A88592:681
The souls cordial in two treatises. I. Teaching how to be eased of the…The souls cordiall in two treatises. I. Teaching how to be eased of the…
The souls cordial in two treatises. I. Teaching how to be eased of the guilt of sin. II. Discovering advantages by Christs ascension. The third volum. / By that faithful labourer in the Lords vineyard Mr. Christopher Love, pastor of Lawrence Jury, London.The souls cordiall in two treatises. I. Teaching how to be eased of the guilt of sin. II. Discovering advantages by Christs ascension. The third volum. / By that faithfull labourer in the Lords vineyard Mr. Christopher Love, pastor of Lawrence Jury, London.
London: printed for Nathaniel Brooke, 1653
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Secondly, Christ shall not only come certainly, but he shall come personally; It was the great mistake of Origen, though he holds for the coming of Christ again, but he pleads chiefly for the coming of Christ in Spirit, Therefore that Text that is said, you shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven, but Origen understands by the Clouds, to be the Saints, because it is mentioned in Scripture, that the Believers ⟨p. 115⟩are called a cloud of witnesses. Now this is to pervert the whole letter of this Bible, and turn all the Scripture into an Allegory and Metaphysical sense; Now to the opposition of that, I lay down a second property, that Christs coming shall be a personal coming out of Heaven, but the Scripture doth not speak of Christs coming on the Earth, but no further then the Air, Christ in his Body shall come personally out of Heaven. Now to prove this second property, or second manner or way of Christs coming, there are two Texts of Scripture to confirm it. 1 Thess. 4.17. Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the Air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, vers. 16. For the Lord himself shall descend with a shout from Heaven, &c. If it had been Christ in his Spirit, then it would have been said, The Lord by his spirit shall descend, But the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, it notes his personal coming out of Heaven, that whereas as Jesus Christ had a personal translation, and as Christ had a visible Elevation, he was in the eyes of his Disciples lifted up, so Christ shall bodily descend and come out from heaven, the Lord himself, &c. Therefore it cannot be the Lord by his Spirit, Acts 1.11. Which also said, ye men of Galilee, why ⟨p. 116⟩stand ye gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen him go into Heaven. The same Jesus that you saw Ascend, shall descend, so that it cannot be Christ in his Spirit, but in his person. I only mention this, to confute those that follow the conceit of Origen, merely to make Christs coming, to be but a spiritual coming, a coming in the hearts of Saints.