glad and rejoice with all the Heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee. Thou shalt not see evil any more,” &c. to the end of the prophecy. This is set in much the same light in the Revelation. When the battle there described is over, the Millennium is introduced.

There is a prophecy by the Prophet Haggai to the same purpose with the foregoing: “Again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen, and I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, I will take thee, O Zerubbabel my servant, and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee.” Zerubbabel was a type of Christ, and what is here said of the type was not fulfilled in him; but is to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ the antitype, when he shall reign on the earth, and his church fill the world, and “he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” In order to this, the great changes are to take place, represented here by shaking the heavens and the earth, and by overthrowing the throne and strength of all the kingdoms and nations, and their being destroyed by the sword: which is the battle represented in the Revelation, by thunders and lightnings, and a great earthquake, and the falling of the cities of the nations, &c.

The prophet Zechariah also speaks of these things. He prophesies of the Millennium, and of the destruction of all the people and nations who oppose the interest of the church, as preceding the days of her prosperity, and introductory to it. “And in that day will I make Jerusalem (the true church of Christ) a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it, shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and he that is feeble among them at that day, shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” This is the gathering of the kingdoms and nations of the whole world, unto the battle, by the unclean spirits which go forth to corrupt the world, and arm them against God, and his people, by the practice of all kinds of wickedness, by which the best part of the church will be greatly corrupted; and the saints will suffer very much, being besieged on all sides by very wicked men, mentioned in the Revelation, which has been explained.

The Prophet goes on to describe the battle of that great day of God Almighty, which is mentioned in the Revelation: “Thep shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away, while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.”

Malachi prophesied of the Millennium, and the preceding slaughter of the wicked, in the battle of that great day of God Almighty, in the following concise and striking language: “Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.”

From the above detail it appears, that the prophecy in the Revelation of the Millennium, and of the manner in which it will be introduced, is agreeable to the ancient prophecies of these same events: That previous to this, the christian world, and mankind in general, will become more corrupt in the practice of all kinds of wickedness: That God will rise out of his place, and come forth to do his work, his strange work, to punish the world for their wickedness, and manifest his high displeasure and anger with mankind, for their perverseness and obstinacy in rebellion against him, and in opposition to his church: That this is the battle of that great day of God Almighty, in which he will, by a course of various and multiplied calamities and sore judgments, greater and more general, and continued longer than any which have taken place before, reduce and destroy mankind, so that comparatively few will be left; an afflicted and poor people, who will repent and humble themselves before God, and trust in the mighty Saviour; for whom he will appear in great mercy, and pour down the Holy Spirit on them and their offspring; and they will multiply and fill the world. And thus 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, and the church will reign on earth a thousand years.

It appears reasonable and proper, that God should manifest his displeasure with the inhabitants of Christendom, and of the world, for their long continued abuse of his goodness, and of all the means used with them to reclaim them; and their perseverance in their opposition to Christ and his people, and increasing in all kinds of wickedness, while he has been waiting upon them, even to long suffering; by inflicting on them severe and awful judgments, and remarkably fearful punishments, to vindicate the honour of his own name; and avenge his church and people, who have been so greatly injured, despised and trampled upon: and that it may be made known by this, as well as in other ways, that the God of christians, the God and Saviour revealed in the Bible, is the true God. And this will give great instruction to those who shall be left, who will have a heart to perceive and understand. They will have before their eyes a lesson, suited most effectually to teach them the exceeding depravity and wickedness of man; and how real and dreadful is the divine displeasure and anger with sinners: How undone and utterly lost forever all men are, without a Redeemer and Sanctifier; by whom they may be recovered from the power of sin and Satan, and obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and the favour of God: How dependent they are on sovereign grace for all good, for every thing better than complete destruction; by which alone they are distinguished from those who persevere in their sins, and perish. And ail this will tend to guard them against sin, to promote their repentance and humiliation, and to lead them to more earnest, constant and united prayer to God for mercy, than was ever exercised before by men: And to ascribe all the favours they shall receive, which will then be much more abundant than ever before, to the free, sovereign grace of God; and to give him the praise of all.

In the beginning of this section it was suggested, that by attending to the events which are to take place, according to scripture prophecy, before the commencement of the Millennium, farther evidence would come into view, that this will not be much sooner or later, than the beginning of the seventh millennary of the world. This evidence has been now produced. The sixth vial is now running, and probably began to be poured out before the end of the 17th century, and will continue to run a considerable part of the next century; under which the power of antichrist is to be greatly weakened, and the way prepared for his utter overthrow: and at the same time, the christian world, and mankind in general, will be so far from reforming, that they will grow more and more corrupt in doctrine and practice, and greedily run into all manner of vice and wickedness, until they are prepared for the battle of that great day, and ripe to be cut down and destroyed by a series of divine judgments, which will be inflicted under the seventh vial, and will issue m the introduction of the Millennium.

The river Euphrates has been drying up, and the way has been preparing, for near a century past, for the utter ruin of the Pope and the hierarchy of the church of Rome, and the time of the utter overthrow of antichrist appears to be hastening on. But this is not accompanied with any reformation in that church, or in the Greek church, or in the protestant churches in general; but very much to the contrary appears. Ignorance, error and delusion, and open vice and wickedness abound, and are increasing; and infidelity is rapidly spreading in the christian world. The unclean spirits, like frogs, appear to have gone forth to all the kings’ courts, and the great men in Christendom; and the greatest corruption and abominable vices are spread among them, and real christianity is neglected, run down and opposed. And the multitude in general, both learned and unlearned, are going the same way. Deism, and a multitude of errors which lead to it, and even to atheism, are increasing. A spirit of irreligion, selfishness, pride and worldliness, is exceeding strong and prevalent, producing all kinds of wickedness, and a strong and general opposition to true religion, and the great truths and doctrines of the gospel. And the heathen world are no more disposed to become christians, than they ever were: And the way to their conversion to christianity appears to be more obstructed; and the few attempts that are made to christianize any of them, are generally unsuccessful. And Mahometans and Jews hate and oppose christianity as much as ever they did, if not more, and are sinking farther down in stupidity, ignorance, infidelity, worldliness, and all kinds of vice.