watchfulness; for no doctrine has the great enemy endeavoured more to bring reproach upon. Besides the efforts which have been used to put it down and extinguish it altogether, both by papists and by men of ultra views among the protestants, we have found it charged by Eusebius with the carnalities of Cerinthus; by Jerome, it has been confounded with Jewish fables; the conduct of the anabaptists and fifth monarchy men has brought on it the reproach of having a seditious tendency; whilst the conduct of the Irvingites has induced many to apprehend that it necessarily leads to the delusion and extravagance manifested in their tenets of unknown tongues, immediate inspiration, and an exclusive separating spirit.* It is, however, now recovering from the shock; and it must not be omitted to be stated, that numerous writers have appeared to support and still continue to advocate the millenarian view of prophecy, whose writings are distinguished for christian meekness, sound judgment and great talent. We have only to mention the names, among the clergy, of Bickersteth, Burgh, Fry, Girdlestone, Hales,† Hoare, Hooper, Hawtrey, Marsh, the Maitlands of Brighton and Gloucester, Madden, M'Neil, Noel, Pym, Sirr, Sabin and Stuart; and among the laity, Frere, Habershon, Viscount Mandeville, T. P. Platt, Granville Penn and Wood, in order to satisfy the unprejudiced reader.‡

It has been objected of late to the study of prophecy, that it has a tendency to lead to millenarian opinions, which, in the minds of such objectors, constitute of themselves a species of delusion. The writer of this volume fully admits that the study of prophecy has this tendency; and that, in proportion as men enter deeply into it, will they become liable to fall into the millenarian view. But he is fully persuaded that the millenarian system of interpretation is the only true key to the understanding of the prophecies, and indeed to the unfolding of the sense of many other portions of holy writ, which may not strictly be termed prophetical. It is this conviction, together with a deep sense of the vast practical importance of the doctrine, more especially at the present crisis, that has induced him to enter upon the inquiry, which he has here brought to a conclusion; and he trusts it has now been satisfactorily demon

*The fall of Mr. Irving is greatly to be deplored, for previons to it, when he was pursuing the path of a rational christian expositor, his powerful mind threw much light on prophecy; and his earlier works are still valuable to the student. † See his work on Chronology.

The writer of this volume does not coincide with all the opinions of all these writers; they are mentioned as having rendered valuable service to the cause of prophecy, to the millenarian view of it in particular. Numerous other publications have issued from the press on this subject, and are continually appearing: but for these the reader is referred to the Dictionary of Writers on Prophecy, published in the fourth volume of the Investigator, and also separately.

strated to be the truth of God, both from Scripture, (as shown in the former chapter,) and also from the concurrent testimony, here brought forward, of the voice of the Church.

CHAPTER IV.

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY.

Having noticed what appears to be the principal design and aim of all prophecy, and confirmed it by a reference to the terms of the Covenant of Promise, and to the Voice of the Church in the best periods of its history; the next step will be to inquire into the principles of interpretation, as regards the terms, and style, and structure in which prophecy is conveyed to us.

This matter is likewise of fundamental importance, and much has been written upon it by the generality of expositors; whilst yet it is remarkable, how very few have subsequently proceeded in their interpretations throughout upon a consistent scriptural principle. Most writers on this subject appear to have caught in the first instance, some particular view of a part or the whole of the prophetic word, and then to have laid down canons of interpretation, which shall fall in with and support their previously conceived system. Mr. Faber's rules, for example, much as he is looked up to by many as an interpreter, are almost all of them formed upon an arbitrary principle, without even a reference to scripture to support them; and though some of them are what one's reason may be disposed to acquiesce in, others of them ought to be viewed with hesitation until they are proved from the word of God. It is the same with all others, whose works I have had opportunity to peruse, if they have entered at any length into interpretation: however speciously they may set out, there is generally something introduced for which there is no warrant, evidently for the purpose of subserving some particular view of prophecy; though, in many instances, the expositor afterwards loses sight of the origin of his canon, and refers to it as to a scriptural axiom, when perhaps there is not a shadow of authority for it in the word of God.

The best collection of rules with which I am acquainted are those of the eminent Vitringa.* They have the advantage of

* The reader will find a Translation of them in the Investigator, Vol. IV. pp. 153-176.

having been in general composed for the purpose of illustrating a series of lectures on the interpretation of prophecy, which were publicly delivered by him to the students of theology, and in which he was necessarily led to regard the whole scheme and structure of prophecy, rather than any particular portion of it. But even these will be found in numerous instances of an arbitrary character; and the reader, who is acquainted with his works in general, will likewise discover, that many of them are collected thence, and have a special regard to portions of God's word which he had already interpreted.

Such being the case, I should have been tempted to have passed over this portion of our subject, from a conviction of the arduousness of the path which lies before me; were it not that the present state of prophetical investigation appears imperatively to require some notice of it. There is a tendency in the human mind to run into extremes on almost every question that needs the exercise of judgment and patient inquiry. The forsaking the plain path of literal interpretation, which is as the polar star of the expositor, has been the means of many having been carried away into an excess of allegory and metaphor; the perception of which absurdities has led others, in attempting to regain the proper track, to fall into a system of ultra literalism, equally calculated to mislead. These two extremes are as the Scylla and Charybdis, which the expositor of prophecy has carefully to steer between.

I shall limit myself, therefore, to the notice of a few principles of interpretation, to which we are directed by the word of God; in doing which my object is not to prepare the student for any particular theory subsequently to be advanced; (for that is not the object of the present publication;) but to prevent him from being misled by the specious objections, which are by writers and readers of every shade of opinion brought forward at times against an interpretation, which does not fall in with their views or prejudices: so that he may at least not hastily conclude that an interpretation is wrong, or a conclusion unjustifiable, if there be warrant for the principle on which it is grounded in the holy scriptures. At the same time the reader must be apprized, that what is about to be advanced on this head conveys but a very imperfect notion of all that may be gathered of a like character by a diligent and careful study of the word of God: to commend him to which,—so that he may see the great importance of exploring the mine of scripture for himself, and obtaining thence principles of interpretation which shall be useful to him, not only as regards prophecy, but other subjects likewise, is one further inducement to my entering on this point.

I. I shall begin first with a broad canon, laid down as a grand fundamental by St. Peter, when he is exhorting us to take heed unto prophecy, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, &c.-"Knowing this first (he adds) that no prophecy of the scripture is of any PRIVATE interpretation: for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter i. 19-21. Great pains have been taken, by means of hypercriticisms, to make this passage seem to utter an uncertain sound; whereby it has been almost entirely deprived of its practical utility. But the plain and obvious sense of it, as presented to us in our English translation, appears to me to correspond best with the Greek, and with the evident scope and intent of the passage itself; viz. that no prophecy is to be explained as limited to the individual circumstances and interests of any one man or nation prophesied of, nor to any one generation only of the church; but that it has a reference to Christ, in himself, or in his members generally, and to the affairs of the kingdom of God, and the powers opposed to it. A prophecy may appear, from its peculiar phraseology and the circumstances under which it is given, to have a merely individual or local concern; but the very circumstance that those who uttered it "were moved by the Holy Ghost," ought, when duly considered, to lead us to conclude, that it must have some relation, remote or otherwise, to the general concerns of the church; "the spirit of prophecy" having always for its object to bear testimony to the things of Christ. This is evident, from Rev. xix. 10, where the angel claims brotherhood with John, on account of the testimony to Jesus, which he (the angel) had given by the spirit of prophecy; which is the more remarkable, seeing that declaration occurs on the close of the setting forth the destruction of the great anti-christian polity, and the final triumph of the saints, and which are thus indirectly declared to be part of the testimony of Jesus.

In order to illustrate the force of this prophetical canon, we may turn to the epistles to the seven churches of Asia. Rev. ii. and iii. These are generally admitted to contain in them prophetical matter, as may at once be seen by a reference to them. For to Ephesus it is foretold, that her candlestick

* Bishop Hurd has remarked, but without resting his observation on any tangible scripture authority, "that prophecy, in general, hath its ultimate accomplishment in the history and dispensation of Jesus," and that though the immediate object was some other, yet it never loses sight of that in which it was ultimately to find its repose." Vol. i. p. 41, 62. Mr. Faber makes use of 2 Peter i. 20. to a certain extent, translating it thus: "Now no prophecy is of its own insulated interpretation;" by which he appears to mean, that every prophecy is part and parcel of that general scheme which concerns the Church, and is not to be interpreted independently and exclusively of the whole.

should be removed; (ii. 5.) to Smyrna, that they should endure a tribulation of ten days; (ii. 10.) to Thyatira, that the false prophetess, Jezebel, and those who committed adultery with her, should be cast into tribulation; (ii. 22, 23.) to Sardis, that the Lord would come on her as a thief; (iii. 3.) to Philadelphia, that the synagogue of Satan should come and worship before her feet, and also that she should be kept from that hour of tribulation which was coming on all the world. Nevertheless, Bishop Halifax, in his Warburtonian Lectures, (p. 233.) entirely discountenances the idea of there being anything of a generally prophetical character in this portion of the Apocalypse; as also do some others: and we must, therefore, according to these, view the prophetical matter cited above, as limited to the local circumstances of the churches, and seek for no other fulfilment than such as may be pointed to in the historical events of that period, when these churches existed. This, then, is to give to the prophetical matter, clearly contained in the epistles to them, a private interpretation; forbidding entirely all notion of these churches sustaining any typical character; or that there can be any ultimate and more ample fulfilment of what is foretold of them, to be accomplished in the general history of the church.* Without offering any interpretation of the epistles to these churches, these things are thrown out to illustrate the canon of interpretation now before us.

The apostolic canon, just cited, is of very extensive use, and necessarily leads to the admission of the principle of a two-fold sense, or of a two-fold application, to be looked for in the generality of prophecy. The majority of expositors have indeed already advocated the principle of a two-fold sense of prophecy, to be looked for in certain instances; † but I am not aware of any who take their warrant for so doing from this precept of St. Peter, or who advance any clear and satisfactory scripture foundation for it as a general rule.

1. The common sense view of the matter might direct us to look for a farther fulfilment, when a prophecy, in its primary application to events, does not receive an adequate accom

Mr. Frere, likewise considers the expression-"the things which are," (Rev. i. 19.) to relate to the condition of those Churches, as they existed in the time of St. John; and seems to view the Epistles to them as having only for their object, "the support and comfort of these Churches, during the period of Pagan persecution.' That they had this object primarily in view, there can be little doubt; but that this was their ultimate scope and object, there is abundant reason to question, independent of the rule now under consideration. + Vitringa says (speaking of the double sense) this was the mode of interpretation the ancient interpreters and those of the middle ages have in every instance chosen; as also most of those eminent men who aided the Reforma tion, as Luther, Brentius, Pellican, Bibliander, Bugenhagius, Snoius; and, in the last age, Cocceius and Altingius." De Canon. Verb. Proph. recte Expos. c. ii. and c. xii.