Of the spiritual reign of christ
John Gill
It has been observed in the
preceding chapter, that Christ has been exercising his kingly office in all ages
of time, both before and since his incarnation: and there are two remarkable
periods of time yet to come; in which Christ will exercise his kingly office in a more visible and glorious manner; the one may be
called, the "spiritual reign of Christ"; and the other his
"personal reign"; it is the former of these that will now be attended
to; and which is no other than the present reign continued; and which will be
administered in the same manner: only,
1. First,
with greater purity, and to a greater degree of perfection; both as to doctrine
and practice.
1a. The kingdom of Christ will
be carried on by the ministry of the word, as now; the gospel will then be
preached; and in this the spiritual reign will differ from the personal
one, in which there will be no ministry of the word, all God's elect being
gathered in, and the saints in a perfect state; but in this there will be
multitudes to be converted, and will be converted by the word, and saints be in
an imperfect state, and to be edified and comforted. The gospel is to be
preached unto the end of the world, and Christ has promised his presence with
his ministers so long; and hence the gospel is called the
"everlasting gospel", #Mt 28:19,20 Re 14:6 but in the spiritual reign
it will be preached,
1a1. With
more light and clearness than now. The light of the
present time
is fitly described as being neither "clear nor
dark";
not so clear as in the first times of the gospel, nor
so dark as in
the darkest times of Popery, or as it may be
before a
brighter day appears. It is "one day", a remarkable
uncommon day;
"known to the Lord", how long it will last,
and to him
only; "not day nor night", not clear day nor dark
night,
but a sort of an evening twilight; and at "evening
time",
when a greater darkness may be expected to be coming
on, "it
shall be light", #Zec 14:6,7 a blaze of light shall
break out,
and that to such a degree, that "the light of the
moon",
which at most is the light we now have, "shall be as
the
light of the sun" in its meridian splendour; and "the
light of the
sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven
days";
as great as the light of seven days could it be
collected
together; so great will be the difference between
the gospel
light as now, and as it will be then, #Isa 30:26.
"The
angel having the everlasting gospel to preach"; by whom
is meant a
set of gospel ministers in the spiritual reign; is
said to
"fly in the midst of heaven" with it, which not only
denotes the
public but the clear ministration of it,
#Re 14:6.
1a2. The
gospel will be preached with greater consistence; a
principal
fault in the present ministry of the word is
inconsistence;
not only in different ministers, but in the
same
ministers at different times, and even in the same
discourse;
"the trumpet gives an uncertain sound"; but "in
that
day", in the spiritual reign, "the great trumpet" of
the gospel
will be "blown" with great strength and fervour,
and with a
more even and unwavering note, and so be
understood by
saints and sinners, and be a better direction
to
them; there will not be that yea and nay as now, but the
ministry of
the word will be uniform and all of a piece.
1a3. There
will be an agreement in the ministers of it; now they
clash with
one another, scarcely two persons think and speak
the
same thing; and some so widely different, that it seems
to be another
gospel preached by some than what is by
others;
though indeed there is not another gospel; but in
the spiritual
reign the "watchmen", Christ's ministers, who
watch for the
good of the souls of men, "shall see eye to
eye,
when the Lord shall bring again Zion", or restore his
church to its
former state and glory, #Isa 52:8 their light
will be the
same, their ministry will be alike, they will
see things in
the same light, and speak the same things, and
in the same
manner.
1a4. There
will be one faith, one doctrine of faith or system of
truths, which
will be preached and professed by all; there
will be no
more an Arian, a Socinian, a Pelagian and
Arminian, or any
other heterodox person; as there will be
but
one Lord, "his name" will be "one", one religion
professed by
all that name the name of Christ; they will be
all of one
accord, of one mind, #Zec 14:9.
1a5. The
gospel will have a greater spread than now; at present
it
lies in a narrow compass, chiefly in the isles, very
little on the
continent; and in the countries where it is,
it is but in
few places there; but hereafter many will run
to and fro,
and knowledge, evangelical knowledge, will be
increased;
the earth shall be full of it, as the waters
cover
the sea; the angel, or a set of gospel ministers,
shall have it
to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue,
and people.
Those "living waters", the doctrines of grace,
which are the
means of quickening sinners and enlivening
saints,
"shall go out from Jerusalem", the church of God;
"half
of them towards the former", or eastern "sea", and
"half of
them towards the hinder" or western "sea"; that is,
they shall go
east and west, even into all parts; "in summer
and in winter
shall it be"; these waters shall be always
flowing, or
these doctrines constantly and continually
preached,
#Da 12:4 Isa 11:9 Re 14:6 Zec 14:8.
1a6. The
gospel will be preached with greater success; there will
be no more such
complaints, as "Who hath believed our
report?"
the report of the gospel will be generally
believed;
and "to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" the
power of God
will go along with the word, to the conversion
of multitudes;
who, to the great surprise of the church,
will
"fly as a cloud" for number; so that there shall scarce
be room
enough in the church for them; and it will be said,
"The
place is too strait for me, give place to me that I may
dwell";
the place of her tent must be enlarged, the curtains
of her
habitation stretched forth, and her cords lengthened,
since she
shall break forth on the right hand and on the
left, and her
seed shall inherit the Gentiles, #Isa 49:18-20
1b. The same ordinances will
be administered in the spiritual reign as now; in this it will differ also from
the personal reign; for then the "city", the church, will have no
"need of the sun nor moon" of gospel ordinances, the Lord himself
personally will be the light of his people; but in this
state the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper will be celebrated; for
they are to continue till Christ's second coming and personal appearance, #Mt
28:19,20 1Co 11:26 but not as they are commonly administered now, but as they
were first delivered; through a course of time and prevailing corruption, men
"have transgressed the laws, change the ordinances, and broken
the everlasting covenant", #Isa 24:5 so that were the apostles to rise
from the dead, they would not know the ordinances as in general use, to be the
same that were given to them; but in the spiritual reign of Christ they will be
restored to their primitive purity, and be observed clear of all renovation and
corruption; we shall no more hear of that absurd notion of transubstantiation,
or of the bread and wine in the ordinance of the supper
being transubstantiated into the very body and blood of Christ; nor of
withholding the cup from the laity; nor of kneeling at the reception of the
elements, as if adored; nor of the prostitution of this sacred ordinance to
secular purposes, to qualify for places of honour or trust, or profit in civil
things; nor shall we hear any more of the childish practice of infant
sprinkling; the ordinance of baptism will be administered
only to its proper subjects, believers in Christ, and in its proper manner, by
immersion.
1c. The same discipline will
be observed in the churches of Christ as now; only with greater strictness, and
more agreeable to the laws and rules of Christ: in this also the
spiritual reign will differ from the personal; there will he no temple seen in
that, but the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb will be the temple of it, #Re
21:22. The worship and discipline of Christ's house will not be carried on in
the manner as in the present state: but in the spiritual reign, "the
temple of God will be opened in heaven, and the ark of his testament will be
seen" in it: the affairs of the church will be
restored as at first; and all things will be done according to the pattern
Christ has given; the form and fashion of the house, the church, its comings
in, and goings out, admission and exclusion of members, the laws and ordinances
of it, respecting discipline, will be shown most clearly to it; and which will
be strictly and punctually observed: there will be no more controversies about
the nature of a church, and the government of it, and of
officers in it; and in whom the exercise of power lies; and who to be admitted
into it, and rejected from it, and by whom; see #Re 11:19 Isa 1:26 Jer 30:18
Eze 43:10, 11. Churches will be formed and governed upon the plan they were in
the times of the apostles.
2.
Secondly, The spiritual reign of Christ will be more large and ample than now
it is; it will reach all over the world.
2a. The first step towards the
increase and enlargement of Christ's kingdom, will be the destruction of
antichrist; who, in the prophecy of Daniel, is spoken of as a "little horn"; an "horn", which is an emblem of
strength, power, and dominion: a "little" one, as at his first rise,
and in comparison of other powers; having eyes like "the eyes of
man"; denoting his sagacity, penetration, and looking out sharp on all
sides, to enlarge his power and dominion; and a "mouth speaking great
things", in favour of himself, and against the most high, and his people;
and a "look more stout than his fellows", than
his fellow bishops, more bold, arrogant, and impudent; making war with the
saints, the Waldenses and Albigenses; and thinking to "change times and
laws"; to change times and seasons, for different purposes than for what
they were designed; and to dispense with the laws of God and man, and make new
ones: but though he should continue thus great and mighty for a time, it is
said, his "dominion should be taken away, consumed and
destroyed"; and that he should "come to his end, and none shall help
him", #Da 7:20-26 11:45. In the New Testament he is called, "the man
of sin", because extremely wicked; and "the son of perdition",
because not only deserving of it, but shall certainly come into it; who
"opposeth" Christ in his offices; "exalteth himself above all
that is called god"; above heathen deities, above
angels, and above civil magistrates; "sits in the temple of God", the
church, over which he sets himself as head; "showing himself that he is
God"; taking the name of God to himself; and assuming the prerogative of
God, to forgive sin: he is called, "that wicked" and lawless one, and
"mystery of iniquity", that began doctrinally and practically to work
in the times of the apostles; though this evil one lay
greatly hid for a while, and was let and hindered from a more open appearance
by the Roman emperor; yet, upon his removal from Rome to Constantinople, way
was made for him to take his seat, and show his power: but notwithstanding his
long and tyrannical reign, Christ will consume him "with the Spirit of his
mouth", and destroy him "with the brightness of his coming",
#2Th 2:3-8. In the book of Revelation, he is described by
two beasts, one rising out of the sea, the other out of the earth; signifying
his twofold capacity, civil and ecclesiastical; and his twofold power, temporal
and spiritual: great things are ascribed to him, and said to be done by him;
who shall continue long, but at last go into perdition: this mother of harlots,
with whom the kings of the earth have committed
fornication, shall be hated by them, and she be burnt with fire; see #Re
13:1-18 17:8,16 then they that destroyed the earth with false doctrines and
worship shall be destroyed, #Re 11:18 the man of the earth shall no more
oppress and tyrannize over the consciences of men; the Heathen, or Gentiles, by
which name the papists are sometimes called, shall perish out of the land; and
those sinners shall be consumed out of it, and those wicked
ones be no more; see #Ps 10:16,18 104:35 so the judgment and burning of the
beast, antichrist, is related as previous to the kingdom of Christ, the Son of
man, #Da 7:12-14.
The reign of antichrist is
fixed in prophecy, for a certain time; in #Da 7:25 for a time,
and times, and the dividing of time; that is, for three years and a half; the
same with forty-two months, and one thousand two hundred and sixty days; which
are so many years: but when these will end, cannot be said with any precision,
because it is difficult to settle the beginning of his reign; could that be
done, it would easily be known when it would end: there have been many
conjectures made, and times fixed, but without effect; even
this very year, one thousand, seven hundred, and sixty-six {1}, has been
pitched upon as the time of antichrist's destruction, and the beginning of the
millennium; but nothing of this kind appears; or as being very near at hand:
however, what is said of the ruin of antichrist, and of the antichristian
states, will be fulfilled by the Lord in his own time. And this will be done,
partly by the preaching of the gospel, which is the Spirit
and breath of Christ's mouth; with which antichrist will be consumed and
destroyed, upon the angel flying in the midst of heaven, with the everlasting
gospel, to preach to all nations; and upon mother angel appearing with such
splendour, power, and glory, as to lighten the whole earth, the fall of Babylon
will immediately follow, and be proclaimed; the gospel then
preached, will give such a light as to open the eyes of men, to behold the
abominable doctrines and practices of the church of Rome, so as to hate it,
depart from it, and leave it desolate; see #Re 14:6-8 18:1,2 #Re 17:16 and
partly the ruin of antichrist, and the antichristian states, will be effected
by the pouring out of the seven vials of God's wrath upon them; which will be
put into the hands of seven angels, or protestant princes,
by one of the four beasts, or living creatures, the emblems of gospel
ministers; who having some knowledge of the time of antichrist's destruction
being near, will stir up the protestant princes to take this work in hand; who
will carry their victorious arms into popish countries, and make a conquest of
them; first into Germany, then into France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy; and
into the very kingdom and seat of the beast; for the first
five vials will be poured out on the Western antichrist, and his dominions;
which will cause revolutions in them from popery, and where the gospel will
take place; and all those countries now under the power of papacy, will become
the kingdom of Christ, and will make a large addition to his interest in the
world; see #Re 15:1-8 16:1-21.
2b. The next step to the
increase and enlargement of Christ's kingdom and government in the world, will
be the conversion of the Jews, which will follow upon the destruction of
antichrist; for the Popish religion is the great stumbling block which lies in
the way of the Jews; and therefore must be first removed. There are many prophecies that speak of their conversion; as that they
shall be "born" at once; not in a civil sense, set up and established
as a nation; but in a spiritual sense, born again of water and of the spirit;
they shall be brought into a thorough conviction of sin, and a true sense or
it, and shall mourn for it; particularly the sin of their obstinate rejection
of the true Messiah, and their continued unbelief in him; when
they shall be led and go forth with weeping and with supplication, and shall
seek the Lord their God, and David their king, the Messiah, and receive him and
submit unto him; and join themselves to Christian churches, and be subject to
the ordinances of Christ: and this will be universal; all Israel shall be
saved, the whole nation shall be born at once, suddenly; for which for many
hundreds of years they have been kept a distinct people,
and have not been reckoned and mixed among the nations, though scattered in the
midst of them; which is a most marvellous thing in providence, and plainly
shows that God has some great things to do for them and by them. In the reign
of the late king, and within our knowledge and memory, was a very surprising
event respecting this people, yet little taken notice of; a bill was brought into our British Parliament to naturalize them; I then
thought in my own mind it would never pass; God would not suffer it in
providence, being so contrary to scripture revelation and prophecy, and the
state of that people, in which they are to continue until their conversion; but
the bill did pass to my great astonishment, not knowing what to think of
prophecy, and of what God was about to do in the world, and
with that people. But lo! the bill was repealed, and that before one Jew was
naturalized upon it; and then all difficulties were removed, and it appeared to
be the will of God, that an attempt should be made, and that carried into
execution as near as possible, without crossing purposes, and contradicting
prophecy; and to let us see what a watchful eye the Lord keeps upon the
counsels of men, and that there is no counsel against the
Lord; and that the Jews must remain a distinct people until the time of their
conversion. How otherwise at that time would it appear that a nation is born at
once, if not then a people that dwell alone, and not reckoned among the
nations? These two sticks, Jews and Gentiles, will become one; but it will be
in and by the hand of the Lord; it will not be effected by Acts of Parliament, but by works of grace upon the souls of men; the
Jews will never be naturalized until they are spiritualized; and when they are,
they will return to their own land and possess it, being assisted, as they will
be, by Protestant princes, who will drive out the Turk and establish them in
it; this will be another addition to the kingdom of Christ.
2c. By this means, the
conversion of the Jews, and the settlement of them in their own land, a way
will he opened for the great spread of the gospel in the Eastern nations, and
for the enlargement of Christ's kingdom there; for the Protestant princes, who
will be assisting to the Jews in replacing them in their own land, will carry their victorious arms into other parts of the Turkish
dominions, and dispossess the Turk of his empire; which will be effected by the
pouring out of the sixth vial upon the river Euphrates, which will be dried up;
an emblem of the utter destruction of the Ottoman empire; whereby way will be
made for the kings of the East; or for the gospel being carried into the
kingdoms of the East; not only into Turkey, but Tartary,
Persia, China, and the countries of the Great Mogul; which, upon the passing
away of the second, or Turkish woe, the kingdoms of this world, those vast
kingdoms just mentioned, will become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his
Christ, #Re 16:12 11:14,15. And now will the fulness of the Gentiles be brought
in; and those vast conversions made among them, prophesied of in #Isa 60:1-22. And now will the interest and church of Christ, make the
greatest figure it ever did in the world; now kings shall come to the brightness
and glory of Zion; her gates shall stand open continually for the kings of the
Gentiles to enter in; who will become church members, and submit to all the
ordinances of Christ's house; their kings shall be nursing fathers, and their
queens nursing mothers: and this will be the case, not only
of one or two, or a few of them; but even of all of them; for all kings shall
fall down before Christ, and all nations shall serve him: churches shall be
raised and formed everywhere; and those be filled with great personages: now
will be the time when the kingdom, and dominion, and greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High. #Isa 60:3,10,11 49:23 Ps 72:10,11 Da 9:27. Yet such
will be the spirituality of this state, that it will be a counterbalance to the
grandeur and riches of it; so that the saints shall not be hurt thereby; as in
former times, particularly in the times of Constantine; which leads me further
to observe,
3.
Thirdly, That the reign of Christ in this state, will be more spiritual than
now; from whence it has its name.
3a. There will be a more
plentiful effusion of the Spirit of God upon ministers and churches, in this
state: the prophecy of Joel, concerning the pouring forth of the Spirit, had a very great accomplishment on the day of
Pentecost, upon the apostles; but not its whole accomplishment; for the Spirit
was not then poured forth upon "all" flesh, as promised; nor upon the
Gentiles: but now it will be poured out on them in general from on high; so
that the wilderness of the Gentiles shall become a fruitful field, #Isa
32:15,16 and to this will be owing the above things; as the destruction
of antichrist, which will be by the Spirit of Christ accompanying his word; and
the conversion of the Jews will follow, upon the Spirit of grace and
supplication being poured forth on the house of David, and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem; and the many and great conversions in the Gentile world, will be,
not by might or power of mere, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts.
3b. The saints in general will
be more spiritualised than now: they will have more spiritual frames of soul;
and will more mind, savour, and relish the things of the Spirit of God; and with
their whole hearts and spirits, seek more after God, and communion with him;
they will have more spiritual light and knowledge in the doctrines
of the gospel; and the light of Zion will rise, and be very bright and
glorious, conspicuous to others, and be very inviting; it will be like the
shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day. The saints will
be more spiritual in their conversation; there will be less of that frothiness,
vanity, and emptiness, which now too often appear in them; they will frequently
meet together, and speak often one to another, about
divine, spiritual, and experimental things. They will be more spiritual in
their worship; they will worship God in the Spirit, with their spirits, and
under the influence and conduct of the divine Spirit; and will enjoy more of
the spiritual presence of God and Christ; who will come down upon them like
rain upon the mown grass, and as showers of rain upon the earth, very
refreshing and delightful.
3c. The graces of the Spirit
of God will be more in exercise. Faith, which a little before this time will be
scarcely found in the earth, will now be in high exercise; and especially the
grace of love, which will be the distinguishing character of this state; and which will answer to its name, Philadelphia, which
signifies brotherly love; for in that church state, the spiritual reign will
be: then the saints will be of one heart, and of one soul; as the primitive
Christians were; they will be kindly affectioned one to another; no animosities
and contentions among them, on any account, civil or religious; Ephraim shall
not envy Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim; but all being of one
mind, having one Lord, one faith, one baptism, they will keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace; see #Isa 11:13 Eph 4:2-4.
3d. There will be abundance of
peace in this reign, even of outward peace; no more wars, nor rumours of wars;
swords and spears will be beaten into plowshares and pruning
hooks; and war shall be learnt no more: no more persecution, nor persecutors:
there will be none to hurt and destroy in all God's holy mountain: and such as
were like wolves, and leopards, and bears, shall be as tame as lambs, kids, and
calves; and shall feed and lie down together: there shall be an abundance of
peace of every kind, and of it no end; and particularly internal and spiritual
peace; for as grace will be high in exercise, joy and peace
will increase and abound; see #Ps 72:7,8 Isa 9:7 11:6-9.
3e. There will be a great
degree of holiness in all saints, of every class and rank; all the Lord's
people will be righteous; "Every pot in Jerusalem, and in Judea";
that is, every member of the church, "shall be
holiness unto the Lord"; in his sight, and to his glory; yea,
"holiness to the Lord shall be upon the bells of the horses";
signifying how common it should be, and appear in every civil action of life,
as well as in religious ones; and that holiness shall then be as common as
unholiness is now; and that it shall be visible in the lives and conversations
of saints; and be seen of all; see #Isa 9:21 Zec 14:20,21.
The other period of time in
which Christ will, in a most glorious manner, reign with his people on earth,
and which may be called, his personal reign; being what will take place at his
second coming to judgment, and personal appearance then, and upon
the first resurrection; it will be most proper to defer it, until those
articles come under consideration.
{1} The substance of this
Chapter was preached in that year.