they think fit; let them understand by a Year, the Jewish or Chaldean, a lunar or folar Year, or a mystical Year (which, it seems, confists (f) of 343 Days); let them begin the Week's in the Reign of CYRUS, or DARIUS, or XERXES, or in the feventh or twentieth of ARTAXERXES LONGIMANUS, or when DANIEL had his Vision (for the (g) going forth of the Commandment to build and restore Jerufalem, which is fuppofed to fix the Time when the Weeks begin, is thus variously understood); let them fix the Time of JESUS's Birth, or beginning to preach, or Death, when they please (for very different Years are affign'd for each of thefe); and let them affign the Time of the Expiration of the feventy Weeks, which is very variously fix'd, when they please; yet cannot this Prophefy be made to fquare to the Event they would refer it, and it will after all be subject to great (b) Difficulties. Bishop MOUNTAGUE, after having finish'd his Explication of this Prophefy, (i) fays, that Prophefies are accompany'd with Extenfions, not ever precifely at, or upon, but about fuch a Time, to be accomplish'd; and therefore they are not to be freighter'd to an Hour, a Day, a Month, or certain fet Period punctually, but left unto a Latitude or Extent. The learned (k) ISAAC Vossius fays, Nulla Chronologia Pars vex (f) Crenii Fafcic. primus. p. 406. (g) Dan. 9. 25. (b) Prideaux's Connection, Vol. 1. p. 306.- atior atior eft, ac illa, quæ agit de 70 Hebdomadibus DANIELIS. Ab apoftolicis Temporibus ad noftram ufq; Etatem laboravere in hoc Argumento complures, Viri fancti & eruditi. Sed fi ufquam, certe hic vanus & irritus fuit ipforum Labor. Peccavere tam in Principio quam Fine Hebdomadibus iftis adfignando, adeoq; a fe invicem longe abivere, ut fi quis difcrepantes eorum evolvat Sententias, facile intelligat, ubi tanta eft Contentio, ibi vel nullam vel incertam effe Veritatem. Dr. NICHOLS, in his (7) elaborate Work against the Deists, says in Relation to this Prophefy of DANIEL, The wife Providence of God has fuffer'd thefe Matters to lye in fome Manner of Confufion, that our Faith might be founded on a nobler Principle than that of chronological Niceties. And the ingenious and learned Sir JOHN FLOYER, one of the latest Explainers of this Prophefy, fays, (m) That the Holy Spirit feems always to defign a Variety of Computation in MOST Prophefies, that the Completion might not be exactly known; and the Defign of the Computations is only to point out the Age when the great Events are to happen, and begin or end. But the Agreements, before-mention'd, between Explications and Event's being often fuch as greatly affect Men, who are willing and forward to believe certain Prophefies rightly explain'd, I will make a farther Obfervation which will in my Opinion confound this (1) Nichols's Conf. with a Theift. Vol. 3. p. 107. (m) Floyer's Propbefies of Efdras, &c. p. 139. ; Scheme Scheme of literal-mystical Prophesy founded on the pretended Intelligibility of prophetick Language as a peculiar Language; and That is as follows. If Mr. WHISTON, and others, have, as they pretend, found out the Rules of the prophetick Language of the Bible, they must be as able to explain, in Virtue of those Rules, the Prophefies therein contain'd, which relate to Events to come, as thofe, which relate to Events that are paft. For if the Language be fix'd and certain, there can be no more Difficulty in understanding the former than the latter. But there have been no Explainers of the Revelation of St. JOHN (for Example) but are at endlefs and at the greatest Contradictions with each other about the Trumpets, the Seals, the Vials, and the white Horfe, &c. and Time has and daily does difcover their egregious Mistakes (not excepting the Miftakes of Mr. WHISTON himself, who has lived long enough to see himself mistaken in fome of the prophetick Language of the Revelation) in explaining the faid Book, which has been apply'd to all Ages of the Church, as having a View to the feveral Herefies, Schifms, Battles, and Revolutions, which have happen'd. This Scheme of a prophetick Language, therefore, being not yet understood by any Mortal, fhould be wholly laid afide; and by Confequence a literal Prophefy in Mr. WHISTON'S Senfe is a mere Chimera, that never exifted, but in the Explainer's Brain. (3) Thirdly, (3) Thirdly, the allegorical Method of explaining and applying Prophefies should seem very proper for the Apoftles; who were Jews; and who were used not only to the parabolical and mystical Difcourfes of our Saviour (many of which are fuppofed to have been common (n) among the Jews and are now to be found in their Talmud), but to his mystical Prophefies. He often spoke only to thofe, who (0) had Ears to hear, and fometimes fo as (p) not to be understood by any Body at the Time he fpoke. He fpoke of Bread, and of Water, and of the Temple, and of being born again, but meant contrary to the Judgment of his Hearers (fome of whom he knew, as he intended they should, would understand him according to the Letter) fpiritual Bread, myftical Water, the Temple of his Body, and fpiritual Birth. He prophefy'd of his own Death and Refurrection in fo typical a Manner (faying for Example, (q) destroy this Temple, and in three Days I will raife it up (r) As MOSES lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness, fo muft the Son of Man be lifted up-(s) As JONAS was a Sign to the Ninevites, fo foall the Son of Man be to this Generation) that his Difciples expected no fuch Thing as his Refurrection, and when they (n) Fabricii Cod. Apoc. Nov. Teft. pars. 3. p. 431. (o) Luke 14. 35. (p) Ib. 9. 45. John 16, 17, 18. (r) John 3. 14. (9) John 2. 19. (s) Luke 11. 30. were 1 were first told of it by very unexceptiona- His Prophecy about his (w) Coming again, which He exprefly limits to the Lives of fome of his Auditors, and to the prefent Generation is wholly mystical; for it is manifeft, that the Apostles, who understood him literally (at firft) and expected his fpeedy Reign upon Earth, were all (x) mistaken and should have understood him myftically, as they did at length, when they came to understand that (y) a thousand Years were with the Lord as one Day, and one Day as a thousand Years. Our Lord himself no lefs myftically declared the Time of his coming to reign, when he faid to those, who ask'd him about it, that his Reign would begin, (x) cum duo erunt unum, & quod foris, ut quod intus eft, & mafculum cum fæmina, neq; mas, neq; fæmina. In like myftical Manner our Saviour CHRIST defcri (t) Ib. 24. 11. (u) Matt. 27. 63-66. (x) Millii Proleg, ad Nov. Teftam. p. 146. col. 2. (z) Clemens apud Grabe, Spicil. Vol. 1. p. 35. bed |