No. III.

Vid. Bishop Chandler's Defence of Christianity.

Isaiah lii. 13. liii. 12.

N. B. This prophecy converted Lord Rochester: vid. Burnet's Life of him.

Note-v. 14, 15. in like manner, as many wonder at his obscure appearance, so shall they afterwards be astonished with his glory.

V. 8. " he was taken from prison and from judgment," render it, “he was taken off by authority and a judicial sentence," i. e. executed as a malefactor.

No. IV.

Vid. Chandler, p. 124.

Micah, v. 2.

Note-v. 4. instead of "therefore," render it, "nevertheless."

V. 5, 6. the future enemies of the Jews, described under the names of the Assyrian and Babylonian, their known enemies in Micah's time; just as Jerusalem is called Sodom and Gomorrah, Isa. i. 10.

No. V.

Vid. Chandler, p. 52.

Malachi, iii. 1-3.

Note-v. 1. two persons spoke of, 1st. "the messenger who shall prepare the way before me," i. e. John the Baptist; 2dly. "the Lord whom ye seek, the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in," i. e. the Messiah himself, whom they so earnestly expected, and from whom they promised themselves so much.

Ibid." shall suddenly come ;” i. e. suddenly after the messenger that was to prepare his way.

No. VI.

Vid. Chandler, p. 71.

Haggai, ii. 6—9.

Note-v. 6. describes the civil commotions which should precede the coming of the Messiah, and which in fact took place and shook the Roman empire, from the death of Julius Cæsar to the birth of Christ.

V. 8. I value not the splendor of silver and gold,

No. VII.

Vid. Chandler, p. 109, or I. Newton on Daniel.
Daniel, ix. 24-27.

Here among other things it is foretold:

1. That after a certain period the most holy, the Messiah, the prince should appear.

2. That he should be cut off, i. e. put to death.

3. That some future and foreign nation should then destroy the city and the sanctuary.

All which was punctually fulfilled.

As to the periods here assigned it is on all hands, by Jews and Christians, agreed that the weeks are to be reckoned weeks, not of days but of years, i. e. seven years to a week, vid. Lev. xxv. 8; Dan. x. 3, instead of "whole weeks," it is in the original weeks of days.

Now according to this way of reckoning, it was just 70 weeks, or 490 years, from the Jews being reincorporated into a people and a holy city, and the death of Christ, "whereby transgression should be finished and sins ended, iniquity be expiated, and everlasting righteousness brought in, and this vision be accomplished, and the prophecy consummated," v. 24, Sir I. Newton's Translation.

V. 27, "yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week," i. e. shall preach the covenant to the Jews for one week or seven years, which was the exact time from

the death of Christ to the first calling of the Gentiles and rejection of the Jews.

V. 27, render it, "in half a week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease," i. e. by the Roman army, who in three years and a half, i. e. in half a week from the first invasion, destroyed the city and temple.

N. B. The Jews themselves applied all these prophecies, except No. II., to their Messiah.

PROPHECIES WHICH PROBABLY, THOUGH MORE OBSCURELY, BELONG TO CHRIST.

Gen. xxii. 18. Deut. xviii. 15. compared with Deut. xxxiv. 9. Psalm ii.-cx. Isaiah ii. 1-5. ix. 1–7. xi. 1 -10. xxix. 18-24. xxxv. 4-6. xl. 1–11. xlii. 1—9. xlix. 1-13. Jeremiah xxxi. 31-34. Daniel ii. 81-45. vii. 13, 14. Joel ii. 28. Zechariah ii. 10—13. ix. 9-11.

Commentariola upon some of the Prophecies above.

Psalm cx. translate "Jehovah said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

"Jehovah shall send the rod of thy strength from Sion, that thou mayest rule in the midst of thy enemies.

"Thy people shall be zealous in the day of thy army, (shall shine) in the beauties of holiness: more than from the womb of the morning to thee shall be the dew of thy progeny.

"Jehovah hath sworn and will not repent, thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedech.

"The Lord on thy right hand shall shake kings in the day of his indignation: he shall execute judgement in the nations with a great army: he shall shake the chief over the great land.

"He shall drink of the torrent (i. e. of afflictions) in the

VOL. I.

D D

way; therefore shall his head be exalted." Vid. Sharpe's Defence of Christianity, p. 308.

Zechariah ix. 10, "and I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim," &c. i. e. I will establish his kingdom by other means than those of war.

Isaiah ix. 1, translate, "though he lightly afflicted the land of Zabulon and the land of Naphtali, he shall greatly honour her," &c. Mede.

Joel ii. 30, 31, relate to the destruction of Jerusalem.

CIRCUMSTANCES FORETOLD AND FULFILLED IN THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 1. 300 0

J

Vid. Newton on Prophecy, vol. ii. p. 220.—Jortin on Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. p. 33.

Of the temple," there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." Of the city, "they shall lay thee even with the ground, and shall not leave in thee one stone upon another." Luke xix. 44. The temple burnt to the ground against the inclination of Titus by the obstinacy of the Jews, who had fortified themselves in it. Titus, after it was burnt, ordered his soldiers to dig or plough up the foundations of the city and temple, which was executed, as to the temple, by Terentius Rufus. Vid, Josephus, Jewish Talmud. I

66

Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many," mentioned as a sign of and consequently to precede the destruction of Jerusalem. Matt. xxiv. 4, 5; accordingly we find that before this destruction arose Dositheus a Samaritan, and Theudas; and in the reign of Nero, these impostors, i. e. pretended Messiahs, were so frequent, that many of them were apprehended and killed every day. Josephus.

"Wherefore if they shall say, behold he is in the desert, go not forth." Matt. xxiv. 26. Josephus informs us that

many impostors and cheats persuaded men to follow them into the desert, where they promised to show wonders and signs. The Egyptian false prophet, mentioned by Josephus and the Acts, led into the desert 4000 that were murderers. Two others also of the same kind spoken of by Josephus.

As another sign, and consequently what was to precede this destruction, “ ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." Matt. xxiv. 6, 7. Christ most probably would refer to those wars and tumults in which the Jews, to whom he spoke, would be concerned, and we find, before the Romans entered Judæa, a dispute at Cæsarea between the Jews and Syrians, about the right of the city, in which 20,000 Jews were slain, upon which a general war broke out between them; so that every city, says Josephus, was divided into two armies; upon which occasion bloody contests broke out between the Jews and inhabitants at Scythopolis, in which fell 13,000 at Askelon, 25,000 at Tyre, at Gadara many, at Alexandria 50,000, at Damascus 10,000. About this time also the Jews of Peræa rose up against the inhabitants of Philadelphia, Jews and Galilæans against the Samaritans, and the whole nations of the Jews against Agrippa; and not only throughout Judæa there were sedition and civil wars, but in Italy also, where Otho and Vitellius were contending for the empire. Josephus.

"There shall be famines in divers places." Matt. xxiv. 7. Suetonius mentions a famine in the days of Claudius, alluded to Acts xi. 28; and was so severe at Jerusalem, that Josephus says many perished for want of victuals.

And "pestilences," pov të xai Xocov, (the very words of Christ) imprecated upon the Jews, according to Josephus, by Niger, which, says he, God brought to pass upon the ungodly.

And "earthquakes in divers places." An earthquake at Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, in Crete, mentioned by