A history of the work of redemption. Containing the outlines of a body of…

1. The setting up of the kingdom of Christ is chiefly accomplished by four successive great events, each of which is in scripture called Christ's coming in his kingdom. The whole success of ⟨p. 177⟩Christ's redemption is comprehended in one word, viz. his setting up his kingdom. This is chiefly done by four great successive dispensations of providence; and every one of them is represented in scripture as Christ's coming in his kingdom. The first is Christ's appearing in those wonderful dispensations of providence in the apostles days, in setting up his kingdom, and destroying the enemies of his kingdom, which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem. This is called Christ's coming in his kingdom, Matth. xvi.28. "Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." And so it is represented in Matth. xxiv. The second is that which was accomplished in Constantine's time, in the destruction of the Heathen Roman empire. This is represented as Christ's coming, and is compared to his coming to judgement, in the 6th chapter of Revelation at the latter end. The third is that which is to be accomplished at the destruction of Antichrist. This also is represented as Christ's coming in his kingdom in the 7th chapter of Daniel, and in other places, as I may possibly show hereafter, when I come to speak of it. The fourth and last is his coming to the last judgement, which is the event principally signified in scripture by Christ's coming into his Kingdom.

2. I would observe, that each of the three former of these is a lively image or type of the fourth and last, viz. Christ's coming to the final judgement, as the principal dispensations of providence before Christ's first coming, were types of that first coming. — As Christ's last coming to judgement is accompanied with a resurrection of the dead, so is each of the three foregoing with a spiritual resurrection. That coming of Christ, which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem, was preceded by a glorious spiritual resurrection of souls in the calling of the Gentiles, and bringing home such multitudes of souls to Christ by the preaching of the gospel. So Christ's coming in Constantine's time, was accompanied with a glorious spiritual resurrection of the greater part of the known world, in a restoration of it to a visible-church state, from a state of Heathenism. So Christ's coming at the destruction of Antichrist, will be attended with a spiritual resurrection of the church after it had been long as it were dead, in the times of Antichrist. This is called the first resurrection in the 20th chapter of Revelations.