Christ's certain and sudden appearance to judgment

1. He will come with power over Death. Death hath had great power since the Fall, and is the greatest Conqueror in the world; Death hath made an universal Conquest over all the sons and daughters of Adam (Enoch and Elijah only excepted) which lived in former generations, and hath led them captive, binding their faces in secret, chaining their hands and their feet, and clapping them up close prisoners in the grave, and none have been able to make resistance; yea, Death did assail the Lord of Life himself, and got the victory for a while, and shut him up in prison; but he got loose before three days were at an end, broke open the doors, and gave Death a deep wound, as it were, and an abolishing stroke in his Resurrection, 2 Tim. 1. 10. presaging the complete victory which afterward he would obtain over this enemy of man-kind. Now when Christ makes his second appearance in the world at the last day, he will exercise his power over death, he will lead captivity captive, he will lay his first Hands on Death, and tread this Conqueror under his feet, and strip him of all his force and spoils, which he hath been treasuring up for so many years; he will snatch the keys of the grave out of the hand of Death, and open the prison doors and let forth all his captives; he will loosen all the bonds of Death, and knock off his chains, and bring out all his prisoners into freedom and enlargement: as it is said, Hos. 13. 14. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from Death: O Death! I will be thy Plagues! O Grave! I will be thy destruction! And it is said, 1 Cor. 15. 25, 26. that all enemies shall be ⟨p. 7⟩put under the feet of Jesus Christ, and the last enemy which he shall destroy is Death. And v. 54. When this mortal shall put on immortality, then Death shall be swallowed up in victory. And surely Christ must needs come with great power to get victory over such a potent enemy.

1. He will come with power over Death. Death hath had great power since the Fall, and is the greatest Conquerour in the world; Death hath made an universal Conquest over all the sons and daughters of Adam (Enoch and Elias only excepted) which lived in former generations, and hath led them captive, binding their faces in secret, chaining their hands and their feet, and clapping them up close prisoners in the grave, and none have been able to make resistance; yea, Death did assail the Lord of Life himself, and got the victory for a while, and shut him up in prison; but he got loose before three daies were at an end, broke open the doors, and gave Death a deep wound, as it were, and an abolishing stroke in his Resurrection,