45~.                           OF THE CONFLAGRATION OF THE UNIVRRSE.                                                       BOOK VII,

their inventions; that if that of brick was destroy. ed. by
the force of showers of rain, that of stone rematnmg,
would show to men what was written on the brick:
from hence, or, however, from an early tradition, this
notion of the burning of the world has been received
and embraced by various nations, both Jews and Gen-
tiles: as for the Jews, they might have it, not only
from tradition, but might conclude it from the word
of God, as they do; who say {}, that though God has
sworn he will not bring a flood of water ou the world,
yet he will bring a flood of fire; as it is said, Isa. lxvi.
16. For b.y fire will the Lord plead, or .judge; hence
they speak of the wicked being judged with two sorts
of judgments, by water and by fire {}: and this same
tradition got among the Gentiles, and was received by
them; as by the
Indians , the inhabitants of Siam and
Pegu, the Egyptians, the Chaldaeans, and the ancient
Gauls and Britons, arid the Druids among them {}.
And it has been embraced by poets and philosophers,
Greek and Latin. Lactantius {} quotes a prophecy of'
one of the sybils, that as God formerly destroyed the
world with a flood, so he would hereafter destroy man-
kind for their wickedness by burning. Justin Martyr
observes, that the sybi], Hystaspes (the Persian) and
the Stoics, assert, that corruptible things shall be
destroyed by fire. Orpheus, that very ancient poet,
as quoted by Plato {}, affirmed, that in the sixth gene-
ration, the world, \~katakausetai\~, (so it should be read)
shall be burnt; and Sophocles, as quoted by Justin {},
and Clemens of Alexandria {}, speaks of this burning.
The verses of Ovid {}, concerning this lnatter, and so
of Lucan {}, are well known. The philosophers make
frequent mention of it; Empedocles {} says, there shall
be sometime a changc of the world into the substance
of fire. And Heraclitus taught {}, that as all things
are of fire, all shall be resolved into it again; and that
as the world was generated out of fire, in a course of
years the whole world shall be burnt again; and so say
Hippasus {}, and Phurnutus {}; and Zeno {} expresses
himself almost in the words of Peter, that the elements
shall be destroyed, or corruptcd, by a fiery cruption;
and Plato {}, in so mar, y words, says, in length of time,
or, as some read it, in a short time, there will be a
destruction of the things on the earth by much fire.
And it is the observation of many writers, that the
Stoic philosophers held an \~ekpurwsiv\~, or conflagration of
ú Epictetus {} streaks of it; and so
the world by fire,
does Seneca {}, who says, that fire is the exitus of the
world; nay, Minutius Felix {} asserts, that this was not
only the constant opinion of the Stoics; but that the
same was the sentiment of the Epicureans, concerning
the conflagration of the elements, and the ruin of the
world; and it has been observed, that of all the he-
retics under the Christian name, none have risen up

ts T. Bob. Zebaehim, fol. 116. 1.
,4 Zohar in Gem foi. 50. 4. et 51. I.
ts Ross's View of all Religions, p. 51,5e.
~6 Strabo, !. 4. p. 1:36.
~ De Ira Dci, c. ~3.
~ Apol. ~. p. 66.
~s In Philebo, p. 406. vid Plutarch. de Oracul. Defect. p. 415,
~" De Monarchia, p. 105.
~' Stromat. I. 5. p. 606.
~z Esse quoque in fatis, &c. Metamorph. 1. I. fob. ~.
-'~ Pharsalia, 1.7. v. 81'2, &c.

who have denied the dissolution of the world by fire.
Now that men of different nations, and ages, and sen-
timents, should agree in this, makes it probable that so
it may be: but we have a more sure word of pro-
phecy, which makes this matter certain to us Chris-
tians. Wherefore,
Fourthl3t, That the world, and all things in it, shall
at last be consumed by fire may be contAuded from the
sacred scriptures. And,
1st, From Psalm 1. 3. Our God shall come, &c. By
out' God, is meant Christ, Immanuel, God with us;
called the mighty God, v 1. and is one of his names,
Isa. ix. 6. who, as at his first coming, came out of Zion,
v 2. so he will when he comes again, Joci iii. 16. of
which second coming these words arc to be under.-
stood; as appears by his order to gather his saints to
him, v 5. which' order will be given to his angels, to
gather his elect from the four winds, when raised from
the dead, at his coming, Matt. xxiv. 30. and by his
appearing under the character of a Judge, v 6. to .judge
his people, v 4. and even all the inhabitants of the
earth, who will be called from one end of it to the
other, v 1. and be judged in righteousness; and so
the Targum applies the text to the judgment of the
great day {}, when he will not keep silence. His descent
from heaven will be with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and the trump of God; when his voice
will be heard fi'om the rising of the sun to the going
down of it; and reach the dead in their graves, who
will hear it and come forth; and then a .fire shall de-
vour before him, and consume all in the way, dissolve
the heavens, melt the elements, and burn the earth,
and all in it, and be tempestuous round about Mm;
which agrees with Peter's account of the conflagration,
that the heavens shall pass away.with a great noise,
\~roizhdon\~, like that of a storm and tempest; and now, in
a literal sense, will the Lord rain upon the wicked fire
and brimstone, and an horrible tempest ! Psalm xi. 6.
2dly, Froth Psalm xcvii. 3, 4, 5. A fire goeth before
him, to make way for him, by destroying every thing
combustible; and burneth up his enemies round about,
who would not have him to reigu over them, reject him
as a Saviour, despise his gospel, and submit not to his
ordinances; so the fire with which the world shall be
burnt isf0r the perdition of ungodly men, all the wielded
inhabitants of the earth; it will leave none: his light-
nings lightened the world; such dreadful thunder and
lightning will be in the heavens, that the corruscations
thereof will blaze all over the world; the sight of which
will be so awful and tremendous, that the earth, the
inhabitants of it, will see and tremble, fearing the flashes
of it will consume them: the hills melted like wax be-
fore the fire, at the presence of the Lord, at the
sence of the Lord of the whole earth; who will now

:~ Apud Clera. Alex. Sir,mat. !. 5. p. 599.
as Laert. i. 9. in Vita Heracliti. rid. Hesychium de Philosoph. p.

Plutarchú de Placit. Philosoph. 1.1. p. 8'/7.
De Naturn De,rum, p.
Laert, 1.7. in Vita Zenonis.
In Time,, p. 1043.
Artinn. Epictet. I. 3. c. 13.
Nat. Qusest. 1.3. c. 13. rid. Consoktt. ad Marciam~ c. S6.
Octav. p. 3~.
So Austin de Civ. Dei,