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AGE OF THE WORLD, 
 
 AS FOUNDED ON THE SACRED RECORDS, 
 
 HISTORIC AND PROPHETIC; 
 
 AND THH 
 
 "SIGNS OF THE TIMES," 
 
 VIEWED IN THE ASPECT OF PREMONITIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SPEEDY ESTABLISHMENT ON THE EARTH, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MILLENIAL STATE, 
 
 BY THE SECOND, PERSONAL, PRE-MILLENIAL ADVENT OF CHRIST : 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 
 
 VINDICATING THE CLAIMS OF SACRED CHRONOLOGY AGAINST THE 
 CAVILS OF THE 
 
 ATHEIST, ANTIQUARIAN, AND INFIDEL. 
 
 Originally delivered in Three Lectures, at the Apollo Rooms, Broadway, New-York, 
 on the Sunday Evenings of December 26th, 1841, and January -2d, and 23$, 1842. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 
 
 " The vision is yet for an appointed time ; but at the end it shall speak and not lie : 
 though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come ; it will not tarry."— Habakkuk. 
 
 " Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand."— St . John. 
 
 BY THE REV. R. C. SHIMEALL. 
 
 A Presbyter of the Prot. Epis. Church in the Diocese of New-York. 
 
 AUTHOR OF SCR. PTURAL AND ECCLESIASTIC AL CHARTS WATTS' SCRIP. 
 HISf. ENLARGED, TREATISE ON PRAYER, ETC. 
 
 N E W Y O R K : 
 
 SWORDS, STAlNi-ORD & CO 
 152 Broadway, 
 L842. 
 
b\^ 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842, by 
 THE REV. R. C. SHIMEALL; 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of 
 New - York. 
 
 The Library 
 of Conor ess 
 
 WASHlNOTQIf 
 
 LC Control Number 
 
 A. G. rOWELL, FRIST. 
 
 tmp96 028328 
 
TO ALL 
 
 INTERESTED IN THE 
 
 MOMENTOUS INGIUIRY 
 
 AS TO WHAT THE SCRIPTURES TEACH 
 
 OP 
 
 "TIMES AND SEASONS," 
 
 THESE LECTURES ARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 BY THEIR HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
" ALMIGHTY GOD, GIVE US GRACE THAT WE MAY 
 CAS? AWAY THE WORKS OF DARKNESS, AND PUT 
 UPON US THE ARMOUR OF LIGHT, NOW IN THE TIME 
 OF THIS MORTAL LIFE, IN WHICH THY SON JESUS 
 CHRIST CAME TO VISIT US IN GREAT HUMILITY; 
 
 THAT IN THE LAST DAY, 
 
 WHEN HE SHALL COME AGAIN IN HIS GLORIOUS 
 MAJESTY TO JUDGE BOTH THE QUICK AND THE 
 DEAD. WE MAY RISE TO THE LIFE IMMORTAL, 
 THROUGH HIM WHO LPvETH AND REIGNETH WITH 
 THEE AND THE HOLY GHOST, NOW AND EVER. 
 
 AMEN." 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 Preface xv 
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The subject of the first Lecture. — The Age of the World ac- 
 cording to Scripture — believed by some — rejected by others 1 
 
 Of the latter there are three classes, the Atheist, the Infidel, and 
 the Antiquarian ; and some also who profess Christianity 2 
 
 I. Proposition I. That the material universe, of which our 
 
 GLOBE FORMS A PART, IS NOT ETERNAL — CONSEQUENTLY OUR 
 CLOBE, OR THE WORLD WHICH WE INHABIT, IS NOT ETERNAL 4 
 
 1. (1) Atheism. — Christianized Atheism ib 
 
 Its advocates, Grotius and Vatabulus. Their perversion of 
 
 Gen. i. 1 ib 
 
 AlsoofEccles. 19 — 11 6 
 
 (2.) Atheism undisguised, or the Aristotelian philosophy. Aver- 
 
 roes, Avicenna, Alfaraba, and others 7 
 
 Spinoza. — His system defined 8 
 
 Defective. — The whole created universe constituted of the es- 
 sence of matter, or of mind, or both — and, if not common to 
 
 all, it is to apart — Man ib 
 
 Matter. What 11 
 
 Refutation of the Atheistic principle of the eternity of matter ib 
 
 Intelligence. Proof of. 12 
 
 Result. — Evidence from Scripture 13 
 
 Tertuilian's consequent triumph over Thales the Grecian phi- 
 losopher. 16 
 
 Collins, the Free-thinker ib 
 
 Conclusion ib 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 2. The Antiquarian. He admits the Eternal existence of the 
 Great First Cause, but claims, That remote authentic anti- 
 quity ASCRIBES A VASTLY GREATER AGE TO THIS GLOBE, THAN 
 THAT SET FORTH BY THE INSPIRED WRITERS 17 
 
 This claim, founded on the ancient cabalas of the Hindoos, Egyp- 
 tians, Chinese, Persians, Etruscans, &cc ib 
 
 These accounts admitted as matters of historical record, but de- 
 nied to be founded in truth; and an antecedent antiquity- 
 claimed in behalf of the Sacred writings, upon a comparison 
 with the profane, as predicated of their internal evidence 19 
 
 (1.) The sources of Ante-diluvian profane antiquity. Thyoth — 
 Sanchoniathon — while uncorrupted left accounts very agree- 
 able to that of Moses. — No existing accounts that can be re- 
 lied on. — corrupted at an early period. — Extravagant 20 
 
 (2.) Profane Post-diluvian History. Herodotus — Xenophon — 
 Ctesias. — Learning of the Indians — Confucius. — Of the 
 original works of the most ancient Phoenicians, Egyptians, 
 and Grecians, no remains. — Herodotus not to be relied 
 on — not so Ctesias 23 
 
 Catalogue of authorities respecting the Egyptian, Chinese, and 
 Assyrian Dynasties. 1st Egypt. The old Egyptian Chro- 
 nographeon. — Manetho. — Eratosthenes. — Josephus' Mane- 
 tho — Chronographia of Sextus Julius Africanus. — Chron- 
 icon of Euseb. Pamphilius. — The Chronographia of Syn- 
 cellus. — Canon Chron. of Sir John Marsham .23 
 
 2d. Chinese Records 28 
 
 3rd. Assyrian Do. Herodotus, Ctesias, Zenophon, Aristotle, 
 Strabo, Diodorus Siculus ib 
 
 Perplexity of remote profane history, &c 29 
 
 Original invention of Letters 30 
 
 Coincidence of ancient Profane Physiological philosophy with 
 the Cosmogony of Moses 36 
 
 Ancient Philosophers — Orpheus, Thales, Pythagorus, Plato, 
 Aristotle. — Pherecydes, Anaximander, Anaximines, Anaxi- 
 gorus. — Leucippus, Democritus. — Consequence of their de- 
 parture from tradition. — First perverted by the Greeks. — 
 Atheism of Aristotle. — Not so those who preceded him. — 
 Conclusion. — necessity of a Divine Revelation ib 
 
CONTENTS. Vli 
 
 SECTION III, 
 
 On Time, as viewed in connexion with the origin of the material 
 universe. — Import of the term "day," as used in the 1st chapter of 
 Genesis — whether a natural day of 24 hours, or a period of vastly 
 greater length. — Argument from analogy in nature and Providence 
 — from the physiological and oryctological discoveries of science. 
 I. Presumptive evidence, as derived from the six days work of 
 
 creation 47 
 
 On this subject, there are four classes of opinions 51 
 
 Examination of the Theory, which attributes the creation of the 
 globe out of the destruction of a previously existing planet. 52 
 
 Examination of the above four classes of opinions 56 
 
 Evidence, that the six days organization of the material uni- 
 verse was each a period of vast length. — The question is 
 not,what the Almighty could do, but what he actually did do. 58 
 I. That each of the six days was a period of vast length, is 
 evident, 
 
 1. From the ordinary and obvious process of organization as 
 therein described 60 
 
 2. From the physiological structure of the globe 62 
 
 The first creation comparatively imperfect. — This not a new 
 
 theory. — Council of Nice A. D. 325. — Catechism of Edward 
 VI. — Dr. Burnet. 
 Physical construction of the earth, as gathered from the vari- 
 ous phenomena of the subterranean world. — Fossils. — can- 
 not all be accounted for by the Deluge. — Harmony between 
 the Mosaic cosmogony, and the scientific discoveries of phys- 
 iology. — Folly of relying upon human reason alone, in the 
 application of this science to existing phenomena. — All diffi- 
 culties vanish when viewed in connexion with Revelation. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Duration of the Sabbatical Rest of the Almighty. — Assumed to 
 be 6000 years — if so, then rrguing homognuously, each of the 
 six days was a period of 6000 years. — Faber on this point. . . 84 
 
 Recapitulation, &c 89 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 3. Infidelity. Objection, that Moses cannot be the author of the 
 books ascribed to him. — Answered 92 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 AGE OF THE WORLD, &c. 
 
 Text, Matt, xxiv., 3 m 97 
 
 Analysis of the Introductory Essay 97 
 
 Subject. — Age of the World, &c. 
 
 I. Proposition I. God in his infinite wisdom has assigned to 
 
 THE WORLD WHICH WE INHABIT, BOTH IN RELATION TO ITS PHYS- 
 ICAL AND MORAL CONSTITUTION, A LIMITED AND DEFINITE DURA- 
 TION. 
 
 II. Proposition II. This limited and definite duration of the 
 
 WORLD, AS COMPREHENDED UNDER THREE SUCCESSIVE DISPENSA- 
 
 f tions, Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian, is a subject 
 
 FULLY REVEALED TO God's PEOPLE IN HIS WORD 100 
 
 Paraphrase of the Text ib 
 
 Christ's prediction. — Analysis of the xxivth and xxvth chap- 
 ters of St. Matthew, from the Rev. G. E. Hare's " Christ to 
 return." 101 
 
 The question proposed, — shall we attempt to fix upon the point 
 of time, in round numbers, upon which we now stand, in the 
 successive evolutions of God's dispensations to man 1 104 
 
 Against such an attempt, there is an evident popular reluctance. 
 — Abuse of the subject by fanatics. — Mosheim's Eccles. 
 Hist. — Joanna Southcoate and the Mormon delusion. — 
 Word of warning. — Elegant extract from the preface to 
 Hare's " Christ to Return," by the Right Rev. L. S. Ives, D. 
 D., Bishop of N. Carolina. 
 
 A return to the question, as above 113 
 
 Objections ib 
 
 Preliminaries. 
 
 1. -Authoritative data of information in conducting our inqui- 
 ries. — Annals of Profane chronology 115 
 
 Sacred chronology. 
 
 (1.) The Samaritan Pentateuch 116 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 (2.) The Septuagint 117 
 
 (3.) The Hebrew ib 
 
 Which of these has the precedence in point of Authority .... ib 
 Difference between the chronology of the Septuagint and He- 
 brew of 1500 years. — How accounted for ib 
 
 Return to the two propositions at the head of this Lecture. — 
 
 GLuere, " Can these things be?" 119 
 
 Various forms of speech used in Scripture to designate Time. — 
 The term " Day," Gen. i. — The argument of analogy, a p?-i- 
 ori, from the Word of God, harmonizes with the argument a 
 
 posteriori, from the works of God 120 
 
 The length of the Seventh Day determines (homogeneously) 
 the length of each of the six days. — Preliminaries. — Pre- 
 
 Adamites 122 
 
 The Seventh Day, — when did it commence ? What is length ?. 130 
 
 Objection, no express declaration of this in Scripture .'". 135 
 
 Answer to this, as founded on inferential proof. — Questions from 
 the most ancient Brahmenical Sages. — Jewish writers. — 
 
 Christian writers. — The Scriptures 136 
 
 The Seal of prophetic mysteries as to times and seasons now 
 broken. — The two propositions as above merged into one. — 
 
 Bickersteth on this subject 142 
 
 Objection to this exposition, viz., that it is a trifling evasion 145 
 
 Answer 147 
 
 Proof, that times and seasons were revealed to Christ, &c 149 
 
 With this representation corresponds the general tenor of Goa's 
 word, Historic and Prop/tetic, in determining, with the utmost 
 precision the age of the world, from the creation and fail of 
 man, down to the consummation of all things. — For this purpose 
 a golden chain of measurement is given, which we divide 
 
 into two parts 151 
 
 The necessity of fixing upon a criterion of measurement of time, 
 the questions, are the years in sacred time, historic and pro- 
 phetic, the same? Does time, as measured by sacred chronol- 
 ogy, harmonize with owe solar year 1 meeting us at every turn 152 
 Chronology, as a science, possesses few attractions, hence, little 
 studied, and less understood, yet susceptible of explication, 
 even to ordinary minds 153 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Chronology treats of divisions of time, rather than of time in the 
 
 abstract 155 
 
 Has finally attained to great perfection 157 
 
 Length of the Solu,r year. — Of the Lunar. — The latter adopted 
 by the Arabians, forms the measurement of time of the Ma- 
 homedan Era. — Profane history measured by the Solar year 
 of 365 days. 
 
 Length of the Ante-diluvian year 159 
 
 Dr. Halley's account of the ancient philosophers 160 
 
 The Brazen Age. — Era of Sesostris. — Thales, the first to cor- 
 rect the Greek year. — The Greeks however, not the "pion- 
 eers " of astronomical science. — Their astronomy between 
 the time of Solon and Hipparchus, vague and undefined. — 
 The Attic or Athenian lunar year. — The Macedonian Calen- 
 dar. — The Greek (Eucumenical Council. — The era of the 
 Sele'ucidae. — The Cecropian Era and Parian Chroncicle. — The 
 Consular Era. — The Olympiads. 
 
 The Julian year 168 
 
 The Gregorian Calendar 170 
 
 The Persians 171 
 
 Origin and progress of Cycles, to harmonize the Lninar with the 
 Solar year. — Cleostratus. -— The first Cycle of Dieteres, of 
 two years. — The Tetraeteris, a Cycle of four years. — The 
 Octoeteris, of eight years. — The Cycle of Meto, of nineteen 
 years. — The Calippic Cycle of seventy-six years. The Juli- 
 an, and Juliano-Gregorian Cycle, now the universally ad- 
 mitted standard ib 
 
 Proof of the difference between Ante-diluvian and Post-diluvian 
 
 solar time 176 
 
 Gtuere. Can the sacred Jew«sh year {lunar) Historic and Pro- 
 phetic, be made to harmonize with the Julian solar year 1 — 
 Answer. As of the Julian solar year, so of the Jewish lunar 
 year. Intercalary time was a characteristic peculiar to 
 
 both. Hence the harmony of the one with the other 178 
 
 Differences of opinion on this subject 179 
 
 Shuckford. — Prideaux. 
 
 Proof of Jewish Intercalations 182 
 
 I. Of Jewish time from the Flood to the Exode ib 
 
 II. At the time of the Exodi 183 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 III. After the Captivities. — Their first Cycle of eighty-four 
 years. — Theii adoption of the Cycle of Meto. — Rabbi Sam- 
 uel. — Rabbi Adda. — Rabbi Hillel 187 
 
 But as of the Jewish Ecclesiastical, so of the Civil year. — 
 Jubilees 189 
 
 Conclusion 192 
 
 Return to the subject of the golden measurement of time, of the 
 seventh day, or sabbatical rest of the Creator 193 
 
 I. First division. Historical chronology. 
 
 1. First period. From creation and fall, to the Deluge. 
 
 2. Second Period. From the Deluge to Abraham. 
 
 3. Third Period. From Abraham to the Exode. 
 
 4. Fourth Period. From the Exode to the death of Saul. 
 
 5. Fifth Period. From the death of Saul, to the commence- 
 ment of the Babylonish captivity. 
 
 6. Sixth Period. The captivity. 
 
 7. Seventh Period. The interval between the end of the Baby- 
 lonish captivity, and the commencement of the 70 prophetic 
 weeks of Daniel. 
 
 Examination of the discrepancies in the chronology of the Sep- 
 tuagint, Samaritan, and Hebrew versions, and that of Jose- 
 
 phus 194 
 
 First Period, with tabular view 205 
 
 Second Period, do ib 
 
 i Third Period, do 206 
 
 ( Fourth Period, do 
 
 Fifth Period, do 218 
 
 Sixth Period, do ib 
 
 Seve7ith Period, do 219 
 
 Summary 221 
 
 II, Second division. — Prophetic chronology 221 
 
 Of the prophetic numbers, which, with the preceding, as the ag- 
 gregate number of years in sacred Historic chronology from 
 the creation, make up the 6000 years as the limits set by God 
 
 to the duration of time 222 
 
 Consequences, upon the paradventure of an error in the Historic 
 
 chronology 223 
 
 Mode of measuring time prophetically 224 
 
 Practical uses of prophetic mystical numbers.— " Seven times." 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 — Dan. iv., 16.— 1260 years. — Dan. vii. 25, xii. 7.-42 
 months. Rev. xi. 2, xiii. 5. — 2300 days of years. Dan. viii. 
 14. _ 70 weeks. Dan. ix. 24 — 27. — 1290 and 1335 years of 
 Dan. xii. 11, J2.— 1260 days of Rev. xii. 6.-666. Rev. xiii. 
 18. — 2300 years. Dan. viii. 14. — Their commencement and 
 termination 229 
 
 Four beasts of Dan. vii. — Ram and He-goat of chap. viii. — 
 Effect on Daniel. — Offers prayer. — Daniel's solicitude. — 
 An Angel explains the 2300 years. — The 2300 years of chap, 
 viii. 14, and the 70 weeks or 490 of chap. ix. 24 — 27, have a 
 common commencement. — The 70 weeks end with the con- 
 version of Cornelius. — Tabular view, &c 240 
 
 The 70 weeks commence A. M. 3679.— The 2300 years end A. 
 D. 1847. — Cleansing of the sanctuary. — Second advent. — 
 three additional prophetic numbers, viz., the 1260, 1290, and 
 1335 years. — Includes the career of the two persecuting pow- 
 ers, the Papacy and Mahometanism. — Mark of the Papal 
 beast, 666. — Supposed corresponding mark of the Mahome- 
 tan power. — Decree of Pope Vitalian, A. D. 666, — Summa- 
 ry respecting these two anti-christian powers. — The two 
 other anti-christian powers, the Pagan and the Infidel. — 
 
 Conclusion 254 
 
 The date of the commencement of the 1260 years ib 
 
 A. D. 533.— Ends, A. D. 1793 261 
 
 Judgment of " the Ancient of Days " on the Papal beast still 
 
 continues 269 
 
 Summary ib 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 "SIGNS OF THE TIMES." 
 
 The subject stated 273 
 
 11 Signs," not a matter of conjecture or mere speculation 274 
 
 Claim of redundant evidence as a condition of belief, consid- 
 ered. — Incredulity. — Idle curiosity. — To Prophecy, What 1 
 
 — " Signs," — What 1 279 
 
 " Signs." — Design of. — Source of hesitancy, doubt, and unbe- 
 lief in relation to them. — Reply. — Illustration. 
 
 Portentous events preceded by signs 285 
 
CONTENTS. X1H 
 
 Applied to the First Advent 286 
 
 Evidence from the above of the error which supposes no proph- 
 ecy can be understood until fulfilled 289 
 
 " Signs." — Why added to dates 291 
 
 Harmony between prophecy and doctrines. — Uses of. 293 
 
 This a subject of momentous interest. 
 
 D 1 '^ cities, in applying " Signs " to the future 295 
 
 Prophetic symbols defined 297 
 
 Of these there are two classes. — First class. — Their order. — 
 Second class. — Embraces two predictions. — Necessity to dis- 
 criminate between what " Signs " are symbolical, and what 
 are not. 
 
 Literality not excluded from a prophetic symbol 299 
 
 Nor a literal sign from bearing a typical aspect. 
 
 Prophetic signs of Luke xxi. 25, explained ib 
 
 Assignment of, to their relative position in prophecy 304 
 
 An appeal. reflection 311 
 
 I. First sign. The prevalent disinclination of Christian profes- 
 sors and others, to think of, or to study the subject of unful- 
 filled Scripture prophecy 313 
 
 II. Second Sign. A most melancholy and general decay of vital 
 piety 315 
 
 III. Third Sign. An unprecedented prevalence of iniquity. 
 Under this sign, we add 19 characteristics, from St. Paul's 
 prediction, 2 Tim. iii. 1 — 5 316 
 
 IV. Fourth Sign. The predicted prevalence of scoffers in these 
 last times. 
 
 V. Fifth Sign. The universal spread of the gospel among all 
 nations. 
 
 VI. Sixth Sign. Indulgence in some of the worst passions of 
 our nature, by professing Christians. 
 
 VII. Seventh Sign. The advance of human science, and the 
 practical rejection of the presiding wisdom of Revelation. 
 
 VIII. Eighth Sign. The symbolic import of the Sun, Moon, 
 and Stars, &c. 
 
 IX. Ninth Sign. The universal determination of the dominant 
 nations of Europe to maintain the mutual relations of peace. 
 
 X. Tenth Sign. Wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilen- 
 ces, and earthquakes, together with wonders, signs, dec. 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 XI. Eleventh Sign. The predicted approaching overthrow of 
 the Turkish Empire. 
 
 XII. Twelfth Sign. A prelude to and the immediate precursor 
 of, the destruction of the Papal hierarchy. 
 
 XIII. Thirteenth Sign. The present circumstances and expec- 
 tations of the Jews. 
 
 XIV. Fourteenth Sign. The evidences of our having entered 
 into the 1335 years, proof of the commencement of the sound- 
 ing of the Seventh Trumpet. 
 
 XV . Fifteenth Sign. The superabundant light which the Holy 
 Spirit has thrown of late on the Prophetic Word. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 An apology is due to those through whose solicita- 
 tions the following Lectures are published, for the de- 
 lay which has attended their appearance. This delay 
 has been occasioned, partly by circumstances entirely 
 beyond the author's control, and partly from those 
 additions to their original form, which the result of 
 revision rendered indispensable. 
 
 In conducting our inquiries regarding the Age of 
 the World, we have deemed it requisite to fortify the 
 basis of our authority (the Scriptures) against the at- 
 tacks alike of the Atheist, the Antiquarian, and the 
 Infidel ; refuting the alleged eternity of the existence 
 of matter and of the globe, of the first — the claims of 
 a vastly greater antiquity for the history of the human 
 race than that given by Moses, of the second — and 
 the denial of the authenticity of the Sacred Records, 
 of the third. This part of the volume, contained in 
 the "Introductory Essay," will, we trust, be found 
 particularly serviceable to those whose minds are wan- 
 dering in the wilderness of uncertainty and conjecture 
 on these important subjects. 
 
 Nor, in the prosecution of our inquiries into this 
 matter, is it a little embarrassing to be brought into 
 perpetual collision with the most inveterate prejudices 
 on the one hand, and a certain class of existing facts, 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 claiming affinity with the premises whence follow all 
 our deductions on the other. To explain ourselves : 
 The popular theology of the day attributes the crea- 
 tion and formation of the material universe^ of which 
 the globe we inhabit is a part, to the work of six na- 
 tural or solar days, of twenty-four hours — and a 
 strong suspicion of a tendency to Atheism attaches to 
 every suggestion, calculated to disturb opinions which 
 have been pillowed upon the lap of centuries. 
 
 This, howgver, to the contrary notwithstanding, — we 
 feel bound to pay a respectful deference to facts, or 
 what are even claimed to be such. It is asserted, then, 
 in opposition to the above, that " if the world was 
 really created in six days, we should find some evi- 
 dences of it in the aspect of nature. Instead of 
 this, we find, in the geognostic structure of the 
 earth, the infallible proof of its having existed for 
 (many) ages, and undergone many prodigious re- 
 volutions, long before the most ancient nations ex- 
 isted." These infallible proofs it is claimed, are to be 
 found in the physiological and oryctological discove- 
 ries of science, " regarding the strata composing the 
 outer shell of this globe, and the remains of organized 
 bodies which are found in them. It is ascertained 
 that these remains do not occur promiscuously, but in 
 a determinate order, corresponding exactly with that 
 vjhich is given in the first chapter of Genesis." To 
 test the validity of this claim, we undertook the task 
 of a classification of the Mosaic cosmogony of the 
 creation, with the series of strata as given in the geo- 
 logical table of Cuvier. The result the reader will 
 
PREFACE. XV11 
 
 find by turning to pages 70 and 71. " Thus, human 
 bones are only found in the uppermost, or very new- 
 est, alluvial soil. Further down are found the remains 
 of quadrupeds, belonging to a species now extinct ; 
 these are mixed with sea shells and marine petrifac- 
 tions. At a still lower depth are found the exuviae of 
 alligators, and other amphibious animals, of an ap- 
 pearance unlike any species that now exist ; for they 
 seem to have been deposited while the laws of nature, 
 in the animal kingdom, admitted the metempsychosis 
 (alluded to in ancient tradition) anterior to the intro- 
 duction of death. Deeper still are found immense 
 beds of carbonaceous matter, which we know is the 
 basis of vegetable substances. Lowest of all are found 
 strata of common rocks, containing no petrifactions, 
 no traces of carbon. These rocks seem to have been 
 formed when the world was covered by an uninhabited 
 sea." 
 
 " From all these concurring argumeuts, it is con- 
 cluded that the work of creation occupied immeasu- 
 rable ages, or ca^vec, j and that the vulgar hypothesis, 
 which takes for granted that the earth, from the very 
 beginning, spun round on its axis with its present 
 amazing velocity, is not only unphilosophical, but ex- 
 pressly contrary to the word of God." 
 
 Now, these facts admitted — (and deny them we 
 cannot — ) I ask, — of what avail is it to denounce 
 their tendency as atheistical, from their supposed con- 
 travention of the Mosaic cosmogony ? Is not this a 
 premature surrendering up of what may be demon- 
 strated of a coincidence of the Scriptural account of 
 
XV111 PREFACE. 
 
 the creation with the above discoveries of science, to 
 the vaunting triumphs of the materialist? We think 
 so. And it has been our endeavor, in the sequel of 
 the Introductory Essay, and of the first Lecture of 
 this volume, to reconcile the claims of the one with 
 the history of the other. How far we have been suc- 
 cessful, we leave with the candor of the intelligent to 
 decide. Nor, (as we have said,) can we relinquish the 
 hope, that such may be brought to see the utter impos- 
 sibility of harmonizing the Scriptural cosmogony of 
 the Creation as an inspired production, with the phy- 
 siological discoveries of the structure of our globe, in 
 any other way : yea more — that science, as an hand- 
 maid to inspiration, by the rays of refraction, as col- 
 lected from known existing phenomena in the physi- 
 cal construction of the earth, elucidates and confirms 
 it. Indeed, science, when made subservient to any 
 other end ; in other words, when it is relied on as a 
 guide in our search of truth to the exclusion of Reve- 
 lation, serves but to furnish evidence of the lamen- 
 table defectibility of human reason. On this subject, 
 we are furnished with an inspired admonition, — to 
 11 avoid profane and vain babblings, and oppositions 
 of science, falsely so called, which some professing, 
 have erred concerning the faith." x 
 
 Such, in the sequel of this volume, we have con- 
 sidered the diluvian theory of Cuvier. Such also the 
 theory, that the chaotic mass out of which this earth 
 was formed, was produced by the destruction of one 
 ■ ■ . . . - i i . 1 1 ■ 
 
 1. 1 Tim. vi. 20, 21. 
 
PREFACE. XIX 
 
 of the previously existing planets, by the shock of 
 some comet, as advocated by Basilius, Halley, Hers- 
 chel, Vince, Smith, Jennings, Lardner, etc. Finally 
 and above all, such the electro-magnetic theory of the 
 distinguished author of the late moon hoax, resolving 
 " the alternate creation and dissolution of all natural 
 bodies to the influence of Terrestrial Magnetism on 
 the past, present, and future condition of this world," 
 as predicated of the principle, that as " all motion 
 must result from two forces" — one to " repel," another 
 to " attract ;" — So " the necessary effect," — " the pro- 
 duction of a circle," — " The great circle of eternal 
 alternations, with the geometrically perfect triangle of 
 two forces and one matter within it as an active and 
 unerring principle," which is to " revolve forever, with- 
 out end as without beginning :" and that there is not 
 " a living form in nature which is not produced by 
 these forces, from other kinds of matter, as in their 
 original process of creation," <fcc. 
 
 Now, with the most profound deference to the su- 
 perior scientific attainments of this gentleman, in his 
 zealous endeavors to revive in this Christian land the 
 thousand-and-one times exploded Atheistic theory of 
 Aristotle, alias, the modern Pantheism of Germany, 
 we beg to submit, whether he has not overlooked some 
 of the simplest and the soundest rudiments of true 
 philosophy. Take, for example, the following — 
 ^Matter is perceived by sense, mind is understood by 
 reason ; but mind cannot be perceived, neither can 
 matter be understood. Our senses inform us only 
 respecting the phenomena of matter ; our reason in- 
 
XX PREFACE. 
 
 forms us only respecting the phenomena of mind. In 
 the universe, our senses perceive nothing but matter ; 
 while our understanding assures us that every thing 
 most depend upon mind. We cannot perceive the ef- 
 ficiency of an intelligent cause, neither can we under- 
 stand the efficiency of a physical one. Intelligent ef- 
 ficient causation is beyond our senses ; physical effi- 
 cient causation is beyond our understanding. Hence 
 the opposite doctrines of Berkeley and Hume ; the one 
 denying the existence of matter, the other denying the 
 existence of mind ; and each supporting his hypothe- 
 sis by (apparently) plausible arguments. Of the essence 
 of matter, we are as ignorant as we are of the essence 
 of mind. We know them only by their properties, 
 i. e., their relations or analogies. 
 
 " Accordingly, our knowledge of matter and mind 
 is only a knowledge of relations or analogies. But 
 these analogies are only parts of one great analogy, 
 embracing all possible knowledge. Every subject of 
 human thought is connected with an immense scheme, 
 which comprehends the natural and moral universe. 
 Every object, atom, thought, or idea, the least as well 
 as the greatest, are all parts of that scheme — and 
 there is nothing absolute but God — nothing, however 
 small or insignificant, which can be thoroughly known, 
 but by Him who knows the whole. And, for the bene- 
 fit of this philosopher we now add, — Hence, " the 
 failure of every attempt hitherto made, to detect the 
 arrangement or method of nature, in mineralogy, 
 botany, zoology, &c. ,J l In all our systems, we proceed 
 
 1. See the works of Linnoeus, &c, 
 
PREFACE. XXI 
 
 upon the idea of the straight line, ranking the objects 
 of oar study one after another, from the beginning to 
 the end. But in the method of nature, the straight 
 line is blended with the circle and the sphere, so that 
 each object depends not merely upon those which pre- 
 cede and follow it, but upon those which surround it, 
 and the great whole of which it forms a part. And 
 it is so arranged, that every part is, as it were, a min- 
 iature of the whole. This method of circles within 
 circles, " wheels within wheels" (Ezek. i. 16,) is mani- 
 festly the true " method of nature" in all her works. 
 It is indeed, to human reason inextricable ; 
 
 •" Mazes intricate, 
 
 Eccentric, intervolved, yet regular, 
 
 Then most, when most irregular they seem." 1 
 
 Still, this philosopher finds, "even in the com- 
 mencement of the sacred history," that " there is a 
 high doctrine of religion intimated in the word Elo- 
 him, Gods — designating a plurality in the creative 
 power of the universe ! " Shade of Spinoza, what 
 meaneth this ! Why, that this " intimated creative 
 power of the universe," which he elsewhere conde- 
 scends to term " the Divine hand in creation," as " all 
 the forms and modifications of matter are the results 
 of motion," coincides " with the deductions of philo- 
 sophy — two spiritual or immaterial forces," (one to 
 " repel," another to " attract,*' and which forms his 
 great electro-magnetic circle,) "acting upon ??iatter t 
 
 1. Macnab's Theory, &c; pp. 2, 38. 
 B* 
 
XXII PREFACE. 
 
 appear not only to be absolutely necessary, but to ac- 
 tually exist.' 7 Please, reader, while on this subject, 
 turn to pages 8, and 38 — 41, of this volume, and see 
 what of difference you discover between the above 
 ideas of a Supreme, Intelligent, Great First Cause, 
 and the Atheism of Spinoza and Aristotle ; and yet, 
 our recondite philosopher can accommodate his Pro- 
 tean theory to " the great doctrine of the Trinity " — > 
 and can see it also beautifully revived (!) and illus- 
 trated in the Christian creed of an incarnate princi- 
 ple" &c. 
 
 And so, this philosopher also " intimates " his belief 
 in "the Scriptures," as "fully unerringly inspired." 
 But he has had the sagacity to discover, that " the 
 Hindu Scriptures are equally profound upon these 
 subjects with the Christian" — that the Mosaic his- 
 tory of the serpent, "instead of being a literal account 
 of a diabolical miracle, is, in reality, a profound and 
 pregnant apologue " — and that " the tree of life is the 
 magnetic axis of the earth," while the tree of know- 
 ledge of good and evil, is the axis of rotation, &c. 
 
 What others think of this gentleman's theory we 
 know not. Doubtless it has its admirers. We pretend 
 not to have analyzed its principles minutely. This, 
 for want of time and space, we could not do. But it 
 is our deliberate opinion, that a more bold, heaven- 
 daring, God-dishonoring theory, under the mask of 
 Christianity, has never been brought into vogue in 
 this or any other Christian country. 
 
 We deem it here of the utmost importance that the 
 reader distinguish between the Age of the World Geo- 
 
PREFACE. XX111 
 
 logically, and the Age of the World Historically. 
 Regarding the first, the theory we adopt ascribes to 
 the chaotic elements of nature a vast, though limited 
 and indefinite existence; and amplifies the "six days" 
 into six periods of uniform and definite length. It 
 dates the commencement of the second from the Crea- 
 tion and Fall of our first parents, and exposes the fal 
 lacy of the antiquarian, who, by confounding the geo- 
 logical with the historical Age of the World, lays claim 
 to a vastly greater antiquity for the history of the hu- 
 man race, than that given by Moses. 
 
 That our distribution of periods as above, into inde- 
 finite and definite, are generally adopted by geologists, 
 we do not pretend. We invite an examination of our 
 Scriptural argument in support of the latter. Of the 
 Lectures now in course of delivery in this city by 
 Professor Lyell, President of the Geological Society of 
 London, as reported in the " Tribune," (our engage- 
 ments having denied us the pleasure of hearing them,) 
 we have discovered nothing to contravene the senti- 
 ment as expressed by himself, that man, through the 
 aid of this science, is " enabled, by his superior or- 
 ganization, to go back and trace the history of his great 
 birth-place and residence, the earth, and all it has gone 
 through, and what beings lived and died upon it, as he 
 finds it engraved on its rocky pages — on the stony tab- 
 lets of this interesting book — imperishably engraven on 
 the solid frame-work of the earth itself. These laws 
 tend not to materialism; they are the expression 
 of the supreme will imprinted on matter. These 
 laws belong not to material things, but lead us up 
 
XXIV PREFACE. 
 
 to the contemplation of a great and immaterial LAW 
 GIVER ! " 
 
 Finally, the Title-page in its present form, suffi- 
 cienly indicates its object. 
 
 That the subject of which it treats is one of absorb- 
 ing interest, it is presumed none will deny. Of all 
 other subjects however, in the entire range of Theology, 
 not one is called to encounter similar prejudices — not 
 one less likely to gain universal credence. The diver- 
 sified conclusions of the learned in the department of 
 sacred historic chronology — the frequent proofs af- 
 forded by the lapse of time of errors regarding pro* 
 phetical dates — and the denial, consequently, of any 
 practical good resulting therefrom, have contributed 
 to confirm the general impression, that the disclosure 
 of a knowledge of " times and seasons " forms no part 
 of the divine purpose, in the dispensations of his provi- 
 dence and grace to mankind. 
 
 To a reflecting mind, however, it cannot but appear 
 as passing strange, that the Great Disposer of all 
 events connected with the affairs of men in this lower 
 world, should have furnished no ray of light to 
 guide them in these premises. That he has done so 
 in various instances, is fully demonstrated in the se- 
 quel. True, as it respects the entire period assigned 
 to the divinely constituted order of things in the phy- 
 sical and moral worlds, it is not pretended that we are 
 anywhere furnished with an explicit declaration, 
 This, however, it will be found, forms no valid objec- 
 tion to the claim as herein set forth, viz, — That God 
 in his infinite wisdom has assigned to the present 
 
PREFACE. XXV 
 
 constitution of things in this world, under three dis- 
 pensations. Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian, a 
 limited and definite duration ; and that he has im- 
 parted a knowledge of the same to his people in his 
 word. 
 
 As it respects the differences of the learned in the 
 department of sacred historic chronology, while we 
 revere great names, we can only admit them as au- 
 thoritative in proportion as we are furnished with evi- 
 dence of accuracy in their deductions. And we shall 
 find ourselves not a little mistaken if a perusal of these 
 pages does not result in a thorough conviction, that the 
 past errors of the great and good in these premises are 
 predicated of the fact, that as to every period is as- 
 signed a special purpose in the divine plans of Provi- 
 dence and Redemption ; and as to each belongs some 
 great and appropriate truth ; so any attempt at a com- 
 plete elucidation of it is more than premature, till a 
 sufficient maturity of the divine plan should render 
 it necessary. Now this, we say, by way of illustra- 
 tion, is specially true of "the time of the end/' 
 spoken of by Daniel, Chap. xii. 6. All the intervening 
 events pour tray ed in his series of chronometrical pro- 
 phecies, he was commanded to " close and seal up," 
 till that period should arrive. This, however, will 
 not apply to the age of the Apostles, — they, interpret- 
 ing prophetical time literally, (i. e., a day for a day.) 
 being led to expect a very short interval to elapse be- 
 tween the two advents ; nor, during the life-time of 
 our Redeemer, receiving any definite replies in answer 
 to their frequent inquiries respecting this point. 
 
XXVI PREFACE. 
 
 That additional light, however, was given to the 
 Church en this subject previous to the close of the 
 New Testament Canon, we think we have fully shown. 
 The instructions conveyed to St. John respecting the 
 prophecies of his book, was directly opposite to that 
 of Daniel. "Seal not the sayings of this book." 1 
 The entire contents of the apocalyptic visions, there- 
 fore, and which are synchronic with those of Daniel, 
 (save the seven apocalyptic thunders of chap. x. 4,) 
 are given to us as a key to unlock the Divine purposes 
 as well respecting times and seasons, as the nature and 
 character of the events themselves ; not that it was 
 indispensable that these should be understood, except 
 as pointing to crisis. Hence their comparative con- 
 cealment till " the time of the end," under certain 
 mystic forms, the practical effect of which was, to 
 place the Church constantly on the watch-tower, " as 
 though the day of Christ was at hand." Now, how- 
 ever, having the advantage of historic light in point- 
 ing out the coincidence of combined prophetic events 
 (as those of Daniel and St. John) with what has ac- 
 tually transpired, there can, we think, remain but 
 but little, if any doubt, as to the point of time upon 
 which we now stand, in the successive evolutions of 
 God's dispensations to man. 
 
 Of the abuses of this subject, by the fanatical, we 
 have treated at large in the sequel. 
 
 The corroboration of the present " Signs of the 
 Times," as brought to view in the second Lecture, 
 
 1. Rev. xxii. 10. 
 
PREFACE. XXV11 
 
 with the deductions of chronology, will, we trust, re- 
 ceive the serious and attentive perusal of all. They 
 show that " the end of all things is at hand." 1 
 
 Copious references to authorities in this compilation 
 are given ; nor will it, we trust, be found to derogate 
 from the merits of our work, that we have been com- 
 peted, in some instances, to quote second-hand. 
 
 It will be a sufficient apology for our use of empha- 
 tic words, to state that we have written for the benefit 
 
 of ALL. 
 
 We, in conclusion, commit these pages " to God, 
 and to the word of his grace," which alone are able 
 " to present you faultless before the presence of his 
 glory, with exceeding joy." 
 
 R. C. SHIMEALL, 
 
 New- York, April, 1842. 
 
 1. Pet. iy. 7. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 We respectfully request the special attention of the 
 reader to the Preface of this volume. Our manu- 
 script was completed, and nearly printed off, when our 
 attention was called to a series of Lectures on the 
 subjects of Geology, Terrestrial Magnetism, &c. ; the 
 tendency of which, in the view of many, was decidedly 
 derogatory to the interests of our venerable and holy 
 religion. To satisfy ourselves on this point, so far as 
 they are available to us up to this date, and the limits 
 of our Preface would allow, we have examined them. 
 The result is before you. A perusal of the volume 
 however will furnish additional data on these points, 
 which you will be enabled to apply at your leisure. 
 
 This volume enters upon and canvasses every 
 question at all connected with the all-exciting and 
 frequently agitated subject of scripture chro- 
 nology, Historic and Prophetic. The conclusion to 
 which it conducts the reader, (in opposition to that of 
 a cotemporary writer, Mr. Wm. Miller, who makes 
 A. D. 1843 as the termination of the 6000th year of 
 the world,) is, that it places the great day of crisis at 
 1847, and the end of the 6000th year, at 1868. 
 
 <r Blessed is he that readeth." 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, &c. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The subject matter of the first of the two follow- 
 ing Lectures, presents to our view the events evolved 
 in " the course of time 7 of full six thousand years ! 
 It treats of The age of the worlds as educed from the 
 Chronological Records of Scripture, Historic and 
 Prophetic, from the creation and fall of ma?i, to the 
 final consummation of all things. 
 
 The work it assigns us, is an arduous one. " Lord, 
 who is sufficient for these things ! " l " Our suffi- 
 ciency is of God." 2 
 
 In the treatment of this subject, the intelligent rea- 
 der will not fail to perceive, that while the believer in 
 a Divine Revelation, from a conviction of its tran- 
 scendant claims, stands ready, in the meekness of 
 child-like docility, to yield his assent to its deductions 
 upon the ground of its admitted inspiration, in pro- 
 portion to the measure of evidence of their consistency 
 therewith; others there are, who repudiate our deduc- 
 tions, by a denial of any claims to their regard or 
 belief, of the authority or foundation upon which 
 they rest. Hence the following Introductory Essay. 
 
 1. 2 Cor. ii. 16. 2. 2 Cor. iii. 5, 
 
4, INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 Of those who impugn the authority of Scripture in 
 these premises, there are three classes — the Atheist, 
 the Antiquarian, and the Sceptic. 
 
 Says the Atheist, " matter is eternal — i. e. it is self- 
 derived, self-productive, self-preservative. The vari- 
 ous forms which it has assumed, are without begin- 
 ning, without end. Hence, the material universe, of 
 which our globe is a part, is eternal. 
 
 Says the Antiquarian, remote authentic antiquity 
 ascribes a vastly greater age to this globe, than that 
 set forth by the inspired historian, Moses. 
 
 Says the Infidel, even if you demonstrate the present 
 age of the world from the historic and prophetic parts 
 of Scripture, yet I reject both their inspiration and 
 authenticity. 
 
 To these, we may add a fourth class, who, though 
 they admit the inspiration and authenticity of holy 
 Scripture, and are enrolled among the number of those 
 " who profess and call themselves Christians," yet are 
 shocked at the presumption of him who would venture 
 to arrive, even at a tolerable degree of certainty, as to 
 the point of time, in round numbers, upon which we 
 now stand, in the successive evolutions of God's dis- 
 pensations to man. 
 
 Now, true, we might enter upon our subject, and 
 dash on, "in medias res," to the entire satisfaction, 
 and, perhaps, edification of the reader : we might leave 
 the three first above named systems, and their deluded 
 votaries to perish together in unbelief : and, we might 
 also leave the fourth class to an undisturbed indul- 
 gence of their present state of imaginary security, till. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 in pomp and majesty ineffable," 
 
 ^the Lord of life and glory" descends "in an hour 
 when they think not" l to consummate his double 
 work of destruction, of the last great anti-Christian or 
 infidel confederacy, (which confederacy, as we believe, 
 is destined soon to swallow up, root and branch, every 
 vestige of a merely nominal Christianity,) and to 
 throw open wide the portals of the newly established 
 " kingdom of heaven to all believers," 2 leaving them 
 " without," to lift up their voices in the now unavail- 
 ing cry of " Lord. Lord, open unto us ! " 3 
 
 But "we have not so learned Christ." "What," I 
 would ask, " have we, that we have not received ? " 
 " Who," I would ask, " maketh us to differ ? " What 
 can we,„ what would we say, but this, " by the grace 
 of God r I am what I am? O then, let us offer to 
 the Most High a cheerful sacrifice of responsive obe- 
 dience to the command, "freely ye have received, 
 freely give? 4 
 
 "According" then, "to the ability which God 
 giveth," 5 under the present diversified administrations 
 of the Spirit, 6 and with the sentiments and feelings, 
 as we trust, rather of forbearance and compassion, 
 than of reckless denunciation of any, even the most 
 erring, we proceed to assume, as our first proposition, 
 the following, viz : — 
 
 1. Matt. xxiv. 44. 
 
 2. Book of Com. Pr. Te Deum Laud. 
 
 3. Matt. xxv. 11. 4. Matt. x. 8. 
 
 5, 1 Pet. iv. 11. 6. 1 Cor. xii. 4, 6, 28, 
 
4 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 I. That the material universe, op which 
 
 OUR GLOBE FORMS A PART, IS NOT ETERNAL CON- 
 SEQUENTLY, OUR GLOBE, OR THE WORLD WHICH WE 
 INHABIT, IS NOT ETERNAL. 
 
 On entering upon a refutation of the principle, an- 
 tagonistic to the proposition here assumed, we must 
 premise, that we have to contend, as well with a 
 species of what we shall call Christianized Atheism, 
 as with Atheism in its more undisguised form. 
 
 In the department of professedly Christian com- 
 mentators, there are those, who, though they acknow- 
 ledge the existence of an intelligent, great first cause, 
 yet assert that the world is eternal. Of these, the 
 learned Grotius and Vatabulus are the principal. In 
 the place of Gen. i. 1, (as in the English version,) 
 they substitute the following : " Before God created 
 the heavens and the earth, every thing was contained 
 in the chaos." Hence, (as I suppose we must agree,) 
 as the chaos was not the thing spoken of in the act of 
 creation, it must have been eternal : therefore, the 
 heavens and the earth, as contained in it, must be 
 eternal. The above inference is as specious, as the 
 rendering upon which it is based, is false. The 
 second verse of the chapter refutes the whole theory, 
 the thing created being the unformed heavens and 
 earth in their chaotic state. They were u without 
 form, and void" 1 the aogarog (aoratos) of the LXX, 
 and the inanis et vacua of the vulgate. The pri- 
 mordial elements for the construction of the material 
 
 1. Gen, i. 1, 2, 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 5 
 
 earth and 1 heavens, must have had an immediate origi- 
 nal constitution — a genesis : and the production of 
 this basis, or embryo, is what must be understood as 
 the obvious and real intimation of the first verse of 
 Genesis : it : was the first production of the first 
 principia — the very creation itself — the producing 
 of the primitive matter of the future constituents 
 of the universe — in other words, "the substance of 
 the heavens, and the substance of the earth." l With 
 this agrees the original term ^D bara : which signi- 
 fies, "He created — caused to exist, spring forth — as 
 the world, from nothing." 2 Parkhurst's rendering is, 
 a rp crea f e ; produce into being." Hence, " in the 
 beginning the Ale-im created the heavens and the 
 earth." And then adds he, "this cannot relate to 
 form^ because, as it follows in; v. 2, 'the earth/ (i. e. 
 that which was created in the beginning,) ' was vnth- 
 out form,' or in loose atoms." With these renderings 
 agree also the ktI'qew (ktidzein) from *t/£w (ktidzo) 
 of the lxx. which signifies, " to build- raise up from 
 the foundation, to create, form, fashion, appoint, con* 
 stitute, to cause to exist, that which had no existence." 3 
 If more than this be implied in the above term, " be- 
 fore" we then ask, did the universe exist before exis- 
 tence itself? Did it exist anterior to the primordial 
 elements of which it is constructed? The theory 
 carries with it' its own refutation. 
 
 This theory however, claims chiefly for its support, 
 
 L Parkhurst. 2. Roy's Heb. and Eng. Diet. p. 107. 
 
 3. Roy's Heb. and Eng. Diet. p. 107. 
 1* 
 
O INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 that remarkable saying of the wisest of princes, l " The 
 thing which hath been, is that which shall be, and 
 that which is done, is that which shall be done, and 
 there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any 
 thing whereof it may be said, see, this is new ? It 
 hath been already of old time which was before us. 
 There is no remembrance of former things, neither 
 shall there be any remembrance of things that are to 
 come : with those that shall come after" This passage 
 the above commentators consider as decisive, in proof 
 of the eternity of this world, past and future. Strange ! 
 It will require but a cursory inspection of the passage 
 to betray their sense of the paucity of scripture evi- 
 dence to uphold a defenceless theory. Take the follow- 
 ing in illustration: — Of every individual component 
 of the world, it may be asked, " as of a new-bom in- 
 fant, for instance, — is this new ? and the answer 
 would be, " it hath been already of old-time, which 
 was before us." That is, it is not, strictly speaking, a 
 thing which hath not been before, — it is merely a 
 subject of succession, — a repitition of that which hath 
 been ; nothing variant in its characteristic nature from 
 its precedent. So also, the chemist, who, though he 
 should produce a new compound, new, that is, in its 
 compounded state, yet it cannot be strictly called new, 
 because all its various and several components, either 
 primarily, or secondarily, existed before" 
 
 The passage is to be viewed rather as a splendid 
 eulogy upon that wisdom with which the author of it 
 was endowed. He meant to assert that no rival in 
 the intellectual field should exceed his knowledge of 
 
 1. Ecd. i. 9— U. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 7 
 
 the ways and works of God. As though he had said, 
 1 Lo, / have seen all things under the sun, and the 
 course of nature is such as will not produce any thing 
 which I have not acquainted myself with, it having 
 already existed : ' not from eternity, but " of old 
 time ; " he then living about the three thousandth 
 year of the world ; and this too, for the express pur- 
 pose of setting before the minds of future generations, 
 an open declaration of the fallacy of all sublunary 
 things : for, high as he had extolled his wisdom, he 
 
 adds, " ALL IS VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT. n 
 
 Neither the world, then, which we inhabit, nor yet 
 the chaos out of which it was formed, is eternal ; the 
 chaos being the very thing set forth by Moses as cre- 
 ated " in the beginning? 
 
 We come now to remark, that arguments professed- 
 ly adduced from scripture, to prove the eternity of the 
 world, it is sufficient to refute by scripture. Polyth- 
 eistic and other, the like systems of Atheism, howev- 
 er, require a different mode of treatment. Its advocates 
 respectable, both in number and intellect, have em- 
 braced some of the master-spirits of every age. The 
 Aristotelian philosophy, besides including consid- 
 erable numbers of Jews and Mahomedans, enrolls 
 among its champions the names of Averroes, Avicenna, 
 Alfaraba, and others. Their respective systems (if 
 systems they may be called) taught, that the material 
 earth and heavens were the products of a blind cas- 
 ualty — • a fortuitous concourse of confusedly agitated 
 atoms, that sprang from matter which was eternal 
 
 We cannot now detain you by a comparison of the 
 
8 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 atheism of Aristotle, with that of the more modern 
 Spinoza. Suffice it now to say,. that it was reserved 
 for him to strip previously existing systems of their 
 more repulsive forms, by investing it which a new 
 garb. His system is as follows : — " There is a God; 
 but this God is only the Universality or assemblage of 
 creatures : that every thing is a modification of God ; 
 that the sun is God, as giving light : that aliments 
 are God; as affording nourishment: and so of the 
 rest. For this system however,. Spinoza was indebted 
 for the most part to the ancient pagan superstitions. 
 One, for instance, struck with the beauty of the stars, 
 said that the stars were God. Another, astonished at 
 the splendor of the sun, said that the sun was God. 
 Democritus, surprised at the beauty of fire, said that 
 God was a material fire. Chrysippus, amazed at the 
 beauty of that necessity which causeth every thing to 
 answer its destination, said, that God was fate. Perr 
 menides, affected with the beautiful expanse of heaven 
 and earth, said, that God was that expanse — and the 
 pagan Demonax (the Grecian philosopher) was once 
 asked to go to the temple of iEsculapius, to supplicate 
 the deity there to restore a sick child to health. 
 " What, " replied Demonax, "do you imagine that God 
 is so very deaf, that he can : hear; you, no where else 
 but in the temple ? " 
 
 But, there is one defect about this god of Spinoza.. 
 He is destitute of reason^ of intelligence. What — 
 light, or aliments, or the stars, or the sun ? or fire, 
 or fate, capable of thought ? Upon this point, even 
 the most sceptical will not venture a dispute. The 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. V 
 
 whole universe of created being, inanimate and 
 animate, is constituted of the essence of matter, or of 
 spirit, or of both. By spirit, we mean mind, intellect, 
 soul. That both these essences are common to all 
 parts of the created universe, or even to all parts of 
 animated nature, is not pretended ; the brutes which 
 perish, in common with man, partaking of a visible 
 body and animal life. Tf peculiar however to any 
 one portion of it, we are furnished with a demonstra- 
 tion of the existence of both. This, then, we assert, 
 is true of man. That man is a complex being, we 
 thus demonstrate. — He has a visible body, materia], 
 and, of itself, destructible. Of this, we have the evi- 
 dence of the senses, which is tangible, irrefragable. 
 But this visible body in man, is endowed with the 
 powers of motion, which, for the purpose of distinction 
 we shall call the animal life : and which constitutes the 
 connecting link between the visible body, and the 
 rational spirit, mind, intellect, soul. This animal life 
 in man, whatever it be, is doubtless, like his body, 
 composed of matter, though refined and attenuated to 
 its utmost degree ; and, consequently, invisible to the 
 eye. Then, upon the same principle that chaloric, or 
 heat, is a material substance, and, though not visible 
 or tangible, is still possessed of the powers of expan- 
 sion, emission of light, chemical decomposition, and 
 the like ; the inference is drawn, that life is a refined, 
 active substance, subject to the laws of matter, and 
 possessing some properties in common with electri- 
 city, chaloric, light, &c, but yet differing from every 
 other modification of matter ; and that, as a conse- 
 
10 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 quence, it is equally liable to decomposition. With 
 the rational spirit, mind, intellect, soul, of man, how- 
 ever, it is otherwise. This property or essence in man, 
 though not palpable to the senses ;: i. e., though it can 
 neither be seen, felt, heard, smelt, or tasted ; yet, from 
 its analogy to some substances strictly material, 
 though not existing in the same degree, it is with 
 equal certainty known to exist. "It is agreed, for 
 instance, that a man may feel the violence of heah 
 and yet not see the principle which communicates it 
 in palpable abstraction before him. " The wind bloweth 
 where it listeth, and we hear the sound thereof," bi\t. 
 its subtle elements remain invisible to the eye, 
 "And though it may here be objected, that the evi- 
 dence of its existence is derived from a similar source 
 with that which demonstrates the existence of animal 
 life in man, and that consequently it can differ in no 
 respect from it ; and that, as that is material and 
 destructible, so is this : we answer, — that the differ- 
 ence between them is to be sought^ not in the ana- 
 logical evidence of their mere existence, but in their 
 respective attributes. These demonstrate, that they 
 differ, essentially, in their nature. The rational 
 spirit in man is known for instance to possess the 
 faculties of reason, judgment, the will, the affections, 
 conscience, memory, and the imagination, of all of 
 which the mere animal life in man, and which we 
 admit the lower orders of animal nature inherits in 
 common with him,, is totally destitute. This differ- 
 ence constitutes the basis of man's superiority to the 
 brute. Animal life, being material, isdestructible. The 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 11 
 
 rational soul, being spiritual, is indestructible — not of 
 itself — not that it possesses essential immortality : 
 no, in this sense, the eternal Jehovah alone, who 
 is the fountain of all existence, is immortal. All that 
 is here intended is, that when the Almighty formed 
 the rational spirit in man, his will ordained that it 
 should be, imperishable, immortal. 
 
 But, as it may be thought that we are anticipating 
 an important conclusion, which ought rather to be 
 proved, than taken for granted, we recall your atten- 
 tion more particularly to a further consideration of the 
 qualities and attributes peculiar to matter. — Matter, 
 we have said, in the abstract, is destitute of intelligence ; 
 it cannot beget thought. Whatever form matter may 
 assume — however refined or attenuated matter may 
 become — you may make it vast or luminous, opaque 
 or transparent, yet will you never, by all your combi- 
 nations, advance one single step towards producing 
 among -the mighty mass, one spark of latent feeling, 
 or one act of thought. 
 
 In meeting the atheistic principle therefore, which 
 asserts that the world which we inhabit is self- 
 derived, and consequently eternal, what is the pro- 
 vince of right reason ? It is to argue thus — c I exist ' 
 — This is self-evident. l I am not the author of my 
 existence.' This is also self-evident. l I, therefore, 
 must be a created being.' This, also. Hence I argue 
 as follows : That being to whom I owe my exis- 
 tence, derives his from himself, or, like me, owes it to 
 another. If he exist of himself, he must be the 
 eternal God. If not, I argue about him, as about 
 
12 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 the former. Thus I ascend, thus I am constrained to 
 ascend, till I arrive at that being who does exist of 
 himself and who hath alio ays so existed* 
 
 It only remains that I now transfer this species of 
 reasoning from myself as a creature, to the world 
 which I inhabit. My first remark under this cate- 
 gory is, that the creation of this material world, 
 argues design ; design argues intelligence. That / 
 am an intelligent being, is as self-evident as that I 
 exist. Now, whence this intelligence? Whence is 
 it, that I am endowed with the faculties of reason, 
 judgment, the will, conscience, memory, and the 
 imagination ? Then, too, I ask, which is the nobler 
 endowment ? The material, or the rational ? And 
 if the rational, and, if matter, of itself, could not 
 give existence to the former, how, to the latter ? 
 
 By the same process of reasoning, therefore, as 
 
 * " Absolute eternity is necessary in the divine nature, and un- 
 avoidably included in the idea of God: He is " from everlasting 
 to everlasting." If there had been a point of duration, wherein 
 there had been no being, there never could have been any being. 
 For how could there have been any thing, if once there had been 
 nothing 7 Could nothing have made any thing, when even God 
 could not make himself? The Christians creed is, " I believe in 
 God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth." The 
 Atheist's creed is, " I believe in nothing, the origin of all things." 
 Which do you think is most philosophical?" (Dr. Grosvenor.) 
 
 " The late Dr. Nisbet, celebrated for his profound erudition and 
 ready wit, being asked, how he would define modern philosophy, — 
 replied, that " it consists in believing every thing but the truth, and 
 exactly in proportion to the want of evidence ; or, to use the words 
 of a poet, ' in making windows that shut out the light, and passages 
 that lead to nothing.' " 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 13 
 
 adopted under the former argument, I am irresistibly 
 led from myself and nature up to natures God, and 
 discover in Him, supreme, infinite-, eternal intelli- 
 gence. And, as such, he is not, upon the atheistic 
 hypothesis of Spinoza, diffused, so to speak, through 
 the various parts of the universe ; but, that " he pos- 
 sesseth all the perfections of that universe." Yes, 
 "he is the beauty of the stars, the brightness of the 
 sun, the subtlety of etherial matter, the expanse of 
 heaven, and the law of fate." And, " if among these 
 qualities there be any incompatible with the purity of 
 his essence, and therefore inapplicable to him, yet in 
 this sense they belong to him -*-* all are subject to his 
 empire, and act only by his wilL" 
 
 Yes, it was by this self-existent, infinitely intellv 
 gent , Eternal, great first cause of all, even he who 
 is "wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working," 1 
 that "the heavens were made, and all the host of 
 them by the breath (spirit) of his mouth." 2 " In {not 
 before) the beginning, God CREATED the 
 heavens and the earth." 3 Yes, " He gathered 
 the waters of the sea together, as an heap ; He layeth 
 up the deep as in store-houses." 4 " Of old hath He 
 laid the foundations of the earth." 5 " In the heavens 
 hath He set a tabernacle for the sun" 6 " He hath 
 appointed the moon for seasons." 7 and " maketh 
 Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of 
 
 1. Isa. xxviii. £9. 2. Ps. xxxiii. 6. 
 
 3. Gen. i. 1. 4. Ps. xxxiii. 7. 
 
 5. Ps. cii. 25. 6. Ps. xix. 1 
 
 7. Ps. civ. 19, 
 
 2 
 
14 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 the south." l " He hath created the north and the 
 south." 2 He maketh " the weight for the winds," 3 
 •■'and bringeth them out of his treasures." 4 "He 
 tovereth the heavens with clouds" 5 "and bindeth 
 up the waters with his thick clouds." 6 " He made a 
 decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the 
 thunder ; " 7 " and causeth the vapors to ascend from 
 the ends of the earth." 8 u The day is his, and the 
 night also ; he hath set all the borders of the earth : 
 he has made summer and winter" 9 It was by the 
 Word of his mouth that "the waters were com- 
 manded to bring forth abundantly the moving 
 creature that hath life," 10 in which " is that leviathan 
 he hath made to play therein; " n also, that " the air 
 was filled with fowl that fly above the earth, in the 
 open firmament of heaven." 12 And, that " the earth 
 should bring forth the living creature after his kind, 
 cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, 
 after his kind ; " among which are " Behemoth, which 
 eateth grass as an ox." 13 By the same word of his 
 power, for the sustenance of animal life, he said, 
 " let the earth bring forth grass, and the herb, yield- 
 ing seed after his kind, and the tree, yielding fruit, 
 whose seed is in itself, after his kind." u He also 
 
 1. Job. ix. 9. 2. Ps. lxxxix. 12. 
 
 3. Job. xxviii. 25. 4. Ps. cxxxv. 7. 
 
 5. Ps. cxlvii. 8. 6. Job. xxv\ 8. 
 
 7. Job. xxviii. 26. 8. Jer. x. 13. 
 
 9. Ps. lxxiv. 16, 17. 10. Gen. i. 20. 
 
 11. Ps. civ. 26. 12. Gen. i. 20, 21. 
 13. Gen. i.24 ; 25. Job. xl. 15. 14. Gen. i. 11, 12. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 15 
 
 made " the flower of the field," l and " his voice dis- 
 covered the forest" 2 Finally, God created Man, in 
 his own image &c. 3 
 
 Thus, Christian believer, is it, that our God hath 
 "founded the earth upon the seas, and established 
 it upon the floods ; " 4 yea, that " hangeth the earth 
 upon nothing;" 5 while he, as the great creator of 
 all, "rideth in his excellency on the sky." 6 
 " It was a celebrated saying of Tertullian, that every 
 mechanic among Christians knew God, and could 
 make him known to others. Tertullian thus spoke, 
 by way of contrast to the conduct of the philosopher, 
 Thales, tOAvards Crossus the king. Croesus asked 
 this philosopher, " what is God ? " Thales required 
 one day to furnish an answer. Croesus, receiving no 
 answer, asked him again, " what is God ? " Thales 
 then asked for two days. Failing still to furnish a 
 reply, he asked for four days, then for eight, then for 
 sixteen ; until the king, " impatient of further delay, 
 desired to know the reason of it. : king, said 
 Thales, be not astonished that I defer my answer. 
 It is a question in which my insufficient reason is 
 lost. The oftener I ask myself, what is God ? the 
 more incapable I find myself of answering. New 
 difficulties arise every moment, and my knowledge 
 diminisheth as my inquiries increase. " 
 
 " Tertullian hereupon takes an occasion to triumph 
 
 1. Isa. xl. G. 2. Ps. xxix. 9. 
 
 3. Ge». i. 2C>. 4. Ps. xxiv. 0. 
 
 5. Job. xxvi. 7. G. Deut. xxxiii. 26. 
 
16 INTRODUCTIOY ESSAY. 
 
 over the philosophers of paganism, and to make an 
 euology on Christianity. Thales, the Chief of the 
 wise men of Greece ; Thales, who hath added the eru- 
 dition of Egypt to the wisdom of Greece ; Thales can- 
 not inform the king what God is ! The meanest 
 Christian " says he, " knows more than this" " The 
 things of God knoweth no man/' only as revealed by 
 « the Spirit of God-" 1 
 
 Nor can I illustrate this point mare pertinently and 
 forcibly, than by calling in the aid of the following in- 
 cident. " Collins, the Free-thinker ^ met a plain coun- 
 tryman going to church. He asked him, ' where are 
 you going ? ' ' To church Sir.' l What to do there ? ' 
 ' To worship God. ' ; Pray, whether is your God a 
 great or a little God ? J ' He is both, Sir. ' 'How can 
 he be both? J 'He is so great, Sir, that the heaven of 
 heavens cannot contain him ; and so little,, that he 
 can dwell in my heart.' " 
 
 In conclusion, therefore, on this part of our subject, 
 we deny the eternity as claimed by atheists, either for 
 the universe, as a whole,, or for our globe, in particular. 
 And that intelligent being, who will withold the honor 
 and glory due to the Eternal God, by a denial that He 
 created all, and that He preserves and governs all, and 
 that He will continue so to do, to the times of the Resti- 
 tution of all things," 2 
 
 "- : — is mad, 
 
 Insane most greviously, 
 
 And most insane because he knours it not." 
 
 Pollok. 
 
 1. Corinthian iii. 11. 2. Acts iii. 21. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 17 
 
 And, to all, we say, in the language of God to Job, 
 " Where was thou, when I laid the foundation of the 
 earth ? Who hath laid the measures thereof or who 
 hath streched the lines upon it ? Whereupon are the 
 foundations thereof fastened, or who laid the corner 
 stone thereof 7 When all the morning stars sang 
 together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy ? n 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Thus much £or Atheism, whether Christianized, or 
 undisguised. Turn we now to another class of Theo- 
 rists, who, though they admit both the eternal exis- 
 tance of the Great-first-cause which we call God, and 
 the work of creating this stupendous universe which 
 we ascribe to him, yet demur, as to the period of time 
 which we claim to have elapsed since the creation of 
 man, according to the Cosmogony of Moses ; and this, 
 in two ways, — 
 
 I. By claiming, that remote authentic anti- 
 quity ASCRIBES A VASTLY GREATER AGE TO THIS 
 GLOBE, THAN THAT SET FORTH BY THE INSPIRED 
 
 writings. Here, it would, at first view, seem most 
 befitting that we determine, in round numbers, what 
 is the present age of the world, as given in the sacred 
 writings. But, it will equally serve our purpose in 
 this part of the discussion, to assume any period this 
 side of eight thousand years. This premised, we pro- 
 ceed to observe, that the ancient Cabalas of the Hin- 
 doos, Egyptians, Chinese, Persians, Etruscans, && 
 2* 
 
IS INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 the last of whom, according to Herodotus, 1 colonized 
 Asia minor from Lydia, assigned to the created uni- 
 verse, both prior and subsequent to the existance of the 
 human species, periods of stupendous length. Of the 
 extant records of antiquity j those of the sacred law of 
 the Hindoos are the oldest ; and*, whether authentic or 
 fabulous, it serves to furnish us with a. nucleus to the 
 notions prevalent among them in regard to the periods 
 of time, both of energy and repose of the Great Crea- 
 tor^ in giving existance to this universe. 
 
 These they divide into a day and a night, both of 
 which are of such vast duration as almost to defy the 
 power of numbers. 2 
 
 In Syncellus' account of an old Egyptian Chrono- 
 grapheon, (which by the way is very imperfect, 3 ) after 
 assigning an eternity of Existance to Vulcan, it claims 
 a period of time for the reign of the kings of Egypt 
 from Sol the son of Vulcan^ to the thirtieth Tanite 
 dynasty, of about forty thousand years. 4 
 
 Similar remote antiquity has been ascribed to the 
 Chinese records, but without foundation. 5 
 
 The Persian accounts of their antiquity and learn- 
 ing would carry us back to a period^ many thousands 
 of years anterior to the date above assumed. 6 
 
 Similar to the above are the accounts of the. Etrus- 
 
 1. Herods Hist, Lib. I; §- 94. 
 
 9-. Instil, of Mense, Chap. j. § 64—80. 
 
 3; Shuckfords Connections. Vol., IIJ. p., 149, 160. 
 
 4. Ibid, p., 129. 
 
 5. Shuck. Con. vol., I. p., 48: 
 
 6. Faber. Orig., of Pag., Idol. b. I, Zend, arest. vol., iii. Hyde de 
 ler. ret. Pers., p., 161, 1,6% 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 19 
 
 cans. l And, according to Sir- Isaac Newton, Diodorus 
 Siculus relates, 2 " that when Alexander the great was 
 in Asia, the Chaldeans reckoned four hundred and 
 seventy three thousand years, since they first began to 
 observe the stars." 
 
 Now, says the antiquarian, (not all antiquarians. — - 
 for many, in their researches into the regions of remote 
 antiquity^ have come to a directly contrary conclusion,) 
 the above accounts, Hindoo, Egyptian, Chinese, Per- 
 sian, and Etruscan, founded, as they doubtless are, on 
 authentic data, and claiming, as they do, such a 
 vastfy greater antiquity to the origin of the world than 
 that claimed by* Moses and the rest of the sacred wri- 
 ters ■;• and, as it is impossible to harmonize the latter 
 with the former, it follows, that the Chronology of the 
 Bible must be, fabulous* 
 
 Now, in meeting this difficulty, (to many minds, in- 
 superable,) we observe, first, that we admit the above 
 accounts, as matters of historical record. With the 
 antiquarian however, we claim the right to. demurs 
 To his inference, as predicated of the -above accounts 
 as matters of historical record, we do demur; yea, 
 more : We deny, that it is founded in truth. And, as 
 a test to the merits of our denial of the above inferance^ 
 we shall at once proceed' to a refutation of all claims 
 to a greater antiquity for the origin and duration of 
 this earth, whether Hindoo, Egyptian, Chinese, or 
 other, than that given in the inspired volume, by estab- 
 lishing an antecedent antiquity in behalf of tha 
 Sacred writings. 
 
 1*. Suid. Lex. 2. Lib. ii., p. 83. Newton's Chron., p. C63, 
 
20 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 That such a result is attainable, will appear from a 
 comparison of the antiquity of profane, with the an- 
 tiquity of the sacred writings, as based upon their 
 interNxIl evidence. 
 
 To proceed. Besides the sources of remote profane 
 history, denominated Post-diluvian, there are some 
 scanty fragments which bear a date anterior to the 
 flood : of which, the records of the Egyptian Thyoth 
 and Sanchoniathon of Berytus, form exclusively the 
 basis. 1 The most rigid perspicuity originally formed 
 the principal characteristic in their style of writing. 
 Philo Biblius furnishes us with the following as a 
 specimen. " When Saturnus went to the South, he 
 made Taautus king of all Egypt, and the Cabiri made 
 memoirs of these transactions." 2 
 
 Now, of these, and the like records of ante-diluvian an- 
 tiquity, we remark, first, that, in their iincorrapted state, 
 they u left accounts very agreeable to that of Moses ;" 3 
 furnishing collateral evidence at least, that the facts 
 of their history were based upon the oral traditions 
 of the ante-diluvian patriarchs, with which the history 
 of Moses abounds. To illustrate this point, take the 
 above passage of Philo Biblius, and see how naturally 
 it may be interwoven with that of the Sacred writings. 
 " When Saturnus " (who was probably the Mizraim 
 of the Scriptures) w went to the South" (or removed 
 from the lower Egypt into Thebais,) " he made Taau- 
 tus king of all Egypt; and the Cabiri" (who were 
 the sons of Mizraim,) u made memoirs of these tran- 
 sactions." 4 
 
 1. Shuck, con. vol. i. p. 13. 2. Ibid. 
 
 3. Ibid, p. 15. 4. Shuck, con. vol. i. p. 13. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 21 
 
 Of ante-diluvian profane learning, there are no 
 monumental guides upon which, in our inquiries, we 
 can place any reliance. The pillars of Seth, and the 
 Book of Enoch, though supported, the first by Jo- 
 sephus, and the second by Tertullian, and some other 
 fathers, yet seem to have had no existence in fact. 1 
 And even remote post-diluvian history, presents to 
 view a soil of scarcely less sterility. For, though Dio- 
 dorus assures us that his account of the Assyrian Anti- 
 quities is taken from Ctesias, whose records were based 
 upon the Persian Chronicles, there can be but little 
 doubt that what he represents as true of the ancient As- 
 syrian Empire, is after all no more than what he knew 
 to be true of the Persian. 2 As Mr. Shuckford justly 
 remarks, those writers seem to have been possessed of 
 " a romantic humor of magnifying ancient facts, build- 
 ings, wars, armies, and kingdoms." In illustration of 
 this point we have but to compare the account given 
 of the age of the ante-diluvian kings of Berosus, with 
 the acknowledged longevity of the patriarchs as fur- 
 nished by Moses. This writer computes each year of 
 the Chaldean kings by a u Sarus* each of which is 
 equal to six hundred and three years ; and thus he 
 makes them to have lived some "ten, twelve, thirteen, 
 and eighteen Sari, the last of which life amounted to 
 ten thousand, eight hundred and fifty four years." 3 
 
 Similar to the above are the extravagant accounts of 
 Diodorus and others, who, in after ages, " represent 
 
 1. Shuck, con. p. 54, 55. 2. Shuck, con. vol. ii. p. 45, 40. 
 3. Shuck, con. vol. i. p. 16. 
 
22 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 the armies of Semiramis, and her buildings at Babylon, 
 more numerous and magnificent than can be conceived 
 by any one who considers the infant state kingdoms 
 were in when she reigned;" a correct view of which 
 may be gathered from the circumstance of Abraham's 
 overthrow of " Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, 
 king of nations, Amraphel, king of Shinar, and 
 Arioch, king of Ellasar, " for the capture of his 
 nephew Lot, with no other force but his three hund- 
 red and eighteen armed servants ! l 
 
 We next observe, that these ancient records, origi- 
 nally simple and concise, soon became perverted by the 
 embellishments of false learning; of whom, Surmu- 
 belus and Thuero, with the son of Thabio, were the 
 chief instruments : the latter of these, as one of the 
 first interpreters of the Sacra of the Phoenicians, by 
 his comments filled them with allegory ', and incorpo- 
 rated with them "his physiological philosophy, and 
 so left them to the priests, and they to their successors. 
 With these additions and mixtures they came into the 
 hands of the Greeks, who were men of an abounding 
 fancy, and who, by new applications, and by increas- 
 ing the number and extravagances of the fable, did in 
 time leave but little appearance of truth in them." 
 
 The same remark is applicable to the writings of 
 Sanchoniathon of Berytus, who, we are told, " wrote 
 his history of the Jewish antiquities with the greatest 
 care and fidelity, having received his facts from Hie- 
 rombalus, a priest, and, having a mind to write a uni- 
 
 1. Gen. xi7 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 23 
 
 versal history of all nations from the beginning, he 
 took the greatest pains in searching the records of 
 Taautus," or Thyoth. "But the priests who lived 
 after him, adding their comments and explications to his 
 work, in some time brought all back to mythology 
 again." l 
 
 Profane post-diluvian history claims Herodotus as 
 the first chronicler of its events. He was followed by 
 Xenophon. Then Ctesias the Cnidian, physician to 
 Artaxerxes Mnemon, king of Persia. As evidence of 
 the ancient learning of the Indians, Clemens Alexan- 
 drinus quotes the authority of Megasthenes. All the 
 remains of it now extant, however, are to be found in 
 the writings of Confucius. And, though fragments of 
 the most ancient Phoenician, Egyptian, and Grecian 
 writers have been transmitted to us, yet the original 
 works, and particularly those of the two former na- 
 tions, have perished. 
 
 Upon the history of Herodotus, little, if any, reliance 
 can be placed. As himself seems to insinuate, (Lib. i. 
 c. 95,) he wrote from hearsay only. In this respect 
 at least, Ctesias had the advantage over him, in that 
 he examined the royal records of Persia for historical 
 data, the existence of which records is recognized in 
 the sacred writings. (Ezra iv. 15; Esth. vi. 1.) 
 And, whatever of fable may be attributed to his writ- 
 ings by Aristotle, Antigonus, Caristheus, Plutarch, 
 Arrian, and Photius, no valid objection can be urged 
 against his catalogue of the kings who reigned between 
 
 1. 1 Shuck, con. vol. i. p. 13, 14. 
 
24 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY-. 
 
 the first Assyrian king-, Nimrod) and Nabonassar ; for, 
 besides the Scriptural evidence of such an interval, 
 Ctesias 5 Catalogue is received as authentic by Diodo- 
 rus Siculus, by Cephalon, and Castor, by Trogus Pom- 
 peius, Valleius Patercules, and afterwards by Africa- 
 nus, Eusebius, and Syncellus, all of which is corrobo- 
 rated by the observations of CallistheneS) that the As- 
 syrians were promoters of learning daring that whole 
 period. l 
 
 It may here be of service to the reader to annex, in 
 addition to the above, the following catalogue of au- 
 thorities, as the sources, generally, whence are derived 
 the antiquities of the Egyptians, Chinese, and Assyrian 
 dynasties. And-, 
 
 1. Those of Egypt are, first, The old Egyptian 
 Chronographeon, which passed through the hands, 
 first of Manetho and subsequently of Syncellus ; the 
 latter of which was rather an abstract of the original^ 
 he having died before completing his account of it. 
 
 Then also, even that abstract was incorporated with 
 materials gathered from some later Chronicles. 
 
 Of the old Chronographeon, some learned writers, 
 of whom Scaliger is one, are of the opinion that it is 
 nothing but an abridgement of the Tomes of Manetho. 
 Prideaux seems to entertain this view. But Syncellus' 
 comparison of the latter work with the former, though 
 it leads to a discovery of errors on the part of Manetho, 
 entirely irreconcileable with the original, yet shows 
 the two works to be separate and distinct ; the old 
 
 1. Shuck, con. vol. I. p. 13 — 20. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 25 
 
 Chronographeon dividing each reign of the Egyptian 
 kings by astronomical^ and the work of Manetho by 
 historical data. 
 
 2. The Egyptian Dynasty closed with the reign of 
 Nectanebus, when it fell into the hands of the Persians 
 under the valorous arm of Ochus, and was finally re- 
 duced by Alexander the Great. At his death it formed 
 u a part of the provinces of Ptolemy > one of his captains, 
 who in a few years became king of it;" It was during 
 the reign of his son Ptolemy Philadelphus, that Mane- 
 tho, then at the head of the sacra of the Egyptians, 
 and one of the nobility, " about the time, or soon after* 
 the Septuagint translation was made of the Hebrew 
 ScriptureSj was ordered to compile the history of his 
 own country. Having consulted the sacred books of 
 the Egyptians} and extracted, as he pretended, what 
 had been transcribed into them from their most ancient 
 monuments, and completed his undertaking in the 
 Greek tongue, he dedicated it to Ptolemy, at whose 
 command he had composed it." This, therefore, forms 
 the next source of authoritative data for the antiquities 
 of this nation. The errors and imperfections of his 
 Tomes, however, failing to give satisfaction, Eratos- 
 thenes was ordered by Ptolemy Euergetes in the fol- 
 lowing reign, "to make a further collection of the 
 Egyptian kings." Hence, 
 
 3. The catalogue of Eratosthenes is now to be 
 added to the above. This writer was a Cyrenian, 
 and, having attained great eminence as a scholar at 
 Athens, the seat of Grecian learning, he was invited into 
 Egypt by Euergetes, where he became one of the keepers 
 3 
 
26 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 of the Royal Library at Alexandria, and at whose com- 
 mand lie furnished a new catalogue of the Egyptian 
 kings. His first business was, to point out the defects of 
 Manetho's work, which had originated after it so early 
 a demand for one of greater accuracy. But, even in 
 this work, though generally esteemed a vast improve- 
 ment on the former, yet from the great difficulty of 
 preserving accuracy in computing or transcribing the 
 old Egyptian numeral hieroglyphics, errors, to a 
 greater or lesser extent were unavoidable. 
 
 4. A fourth source of information in these premises, 
 is some extracts from Manetho in Josephus, relating to 
 the Pastor kings, who, in the reign of Timaeus, inva- 
 ded Egypt, and held it in subjection for five hundred 
 and eleven years. Josephus, however, seems to com- 
 mit a capital error by including these Pastors in, or as 
 forming part of the Egyptian dynasties ; for, they 
 " were not Egyptian ; they were foreign invaders, 
 who over-ran Egypt, and reduced a great part of the 
 country into subjection." 
 
 5. Following this, is the work of Sextus Julius 
 Africanus of the third century, a Christian, who wrote 
 his " Chronographia " about one hundred and fifty 
 years after Josephus. This work extends from the 
 creation to the consulate of Gratus and Seleucus, to 
 A. D. two hundred and twenty one, and includes the 
 dynasties of Manetho ; rejecting, however, all that he 
 " offered of the reigns of gods, demi-gods, and heroes, 
 to be fables, fiction, or false theology, and thereupon 
 superfluous." In this light, the work of Africanus 
 may be viewed as a valuable accession to the history 
 of the times of which it treats, his aim being: to reduce 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 27 
 
 the whole to what he considered "the true chronology 
 of the world." 
 
 6. The Chronicon of Eusebius Pamphilius, Bishop 
 of Csesarea, about a century after, followed that of 
 Africanus. His work commences with the birth of 
 Abraham, and terminates with the 20th year of Con- 
 stantine the Great. The design of it is, by exhibiting 
 the events of sacred and profane history as cotem- 
 porary, to harmonize the one with the other. But in 
 synchronizing these events, he is thought to have 
 taken unwarrantable liberties both with Manetho and 
 Africanus, in the arrangement of his Egyptian dy- 
 nasties, which greatly diminishes the accuracy, and 
 consequently, the value of his work. 
 
 7. The next source of authority respecting the an- 
 tiquities of Egypt, is, "the chronographia of Syn- 
 cellus, written A. D. 800 ; which may be considered 
 as a compilation from all the preceeding, with such 
 departures from, and corrections of each, as his judg- 
 ment dictated. But this also should be used with 
 great caution ; " for, Syncellus had certainly formed 
 no right judgment of the Egyptian history ; as ap- 
 pears evidently from his declaring that he knew no 
 use of, nor occasion for, Eratosthene's catalogue of 
 the Theban kings." 
 
 8. The last work to which we will refer the reader 
 in this department, is, "the Canon Chronicus of Sir 
 John Marsham." He considered Egypt as being di- 
 vided into four concurrent kingdoms in the most 
 early ages ; viz, — • Thebes — This — Memphis — and 
 Tarns, or Lower Egypt. He formed a canon or table, 
 
28 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 to give the reader in one view, the cotemporary 
 kings of each kingdom. And, in the execution of his 
 work in proper chapters, he endeavors to justify the 
 position of the kings, according to the succession as- 
 signed to them in the successive columns of his 
 canon." And when we reflect, that he has succeeded 
 in reducing the difference in the chronology of events 
 as narrated in sacred and profane history, ending with 
 the passage of the Israelites over the Red Sea, to the 
 narrow point of some six or seven years, it cannot but 
 strengthen our conviction of the concurrence of the 
 events of profane, with those of the sacred records. 
 
 II. Our remarks on the Chinese records and their 
 antiquities, we shall reserve for a subsequent page. 
 
 III. The authorities upon which we are dependant 
 for information respecting the antiquities of the an- 
 cient Assyrian empire, are, chiefly, those of Hero- 
 dotus, Ctesias, Zenophon, Aristotle, Strabo, Diodorus 
 Siculus, &c. The value of these authorities, however, 
 may be inferred from the fact, that while Sir Isaac 
 Newton and Sir John Marsham on the one hand, 
 contend " that there were no such kings of Assyria, as 
 all the ancient writers have recorded to have reigned 
 therefrom Ninus to Sardanapalus, and to have governed 
 a great part of Asia for above one thousand three hundred 
 years ; v the learned Shuckford on the other, labors to 
 reconcile the conflicting and often contradictory state- 
 ments with which the writings of the above named an- 
 cient authors abound, with the actual existence of said 
 Assyrian kings, from the coincidence of their history 
 \yith that of the sacred records. For further informs 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 29 
 
 tion on this interresting subject, together with the pre- 
 ceding, the reader is referred to his connections of 
 sacred and profane history. 
 
 With these facts before us, it is easy to discover 
 into what a chaos of perplexity, remote profane 
 history is involved. But, this circumstance we think 
 may be satisfactorily accounted for, from the very 
 structure peculiar thereto. Take, for example, that of 
 the ancient Egyptian dynasty. First, in order, follows 
 an account of their gods ; then of their demi-gods and 
 heroes, and finally, of their kings. 1 To their heroes, 
 at a very early period of their history, they appended 
 the names of their sidereal and elementary deities, the 
 philosophical opinions concerning whom, in their 
 subsequent mythological accounts, were transferred to 
 the life and actions of the heroes themselves. This- 
 circumstance soon induced a departure from the once 
 unadorned style of imparting religious instruction to 
 the common people, and a substitution in its place of 
 an ambitious desire to cater to the appetites of the 
 fastidious. 2 Hence, the vagaries of a fanciful mytho- 
 logy and philosophy, soon obscured the unsophis- 
 ticated facts of primitive profane history. And,, as 
 we advance from the period of the second Thyoth or 
 Hermes, to the times when Grecian philosophy be- 
 came ascendant, the disposition to pander to the appe- 
 tite of human intellectuality, both in perverting, as 
 above, the plainest historical facts, and in originating 
 
 1. Shuck. Con. vol. L, p. 43, 44. 
 
 2. See on tins subject, Euseb. Prsep, Evang. lib. L, c. 10. 
 
 3* 
 
SO INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 systems of physiological science in the place of what 
 had been previously received as decisive on the 
 ground of oral patriarchal tradition, obtained the 
 ascendency. 
 
 In regard to the original invention of Letters, while 
 some ascribe it to Adam, and others to Abel ; Pliny, 1 
 as founded without doubt upon the notion that the 
 wwld was eternal, in one place hints that letters were 
 eternal ; but his general opinion was, that they were 
 of Assyrian origin. 2 And, while Philo Biblius, 
 Diodorus, 3 Plutarch, 4 Cicero, 5 Tertullian, 6 Plato, 
 &c, all ascribe them to Thyoth or Taautus of 
 Egypt; 7 yet "considering that mankind was not 
 planted first in Egypt, after the flood, but emigrated 
 thither from Assyria ; and that a very few years after 
 the dispersion, astronomical calculations (which argue 
 the use of letters) were made in Babylon, the latter 
 conclusion would seem the most rational. And then, 
 with whom originate more probably than with Noah, 
 the father and founder of the New world, if indeed 
 they were not, as Shuckford thinks, of ante-diluvian 
 origin. 8 That they were used in Assyria before the 
 time of Abraham, and in Egypt before the time of 
 
 1. Lib. vii., c. 56. & Ibid\ 
 
 3. Diodor. 1. i., § 16., p. 10. 4. Sympos. 1. ix., c. 3. 
 
 5. Lib de Nat. Deor. iii., § 22. 6. Lib. de corona militis. c. 8; 
 
 et de Testim. Animae ; c. 5. 
 7, " By the books of Taautus, Shuckford supposes are meant 
 pillars, or lumps of earth with inscriptions on them, books not 
 being invented in these early days." 
 
 8, Shuck. Con. vol. i., p. 142. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 31 
 
 Moses, there can be no doubt. And Scaliger, Vossius, 
 and Bochart have proved beyond contradiction, that 
 the Assyrian, Syrian, Canaanitish, Phoenician, and 
 Hebrew letters were all nearly the same. But, 
 
 It is here objected, that the Egyptian Hieroglyphics 
 are the most antique letters extant. To this, however, it 
 is replied, 1st., that the Menes of Diodorus, and other 
 heathen writers, and the Mestraim of Syncellus, who 
 with Herodotus, 1 Eratosthenes, Africanus,. and Euse- 
 bius, acknowledge to have been the first king of 
 Egypt, is the same with the Mizraim of Moses, as 
 the coincidence of the sacred and profane narratives 
 as shown by Sir John Marsham fully demonstrates. 2 
 Whether he was present at the building of Hebron,, 
 situated between Shinaar and Egypt> seems uncer- 
 tain ; but that city was built seven years before Zoan 
 in Egypt. 3 Canaan, therefore, was settled even before 
 Egypt. The Timaus also of Plato, who is the same 
 with the Mizraim of Moses, that writer says reigned 
 over all Egypt ; 4 and, after leaving Zoan at the en- 
 trance of Egypt where he first settled, he penetrated 
 farther into the interior, and built Thebes and Mem- 
 phis. 5 To this we add, 2nd., that though the Egyp- 
 tians at an early period fell into Idolatry, yet it 
 appears that in the time of Abraham, they were wor- 
 shippers of the true God, he having been received and 
 entertained in Egypt the same as at Gerar. 6 This, 
 
 1. Lib. ii., § 4. 2. Canon Chronicon. p. 22. 
 
 3. Num. xiii. 22. 4. In Phttdro. p. 1240. 
 
 5. H.erod. lib. ii., § 99. (},. Gen. xii 14, and xx. 1, 2, Jcc. 
 
32 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 fact is also confirmed by the testimony of Plutarch, l 
 Philo Biblius, 2 and Porphyry. 3 It is evident, there- 
 fore, 3rd., that hieroglyphics were not in use in the 
 days of Abraham ; and to this we may add another 
 fact, viz., that the pillars upon which Hermes or 
 Taautus "left his memoirs, were inscribed, not 
 
 in hieroglyphics, but isgoygayixoig ygafj/uaa^ in the 
 
 sacred letters, in letters which were capable of 
 being made use of by a translator, who turned what 
 was written in these letters out of one language into 
 another." 4 These sacred letters, however, fell into 
 entire desuetude before the time of Diodorus : but 
 Dr. Burnet 5 and bishop Stillingfleet both contend, 
 that the sacred letters of the Egyptians were different 
 from their hieroglyphics ; and also that, unlike the 
 Chinese letters, which express no words, or particular 
 sounds whatever, they were capable of expressing 
 words of different languages. 6 
 
 It is, however, further urged, that the rudeness of 
 Egyptian sculpture is an evidence of their great anti- 
 quity ; while, on the other hand it is contended, that, 
 for the most part, these figures were evidently made 
 after the Greeks and Romans broke in upon the 
 Egyptians ; and further, that, whereas their ancient 
 images represented animals of various sorts, e. g., a 
 hawk for Osiris, a sea-horse for Typho, a dog for 
 
 1.. Plut. de Iside et Osi. p. 359. 
 
 2. Euseb. Prcep. Evang. lib. i., c. 10. 
 
 3. Ibid. lib. iii., c. 11. 
 
 4. Shuck. Con. vol. ii., p. 200. Euseb. in chron. p. 6. 
 5. Archaolog. 6. Shuck. Con. vol. i., p. 147. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 33 
 
 Mercury, a cat for the moon, &c, their modern relics 
 are mostly of the human shape. True, judging from 
 the figures in F. Montfaucon's collection, the rudeness 
 of their shape indicates great antiquity. But u Plato 
 expressly tells us, that it was a rule among their 
 statuaries, to imitate the antique shapes of the ancient 
 patterns, and that the carvers were by law, restrained 
 from all attempts which looked like innovation." 1 
 
 However much of incertitude, therefore, may accom- 
 pany all our researches into remote antiquity in these 
 premises, we think that we are warranted in deciding 
 against the high claims thereto, on the part of ancient 
 Egypt. The invention of letters is of Assyrian, not 
 Egyptian origin. Menes, Mestraim, or Timaus, the 
 first king of Egypt, is the Mizraim of Old Testament 
 History. The origin of Egyptian hieroglyphics is 
 evidently posterior to the time of Abraham, letters 
 having been introduced anterior both to Abraham 
 and Moses. And if it be true, as Scaliger, Casaubon, 
 Grotius, Vossius, Bochart, Father Morin, Brerewood, 
 Capellus, and Bishop Walton, contend, that the old 
 Hebrew characters 2 were the same, or nearly the 
 same as the Phoenician, 3 Syrian, Assyrian, and Ca- 
 naanitish ; and also that the Egyptian were totally 
 
 1. Plato de Legibus. Lib. ii., p. 789. 
 
 2. These, " the Rabbins, Talmudists, Christian Fathers, Orison 
 and St, Jerome, all believed have undergone a change, supposed to 
 have been made by Ezra, after the rebuilding of the temple, when 
 he wrote out a new copy of the law." (Shuck.) 
 
 3. See specimens of them in Shuekford't Con. vol. i., pp. 
 151 — 164. 
 
34 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 separate and distinct from the Chinese, it is natural 
 to conclude that they must have been similar to the 
 above. This would also seem subversive of the 
 theory, that the Hebrew characters were first in- 
 scribed by the finger of God upon the two tables of 
 stone on the holy mount, as predicated of the suppo- 
 sition, that, if written in the characters then known in 
 Egypt, they must have tended to encourage that very 
 idolatry prohibited in the second commandement ; 
 inasmuch as the mythology of that nation at that time 
 pervaded the entire body of their hieroglyphics. In- 
 corporated, however, with these very hieroglyphics, 1 
 were letters (which could have been none other than 
 their sacred letters 2 ) explanatory of them ; their ex- 
 tremely rude and uncouth forms rendering them f©r 
 the most part otherwise unintelligible. This we say 
 was indispensable, in order " to fill up and connect 
 sentences, and to express actions." Hence, " the first 
 man must have had letters as well as pictures, or 
 their pictures could have hinted only the ideas of 
 visible objects ; but there would have been much 
 wanting in all inscriptions to give their full and true 
 meaning. 3 Even admitting, then, as history indi- 
 cates, 4 that Egyptian learning in the time of Moses 
 was at an exceeding low ebb, and that their astron- 
 
 1. These hieroglyphics were something like Pythagoras's pre- 
 cepts, they expressed one thing, but meant another." Plut. lib. et 
 Iside et Osiride., p. 354. 
 
 2. See p. 32. 
 
 3. Shuck. Con. vol. ii., p. 201. 
 
 4. Marsham Con. Chron. p. 137. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 35 
 
 omy, even before his day had led them into idolatry ; 
 it no more follows that Moses was ignorant of the 
 Hebraic Egyptian sacred letters, than that himself had 
 become an idolator. Nor can it seem less than extra- 
 ordinary, that scripture no where intimates such a 
 miraculous origin of the Hebrew characters as above 
 intimated ; since, in the erection of the Jewish taber- 
 nacle and temple, and every thing connected with the 
 whole pariphernalia of their priesthood, sacrifices, and 
 ritual service, God said to Moses, " see thou make all 
 things according to the pattern showed to thee in the 
 mount" 1 As will hereafter be seen, we are no ad- 
 vocates for superfluous miracles. 
 
 As it regards the invention of letters, therefore, as 
 already intimated, 2 with whom originate more pro- 
 bably than with Noah, if indeed they were not, as the 
 learned Shuckford thinks, of ante-diluvian origin. 
 The Chinese ascribe the invention of their letters to 
 their first emperor Fohi. Now, that this Fohi and 
 Noah was one and the same person, we think will 
 appear evident from the following. The Chinese say 
 of their Fohi, that he had no father, which, in respect 
 to them, was the case with Noah, their tradi-tional 
 records containing no acccounts of his ancestry. 
 They have a tradition of the rainbow, which they say 
 surrounded the mother of Fohi at his conception. 
 This answers to the " rainbow " of the Noahic cove- 
 nant. 3 Fohi, they say, sacrificed seven sorts of 
 creatures to the supreme spirit of heaven and earth. 
 
 1. Exod. xxv. 9, 40. 2. See p. 30. 3. Gen. ix. 11—15. 
 
36 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY; 
 
 Noah took with him into the ark both of clean beasts 
 and fowls by sevens, which, after the subsiding of the 
 waters of the flood, he offered in sacrifice to God, 1 &c. 
 This analogy between their traditions and the facts 
 of the sacred records might easily be extended, 2 but 
 the above are deemed sufficient for our present pur- 
 pose ; which is simply to demonstrate that the anti- 
 quities of China reach no further back than the times 
 of Noah, the difference between their chronology and 
 that of the sacred text, according to their own writers, 
 coinciding very nearly therewith. 3 
 
 And, what is true of the Chinese Fohi, is true also 
 of the Indian Bacchus, a name which originated first 
 in India, " He was the first who pressed the grapes 
 and made wine. 4 He lived in these parts before there 
 were any cities in India. They say that he was 
 twice born, " 5 &c, all of which is signally applicable 
 to Noah* 
 
 As most of my readers are doubtless more or less 
 familiar with the coincidence of the antiquities of the 
 Assyrian empire with those of the sacred Annals, I 
 shall not detain them with any further amplifications 
 of the subject in the department of history ; but shall 
 proceed at once to a further confirmation of the pre- 
 cedence of sacred over that of profane antiquity, by a 
 comparison of the various systems of ancient profane, 
 
 1. Gen. vii. and viii. 
 
 2. See Martinii Hist. Sinica. p. 11; Le compte, mem. of China, 
 p. 313 ; Couplets Confucius, Prosem. p. 38 5 76. 
 
 3. Shuck Con. vol. i., p. 48. 
 
 4. Gen. ix. 20. 5. Shuck. Con, vol. ii. ; p. 74, 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 37 
 
 physiological philosophy, with the cosmogony of 
 Moses. 
 
 Of the philosophers of various ancient nations, 
 — Orpheus, Thales, Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle, 
 were the most eminent. Pherecydes, Anaximander, 
 Anaximines, and Anaxigorus, were mere copyists : 
 nor was any thing like a rational system of natural 
 science concocted, till the days of Leucippus and De- 
 mocritus. But, of these, and with them, the whole 
 world of ancient philosophers it' may be said, that, 
 when once they ventured beyond the bounds of their 
 traditionary knowledge, by which means they had 
 been enabled for ages to retain a tolerably correct 
 idea of many important truths, and threw themselves 
 upon an attempt to originate systems of philosophy 
 by which to account for the how and the ivherefore 
 of long-received and established principles, they went 
 beyond themselves, and were soon bewildered in the 
 mists of vain speculations. True, in the departments 
 of geometry r , astronomy, physics \ and some other 
 arts, the Egyptians from an early period had formed 
 some tolerably correct notions. But in physiology, 
 they contented themselves to receive what was 
 handed down to them by their ancestors, and out of 
 the treasures of their traditions, to instruct others ; not 
 by the process of individual philosophical experi- 
 ments, but by the established rule, "ask, and it shall 
 be told you ; search the records of antiquity, and you 
 shall find what you inquire after." 
 
 Nor were the systems of ancient philosophy at all 
 controverted, till the introduction of the science of 
 4 
 
38 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 physiology into Greece, by the poets Hesiod, Homer, 
 Linus, and some others. Of the " eminent masters M 
 of Greece, from Pherecydes to Aristotle, an interval of 
 about three hundred years, Thales, Pythagorus, and 
 Aristotle only can be named ; and it is remarkable, 
 that even they did not invent that part of their philos- 
 ophy of which I am treating, but travelled for it, and 
 collected it from the records of other nations. 
 
 In connection with this subject we have further to 
 observe, that it is no less extraordinary than true, that 
 of all the philosophical speculations of ancient Greece, 
 their physiological discoveries almost invariably ex- 
 cluded a recognition of the Great First Intelligent 
 Cause. Even Aristotle, who "rejected the ancient 
 traditional knowledge, thinking it unbecoming a phi- 
 losopher to offer opinions to the world, which he 
 could not prove to be true," fell equally short with his 
 predecessors of the same school, in producing "a well- 
 grounded theory of natural knowledge." 1 
 
 If asked, "whence has arisen the high and wide- 
 spread reputation which has long crowned the name 
 of Aristotle ? " we answer, it "is to be traced princi- 
 pally to the occupations of the Scholastics of the 
 middle ages, a body of men whose existence, origin, 
 and influence, were based on superstition, ignorance, 
 and bigotry alone ; and whose members occupied 
 their time in distorting, magnifying, and perverting 
 the language of the Holy Scriptures, and in inventing 
 shackles and fetters for the human understanding, 
 ■■■■ - '■ p 
 
 L Shuck. Con. I., p. 31. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 39 
 
 which have continued ever since in a great degree to 
 bind it, and must still do so until the diffusion of 
 knowledge and of judicious education shall counteract 
 the efforts of interested hypocrisy and imposition. 
 The admiration of Aristotle's name and doctrines is 
 principally to be ascribed to the fondness of these 
 "illustrious" and "illuminated" doctors for idle logo- 
 machies and dialectic subtilities ; " his doctrine con- 
 sisting rather " of Words than of Things" and con- 
 sequently is " dialectic and disputatious, rather than 
 practically useful and beneficial." x 
 
 He divided his system " into two branches, — the 
 theoretical and the practical, each of these com- 
 prising several distinct and very different subjects. 
 Thus the theoretical embraces physics, metaphysics, 
 logic, and mathematics ; — and well might it be 
 called theoretical, for the notions of Aristotle were 
 founded upon mere fanciful speculations, without ref- 
 erence to facts, and without being the result of any 
 series of scientific induction. It is only when we per- 
 ceive, through the intricate jargon which he em- 
 ployed, the portions %ohich he borrowed from some 
 previous school, that we discover any approach to 
 truth or to accurate research." 
 
 We now ask, therefore, in that part of his theoretic 
 philosophy which, included the department of phy- 
 sics, what were the views entertained and taught by 
 him of the Supreme Being? "What were the at- 
 tributes which he ascribed to God? Ans. — He 
 
 1, Prog, of Philos. pp. 337, 338. 
 
40 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 regarded him solely as the cause of motion ; the attri- 
 butes which he ascribed to him were solely those of a 
 Being, immoveable, eternal, indivisible, and incor- 
 poreal ; inactive himself, yet causing motion, — not 
 voluntarily, but by necessity ; not the creator of the 
 world, but co-eternal with it ; happy only in the con- 
 templation of himself; not taking cognizance of, and 
 not regarding the affairs of the world, which owed not 
 its existence to him, and to which his presence and 
 influence do not extend ; which must be, indeed, far 
 beyond his view, his observation, or his care ! " x 
 
 Nor do we rest this representation of the doctrine of 
 Aristotle respecting the Deity, as extracted from 
 various portions of his writings, on our own authority 
 alone. Cicero, two thousand years ago, speaking of 
 Aristotle in connection with this part of his system, 
 says, " at one time he assigns all the attributes of di- 
 vinity to the mind alone ; at another time he tells us 
 that the world itself is God. Here he speaks of some- 
 thing superior to the world, and assigns to it the office 
 of ruling and directing the motion by which the 
 changes of the world are effected, — while there, we 
 are told that God is but the i ardor' — the motive 
 power of heaven, — not remembering that the 
 heaven itself is but a part of that world, which we 
 had been previously informed was God." 2 To this 
 Cicero further adds, that Aristotle considered the 
 world to be eternal in duration, having had no begin- 
 
 1. Prog, of Philos. pp. 337, 338, 345 — 347. 
 
 2. Prog, of Philos. p. 349. De. nat. Deor. I., § 13. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 41 
 
 ning, and being subject to no end. The three prin- 
 ciples of all things are, according to his system, mat- 
 ter , form, and privation ; the two former essential to 
 the constitution of all things, and the latter entering 
 accidentally, — as he termed it, — into their composi- 
 tion, whence they undergo a change of form. 1 
 
 On the other hand, it will be found upon examina- 
 tion, that "those philosophers who preceded Aristotle, 
 regarded the Deity as the Supreme Being ; as infinite 
 in power, and majesty, and goodness ; as ordering and 
 directing the affairs of men ; and as the author of all 
 that has existence." 2 How then, it will be asked, are 
 we to account for these marked differences in their 
 respective systems? This, we reply, is obvious. 
 The former was satisfied to receive as traditionary 
 truth, that system of philosophy which their capacities 
 of reason, or means of knowledge, could neither refute 
 nor improve. And, as we have demonstrated, that 
 neither Adam nor Moses could have derived this 
 knowledge without a direct revelation from God, all 
 the ancient heathen nations must have received their 
 traditions from the Hebrews. Nor will this be 
 questioned for a moment, provided, upon a compari- 
 son of the matter of fact history of the creation as 
 given by Moses, with the most ancient systems of 
 heathen philosophy, there can be traced any tolerable 
 marks of correspondence. 
 
 The Egyptians, Diodorus Siculus informs us. af- 
 firmed, that in the beginning the heavens and the 
 
 1. Ibid. p. 349, 350. 2. Ibid. p. Uti. 
 
 4* 
 
42 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 earth were in one lump, mixed and blended together 
 in the same mass. By the heavens, the Egyptians 
 understood simply " the air and planetary regions be- 
 longing to our world ; for the first Greeks, who re- 
 ceived their learning from Egypt, agree very fully 
 with Moses in this point. " In the beginning,' 1 says 
 Orpheus, " the heavens were made by God, and in the 
 heavens there was a chaos, and a terrible darkness 
 was on all the parts of this chaos, and covered all 
 things under the heaven ; " (See Gen. i., 1, 2.) by 
 which he meant, as Syrian observes, that " the 
 heavens and the chaos were the principia, out of 
 which the rest were produced." So " Anaxagorus," 
 who, with the most of the ancient writers, begin their 
 accounts of the origin of the material heavens and 
 earth from the commencement of their organization, 
 as Laertius informs us, begins his book, — " All things 
 were at first in one mass, but an intelligent agent 
 came and put it in order." l With this agrees Aris- 
 totle, who, as we have said, when borrowing from a 
 previous school, approaches to truth. "All things," 
 says he, " lay in one mass for a vast space of time, but 
 an intelligent agent came and put them in motion, 
 and so separated them from one another." 2 So of 
 Sanchoniathon, when divested of " the mythology and 
 false philosophy which those who lived after him 
 added to his writings." He taught, " that there was a 
 dark and confused chaos, and a blast of wind or air to 
 put it in a ferment or agitation/' by which word " wind " 
 
 1. Shuck. Con. I., p. 23. 2. Ibid. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 43 
 
 avsfwg xoXma Mr. Shuckford contends he meant, 
 not the wind Colpia, but avs/uog Col-pi-jah, i. e., 
 the wind or breath of the voice of the mouth 
 of the Lord ; and, " adds he, " if this was his mean- 
 ing, he very emphatically expresses God's making all 
 things with a word, and intimates also what the 
 Chaldee paraphrase insinuates from the words of 
 Moses, that the chaos was put into its first agitation 
 by a mighty and strong wind." x 
 
 The Greek writer Thales was of the opinion, " that 
 the first principle of all thing was v&t*^ or water," 
 which opinion is confirmed by the testimonpbf Tully. 
 Thales, however, with all the ancient philosophers 
 used the word water in the sense of u Chaos, from /* &>, 
 the Greek word which signifies diffusion ; so that the 
 word Chaos was used ambiguously, sometimes as a 
 proper name, and sometimes for water," or, " a fluid 
 substance." "From Plutarch's observation, Thales', 
 vdwg {ioater) was not pure elementary water." " Thus 
 Sanchoniathon argues ; from Chaos he supposes 
 muddy matter to arise ; and thus Orpheus, out of the 
 fluid Chaos, arose a muddy substance ; and Apollo- 
 nius, out of the muddy substance the earth was 
 formed, i. e., says the scholiast, the Chaos, of which all 
 things were made, was a fluid substance, which, by 
 settling, became mud, and that in time dried and con- 
 densed into solid earth. It is remarkable that Moses 
 calls the Chaos, ivater, in this sense ; w the spirit of 
 
 ^ i ■ ■..,,... — 
 
 1. Ibid. p. 23, 9£ 
 
44 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 God," he says, moved upon the face of the maim, 
 waters, or fluid matter." * 
 
 To what conclusion, then, we ask, do these facts 
 conduct us ? The facts we mean, first, of the know- 
 ledge of the science of physiology by the ancients 
 through the medium of tradition ; and second, of the 
 utter failure of all the philosophers of Greece, even 
 Aristotle not excepted, to originate any new system, 
 which, so far from proving the fallacy of the old tra- 
 ditionary philosophy, could not even give a reasonable 
 account of the first principles of which it was . con- 
 structed^The inevitable conclusion is, that the prin- 
 ciples of tne old traditionary philosophy lay entirely 
 beyond the discoveries of Human Reason. On this 
 ground, what was true of Thales, Pythagoras, and 
 Aristotle, was true also of Moses, familiar as he doubt- 
 less was in his knowledge of the Egyptian philos- 
 ophy. Nor did he in his cosmogony attempt to 
 a€COunt for the how and the wherefore of things 
 — that account being " a bare recital of facts." The 
 facts, therefore, as related by Moses, must have been 
 imparted to him by Divine Revelation, or else he must 
 have received them from his ancestors. And, if we 
 adopt the latter hypothesis, and inquire, from whom 
 did they receive their information, a few generations 
 conduct us back to the first man Adam. But even 
 here, we must encounter the same difficulties as at the 
 first. For we ask, u whenee had he this knowledge?" 
 Could he, by his own reason, account for " the man- 
 
 I. Shuck. Con. I., pp. 24, 25. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 45 
 
 ner of his own crtation," with that of the primordial 
 Chaos and the formation of the material earth and 
 heavens, both of which existed before he had any 
 being ? 
 
 " A due consideration of these things must lead us 
 to believe, that God at first revealed these things unto 
 men ; that He acquainted them with what He had 
 done in the creation of the world : and what He had 
 thus communicated to them, they transmitted to their 
 childrens children. Thus God, who in these last 
 daps hath spoken to us by His son, did in the begin- 
 ning in some extraordinary manner speak unto our 
 fathers ; for there was a stock of knowledge in the 
 world, which we cannot see how the possessors could 
 possibly have obtained in any other way. Therefore, 
 fact as well as history, testifies, that the notion of a 
 Revelation is no dream ; and that Moses, in represent- 
 ing the early ages of the world as having had con- 
 verse with the Deity, does no more than what the 
 state of their knowledge obliges us to believe." l 
 
 Thus, therefore, as we flatter ourselves, have we 
 clearly demonstrated the superiority of the claims of 
 Moses as an historian, to guide our subsequent inves- 
 tigations ; and this, as predicated of the argument of 
 greater antiquity than that of any other writer extant ; 
 proof being principally derived from the internal evi- 
 dence, that their productions, so far as connected with 
 the science of physiology, were borrowed from the 
 sacred records of the Hebrews. 
 
 1. Shuck. Con. I., pp. 31— 33. 
 
46 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 To sum up the whole, therefore, in few words, it 
 would seem that, with the exception of what is claimed 
 in behalf of Thyoth and Sanchoniathon of Berytus, 
 sacred history claims a priority over that of profane, 
 by a period of about three thousand three hundred 
 years. Herodotus is the earliest post-diluvian profane 
 historian extant. He flourished about one thousand 
 years after the Jewish historian Moses, and about five 
 hundred years before Christ ; and the chronology of 
 his history bears date only about seven hundred years 
 prior to that event. 
 
 At this stage of our advance, and as appropriate to 
 the subject in hand, we would respectfully submit, 
 whether, what is claimed by the Antiquarian as ap- 
 plicable to the age of the world from the creation 
 and fall of man, is not strictly true of those periods 
 which elapsed during the week of creation and of 
 formation of the material universe, as designed to 
 be set forth in the Mosaic cosmogony of that event. 
 The affirmative of this position sustained, it will, if 
 we mistake not, reflect material light on the preced- 
 ing, in as much as it will discover the grounds of those 
 errors into which the ancient profane historian was 
 betrayed ; which was, that of confounding the evident 
 remote antiquity which stamped the works of nature, 
 with those oral traditionary historic facts, as above 
 represented. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 47 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 With this intimation in view, and without further 
 delay, we now state, that, in Scripture, various forms 
 of speech are employed to designate time ; one of 
 which is the term " day," used in the first chapter of 
 Genesis to denote the length of the Great Creator's 
 week of labor and of repose. " The evening and the 
 morning were the first, second, third day," 1 &c. 
 The question respecting this term as above, is, whether 
 it is a natural or solar day of twenty-four hours, or a 
 period of vastly greater length. 
 
 In conducting our inquiries in reference to this in- 
 teresting subject, we observe that, reasoning analogi- 
 cally, Nature and Providence are gradual in their op- 
 erations ; not like man, who is always for subitaneous 
 violence, but deliberately proceeding, by gradual evo- 
 lutions, as illustrated in the physical and intellectual 
 powers of man, to unfold to our view the properties, 
 first, of matter, and then of mind. 
 
 In accordance, therefore, with this principle, we now 
 proceed to demonstrate, a posteriori, as founded upon 
 the physiological and oryctologieal discoveries of sci- 
 ence, that the six days of creation, as mentioned in 
 the history of Moses, were periods of stupendous 
 length — and, 
 
 I. Presumptive evidence of this fact we think may 
 be fairly drawn, from a more extended survey of the 
 work of formation attributed to each of the six days. 
 
 ''<■'■* — --■ — — • 
 
 1. Gen. i. 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31. Chap. ii. 2. 
 
48 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 1. The work of the first day was the separation of 
 light from darkness — the Hebrew word ^ or, 
 translated light, Parkhurst defines to be the celestial 
 fluid in a state of activity. l^Vfl wechoshech, rendered 
 darkness, the same celestial fluid in an inactive state. 
 It was from this crude aqueous matter, (which, in 
 its inactive state, constituted the darkness which en- 
 veloped the primeval chaos, and which preceded the 
 existence of light,) by being subjected to the energies 
 of the Divine Spirit, that its inherent igneous proper- 
 ties were thrown off ; and when collected into one body, 
 constituted light: the residuum, — darkness.* The 
 work of this first day, is to be carefully distinguished 
 from that of the fourth, which was appropriated to the 
 formation of the sun, moon, and stars. 
 
 2. The second day was appropriated to the sepa- 
 ration of air and water. The original word, *jn 
 rakia, signifies air, or the expansion, a gaseous 
 fluid, and not firmament, as in the English version, 
 which is taken from the Septuagint. This constituted 
 the next step of advance in the organization of the 
 chaotic aqueous matter. For, till there was an ex- 
 panse, or atmosphere, the particles of water thrown off 
 
 * "It seems to me most rational," says Bishop Patrick, "by this 
 light to understand those particles of matter which we call fire, 
 (whose properties every one knows are light and heat,) which the 
 Almighty Spirit, that formed all things, produced as the great in- 
 strument for the preparation and digestion of the rest of the matter; 
 which was still more vigorously moved and agitated, from the top 
 to the bottom, by this restless element, till the purer and more shin- 
 ing parts of it, being separated from the grosser, and united in a 
 body fit to retain them, became light." — Com. on Gen. i. 1—3. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 49 
 
 by the continued action of fire on the primeval ele- 
 ments, could not ascend. This expanse provided, the 
 process of evaporation could go on, the smaller parti- 
 cles being raised above by exhalation, and the larger 
 body of water remaining below. Thus the atmos- 
 phere, and which is the same with the material 
 heaven, through which the birds of the air wing their 
 devious course, " divided the waters which were above 
 them,* from the waters which were below them." 
 
 3. On the third day, sea and land were disuni- 
 ted, and the earth was made to produce vegetation. 
 Each successive process in the conformation of the 
 primeval aqueous matter to the purposes designed, 
 should be sedulously kept in view. The chaotic ele- 
 ments had by the organization of the first two days, 
 produced successively and in the following order, dark- 
 ness, light, the atmosphere, and a division of the ex- 
 halated particles of water, from the denser fluid. This 
 fluid, however, was subjected to another process, — 
 that of bringing together its granitic and earthy ele- 
 ments ; the former constituting the primitive rock or 
 skeleton of our globe, the latter, the soil with which 
 they were covered, as indispensable to the purposes of 
 vegetation. Hence the division of earth and water, or 
 sea and land, and the production of grass, herbs, and 
 trees. 
 
 It might here be asked, how, without the genial 
 warmth of the sun, &c, could the surface o\ the earth 
 
 * It has been demonstrated that of the exhalated watery particles 
 which float in the air, there is an average of about four hundred 
 weight to every square yard of the earth's surface. 
 5 
 
50 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 be productive of the various vegetable tribes ? The 
 answer is, that as the chaotic aqueous matter, in its 
 active state, partook of the properties of heat as well 
 as light, so, " as in a hot-house, germination would 
 proceed without interruption," But, 
 
 4. On the fourth day, a more perfect division of 
 darkness and light into day and night was produced, 
 by placing in the material heavens, the sun, the moon, 
 and the stars. This was the first division of " the 
 evening and the morning " of the three preceding days, 
 into natural day and night. Thenceforward, the di- 
 urnal revolutions of the earth on its axis, and the lu- 
 nar and solar revolutions of the sun and moon, estab- 
 lished the divisions of time into days, months, and 
 years, and the seasons into those of summer and 
 winter. 
 
 5. The formation, first of fishes, and second, of 
 birds, the products of the waters, constituted the work 
 of the fifth day. 
 
 6. The work of the sixth day was appropriated 
 to the formation, first, of the various species and genus 
 of beasts and reptiles, and finally, of Man. And, 
 
 7. The seventh day was a sabbath of rest. 
 
 In conducting our inquiries in reference to the ques- 
 tion at issue, we shall be compeled to wander rather 
 beyond the common beaten track, and argue, a poste- 
 riori, as an aid to our conceptions of the probable 
 time, during which the primordial elements remained 
 in their chaotic state, subject to the agency of the 
 Divine Spirit. Also, a priori, as estimated by the 
 general alalogy of the works and word of God, as 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 51 
 
 unfolded in nature and providence, as the mode of 
 determining the length of each creative day. Reason- 
 ing analogically, as we have once before remarked^ 
 nature and providence are" gradual" in their opera- 
 tions ; not like " man," who is always for subitaneous 
 violence ; but deliberately proceeding, by " gradual 
 evolutions," as illustrated in the physical and intellect- 
 ual powers of man, to unfold to our view the proper- 
 ties, " first of matter, and then of mind." 
 
 Now, take a view of the vastness of the material 
 universe of God, and I ask if there be any thing un- 
 reasonable in the conception of the possibility ', that a 
 greater period of time than that of six natural days of 
 twenty-four hours each, was occupied in their forma- 
 tion ? and if not, then arguing a posteriori, may we 
 not attribute a period of proportionable, though of 
 course indefinite amplitude, to the existence of the 
 chaotic elements? 
 
 Without further preliminaries, we now observe, that 
 in reference to this subject, there are four classes of 
 opinions : 
 
 The first (and the popular opinion) excludes all 
 distinction between the act of creation and that of 
 formation ; and assigns six natural days, of twenty-four 
 hours each, to the production of the material universe. 
 
 The second admits the above distinction, and, like 
 the first class, assigns six natural days, of twenty-four 
 hours each, to the organization of the primeval aqueous 
 matter ; but asserts a previous organization to that of 
 the six days, of vast, but indefinite length. 
 
 The third also odmits the above distinction ; but 
 
52 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 extends the six days to six periods, each of immense, 
 though of various and indefinite length ; and, 
 
 The fourth, which is the standard adopted in this 
 Essay, the same as the third, with the exception 
 that it prefers to equalise the time allotted to each 
 period. 
 
 Before we proceed, however, to an examination, 
 upon the basis of Scripture, of these several theories, 
 it will be well to notice the expositions of that class 
 of critics who assign an existence, prior to that of the 
 earth, to other planets or worlds, which compose our 
 astronomical system. The hypothesis assumed by 
 these critics is as follows, viz. : That the chaotic mass 
 out of which this earth was formed, was produced by 
 the destruction of one of the previously existing 
 planets, by the shock of some comet. 
 
 Names, ancient and modern, and preferring high 
 claims to our regard, are quoted in support of this 
 system. Basilius, Archbishop of Csesarea, towards 
 the close of the fourth century, in his commentary on 
 Genesis, says, it is probable that something of creative 
 nature existed before this World, though no narrative 
 of it is furnished. Smith and Jennings follow Hally, 
 the author of the above system, in the particular form 
 in which it is there given ; and with this harmonizes 
 the claims of the celebrated Herschel, of having discov- 
 ered, by his great telescope, that there are stars, the 
 light of which has been two millions of years in its 
 progress to our earth; which opinion is also adopted 
 by Mr. Vince, the professor of Astronomy in the Uni- 
 versity of Cambridge. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 53 
 
 The principal arguments adduced in support of this 
 hypothesis, are, 
 
 1. That the cosmogony of Moses contemplates sim- 
 ply a history of the origin of the human species ; all 
 the other parts thereof being incidental. But, to our 
 apprehension, this argument is irrelevant, and tends 
 only to derogate from the wisdom and power of the 
 Almighty, as displayed in the creation and formation 
 of the material universe. True, the human species 
 constitute the noblest part of God's handy-work ; true, 
 also, the earth was created as the abode of man. 
 Taking the history, however, as it stands, and we see 
 not why one event, as therein narrated, is not rela- 
 tively as important as the other. The cosmogany oi 
 Moses was designed to furnish an account of the 
 origin of the material universe, of which man, so 
 far as it respects his animal nature, forms a fart. 
 Man's superiority, when compared with the other parts 
 of the material world, consists in his endowment of a 
 nature, of qualities, of attributes, not inherent in mat- 
 ter. He is a spiritual, immortal being — not that he 
 possesses essential immortality ; but only as it is the 
 gift of his Creator — nor, after his sin, did this super- 
 natural endowment shield him from the curse, u from 
 dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return™ 
 
 2. Job, chap, xxxviii. 4 — 7, is quoted in proof of 
 the existence of other parts of the creation before this 
 globe. The veriest tyro, however, upon the lace of 
 that passage cannot but perceive that God is addressing 
 himself to Job out of the whirlwind, demanding to 
 know if he were present cither at the creation or 
 
 5* 
 
54 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 organization of the material heavens and earth. " The 
 sons of God * here spoken of, interpreters generally 
 understand to be, that order of intelligent agents, 
 called angels, the priority of whose existence to that 
 of the material universe, or of man, none deny. " The 
 morning stars," however, are quoted as decisive proof 
 that there were pre-existent planets as well as angels. 
 In proof, it is asserted that the 14th verse of the 1st 
 chap, of Genesis, " Let there be light in the firmament 
 of heaven," does not refer to the primary organization 
 of the sun, moon, and stars, &c, but to a clearing in 
 the superincumbent atmosphere of our globe, so as to 
 render them visible ! Now, to this we remark, that 
 all that is said of the organization of light, and the 
 formation of the planetary system, the sun, moon, and 
 stars, relate to the first and fourth days. On the se- 
 cond day the air r or atmospheric expanse was formed, 
 and which is represented to have been cleared of its 
 superincumbent qualities, in order to expose to view 
 the previously invisible planets. But we ask, was it 
 on the first or the fourth day that the planets were 
 first formed? Certainly the latter. See verses 14 — 16. 
 And that they were so formed primarily on the fourth 
 day, and not on the firsts is incontrovertibly demon- 
 strated by the 17th and 18th verses, where we read, 
 cc And God DI1& 7i777 set them (the sun, moon, and 
 stars,) in the firmament of heaven," for the express 
 purpose that they might " give light upon the earth, 
 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to 
 divide the light from the darkness." This had not 
 been done on the first day. All that was then accom- 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 55 
 
 plished was a seperation of the elements of light and 
 darkness, produced by the action of fire on the aque- 
 ous congeries. 
 
 Still it is said, in proof, that the earth we inhabit 
 is merely a resuscitated globe, and that it had been a 
 world many ages before it became the abode of 
 man ; 
 
 3. That the passage rendered, " and the earth was 
 without form and void," may be rendered, " but the 
 earth became a ruin and a desolation." To this ren- 
 dering we oppose the following — " And the earth was 
 [as] a ruin and a desolation /' i. e., in appearance it 
 resembled a vast city buried in ruins, and covered with 
 desolation. With this agrees not only our excellent 
 English version, but also the Septuagint and the 
 Vulgate ; the former of which has " ') de y*j r HN 
 dogaTog^ and the latter, " terra autem erat inanis 
 et vacua? Of those of more modern date, Luther 
 renders it, " waste and empty ;" Le Sage, "a solitude 
 and desert: " Gaddes, " desolate and waste" It is 
 also worthy of remark, that with these renderings 
 agree the original V"7^H7 translated, " the earth,'* 
 which with its root, signifies swift motion, indicative 
 of that tremulous, confusedly agitated motion to and 
 fro, of the earthly matter, (q. d. therusliing chaos.) the 
 terra prima, the semi-formative of the world, as yet 
 in embryo, and as having just received the impulsive 
 fiat of its great Creator, who 
 
 " Nor stay'd, but on the wings of cherubim 
 Uplifted, in paternal glory rode 
 Far into chaos, and the world unknown" 
 
56 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 This, we say, seems the most natural and obvious 
 construction of the subject in hand. It divests it of 
 all reasonable objection, and at the same time fur- 
 nishes us with a " simple, intellectual, easily conceiv- 
 able view of the chaotic basis of the future world ;" 
 and with the Scriptures as our guide, "may we not 
 humbly conceive of the Almighty as first speaking 
 the elements into existence together, in one general 
 conglomerated mass, and then afterwards imparting 
 to each its respective appropriate qualities, &c. When 
 
 " Confusion heard his voice, and wild uproar 
 Stood rul'd." 
 
 Let us now return to the four theories which pre- 
 vail, in reference to the length of the six days men- 
 tioned in the first chapter of Genesis. 
 
 In regard to the first of these four theories, with 
 the exception that it harmonizes with the latter part of 
 the second, in reference to its allotment of six natural 
 days as the time of organization, there is no agreement 
 between it and the other three ; they all admitting the 
 distinction between the works of creation and of 
 formation. This point, therefore, first demands 
 consideration. 
 
 As already observed, in the very brief but compre- 
 hensive cosmogony of Moses, there is an evident 
 priority of action on the part of the Divine Being, to 
 that of entering upon the work of each successive day. 
 Otherwise, is it not difficult to conceive the propriety^ 
 on the part of the inspired historian, of marking so 
 minutely the process consecutively of the work of 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 57 
 
 each day ? * The only consistent construction of the 
 narrative, therefore, as I conceive, is to institute a 
 distinction, in this stupendous work of God, between 
 that of creation and of formation. "In the be- 
 ginning, God created the heavens and the earth." 
 But, even after their creation, " the earth was with- 
 out form and void, and darkness was upon the face 
 of the deep ; " i. e., they remained in a chaotic state, a 
 mass of indescribable confusion. After their creation, 
 " the spirit of God moved upon the face of the wa- 
 ters," thereby preparing the embryo earth and heavens 
 for the parts which they were respectively to occupy 
 in the material universe, during both the progress and 
 consummation of their organized forms. The first 
 verse of Genesis therefore speaks of the creation of the 
 substance, or prima materia of the heavens and 
 earth. The second, to the vital energies of a super- 
 natural agency, in preparing the primordial elements 
 for subsequent organization. And the third and fol- 
 lowing verses to the end of chapter first, to the ar- 
 ranging those elements in their proper form. 
 
 Of the first part of the second theory, which asserts 
 an organization of the chaotic elements previous to 
 the first of the six days, we observe, that it seems en- 
 tirely at variance with the Cosmogony of Moses. 
 There is, upon the face of the history, a total silence 
 as to any organization prior to the first day. The 
 conclusion, therefore, is, that there is a distinction to bo 
 
 1 Com. Gen. i, 1,2, with v. 3, 6, 9, 11, 20, 25, ii. l—'-l 
 
58 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 instituted between the work of creating the sub- 
 stance, or prima materia of the universe, and that 
 of its subsequent organization. And also, that 
 there could be no organization of said substance prior 
 to the first of the six days. 
 
 We now proceed to furnish evidence, that each of 
 the six days of organization as above, was a period of 
 vast length. Of the length of the six days organi- 
 zation of the previously created elements of nature, 
 (the subject now to be discussed,) we enquire ; — were 
 they six natural or solar days, as measured by the 
 revolutions of the earth on its axis once in twenty- 
 four hours? Or, were they six periods of greater 
 length? 
 
 Now, of the first of these two theories we remark, 
 the point to be decided is not, what, in the creation 
 and formation of the stupendous sj^stem of nature the 
 Almighty could do, but what he actually did do. 
 The supposition of what the Almighty could do, 
 which, by the way, forms the basis of the first of the 
 above theories, involves the intervention of a miracle, 
 in giving existence to the material universe ; and if 
 by the intervention of a miracle, then we ask, why 
 extend it continuously through the term of six days ; 
 when the Almighty could have accomplished the 
 same work in a moment of time ? It should, however, 
 be borne in mind, that when a miracle is wrought as 
 a display of infinite wisdom and power, it always 
 stands connected with circumstances calling for a di- 
 version, from their natural course, of the ordinary 
 and permanently established laws of physical nature. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 59 
 
 Then too, the object of a miracle ; which is, to pro- 
 duce a moral effect ; to persuade, to convict, where all 
 ordinary evidence has failed. Thus, the turning of a 
 rod into a serpent, &c, by Moses ; l the arresting the 
 natural course of the Sun and Moon by Joshua ; 2 the 
 causing of the iron axe to swim by Elias ; 3 the turning 
 of water into wine, &c, &c, by Christ ; 4 the healing 
 of the cripple by St. Peter, 5 with scores of others of a 
 similar nature, are all so many instances of miracu- 
 lous interruptions of natures laws, and they were de- 
 signed, as extraordinary means, to cure men of their 
 idolatry, infidelity, or atheism. But, Noah's ark was 
 not built by miracle — he was one hundred and twenty 
 years engaged in its erection. 6 Nor was the earth del- 
 uged by miracle. It was nought but the effect of 
 natural causes, under the direction and control of Al- 
 mighty power. Hence, until it can be made to appear 
 that, in the creation and formation of the material 
 heavens and earth, the Great Architect of nature 
 wrought a superfluous miracle, no rational argument 
 can be derived from the admission of what he could 
 do, in support of this first theory ; nor is it easy for us 
 to conceive how such an admission contributes, as it 
 is contended, to aggrandize our views^of the Divine 
 wisdom and power, or of the magnitude and magnifi- 
 cence of his works. 
 
 What remains for us now is, to adduce what we 
 
 1. Exod. viii., 8 — 10. 2. Josh, x., 12, 13. 
 3. 2 Kings vi., 5 7 4. John ii., 1 — 11. 
 5. Acts iii., 1 — 11. 6. Comp.Gen. vi., 3, with 1 Pet.iii.. 00. 
 
60 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 conceive to be evidence, in support of the latter 
 theory, viz. : — that the six days of organization or 
 formation of the primordial chaotic elements of nature 
 were, not six natural or solar days, but six periods of 
 vast length. 
 
 Here we shall notice, in the first place, the point of 
 difference between the third and fourth theories 
 above named. The former theory attributes to the 
 six days an indefinite period, and also divides these 
 periods unequally ; — the latter, from the nature of 
 the evidence adduced, assigns to each period, a vast, 
 definite, and uniform length. Let us however, 
 
 I. Adduce the evidence, that each day of the six, 
 must have greatly exceeded the length of a natural 
 or solar day ; and, 
 
 II. That they were all not only of vast but definite, 
 and uniform length. 
 
 I. That each day of the six, must have greatly ex- 
 ceeded the length of a natural or solar day of twenty 
 four hours, (relying upon the cosmogony of Moses as 
 our guide.) we think abundantly evident, 
 
 1. From the ordinary and obvious process of or- 
 ganization, as therein described. In illustration of 
 this subject, it is only necessary to compare the pro- 
 cess of organization or formation of the vegetable 
 family on the third day, with those of fishes, birds, 
 beasts, reptiles, and man, on the fifth and sixth days. 
 For, on the supposition that the three intervening 
 days were three days of twenty-four hours each, one 
 of two consequences follow : either first, vegetation 
 must have been formed in a mature state on the third 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 61 
 
 day, or that maturity must have been effected through 
 the medium of an unnatural growth, in order to an- 
 swer the purposes of food to all the animal world not 
 carnivorous ; and which, in either case, would argue 
 the intervention of a miracle : or, second, all animals 
 not carnivorous, the productions of the fifth and sixth 
 days work, must inevitably have perished with hun- 
 ger. But, that they were neither thus formed on the 
 third day, or brought to an unnatural maturity 
 between the third and sixth days, is abundantly evi- 
 dent from the history itself. Moses, Genesis ii. v. 5., 
 in his enlarged account of the work of Creation says, 
 that the Almighty made "every plant of the field 
 before it was in the earth, and every herb of the 
 field before it grew : P &c. i. e., the seeds of these 
 vegetables were thus formed, not the plants and 
 herbs in their mature state. This seems to be 
 the obvious purport of the original )~|/OK^ and of 
 the Greek anxTeda^ which may be rendered, before 
 it sprouted or germinated : which, if not strictly true 
 of plants, yet most certainly of herbs ; for, with what 
 consistency can herbs be said to have arrived at ma- 
 turity " before they grew " ? And if this be true of 
 the one, then why not of the other? The conclusion 
 therefore is, that the seeds of plants and herbs, having 
 been formed on the third day, were left to nature, in 
 its ordinary operations, to be brought to maturity ; 
 and as we know that the process of germination ic 
 gradual, and that it requires many years for trees to 
 attain even a moderate size, the third, fourtli, fifth 
 6 
 
62 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 and sixth days at least, must have exceeded the 
 length of so many natural or solar days. 
 
 2. The physiological structure of our globe de- 
 monstrates, that its origin is to be attributed to re- 
 mote antiquity. Here we have to premise in the first 
 place, that the material heavens and earth, at their 
 first creation, were not stamped with that perfection 
 which the popular view appropriates to it. Nor will 
 this be found in the least to derogate from the ade- 
 quacy either of the wisdom, the power, or the good- 
 ness of the Great Creator. Viewed as a whole, it will 
 be found in perfect harmony with the vast designs of 
 God as connected with that "New Heavens and 
 New Earth," which is destined to receive that 
 stamp of perfection from the hand of the Almighty 
 Architect, which in his infinite wisdom was withheld 
 from the first. Nor, speaking theologically, are we 
 now treading upon neio ground. No. This view of 
 the comparative perfection of the first and second 
 creation, with many others of equal importance in 
 conveying correct apprehensions of the work of God 
 as a whole, has in a great measure been lost to the 
 Church. Lost, we say. For, with the exception of 
 the period which intervened from the Apostle's time to 
 the Nicene Council A. D. 325, and the early part of 
 the Reformation, this doctrine has become compara- 
 tively obsolete. But, Dr. Burnett, in his elaborate 
 Treatise on the " Theory of the Earth," quoting, on 
 this subject, the sentiments of the Council of Nice, 
 which was convened by Constantine the Great about 
 the year three hundred and twenty-five, soon after the 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 63 
 
 establishment of Christianity in the Roman Empire, 
 and when the fundamental doctrines of the gospel for 
 the most part were yet "uncorrupt," makes the fol- 
 lowing extract. — u The world was made meaner ', or 
 less perfect, providentially ; for God foresaw that man 
 would sin. Wherefore we expect new heavens 
 and a new earth, according to the Holy Scrip- 
 tures," &C. 1 The same sentiment prevailed at the 
 Reformation, and was thus reduced to form under the 
 reign of Edward VI., in the Church of England Cate- 
 chism. Thus it speaks — " The end of the world 
 Holy Scripture calleth the fulfilling and performance 
 of the kingdom and mystery of Christ, and the renew- 
 ing of all things ; for, saith the Apostle Peter, (2 Epist. 
 iii.) We, according to his promise, look for new 
 heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
 righteousness. And it seemeth reason that corruption, 
 unsteadfast change, and sin, whereunto the whole 
 world is subject, should at length have an end, ac- 
 cording to the witness of the Apostle; < The heavens 
 shall pass away with a great noise, and the ele- 
 ments shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also 
 and the works that are therein shall be burned up ; ' 
 as though he had said — As gold is wont to be fined, 
 so shall the whole world be purified with fire, and be 
 brought to its full perfection. The lesser world, 
 which is man, following the same, shall likewise be 
 delivered from corruption and change ; and so. Un- 
 man, this greater world) which for his sake was first 
 
 1. Burnett's Thco. of the Earth, vol. 11.. p. 246, H seq. 
 
64 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY* 
 
 created, shall at length be removed, and be clad with 
 another hue, much more pleasant and beau- 
 tiful." l 
 
 This, we repeat, was the generally received sentiment 
 of the Church during the two periods of her greatest 
 purity : the first, from the Apostle's times down to the 
 Council of Nice, A. D. 325, and the second, at the 
 Reformation. And, whatever may be the strength of 
 prejudice of those who discard a doctrine simply be- 
 cause it has grown venerable by age, we expect 
 " better things" of those who profess to respect " an- 
 cient authors " as the best witnesses for, and inter- 
 preters of, u Holy ScriptureP Nor indeed shall we 
 relinquish the hope, that both the one and the other 
 may be brought to see the utter impossibility of har- 
 monizing the Scriptural cosmogony of the creation 
 with the scientific discoveries of phisiology, in any 
 other way : not that our theory tends to derogate from 
 the Mosaic account of the creation as an inspired pro- 
 duction ; far from it — but that the physiological dis- 
 coveries of the structure of our globe, furnish the only 
 rational and tangible key by which to interpret it. As 
 an handmaid to inspiration, it steps forward, and, by 
 the rays of refraction, as collected from existing phe- 
 nomena in the physical construction of the earth, elu- 
 cidates and confirms it. 
 
 What then, we ask, are some of these phenomena ? 
 We answer, first, that whatever they are, we are to 
 seek for them amid the wonders of the subterranean 
 
 1. Cox's Millena. Ans. p. 39, 40. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 65 
 
 world, in the form of fossils or petrifactions exumed 
 from the various Strata, oat of which many of the 
 secondary mountains, &c., of our globe is formed. 
 Now, these fossil remains, bearing upon them the evi- 
 dent stamp of vast antiquity, many have attempted to 
 account for exclusively on the principle of those 
 mighty changes effected in the present physical struc- 
 ture of our globe, through the agency of the universal 
 deluge. But, if it can be demonstrated that there are 
 existing fossil phenomena, of the origin of which the 
 universal deluge cannot furnish a satisfactory account, 
 it is clear that they must have existed anterior to the 
 deluge ; and if anterior to the deluge, as there was no 
 such revolution in the physical world between the 
 formation of man and that event, by which such fos- 
 sils or petrifactions could by any possibility have 
 been formed, we must date their origin anterior to the 
 Paradisaical State ; and if anterior to the Para- 
 disaical State, they could only have been formed by 
 some mighty convulsions of nature, daring the period 
 of the six days organization or formation of the mate- 
 rial earth and heavens. This admitted, aiifl. beyond 
 controversy, the six days organization of the material 
 universe, must have been six periods of vast length. 
 
 We proceed, therefore, to demonstrate, that the effects 
 produced upon our globe by its subjection to the 
 action (powerful and universal as it was) of the Del- 
 uge, are totally inadequate to account for all the fos- 
 silated phenomena extant. Now, no one pretends, so 
 far as the writer is aware, that any of the genus o\ 
 land animals which existed prior to the flood, became 
 6* 
 
66 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 extinct by that event. 1 But, naturalists assure us of 
 the extinction of whole genera, both of land and sea 
 animals, and also of vegetables, neither of which 
 could have existed between the creation of man and 
 the flood, but the memorials of whose existence are 
 transmitted to us in their present fossilated remains. 2 
 And, that distinguished naturalist Cuvier, in his essay- 
 on the Theory of the Earth, admits the possibility that 
 there are many genera of sea animals yet unknown, 
 but denies that it can apply to the larger genera of 
 land animals, 3 which, as the reader will perceive, 
 strongly corroborates the above statement. Then 
 also, the Strata, in which these fossil remains are 
 deposited, have been evidently torn and rent by some 
 mighty convulsion of nature ; and though it be ad- 
 mitted that this was the effect of the deluge, yet it is 
 clear that the strata themselves must have existed 
 prior thereto. Finally, allowing the hypothesis, that 
 fossil remains, which are of such prodigious extent 
 11 as to form even whole masses of secondary moun- 
 tains, were all the effects of the general deluge, how 
 are we to account for the fact, that, of the millions of 
 
 1. Consult Gen. vi., 19—22; vii., 2, 3, 8, 9; viii., 19. 
 
 2. Mr. Faber on this subject observes — It is possible, I allow 
 that many genera of marine animals, as yet unknown to naturalists, 
 may even now be in existence : but it is next to impossible, that any 
 genera of the larger land animals should still be in existence, and 
 should nevertheless have hitherto remained concealed from human 
 observation. See this matter well discussed in Cuvier's Essay on 
 the theory of the earth. § 25, p. 61. 4th Edit. Treat, on the three 
 Disp. Vol. L, p. 122, 123. 
 
 3. Theory, &c. p. 61 — § 25. Ed. the 4th. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 67 
 
 human beings "who perished at that time/' the " pro- 
 per fossilized" remains of not even one of them 
 should ever yet have been found among that 
 mighty mass ? l 
 
 1. It is quite undeniable, says Mr. Cuvier, that no human remains 
 have been hitherto discovered among the extraneous fossils: and 
 this furnishes a strong proof, that the extinct races, which are now- 
 found in a fossil state, were not varieties of known species, since the)' 
 never could have been subjected to human influence. 
 
 When I assert, that human bones have not been hitherto found 
 among extraneous fossils, I must be understood to speak of fossils 
 or petrifactions properly so called : as, in peat depositions or turf 
 bogs and in alluvial- formations as well as in ancient burying 
 grounds, the bones of men, with those of horses and other ordinary 
 existing species of animals, may readily enough be found; but 
 among the fossil paleotheria and elephants and rhinoceroses, the 
 smallest fragment of human bone has never been detected. Most 
 of the laborers in the gypsum quarries about Paris are firmly per- 
 suaded, that the bones they contain are in a great part human: but, 
 after having seen and carefully examined many thousands of those 
 bones, I may safely affirm, that not a single fragment of them has 
 ever belonged to our species. I carefully examined at Pavia the 
 collection of extraneous fossil bones brought there by Spallanzaiii 
 from the island of Cerigo: and, notwithstanding the assertion of that 
 celebrated observer, I affirm that there is not a single fragment 
 among them that ever formed part of a human skeleton. Every 
 where else, the fragments of bone, considered as human, have been 
 found to belong to some animal, either when the fragments them- 
 selves have been actually examined, or even when their engraved 
 figures have been inspected. Such real human bones, as have been 
 found in a fossil state, belonged to bodies, which had fallen into 
 crevices of rocks or had been left in the forsaken galleries of ancient 
 mines and were covered- up by incrustation: and 1 extend this asser- 
 tion to the human skeletons, discovered in Guadeloupe, in a rock 
 formed of pieces of madrepore throws up by the sea and united by 
 water impregnated with calcareous matter. 
 
 Every circumstance, therefore, contributes to establish this post- 
 
68 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 These considerations we deem of such importance 
 to our general argument as not to allow that they 
 should be viewed simply in the light of collateral 
 evidence of the fact, as to the great antiquity of our 
 globe. Cuvier on this subject observes, that it is only 
 to the investigation of the relations of extraneous fos- 
 sils with the strata in which they are contained, that 
 we owe the commencement even of a Theory of the 
 earth : as, but for them, we could never have even 
 suspected that there had existed any successive 
 epochs in the formation of our Earth, and a series of 
 diiferent and consecutive operations in reducing it to 
 its present state. By them alone we are enabled to 
 ascertain, with the utmost certainty, that our earth 
 has not always been covered over by the same exter- 
 nal crust: because we are thoroughly assured, that 
 the organized bodies, to which these fossil remains 
 belong, must have lived upon the surface, before they 
 came to be buried, as they now are, at a great depth. 
 Now, having, in accordance with this statement, de- 
 monstrated, the existence of fossil remains of extinct 
 
 tion : that the human race did not exist in the countries, in which 
 the fossil bones of animals have been discovered, at the epoch when 
 these bones were covered tip; as there cannot be a single reason as- 
 signed, why men should have entirely escaped from such general 
 catastrophes, or, if they also had been destroyed and covered over at 
 the same time, why their remains should not be now found along 
 with those of the other animals. Essay ou the theory of the earth, 
 §30., p. 128 — 133. 
 
 A fossil human skeleton from Guadaloupe, but pronounced to be 
 O recent formation, is now in the British Museum. 
 
 1. Theory of the Earth. § 23., pp. 54 : 55. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 69 
 
 marine and land animals and vegetables, it remains 
 that we adduce evidence, as already observed, of the 
 impossibility of harmonizing the scriptural cosmogony 
 of the creation with these scientific discoveries of phy- 
 siology in any other way, than by a comparison of 
 the statements of the one, with the existing pheno- 
 mena as developed in the order of stratification of the 
 other. And, in order to this, and for the sake of 
 greater perspicuity and accuracy, we will present a 
 brief of the order of formation of each of the six days 
 or epochs consecutively, as laid down in the Mosaic 
 Cosmogony. The primitive rocks are represented as 
 being first separated from the chaotic waters ; plants 
 and herbs are formed next ; then fishes ; then birds ; 
 next, land-animals and reptiles ; and finally, man. 
 Now, upon the supposition, that the six days of for- 
 mation as given by Moses, were each periods of vast 
 length, i. e., of length sufficient to produce the fossil 
 remains of marine and land- animals and vegetables as 
 above represented, then these fossilated remains must 
 be found to exist in the same order*of stratification 
 continuously, with that in which they are said to 
 have been at first organized. In other words, they 
 must " follow each other upward in the precise order 
 of the Mosaic Narrative." Accordingly, thus we find 
 it. The structure of our srlobe in the order of stratifi- 
 cation, presents to view first, the primitive rock or 
 granite, entirely free from all fossil remains : next (o\~ 
 low fossil plants and vegetables : next, fossil fishes ' 
 next, fossil birds : next, fossil land-animals and rep" 
 tiles. Human fossils, none. From this order, except 
 
70 
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 indeed that occasional intermixtures may occur, there 
 is no variation. 
 
 We shall now proceed to classify the Mosaic cos- 
 mogony of the creation, and the order of formation of 
 the six days, with Cuvier's classification of the series 
 of strata, with their extraneous fossils, reckoning up- 
 wards from the primitive rocks ; after which, we shall 
 assign the reasons, on physiological data, for the occa- 
 sional deviations from this order, discoverable in the 
 intermixtures of strata, as given in the table of that 
 writer. And, for the purpose of perspicuity, we shall 
 arrange the two accounts in opposite columns, thus, 
 
 Mosaic Cosmogony. 
 
 I. First day. Separation of 
 light and darkness. 
 
 II. Second day. Separation of 
 air and water, 
 
 III. Third day. Separation of 
 land and water. 
 
 First appearance of primary 
 rock, in the early part of this pe- 
 riod. No fossil remains. 
 
 Middle part of this period, ve- 
 getables. Trees, p^nts, herbs. 
 
 Oavier. 
 
 IV. Fourth day. Sun, moon, 
 and stars. 
 
 V. Fifth day. Fishes and Birds. 
 
 Primitive Rocks. 
 ganic remains. 
 
 No fossil or- 
 
 Transition Rocks. First ap- 
 pearance of fossil shells and corals. 
 First sandstone or old red sand- 
 stone and old red conglomerate. 
 Fossil wood. First limestone or 
 mountain limestone. Fossil corals 
 and shells. Coal formation. Im- 
 pressions of plants, many with a 
 tropical aspect. New red conglo- 
 merate. 
 
 Second limestone, ormagnesian 
 limestone. First appearance of 
 fossil fishes, and of fossil oviparous 
 quadrupeds. Second sand-stone, or 
 new red sand-stone. Fossil shells, 
 corals, and vegetables. Third lime- 
 stone or Jura oolite and lias lime- 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 71 
 
 VI. Sixth duy. 
 tiles, and Man. 
 
 Beasts, Rep- 
 
 stones. Fossil shells, coral, lacertce, 
 fishes, and vegetables. Third sand- 
 stone, or green sand. Fourth 
 limestone and chalk. Fossil 
 shells, coals, lacertce, turtles, and 
 fishes. Brown coal formation. 
 Hertfordshire pudding-stone. 
 
 Paris formation. First appear- 
 ance of fossil remains of birds and 
 mammiferous animals. Remains 
 of extinct species of Elephant, Rhi- 
 noceros, Hippopotamus, Tapir, Deer, 
 Hyena, Bear. Fossil remains of 
 the human species.* First appear- 
 ance in this formation. 
 
 VII. Seventh day. Sabbath of 
 Rest. 
 
 In speaking of the general conformation of our 
 earth, Mr. Cuvier observes, that the lowest and most 
 level parts of the earth, when penetrated to a very- 
 great depth, exhibit nothing but horizontal strata, com- 
 posed of various substances, and containing, almost all 
 of them, innumerable marine productions. Similar 
 strata, with the same kind of productions, compose 
 the hills even to a great height. Sometimes the shells 
 are so numerous as to constitute the entire body of the 
 stratum. They are almost every where in such a per- 
 fect state of preservation, that even the smallest of 
 them retain their most delicate parts, their sharpest 
 ridges, and their finest and tenderest processes. Every 
 part of the earth, each hemisphere, every continent, 
 every island of any size, exhibits the same phenomena. 
 We are therefore forcibly led to believe, not only that 
 the sea has at one period or another covered all our 
 plains, but that it must have remained there for a long 
 
 * See note, p. 67, 68. 
 
72 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 time and in a state of tranquility, which circumstance 
 was necessary for the formation of deposits so ex- 
 tensive, so thick, in part so solid, and containing ex- 
 uvice so perfectly preserved. 1 
 
 Now, select, by way of illustration of the above, the 
 work of the third day, which was that of bringing to- 
 gether the granitic and earthy particles of the primitive 
 aquatic elements, the former constituting thence- 
 forward the primitive rock or skeleton of our globe, 
 the latter, the soil with which it was covered. Then 
 clothe this soil with vegetation — trees, herbs, and 
 grass. You have now only to suppose this third day 
 to be a period of vast length, and, as Mr. Faber 
 remarks, the whole face of the earth, already separated 
 from the waters, would soon become overspread with 
 a rank and luxuriant vegetation : one generation of 
 trees and plants would succeed another : a large accu- 
 mulation of mould would be produced through their 
 decomposition : and, either by one of those sudden 
 and mighty revolutions which appear to have repeat- 
 edly agitated this globe previous to the formation of 
 God's last work man, or even (we may venture to 
 say) in the ordinary course of nature itself, vast masses 
 of fallen timber would be plunged beneath the surface 
 of extensive bogs and morasses ; there, through the 
 process either of stony accretion or of bituminous fer- 
 mentation to be gradually transmuted, partly into fossil 
 wood and partly into fossil coal. 2 
 
 1. Theory, § 4, pp. 7, 8. 
 
 2, Treatise on three Dispen, vol f , I, pp„ 131 , 132, 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 73 
 
 The same argument may be also applied to the fifth 
 and sixth days ; similar mundane revolutions producing 
 similar effects. Then, too, the order of fossil strata 
 must be expected to correspond with the order of these 
 successive revolutions : i. e., fossil fishes and other ma- 
 rine exuviae, together with fossil birds, must be depos- 
 ited above fossil wood and fossil coal, as the products of 
 the fifth day ; and those of fossil animals and fossil rep- 
 tiles, above those of fossil birds, &c, as the products of 
 the sixth day, which agrees precisely with the classifi- 
 cation of Cuvier, as given on a preceding page. 
 
 As to the intermixtures of fossil stratification as 
 given in Cuvier's table, placing fossil shells and corals 
 immediately next to that of the primitive rock, they 
 cannot be accounted for on the diluvian theory l of 
 that writer, which assumes u that the flood (Noah's 
 flood) was produced by a complete interchange of 
 land and water. For, first, the four Asiatic ante- 
 diluvian rivers are [to this day] geographically mark- 
 ed out and determined and identified by post-diluvian 
 characteristics. " 2 And second, existing phenomena of 
 the bones of landanimals, found under circumstances 
 which prove them to have inhabited the precise re- 
 gions * where these their relics have been discov- 
 
 * These phenomena, says Mr. Faber, seem to me quite decisive 
 as to the fact, that we now inhabit the very same tracts of land thai 
 our ante-diluvian forefathers did, and consequently that we are not 
 now living upon the bed of the ante-diluvian ocean. 
 
 In various parts of the world, caves have boon discovered con- 
 
 1. Essay on Theory of the Earth. § 34. p., 173, 171. 
 
 2. Treatise on three Dis. vol I., p. 136, 
 
 7 
 
74 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 ered." Still, it is beyond contradiction that we are now 
 inhabiting the bed of a primeval ocean. Where then 3 
 we ask, are we to look for the mighty convulsions oi na- 
 ture productive of such interchanges of land and sea, 
 
 taining numerous bones of land-animals, which certainly could not 
 have been there deposited by the action of water. Hence the ob- 
 vious inference is, an inference in truth drawn by Cuvier himself, 
 that the animals, to which those bones belonged , must have lived and died 
 peaceably on the spot where we now find them: and the propriety of this 
 inference is further established by the nature of the earthy matter in 
 which the bones are enveloped ; for, according to Laugier, it con- 
 tains an intermixture of animal matter with phosphate of lime and 
 probably also phosphate of iron. But, if this inference be well 
 founded, then it is plainly impossible, that our present tracts of land 
 can have constituted the bed of the ante -diluvian ocean : because, 
 in that case, the animals could not, before the deluge, have inhabited 
 the regions where their bones are now found ; such regions, accord- 
 ing to the theory of Cuvier, having constituted the bed of the ocean 
 as it existed immediately before the deluge. 
 
 As the subject is of no small importance, the inference in ques- 
 tion clearly confirming the Mosaical history which describes the 
 present race of men as inhabiting the self-same tracts of land which 
 were inhabited by their ante-diluvian forefathers, it may not be un- 
 interesting to adduce some of the facts on which the inference is 
 founded. 
 
 1. Remains of the skeletons of animals are found in great abun- 
 dance in limestone caves in Germany and Hungary. The bones 
 occur nearly in the same state in all these caves ; detached, broken, 
 but never rolled: and, consequently, they have not been brought 
 from a distance by the ageney of water. They are somewhat 
 lighter and less compact than recent bones, but slightly decom- 
 posed, contain much gelatine, and are never mineralized. They 
 are generally enveloped in an indurated earth, which contains ani- 
 mal matter ; sometimes in a kind of alabaster or calcareous sinter: 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 75 
 
 by which these interchanges and derangements of the 
 regular order of fossil stratification have been produced ? 
 Certainly, for the reasons above stated, not between the 
 Creation of Man and the General Deluge! which, it is 
 
 and, by means of this mineral, they are sometimes attached to the 
 walls of the caves. These bones are the same in all the caves 
 hitherto examined : and it is worthy of remark, that they occur in 
 an extent of upwards of 200 leagues. Cuvier estimates, that rather 
 more than three fourths of these bones belong to species of bears now 
 extinct ; while one half or two thirds of the remaining fourth belong 
 to a species of hyena. A very small number of these remains belong 
 to a species of the genus lion or tiger: and another, to animals of 
 the dog or wolf kinds. Lastly, the smallest portion belongs to dif- 
 ferent species of smaller carnivorous animals, as the fox and pole- 
 cat. It is quite evident, that these bones could not have been intro- 
 duced into these caves by the action of water, because the smallest 
 processes or inequalities on their surface are preserved. Cuvier is 
 therefore inclined to conjecture, that the animals, to which they be- 
 longed, must have lived and died peaceably on the spot where ice now 
 find them. 
 
 2. The relics of several species of Mastodans have been found in 
 various parts of America. The beds, which contain them, are 
 generally alluvial, either sandy or marly, and always near the 
 earth's surface. In many places, they are accompanied with accu- 
 mulations of marine animal remains: and, in other places, the sand 
 and marl which cover them contain only fresh-water shells. The 
 catastrophe, which has buried them, appears to have been a tran- 
 sient marine inundation. The bones are neither rolled nor in 
 skeletons ; but dispersed, and in part broken or fractured. They 
 have not therefore been brought there from a distance by an inun- 
 dation: but have been found by it in the places whore it has 
 covered them; as might be expected, if the animals to which they 
 belonged had dwelt in these places, and had there successively died. 
 Hence it appears, that, before this catastrophe, these animals 
 in the countries where we now find their bones. 
 
76 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 admitted, would prove totally subversive both of exist- 
 ing phenomena and the verity of the Mosaic cosmogony! 
 Now, we shall undertake to demonstrate from Cuvier 
 himself, the utter fallacy of his diluvian theory, and, 
 
 3. Exactly the same inference is drawn by Mr. Buckland from 
 the teeth and bones of various animals discovered in a cave at 
 Kirkdale, near Kirby-Moorside, in Yorkshire. The den of Kirk- 
 dale is a natural fissure or cavern in the oolite limestone, extending 
 300 feet into the solid rock, and varying from two to five feet in 
 height and breadth. The bottom of the cavern is nearly horizon- 
 tal ; and is entirely covered to the depth of about a foot w T ith a 
 sediment of mud, deposited by diluvian waters. At the bottom of 
 the mud, the floor of the cave was covered from one end to the 
 other with teeth and fragments of bones of the following animals : 
 hyena, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, horse, ox, two or three 
 species of deer, bear, fox, water-rat, and birds. The bones are for 
 the most part broken and gnawed to pieces : and the teeth lie loose 
 among the fragments of the bones. The hyena bones are broken to 
 pieces as much as those of the other animals. No bone or tooth 
 has been rolled or the least acted on by water, nor is there any 
 gravel mixed with them. The bones are not at all mineralized, 
 and retain nearly the whole of their animal gelatine ; owing their 
 high state of preservation to the mud in which they have been im- 
 bedded. The teeth of the hyena's are most abundant: and, of 
 these, the greater part are worn down almost to the stumps, as if by 
 the operation of gnawing bones. Portions of the dung of the hyena 
 are found also in this den, which on analysis, afforded the same 
 constituent parts as that of canine animals. It is certain, that all 
 these animals lived and died in the district ichere their remains are 
 now found, in the period immediately preceding the deluge. The bones 
 were carried into the cave, as food, by the hyenas ; the smaller ani- 
 mals perhaps entire, the larger ones piecemeal: for by no other 
 means could the bones of such large animals as the elephant, rhino- 
 ceros, and hippopotamus, have arrived at the inmost recesses of so 
 small a fissure, unless rolled thither by water ; under which circum- 
 stance the angles would have been worn off by attrition, which is 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 77 
 
 as a consequence, its insufficiency to account for the 
 above named phenomena. In his essay Mr. Cuvier says 
 that, if there is any circumstance thoroughly estab- 
 lished in geology, it is, that the crust of our globe has 
 been subjected to a great and sudden revolution, the 
 epoch of which cannot he dated much further back 
 than five or six thousand years ; that this revolution 
 had buried all the countries which were before inhab- 
 ted by men and other animals that are now best 
 known ; that the same revolution had laid dry the bed 
 of the last ocean, which now forms all the countries 
 at present inhabited. * Again, Speaking of a succes- 
 sion of revolutions as having visited our globe, Mr. 
 Cuvier makes the following remarks ; but, what is still 
 more astonishing and not less certain, there have not al- 
 ways been living creatures on the earth ; and it is easy 
 for the observer to discover the period at which animal 
 productions began to be deposited. 2 Finally, Mr. Cu- 
 vier in treating of the subject of existing fossil remains of 
 extinct animals, &c, says, it is quite undeniable, that no 
 human remains have been hitherto discovered among the 
 extraneous fossils ; and this says he, furnishes a strong 
 proof, that the extinct races, which are now found in 
 
 not the case. See Jameson's Notes subjoined to Cuvier's Essay, 
 p. 364 — 369, 385 — 387. 
 
 So far as I can judge of evidence, the above is decisive as to the 
 question whether we are now inhabiting the bed of the oceSLD as it 
 existed immediately before the deluge. Treat, on throe Disp. vol, 
 I., p. 136—140. 
 
 1. Theory of the earth. § 34, p. 173. 
 
 2. Ibid. § 6, p. 17. 
 
78 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 
 
 a fossil state, were not varieties of knoivn species since 
 they never could have been subject to human influence. 
 And farther on he says, every circumstance, therefore, 
 contributes to establish this position : that the human 
 race did not exist in the countries, in which the fossil 
 bones of animals have been discovered, at the epoch 
 when these bones were covered up ; as there cannot 
 be a single reason assigned why men should have en- 
 tirely escaped such general catastrophies ; or, if they 
 also had been destroyed or covered over at the same 
 time, why their remains should not be now found 
 along with those of the other animals. l 
 
 Now, in regard to the first of the above quotations, 
 that Mr. Cuvier is speaking of the effects of the Univer- 
 sal Deluge, there can be no doubt : for the quotation not 
 only contains within itself, a summary of his diluvian 
 theory, but it stands in immediate connexion with what 
 he says of the escaping from the effects of that great 
 revolution, of the small number of individuals oimen 
 and other animals, that have since propagated and 
 spread over the lands then newly laid dry. 2 To this, 
 as further evidence, we may also add, that, since that 
 catastrophe, no other revolution by any possibility can 
 be named, i. e., within the dates which he assigns to 
 it, at all adequate to produce, as he pretends, an entire 
 interchange of land and water. Then again, says Mr. 
 Cuvier. — Before this catastrophe, men and other ani- 
 mals inhabited those very countries, submerged by the 
 above superabounding waters ; which most certainly 
 
 1. Essay on Theory of th? Earth, § 30, p. 128—133. 
 
 2. Ibid. § 34. p., 174. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 79 
 
 must have resulted in the destruction of men as well as 
 other animals. And yet Mr. Cuvier says in the third 
 quotation, that no human remains have been hitherto 
 discovered among the extraneous fossils : which cir- 
 cumstance, he says, contributes to establish this posi- 
 tion : that the human race did not exist in the coun- 
 tries in which the fossil bones of animals have been 
 discovered, at the epoch when these bones were cov- 
 ered up. 
 
 Unless we greatly misjudge, the reader would con- 
 sider it no enviable task, to attempt a reconciliation of 
 such palpably conflicting statements. A great physi- 
 cal revolution, producing an entire interchange of 
 land and water — the land being previously inhabited 
 by men and other animals, all of whom, except a 
 very small number, being lost in the catastrophe — 
 and yet, in after ages, when the fossil remains of these 
 animals are discovered, human beings are denied to 
 have previously existed, because no fossil human 
 form is found among other discovered fossil animals ! 
 
 But, herein we are furnished with a most striking 
 evidence of the lamentable defectibility of human 
 reason, in the application of the sciences to existing 
 phenomena, when relied upon as a guide in our search 
 of truth, to the exclusion of Revelation. The truth 
 is, while, in the developements of the science of phy- 
 siology, strong collateral evidence is furnished of the 
 verity of the Mosaic cosmogony, there are bounds set to 
 human reason in its application thereto, beyond which 
 it cannot pass. See this fact illustrated in Mr. Cuvier's 
 statements regarding the date of the commencement 
 
80 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 of his diluvian period, at which time the process of 
 fossil formation must have begun. Speaking of this 
 latter process he says, it is easy for the observer to dis- 
 cover the period at which animal productions began 
 to be deposited. l And yet, the nearest point of ap- 
 proximation to it is, not much farther back than five 
 or six thousand years. But, this calculation, at five 
 thousand years, would place his diluvian epoch at 
 about A. M. 950 ; at six thousand, it would maka it 
 anterior to the Mosaic cosmogony of the creation of 
 man ! It remains, therefore, for the candid reader to 
 decide, whether he will reject the authenticity o( the 
 sacred narrative on account of this single apparent dis- 
 crepancy of the science of physiology therewith, when 
 every other part of the discoveries of that acute phi- 
 losopher, as well as others, undesignedly, no doubt, 
 on his and their part, conspire to confirm it. The 
 reader therefore cannot but perceive the force of the 
 following logical conclusion, from the pen of the 
 learned Faber. Speaking of this diluvian theory of 
 Cuvier, he says, that it is so wholly irreconcilable 
 with the Mosaical history both of the ante -diluvian 
 world and of the deluge itself and of the post-diluvian 
 world, in which the four Asiatic ante -diluvian rivers 
 are geographically marked out and determined and 
 identified by post-diluvian characteristics, that it can- 
 not for a moment be admitted by any consistent be- 
 liever in the scriptural verity. Nor is it more recon- 
 cileable with the actually existing phenomena of the 
 
 1. Essay on Theory of the Earth, § 6. p. 17. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 81 
 
 bones of land animals, found under circumstances 
 which prove them to have inhabited the precise re- 
 gions where these their relics have been discovered : 
 for, had the regions in question been the bed of the 
 ante-diluvian ocean, it is clear that no land animals 
 could have inhabited them. 1 
 
 All difficulties accompanying our researches into 
 available facts, however, vanish, when the develope- 
 ments of physiological science, as far as known, and 
 the Mosaic narrative of the Creation, &c, are viewed 
 together. Oryctological discoveries demonstrate, that 
 the various succession of strata in which fossil forma- 
 tions are deposited, as they ascend upward from the 
 primitive rock, in which no fossil remains whatever 
 are to be found, have undergone the process of severe 
 ruptures; which circumstance proves that they 
 existed prior to whatever cause produced them. And 
 admitting, as we do, that these ruptures might have 
 been produced by the catastrophe which attended our 
 globe at the time of the universal deluge, they were 
 quite sufficient to effect those very intermixtures of 
 fossil formations, deposited in their respective pre- 
 viously existing strata, as given in the classification of 
 Cuvier. Here again, we quote Mr. Faber. Rents 
 and ruptures, and disarrangements, he says, may be 
 continually observed in the several strata of fossil 
 bodies ; which disturb their regularity, and which 
 have evidently been produced by some mighty con- 
 vulsion. And, he continues, whether that convulsion 
 
 l. Three Dispen. L, p. 136. 
 
82 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 was produced by the deluge, or whether it preceded 
 the deluge, (for in either case the result of the argu- 
 ment will be the same,) the fossil remains, which con- 
 stitute these strata, must have existed anterior to the 
 deluge, and consequently cannot be the effects of the 
 deluge. 1 
 
 In regard to those mighty convulsions of nature 
 through which our globe has passed, resulting in suc- 
 cessive, and, for ought we know to the contrary, 
 frequent interchanges of land and water, Mr. Faber 
 says, the perpetual discovery of fossil fishes and of 
 other exuviae in the very centre of the largest conti- 
 nents, deposited above the strata of fossil wood and 
 vegetables, sufficiently demonstrates, with respect to 
 one of these revolutions, not merely that the waters of 
 the Ocean must have passed over those continents, 
 but that the continents themselves must at some re- 
 mote period have been the permanent bed of the 
 Ocean : for, as physiologists are well aware, a tempo- 
 vary inundation is wholly insufficient to account for 
 the phenomena which present themselves. This ap- 
 peal of Mr. Faber to physiologists is thus responded to 
 by Mr. Cuvier. We are, says he, forcibly led to 
 believe, not only that the sea has at one period or an- 
 other covered all our plains, but that it must have 
 remained there for a long time and in a state of tran- 
 quility ; which circumstance was necessary for the 
 formation of deposites, so extensive, so thick, in part 
 
 l. Three Dispen. I., p. 123. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 83 
 
 so solid, and containing exuviae so perfectly pre- 
 served. 1 
 
 Under these circumstances, therefore, says Mr. 
 Faber, the result is obvious. We now inhabit the 
 bed, indeed, of a primeval ocean, but, not of the ante- 
 diluvian ocean : because, according both to actually 
 existing phenomena and to the inspired history in 
 its plain and obvious construction, we noio inhabit the 
 very same tracts of land, (allowing for those smaller 
 alterations, which a convulsion like the flood would 
 of course produce,) that our ante-diluvian predecessors 
 formerly inhabited. Therefore the primeval ocean, 
 whose bed we now inhabit, must have been an ocean, 
 which, as thus situated, was in existence prior to the 
 creation of man. 
 
 On such necessary grounds, I conclude, says Mr. 
 Faber, that the sea and the land must, to a certain 
 extent, have changed places (and that too for a suffi- 
 cient length of time to produce existing phenomena) 
 in the course at least of the fifth day of the creation, to 
 say nothing more of those yet more ancient revolu- 
 tions which have apparently occurred during the 
 lapse of the third and the fourth days. 2 
 
 1. Essay on Theory, &c, § 4, p. 8. 
 
 2. Three Dispen. I., pp. 134, 130, 140, 141. 
 
84 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 SECTION IV, 
 
 But it is still urged, that we have as yet omitted to 
 give, in round numbers, the whole period of the Sab- 
 batic Rest of the Almighty, as the period which, ana- 
 logically, was to determine the length of each of the 
 six demiurgic days. Of this fact we are fully aware. 
 Nor is it compatible with our present purpose to say 
 more than to state the simple fact, that the seventh day, 
 as the sabbatic repose of the Almighty, embraces the 
 round number of six thousand years. Dating the 
 course of fulfilment of the predicted events of Daniel 
 from the commencement of the seventy prophetic 
 weeks, l and adding the aggregate amount of time to 
 that which preceded that date, and it gives you the 
 number of six thousand years. Now, if, within this 
 period, all the events which God before declared 
 should take place, actually transpires, what follows ? 
 What, but the expiration, the breaking up of His ad- 
 ministration as the Preserve?* and Governor of this 
 world, physical and moral, and the introduction of a 
 new order of things ? Yes, and it was this very truth 
 that the apostle Peter, when preaching to the Jewish 
 murderers of our Lord, set forth in the following pathet- 
 ic strain : " Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that 
 your sins may be blotted out, when the times of re- 
 freshing shall come from the presence of the Lord : and 
 he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preach- 
 ed unto you : whom the heavens must receive, 
 
 UNTIL THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS, 
 1. Chap, ix., 24 — 27. 
 
introductory essay. 85 
 
 which God hath spoken by the mouth of 
 all his holy prophets, since the world be- 
 GAN." 1 
 
 While, therefore, it is reserved for a subsequent part 
 of this Treatise to furnish the Scriptural evidence at 
 large, showing that the Almighty has affixed to his 
 " determined times " a limited and definite period, we 
 shall now presume upon its admission, and proceed at 
 once to lay down the two following inferences. First, 
 if the seventh day, as the sabbath of rest to the Al- 
 mighty, exceeded the length of a natural or solar day, 
 then, by analogy of language, each of the six pre- 
 ceding days must have exceeded the length of a natu- 
 ral or solar day. And second, that if the seventh day 
 of the Almighty's repose embraced the period of six 
 thousand years, then, by analogy of reasoning, each 
 of the six preceding days must have embraced a 
 period of six thousand years. The result, therefore, 
 of the principles of exposition adopted in this Treatise 
 is, that besides the vast and indefinite period which we 
 assign to the divine agency over the chaotic elements 
 of creation, the whole period of organization or forma- 
 tion during the six days, amounts to the definite period 
 
 Of THIRTY-SIX THOUSAND YEARS ! 
 
 From this conclusion, however, the learned Faber, 
 in his treatise on the Three Dispensations, dissents. 
 Having, in his usual style of reasoning, (which, by the 
 way, is generally marked with a force, a cogency of 
 logical demonstration common to but few modern wri- 
 
 1. Actsiii. 19 — 81, 
 S 
 
86 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 
 
 ters,j asserted the principle here laid down, not only 
 that there should be a distinction made between the 
 work of creation and that of organization or formation; 
 but that the six days assigned by the cosmogony of 
 Moses thereto, should be extended to six demiurgic 
 periods, he still treats those periods as of varying and 
 consequently indefinite length. It is difficult, how- 
 ever, for us to conceive why one day, the first, for in- 
 stance, should be supposed to embrace a period of 
 three thousand years ; the third, of five thousand ; the 
 fifth, of seven thousand, and the intermediate days of 
 proportionate variation ; and especially if, by analogy 
 of language as he asserts, these days are to be under- 
 stood " homogeneously ;" * adopting, as he does, the 
 seventh day as the criterion of measurement to the 
 rest Now, of this seventh day he says, that it is in 
 truth a period commensurate with the duration of the 
 created universe. 2 And again, that it is a period of not 
 less duration than six millenaries, 3 i.e. of six thousand 
 years. Here then, so far as his authority goes, we are 
 safe in our estimate of the seventh day at six thousand 
 years ; for it is not of less duration than six millena- 
 ries. Wherefore, then, this doubt as to the distinct 
 limits set to the duration of the created universe? 
 Why, what that duration will be, says he, no one 
 knows save the Father only ; 4 in proof of which he 
 quotes St. Matthew, chapter xxiv., verse 36. But this 
 passage, as we shall prove in its proper place, does not 
 
 1. Faber's Trea. vol. I., p. 112. 
 2. Treatise, &c. vol. I., p. 116. 3. Ibid, p. 117. 4. Ibid, p. 116. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 87 
 
 relate to the limits set to the created universe : — it 
 speaks of the period of the second advent of Christ; 
 which, as the Scriptures teach us, is to precede the 
 destruction of the present earth and heavens, the time 
 of which, between the present and its actual consum- 
 mation, as to the day and hour, (not the year,) is 
 known only to the Father. And we now assert, and 
 challenge proof to the contrary, that the period of the 
 second appearing of Christ, in its day and hour aspect, 
 is the only period, in unfulfilled prophetic chronology, 
 concerning which, it can consistently be said that 
 there is any uncertainty. The diiference between the 
 chronology of the Hebrew and Samaritan versions of 
 the Scriptures, of which Mr. Faber speaks, 1 will here- 
 after receive due attention, and the reasons assigned 
 why precedence should be given to the former. 
 
 In conclusion I would observe, that the misappre- 
 hension of the import of a single passage of Scripture, 
 as that of Matthew xxiv. 36, has, to my mind, involved 
 this part of the above learned treatise in a style of com- 
 position, the tendency of which is to defeat \ in a mea- 
 sure, its own object, by undermining whatever of pre- 
 vious convictions may have been produced. The wri- 
 ter says — " With respect to the analogy of language, 
 we are told, that the Lord fashioned the world in six 
 days, and that he rested on the seventh;" which 
 analogy of language, he says, requires us to under- 
 stand these days homogeneously. And then lie puts 
 the question, as to " what specific (or, as I suppose 
 
 1. Treatise, &c. vol. 1., p. 117.' 
 
88 INTRODUCTORY ESS'AT. 
 
 definite) period it (i. e. the term day) describes in the 
 Mosaic history of the creation V to which he adds — 
 " for, just as we understand one of these days, so must 
 we understand them all f l i. e. if one day (the seventh) 
 is a natural or solar day, so are all — or if one day (the 
 seventh) is not less than six millenaries, so are all. 
 
 Now, from premises thus assumed, one would natu- 
 rally enough be led to look for specific results. Yet 
 under the argument for the extension of the six demi- 
 urgic days, as founded in the discoveries of physiolo- 
 gists, he speaks of these " six creative days " as being 
 " six periods of vast, though to us unknown duration ;" 2 
 and farther on he makes " each a period of more than 
 six millenaries." 3 But this he thinks is all satisfacto- 
 rily accounted for in the indefinite import of the origi- 
 nal Hebrew word day, which that word in English so 
 imperfectly expresses. 4 But we ask whether, because 
 a word in scriptural phraseology is considered equivo- 
 cal, i. e. that in one place it may mean one thing, and 
 elsewhere it may mean another, that therefore its true 
 and definite sense cannot be ascertained? No biblical 
 scholar will admit this for a moment. The subject 
 with which it stands connected is the key to unlock its 
 import. Indeed, it was this very mode of interpreta- 
 tion which Mr. Faber adopted in the commencement of 
 his investigations of this subject. Sometimes, says he, 
 it (the term day) denotes a single revolution of the 
 earth round its axis : sometimes it denotes a revolu- 
 
 I. Treatise I. pp.112, 113. 2. Ibid, pp. 120, 121. 3. Ibid, p. 126. 
 4. Ibid, vol I., pp. 119, 120. 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 89 
 
 Hon of the earth round the sun, or what we call 
 a natural year : l sometimes it denotes a whole mil- 
 lenary : 2 sometimes it denotes a period of probably 
 great, but of wholly indeterminate length ; 3 &c. 
 Now, let the reader turn to the passages referred to, 
 and see if, in each instance, there is not a specific, de- 
 finite sense given to it. 
 
 Here therefore, we shall retrace our steps, in order 
 to a recapitulation of the argument, that each of the 
 six days organization or formation of the previously 
 created chaotic elements mentioned in the cosmogony 
 of Moses, must have greatly exceeded the length of a 
 natural or solar day. 
 
 Our first argument was founded on the ordinary 
 and obvious process of organization as therein de- 
 scribed, which we illustrated by a comparison of the 
 work of the third day, the period of organization of 
 the vegetable family, with those of the fifth and sixth 
 days, which were appropriated to the formation of 
 fishes, birds, animals, reptiles, and finally, Man. 
 For, as the products of vegetation on the third day, 
 were the only means of sustenance to all animals not 
 carnivorous, &c, they must either have been formed 
 by miracle in a mature state, (which we have de- 
 monstrated could not be,) or else time must have been 
 allowed them for their naturaUgrowth. 
 
 1. Num. xiv., 34; Ezek. iv., G; Dan. xii., 11, 1*3; Rev. xi., 3, 9 ; 
 xii., 6. 
 
 2. Ps. xc, 4; 2 Pet. iii., 8. 
 
 3. Isa. ii., 12 ; xiii., G ; Joel i., 15 ; Zeph. i., 7, 8 ; IS j Mai. iv., 5 ; 
 1 Thess. v., 2: 2 Per. iii., 10. 
 
 8* 
 
90 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 But we adopted the latter conclusion, on the 
 ground that, as the sacred historian informs us, " God 
 made every herb of the field, before it grew," 1 i. e., 
 before it sprouted or germinated ; and if herbs, then 
 by parity of reason, plants also : on which principle, 
 without the intervention of a superfluous miracle, all 
 animals dependant on them for food, would have an 
 abundant supply as soon as required, they not having 
 been formed till the fifth and sixth days ; while, on 
 the contrary supposition, except by miracle, they 
 must all have perished from hunger. 
 
 Our next argument for the extension of the six 
 days to six periods, was founded on the physiological 
 structure of our globe. Under this argument we pre- 
 mised, first, that the popular opinion that the first 
 creation was stamped with absolute perfection, was 
 contrary not only to the opinion of the Church in her 
 best and purest ages, but also to fact — for, 
 
 1. Existing fossil remains, found amid the wonders 
 of the subterranean world, as they cannot be ac- 
 counted for on the principle of the universal deluge, 
 none of the genus of land-animals which entered by 
 pairs into the Ark which Noah having, by that ca- 
 tastrophe, become extinct, it follows that they must 
 have existed prior to that event ; and if so, then prior 
 to the creation of Man ; evidence of which is fur- 
 nished from the fact, first, that the Strata in which 
 these fossils are deposited, have been deranged, 
 which proves them to have existed prior to the deluge, 
 
 X. Gen. ii., 4, 5, 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 91 
 
 even if produced by it : and second, that among 
 the fossil extant remains, though millions of human 
 beings perished by the flood, no relic of the fossil hu- 
 man form is to be found. 
 
 We then argued, that these animals must have 
 lived upon the surface of the earth, before they 
 came to be buried, as they now are, at so great a 
 depth. And hence, that a knowledge of the science 
 of physiology was indispensable to a knowledge of the 
 structure of our earth, and of the successive epochs 
 of its formation. 
 
 Here, however, arose a difficulty, viz. : — that of 
 harmonizing the Scriptural Cosmogony of Moses 
 with the extant fossil discoveries of the science of 
 physiology, as it relates to the order or arrangement 
 of the respective fossil strata from the primitive rock 
 upward ; for, the statements of the one, must cor- 
 respond with the development of facts of the other, or, 
 the scriptural verity must be called in question. 
 
 This matter, however, has been fully brought to 
 view, by a comparison of the order of the six days 
 formation of the material heavens and earth as given 
 by Moses, with the order of fossil strata as set down 
 in Cuvier's physiological table, between which, as we 
 have shown, there is an exact correspondence, with 
 the exception, that what Cuvier cannot account for in 
 the intermixtures of fossil strata upon the principle of 
 his diluvian theory, is fully explained by the cosmo- 
 gony of Moses; which cosmogony, taken in con- 
 nexion with the developments of the above science, 
 shoivs most conclusively^ that there must of necessity 
 
92 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 have been several successive interchanges of land and 
 water before the creation of ma?i, producing these 
 stupendous results, of which the universal deluge was 
 wholly inadequate. 
 
 The conclusions therefore are as follows, 
 1st. That each day of the six, as mentioned by 
 Moses, must have greatly exceeded the length of a 
 natural or solar day, or a day of twenty-four hours. 
 And, 
 
 2nd. That, if our animadversions on Mr. Faber's 
 theory regarding the length of each of the six days 
 formation of the several parts of the universe be cor- 
 rect, as founded, homogeneously, on the length of the 
 seventh day, (the length of that day, as we shall show 
 in the sequel, being definitely determined,) then each 
 of these six days are of definite and uniform length. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 There is, however, an objection still urged that 
 Moses cannot be the author of the books ascribed to 
 him, which objection we should at this time examine 
 in all its bearings, in its direct relation to the Penta- 
 teuch, but for the fact that it is directed with equal 
 force against the entire body of Scripture, by such as 
 consider them the invention of a subtle priesthood. A 
 single refutation of the cavil, therefore, as applicable 
 to " all Scripture," will be deemed the most effectual 
 method of vindication of its several parts. 
 
 The maxim of justice is, that fraud is in no case 
 to be presumed, but proved. This charge, however, 
 is preferred by the objector not only, but the burden of 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 93 
 
 evidence which it is his business to adduce in its sup- 
 port, is thrown upon the advocates of Christianity} 
 with a challenge to demonstrate the authenticity of the 
 several parts of Holy Writ, as bearing the names of 
 their respective authors, as also the time when they 
 respectively flourished. To this course, however un- 
 reasonable, they submit. This premised, we observe, 
 that the sin of this portentous charge, the charge of 
 fraudulency in the production of the Bible, is peculiar 
 to the reckless hardihood of the last preceding century. 
 We shall now venture upon a proof of the authen- 
 ticity of the several books of the Old Testament and 
 of the New, " by the very same evidences that infi- 
 delity itself admits as conclusive in every similar in- 
 quiry ; and we begin by asking the objector whether 
 he has any ancient books, the authors of which are 
 handed down to our time, without any serious dispute 
 or cavil ? and to this inquiry we must be answered 
 yes, several — - the histories of Herodotus and Thucy- 
 dides, the poems of Homer, the works of Xenophon, 
 Lucien, Plutarch, Epictetus, and others of the Greeks ; 
 Cicero, Caesar, Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, Sallust, Pliny, 
 and others of the Latins ; some of them long before, 
 some at the same period, and some a very little after 
 the books of the dates of the New Testament. We 
 now ask how the objector knows that these classic 
 works were written by the authors whose names they 
 bear? The answer is, because they have been handed 
 down to us without any contradiction or dispute, bus 
 the works of these men ; because they are recognised 
 and appealed to by all the other writers who have 
 
94 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 lived since their day, and by each other ; because a 
 conspiracy so extensive, in favor of a literary fraud, is 
 highly improbable, not to say impossible in its nature ; 
 and because, had it been possible, there was no motive 
 of interest to induce any one to attempt it. 
 
 Now, this is precisely our argument in favor of 
 Moses, as the author of the Pentateuch, and conse- 
 quently of the Creation of the World, the Origin of 
 Mankind, &c. ; and so of all the other writers of the 
 inspired volume. 
 
 Thus, then, at this stage of our advance, have we 
 demonstrated, 1st, that the universe, a little speck of 
 which we inhabit, &c, is not eternal. 2nd, that the 
 antiquity of the sacred records is antecedent to all 
 others, whether Hindoo, Egyptian, Chinese, Persian, 
 or Etruscan. 3rd, that the six days of creation and 
 of formation of the material earth and heavens men- 
 tioned in the first chapter of Genesis, are not six natu- 
 ral or solar days, but periods of vast and stupendous 
 length ; and 4th, that Moses, and the other writers of 
 the Old and New Testament are the authors of the 
 histories whose names they bear. 
 
 Our conclusion, therefore, is, that the Bible is not 
 only the best, but that it is the only source whence we 
 are to derive information respecting the chronolo- 
 gy of the world ; or, in other words, to determine 
 in round numbers, the point of time upon ivhich we 
 now stand, in the successive evolutions of God's dis- 
 pensations to man. 
 
 Thus much have we deemed serviceable, if not, in- 
 deed, essential, to a right understanding and apprecia- 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 95 
 
 tion of the subject before us ; which, we again repeat, 
 is to determine the age of the world, as educed from 
 the chronological records of Scripture, historic and 
 prophetic, from the creation and fall of man to the 
 final restitution of all things ; to a consideration of 
 which we invite the serious attention of the reader, as 
 set forth in the two following lectures. 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 AGE OF THE WORLD, &c. 
 
 Matt. xxiv. 3. 
 
 " And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the 
 disciples came unto him privately, saying, tell us 7 
 when shall these things be ? And what shall be the 
 sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ? n 
 
 The subject of this Lecture, and the passage as just 
 read, and upon which the lecture is founded, is, The 
 Age of the World, as educed from the chronological 
 records of Scripture, Historic and Prophetic, from the 
 creation of man to the final " restitution of all things." 
 
 As preliminary to the elucidation of this subject, we 
 considered it as indispensable, that we meet, and use 
 our endeavors to remove, those principles antagonistic 
 to the sentiment which it involves. The antagonistic 
 principles named by us were, those of the Atheist, who 
 asserts an eternity as well to the origi?i as to the 
 existence of the world : of the Antiquarian, who 
 claims a vastly greater antiquity to this world than 
 that set forth in Scripture : and of the Infidel, who, 
 even though you demonstrate the age of the world by 
 the Scriptures, yet will deny their authenticity, and 
 consequently their authority. 
 
 Against the system of Atheism, whether in its 
 Christianized form, as advocated by Grotius and 
 9 
 
98 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C, 
 
 Vatabulus ; or in its undisguised form, whether after the 
 model of Aristotle or Spinoza, we argued a " begin- 
 ning " of existence to this universe, a small part of 
 which we inhabit, in the following manner : We as- 
 sumed as self-evident the following propositions, viz : I 
 exist — I am not the author of my existence — Hence, 
 I must be a created being. And, the being who gave 
 me existence, must be self-derived, or, like me, derive 
 his existence from another. If the latter, then I argue 
 about him as about myself, and so continue to argue, 
 till I arrive at that being who does exist of himself, 
 and who, consequently, must have always so existed. 
 This Being I call, the Eternal God. I then trans- 
 fer this argument to the material universe, thus : the 
 creation of this universe argues design — design ar- 
 gues intelligence. And, the Atheist admits the exist- 
 ence of mind, of intellect, as well as of matter. Mind, 
 intellect, however, is superior to matter. But, matter, 
 of itself , cannot give existence to matter : how then, 
 to mind ? And, as my own existence, and that of the 
 universe, argues design, and design, intelligence, all 
 must have originated from the will of the Supreme, 
 Infinite Intelligence, the Eternal God. 
 
 Against the system of the Antiquarian, we asserted 
 an antecedent antiquity in behalf of the Bible as the 
 text book of Chronology, by the following arguments, 
 viz : — 
 
 First, the coincidence of ancient profane with sacred 
 history — 
 
 Second. The same, of the ancient systems of phi- 
 losophy ; all of which, until perverted by the Greeks ? 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 99 
 
 were founded upon the knowledge which they derived, 
 first, from the oral traditions of the ante-diluvian Pat- 
 riarchs, and second, from the written records of the 
 Mosaic cosmogony — and. 
 
 Third. The utter failure of all the philosophers of 
 Greece, from the period of Hesiod, Homer, Linus, &c* 
 even Aristotle not excepted, to originate any new 
 system, which, so far from proving the fallacy of the 
 old traditionary philosophy, could not even give a rea- 
 sonable account of the first principles of which it was 
 constructed. Finally, 
 
 Fourth. That what was true of the ancient histo- 
 rians and philosophers, as to the source (viz. tradition) 
 whence they derived their knowledge, was true also of 
 Moses ; unless, indeed, he wrote by direct divine inspi- 
 ration — and if he did not thus write, as a few gene- 
 rations conduct us back to the first man, Adam, as he 
 could not account for the manner of his own existence, 
 and that of the universe which existed before him, 
 these facts must have been to him matters of direct 
 divine inspiration. 
 
 Against the system of the Infidel, we argued the 
 authenticity of the Scriptures as bearing the names of 
 their respective authors, including that of Moses, upon 
 the very same ground of evidence which he admits as 
 conclusive in every similar inquiry ; e. g., that they 
 have been handed down to us uncontradicted and un- 
 disputed — that they were quoted by each other, and 
 by successive writers — because such a literary fraud 
 was not only improbable, but impossible, there being 
 no motive of interest adequate to induce it. 
 
100 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 This reasoning, taken as a whole, brought us to the 
 following conclusion : — that the Bible is not only the 
 best, but that it is the only source (and, if the above 
 reasoning be correct, that source is infallible) whence 
 we are to derive information respecting the chronology 
 of the world. 
 
 With the ground they prepared before us, the pre- 
 ceding, and all other objections to the contrary not- 
 withstanding, we now proceed in this first lecture to 
 assume the two following propositions, viz. : 
 
 I. That God in his infinite wisdom has as- 
 signed TO THE WORLD WHICH WE INHABIT, BOTH IN 
 RELATION TO ITS PHYSICAL AND MORAL CONSTITU- 
 TION, A LIMITED AND DEFINITE DURATION; and, 
 
 II. That this limited and definite dura- 
 tion OF THE WORLD, AS COMPREHENDED UNDER 
 
 three successive dispensations, patriarchal, 
 Jewish, and Christian, is a subject fully 
 
 REVEALED TO God's PEOPLE IN HIS WORD. 
 
 "And as He" (Jesus) " sat on the Mount of 
 Olives" (which rose on the east of Jerusalem, l in 
 three peaks, the most northerly of which is the highest 
 point above the city,) " the disciples came unto him 
 privately" (because He had said to them on a pre- 
 vious occasion 2 K It is given unto you to know the 
 mysteries of the kingdom of heaven ; but to them [i. e. 
 that are without] it is not given, &c.) " Saying, tell 
 us" (as our divinely omniscient teacher who " know- 
 est all things," 3 yea, even " the end from the begin- 
 
 1. Zech. xiv., 4. 9. Matt.xiii., 11—17. 3. Johnxvi.,30. Isa. xliri., 10. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 101 
 
 ning",) " when shall these things be ? and what 
 s hall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the 
 world ?" 
 
 The blessed Jesus, having in the preceding chapter, 
 (xxiii) administered the severest reproofs to the carnal 
 and unbelieving Scribes and Pharisees, closes it with 
 his memorable lamentation over them, in view of that 
 terrific doom at that moment suspended over their 
 guilty heads, as by a hair. At the opening of the 
 twenty-fourth chapter, our blessed Lord, having left 
 the Temple, meets his disciples, who proffer to him 
 their services to show him all the magnificent build- 
 ings of the holy city. x Immediately thereupon Christ 
 proceeds to utter a declaration of their destined des- 
 truction. " Verily, I say unto you, there shall not be 
 left here (of all the buildings of the Temple) one 
 stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down? 2 
 These are the "things" more immediately compre- 
 hended in the interrogation of the disciples to Christ, 
 regarding the time of their fulfillment ; but included 
 also his declaration of his Second Advent, as contained 
 in the last verse of the preceding chapter, " For I 
 say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye 
 shall say, blessed is he that cometh ("6 iqexo/utsrog that 
 is about to come,") 3 in the name of the Lord ;" which 
 has an undoubted reference to the following prediction 
 of Hosea, " For the children of Israel shall abide many 
 days without a king, and without a prince, and 
 
 1. Matt, xxiv., 1. 2. Matt xxiv., 2. 
 
 3: Ramsy's Second Coming:, p. 96, 
 
 9* 
 
102 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without 
 an Ephod, and without teraphim : afterwards, shall 
 the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their 
 God, and David their king : and shall fear the Lord 
 and his goodness in the latter days? l Hence they 
 add, " and what shall be the sign of thy coming ? n 
 
 But we must here observe, that the disciples " could 
 not conceive " that the above predicted ruin of their 
 temple " would ever take place, except with the ruin 
 of the world, 17 2 which they considered (and rightly, 
 too,) would be simultaneous with, because consequent 
 upon, his coming. Hence the reason why " the sign," 
 spoken of as an object of special inquiry, was consi- 
 dered by them as a sufficient prelude of both events. 
 
 " In answer, and by way of giving them to under- 
 stand that much was yet to happen before his coming, 
 or the end of the world," 3 the Redeemer proceeds to 
 utter the very elaborate prediction contained in the 
 twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of St. Mat- 
 thew's gospel, which, by the way, we here remark, 
 are to be taken together ; the twenty-fifth chapter be- 
 ing but a continuation of the twenty-fourth ; the fol- 
 lowing synopsis 4 of which it will be of use here to 
 insert. 
 
 1. Hosea iii., 4, 5. 2. Hare's Christ to Return, p. 46. 3. Hare, Ibid. 
 4. This synopsis of the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of 
 St. Matthew's Gospel, 1 have taken the liberty to transfer to my 
 pages entire, from the veiy judicious and well-timed exposition of 
 the prophecy contained in them, by the Rev. G. Ember Hare, Rec- 
 tor of Trinity Church, Princeton, N. J., in his recent work, entitled, 
 " Christ to Return," a work which I would recommend to all 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 103 
 
 "To preserve his disciples from mistaking for "signs" 
 of his coming, and of the end of the world/' occur- 
 rences which must be before the end came, the Savior 
 begins by naming some of these occurrences, viz. : 
 
 I. The rise of adventurers who would claim to be 
 the Christ, and might be mistaken for Jesus of Naz- 
 arath re-appearing, [verses 4 and 5 of chap, xxiv.] 
 
 II. Outbreaks in nature, and among nations, [verses 
 6—8.] 
 
 III. Trials to the Church, [verses 9 — 13.] 
 
 IV. The announcement of the gospel to all nations, 
 [verse 14.] 
 
 V. Destruction to the holy city, [verses 15 — 28.] 
 
 VI. Prolonged disaster and desolation to the holy 
 land, [verse 29, Luke xxi. 25 — 26.] (after which,) 
 
 VII. The Savior proceeds, by declaring that " the 
 sign of his coming, and of the end of the world," — 
 " the sign of the Son of Man," — may be looked for 
 when the occurrences just mentioned shall all have 
 come to pass , and not before, [verses 30 — 31.] (He 
 then) applies the doctrine he had taught concerning 
 " things which must be before the end comes." [verses 
 32, 33.] — Predicts that the seed or generation he ad- 
 dresses shall survive all these things, [verses 34, 35.] — 
 Declares his return will take men by surprise, [verses 
 36 — 39.] — Predicts a rending of the most intimate 
 
 who love and look for " the speedy appearing of Christ with his 
 saints." I rely on the indulgence of that Rev. Gentleman far the 
 liberty taken in italicising some portions of the above M synopsis." 
 and also for the addition of the numerals, references to verses, ficc, 
 embraced in brackets. 
 
104 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 relations, [vereses 40, 41.] — (And,) compares his dis- 
 ciples, 
 
 1. To a man whose house was to suffer attack. 
 [verses 42 — 44.] 
 
 2. To a head servant, [verses 45 — 51.] 
 
 3. To ten virgins, [chap, xxv., 1 — 13.] 
 
 4. To dependants trusted with capital, [vrs. 14 — 30.] 
 The Savior concludes by depicting the scene to 
 
 take place at his return, [verses 31 — 46.] 
 
 In view, therefore, (as we now come to ask,) of the 
 interesting occurrences which, according to the above 
 prediction of Christ, were to take place between the 
 destruction of Jerusalem and the second advent of 
 Christ, together with the end of the world, or present 
 constitution of things : — rather in view of all the dis- 
 pensations of God to our world, from the creation of 
 man to the final restitution of all things ; as the con- 
 stantly recurring interrogatian of the primitive disci- 
 ples to their Divine master, whether we will or not, 
 forces itself upon our attention, with an accelerated 
 power proportionate to our convictions, defined or un- 
 defined, of the tendency of all things to a crisis : we 
 come, I say, to ask, shall we attempt to fix upon the 
 point of time in round numbers, upon which we now 
 stand, in the successive evolutions of God's dispensa- 
 tions to man ? 
 
 At such an attempt, we have said, many " who pro- 
 fess and call themselves Christians," are shocked. 
 Such an undertaking is denounced as presumptuous, 
 even though we aim at but a tolerable degree of cer- 
 tainty in these premises. There is an evident popular 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 105 
 
 reluctance, as well on the part of professors of religion, 
 as of the mere worldling, to scan this subject. Nor, 
 considering the circumstances which originate a large 
 proportion of the prevailing disinclination to rely, with 
 any confidence, on deductions of historic and pro- 
 phetic chronology, can we profess much astonishment. 
 Of these circumstances, as deserving a passing re- 
 mark, is, 
 
 I. The abuse of the subject, consequent of the 
 prevailing fanaticism which has accompanied it. 
 
 We are reminded of a statement in Mossheim's Ec- 
 clesiastical History, that in the tenth century the 
 priests and monks of the Latin Church openly taught 
 to the people the immediate approach of the day of 
 judgement, on the ground that the one thousand years 
 millennial rest of the church, spoken of in the Revela- 
 tions, had then expired ; and that, spreading itself 
 with amazing rapidity throughout the European pro- 
 vinces, it produced among the people the deepest an- 
 guish, consternation, and dismay. But, besides omit- 
 ting to advert to the thick and gloomy mantle of su- 
 perstition which at that time covered the whole of 
 Christendom; the motive of the evident deep laid scheme 
 of the mercenary priesthood who originated the delu- 
 sion, is also passed over in silence. What, however, 
 were the facts ? Simply these — while under this de- 
 lusion, prodigious numbers of the people flew with the 
 utmost precipitancy to Palestine, as the place destined 
 for the re-appearance of Christ, as the judge of men, 
 the sacerdotal and monastic orders remained quietly 
 at home; on the one hand, to seize upon the luxuriant 
 
106 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 lands, and abundant treasures of their former oc- 
 cupants and possessors, and on the other, to reduce 
 vast numbers of those who remained to a species of the 
 most abject ecclesiastical slavery ', under the plea that 
 in that capacity they were the servants of God's im- 
 mediate vicegerents on earth, and could not fail to 
 purchase thereby a mitigation of their sentence from 
 the great Judge. 
 
 Numerous similar pretensions, though of less noto- 
 riety, have transpired at different intervals, and in dif- 
 ferent countries, from that day to the present, and with 
 like results ; i. e., they have produced the conviction 
 that they were the fruits, either of crafty and design- 
 ing men, or of a spirit of misguided and reckless fa- 
 naticism. 
 
 But, I would deferentially ask — are we hence to 
 conclude that God's purposes are so deeply veiled in 
 the darkness of uncertainty, as that we dare not " take 
 in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those 
 things which he hath spoken by the mouth of all his 
 holy prophets since the world began ? " l We as de- 
 ferentially answer, No ! We say, " secret things be- 
 long unto the Lord our God ; but things that are 
 revealed to us and to our children." 2 And now, 
 of that Book called the Apocalypse, and which, ac- 
 cording to the current view, has been, is now, and 
 ever will be to the Church, a deep and dark enigma : 
 We ask, what is its name ? " The Revelation !" not 
 the secret, but the " Revelation of Jesus Christ, 
 
 1. St. Luke, i., 70. 2. Deut. xxix., 29. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 107 
 
 which God gave unto him." But for what purpose ? 
 " To show unto his servants things which must 
 shortly come to pass ; and he sent and signified it 
 by his angel unto his servant John." l And almost the 
 very first words indited by the Spirit, and penned by St. 
 John in this Revelation, is, " Blessed is he that read- 
 eth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, 
 and keep those things which are written therein." 2 
 And as of this prophetic book, so of all the other pro- 
 phets. " All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
 and is profitable for instruction" — is designed "for 
 the edification" of those " of the body of Christ," who 
 " speak the truth in love" 3 
 
 At the commencement of this article we adverted to 
 the abuse of the subject of prophecy, consequent of 
 the prevailing fanaticism which accompanied it. We 
 now say that this holds signally true of every promi- 
 nent prophecy, fulfilled or unfulfilled, from 
 the days of Christ down to this time, and so will con- 
 tinue down to " the end." 4 Our divine Lord and 
 his Apostles all spake of the false prophets, 5 false 
 Christ's, 6 and false teachers, 7 that would infest the 
 Christian Church in all ages. Of the first and last of 
 these, besides many false prophets who appeared be- 
 
 1. Rev. i., 1. 2. Rev. i., 3. 3. Eph. iv., 15. 
 
 4. Dan. vi., 26; vii., 26; ix., 26; Matt, xxviii., 20; 1 Cor. L, 8 ; 
 Heb. iii., 14; Rev. ii., 26. 
 
 5. 2 Pet. ii., 1 ; Luke vi., 26 ; Matt, vii., 15 ; xxiv., 11, 94 ; 
 Mark xiii., 22. 
 
 6. Matt, xxiv., 5 ; Mark xiii., 6 ; Luke xxL, 8. 
 
 7. 1 Tim. i., 7 ; 2 Tim. iv., 3 ; 2 Pet. ii., 1. 
 
108 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 tween the ascension and the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 during the first two centuries, of the principal heretical 
 teachers the number that sprung up amounted to about 
 one hundred and forty. 1 Of the false Christ's who 
 have appeared at different times, and in different places, 
 during the interval from the ascension down to the 
 seventeenth century, there have been between twenty 
 and thirty ! 2 and it is a fact well worthy of observa- 
 tion, that the appearances of these false Christ's in 
 every instance, was preceded by an expectation on the 
 part of the people, of some approaching crisis. Thus 
 it was with the Apostles and Christians primitively. 
 They expected that a comparatively short interval 
 would elapse between the First and Second advent. 
 This circumstance, therefore, opened the icay for 
 the appearance of the false Christ's of their day, and 
 exposed them to delusion. Hence the declaration of 
 the Redeemer to them, "Many shall come in my 
 name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive 
 many." 3 They " shall deceive, if it be possible, the 
 very elect." 4 
 
 What, then, do these facts argue ? Certainly this, 
 viz. : that every great truth of God, as they unfold 
 his purposes, and their adaptation to the successive 
 periods of his dispensations to " the end," would be 
 counterfeited by false pretenders. And shall we, can 
 we say, that this age and day is to be exempt from 
 the prevalence of such false pretenders ? Nay, verily. 
 
 1. Simpson Key to the Prop. pp. 142—157. 2. Ibid, pp. 127—142. 
 3. Matt, xxiv., 5. 4. Matt, xxiv., 24. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 109 
 
 Look abroad at this moment. In the far west a stand- 
 ard is raised — and a loud welcome, wafted by every 
 wind that blows, and falling upon the ear like 
 the shrill blasts of a trumpet, invites us to flock 
 around it, as the subjects of the deluded founder of 
 of the eternal city, Nauvoo. The fanatical spirit of 
 a Joanna Southcoate lives, and is destined to spread, 
 we cannot now tell to what an extent, in the founder 
 of the recently erected Mormon Empire. Some forty 
 thousand are already collected together in and about 
 the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, from various lands, and 
 are prostrating themselves before the shrine of a 
 mortal, claiming regal equality with our now absent, 
 but long-looked-for, and speedily returning Lord and 
 Master ! 
 
 Oh ! at every peril, we shrink not from raising the 
 voice of admonition ; of raising the beacon of alarm ! 
 We, therefore, proclaim to you in the long-standing 
 predicted admonitory language of Jesus, " If any man 
 shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ ; or there, behold, 
 he is in the desart f or, " behold, he is in the secret 
 chambers;" "believe it not — go not after them. " l 
 No, my brethren ; the King of Zion is still seated on 
 his mediatorial throne, where he is interceding for us 
 at the right hand of God ; and, ere he ascended thither, 
 He deposited in His Church an infallible directory for 
 the conduct of her members, till he come again. Here 
 it is, " Occupy till I come ; ?1 2 in other words, 
 continue in the respective spheres in which providence 
 
 1. Matt, xxiv., 26. 2. Luke xix.. 13, 
 
 10 
 
110 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C, 
 
 hath placed you, being " diligent in business, fervent 
 in spirit, serving the Lord, " till I come again" to 
 " receive you to myself." 
 
 To add the greater impressiveness to this reflection, 
 I take the liberty to quote the following from the pre- 
 face of the Rev. Mr. Hare's " Christ to return," by the 
 Right Rev. L. S. Ives, D. D., of North Carolina. He- 
 says : — 
 
 In proportion as the mind is animated by a persua- 
 sion of success, will be its preparedness for vigorous, 
 patient, and untiring exertion. This is felt to be a 
 principle of such efficacy, as to have been called in to 
 sustain effort and quicken zeal in all great undertak- 
 ings. Even the religion of the Son of God, instinct 
 as it is with Almighty energy, has not thought this 
 principle unworthy of its regard, in promoting a spirit 
 of magnanimity and endurance in its friends. If we 
 turn to the birth-place of the Christian faith, we may 
 hear the Divine teacher cheering the hearts of the dis- 
 ciples in their hard conflicts with the world, the flesh, 
 and the devil, by the promise of being, at last, more 
 than conquerors. His first act, as he led them forth, 
 was an act of triumph over the Prince of Darkness l — 
 thus settling their confidence in his power to accom- 
 plish the deliverance of his people. : while such acts, 
 to the same end, were constantly repeated before their 
 eyes during his earthly ministry. 2 And when he 
 opened to them the scenes of bitter trial through which, 
 
 1. See Temptation of Christ, Matt. iv. 
 
 2. Matt, vii., 28 j ix., 32, et passim. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C, 111 
 
 for his sake, they must pass — scenes so contrary to 
 their hopes, so overwhelming to their fears — he sought 
 to quiet their alarm, and confirm their wavering trust 
 by revealing to them the scenes of glory that would 
 follow : — ■" Look up and lift up your heads, for your 
 redemption draweth nigh f l " Let not your hearts be 
 troubled — ~ I will come again, and receive you unto 
 myself." 2 True, you shall see me " led as a lamb to 
 the slaughter." 3 Though " despised and rejected of 
 men, a man of sorrows," 4 and a victim of the most 
 cruel sufferings — bleeding at every pore and writhing 
 in every limb, yet unappalled at the fearful expiation, 
 I shall proceed " to give back to the smiters," 5 u my 
 flesh for the life of the world." 6 Yes, you must wit- 
 ness " the hour and the power of darkness 5" but u let 
 not your heart be troubled," the day of my exaltation 
 and of your rejoicing hastens. Soon you shall see me 
 lay aside the priestly garments, the badges of my 
 bloody sacrifice, my deep humiliation ; and gird on 
 the sword of my might. " Death shall be swallowed 
 up in my victory ;" 7 and in the face of a gazing world 
 I will ascend, " leading captivity captive," 8 to " the 
 place of my glory." Nor is this all : / will come 
 again ; and this very earth, which is to witness 
 the scene of my agony, and hear the cry of my distress, 
 shall yet behold the brightness of my coming, 9 and 
 bend beneath the sceptre of my kingdom. 10 True, 
 
 1. Luke xxi., 28. 2. John xiv.,1— 3. 3. Is. liii., 7. 4 Ibid, liii., 3. 
 
 5. Ibid, 1., 6. G. John vi., 51. 7. 1 Cor. xv, 54. 8. Eph. iv . - 
 
 9. 2Thess. ii., 8. 10. Is. ix., 7; Ixiii., passim. Thil ii, 10. 
 Rev. I 1. 
 
112 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 " you shall be called before governors and kings for 
 my sake ;" " yea, the time cometh, when he that kill- 
 eth you, will think that he doeth God service." l But 
 " let not your heart be troubled ;" I vAll come again : 
 will come unto you : will endue you with " the spirit 
 of my glory :" 2 " will give you a mouth and wis- 
 dom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to 
 gainsay nor resist." 3 " No weapon formed against 
 you shall prosper." 4 Yes, " I will come again, and 
 your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh 
 from you." 5 " Ye have followed me, and in the re- 
 generation, when the Son of Man shall sit in the 
 throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve 
 thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 6 Such 
 is the enrapturing view unfolded by our Lord to his 
 sorrowing disciples ; such the bright vision of final 
 victory, under power of which he left them " to con- 
 tend earnestly for the faith." The effect was such as 
 might have been looked for. No sooner had he ascend- 
 ed, than the voice of these very disciples, just now 
 sunk in despondency, is raised, as if in echo of his 
 own exulting strain, to the highest note of encourage- 
 ment. The timid are nerved, the sluggish aroused, 
 the recreant filled with terror, by constant and thrilling 
 appeals to the fact, that " the coming of the Lord 
 draweth nigh :" that He who once u came to visit us 
 in great humility," would soon return in all the ma- 
 jesty of the Godhead, " to call the world from the 
 
 1. John xvi., 2. 2. 1 Pet. iv., 14. 3. Luke xxi., 15. 4. Is. liv., 
 17, 5. John xvi., 22. 6, Matt, xix., 28., 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &G. 113 
 
 rising up of the sun to the going down thereof : first, 
 to gather together his saints unto Him in his ever- 
 lasting kingdom ; and then to adjudge the wicked 
 and impenitent to the horrors of an endless punish- 
 ment. l 
 
 A departure, therefore, from, or a neglect of, the 
 ordinary avocations of life, when induced by a discov- 
 ery of the above or any other truth, is an evidence 
 that we " hold that truth in unrighteousness," 2 and 
 that we are exposed to the danger of falling a prey to 
 the demon of fanaticism. 
 
 Here, again, we return to the subject of our more 
 immediate concern ; and taking it for granted that we 
 have satisfactorily disposed of this objection against 
 prophetic exposition in general, or of prophetic time 
 in particular, as predicted of its fanatical abuse ; we 
 observe, that the very expression of Christ, " Till I 
 come," implies, (at least, as present to the mind of the 
 Father, though at that precise juncture with-holden 
 from the Son,) a fixed and definite time. But, at 
 this point, the question again returns upon us : Is this 
 fixed and definite time a matter of revelation ? In 
 other words, Can we, do we know it ? 
 
 We intend, brethren, by God's assistance, to dis- 
 cuss this subject with the utmost candor and impartial- 
 ity ; in order to which, we shall now lay before you 
 every objection which, in our judgment, can be 
 adduced as of any weight, against the practicability 
 
 1. 1 Thess. v., 2, 3, 4. Acts xx., 32. 2 Tim. iv., S. 2 Tot. 
 iii., 11 to end. Rev. last two ohapters. 2. Rout i-. 18, 
 
 10* 
 
114 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 of attempting to attain to such certainty in these pre- 
 mises. It is then objected, 
 
 I. That the great diversity of opinion which pre- 
 vail among expositors of the historical and prophetical 
 portions of Scripture, in the department of chronology, 
 renders impossible the attainment of any definite con- 
 clusions, in reference either to the entire age of the 
 world, or of the commencement and termination of 
 particular dispensations. It is further objected, 
 
 II. That prophetical time, as, for instance, the se- 
 venty weeks of Daniel ix. 25, 26 ; the " time, times, 
 and half-a-time," of the same prophet, chap. vii. 25 ; 
 and the twelve hundred and sixty days, or forty-two 
 months of Rev. xi., — &c. are mere expressions, de- 
 noting indefinite periods, and not mystical numbers 
 of specific dates. Hence, 
 
 III. It is affirmed that we have no Scriptural data 
 upon which to fix any definite period, as to " the 
 end f which affirmation is founded on the following, 
 and similar reasons, viz, : 
 
 1. No prophecy, it is said, "directly declares," the 
 great period of restitution as u far away" or, indeed, 
 as extending beyond the " death " (temporal) of those 
 to whom it was uttered. 
 
 2. That " threatenings of woe" are denounced 
 against any who presume upon a delay of the day 
 of wrath. 
 
 3. That this is further evident from those numer- 
 ous passages which speak of that day as near at hand. 
 
 4. That both Christ and his Apostles always evad- 
 ed any direct answer to the repeated inquiries of their 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C, 115 
 
 followers, respecting this point, and this, for the very 
 obvious reason, that they did not know it themselves. 
 And, finally, 
 
 5. That, to suppose a revelation "to mortals" of 
 any definite period in regard to the divine purposes, 
 either past, present, or future, is inconsistent with 
 the wisdom and benevolence of the Almighty. 
 
 These, we flatter ourselves, will be found to cover 
 the entire ground of objections deserving notice, raised 
 against the scheme we are about to propose ; nor shall 
 we attempt a reply to them consecutively, but proceed 
 to the following preliminaries, as essential to the elu- 
 cidation of our subject, incorporating answers to each 
 as we advance. And, 
 
 I. The source, or sources of authoratative data for 
 information in these premises, deserve our most careful 
 regard. 
 
 Here, we remark, a wide field of investigation opens 
 before us. We must, however, content ourselves with 
 a simple reference to the two extant sources of depend- 
 ence for the information we seek, viz,: the annals of 
 sacred and profane writers. Of the annals of profane 
 chronology, the following are the principal : First, the 
 Egyptian chronographeon of Syncellus. Second, the 
 Chinese records. Third, the Babylonian chronology. 
 Fourth, the chronographia of Manetho. Fifth, the 
 chronographia of Africanus. Sixth, the catalogue of 
 Eratosthenes. Seventh, the chronicon of Euscbius. 
 and, eighth, the chronicon of Alexandria* These. 
 however, will all be dismissed with the single remark, 
 that they are only of service in so far as they furnish 
 
116 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 
 
 collateral evidence of the verity of sacred chronology, 
 by an exhibit of the events of general profane history, 
 as coincident therewith. As we have already demon- 
 strated, whenever they claim an antiquity antecedent 
 to that of the Bible, they are fabulous, spurious. * 
 
 In the department of sacred chronology, we have 
 the Samaritan, the Septuagint, and the Hebrew ver- 
 sions. Of these, the last, viz., the Hebrew chrono- 
 logy, claims the decided precedence, as will appear 
 from what follows : 
 
 1. The Samaritans, originally of the stock of the 
 Cuthites, were the descendants of Cush ; transplanted 
 from beyond the Euphrates into Samaria, by Esarhad- 
 dan, King of Assyria, who appointed over them an 
 Israelitish priest. But even with this advantage, they 
 succeeded, in a measure, to blend idolatry with the wor- 
 ship of the true God. Upon the Jewish restoration 
 under Cyrus, they attempted, but without success, to 
 effect a union Avith that people. Exasperated at this 
 result, they imbibed a lasting enmity to the Jews; and, 
 under Sanballat, their governor, with Tobiah and 
 Geshe?n, after many ineffectual efforts to defeat the 
 reformation under Nehemiah, and having ingratiated 
 themselves into the favor of Darius Nothus, king of Per- 
 sia, on a visit into Phoenicia, obtained a grant to build 
 on Mount Gerizim, a temple like that at Jerusalem. In 
 after ages, as Samaria now became a common refuge 
 for refractory Jews, the Samaritans were made up 
 principally of apostate Jews and their descendants. 
 
 1, See on this subject, Introductory Essay. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 117 
 
 But the Samaritans still professed the Hebrew relia 
 gion, and retained a ritual service. They, however, 
 retained nothing of the Old Testament Scriptures, but 
 the jive books of Moses. Hence the Title of their 
 version, — " the Samaritan Pentateuch" which was 
 copied from the Hebrew original. 
 
 2. The Septuagint version of the Scriptures is a 
 Greek translation of the Hebrew of the Old Testa- 
 ment. It was thus translated for the benefit of those 
 Jews who, under Alexander and Ptolemy Soter were 
 brought into Alexandria, for the building and adorn- 
 ing of the city of that name ; they having in time 
 lost the knowledge of their own language. The 
 translation was commenced under Ptolemy Philadel- 
 phia, about two hundred and eighty years before Christ, 
 the principal editions of which are, the Alexandrian, 
 and those of Philo, Justin Martyr, Epiphaneus, Ori- 
 gen, Lucian, Aldus, Cardinal Zimenes, Pope Sixtus, 
 Thecla, &c. 
 
 3. The Hebrew Scriptures, therefore, being the 
 foundation both of the Samaritan Pentateuch and the 
 Septuagint version, has the precedence in point of 
 time. But here comes up the question of precedence 
 in point of authority, between the chronology of 
 the Greek, and that of the Hebrew versions, the dif- 
 ference from the Creation to the birth of Christ, being 
 about one thousand five hundred years ! 
 
 Now how is this to be accounted for ? We answer. 
 in two ways, — 
 
 1. The enlargement of the genealogies of the Pa- 
 triarch's &c., either by the seventy themselves, or by 
 
118 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 some early transcribers ; the motive for which, as the 
 learned contend, was, to produce a greater correspon- 
 dence between the Scriptural antiquity of the origin 
 of the created universe, and that claimed for it by the 
 two Egyptian and Chaldean Annalists, Manetho and 
 Berosus, and this, by way of an off-set against what they 
 considered their high and extravagant pretensions. 
 But, on the other hand, 
 
 2. It is generally conceded as incontrovertible, that 
 the Hebrew Chronology has also been corrupted ; the 
 motive with the Jew being to furnish a refutation of 
 the claims set up by Christ to be the true Messiah ! 
 Nothing, they well knew, could so effectually prove 
 that he was an impostor, as the pretence that the date 
 of his nativity differed from the time specified by the 
 old prophets. Then also, as most favorable to afford 
 opportunities for such corruptions, was the circum- 
 stance that, from the age of the Apostles to the days of 
 Origen, a period of two hundred and thirty years, the 
 Hebrew MSS. were in the exclusive custody of the 
 unbelieving Jews. 
 
 This is not the place to furnish the available proofs 
 in detail, of these sources of corruption of Sacred 
 Chronology. It must suffice us at present to observe, 
 that while the genuineness of the Hebrew patri- 
 archal chronology can be most clearly substantiated 
 against the corruptions of the Septiiagint ; the Scrip- 
 tures, taken as a whole, furnish internal evidence, as 
 a corrective of the corruptions of the later chronology, 
 by carnal Jews. 
 
 With the ground therefore thus prepared before us 3 
 
AGE OP THE WORLD, &C 119 
 
 and relying on the Scriptures of the Old and New 
 Testaments as our guide ; and, in view of the objec- 
 tions already adverted to, and all other and similar 
 objections to the contrary notwithstanding, we now 
 proceed to a consideration, more directly, of the two 
 propositions at the head of this Lecture. 
 
 I. God, in his infinite wisdom, has assigned 
 
 TO THE WORLD WHICH WE INHABIT, BOTH IN RE- 
 LATION TO ITS PHYSICAL AND MORAL CONSTITU- 
 TION, A LIMITED AND DEFINITE DURATION. 
 
 II. This limited and definite duration of the world, 
 as comprehended under three successive dispensa- 
 tions, Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian, is a subject 
 fully revealed to God's people in his word. 
 
 And now, are any ready to start up as it were and 
 say, " Can these things be?" l Does the incredulity 
 of any prompt them to denounce the above positions 
 as fanciful, as based upon vain speculations? Yea, 
 more — do they denounce them as presumptuous and 
 fanatical ? I intreat all such to pause — to suspend 
 judgment — to hold their minds in abeyance — till 
 we can give an answer for the hope that is in us, in 
 the fear of God. 2 
 
 In view therefore of this first proposition, we re- 
 mark, that in Scripture, various forms of speech are 
 used, to designate time ; one of which, though (as 
 some may suppose) not immediately connected with 
 the subject, yet deserves a passing remark ; and may 
 serve, when properly understood, to disabuse the 
 
 1. 1 Pet. iii., 15. 2. 2 Cor. v., 10. 
 
120 AGE OF THE WORLD, r &C. 
 
 mind of a needless (though perhaps a harmless) mis- 
 apprehension of a very interesting portion of sacred 
 history. It is the term " day," as denoting the length 
 of the Great Creator's week of labor and repose, as used 
 in the first chapter of Genesis. " The evening and 
 the morning were the first, second, third, &c, 
 day." l The question respecting the term " day n as 
 here used, is, whether it is a natural or solar day of 
 twenty four hours, or a period of vastly greater 
 length ? 
 
 In conducting our inquiries in reference to this in- 
 terresting subject, we have already remarked, that, 
 reasoning analogically, Nature and Providence are 
 gradual in their operations ; not like man, who is al- 
 ways for subitaneous violence, but deliberately pro- 
 ceeding, by gradual evolutions, as illustrated in the 
 physical and intellectual powers of man, to unfold to 
 our view, the properties, first, of matter, and then of 
 mind. We now remark, that having applied this 
 line of argument in our Introductory Essay, 2 a poste- 
 riori, to the six days of creation, as furnishing evi- 
 dence founded upon the physiological and oryctolo- 
 gical discoveries of Science, that the six days of 
 creation were periods of stupendous length, thereby 
 showing their analogy with the works of God ; we 
 now resume that argument, a priori, with a view to 
 exhibit its entire harmony with what is set forth in 
 the word of God. 
 
 1. Gen. I., 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 j Chap, ii, 2. 
 
 2. pp. 47 — 83. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 121 
 
 With the argument of Analogy therefore still in 
 view, we proceed now to define the import of the 
 term " day," as intended in our view to be understood 
 by Moses in his cosmogony of the creation ; in order 
 to which, we premise that few words in our English 
 version of the Scriptures are more equivocal than this 
 very term. In addition to its general acceptation, as 
 signifying a single revolution of the earth round its 
 axis, it will be found to denote, 
 
 1. A revolution of the Earth round the Sun. 
 Thus, — " after the number of the days in which ye 
 reached the land, even forty days, (each day for a 
 year,) shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty 
 years" 1 
 
 2. One thousand years, or a millenary. Thus, — 
 "a thousand years in thy sight are but as y ester- 
 day." 2 
 
 3. A vast duration of indefinite time, as that now 
 under consideration ; which is used to denote the 
 whole of the six days, mentioned in Chapter first. 
 " These are the generations of the heavens and the 
 earth, when they were created : in the day that the 
 Lord God made the earth and the heavens." 3 
 
 It is therefore evidently by analogy of reasoning 
 alone, that we can determine whether these terms in 
 the first Chapter of Genesis signify a natural or solar 
 day of twenty-four hours, or periods of vastly 
 greater, but indefinite duration. 
 
 With these prefatory remarks we now observe, that 
 
 1. Num. xiv. } 34. 2. Ps. xc, 4. 3. Gen. It, 4. 
 
 11 
 
122 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 by analogy, the term "day" including the whole 
 seven, must be understood to embrace, (homogene- 
 ously,) the same amount of time whether of longer or 
 of shorter duration. The ascertained length of any 
 one of these days, therefore, will give the length of 
 each. 
 
 The inquiry thence arising is this : — Upon which 
 one of the seven, must our calculations inevitably 
 rest ? We answer, on the last or seventh, the day 
 on which God ended his work, and on which com- 
 menced his sabbatical repose. 
 
 Of this day, then, we affirm that it cannot be con- 
 fined to a natural or solar day, or to a single revolution 
 of the earth on its axis in twenty-four hours : and for 
 the following reasons : — 
 
 1. Our natural week of seven days, each of twenty- 
 four hours, is but a standing- epitome, so to 
 speak, of the greater week of the Creator's labor 
 and repose. Hence its appropriation, by Divine ap- 
 pointment, of six parts to the former, and of one (or 
 the seventh) part to the latter, agreeably to the fourth 
 commandment in the decalogue. 
 
 Now, ever since the world has been inhabited by 
 man, this standing epitome of the great demiurgic 
 week of the Creator has exemplified a resumption af- 
 ter the expiration of his sabbatical repose, of his Al- 
 mighty energy, in the work of a second creation. 
 For who, among the millions of the human race ever 
 understood the fourth commandment as enjoining a 
 total cessation of all labor at the close of the seventh 
 day of rest ? And how, we ask, is the epitomised 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 123 
 
 week to be made to correspond with its great arche- 
 type, except that archetype, in the epitomised week 
 by which it was symbolised, pointed to a period of re- 
 sumption. 
 
 Finally, on this subject, we remark, that of each 
 of the six days of creation it is written, that " the 
 evening and the morning were the day." The apostle 
 Paul, in alluding to the six periods of creation, (Heb. 
 i. y 2, and xL, 3, and McKnight's com.,) instead of call- 
 ing them "days," calls thern ouwvec^ a word which 
 our translators render " worlds" but which, in its 
 true meaning, signifies " ages of immeasurable du- 
 ration^ and the created beings which exist in them , 
 or during their course. These aiwveQwexe, the six 
 days of creation, and all that was produced therein." 
 But respecting the seventh day, we find nothing written 
 about u evening or 'morning." On the contrary, we 
 find it expressly written, " In the day thou eatest 
 thereof, thou shalt surely die." Now, we know, that 
 immediate death did not follow the transgression. 
 We know also that the penalty was to extend to 
 all the sinful generations of men, from Adam, their 
 federal head, to the end of time. " It is appointed 
 unto men once to die." l " Accordingly, during the 
 seventh day, the threat has been literally " in a course 
 of fulfilment ; and this, in perfect accordance with the 
 revealed character of the Almighty, as the Preserver, 
 Benefactor, Governor, and Redeemer of men. 
 
 We conclude, therefore, that the inference thence 
 
 1. Hob. ix„ 87, 
 
124 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 arising is, that the Creator's sabbath of rest must ex- 
 ceed that of a natural or solar day ; also, that it has 
 never yet been interrupted for one single moment 
 since its commencement ; nor will it be, till the last 
 hour of the entire period shall have expired ! 
 
 Previously, however, to our entering upon the work 
 of assigning to this great day, this sabbath of the 
 Creator's rest, a limited and definite duration, we 
 must claim your indulgence of one preliminary, as 
 indispensable in determining the date of its commence- 
 ment. This preliminary is predicated of the claim 
 of the pre-Adamites, who assert an existence for 
 human beings anterior to that of Adam and Eve : in 
 other words, they deny that Adam and Eve could 
 have been the first progenitors of the human 
 race. 
 
 As a guide to our investigations of this subject, a 
 more tangible form would be, to invest it with its phy- 
 sico-theological characteristics. Then it would stand 
 as follows : Are all who claim to belong to the human 
 race of the same genus or species ? In other words : 
 Have they a common origin ? 
 
 Here, again, we find ourselves driven back into the 
 vast, yea, almost unbounded fields of ancient annalists, 
 both profane and sacred. Those, however, who heard 
 in lecture form, and who have read our defence of an 
 antecedent antiquity in behalf of the sacred writings 
 over that of any or of all others, whether Hindoo, 
 Egyptian, Chinese, Persian, or Etruscan ; and also, 
 of our defence of the divinely inspired and conse- 
 quent undeniable authenticity of the history of the 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 125 
 
 creation and origin of mankind as given by Moses, in 
 our Introductory Essay, will not require of us more 
 at this time than simply to observe, that sacred history 
 claims a priority over that of profane, by a period of 
 about three thousand three hundred years ; Herodotus 
 being the earliest profane post-diluvian historian ex- 
 tant; that he flourished about one thousand years 
 after Moses, and only about four hundred and fifty 
 years before Christ ; and that the chronology of his 
 history bears date only about seven hundred years 
 anterior to the First Advent ; all of which shuts us 
 up to the necessity of confining ourselves to the cos- 
 mogony of the great Jewish historian, Moses, for all 
 our information of this subject, prior to that date. 
 
 Now, what is his account of this matter ? Simply 
 as follows : In the twenty-seventh verse of chapter 
 first of Genesis, we read, " So God created man in 
 his own image ; in the image of God created he him ; 
 male and female created he them." And in the 
 seventh, eighteenth, twenty-first, twenty-second, and 
 twenty-third verses of chapter second, we read, " And 
 the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 
 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life : and 
 man became a living soul. And the Lord God said, it is 
 not good for man that he should be alone : I will make 
 him an help meet for him," &c. The last three verses 
 relate to the mode of the creation of Eve. 
 
 Now, it is here that we are met with the objection, 
 
 that Adam and Eve could not have been the first 
 
 progenitors of the human race. This objection, strange 
 
 to tell, is founded upon an alleged contradiction of the 
 
 11* 
 
126 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 very passages adduced above, in proof of the origin of 
 the first human pair. In reply to this objection it is 
 only necessary to say, that in this, as in other instances 
 of the sacred narrative, the difference in these items 
 of history are merely apparent, arising from the dif- 
 ference between a general and a particular account 
 of the same transaction. But the objector further 
 urges : — Moses places in the geneological table of 
 Adam only three sons, Cain, Abel, and Seth ; whence 
 then, he asks, came the wife of Cain, if Eve, his 
 mother, was the only woman living at the time of his 
 marriage ? Upon this was predicated the hypothesis 
 of Isaac de la Peyrera, A. D. 1655, of the existence of 
 the pre- Adamites, To solve this difficulty, it is only 
 necessary to be reminded that the direct design of 
 Moses, in the above narrative is, merely to furnish us 
 with the geneology of the sons (not of the daughters) 
 of Adam, link after link, down to the second original 
 family of the world, Noah and his sons, and with 
 whom Cain's posterity had no connexion. This is or- 
 dinarily the case in all history, as well profane as 
 sacred. The male line only is important in matters 
 of geneology. The mere circumstance of an omis- 
 sion of any reference to females, is no proof that if 
 there were any, that they must have belonged to a 
 family other than that of Adam. In addition to this 
 we add, that so far as reliance can be placed upon 
 a tradition prevalent among the Jews to this day, to 
 the family of Adam belonged many children, both 
 male and female. Finally, Moses declares, that 
 " Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 127 
 
 the mother of all living ;" and St. Paul expressly 
 calls Adam the first man, twice over. (See first Co- 
 rinthians, xv., forty-fifth, and forty-seventh verses.) 
 Admitting, then, the infallible accuracy of sacred his- 
 tory, to what conclusion have we arrived? Certainly 
 this, that whatever races of men do belong to the hu- 
 man family, we can and must trace their origin back 
 to the one first great progenitor, Adam. 
 
 Still, one important part of our subject remains un- 
 answered. The question, you will recollect, is, are 
 all who claim to belong to the human race, of the same 
 genus or species ? in other words, have they a com- 
 mon origin ? Now, there are two Scriptural marks, 
 by which such a claim may be preferred. The first 
 is, the erect posture of the species. " God made man 
 upright." But does it hence necessarily follow, 
 that all animals who can walk erect are entitled to 
 the above claim? We wait not a reply. By what 
 other mark, then, is the line to be finally drawn? 
 Answer, — By the endowment of intellectual and 
 moral powers. Man, by the inspiration of the Al- 
 mighty, " became a living soul ;" i. e., he was con- 
 stituted an intellectual, a sentient being, and capa- 
 ble, also, of volition. Again, " God created man 
 in his own image and likeness f or, in other words, 
 he was endowed with moral qualities, which, how- 
 ever debased and degraded, were never, and can never 
 be, destroyed. 
 
 We have thus referred yon to two Scriptural 
 marks, by which the above claim may be preferred : 
 not, however, because they do not find their analogy 
 
128 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 in the works of nature. Physiologically, we may 
 argue the justness of these claims to a common origin, 
 in the anatomical organization and structure of the 
 human frame. Not so certain, however, is the ar- 
 gument founded upon the hereditary transmission 
 of changes to which the human system may be 
 subject; and we further venture the assertion, that 
 if reason, if intellect \ if thought could be ascertained 
 to be lodged within the brain of an Ouran Outang, 
 it would be justly entitled to the above claim, though 
 possessed of a different anatomical structure from 
 that of the human frame ; while, on the other hand 
 with all the advantages of such anatomical struc- 
 ture, totally dispossessed of reason, of intellect, and 
 of thought, there would be just grounds for a de- 
 nial of said claim. How, then, will you dispose 
 of the idiot ? To what genus or species does he 
 belong ? Has he reason, intellect ? Can he think ? 
 With all the anatomical organization, symmetry, and 
 beauty of the human frame, it is said he is a perfect 
 block. Ah, and how did you arrive at this fact ? We 
 will dispose of the idiot thus : we will leave him in 
 the hands of that Almighty Being who has been pleas- 
 ed to consign to perpetual imprisonment, during natu- 
 ral life, reason, intellect, thought, within the narrow 
 cell of some millioneth part of a cubic inch of his 
 brain. 
 
 But, there is another case to which some may al- 
 lude — it is that of a being in human form, by some 
 strange casualty, torn, in infancy, from the parents of 
 its common nature, and left to an uncertain fate in the 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 129 
 
 midst of a dense forest, where it finds protection and 
 nourishment for years from creatures whose native 
 instinct has moved to succor rather than devour. 
 This secluded being passes thus through the period of 
 childhood and becomes a youth ; and, to all human 
 appearance, upon its first recovery by its own native 
 species, it furnishes indications of a total assimilation 
 (except in anatomical structure) to its brutal protec- 
 tress. But, is the original nature of the child, mental 
 or physical, absolutely changed? totally changed? 
 No — in every known instance among the few, where 
 there has been a temporary suspension of the aliments 
 naturally adapted to the nourishment of the human 
 body, or the advantages of mental culture ; a restora- 
 tion to its native atmosphere, and to the influence, 
 physical and mental, of beings of a kindred nature, 
 have never failed to rekindle the latent spark of rea- 
 son, of intellect, of thought, which has long remained 
 dormant. — Like the point of the magnet, it seeks af- 
 finity with spirits of a common origin ; and, being 
 brought in contact with these, you are led to a dis- 
 covery of emanations of intellect, like fire from the 
 ignited steel — of intellect, we say — not of instinct. 
 Instinctive refinements are limited in their develope- 
 ment, according to the various degrees of sagacity 
 prevalent among the various tribes of " the brutes that 
 perish." You talk of learned dogs, and hogs, and 
 rib-nosed apes. All their astonishing feats, however, 
 can by demonstration be shown as limited to the dis- 
 ciplinary legerdemain of their catch-penny masters. 
 There is nothing then in history — nothing in the 
 
130 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 physiological structure of animals of the brute crea- 
 tion, assimilated as they may be in anatomical form, 
 and in feats of instinctive legerdemain, to the erect 
 posture and mental endowment of the human being : 
 — nothing in those strange casualties which, in a few 
 instances may have befallen our nature, that, by any 
 show of consistency can prove either an amalgama- 
 tion of natures of the lower with the higher order of 
 created being, or assign to any of the latter an exist- 
 ence prior to that of Adam. " God, that made the 
 world, — hath made of one blood all nations of 
 men for to dwell on all the face of the earth. n 1 
 
 All therefore who claim to belong to the human 
 race are of the same genus or species ; and, Adam 
 and Eve are the original progenitors of all man- 
 kind. 
 
 With these general remarks, we proceed now to the 
 inquiry, what period of time are we to assign to 
 God's sabbath of rest ? When did it commence ? 
 When will it terminate ? We now answer briefly, 
 that it commenced, when " the heavens and the earth 
 were finished, and all the host of them," 2 at the 
 close of the sixth demiurgic day. As to its termina- 
 tion, we reply, first, negatively, that it did not, be- 
 cause it could not possibly have closed with any sup- 
 posed resumption of the Creator's labors on the eighth 
 natural day : otherwise how are we to reconcile the 
 declared completion (Gen. ii., 1) of the whole ex- 
 
 1. Acts xvii., 24, 26. 2. Gen. ii., 1. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 131 
 
 tent of the material universe, with so early a crea- 
 tion of something new ? 
 
 Now, in order to determine the date, for the com- 
 mencement, as already stated in brief, of the 
 sabbatical rest of the Creator, we must once 
 more advert to the six caoveg or periods, called 
 " days, " of the Great Creator's work. Of the 
 Mosaic history of this work, as contained in the 
 first two chapters of Genesis, we remark, that "in 
 the first chapter, no mention is made of the garden of 
 Eden, nor the particular formation of the woman, nor 
 of any negative command. . These circumstances are 
 reserved for the second chapter. The first is a gene- 
 ral sketch of primeval nature ; the second, a particu- 
 lar sketch of what more immediately concerned the 
 human race, anterior to the introduction of evil. 
 The first is a remote view of a great territory ; the 
 second, a near survey of a particular portion of it." 
 
 " The whole history of the creation" therefore, 
 " comprises the space of six days or periods : and the 
 cosmogony itself, as the Jewish Rabbins very rightly 
 place the division, reaches to the end of the third 
 verse of our present second chapter ; " l thence, to the 
 end of the second chapter, the history is supplemen- 
 tary to that of the first. 
 
 Now, uniting the two together, i. e., the general and 
 supplementary histories, we learn the following facts 
 — viz., 
 
 1. That Adam was first created — placed in the 
 
 1. Faber. Vol. I., p. 68. 
 
132 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 garden to cultivate it — and received his charge from 
 the Aleim respecting the interdicted tree ; l and this 
 charge, " while n he was " alone, he rigorously ob- 
 served." We learn, 
 
 2. That, following the creation of Adam, was that of 
 Eve. 2 
 
 3. We learn, — that the creation of Adam and Eve, 
 the first human pair, was the last, the finishing pro- 
 duct of God's handy-work. 3 Consequently, 
 
 4. That they must have been created at the close of 
 the sixth day or period, when, immediately upon 
 the celebration of their marriage nuptials, (at which 
 their creator himself presided, 4 ) and the announcement 
 of his sacred benediction upon them, 5 we read as fol- 
 lows — " On the seventh day God ended his work 
 which he had made : And he RESTED on the se- 
 venth day from ALL his work which he had 
 made." 6 
 
 This, then, is the point of time whence we date 
 the commencement of the Almighty's sabbatical re- 
 pose. But to this it may be objected, that, as with the 
 commencement of this sabbatical rest of God, the 
 theory under consideration dates also the commence- 
 ment of this world's history ; and as, according 
 to the above, it is evident that the sabbatical rest of the 
 Almighty began while Adam and Eve were yet in a 
 
 1. Com. chap, i., 26, with chap, ii., 8 — 17. 
 
 2. Gen. ii., 18,— 20 — 25. 
 
 3. Chap, i., 26, 27, with which com. verses 28 — 31. 
 
 4. Gen. ii., 18 — 25. 5. Chap, i., 28 — 31. 6. Chap, ii., 2. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 133 
 
 state of innocence, it is at variance with the current 
 opinion, which dates the first year in the chronol- 
 ogy of the world from the fall of man. To this ob- 
 jection, however, we have only to reply, briefly, that 
 it rests with the objector to prove that the fall did 
 not take place during the year commencing with the 
 paradisaical marriage of our first parents. What 
 interval of time elapsed between the creation of Adam 
 and Eve has nothing to do with the subject ; the ques- 
 tion pending relating to the finishing of that work, 
 which did not take place till the creation of Eve ; 
 which, as we have shown, was immediately followed 
 by their paradisaical marriage, and the bestowment 
 upon them of the divine benediction. 
 
 They were now left alone in the garden, to enter 
 upon that state of moral probation, ordained of God 
 as the test of their integrity. Adam, thus wedded to 
 his paradisaical companion, entered upon a new, and 
 previously untried field, for the exercise of his moral 
 feelings. Eve, wrapped in the ecstacies peculiar to 
 her refined sensibilities, gazed with supreme delight 
 upon the enchanting objects which, scattered in luxu- 
 riant profusion above and around her, met her full- 
 orbed eye at every turn ; and, added to this, was the 
 unutterable bliss of social converse between two be- 
 ings of kindred natures, who as yet " knew no sin." 
 Yes, as the immortal Milton sang, they were created, 
 
 " For contemplation he, and valor foim'd : 
 For softness she, and sweet attractive grace; 
 He for God only ; she for God in him/' 
 
 In a word, " Paradise was a condition, rather of 
 12 
 
134 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 exquisite passive enjoyment, than of active moral virtue. 
 It was but the infancy of nature, when she lay at rest 
 on a bed of roses, undergoing a kind of rapture ; a 
 state of natural fruition — without fatigue, without 
 satiety." 
 
 It was under these circumstances, therefore, that the 
 Tempter came. Nor, reasoning from analogy, could 
 he have granted a long reprieve to the innocent occu- 
 pants of Eden from his infernal assaults. He felt, he 
 knew, that "delays were dangerous." Not to enter 
 into the details of the temptation, and its results, (with 
 which, doubtless, you are all familiar,) the strongest 
 possible motive to transgress, (the very motive which 
 weighed with Satan himself while yet in heaven,) viz. 
 " Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil," was 
 at once presented ; predicated of the presumption, that 
 by securing a preponderance in favor of sense and 
 reason over that of faith, on the part of the fair ob- 
 ject of his diabolical assault, he could not fail of suc- 
 cess. Nor did he err. The declaration of God's word, 
 " In the day thou eatest thereof thou shall surely 
 die" to the eye of reason stood opposed to the doc- 
 trine of man's immortality ; as symbolized by " the 
 tree of life," which was planted in the centre of the 
 garden, not only, but which seemed to be corroborated 
 by that very impress of perfection, which stamped all 
 the works of God. Briefly, we mean, that in a state, 
 and at the dawn of original innocence, u by dint of 
 Reason man could not foresee whether he should die 
 or not. The art of the tempter, therefore, consisted in 
 drawing the woman's attention " upon the dangerous 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 135 
 
 ground of " Sense and Reason, separately and abstract- 
 ed from from the word of God. When this was 
 done, all was done : for the moment Eve began to re- 
 gard Sense and Reason as a kind of testimony distinct 
 and independent of God, her faith was gone. " 
 When, therefore, her seducer said, "ye shall not 
 surely die," keeping in view the circumstances just ad- 
 verted to, we can easily discern how her reason, 
 coupled as it was with her desire to " be as gods, 
 knowing good and evil" triumphed over her faith. 
 
 Upon the supposition, therefore, that the Paradisai- 
 cal state, morally and intellectually, though perfect, 
 yet admitted of an expansion of its powers ; " the fa- 
 ther of lies," l measuring his prospect of success by 
 the most suitable season for attack, invaded this 
 newly erected empire of innocence, when the mind of 
 the tempted one was most susceptible of the creation of 
 a desire for instantaneous, universal knowledge. And 
 what period, we ask, better adapted to that end than 
 the first year of the Paradisiacal state? To our 
 mind this is conclusive. We proceed, therefore, at 
 once to observe, that the sabbatical rest of the Almigh- 
 ty thus commenced, was destined to run coeval with 
 the whole period of this world? s duration while under 
 the curse, as divided into and comprehended under 
 the three great dispensations, Patriarchal, Jewish, 
 and Christian : and, that this whole period was to 
 embrace the definite number of six thousand years. 
 
 Here, however, we are met at once with the objection, 
 
 1, John VMi., 11 
 
136 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 that the Scriptures no where express, in explicit 
 terms, any such thing. But admitting this fact, which 
 we do, are we hence to conclude that the Scriptures, 
 in no sense, afford any light upon this subject ? By 
 no means ; nor, as we shall prove, is the want of an 
 explicit declaration of this fact any argument to dis- 
 prove its full, precise, actual revelation. In order to 
 this, it is only necessary to observe that there are in 
 Scripture several other points of equal, and, indeed, if 
 considered in connection with a knowledge of their 
 adaptation to the wants of the church practically, of 
 much greater importance, which are, nevertheless, left 
 to stand upon the same ground, as matters of faith and 
 of Christian observance, with the subject now before 
 us. For instance : — The Divine institution of the 
 Christian Sabbath — the Divine right of infants to 
 baptism in the Christian Church — and of both sexes 
 to participate in the symbols of the Holy Eucharist, 
 are received by them upon the grounds of inference 
 only, there being no explicit authority in Scripture 
 for their belief. If, then, similar authority can be 
 adduced from Scripture to prove that God has assign- 
 ed a limited and definite period to his sabbatical 
 rest, is it not the privilege — yea, more, is it not the 
 duty of the Christian to know it ? Yes, my brethren, 
 and this duty, if I mistake not, rests with a fearfully 
 accumulated responsibility on us, " upon whom the 
 
 ENDS OF THE WORLD ARE COME ! " l 
 
 This objection to our inquiries removed, and as- 
 l. l Cor. x., n. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 137 
 
 sliming, as we now do, that the subject under consi- 
 deration is fully susceptible of inferential proof from 
 the Scriptures, before we advance to the argument as 
 predicated of them, let us cast a sort of birds-eye 
 glance over the opinions which have prevailed in all 
 ages and among different nations, heathen, Jewish, 
 and Christian, respecting this subject. And, 
 
 1. The most ancient Brahmenical sages, speaking 
 of the creative energies and the repose which ensued, 
 of the Almighty, write thus — " He, whose powers 
 are incomprehensible, having created the universe, 
 was again absorbed in the Supreme Spirit, changing 
 the time of energy for the time ef repose." l And, 
 they add, " his night of repose continues as long as 
 his day : " 2 i. e., of creative labor. " Similar in prin- 
 ciple was the doctrine of the ancient Persians and 
 Etruscans" particularly the latter, who affirm, that 
 " the world was formed in the course of six periods ; 
 each period comprehending a millenary : (i. e., a 
 thousand years :) while six thousand years are allotted 
 for a seventh period, viz., that of its duration." 3 
 
 2. " Of the Jewish writers, Rabbi Ketina, as cited 
 in the Gemara or gloss of their Talmud, said, "that 
 the world endures six thousand years." 4 " It was the 
 opinion M also " of the house of Elias," (supposed to be 
 Elias the Tishbite,) about two hundred years before 
 Christ, "that the world endures six thousand years; two 
 
 1. Fab.,p. 115. 2. Fab., \\ 119. 
 
 3. Fab., p. 120. 4. Pun., p. 110. 
 
 12* 
 
138 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 thousand before the Law, two thousand under the 
 Law, and two thousand under the Messiah." ! 
 
 3. Of the Christian writers, St. Barnabas in the 
 first century thus comments upon these words of 
 Moses : " And God made in six days the works of 
 his hands, and he finished on the seventh day, and he 
 rested in it, and sanctified it." This it signifies : — 
 that the Lord God will finish all things in six thou- 
 sand years ; for a day with him is as a thousand 
 years : as he himself testifieth, saying, " Behold this 
 day shall be as a thousand years." Therefore, chil- 
 dren, " says he," in six days, i. e., in six thousand 
 years, shall all things be consummated." 2 Lactan, 
 tius says, " Because the works of God were finished 
 in six days, it is necessary that the world should re- 
 main in this state six ages, i. e., six thousand years." 3 
 " Cyprian, A.D. 252 (in his exhortation to martyrdom, 
 Sec. ii., p. 179,) says, that in the creation of the world 
 seven days were spent, and in those seven days seven 
 thousand years were figuratively included ; " 4 the 
 last seventh of which is to be understood of the mil- 
 lenial rest. Bishop Latimer, (at the head of the Re- 
 formation, in his sermon, " The Day of Judgment,") 
 observes, " The world was ordained of God to endure, 
 as Scripture and all learned men agree, six thou- 
 sand years," i. e., to endure in its present condition." 5 
 To the above I add in conclusion, the testimony of 
 the distinguished Faber. " The divine Sabbath," 
 
 1. Pym., p. 111. 2. Pym.. p. Ill, 112. 3. Pym., p. 112. 
 4. Pym., p. 113. 5. lb., p, 113. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 139 
 
 says he, " is a period of not less duration than six mil- 
 lenaries/' l i. e., six thousand years. 
 
 Now, respecting these authorities we admit, that 
 the Hindoo sages, with the Persians, do not affix a 
 definite period to the Almighty's night of repose. 
 The Etruscans, however, do thus fix it. Nor do we 
 refer to these as direct proof, but simply to show, that 
 these heathen philosophers expanded the duration of 
 that period which we designate as the sabbatical rest 
 of God, greatly beyond that of a natural day. Hence, 
 as such, there is to say the least a most striking coin- 
 cidence of their views with the opinions both of 
 Jewish and Christian writers. 
 
 Let us now see what is to be gathered from Scrip- 
 ture, on this subject. Here, we at once admit, and 
 that most unhesitatingly, the full force of all those pas- 
 sages, which, taken separately or collectively, repre- 
 sent " times and seasons " as connected with the 
 course of God's dispensations to men, as hidden from 
 their view. We will take for instance, the following 
 by way of illustration : — 1st. The question of the 
 disciples to Christ, " Lord, wilt thon at this time re- 
 store again the kingdom to Israel 7 And his an- 
 swer. " It is not for you to know the times or the 
 seasons which the Father hath put in his own 
 power? 2 2nd. The following and similar passages, 
 which, we remark, are very numerous.- — The pro- 
 phet Isaiah exclaims, "Howl ye, iov the day of the 
 Lord is at hand? 2 St. Paul says, " the time is 
 
 1. Fab., p. 11G., vol. I. 0. Acts L 6, 7. 3. Isa. xiii.. & 
 
140 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 shorty 1 St. Peter says, " The end of all things is at 
 hand." 2 St. James says, " Behold, the Judge stan- 
 deth at the door." 3 St. John, personating Christ, 
 says, " Behold, I come quickly." 4 Christ said to his 
 disciples, " watch, for ye know not what hour your 
 Lord doth come." 5 St. Peter says, " The day of the 
 Lord will come as a thief in the night." 6 And, 
 finally, and above all, Christ says to his disciples, 
 " But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, 
 no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the 
 son, but the Father." 7 
 
 Now, with these passages in view, however much 
 of uncertainty is admitted to accompany our know- 
 ledge of the commencement and termination of " times 
 and seasons," all admit that " God knoweth." All 
 admit that He whose divine omniscience sees "the end 
 from the beginning" " hath determined the times 
 before appointed." 8 But the prevailing opinion 
 among Christians is, that at no time and in no sense 
 has God ever revealed these u times and seasons " to 
 us, nor will the period ever arrive in time, when he 
 will so reveal them. 
 
 In opposition to this acknowledged popular view of 
 this subject however, there is a small class of Biblical 
 Expositors, who, in perfect consistency with all that 
 can be claimed for the passages above quoted, as 
 shrouding " times and seasons " in the broad mantle 
 
 1. 1 Cor. vii., 29. 2. 1 Pet. iv.. 7. 3. James v., 8, 9. 
 
 4. Rev. xxii., 12. 5. Matt, xxiv., 42. 6. 2 Pet. iii., 10. 
 
 7. Mark, xiii., 32. 8. Acts xvii., 26. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 141 
 
 of impervious darkness ; yet think that, here and 
 there, scattered through the pages of inspiration, they 
 are furnished with a concentration of light, opening 
 to their understanding a clear and unobstructed view, 
 at least in the general, if not in details, of the charac- 
 ter of the present, and the course of the rapidly ap- 
 proaching future, dispensations of God to the world 
 and to the church. Nor, as they consider, ought this 
 assumption to subject them to the charge either of 
 egotism or presumption ; those who impugn the same, 
 themselves being judges. For, on what, we ask, is 
 this assumption on our part founded? Chiefly, we 
 reply, on that steady, accumulating light, which the 
 historico-prophetic pages of the past, throws in 
 its divinely illuminating beams, upon the pregnantly 
 ominous present and future ; and this, upon no other 
 ground than that of the popular admission, that " his? 
 tory is the interpreter of prophecy ." We argue, that 
 " if the external dispensations of God be progressive, 
 the light which can illustrate them may be progres- 
 sive also. The light which, " for instance," revealed 
 the day of Christ to Isaiah, emitted a feebler ray than 
 that which enabled the saints at the era of the Re- 
 deemer's birth " to wait for the consolation of 
 Israel, and for redemption in Jerusalem." 1 Why then 
 it is demanded, may not the additional light since 
 that period of more than one thousand eight hundred 
 years, a light which has continued to shine with in- 
 creasing 1 brightness in the burning 1 but unconsumed 
 
 1. Luke ii.,25j v. 38. 
 
142 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 bush of unerring prophecy, justify " the same eager 
 Scrutiny into the time and circumstances of the 
 second coming of Christ, in these advanced days of 
 human history? " l Our position therefore in view of the 
 above, may be gathered from the following, — viz. : — 
 
 That even admitting (which is all that can reason- 
 ably be asked) that " the times and seasons which the 
 Father w is said to have "put in his own power," as 
 embracing the entire series of his dispensations to men, 
 as revealed in his word, have been heretofore con- 
 cealed from their definite knowledge ; yet that the Scrip- 
 tures encourage God's people, to expect the arrival of 
 the period when the seal of prophetic mys teries should 
 be broken ; and, 
 
 2. That this breaking of the said seal, if applicable 
 to any one dispensation, is especially so to the present . 
 
 At this stage of our advance, therefore, in order to 
 assume the affirmative of the position involved in the 
 above, and that we may render the subject before us 
 the more tangible, we shall merge our two propositions 
 at the head of this Lecture into one, thus — ■ 
 
 God, in his infinite wisdom, has assigned 
 to the present constitution of things in this 
 world a limited and definite duration j and 
 
 HAS IMPARTED A KNOWLEDGE OF THE SAME TO HIS 
 PEOPLE, IN HIS WORD. 
 
 Of the former part of this proposition we have al- 
 ready spoken in general terms, and have adduced the 
 prevalent sentiment respecting it in all ages, Heathen, 
 
 l. Noel, p. 5, 6. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 143 
 
 Jewish, and Christian. We here remark, however, 
 once for all, that the proof of it remains to be tested by 
 the result of our subsequent chronological deductions, 
 historic and prophetic. Of the latter part of the pro- 
 position, we repeat, that the Revelation of " times and 
 seasons " seems more especially reserved for the faith- 
 ful in Christ Jesus of the "last times? — "the time 
 of the end? The historico-prophetic chart of Holy 
 Scripture, as now spread out before us, cannot fail to 
 make known to the Christian of this day of wonders, 
 his duty to examine " whether these things be so," 
 and to fill his heart with unutterable joy at their dis- 
 covery ; " which," to have attempted in " earlier 
 times, we admit, would neither have been illustrative 
 of the one, nor productive of the other." l This fur- 
 nishes us with a key, opening to our view the ground 
 of that suspense to which both the old prophets and 
 primitive saints were subjected, by their indefinite 
 knowledge of " the end." Hence the above and 
 similar passages, already quoted ; such as, " the day 
 of the Lord is at hand? " The end of all tilings is 
 at hand," " Watch, for ye know not when your Lord 
 doth come." " Behold, I come as a thief" &c. 
 
 The following observations of Bickersteth on the 
 answer of our Lord to his disciples respecting the res- 
 toration of the kingdom to Israel prior to his ascen- 
 sion, viz. : " it is not for you to know the times or the 
 seasons which the Father hath put in his awn power* 
 cannot fail to throw further light on this important part 
 
 1. Noel, p. G. 
 
144 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 of our subject. " Why" says this writer, " did Christ 
 withhold the time ? " " Look back," says he to the 
 reader — " You stand on the eminence of eighteen cen- 
 turies ; see what these centuries have been. Genera- 
 tion after generation, apostles, martyrs, confessors, and 
 reformers, have lived and died. Mark all the con- 
 flicts through which the early Christians attained their 
 triumphs — their labors, sufferings, persecutions, mar- 
 tyrdoms. Go on to the rise of Popery and Mahome- 
 danism — see the dark ages — mark the struggles of 
 infant Protestantism, and its subsequent decay — look 
 at the present spread of infidelity among professedly 
 Christian nations." Now, " had the apostles been told 
 all this must previously take place — all this corrup- 
 tion must previously spread over the world, oh, what 
 needless despondency and heart-sinkings must have 
 overwhelmed them ! Eighteen hundred years of de- 
 ferred expectation — eighteen hundred years of Israel's 
 dispersion and desolation — eighteen hundred years 
 yet to remain of the Gentile monarchies — and eigh- 
 teen hundred years the treading under foot of Jerusalem! 
 With what wisdom and love, which marks all his pro- 
 vidence to his Church, this dark scene was kept 
 back /" l Again, " why, also, did he tell them that 
 the times and seasons were put into the father's 
 hands ? It seems to point out the entire filial con- 
 fidence they might have in the paternal wisdom and 
 love of all the Divine arrangements," during "a pro- 
 longed time of delay, which it was not for the good 
 
 1. Time to favor Zion, p. 7. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 145 
 
 of the Church to know then." l It was, in a word, 
 " that his Church then might have a waiting spirit n 
 for the day of the Lord's re-appearing — <• that ex- 
 pectation might be kept alive — that all the benefits of 
 a prepared, watchful, prayerful, desiring spirit, might 
 be continued, and all the animation of hope, from age 
 to age, fill the souls of his people, the Son of God vms 
 not in the beginning commissioned to give any date 
 of the timeT 2 
 
 But to this exposition of the above it may be replied, 
 yea, it is replied, that it makes the Savior guilty of a 
 trifling evasion, in answering the question of his in- 
 quiring disciples. At first view, the great lapse of 
 time (more than eighteen centuries) which was to in- 
 tervene between the propounding of the above ques- 
 tion and the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, would 
 seem to give to this inference the semblance of plausi- 
 bleness. In any other aspect, it merits the severest 
 animadversion. For is time, as measured by the In- 
 finite God, the same that it is with man? Such a sup- 
 position would argue that the eternal mind is subject 
 to similar emotions with ourselves, in view of an ex- 
 ercise of " hope deferred ! " But who will pretend 
 this ? 3 No, my brethren, the infinite wisdom which 
 clothed the answer of Christ to his disciples, is seen 
 in the effect (practically) which it produced upon their 
 minds and conduct ; and which, as we conceive, was 
 precisely the same as it is with those to whom " the 
 
 1. Time to favor Zion. p. 7. 2. Ibid. p. 8, 9. 
 
 3. 2 Pet. iii., 8, 9. 
 
 13 
 
146 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 times and seasons " are now definitely made known. 
 Hope, though deferred, filled them " with joy and holy 
 expectation" then, as though "the time of the end," 
 then actually to human view far distant from them, 
 was nigh at hand ; for, even upon the supposition that 
 the interval between the two advents as present to the 
 minds of the New Testament Saints, stretched through 
 a vista of full one thousand eight hundred years, yet 
 if viewed relatively with the entire period of the des- 
 tined duration of the constituted order of things un- 
 der the three dispensations, Patriarchal, Jewish, and 
 Christian, it stood in the proportion of considerably 
 less than one third to the whole period. Nor is this 
 in the least at variance with our ordinary conceptions 
 of the proportion of time future with time past 
 of any given period, as of a year, month, 
 week, or day ; — respecting which, when less 
 than one third remains unexpired, it is common to 
 say, that the year, month, week, or day, "is far 
 spent? This admitted, and we think we are fur- 
 nished with an illustration of the subject in hand, 
 when applied to the above interval of the two advents, 
 the second ultimating in the establishment upon earth 
 of the kingdom of Messiah; to which, during this in- 
 terval, the Gentile or Christian economy was designed 
 as preparatory. Thus the following and similar pas- 
 sages : — " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of 
 God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel." l 
 Hence the Savior, when about to leave his Church 
 
 1. Mark, i., 15. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 147 
 
 during this interval, says to his disciples, "A little 
 while, and ye shall not see me : And again, a little 
 while, and ye shall see me, because, (between my two 
 advents) I go to the Father." l And the Apostle Paul, 
 speaking of his return, says, " For yet a little while, 
 and he that shall come will come, and will not 
 tarry." 2 Hence also the consistency, prospective of the 
 lapse of this long period of one thousand eight hun- 
 dred years, of the ivarning, — " Behold I come as a 
 thief:" 3 and of the exhortation, — •" Watch, for in 
 such an hour as ye think not, the son of man 
 cometh : " 4 and of the promise, — " Blessed is he that 
 watcheth. " 5 Finally, hence the exercise, on the part 
 of the Apostles and primitive Saints, of a watchful, 
 prayerful, patient waiting for, this " day of the Lord." 
 The holy ambition which fired their breasts amid 
 their trials of cruel mockings, and scourgings, and 
 deaths, might be seen in their constant " Looking for 
 that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the Great 
 God, even our Savior Jesus Christ; " 6 and their " look- 
 ing for and hasting unto the coming of the day of 
 God." 7 
 
 What now, I ask, — yes, and ask with religious so- 
 lemnity — what becomes of the above plea, that the 
 indefinite replies of our Lord to the several inquiries 
 of his disciples respecting " times and seasons " were 
 no better than trifling evasions, because predicated of 
 
 1. John xvi., 10. 2. Hob. r., 37. 
 
 3. Rev. xvi., 15. 1. Matt. xxv. } 13. 
 
 5. Rev. xvi., 15. 6. Titus ii., 13. 
 
 7. 2 Pot. iii., 19. 
 
148 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 the ultimate purpose of God to reveal them to his 
 Church? This sentiment, to my understanding, 
 savors of the scoffing spirit of these last times, 1 
 which has for its basis that irreverent and blasphe- 
 mous assumption of equality with Deity, so forcibly 
 brought to view in the words, " Thou thoughtest that 
 I was altogether such an one as thyself ! " 2 " But," 
 saith God, ". I will reprove thee, and set them in order 
 before thine eyes." 3 
 
 First. It is conceded, that to the prophet Daniel the 
 command was given, to " shut up the words, and seal 
 the book, even to the time of the end? 4 And again, 
 " Go thy way, Daniel ; for the words are closed up 
 and sealed till the time of the end? 5 Also, that to 
 his disciples Christ said, " It is not for you to know 
 the times and seasons ; " 6 and that of " that day and 
 hour knovjeth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, 
 neither the Son, but the Father." 7 But, on the other 
 hand, we would ask you to look at the following and 
 similar declarations, — first, of the prophet Amos. 
 " Surely the Lord will do nothing, but he revealeth 
 his secrets unto his servants the prophets." 8 Also 
 of the prophet Habakkuk. " The vision is yet for an 
 appointed time ; but at the end, it shall speak and 
 not lie : though it tarry, wait for it ; because it will 
 surely come, it will not tarry? 9 It is also to be re- 
 
 1. 2 Pet. iii., 3. 2. Ps. 1., 21. 
 
 3. Ps. 1. 5 21. 4. Dan. xii., 4. 
 
 5. Dan. xii., 4, 9. 6. Acts i., 7. 
 
 7. Mark, xiii., 32 3 33. 8. Amos iii., 7. 
 
 9. Hab. ii. 5 3. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 149 
 
 collected that the shutting up of the words, and the 
 sealing of the Book of Daniel was limited; " even 
 to," or " till, the time of the endP l 
 
 In accordance therefore with these declarations, the 
 last canonical prophet of the New Testament, viz., 
 St. John, is thus directed, — " Seal not the sayings 
 of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at 
 handy 2 
 
 Now, if we can place our finger upon the time 
 when, and show through whom, and the circum- 
 stances under which the very "secret" of which 
 the prophet Amos spoke was revealed to the faithful, 
 we shall have fully established the point, that " the 
 times and seasons " have been and are, in these last 
 days, disclosed to the Church. 
 
 As is now generally admitted, (which admission is 
 based upon the general opinion of the fathers — 
 Irenseus, Origen, Eusebius, &c., and who are fol- 
 lowed by the moderns, Mill, Le Clerc, Basnage, Lard- 
 ner, Tomline, Woodhouse and others,) the Apoca- 
 lypse was written A. D. ninty-six. In the first verse 
 and first chapter of that book, we read thus — " The 
 
 REVELATION OF JeSUS CHRIST, WHICH GOD 
 
 GAVE UNTO HIM." Now, we admit all that can 
 be claimed for the passage, Mark, xiii., 32. "But 
 of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not 
 the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, 
 but the Father." We admit that, when the disciples 
 proposed to Christ the question regarding the time of 
 
 1. Dan. xii., 4, 9. % Rev. xxii.. 10. 
 
 13* 
 
150 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 the Restoration of the kingdom to Israel, " the times 
 and seasons " were u a hidden mystery — not given 
 (even) to the Son to reveal : " l and that too, without 
 at all derogating (as a late writer on this subject sup- 
 poses 2 ) from his divine prerogatives. " By the son 
 not knowing, we are clearly taught that he had a real 
 human mind, as well as a real human body. As man, 
 his Divine omniscience was no more put forth than 
 his Almighty power. But as time rolled on, further 
 light was to be given on this point." 3 
 
 And now, all the Apostles, save one, having " fallen 
 asleep in Jesus," in the A. D. ninety-six, that know- 
 ledge of " the times and seasons previously withholden 
 from the Son, is fully revealed to him. " The Reve- 
 lation of Jesus Christ, which God (who, as the Fa- 
 ther, only, before possessed a knowledge of) gave 
 unto him," (the Son.) 
 
 But, you will ask, was not this Revelation, thus 
 given to the Son by the Father, shut up in his own 
 bosom ? We answer, no. St. John was at that time 
 " in the isle that is called Patmos," " on the Lord's 
 day ; " and, being " in the Spirit," " Jesus Christ," 
 who had just received his revelation from the Father, 
 " sent and signified it by his angel, unto his servant, 
 John." 4 
 
 But, you will say, this Revelation was not designed 
 to pass from St. John to others, — Read the following : 
 
 1. Bickers tith's time to fav. Zion. p. 8. 
 
 2. Ramsey's second coming, pp. 56 — 58. 
 
 3. Bick. time to fav. Zion, p. 8. 4. Rev. i. 7 1, 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 151 
 
 " John hare record of the word of God, and of the tes- 
 timony of Jesus Christ, (which testimony is the spirit 
 of prophecy,) and of all things that he saw." l But 
 this Revelation d d not relate to things future ? Yea, 
 verily. For St. John was commanded thus — 
 "Write the things ^vhich thou hast seen, and the 
 things which are, and the things which shall be 
 
 HEREAFTER." 2 
 
 True, St. John did not at first understand what 
 was thus revealed to him of the past, the present, and 
 the future. " And he wept much, because no man 
 was found worthy to open, and to read the book, 
 neither to look thereon." But, at that auspicious 
 moment, " one of the Elders said unto him, weep not : 
 behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of 
 David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose 
 the seven seals thereof. 3 Blessed be God ! 
 
 We now affirm, brethren, that, with this representa- 
 tion corresponds the general tenor of GooVs word, 
 historic and prophetic, in determining, icith the ut- 
 most precision, the age of the icorld, from the crea- 
 tion and fall of man, down to the consummation of 
 all things. 
 
 To show this therefore, is the task now before us, 
 in the execution of which, we premise, 
 
 1. That, in God's word is to be found a golden 
 chain of measurement to the entire sabbatical day 
 of God's rest, the successive links of which, though of 
 unequal lengths, are all immutably bound together by 
 
 1. Rev. i., 2. 2. Rev. i., 19. 3. Rev. v., 2 
 
152 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 him who "hath determined the times before ap. 
 pointed." x These determined times taken collec- 
 tively, embrace a long period, only one portion of 
 which, as brought to view in the prophetic vision of 
 Daniel in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, evi- 
 dently implies. " The thing revealed,"' it is said 
 "was true, but the time appointed was long" 2 
 
 This golden chain we shall now divide into two 
 parts, as follows : The first, embracing the interval 
 between the creation and fall of mtan, to the commence- 
 ment of the prophetic seventy weeks of Daniel, and 
 which forms the basis of historic chronology ; the 
 second, extending thence to the final " restitution of 
 all things," 3 or to the six thousandth year of the 
 world, and which we denominate the chronology of 
 prophecy. 
 
 But, with a view to a satisfactory issne in the pros- 
 ecution of our inquiries of this subject, it is indis- 
 pensable that we determine upon a criterion of mea- 
 surement of time, both past and future; — the 
 questions, — are the years in sacred time, historic and 
 prophetic, the same? Does time, as measured by 
 sacred chronology harmonize with our solar year ? — 
 meeting us at every turn. He therefore who, in an 
 attempt to define the point of time upon which we 
 now stand, in the successive dispensations of God to 
 man, would avoid a confirmation of those prejudices 
 already so universally obnoxious to such an attempt, 
 
 1. Acts xvii., 26. 2. Dan. x., 1. (Margin, great.) 
 
 3. Acts iii., 21. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 153 
 
 and also the imputation of "darkening council by 
 words without knowledge," l must institute a distinc- 
 tion (if any there be) as well between the criteria of 
 measurement to time historic and prophetic, as 
 between time sacred (or Jewish) and solar. 
 
 Chronology, as a science, possesses few attractions. 
 It is ordinarily regarded as a dry and uninteresting 
 study. Compared with other sciences, it has not re- 
 ceived, except in a few instances, any attention at all 
 entitled to the mede of patient, laborious, and minute 
 research. As evidence of this, we have but to advert 
 to the extreme and variant conclusions of those who 
 have already occupied this field. Dr. Hales presents 
 a formidable list of the disagreement of Chronologists 
 on the iEra (B. C.) of the creat on, which embraces a 
 hundred and twenty different opinions, which, he 
 says, might easily be swelled to three hundred ; and 
 the extreme dates of six thousand nine hundred 
 and eighty-four years B. C, and three thousand six 
 hundred and sixteen years B. C, exhibiting a differ- 
 ence of above three thousand three hundred years ! 
 
 With these facts before us, we think we may legit- 
 imately infer, that the science is comparatively little 
 studied and less understood. Still, if we mistake not, 
 it is clearly susceptible of explication, even to ordi- 
 nary minds. It is only when we invest the results of 
 protracted and laborious toil in the departments of 
 letters with the garb of mysticism, (than which none 
 other will better serve the purposes of illustration 
 
 1. Job. xxxviii., '2. 
 
154 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 than that now before us,) that we place them beyond 
 the reach of general, practical utility. But, actuated 
 by the principle, that the object of all human attain- 
 ments is, to make things plai?i, while it excludes all 
 regard to the pomp and outward circumstance of hu- 
 man attainments ; (an idol which, as the natural off- 
 spring of that knowledge which puffeth up/' 1 receives 
 the homage of its thousands and its tens of thou- 
 sands ;) it will seek to divest the subject of all unne- 
 cessary appendages, by reducing it to the narrowest 
 available limits. Nor is it at all necessary to accu- 
 racy in our conclusions, that we explore every plot of 
 ground in the field of chronological science, by those 
 who have gone before us. Indeed, to a mind not pre- 
 viously fortified by a degree, greater or lesser, of un- 
 questionable data, " confusion worse confounded " will 
 be the result of further toil. This is inevitable, when 
 history, the basis of chronology, abounds with inac- 
 curacies. And when this is the case with such 
 writers as the great Jewish historian Josephus, 2 and 
 (though to a much more limited extent) to the pro- 
 foundly learned Archbishop Usher ; 3 it more than 
 suggests the necessity of the greatest caution in re- 
 lying upon their deductions, and shuts us up to the 
 alternative of studied discrimination in the use of all 
 human helps, and a resting of ourselves and the 
 merits of our investigations, upon the infallible autho- 
 
 1. Cor. xiii., 1. 
 
 2. Prideaux, vol. i., pp. 174, 382 ; ii., 65, 68, 305 ; iii., 58, 71. 
 135, 199, 207, 240. 241, 400, 401, 414, 416; iv., 58. 
 
 3. Prideaux, vol. i, 420, 434 ; ii., 45 ; iii., 206. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD. &C. 155 
 
 rity of the historic and prophetic records of God's 
 word. Upon this ground exclusively, we rest the 
 merits of our cause. Not that we do not respect hu- 
 man science — not that we have not examined hu- 
 man systems — but that we believe the conflicting 
 opinions of men in these premises, while thus sub- 
 servient to evidence a too great resting upon uninspired 
 aids in their investigations, are also designed to illus- 
 trate the final purpose of God to " choose the foolish 
 things of the world to confound the wise, and the 
 weak things of the world to confound the mighty ; 
 and base things of the world, and things which are 
 despised, yea, and things which are not, to bring to 
 nought things that are : that no flesh should 
 glory in his presence. l This end, humiliating 
 though it be to the pride of human greatness, awaits 
 all speculative systems not subservient in their nature 
 and design, to the inspired word : nor shall we accept 
 of the proifered aid even of these, except in so far as, 
 by the coincidence of their deductions with the 
 statements of that word, they afford collateral evi- 
 dence of its truth. 
 
 It is in this strictly subordinate sense that we now 
 proceed to a developement, in brief, of the progress of 
 astronomical science in furnishing a criterion for the 
 measurement of time, as preparatory to the proof of 
 the coincidence of solar with sacred time, in determin- 
 ing the age of the world. 
 
 Chronology treats of the divisions of time, rather 
 
 1. 1 Cor. i., -27. 
 
156 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 than of time in the abstract. These divisions of time 
 respect two things, — first, duration, e.g., a year, a 
 month, a day, &c, and second, succession, e. g., the 
 year 1842 is the 66th in the order of succession from 
 the declaration of independence of these United States. 
 A given period of time however, is only determinable 
 by affixing a definite length to the year, month, week, 
 day, &c. And for this we are dependent, partly on 
 our internal perceptions of time, as produced by the 
 regular and uniform motions of certain external ob- 
 jects, but principally on the motions of the objects 
 themselves ; e. g., the motions of those two great ce- 
 lestial bodies, the sun and the moon. These, by their 
 regular and uninterrupted movements from age to age, 
 have induced such astronomical observations of their 
 respective revolutions even from early antiquity, as 
 finally to ultimate in the establishment of accurate and 
 unalterable measurements of the duration of time ; the 
 revolutions of the sun, determining the length of the 
 year, and those of the moon, the month, and day* 
 Then also, as these only answer the purposes of meas- 
 uring time by its larger divisions, for the conveniences 
 of social life, the smaller divisions of hours, minutes, 
 seconds, &c, have been adopted. Hence Ave denomi- 
 nate the larger divisions of time the natural, and the 
 smaller, the social. It is also well to observe, that 
 natural divisions of time are only determinable by 
 astronomical science ; while its other divisions (e. g., 
 those established by law and custom) lay exclusively 
 within the province of history, and which we call, its 
 civil divisions. Still, the astronomical divisions of 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 157 
 
 natural time cannot determine the length of any given 
 period, separate from its connexion with its civil or 
 historical divisions. Hence, their inseparable depen- 
 dance, the one on the other. 
 
 Astronomy, as a science, has finally attained to such 
 a degree of perfection, as not only to supply the defi- 
 ciences of that vagueness which attends the measure- 
 ment of time by the seasons, but to determine that the 
 precise length of each solar year is three hundred and 
 sixty-five days, five hours, forty-eight minutes, forty- 
 five seconds and thirty thirds. In historical Chronology, 
 however, the more minute parts of the year as above 
 are omitted, till the portions amount to twenty-four 
 hours, or an intercalary day; at the recurrence of 
 which, it adds to the then present year one more day, 
 making it three hundred and sixty-six. Hence the dis- 
 tinction between the intercalary or leap year, and the 
 common year. Astronomers also institute a distinc- 
 tion between the tropical and sideral solar year; 
 the former of which is described by the motions of 
 the sun between the tropics, and the latter, the time it 
 requires to reach the same star, (the fixed stars, during 
 the tropical revolution of the sun having had a motion 
 of their own,) at which it was observed at the begin- 
 ning of its revolution. But as the difference between 
 the two years amounts only to twenty minutes, twenty- 
 five seconds, and thirty thirds, it does not affect the 
 periods of time in general Chronology. As to the 
 point at which the natural year begins, there is no 
 agreement among different nations, — some commen- 
 cing it in the spring, and others in summer. 
 14 
 
158 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 The solar year, being divided into twelve equal parts, 
 constitutes the twelve solar months, which is the time 
 required by the sun to pass through the twelve signs 
 of the Zodiac, making each month to consist of thirty 
 days, ten hours, twenty-nine minutes, forty -seven sec- 
 onds and thirty thirds. 
 
 The Lunar year consists of the twelve revolutions of 
 the moon, each from one new moon to another, which 
 constitute the Lunar months ; and these twelve revo- 
 lutions being again divided into four parts, are the four 
 changes in the phases of the moon during its revolu- 
 tion through the signs of the Ecliptic ; and are called 
 the new moon, the first quarter, the full moon, and the 
 last quarter. The lunar month astronomically 
 amounts to twenty-nine days, twelve hours, fourty-four 
 minutes, three seconds and twelve thirds ; and the year 
 to three hundred and fifty-four days, eight hours, forty- 
 eight minutes, thirty-eight seconds and twelve thirds. 
 The excess of length of the solar over the lunar year 
 therefore is, ten days, twenty-one hours, no minutes, 
 seven seconds, eighteen thirds. 
 
 This year, adopted by the Arabians, forms the meas- 
 urement of time of the Mohammedan Era. The 
 excess of its fractions, when they amounted to a day, 
 upon the improvement of Arabian astronomical sci- 
 ence, was madje intercalary ; eleven of which was 
 annexed to a cycle of thirty years, which cycle con- 
 tained eleven leap years of three hundred and fifty-five 
 days ; which leap years are, the second, fifth, seventh, 
 tenth, thirteenth, fifteenth, eighteenth, twenty-first, 
 twenty-fourth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-ninth. The 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 159 
 
 excess of the ten days, twenty-one hours, &c, of the solar 
 over the lunar year, makes thirty-two of the former, 
 equal to thirty-three years and four or five days of 
 the latter. Indeed, according to Prideaux, the Arabs, 
 from the time of Mohamet, have used a year purely 
 lunar, and the Turks do the same in imitation of 
 them. 1 
 
 We assume, then, that the solar year (minus the 
 fractions, which do not enter into the historical calcu- 
 lations of time) of three hundred and sixty-five days, 
 is the standard of measurement for all chronological 
 deductions in the department of profane history. 
 Still, it may not be uninteresting to an inquiring mind 
 to spread before him a brief outline of the progressive 
 developements of astronomical science, which has re- 
 sulted in furnishing at our hands, so accurate a criterion 
 for the determination of chronological epochs. 
 
 But before entering upon this subject it will, per- 
 haps, be well to furnish the following conjecture as to 
 the probable length of the ante-diluvian year, from 
 the pen of the learned Shuckford. He observes, 
 
 " It is something difficult to say, of what length the 
 year was, which was in use in the early ages. Before 
 the Flood, it is most probable that the civil and solar 
 year were the same, and that three hundred and sixty 
 days were the exact measure of both. In that space of 
 time the Sun made one entire revolution : it was easy 
 and natural for the first astronomers to divide the circle 
 of the Sun's annual course into three hundred and 
 
 1. Prideaux. vol. ii. p. 48, 
 
160 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 sixty parts, long before geometry arrived at perfection 
 enough to afford a reason for choosing to divide circles 
 into that number of degrees. All the time of the anti- 
 diluvian world, chronology was fixed and easy, for a 
 year could be more exactly measured than it now can. 
 
 " At the Flood the Heavens underwent some change; 
 the motion of the Sun was altered, and a year, or an- 
 nual revolution of it became, as it now is, five days 
 and almost six hours longer than it was before. That 
 such a change had been made, x most of the philoso- 
 phers observed, and, without doubt, as soon as they 
 did observe it, they endeavored to set right their chro- 
 nology by it : for it is evident, that as soon as the solar 
 year became thus augmented, the ancient measure of 
 a year would not do, but mistakes must creep in, and 
 grow more and more every year they continued to 
 compute by it." 2 
 
 But, the best endeavors of these early philosophers 
 to this end were extremely defective, as may be infer- 
 red from the following brief, but accurate summary of 
 Dr. Hally, respecting the state of astronomical science 
 in these remote ages. He says, 
 
 " The astronomy of the ancients is usually reckoned 
 for one of those sciences, wherein the learning of the 
 Egyptians consisted ; and Strabo expressly declares, 
 
 that there were several universities in Babylon wherein 
 astronomy was chiefly professed ; and Pliny tells us 
 
 1. See Plutarch de Placit. Philos. lib. ii., c. 8, lib. iii., c. 12, 
 lib. v., c. 18 ; and Plato Polit. p. 174, 175, 269, 270, 271 ; and 
 Laertius in vit. Anaxagor, lib. ix., seg. 33. 2. Vol. i., p. 8. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 161 
 
 much the same thing. So that it might well be ex- 
 pected, that where such a science was so much studied 
 it ought to have been proportion ably cultivated. Not- 
 withstanding all which it does appear, that there was 
 nothing done by the Chaldeans older than about four 
 hundred years before Alexander's conquest, which 
 could be serviceable either to Hipparchus or Ptolomy, 
 in their determination of the celestial motions ; for had 
 there been any observations older than those we have, 
 it cannot be doubted but the victorious Greeks must 
 have procured them as well as those they did, they 
 being; still more valuable for their antiquity. All we 
 have of them is only seven eclipses of the Moon pre- 
 served in Ptolomy's Syn taxis ; and even those are very 
 coarsely set down, and the oldest not much above 
 seven hundred years before Christ; so that, after all 
 the fame of these Chaldeans, we may be sure that 
 they had not gone far in this science. And though 
 Callisthenes is said by Porphyry to have brought from 
 Babylon to Greece observations above one thousand 
 nine hundred years older than Alexander, yet the pro- 
 per authors making no mention or use of any such, 
 renders it justly suspected for a fable. x What the 
 Egyptians did in this matter is less evident, because 
 no one observation made by them can be found in 
 their countryman Ptolomy, except what was done by 
 the Greeks of Alexandria, under three hundred years 
 
 1. Callisthcnes's account may not be a fable ; the subsequent au- 
 thors neither mentioned nor used these observations, because they 
 were in truth such sorry ones, that no use could be made oi them. 
 
 14* 
 
162 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 before Christ. Therefore, whatever was the learning 
 of these two ancient nations, respecting the motions 
 of the stars, it seems to have been chiefly theoretical ; 
 and I will not deny, but some of them might very 
 long since be apprised of the Sun's being the centre of 
 our system, for such was the doctrine of Pythagoras 
 aud Philolaus, and some others, who were said to 
 have travelled into these parts. 
 
 " Prom hence it may appear, that the Greeks were 
 the first practical astronomers, who endeavored in 
 earnest to make themselves masters of the science, and 
 to whom we owe all the old observations of the plan- 
 ets, and of the Equinoxes and Tropics. Thales was 
 the first who could predict an eclipse in Greece, not six 
 hundred years before Christ ; and without doubt it was 
 but a rude account he had of the motions ; and it was 
 Hipparchus who made the first catalogue of the fixed 
 stars, not above one hundred and fifty years before 
 Christ ; without which catalogue there could be scarce 
 such a science as astronomy ; and it is to the subtilty 
 and diligence of that great author, that the world was 
 beholden for all its astronomy for above one thousand 
 five hundred years. All that Ptolomy did, in his Syn- 
 taxis, was no more than a bare transcription of the 
 theories of Hipparchus, with some little emendation 
 of the periodical motions, after about three hundred 
 years interval ; and this book of Ptolomy was, with- 
 out dispute, the utmost perfection of the ancient 
 astronomy ; nor was there any thing in any nation 
 before it comparable thereto ; for which reason all the 
 other authors thereof were disregarded and lost, and 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 163 
 
 among them Hipparchus himself. Nor did posterity- 
 dare to altar the theories delivered by Ptolomy, though 
 successively Albategnius and the Arabs, and after 
 them the Spanish astronomers under Alphonsus en- 
 deavored to mend the errors which they observed in 
 their computations. But their labors were fruitless, 
 whilst from the defects of their principles it was im- 
 possible to reconcile the Moon's motion within a de- 
 gree, nor the planets Mars and Mercury to a much 
 greater space." 
 
 In confirmation of the above we remark, that the 
 early Egyptian and Babylonian astronomers, with 
 those of the Medes, all failed in affixing any definite 
 data for the measurement of solar time. Indeed, the 
 first recorded effort to this end was that of " Assis, a 
 king of Thebes, in Egypt, l who reigned about a 
 thousand years after the flood,'' at which time the civil 
 year was made to consist of three hundred and sixty- 
 five days. The Egyptians were followed by the Babylo- 
 nians ; but their year counted only three hundred and 
 sixty days, till after the commencement of the reign 
 of Belus, or Nabonassar, about sixteen hundred years 
 after the flood. Hence the commencement of the 
 Nabonassarean Era, the years of which agree exactly 
 with the Egyptian, except that the former commences 
 in winter, the latter in autumn; and "the ancient 
 
 1. See- Plat, de Tlacit Philos, 1. ii., c. 8; 1. iii.,C. 12. \.iv.. c. 
 18 : and Plato Polit., p. 174, 173, LY>i>. 370, 27 1 ; and Laeit. in vit. 
 Anax. 1., ix., seg. 33. {Shuck, vol. i., p. S.) 
 
164 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 year of the Medes is the same with the Nabonassa- 
 
 rean." l 
 
 The Brazen Age. next to the time of Jupiter ; 2 
 
 and the Era of Sesostins* not being material to our 
 present purpose, will be passed over without further 
 notice. 
 
 Of the progress of astronomy, in determining the 
 fractions of a year over three hundred and sixty-five 
 days, if reliance is to be placed upon Dr. Hally's state- 
 ment of the ancient astronomers as above, Thales, the 
 Grecian philosopher, who flourished about the fiftieth 
 year of the Nabonassarean Era, was the first of that 
 nation who attempted to correct the Greek year. " He 
 learned in Egypt that the year consisted of three hun- 
 dred and sixty-five days." But even this correction 
 was not immediately received all over Greece ; for 
 Solon, in the time of Cra3sus, king of Lydia, was ig- 
 norant of it." 4 It was, according to Strabo, reserved 
 for Plato and Eudoxus, near two hundred years after 
 the time of Thales, to find out the deficiency of al- 
 most six hours in his year ; 5 and, even this improve- 
 ment, Dr. Hally states that before Hipparchus, who 
 flourished only about one hundred and fifty years be- 
 fore Christ, there could be scarce such a science as as- 
 tronomy, he having made the first catalogue of the 
 fixed stars, such a catalogue being indispensable to mi- 
 nute astronomical calculations ; and that to him the 
 
 1. Shuck, vol i., p. 9. 2. Shuck. Con. vol. iii. 78. 
 
 3. Ibid., p. 125. 4. Ibid., Con. vol. i., p. 10. 
 
 6. Strabo 2. xvii, p. 806. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 165 
 
 world was beholden for all its astronomy for above one 
 thousand five hundred years. Finally, as the learned 
 astronomer Hally states, it was reserved for Ptolomy, 
 in his Syntaxis, about three hundred years after Hip- 
 parchus, to carry that science, as based upon his theory, 
 to the highest point of perfection that it ever attained 
 under the ancients. 
 
 From the preceding, however, it is evident that the 
 Greeks were by no means the " pioneers " of astrono- 
 mical science. In fact, their earliest mode of chrono- 
 logical computations, was by generations, three of 
 which, at thirty-three and one-third years each, equal- 
 led one hundred years. Hence, Pherecydes and Cad- 
 mus, of Miletus, the two most ancient historians of the 
 Greeks, who flourished about five hundred years be- 
 fore Christ ; and sometimes, even Herodotus, l who, 
 by the way, furnishes a rule by which to determine 
 said computations, 2 adopted " this very natural, but 
 very indefinite mode." Newton, in his "chronologia ve- 
 terum emendata," however, only allows from eighteen 
 to twenty years, as the average of the reigns of their 
 kings, three of which, at sixty-six years, makes a dif- 
 ference from the above of thirty-four years ; while on 
 the other hand, Eratosthenes and Apollodorus, fixes 
 the average of each generation at thirty-six and a half 
 years. 
 
 The science of astronomy among the Greeks, be- 
 tween the times of Solon and Hipparchus, a period of 
 about four hundred and forty years, was exceedingly 
 
 1. Herodotus, 1. i., p. 181. 0. Ibid, 1. a., p. Ml. 
 
166 • AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 vague and undefined. The Attic or Athenian lunar 
 year included twelve months, numbering alternately 
 twentv-nine and thirty days. But after fruitless 
 attempts by Meton, about four hundred and thirty 
 years before Christ; and by Callippus, about one 
 hundred years later, to effect a correspondence be- 
 tween lunar and solar time, they finally, " mistak- 
 ing a lunar month to consist exactly of thirty days, in 
 compounding their year of twelve of them, made it 
 amount to three hundred and sixty-five days." Sub- 
 sequently, however, upon the observance of their fes- 
 tivals, especially when connected with the Olympiads, 
 as the time for celebrating their games, " being the 
 first full moon after the summer solstice, it always fell 
 in the compass of one lunar month, either sooner or 
 later in the solar year ; and there being just four years 
 between Olympiad and Olympiad, this necessarily 
 made these years to be solar years ; and cycles, and 
 rules of intercalation were invented of purpose to 
 bring them to it." Hence, " although they might mea- 
 sure their months by the motion of the moon, they al- 
 ways regulated their years according to that of the 
 sun." x 
 
 Besides the Attic or Athenian, there is also the Ma- 
 cedonian calendar; which, though it differed from the 
 above in the names of the months, yet in other res- 
 pects it corresponded with it, except that the former 
 began with the winter solstice, and the latter with the 
 
 1. Prideaux, vol. ii., pp. 41, 42. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 167 
 
 autumnal equinox. It was used principally in those 
 Asiatic States founded by Alexander's generals. 
 
 In A.D.681, at an ^Ecumenical Council of the Greek 
 or Eastern Church, the birth of Christ was fixed at the 
 five thousand five hundred and eighth year from the 
 Creation. This era was adopted as the civil mode of 
 reckoning by the Oriental Churches, and also by the 
 Greek Emperors, upon the rejection of the " Consular 
 Era," and continued in use down to the time of Peter 
 I., A. D., 1700, when the Christian Era, (the Juliano- 
 Gregorian year,) then in use throughout all Europe, 
 was adopted in its place. 
 
 The Era of the Seleucidce is founded upon the 
 conquest of Babylon and the erection of a powerful 
 monarchy under Seleucus, one of the most valarous 
 generals of Alexander ; and falls in with the first year 
 of the one hundred and seventeenth Olympiad, or the 
 last half of the year three hundred and twelve, and the 
 first half of the year three hundred and eleven, B. C. It 
 is mentioned in the Books of the Maccabees, and as con- 
 nected with the history of Asia and of the Christian 
 Church during the middle ages, it is sometimes used 
 by the Christian Fathers. 
 
 Of the Cecropian Era, and Parian Chronicle, in- 
 troduced into England from the Levant by William 
 Petty in the form of a tablet of Parian Marble, about 
 A. D. one thousand six hundred and twenty-eight, 
 and upon which was engraved a short chronicle of 
 Grecian history, which commences with, and marks 
 the date when, Cecrops first came into Greece : 
 though at first considered as a safe guide in the tie- 
 
168 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 
 
 partment of Grecian Chronology ; yet its authenticity 
 has been so undermined by the pen of the learned 
 Robinson, that it has now fallen into comparative 
 desuetude. 
 
 The Consular Era just alluded to, which was re- 
 gulated by the succession of two Annual Consuls, 
 was the only mode of reckoning in the business of 
 civil life among the Romans. It commenced about 
 five hundred years B. C, and terminated by an ordi- 
 nance of Leo the Philosopher, between A. D. eight 
 hundred eighty-six and nine hundred and eleven. 
 
 The Olympiads were of Roman origin, and com- 
 menced at an early period. The first Olympiad how- 
 ever is dated from Coroebus, who flourished B. C, 
 seven hundred and seventy-six, he being the first victor 
 in those games to whose honor a statue was erected. 
 
 Prior to the time of Julius Cassar, the Roman year, 
 which was Lunar, and introduced by Numa Pom- 
 pilius, consisted of three hundred and fifty-five days. 
 Thus it continued, till the time of the Decemvirs, 
 when a change took place in the order of the months, 
 an intercalated month of twenty- two days every two 
 years, and one of twenty-three days every four years 
 being introduced, with a view to harmonize the 
 Lunar with the solar year. But even with this im- 
 provement, though it agreed with the Tetraeteris of 
 the Athenians, yet it exceeded by four days both the 
 Attic Cycle and four Julian years. In this imperfect 
 and confused state it remained for years, subject to 
 the caprices of the College of Priests, who either 
 lengthened or diminished the year, as best served their 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 169 
 
 mercenary ends. Upon the accession of Julius Caesar 
 to the Roman throne, however, an attempt was made 
 to reform the Calendar. For this purpose the emperor 
 selected Sosigenes, according to Pliny, but Marcus 
 Flavins, according to Macrobius. This reformation 
 commenced in Caesar's fourth consulate, B. C. forty- 
 five, and the seven hundred and ninth from the buildino* 
 of the city. The preceding year, (which, from the 
 endless confusion that arose from the difference in the 
 number of days of the several months, together with 
 the introduction of the intercalary months, was styled 
 by Macrobius, the year of confusion,) ending on the 
 twenty-ninth of December, the New Calendar com- 
 menced on the first of January, as above. 
 
 The Julian year is solar time, and consists of three 
 hundred and sixty-five days and six full hours, which 
 six hours making in four years one intercalarv day, is 
 added to the above every fourth or leap year. Even 
 this year, however, had its defects. For, in its sub- 
 sequent division into fifty-two weeks of seven days each, 
 which gave only three hundred and sixty-four days 
 to the year, it overran the fifty-two weeks in common 
 years one, and in leap years two days. Nor was this 
 all. It exceeded the true time by eleven minutes, 
 fourteen seconds, and thirty thirds. This it was found 
 by the course of the sun after the lapse of a century 
 amounted to about ten days, and hence, that it ma- 
 terially affected the time, designated in the Julian 
 Calendar for the celebration of Easter, viz., the 
 twenty-first of March, which always fell on the first 
 Sunday after the full moon immediately succeeding 
 15 
 
170 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 the vernal equinox, and that in the sixteenth century 
 the time was anticipated by ten days. 
 
 Finally, under Pope Gregory XIII., in order to ob- 
 viate the recurrence of a like difficulty, Aloysius Li- 
 lius, an eminent astronomer of that period, reformed 
 the Julian Calendar by throwing ten days out of the 
 month of October of one thousand five hundred and 
 eighty-two, by which process the first of January en- 
 suing was made to coincide with the right point in 
 the sun's motion. This, however, gave to that year 
 only three hundred and fifty-five days .Hence, in order 
 to prevent the recurrence of a similar difficulty by the 
 above fractions of the Julian over the true solar year, 
 it was determined that every hundredth year for three 
 centuries in succession, which, according to the Julian 
 Calendar would be leap years, should be common 
 years, but for the fourth century a leap year. Hence 
 the Juliano-Gregorian year, or new style. It was not, 
 however until A. D. one thousand seven hundred, 
 that the German Protestants consented to adopt the 
 New Calendar, which example was afterwards fol- 
 lowed by Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland ; by 
 England in one thousand seven hundred and fifty- 
 two, and by Sweden in one thousand seven hundred 
 and fifty-three. The Russians have always adhered 
 to the Old Calendar. 
 
 ' The ancient Persian astronomy attained to great 
 accuracy in the adjustment of solar time, their com- 
 mon and leap years agreeing precisely with those of 
 the Julian year ; with the exception that, as the new 
 year, by their mode of intercalation, always fell on the 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 171 
 
 day of the Vernal Equinox, the Arabian astronomers 
 of the age of Malek Schah, (or Djelaleddin) gave it 
 the precedence. 
 
 Some have supposed that at this time the above 
 year formed the civil mode of reckoning time among 
 the Persians. This supposition however can scarcely 
 be reconciled with the fact, that Persia was now un. 
 der the Seldjukian Dinasty, of which Malek Schah 
 (himself an Arabian) was king. The lunar year of 
 the Arabians formed the civil mode of reckoning time 
 in all countries subjugated to their arms. The 
 greater probability is, that this solar year of the Per- 
 sians was coeval with the period of Zoroaster, Malek 
 Schah, a devoted lover of astronomical science collect- 
 ing his knowledge respecting it from a festival per- 
 petuated among that people in commemoration of 
 " the day of the Vernal Equinox," called also 
 " Naurus," or New years day. 
 
 Of the progress of astronomy as herein set forth we 
 have observed, that, in historical Chronology, the 
 more minute parts of the solar year are omitted, until 
 the fractions, amounting as they do every fourth year 
 to one day, makes an intercalary day, which, being 
 added thereto, is a leap year. Hence the distinction 
 between the common and intercalary year. Hence 
 also the origin of Cycles, to harmonize the Lunar 
 with the Solar year. It is perhaps necessary also 
 again to observe, that the fractional difference between 
 the tropical and sidcral solar year, does not affect 
 the periods of time in general Chronology. And, in 
 view of the difference between the original solar Ju- 
 
172 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 lian year-) and the Juliano- Gregorian year, being that 
 of ten days, at the lapse of every century; computing the 
 duration of the world under the present constituted order 
 of things at six thousand years, the same remark may 
 apply : For, be the result of any established Cycle har- 
 monizing Lunar and Solar time ivithin that period 
 whatever it may, when carried beyond it, it cannot af- 
 fect general historical^Chronology as included therein. 
 
 These remarks premised, it may be of use to add a 
 brief account of the progress of the principle Cycles 
 adopted from time to time, with a view to harmonize 
 the Lunar and Solar years. 
 
 Cleostratus, a Greek philosopher, about B. C. five 
 hundred and thirty-two, discovered the Cycle of eight 
 years, which was used to regulate the period of the 
 celebration of the Olympic games, 1 festivals, &c., as 
 founded upon the direction of their " oracle," as Pri- 
 deaux says, to observe all their sacrifices and festivals, 
 KuraToia^ i. e., according to three ; which they inter- 
 preted to mean years, months, and days ; and that the 
 years were to be reckoned according to the course of 
 the Sun, and the months and days according to that 
 of the moon. Hence their endeavors to bring all these 
 to meet together ; i. e., to bring the same months, and 
 all the days of them, to fall as near as possible within 
 the same time of the sun's course, that so the same 
 solemnities might always be celebrated within the 
 same seasons of the year, as well as in the same 
 months, and on the same days of them ; the difference 
 
 1. Investigator, vol. iv., p. 140. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 173 
 
 between the lunar revolutions of the moon, (twelve 
 of which made their common year), in its conjunction 
 with that of the sun in bringing it round to the same 
 point of the ecliptic, being eleven days, minus that of 
 the sun. 
 
 The first attempt to this end was that of Deiteris, 
 of a Cycle of two years, by an intercalation of one 
 month. But this was found to exceed the solar year 
 by seven and a half days. Soon after the discovery of 
 this defect, the Tetrgeteris was introduced, which was 
 a Cycle of four years. But here again was a dif- 
 ference between lunar and solar time, every fourth 
 year, of full fourteen days. To remedy this defect, 
 Cleostratus, as above, intercalated alternately, one four 
 years with one month, and the next four years with 
 two months, which brought it to the Octoeteris, or 
 Cycle of eight years, which was a more perfect Cycle 
 than either of the preceding ; leaving, betwen lunar 
 and solar time, in eight years, a difference of only one 
 day, fourteen hours, and nine minutes. The aug- 
 mentation of this difference, however, finally origin- 
 ated several other Cycles, of which the learned Pri- 
 deaux pronounces that of Meto (or Meton) to be the 
 most perfect. This Meto was a famous Athenian as- 
 tronomer, and flourished about the time of Nehemiah, 
 four hundred and thirty-two years before Christ, He, 
 as the learned author l above named asserts, invented 
 
 1. Shuckford withholds the distinction here ascribed to Melon by 
 Prideanx, as the exclusive originator of this Cycle. Thus it is the 
 greatest and the best of men will differ. His words are, 
 
 " As to Meton, from his account of his settling the Equinoxes, 
 
 15* 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 the Enneadecaeteris, or the Cycle of nineteen years, 
 which is a lunar Cycle, called the Cycle of the moon ; 
 the numbers whereof being, by reason of the excellen- 
 cy of their use, written in the ancient callendars in 
 golden letters — in our present almanacs is called, the 
 golden numbers. This Cycle is made up of nineteen 
 lunar years and seven lunar months, by seven inter- 
 calations added to them ; each year of the seven con- 
 sisting of thirteen months, and the rest of twelve. In 
 adapting it to the seasons for celebrating the Grecian 
 Olympiads, the use to which it was first applied, as 
 the recurrence of these Olympiads fell on the first full 
 
 and from Dean Prideaux's of his nineteen years cycle, a it would 
 seem probable that Le was a very exact astronomer. But I must 
 confess, there appear to me to be considerable reasons against ad- 
 mitting this opinion of him; for how could Meton be so exact an 
 astronomer, when Hipparchus, who lived almost three hundred 
 years after Meton, b was the first who found out, that the Equinox 
 had a motion backwards, since even he was so far from being ac- 
 curate, that he miscounted twenty-eight years in one hundred, in 
 calculating that motion, c Meton might not be so exact an astron- 
 omer as he is represented. The cycle which goes under his name 
 might be first projected by him ; but perhaps he did not give it that 
 perfection which it afterwards received. Columella lived in the time 
 of one Emperor Claudius, and he might easily ascribe more to Meton 
 than belonged to him, as living so many ages after him. Later 
 authors perfected Meton's rude draughts of astronomy ; and Colu- 
 mella might suppose the corrections made in his originals by later 
 hands to be Meton's. We now call the nineteen years cycle by his 
 name , but I suppose, that nothing more ol it belongs to him than an 
 original design of something like it, which the astrononers of after 
 ages added to and completed by degrees. 
 
 a. Prideaux, Connect, part ii., book iv. b. Newton'i Chronology, p. 94 
 
 c. Id. ibid 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 175 
 
 moon after the summer solstice, which was observed 
 to be on the twenty-first day of the Egyptian mont h 
 Phamenoth ; this, when reduced to the Julian year 
 coincided with the twenty -seventh of June. ! 
 
 The difference between lunar and solar time at 
 the end of this Cycle being only two hours, one mi- 
 nute, and twenty seconds, the learned Prideaux, as 
 already stated, pronounces the " perfectest," and say s ? 
 " to a nearer agreement than this no other Cycle 
 can bring them." 2 Yet, in a subsequent part 3 of his 
 very elaborate and useful work, after adverting to his 
 previous account of the above Cycles, including that 
 of Meto, (to which, it is true, he still gives the pre- 
 ference,) he says of them that " they all failed" &c, 
 and then proceeds to introduce to the notice of the 
 reader another, called the Calippic Cycle, as a little 
 perfecter than " the perfectest?' 4 The account which 
 he gives of this Cycle is, in substance, as follows : — 
 
 After the expiration of a century, it was found that 
 the Cycle of Meto " had overshot what he aimed a 
 by a quarter of a day." Hence, Calippus, a famous 
 astronomer of Cyzicus, in Mysia, three hundred and 
 thirty years before Christ, invented a Cycle, which 
 consisted of a period of seventy-six years, embracing 
 
 1. Prid. Con. vol. ii., p. 184 — 188. 2. Ibid, p. 87. 
 
 3. Prid. Con. vol. iii., p. 313. 
 
 4. "What we complain of in the above is, the tendency o( such 
 looseness, in the treatment of a subject of this abstruse nature, to 
 produce confusion in the mind oi an ordinary reader. One such 
 instance, with many, is quite sufficient to arrest all further inquiry. 
 
176 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 precisely four of the Metonie Cycles ; the effect of 
 which was, to give a difference of only one day be- 
 tween the termination of each Calippic and four Me- 
 tonie Cycles, a period of seventy-six years ! 
 
 Now, of the two above Cycles, though the learned 
 Dean Prideaux says of the Metonie, that it continued 
 to regulate the Grecian Olympiads down to the time 
 when Christianity gained the ascendancy in the Roman 
 Empire ; l yet of the Calippic Cycle he says, that it 
 " was most in reputation among the Greeks, for the 
 bringing of the reckonings of the sun and moon's 
 motions to an agreement," 2 only about one hundred 
 years after the Cycle of Meto, the latter being invented 
 four hundred and thirty-two years before Christ — the 
 former three hundred and thirty years before Christ. 
 
 Confidence in these deductions, however, increases 
 with the advances of astronomical science in after 
 ages, in the more accurate measurements of solar time. 
 Of these advances, as connected with those which 
 more immediately concern us, it is only necessary that 
 we advert to our account 3 of the Julian and the Ju- 
 liano-Gregorian solar year, as the universally admitted 
 standard 4 for the measurement of time in chrono- 
 logical science. 
 
 One very important question now to be decided is, 
 
 1. Prid., Con. vol. ii., p. 188. 
 
 2. Prid.. Con. vol. iii., p. 314. 
 
 3. See pp. 40, 41., &c. 
 
 4. I here assume the responsibility to add, since ilw period of the 
 Flood. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 177 
 
 whether sacred time, Ante-diluvian and Post-dilu- 
 vian, agree the one with the other ? Our solar year, 
 as is evident from the preceding, amounts to nearly 
 three hundred and sixty-five days and a quarter. 
 But according to Shuckford, it appears, that " before 
 the Flood, the solar year was three hundred and sixty 
 days ; " that it embraced twelve months, each of thirty 
 days ; l that " in that space of time the sun made one 
 entire revolution ; " and consequently, that " all the 
 time of the Ante-diluvian world, chronology was fixed 
 and easy," &c. 
 
 But, have we scripture evidence of this fact ? We 
 answer affirmatively, and that too of the most un- 
 questionable kind. Moses, in his " computation of 
 the duration of the flood/' tells us that it began "on 
 the seventeenth day of the second month ; 2 prevailed 
 without any sensible abatement for one hundred and 
 fifty days ; 3 and that the Ark lodged on mount Ara- 
 rat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. 4 
 So that we see, from the seventeenth of the second 
 month, to the seventeenth of the seventh month, (i. e. ? 
 for five whole months,) he allows one hundred and 
 and fifty days, which is just thirty days to each 
 month, for five times thirty days are a one hundred 
 and fifty." 5 
 
 Now, this computation of the duration of the Flood, 
 we say, must have been regulated by the Ante-dilu- 
 
 1. Shuck. Con. Vol. i., p. 11. 
 
 2. Gen. vii., 11. 3. Gen. vii., 24, 
 
 4. Gen. viii., 3, 4. 5. Shuck, Con. Vol. i.. p. 11. 10. 
 
178 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 vian Standard ; and for the simple reason, that no 
 miraculous communication had been made of the 
 difference between a solar Ante-diluvian and a solar 
 Post-diluvian year. Nor, considering the state of 
 astronomical science at the time Moses wrote his his- 
 tory, is there any ground for surprise at his omission 
 to recognize this difference, the first attempt to correct 
 the Egyptian year by astronomical observations not 
 having been made till near one hundred and fifty 
 years after his death. 
 
 These premises admitted, where, we ask, the pro- 
 priety of measuring sacred ante-diluvian time by the 
 post-diluvian solar year, the necessary result of which 
 is, the addition thereto (i. e., a period of one thousand 
 six hundred and fifty-six years) of above twenty-three 
 years ? 
 
 Another question now presents itself, viz. : — Can 
 the sacred or Jewish year (lunar,) historic and pro- 
 phetic, be made to harmonize with the Julian solar 
 year ? On the answer to this question depends the 
 merits of all our subsequent deductions, — as, without 
 this harmony, the difference between the Jewish com- 
 mon year at three hundred and sixty days, and that of 
 the Julian solar year at three hundred and sixty-five days 
 and about a quarter, when applied to a given period, 
 will vary in the proportion of one year plus the for- 
 mer, to every thirty-two years of the latter. Our po- 
 sition therefore in reference to the above, is as fol- 
 lows, — 
 
 As of the Julian solar year, so of the Jewish lunar 
 year — intercalary time was a characteristic pe- 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 179 
 
 culiar to both. Hence the harmony of the one with 
 the other. 
 
 On this subject however, there is a difference of 
 opinion among the learned, so far at least as relates to 
 the period between the Flood and the captivities. 
 Shuckford, for instance, says, — we do not find that 
 God, by any special appointment, corrected the year 
 for the Jews. — And we do not any where read that 
 Moses ever made a correction of it. And speaking of 
 the Jewish intercalary year, he observes that we no- 
 where in the books of the Old Testament find any 
 mention of such a month ; and he quotes Scaliger as 
 being positive, that there was no such intercalary 
 month in the time of Moses, or of the Judges, or of 
 the Kings ; and finally, that a year consisted of 
 twelve months in the times of David and Solomon, 1 
 &c. These declarations to the contrary notwithstand- 
 ing however, the learned Doctor admits that there 
 was an actual change in solar time, Ante-diluvian 
 and Post-diluvian, to the amount of Jive days and al- 
 most six hours, and that this change took place at the 
 Flood ; 2 also, that as soon as it was observed, philo- 
 sophers endeavored to set right their chronology by 
 it, inasmuch as the ancient (ante-diluvian solar) 
 measure of a year would not do, &c. 
 
 According, then, to the above, it is not singular that 
 Moses never corrected the solar year ; nor that the in- 
 
 1. Comp. 1 Kings iv., 5, with 1 Chron, Xivii, Sec Shuck. Con. 
 Vol. i., p. 11, 12. 
 
 2. Ibid. Vol. i., p. 8. 
 
180 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 tercalary year was unknown, not only in his time, but 
 in that also of the Judges and Kings. But what does 
 this argue ? Certainly that Divine Providence left the 
 discovery to the province of artificial means, respect- 
 ing which Moses, &c, had not the sagacity to find out! 
 Now, though it be conceded that there was no Di- 
 vine revelation given of the changes in the ante-dilu- 
 vian and post-diluvian year, between the year of the 
 Flood, A. M.j 1656j and the mission of Moses, A. M., 
 2513, an interval of eight hundred and fifty-seven 
 years ; — is it true also as applicable to the time of 
 the Judges and Kings, or even of the entire mission 
 of Moses ? This is a point which merits investiga- 
 tion ; and as connected with the subject now under 
 discussion, we remark, it is evident that, in the time 
 of David, as recorded in First Chronicles, the twelfth 
 and thirty-second verse, the practice of astronomical 
 observations among the Hebrews, is more than inti- 
 mated in the words, " and of the children of Issachar, 
 which were men that had under standing of the times, 
 to know xohat Israel ought to do? If there be any 
 doubts as to the import of this passage, so far as we 
 can place reliance upon the readings of the Targum, it 
 is as follows : — " They (the children of Issachar) were 
 skilful in the knowledge of times, and wise to fix the 
 beginning of the years ; dextrous at setting the new 
 moons, and fixing their feasts at their seasons? ! 
 Nor is this all. We are furnished with a nucleus to the 
 
 1. J. Bichen, A.M. Signs of the Times, 1808 .Flemings Apocal. 
 Key. Appendix, p. 153. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 181 
 
 mode by which they done this. The Divine faithful- 
 ness, in lengthening the days of King Hezekiah fifteen 
 years, was confirmed by the miraculous throwing back 
 fo the shadow on the sun-dial of Ahaz, l ten degrees. 
 And though it does not appear by whom, and when 
 this sun-dial was first brought into use : yet, query, 
 with whom so probable as with the astronomical 
 " children of Issachar ? " That Tribe, in the num- 
 bering of Israel, stands next in order to that of Judah? 
 The insignia of Issachar was that of the " strong ass, 
 crouching down between two burdens." 3 Upon their 
 entrance into Canaan, Issachar was one of the six 
 Tribes appointed to stand on Mount Ephraim to bless 
 the people ; 4 and the princes or Issachar were with De- 
 borah, in her war against Jabin and Sisera." 5 Now, 
 to this conspicuous Tribe, and to no other, can the 
 learned Prideaux refer, when, speaking of the mea- 
 surement of Jewish time " while they lived in their 
 own land," he says, they " might easily receive no- 
 tice of what was ordained in this matter by those who 
 had the care and ordering of it? 6 But this carries 
 us back, if not to the time of Moses, yet certainly to 
 that of Joshua, his immediate successor. But if, as 
 Dean Prideaux terms it, the " inartificial n mode o{ 
 reckoning time by the Hebrews, can be shown to have 
 
 1. Kings xx., 9. Isa. xxxviii., 8. 2. Num. i., 29; ii 
 
 3. Gen. xi., 14. 4. Dent, xxvii.. lg. 
 
 5. Judges iv. ; — v., 1, 5. 6. Prid. Con; vol. i., Jk 98; 
 
 16 
 
182 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 commenced in the time of Moses, it is then evident 
 that the Jewish year, from the period of his mission 
 down to the time of Solomon, could not have been 
 reckoned exclusively by a year of twelve months, each 
 of thirty days. 
 
 We deem it, however, indispensable to our subse- 
 quent inquiries, that we enter into this matter some- 
 what in detail : in doing which, in order to fix in the 
 mind what we conceive to be the true nature of Jewish 
 time, and to show its harmony with our Julian solar 
 year, we shall lay down the following rule, viz. : — 
 
 " That though the Jewish ordinary year 
 is to be attended to when but few years 
 are under consideration ; YET, in a long suc- 
 cession OF TIME THEY ARE NOT TO BE NOTICED J 
 FOR BY INTERCALATIONS THEY AMOUNT TO THE 
 SAME WITH SOLAR TIME." l 
 
 I. Of the post-diluvian sacred year from the Flood 
 to the mission of Moses, the Hebrews no doubt com- 
 puted time by the ante-diluvian solar year of three 
 hundred and sixty days. During their bondage in 
 Egypt, they were probably regulated in their mode of 
 reckoning by the Egyptian calendar. " But that the 
 Israelites made use of (either) after their coming out 
 of Egypt can never be made consisting with the Mo- 
 saical Law." 2 For, 
 
 1. J. Bicheno, A. M. Signs of the Times. Fleming, appendix, 
 p. 143. 
 
 2. Prid. Con. vol. i., p. 100. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 183 
 
 II. At the time of the Exode, " the Lord spake 
 unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, say- 
 ing, This month shall be unto you the beginning of 
 months : it shall be the first month of the 
 year to you J 7 1 And again, " And thou shall num- 
 ber seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times 
 seven years, and the space of the seven Sabbaths 
 of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. 
 Then shall thou cause the trumpet of the Jubilee 
 to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; 
 in the day of atonement shall ye make the trum- 
 pet sound in all your land ; and ye shall hallow 
 the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all 
 the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof ; it shall be 
 a Jubilee unto you : and ye shall return every man 
 unto his possession, and ye shall return every man 
 unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be 
 unto you ; ye shall not sow, neither reap, that which 
 groweth of itself in it ; neither gather the grapes in 
 it of the vine undressed.' 1 '' 2 These two passages con- 
 stitute the basis of sacred time, according to the Jewish 
 reckoning. From the first is formed their Ecclesiasti 
 cal year, which takes its rise from the observance of 
 the Passover, instituted in the month of Nisan. near 
 the time of the vernal Equinox. From the second, 
 the Civil year, or the period of the Jubilee, which re- 
 stored to every individual Jew his civil rights and for- 
 feited possessions, and which was celebrated in the 
 month of Tisri, about the time of the autumnal 
 
 1. Exod., xii., 1, 2. 2. Lev. xxv.; 8— 11. 
 
184 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Equinox. While, therefore, the former year was used 
 to adjust the observance of their fasts, festivals, and 
 other ecclesiastical times and concerns, the latter form- 
 ed the basis of all their computations in the regulation 
 of their Jubilees and Sabbatical years, and other civil 
 matters, such as contracts, obligations, &c. 
 
 The month Nisan, in which commenced the Jewish 
 ecclesiastical year, is also called Abib. 1 The Passo- 
 ver, instituted under Moses in this month, was their 
 "principal festival, appointed as a perpetual memento 
 of their Exode from Egypt. The time of its observ- 
 ance was fixed by a divine command. 2 This direc- 
 tion very naturally led to the measurement of time by 
 months; in doing which (in the absence of a more 
 perfect knowledge of astronomical science) they could 
 only determine the length of the year by marking the 
 phasis, or appearance of the moon. From one new 
 moon to the other, therefore, they could tell the num- 
 ber of days in each month by the number of days of 
 their loeek. 3 Hence, at the appearance of the neio 
 moon they began their months. But the course of 
 the moon, i. e., from one new moon to another, con- 
 sisting of twenty-nine days and a half, to avoid the 
 confusion, otherwise arising from this circumstance, 
 they made their months to consist of twenty-nine and 
 of thirty days, alternately ; " and of twelve of these 
 
 1. Deut. xvi., 1. 
 2. Exod. xii.j 2; Lev. xxiii., 5; ISum. ix.. 2 — 5; xxviii., 16, 
 17. 
 
 3. Exod. xx. } 8 — 11. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 185 
 
 months their common year consisted." They were 
 as follows : — 
 
 Nisan, orAbib 29 days Tisri. or Ethanim,.. 29 days 
 
 Iyar, or Tziv, 30 days Bui, or Marchesvan, 30 days 
 
 Sivan, 29 days Cisleu, 29 days 
 
 Tamuz, 30 days Tebet, 30 days 
 
 Ab, 29 days Shebat, 29 days 
 
 Elul, 30 days Adar, 30 days 
 
 But their ecclesiastical year commencing with Nisan, 
 or Abib, as above, and including these twelve months, 
 made up a lunar year of only three hundred and fifty- 
 four days, which, in one year, fell eleven days short 
 of the solar year ; in consequence of which, the se- 
 cond lunar year commenced earlier than the solar by 
 eleven days ; and this, " in thirty-three years time, 
 would carry back the beginning of the year (lunar) 
 through all the four seasons to the same point again, 
 and get a whole year from the solar reckoning." 
 Hence, independently of some medium to harmonize 
 lunar and solar time, it were impossible to adhere to 
 the Divine command as to the time of observing the 
 Passover. 
 
 To remedy this defect, the Hebrews had recourse to 
 the following expedient. Their Paschal Festival, " the 
 first day of which was always fixed to the middleof their 
 month Nisan ;" l their Pentecost fifty days after : a and 
 their feast of Tabernacles, on the fifteenth of Tisri, 
 
 1. Exod. xii., 3 — 20; Lev. xxiii., 4 — 8; Num. xxviii.. 16, 17. 
 
 2. Lev. xxiii., 15 — 17; Deut. xvi.. \\ 
 
 16* 
 
186 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 six months after ; l as the first required the eating of the 
 Paschal Lamb, and the offering up of the wave-sheaf, 
 as the first-fruits of their barley harvest — the second, 
 the offering of the two wave-loaves, as the first-fruits 
 of their wheat harvest — and the third, being the 
 time fixed for the ingathering of all the fruits of the 
 earth, " the Passover could not be observed till the 
 lambs were grown fit to be eaten, and the barley fit to 
 be reaped ; nor the Pentecost, till the wheat was ripe ; 
 nor the feast of the Tabernacles, till the ingatherings 
 of the vine-yard and olive-yard were over." Hence 
 the necessity of intercalating their lunar year, 
 which was done in the following manner : " When- 
 ever, according to the course of the common year, the 
 fifteenth day of Nisan happened to fall before the day 
 of their vernal equinox, then they intercalated a 
 month, and then the Paschal solemnity was thereby 
 carried one month farther into the year, and all the other 
 festivals with it. This intercalary month, being added 
 at the end of the year, after the last month, Adar, they 
 called Veadar, or the second Adar, which made that 
 year consist of thirteen months, or three hundred and 
 eighty-four days. This intercalation either took place 
 on the second or third year, as the case might be, and 
 formed the Jewish leap year, from the institution of 
 the Passover under Moses, down to the time of the 
 Captivities. 
 
 We deem it incontrovertible, therefore, that, accord- 
 ing to the Mosaical law, as their year during the last 
 named period, was made up of months purely lunar, it 
 
 1. Lev. xxiii., 34 — 39. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 187 
 
 could in no other way he made to harmonize with solar 
 time than by an intercalary month. Not, however, 
 that it is pretended that their months can be fixed to 
 any certain day in the Julian calendar, they falling 
 always within the compass of thirty days, sooner or 
 later therein, as will appear from the following : — 
 
 1. Nisan, 
 
 2. Iyar, 
 
 3. Sivan, 
 
 4. Tamuz, 
 
 5. Ab, 
 
 6. Elul, 
 
 k March. 
 \ April. 
 
 S April. 
 May. 
 { May. 
 \ June. 
 ( June. 
 \ July. 
 
 < July. 
 ( August. 
 
 C August. 
 ( September. 
 
 7. Tizri, 
 
 8. Marchesvan 
 
 ■i 
 
 9. Cisleu, 
 
 10. Tebet, 
 
 11. Shebat, 
 
 12. Adar, 
 
 September. 
 October. 
 
 October. 
 November. 
 
 { November. 
 \ December. 
 
 S December. 
 January. 
 { January. 
 \ February. 
 
 ( February. 
 \ March. 
 
 III. After the captivities, and when the Jews be- 
 came dispersed through all nations, they were forced 
 to make use of Cycles and astronomical calculations 
 for the fixing of their new moons and intercalations, 
 and the times of their feasts, fasts, and other ob- 
 servances, that so they might be everywhere uniform 
 herein. The first Cycle they made use of for this 
 purpose 1 vjas that of eighty-four years : by this 
 they fixed their Paschal feast, and by that their 
 v)hole year besides ; and the use hereof the primitive 
 Christians borrowed from them, and for some of 
 the first centuries, fixed their Easter in every year 
 according to it: but this, after some time } being 
 
 1. Vide Bucherium de antiquo Paschali Jiuhroruni Cyclo, 
 
188 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 found to be faulty r , Meto's Cycle of nineteen years l 
 was, after the council of Nice, brought into use by 
 them for this purpose instead of the other ; and the 
 Jews, following their example herein, almost about 
 the same time, came into the same usage also; and on 
 this Cycle is founded the present form of their year. 
 The first who began to work it into this shape, 2 was 
 Rabbi Samuel, rector of the Jewish school at Sora, 
 in Mesopotamia : Rabbi Adda, xoho was a great 
 astronomer, pursued his scheme ; and after him, 
 Rabbi Hillel, about A. D. 360, brought it to that 
 perfection in which it now is ; and being Nasi, or 
 prince of their sanhedrim, he gave it the authority 
 of his sanction, and by virtue thereof it hath ever 
 since been observed by them, and they say always is 
 to be observed to the coming of the Messiah. Accord- 
 ing to this form 3 there are, within the compass of 
 the said nineteen years Cycle, seven intercalated 
 years, consisting of thirteen months, and twelve com- 
 mon years, consisting of twelve months. The inter- 
 calated years are the third, the sixth, the eighth, the 
 eleventh, the fourteenth, the seventeenth, and the 
 
 1. Epistola Ambrosii 83 ad episcopus per iEmiliam constitutes. 
 It was by the council of Nice referred to the church of Alexandria, 
 every year to fix the time of Easter, and they did it by Meio's Cycle 
 of nineteen years. 
 
 2. Juchasin j Shalsheleth Haccabala ; & Zemach David, & ex 
 iisdem Morinus in exercitat. Prima in Pentateuchum Samarita- 
 num, cap. 3. 
 
 3. Talmud in Rosh Hasshanah. Maimonides in Kiddush Ha- 
 chodesh, & Seldenus de Anno Civili veterum Judseorum. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD. &C. 189 
 
 nineteenth of that Cycle ; and when one round of 
 this Cycle is over, they begin another ; and so con- 
 stantly, according to it, fix their new moons (at 
 which all their months begin) and all their fasts 
 and feasts in every year. And this form of their 
 year, it must be acknowledged, is very exactly and 
 astronomically contrived, and may truly be reckoned 
 the greatest piece of art and, ingenuity that is to be 
 found among that people.'''' l And, " since the Jew- 
 ish calendar hath been fixed by Rabbi Hillel, upon the 
 certain foundations of astronomy, tables may indeed 
 be made, which may point out to what day in that cal- 
 endar every day in the Julian year shall answer ; " 
 and the same rule, if applied to the time which pre- 
 ceded A. D. 360, regulates the otherwise inaccurate 
 intercalary time of the Jewish reckoning, as arising 
 both from the inartificial mode of their intercalations, 
 by the phasis and appearance of the moon, or by their 
 Cycle of eighty-four years. 
 
 But, as of the Jewish ecclesiastical, so of their civil 
 year. Their Jubilees, which were celebrated every 
 fiftieth year, were periods of seven sabbaths of years 
 complete, with an independent year added on, com- 
 pleting half a century, when seven sabbaths wore 
 numbered again, and so on ; the following account of 
 which we have in the book of Leviticus : Says the 
 Lord to Moses, " a Jubilee shall that fiftieth year be 
 unto you — ye shall not sow. In the year of this Ju- 
 bilee ye shall return, every man unto Ins possession.? : 
 
 1. Prideaux, vol. i., pp. 98, 99. 2. Lev. xxv., 19 — 13, 
 
190 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Now, it is plain from the following, viz. : — " When 
 ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the 
 land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord : six years shalt 
 thou sow thy fields, but in the seventh shall be a sab- 
 bath of rest unto the Lord, &c.," l that the direction for 
 counting the seven sabbatical years that precede the 
 Jubilee is the same as that of the single sabbatical 
 year — one command serves for all. Nor are we left 
 to conjecture as to whether the first sabbatical year of 
 the series begins with a Jubilee ; that being directly 
 contrary to the Divine command, which prohibits all 
 solving and reaping' on that year. 2 Nor is it at all 
 necessary to the completion of the fifty years Jubilee, 
 that the first in the series should be a Jubilee. This is 
 evident from its analogy with the feast of Pentecost, 
 for the calculating of which the following direction 
 was given :— " And ye shall count unto you from the 
 morrow after the sabbath, &c, seven sabbaths shall 
 be complete, even unto the morroio after the seventh 
 sabbath shall ye number fifty days." 3 " Now from 
 the morrow after the first sabbath, to the morrow after 
 the seventh sabbath, both inclusive, are fifty days, inde- 
 pendent of the sabbath from which the period is really 
 dated ; but from which it is carefully separated in the 
 direction for the mode of reckoning." 4 
 
 On the subject of Jubilees, "Dr. Prideaux both 
 makes the Jubilee the fiftieth year, and allows also six 
 years of sowing to each septenary, without mutilating 
 
 1. Lev. xxv., 3, 4. 2. Lev. xxv., 11 — 13. 
 
 3. Lev. xxiii., 15. 4. Investigator, vol. iv., p. 124. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 191 
 
 any one series. He also makes the Jubilee to be the 
 fiftieth year every time it revolves." 1 The learned 
 Doctor " rejects the Jubilee years, together with the 
 sabbatical years, from his chronological system ; " 2 
 but of those who adopt it, to the exclusion of an inter- 
 calary year, he says, "it is indeed the truth of the 
 matter ', and I know no objection against it, but that 
 it exposeth the error of those, who, thinking that the 
 sabbatical years did always happen each exactly on 
 the seventh year after the former, have in that order 
 and series placed them in their chronological compu- 
 tations ; without considering, that after every forty- 
 ninth year, a jubilee year did intervene between the 
 Shemittah that then ended, and the beginning of the 
 next that followed." 3 To this may be added the fact, 
 that " many learned men on the Continent inclined 
 to this opinion so late as the middle of the last cen- 
 tury, as may be seen from the following words of 
 Michaelis : " if those are right who place the Jubilee 
 in the fiftieth year, there must every half century 
 have been two years of rest in immediate succession. 
 For the forty-ninth was a seventh year, and of course 
 a year of rest ; and in the fiftieth year the land was in 
 like manner to keep holiday. And however para- 
 doxical this may seem, it does appear to be the mean- 
 ing of the Mosaic statute." 4 
 
 Of the application of Jubilees in chronological com- 
 
 1. Ibid. 2, Ibid. p. 131. 
 
 3. Investigator, vol. iv., p. 131. 
 
 4. Investigator, vol. iv., p. 131. Com. on Law of Moses, vol. L, 
 p. 388. 
 
192 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 putations, we shall have occasion to speak in the 
 sequel. 
 
 Finally, on the subject of the Jewish mode of 
 reckoning time as above set forth, we remark, that, 
 whether, during their sojourn in their own land, or 
 under the kings, captivities, &;c, we think we have 
 demonstrated the correctness of the Rule, " that 
 though the Jewish ordinary year is to be attended to 
 when but few years are under consideration, yet, in 
 a long succession of time, they are not to be noticed, 
 for by Intercalations, they amount to the same with 
 solar timeP It only remains therefore that Ave apply 
 the same process to the aggregate of years from the 
 deluge to the present year of our Lord, one thousand 
 eight hundred and forty-two, in sacred chronological 
 computations, Historic and Prophetic, as that adopted 
 in the regulation of our vulgar Era. The references 
 of the learned Shuckford to 1 kings iv., 5, compared 
 with 1 Chron. xxvii., 15, as evidence that in the time 
 of the kings, sacred time, whether embracing one or 
 five hundred years, was computed at three hundred 
 and sixty days each, can never be reconciled with their 
 use of intercalations, which we have shown in one 
 form or other to have been coeval with the time of 
 Moses. The precedent for computing time according 
 to the Ante-diluvian solar year, as predicated of the 
 Mosaic account of the continuance of the waters of 
 the Flood upon the Earth, Genesis vii., 11, viii., 4, 
 vii., 24, seems to have furnished sufficient grounds for 
 its subsequent use on all ordinary occasions, for the 
 obvious reason that it approximated nearer on the one 
 
AGE OP THE WORLD, &C. 193 
 
 hand to post-diluvian solar time than the Jewish 
 Lunar year ; and on the other, furnished greater faci- 
 lities for the computation of smaller periods, as 1 
 Chron. xxvii., 15. And, if applicable in this respect 
 to the time of the kings, then also of the Prophets. 
 Hence their adoption, in their prophetic numbers, (all 
 of which were computed by days^) of the above year. 
 But these prophetic numbers, counting, as they do, 
 " each day for a year" and extending as they do, to 
 " the end of all things, " must necessarily be inter- 
 preted by the intercalary and cyclical computations, 
 common, as well to the historic and prophetic records 
 of the Jews from the time of Moses, as to the Gentiles. 
 
 These premises admitted, and it follows, that sacred 
 time, Historic and Prophetic, is the same. Also, that 
 sacred time, by intercalations, account to the same as 
 solar time. 
 
 To return now to that golden chain of measure- 
 ment of the entire sabbatical day of God's rest of 
 which we have already spoken, and to which the pre- 
 ceding disquisition respecting the Criteria of measur- 
 ing time Jewish and Julian is introductory, we pro- 
 ceed without further delay to remark, that, for the 
 chronological data of the first part of this chain, we 
 shall rely upon the Historical Records of the Old Tes- 
 tament. It will also serve our present convenience, 
 to divide it into the following periods. 
 
 I. The first, extends from the creation and fell, to 
 the Deluge. 
 
 II. The second, from the Deluge, to the call of 
 Abraham. 
 
 17 
 
194 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 III. The third, from the call of Abraham, to the 
 Exodus. 
 
 IV. The fourth, from the Exodus, to the end of the 
 reign of Saul. 
 
 V. The fifth, from the death of Saul to the com- 
 mencement of the Babylonish Captivity. 
 
 VI. The sixth, the Captivity. 
 
 VII. The interval, between the end of the Captivity, 
 and the commencement of the seventy prophetic weeks 
 of Daniel. 
 
 At this point, viz., the commencement of the seventy 
 prophetic weeks of David, begins the designation of 
 Time, reaching thence to the End of the world, by 
 the great prophetic Chronometer, of which IT forms 
 the basis ; and which, taken in connexion with Da- 
 niel's visions of the Image of gold, silver, brass, iron 
 and clay; (Dan. ii ;) of the vision of the four beasts, 
 &c, rising up out of the Sea; (Dan. vii;) and of the 
 vision of the Ram and the He-Goat, &c, (Dan. viii ;) 
 constitute, as the celebrated Mede expresses it, " the 
 
 SACRED KALENDAR AND GREAT ALMANACK OF PRO- 
 PHECY." l 
 
 Let us, first, however, pass through the several pe- 
 riods above named, down to the point where it com- 
 mences its measurement by prophecy, as beginning 
 with the seventy prophetic weeks of Daniel. 
 
 Of the extraordinary discrepancies of scriptural 
 Chronologists, in this department, we have already 
 spoken. 2 
 
 1. Mede's Apos. of the latter times, ch. xii. 2. See p. 153. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 195 
 
 These discrepancies however, may be traced to pre- 
 dilections in favor of one rather than another, of the 
 various sources of information on this subject. 
 
 "If we pass, however, from the Chronologies, 
 whether Jewish or Grecian, Arabic or Christian, to 
 the only true and original sources of the world's 
 early Chronology, we find the question narrowed. 
 These are, the Genealogies of the Patriarch's, ante- 
 diluvian and post-diluvian, as given in the Book of 
 Genesis, and the subsequent Chronological notices of 
 the Judges and kings of Israel." We have already 
 assigned the reason for adopting the Chronology of 
 the Hebrew text in preference to any other. 1 And, 
 "were the Chronology thence dedncible continuous, 
 and the authority of the Hebrew text in them un- 
 doubted, the date of the creation and outline of early 
 Chronology would be settled. But this is not the 
 case. There are tvjo breaks in the Chronology of the 
 period between Moses and Saul ; and on the numbers 
 in the Patriarchal genealogies there is a remarkable 
 discrepancy in the Hebrew text, the Samaritan, and 
 that of the Septuagint translation." 2 The tables 
 which follow, will serve to exhibit this discrepancy, 
 which we deem it of importance to examine, in order 
 to a more satisfactory evidence of the entire superiority 
 of the Hebrew text. 
 
 "It is," however, "to be remembered that the 
 Septuagint was a Greek translation from the 
 Hebrew, made B. C. 210, and having boon soon 
 
 1. See p. 116 — 119. 2. Investigator, vol. iv., p. 331. 
 
196 
 
 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 received as of authority by the Jews dispersed 
 over the countries of the Mediterranean, quoted by 
 the Evangelists, and reverenced by the early Christ- 
 ian fathers, almost beyond the Hebrew text itself, it 
 must ever be regarded on doubtful points as an author- 
 ity of no mean weight. There are added in the 
 fourth column the numbers as given by the famous 
 historian Josephus, in his " Jewish antiquities," and 
 which he translated, he tells us, (this was about 
 94, A. D.) faithfully from the original." 
 
 Antediluvian Pc 
 
 driarchs 
 Heb. 
 
 Sam. 
 
 Sept: 
 
 'osephus. 
 
 1 . Jlda?n 
 
 130 
 105 
 
 90 
 
 70 
 
 65 
 
 162 
 
 65 
 
 187 
 
 182 
 
 600 
 
 130 
 
 105 
 
 90 
 
 :o 
 
 65 
 62 
 65 
 67 
 53 
 600 
 
 230 
 205 
 
 190 
 170 
 165 
 162 
 165 
 187 
 188 
 600 
 
 230 
 
 2. Seth 
 
 205 
 
 3. Enos 
 
 190 
 
 4. Cainan 
 
 170 
 
 5. Mahalaleel 
 
 165 
 
 6. Jasred ....*• 
 
 162 
 
 7. Enoch 
 
 (1)65* 
 
 187 
 
 8. Methuselah 
 
 9. Lamech 
 
 182 
 
 [0. Noah 
 
 600 
 
 
 
 
 0656 
 
 1307 
 
 2262 
 
 2256 
 
 * 165 is doubtless the correct reading. 
 
 " It is important to observe that the variations in 
 this table are evidently not the effect of accident, but 
 design ; because the years before the son's birth and 
 the residues agree in all the cases with the totals of 
 lives ; — with this exception, that in the Samaritan, 
 the residues in the 5th, 7th, and 9th, are short- 
 ened, to adapt them to the shorter period between 
 Jareb and the flood," 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 197 
 
 Thus, in the Heb. and Samaritan Adam has 1 30-f-800=:930 i 
 
 In the Sept. and Josephus 230+700=930 \ years * 
 
 Again, in the Heb. and Samar., Seth has 105+807=912 i 
 
 In the Sept. and Josephus 205+707=912 \ years - 
 
 " On the whole, in this table the question will 
 lie between 1656 years, the computation in the He- 
 brew, and 2256, that in Josephus" With the latter, 
 the Septuagint agrees in every point, but in having 
 188 instead of 182 in the case of Lamech ; and here the 
 Heb. supports Josephus : with the Heb. the Samar- 
 itan agrees in seven cases out of the ten ; and where 
 it differs, Josephus and the Septuagint are with the 
 Hebrew. " 
 
 In the table of the Post-diluvian Patriarchs the 
 case is different. Here the Samaritan, Septuagint, 
 and Josephus, all agree in the longer computation. 
 
 Post-diluvian Patriarchs. 
 
 Heb* Samar. 
 
 11. Shem, (aged 100 at the flood). 
 
 12. Arphaxad 
 
 Cainan, (spurious.) 
 
 13. Salah 
 
 14. Hcber 
 
 15. Peleg, 
 
 16. Rcu.. 
 
 17. Serug, . 
 
 18. Nahor . 
 
 19. Terah* 
 
 20 to Abraham. 
 
 2 
 35 
 
 30 
 34 
 30 
 32 
 30 
 29 
 130 
 
 359 
 
 2 
 135 
 
 130 
 134 
 130 
 132 
 130 
 7!> 
 130 
 
 
 135 
 (130) 
 130 
 134 
 130 
 133 
 130 
 79 
 130 
 
 1009 ! 1002 
 
 12 
 
 135 
 
 130 
 134 
 130 
 130 
 139 
 100 
 130 
 
 1053 
 
 * Abraham's birth is usually placed at the 70th year of Terah, on 
 the supposition of his having been Terah's eldest son. But the nar- 
 
 17* 
 
198 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 
 
 "Here the choice will lie between the 352 years of 
 the Heb., and the 1002 of the Samaritan and corrected 
 Septuagint copies :" — corrected by the rejection of the 
 second Cainan as a spurious generation. For as the 
 Septuagint itself omits this in its repetition of the 
 genealogies 1 Chron. i., 24 ; and in Gen. xi., 12, not 
 only the Heb. and Samaritan copies omit it, but Jo- 
 sephus also, and all the ancient versions and Targums 
 without exception ; the most judicious chronologers 
 whether adopting the Hebreiv chronology or the Sep- 
 tuagint, agree, for the most part, in rejecting it. 
 
 Now, then, the question of the comparative credi- 
 bility of the numbers, as given in the Greek and Jo- 
 sephus, or in the Hebreiv, the evidence to be consid- 
 ered is threefold : comprehending — 1. The authority 
 of the respective MSS. — 2. The evidence from the na- 
 ture of things treated of, — and 3. Supposing wilful 
 adulterations of the text to have taken place on one 
 or the other side, (of which there can be no doubt,) 
 the evidence as to any probable inducements with 
 one, rather than with the other, to make the alteration. 
 
 I. The direct evidence of MSS., may be consider- 
 ed as preponderating in favor of the Hebrew, in the 
 Table of the ante-diluvian patriarchs, the Samaritan 
 generally agreeing with it ; — in that of the post-diluv- 
 
 rative of Moses, as Usher has shown, determines his birth to the 
 130th year of Terah. For, comparing Gen. xi. 32, and xii. 4, it ap- 
 pears that on Terah's death, at the age of 205, Abram, who then left 
 Haran, was 75 years old. Earan appears to have been Terah's 
 eldest son. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 199 
 
 ian it may rather be considered as in favor of Josep ' us 
 and the Septuagint, — the Samaritan agrees more 
 nearly with them. There is, however, this important 
 circumstance in favor of the Hebrew, that the Samari- 
 tan, adding the totals as well as the residues, (which 
 the Hebrew and Septuagint do not,) these totals do, 
 with two exceptions, accord with the Hebrew compu- 
 tation, not with that of the Septaagint. This disa- 
 greement indicates error and tampering with the pas- 
 sage, either in the Septuagint or the Samaritan; 
 and consequently diminishes the evidence derivable 
 from their agreement in favor of those numbers in U>e 
 first column in which they agree.* 
 
 
 Hfbrew. 
 
 
 Age. 
 
 Res- 
 
 Total- 
 
 Shem . . . 
 
 102 
 
 500 
 
 602 
 
 Arphaxad 
 
 35 
 
 403 
 
 438 
 
 Salah 
 
 30 
 
 403 
 
 433 
 
 Heber .... 
 
 34 
 
 430 
 
 464 
 
 Peleg 
 
 30 
 
 209 
 
 239 
 
 Rue 
 
 32 
 
 207 
 
 239 
 
 Semg 1 .. . . 
 
 30 
 
 200 
 
 230 
 
 Nahor .. .. 
 
 29 
 
 119 
 
 148 
 
 Te.ah... 
 
 70 
 
 -. 
 
 205 
 
 Samaritan. 
 
 Age. 
 
 Res. 
 
 Total- 
 600t 
 
 102 
 
 500 
 
 135 
 
 303 
 
 438 
 
 130 
 
 303 
 
 433 
 
 134 
 
 270 
 
 404 
 
 130 
 
 109 
 
 239 
 
 132 
 
 107 
 
 239 
 
 130 
 
 100 
 
 230 
 
 79 
 
 69 
 
 148 
 
 70* 
 
 — 
 
 145 
 
 Septuagint. 
 
 Age. 
 
 Res. 
 
 Total. 
 
 102 
 
 500 
 
 602 
 
 135 
 
 403 
 
 538 
 
 130 
 
 303 
 
 460 
 
 134 
 
 270 
 
 404 
 
 130 
 
 209 
 
 339 
 
 132 
 
 207 
 
 339 
 
 139 
 
 200 
 
 330 
 
 79 
 
 129 
 
 208 
 
 70* 
 
 — 
 
 205 
 
 * i p 
 
 to the birth of his eldest son. t It should be 602. 
 
 On the whole, there being on this head of evidence 
 nothing sufficiently conclusive, increasing impor- 
 tance attaches to — 
 
 * The Rev. Jos. Wolff informs me— " In the ancient MSS which 
 I saw at Bokhara the chronological notices of the Length of the lives 
 both of the Ante-diluvian and Post-diluvian patriarchs were e» 
 
 according to the received 11 B k\y tex\ though the letters of the 
 MSS resembled the Samaritan." 
 
200 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 IT. The second head of evidence, viz, that from the 
 nature of the things treated of. This is of a kind 
 within the reach of every understanding ; and it is on 
 this that Mr. Clinton has argued conclusively, as it 
 appears to me, in favor of the Hebrew. 
 
 Against the Hebrew, Hales and Jackson had raised 
 the following arguments ; 1. that the age of puberty 
 (of the naidoyoviu} maybe considered as beginning after 
 the lapse of one third part of life ; and consequently, 
 that, when the average length of life was from 
 400 to 200 years, it was contrary to the course of 
 nature for a w* n to have a son so early as 32 years 
 of age, the average age according to the Hebrew, 
 from Arphaxad to T rah. 2. That the short 
 Hebrew computation is inconsistent with our ac- 
 counts of the populousness of the earth at the time of 
 Abraham ; — as also 3. with the prevalence ol idol- 
 atry in Abraham's country before his call ; — Noah, 
 Shem, &c, being by the computation, still living. 
 
 The answer is, as to the first ; the age of puberty 
 begins now much earlier than after the passing of a 
 third part of life : and what it is now, that we have 
 Scripture evidence to prove that it was when the 
 longevity of man was much greater. For in- 
 stance, Jadah at 48 was a great-grandfather. Ben 
 jamin at 30 had 11 sons. Between Ephraim 
 and Joshua there were 10 generations and 
 180 years ; which gives 20 years on an average to a 
 generation. 
 
 This being the case, — the naidoyowa beginning 
 then at about the same age as now, and continuing 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 201 
 
 much longer, the rapid increase of the population, 
 which the Hebrew copy supposes, between the flood 
 and Abraham, is really accounted for. " In the present 
 state of mankind it is calculated that the numbers of a 
 people, under favorable circumstances, may be doubled 
 in 10 years. It has been proved by other calcula- 
 tions, that the numbers have actually doubled in pe- 
 riods of 12 and four-fifth years, for short periods. In 
 parts of North-America it is acknowledged that the peo- 
 ple there doubled their numbers in 15 years. The 
 Israelites in Egypt doubled their numbers in periods of 
 something less than fifteen years. Now the first fa- 
 milies after the flood were placed in circumstances 
 more favorable to rapid increase, than in any other 
 period of mankind. They were not gradually emerg- 
 ing* from barbarism, but possessed all the arts and civ- 
 ilization of the Ante-diluvian world. They had 
 unoccupied land before them, and their lives were ex- 
 tended to 500, 400, and 200 years. If we assume 
 then, that the population doubled itself in periods of 
 12 years, the population of the earth, beginning fro l 
 six parents, would at 226 years arrive at more than 
 50,000,000 of persons, and in 300 years would 
 amount to 200,000,000. If we take only the actual 
 rate of increase which we know to have occurred in 
 Egypt, and suppose fifteen years to be the period of 
 doubling, still the numbers of mankind would attain 
 50,000,000 in 345 years, and would reach 200,000.000 
 in 373 years from the flood. I think the former 
 calculation the most probable ; but, even in the 
 
202 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 
 
 latter case, the number of mankind would have 
 reached 200,000,000 in the 24th year of Abraham. 
 
 " The circumstances of the dispersion of mankind 
 are in favor of the shorter computation of the Hebrew 
 copy. The dispersion was effected by the immediate 
 interposition of providence in opposition to the incli- 
 nations of mankind, who desired to dwell together, 
 and were averse to the dispersion. Their object was 
 to remain collected in one city. They built the 
 Tower " lest they should be scattered abroad upon 
 the face of the whole earthP It is manifest then, 
 that the dispersion was commanded while they were 
 yet few in number. It was directed prospectively, 
 with a view to prevent the evils that would arise from 
 crowded numbers in a limited space. But at the time 
 assigned to this event by the longer dates, more 
 than 500 years after the flood, it was evident this 
 was no longer the condition of mankind. For since, 
 (as we have shown) their numbers would increase in 
 the common progress of things to many millions, their 
 dispersion would then have been no longer a matter 
 of choice, but of necessity. It could not have pro- 
 ceeded from a divine command providing against a 
 future evil, but would have been forced upon them by 
 the actual presence of that evil. The dispersion then 
 in the days of Peleg took effect at an earlier period, 
 while the number of mankind was yet a few thou- 
 sands ; and Peleg was born where the Hebrew text 
 places him, 101 years after the flood. It is 
 not likely that the numbers of mankind when they 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 2C3 
 
 received the command to separate, and prepared 
 to inhabit one city, would exceed 59,000 persons ; 
 and this number thus certainly would have reached 
 within 160 years of the flood. 
 
 " As to the third objection, it is not wonderful that 
 idolatry should have sprung up during the lives of 
 Noah, and iShem, when we consider the multitudes of 
 mankind, and that after the dispersion they were 
 widely scattered over the face of the earth. We know 
 that the Israelites fell into idolatry even in the pre- 
 sence of the holy mountain, during the life-time of 
 Moses, and afterwards in the midst of the warning of 
 the prophets. The influence of Arphaxad, and 
 tSalah, and Heber in Chaldea, would not be greater 
 than that of Moses and Elijah over the children of 
 Israel. Besides, it is not affirmed in Scripture, that 
 all the patriarchs between Arphaxad and Terah were 
 holy men, and never deviated into idolatry. 
 
 III. As to motives for the adulterations of the true 
 numbers, — " Jackson allows, that though the reasons 
 are plain which induced the Jews of the second cen- 
 tury to corrupt the prophecies relating to Christ, their 
 reason for shortening the patriarchal genealogies is 
 not so plain. — On the other hand, the first translators 
 of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, had an obvious 
 motive for enlarging the Chronology. The Chal- 
 deans and Egyptians (whose histories were about this 
 time published by Berosus and Manetho) had claim 
 to a remote antiquity. Hence the translator of the 
 Pentateuch might be led to augment the amount o{ 
 
204 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 the generations by the centenary additions, and by 
 the interpolation (as Hales himself allows that it is,) of 
 the second Cainan, in order to carry back the epochs 
 of the Creation and the Flood to a period more con- 
 formable to the high pretensions of the Egyptians and 
 Chaldeans." 
 
 On the whole Mr. Clinton concludes, that the He- 
 brew computation of the genealogies may be safely 
 received. 
 
 The following important observation may be here 
 added. " They who with Clavier imagine themselves 
 at liberty to enlarge the period between the flood 
 and Abraham to an indefinite amount, mistake the 
 question. The uncertainty is not an uncertainty for 
 want of testimony, like that which occurs in the early 
 Chronology of Greece, &c. ; where the times are un- 
 certain because no evidence was preserved, and an 
 approximation of the truth is to be made by a compa- 
 rison of different particulars. The uncertainty here 
 is of a peculiar character, belonging to this particular 
 case. The evidence exists, but in a double form ; and 
 we have to decide which is the authentic and genuine 
 copy. But if the one is rejected, the other is esta- 
 blished. Either the space before the Flood was 
 1656 years, or 2256. Either the period from the 
 flood was 1002 years to the call of Abraham, or 352. 
 These periods could not be greater than the greatest 
 of them, and it could not be less than the least." — 
 The conclusion is, that the Hebrew is correct in 
 both ; that from the creation to the flood 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 205 
 
 was 1656 years, from the flood to the call 427 
 years.* 
 
 I. In the confidence, therefore, that we have now 
 placed the authority of the Hebrew text as our guide 
 in the matter of chronology beyond all reasonable 
 doubt, we pass at once to the following table of the 
 first period as above, from the creation and fall, to the 
 flood. 
 
 CREATION. A .M. 1. 
 
 Yrs; 
 
 Mo. 
 
 D: 
 
 A.M. 
 
 References: 
 
 1. Adam 
 
 130 
 
 105 
 
 90 
 
 70 
 
 65 
 
 162 
 
 65 
 
 187 
 
 182 
 
 600 
 
 1656 
 
 
 
 
 Gen. v.. 3. 
 
 2. Ssth 
 
 3. Enos 
 
 
 
 
 
 • • 
 
 , # 
 
 
 ■ " 6. 
 1 " 9. 
 
 4. Cainan 
 
 ' " 12. 
 
 5. Mahalaleel 
 
 ' " 15. 
 
 6. Jared 
 
 1 " 18. 
 
 7. Enoch 
 
 8. Methuselah 
 
 ' " 21. 
 ' " 25. 
 
 9. Lantech 
 
 < " 28. 
 
 10. Noah 
 
 1 
 
 9,7 
 
 1656 
 
 1 viii., 13, 14. 
 
 Total, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 II. From the deluge to the vocation of Abraham, 
 the chronology is continuous through the line of the 
 
 Patriarchs from Noah, thus 
 
 * The preceding, from page 195 is taken from a brief outline of 
 Clinton's Fasti Hellenici, in his ^"Appendix on the early Scrip- 
 ture Chronology," by an able correspondent of the Investigator 
 VoLiv., pp. 334— 339. 
 
 18 
 
206 
 
 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Yrs. 
 
 Mo. 
 
 D. 
 
 A. M- 
 
 References. 
 
 11. Shem 
 
 12. Arphaxad 
 
 13. Salah 
 
 14. Eber 
 
 15. Peleg.... 
 
 16. Reu 
 
 17. Serug 
 
 18. Nahor. . . . 
 
 19. Terah. ... 
 
 2 
 35 
 30 
 34 
 30 
 32 
 30 
 29 
 205 
 
 427 
 
 2083 
 
 Gen.xi., 10. 
 12. 
 14. 
 16. 
 18. 
 20. 
 22. 
 24. 
 32. 
 
 III. Of the period (viz., 430 years) from the call of 
 Abraham to the Exodus, 1 several questions have arisen 
 as to the time of its commencement. Is it to be dated 
 from the supposed first call of Abraham, while yet in 
 Ur of the Chaldees? or at the death of Terah? or 
 from the time of Joseph's entrance into Egypt ? Res- 
 pecting the last of these, so far as our recollection 
 serves us there is not the least Scriptural foundation. 
 Of the other two, the point to be determined is, whether 
 there was an interval oi five years between the first 
 and the second call. To our mind, there is no evi- 
 dence of any such interval. There is positive scrip- 
 tural evidence that Abraham was seventy-five years 
 old when he left Haran, 2 at the death of his father, in 
 his 205th year. 3 But this makes Terah at the birth 
 of Abraham 130 years old ; whereas Gen. xi., 26, ex- 
 pressly declares him to have been but 70 years of age 
 at the birth of the eldest of his three sons, Abram, Nahor, 
 and Haran. The objections, however, which these 
 
 1. Exod. xii., 40, 41 ; Gal. iii., 17. 
 3. Gen.xi. 32. 
 
 2. Gen. xii. 4. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 207 
 
 facts involve, are, that it makes Abram the youngest 
 son of Terah, which seems to contradict Gen. xi. 26 ; 
 and also gives Terah 60 years for the period of the birth 
 of his three sons. But to these we reply, first,—- that 
 there should be an average of 20 years between the 
 birth of each son, by no means invalidates the history 
 — and Second, that Abram was the youngest son of 
 Terah, appears evident from Gen. xi. 29, which makes 
 Haran the eldest son, his brother Nahor having mar- 
 ried his daughter Milcah. Further — Abram married 
 his half-sister, l and, for aught that appears to the con- 
 trary, Terah might have lived a considerable period 
 in an unmarried state. True, this would make Sarah 
 older than Abram. But a comparison of Gen. xviii. 
 11, with Chapters xi., 30, xxi., 9, 10, and Gal. iv., 21 
 — 31, seems more than to intimate that God had a spe- 
 cial design in all this arrangement. 
 
 Now, to the point at issue. The family of Terah 
 as thus constituted, (with the exception of Haran, 
 who died in Ur of the Chaldees, 2 ) left their native 
 country for Canaan ; 3 which removal was induced by 
 the appearance of God to Abram. " Now the Lord 
 had said unto Abraham, get thee out of thy country," 4 
 &c. The family, however, advanced no farther 
 towards Canaan than Haran, or Charran, which is in 
 the North-East part of Mesopotamia. How long an 
 interval elapsed between God's command to Abraham 
 and the family removal to Haran, does not appear ; 
 
 1. Gen. xx., II, 12. 0. Gen, xi., 98. 
 
 3. Gen. xi. 3 31. 1 Gen. xii., 1. 
 
208 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 but St. Stephen explicitly states, that it was " before 
 he dwelt in Charran." l It would seem therefore 
 that the plain face of the sacred narrative would 
 justify the conjecture, that the infirmities of age, &c, 
 induced Terah to stop at Haran, where he died. And 
 though " the country is barren and uninviting," 2 parts 
 of the family still remained there. 3 This however 
 was incompatible with the divine purpose in reference 
 to Abram. And, immediately upon Terah's death, 
 Abram is reminded of what God " had said unto 
 him," in virtue of which, and not, as I understand it, 
 of any new call as distinct from the first, he " departed 
 as the Lord had spoken unto him ; and Lot went 
 with him : And Abram was seventy and five years 
 old when he departed out of Haran." 4 If to this it be 
 objected, that "the souls" spoken of as being "gotten 5 ' 
 by Abram &c, in Haran, implies their residence at 
 that place for a number of years, it will remain for the 
 objector to prove that the phrase gotten, means be- 
 gotten, or born. 5 These premises admitted, the con- 
 clusion is, that the appearance of God to Abram in 
 Ur of the Chaldees, whether at his 70th or 75th year, 
 (we believe it to have been in the latter) his leaving 
 Haran to penetrate into the more southerly parts of 
 Canaan in obedience to the divine command, and the 
 removal of his fathers family to Haran, together with 
 Terah's death, "all occurred within Abram's 75th year. 
 
 1. Acts vii., 2. 2. Alexander's Geog. of the Bible. 
 
 3. Gen. xxvii., 43 ; xxix., 4, 5. 4. Gen. xii., 4. 
 
 5. See Gen. xii., 5, with which compare Chap, xi., 31 ; xiv., 14. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 209 
 
 It remains now to reconcile St. Stephen's statement 
 of the term of bondage of the Israelites, which he 
 fixes at 400 years, 1 with the statement of Exodus xii. 
 40, 41, which makes it 430 years : In order to which, 
 it is only necessary to distinguish between their af- 
 fliction and their bondage. The former includes the 
 latter, but is not confined to it. " Their actual bon- 
 dage in Egypt was of comparatively short duration : 
 but the affliction of the seed of Abraham commenced 
 in his son Isaac. The interval between Isaac's birth 
 and the Exodus, was 405 years ; and if we suppose 
 the predicted affliction of the seed to commence in 
 Isaac's fifth year, when he would be beginning to feel 
 the effects oflshmael's mockery, 2 we then have the 
 affliction enduring 400 years, and including in the 
 last period of it, the bondage." What is said (Exod. 
 xii., 40, 41) "about the sojourning of the people for 
 430 years before the Exodus, presents no difficulty in 
 the way of this solution, but rather confirms it ; be- 
 cause it is evident from Gal. iii., 17, that this period : ' 
 of430yearsis to be reckoned from "Abraham's leaving 
 Haran in Mesopotamia to go to Canaan," which was 
 done 25 years before the birth of Isaac. " This cor- 
 responds exactly; and so the whole period of sojourn 
 included the other two, which are more accurately 
 characterized as first a period of affliction, and then a 
 period of actual slavery." 3 Finally, with this agrees, 
 according to Clarke, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and 
 
 1. Acts vii., 6. Gen. xv., 13. 0. Gen. x\i.. <>. 10, 
 
 3. Mc. Neil's Pros, of the Jews, p. 34, 
 
 18* 
 
210 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Septuagint, in both of which Exodus xii., 40, reads as 
 follows : — " Now the sojourning of the children of 
 Israel and their fathers which they sojourned in the 
 land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt, was 
 430 years ; " i. e., from Abram's leaving Haran at 
 the death of Terah to the Exodus. 
 
 IV. The Fourth period extends from the Ex- 
 odus to the end of the reign of Saul. It is in this 
 period that the two breaks already adverted to, oc- 
 cur ; the first between the death of Moses and the 
 time of the Judges ; the second between Eli and 
 Saul. 
 
 Then also, in addition to the above, there is a 
 very remarkable discrepancy between the chronology 
 relating to this period as given in 1 Kings vi., 1, 
 and Acts xiii., 17 — 22, as will appear from what 
 follows : — ■ 
 
 1. Both passages commence with the Exode. 
 
 2. 1 Kings vi., I, carries the events narrated beyond 
 Acts xiii., 17 — 22. But, 
 
 3. The dates of Acts xiii., 17—22, exceed the 
 whole number of years of 1 Kings vi., 1, by at least 
 100 years. Hence, 
 
 4. If the dates given in the other parts of the sacred 
 narrative decide in favor of Acts xiii., 17 — 22, the 
 chronology of 1 Kings vi., 1, must be an error. 
 
 To place this matter, therefore, in the clearest pos- 
 sible light, we remark, 
 
 1. That 1 Kings vi., 1, gives an interval of only 
 480 years between the Exode and the commencement 
 of the building of the Temple by Solomon. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 21 1 
 
 2. But the specified dates given in Acts xiii., 17 
 — 22, and which end with the death of Saul, amount 
 to 530 years, which alone makes an excess over 1 
 Kings vi., 1 of 50 years. Then, in addition, there are 
 the two breaks above named, to which St. Paul affixes 
 no specific dates. 
 
 Now, of these two breaks, the first, between the 
 death of Moses and the time of the Judges, embraces 
 the following events, as recorded in the Book of 
 Judges, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd chapters, to the 8th verse 
 inclusive, viz. : The dividing of the conquered land by 
 lot ; the death of all the Judges who overlived Joshua ; 
 the gathering of that generation to their fathers, and 
 the rising up of another that knew net the Lord ; 
 their conquering the remnant of the nations left by 
 Joshua, and their final servitude under Cushan Rish- 
 athaim, consequent upon their intermarriages with 
 the idolatrous Canaanites. The second break relates 
 to the period of Samuel's administration, between Eli 
 and Saul. 
 
 The chronology of these two breaks, therefore, being 
 left to conjecture, we offer the following as tl at which 
 to us reduces it to the greatest degree of certainty of 
 which it is susceptible, and, 
 
 I. Of the period between the death of Moses and the 
 first servitude, we offer the following : Caleb, when 
 sent out as a spy with Joshua, was 40 years old, 1 to 
 which add 39 years wanderings in the wilderness, 
 Moses having sent him out on the second year of his 
 
 1. Joshua xiw, 7. 
 
212 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 mission, and which together make 79 years. Now, 
 supposing Joshua to be about the same age with Caleb, 
 at his death he was 110 years old. 1 From this deduct 
 the above 79 years, and it gives to Joshua between the 
 death of Moses and his own death, 31 years. Then, 
 to the interregnum which followed, to the time of 
 their first servitude, including the period of the Judges 
 which overlived Joshua, and the time of anarchy, we 
 add 19 years — Josephus (no mean authority) assigns 
 to this period 18 years. These together supply the 
 first break with 50 years. 
 
 II. Of the other, between Eli and Saul, and which 
 relates to the period of Samuel? s administration, we 
 offer the following : Samuel's official character was 
 threefold. He acted as Priest* as Prophet* and as 
 Judge* Now, that Samuel was Judge prior to the 
 anointing of Saul as the first king of Israel, is evident 
 from 1 Sam. vii., 6, compared with chapters viii. — 
 x., 1. Most chronologists assign to Samuel 21 years. 
 But if we allow the full force of this passage, " and 
 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life ; 5 i. e., 
 from the commencement of his judicial authority to 
 his death, which the Hebrew chronology places be- 
 tween 1099 and 1059 B. C., 6 it makes the whole num- 
 
 1. Josh, xxiv., 29. 
 
 2. 1 Sam. ii., 11, 18, 19; iii., 1. 
 
 3. 1 Sam. iii., 18—14; 15 — 20. 
 
 4. 1 Sam. vii., 6 — 15. 
 
 5. 1 Sam. vii., 15. 
 
 6. The "dates B, C. of these events in our table will vary from 
 the above. But as here introduced, they serve to shew that if any 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 213 
 
 ber of years of his administration as judge to be 40 
 years, which seems also to accord with the account 
 given of him, 1 Sam. viii., 1. The 40 years assigned 
 to Saul however, Acts xiii., 21, is to commence from 
 Samuel's 24th year, l at which point his separate ad- 
 ministration ceased. 
 
 Before we proceed, however, to a recapitulation of 
 the dates which belong to the period (the ivth) now 
 under consideration, we claim the indulgence of a 
 brief examination of that part of it of which Mr. Miller 
 principally avails himself, in fixing upon A. D. 1843, 
 as the termination of the 6000th year of the world. 
 In his chronological table from Adam to Christ, as 
 published in the " Signs of the Times 1 ' 2 of Septem- 
 ber 1, 1840 ; and again, with some slight alterations, 
 in the " Report of the General Conference," &c, pub- 
 lished in Boston, 1841, 3 and of which he says, " if 
 this chronology is not correct, I despair of getting 
 from the Bible and History a true account of the age 
 of the world ;" 4 — he inserts for the 6th servitude un- 
 der the Philistines, 40 years — to Samson 20 years, 
 and to Eli 40 years, making a total of 100 years. If 
 these dates in his table, therefore, can be shown as 
 
 two points of the chronology of our common English version agree 
 in one instance, they may in another. There is such an agreement 
 of the Hebrew Chronology of the birth and death of Moses, with 
 his age, as given Deut. xxxiv., 7. 
 
 1. Mr. Miller, in his revised Chronological Table, allows to 
 
 Samuel's administration as Judge, 94 years. Report, 1841 
 
 2. Page 80. 3. Page 94. 4. Report, p. 93. Xot>\ 
 
214 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 obviously incorrect, we may spare ourselves the time 
 and labor to point out its other inaccuracies. 
 
 In opposition to the above, then, we assume that the 
 Scriptures assign but 40 years to this part of the chro- 
 nology. Our position is as follows : — The 40 years 
 of the 6th servitude under the Philistines, mentioned 
 Judges xiii., 1, includes the whole time of Eli, he 
 having succeeded Abdon, whose death is recorded, 
 Judges, chap, xii., 14 ; and the last 20 years of Eli 
 includes the 20 years assigned to Samson. 
 
 Proof. In 1 Sam. iv., 18, Eli, at his death is said 
 to have judged Israel 40 years. The number of years, 
 (viz. 1160 and 1120 B. C.) between the death of Ab- 
 don, Judges xii., 14, and that of Eli, 1 Sam. iv., 18, 
 is just 40 years. Eli, therefore, was his immediate 
 successor, as one of the Judges of Israel. The sacred 
 narrative furnishes no other mode than this of deter- 
 mining the commencement of Eli's administration as 
 Judge. Now, it is evident that the narrative which 
 immediately follows the death of Abdon, gives an ac- 
 count of the birth of Samson, Judges xiii. ; — not of 
 the commencement of his judicial administration. 
 At the time of Samson's marriage " the Philistines 
 had dominion over Israel." Judges xiv., 4. Samson 
 was then a young man, v. 10 ; say about 20 years of 
 age. But it was at this very time, when his career 
 as defender and deliverer of Israel commenced. " The 
 spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the 
 camp of Dan, between Zora and Astaol ;" and when 
 he came to his father and mother, asking them to 
 procure as his wife the woman of Timnath, they knew 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 215 
 
 not that it was of the Lord" and " that he sought an 
 occasion against the Philistines. Judges xiii., 25 ; 
 xiv. 1 — 4. 
 
 If to this it be objected that, contrary to all precedent, 
 it places two jduges over Israel at the same time, viz., 
 Eli and Samson, we reply, that this circumstance can 
 by no means invalidate a plain historical fact. We re- 
 mark, then, that the supineness and want of decision 
 betrayed by Eli in his complex official capacities, (for 
 he was both Judge and High Priest) l seemed to 
 call for some additional provision for the defence of the 
 enslaved and suffering Israelites, while under servi- 
 tude to the Philistines, with which Eli's administra- 
 tion was cotemporaneous. This provision was made 
 by raising up Samson, as the defender and deliverer 
 of Israel during the last 20 years of Eli ; and if Scrip- 
 ture has any authority with Mr. Miller, I would res- 
 pectfully refer to Judges xv., 20, which expressly says 
 that Samson judged Israel inthe days of thePhilistines 
 20 years." Nor will this be thought singular, when, 
 in addition to the official inefficiency of Eli, you add 
 the consequent misrule of his two sons, Hophni and 
 Phinehas. 
 
 The conclusion therefore is, that the interval be- 
 tween the death of Abdon and that of Eli, includes 
 All that is narrated of the career of Samson, of 
 Hophni and Phinehas, &c. In other words, the 40 
 years oi Eli, and the 20 years of Samson are included 
 in the 40 years of the sixth servitude. Here, 
 
 1. Compare 1 Sam. ii., 27, 98, with chap. ii.. 93—25 ; and iii., 
 1 — 14. See also Townsend's Bible, Eng, Ed. vol.. I. p. 608, 
 
216 
 
 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C, 
 
 then, is a clear loss to Mr. Miller's chronology of 60 
 years ! 
 
 The following is our tabular view of the Illrd Pe- 
 riod, from the death of Terah and call of Abraham to 
 the Exodus ; and of the IVth Period, as above, from 
 the Exodus to the end of the reign of Saul. 
 
 Affliction and Bondage 
 Wanderings 
 
 Joshua after Moses 
 
 Interregnum 
 
 First Servitude 
 
 Time of the Judges. 
 
 1. Othniel 
 
 Second Servitude 
 
 2. Ehud 
 
 Third Servitude 
 
 3. Deborah and Barak. 
 Fourth Servitude .... 
 
 4. Gideon 
 
 5. Abimelech 
 
 6. Tola 
 
 7. Jair 
 
 Fifth Servitude , 
 
 8. Jephthah 
 
 9. Ibzan , 
 
 10. Elon 
 
 11. Abdon 
 
 Sixth Servitude, ) 
 
 including the time of > , 
 Eli and Samson. ) 
 
 12. Samuel 
 
 Saul. First King of 
 
 Israel 
 
 ■ Total... 
 
 Yrs. 
 
 430* 
 40 
 31 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 40 
 18 
 80 
 20 
 40 
 
 7 
 40 
 
 3 
 23 
 22 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 40 
 24 
 40 
 
 974 
 
 Mo. 
 
 D. A.M. 
 
 References. 
 
 Exod. xii., 40, 41. 
 Josh, v., 6. 
 By Conjecture. 
 By Conjecture. 
 See also Joseph 
 Ant. Book 5. 
 
 11. 
 14. 
 30. 
 
 3. 
 
 31. 
 1. 
 
 iv. 
 v. 
 vi. 
 
 — viii. 28. 
 22. 
 
 2. 
 
 3. 
 
 8. 
 
 7. 
 
 9. 
 11. 
 14. 
 
 IX. 
 
 x. 
 
 Xll. 
 tt 
 
 xiii. 1. 
 By Conjecture. 
 Acts xiii., 21. 
 
 Now, it is a little singular, that, in the above table, 
 the dates from the Exodus to " the time of Samuel 
 inclusive, amounts to precisely the period of the 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 217 
 
 480 years as given in 1 Kings vi., 1. If to this we 
 add the dates of St. Paul, Acts xiii., 17 — 22, for Sam- 
 uel 24 years, and Saul 40 years ; and also the dates 
 beyond Saul as included in 1 Kings vi., 1, giving to 
 David 40 years and to Solomon 3 years, the period of 
 his commencing the erection of the Temple ; and, 
 compared with the commonly received Chronology, 
 we discover a loss to the true Scripture Chronology r , 
 of more than 100 years ! I will only add, that there 
 are two ways in which this discrepancy may be ac- 
 counted for. The one is, by attributing it to the care- 
 lessness of some early copyist, in mistaking the 
 Hebrew numeral i 4, for n 5, (which, from the evi- 
 dent similarity in the main construction of each might 
 easily be done,) or, to design. 
 
 Then again. Including the 24 years of Samuel in 
 the above dates from the time of the division of the 
 lands under Joshua in his 6th year, and it gives you 
 the 450 years of Acts xiii., 20. That date cannot, by 
 any possible construction, be applied exclusively to 
 the period of the Judges ; that period, from Othuiel 
 to Samuel amounting to no more than 382 years. 
 
 The following comprises our understanding of the 
 import of the Apostle. " After " the division of the 
 land by lot in the 6th year of Joshua, God " gave unto 
 them judges, about the space of four hundred and 
 fifty years, 1 - until after Samuel's administration, when 
 they desired a king, <fcc. The 450 years attributed to 
 the period of the Judges being qualified by the phrase 
 "about" leaves open the door for the introduction of 
 
 19 
 
218 
 
 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 
 
 the conjectural dates, without which, it is impossible 
 to harmonize St. Paul with the old Testament. 
 
 V. We now proceed to the Fifth Period, which ex- 
 tends from the death of Saul, to the Babylonish Cap- 
 tivity. Here the evidence before us is clear and un- 
 obstructed. 
 
 Time of the Kings. 
 
 %■■ 
 
 40 
 
 2. David.. .. 
 
 3. Solomon . 
 Temple begun in 
 
 his 4th year 3 
 Reigned after 37 
 
 4. Rehoboam... 
 
 5. Abijah 
 
 6. Asa 
 
 7. Jehoshaphat 
 
 8. Jehoram . . . 
 
 9. Ahaziah . . . 
 
 10. Athaliah. (His mo- 
 
 ther.) 
 
 11. Joash 
 
 12. Amaziah.. 
 
 13. Azariah . . 
 
 14. Jotham . . . 
 
 15. Ahaz 
 
 16. Hezekiah 
 
 17. Manasseh 
 
 18. Amon 
 
 19. Josiah 
 
 20. Jehoahaz.. 
 
 21. Jehoiakim 
 
 22. Jehoiachin 
 
 23. Zedekiah. 
 
 Total 
 
 Yrs. Mo 
 
 40 
 
 40 
 
 17 
 
 3 
 
 41 
 
 25 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 40 
 29 
 52 
 16 
 16 
 29 
 55 
 
 2 
 
 31 
 11 
 11 
 
 473 
 
 D. c A. M. 
 
 References. 
 
 10 
 
 2 Sam. v., 4, 5. 
 1 Kings v., 1, and 
 
 " xi., 42. 
 Compared. 
 
 1 Kings xiv., 21. 
 
 " xv. ; 2. 
 " — 10. 
 " xxii., 42. 
 
 2 Kings viii., 17. 
 — 26. 
 
 xi., 3. 
 
 xii., I. 
 xiv., 2. 
 
 xv.. 2. 
 
 — 33. 
 xvi., 2. 
 xviii., 2. 
 xxi., 1 
 
 'l& 
 
 xxii., 1. 
 ,31. 
 
 " xxiii, 
 
 (C 
 
 36. 
 
 " xxiv., 8. 
 " .. 18. 
 
 VI. The Sixth Period embraces the duration of the 
 Babylonish Captivity. To this, in the following ta- 
 bular view, we add, 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C, 
 
 219 
 
 VII. The Seventh Period, including the interval 
 between the end of the Babylonish Captivity, and the 
 commencement of Daniel's 70 prophetic weeks. 
 
 Babylonish Captivity. 
 
 Restoration of the JEWS 
 under the PERSIAN 
 kings, from the END of 
 the Captivity in the First 
 year of Cyrus, to the 
 Commission of Ezra as 
 Governor of Judea, in 
 the Seventh year of 
 Artax-Longimanus. 
 
 1. Cyrus. 
 
 2. Ahasuerus. (Cam-^\ 
 
 byses.) 
 
 3. Artaxerxes. (Ma- y 
 
 gian, Smerdis. \ 
 Oropastes.) J 
 
 4. Darius. (Hystaspes.) 
 
 5. Xerxes , 
 
 6. Artax-Longimanus . 
 
 Total . . 
 
 Yrs. 
 
 70 
 
 36 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 
 149 
 
 Mo. 
 
 A.M. 
 
 Referencea. 
 
 Jer. xxv., 11; 
 Ezek. xxiv. 2; 
 Zech. vii., 5. 
 Book of Lamen, 
 
 Ezr. i., ii., iii. See also 
 Isa. xliv., 28; & xlv., 
 1, 13. Prid. Con. L, 
 277. 
 
 Ezr. iv., 6. Prid. i., 324, 
 381, 382, 433.. 436. 
 Ezr. iv., 7. Prid. i., 
 330, 333 . . 335. 
 
 Ezr. iv., 5. Prid. L, 335. 
 
 381, 382. 
 Prid. i., 408. 
 Neh. v., 14. Prid. i., 
 
 433 . . 436. 
 
 Of the 70 years captivity we remark, that while if 
 is inserted in the above tabular view as following the 
 11th year of Zedekiah, it is to be understood as refer- 
 ring to the thorough restoration of the Jewish State 
 which followed the decree of Darius, {Hystaspes) in 
 his fourth year, confirming the previous decree of 
 Cyrus; and which, down to the time of the utter 
 destruction of the city by the Chaldeans, is just 
 
220 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 70 years. " The time falling so exactly, and the pro- 
 phet Zechariah confirming it by expressing, under the 
 fourth year of Darius, that the mourning and fasting 
 of the Jews for the destruction of Jerusalem, and the 
 utter driving them out of the land, on the death of 
 Gedaliah, was then just 70 years, 1 " some have been 
 led to place the beginning of the Captivity spoken of 
 by Jeremiah, at the destruction of Jerusalem ; and the 
 end of them, at the publication of this decree of Da- 
 rius. "But this matter will admit of a very easy 
 reconciliation ; for both computations may well stand 
 together ; for though the Babylonish captivity did be- 
 gin from the 4th year of Jehoiakim, when u Nebu- 
 chadnezzar first subjugated the land, and carried away 
 to Babylon the first captives ; yet it was not completed 
 till he had absolutely destroyed it in the 11th year of 
 Zedekiah, which was just 18 years after. And so 
 likewise though the deliverance from this captivity, 
 and the restoration of the Jewish state thereon, was 
 begun at the decree of Cyrus, in the first year of his 
 reign ; yet it was not completed till thai decree was 
 put in full vigor of execution, by the decree which 
 Darius granted in the 4th year of his reign for the 
 confirmation of it, which was also just 18 years after. 
 — And therefore if we reckon from the beginning of 
 the captivity to the beginning of the restoration, vz 
 must reckon from the 4th year of Jehoiakim to the 1st. 
 year of Cyrus, which was just 70 years ; and if we 
 reckon (as in the above table) from the completion of 
 
 1. Zech. vii.j 5. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 221 
 
 the captivity to the completion of the restora- 
 tion, we must reckon from the 11th year of Ze- 
 dekiah to the 4th year of Darius, which was also just 
 70 years " l 
 
 Let us now collect together the sum total of years 
 of each of the preceding tables— 
 
 1. From the Creation to the Flood 
 
 2. From the Flood to the death of Terah, and Abra- 
 
 ham's departure from Haran 
 
 3. Affliction and Bondage 
 
 4. From the Exodus to the end of the reign of Saul. 
 
 5. From the death of Saul, to the Babylonish cap- 
 
 tivity 
 
 6. Babylonish Captivity 
 
 7. Interval between the end of the Babylonish Cap- 
 
 tivity, and the commencement of Daniel's 70 
 prophetic weeks 
 
 Total 
 
 Yrs 
 
 1656 
 
 427 
 430 
 544 
 
 473 
 70 
 
 79 
 3679 
 
 A.M. 
 
 1656 
 
 2083 
 2513 
 3057 
 
 3530 
 3600 
 
 3679 
 
 At this point, we enter upon the second division of 
 our Golden Chain of measurement, in determining the 
 age of the world, viz, — ■ 
 
 PROPHETIC CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 It will be seen that our deductions, as founded upon 
 Sacred Historic chronology, furnish an aggregate 
 number of 3679 years, from the Creation, down to the 
 commencement of the 70 prophetic weeks of Daniel. 
 Of prophetic chronology, the numbers upon which we 
 are dependent to complete the 6000th year, as the pe- 
 riod within which all God's purposes in relation to 
 this world will be accomplished, are the following — 
 
 1. Prid. Con. Vol. ii., p. 146. Also Hater's hon. on the Froph. 
 p. 16, 17. 
 
 19* 
 
222 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Daniel's 70 weeks, or 490 years from which deduct > iW 
 
 A. D. 37, $ ^ 6 
 
 Commencement of 1260 days, in A. D 533 
 
 The 1260 days of Daniel and St. John 1260 
 
 Excess of 1290 days of Dan. xii., over 1260 30 
 
 Excess of 1335 of Dan. xii., over 1290 45 
 
 Total. 2321 
 Add the historical years as above 3679 
 
 6000 
 
 From 2321 
 
 Deduct 453 
 
 And it gives you 1868 
 
 as the period when, in the time of the 7th angel, Rev. 
 xvi. 17, who pours out the last vial of judgement into 
 the air, " a great voice out of the temple of Heaven, 
 from the throne," will be heard, "saying, IT IS 
 DONE I" 
 
 From 1868 
 
 Deduct 1842 
 
 Which leaves 26 
 
 In 26 short years, therefore, if the above prophetic 
 numbers can be demonstrated to have their support in 
 Scripture, that blessed period, the consummation of 
 the devout believer's faith and hope will have arrived, 
 when he who is " the Alpha and Omega," from his 
 high and holy throne will proclaim, " behold, i make 
 
 ALL THINGS NEW." l 
 
 But, these prophetic numbers, if viewed in their re- 
 lation to the events with which they stand connected, 
 past , present, and future, all conspire to admonish us 
 "upon whom the ends of the world are come," 2 that 
 
 — *— — ~ . 
 
 1. Rev. xxi. 5. 2. 1 Cor. x. 11. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 223 
 
 THE GREAT DAY OF CRISIS, both to the 
 Church and to the world, is " just at hand," No — we 
 are not to calculate upon 26 years additional probation, 
 under the present existing economy of the Gospel ! 
 Look to 1847 ! May Heaven prepare us all to meet 
 undismayed, the terrors^ and to share triumphantly, in 
 the glories of " that day !" l 
 
 Perhaps, however, some one will ask, if, upon a 
 peradventure, an error in the department of historic 
 chronology as above, should have escaped observation^ 
 what then becomes of all these deductions?' To this 
 I reply, that, confident as I feel in the correctness of 
 the historico-chronological depart nent of my work, as 
 herein exhibited ; if the great Head of the Church has 
 sent forth the Spirit of his grace, to reveal to the faith- 
 ful a knowledge of Prophetical numbers, 2 and these 
 prophetical numbers, as interpreted in the sequel are 
 in accordance with " Holy Scripture ;" then, I ask but 
 a single admission, in order to demonstrate that, inde- 
 pendently of immutable accuracy in giving the length 
 of each link in the first half of our golden chain ; the 
 crisis, in A. D., 1847, and the "finishing of the mys- 
 tery of God," 3 in A. D., 1868, is established upon 
 grounds of equal certainty. Prophecy points out to 
 us the things that shall be hereafter, 4 even to the 
 last act of the Almighty's government and providence 
 over the world. 5 The admission that I ask. is. that 
 the present, is the year of our Lord, 1842, from the 
 
 1. Tkess. v. 1 — 1; 2 Pet. iii. 10; Rev. iii., 3; xvi., 15. 
 
 2. See p. p. 142—151, 3. Rev. x.. 7. 
 
 4. Rev. i., 19. 5. [s*. xxviii., '21, 23, 
 
224 AGE OP THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Nativity. The following passage, the inaccuracies 
 of Scriptural computations of Historical Chronology 
 to the contrary notwithstanding, will fully explain our 
 meaning. O that it was inscribed upon our hearts as 
 with the finger of God, and with the pen of a diamond 
 forever ! " We have also a more sure word of 
 prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, 
 as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." l 
 
 On entering upon the department of prophetic chro- 
 nology, our first business will be to determine upon 
 the mode of measuring time prophetically. The 
 question here presenting itself is, whether prophetic 
 numbers are to be understood literally, i. e., a day 
 for a day — or as expressing time indefinitely — or 
 (which is the system we shall adopt) whether these 
 numbers are not to be understood mystically, i. e., 
 days, weeks, months, &c, as denoting days, weeks, 
 and months of years. 
 
 Nor let any suppose that " the ancient of days, ° 2 
 though his throne is in the heavens, and eternity his 
 mantle, cannot condescend to stoop to the measures of 
 time. Indeed, so far from this, " as if the Lord in- 
 tended to prove his jealousy for his own predictions, 
 he commands the prophet Ezekiel to record with the 
 utmost fidelity the very day of the commencement of 
 the 70 years captivity, as predicted by Jeremiah (xxv. 
 11.) " Son of man, write thee the name of the day, 
 even of this same day ; the king of Babylon set him- 
 self against Jerusalem this same day? (ch. xxiv., 2.) 
 
 1. 2 Pet., i. 19. 2. Dan. vii., 9, 12, 22, 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD; &C. 225 
 
 Now, see the wisdom of God in all this — at the 
 expiration of the 70 years captivity as predicted by Je- 
 remiah, and recorded by Ezekiel, Daniel, who " un- 
 derstood by books the number of the years whereof 
 the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, 
 that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations 
 of Jerusalem, set his face unto the Lord his God." 
 (Dan. ix., 12.) 
 
 Equally defined are other, yea, and the major part 
 of all the predictions of God's word. 
 
 The prophecy of the deluge, as given to Noah (Gen. 
 vi., 3.) was limited to 120 years. 
 
 The predicted affliction of the children of Israel was 
 included within a specific number, viz., 430 years. 1 
 
 Still, of those predictions which have been fulfilled, 
 there are several, the time of the fulfillment of which 
 was concealed. 
 
 Of these, however, there is not one having the least 
 connexion with those upon which we rely, in conduct- 
 ing our present inquiries. 
 
 With these latter predictions, however, a change 
 now takes place in the character of the prophetic 
 numbers. The successive evolutions of prophetic 
 time are hidden under certain mystic forms. These, 
 the Prophet Daniel tells us, " none of the wicked shall 
 understand; but the wise shall understand." 
 (ch. xii., 10.) 
 
 1. Gen. xv., 12 — 14. Acts vii., f>, 7. Exod, xii.. 10 — 10. Gal. 
 iii., 17. 
 
226 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 
 
 Of this class of prophetic dates, there are in Daniel's 
 prophecy the following : — 
 
 1. " Seven times? Dan iv., 16. 
 
 2. " Time, times, and dividing of time? Dan. 
 vii., 25; xii., 7. 
 
 3. " Two thousand three hundred days? Dan. 
 viii., 14 — 26. 
 
 4. " Seventy weeks? Dan. ix., 24. 
 
 5. " A thousand, two hundred and ninety days? 
 Dan. xii., 11, and, 
 
 6. " The thousand, three hundred, and jive and 
 thirty days? (Dan. v., 12.) 
 
 In the Book of Revelation, also, are the following, 
 viz. : — 
 
 7. " An hour, a day, a month, and a year? Rev. 
 ix., 15. 
 
 8. " A thousand, two hundred and threescore days? 
 Rev. xii., 6. 
 
 9. " Forty and two months? (Rev. xi. 2 ; xiii. 5.) 
 
 10. Six hundred and sixty-six? (Rev. xiii., 18.) 
 And, in Ezekiel are the following : 
 
 11. " Three hundred and ninety days? Ezek. iv., 
 5 ; and " Forty days" verse 6. 
 
 Now, that the terms as used in these passages are 
 mystical numbers, and are designed to be understood 
 of a year for a day, &;c, will, we think, appear con- 
 clusive from the following : — 
 
 1. " The spies searched the land forty days in un- 
 belief, and a penalty of 40 years wandering in the 
 wilderness was inflicted, " a year for a day? (Num. 
 xiv., 34.) Ezekiel was ordered to lie on his side 390 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 227 
 
 days to bear the 390 years iniquity of Israel, and 40 
 days for the 40 years iniquity of Judah, " each day 
 for a year? Ezek. iv., 5, 6. 
 
 But, should it still be objected, that these two in- 
 stances of the use of the term day, to express a 
 year, will not justify the application of the same 
 sense to all the passages above named, we reply, 
 
 2. That these passages contain internal evidence 
 that they are to be thus understood. Instance the fol- 
 lowing, as an illustration. " It is expressly declared 
 that the seventy weeks of Dan. ix., 24, begins with 
 the commandment to re-build the temple and city of 
 Jerusalem ; and that the building of them occupied the 
 first seven weeks? Who now will pretend that this 
 work was accomplished in 49 days ? The Evangel- 
 ist St. John asserts, " Forty and six years was this 
 temple in building," 1 the three remaining years, as 
 history asserts, being consumed in preparations for the 
 work, under the ministrations of Haggai. We shall 
 not at present enlarge on this point, as we shall have 
 occasion again to bring it to your notice. Our imme- 
 diate business now will be, to apply this mode of the 
 prophetical interpretation of time, to their practical 
 uses, and, 
 
 1. If we call the prophetic number of" seven times,' 7 
 (Dan. iv., 16,) which the prophet applies to the period 
 of the dethronement and madness of the Chaldean 
 king Nebuchadnezzar, seven years, and these years are 
 interpreted as prophetical years, i. e., each year to eon- 
 
 1. John ii., 30. 
 
228 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 tain 360 days of years, a day for a year ; the whole 
 number will amount to 2520, the half of which is pre- 
 cisely 1260. 
 
 2. Understanding the terms "Time," to mean 1 
 year of 360 days ; " Times," 2 years of 720 days ; 
 and " the dividing of time" or " half a time" of 180 
 days, as used by the Prophets Daniel and St John, 
 "each day for a year;" 360, 720, and 180 added to- 
 gether make just 1260 years. 
 
 3. In the book of Revelation, (chap. xi. 2,) the court 
 of the mystic temple and the holy city is given to be 
 trodden under foot of the Gentiles, " forty and two 
 months." By allowing 30 days to each month, and 
 multiplying the 42 months by 30, we have just 1260 
 days, " each day for a year." 
 
 4: The 2300 days of Daniel viii. 14, are 2300 years, 
 " each day for a year." 
 
 5. The " seventy weeks" of Dan. ix. 24, are 490 
 years. 
 
 6. The 1290 days of Dan. xii. 11, are 1290 years. 
 
 7. The 1335 days of Dan. xii. 12, are 1335 years. 
 
 8. The 1260 days of Rev. xii. 6, and the " forty and 
 two months," Rev. xi. 2, xiii. 5, are 1260 years. And, 
 
 9. The 390 days, and the 40 days of Ezekiel iv. 5, 
 are each to be taken for so many years. See Rev. ix. 
 15. And, 
 
 10. The mystical number of 666, (Rev. xiii. 18,) 
 denotes so many years. 
 
 Now, of these larger mystical numbers, four of 
 of them, viz • — " the time, times, and dividing of 
 time" of Daniel ; the " time, times, and half a time" of 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 229 
 
 St. John; together with the "42 months" and 
 " 1260 days" of the latter, all amount to the same num- 
 ber of 1260 mystical years. Then there is the 2520 
 years of Daniel iv. 16, which doubles the number of 
 1260 years. Also, the 1290 years of Daniel xii. 11 ; 
 the 1335 years of the same chapter, verse 12 ; and 
 the 2300 years of Daniel viii. 14. 
 
 Our next remark in reference to these larger num- 
 bers is, that the first four, each counting 1260 pro- 
 phetic years, as they relate to the same events^ (those 
 of the Revelation synchronizing with those of 
 Daniel,) furnishing thereby a history of the fortunes 
 of the Church during her wilderness state, and compre- 
 hending the period of the wearing out of the Saints 
 of the most High, the witnesses prophesying in sack- 
 cloth, the woman driven in the wilderness, and, the 
 treading under foot of the holy City ; — so they all 
 commence and terminate together. With these also, 
 the "seven times" or 2520 years of Daniel iv., 16, 
 have a common termination. Of two of the remain- 
 ing three larger numbers, — viz., 1290, 1335, and 
 2300; the first, or 1290 years of Daniel xii., 11, go 
 beyond the above termination to the number of 30 
 years ; and the second, or 1335 years, exceeds that 
 again by an advance of 45 years. 
 
 What remains for us now is, to select from among 
 these larger prophetic numbers, one which will afford 
 the least questionable evidence, as to its commence- 
 ment and termination. And the one which wo shall 
 select for this purpose is, the 2300 days of Dan- 
 iel viii., 14. 
 
 20 
 
230 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 
 
 In the preceding Chapter, (vii.,) this prophet had a 
 vision of four great beasts rising out of the sea ; the 
 fourth having 10 horns^ among which arose a little 
 horn ; — together with a view of the kingdom of 
 Christ : which vision was interpreted by an Angel 
 to denote the rise successively of four great Mon- 
 archies, viz., the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the 
 Grecian, and the Roman : but all of which were to 
 be destroyed, to make way for the kingdom of God. 
 The general tenor of the vision, however, bespake 
 great trials to God's people. Daniel was troubled 
 at the sight of " the little horn" of the 8th verse ; for 
 " the same made war with the Saints, and prevailed 
 against them." (v. 21.) 
 
 This vision is followed by another in Chapter viii., 
 of the Ram and the He-Goat, with which was also 
 connected a " little horn," verses 9, 23 ; the resem- 
 blance between which and the little horn of the pre- 
 ceding vision as to the fierceness of his character 
 filled the mind of the prophet with the most alarming 
 apprehensions of the future, accompanied with a 
 strong desire to understand it* " I Daniel," says he, 
 " fainted and was sick certain days, and I was as- 
 tonished at the vision ; but none understood it." 
 
 In this state of mind, the prophet, understanding by 
 the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, that the period of 
 the 70 years captivity was about to expire, he ushers 
 in the joyous event by offering prayer and confession 
 in behalf of his peo >le. 
 
 While engaged in this holy exercise, the angel Ga- 
 briel, whom he had seen in the vision of Chap, viii 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 231 
 
 came to him, and said, " O Daniel, I am now come 
 forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the 
 beginning of thy supplications the commandment 
 came forth, for I am come to show thee ; for thou art 
 greatly beloved, therefore understand the matter, and 
 consider the vision." (v. 23.) 
 
 •Now, what was the matter of particular Revelation 
 by the Angel to Daniel ? Read the 13th verse of the 
 viiith Chapter. Daniel " heard one saint w ask " an- 
 other," " how long shall be the vision concerning the 
 daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to 
 give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden 
 under foot?" The answer was, "unto 2300 days." 
 (v. 14.) This therefore was the point which Daniel 
 desired to understand. And this was the matter re- 
 vealed to him by the angel; and, in the following 
 manner, — 
 
 Prom the 2300 days, Daniel is told to deduct 
 70 weeks or 490 days, as a season of mercy to the 
 Jews, upon their restoration, the details of which are 
 given as follows : the 490 days are divided into 
 3 parts, thus, — 1st. Seven weeks, or 49 days, during 
 which the commandment was sent forth to restore 
 and build Jerusalem. — 2nd. 62 weeks, or 434 days, 
 within which period Messiah's first advent should 
 occur. And 3rd, one week, or 7 days, in which. (1.) 
 Messiah"should be cut oif — (2.) the covenant should be 
 established with many for or during the whole week, 
 — and (3.) in the midst of the week, sacrifice and 
 oblation should cease: i. e., the sacrifices and obla- 
 
232 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 tions of the Mosaic Economy should terminate for- 
 ever, by the one sacrifice of Christ " once for all." 
 
 But, it is to be remembered, that the Revelation of 
 the Angel Gabriel to Daniel did not close here. The 
 events in detail of the 70 weeks having received their 
 accomplishment, the prophet is informed that "the 
 City and Sanctuary " should be " destroyed " by " the 
 people of the prince that should come," "the end of 
 which should be with a flood," and that unto the 
 end of the war, " desolations " were " determined ; " 
 and that " for the overspreading of abominations he 
 should make it desolate, even until the consummation, 
 and that determined, shall be poured upon the deso- 
 lator." This period relates to the remainder of the 
 2300 days. 
 
 Of these days, however, as we have said, years 
 must be understood ; for, as the city and temple of 
 Jerusalem could not have been rebuilt in 47 literal 
 days, so the 2300 days of Chap, viii., if taken literally, 
 would not have afforded scope sufficient for the first 
 events of that vision ; which, as they relate to the 
 conflicts between the ram and the he-goat, occupy the 
 reigns of the five kings of Persia down to Alexander 
 king of Greece. But this is not all. The aggregate 
 of the events in this vision reach down to the cleans- 
 ing of the sanctuary ', (viii., 14,) with which the "in- 
 dignation" is to u endP (verses 17, 19.) The city and 
 temple of Jerusalem, however, are still in the hands 
 of the spoiler. The Jews yet remain a people, 
 "scattered and peeled." The "indignation" is not 
 
AGfi OF THE WORLD, &C. 233 
 
 yet come to a " full end." The 2300 days have not 
 yet expired. 
 
 We come now to observe, that we are furnished 
 with internal evidence that the 2300 days of Chap, 
 viii., 14, and the 70 weeks of Chap, ix., 24, have a 
 common commencement, as that the days and weeks 
 mean days and weeks of years. For, as the events 
 detailed in the 70 weeks, and which commenced with 
 "the command to restore and to build Jerusalem" 
 ch. ix., 25, were all to receive their fulfilment before 
 the commencement of " the overspreading of abomina- 
 tions," (v. 27,) which, like the desolating lava of a 
 volcano, was to lay waste the fairest inheritance of 
 God's ancient but rebellious people to the end of the 
 2300 years ; and, as the 70 weeks or 490 years were 
 to be deducted from the 2300 years, it follows, that 
 both these prophetic numbers commence with the 
 above command, to restore and build Jerusalem. 
 
 As, however, there were no less than three of the 
 above named commands, delivered by three different 
 kings (viz., Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes Longima- 
 nus, Ezra vi., 4,) at three different periods, it becomes a 
 matter of vast importance in these premises to deter- 
 mine from which one of the three the above 70 prophetic 
 weeks, and 2300 days date their commencement.* 
 
 * To correct a misapprehension as to the time whence we are to 
 date the commencement of Daniel's 70 prophetic weeks, which is, 
 that it immediately followed the decree issued by Cyrus, we rev. 
 that, according to the learned Prideaux, under this decree "the 
 State of Judah and Jerusalem" only "began to be restored? 1 And 
 that it was not until the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, under the reign 
 20* 
 
234 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Happily, even admitting that the chronology of that 
 period, as some contend, is exceedingly confused, the 
 fulfilment of the events as detailed in the 70 weeks, 
 furnish what to our mind is irrefragible evidence, in 
 determining the point of our inquiry. Irrefragible, 
 we say, because that evidence is internal. 
 
 First. Take the "one week," (v. 27,) which is the last 
 of the 70, and during which the covenant was to be con- 
 firmed with many. Now, it was " in the midst of 
 this week " that Messiah was to be " cut offP Here 
 we avail ourselves of the general acknowledgment 
 that Christ commenced his ministry at 30 years of age, 1 
 and that he exercised that ministry among the Jews 
 only for precisely three years and a half, when he 
 was crucified. It is also admitted that, commencing 
 immediately after his death, the gospel was preached 
 to the Jews only for three years and a half when, by 
 the conversion of Cornelius, the partition wall between 
 Jew and Gentile was broken down, and the Gospel 
 was proclaimed equally to all. 
 
 On the subject of the termination of the last week 
 of the 70, placing it at the conversion of Cornelius, ra- 
 
 ot Artaxerxes Longimanus, that the church and state of the Jews, by 
 virtue of several decrees, were finally and thoroughly restored. 
 With this representation agrees Ezra vi., 14, which plainly intimates 
 that "the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jeru- 
 salem" mentioned Dan. ix., 25, was reiterated through the reigns 
 successively of Cyrus, Darius Hyslaspes, and Arlaxerxes Longimanus. 
 As an aid to those who would wish to examine this subject mi- 
 nutely, I would respectfully refer them to the references appended 
 to the tabular view of the viith Period, pages 219 &240 of this work. 
 
 1. Luke iii., 23. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 235 
 
 ther than at the crucifixion, " in the midst " (middle 
 or first half) of which, Messiah was to be " cut off," 
 we find ourselves at issue with the learned Prideaux, 
 who, in order to complete the establishment of the 
 covenant with many for that week, brings in the minis- 
 try of John the Baptist. But, we respectfully sub- 
 mit, that while this places the cutting off of Messiah 
 at the end of the week, which seems to contradict 
 Dan, ix., 27; it assigns also to the nature and de- 
 sign of John's ministry, as the forerunner of Christ, 
 what does not belong to it. True, of that distinguished 
 personage it is said, that " among them that are born 
 of women, there hath not risen a greater " than he ; 
 and Christ himself testified both to the spirituality and 
 superiority of his ministry over all that had preceded 
 it. He was " more than a prophet." Still, says the 
 Savior, " He that is least in the kingdom of Hea- 
 ven is greater than he." Now, if we understand of 
 this the Christian dispensation, then John the Bap- 
 tist was not " in " it — he did not belong to it. This 
 was evidently the dispensation which he had set forth 
 as " at hand" i. e. as not yet established. The old 
 prophets had declared that Christ was coming : John 
 showed that Christ ivas then among them. But it re- 
 mained for the Apostles and their successors " to prove 
 that this Christ has suffered, and entered into his 
 glory, and that repentance and remission of sins are 
 proclaimed through his blood/' John was beheaded, 
 and his ministry sealed by his blood, ere the Messiah, 
 whose way he proclaimed, had been betrayed, or tried, 
 or condemned, or crucified, or was risen from the 
 
236 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 dead, or ascended to heaven ; and the apostolical col- 
 lege was restricted to those who were eye and ear 
 witnesses to all these things. 
 
 The ministry of John the Baptist then, we say, was 
 an intermediate ministry, between the abrogation of 
 the Old and the introduction of the New Dispensation. 
 Hence, having accomplished the object for which it 
 was designed, it ceased to exist. This is evident from 
 the following considerations : — 
 
 I. John declares that he received his commission, 
 not from Christ, but from the Father. Accordingly, 
 we find him declaring, " He that sent me to baptize 
 with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou 
 shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, 
 the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost/' 
 It was not until after this that John " saw and bear 
 record, that he (as Christ) was the Son of God." Be- 
 fore that period, John positively declared, " I knew 
 him not ; but that he should be made manifest to Is- 
 rael, therefore am I come, baptizing with water." It 
 is evident, therefore, that his was not the Christian 
 ministry, inasmuch as that ministry could only origi- 
 nate in the express command and authority of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 II. The ministry of John the Baptist required, not 
 faith in Christ, but repentance^ or reformation of life, 
 suitable to the appearance of such an august personage: 
 except, indeed, that the exercise of faith was obliga- 
 tory, upon a conviction on their part, that the miracles 
 performed by Christ during his ministry should suffi- 
 ciently attest the divinity of his Messiahship. The 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 237 
 
 burden of his cry was, " prepare ye the way of the 
 Lord ; make his paths straight." Even himself de- 
 ferred the exercise of implicit faith in him of whose 
 works he had merely heard while in prison, till the 
 miracles wrought by Christ in the presence of his 
 disciples were communicated to him. His, therefore, 
 could not have been the Christian ministry. 
 
 III. Again, John's ministry was destitute of an 
 external sign or seal, such as that which distinguishes 
 the Christian dispensation. True, he baptized — but 
 he did not baptize in the name of the Sacred Trin- 
 ity : Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. His baptism 
 and that of Christ, are represented in Scripture as se- 
 parate and distinct, from the peculiar and transcend- 
 ant effects of the latter. In support of this, we have 
 his own declaration - — "I indeed," says he, " baptize 
 you with water unto repentance; but there cometh 
 one after me mightier than I ; he shall baptize you 
 with the Holy Ghost and with fire." And to place the 
 matter beyond the reach of all reasonable doubt, St. 
 Paul, while at Ephesus, having ascertained there were 
 some in that place who had been baptized, but who 
 were ignorant of the accompanying influences of the 
 Holy Ghost attendant upon all Christian converts, 
 enquired, " Into what, then, were ye baptized i n 
 And they replied, "Into John's baptism;" and after 
 he had explained to them the nature of John's bap- 
 tism, " they were baptized in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus." 
 
 The conclusion therefore is, that the ministry of 
 John the Baptist, as it formed no part of the Christian 
 
238 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 dispensation, so it could not form a part of " the cove- 
 nant confirmed with many " during the last of the 70 
 weeks. 
 
 In reference to the conversion of Cornelius, A. D. 
 37, it is objected, that it does not agree with the mar- 
 ginal chronology of that event in the New Testament. 
 But to this we reply, that " though it may not be in 
 our power to fix with precision the time of the con- 
 version of Cornelius from the narrative of the Acts, 
 yet it is easy to show that the date given to it in the 
 margin of our Bibles, which is wholly arbitrary and 
 unsupported, must be too late ; and that the year 37 
 agrees much better with the facts that are known. 
 The stoning of Stephen took place in 34, or early in 
 35, and the conversion of Paul in the course of 35, to 
 allow time for his two visits to Jerusalem mentioned 
 in Galatians, with an interval of three years, and 
 fourteen years between them : all occurring before the 
 Council, in Acts xv. : the dissensions leading to which 
 are referred to in Gal. ii. 11 ; and which Council could 
 not be later than 52. Paul's first visit to Jerusalem 
 was therefore in 38, and Peter was at Jerusalem, Gal. 
 i. 18 ; and the persecution raised about Stephen had 
 ceased. Acts ix. 31 ; xi. 19. But at this visit to Jeru- 
 salem, Paul received his commission to go to the Gen- 
 tiles, Acts xxii. 21 ; and began to dispute with the 
 Grecians, Acts ix. 29, at the time when the disciples at 
 Antioch did the same ; Acts xi. 20 : all which proves 
 that the door had then been opened to the Gentiles by 
 the conversion of Cornelius, as otherwise these proceed- 
 ings could not have been sanctioned by the Church in 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 239 
 
 sending forth Barnabas, Acts xi. 22, and their even 
 sending Paul to Cesarea, the abode of Cornelius, Acts 
 ix. 30, indicates the same thing ; and Barnabas sought 
 his help as the chosen vessel to the Gentiles. Acts 
 xi. 25, ix. 30. 
 
 The conversion of Cornelius therefore must have 
 taken place before 38. We should recollect that the 
 transactions in the Acts are not given in the regular 
 sequence of time, but one narrative is followed out to 
 its close, and then another taken up, though it should 
 require going back in order of time : as is evidently 
 the case, chap. xi. 19, which returns to chap. viii. I. 1 
 
 The conclusion therefore is, that, the 70 weeks or 
 490 years of Daniel, ending at the conversion of Cor- 
 nelius A. D. 37, together with the 2300 years, are to 
 be dated from the command to restore and build 
 Jerusalem as given to Ezra in the 7th year of Ar- 
 taxerxes Longimanus. 
 
 As collateral evidence, however, of the correctness 
 of the above chronology of the commencement and 
 termination of the 70 weeks of Daniel, we offer the 
 following succession in the line of the High Priest- 
 hood, &c, from the time of its investment of the 
 civil power, upon the annexing of Judea to the Pre- 
 fecture of Syria, as furnished by Prideaux, reaching 
 to the Commencement of Christ's ministry, at 30 years 
 of age. 
 
 1. Pym. Appendix, p. 118. IUV 
 
240 
 
 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Succession. 
 
 High Priesthood. 
 
 1 Joiada 
 
 2 Johanan (Jonathan?) 
 
 3 Jaddua 
 
 4 Onias I 
 
 5 Simon the Just 
 
 6 Eleazar 
 
 7 Manasseh 
 
 8 Onias II 
 
 9 Simon II 
 
 10 C Onias III. i 
 
 11 ) Jason > 
 
 12 f Manelaus ) 
 
 Princes of Judah. 
 
 1 Judas Maccabeus, 
 
 2 Jonathan, 
 
 3 Simon, 
 
 4 John Hyrcanus, 
 
 Kings of Judah. 
 
 1 Aristobulus I 
 
 2 Alex. Jannseus, 
 
 3 Alexandra, 
 
 4 Aristobulus II 
 
 5 Hyrcanus II 
 
 6 Antigonus, 
 
 7 f Herod the Great, .. 
 I Christ born in his 33rd 
 
 1 year, 
 
 {^Herod's last year, .... 
 
 8 Archaelaus, 
 
 9 Augustus, 
 
 10 Tiberius Ccesar, 
 
 The " 62 weeks" of Dan. ix. 
 26, 
 
 Add the i c 7 weeks " Dan. 
 ix. 25, 
 
 Christ's ministry 3 yrs 6 mo. 
 
 to conver. of Cor. 3 yrs 6 mo. 
 which make the " one," or 
 last week, Dan. ix. 27, . . 
 
 Total 
 
 Years 
 
 37 
 32 
 20 
 21 
 9 
 
 16 
 26 
 33 
 22 
 
 27 
 
 References* 
 
 490 
 
 Neh. xii. 10. Prid. ii. 205 to 265 
 
 « 590 
 " 350 
 " 395 
 " 411 
 
 do do 11. 
 
 do do 11. 
 
 Prid. vol. ii. 
 
 do 
 do 
 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 do 
 do 
 vol. iii. 
 do 
 do 
 
 do do 
 
 265 
 290 
 350 
 395 
 411 
 113 
 113 
 154 
 183 
 215 
 220 
 
 " 225 
 « 154 
 " 183 
 " 215 
 " 220 
 " 299 
 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 252 " 335 
 335 " 375 
 375 " 395 
 
 395 iv. 7 
 
 do vol. iv. 
 do do 
 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 do ! do 
 do f do 
 
 do do 
 do do 
 do do 
 
 EZRA 
 
 NEHEMTAH 
 
 First Commission 
 
 Second do 
 
 His Return to 
 Persia 
 
 Third Commis- 
 sion, to the Close 
 of the old Testa- 
 ment Canon 
 
 or, 
 
 7 to 
 13 " 
 43 " 
 62 " 
 99 " 
 193" 
 
 13 
 43 
 
 62 
 
 99 
 
 193 
 
 204 
 
 204, 359 " 362 
 368 " 370 
 
 371 " 373 
 373 " 379 
 379 " 384 
 
 49 
 
 Ezr. vii. ll 
 ii. 13, 15; 
 
 Neh. ii. 1—6 
 
 Do- 
 
 190. 
 
 11. 146 
 " v. 14 ; 
 
 Do. ii. 
 " xiii. 6, 
 ii. 
 " _ 7 . 
 
 Do, ii. 208 
 
 . Prid. 
 -151. 
 
 ii. 6; 
 151. 
 7. Do. 
 
 190. 
 
 - 22. 
 225. 
 
 The 70 prophetic weeks of Daniel ix. 24 — 27 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 241 
 
 We proceed, therefore, to observe, that the death of 
 the Savior at the termination of his three and a half 
 years' ministry on the one hand, and the conversion of 
 Cornelius, after the three and a half years of the apos- 
 tolic ministry among the Jews on the other, together 
 make up the " one," or last of the 70 prophetic weeks ; 
 and, added to the 30 years of Christ's age when he 
 commenced his ministry, it demonstrates that the 70 
 weeks closed A.D. 37. Now, carry back the 70 weeks, 
 or 490 years from A. D. 37, to the era B. C, and you 
 have the date of " the command to restore and to build 
 Jerusalem," B. C. 453, or A. M. 3679. Then, the 
 2300 years beginning at the same time, we ascertain 
 their termination merely by deducting the years before 
 the incarnation, which brings us down to A. D. 1847. 
 
 But by what event is the close of 2300 years to be 
 signalized ? Answer : The cleansing of the sanctuary, 
 the accomplishment of the vision — the last end of the 
 indignation. Dan. viii. 14 — 19; 23 — 27. In other 
 words, that in A. D. 1847 the Lord Jehovah will ap- 
 pear for the restoration and re-establishment in Pales- 
 tine of the seed of Abraham, which he sware unto 
 their fathers. 
 
 Thus have we disposed of the first prophetical 
 number of 453, from the commencement of Daniel's 
 70 weeks to the nativity; or 490, by the addition 
 thereto of A. D. 37, to the conversion of Cornelius, as 
 having a common commencement with the 2300 
 years, But, as we have seen, the year A. D. 1817. 
 as the terminating point of the 2300 years, when 
 added to A. M. 4132 from the creation, still leaves 
 21 
 
242 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 21 years minus the 6000. There are however, three 
 other numbers of the " more sure word of prophecy," 
 which, as in the other instance, calculating the present 
 as A. D. 1842, defines the period when "the mys- 
 tery of God " in Providence and Redemption shall 
 be " finished." These are, the three following 
 numbers of Daniel xii., 7, 11, 12, viz., "a time, times 
 and an half," or 1260 years, — 1290 years, — and 
 1335 years. 
 
 The point first to be determined in reference to 
 these numbers is, whether they all commence at the 
 same "period of time. In order to this, it will be ne- 
 cessary to attach some definite idea to the descriptions 
 given in the imagery of the prophet Daniel, of the two 
 powers spoken of, — the first, Chap, vii., 8, 20, 24, 25, 
 and the second, Chap, viii., 8, 9, 10, 11, first clause, 
 verses 23 — 25. Chap, xi., 31 — 45, and Rev. xiii. 
 The ivorks also to be accomplished by them respect- 
 ively claims our special regard. Those of the first 
 are described in Chap, vii., 21, 24, 25 ; and of the 
 second, Chap, viii., 10—12, 24, 25, xi., 31 — 45, xii., 
 7., and Rev. xiii. 
 
 Now, the descriptions given by the prophet of the 
 fierceness of character, and the persecuting, destructive 
 career of these two powers, plainly indicate, as we 
 have already said, a strong resemblance of the one to 
 the other : and, united, they are designed to set forth 
 the various persecuting powers which were to try the 
 integrity of the Church, and to impress upon her the 
 momentous truth, that u through much tribulation" 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 243 
 
 the faithful within her militant pale, were to " enter 
 into the kingdom of God." l Hence, 
 
 1. Both these powers, in their persecuting career, 
 direct their rage and malice against a common object* 
 The " little horn " of Daniel vii., 8, " makes v:ar with 
 the Saints, and prevails against them" and " wears 
 them out:' (v. 20, 24.) And the "little horn" of 
 Chap, viii., 9, " waxes great, even to the host of 
 heaven, some of whom, with the stars, he casts to the 
 ground, stamps upon, and destroys the mighty and 
 the holy people" (v. 10, 24.) 
 
 2. To the commencement and termination of both 
 these powers is set a fixed and unalterable period. 
 " The Saints of the most High " were given into the 
 hand of the little horn of Daniel vii., 8, for " a time, 
 times, and dividing of time." (v. 25.) And the little 
 horn of Chap, viii., 9, "the king of fierce countenance, 
 and understanding dark sentences," (v. 23,) was to 
 prosper, and practice, and destroy the mighty people, 
 for " a time, times, and an half" (Chap, xii., 7.) 
 
 3. To both, (following a supposed long-established 
 and generally received opinion on this subject,) as we 
 shall now show, by a most extraordinary coincidence, 
 is attached the same numerical mark, viz., 666. Rev. 
 xiii., 18; xiv., 11. And, 
 
 1. Of the Papal Beast. " It was customary with 
 the Hebrews, Greeks, and Latins, (or Romans,) to use 
 the letters of their Alphabet, to keep accounts by, in. 
 stead of figures, which were of much later invention ; 
 the same ancient practice, (in part,) prevails to this 
 day, according to the old Roman custom ; as you may 
 
244 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 perceive on books, medals, monuments, or public 
 buildings ; e. g., mdccxciii, is put for 1793, which in 
 Hebrew characters is thus deciphered, imx 1793, and 
 in Greek thus, «yh/ 1793. 
 
 " Now, the Holy Spirit knowing, that notwithstand- 
 ing men and nations would change their customs and 
 manners, by being overturned, yet still their numeral 
 letters would remain in use to the latest posterity. 
 He therefore in infinite wisdom thought fit to describe 
 the mark or name of the Popish Beast by numeral 
 letters, that thereby it might unalterably remain, and 
 so not only appear both a mark and a name, but a 
 numeral name, or a name distinguished by the coin- 
 cidence of its numbers, viz.. 666 ; which number, 
 being pointed out by a most remarkable circumstance, 
 (and of which we shall speak presently,) happening 
 in the corresponding century, it could not be possibly 
 mistaken, forgotten, altered, or lost. 
 
 " On these accounts, (among others) no doubt the 
 Holy Ghost gave the true sign or mark of the mon- 
 ster, in cypherical characters, as constitute the number 
 666, by a singular combination " of the three above 
 named languages. "Nor is it a little astonishing" 
 that this same number, " without a unit over or under 
 should be found in the composition of the name, 
 which has in it a combination of all those languages 
 in which the (Pagan ?) beast wrote the inscription 
 over our blessed Lord's head on the Cross, viz., " La- 
 tin, Greek, and Hebrew." l 
 
 Now, apply this number to the name and character 
 
 1. Luke xxiii., 38. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 245 
 
 of the Papal beast " as a man, a Roman, of the Latin 
 nation ; " and it will be found exactly to make out the 
 mark of his name, thus, trp9l2% Romanics, laxwo^ La~ 
 tinus ; both which, when received as letters, may be 
 called the mark of his name ; but when considered as 
 numerals or figures, (of which both words entirely 
 consist,) may then be called the number of his name, 
 or the number of a man, being a Latin name derived 
 from that of Romulus, a man, who founded Rome, 
 Pagan, and so peculiar to a man, viz., the POPE, 
 who is the foundation of Rome Papal" 
 
 " Now observe. The Hebrew and Greek letters 
 composing the words m'Wi, Romiith, —* ©"psta^j Ro~ 
 manus, — or Xotrs^oc, 7 Latinus, each of them making 
 in numerals exactly 666, — plainly point out not only 
 his name and the number of his name, but also the 
 
 mark of his name ; 
 
 e. g., in 
 
 
 400. 10. 10. 
 
 40. 6. 200. 
 
 Romiith. 666. 
 
 So likewise 
 
 
 
 ID 1 3 
 300. 6. 50. 
 
 3> & 1 
 
 70. 40. 200. 
 
 Romanics. 666 ; 
 
 And also the Greek, 
 
 X a t e v v o 5 
 
 30. 1. 300. 5. 10. 50. 70. 200. Latinus. 666. 
 in each of which the exact mark is contained." 
 
 " It therefore evidently appears, that each name is 
 both a mark and a number ; a mark, when viewed as 
 made up of so many letters, therefore called the mark 
 of his name ; a number, when viewed as made up oi 
 so many numerals, thence called the number of his 
 21* 
 
246 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 name. But when considered merely as a name de- 
 rived from Romiith, a Roman, or Romulus, the 
 founder of Rome, a name common among men, it 
 may then properly be called the number of a man ; 
 in scripture dialect, a u man of sin? of uncommon 
 sin." * 
 
 We proceed therefore in this last sense, first to 
 apply this name to the " little horn " of Daniel vii., 8, 
 as the 
 
 FRONTLET OF THE (PAPAL) BEAST. 
 
 It is to be observed as a singular circumstance, that 
 the title, vicarivs filii dei, (Vicar of the Son of 
 God.) which the Popes of Rome have assumed to 
 themselves, and caused to be inscribed over the door 
 of the Vatican, exactly makes the number of 666 
 when deciphered according to the numeral significa- 
 tion of its constituent letters, thus, 
 
 * I cannot leave this subject without remarking, how singular it 
 is, that Christ should have suffered under a conjunction of these 
 three powers, viz. the Hebrews, Greeks, and Latins ; and that his 
 inscription was also written in all their three languages ; farther, 
 that Antichrist has also reigned in a conjunction of the same : a d 
 as this mark is likewise contained in a combination of them, may it 
 not therefore, according to the nature of correspondencies, be ex- 
 pected, that the visible destruction of the man of sin, and the estab- 
 lishment of Christ's reign, will be manifested in a conjunction o^ 
 these three kindred, people, and tongues'? So that by the same 
 instruments that Christ has been abased, and Antichrist exalt sd, 
 Antich t shall be abased, and Christ alone exalted." 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &.C. 
 
 247 
 
 Vicar of the Son of God. 
 
 V I C A R I V S F I L I I D E I. added 
 5. 1.100. 1. 5. 1.50. 1. 1. 500. 1. together thus: 
 
 V 5 
 
 1 1 
 
 C 100 
 
 A 
 
 R 
 
 1 1 
 
 V* 5 
 
 S 
 
 F 
 
 1 1 
 
 L 50 
 
 1 1 
 
 I L 
 
 D 500 
 
 E 
 
 1 1 
 
 The number of the Beast 666 
 
 * Answer to a querist, respecting the mark of the Beast. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In answer to your observation and queries, permit me to say, — 
 the things I have asserted are stubborn clear facts, not mere suppo- 
 sitions or fancies. 
 
 The inscription in question was actually written over the door of 
 the Vatican at Rome in express Latin words and characters, as in- 
 serted in this publication, viz. Vicarivs Filii Dei ; and those l.av n 
 words and characters, contain Latin numerals to the amount of 666, 
 exactly corresponding with the number of the beast. 
 
 With respect to the supposition you have conjured up, that the 
 Pope might be called Vicarius Christ us, or Vicarius Ckristus Filii 
 Dei, (a sort of gibberish that is neither 1 .atin, German, nor English,) 
 H is a matter I have nothing to do with. Mr. D. may adopt these 
 
248 AGE OP THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 " It may be farther observed, that not many centuries 
 back, on the front of the Pope's mitre, the word 
 
 MYSTERY 
 used to be inscribed, and was worn by them till the 
 Reformers discovered and pointed it out to the people, 
 as the scripture mark of Anti-Christ, from Rev. xvii., 
 5, which glaring manifestation of " the man of sin " so 
 opened the eyes of the multitude, that the custom was 
 immediately abolished, and the word erased from the 
 mitre." l 
 
 V " Even those who are unacquainted with the lan- 
 guages may, by comparing the characters and num- 
 bers, (as given in the following table,) satisfy them- 
 selves of the truth of the foregoing assertions." 
 
 But we observe, 
 
 2. That, by a most extraordinary coincidence, as 
 
 or any other fancies to amuse himself, and to screen the head of his 
 holiness ; but when he has done all, this question will still remain to 
 be answered . Have those inscriptions ever appeared over the door 
 of the Vatican at Rome 1 
 
 As to Mr. D 's attempting to obscure the number of the beast 
 
 666, contained in the numerals of the words Vicarivs Filii Dei, by 
 objecting to a V ; however the Pope or his emisaries may be 
 obliged to him for his kind exertions on their behalf, yet I presume 
 neither of them will condescend to appear his humble fool in Latin, 
 for the sale of sheltering themselves under his ignorance of the 
 Latia alphabet and of ancient inscriptions. 
 
 Let Mr. D but put his hand into his pocket, and examine a 
 
 common halfpenny, he will then see, that a whole nation have una. 
 
 nimously adopted that practice which Mr. D 's wisdom cannot 
 
 discover the propriety of, viz. retaining the use of the ancient Latin 
 
 V in preference to the U, as he will find by the inscription, viz. 
 Georgivs not Georgius. 
 
 1. Flemings key to the Apocalypse. Appendix, pp. 105 — 108. 
 
AGE OP THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 249 
 
 NUMERAL LETTERS, AS FORMERLY USED BY THE NATIONS OF THE 
 LATINS, GREEKS, AND HEBREWS. 
 
 Latins Greeks and Hebrew. 
 
 M. 1000 
 
 a i 
 
 o- 200 
 
 a i 
 
 a 80 
 
 D. 500 
 C. 100 
 L. 50 
 X. 10 
 
 9 2 
 
 r 3 
 
 9 4 
 
 8 5 
 
 t 300 
 v 400 
 <p 500 
 / 600 
 
 3 3 
 1 4 
 
 n 5 
 
 1 6 
 
 2 90 
 p 100 
 Ej 200 
 E> 300 
 
 n 400 
 
 V. 5 
 I 1 
 
 s 6 
 C 7 
 
 ip 700 
 oo 800 
 
 t 7 
 
 n 8 
 
 t) 9 
 1 10 
 
 b 30 
 fc 40 
 3 50 
 D 60 
 3? 70 
 
 FINALS. 
 
 
 n 8 
 
 & 9 
 i 10 
 * 20 
 I 30 
 ?* 40 
 
 Ttft 900 
 « 1000 
 
 P 2000 
 
 y 3000 
 
 b 4000 
 
 •i 500 
 
 t, 600 
 
 700 
 
 A 800 
 
 4 900 
 I 1000 
 
 5 2000 
 
 
 y 50 
 
 e' 5000 
 
 
 
 
 e 6o 
 
 o 70 
 
 7T 80 
 
 h 90 
 
 ** 10,000 
 x 20,000 
 j? 100,000 
 
 
 
 
 2 100 
 
 a 200,000 
 
 
 
 some contend, this same numerical mark of 666, com- 
 
 poses the name also of the great Mahometan imposter. 
 
 His name in Greek, Motopsng^ Mahomet^ composes ex- 
 
 actly the number of 666. Thus, 
 
 M « o fi s t ft g 
 
 40 1 70 40 5 300 10 200 — 666.* 
 
 This circumstance has led some to conjecture that 
 
 * As the word Ma^m? must be regarded with complacency by 
 those who consider Mahomet to have been the Antichrist, it will be 
 proper here to state the objection to it, which is principally on ac- 
 count ol the Orthography* The Romish Bishop Walmsley adopts 
 it as written above on the authority, as he says, of Euthymius, Zo- 
 nares, and Cadrenus; and considers that ii will be some j\ 
 Turkish Anti-christ, who will adopt the name of Mahomet , v 
 Faber, however, has shown that the authorities of the Bishop are a 
 
250 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 this number belonged exclusively to that remarkable 
 man. 1 In our view, however, the utmost that can be 
 claimed in these premises is, that it will apply only 
 as merged in, and comprehended under, the greater 
 and more obvious anti-Christian power, in its Papal 
 form ; the Mahometan anti-Christian power being thus 
 distinguished, from the circumstance of its running a 
 career parallel, or nearly so, with that of the former. 
 Nor can this view fail to derive material strength from 
 the fact, that this numerical mark, as applied to the 
 anti-Christian character of the Popedom, harmonizes 
 precisely with the date of its assumption of that form 
 which the elements of its earlier existence, in the re- 
 lation of cause and effect, was calculated to produce, 
 viz. its tyranny over the consciences of men, by the 
 adoption (to the exclusion of the primitive forms) of a 
 mode of religious worship which, to the great mass, 
 is in an " unknown tongue. 1 '' 2 
 
 daring fabrication of his own, as they all write the word differently 
 from each other and from him : thus, 
 
 Movxovfier, — Cedrenus. 
 
 IV! wajieO, — Zonares. 
 
 Mwa^J, — Euthymius. 
 The latter also writes as Zonares. The following are additional 
 instances of different modes of writing it adduced by Mr. Faber. 
 
 Moa/^J, — Nicetas. 
 
 Mexnerns, — Chalcocondylas. 
 
 Max.c/.(£r, — Cantacuzenes. 
 
 Mc^uer,— Ducas Michael. 
 
 Maxov[i£rm, — Joannes Cananus. 
 In none of the above names is it Maoris ; and Mr. Rabbell further 
 contends that this is not a proper Greek termination, as it should 
 be either to$ or reg" Brook's E!em. of Pror>h. Inter,, p. 315. 
 1. Investigator, vol. ii., pp. 400 — 403. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 251 
 
 Now, it is a matter of historic verity, that "in A.D. 
 666, Pope Vitalian first ordained that public wor- 
 ship should be performed in the Latin language, and 
 popery really became the Latin Church." As there- 
 fore the number of the Papal Beast is found in the 
 name Latinus, (and with which corresponds the He- 
 brew Romiith, and the Greek Iutelvoc,) it can ap- 
 ply to no other than to the western, or Romish Church, 
 whose subjects " are universally called Latins; and it 
 is true as an able commentator l has expressed it, they 
 latinise every thing ; masses, prayers, hymns, litanies, 
 canons, bulls, in short, everything is in Latin ; the Papal 
 councils speak Latin, nor is Scripture itself read in any 
 other language under Popery than Latin. The council 
 of Trent commanded the vulgar Latin to be the only 
 authentic version; nor do their doctors doubt to prefer 
 it to the Hebrew and Greek text, in which it was 
 written by the Prophets and Apostles ; and, moreover, 
 the Pope has communicated this language unto the 
 people as the mark and character of the Empire." 
 
 Finally, respecting this number we remark, that 
 while its numeral letters, which indicate the name of 
 the Beast, are designed to " show his character, or the 
 copy of his countenance ; " the direction given Rev. 
 xiii., 18, to " count his number," points us to the 
 period as above, viz., A. D. 666, when he should as- 
 sume this particular feature of his Anti-Christian 
 career. Our conclusion is, that this number, as some 
 contend, cannot have a common commencement with 
 
 1. Dr. H. Moore. 3. Consult I Cor. xiii., xiv. 
 
252 AGE OF THE WORLD; &C. 
 
 the 1260 years of Daniel and St. John : nor as others, 
 because this particular form of the Papal Anti-Christ 
 took its rise in the sixth century, that it is to continue 
 to run a career of three times six, or eighteen cent- 
 uries. Either of these conjectures introduce so much 
 confusion in the department of prophetic Chronology, 
 as to carry to every intelligent mind, the evidence of 
 their own refutation. 
 
 Of these two Anti-Christian powers therefore, the 
 facts as herein brought to view demonstrate, that there 
 is a correspondence in their general characteristics, — 
 in their name, — in their malicious and cruel work, — ■ 
 in the common object of their persecuting rage, and in 
 the period assigned to each, for the commencement 
 and termination of their respective career. Is it not 
 reasonable therefore to conclude, that they commence 
 and end their career together 1 True, the marks 
 which evidence the period of the rise respectively of 
 these two powers, may not at first sight exhibit them 
 as exactly cotemporaneous. This however admitted ; 
 as the " little horn " of Daniel vii., 8, and which is to 
 be understood of the Papal persecution, was preceded 
 by its preparatory elemental workings even in the 
 days of the Apostle Paul ; l so of the " little horn " of 
 Daniel viii., 8, 9, which denoted the existence of the 
 Mohamedan imposture. And, as of their com??ience- 
 ment, so of their termination. If we assign to both 
 these powers, in accordance with the end of the period 
 allotted to their prevalence respectively, a certified 
 point of time, we are not to imagine a total annihila- 
 
 1. 2 Thess. ii., 7. 
 
AGE OP THE WORLD, &C. 253 
 
 Hon of their peculiar elements. For, as the anti-christ- 
 ian elements of the Papal power, preceded by some 
 centuries, its existence in an embodied and tangible 
 form ; so, upon the termination of the period assigned 
 to its existence in that form, (like "the beasts" in 
 Daniel vii. 12, which, white " they had their dominion 
 taken away" " their lives were prolonged for a season 
 and a time,") it may still exist in the union of its ele- 
 ments with others, in the establishment of the last 
 Anti-Christian Confederacy, which, according to the 
 Apostle Paul, is immediately to precede the second 
 advent. 1 And, what is true of the Pajial, is true also 
 of the Mohamedan power. Indeed, of this last power, 
 its final extinction, as one of the severest persecuting 
 agencies in the hand of Satan against the church, is 
 fixed in prophecy 2 at an advance of at least 51 years 
 beyond the termination of the 1260 years. Hence we 
 remark, that while these two persecuting powers, the 
 Papal and the Mohamedan, are principally brought to 
 view in the visions of Daniel and St. John, there are 
 two others to which we would allude ; the one, the 
 Pagan, the dread ordeal of trial to the Primitive 
 Church : the other, the Infidel, a combination of the 
 malign influences of the " three unclean spirits like 
 frogs," which St. John saw "come out of the mouth 
 of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and 
 out of the mouth of the false pfophet ; " s and who is 
 to constitute the last ordeal of the Church's integrity. 
 
 1.2 Thess. ii. } 1 — 6. 0. Rev. ix., n. 15 
 
 3. Rev. xvi., 13. 
 
 22 
 
254 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 In conclusion therefore on this subject we remark, 
 that, corresponding with these several persecuting 
 powers of the faithful of God in different ages, are 
 first, the " seven times" of Daniel iv., 16, comprehend- 
 ing twice 1260 years, 1 and ending with it; and 
 second, the 2300 years of Daniel viii., 14, which ends 
 with the overthrow of the last Anti-Christ in 1847, 
 and consequently includes all the persecuting Anti- 
 Christian powers — the Pagan, the Papal, the Ma- 
 hometan, and the Infidel. 
 
 Sufficient therefore, we think, has been said to show 
 that " the time, times, and an half," or 1260 years of 
 Daniel vii. 25, and xii. 7, commence and end toge- 
 ther. We now remark, that with this number syn- 
 
 cfc'OWfe^ THE WILDERNESS STATE OF THE CHURCH, 
 
 as brought to view in the " thousand, two hundred, 
 and three score days, or 1260 years of Rev. xii. 6, and 
 the " Forty and two months," or 1260 years of Rev. 
 xi. 2, and xiii. 5. 
 
 Now, as to the date of the commencement of the 
 1260 years, if we can fix upon the period of the rise of 
 either of the two above named principle persecuting 
 or anti-Christian powers, it will fully answer all the 
 purposes of arriving at the important conclusion which 
 is the object of our search. This, we think, we can 
 find in the period of the rise of the Papal power. 
 True, on this subject, different dates are assigned, by 
 different interpreters. Bishop Newton fixes it at A. D. 
 727, at which time the Pope and people of Rome re- 
 
 1. See p. 229. 
 
AGE OP THE WORLD, &C. 255 
 
 volted from the exarchal of Ravenna, and threw off 
 their allegiance to the Greek Emperor. Fleming, in 
 his Apocalyptical Key, adopts A. D. 606, as the time 
 of its rise, assigning the reason, that in that year 
 Phocas bestowed upon the Pope the title of Universal 
 Bishop. 
 
 The objection (which, with all due deference I sub- 
 mit) the objection to Bishop Newton's period is, that 
 it is adopted with a view to accommodate the termina- 
 tion of the 1260 years as nearly as possible to the end 
 of the last 2000 of the 6000th year of the world. 
 " But the very circumstance of this being the case 
 proves him to be in error ; for at the year 2000, ac- 
 cording to his own showing, the millenium is to com- 
 mence ; consequently prior to that time all the pro- 
 phecies relating to the subjugation of the true church, 
 and the dominion of apostacy, must have ceased." 
 Consequently, the 6th and 7th vials (Rev. xvi. 12 — 
 17) if poured out at all, that pouring out must take 
 place after the commencement of the millennium, 
 which supposition contravenes the general idea enter- 
 tained of that state, which all consider to be exempt 
 from the judgments of God. But we contend, and 
 the Bishop virtually admits, that the 1260 years end 
 with the pouring out of the fifth vial. The influence 
 of the Beast (Papal) as the Bishop afterwards says, 
 most probably will continue till the millennium, when 
 he is to be miraculously ''consumed with the spirit of 
 the mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of the 
 coming" l of the Son of Man. This perfectly accords 
 
 1. 2 Thess. ii., 8. 
 
256 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 with our view, that the reign of Popery (regal) will 
 cease before the dogmas he has been instrumental in 
 upholding as the spiritual anti-christ, will have been 
 exterminated. As already shown, he existed before 
 the 1260 years, though in a different character. Why 
 may he not do so after ? 
 
 Fleming's date of 606 is, in our view, a nearer ap- 
 proximation to the truth. But the edict of Phocas in 
 that year, constituting the Pope universal Bishop, was 
 but the confirmation of the previous act of Justinian, 
 in A.D. 533, 1 when that Emperor, addressing John 
 II., in an epistle, calls him " the head of all the holy 
 Churches, and states that he had made haste to sub- 
 ject and unite to the seat of his holiness (vestrae 
 sanctitatis) all the priests of the whole east."* 
 
 To this we are aware it is objected, that " Anti- 
 Christ had already risen ;" that "neither John II. nor 
 any of his immediate successors — -■ Agapetus, Silve- 
 rius, Vigilius, Pelagius, John III., Benedict, Pelagius 
 II., Gregory, or Sabinianus, adopted the appellation, 
 " Head of the Church." And that " one of these ten 
 
 1. This date is now adopted by all the most eminent interpreters 
 of Frophecy — Bickersteth, Cunninghame, Freie, Irving, Keith, 
 Habershon, and many others. Mr. Faber likewise adopted it in 
 the former editions of his sacred calendar, and from him, indeed, 
 Mr. Cunninghame first derived it. In a subsequent edition, how- 
 ever, it is excluded, and he has adopted in its stead, the period of 
 the Gothic Kingdoms unanimously recognising the Papal supre- 
 macy. This he has done, to avoid " the conclusion (which was 
 inevitable in his former editions) that the Second Advent of Christ 
 is Pre-MilknialP 
 
 2. Code Lib. i. Tit. i. 5 1. 8. Court of Rome, p. 6. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 257 
 
 Bishops, Gregory the Great, protested against its usur- 
 pation by John, patriarch of Constantinople, pro- 
 nounced him to be Anti-christ who should assume it, 
 and that by way of contrast, called himself " Ser- 
 vius Servorum Dei." Yet these, and a thousand and 
 one similar objections to the contrary notwithstanding, 
 may all be accounted for by the motive of humility 
 assumed by Gregory the Great, which evidently was, 
 to " exhibit, by way of contrast, the arrogance of the 
 Bishop of Constantinople," a formidable rival to his 
 Holiness, who had taken to himself " the title of 
 Universal, or (Ecumenical Bishop." For, says the 
 author of the Histoire des Papes, he (Gregory) did 
 not, on that account, omit to take the care of the uni- 
 versal church. The reason he gave for not taking the 
 title of universal was, that it was (tm nom fastueux 
 superbe,) a proud name, and not suitable to Christian 
 humility. Not that he did not know and acknowledge 
 truly that the Popes were chiefs and sovereign 
 Pastors of the whole Catholic Church. For him- 
 self showed, by several actions in this same year (595) 
 that he was the Bishop of the universal world" l 
 
 Mr. Cunninghame, on the Apocalypse, 3rd edition, 
 p. 256, in treating of this date, first lays down as a pro- 
 position, that the commencement of the 1260 years is 
 to be marked by the giving the saints, and times, 
 and laws {of the Church) into the hands of the lit- 
 tie horn. And he next adopts the axiom of Mr, Fa- 
 ber, that the giving of the saints into the hands of the 
 
 1. Hist, des Popes, p. 339. Court of Rome, p. 6. 
 
 22* 
 
258 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Papacy, must be by some formal act of the secular 
 power of the empire, constituting the Pope the Head 
 of the Church." He then resolves that act into the 
 above edict of Justinian, A. D, 533, who first issues a 
 decree, demanding from his subjects the adoption of 
 the principal article of his faith, which was, that the 
 Virgin Mary was the Mother oi God* (thus publicly 
 avowing the principles of demon olatry) and that under 
 the penalty of a confiscation of their property, and 
 then submits this edict to the Pope, asking his sanc- 
 tion thereto, which was given in the following year. 
 This was followed by the invocation of the Virgin 
 Mary, in an edict addressed by Justinian to the Prce- 
 feet of Africa, thus giving public evidence that the 
 faith of the head of the empire was not only blasphe- 
 mous but demonolatrous. Finally, all the preceding 
 acts of Justinian for establishing a secular and eccle- 
 siastical supremacy in the Church (including also a 
 letter to the patriarch of Constantinople, in which the 
 above titles were likewise given to the Pope,) were 
 inserted in the volume of the Civil Law, published by 
 Justinian, which became the basis of the jurispru- 
 dence of all the kingdoms of the western empire ; and 
 Mr. Cunninghame, in his critical examination of Fa- 
 ber, page 90, states also that the previous edicts of 
 Gratian and Valentinian the III., on which Mr. Faber 
 and others lay great emphasis, are not to be found in 
 that volume ; a distinction which he thinks of a very 
 prominent character between the two former edicts 
 and that of Justinian, as to their becoming the settled 
 and ultimate law of the empire. And although 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 259 
 
 Comber, in his "Forgeries of the Councils," p. 251, of- 
 fers some plausible reasons against the probability of 
 the above acts of Justinian, yet that he really did con- 
 sider the Pope pre-eminent, is evident from the fact 
 that he identified the letters to the Pope with the civil 
 law, and embodied his primacy in that law ; in con- 
 firmation of which Gibbon says, " the vain titles of 
 the victories of Justinian are crumbled in the dust ; 
 but the name of the legislator is inscribed on a fair 
 and everlasting monument. Under his name, and by 
 his care, the civil jurisprudence was digested in the 
 immortal works of the Code, the Pandects, and the 
 Institutions — the public reasons of the Romans 
 has been silently or studiously transfused into the 
 domestic institutions of Europe, and the laws 
 of Justinian still command the respect or obedience of 
 independent nations." 1 " The novels " of Justinian 
 " are full of directions about ecclesiastical matters, 
 and the primacy over the Christian Church, through 
 the Roman Empire, is given to the Pope in the body 
 of them ; " and "there are other expressions in Justi- 
 nian's novels, making the Pope pre-eminent, to which 
 Comber has not alluded. (Nov. 131, ch. 2.) " Sanci- 
 mus sanctissimum senioris Romae Papain primum 
 esse omnium sacerdotum." 2 
 
 The history, then, of the rise of the Papal Ante- 
 
 1. See Encyclo. Brit, on "Law." 
 
 2. See on this subject, Brook's Elements o( Proph, Interpret: i- 
 tation pp. 335—338. Also, Bickersteth's Guide, tec., pp, MO, 
 141. 
 
260 AGE OP THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 christ we would sum up as follows : This " man of 
 sin and son of perdition " was conceived in the age of 
 the apostles and the primitive church, from A. D. 34 
 to 553, at which time he was born. Thence to the 
 period of his adolescence in A. D. 606 ; thence to his 
 virility or manhood, in A. D. 666 ; at which time, 
 having planted himself firmly in his anti-christian seat, 
 he prosecuted with more vigorous and unrelenting 
 fury the already begun work of " speaking great words 
 against the Most High — of wearing out the saints of 
 the Most High — of changing times and laws," &C. 1 
 
 But the career of his malice and rage against the 
 saints was limited. The time was set " when he 
 should have accomplished to scatter the power of the 
 holy people." He was only to " consume and destroy 
 it unto the end?* That end arrived, " the judg- 
 ment was to sit, and his dominion was to be taken 
 away? 3 Yes, the little horn u of Daniel vii., 8, was 
 to wear out the saints of the Most High, and to prevail 
 against them, until the ancient of days came," at 
 which time "judgment was to be given to the saints 
 of the Most High, when they should possess the 
 kingdom." 4 
 
 The limits of this dominion, according to Daniel, 
 and with which, as we have shown, synchronizes the 
 duration of the wilderness state of the Church as des- 
 cribed by St. John, is fixed at 1260 years. 
 
 Now, if, at the expiration of the 1260 years from 
 
 1. Dan. vii., 25. 3. Dan. vii., 26. 
 
 2. Dan. xii., 7; vii., 26. 4. Dan. vii., 21, 22. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 261 
 
 A. D., 533, history is marked by any event correspond- 
 ing in magnitude with the taking away of the power 
 of the Papal Antichrist, all conjecture, as to the birth 
 of this power, viz., A. D., 533, must give place to 
 certainty. 
 
 This then, we affirm, is true of A. D. 1793. 
 
 To place this subject, in connexion with our pre- 
 ceding remarks respecting the persecuting powers of 
 of the Church in a still clearer light, wejemark, that, 
 u during the Old Testament dispensation, the people 
 of God wore a strictly national aspect." So with 
 their persecutors. " First they were the Egyptians, 
 then the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, then the 
 Persians, and subsequently the Romans. But among 
 them Babylon was pre-eminent : l so much so, as to 
 give a general name to the whole persecuting power" 
 
 But, as under the Old, so under the New Testament 
 dispensation : " the people of God wore a two-fold as- 
 pect, national and spiritual, — national as regards 
 their outward privileges, spiritual, as regards their re- 
 ligious character." So, " the great oppressor, the per- 
 secutor, the successful opponent of the people of God :" 
 the Scriptures presenting him to our view in a double 
 aspect, viz., " national and an^i-spiritual, — national, in 
 opposition to their outward privileges, to their proper* 
 ties, and to their lives ; and anti-spiritual, in her dead- 
 ly hostility to the truth, the life and soul of the 
 Church of God." 
 
 The question now presents itself, — whither are we 
 
 1. Dan. ii. 31 — 38. 
 
262 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C 
 
 to look for the existence, in their perfection, of these 
 hostile machinations, against the outward privileges 
 and spiritual truth of God's people ? As u the lan- 
 guage, applied to the literal Israel, continues applica- 
 ble to that nation, still beloved for the Father's sake, 
 and at the same time becomes transferable to the 
 spiritual Israel ;" So " the language of the Old Tes- 
 tament, also, applied to the literal Babylon, furnished 
 a mode of speech which was adopted by the Apostles 
 under the new, to set forth the anti-spiritual oppressors 
 of the people of God under the present dispensation : 
 so that the language applied to the literal Babylon is 
 now transferrable to the Romish system, wherever 
 found. This fact may be confirmed by a single illus- 
 tration, — that, for instance, which relates to the des- 
 truction of human life of " the Saints of the Most 
 High," at the hand of the little papal horn of Daniel. 
 "Joseph Mede reckons up 1,200,000 of the Waldenses 
 and Albigenses put to death in 30 years. It is calcu- 
 lated, that the Roman Catholics, since the rise of the 
 persecution in the 7th or 8th century, to the present 
 time, have butchered, in their blind and diabolical 
 zeal for the Church, no less than 50,000,000 of those 
 they term heretics. Since the Spaniards set foot on 
 the shores of America, it is calculated they have butch- 
 ered 12,000,000 on the Continent, besides the many 
 millions who fell in the islands." l " Lorentes calcu- 
 lates that the inquisition in the Spanish peninsula 
 alone, under the uninterrupted dominion of 45 grand 
 inquisitors, have sacrificed 241,000 individuals." 
 
 1. Simpson's Plea, p. 195. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 263 
 
 " Popery must bear the blame of this ; for the Pope, 
 by virtue of his blasphemous title as God's vicar and 
 vicegerent, gave Philip of Spain all those countries, 
 and his blood-thirsty soldiers first took possession of 
 them in the Poptfs name, and then proceeded to ex- 
 tirpate the inhabitants." 1 
 
 This, we say, was the virus (the venom) of the an- 
 cient " Babylonish system : but the perfection of that 
 system is found especially at Rome ; and therefore, we 
 find this persecutor of the people of God, set forth 
 under the New Testament, by the name of Babylon, 
 and by the description of a city standing on seven 
 hills, which is a description of Rome, as the mystic 
 " BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF 
 HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE 
 EARTH.' 2 
 
 " Curs'd System, bitter root of every crime, 
 Of sin the ugliest, foulest incarnation , 
 The darkest blood-shot on the face of time, 
 Sure source of ruin unto many a nation : 
 The bane of peace, the hind'rer of Salvation, 
 The severer of every tender tie ; 
 Fountain of broken hearts, true imitation 
 Of Satan's regal power and dignity." 
 
 In addition, " a few facts recalled to mind, will show 
 that these heavy charges are not without foundation. 
 Look at its image worship, and other hundred sense- 
 less, mischievous mummeries, both for the dead and 
 the living. Think how it takes away the book of life, 
 
 1. Thoughts on the Com. and King of Chris., by John Cox, p. 99. 
 
 2. Rev. v. 17. 
 
264 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 the lamp of eternity. Consider how it exalts saints 
 and angels, and degrades the Redeemer !" 
 
 " But we are told that popery is changed, and that 
 these things should not now be mentioned ; but be- 
 cause I believe it is unchanged and unchangeable, 
 I have hinted at these things. I believe popery as a 
 system, to be like sin ; both may, yea, both shall be 
 annihilated, but neither can be changed ; while they 
 live, they will retain their nature, and restlessly follow 
 up their grand object, which in both is, dominion." 
 
 The strength of the papal dominion may be infer- 
 red from the fact, that in A. D. 1793, France alone 
 contained upwards of 366,000 secular and regular 
 clergy, besides an immense number of nuns. In the 
 whole of Christendom, there were no less than 255, 
 444 monasteries about 150 years ago. 
 
 The period however had ultimately arrived, when 
 this Anti-christian dominion was to receive an intima- 
 tion, (a sign,) of its long-predicted doom. Besides nu- 
 merous other premonitions of this, which our limits 
 necessarily exclude, that of Henry VIII and his suc- 
 cessors in England, in suppressing 3180 monasteries, 
 containing a population of 50,000 persons, may serve 
 as an example. But it was at the fall of the French 
 monarchy, on the 10th of August, 1792, that a series 
 of the most stupendous events began their awful 
 course, which so exactly correspond in character with 
 the results to be expected from the judgement of the 
 Ancient of Days upon the Papal power, that we are 
 led, reasoning from these events, to fix on the follow- 
 ing year, A. D. 1793, when that Hierarchy was shak- 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 265 
 
 en to its centre by the apocalyptic earthquake, as 
 the era of the commencement of that Judgment, 
 a description of which is given in Daniel vii. 9 — 1L 
 It is as follows : 
 
 " I beheld till the thrones were cast down (or set) 
 and the Ancient of Days did sit. A fiery stream came 
 forth from before him, thousand thousands ministered 
 unto him — and ten thousand times ten thousand 
 stood before him — the judgment was set, and the 
 books were opened. I beheld then, because of the 
 voice of the great words which the horn spake, I be- 
 held even till the beast was slain, and his body 
 destroyed, and given to the burning flame." 
 
 Before considering the import of these words, let it be 
 observed, that the verse which follows, namely, the 
 12th, is a parenthesis, and simply informs us, that 
 when the three former Beasts were deprived of their 
 dominion, it was not effected by a destruction similar 
 to that of the fourth Beast, but their lives (that is, the 
 political existence of the nations of which they con- 
 sisted) were prolonged for a season. As to the fulfil- 
 ment of this, history testifies to it. Indeed, the nations 
 inhabiting the territories of the former three Beasts, 
 continue in existence even to the present day, 
 although in a feeble state, and now fast wasting 
 away. 
 
 The Judgement of the Ancient of Days is an 
 emblematical representation of that special act of the 
 Father, which is signified in the words of the 110th 
 
 1. Rev. 
 
 23 
 
266 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 Psalm : Sit thou at my right hand until I make 
 thy foes thy footstool. It is manifest from the 
 last clause that there is to be an acting or putting 
 forth of the power of the Almighty Father in 
 making the enemies of Christ his footstool. The An- 
 cient of Days, or the Eternal Father, is here 
 represented, therefore, as coming, (for the Horn pre- 
 vailed against the saints until the Ancient of days 
 came, 1 ) and sitting down with his joint assessors (the 
 imagery being taken, as Mede observes, from the ses- 
 sion of the Jewish Sanhedrim) on the throne of Judg- 
 ment. The fourth Beast, and his lawless Horn, are 
 summoned to the bar and condemned, and the execu- 
 tion of the judgment is begun. 
 
 Now, seeing that the Eternal Father, is essent- 
 ially invisible to mortal eyes, and no man hath seen 
 Him, or can see Him; 9, it is necessarily implied in 
 the foregoing description of the Judgment of the An- 
 cient of Days, that it is conducted by an agency 
 which is altogether invisible and can be discerned 
 only by the eye of Faith. 
 
 Its effects, however, must be awful and universal as 
 it respects the territories of the fourth Beast of Daniel, 
 and must bring in a train of calamities of the most 
 fearful and unequalled extent. Turning now to the 
 history of Europe for the last forty-one years, we find, 
 that during that period, every European kingdom has 
 been shaken to its foundations. The throne of 
 France, its central kingdom, has been overthrown five 
 
 1. Dan. vii., 22. 2. 1 Tim. vi. } 16. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 267 
 
 times, 1 besides numerous minor changes. The 
 thrones of the greater part of the other European 
 Kingdoms have been twice subverted. 2 Every part 
 of Continental Europe has been drenched with blood 
 in a series of wars, wherein millions of the human 
 race have fallen by the sword and disease. 
 
 Every Capital of the European Kingdoms of the 
 Continent, from Moscow to Lisbon, has, in the same 
 period, been occupied by foreign armies. 
 
 In the greater part of Europe, the property of the 
 Church of Rome has been seized for secular purposes. 
 The Papal dominion has also been shaken to its 
 foundation, and its power to persecute the Saints 
 taken away. It is true, that it is now using every 
 effort to obtain proselytes, and with such success as 
 justly to alarm the true disciples of the Lord — but it 
 is obliged to trust to the power of persuasion only, 
 and is deprived throughout Europe of the power of 
 the temporal sword, which was formerly wielded in 
 its behalf. The destruction of the Papal Power is 
 proceeding even in the States of America, which pro- 
 fess the Romish faith. In the year 1S25, an impor- 
 tant State Paper was issued by the Congress of 
 Mexico, renouncing the authority of Rome to interfere 
 in secular and political affairs ; and in the Republic 
 
 1. 1st. Overthrow, that of Louis XVI. in 17D-2. k 3d. Bonaparte m 
 1814. 3d. Louis XVIII. in 1815. 4th. Bonaparte in 1815. 5th. 
 Charles X. in 1830. 
 
 2. 1st. At the overthrow of the ancient Dynasties; and Odly. 
 When the vassal Kings of Bonaparte shared the same fate. 
 
268 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 of Colombia the public exercise of the Protestant wor- 
 ship has within the last two years been permitted. It 
 was before prohibited. 
 
 During the whole of the above period of forty-one 
 years, Europe has been in a continued state of revolu- 
 tionary excitement, nor has it enjoyed, even within 
 the last seventeen years of peace, so much as one year 
 of solid tranquillity ', free from the alarms of the polit- 
 ical volcano which has ever and anon been manifest- 
 ing the signs of new eruptions. 
 
 In the British kingdoms, by the passing of the Ca- 
 tholic Emancipation Bill, in the year 1829, and the 
 Reform Bill in 1832, there was effected within the 
 short space of little more than three years, an entire 
 revolution, whereby its Political and Ecclesiastical 
 Constitution has been changed, its House of Peers de- 
 graded as an independent branch of the Legislature, 
 its Aristocracy deprived of its power, which has been 
 transferred to the people, and its monarchy left as a 
 naked column without support. 1 This country, 
 though exempted from the miseries of foreign inva- 
 sion, has been most severely visited by commercial, 
 and manufacturing, and agricultural distress, at differ- 
 ent intervals, which have reduced the poorer classes 
 from comparative c omfort to misery. 
 
 It may be added, that all Europe is now trembling 
 
 1. It will be understood, that this is merely a narrative of the 
 late changes, without any opinion, whether they are for better or 
 worse. That their effects, as here stated, are not magnified, might 
 easily be shown, were there space for it. 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 269 
 
 and heaving with the expectation of some mighty 
 crisis, so that no words can fitly express its present 
 condition; but those of our Lord hin self, who thus 
 describes the same series of events, which have been 
 detailed in the preceding pages, as the results of the 
 sitting of the Judgment of the Ancient of Days." l 
 
 This Judgment of the Ancient of Days on the Pa- 
 pal Anti-Christ still holds its righteous session over 
 that dread power. But, in addition to its former na- 
 tional and JLn^i-Spiritual Characteristics as the great 
 persecuting power of the Church, (the generality of 
 commentators admitting that popery, in its combined 
 political and ecclesiastical forms are represented by 
 the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth of 
 Rev. xiii., and by the harlot of chapter xvii.,) "there 
 is another Anti-Christian power in existence, whose 
 career is subsequent to the reign of the harlot ; and 
 the first of whose acts," upon the attainment of suffi- 
 cient power, " like a true wild beast, is to turn and 
 rend her, with whom he has been, under a former 
 aspect, in alliance." — I mean the beast from the bot- 
 tomless pit. This power will be Popery Infidel- 
 ized, wielding over the nations the sceptre of des- 
 potism ! 2 
 
 Having then demonstrated, page 233 that the 1260, 
 
 the 1290, and the 1335 years of Daniel xii. have a 
 
 common commencement; also, that the 1260 years 
 
 terminated in A. D. 1793, as the time of the com- 
 
 — — 1 — — - — _ _ — 1 — ■ — *.— 
 
 1. Cimninghame's Polit. Dost, oftha Earth, p. '20 — 31. 
 2. See Rev. xvi., 10 — 11. 
 23* 
 
270 AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 
 
 mencement of the Judgment upon the Papal beast by 
 the ancient of Days ; there remains an excess of 30 
 years of the 1290 over the 1260, and of 45 years of 
 the 1335 over the 1290. 
 
 Now, as the 1260 years refers to the duration of the 
 Papal dominion in its consolidated form, and 1793 
 marks the period of the commencement of its over- 
 throw ; so, counting the 1335 years from A. D. 533? 
 it brings us down to A. D. 1868, the time of the 
 commencement of millennial blessedness as pour- 
 trayed by Daniel xii., 12, 13; as the period of con- 
 summated ruin to the confederated Papal, Infidel, and 
 despotic Anti-Christian power. But, this intervening 
 75 years from A. D. 1793 to A. D. 1868, being di- 
 vided, as above, into two periods of 30 and 45 years, 
 the first term of 30 years terminated A. D. 1822, 
 which was signalized by the following remarkable 
 events, viz., — the declaration of independence by the 
 Greeks, and their consequent separation from Turkey, 
 which resulted in the restoration of the seat of the 
 third empire to political power ; the pouring out of 
 the sixth vial, and the preaching of the second advent. 
 The second term of 45 years is that interval during 
 which the great " day of the Lord," the day of " the 
 end," is signalized by " the breaking up of the visible 
 gentile kingdoms and Churches, (Rev. xvi., 19,) on 
 account of their apostacy and wickedness, by a series 
 of desolating judgments foretold distinctly in Dan. ii., 
 34, 35," and in the seven apocalyptic thunders, (Rev. 
 x., 1.— -4) which St. John was commanded to " seal 
 up." Both in Daniel and St. John, these and similar 
 
AGE OF THE WORLD, &C. 271 
 
 predictions are explicitly interpreted by the angel as 
 pointing out Christ's kingdom, breaking in pieces 
 all the previous kingdoms, and which will stand 
 forever. 
 
 Here, then, is the complete overthrow of Popery, 
 Mahomedanism, Infidelity, and every opposing 
 kingdom. This is the time of trouble, such as never 
 was since there was a nation to this time ; no, nor 
 ever shall be. Heaven prepare us for, and preserve 
 us during our exposure to, the days of calamity which 
 await us ! 
 
 In conclusion, 
 
 
 A. M. 
 
 A- D. 
 
 1. Put down from Creation and Fall to the com- 
 
 mencement of Daniel's 70 prophetic weeks 
 
 2. Commencement of Daniel's 70 weeks to the Na- 
 
 tivity 
 
 3679 
 453 
 
 533 
 
 1260 
 
 30 
 
 45 
 
 3. From the Nativity to the commencement of the 
 1260 years 
 
 4. The 1260 years 
 
 5. Excess of 1290 years over the above 
 
 6. Excess of 1335 over 1290 
 
 
 From the Creation to the Nativity 
 
 4132 
 
 1868 
 
 From the Nativity to the end of time 
 
 1S68 
 
 Total 
 
 6000 
 
 '■ 
 
 " The Signs of the Times," as delineated in the 
 following Lecture, will, we think, be found to confirm 
 the above chronology. 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 "SIGNS OF THE TIMES," &c. 
 
 Matt, xvi., 23. 
 
 u O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the 
 sky ; but can ye not discern the signs of the 
 times ? " 
 
 Habak. ii., 3. 
 
 " The vision is yet for an appointed time ; but at 
 the end it shall speak, and not lie ; though it tarry, 
 wait for it, because it will surely come ; it will 
 not tarry P 
 
 Luke xxi., 28. 
 
 " Andiohen these things begin to come to jiass, then 
 look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemp- 
 tion draweth nigh.' 1 
 
 These three passages taken together, form the ground 
 work of our present Lecture. The first asserts the 
 existence of " signs," as applicable to " times and sea- 
 sons" generally ; in other words, that there is a per- 
 fect analogy between the physical effects consequent 
 upon the mutations of the heavenly bodies in produc- 
 ing incessant fluctuations from "fair weather" to 
 "foul;" and those moral effects which are the result 
 
274 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 of God's providences, and which, in the collect for 
 fourth Sunday after Easter, are significantly styled 
 " the sundry and manifold changes of the world." The 
 second passage is designed to teach us that there are 
 limits set to the long period of concealment of the 
 prophetic word, and that the time is designated when 
 that period of concealment should terminate ; viz., 
 "at the end? And the third passage directs our 
 thoughts to a consideration of " signs," which, in 
 addition to dates, as brought to view in the preced- 
 ing Lecture, are designed to indicate "the time "of 
 " the end." 
 
 Nor let any suppose, that we are conducting them 
 into a field of wild conjecture, or of idle speculation ; 
 for, of those constantly recurring signs in the physical 
 world, the lover of nature may sing, 
 
 " Not till the freezing blast is still, 
 Till freely leaps the sparkling rill, 
 And gales sweep soft from summer skies, 
 As o'er a sleeping infant's eyes 
 A mother's kiss ; e'er calls like these, 
 No sunny gleam awakes the trees, 
 Nor dare the tender flow'rets show 
 Their bosoms to th' uncertain glow." 
 
 Nor less certainly may the truly contemplative lover 
 of God's eternal truth, as it is unfolded by " signs " in 
 the moral world, sing, 
 
 M Not surer does each tender gem, 
 Set in the fig-tree's polished stem, 
 Foreshow the summer season bland, 
 Than these dread signs— thy mighty hand !" 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 275 
 
 Yes, of " the Church of the living God," which his 
 word declares is "the pillar and ground of the truth," 
 the existence of a general defection from the truth to 
 the contrary notwithstanding, it may be said, 
 
 " She has a charm, a word of fire. 
 A pledge of love that cannot tire ; 
 By tempests, earthquakes, and by wars, 
 By rushing waves and falling stars, 
 By every sign her Lord foretold, 
 She sees the world is waxing old; 
 And, through that last and direst storm, 
 Descries by faitk her Savior's form." 
 
 These and the like considerations lead us to 
 perceive with what force and power our Lord must 
 have charged home upon the Pharisees and Sadducees 
 of his day, the appropriate epithet of " hypocrite !" 
 " Ye can discern the face of the skyP says he : why 
 not then with equal clearness, " discern the signs of 
 the times ?" as though he said, both are equally marked 
 by their appropriate characteristics — hoth, therefore, 
 are equally intelligible. " When it is evening, ye 
 say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red — and 
 in the morning, It will he foul weather to-day, for the 
 sky is red and lowring" — But, " The Times' 1 are cha- 
 racterized by " Signs" even of paramount significance. 
 11 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the 
 lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are 
 raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to 
 them." l Why then pretend ignorance o( the lessons 
 
 1. Matt, xi., 5. 
 
276 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C 
 
 of instruction imparted by the one, any more than the 
 other ? It is sheer, base hypocrisy ! Brethren, my 
 prayer is, — may God avert from us this tremendous 
 charge ! 
 
 But, in order to this, we must avoid the sin of that 
 presumptuous, heaven-daring Infidelity, which refuses 
 to receive the truth of God, unless attested by redun- 
 dant evidence. This, as it was the fatal error, so it 
 was the heinous sin, of the ancient Pharisees and Sad- 
 ducees, who, tempting Christ, desired him that he 
 would show them a Sign from heaven ; " whereas 
 Christ uniformly taught that the works (miracles) 
 which he did in his Father's name," as " the Signs of 
 the times, " in unison with all that the Prophets had 
 spoken concerning him. bore ample testimony to the 
 truth of his Messiahship, which Messiahship, or the 
 Deity veiled in human flesh, constituted the founda- 
 tion of all the moral phenomena peculiar to that age. 
 
 Nor is this all. We, " upon whom the ends of the 
 world are come," are admonished by the errors of the 
 most eminent saints in these premises in all ages, to 
 guard most sedulously against incredulity on the one 
 hand, and idle curiosity on the other. Of increduli- 
 ty^ as it respects the faithfulness and power of God, 
 in the accomplishment of all that he hath spoken ; 
 as illustrated in the conduct of Abraham, who. when 
 God said to him, "I am the Lord that brought thee 
 out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to in- 
 herit it," i. e., the land of Canaan, replied, " Lord God, 
 
 1. Cor. x. 11. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 277 
 
 whereby shall I know that / shall inherit it V* Also 
 in the conduct of Sarah, whose scornful laugh at the 
 promise of a son in her old age, though she vainly at- 
 tempted to conceal it, betrayed the presiding convic- 
 tion of her mind that the " thing" was " too hard for 
 the Lord.' 7 l Of idle curiosity, as seen in the prying 
 inquisitiveness into the veiled mysteries of God, of 
 the Midian shepherd, Moses, when his eye, being at- 
 tracted by the brilliancy of the burning but uncon- 
 sumed bush, said, " I will now turn aside and see this 
 great sight, why the bush is not burnt." 2 These, 
 with other and similar instances which might be ad- 
 duced in illustration of the above, we say, were errors 
 of the great and good : and though not damnable, yet 
 furnish occasions for admonition and rebuke. 
 
 But, incredulity in the faithfulness and power of 
 God to perform all that he hath spoken ; and idle cu- 
 riosity respecting His veiled mysteries, constitute, pre- 
 eminently, the errors, — as a Pharisaical infidelity does 
 the sin, of this remarkable age. While, as in primitive 
 times, this adulterous generation, when addressed upon 
 the general truths of the Gospel, demand, as a condi- 
 tion of their belief, " a sign from heaven" 3 or that 
 " one arise from the dead ;" 4 the great body of those 
 " who profess and call themselves Christians." either 
 betray a disposition to tread upon ground where an- 
 gels dare not venture, or, when addressed upon the 
 
 1. Gen. xv. 7, 8. 3. Gen. xviii. 10—15 
 
 3. Exod. iii. 1—3. 4. Matt wi ; I. 
 
 24 
 
278 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 subject of those events which are now transpiring, or 
 which are about to transpire on the present theatre of 
 time, ask, "How can these things be?" 1 For in- 
 stance — When we speak of the final drying up of the 
 mystic Euphrates, or the total extinction of the Ot- 
 toman Empire, as soon to take place. — When Ave ad- 
 vert to the appearance of " the Man of Sin, the son of 
 perdition" 2 who, as a real person, is to head the last 
 and greatest antichristian confederacy, as soon to be 
 revealed — When we speak of the restoration, after a 
 long and painful exile, of the Jewish nation to the 
 promised land of their fathers, 3 as nig hat hand — Final- 
 ly, and above all, when we call the attention to the 
 second, personal, pre-millenia], glorious advent of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 4 accompanied by his 
 risen and glorified saints, 5 upon the completion of the 
 Jewish restoration ; and that for the express purpose 
 of " dashing to pieces like a potter's vessel" 6 their, 
 and our, and his enemies, and to set up his " taberna- 
 cle among men" 7 by the establishment of that " king- 
 dom which is to break down and destroy all others, 
 and which is to stand forever ;" — 8 1 say, when these 
 and the like truths, as we receive them, and honestly 
 believe to be taught in the word of God, are addressed 
 to their understanding, professors of religion " with 
 one consent, 9 and almost en masse, rise up and charge 
 us with bringing " strange things to their ears." 9 
 
 1. John iii. 9. 2. 2 Thess. ii. 3. 
 
 3. Ezek. xxxviii. 14—28. 4. Acts i. 10, 11. 
 
 5. 1 Thess. iv. 15—18. 6. Isa. xxx. 14. 
 
 7. Rev. xxi. 3. 8. Dan. ii. 44. 
 
 9. Acts xvii. 20. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 279 
 
 In order, therefore, to disabuse the minds of Chris- 
 tians of an error, the practical tendency of which, in 
 the study of the prophecies whether of the Old or 
 New Testament, tends to prove so highly derogatory 
 to the honor and glory of the God of the prophets, by 
 perverting, yea, defeating the very ends for which the 
 predictions as uttered by them respectively were de- 
 signed, we deem it important not only, but essential to 
 a proper understanding of the subject, that we here 
 institute a distinction between prophecy and the 
 "signs" which accompany them. 
 
 " To prophecy, is to look forward and tell the events 
 of years to come, even as history tells the events of 
 years that are past? l Hence history is the interpret- 
 er of prophecy. 
 
 " Signs" are the harbingers of events pointed out 
 by prophecy. 
 
 Our next remark is, that to predict future events, 
 and to define the signs which are 1o indicate their ful- 
 filment, is the exclusive province of the Almighty. 
 He alone " knows the end from the be^innin^." 
 
 " Signs," we observe further, are designed to herald 
 the fulfilment' of predicted events as near at hand. 
 This point we shall illustrate as we advance. We 
 now ask, why this arrangement of " signs " as the 
 precursors of future events, with the predictions which 
 announce them? Are they to be looked upon as an 
 unmeaning ordinance of heaven? Then the Almighty 
 is trifling with his creatures. Nay, I venture to affirm 
 
 l. McNeil's Second Advent, p. -19. 
 
280 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 that there is not one in this intelligent assembly to- 
 night, who, when pointed to any one of the fulfilled 
 prophecies connected with which was a " sign," as a 
 prelude of its accomplishment, would not consider it 
 an insult to his understanding if called upon to close 
 his eyes against it. Tell such an one that the " sign " 
 means nothing, and he will tell you, and rightly too, 
 that the prediction means nothing. 
 
 This result, however, contemplates the subject in 
 its direct and individual application to the heart and 
 conscience in the sight of God, and it relates to a sinr 
 gle fulfilled prediction, and its accompanying sign or 
 signs. The point whence arises hesitancy, doubt, and 
 unbelief in these premises is, when you spread out the 
 great chart of unfulfilled prophecy as a tchole, mark- 
 ing out what portions are now in course of fulfilment, 
 and what that yet remains to be fulfilled, as indicated 
 by their respective sign or signs. Yet it is at this 
 point that it is objected, both in verbal and in written 
 forms, that prophecy, singly or collectively, can in no 
 sense be understood, until the event or events com- 
 prehended therein verify their import by their ac- 
 complishment. 
 
 Now, in furnishing a reply to this objection, it will 
 be serviceable to state, 
 
 1. That every prediction comprehends within itself 
 the double characteristic of judgment and of mercy. 
 Of judgment, for the contemnors of God's law ; of 
 mercy, for those who delight in its observance. Hence, 
 
 2. Corresponding with this truth is the fact, that 
 every prediction proclaims alike to all, a learning and 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 281 
 
 a promise. A warning to the rebellious — a promise 
 to the obedient. 
 
 To illustrate these points. The voice of prophecy 
 proclaimed to Noah, and through him to the apostate 
 antediluvians, God's purpose to destroy all flesh from 
 off the face of the earth by the flood. 1 The same 
 voice of prophecy pointed out the overthrow of the 
 five rebellious cities of the plain in the time of Abra- 
 ham and Lot. 2 Also, of the 430 years " sojourning " 
 of the Israelites in Egypt, and of their bondage during 
 this period to that people. 3 Also, of the 70 years 
 captivity of Judah, 4 &c. 
 
 We now ask, were all those interested in the events 
 set forth in these predictions, subjected to the annoy- 
 ance and perplexity of vague conjecture either as to 
 the time or circumstances of their accomplishment ? 
 In other words, were they totally ignorant of their 
 import till verified by the fulfilment of the events of 
 which they spake? Nay, verily, the warning voice 
 of 120 years, 5 reiterated the approaching judgments 
 of God on the "old world," 6 the inhabitants of which 
 unheeding, "perished;" 7 while, "by faith" in the 
 promised preservation of himself and family, 8 "Noah, 
 being warned of God of things not yet seen, moved 
 with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house, 
 by which he condemned the world, and became heir 
 
 l. Gen. vi. 17. 0. Gen. rvii 
 
 3. Gen. xv., 14 4. Jer. rxv., 12. 
 
 5. Gen. vi. 3. 6. 9 Pet. li. 5. 
 
 7. Gen. vii. 22, 23. 8. Gen. vi. 13— ft 
 
 24* 
 
282 SIGXS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 of the righteousness which is by faith." l Respecting 
 the destruction of the cities of the plain, saith God 
 " Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do."? 2 
 So far from this, the voice of warning is proclaimed 
 also in the ears of Lot, the only righteous inhabitant 
 within the walls of Sodom ; 3 and, warned thus him- 
 self, he flees in haste u to his sons-in-law, which mar- 
 ried his daughters, and said, up, get ye out of this 
 place ; for the Lord will destroy this city ! But he 
 seemed as one that mocked his sons-in-law." 4 With 
 the predicted affliction of the Israelites in Egypt was 
 connected the threatened judgment of God upon the 
 nation whom they should serve not cnly, but the pe- 
 riod of its endurance was specified — 430 years. 5 The 
 parents of Moses (who were of the tribe of Levi, which 
 tribe was devoted to the services of the temple, 6 and 
 who " were not afraid of the king's commandment, " 7 
 that " every [Hebrew] son that was born should be 
 cast into the river," 8 ) having "hid him three months, 
 because they saw he was a proper child," (i. e. " good- 
 ly » 9_ « fair to God." 10 ) And God having meted out 
 to them the due reward of their faith by the restoration 
 of their infant son from the brink of a watery grave 
 at the hands of the king's daughter ; as he advanced 
 to manhood, imparted to him that instruction respect- 
 
 1. Heb. xi. } 7. 2. Gen. xviii 17— 21.. 
 
 3. Gen. xix., 12. 4. Gen. xix. 14. 
 
 5. Gen. xv., 13—17. 6. Num. in., 5—13. 
 
 7. Exod. i., 22. 8. Exod. ii., 2. 
 
 9. Exod. ii, 2. 10. Acts, vii., 20. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 238 
 
 ing the predicted bondage of his brethren, and their 
 promised deliverance fromthehand of their oppressors 
 which they had sedulously preserved in their own re- 
 membrance. As evidence of this fact, and that Moses 
 had a perfect understanding of this prophecy before it 
 was fulfilled, and of the part that he was to act as 
 God's agent in its accomplishment, appears from the 
 lesson which he supposed his brethren would have in- 
 ferred from this avenging the wrongs of an injured 
 brother, by slaying its author : and that was, that '•'by 
 his hand God would deliver them. But they under- 
 stood not." l So of the 70 years' predicted captivity 
 of Judah. It commenced in judgment : it ended in 
 mercy. The apostacy of Judah, against which they 
 had long been warned by the prophetic voice, had ul- 
 timated in a long and painful exile from their own 
 land and kingdom, in which exile many of the pious 
 and faithful were participants. Of this number Daniel 
 was one. But, while judgment was executing its 
 work on the apostate, mercy supported the otherwise 
 sinking spirits of the faithful, by holding up to their 
 view the heart-cheering promise of their restoration 
 at a limited period. " When 70 years are accom- 
 plished, saith the Lord, I will punish the king of Ba- 
 bylon and that nation for their iniquity, and the land 
 of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desola- 
 tions." 2 Accordingly it is written, "In the first year 
 of Darius, I Daniel, understood by books the num- 
 ber of years whereof the word of the Lord came to 
 
 1. Acts vii.. 25. & Jer, xxv.. 12, 
 
284 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 
 years in the desolations of Jerusalem." l 
 
 And now, Daniel, thus faithful in watching for"the 
 consummation of the 70 years captivity, is himself en- 
 dowed with the prophetic Spirit. Then too, more 
 ample scope is given to his discernment of the future, 
 and the 70 years of Jeremiah is succeeded by another 
 and a distinct revelation to Daniel, stretching through 
 the longer period of 70 weeks of years. This period, 
 as shown in our former Lecture, was divided into 
 three unequal parts, the last division of which, consist- 
 ing of one or the last of the 70 prophetic weeks, was 
 to be signalized by the confirmation of the covenant 
 with many, and in the midst of which, " Messiah " 
 was to be " cut off." 
 
 Of one event, however, and that am ^st prominent one, 
 as comprehended in the prophetic series of Daniel's 70 
 weeks, the student of prophecy was left to stand on 
 uncertain ground as to tim\ I now speak of the 
 period of the Nativity. The pious Jew, casting his 
 eye over the prophetic word, could tell when the Mes- 
 siah that was to come, should be " cut off," &c, com- 
 mencing his reckoning of the whole period of the 70 
 weeks from the command to restore and build Jerusa- 
 lem. But the specific age of the Immaculate sufferer 
 at the time of his crucifixion was not revealed. The 
 time of Christ's Nativity therefore was left to con- 
 jecture. Still there was one circumstance upon which 
 the patient-waiting and praying expectants of the First 
 
 1. Dan. ix. ; 2. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES. &C. 285 
 
 advent of the Redeemer could rely with no small de- 
 gree of safety. That was, the period of life at which 
 commenced the exercise of the sacerdotal functions by 
 the Aaronic priesthood, which varied from 25 to 30 
 years. 1 By deducting, say, the 30 years therefore? 
 from the middle of the last prophetic week, it was 
 sufficient to place them on the watch-tower, in their 
 expectations of the appearance of Him whom they 
 knew was to be "a High-Priest of good things to 
 come," 2 on the ground that, as 6i every High-Priest n 
 under the law was " ordained to offer gifts and sacri- 
 fices, it was of necessity that this man have some- 
 what also to offer." 3 
 
 In order therefore to inscribe this sentiment the 
 more indelibly upon the mind, and keeping in view 
 the great, the all-pervading principle of Analogy by 
 way of a further illustration of the last named pro- 
 phecy, and of the principle for which we are contend- 
 ing, allow me once more to remark, that, in the dis- 
 pensations of God to man both in the natural and 
 moral world, portentous events have been and are, 
 ordinarily accompanied with corresponding premon- 
 itory signs of their approach. The noiseless collect- 
 ing together of the lowering clouds and the black- 
 ness of the heavens, awaken within the breast the 
 dread apprehension of some fearful convulsion o( 
 nature. The experienced mariner looks upon the 
 temporary repose of sleeping billows as an unfailing 
 
 1. Compare Num. iv. ; i>. with viii.. 84. 
 2. Heb.ix., 11. 3. Heb. viii., 3. 
 
286 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 prelude to a gathering storm. Long continued sub- 
 mission to the oppressions of despotic power, ad- 
 monish those who "bear rule," to anticipats with cer- 
 tainty the ultimate and more fearful desolations of 
 political ruptures. And in the moral world, the 
 death-like calm which accompanies the long pro- 
 tracted reign of ignorance and vice over the heart and 
 conscience, may be relied upon as the infallible pre- 
 cursor of some eventful change. Thus, we say, it 
 was, in reference, 
 
 I. To THE FIRST ADVENT OF MESSIAH J to a 
 
 consideration of which, in connexion with the preced- 
 ing, we now invite your attention. The Chapter of 
 the world's history in a moral sense, receives from 
 this period the evidence, that, till now, it had been 
 comparatively virtuous. In defiance of the otherwise 
 salutary influence of civilization and refinement, the 
 mighty republic of Rome, a little previous to the 
 first advent of Jesus Christ, was overhelmed with 
 the grossest ignorance, the most degrading supersti- 
 tions, the most bestial idolatry, and the most debasing 
 and horrid crimes. A stupid and licentious paganism 
 sat brooding over the entire civilized world, and all, 
 except a few of the devout remnant of Israel, seemed 
 pleased with the delusive fetters which bound them. 
 And though in Ancient Greece and Rome, learning 
 and the arts attained to the zenith of their glory, and 
 the various systems of philosophy had the advantages 
 of improvements by rejecting some of the grossest and 
 most palpable errors of the past, yet all attempts at 
 reformation among the commonalty proved abortive. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 287 
 
 And then, in addition to this, the civil aspect of the 
 world presented a state of things to human view the 
 most astonishing. The political atmosphere of the 
 far spreading heavens had retired to repose. The 
 clash of arms and the din of war had ceased. Rome, 
 the proud Empress of the civilized nations, distributed 
 without partiality, the boon of social intercourse to the 
 tributary provinces, which, together with that mighty 
 empire, basked in the sunshine of peace and prospei- 
 ity. The voice of prophecy had ceased. The 
 Shechinah, or manifestation of the divine glory, re- 
 mained no longer curtained beneath the spreading 
 wings of the Cherubim in the Holy of Holies. " The 
 lively oracles of God," though possessed by the Jews, 
 by misinterpretations founded upon " the traditions of 
 the elders," lost all their force and power ; while their 
 morals as a nation were as corrupted and debased, as 
 were those of the licentious heathen. These then, 
 were among the most portentous signs of the times. 
 which immediately preceded the " manifestation 
 of God in the flesh : " And, to a reflecting mind, 
 guided by the light of revelation, they were calculated 
 to inspire fresh hopes of the near approach of the 
 Prince Messiah. They intimated to such, in a man- 
 ner not to be misunderstood, the necessity of the 
 appearance of such a divine personage, who alone 
 could bring " life and immortality to light" This 
 however, was not the common expectation. All wore 
 standing aghast as it were, waiting in breathless 
 anxiety for the occurrence of some mighty revolution 
 among the nations of the earth, the nature of which 
 
288 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 however, they did not understand. True, the Jews 
 had their eyes directed to the fulfilment of what the 
 prophets had spoken in reference to their Messiah, 
 but being in a great measure ignorant of their true 
 import, they united with the fastidious and supersti- 
 tious Roman, in consulting " the authority of the 
 Sibylline books," and in trusting to " the decision of 
 the sacred college of Etrurian augurs," by which they 
 unanimously concluded, " that this momentous event 
 was at hand. This was equalty the case in the East. 
 At that time the Emperor of India, uneasy at these 
 prophecies, which, he conceived, portended his ruin 
 and the loss of his empire, sent emissaries to inquire 
 whether such a child were really bom, in order to 
 destroy him." 
 
 What different emotions however, filled the minds 
 of those who, from the same important events, were 
 looking for spiritual redemption in Israel ? Yes : 
 when they saw " these things begin to come to pass," 
 they " looked up — they " lifted up their heads '* 
 which, from the moral darkness and desolations 
 which every where prevailed, had been long hanging 
 downward like the bulrush ; for, they saw that their 
 " redemption was drawing nigh." " The fulness of 
 time," when " the Son of God," " the seed of the wo- 
 man," " to whom all the prophets gave witness, 
 Should appear, was beginning to dawn upon this 
 guilty world. And, among the number of this rem- 
 nant band of Jewish worthies in Jerusalem, was the 
 aged Simeon. He " was a just man and devout." He 
 had long been "waiting for the consolation of Israel." 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 289 
 
 " And to him it was revealed by the Holy Ghost, that 
 he should not see death, before he had seen the 
 Lord's Christ." 
 
 Thus much in reference to those events which, as 
 the " signs of the times," preceded the First Advent 
 of the Son of God. 
 
 At this point of our advance, therefore, we would 
 remark, that the preceding facts, if they have any 
 meaning, certainly demonstrate the error of those who 
 affirm that no unfulfilled prophecy can be understood 
 till the event to which it refers transpires. Else, what 
 had become of Noah and his family ? What of Abra- 
 ham and of Lot ? What of the millions of the en- 
 slaved Hebrews in Egypt ? What of the pious and 
 and faithful captives of Babylon ? What of the aged 
 and devout Simeon, and those who with him had 
 so long been " looking for redemption in Jerusa- 
 lem?" 1 Alas, all must have been cut off from the 
 inheritance of those mercies promised to the faith- 
 ful of God in all ages, consequent upon a neglect 
 to study prophetic " times and seasons " on the one 
 hand, and in closing their eyes upon " the signs of the 
 times " on the other. For, as you may perceive, the 
 prophecies to which we have just adverted partook 
 almost without exception, of both these characteristics. 
 Was the commencement and termination of the pre- 
 dicted destruction of the ante-diluvian world limited 
 to 120 years ? The raising of every hand, the hewing 
 of every stick of timber, the noise echoing from the 
 
 1. Luke ii., 38. 
 25 
 
290 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 blow of every hammer in the erection of the Noahic 
 ark, were u signs," indicating their approaching doom. 
 Again, 
 
 The two angelic visitants of Sodom, and the mira- 
 culous blindness inflicted upon the marauders of the 
 hospitable mansion of Lot, and his warning to his 
 sons-in-law immediately upon being informed of the 
 Lord's intention to destroy the cities of the plain, all, 
 as " signs " of coming wrath, preceded their destruc- 
 tion. So also, while the preservation of Moses from a 
 watery grave, and his elevation to the court of Egypt 
 as the adopted son of the king's daughter, indicated 
 his high destination as the deliverer of his brethren 
 from the iron grasp of their oppressor; and his slaying 
 an Egyptian was designed as th.e first evidence of his 
 mission as such to his brethren, at the same time ac- 
 quainting them with the now almost total termination 
 of their 430 years of affliction and servitude in a 
 strange land ; the ten plagues inflicted by the hand of 
 Moses upon the infidel and imperious Egyptian king, 
 presaged the final overthrow of himself and his army 
 in the Red Sea. 
 
 The termination of the 70 years captivity seems to 
 have been marked by no particular "signs." That 
 period had the awakened vigilance and zeal of a Daniel 
 to note, with infallible precision, the lapse of every 
 year. But the termination of the 70 weeks of years 
 was marked by the most significant " signs." Heaven 
 and earth united in filling the moral hemisphere with 
 forerunners of the incarnation of the Son of God, 
 thereby awaking expectations of an approaching crisis 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 291 
 
 throughout the whole civilized world, both Gentile 
 and Jewish. It was, as already stated, a season of 
 universal tranquillity. A virgin daughter of Judah, 
 according to the prediction of Isaiah, L was found 
 with child of the Holy Ghost — a manger in Bethlehem 
 of Judea, was the birth-place of the Prince of Peace — 
 angels proclaimed to the Judean shepherds the com- 
 plete accomplishment of all that the prophets had 
 spoken of his incarnation — and a miraculous star had 
 piloted the footsteps of the magi of the East to his cra- 
 dle to do him homage. 
 
 In the light of truth and fact, therefore, we affirm 
 that, so far from any concealment of a knowledge from 
 those interested, of time, place, and other circum- 
 stances of all the most prominent predictions of the 
 Old Testament down to the First Advent of Christ in 
 the flesh ; in addition to the specification of dates, 
 marking their commencement and termination, are 
 also " signs/' appointed as the harbingers of their ap- 
 proaching consummation. 
 
 We ask therefore — Why this? It is natural enough 
 for one to suppose that, to mark the beginning and 
 end of a predicted event by a specific number of years, 
 were quite sufficient for all the practical purposes con- 
 templated therein. And so it were, did we Christians, 
 like the Babylonian captive Daniel, " set our faces 
 unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and suppli* 
 cations, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes,' 1 to ex- 
 amine, that we might understand by boohs, the 
 
 I. Isa. vii., 1 1. 
 
292 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 number op the years whereof the word of the 
 Lord speaks " in the prophecies concerning us. But, 
 alas ! alas ! who can contemplate, without the deepest 
 emotion, the sad reverse of all this ! Look abroad in 
 our churches, and among the religious orders of every 
 name throughout Christendom, and, except here and 
 therdf, like angel visitants, 
 
 « — f ew and f ar between," 
 
 none are to be found as witnesses for the momentous 
 truth; none to assert the weighty and important fact, 
 for which we here contend. All voices unite in de- 
 nouncing prophetic dates ! All exclaim, what can we 
 know of prophecy till it be fulfilled ? 
 
 And now, in reply, we would not dip our pen in 
 wormwood and gall. No ; we would temper the al- 
 ways painful task of " reproof and rebuke " of the sin 
 of omission in these premises, " with meekness, and 
 long-suffering, and patience ; n and if we have drawn 
 the picture of this sin in strong and vivid colors, it is 
 that we may the more effectually aggrandise the bound- 
 less goodness of God in adding to prophetic dates pro- 
 phetic "signs" Here, then, we exclaim, O love of 
 God surpassing thought ! The professed followers of 
 Jesus, for the most part ignorant of the commence- 
 ment and termination of prophetic times by a wilful 
 neglect to consult the great scriptural chronometer 
 which God has given them ; yea, even denying the 
 fact that such scriptural chronometer for the measure- 
 ment of " times and seasons " has been given ; re- 
 ceiving, nevertheless, through the Divine goodness, 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 293 
 
 the iuterposition of a double warning, by the institu- 
 tion of "signs," both in the natural and moral hea- 
 vens, to the intent that the latter, supplying, so to 
 speak, the purposes of the former, may rescue them 
 from those otherwise forgotten judgments, now nigh at 
 hand ! 
 
 " for such love let rocks and hills, 
 Their lasting silence break ; 
 And all harmonious human tongues, 
 The Savior's praises speak." 
 
 Yes ; in this act of the Divine goodness, it may be 
 truly said, 
 
 " God only knows the love of God ! " 
 
 Once more. If we take a view of the prophecies as 
 connected with the doctrines which we inculcate, we 
 cannot but perceive the harmony existing between them 
 and the doctrinal features of Christianity. Does eveiy 
 prediction, as we have said, comprehend within it- 
 self the double characteristic of judgment and of 
 mercy ? Does it consequently proclaim alike to all 
 the voice of warning and of promise ? So we say 
 of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. It comprehends 
 the twofold doctrine of judgment and mercy. It un- 
 folds a merciful doctrine of divine grace — "He that 
 believeth and is baptized, shall be saved" It unfolds 
 also a gracious doctrine of divine justice, " He that 
 believeth not shall be damnedP l In view, therefore, 
 of this sacred affiance between the Gospel and the 
 Prophets, may we not demand, " What God hath thus 
 
 1. Mark xvi., 11. 
 25 # 
 
294 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 joined together, let no man put asunder ? " l To con- 
 clude therefore this branch of our subject. To my 
 mind, as well may we hope to reap the mercies, and 
 escape the judgments of the prophecies, though we 
 wilfully close our eyes against both the sacred chrono- 
 meter of prophecy, and the "signs of the times" which 
 accompany them, as to hope for salvation through the 
 Gospel, though we wilfully close our eyes against its 
 invitations and its warnings. 
 
 These, and the like considerations, which, but for 
 want of time, might be profitably extended, we would 
 offer to your unbiassed and serious attention ; while, 
 by your further indulgence, we now proceed to apply 
 prophetic "signs" to the present and the future. 
 Yes, concerning these, we now say to you, " Ye can 
 discern the face of the sky ; but can ye not discern 
 the signs of the times ? M For, H when these things 
 begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your 
 heads, for your redemption draweth nighP 
 
 On entering, however, on this department of our 
 Lecture, I would make the language of the distin- 
 guished Baxter mine, who, whenever he entered the 
 pulpit used to say, 
 
 " I preach as if I ne'er should preach again, 
 And like a dying man to dying men." 
 
 Our subject is one of momentous interest. Our re- 
 lation to it is one of common concern, which if we 
 would, we cannot evade. It must prove to us a bea- 
 
 1. Matt, six., 6. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 295 
 
 con-light, to pilot our trembling bark into the blest 
 haven of millenial repose ; or it will be as " a mill- 
 stone " l about our necks, to plunge us in the lowest 
 depths of God's coming judgments. If of any sub- 
 ject in the whole compass of God's revelation to man 
 it may be said, that it will prove a " savour of life unto 
 life, or of death unto death," 2 it is this. Yes, the pre- 
 sent " signs of the times," considered in the light of 
 evidences of the fulfilment of prophecy, both present 
 and future, may be viewed as the last call, the last 
 act, the last stoop of God's long-slighted, long- 
 abused mercy to the guilty nations of men. These 
 " signs," therefore unheeded, till amid the darkening 
 of the heavens by the sudden uprising of the cloudy 
 pillar of God's wrath, they are for ever closed to our 
 view ; and amid the clashing artillery of heaven the 
 voice of mercy can no longer be heard, and we are 
 lost, lost for ever ! O then, 
 
 " Awake — again the Gospel trump is blown, 
 From year to year it swells with louder tone ; 
 From year to year the signs of wrath 
 Are gathering round the Judge's path ; 
 Strange words fulfill'd, and mighty works achieved, 
 And truth in all the world, both hated and believed." 
 
 It is due to that portion of the subject on which we 
 are now about to enter, to remark, first, that the pro- 
 phetic expositor will be called to encounter difficulties 
 which, in comparison with the preceding, are neither 
 few nor small. At least, (and this is what we mean 
 
 1. Matt, xviii., G. & SI Cor. ii., 14. 
 
296 SIGNS OP THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 to say) our hearers will award to us the mede of mo- 
 desty in this department of our work, in proportion as 
 the execution of it is free from apparent presumption. 
 This is all we ask — this is " even-handed justice." 
 We have admonished them against incredulousness of 
 the Divine power to perform all that God hath spoken 
 by the mouth of his holy prophets — also against that 
 spirit of idle curiosity which seeks to know more than 
 God has revealed. It is right, therefore, that they 
 should sit as our Judges, in deciding upon the proper 
 use or abuse of Holy Scripture by us, as the mouth- 
 piece of God to them. 
 
 This premised, we observe that natural signs, from 
 their repetition, may be, and are unhesitatingly receiv* 
 ed as the unerring precursers of ordinary events. For 
 instance : — The fading leaf — the falling foliage of the 
 forest — the hoary frosts and bleak winds, admonish us 
 of the departing glories of summer. But, when to the 
 "signs" in the natural phenomena of the earth and 
 the heavens, and also of other surrounding objects, 
 there is attached a symbolic and prophetic significa- 
 tion ; and when our knowledge of their full import, 
 and especially of the precise periods of the world to 
 which they refer, is indispensable to a right applica- 
 tion of them, we are called to encounter difficulties in 
 the department of prophetic exposition of which the 
 novice is little aware. In this aspect of the subject it 
 will not be thought strange if we speak less confidently 
 of the present " signs of the times " in their bearing 
 upon the future, than we have the past. But of this, 
 as we have said, our audience is our umpire. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 297 
 
 First, then, before we can apply^ we must define 
 those prophetic symbols denoted by the surrounding 
 objects of nature, and of the phenomena of the earth 
 and the heavens with which the Scriptures abound, 
 confining ourselves, however, for want of time, to 
 those which immediately concern us. 
 
 Says our Savior, " when these things (signs) begin 
 to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, 
 for your redemption draweth nigh." What things ? 
 What signs ? Of these there are two classes, and 
 they relate (as we shall prove) to two separate and 
 distinct prophetic periods, to each of which are affixed 
 appropriate " signs." Of the first class the events 
 predicted, and their respective signs, are as follows : — 
 
 1. Great persecution, betrayment, and hatred to- 
 ward all, and death to some of the disciples. The 
 " signs " here were the agents at whose hands they 
 were thus to suffer, viz., " parents, and brethren, and 
 kinsfolks, and friends." l 
 
 2. The next predicted event of this class is, the 
 destruction or "desolation" of Jerusalem, as the just 
 judgment of God upon the Jewish nation for their re- 
 jection of the Messiah, and their continued persecution 
 and murder of his followers. Its inhabitants, the Jews, 
 were either to fall by the edge of the sword, or to be 
 led captive into all nations ; while, of all the splendor, 
 magnificence, and extent of the buildings of the Holy 
 City, not one stone should be left upon another, that 
 should not be thrown down. 2 The "signs" to pre- 
 
 1. Luke xxi. 1*2— 1G. 0. Luke xxi. 20, 24 ; and Matt xxiv. 1; 9t 
 
298 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 cede these events were, the appearance of false Christs 
 — wars and commotions — struggles for national pre- 
 eminence — great and divers earthquakes, famines, and 
 pestilences — fearful sights and great signs from hea- 
 ven — and, the surrounding of the city of Jerusalem 
 with the Roman army. 
 
 The second class embraces two predictions, viz, 
 first, the protracted captivity and treading down of the 
 Jewish nation and polity by the Gentiles, until the 
 tiipes of the Gentiles be fulfilled ; and second, the ap- 
 pearance of the Son of Man in a cloud, with power 
 and great glory. l The end, therefore, of the captivity 
 and degradation of God's ancient covenant people, and 
 the consummation of the Gentile economy, are to ter- 
 minate simultaneously. Before, then, we enumerate 
 th;^ " Signs 77 which belong to this prediction, allow me 
 to recall to your minds the following observation al- 
 ready made respecting them, viz, that they are de- 
 signed, in the wisdom of God, to herald the fulfilment 
 of predicted events, as near at hand. Now, connected 
 with, and as immediately preceding the fulfilment of 
 the above prophecy, are to be seen " signs in the sun, 
 and in the moon, and in the stars ; and upon the 
 earth, distress of nations with perplexity ; the sea and 
 the waves roaring ; men's hearts failing them for fear, 
 and for looking after those things which are coming 
 on the earth f together with the shaking of the powers 
 of heaven. 
 
 We now remark that, in order to a proper under- 
 
 1. Luke xxi. 24, 27. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 299 
 
 standingand application of these "Signs," and theevents 
 to which they respectively refer, it will be necessary 
 to discriminate between what of them are symbolical, 
 and what are not. If, for instance, a "Sign," as an 
 earthquake, famine, or pestilence, literally precedes the 
 predicted event to which it belongs, it is not symboli- 
 cal. Hence it is divested of all ambiguity, and conse- 
 quently of uncertainty, as to its right application. 
 This then we say, and as all authentic history ', Jewish 
 and Christian abundantly attest, was strictly true of all 
 those " Signs," which belong to the above first class 
 of predicted events. 
 
 Of the second class of predictions, however, the ac- 
 companying " Signs" are strictly Symbolical. Strictly, 
 we say, though not exclusively. Literality, as we 
 shall prove, is not necessarily excluded from the office- 
 work of a prophetic symbol. Nor is a strictly literal 
 " Sign" any more than the event to which it refers, 
 necessarily exclusive of a typical aspect. Indeed, if 
 the event be typical, the " Sign" is typical also. This 
 premised we remark, that the prophetic " Signs" or 
 symbols now to be defined, are the following, — viz, 
 the sun, the moon, and the stars, the earth, the sea, 
 and the waves, heaven, &c. 
 
 Now, the commonly received interpretation of the 
 above symbols, and that which may be relied on, is as 
 follows — the sun, moon, and stars, represent secular 
 and ecclesiastical authorities. By the "Signs" they 
 shall exhibit are to be understood the changes through 
 which they are to pass. "The sea and the waves 
 roaring, 1 ' are emblems of a disturbed and angry mul- 
 
300 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 titude ; and "the shaking of the powers of heaven" 
 (i. e. the sun, moon, and stars, the principalities and 
 powers aforesaid,) signifies great revolutions in human 
 governments, accompanied by the overthrow of long- 
 continued establishments and venerable institutions. 
 Taken together, therefore, and recollecting that this is 
 the sublime language of Christ himself, we are fur- 
 nished with a prediction which speaks of the most 
 fearful commotions in the national, political, ecclesias- 
 tical, and religious orders of society ; yea, of universal 
 agitation and unexpected changes,which are to spread 
 their disorganizing influence among all ranks of men. 
 But, before we can expect that this representation 
 will produce the wished-for conviction upon your 
 minds, we must adduce scriptural precedent, if any 
 there be, authorising the use, as above, of these objects 
 of nature. Look back then, upon the great week of 
 creation, when God said, " let there be lights (the sum 
 the moon, and the stars) in the firmament of heaven." 
 Now, to what end were they ordained? Answer. 
 " To divide the day from the night," and to serve "for 
 seasons, and for days, and for years," not only, but 
 also for " Signs :" — Yes, for " Signs ! " But in what 
 way were they thus used ? In illustration, we refer 
 you to Joseph's dream, as recorded in the xxxviith 
 Chapter of Genesis, and 9th and 10th verses. " And 
 he dreamed yet another dream — Behold, the sun, 
 and the moon, and the eleven stars, made obeisance 
 to me." This dream, when made known to his 
 venerable and pious father, brought upon Joseph the 
 following patriarchal rebuke. " What is this dream 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 301 
 
 that thou hast dreamed ? Shall /, and thy mother, 
 and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves 
 to thee, to the earth ? w The directness and appro- 
 priateness of the application of the dream, furnish 
 ample evidence how familiarly associated these celes- 
 tial objects of nature were in the mind of the patriarch 
 with their appointed use as " signs." This, however, 
 may not appear so obvious to us. It is needful there- 
 fore that we inquire into the symbolic import of the 
 sun, moon, and stars, as applied to Joseph's father, 
 mother, and brethren, in this dream. In order to this, 
 we remark, 
 
 1. That the sun, moon, and stars, being different 
 symbols, must apply to different persons. Happily, 
 of this application there is no difficulty, as will appear 
 from the following paraphrase of the patriarch's re- 
 buke to his dreaming son. " Shall I," the sun? and 
 thy mother," the moon, "and thy brethren," who, 
 being eleven in number, are the eleven stars, " indeed 
 come to bow down ourselves to thee, to the earth ? " 
 This ascertained, and we remark, 
 
 2. That the symbolic import of the sun, moon, and 
 stars, is to be determined from the grades of superior- 
 ity and subordination peculiar to the patriarchal fam- 
 ily compact. To this end, you have only to seat your- 
 self in the centre of the tented circle of the patriarch 
 Jacob's family in Canaan. In the exercise of his otli- 
 cial functions, what do you discover to be the attributes 
 of Jacob? Certainly, that, as head of the patriarchal 
 family, he is the source of all author it;/: consequently 
 that he is the Ruler, exercising the two-fold functions 
 
 26 
 
302 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 of king and of priest. What of the patriarchal 
 mother ? Why, that she exercises a delegated au- 
 thority over her children. What of the children 
 of the patriarch ? Why, that they are subordinate to 
 the commands of parental authority. 
 
 But, these several divisions of the patriarchal com- 
 pact, served but as types of better things to come. 
 Jacob therefore, in his kingly and priestly character, 
 pointed to Christ, who, as king, is the source of all 
 authority and power, both in earth and heaven. " The 
 powers that be," whether civil or ecclesiastical, " are 
 ordained of him." 1 " By him kings rule, and princes 
 decree justice." 2 Monarchs, nobles, and statesmen, 
 "are his ministers, responsible to him for their exer- 
 cise of his delegated authority. Constituted, estab- 
 lished authority, is an ordinance of God in Christ, 
 whether wielded according to the will of one man, or 
 according to law, which is the result of the combined 
 wisdom of many men. What ever has power to con- 
 trol, power to command, power to exact obedience on 
 earth, — to restrain offenders, — to take the position 
 and aspect of God towards those below, is of Christ." 3 
 And as of civil, so of ecclesiastical power. Christ's 
 declaration to his apostles was, " As my Father hath 
 sent me, even so send I you." 4 As Priest, Christ in 
 structs, and offers atonement for, his family, " his body, 
 the church." He is "the sun of righteousness," 5 her 
 "Sun "her "Shield." 6 
 
 1. Rom. xiii, 1. 2. Prov. viii. 15. 
 
 3. McNeil. Sec. Adv. p. 52. 4. John xx, 21. 
 5. Mal.iv, 2. 6. Ps. lxxxiv. 11. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 303 
 
 The mother of the patriarchal family, typified 
 " the Church of the living God. " The light which 
 she enjoyed, — the authority she exercised, was not 
 hers by inherent right. She derived it by delegation 
 from her patriarchal head. So the Church fromCHRisT. 
 — he her "head? her " glory ," her " light 9 n x — She 
 th3 witness of that headship, light, and glory, till her 
 now absent Lord's return. 2 
 
 The eleven sons of Jacob were the types of the 
 ministry of the church. 
 
 Turn we now to the symbols by which these are 
 represented, in the dream of Joseph. The sun, which 
 is the fountain of life to the natural world, by the 
 glory and splendor of his career as king of day, when 
 viewed as a " Sign," is designed to denote " the powers 
 which be? whether under one dispensation or another, 
 whether civil or ecclesiastical. " The moon is a wit- 
 ness for the sun, shining with a light that is not her 
 own ; shedding -much lustre indeed, but only by re- 
 flection, having received it from him, that she may 
 bear witness for him during his absence. In this the 
 moon is a " Sign" of the Church of God." 3 The 
 eleven stars symbolize the ministry of the Church. 
 In the book of Revelation it is thus written — " The 
 mystery of the seven stars which thou saw est in my 
 right hand, — are the angels (or messengers, or minis- 
 ters) of the seven churches." 4 
 
 1. 1 Cor. xi., 3 ; Eph. v., 23 ; Col. ii., 10; Isa. lx., 19 ; 1 John, i. 
 5; Luke ii., 32; John i., 1). 
 
 2. Acts x., 43 j xiiL 30—3-3. 3. McNeil. Sec. Adv. p. 53. 
 4. Rev. i., 90, 
 
304 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 Of the other prophetic symbols, that of the earth 
 denotes the territories which were the seat of the four 
 great empires, pourtrayed in the vision of the golden 
 image of Nebuchadnezzar, as interpreted by Daniel. l 
 Heaven is the political and ecclesiastical firmament, so 
 to speak, in which the above symbolical planets appear, 
 and to which reference is made in the expression, " yet 
 once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." 2 
 And the sea and the waves symbolize multitudes of 
 people, etc. Hence the prophet Jeremiah, in speaking 
 of the invasion of Babylon by the Medes and Persians^ 
 says, " The sea is come up on Babylon ; she is cov- 
 ered with the multitude of the waves thereof." 3 So 
 the prophet Isaiah. " Woe to the multitude of many 
 people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas ; 
 and to the rushing of nations, that makes a rushing 
 like the rushing of many waters" 4 And in the Reve- 
 lation it is said, " The waters which thou sawest 
 where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes 
 and nations, and tongues" 5 
 
 With deference therefore I submit, whether the com- 
 monly received interpretation of the above symbols as 
 used by Christy may not be relied on. 
 
 This determined, it now remains to assign to these 
 significant " Signs," their relative position in prophecy. 
 Are they the harbingers of events that are past ? or 
 are they the heralds of events that are noiv transpiring 
 
 1. Dan. ii., 31—45; Rev. 6. 8. 2. Heb. xii., 26. 
 3. Jer. li.,42. 4. Isa. xvli., 12. 
 
 5. Rev. xvii. 15. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 305 
 
 and are about soon to transpire ? If the harbingers of 
 t\ie past, then they are of no interest to us, except as 
 mere matter of history. But if the heralds of the 
 present and the future ; if they signify that the most 
 portentous of the remaining few events which are to 
 complete the prophetic drama are now in course of 
 fulfilment ; and that many, if not most of those who 
 now hear me, may live to witness the pouring out of 
 the last vial ot God's wrath upon the ungodly, and to 
 hear the long and the loud blasts of the last prophetic 
 trump ; — O, what mind can conceive, what tongue can 
 pourtray,the height, and depth, and length, and breadth, 
 of our interest in them, and of our responsibility in 
 relation to them ! And, we now remark, that, in our 
 view, they can be applied in no sense, except to the 
 present and the future. With the past, they have 
 nothing to do, except that, as symbolizing the events 
 which were to close up the Gentile economy, they 
 were announced by Christ more than 1800 years n^o. 
 But, to this it is objected, that the passage, " Verily 
 I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all 
 these things be fulfilled," l is fatal to such a conclu- 
 sion ; this passage being quoted as parallel to the fol- 
 lowing: " there be some standing here which shall 
 not taste of death, until they see the Son of Man 
 coming in his kingdom." 2 In answer,* we admit 
 that this latter passage has reference to the term of 
 life of those to whom Christ spake. And, if the his- 
 toric dates of three of the Gospels, viz, those of St. 
 
 1. Matt. xxiv. 34. 3. Malt, xvi. 28, 
 
 26* 
 
306 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 Matthew, Mark, and Luke may be relied on, it was 
 literally verified to them all on the sixth, or as St. 
 Luke has it, about eight days after; when, on the 
 Mount of Transfiguration, they beheld Christ in his 
 glorified body, with Moses as the representative of the 
 raised, and Elias those of the translated Saints, who 
 are to constitute the copartners of his throne, while 
 themselves were the pattern of the subordinate sub- 
 jects of that kingdom of which this was the manifested 
 shadow. But the former passage we affirm, is not 
 thus restricted. The words translated " this genera- 
 tion" rj yt nea uvtf^ — (e gene a aute, — ) must be un- 
 derstood to signify, this race of men. " Our Lord 
 Jesus never uses the word generation to signify the 
 term of man's life ; but commonly to express the pe- 
 culiar character of the nation or people to whom he 
 applies it. — e. g., "a sinful generation" — " a faithless 
 and perverse generation" 1 — u a righteous generation," a 
 &e. This sense is confirmed by the last verse of the 
 23rd chapter of St. Mark's gospel. " Behold, your 
 house is left unto you desolate : for I say unto you, ye 
 shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed 
 is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Now, 
 this declaration, as it is evident that that generation of 
 Jews to whom it was made, continued to reject the 
 Messiah till the last, evidently speaks of that prolonged 
 
 1. Matt, xviii., 1—9; Mark ix., 1—10; Luke ix. 27—36. 
 
 2. Brook's Essay, part 2nd., p. 17 aud note. See Matt, xii., 39; 
 xyiii., 17; Mark vii. 38. 
 
 3. See Ps. xiv., 5 ; xxiv., 6 ; Ixxiii. 15. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 397 
 
 national desolation which was only to terminate at 
 the Second Advent. 
 
 Bat it is again objected, that the passage, u then 
 shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the 
 beginning of time, no, nor ever shall be" l confines 
 the application of all the "signs" enumerated, to the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. To this however, it may 
 be replied, that, admitting to the fullest extent all that 
 can be claimed for the horrible calamities attendant 
 upon the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman army, yet 
 it cannot be viewed as "without a parallel. The tri- 
 bulation at the former siege of Jerusa em was very 
 similar in this respect " 2 to the second. For, during 
 the siege under Titus, were women led by hunger to 
 devour their own children ? So, of the Chaldean be- 
 siegement the prophet Jeremiah says, " ' and I will 
 cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh 
 of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the 
 flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, where- 
 with their enemies and they that seek their life shall 
 straiten them." 3 And afterwards, in his lamentations 
 over the destruction of the city, he shews that these 
 things were actually fulfilled : — " Behold, O Lord, 
 and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the 
 women eat their fruit and children of a span long? " 
 — "The hands of the pitiful women hare sodden 
 their own children ; they were their meat m the de- 
 struction of the daughter of my people." 4 
 
 1. Matt. xxiv. 21; Mark xiii. 10. 
 
 2. Brook' Ess. Part. 2nd p. 13. 3. Jer. xix.. S. fc 
 
 4. Brook's Ess. Part 2nd p. 13, 14. Lam. ii.. 90; i\\, HI 
 
308 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 But again. Those commentators who confine the 
 a" ove " signs" to the tribulation of Jerusalem, admit 
 that " the time of trouble" spoken of by Daniel, Chap, 
 xii., I, 2, is yet future. " But, there is a rema k tble 
 notification attached to each of these passages, by 
 means of which both periods of trouble may be clearly 
 ( emonstrated to be connected together. Daniel says, 
 " there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was 
 since there vjas a nation to that same time" St, 
 Matthew, that it is " such as was not since the be- 
 ginning of the world to this time" — And then adds, 
 - " no, nor ever shall be." Thus in both places 
 the tribulation is described as unprecedented ; but in 
 Matthew it is stated besides, that the one referred to 
 by him shall never subsequently have a parallel. 
 How then, I ask, can the tribulation in Daniel follow 
 that in Matthew ? " l 
 
 Finally, regarding this "tribulation" we remark, 
 that it was to be perpetuated through a long and 
 dreary night of painful captivity and degradation to 
 he Jewish people, under the dominance of the gen- 
 tiles. Says the Savior, they " shall be led away 
 captive into all nations : and Jerusalem shall be 
 trodden down of the gentiles, until the times of the 
 gentiles be fulfilled" 2 
 
 The phrase, " times of the gentiles," we remark, 
 properly comprehends the whole period of Jewish 
 tribulation under both captivities, during the domin- 
 ance of the four gentile monarchies. 1st. The Ba- 
 
 1. Brook's Ess. Part 2nd p. 12, 13. 2. Luke xxi. 24. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 309 
 
 bylonian, 1 — 2nd. the Medo-Persian, 2 — 3rd. the 
 Grecian, 3 and 4th the Roman* In the xxvith 
 Chapter of Leviticus, verses 18, 21, 24, and 28, it is 
 predicted that the Jewish nation shall be " chastened 
 seven times, or sevenfold, for their sins. The fre- 
 quent repetition of seven times, or sevenfold, con- 
 nected with their lengthened suffering under the 
 gentile monarchies, seems to point out a special de- 
 sign, and may intimate the length of time which 
 these chastisements should last ; " 5 which, if inter- 
 preted as we do the times in Daniel, amount to a pe- 
 riod of 2520 years. This period is again brought to 
 view, as typified in the seven times which passed 
 over Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 Additional confirmation of this view of the pro- 
 longed tribulation of the Jews may be collected from 
 the fact, that the prophet Daniel predicts the same 
 coming of the son of man in the clouds of heaven at 
 the termination of their troubles, as does St. Luke, as 
 will appear by comparing Dan. vii., 13, 22, with St. 
 Luke xxi., 27. Finally, Daniel, in the ixth chapter 
 of his book, closes his predicted events of the 70 
 weeks, with an allusion to "an indefinite period," 
 v. 26, " the events of which are, the destruction of the 
 city and temple by the Romans, and the Jewish </■ - 
 solation" all of which are explained by the prophecies 
 and their accompanying signs, now under consider*- 
 
 1. Dan. ii., 32 — 38. & Dan. ii., 38 : v. 96 — OS. 
 
 3. Dan. viii. 20/21. See 2 Maeeah.ii. 1 — -1. 1. John xi.48; xix., 15. 
 
 5. BickcLstoth's guide, p. 135. 
 
310 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 tion. All those events predicted by Christ. Lnke xxi., 
 8 — 24, except the domination of the gentiles over 
 the Jews spoken of in the last clause of the last men- 
 tioned verse, received their complete and literal fulfil- 
 ment in the destruction of Jerusalem, and the 
 attendant captivity of the Jewish nation. And we 
 now remark, that that captivity has continued from 
 the year 70 of our Lord, down to this very hour, first 
 under the Romans, then under the Saracens, then 
 under the Turks, and now under the Egyptians. 
 Yes, these gentile nations, have, one after another, 
 held the holy city in a degrading bondage : but, mark 
 the language ; " Jerusalem shall be trodden down of 
 the gentiles, UNTIL the times of the gentiles be 
 
 FULFILLED." 
 
 Is it now asked, when will this be ? When will 
 gentile domination, still lifting its iron sceptre in 
 shouts of lofty defiance over the ancient heritage of 
 the Lord, and their long-protracted tribulation ter- 
 minate? I answer, at the end of the 2300 prophetic 
 days of the viiith chapter and 14th verse ol Daniel, 
 which, in our previous Lecture, we demonstrated fa s 
 in with the year of our Lord, 1847 ! 
 
 To this period, we now renewedly affirm, in con- 
 nexion with the point of time on which we now stand, 
 all the " signs " mentioned in the three verses imme- 
 diately preceding our text, belong. " And there shall 
 be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the 
 stars : and upon the earth distress of nations^ with 
 perplexity ; the sea and the loaves roaring : mevUs 
 hearts jailing them for fear, and for looking after 
 
SIGNS OP THE TIMES, &C. 311 
 
 those things vihich are coming on the earth : for the 
 powers of heaven shall be shaken" 
 
 Here it is perhaps due to myself to remark, th$t 
 possibly my audience and I are quite at issue as to 
 the mode which 1 have adopted in conducting the ex- 
 position of this subject. But I respectfully ask, of 
 what avail is it to write, or talk, or preach about 
 "Signs" unless we can demonstrate them to have 
 been appointed of God for certain wise, and holy, 
 and gracious ends? And even this done, of what 
 avail is it, comparatively, that in ages past, the 
 heaven of providence has been studded with " Signs " 
 multitudinous as yon twinkling stars ? I say, com- 
 paratively — for, having accomplished the purposes of 
 their appointment, they are of interest to us simply 
 as matter of history. No. I should consider it alike 
 unworthy your intelligence or patient attention, to 
 address you even for ten minutes in a Lecture on 
 " the signs of the times" unless I could demonstrate 
 that you, and I, yea, and all the world, even the 
 people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations of 
 every clime, had an interest in them. No, nor even 
 then, comparatively, unless I could equally demon- 
 strate, that one and all had an interest in them NOW! 
 And I now confess to you, that, if in this stage of our 
 advance, I have foiled in producing in your minds a 
 conviction of this momentous truth, then has my 
 labor indeed been vain. But, this end attained, and I 
 am assured of your entire satisfaction with the very 
 brief remarks which are now to accompany the pre- 
 
312 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 sent " Signs of the times," with a recapitulation of 
 which, our Lecture will close. 
 
 How lamentable the reflection, that the prophetic 
 book of Isaiah opens with the following solemn ap- 
 peal, wrung from his reluctant lips, against the people 
 of his nation. " Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O 
 earth, for the Lord hath spoken — Israel doth not know, 
 my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a 
 people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, chil- 
 dren that are corrupters ! They have forsaken the 
 Lord, they have provoked the holy one of Israel to 
 anger, they are gone away backward !" 1 Christian 
 friends, do any of you know this picture ? Ah, 
 
 " What are heaven's alarms to hearts that can cower 
 
 In wilful slumber deepening every hour, 
 
 That draw the curtains closer round, 
 
 The nearer swells the Trumpet's sound, 
 Lord, e'er our trembling souls sink down and die, 
 Teach us with chastening hand, and make us feel thee nigh." 
 
 Brethren and hearers, as Moses with Jeshurun, who 
 11 forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed 
 the rock of his salvation," so would we expostulate 
 with all such in this day. " O that they were wise, 
 that they understood this, that they would consider 
 their latter end !" 2 
 
 To give a proper direction to our meditations on 
 the present " Signs of the times," the first which 
 we shall mention, is, 
 
 1. Isa. i., 3, 4. t 2. Deut. xxxii. 32—39. 
 
SIGNS OP THE TIMES, &C. 313 
 
 1. The prevalent disinclination of Christian pro- 
 fessors and others, to think of or to study the sub- 
 jects of unfulfilled Scripture prophecy. Now this 
 " Sign," we affira, answers to that state of apostacy 
 throughout the Christian world, predicted in that fear- 
 ful interrogation of Christ, " When the Son of Man 
 cometh, shall he find faith on the earth ?" l That 
 our blessed Lord in this passage speaks of his Second 
 Advent, none will deny. That he speaks of & personal 
 and not a spiritual advent merely, is evident from the 
 fact, that he has never yet been spiritually absent from 
 the Church. In this last sense the promise was given, 
 " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
 world." 2 And, that this second advent is to be pre-mil- 
 lenial, is equally evident, as will appear from the pas- 
 sage, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, and 
 ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, bless- 
 ed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Now, 
 this cannot refer to the First advent. That had taken 
 place already. The word " cometh" in this passage, 
 (iigxApsvogf) may be rendered, " that is about to 
 come" 3 Nor can it refer to the shouts of the multi- 
 tude upon Christ's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. 
 That event took place before the utterance of this pre- 
 ciction. 4 No — the time here referred to is the end of 
 ihe Jewish tribulation, and of the treading down of 
 Jerusalem by the Gentiles : or, in other words, to the 
 
 1. Luke xviii. 8. 
 2. Matt, xxviii., 20. 3. Ramsey on the see. com. p, 96. 
 
 4. Compare Matt. xxi. 1— 9, with xxiii. 39. 
 
 27 
 
314 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 restoration of the Jews to their own land. Then, 
 "the feet of the Lord shall stand upon the Mount of 
 Olives" 1 at which time "the spirit of grace and of 
 supplications shall he poured out upon them ; and 
 looking upon him whom they have pierced, they shall 
 mourn" 2 And, me thinks, amid the piercing agonies 
 of the conviction that they once, " with wicked hands, 
 crucified and slew the Lord of life and glory," 3 and 
 the ecstasies arising from a sense of pardoned guilt, 
 will exclaim, " Blessed is he that cometh in the name 
 of the Lord." 
 
 This, then, we say, is the repudiated faith to which 
 the Saviour, speaking of the time immediately pre- 
 ceding his second advent, refers. And if the subject 
 needs further confirmation, I would refer to Isaiah, 
 who, speaking of this very period of the conversion 
 and glory of the Jewish nation, says, that immediately 
 preceding, " darkness shall cover the earth, and gross 
 darkness the people" 4 
 
 Now, look the world over — pry into every nook 
 and corner of Christendom — and what proportion of 
 it, I ask- are " looking for that blessed hope, the glo- 
 rious [Pre-Millenial] appearing of the Great God, even 
 our Saviour Jesus Christ?" 5 O, on this subject, I al- 
 most tremble to enlarge. Still, you demand evidence. 
 Take then the following as an illustration. In this 
 great city, which counts its hundreds of Christian 
 
 1. Zech. xiv. 4. 2. Zech. xii. 10. 
 
 3. Acts ii. 23. 4. Isa. lx. 1, 2. 
 
 5. Titus ii. 13, 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 315 
 
 churches, planted in the midst of a population of hun- 
 dreds of thousands, there is not one voice regularly 
 raised from Sunday to Sunday, to sound the alarm of 
 the rapidly-approaching pre-millenial advent of the 
 Lord Jesus ! We ask therefore, — Why is it thus ? 
 Would it so be, were the people, clerical and lay, dis- 
 posed to think of, and to study this subject ? I add no 
 more, brethren, on this topic, but to ask, Is this a " sign" 
 of these "last times?" What then think ye of it? 
 Will you study it ? I add, 
 
 2. Another u Sign " of the times, connected with, 
 because growing out of, the preceding. It is this — 
 A most melancholy and general decay of vital piety. 
 Opposed to the above prevailing disposition of Chris- 
 tians in reference to Christ's advent, was the following 
 prominent characteristic of the Saints primitively — 
 they " loved his appearing" l Yes, they loved to 
 hear of it — to talk about it — to pray for it. Hence, 
 of them it could in truth be said, "Ye are not of the 
 world, even as I am not of the world. If ye were of 
 the world, the world would love its own ; but because 
 ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of 
 the world, therefore the world hateth you." ■ But 
 what, I ask, now remains of this distinguishing feature 
 of Christianity? What, on the part of professing 
 Christians to cling to "the offence of the cross?" 3 
 Has not that " offence " long since ceased, j by an un- 
 
 1. 2 Tim. iv. 8. 8. John TV, 1l \ 
 
 3. Gal. v., 11. 4. Gal. v. Li. 
 
316 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 holy alliance between Christ and Belial, — between 
 the church and the world ? 
 
 Brethren, God is my record, I judge no man. l Nor, 
 as a Christian minister would I enjoin upon any of 
 you either the moroseness of the misanthrope, or the 
 monkish austerities of the recluse. Still, the love of 
 mammon — the spirit of worldliness — of conformity 
 to the world in its maxims and fashions, indicate, to a 
 most fearful and appalling extent, the prevalence of 
 this unholy alliance ! Yes, the almost universal rage 
 for the mere " pomp and outward circumstance" of re- 
 ligion, while it proves that we have its "form" it also 
 proves that we are destitute of its " power ;" 2 and ver- 
 ifies to the letter, the truth of our Lord's words, that 
 in the last times, " the love of many should wax cold?* 
 Professor of religion, what think ye of this "Sign?" 
 Is it shadowed forth in your conduct toward your now 
 absent Lord and Master ? 
 
 3. Another " Sign" which is to herald the pre-mil- 
 lenial advent of Christ is, an unprecedented preva- 
 lence of iniquity. Says our Saviour, " Iniquity shall 
 abound? 4 We now speak of that moral turpitude, 
 intellectual and practical, which, according to the 
 above prediction, is to characterize this age. And, in 
 both these respects, we fearlessly challenge the histo- 
 rian to designate the period when, the world over, the 
 vain imaginations of man approximated nearer to a 
 deification of human intellect ; or, when the fiood- 
 
 1. Rom. xiv. 13. 2. 2 Tim. m. 5. 
 
 3. Matt. xxiv. 12. 4. Matt. xxiv. 12. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 317 
 
 gates of iniquity poured from its exhaustlcss reservoir, 
 such streams of licentiousness. With what unprece- 
 dented and heaven-daring effrontery are the Scriptures 
 now rejected, to give place to the giant strides of hu- 
 man intellect in this age, signalized as " the march of 
 mind," " human progress," &c. " With what impunity 
 are the doctrines of the Cross trampled under foot ? 
 How is the name of God blasphemed, by the liberal- 
 ism, false philosophy, and infidelity of the age !" l 
 Nor would I shock your sensibilites by raising the 
 curtain, and exhibiting to your view even a moiety of 
 the iniquitous practices with which all the larger cities 
 of every nation and country abound ! It must now 
 suffice that we refer you to the dark catalogue of 
 crimes, under the heads of perfidy, and fraud, and ra- 
 pine, and murder, and sedition, and universal misrule, 
 which darken the columns of every secular print 
 throughout our own and every other land. Yes, to 
 these faithful chroniclers of crime can I refer you, as 
 infallible, though undesigned expositors of the truth 
 of this prophetic sign. 
 
 Nor, as comprehended under this sign of the pre- 
 valence of iniquity can we confine our remarks to the 
 more overt acts of the ungodly. Would that it were 
 so ! But, alas, we are compelled, as well from a re- 
 gard to truth as to a sense of duty, to bring to view, 
 and apply, with all plainness of speech, those features 
 of apostacy of these last times, which were to cha- 
 racterise Christianity both doctrinal and practical, as 
 
 1. Dis. on the present crisis, p. 10, 
 
 27* 
 
318 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 brought to view in the following passage of the 
 Apostle Paul. 
 
 " This know also, that in the last days perilous 
 ^times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their 
 ownselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, 
 disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without 
 natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, in- 
 continent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
 traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure 
 more than lovers of God ; having a form of god- 
 liness, but denying the power thereof ; from such 
 turn away? x 
 
 How similar this, to a previous description given 
 by the same pen, of the Pagan world ! 2 But, that 
 the Apostle in the above passage is speaking of others 
 — that by prophetic discernment, he pointed to those 
 corrupting and disorganizing influences which were 
 to characterize the Christianity and the Church of 
 the " last days," is we think evident from the fact that 
 the above signs of Apostacy are coupled with " a 
 form of godliness." And, how humiliating, how 
 painful the reflection, that the two portraits of moral 
 corruption and Christian degeneracy as above de- 
 picted by St. Paul, should bear so strong a resem- 
 blance ! 
 
 Our limits, however, will not admit of an extended 
 application of these characteristics; in regard to 
 which, as it respects individuals, we are happy to 
 say^ there are yet many noble exceptions. No. We 
 
 1, 2 Tim. iii., 1 — 5. 2. Rom. i., 29 — 31. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 119 
 
 speak now in the more enlarged sense, as compre- 
 hending the aggregate of those communities, the 
 various grades of which form the great mass of so- 
 ciety, and in the midst of which those are to be found, 
 to whom the above chaiacteristics apply. Of these, 
 the Apostle predicts that in the last days they 
 shou d be, 
 
 1. " Lovers of their ownselves : " i. e., that they 
 should be selfish, a principle directly opposed to that 
 exalted grace of charity, so largely treated of in 1 Cor. 
 xiii., and which seeks to dispense its benignant smiles 
 and extend its open hand to the oppressed and the 
 perishing, wherever found : a principle, every ele- 
 ment of which, as a late writer has justly remarked, is 
 anti-social. " Charity," it is said, seeketh not her 
 ownP Now, apply this principle to the great mass 
 of those who have "a form of godliness," in their 
 practical operations as connected with the com- 
 mercial, mercantile, manufacturing, mechanical, and 
 even the lower departments of life. Carry it into the 
 ranks of the opulent — among the different professions 
 — among landlords and tenants. — Now, is it not 
 true, and true more especially of these u last days/' 
 that in commerce, the large consumer or purchaser 
 grinds the manufacturer, who seeks in turn to re- 
 imburse himself by reducing the wages of the me- 
 chanic, &c, &c, while all the various grades are 
 made to writhe under the undeyiating extortion of the 
 landlord, till, by the accumulated weight of oppres- 
 sion of the higher upon the lower classes, redress is 
 
320 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 sought in incendiarism or political revolution ? But, 
 the Apostle adds, that men should be, 
 
 2. " Covetous" " (pduQyvpoi," literally, lovers of 
 money. Hence its affinity with the preceding. Yes, 
 selfishness begets covetousness. The cupidity of 
 man, the love of ease, luxury, pleasure, power, 
 creates an inordinate thirst for gain. Time was, 
 when covetousness wore the mask of " sober industry 
 and prudence : " not so now. The rage of specula- 
 tion, induced by a spirit of " discontent at ordinary 
 prosperity," has resulted in a " making haste to get 
 rich," so characteristic of the present day. Please 
 turn to and read 1 Tim. vi., 9, 10. Are professors of 
 religion wholly exempt from this spirit? Are there 
 none who, even at the holy altar, seek to make "gain 
 of godliness ? " l Men should also be, 
 
 3. "Boasters." — Selfishness and covetousness 
 combined, lead to indulgence in self-complacency, 
 self-adulation ; and these generate a spirit of " boast- 
 ing," the opposite of charity, which " vaunteth not 
 itself" Nationally, the " vox Dei" is brought down 
 to an equality with, if not indeed made subordinate to, 
 the " vox Populi" Do any doubt this ? What then 
 the meaning of the following and similar phrases that 
 meet the eye at every turn, — and which are common 
 alike to the politics, science, and theology of the age? 
 u We, the sovereign veople" — " march of mind " — 
 " human progress" &c, all of which indicate a for- 
 
 1. Tim. vi., 5. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 321 
 
 getfulness of that Divine power which ruleth over the 
 destiny alike of nations and of individuals. Consult 
 St. James on this subject. l " All such boasting is 
 vain." Passing this, the Apostle says that men 
 should be, 
 
 4. " Proud? — The disposition here intended is, 
 that of contemning and setting at naught the author- 
 ity of God, as illustrated in the following passages — 
 Neh. ix. 16 ; Ps. cxix. 21, 51 ; Jer. xliii. 2. As ap- 
 plicable to our own times, it is sufficient (though 
 equally true of all the commands of God) that we 
 instance the present universal desecration of the Sab- 
 bath. In view of all the Divine injunctions regard- 
 ing holy time, do not the mass with one voice 
 exclaim, " who is the Lord, that I should obey 
 him 7 " 2 That men should be, 
 
 5. " Blasphemers" is another predicted character- 
 istic of the last days. Scriptural Kasphemy " con- 
 sists, first, in speaking against the revelation or 
 ordinances of God ; and secondly, in the avowal of 
 heretical doctrines, indirectly calculated to degrade 
 the glory of the triune Jehovah, and the gospel of his 
 grace." And such are the Socinian and modern 
 Unitarian heresies, the promoters of which, under the 
 reign of William III., 3 were held to be criminals. 
 And, while we consider these heresies as "damn- 
 able" 4 they cannot withhold from us the meed of 
 candor in conceding that now an unchecked liberalism 
 
 !. James iv., 13 — lfi. 9 Exod. v 8. 
 
 3. See the 9th, and 13th of William III., Chap. 38. 4. 9 Pet ii. 1 
 
322 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 has removed from them all restraint, and that, by a 
 rapidly increasing coalition with the various grades 
 of existing se?m-protestant Orthodoxy, there is a fair 
 prospect before them of repeating the scenes of other 
 days, and joining issue with their sister compeer 
 (France) in the Deification of human reason. Of the 
 prevalence of this species of " blasphemy M we affirm, 
 (and we challenge contradiction,) no period in the 
 history of Christendom, will compare with the last 
 fifty years. It was in A. D. 1792, just fifty years 
 ago, since atheistic France made a general bou-fire 
 of the Scriptures, — designated Jesus Christ as " the 
 wretch, " — pronounced death to be an eternal sleep, 
 — and bowed themselves before the shrine of a pros- 
 titute, as a personification of the goddess of reason ! 
 And, to a similar, yea, and to a more fearful consum- 
 mation, is the tendency of every existing species of 
 heretical blasphemy, however modified its present 
 form. We pass to the next of the above character- 
 istics of the age, — viz., that of being, 
 
 6. " Disobedient to parents." In the broad sense, 
 of parents there are several orders, which we shall 
 classify as follows : God is our heavenly, owe spiritual 
 Father, — " the powers which be," in the state, consti- 
 tute our national or political father, — in the church, 
 our ecclesiastical father, — in the departments of edu- 
 cation, our teachers may be called fathers — and, our 
 parents are our natural father and mother. Now, in 
 illustration of that disobedience towards God as our 
 heavenly, our spiritual Father, which characterizes 
 these " last days," turn back and read the 4th article in 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 323 
 
 this category. Of the others, whether of the civil 
 magistracy, or the sacred orders of the ministry, as 
 spiritual rulers, or of teachers, how evident the dis- 
 position among all classes of subordinates to u despise 
 government," l and " dominion " and to " speak evil of 
 dignities ?" 2 And, " in regard to disobedience to nat- 
 ural parents, it is a circumstance so commonly no- 
 ticed by persons at all observant of the moral char- 
 acter of the age, as especially belonging to the present 
 times, that it requires no further comment. A great 
 declension has been noticed in this respect in the 
 last half-century, as compared with the times im- 
 mediately preceding. Indeed I fear, that it would 
 now provoke the laughter of many, were they to be 
 seriously reminded, that the sons and daughters of 
 patriarchal times rose up before their parents and su- 
 periors, and did them homage." 3 
 
 Filial insubordination may be traced to the follow- 
 ing and similar causes. — A rejection of the headship 
 of the family compact 4 — neglect of parental discipline^ 
 so that parents have now come to treat their children 
 with the familiarity of brothers and sisters, rather than 
 of sons and daughters ; and to make it a moral ques- 
 tion, whether it be right to coerce or to chastise them : 5 
 the effect of which is to engender, first, disrespect, and 
 second, contempt. And, this disposition of mind once 
 
 1. 2 Pet. ii. 10. fi. Jade a 
 
 3. Gen. xxi. 31 ; 1 Kings ii. 19 ; Lev. six, 38, 
 
 4. 1 Pet. iii., 1— 6; Eph. v. 22, 24. 
 
 5. Compare Heb. xii., 9, 10 j Piov. xxix. 15; xxii. ; 15, with x.. 
 13; xiii.,24. 
 
324 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 gaining the ascendancy over the mind of a child, it 
 grows with his growth and strengthens with his 
 strength, till, passing through all the intermediate 
 grades of insubordination, it reaches the throne of 
 God ! We pass to the next article. Men should be, 
 
 7. " Unthankful." The spirit of disobedience, of 
 insubordination to the powers which be, as compre- 
 hending the various orders from our natural parents up 
 the great Parent of all, coming in contact with those 
 of " boasting," and " pride," (see articles 3 and 4,) its 
 natural allies, begets that feeling of independence 
 which says, " My power, and the might of mine hand 
 hath gotten me these things ?" l Hence men are " un- 
 thankful." Are our national fasts in times of calami- 
 ty treated by the mass with neglect and derision. 
 Our national thanksgivings are converted into seasons 
 of inordinate indulgence. And, viewed as a religious 
 act, how often is the public or family " grace before 
 meat" followed by " the Non Nobis Domine, after the 
 repast ?" And, in offering up prayers in the great con- 
 gregation at the request " of persons under affliction or 
 in sickness, how few out of the number restored are 
 found to return thanks ? Alas ! though " ten may 
 be cleansed, there is found only one to return thanks 
 to God. 2 Above all, see this spirit of ingratitude on 
 the part of the people to their God and Saviour in all 
 our churches, on those Sundays devoted to the com- 
 memoration of the sufferings and death of our Lord 
 in the holy Eucharist. See the dying love of Christ 
 
 1. Deut. viii., 17. 2. Luke xvii 
 
 17. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 325 
 
 in the redemption of the world as then and there 
 slighted, by the crowds who refuse to '• draw near 
 with faith, and partake of that holy Sacrament." 
 
 8. " Unholy P Let it not be forgotten that the Apostle 
 is treating of those who have " a form of godliness." 
 Nor is it difficult to describe such. Their language is 
 not how much of self sacrifice will it " cost " 1 me to 
 be a Christian ? but how far may I conform myself 
 to the maxims and customs of the world, and still re- 
 tain the Christian name ? Hence such are ever ready 
 to denounce as puritanical and enthusiastic, every 
 grade of religious character that rises above their 
 standard. Some of them have conformed outwardly 
 to all the ordinances and rites of the Church — Bap- 
 tism, Confirmation, and the Lord's Supper. But the 
 unholiness of the age may be inferred from the low 
 and worldly views and motives which actuate many in 
 seeking admission thereto, and especially of those who 
 though they have been baptized and confirmed, yet 
 abstain frem the holy communion, because " it does 
 more solemnly engage them to that holiness which 
 they are resolved not follow after." They have a 
 name to live, but they are dead. 2 They " profess to 
 know God, but in works deny him." 3 Oh, how great, 
 we fear, is the number of such ! Another predicted 
 characteristic of these times is, that men should be, 
 
 9. " Without natural affection." The time was, 
 when children were considered a " gift and heritage 
 
 1. See Matt, vii., 21; xvi., 24.; Lake xiv., "2S. 
 % Rev. iii., 1. 3. Titus i., 10. 
 
 28 
 
326 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 which cometh of the Lord, and that that man was 
 happy that had his quiver full of them." 1 But what 
 is now more common than those expressions which 
 more than imply that they are " an incumbrance and 
 misfortune ?" How rare, also, the instances of such 
 " children and nephews " as those spoken of by St. 
 Paul, I Tim. v. 4. ? E'er they have entered upon 
 their teens, thousands are committed to the dubious 
 influences of foreign culture, physical and mental, 
 scientific and religious ; while thousands more, aliena- 
 ted from their early homes by parental apathy, are 
 precipitated upon the wide ocean of adventure, heed- 
 less of what awaits them; and all this based upon that 
 Atheistic, anti-social principle, of which we have al- 
 ready spoken, and which teaches " that we should 
 love all men alike ; and that the preferences which we 
 show to the more intimate relationships is a prejudice, 
 and an offence to uniformity and equality of love ; 
 and, in an age when liberality is the object of univer- 
 sal worship, and public opinion of men, not the word 
 of God, is the common law, nothing else is to be ex- 
 pected but a dissolution of the bonds of natural af- 
 fection, and the increase of crime in every direction." 
 But another mark of these last days ; — 
 
 10. " Truce-breakers? This " refers to that state 
 of mind, which, if it enters into covenant, does so 
 without intending to be bound by it, but to break it 
 whenever the passions or expediency invite." Hence, 
 nations violate the laws oi neutrality. The same may 
 
 1. Ps. cxivii. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 327 
 
 be said of public pledges and principles. In all the 
 departments of business " the same recklessness of 
 oaths and engagements " are proverbial among men. 
 But, more appalling still is the prevalence of this 
 " truce-breaking " spirit in the church. Apply this 
 subject to those solemn obligations assumed at bap- 
 tism. " Oh ! how lightly is the covenant entered into 
 in the first instance, and how awfully despised and 
 trampled under foot afterwards ! M The same may be 
 said of the assumption of baptismal vows at confirma- 
 tion, the recipients of that sacred rite, in numerous 
 instances, making no further advances ; and if they 
 do, their obliging themselves to a more holy life by a 
 participation of the holy Eucharist, furnishing no evi- 
 dence that they rightly " discern the Lord's body." 
 
 11. "False accusers." Upon this characteristic it 
 is unnecessary that I enlarge. The universality of its 
 prevalence among all classes, precludes the necessity 
 of adducing evidence of its existence. '■ Charity en- 
 vieth not," and "thinketh no evil." But of all the 
 viperous brood of the censorious, wanton, and malig- 
 nant, there is not one left to " cast the first stone ;" 
 and in the church, as well as out of the church, are 
 to be found those who habitually cater to the appetites 
 of the lovers of scandal, and innocence and purity 
 ofttimes seeks refuge in the cold earth, from the pesti- 
 ferous breath of an inuendo. 
 
 12. " Incontinent" or the surrendering of oneself 
 to the dominion of unbridled appetites. See this ex- 
 emplified in an inordinate ambition after display m the 
 costliness and magnificence of our "ceiled houses" — in 
 
328 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 our equipage — in our effeminacy and luxury — in our 
 immoderate love of dress — of indulgence in " vain 
 and foolish talking and jesting," l and of frequenting 
 those scenes of vice and profligacy, which pander to 
 and consequently awaken, all the baser passions of our 
 nature. With a late writer on this subject, I add, that 
 " I do not feel justified in going at large into the proofs 
 of direct sensual incontinency. I will satisfy myself 
 with appealing to the testimony of all moralists who 
 have had an opportunity of observing the state of so- 
 ciety abroad and at home. There never was a period 
 when the habits of men were so generally profligate. 
 But * * * I would draw a veil over this part of my 
 painful subject." 
 
 13. "Fierce" The fruit of incontinent indulgence, as 
 just described. He who has not obtained the mastery 
 over his other passions, will scarcely aim at imitating 
 the example of " the Prince of Peace," 2 who was 
 " meek and lowly in heart," 3 in curbing that unru'y 
 member, the tongue. This unhallowed instrument 
 " sets on fire the course of nature ! " 4 Nor can his- 
 tory record the period when this fire raged with more 
 unabated fury and extent than now. What, brook a 
 contradiction ! Let the results of intemperate language 
 in high places answer. Grave of Cilley, answer ! and, 
 as in our own, so in other countries, this fierceness of 
 spirit now rages with redoubled fury. "The law o* 
 honor " seeks satisfaction at the sacrifice of human 
 
 1. Hag. i., 4. 2. Isa. ix., 6 
 
 3. Matt, xi., 29. 4. James iii., 6. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 329 
 
 life for the most trivial affront. And this fire, burning 
 thus fiercely in the breast of the statesman, spreads 
 its destructive ravages to a most fearful extent, though 
 perhaps in a different form, among the lower orders of 
 all classes. " Raging waves of the sea, foaming out 
 their own shame ! '' l 
 
 14. " Despisers of them that are good? The 
 "good" here are those who, like Enoch of old, 
 " walk with GodV 2 But " they (the scornful) that 
 sit in the gate speak against them, and they are the 
 song of the drunkard." 3 
 
 15. " Traitors? Yes. Many, now having " the 
 form of godliness, but denying the power thereof," 
 upon the manifestation of the ascendant anti-christian 
 principle, Infidelity, like Judas of old, will give the 
 traitorous kiss, and betray into the hands of the " man 
 of sin and son of perdition" thousands of the deluded 
 votaries of Deism, modern Unitarianism, and Soci- 
 nianism. And, as though to render this work doubly 
 sure, and as the righteous retribution of heaven upon 
 them for their wilful blindness, 4 "God shall send them 
 strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that 
 they all might be damned who believed not the truth, 
 but had pleasure in unrighteousness.." 5 
 
 16. "Heady." 
 
 17. "High-minded? These characteristics may 
 well go together. They are but streams which flow 
 
 1. Jude 13. 2. 
 
 3. Ps. lxix., 12 \. 
 
 5. 2 Thess ii., 11, 12. 
 
 28* 
 
330 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 from the same corrupt source with those of boasting, 
 pride, disobedience, fierceness, &c. Hence, they 
 " despise government — they are self-willed — they are 
 not afraid to speak evil of dignities." * Their language 
 is, " with our tongue will we prevail ; our lips are 
 our own ; who is Lord over us ? " 
 
 18. " Lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of 
 God? As connected with a form of godliness, we 
 are to understand this characteristic as descriptive of 
 an inordinate fondness for the mere pomp and out- 
 ward circumstance of religion ; the gratification of an 
 excessive fastidiousness as to the matter and manner 
 of the preacher, the quality of the music, &c. Hence 
 the present predominating love of novelty and excite- 
 ment, and the running from church to church, as from 
 one theatre to another ; so that not unseldom the judi- 
 cious, able, time-worn, though unassuming minister 
 of Christ, is exchanged for the clerical comedian. 
 
 Then, too, this disposition is seen in unchecked in- 
 dulgence in the pleasures and amusements of the 
 world, in which nominal professors of religion so 
 largely participate. All indulgence with such is con- 
 sidered as " harmless," " innocent," and the like, that 
 falls not under the imputation of " notorious evil 
 living." * 
 
 Nor can we pass that class of " lovers of pleasure, 
 more than lovers of God," who, not content with the 
 
 1. 2 Pet. ii., 10. 
 
 2 # See the Rubric to Communion Service. Book of Common 
 Prayer. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 331 
 
 ordinary avenues to wealth, have, under " a form of 
 godliness," sought to "make merchandize" of Christian- 
 ity, by erecting large and magnificent places of wor- 
 ship, and supporting a succession of popular pulpit 
 actors, as a matter of mere speculation. 
 
 19. " Having a form of godliness, but denying the 
 power thereof' 1 '' It is then assumed that the truth of 
 these predicted characteristics of " the last days," and 
 of their special applicability to our own times, none 
 will pretend either to gainsay or resist ; and if there is 
 anything in these premises calculated to impose a more 
 than ordinary tax upon our credulity, it would seem 
 to be this — that so many, both in theory and practice^ 
 should deny not only, but in heart despise religion, 
 and yet invest themselves with its outward " form." 
 See this exemplified in almost every religious organiz- 
 ation of the day, where the true principles of the gos, 
 pel are made subservient to personal name and influ- 
 ence and wealth, "because of advantage." 1 No. "There 
 is in the present age no want of high patronage, when 
 solicited, for our various evangelical institutions ; no 
 deficiency of persons to take the chair, and preside on 
 religious occasions; no w< nt of the form of church- 
 going, baptism, &c. ; but the very men who can thus 
 far approve religion, and "do many things gladly," be- 
 tray either a senile of contempt or a feeling- oi re- 
 pugnance," the moment you speak of religion as im- 
 parting spiritual power to the soul of the believer. 
 
 Nor is this all. What is of more common occur- 
 
 1. Jude 16. 
 
332 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 rence in these days, than the cry of, "persecution!" 
 by the various heretical sects, e. g., Deists, modern 
 Unitarians, Socinians, Universalists, German Neol- 
 ogists, &c., because, forsooth, we withhold from them 
 all right to the Christian name. Of this however, 
 we can no longer (comparatively) complain, when 
 various systems of perverted philosophy is employed 
 in sowing anew the seeds of Atheism, under the pre 
 text of promoting Christianity. 
 
 Here then, under the influence of the all-potent 
 alembic of modern liberalism, we have Heretics, of 
 every name, and Infidels, and Atheists, though differ- 
 ing widely from each other, yet joining issue in laying 
 claim to and using the Christian name ! "Having 
 
 A FORM OF GODLINESS, BUT DENYING THE POWER 
 
 thereof." We do therefore most solemnly affirm, 
 and challenge contradiction, that the above Pauline 
 prediction of the marks of Christian apostacy of 
 " the last days," if they have any meaning, and 
 if they apply to any age, their import is verified to a 
 fearful extent throughout Christendom at this very 
 moment ; and consequently, that they apply to our 
 own times. Yes, that this is most emphatically 
 THE TIME that the apostle in 2 Tim. iv., 3, pre- 
 dicted would come, when " men would not endure 
 sound doctrine ; but that after their own lusts they 
 should heap to themselves teachers, having itching 
 ears." Heaven prepare the humble few of the faithful 
 in Christ Jesus, to meet with becoming composure 
 and fortitude the consummation of these mysterious 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 333 
 
 workings of iniquity, in the establishment in his seat 
 of the last Anti- Christian power ! We pass, 
 
 4. To the predicted prevalence of Scoffers in 
 these last times, as another " Sign" designed to in- 
 dicate the speedy appearance of the son of man in 
 clouds. Says St. Peter, " there shall come in the last 
 days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and say- 
 ing, where is the promise of his coming ? For since 
 the father's fell asleep, all things continue as they 
 were from the beginning of the Creation." ■ Nor, sad 
 to tell, is even this class necessarily and exclusively 
 confined to the unbelieving world. Would God it 
 were so ! But, how many professing Christians, for- 
 getting that "the Lord is not slack concerning his 
 promises," that the faithful in Christ Jesus shall in 
 due time inherit that " New heavens and new earth 
 wherein dwelleth righteousness ; " 2 join with the In- 
 fidel scoffer and say, u where is the promise of his 
 coming?" What u Sig?is" are to be given that he 
 will so come ? Ah, none . so blind as those who ivill 
 not see. Alas, for such is reserved the greater c >n- 
 demnation. 3 
 
 5. The fifth Pre-millenial advent " Sign" is, the uni- 
 versal spread of the gospel among M nations. Says 
 our Lord, " This gospel of the kingdom shall be 
 preached as a witni s among all nations, and then 
 shall the END come." Mark — as a witness — not 
 as the instrument of the conversion of all nations — 
 "for, this glorious and immense accession to the king- 
 
 1. 2 Pet. iii., 1—4. 2. Isa. lxv., 17. :>. Matt, xxiii., 11 
 
334 SIGNS OP THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 dom of our Redeemer is an achievement reserved for 
 the Millenial age m — See on this subject the first four- 
 teen verses of the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah. The 
 question then is, has the gospel been a witness for 
 the truth of God to all nations, or has it not ? " If 
 we look over a map of the world, and the reports of 
 the different Missionary and Bible Societies, we shall 
 find it difficult to place our finger on one spot of the 
 globe where the glorious gospel of the blessed God 
 has not been sent." 2 This remarkable Sign, says Mr. 
 Thorp of Liverpool, in his Destinies of the British 
 Empire, moving with speed and majesty in the spirit- 
 ual heaven of the Universal Church, and indicating 
 the coming of the Lord, is visible to all nations ; for 
 the symbolical angel takes wing immediately before 
 the days of vengeance. And it is remarkable, that 
 these noble institutions of Christian benevolence ori- 
 ginated in Great Britain, at the momentous crisis when 
 the papal kingdoms began to shake under the visitations 
 of Divine wrath in 1793. Yes, my brethren, it was 
 amidst the rage and madness of Atheism, — amidst 
 the horrors and chaos of anarchy and revolution, — 
 that these societies rose with placid dignity ; combin- 
 ing, as they rose, the wealth, the talents, the influence, 
 and the energies f myriads of Christians, in various 
 nations and of all denominations, in one generous ef- 
 fort to rescue the heathen world from the bondage of 
 corruption. 3 
 
 1. Thorp's Destruction of the British Empire, p. 76. 
 2. Hooper's Crisis, p. 7, 8. 3. See Note, Thorp p. 77. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 335 
 
 It is believed, therefore, that this " Sign" has per- 
 formed its entire circuit among the nations. 
 
 6. Indulgence of some of the worst passions of our 
 nature, by professing Christians, is another predict- 
 ed " Sign" of the Second Advent as nigh at hand. 
 " Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one 
 another, and shall hate one another." l Diversities of 
 opinion, to say nothing of articles of faith among 
 Christians, possess, inherently, the elements of dis- 
 union. And those elements have at times appeared in 
 outbursts of extreme virulence. But, we venture to 
 affirm, that in no instance has such acrimony, such a 
 vituperative and denunciatory spirit exhibited itself as 
 in that of a difference of opinion among Christians re- 
 garding the time of our Blessed Lord and Saviour's 
 Second Advent. In various parts of England, pulpits 
 have been closed against the advocates of the pre-mil- 
 lenial advent of Jesus, by brethren of the same faith 
 in all other respects, because they viewed that event 
 as P os t-millenial ! Periodical expositors of Prophecy, 
 conducted according to the rules of interpretation 
 founded on this principle, have also been denounced 
 in the most unmeasured terms. An<?, what is true of 
 England, in both these respects, is true also of our own 
 country. Brethren, I mean not to turn Prophet my- 
 self — no, far from* it. But, mark ye, — as this truth 
 of the Pre-millenial advent of Jesus, with its kindred 
 topics is studied, and believed, and advocated, you will 
 receive abundant additional illustrations of the truth 
 of this predicted " sign" of these last times. 
 
 1. Matt, xxiv., 10. 
 
336 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 7. The next pre-millenial advent " sign" is, the ad- 
 vance of human science, and the practical rejection 
 of the presiding wisdom of Revelation, Take the 
 following passages as the predicted basis of this Sign. 
 " This know also, that in the last days perilous times 
 shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own 
 selves — boasters, proud, blasphemers — heady, high 
 minded." l — " He is antichrist that denieth that Jesus 
 is the Christ' 1 — " Every spirit that confess eth not that 
 Jesus Christ is come* in the flesh is not of God." 2 
 " Let no man deceeive you — for the day of Christ 
 shall not come, except there come a falling away Jirst } 
 and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, 
 who oppose th and exalteth himself above all that is 
 
 1. 2 Tim. iii., 1—4. 2. 1 John iv. 3. 
 
 * On the subject of the last developement of the anti-Christian 
 power, the Rev. Mr. Bickersteth observes, — "It may be gathered, 
 I think, that there is a grovjing form of Antichrist, from the change 
 of the Apostle's expressions : a change which should lead us to 
 tremble at the idea of in any way denying a future coming of our 
 Lord in the flesh. The remarkable variation in the 1st and 2nd 
 Epistle of John, (not noticed in our translation,) respecting Christ's 
 coming in the flesh, seems to mark tvjo stages of Antichrist. In the 
 1st Epistle (iv. 3,) it is, every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is 
 come, (e\r)\vdora , already come,) is not of God, and this is that spirit 
 of Antichrist, &c. In the 2nd Epistle, v. 7, it is, Many deceivers are 
 entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come (epx°^ov 
 is coming,) in the flesh; this is the deceiver and the Antichrist. — Deny- 
 ing the coming Savior is one mark of the Antichrist." Indeed, the 
 l( very title of Christ is epxoptvos, the coming one." Practical 
 Guide, pp. 110 and 57. 
 
 For a similar use of the term, see Matt, xi., 3; xxi., 9; xxiii., 
 39; Luke vii., 19: Heb. x., 37. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 337 
 
 called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, 
 sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he 
 is God." l 
 
 Now, what do these passages collectively teach us ? 
 What, but this? — That through theself-complaisancy 
 and pride of the human mind and heart, the infinite 
 wisdom of God will find a Rival in a Deification 
 of creature intellect ! Does this sentiment startle 
 you ? It startles us also. Yes, — and we have here 
 thrown ourselves into a vast field, with scarcely a 
 moment's time to survey it. We can only now affirm 
 in general terms as a matter of fact, that " the suffi- 
 ciency of science is the idol before which men of all 
 ranks " are at this moment prostrating themselves ! 
 In the Pantheistic-Neology of Germany — in the 
 Rationalism and Transcendentalism of America — 
 and in the almost total absence of recognition of an 
 overruling Providence in the commercial, legislative, 
 and we had almost said, (and to a great extent we do 
 say it,) ecclesiastical systems of all nations, "the wis- 
 dom of God is (even now) rejected, and the authority 
 of Christ is held to be a ceremony and a name !" ' 
 
 Herein therefore behold the " three unclean M mas- 
 ter principles " like frogs," issuing from the mouth of 
 the apocalyptic " dragon ; " (Rev. xvi. 13 ;) in the 
 form, 1st., of Anarchy and Despotism; 2nd, of atheistic 
 and infidel Science ; and 3rd, of Papal, or superstitious 
 theology : all of which, at this very moment con- 
 stitute so to speak the life blood, the mainspring of 
 
 1. Thess. ii. 3, 4. 8. Noel's Brief Inq. p. 106, 
 
 29 
 
338 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 action, throughout both the Old and the New 
 world ! 
 
 This " Sign of the times " indicates the speedy- 
 placing, in his seat, of the Personal " Man of Sin, the 
 son of perdition," after whom the whole infidel Anti- 
 christian world is to wander, and whom 'they are to 
 worship. 1 Heaven save us from his power ! 
 
 8. Nearly allied to this " sign,'' are the events pour- 
 trayed in the symbolic import of the sun, and the 
 moon, and the stars, &c, named above. 
 
 In many nations, yea, in our own, there are " signs 
 in the sun, and moon, and stars" the prophetic sym- 
 bols of their civil and ecclesiastical authorities. — 
 M The powers of the heavens are shaken" Monarchs 
 tremble on their thrones, or seek for repose at the sa- 
 crifice of their crowns and sceptres. There is, liter- 
 ally, the " distress of nations" the "perplexity," the 
 agitation, and disquiet, and alarm, set forth by the 
 "roaring leaves of the sea" May it not be said of 
 all nations, that for the last 20 years, they have been 
 merging more and more into the despicable character 
 of " a mammon icorshipping people ? " Yea, they 
 have fallen down before the idols of their own hands- 
 making, "political wisdom, national wealth, and 
 commercial prosperity" And,'when those who have 
 by patient examination, and prayer, and watchfulness, 
 observed the movements of Providence in these 
 ominous precursors of national overthrow, and have 
 dared to raise the voice of admonition and alarm, they 
 
 1. Rev. xvii 8; xiii. 8. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 339 
 
 have been denounced as " setters forth of strange 
 things ! " The national confidence reposed in the 
 omnipotence of our triune idol, for instance, evinced 
 itself in deriding these as madmen. Bat, when the 
 pestilence, as in '32, spread disorder and confusion 
 throughout our borders in its fearful midnight and 
 noonday ravages, what terror and dismay were de- 
 picted in every countenance ? But to come nearer 
 home still, let us advert to the alarm and consterna- 
 tion which every where prevailed during the entire 
 period of our Congressional Session of 1833. Whe- 
 ther the causes which led to this general commotion 
 were imaginary or real, it matters not ; neither does it 
 at this time concern us. The fact is indisputable. 
 And what was the consequence ? Every where the 
 cry was heard, what meaneth this ? Whence its ori- 
 gin ? What its end ? Our political wisdom, our na- 
 tional wealth, and our commercial prosperity, the 
 "staff and stay of our right hand, the Almighty," as 
 it were, " shook in a day, and it bent like a reed sha- 
 ken with the wind." And I ask what advances have 
 since been made toward the removal of those evils ? 
 Have they not rather accumulated to an alarming ex- 
 tent? Then also, between neighbor and neighbor, 
 townsman and townsman, brother and brother, confi- 
 dence was then, and is still destroyed. As then, so 
 now, many covered with dismay, confusion, and blank 
 astonishment, and who think themselves rich in the 
 morning, go to bed in poverty. The fear and dread o{ 
 these last times rankles within almost every breast, prey- 
 ing upon their hearts like avulture. Yea, "men's hearts 
 
340 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 fail them because of fear, and for looking after 
 those things ivhich are coming on the earthy And 
 if they would but for a moment turn their attention to 
 an unprejudiced view of the present real state and 
 character of their own and of other nations, they 
 would see in the political, ecclesiastical, and moral 
 instability of all, evidence crowding upon evidence, 
 that the present "signs of the times" admonish us of 
 the speedy fulfilment of all that has been either 
 written or spoken by Christ and the prophets con- 
 cerning us ! Once more, then, I ask, why is it that 
 so many thrones are tottering? That republics, 
 founded it was supposed, on the most invulnerable 
 principles, are shaken to their very centre? That the 
 most splendid fortunes are overthrown ? That the 
 most ancient and revered names are dishonored ? 
 That the most permanent establishments are laid 
 prostrate? That credit between men is so fre- 
 quently suspended ? That the financial bulwarks of 
 different nations are subverted ? That divisions, and 
 heresies, and schisms are every where devouring by 
 piece-meal the precious vitals of religious truth and 
 order? And, that the existing civil and ecclesiastical 
 powers are reeling to and fro like a drunken man ? 
 Yea, our national idol, Democracy, which has been 
 wafted on eagles' pinions to the remotest nations of the 
 earth, and which has furnished themes alike for the 
 poet and the orator of almost every clime — winning, 
 in its resistless course, the " golden opinions " of sub- 
 jects both of the monarch and the despot — begins now 
 to discover its inheritance of elements of a nature the 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 341 
 
 most fearfully ruinous. Witness the recent, and now 
 almost daily occurrences of outbreaks of popular com- 
 motion among us ; and what, I ask, remains but to 
 snap in sunder the cobweb bands which now confine 
 these " roaring waves of the sea" within certain limits, 
 when Democracy, degenerating into a universal anar- 
 chy, like a desolating tornado, shall sweep over this 
 now fair and beautiful garden of the new world, and 
 
 « leave not a wreck behind." 
 
 9. But we pass to another " sign ; " it is this : " The 
 unusual determination of the dominant nations of 
 Europe to maintain the mutual relations of peace ;" 
 a verification of what the apocalyptic "angel " whom 
 John " saw ascending from the east, having the seal 
 of the living God," and who " cried with a loud voice 
 to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the 
 earth and the sea," said, — " Hurt not the earth, neither 
 the sea, nor the trees, until we leave sealed the ser- 
 vants of our God in their foreheads" l Now, is it 
 not remarkable that in the month of July, 1840, the 
 confederated powers of England, Russia, Austria, 
 and Prussia united in staying the ravages of the 
 usurper, Mehemet AH, against his Syrian master, the 
 Sultan; which, unchecked, would doubtless have de- 
 luged that whole country in a sea of blood. Equally 
 ineffectual thus far have been all those exciting topics 
 mooted between England and our own country, to ul- 
 timate an open war. And though to this genera! state 
 
 1. Rev. vii., 8. 
 
 29* 
 
342 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 of national repose there may be the exception of 
 " wars and rumors of wars," as between England and 
 China, yet the present tranquillized state of the four 
 allied powers, sufficiently indicates God's care of his 
 chosen ones, and serves to give them the assurance 
 that not a hair of their head shall perish. Yes, the 
 redeemed of the Lord, collected together from the four 
 corners of the earth, to sit down with Abraham, and 
 Isaac, and Jacob in his kingdom ; and " the four an- 
 gels to whom power is given to hurt the earth and the 
 sea," will have nought to do but to turn upon and de- 
 vour each other ! With this sign before us, therefore, 
 my dear brethren, let our humble prayer be, "that we 
 may be counted worthy to escape all these things, and 
 to stand before the Son of Man." l 
 
 This tranquillized state of the European and other 
 nations, however, will be but of short continuance. 
 Indeed, the present shaking of the nations indicate the 
 speedy fulfilment, 
 
 10. Of these predicted signs of our Lord, Matt 
 xxiv., 6, 7, of " wars and rumors of wars? accom- 
 panied with famine, and pestilence, and earthquakes 
 in divers places, together with those mentioned Acts 
 ii. 19., of u wonders in heaven above, and signs in 
 the earth beneath ; blood, and fire, and vapour of 
 smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and 
 the moon into blood, before that great and notable 
 day of the Lord ccme." 
 
 (1) "With regard to wars, it is unnecessary to 
 
 1. Luke xxi., 36. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 343 
 
 enlarge. This species of trouble being every where 
 threatened. The prediction of the battle of Arma- 
 geddon, (whatever may be the nature of that event) 
 is familiar to every student of prophecy. When " the 
 kings of the earth are gathering together their armies 
 against the Lamb ; " ! " when the heathen shall furiously 
 rage together, and the people imagine a vain thing ;" 2 
 and before the occurrence of that battle, which shall 
 be, " not with confused noise, and with garments roll- 
 ed in blood, but with burning and fuel of fire ; " 3 we 
 may surely believe, that " the nations will be angry," 
 that the passions of men will be roused, and that the 
 whole earth shall be rife with wars and with rumors 
 of wars. 
 
 (2.) Next, with regard to famines and pestilences. 
 When God executes judgment upon a guilty nation, 
 he often shows the extent of his power by the variety 
 of calamities which he inflicts. It is not by war mereiy 
 that he brings down their strength, but he arms the 
 verv elements of nature against them. Ezekiel enu- 
 merates four sore judgments — the famine, the sword, 
 the pestilence, and the noisome beast ; and he threat- 
 ens, that when the wickedness of men shall have pro- 
 voked God to inflict them, the presence even of a 
 Daniel, a Job, or a Noah shall not avail to the pre- 
 servation of a guilty nation. Many perished by famine 
 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the king of Babylon ; 
 and afterwards, when it was destroyed by Titus. And 
 Gibbon has remarked the frequency with which fa- 
 
 1. Rev. xyii. 2. Psalm ii. 3. Isa. ix. 
 
344 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 mines, pestilences and earthquakes occurred during 
 the reign of Justinian, under whom the saints of Christ 
 were given into the hands of the little horn. We 
 might, therefore, conclude, a priori, that in the execu- 
 tion of the last judgments upon apostate Christen- 
 dom, God would pursue the same course ; and that 
 the sword would be accompanied by other plagues, 
 such as famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. And 
 this conclusion is confirmed by many passages in the 
 prophetic books of the Old Testament. 
 
 One passage which I shall quote, extends from Isa. 
 viii 21, to ix. 7. The prophet speaks of a great tribula- 
 tion, during which the conflict takes place when the 
 rod of the oppressor shall be broken as in the day of 
 the Midian, and after which the kingdom of Christ 
 shall be established. And in chap, viii, 21, mention 
 is made of men who shall be " hardly bestead and 
 hungry ; and it shall come to pass, that when they 
 shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse 
 their king and their God, and shall look upward." 
 
 Another passage I shall adduce is Isaiah xlii. 15. 
 This chapter is evidently prophetic of Christ's king- 
 dom. After declaring how the Lord, who had long 
 refrained himself, would at last go forth, like a mighty 
 man, and stir up jealousy like a man of war, he then 
 subjoins these threatening words : "I will make waste 
 mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs ; and 
 I will make the rivers islands, and dry up their pools. 
 And I will bring the blind by a way that they know 
 not ; I will make darkness light before them, and 
 crooked things straight." This evidently implies that 
 
SIGNS OP THE TIMES, &C. 345 
 
 God will for a time withdraw the bounties of provi- 
 dence, and thus bring days of straitness and trouble 
 upon the earth, before that final restoration of the Jews, 
 the glory of which shall so far surpass their former 
 deliverance out of Egypt, that that deliverance shall be, 
 in comparison, deemed scarce worthy of remembrance. 1 
 
 Another passage I shall adduce is Ezekiel xxviii. 
 20, to the end. This prophecy is addressed to Zidon, 
 but no one can read it without perceiving that it must 
 belong to some future Zidon, which shall be flourish- 
 ing on the earth in the latter days. The promises 
 contained in the last two verses are applicable only to 
 the millennial state ; and in the 23rd verse God threat- 
 ens that he will send a pestilence and blood into her 
 streets, and thus make her know that he is the Lord. 
 
 Other passages might be adduced bearing on the 
 same point. I shall, however, notice only one more, 
 viz. Rev. xvii. 8. It is said of Babylou, " Therefore 
 shall her plagues come in one day, death (i. e. pesti- 
 lence) mourning, and famine, and she shall be utterly 
 burned with fire. For strong is the Lord God who 
 judgeth ner." 
 
 From the attentive consideration of these passages 
 we learn that famines and pestilences will constitute a 
 portion of the bitterness of that unparalleled tribulation 
 which as yet awaits the world, and which will pre- 
 cede the establishment of Christ's kingdom. 
 
 (3.) And, lastly, with regard to earthquakes. We 
 know that the last judgement will be by lire, the ler- 
 
 1. Jeraniah xxiii. 7, 8. 
 
346 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C 
 
 vent heat of which will melt the elements of which 
 the earth is composed. And it seems natural to ima- 
 gine that the fire destined to produce this conflagration, 
 and now perhaps imprisoned beneath the soil on which 
 we tread, will often, as if impatient for a vent, make 
 frequent eruptions, before God finally permits it to 
 break out to execute his work of vengeance. Such 
 eruptions will cause earthquakes. And these minor 
 terrors are to be regarded as harbingers of that last 
 destruction, which shall be accomplished, when the 
 Lord of hosts shall arise to shake terribly the earth. 
 It is perhaps by means of these convulsions, that the 
 Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian 
 sea, and shall smite the river into seven streams. 1 
 Thus we also learn that in that day, when God shall 
 punish the host of high ones that are on high, the 
 earth shall be utterly broken, that it shall reel to and 
 fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cot- 
 tage. 2 The prophet Joel declares that the Lord shall 
 roar from Zion, and the heavens and the earth shall 
 shake. 3 Zachariah foretels, that at the coming of the 
 Lord the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst, 
 towards the east and towards the west, and there shall 
 be a very great vallay. 4 But St. John, in the book of 
 the Revelation, is still more explicit : upon the pour- 
 ing out of the seventh vial, " there were voices, thun- 
 ders, lightnings, and a great earthquake" 5 
 
 (4.) Other phenomena also, or the predicted " won- 
 
 1. Isaiah xi. 15. 2. Isaiah xxiv. 19—23. 3. Joel iii. 4. 
 4. Zech. xiv. 16 5. Rev. xvi 18. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 347 
 
 ders in. the heavens, and signs in the earth, blood, 
 and fire, and vapour, and smoke, it is more than con- 
 jectural have been, and are still receiving their fulfil- 
 ment in the appearance of the Aurora Borealis, or Nor- 
 thern Lights, respecting which the following appro- 
 priate effusion, from the pen of a poet of promise, is 
 here inserted : — 
 
 " Ye gorgeous visions of the Northern sky, 
 
 Mysterious and sublime ! 
 Who lit your brilliant light on high'* 
 Stream ye alone in idle revelry, 
 
 Alone, oe'r cloudy clime ; 
 Without an aim, or nature, more 
 Than mortal vision can explore 1 
 
 Or have ye some high, unknown ministry 1 
 Whence sprang ye into birth 1 
 
 In distant realms unseen 1 
 Or claim ye sisterhood with earth 1 
 And will your strange ethereal sheen 
 
 Fade with her fading sphere ? 
 
 Man's wisdom has not told — 
 
 Ye are a mystery, 
 Which time perhaps shall ne'er unfold; 
 Philosophy, whose eagle pinion bold 
 
 Has conquered space, and brought the planets near 
 To her expecting eye, 
 
 Has sought in vain to fathom you, 
 
 Or tell the office that yc do. 
 
 Ye are of later date— 
 Say, arc yc for a sign, 
 Lit by the hand Divine, 
 Whence earth should read her coming fate \ 
 
348 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 Signs shall be set in heaven, 
 
 And wonders meet the eye, 
 And flaming prodigies be given 
 
 Within the upper sky. 
 
 Ye may be such — yet man would be 
 Most backward thus to interpret ye, 
 Who glides in blind security, 
 
 Down time's exhausting tide ; 
 Puts far away the evil day, ; 
 Or dreams that he shall dwell for aye, 
 
 In all his lust and pride. 
 
 Whate'er ye are, ye have an «zm, 
 For He has lit your wondrous flame, 
 
 Who fashions not a flower in vain. 
 And howe'er fruitlessly we pry, 
 Into your inward mystery, 
 
 One feature still is plain — 
 Like as in all his works, sublime or fair, 
 We trace the glories of the Godhead there." * 
 
 Respecting these, a late writer remarks, — " And 
 can it be doubted, that the signs in nature — in the 
 heavens and in the earth — have for some time been 
 appearing? We have seen the appearance in the 
 heavens of " blood and fire, and vapour of smoke." 
 No words could be used to give an idea of the 
 Northern Lights, as they are called, more fitly than 
 these. They so exactly answered the scripture pro- 
 phecy, as, at first, to occasion great alarm ; but, be- 
 coming frequent, now scarcely attract the eye of 
 
 * Isaac Gray Blanchard, from the " Brother Jonathan.' 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 349 
 
 curiosity." * I would add, e'er we treat this subject 
 with a spirit of incredulity or in a way of trifling eva- 
 sion, would it not be well to ask, what, in our view, 
 admitting that the Scriptures teach us to expect that 
 the closing scene of time is to be ] receded by certain 
 natural phenomena, would approach nearer thereto 
 than the above ? And, who will, who can deny, but 
 that the world appears 
 
 11 To toll the death-bell of its own decease, 
 And by the voice of all its elements 
 To preach the gen'ral doom. When were the winds 
 Let slip with such a warrant to destroy 1 
 When did the waves so haughtily o'erleap 
 Their ancient barriers 7 
 
 * These northern lights " appeared in this part of the world early 
 in the present century, just above the Northern Horizon ; and about 
 the same time, in much the same manner, they appeared in Europe. 
 They, or something very similar, a few times at some periods, had 
 been observed before, viz., 1621, Sept. 2, they were observed a\ 
 over France. 1581 they appeared in Germany, in an extraordinaryl 
 manner in April and Sept., and in a less degree at some other times 
 the same year; and the year before, 1580, they were there observed 
 seven times. 1575 they were seen twice in Brabant, February 13, 
 and September 28. 1574 they were observed in England, two nights 
 successively, November 14th and 15th ; and also October 7th, 1564, 
 and January 30, 1560. And, there were several such like appear- 
 ances in the age immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 Before the beginning of the present century, however, they had 
 not been noticed for near an hundred years ; but, from that time, or 
 from March 6, 1716, they became very frequent ; and continued 
 gradually to rise, and approach toward the South, apparently, 
 widening and spreading as they advanced, and about the middle o( 
 this century often reached the Zenith of New England; and a t 
 length have proceded so tar South, or have risen so high, as to be 
 seen sometimes in the West-Indies." 
 
 30 
 
350 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C 
 
 Fires from beneath, and meteors from above, 
 Portentous, unexampled, unexplained, 
 Have kindled beacons in the skies ; and th' old 
 And crazy earth has had her shaking fits 
 More frequent, and foregone her usual rests. 
 The pillars of our planet seem to fail, 
 And nature with a dim and sickly eye 
 
 To Wait THE CLOSE OF ALL ! " 
 
 11. As another "Sign" of the times, we refer you 
 to the predicted approaching overthrow of the 
 Turkish Empire, or the drying up of the mystic 
 Euphrates. Here, as though . all the preceding 
 18 Signs " so to speak, were to fail in awaking the at- 
 tention of Christians to the awful crisis at hand, the 
 Almighty has furnished us with a " Sign " that meets 
 the eye and the ear at every turn. I mean, the pre- 
 sent rapid decay and approaching ruin of the Turkish 
 or Ottoman Empire. This Empire, before its con- 
 solidation under Othman, was divided into four Sul- 
 tanies, having for their capitals Bagdad, Damas- 
 cus, Aleppo, and Iconium. These Sultanies were 
 the "Angels" which were "bound in the great river - 
 Euphrates," being for a long time confined to its 
 banks by the agency of the Crusades. But, the Apoc- 
 alyptic "Sixth Angel who had the trumpet," was 
 commanded to " loose these four Angels," for an ap- 
 pointed time. And, we now observe, that this ap- 
 pointed time is defined and limited, even to a day ! 
 "And the four Angels were loosed, who were pre- 
 pared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a 
 year, for to slay the third part of men." l Interpret- 
 
 1. Rev. ix. 14, 15. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, <fcC. 351 
 
 ing these periods mystically, and they give us the 
 definite number of 391 years and a month. Now, the 
 only period of Turkish history to which this date can 
 with any consistency apply is, when Constantinople 
 was besieged by the Moslem conqueror Mahomet, on 
 the 29th day of May, A. D. 1453. Then, " Constan- 
 tine, the last of the Caesars, perished fighting for his 
 country, while thousands fell by his side. And the 
 city experienced the horrors of sack and pillage, 
 heightened by the animosity which the Mahometans 
 felt towards the Christians." Hence Constantinople 
 and the Eastern or Greek Empire, was to fall under 
 the ravaging hand of Daniel's " king of a fierce coun- 
 tenance," ,for the above period of 391 years, &c. 
 which, if added to A. D. 1453, brings us down to 
 A. D. 1844, as the period marked in prophecy tor the 
 utter extinction of the Turkish power. To furnish 
 evidence of the correctness of this position prospect- 
 ively, I have only time now to add, look toward the 
 East ! — look at Syria! — listen to the trumpet voice 
 of every gale in its tidings thence, and, if I am not 
 mistaken, you will be disposed rather to antedate than 
 prolong, this coming event. 
 
 But it may be asked, why attach more of impor- 
 tance to that, than to many other similar events 
 equally specified in history ? We answer, 
 
 12. Because it is in itself a " sign," (7 prelude to, and 
 the immediate precursor of\ the destruction of the 
 Papal Hierarchy. The drying up of the mystic Eu- 
 phrates, or extinction of the Turkish empire, is but 
 the ante-type of what was shadowed forth in the di- 
 
352 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 version, by Gyrus, of the river Euphrates from its 
 usual course, by which he entered and destroyed an- 
 cient Babylon, which all admit to be, a type of the 
 mystic ox Papal " BABYLON THE GREAT, THE 
 MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINA- 
 TIONS OF THE EARTH." 1 Yes, the extinction 
 of that empire is ordaimd of heaven for the especial 
 purpose. Cl that the way of the kings of the East may 
 be prepared" to put in their eternal abjuration of all 
 further allegiance to u the Mother of Harlots" as such, 
 that they may give their honor and power to another, 2 
 even " THE MAN OF SIN, THE SON OF PER- 
 DITION, who is to exalt himself above all that is 
 called God, or that is worshipped!" The extinction 
 of the former, therefore, leads directly to the destruc- 
 tion of the latter. Now, coupling this with the pre- 
 ceding, we say, " here is a Sign which none can mis- 
 take ! But, alas, what is the state of Europe," and of 
 our own country, in relation to these events 7 " Pre- 
 cisely that which characterized Babylon of old, in the 
 night of her great overthrow. Each says within her- 
 self, " I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and shall see 
 no sorrow." But what says the prophetic voice? 
 " Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, 
 and mourning, and famine, and she shall be utterly 
 burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who 
 judgeth thee !" Oh, my feeble prayer is and shall 
 
 !. Rev. xvii. 5. 2. 2 Thess. ii., — . 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 353 
 
 be, — Lord God, open the ears of these two Christian 
 nations, to hear thy warning voice, e'er it be too late ! 
 
 13. We pass to another " Sign" of the speedy, second, 
 personal advent of Jesus to our earth ; viz, ' the pres- 
 ent circumstances and expectations of the Jews" Of 
 their last long captivity, and the desolation of their 
 beloved city and temple, we have already spoken. 
 We now affirm, that the Scriptures speak of their final, 
 and, as we believe, speedy restoration to their own 
 land. Daniel says, " When the Lord shall have ac- 
 complished to scatter the power of his holy people," l 
 i. e., when Jerusalem shall " have been trodden down 
 of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles 
 should be fulfilled ;" 2 that then there should come out 
 of Zion the deliverer, and should turn away un- 
 godliness from Jacob." 3 
 
 But, how is this to be brought about ? " Hear the 
 word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the 
 Isles afar off, and say, He that scattereth Israel, will 
 gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his 
 flock." 4 
 
 But when will the Lord do this? Answer — as 
 demonstrated in our previous Lecture, the year of our 
 Lord, 1847, is the period when the sanctuary shall be 
 cleansed, and DaniePs vision of Jewish desolation 
 be accomplished in " the last end of the indignation." 
 This, however, can only be effected, first, by the in- 
 gathering- of the Jews to their own land : and second. 
 
 1. Dan. xii., 7. 8. Luke xxi , -M. 
 
 3. Isa. lix. 20. 4. Jer. xxxi., 10. 
 
 30* 
 
354 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 by the destruction of their Great Desolator, the last 
 antichrist, who, with his Armageddon army, upon 
 their restoration, will once more go up against Jerusa- 
 lem to battle. Then, also, the approaching extinc- 
 tion of the Turkish empire, with the approaching doom 
 of mystic Babylon, connected, as are both these events, 
 with the war of Armageddon, now in actual course of 
 preparation on the part both of kings and people, under 
 the influence of the three frog spirits of the False 
 Prophet of Rev. xvii. 13, all transpire under the 
 sixth vial. And as already stated, as the extinction 
 of the former directly opens the way for the destruc- 
 tion of the latter, all these tremendously important 
 events take place about the same point of time, viz, 
 A. D., 1847. 
 
 The manner, further, in which the destruction of 
 the last anti-Christian confederacy is to be effected, 
 brings to view, in immediate connexion with the above 
 occurrences of 1847, another event of surpassing gran- 
 deur and interest to every true believer. I mean, the 
 
 SECOND, PERSONAL, PRE-MILLENIAL ADVENT OF OUR 
 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ! On this sub- 
 ject we remarked in our former Lecture, (page 241,) 
 that the close of the 2,300 years of Jewish desolation, 
 A. D., 1847, as spoken of by Daniel viii. 14, would be 
 signalized by the cleansing of the sanctuary — the 
 accomplishment of the vision — the last end of the 
 indignation — and, the appearing of the Lord Je- 
 hovah for the restoration and re-establishment in Pal- 
 estine of the seed of Abraham, which he sware unto 
 their fathers. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 355 
 
 We now affirm, in the light of prophecy, that the 
 former events are but a consequence of, and hence de- 
 pendant upon, the latter. In other words, until the 
 latter takes place, the former cannot be accomplished. 
 
 Here, it would seem incredible, that any, professing 
 to have turned their attention to this subject, should 
 insist upon an interval of 20 years or more, between 
 the restoration of the Jews to their own land, and the 
 Second Advent. With others, we are not surprised 
 that they should " view the future coming of Christ as 
 a solitary fact, rather than as a period full of import- 
 ant events." But that any professed student of pro- 
 phecy should have overlooked the fact, that the termi- 
 nation of Jewish troubles, or the ending of the indig- 
 nation by the cleansing of the sanctuary in the des- 
 truction of their last great enemy, viz, the Armageddon 
 army, is not immediately connected with, not only, but 
 consequent upon the second advent, is to us passing 
 strange. For the satisfaction of others, we think it 
 will be sufficient to adduce scripture proof, that our 
 blessed Lord's return is directly connected with those 
 events. Take for instance the following — In Micah 
 ii. 13, a passage applied by Lowth to the general res- 
 toration of the Jewish nation, we have this statement : 
 " The breaker is gone up before them ; they have 
 broken up, and passed through the gate, and are gone 
 up by it, and their king, (Messiah,) shall pass before 
 them, and the Lord on the head of them/* We read 
 in Zechariah xiL 9, "It shall come to pass in that day, 
 that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come 
 against Jerusalem," etc. Now, it is conceded by all, 
 
356 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 that at this very time Jerusalem is inhabited by those 
 of the Jewish nation. " The siege of the people round 
 about" (the Armageddon army) is to be " both against 
 Judah and Jerusalem." 1 But, it is the Lord himself 
 who brings this very army against them. " Behold, 
 the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be 
 divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all 
 nations against Jerusalem to battle" 2 &c. But 
 as in Zech. xii. 9, so in chap. xiv. 3, we read, 
 " then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those 
 nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." 
 Nor is this all. " His feet shall stand in that 
 day (the day of the siege as above,) upon the mount 
 of Olives, which is before Jerusalem, " 3 &c, 
 when, " by the spirit of his mouth he shall consume, 
 and by the brightness of his coming he shall destroy," 4 
 the antichristian Desolator of the Jewish sanctuary. 
 Then too, " in that day" i. e., the day of the destruc- 
 tion of these Infidel antichristian nations now encom- 
 passing Judah and Jerusalem : and with " their king 
 before them, and the Lord at the head of them standing 
 in a glorious majesty upon the Mount of Olives," shall 
 be fulfilled the promise, " And I will pour upon the 
 house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
 the spirit of grace and of supplications : and they % 
 (the house of David, Judah) shall look wpon him whom 
 they have pierced, and mourn" 5 &c. Yes, it is of 
 
 1. Zech. xii., 2. 2. Zech. xiv., 1, 2. 
 
 3. Zech. xiv., 4. 4. 2 Thess. ii.,8. 
 
 5. Zech. xii. 10 — 14.. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 357 
 
 " that day" the prophet speaks in the same xivth Chap. 
 v. 5thj when he adds, " And the Lord thy God shall 
 come, and all the Saints, (risen and glorified,) with 
 thee." 
 
 The foundation of the error, which severs the 
 second advent Irom the preceding, and which places 
 it beyond 1847, is predicated of the assumption that 
 the whole Jewish nation is to be restored to their own 
 land, prior thereto : and this, in order to avoid a truth 
 most plainly taught in all the prophets, viz., the 
 existence, during the period of millenial blessedness, 
 of the saved nations in the Jlesh. In reference how- 
 ever, to the last of these two points, I would only ask 
 your attention to the above xivth Chapter of Zecha- 
 riah, from the 8th verse to the end ; and of the first, 
 the indulgence to remark, that, in the day of Judah's 
 last calamity, 1 deliverance, 2 and conversion, 3 Israel, 
 or the ten tribes, are yet in captivity ! Of the man- 
 ner of their restoration, I would refer you to the 
 lxvith Chapter of Isaiah, from I5th verse to the end, 
 but particularly to the 19th and 21st verses inclusive. 
 Finally, for a general description of "the peaceable 
 kingdom of the Branch," consequent upon the 
 second advent, please consult Isaiah ii. 1 — 5 ; lxv. 
 11, to the end ; and Micah, Chapter iv. — 
 
 In conclusion, what remains for us but to adopt the 
 language of David," and say, " Thou shalt arise and 
 have mercy upon Zion ; for the tune to favor her. 
 
 1. Zech. xiv. 1, % 9; Zecb, xii. 9. xiv. o. 
 
 3. Zech. xii. 10, 
 
358 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 yea, the set time, is come." Yes, this is abun- 
 dantly evident, both from the attention of the whole 
 Christian world as now directed toward the Jews, and 
 of their own general expectation of and prayer for, the 
 manifestation of their Messiah.* 
 
 * For the benefit of those who entertain doubts on this subject, 
 I subjoin the following from " the Christian Intelligencer" of 
 March 26th, 1842. 
 
 THE JEWS. 
 
 The Rev. T. S. Grim sha we, known to American Christians as the 
 biographer of Leigh Richmond and Cowper, has lately returned 
 from a visit to the East. At a meeting held at Shrewsbury, Eng- 
 land, in behalf of the Society for Promoting Christianity among the 
 Jews, he said he found in Greece, Turkey and Syria, an extraor- 
 dinary spirit of inquiry among the Jews. There seemed to be a 
 general impression that the period was at hand when the Jews, as a 
 nation, would return to their own country; that the prophecies 
 mentioned by Daniel and the other prophets were being fulfilled J 
 and that the finger of God was pointed toward Jerusalem, and bid- 
 ding the Jews to march forward. There was an universality in it 
 that seemed to be of God; he found it prevailing in those two cities, 
 and throughout the whole of the Levant. It existed along the banks 
 of the Danube, and he heard of it as generally diffused among the 
 Jews of Poland. In Egypt also he found a similar impression, and 
 he learned from travellers that it prevailed through Abyssinia ; and 
 he discovered that it was also prevalent in Palestine. He had no 
 hesitation in stating that the restoration of the Jews is firmly and 
 universally believed by the Jews themselves, more especially in the 
 East, and presumed to be drawing nigh. A Jew, at Constantinople] 
 told him that all they wanted was freedom of inquiry. "Go, sir, 5 
 said he, weeping, and moistening his (Mr. Grimshaw's) hands with 
 his tears, " to your own land, go to the land of civil and religious 
 liberty, and intercede for the poor Jews, and obtain for them a parti, 
 cipation in those privileges by which you yoursel ires are so greatly 
 distinguished/and know that there are hundreds of us already secretly 
 convinced of the truth of Christianity, who are prepared openly to 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 359 
 
 14. One more " Sign." As we have made a con- 
 siderable advance, (as shown in the first Lecture) into 
 
 embrace it. " Did I say hundreds," he added, " I would rather say 
 there are thousands, who are inwardly convinced that Jesus is the 
 promised Messiah." — Ziorts Herald. 
 
 To the above I would add the following extract as illustrative of 
 the same fact, from " the Episcopal Recorder " of March 12th, 1842. 
 Not that I suppose Mehemet Ali will either impede or promote this 
 work, except as the Lord will. Isa. xliv. 28 ; xlvi. 10. 
 
 MEHEMED ALL 
 
 " The Rev, Mr. Grimshawe, (the same gentleman spoken of 
 above) at a late meeting called to aid the " London Jews' Society," 
 related the following circumstances in relation to his interview with 
 Mehemed Ali, when he made a tour to the East a few years ago. 
 
 He remarked that — "he went to Alexandria in a steamer, in 
 which it was his privilege to meet with the Rev. Dr. Duff. He need 
 not say who Dr. Duff was. He was one of the brightest ornaments 
 of the Church of Scotland, distinguished as much for his piety, as 
 for the extent and variety of his learning. With this excellent man 
 he conferred on the desirableness of obtaining an interview with 
 Mehemet Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt, who at that time ruled over 
 both Syria and Palestine, and whose favorable sentiments and dis- 
 position he thought it important to ascertain, in reference to the 
 restoration of the Jews. He here alluded particularly to the pro- 
 phetic statements contained in the 11th chapter of Isaiah on this 
 question, and to the miraculous smiting of the seven streams, that 
 Israel might pass over dry-shod. They were accordingly presented, 
 through the kindness of the Consul General, Col. Campbell, to that 
 extraordinary man. After a few preliminary remarks from the 
 Consul, I availed^ myself, said Mr. Grimshawe, of a momentary 
 pause to observe that the importance of the subject, and the deep 
 interest attached to it, must plead my apology for introducing it to 
 the notice of his Highness. I then stated that there was a general 
 impression amongst the Jews, throughout the Levant, as well as in 
 other countries, that the time was at hand foi their return to the 
 
360 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 the 1335 prophetic days of Daniel xii. 12, called em- 
 phatically " the last days ; " l and which, " for the 
 
 land of their forefathers ; that it was not for me to speculate before 
 his Highness as to the ground of that expectation — I simply took it 
 as a matter of fact; and begged to ask, whether, in the event of their 
 return taking place, his Highness would feel it to be his duty to 
 throw impediments in the w T ay, or to offer such facilities as might 
 be in his power. He examined me with that keenness and pene- 
 tration for which he is so remarkable, and kept his eyes fixed upon 
 my countenance, all the time I was speaking. After I had finished, 
 he said — " There is a proposition made to me to this effect — there 
 is an impression among the Jew T s, not confined to any particular part } 
 that they shall return to the land of their forefathers, as this gentle- 
 man has stated. As a matter of fad I take it then, and my answer 
 is this, that if the Jews are prepared and willing to return to the 
 land of their forefathers, let them return — they are welcome to 
 return ; and so far from offering any obstacles, I will give them all 
 the assistance in my power." I told him that I was much gratified 
 by the kindness and condescension of his Highness, and that I was 
 encouraged to submit a further proposition for his consideration — 
 that the Jews were, for the most part, in a state of great destitution, 
 and it would be desirable that they should have an allotment of 
 land as a means of subsistence, and if by his bounty and kindness 
 this privilege could be conceded to them, with an adequate rent by 
 way of remuneration to himself, that this would be a most important 
 accession. He said — " With respect to granting an allotment of 
 land in Palestine, on the supposition that they should return in such 
 numbers as to require it for their wants, my answer is, that I have 
 no land to give them; for though I have a general right over all, I 
 have an individual right to none. It belongs to those whose pro- 
 perty it is ; but if the Jews are willing to purchase the land of the 
 owners of the soil, and the owners, on the other hand, are willing to 
 dispose of it to them, I will grant to them a full and free possession 
 of their property." I thought this reply a remarkable declaration, 
 and deserving to be ranked among the extraordinary signs of the 
 times." 
 
 1. 2 Tim. iii. 1; 2 Pet. iii. 3. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 361 
 
 elects sake are to be shortened ; l — so it is evident 
 that we have entered upon the sounding of " the last 
 Trumpet" 1 Cor. xv. 52. " In the days of the voice 
 of the 7th angel, when he shall begin to sound, the 
 mystery of God shall be finished ; as he hath declared 
 to his servants the prophets ; " 2 " And the seventh 
 angel sounded ; and there were great voices in 
 heaven, saying. The kingdoms of this world are be- 
 come the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, 
 and he shall reign forever and ever," &c. 3 The 
 students of prophecy are not agreed on this point ; 
 some think that the seventh trumpet is just about to 
 sound, and that it commences with the seventh vial ; 
 others that it began to sound at the pouring out of 
 the first vial, in the year 1792. I agree with the lat- 
 ter. After a careful investigation of the Apocalypse, 
 I have drawn this conclusion, that the seven vials 
 are the contents of ike seventh seal and of the seventh 
 trumpet. Chapters xv. and xvi. may be read after 
 vii. and x. In the year 1792, when the vials com- 
 menced, began the seventh and last Trumpet to 
 sound — then we heard its distant blast ; which, like 
 the trumpet of Jehovah, hath " sounded long" and 
 hath " ivaxed louder and louder" 4 and must sound 
 yet, during the outpouring of another via/, when the 
 curtain of the drama of this great world will drop, and 
 "a voice be heard from heaven, saying, it is DONE ! " 
 
 1. Dan. xii. I ; Matt, xxiv. 21, 82, 'J. Rev. x. 7, 
 
 3. Rev. xi. 15 — 19. 1. ExodL xix. 19. 
 
 31 
 
362 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 The trump of God is not like the blast of a trumpet 
 blown by the breath of man, which is only of a few 
 moments' duration — " in the days of the voice of the 
 seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound " — it is 
 in the days of his sounding which are over and above 
 the 1260, comprising the greater portion of the 
 75 days of Daniel, in which the kingdoms of this 
 world are to become the kingdoms of our Lord and 
 his Christ, &c. " The mystery of God was finished " 
 when the seventh angel began to sound, as the events 
 subsequent to 1792 have proved ; but it is during the 
 period of its sounding that the first resurrection is to 
 take place — the bodies of living saints to be changed 
 — and the dispersed of Israel to return. The seventh 
 and last trumpet I believe hath sounded — is noio 
 sounding — and its blast will, ere long, reach the 
 lowest grave, the deepest depth of the sea, the most 
 interna] parts of the earth — wherever the ashes of a 
 saint slumbers, it shall hear the voice of the Son of 
 Man, and they that hear shall live, shall awake up 
 after the image and likeness of Christ, their bodies 
 being fashioned like unto Christ's most glorious body. 1 
 15. The last " Sign " to which we invite your at- 
 tention, is, that superabundant light which the Holy 
 Spirit has " thrown of late on the prophetic word. 
 " It shall come to pass, that at even tide it shall be 
 light," Zech. xiv. 7. " The vision is for an appointed 
 time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie," Hab. 
 
 1. Hooker of Eng. on the present crisis, p. 19 — 2*2. 
 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 363 
 
 ii. 3. " In the latter days he shall consider it per- 
 fectly," Jer. xxiii. 20 ; xxx. 24. What Daniel was 
 commanded to seal up and close, (Dan. xii. 4.) is now, 
 through the all powerful mediation of the Lion of the 
 tribe of Judah, revealed unto us, Rev. v. 5. Hence 
 "many run to and fro, and knowledge is increased." 
 Never, I believe, since the days of our Lord's first ad- 
 vent, was the prophetic word so much studied ; so 
 many of the ambassadors of Christ engaged in this 
 pursuit ; or so much written on the subject. " The 
 Revelation of Jesus Christ" contained in the Apo- 
 calypse, showing the coming of the Just One, with all 
 his saints, to the destruction of the apostate nations, is 
 now made so plain to the church, that none can, or at 
 least, ought to be ignorant of it. This however, is a 
 privilege belonging only to the faithful, for it is writ- 
 ten, " that none of the wicked shall understand, but 
 the w r ise shall understand," Dan. xii. 10. So St. Paul 
 speaks; " But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that 
 the day should overtake you as a thief; ye are all the 
 children of light, and the children of the day ; we arc 
 not of the night, nor of darkness," 1 Thes. v. 4, 5. 
 Though " the true light now shineth," it enlighteneth 
 only those who believe. Those who are paying a 
 prayerful attention to these things, "have," like the 
 Israelites of old, "light in their dwelling/' whilst the 
 rest of the world are sitting in darkness, even " dark- 
 ness such as may be felt." The opening, then, and 
 unfolding of the prophetic word, is another convinc- 
 ing proof that we are arrived at the cud of the ag 
 the unsealing of prophecy, and the revelation of the 
 
364 SIGNS OF THE TIMES, &C. 
 
 " mystery of God," being reserved unto " THE 
 TIME OF THE END." Dan. xii. 9, Rev. x. 7. 1 
 
 If then, my brethren, the light that is in us be 
 darkness" by our wilful remissness to secure the ad- 
 vantages which it affords us > Oh, " how great is that 
 darkness ! " Open then thine ears I beseech, to hear 
 that bitter lamentation of the compassionate Jesus 
 over the impenitent, unbelieving, slothful, mercy-abus- 
 ing Jews. " If thou hadst known, even in this thy day. 
 the things which belong to thy peace ! — But now are 
 they HID from thine eyes ! n 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY. 
 
 On Jubilees, as connected loith 'prophetic chronology. 
 The manner in which Ave adverted to this subject, page 191, may have awakened 
 expectations, which, in the sequel, have not been realized. The utmost that we can 
 now venture in regard to them is. to say with Mr. Bickerteth, that while they "may 
 yet be found much to illustrate the chronology of prophecy," the want of accuracy in 
 their application thereto thus far, has failed to inspire us with that confidence in their 
 use to this end, which some claim in their behalf. On this subject Mr. Frere remarks, 
 "that the Jubilee, so peculiar in its institution, must be typical of something greater 
 and more important than itself, there can be little question ; and taking into consider- 
 ation that it prescribed 49 years as the longest period during which any Jew could 
 alienate his land, and that God himself declared upon its institution that the land 
 should not be sold forever for it was his :— taking into account also the many direct 
 prophecies, which predict the restoration in the latter days of Judah and Israel to that 
 land which was given as an inheritance to Abraham and his seed forever ; — there will 
 remain no ground of doubt but that the 49 years, (the longest possible period of the 
 alienation of that portion of the land which belonged to any individual Israelite,) 
 represented the time beyond which the whole land should not be nationally alienated, 
 or, "the whole period of the captivities and dispersions of Judah." But, while Mr. 
 Cuninghame, finding, as he claims, a coincidence of Jubilees with astronomical Cycles 
 in the two prophetical numbers of 1260 and 2300, resulting in the termination of the 
 latter number A. D. 1841 ; Mr. Frere, conducting his calculations on a similar basis, 
 (with the exception that he intercalates his Jubilees, and adopts 2400 in the place of 
 2300 years,) and commencing his reckonings from the second year of the reign of 
 Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 603, a date authenticated by the Canon of Ptolemy, says, that 
 " 49 times times 49, or 2401 years, brings us down to A. D. 1798, when the civil govern- 
 ment of Rome, the capital of the last of these four monarchies, was overthrown by 
 the arms of republican France, as described by the pouring out of the third apocalyptic 
 vial of wrath ; and a 50th or Jubilee period of 49 years brings us down to A. D. 1847, 
 when it appears, from the vision of the ram and the he-goat, that Jerusalem will be 
 cleansed from the Mahometan superstition, and the Jews reinstated into their own 
 land." This last result, though it harmonizes with our chronological deductions as 
 conducted independently of Jubilees and Cycles, and consequently tends to increase 
 our confidence in them, yet we wait for further light. 
 
 1. Hooker of Eng. on the present crisis, p. 25 — 28. 
 THE END. 
 
Page 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 4, twelfth line from bottom, for agree, read 
 
 54, ninth 
 59, sixth 
 90, seventh 
 113, thirteenth 
 
 193, sixteenth 
 
 194, twelfth 
 
 top 
 t 
 
 bottom, 
 
 i 
 top 
 
 light. 
 
 Elias, 
 
 which, 
 
 predicted, 
 
 account, 
 
 David, 
 
 196, First column of Table, for total 0656, 
 
 argue. 
 
 lights. 
 
 Elisha. 
 
 with. 
 
 predicated. 
 
 amount. 
 
 Daniel. 
 
 1656. 
 
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