power of those who had the best opportu nity of enquiring into it, to refist.

you

In order to form a right judgment with refpect to thofe facts on which the truth of christianity depends, permit me to obferve, that muft not (as too many of you, I perceive, do) confine yourselves to the reading of books written by your countrymen, but give due attention to Greek and Roman literature; by which only you can form a just idea of the state of things in the times in which christianity was promulgated. It is well known that there are no Hebrew writings of that period now extant. But other nations have had writers, and hiftorians, as well as yours; and they are intitled to credit in proportion to the marks of good information, and of veracity which they bear. Read then with attention. the writings of the age in which chriftianity was promulgated, and any others that are able to throw light upon it, and confider who they were that received christianity, and who they were that rejected it. This, I am perfuaded,

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fuaded, will fatisfy you, that the work was of God, and therefore that it was in vain that the rulers of your nation, and of the world oppofed it.

LETTER

IV.

Of the Doctrine concerning the Meffiah.

γου YOU fay that whatever miracles might have been wrought by Chrift and his apoftles, he could not be your Meffiab, because he did not bear the proper characters of the Meffiah, as they are laid down in the prophets. But I earneftly beg that you would re-confider thofe prophecies, and what is really faid of the perfon who is diftinguished by the title of the Meffiah, or the anointed meffenger of God. That particular title is not used (except by Ifaiah, who gives it to Cyrus) by any of your prophets

prophets before Daniel, who applies it to a perfon who was to be cut off, and who affigns a term for that event, which must have been elapsed many centuries ago (Dan. ix. 24. For feventy weeks (or a period confifting of as many years as seventy weeks contain days) from the command to rebuild Jerufalem, which was then in ruins, muft, on any computation, have expired about the time of Christ.

Your Rabbi Ifaac, in his celebrated treatife intitled the Bulwark of the Faith, fays, that the feventy weeks of Daniel are a period of four hundred and ninety years, to be reckoned from the word of God to Jeremiah concerning the return from the Babylonith captivity, or from the deftruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, to its deftruction by Titus (Section 42). He also fays, that Meffiab, the prince, in the former part of the prophecy means Cyrus, who is called the Meffiah, or the anointed, by Ifaiah; and that by the Meffiah who is to be cut off, in the latter part of the prophecy, is meant the laft king of the Jews, or Agrippa the younger

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younger, who is faid by a fpurious Jofephus (never quoted by any writer before the twelfth century) to have been killed by Vefpafian before the taking of the city.

But, to mention no more objections to this hypothefis, from the deftruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar to that by Titus was a period of more than fix hundred and fifty years; and king Agrippa was not cut off at all, but probably ended his days peaceably at Rome, as may be collected from the best accounts of him. Befides, the Meffiah mentioned in the two parts of the fame prophecy, is, no doubt, the fame perfon, whoever he was; and if this be not your proper Meffiab, where do you find him announced at all, by name, in any prophecy whatever?

On the other hand, Orobio, in his disputation with Limborch, maintained that the Meffiah of Daniel was the first high-prieft, who lived together with, and after, Nehemiah. But it is not at all neceffary to fhew how ill this idea correfponds to the language of the prophecy.

The

The mistake which, for wife purposes, God has fuffered you to fall into, has arisen from your not having distinguished between this fuffering Meffiab, and that prince of the houfe of David, under whom you are to enjoy the great profperity that is promised to you in the latter days. All the temporal glory that you expect, will certainly be your lot; and the Meffiah that you look for will come. For it is not the name, but the character that is to be regarded. But if you admit the divine miffion of Jefus, you cannot object to his claim of being that fuffering Meffiab, announced by the prophets.

Your future glory is diftinctly foretold by many of the prophets. It is even the great burden of prophecy from Abraham to Zechariah.

But it must come in its proper time, And while you continue obftinately to refift God, in rejecting those whom he fent unto you, and cherish a temper of mind fo utterly unworthy of the high rank that is deftined for you, I do not fee how it can be confiftent with the phecies that you should be in any other ftate D4

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