Chapter III: Book III: Concerning the CONFLAGRATION (1)

CHAP. I.
The INTRODUCTION:
_With the Contents and Order of this Work._

Seeing Providence hath planted in all Men a natural Desire and Curiosity of knowing Things to come; and such Things especially, as concern our particular Happiness, or the general Fate of Mankind; This Treatise may, in both respects, hope for a favourable Reception amongst inquisitive Persons; seeing the Design of it is, to give an Account of the greatest Revolutions of Nature that are expected in future Ages: and in the first Place, of the _Conflagration of the World_. In which universal Calamity, when all Nature suffers, every Man’s particular Concern must needs be involved.

We see with what Eagerness Men pry into the Stars, to see if they can read there the Death of a King, or the Fall of an Empire: ’Tis not the fate of any single Prince or Potentate, that we calculate, but of all Mankind: Nor of this or that particular Kingdom or Empire, but of the whole Earth. Our Enquiries must reach to that great Period of Nature, when all Things are to be dissolv’d; both Human Affairs, and the Stage whereon they are acted; when the Heavens and the Earth will pass away, and the Elements melt with fervent Heat. We desire, if possible, to know what will be the Face of that Day, that great and terrible Day! when the Regions of the Air will be nothing but mingled Flame and Smoke, and the habitable Earth turn’d into a Sea of molten Fire.

But we must not leave the World in this Disorder and Confusion, without examining what will be the Issue and Consequences of it. Whether this will be the End of all Things, and Nature, by a sad Fate, lie eternally dissolv’d and desolate in this manner? or, Whether we may hope for a Restoration: _New Heavens_ and a _New Earth_, which the Holy Writings make mention of, more pure and perfect than the former? As if this was but as a _Refiner’s Fire_, to purge out the Dross and coarser Parts, and then cast the Mass again into a new and better Mould. These Things, with God’s Assistance, shall be matter of our present Enquiry: These make the general Subject of this Treatise, and of the remaining Parts of this _Theory_ of the Earth. Which now, you see, begins to be a kind of Prophecy or Prognostication of Things to come, as it hath been hitherto an History of Things past; of such States and Changes as Nature hath already undergone. And if that Account which we have given of the Origin of the Earth, its first and Paradisaical Form, and the Dissolution of it at the universal Deluge, appear fair and reasonable; the second Dissolution by Fire, and the Renovation of it out of a second Chaos, I hope, will be deduc’d from as clear Grounds and Suppositions. And Scripture it self will be a more visible Guide to us in these following Parts of the Theory, than it was in the former. In the mean Time, I take occasion to declare here again, as I have done heretofore, That neither this, nor any other great Revolutions of Nature, are brought to pass, by Causes purely natural, without the Conduct of a particular Providence. And ’tis the sacred Books of Scripture that are the Records of this Providence, both as to Times past, and Times to come; as to all the signal Changes, either of the natural World, or of Mankind, and the different Oeconomies of Religion. In which respects, these Books, tho’ they did not contain a moral Law, would, notwithstanding, be, as the most mystical, so also the most valuable Books in the World.

This Treatise, you see, will consist of Two Parts: The former whereof is to give an Account of the _Conflagration_; and the latter, of the _New Heavens_, and _New Earth_ following upon it; together with the State of Mankind in those new Habitations. As to the Conflagration, we _first_ enquire, What the Antients thought concerning the present Frame of this World: Whether it was to perish or no: Whether to be destroyed, or to stand eternally in this Posture. Then, in what Manner they thought it would be destroy’d: By what Force or Violence: Whether by Fire or other ways. And with these Opinions of the Antients we will compare the Doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles, to discover and confirm the Truth of them. In the _second Place_, We will examine, What Calculations or Conjectures have been made concerning the Time of this great Catastrophe, or of the End of this World: Whether that Period be definable or no; and whether by natural Arguments, or by Prophecies. _Thirdly_, We will consider the Signs of the approaching Conflagration: Whether such as will be in Nature, or in the State of human Affairs; but especially such as are taken notice of, and recorded, in Scripture. _Fourthly_, Which is the principal Point, and yet that wherein the Antients have been most silent, _What Causes_ there are in Nature, what Preparations, for this Conflagration: Where are the Seeds of this universal Fire, or Fuel sufficient for the Nourishing of it? _Lastly_, In what Order, and by what Degrees, the Conflagration will proceed: In what Manner the Frame of the Earth will be dissolv’d; and what will be the dreadful Countenance of a _burning World_.

These Heads are set down more fully in the Arguments of each Chapter; and seem to be sufficient for the Explication of this whole Matter: Taking in some additional Discourses, which, in pursuing these Heads, enter of their own accord, and make the Work more even and intire. In the Second Part, we restore the World that we had destroy’d: Build New Heavens and a New Earth, _wherein Righteousness shall dwell_. Establish that new Order of Things, which is so often celebrated by the Prophets: A Kingdom of Peace and of Justice, where the Enemy of Mankind shall be bound, and the Prince of Peace shall rule. A Paradise without a Serpent, and a Tree of Knowledge, not to wound, but to heal the Nations: Where will be neither _Curse_, nor _Pain_, nor _Death_, nor _Disease_: Where all Things are new, all Things are more perfect, both the World it self, and its Inhabitants: Where the First-born from the Dead, have the First-fruits of Glory.

We dote upon this present World, and the Enjoyments of it: And ’tis not without Pain, and Fear, and Reluctancy, that we are torn from them; as if our Hopes lay all within the Compass of this Life. Yet, I know not by what good Fate, my Thoughts have been always fix’d upon Things to come, more than upon Things present. These I know, by certain Experience, to be but Trifles; and if there be nothing more considerable to come, the whole Being of Man is no better than a Trifle. But there is Room enough before us in that we call _Eternity_, for great and noble Scenes; and the Mind of Man feels itself lessen’d and straiten’d in this low and narrow State; wishes and waits to see something greater. And if it could discern another World a coming, on this side Eternal Life: a beginning Glory, the best that Earth can bear, it would be a kind of Immortality to enjoy that Prospect before-hand. To see, when this Theatre is dissolv’d, where we shall act next, and what Parts; what Saints and Heroes, if I may so say, will appear upon that Stage; and with what Lustre and Excellency: How easy would it be, under a View of these Futurities, to despise the little Pomps and Honours, and the Momentary Pleasures of a mortal Life? But I proceed to our Subject.

CHAP. II
_The true State of the Question is propos’d._

_’Tis the general Doctrine of the Antients, that the present World,
or the present Frame of Nature, is mutable and perishable: To which
the Sacred Books agree; and natural Reason can alledge nothing
against it._

When we speak of the End or Destruction of the World, whether by Fire or otherwise, ’tis not to be imagin’d that we understand this of the _Great Universe_; Sun, Moon, and Stars, and the highest Heavens; as if these were to perish or be destroy’d some few Years hence, whether by Fire or any other Way. This Question is only to be understood of the _sublunary World_, of this Earth and its Furniture; which had its Original about Six thousand Years ago, according to the History of _Moses_; and hath once already been destroyed, when the Exterior Region of it broke, and the Abyss, issuing forth, as out of a Womb, overflow’d all the habitable Earth, _Gen. vii. 17._ _Job xxxviii. 8._ The next Deluge is that of Fire; which will have the same Bounds, and overflow the Surface of the Earth, much what in the same Manner. But the Cœlestial Regions, where the Stars and Angels inhabit, are not concerned in this Fate: Those are not made of combustible Matter; nor, if they were, could our Flames reach them. Possibly those Bodies may have Changes and Revolutions peculiar to themselves, but in Ways unknown to us, and after long and unknown Periods of Time. Therefore, when we speak of the Conflagration of the World, these have no Concern in the Question; nor any other Part of the Universe, than the Earth and its Dependances. As will evidently appear when we come to explain the Manner and Causes of the Conflagration.

And as this Conflagration can extend no farther than to the Earth and its Elements, so neither can it destroy the Matter of the Earth; but only the Form and Fashion of it, as it is an habitable World. Neither Fire, nor any natural Agent, can destroy Matter, that is, reduce it to nothing: It may alter the Modes and Qualities of it, but the Substance will always remain. And accordingly the Apostle, when he speaks of the Mutability of this World, says only, _The Figure_ or Fashion of _this World passes away_, _1 Cor. vii. 31._ This Structure of the Earth and Disposition of the Elements; and all the _Works_ of the Earth, as St. _Peter_ says, _2 Epist. iii._ all its natural Productions, and all the Works of Art or human Industry; these will perish, be melted or torn in Pieces by the Fire; but without an Annihilation of the Matter, any more than in the former Deluge. And this will be farther prov’d and illustrated in the Beginning of the following Books.

The Question being thus stated, we are next to consider the Sense of Antiquity upon these two Points: First, Whether this sublunary World is mutable and perishable: Secondly, By the Force and Action of what Causes, and in what Manner, it will perish; whether by Fire, or otherwise. _Aristotle_ is very irregular in his Sentiments about the State of the World; he allows it neither Beginning nor Ending, Rise nor Fall; but wou’d have it eternal and immutable. And this he understands, not only of the great Universe, but of this sublunary World, this Earth which we inhabit; wherein he will not admit there ever have been, or ever will be, either general Deluges or Conflagrations. And, as if he was ambitious to be thought singular in his Opinion about the Eternity of the World, he says, _All_ the _Antients_ before him, gave some Beginning or Origin to the World; but were not, indeed, so unanimous as to its future Fate: Some believing it immutable, or, as the Philosophers call it, incorruptible; others, That it had its fatal Times and Periods, as lesser Bodies have; and a Term of Age prefix’d to it by Providence.

But before we examine this Point any farther, it will be necessary to reflect upon that which we noted before, an Ambiguity in the Use of the Word _World_, which gives frequent Occasion of Mistakes in reading the Ancients: When that which they speak of the _great Universe_, we apply to the _sublunary World_: Or, on the contrary, what they speak of this Earth, we extend to the whole Universe. And if some of them, besides _Aristotle_, made the World incorruptible, they might mean that of the _great Universe_, which they thought would never be dissolv’d or perish as to its Mass and Bulk: But single Parts and Points of it (and our Earth is no more) may be variously transform’d, and made habitable and unhabitable, according to certain Periods of Time, without any Prejudice to their Philosophy. So _Plato_, for Instance, thinks this World will have no Dissolution: For, being a Work so beautiful and noble, the Goodness of God, he says, will always preserve it. It is most reasonable to understand this of the great Universe; For, in our Earth, _Plato_ himself admits such Dissolutions as are made by general Deluges and Conflagrations; and we contend for no other. So likewise in other Authors, if they speak of the Immortality of the World, you must observe what World they apply it to; and whether to the Matter or the Form of it: And if you remember that our Discourse proceeds only upon the sublunary World, and the Dissolution of its Form, you will find little in Antiquity contrary to this Doctrine. I always except _Aristotle_ (who allow’d of no Providence in this inferior World) and some _Pythagoreans_ falsly so call’d, being either fictitious Authors, or Apostates from the Doctrine of their Master. These being excepted, upon a View of the rest, you will find very few Dissenters from this general Doctrine.

_Plato_’s Argument against the Dissolution of the World, from the Goodness and Wisdom of God, would not be altogether unreasonable, tho’ apply’d to this Earth, if it was so to be dissolv’d, as never to be restor’d again. But we expect _New Heavens_ and a _New Earth_, upon the Dissolution of these; better in all Respects, more commodious, and more beautiful. And the several Perfections of the Divine Nature, Wisdom, Power, Goodness, Justice, Sanctity, cannot be so well display’d and exemplify’d in any one single State of Nature, as in a Succession of States, fitted to receive one another according to the Dispositions of the moral World, and the Order of Divine Providence. Wherefore, _Plato_’s Argument from the Divine Attributes, all Things consider’d, doth rather prove a Succession of Worlds, than that one single World should remain the same throughout all Ages, without Change or Variation. Next to the _Platonists_, the _Stoicks_ were most considerable in Matters relating to Morality and Providence: And their Opinion, in this Case, is well known; they being look’d upon by the Moderns, as the principal Authors of the Doctrine of the _Conflagration_. Nor is it less known that the School of _Democritus_ and _Epicurus_, made all their Worlds subject to Dissolution; and by a new Concourse of Atoms restor’d them again. Lastly, The _Ionick_ philosophers, who had _Thales_ for their Master, and were the first Naturalists amongst the _Greeks_, taught the same Doctrine. We have, indeed, but an imperfect Account left us of this Sect, and ’tis great Pity; for as it was one of the most antient, so it seems to have been one of the most considerable amongst the _Greeks_ for Natural Philosophy. In those Remains which _Diogenes Laertius_ hath preserv’d, of _Anaxagoras_, _Anaximenes_, _Archelaus_, &c. all great Men in their Time; we find that they treated much of the Origin of the World, and had many extraordinary Notions about it, which come lame and defective to us. The Doctrine of their Founder, _Thales_, which made all Things to consist of Water, seems to have a great Resemblance to the Doctrine of _Moses_ and St. _Peter_ about the Constitution of the first Heavens and Earth, _Gen. i._ _2 Pet. ii. 5._ But there is little in _Laertius_, what their Opinion was about the Dissolution of the World; other Authors inform us more of that. _Stobæus_, _Ecl. Phys. l. 1. c. 24_, joins them with _Leucippus_ and the _Epicureans_: _Simplicius_ with _Heraclitus_, and the _Stoicks_, in this Doctrine about the Corruptibility of the World. So that all the Schools of the _Greek_ Philosophers, as we noted before, were unanimous in this Point, excepting the _Peripateticks_; whose Master, _Aristotle_, had neither Modesty enough to follow the Doctrine of his Predecessors, nor Wit enough to invent any Thing better.

Besides these Sects of Philosophers, there were Theologers amongst the _Greeks_, more Antient than these Sects, and more Mystical. _Aristotle_ often distinguisheth the _Naturalists_, and the _Theologues_, Οἱ φυσικοὶ, οἱ θεόλογοι. Such were _Orpheus_ and his Followers, who had more of the antient Oriental Learning, than the succeeding Philosophers. But they writ their Philosophy, or Theology rather, Mythologically and Poetically, in Parables and Allegories, that needed an Interpretation. All these Theologers supposed the Earth to rise from a Chaos; and as they said that _Love_ was the Principle at first, that united the loose and severed Elements, and formed them into an habitable World; so they supposed that if _Strife_ or _Contention_ prevail’d, that would again dissolve and disunite them, and reduce Things into a Chaos; such as the Earth will be in, upon the Conflagration. And it farther appears, that both these Orders of the Learned in _Greece_, suppos’d this present Frame of Nature might perish, by their Doctrine of _Periodical Revolutions_, or of the Renovation of the World after certain Periods of Time; which was a Doctrine common amongst the Learned _Greeks_, and received by them from the ancient Barbarick Nations: As will appear more at large in the following Book, _Ch. 3._ In the mean Time we may observe, that _Origen_ in answering _Celsus_, _Lib. 9._ about the Point of the Resurrection, tells him, That Doctrine ought not to appear so strange or ridiculous to him, seeing their own Authors did believe and teach the _Renovation of the World_, after certain Ages or Periods. And the Truth is, this Renovation of the World, rightly stated, is the same Thing with the _First Resurrection_ of the Christians. And as to the second and general Resurrection, when the Righteous shall have Cœlestial Bodies; ’tis well known, that the _Platonists_ and _Pythagoreans_ cloathed the Soul with a Cœlestial Body, or, in their Language, an Æthereal Vehicle, as her last Beatitude or Glorification. So that _Origen_ might very justly tell his Adversary, he had no Reason to ridicule the Christian Doctrine of the Resurrection, seeing their own Authors had the main Strokes of it in their Traditionary Learning.

I will only add one Remark more, before we leave this Subject, to prevent a Mistake in the Word _Immortal_ or _Immortality_, when applied to the World. As I told you before, the Equivocation that was in that Term _World_, it being us’d sometimes for the whole Universe, sometimes for this inferior Part of it where we live; so likewise we must observe, that when this inferior World is said to be _Immortal_, by the Philosophers, as sometimes it is, that commonly is not meant of any single State of Nature, or any single World, but of a Succession of Worlds, consequent one upon another. As a Family may be said Immortal, not in any single Person, but in a Succession of Heirs. So as, many Times, when the Ancients mention the Immortality of the World, they do not thereby exclude the Dissolution or Renovation of it; but suppose a Vicissitude, or Series of Worlds succeeding one another. This Observation is not mine, but was long since made by _Simplicius_, _Stobæus_, and others, who tell us in what Sense some of those Philosophers who allowed the World to be perishable, did yet affirm it to be immortal: Namely, by successive Renovations.

Thus much is sufficient to shew the Sense and Judgment of Antiquity, as to the Changeableness or Perpetuity of the World. But ancient Learning is like ancient Medals, more esteem’d for their Rarity, than their real Use; unless the Authority of a Prince make them currant: So neither will these Testimonies be of any great Effect, unless they be made good and valuable by the Authority of Scripture. We must therefore add the Testimonies of the Prophets and Apostles, to these of the _Greeks_ and _Barbarians_, that the Evidence may be full and undeniable. That the Heavens and the Earth will perish, or be chang’d into another Form, is, sometimes, plainly express’d, sometimes suppos’d and alluded to in Scripture. The Prophet _David_’s Testimony is express, both for the Beginning and Ending of the World: In _Psal. cii. ver. 25, 26, 27_. _Of old hast thou laid the Foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the Work of thy Hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of them shall wax old like a Garment; as a Vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy Years shall have no End._ The Prophet _Isaiah_’s Testimony is no less express, to the same Purpose, _ch. li. 6._ _Lift up your Eyes to the Heavens, and look upon the Earth beneath: For the Heavens shall vanish away like Smoke, and the Earth shall wax old like a Garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like Manner._ These Texts are plain and explicit; and in Allusion to this Day of the Lord, and this Destruction of the World, the same Prophet often useth Phrases that relate to it: As the _Concussion of the Heavens and the Earth, Isa. xiii. 13._ The _shaking of the Foundations of the World, ch. xxiv. 18, 19._ The _Dissolution of the Host of Heaven, ch. xxxiv. 4._ And our Sacred Writers have Expressions of the like Force, and relating to the same Effect: As the _Hills melting like Wax, at the Presence of the Lord, Psal. xcvii. 5._ Shattering _once more_ all the Parts of the Creation, _Hagg. ii. 6._ _Overturning the Mountains, and making the Pillars of the Earth to tremble, Job ix. 5, 6._ If you reflect upon the Explication given of the Deluge, in the first Part of this Theory, and attend to the Manner of the Conflagration, as it will be explain’d in the Sequel of this Discourse, you will see the Justness and Fitness of these Expressions: That they are not Poetical Hyperboles, or random Expressions of great and terrible Things in general, but a true Account of what hath been, or will be, at that great Day of the Lord. ’Tis true, the Prophets sometimes use such like Expressions figuratively, for Commotion in States and Kingdoms, but that is only by way of Metaphor and Accommodation; the true Basis they stand upon, is, That Ruin, Overthrow, and Dissolution of the Natural World, which was once at the Deluge, and will be again, after another Manner, at the general Conflagration.

As to the New Testament, our Saviour says, _Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but his Words shall not pass away, Mat. xxiv. 35._ St. _Paul_ says, the _Scheme of this World_; the Fashion, Form, and Composition of it, _passeth away, 1 Cor. vii. 31._ And when mention is made of _New Heavens_ and a _New Earth_, which both the Prophet _Isaiah_, _Isa. lxv. 17. & lxvi. 22._ and the Apostles St. _Peter_ and St. _John_, _Rev. xxi. 1._ _2 Pet._ _iii. 13._ mention, ’tis plainly imply’d, that the Old ones will be dissolv’d. The same Thing is also imply’d, when our Saviour speaks of a _Renascency_, or _Regeneration_, _Mat. xix. 28._ and St. _Peter_, of a _Restitution_ of all Things, _Acts iii. 21._ For what is now, must be abolish’d, before any former Order of Things can be restor’d or reduced. In a Word, If there was nothing in Scripture concerning this Subject, but that Discourse of St. _Peter_’s, in his Second Epistle, and Third Chapter, concerning the triple Order and Successions of the Heavens and the Earth, past, present, and to come; that alone would be a Conviction, and Demonstration to me, that this present World will be dissolv’d.

You will say, it may be, in the last Place, we want still the Testimony of Natural Reason and Philosophy, to make the Evidence complete. I answer, ’tis enough if they be silent, and have nothing to say to the contrary. Here are Witnesses, Human and Divine, and if none appear against them, we have no reason to refuse their Testimony, or to distrust it. Philosophy will very readily yield to this Doctrine, that all material Compositions are dissolvable; and she will not wonder to see that die, which she had seen born: I mean this terrestrial World. She stood upon the Chaos, and saw it roll itself, with Difficulty, and after many Strugglings, into the form of an habitable Earth: And that Form she saw broken down again at the Deluge; and can as little hope or expect, now, as then, that it should be everlasting and immutable. There would be nothing great or considerable in this inferior World, if there were not such Revolutions of Nature. The Seasons of the Year, and the fresh Productions of the Spring, are pretty in their Way; but when the (_Annus Magnus_) _Great Year_ comes about, with a new Order of all Things, in the Heavens, and on the Earth; and a new Dress of Nature throughout all her Regions, far more goodly and beautiful than the fairest Spring; this gives a new Life to the Creation, and shews the Greatness of its Author. Besides, these fatal Catastrophes are always a Punishment to degenerate Mankind, that are overwhelm’d in the Ruins of these perishing Worlds. And to make Nature herself execute the Divine Vengeance against rebellious Creatures, argues both the Power and Wisdom of that Providence that governs all Things here below. These Things Reason and Philosophy approve of; but if you further require, that they should shew a _Necessity_ of this future Destruction of the World, from _natural Causes_, with the Time, and all other Circumstances of this Effect; your Demands are unreasonable, seeing these Things do not depend solely upon Nature. But if you will content yourself to know what Dispositions there are in Nature towards such a Change; how it may begin, proceed, and be consummate, under the Conduct of Providence, be pleased to read the following Discourse, for your further Satisfaction.

CHAP. III.

_That the World will be destroy’d by Fire, is the Doctrine of the
Ancients, especially of the Stoicks. That the same Doctrine is more
ancient than the Greeks, and deriv’d from the Barbarick Philosophy;
and That probably from Noah, the Father of all Traditionary
Learning. The same Doctrine expressly authorized by Revelation, and
inroll’d into the Sacred Canon._

That the present World, or the present Frame of Nature, will be destroy’d, we have already shewn. In what Manner this Destruction will be, by what Force, or what kind of Fate, must be our next Enquiry. The Philosophers have always spoken of _Fire_ and _Water_, those Two unruly Elements, as the only Causes that can destroy the World, and work our Ruin; and accordingly, they say, all the great and fatal Revolutions of Nature, either past, or to come, depend upon the Violence of these Two; when they get the Mastery, and overwhelm all the rest, and the whole Earth, in a Deluge, or Conflagration. But, as they make these Two the destroying Elements, so they also make them the purifying Elements. And, accordingly in their Lustrations, or their Rites and Ceremonies for purging Sin; Fire and Water were chiefly made use of, both amongst the _Romans_, _Greeks_, and _Barbarians_. And when these Elements over-run the World, it is not, they say, for a final Destruction of it, but to purge Mankind, and Nature from their Impurities. As for Purgation by Fire and Water, the Stile of our Sacred Writings does very much accommodate itself to that Sense; and the Holy Ghost, who is the great Purifier of Souls, is compared in his Operation upon us, and in our Regeneration, to Fire or Water. And as for the external World, S. _Peter_, _1 Ep. iii. 21._ makes the Flood to have been a kind of _Baptizing_ or Renovation of the World. And S. _Paul_, _1 Cor. iii. 13._ and the Prophet _Malachi_, _c. iii. 2, 3._ makes the last Fire, to be a purging and refining Fire. But to return to the Ancients.

The _Stoicks_ especially, of all other Sects amongst the _Greeks_, have preserved the Doctrine of the Conflagration; and made it a considerable Part of their Philosophy, and almost a Character of their Order. This is a Thing so well known, that I need not use any Citations to prove it. But they cannot pretend to have been the first Authors of it neither. For, besides that amongst the _Greeks_ themselves, _Heraclitus_ and _Empedocles_, more ancient than _Zeno_, the Master of the _Stoicks_, taught this Doctrine; ’tis plainly a Branch of the Barbarick Philosophy, and taken from thence by the _Greeks_. For it is well known, that the most ancient and mystick Learning amongst the _Greeks_, was not originally their own, but borrowed of the more Eastern Nations, by _Orpheus_, _Pythagoras_, _Plato_, and many more, who travell’d thither, and traded with the Priests for Knowledge and Philosophy; and when they got a competent Stock, returned home, and set up a School, or a Sect, to instruct their Countrymen. But before we pass to the Eastern Nations, let us, if you please, compare the _Roman_ Philosophy upon this Subject, with that of the _Greeks_.

The _Romans_ were a great People, that made a Shew of Learning, but had little, in reality, more than Words and Rhetorick. Their Curiosity or Emulation in Philosophical Studies was so little, that it did not make different Sects and Schools amongst them, as amongst the _Greeks_. I remember no Philosophers they had, but such as _Tully_, _Seneca_, and some of their Poets. And of these _Lucretius_, _Lucan_, and _Ovid_, have spoken openly of the Conflagration. _Ovid_’s Verses are well known,

_Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur, affore tempus,
Quo mare, quo tellus, correptaque regia Cœli
Ardeat, & mundi moles operosa laboret._

_A Time decreed by Fate, at length will come,
When Heavens, and Earth, and Seas, shall have their Doom;
A fiery Doom: And Nature’s mighty Frame,
Shall break, and be dissolv’d into a Flame._

We see _Tully_’s Sense upon this Matter, in _Scipio_’s _Dream_. When the old Man speaks to his Nephew _Africanus_, and shews him from the Clouds, this Spot of Earth, where we live; he tells him, tho’ our Actions should be great, and Fortune favour them with Success, yet there wou’d be no Room for any lasting Glory in this World; for the World itself, is transient and fugitive. And a Deluge, or a Conflagration, which necessarily happen after certain Periods of Time, will sweep away all Records of human Actions. As for _Seneca_, he being a profess’d _Stoick_, we need not doubt of his Opinion in this Point. We may add here, if you please, the _Sybelline Verses_, which were kept, with great Religion, in the Capitol at _Rome_, and consulted with much Ceremony upon solemn Occasions. These _Sybils_, were the Prophetesses of the _Gentiles_; and tho’ their Writings now have many spurious Additions, yet none doubt but that the Conflagration of the World, was one of their original Prophecies.

Let us now proceed to the Eastern Nations. As the _Romans_ received the small Skill they had in the Sciences, from the _Greeks_; so the _Greeks_, receiv’d their chief Mystick Learning from the _Barbarians_: That is, from the _Ægyptians_, _Persians_, _Phœnicians_, and other Eastern Nations; for ’tis not only the Western, or Northern People, that they called _Barbarians_, but indeed, all Nations besides themselves. For that is commonly the Vanity of great Empires, to uncivilize, in a Manner, all the rest of the World; and to account all those People _barbarous_, that are not subject to their Dominion. These however, whom they called so, were the most ancient People, and had the first Learning that was ever heard of after the Flood. And amongst these, the _Ægyptians_ were as famous as any; whose Sentiments in this particular of the Conflagration, are well known. For _Plato_, who liv’d amongst them several Years, tells us in his _Timæus_, that it was the Doctrine of their Priests, that the fatal Catastrophes of the World, were by _Fire_ and _Water_. In like manner, the _Persians_ made their beloved God, _Fire_, at length to consume all Things that are capable of being consum’d: For that is said to have been the Doctrine of _Hydaspes_, one of their great _Magi_, or Wise Men. As to the _Phœnicians_, I suspect very much, that the _Stoicks_ had their Philosophy from them (_Just. Mar. Apol. 2._) and amongst other Things the Conflagration. We shall take Notice of that hereafter.

But to comprehend the _Arabians_ also, and _Indians_, give me leave to reflect a little upon the Story of the _Phœnix_. A Story well known, and related by some ancient Authors, and is in short this: The _Phœnix_, they say, is a Bird in _Arabia_, _India_, and those Eastern Parts, single in her Kind, never more than one at a Time, and very long-lived; appearing only at the Expiration of the _Great Year_, as they call it: And when she makes herself a Nest of Spices, which being set on fire by the Sun, or some other secret Power, she hovers upon it, and consumes herself in the Flames. But, which is most wonderful, out of these Ashes riseth a second _Phœnix_, so that it is not so much a Death, as a Renovation. I do not doubt but the Story is a Fable, as to any such kind of Bird, single in her Species, living, and dying, and reviving in that Manner: But ’tis an Apologue, or a Fable with an Interpretation, and was intended as an _Emblem_ of the World; which, after a long Age, will be consum’d in the last Fire: And from its Ashes or Remains, will arise another World, or a new-form’d Heavens and Earth. This, I think, is the true Mystery of the _Phœnix_, under which Symbol the Eastern Nations preserv’d the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and Renovation of the World. They tell somewhat a like Story of the Eagle, soaring aloft so near the Sun, that by his Warmth and enlivening Rays, she renews her Age, and becomes young again. To this the _Psalmist_ is thought to allude, Psal. ciii. 5. _Thy Youth shall be renewed like the Eagles_: Which the _Chaldee_ Paraphrast renders, _In mundo venturo renovabis, sicut Aquilæ, juventutem tuam_. These Things to me seem plainly to be Symbolical, representing that World to come, which the Paraphrast mentions, and the firing of this. And this is after the Manner of the Eastern Wisdom; which always lov’d to go fine, cloath’d in Figures and Fancies.

And not only the Eastern _Barbarians_, but the Northern and Western also, had this Doctrine of the Conflagration amongst them. The _Scythians_, in their Dispute with the _Ægyptians_ about Antiquity, argue upon both Suppositions, of Fire or Water, destroying the last World, or beginning This. And in the West, the _Celts_, the most ancient People there, had the same Tradition; for the _Druids_, who were their Priests and Philosophers, derived not from the _Greeks_, but of the old Race of Wise Men, that had their Learning traditionally, and, as it were, hereditary from the first Ages: These, as _Strabo_ tells us, _lib. 4._ gave the World a kind of Immortality, by repeated Renovations; and the Principle that destroy’d it, according to them, was always Fire or Water. I had forgot to mention in this List, the _Chaldeans_, whose Opinion we have from _Berosus_, in _Seneca_, _Nat. Quæst. 3._ _c. 29_. They did not only teach the Conflagration, but also fix’d it to a certain Period of Time, when there should happen a great Conjunction of the Planets in _Cancer_. Lastly, we may add, to close the Account, the modern _Indian_ Philosophers, the Reliques of the old _Bragmans_: These, as _Maffeus_ tells us, _lib._ 16. _Hist. Ind._ declare, That the World will be renewed after an universal Conflagration.

You see of what Extent and Universality throughout all Nations, this Doctrine of the Conflagration hath been. Let us now consider, what Defects or Excesses there are, in these ancient Opinions, concerning this Fate of the World, and how they may be rectified: That we may admit them no further into our Belief, than they are warranted by Reason, or by the Authority of the Christian Religion. The first Fault they seem to have committed about this Point, is this, That they made these Revolutions and Renovations of Nature, indefinite or endless: As if there would be such a Succession of Deluges and Conflagrations to all Eternity. This the _Stoicks_ seem plainly to have asserted, as appears from _Numenius_, _Philo_, _Simplicius_, and others. S. _Jerome_, _Ep. 60._ imputes this Opinion also to _Origen_; but he does not always hit the true Sense of that Father, or is not fair and just in the Representation of it. Whosoever held this Opinion, ’tis a manifest Error, and may be easily rectified by the Christian Revelation; which teaches us plainly, that there is a final Period and Consummation of all Things that belong to this Sublunary or Terrestrial World; When the _Kingdom shall be delivered up to the Father_; and Time shall be no more.

Another Error they committed in this Doctrine, is, the Identity, or Sameness, if I may so say, of the World’s succeeding one another. They are made, indeed, of the same Lump of Matter, but they supposed them to return also in the same Form. And, which is worse, that there would be the same Face of human Affairs; the same Persons and the same Actions over again; so as the second World would be but a bare Repetition of the former, without any Variety or Diversity. Such a Revolution is commonly call’d the _Platonick Year_: A Period when all Things return to the same Posture they had been some Thousand of Years before; as a Play acted over again, upon the same Stage, and to the same Auditory: This is a groundless and injudicious Supposition. For, whether we consider the Nature of Things, the Earth, after a Dissolution by Fire, or by Water, could not return into the same Form and Fashion it had before; Or whether we consider Providence, it would no way suit with the Divine Wisdom and Justice, to bring upon the Stage again, those very Scenes, and that very Course of human Affairs, which it had so lately condemn’d and destroy’d. We may be assur’d therefore, that, upon the Dissolution of a World, a new Order of Things, both as to Nature and Providence, always appears. And what that new Order will be, in both respects, after the _Conflagration_, I hope we shall, in the following Book, give a satisfactory Account.

These are the Opinions, true or false, of the Ancients; and chiefly of the _Stoicks_, concerning the Mystery of the Conflagration. It will not be improper to enquire, in the last Place, how the _Stoicks_ came by this Doctrine: Whether it was their Discovery and Invention, or from whom they learned it. That it was not their own Invention, we have given sufficient ground to believe, by shewing the Antiquity of it beyond the Times of the _Stoicks_. Besides, what a Man invents himself, he can give the Reasons and Causes of it, as Things upon which he founded his Invention: But the _Stoicks_ do not this, but, according to the ancient traditional Way, deliver the Conclusion without Proof or Premises. We named _Heraclitus_ and _Empedocles_, amongst the _Greeks_, to have taught this Doctrine before the _Stoicks_; And, according to _Plutarch_ (_de Defec. Orac._) _Hesiod_ and _Orpheus_, Authors of the highest Antiquity, sung of this last Fire in their Philosophick Poetry. But I suspect the _Stoicks_ had this Doctrine from the _Phœnicians_; for if we inquire into the Original of that Sect, we shall find that their Founder _Zeno_, was a Barbarian, or Semi-barbarian, deriv’d from the _Phœnicians_, as _Laertius_ and _Cicero_ give an Account of him. And the _Phœnicians_ had a great Share in the Oriental Knowledge, as we see by _Sanchoniathion’s_ Remains in _Eusebius_. And by their mystical Books which _Suidas_ mentions, from whence _Pherecydes_, _Pythagoras_’s Master, had his Learning. We may therefore, reasonably presume, that it might be from his Countrymen, the _Phœnicians_, that _Zeno_ had the Doctrine of the _Conflagration_. Not that he brought it first into _Greece_, but strongly reviv’d it, and made it almost peculiar to his Sect.

So much for the _Stoicks_ in particular, and the _Greeks_ in general. We have also, you see, trac’d these Opinions higher, to the first Barbarick Philosophers; who were the first Race of Philosophers after the Flood. But _Josephus_ tells a formal Story, of Pillars set up by _Seth_, before the Flood; implying the Foreknowledge of this fiery Destruction of the World, even from the Beginning of it. His Words, _lib. 1. c. 3._ are to this Effect, give what Credit to them you think fit: _Seth and his Fellow Students, having found out the Knowledge of the Cœlestial Bodies, and the Order and Disposition of the Universe; and having also receiv’d from Adam, a Prophecy, that the World should have a double Destruction, one by Water, another by Fire: To preserve and transmit their Knowledge, in either Case, to Posterity, they raised two Pillars, one of Brick, another of Stone, and ingrav’d upon them their Philosophy and Inventions. And one of these Pillars_, the Author says (Κατα τον Συριαδα) _was standing in_ Syria, _even to his Time_. I do not press the Belief of this Story; there being nothing, that I know of, in Antiquity, Sacred or Prophane, that gives a joint Testimony with it. And those that set up these Pillars, do not seem to me, to have understood the Nature of the _Deluge_ or _Conflagration_; if they thought a Pillar, either of Brick or Stone, would be secure, in those great Dissolutions of the Earth. But we have pursued this Doctrine high enough, without the Help of these ante-diluvian Antiquities: Namely, to the earliest People, and the first Appearances of Wisdom after the Flood. So that, I think, we may justly look upon it as the Doctrine of _Noah_, and of his immediate Posterity. And, as that is the highest Source of Learning to the present World; so we should endeavour to carry our Philosophical Traditions to that Original: For I cannot persuade myself, but that they had amongst them, even in those early Days, the main Strokes, or Conclusions of the best Philosophy: Or, if I may so say, a Form of sound Doctrine concerning Nature and Providence. Of which Matter, if you will allow me a short Digression, I will speak my Thoughts in a few Words.

In those first Ages of the World, after the Flood, when _Noah_ and his Children peopled the Earth again, as he gave them Precepts of Morality and Piety, for the Conduct of their Manners; which are usually call’d _Præcepta Noachidarum_, the _Precepts_ of _Noah_, frequently mention’d both by the _Jews_ and _Christians_: So also he deliver’d to them, at least, if we judge aright, certain Maxims, or Conclusions about Providence, the State of Nature, and the Fate of the World: And these, in Proportion, may be call’d _Dogmata Noachidarum_, the _Doctrines_ of _Noah_, and _his Children_. Which made a System of Philosophy, or secret Knowledge amongst them, delivered by Tradition from Father to Son; but especially preserv’d amongst their Priests and Sacred Persons, or such others as were addicted to Contemplation. This I take to be more ancient than _Moses_ himself, or the _Jewish_ Nation. But it would lead me too far out of my Way, to set down, in this Place, the Reasons of my Judgment. Let it be sufficient to have pointed only at this Fountain-head of Knowledge, and so return to our Argument.

We have heard, as it were, a Cry of Fire, throughout all Antiquity, and throughout all the People of the Earth. But those Alarums are sometimes false, or make a greater Noise than the Thing deserves. For my Part, I never trust Antiquity barely upon its own Account, but always require a second Witness, either from Nature, or from Scripture: What the Voice of Nature is, we shall hear all along in the following Treatise. Let us then examine at present, what Testimony the Prophets and Apostles give to this ancient Doctrine of the Conflagration of the World. The Prophets see the World a Fire at a Distance, and more imperfectly, as a Brightness in the Heavens, rather than a burning Flame: But S. _Peter_ describes it, as if he had been standing by, and seen the Heavens and Earth in a red Fire; heard the cracking Flames, and the tumbling Mountains, 2 _Pet._ iii. 10. In the Day of the Lord, _The Heavens shall pass away with a great Noise, and the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat: The Earth also, and the Works that are therein, shall be burnt up_. Then, after a pious Ejaculation, he adds, _Ver._ 12. _Looking for, and hastening the coming of the Day of God, wherein the Heavens being on Fire, shall be dissolv’d; and the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat._ This is as lively as a Man could express it, if he had the dreadful Spectacle before his Eyes. S. _Peter_ had before taught the same Doctrine (_ver._ 5, 6, 7.) but in a more Philosophick Way; describing the double Fate of the World, by Water and Fire, with relation to the Nature and Constitution of either World, past or present. _The Heavens and the Earth were of old, consisting of Water, and by Water: Whereby, the World that then was, being overflowed with Water, perished. But the Heavens and the Earth which are now, by the same Word are kept in Store, reserved unto Fire, against the Day of Judgment, and Perdition of Ungodly, or Atheistical Men._ This Testimony of S. _Peter_ being full, direct, and explicit, will give Light and Strength to several other Passages of Scripture, where the same Thing is exprest obscurely, or by Allusion. As when S. _Paul_ says, _The Fire shall try every Man’s Work in that Day_, 1 Cor. iii. 12, 13. And our Saviour says, _The Tares shall be burnt in the Fire, at the End of the World_, Matth. xiii. 40, 41, 42. Accordingly it is said, both by the Apostles and Prophets, that _God_ will come to Judgment _in Fire_. St. _Paul_ to the _Thessalonians_, 2 _Thess._ ii. 7, 8. promiseth the persecuted Righteous Rest and Ease, _When the Lord shall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire; taking Vengeance on them that know not God_, &c. And so to the _Hebrews_, St. _Paul_ says, _ch._ x. 27. that for wilful Apostates, there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin, _but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment, and fiery Indignation, which shall devour the Adversaries_, or Enemies of God. And in _ch._ xii. _ver._ 26, 27, 28, 29. he alludes to the same Thing, when, after he had spoken of _shaking the Heavens_, and the _Earth_ once more, he exhorteth, as St. _Peter_ does upon the same Occasion, to _Reverence and godly Fear; for our God is a consuming Fire_.

In like manner the Prophets, when they speak of destroying the Wicked, and the Enemies of God and Christ, at the End of the World, represent it as a Destruction _by Fire_. Psal. xi. 6. _Upon the Wicked the Lord shall rain Coals, Fire, and Brimstone, and a burning Tempest: This shall be the Portion of their Cup._ And Psal. l. 3. _Our God shall come, and will not be slow: A Fire shall devour before him_, and it _shall be very tempestuous round about him_. And in the Beginning of those two triumphal Psalms, the lxviiith, and xcviith, we see plain Allusions to this coming of the Lord in Fire. The other Prophets speak in the same Style, of a fiery Indignation against the Wicked, in the Day of the Lord: As in _Isaiah_ lxvi. 15. _For behold the Lord will come with Fire, and with his Chariots like a Whirlwind, to render his Anger with Fury, and his Rebuke with Flames of Fire_ (and _ch._ xxxiv. 8, 9, 10) And in _Daniel_, _c._ vii. 9, 10. The Ancient of Days is placed upon his Seat of Judgment, covered in Flames. _I beheld till the Thrones were set, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose Garment was white as Snow, and the Hair of his Head like the pure Wool: His Throne was like the fiery Flame, his Wheels as burning Fire. A fiery Stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministred unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: The Judgment was set, and the Books were opened._ The Prophet _Malachi_, c. iv. 1. describes the Day of the Lord to the same Effect, and in like Colours; _Behold the Day cometh, that shall burn as an Oven: and all the Proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as Stubble; and the Day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither Root nor Branch._ And that Nature herself, and the Earth shall suffer in that Fire, the Prophet _Zephany_ tells us, _c._ iii. 8. _All the Earth shall be devoured with the Fire of my Jealousy._ Lastly, this Consumption of the Earth by Fire, even to the Foundations of it, is exprest livelily by _Moses_ in his Song, _Deut._ xxxii. 22. _A Fire is kindled in my Anger, and shall burn unto the lowest Hell: and shall consume the Earth with her Increase, and set on Fire the Foundations of the Mountains._

If we reflect upon these Witnesses; and especially the first and last, _Moses_ and Saint _Peter_; at what a great Distance of Time they writ their Prophecies, and yet how well they agree, we must needs conclude they were acted by the same Spirit; and a Spirit that saw thorough all the Ages of the World, from the Beginning to the End. These Sacred Writers were so remote in Time from one another, that they could not confer together, nor conspire either in a false Testimony, or to make the same Prediction. But being under one common Influence and Inspiration, which is always consistent with itself, they have dictated the same Things, tho’ at two thousand Years Distance sometimes from one another. This, besides many other Considerations, makes their Authority incontestable. And upon the whole Account, you see, that the Doctrine of the future _Conflagration of the World_, having run thro’ all Ages and Nations, is, by the joint Consent of the Prophets and Apostles, adopted into the Christian Faith.

CHAP. IV.

_Concerning the Time of the Conflagration, and the End of the World.
What the Astronomers say upon this Subject, and upon what they
ground their Calculations: The true Notion of the Great Year, or of
the Platonick Year, stated and explained._

Having, in this first Section, laid a sure Foundation, as to the Subject of our Discourse; the Truth and Certainty of the _Conflagration_ whereof we are to treat; we will now proceed to enquire after the _Time_, _Causes_, and _Manner_ of it. We are naturally more inquisitive after the End of the World, and the Time of that fatal Revolution, than after the Causes of it: For these, we know, are irresistible, whensoever they come, and therefore we are only solicitous that they should not overtake us, or our near Posterity. The _Romans_ thought they had the Fates of their Empire in the Books of the Sibyls, which were kept by the Magistrates as a Sacred Treasure. We have also our Prophetical Books, more sacred and more infallible than theirs, which contain the Fate of all the Kingdoms of the Earth, and of that glorious Kingdom that is to succeed. And of all Futurities, there is none can be of such Importance to be enquired after, as this last Scene and Close of all human Affairs.

If I thought it possible to determine the Time of the _Conflagration_ from the bare Intuition of natural Causes, I would not treat of it in this Place, but reserve it to the last; after we had brought into View all those Causes, weigh’d their Force, and examin’d how and when they would concur to produce this great Effect. But I am satisfied, that the Excitation and Concourse of those Causes does not depend upon Nature only; and tho’ the Causes may be sufficient, when all united, yet the Union of them at such a Time, and in such a Manner, I look upon as the Effect of a particular Providence; and therefore no Fore-sight of ours, or Inspection into Nature, can discover to us the Time of this Conjuncture. This Method, therefore, of Prediction from natural Causes being laid aside as impracticable, all other Methods may be treated of in this Place, as being independent upon any Thing that is to follow in the Treatise; and it will be an Ease to the Argument to discharge it of this Part, and clear the Way by Degrees to the principal Point, which is, The _Causes_ and _Manner_ of the Conflagration.