And now, Sir, I leave it to yourself to judge, whe ther we can either have or defire greater certainty of any paft event, than that thefe prophecies did directly refer to, and were all accomplished in the Lord Jefus Chrift.

Suppose we had as certain direction, when to begin the forty two months, or one thousand two hundred and fixty years of Antichrift's reign, as we have with refpect to the beginning of Daniel's weeks; and you should find, by calculation that they would terminate in the year 1746; and being filled with expectations of the events of that year, fhould (when it comes) actually fee all the popish princes of Europe brought into fubjection, the proteftant princes united in confederacy, the city of Rome fack'd and burnt, and the papal hierarchy every where overturn'd, the Turkish empire deftroy'd; and the Jews collected and brought into the Chriftian church: would you not acknowledge these prophecies to be of divine original; and the pope and Roman papacy, to be the Antichrift therein predicted? And would you not alfo live in certain expectation of all the other events, which are foretold as confequences of this revolution ? You certainly would. And yet I muft take the liber-ty to tell you, that there is a much brighter light shines upon the prophecies concerning our bleffed Saviour, in their exact accomplishment, than this would prove, fhould all thefe circumftances concur as is here fuppofed. That the Lord may graciously grant both you and me a fincere faith in this bleffed Saviour; and prepare us both for the great events that are hastening upon us, is the prayer of,

Sir,

Yours, &c.

LETTER IV. Wherein is confidered the CERTAINTY of thofe FACTS, upon which the evi dence of Chriftianity depends.

SIR,

YOU miftake in fuppofing, that my laft letter has fet the evidence of our Saviour's divine miffion,

You

⚫ from the Old Teftament prophecies, in the ftrongeft light.' There might be much stronger light brought from the prophetick writings, in confirmation of this bleffed truth: and you must allow me the freedom to tell you, that my letter justly demands of you a firmer affent, than you are pleased to exprefs, to that fundamental article of our faith and hope. It reprefents to you more than a strong probability, that Jefus Chrift is the

Son of God, and the Saviour of the world.' Confider, I beseech you, whether it is poffible, for any or for all created intelligences, to forefee and foretell fuch future events, as depend wholly upon the meer good pleafure of God; fuch events as are altogether out of the way of God's ordinary dispensations of providence; and fuch events as had not the leaft probability from the laws of nature, to have ever come to pass; and then to over-rule the various revolutions of nature and provi dence in fuch a way, as is utterly inconfiftent with, and in many instances altogether contrary to, the known flated methods of God's governing the world, in order that those predictions (even in every particular circumftance) should be exactly accomplished. I intreat you, Sir, to confider the affair in this view (for in this view it ought to be confidered) and then tell me, whether the evidence does not amount to more than a strong probability. And confider what evidence of this kind you yourfelf can poffibly imagine, that would bring your mind into a full acquiefcence in this truth, as certain and undoubted.

If there can be any reasonable doubt remaining, it must be for one of thefe following caufes. Either,

1. It must be fuppofed, that the Jewish prophets had no fuch events in their eye; that the quoted predictions had a reference to fomething elfe; or perhaps no reference to any thing at all; but were the cafual fallies of the several authors fruitful fancies or imaginations.

But then if this be fuppofed, how comes it to pass that they are all fo exactly verified? Certain it is, that the Jews fuppofed all these predictions to be divine inspirations, kept up flated memorials of them, and longed for their accomplishment. And it is equally certain,

that at the very time when they ought to be expected, they were all fulfilled, in every circumftance. This is an affair that demands your attention. Here are predictions of most wonderful amazing events: fuch as no appearances, that ever had been in the world, could any way lead the minds of the prophets to think of, or imagine. Thefe events were foretold as to time, place, and many other particular circumstances, that you fee a hif tory of our Saviour's birth, life, death, refurrection, afcenfion, and future kingdom, could be made up out of thefe prophecies: and to crown the whole, they have all been exactly fulfilled. Now then, I have a right to demand; were these from heaven or of men; Can the moft licentious imagination apprehend thefe very numerous and various predictions to be the effects of capricious fancies; and their fulfilment, a matter of mere chance or cafualty? Then may the Epicurean philofo. phy take place again; and the world in all its glory, order and symmetry, be reasonably believed to be the effect of a fortuitous concourfe and jumble of atoms. I hope, this doubt is cleared out of your way; and I know of but one more that can remain; which is,

2. That there never were any fuch predictions of these things in the Jewish prophets; but that all of them were written fince the events.

But then, you muft fuppofe, that this was done by the Chriftians, without the privity of the Jews and others who had these books in their hands; or that it was done by a joint confederacy of Chriftians and Jews. If the former, you must imagine, that the whole nation of the Jews, and all the other nations who had the Greek tranflation of the Jewish Bible in their hands, must be perfuaded to believe that they always had, and always read, those things in their Bible, which were never there; or else all of them to a man must be prevailed upon, out of complaifance to their greatest adverfaries, to interpolate their Bibles, by inferting these predictions; and not leave to pofterity a single copy unadulterated, to discover and correct the fraud. But if you choose the latter of those fuppofals, that thefe prophecies were added to the Jewish Bible by a joint confederacy of

Chriftians and Jews, you must imagine, that the whole Jewish nation in all their moft diftant difperfions, united in a confederacy to furnish the world with armour against their own infidelity; and to reprefent themselves as the most unreasonable and wicked of all mankind. Thefe abfurdities are (I am fure) too grofs for you to entertain; and yet I may venture to challenge you to think of any other way, in which it is poffible this could be done.

But you tell me, It yet appears the greatest difficulty to you, to come at any certainty of the truth of ⚫ those facts, upon which the evidence of Christianity depends. And I readily acknowledge, that if these facts are not true, all our reafonings from prophecy, and miracles too, will come to nothing. It is therefore proper, to confider this cafe more particularly. And in order that this may be brought into the closest view, and all the conelufion neceffarily force itfelf upon our minds; let us confider what confequences must follow upon the fuppofal, that these facts are not true. You can have no rational doubt of these things, but upon one of these fuppofitions either,

1. That the apoftles, and other reporters of these facts, did themselves certainly know that their narratives of these miracles were all of them mere fictions and falfhoods and that they never did in fact see any fuch miraculous works perform'd by Jefus Chrift; they never did fee and converse with him after his refurrection; and that they never had those miraculous gifts and powers themfelves; nor ever inftrumentally conveyed them to others. Or,

2. That the reporters of these facts, and many thoufands of others, had their fenfes and imaginations impofed upon; and were made to believe that they did fee, hear, and feel, fuch miraculous operations, as were never performed. Or elfe,

3. That this whole history was an after-game; and a mere piece of forgery obtruded upon the world, after the facts were pretended to be done.

Thefe are all the fuppofitions, that can poffibly be made in this cafe. And I have already in my fecond

letter offer'd you fome proof, that they are all of them unreasonable and abfurd. However, for your fatisfaction, I will endeavour to fhew you under each of these fuppofitions, fome of thofe abfurdities, that will neceffarily follow from them.

In the first place, If it be fuppofed, that the reporters of these facts did themfelves certainly know that they wre false; then it will follow, that thousands of others, before whom those miracles were faid to be done, did alfo certainly know that they were mere fictions and fables. For they were as capable of certainty, whether they had seen those multitudes of plain open visible facts, which are reported, as the apoftles were themselves. Upon this fuppofal, all Judea and Jerufalem muft cer⚫ tainly know, that they never faw any fuch defcent of the Holy Ghoft in cloven tongues upon the apoftles and company; and that they knew nothing of those gifts of languages, which were pretended. The feveral churches throughout the world, among whom the apoftles went, did certainly know, that they faw no miracles wrought by them in confirmation of their miffion; that they never had nor knew any thing about those miraculous gifts, which were faid to be fo common among them. And yet that all these conspired in the deceit (Jews, as well as Gentiles) to the utter fubverfion of the religion in which they had been educated; and multitudes of them at the expence of their honours, eftates, and lives, not one perfon among them all appearing to detect the villainy. The Jews tamely fubmitting to the lofs of their religion, and to the imputation of the blackest crime, that ever was committed; and the Christian churches as tamely fubmitting to all that is fhocking and terrible to nature, rather than contradict and dif prove what they knew to be false. Nay, what is more furprizing ftill, all of thefe, even the greatest enemies of Christianity among them, have not only allowed, but actually afferted the truth of thefe facts; which, upon this fuppofal, they might have so easily disproved, to the utter ruin of the Chriftian cause. And to crown all, there can be no motive in the world imagin'd, to put any of them upon acknowledging fuch notorious and