r

L

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OF THE AT

PRINCETON, N. J.

DONATIOX OF

SAMUEL AGNEW,

OF PHILADELPHIA, PA.

G4Z -

<° Pi" ■ ~„^*>i t \

t\ r>„*<> Divisir^-^^v — > \

8 >*/«//, Sect i *-<«'' /O »

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Book, Ne

HISTORY

THE

INTERPRETER OF PROPHECY,

OR,

A V I E W

OF

SCRIPTURAL PROPHECIES

AND

THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENT

IN' THE

PAST AND PRESENT OCCURRENCES OF THE WORLD;

WITH

CONJECTURES RESPECTING THEIR FUTURE COMPLETION.

BY HENRY KETT, B.D.

FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD, AND ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S PREACHERS AT WHITEHALL.

IN THREE VOLUMES. V O L. I.

OXFORD;

Printed for Meffrs. Han well and Parker; and J. Cooke;

And fold by C. and J. Rivington, St. Paul's Church-Yard;' Robson, Bond-Street; Egerton, Whitehall; Cadell and Da vies, Strand; and Hat- chard, Piccadilly, London. mdccxcix.

TO THE RIGHT REVEREND

GEORGE PRETYMAN, D.D. F.R.S.

LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN,

WHOSE ARDENT AND UNREMITTING ZEAL

FOR THE INTERESTS OF RELIGION,

AND STEADY REGARD FOR LEARNING j

WHOSE CONDUCT AS A MAN,

AND WHOSE VIGILANCE AS A PRELATE,

DEMAND THE GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

OF EVERY FRIEND

TO THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH OF ENGLANDj

ESPECIALLY AT A PERIOD,

WHEN SUCH EXAMPLES ARE EMINENTLY USEFUL

TO THE CAUSE OF CHRISTIANITY;

THE FOLLOWING WORK

IS, WITH PROFOUND RESPECT,

INSCRIBED,

BY HIS LORDSHIP'S

OBLIGED AND OBEDIENT SERVANT,

HENRY KETT.

PREFACE.

THE aflonifhing progrefs made by In- fidelity in the prefent age of the world evidently requires from the friends of Chriflianity a peculiar degree of energy and vigilance in the caufe of Religious Truth. They cannot fail to recollect, that, although Religion itfelf is invul- nerable againfl every attack which ar- tifice and violence direct againfl it, it is their indifpenfable duty to exert their utmoft efforts to check the ravages of an enemy f© fatal to the dearefl in- terefls of man : and no mode of pro- tection againfl its contagious fpirit feems better calculated for general ufe, a 3 than

vi PREFACE.

than A FULL AND CLEAR ELUCIDA- TION OF THE PROPHETICAL PARTS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

The evidence derived from prophe- cy infupport of revelation, is a pro- greffive and an accumulating evidence, which fhines with increafing brightnefs as time advances in its courfe, and col- lects ftrength from each fucceeding age. And as the extraordinary events now- passing BEFORE OUR EYES will be found to augment the fplendour of its light, and to give force to its ftrength, while they receive in return a ray from Divine truth, which difcovers their ori- gin, and points out their courfe ; it may be prefumed, that a fummary view of the Prophecies is particularly suited

TO STRIKE THE MINDS OF THE PRE- SENT GENERATION, WHO SEEK IN

VAIN

PREFACE. vii

VAIN FOR ANY OTHER ADEQUATE EXPLANATION OF OCCURRENCES SO DEEPLY INTERESTING TO THEM- SELVES.

History, which conftitutes a ma- terial branch of our education, affumes the greatefl dignity of character, when fhe becomes the companion of Reli- gion, and the Interpreter of the Ora- cles of God. Her volumes prefent the moil wonderful difcoveries, and reflect the images of the prophetical parts of the Bible. The works of the writers of all ages and countries — whether Pagans — Chriftians — Jews — antient, or even modern, Infidels — whatever their opi- nions, prejudices, or defigns, unfold the myfteries of prediction, (how the fulfil- ment of the Divine will, and in reality advance the interests of Revelation.

a 4 This

viij PREFACE.

The following Work is intended to let

o

thefe truths in a ftriking point of view ;

IT DISPLAYS THE HARMONY OF PRO- PHECY THE ONE GREAT SCHEME

THAT PERVADES ALL ITS PARTS

AND THE CONCURRENCE OF ALL HU- MAN EVENTS TO ACCOMPLISH ITS STUPENDOUS PLAN.

Fully aware that this work falls ex- tremely fhort of that excellence which the fubject demands, I lament that fuch a fketch of Prophetical and Hiflorical harmony as the times feem urgently to require, delineating prefent as well as pad occurrences with a faithful and an able pencil, and marking them with the colours of flrong and vivid defcrip- tion, has not hitherto been offered to the public. I am perfuaded, that fuch a work would moft effectually anfwer

the

PREFACE. ix

the ends which thefe Volumes are moft ferioufly intended to promote — namely, to eftablifh the doubtful, to recal the wandering, to awaken the thoughtlefs, to inflrucr. the unlearned — and more particularly to produce in the minds of the rifing generation fo ftrong a convic- tion of the fuperintendence of the Al- mighty over the affairs of the world — of the Divine origin of the Gofpel — and the momentous concerns of another life, that they may view the folly and the

WICKEDNESS of the NEW PHILOSO- PHY in their proper light, and ever ftand

Up as THE FIRM SUPPORTERS OF THE SACRED CAUSE OF CHRISTIANITY.

Before I conclude this Preface, I muft make an acknowledgment, which is no lefs due to juftice, than fatisfactory to my own feelings of gratitude. I have

received

x PREFACE.

received fo much affiftance in the pro- fecution of this Work, as greatly to in- validate my claims to being reputed its Author. The plan originated with an ardent Friend to the caufe of Religion, who was led, by a very extenfive know- ledge of Hiftory and Scripture, to con- fider the pairing train of events with pe- culiar attention -, and, forcibly flruck by their agreement with the Divine word, was anxious to reprefent this enlighten- ing and confolatory truth to the public. From this Perfon, whofe name I am not at liberty to mention, and whofe anx- iety for the fuccefs of this Publication is perfectly difinterefted, I have not only received many judicious corrections of what I had written, but fuch valuable communications as are defervedly fub- flituted for many of the materials which I had prepared for the prefs. I had

alfo

PREFACE. xi

alfo the advantage of fubmitting my papers to the perufal of the learned and excellent Prelate, to whom I am allowed the honour of infcribing this Work ; to whofe enlightened and com- prehenfive views of the fubject of Pro- phecy itfelf, I am happy to acknowledge my obligations ; and to whom the pub- lic are indebted for the firft intimation of the principle that alone can ex- plain the extraordinary events which excite univerfal attention a. I congra- tulate my Readers on my having ob- tained fuch important affiflance, as it has ftamped that value upon the Vo- lumes now offered to their notice, which I am confident could not have been de- rived from my own unaided labours.

a See the Bifhop of Lincoln's excellent Difcourfe on the Day of Public Thankfgiving, 1797.

GENERAL TABLE

OF

CONTENTS.

VOLUME I.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

The defign of this Work — Sketch of the history, the nature, and the use (/prophecy — Summary of the Work,

P- l—55-

CLASS I.

prophecies which have been ful- filled DOWN TOTHE SUBVERSION

OF THE JEWISH GOVERNMENT.

CHAPTER THE FIRST.

The Promife made to Adam — confidered as a Prophecy of general Salvation by the MeJJiahy the Saviour of the World,

p. 56—71.

CHAP-

xiv CONTENTS.

CHAPTER THE SECOND.

The Promifes made to Abraham refpetling his Pofierity, and the Meffiah, p. 7 2 — 99 .

CHAPTER THE THIRD.

The Promife given by Mofes of another Lazvgiver, p. 100 — 113.

CHAPTER THE FOURTH.

The Fulfilment of the Conditional Promifes and Threats, pronounced by Mofes to the Ifraelites, p. 114 — 161.

CHAPTER THE FIFTH.

The Fulfilment of the Prophecy, that Cyrus was to be the Conqueror of Babylon, and the Deliverer of the Jezvs, p. 1 6 2 — ■ 176.

CHAPTER THE SIXTH.

The Definition and defolate State of Ba- bylon— confidered as an auf id Example of the Judgments of God upon the Enemies of his People, p. 177 — 196.

CHAP-

CONTENTS. xv

CHAPTER THE SEVENTH.

The Appearance of the MeJJiah according to the precife Time predicted by Daniel, 537 Tears before his Birth,

p. I97_2I5.

CHAPTER THE EIGHTH.

The Promife of John the Bapiift, the MeJ- Jenger, or Forerunner of the MeJJiah, given 400 Tears before his Birth,

p. 216 — 226.

CHAPTER THE NINTH.

The Prophetic Dejcription of the Birth, Character, MiJJion, Sufferings, Death, Rejurreclion, and Afcenfion of the MeJ- Jiah, compared with his Hi/lory written by the Evangel'ifts after his Afcenfion into Heaven, 2 2 7 — 294.

CHAPTER THE TENTH.

The DeftruElion of the City and Temple of Jerufalem, and the Subverfwn of the

Jewijh

xvi CONTENTS.

JewiJJj Government according to the pre- diction ofChrift, p. 245 — 324.

Conclu/ion, drawn from the Accomplijhment of the foregoing Prophecies — and " The life of Jesus Christ, as drawn by

the ANTIENT PROPHETS,"

P- 325 — 359-

VOLUME II. CLASS II.

PROPHECIES RELATING TO THE REIGN OF ANTICHRIST, AND THE REIGN AND FINAL TRIUMPH OF THE MES- SIAH.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO THE SECOND CLASS OF PROPHECIES.

Statement of the grounds for the Opinion, that the papal, the Mahometan, and the infidel powers are different branches or forms of the same antichristian pow- er—

CONTENTS. xvii

er — all expref sly foretold in Scripture, as permitted to arife in different ages of the world, for the purpofes of puni/lj- ment and trial to the Church of Chrift,

p. i — 170.

CHAPTER THE FIRST.

The Rife, Progrefs, Eftablifhment, and De- cline of the papal Power of Antic hr if,

p. 171—254.

CHAPTER THE SECOND.

The Rife, Progrefs, Eftablifhment, and De- cline of the Mahometan Power of Antichrift, p. 255—318.

VOLUME III.

CHAPTER THE THIRD.

The Rife, Progrefs, and Eftablifhment of the infidel Power of Antichrift,

p 1 — 207.

CHAP-

xviii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER THE FOURTH.

PROPHECIES WHICH REMAIN TO BE FULFILLED RECAPITULATION,

and conclusion of the zvhole Work>

p. 208 — 329.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

-NO one, who believes in the exigence of a God, can doubt the Divine Know- ledge of all things paft, prefent, and to come, or the Divine Power to reveal thofe things to men in fuch meafure and on fuch occafions, as Divine Wifdom directs. To God the pad, the prefent, and the future, mufl be the fame. — He views the greatefl and mod wonderful events in their remotell caufes ; the longed feries appears but as one object to his all- feeing eye, and the whole fcheme of thofe events is altogether pre- fented to the Divine Mind, of which mortals only catch a glimpfe, and furvey the broken parts. But while the pre-

b fcience

[ * ]

fcience of the Almighty is univerfally acknowledged, his fuperintending Pro- vidence is frequently denied. Plunging into the abyfs of metaphyfical abftrac- tion, man tries in vain to fathom its depth with the fhort line of his finite underftanding ; and unable to reconcile the fuperintending and directing Provi- dence of God with his ideas of the free will of man, the mifts of doubt conceal this rock of confolation, hope, and joy, to which the Scriptures point as his fe- curity ^ and he either flruggles comfort- lefs againfl the ills of life, or coldly re- figns himfelf to the laws of fate, or the fluctuations of chance. To believe, that the Almighty Creator is alfo the con- flant Governor of the univerfe, is a point of considerable importance to human happinefs ; and to eftablifh this doctrine upon folid ground is of considerable im- portance to the interefts of Religion. It is the defign of this work to draw conviction from the facred fource of

prophecy.

( 3 1

prophecy. — But here it may be aiked by thofe who freely acknowledge the power of God to declare his will to mankind by a fpecial Revelation, whe- ther it clearly appears, that he actually has done fo ? A fatisfactory anfwer to this very ferious queftion will be found in an attentive examination of thofe writ- ings, which the Jewifh and the Chriflian Church agree in believing to be prophe- tic. And many others have been given. — The certainty of Revelation has been varioufly as well as repeatedly proved. It is not the defect in proof, but the want of invefligation, that produces in- fidelity. For notwithstanding the preten- tions of the prefent age to zeal for truth, who now will even read the laborious refearches of her faithful advocates, Chil- lingworth,Stillingfleet, Pearfon, Hooker, Warburton, Cudworth, Leland, or But- ler ? Even Maurice is neglected, though the charms of novelty, of poetic fiction, and of a florid ftyle unite to decorate

r 2 the

[ 4 ]

the pillar, which he has patiently built up in her fupport, from a quarry, which her enemies have long confidered as their exclufive property. It is forgotten, that while nothing is more eafy, than to bring forward a multitude of objections in a very fmall volume, it is abfolutely impoflible to anfwer them within the fame compafs : and the generality of readers, it is to be feared, imagine that thofe objections, which almoft daily if- fue from the prefs, in the form belt cal- culated for extenfive circulation, are the difcoveries of this enlightened age ; whereas they are in fact only old argu- ments and objections, furbifhed up with the polifli of modern writing, or the fpirit of modern wit and falfehood, and have long ago been proved to have nei- ther weight nor value. Let it however be remembered, that a truth once proved, is proved for ever. No rational mind will admit it poffible for the utmofh force which objections can mufter to over- throw

[ 5 1

throw a Tingle demonjlration^ or what Dr. Jeremy Taylor has fhown to be nearly of equal Strength, a moral certainty,

Thefe confiderations have urged me to try whether one argument, which I consi- der as proving incontrovertibly both the certainty of Revelation and its chief defign, could not be compreffed within narrow limits in fuch a manner, as to Strike, and not tire the attention. And it is with the earnefl hope of accomplish- ing this great object, that I fhall lay be- fore the reader fome few of the mod re- markable Prophecies, capable of the (horteft and plainer! application, in two diftinct clafles, and fubjoin the facts, which have fulfilled them. The relation of thefe facts I fhall take from the mofl authentic and approved historians, both antient and modern ; and confirm every flatement by obfervations, authorized by writers diftinguifhed for their learning, penetration, judgment, and impartiality,

b 3 la

[ 6 J

in order to give indifputable authority to each application of the Prophecies to the events, ftated as their accomplifh- ment, and to the conclusions, that will be deduced from them.

Fir st Cl ass — Prophecies which have been fulfilled, — down to the fubverfion of the Jewifh government.

Second Class. — Prophecies relating to the reign of Antichrifl, and the reign and final triumph of the Memah.

The Prophecies which I have felected for the First Clafs will be fliown to have been accomplifhed, by the events, to which they are referred in the fullefl ienfe, and mofl accurate manner. It will be proved, that the facts recorded have precifely agreed with the facts pre- dicted, and the time, when time is men- tioned in the Prophecy, with the time predicted.

The

[ 7 ]■

The Prophecies I have chofen for the Second Clafs are fuch as are in part fulfilled, and are, therefore, fo far efta- blilhed upon fafe ground by paft time, and accomplifhment ; and are thus ren- dered more clearly and certainly proper objects of our attention and inquiry. But as I (hall confider them with a par- ticular view to the prefent ftate of the world, and fhall be led to offer an opi- nion relative to the connexion, which they appear to have as parts of one Power, and poflibly to hazard a conjec- ture refpecting the courfe of their com- pletion j I have feparated this Clafs from the former, that the great argument to be derived from the clear and exact ac- complifhment of Prophecy may reft en- tirely upon the acknowledged truth of hiflorical facts.

That thefe Prophecies were delivered at the time, and by the perfons, to whom they are commonly affigned ; — that they

b 4 were

E 8 3

were delivered before the events they pre- dict -, and that they profefTed to be pro- phetic at the time of their delivery, and were fo underftood to be, by the greater!: and mofl learned perfons, at and after their delivery, are points, that have been long efleemed eftablifhed, beyond the power of controverfy. But none are fecure from contradiction ; and the in- fatuating folly of the prefent day makes men perpetually miftake ajfertion for argu- ment. It will not be expected in a work, which profefTedly aims at concifenefs, that what may be called a preliminary fubject mould be treated very fully. For the detail of proofs, I mufl refer the read- er to thofe learned authors, who have collected the various evidence, and from thence have mofl clearly deduced in- conteftible conclufions in fupport of the authenticity of the Scriptures ; and who confequently give ample confirmation to the truth of thefe points. But I can- not pafs them over intirely. And I wifh

to

[ 9 ]

to give the reader, if yet unacquainted with their hiftory, iome information re- lative to thole Prophets, whofe writings will be the fubjects of difcuflion — pre- mising a few obfervations refpecting the fcene of Prophecy, and laying a few words concerning the Prophets in gene- ral, before I enter upon the fhort ac- count of the hiftory and explanation of the nature and uie of Prophecy itfelf, with which I fhall conclude this prepa- ratory Chapter.

The principal fcene of Prophecy after the death of Mofes, was the country of Judea — a country of little eminence when compared with, the mighty em- pires of the earth ; but not fo very in- confiderable as it is ufually reprefented, when compared more juftly with king- doms which exifted nearer to its ancient date a. The truth is, that we annex

certain

a Porphyry, who lived in the third century, and b <; was

[ io ]

certain ideas of dignity and greatneis to the kingdoms of Troy, of Argos, of Crete, of Lydia, and the different flates of Greece, becaufe the poets and hifto- rians magnify their importance in our youthful minds, and becaufe we never lofe fight of them while we purfue our ftudies — Whereas the Ifraelites,feparated from the reft of the world for the exprefs purpofe of preferving the Oracles of God, quietly fettled in the promifed land, which they had conquered in far- more remote antiquity, or fuffering in captivity the predicted punifhment of difobedience to their Law, are feldom

was an acute and learned writer againft Christi- anity, confeffed that Mofes flourished near 1000 years before any of the Greek Philoibphers ; and it is well known that Herodotus, the father of Gre- cian hiftory, was contemporary with Malachi, the laft of the Prophets, whofe writings clofe the facred volume of the Jewilh hiltory. — Hence Jofephus fpeaks with great contempt of the late origin of ^Grecian literature.

prefented

C » ]

prefented to our notice by thofe authors in whom we are accuftomed to confide for our knowledge of ancient hiftory. — With the kingdom of Ifrael we are little acquainted, except as it forms a part of early religious inftruction ; and the reve- rence with which we may be difpofed to remember it, is often abated when we difcover the low eftimation in which it is generally held with refpect to the dazzling points of fplendor, power, and fame. It may however be afked, which of the great monarchies of the an- cient world exceeded in magnificence the Court of Solomon, and the Temple of Jerufalem ? The aftonifhment, admi- ration, and awe, exprefTed by Alexander and by Titus, when they beheld the Temple, preclude the idea of exaggerated defcription, and appear to eftablifh its claim to fuperior grandeur and riches, while the fimple patriarchal manners of the people (manners which ftill prevail in Arabia and in a part of India) mufl

e 6 increafe

C " ]

increafe the wonder. With refpect to power, and its attendant, fame, the Is- raelites were forbidden to extend their conquefls beyond certain limits ; for it is evident, that their reputation in the world as a people made no part of the intended object, for which they were dis- tinguished by the Almighty — perhaps was inconfiftent with it : — but nothing human could refill the power with which they were endued, whenever they were allowed to exert it. It is allowed, how- ever, that the frequent punilhments, to which they were fubje&ed by their frequent diiobedience to the commands of God, confined the nation much with- in the bounds prefcribed, till the age when Solomon " reigned over all the kings, from the river Euphrates, even unto the land of the Philiftines, and to the borders of Egypt V and " exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wifdom," and, it may be added, for

b 2 Chron. ix, 26,

" ho-

[ i3 ]

" honour" or famec; a fact to which eaftern tradition flill gives teftimony. — It is allowed too, that this extended greatnefs of the kingdom was of fhort duration, and that it feemed to fink into infignificance jufl as the kingdoms of the Heathen world rofe into importance : but it is maintained, that all thefe cir- cumflances confirm the credibility of the Jewiih hiflory, becaufe they are all in ftrict conformity with the conditional promifes and the prophetic word of God, and with the great defign for which the Jews were to continue a peat- liar people. The ignorance and the ob- fcurity imputed to the Jewifh people will, indeed, furnifh no inconfiderable argument to prove the divine origin of their prophecies. — If their knowledge and their experience were limited to the narrow confines of their own country — if their means of information were fmall,

c i Kings, iv. 34,— iii. T3. 2 Chron. i. 12.

.

and

Eh]'

and their connexions with other nations precarious and accidental, they had the lefs ground to foretell, with any proba- bility of being right, the future condi- tion of other nations ; and much lefs to decide pofitively and circumftantially as to their decline, decay, and ruin. And yet we find that the great events of fo- reign ftates, the fate of Nineveh, of Tyre, and of Babylon, the revolutions of Greece, and the power of Rome, were exactly foretold, and the predictions as exactly fulfilled. — Having premifed thus much concerning the fcene of Prophecy, I now haften to the Prophets themfelves.

Mofes was of the tribe of Levi, and was born in Egypt during the bondage of the Children of Ifrael, in the year be- fore Chrifl 1567, and in the year of the World 2433 J. He was miraculouily ref-

cued

d Calmet's Dictionary r Articles Mofes, Vol. II. p. 223, Bible, Vol. I. p. 292. Prophets, Vol. II.

P- 455*

1*5]

cued from deftruction by the daughter of Pharaoh, of which circumftance his name Mofes, or Moyfes, which fignifies in the Egyptian language, preferved out of water y is defcriptive ; and he was edu- cated by her direction in all the learning and accomplifhments of the Egyptians. He was chofen by God to be the deli- verer and lawgiver of the Children of If- rael, and to conduct them to the land of Canaan, according to the promife given to their father Abraham. He died in the 120th year of his age, " when his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abat- ed ," on Mount Nebo, on the borders of that land, which it was declared by the Lord he mould fee, but not enter. As a prophet he was eminently diftin- guifhed. The Jews have conilantly at- tributed to him the higheft degree of

p. 455. Pentateuch, Vol. II. p. 379. Grotius de Veritate Chriftianae Religionis. Du Pin's Canon. Du Pin's Ecclefiaftical Hiftory. Watfon's Apology for the Bible, Gray's Key, p, 45, &c.

infpira-

[ ti 3

infpiration ; and in the New Teftament he is always mentioned with lingular ho- nour. By the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, and other heathen nations, Mofes was acknowledged not only as the mofl ancient lawgiver, and as an hifto- rian of the ftricteft veracity, but, accord- ing to the ftyle, in which they exprefTed their veneration for the greatefl charac- ters of antiquity, he was placed among the Gods, and worshipped under various names. And writers of the earlier! ages have either confirmed his hiflory by yet earlier tradition, or have borrowed from thence the ground-work of their fic- tions. He has been celebrated as a ge- neral, a legiflator, a prophet, and a ma- giciau by prophane writers of almoft all defcriptions, and of almoft all ages ; and his character is eftablifhed by the unin- terrupted teftimony, which the Jews have given, from the fime in which he lived to the prefent hour. His writings we mall confider prefently.

Ifaiah

L *i J

Ifaiah was of the tribe of Judah, and of noble birth. He began to prophefy about B.C. 758, Y. W. 3246, was nearly- contemporary with Hofea, Joel, Amos, and Micah, and, according to a tradition among the Jews, was put to death in the firfl year of the reign of ManarTeh, B. C. 698. His name, which fignifies the fal- vation of Jehovah^ is ftrongly defcriptive of the character of his prophecies, which give a remarkably clear and accurate view of the Mefnah and his kingdom, and he is therefore emphatically ftyled by Chriftian writers, the Evangelical Prophet,

Jeremiah was of the line of the prieft- hood, and confequently of the tribe of Levi. He was called to the prophetic office, which he exercifed for more than 40 years, nearly at the fame time with Zephaniah, in the 13th year of the reign of Jofiah. He was permitted to remain in Judea, the defolation of which he fo

patheti-

L 18 3

pathetically laments after the firft con- quefl of Jerufalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and was afterwards carried with his dif- ciple Baruch into Egypt, where he was put to death. The Chronicle of Alexan- dria relates, that the Egyptians were in- cenfed againfl him on account of his predictions concerning their kingdom ; but that Alexander the Great, hearing what he had foretold concerning himfelf, vifited the place of his burial, and or- dered this Prophet's urn to be removed to Alexandria, where he built a magnifi- cent monument to his memory. Con- ^ntine the Great afterwards erected a tomb to his memory near Jerufalem, at the place where it was fuppofed he ufually refided : but as Ptolemy received the for- mer account as genuine, it is far more probable that he died in Egypt.

Daniel was a defcendant of the kings of Judah ; he was carried captive to Babylon in the fourth vear of the reign

of

. i r*9 -1

of Jehoiakim, B. C. 602, Y. W. 3398", when he was about 18 years of age. His illuflrious birth, various accomplish- ments, and confummate wifdom, raifed him to the higheft honours, firft in the Babylonian, and afterwards in the Per- fian court. He publicly profefied and pradtifed the worihip of his God, in de- fiance of every danger, and boldly pre- dicted his fearful judgments to two of the moil powerful and haughty tyrants of the earth, when called upon to ex- plain the figns which they confeffed to be fent from heaven. Daniel contributed much towards fpreading the knowledge of God among the Gentile nations, both during his life, which was extended to a great length, and by the number of his predictions relating to them, which foon became generally known, and fome of which were foon fulfilled. It is ge- nerally believed he died at Sufa, the ca- pital of Perfia, where he had built a moft magnificent edifice, mentioned by Jofe-

phus,

[ 2° ]

phus, as a fepulchre for the Perfian and Parthian kings.

Malachi lived about 400 years before the birth of Chrift. His name, which fignifies his Angel or Mejenger, like that of Jfaiah, alludes to the principal fubject of his Prophecy. This Prophet faw the fecond Temple completed, and the facred rites of worihip reeftablifhed after the return of the Jews from the Babylonifh Captivity, and clofed the feries of Pro- phets which had been continued from the time of Mofes, with the promife of ano- ther lneffenger* who mould immediately precede the long-expected Mefliah.

It muft not be imagined that the Pro- phets were always under the influence of the divine Spirit, or exempt from the common frailties and infirmities of human nature 5 — but it may be affirmed, that there was not one in this long feries of

1000

[ 21 ]

iooo years, whofe character does not juft- ly command our veneration. Piety, obe- dience to the commands of God, indiffe- rence to the pleamres and fufTerings of this life, as far as they related to themfelves, united with the keeneft fenfibility to the mifery or the happinefs of their country, and the mofl ardent and active zeal in executing the facred but often painful duties of their office, appear eminently, though not equally confpicuous in them all. " They were the eftablifhed oracles of their country, and confulted upon all occafions when it was neceffary to colled: the divine will on any civil or religious queflion ; and we hear of no fchifms or divifions while they flourifhed. They even condefcended to inform the people of common concerns in trivial cafes, in order to preclude them from all pretence or ex- cufe for reforting to idolatrous practices and heathen divinations ; and they were always furnifhed with fome prefcribed mode of conlulting God, or obtained re- velation

[ M ]

velation by prayer. Sometimes the Holy Spirit fuggefted the matter and not the words to the Prophets — fometimes by an audible voice dictated every word and expreflion — fometimes the Prophets were left to defcribe in their own language the hieroglyphical dreams and vilions, which they beheld ; and hence is the flyle of every Prophet more or lefs per- fpicuous, according to the nature and clearnefs of the Revelation imparted to him, and likewife characterized with pe- culiar difcriminations refulting from edu- cation, and particular intercourfe and ha* bits of life. But fometimes they were inftrudted in the very expreffions they ihould ufe ; and when writing under the influence of that infpiration, they under- ftood not always the full importance and extent of themj writing for the advan- tage of thofe that were to come after, and to furnifh evidence in fupport of a future difpenfation, they might not per- ceive the full fcope, nor forefee diftindtly

the

[ *3 ]

the ipi ritual accomplifhment of the Pro- phecies they recorded e." — We find them conftantly appealing to well known facts, for the fulfilment of many of their pre- dictions, and perfectly confiflent in their communications of the divine will. As their number increafed, the truth of their declarations was eftablifhed by the courfe of events; and there was an accu- mulation of evidence to prove, that, in the emphatic language of Scripture, <c Holy men fpake as they were taught of God." Influenced by the guidance of the fame fpirit, they united in the moil perfect harmony of defign ; they delivered the fame precepts to be ob- ferved, the fame punifhments to be avoided, and the fame blefllngs to be hoped for. Confidered leparately, every one of them was a burning and a (Lin- ing light, ordained to beam upon the dark generation, in which he lived : and, confidered collectively, they form one

e Gray's Key, p. 329, &c.

bright

[ 24 .]

bright and glorious afTemblage, to en- lighten and imprefs the world with ad- miration of the power, the wifdom, and the goodnefs of God.

The writings of but few of thele nu- merous Prophets have been preferved in the Jewifh Canon. Some of the ear- lier Prophets feem, indeed, to have been appointed for the peculiar fervice of the Children of Ifrael, and as the means of preferring them diftinct from other na- tions : but the later Prophets were to be of more general and extenfive fervice, as they approached nearer to that great event, in which both Jews and Gentiles were equally interefted.

We have not merely as good reafon to believe that "the Prophecies were de- livered at the time, and by the peribns, to whom they are commonly aligned," as to believe that Cicero wrote and pro- nounced his orations againft Catiline and

Antony,

[ *5 ] -

Antony, in the century before Chriii, and that Virgil wrote his poems in the reign of Auguflus ; but we have a regu- lar fucceflion of teftimony to the truth of this proportion, which the Jews have brought down to the prefent times. — And the univerfally high eftimation, in which thefe writings appear from va- rious hiftorical evidence to have been held, from nearly the time of their de- livery, will affuredly eflablifh the other Propofitions ftated in p. 8. in the mind of an impartial inquirer.

I fhall only obferve further, that they were tranflated into Chaldee about the year before Chrift 420, and into Greek, the language then moft generally under- stood, in the reign of Ptolemy Philadel- phus -, an era remarkable for inveftiga- tion and fcience, and which being after the predictions, and before many of the events which have fince fulfilled them, clearly prove thefe writings to have been

c handed

C *6 1

handed down to us, without alteration. Efpecially when we confider, that the multiplicity of copies, which were fpread into all nations by the Jewifli colonies, from the time of the captivity, were conflantly read in all the Synagogues, and open to the perufal of all people — were tranflated into many different lan- guages— quoted by many hiftorians — and their truth doubted by none, till within a very recent period.

I fhall now flate very fhortly as much of the hiftory, and the nature and ufe of Prophecy, as will put the reader in fair poffeffion of the fubject he is called upon to confider. — A believer in the Scriptures conceives that fome memory of God, and knowledge of the difpen- fations of his Providence having been preferved traditionally from Adam, (confirmed probably by other occafion- al communications of the divine will), through the antediluvian world, the few

who

[ *7 1

who kept up in their lives any juft fenfe of his providence were, by means of Prophecy, and the miraculous interpofi-. tion of their Maker, laved out of the general wreck of the deluge — That af- ter a time, the impremon of even that awful lefTon wearing out of the mind of the greateft part of mankind, it pleafed the Supreme Being not to leave himfclf without a particular as well as a general witnefs : and therefore he akq;ain chofe one of the few families, who preferved their belief and knowledge of him, and trufled them with the promifes of his mercy. — And left this again mould fuf- fer by the vague nature of all tradition ; he, before the recollection of their fa- ther Abraham had faded from the minds of any of his defendants, and while the hiftory of the world and of the ear- lier Patriarchs, which had been brought down in regular fuccemon through but

very

6 The tradition was conveyed from Adam o 2 through

C .■'*« 3

very few generations'3, was well known to them, appointed Mofes to explain the creation and the (late of man on earth ; to record the intentions of God towards man, and to be under him the lawgiver of this family, now becoming a nation, and deftined to preferve this hiflory, thefe records, and thefe laws, to the end of the world. From this period, therefore, is to be dated the beginning of written Prophecy.

Mofes, the firfl and greatefl of the Prophets whofe works have been tranf- mitted to us, recorded the wonders of creation and providence, from the be- through Methufelah, Noah, Abraham, Ifaac, Jo- feph, and Amram, to Mofes, feven intermediat- perfons — and of thefe feven, feveral v/ere a long time contemporary with each other. Methufelah was contemporary with both Adam and Noah ; Shem with Noah and Abraham ; Ifaac with Abra- ham and Jofeph ; and Amram the grandfon of Levi (who was the brother of Jofeph) was the fa- ther of Mofes.

ginning

[ *9 ]

ginning of time, till the arrival of the Ifraelites at the borders of the land pro- mifed to the children of Abraham — a period of above 2500 years — eftablifhed the covenant of God with his chofen people — fet before them the conditional promifes of God — drew a flrong and ac- curate picture of their national character and fate for a feries of ages, which are ftill running their courfe — and predicted the appearance of another " Prophet like unto himfelf ' (by which, according to all antient interpretation, is to be underflood another Lawgiver) to whom he commanded them " to hearken," un- der pain of the heavy difpleafure of the Lord their God. — The Prophets, who followed Mofes in continued fuccef- fion for above a thoufand years, were employed in preferving the remembrance of the gracious promifes of future Re- demption to fallen man, and the know- ledge of a future ftate of retribution — in keeping up a fenfe of the conftant fu-

c 3 perintend-

C 30 ]

pcrintending providence of God over all the world — in gradually explaining the fpiritual and typical meaning of the Mofaical Law, and in preparing the Jews for the reception of that fecond difpenfation, which it prefigured, and was defigned to introduce at the ap- pointed time, as the promifed univerfal blefiing. The great object of Prophecy being a defcription of the Mefiiah, and of his kingdom, the prophetic miniftry ceafed when that object had been fuffl- ciently dilplayed. — At the period allotted by the Prophet Daniel, for " fealing up the Vifion and the Prophecy" — after the peaceable reeftablifhment of the Jews in their own land — and within about 400 years of the time appointed for the appearance of Chrifc, Malachi clofed the prophetic volume in a manner which ftrikingly confirms this truth, " that the teftimony of Jefus is the fpirit of Pro- phecy. " He threatens the Jews with punifhment and rejection ; declaring that

God

[ 3* ]

God would " make his name great among the Gentiles," for that he was wearied with the impiety of Ifrael : he exhorts them earneftly to repent, and to obferve the law of Mofes, till that pro- phetic MefTenger (hould appear, who, like " a harbinger, was to prepare the way of the Lord, whom they fought," i. e. for the MefTiah — " who would fud- denly come to his temple" — and whofe approach was hailed, as that " Sun of righteoufnefs, who mould arife with healing in his wings."

It is obvious, that if the Prophecies in the antient Scriptures relating to the firft advent of the Mefliah were fulfilled in Chrift — and if " the wall of partition between the Jews and Gentiles was then thrown down," many of the principal lubjects of the Prophecies under -the Law can have no place in the Prophe- cies under the Gofpel. — We accord-

c 4 ingly

L 32 ]

ingly find the kingdom of Chrifl to be the