HIERARCHAL HEBREW. SEPTUAGINT.
ERAS. Intervals. A.M. Intervals. A.M.
From the
Destruction of 0 3416 0 4891
Solomon’s Temple
The Edict of Cyrus 52 3468 52 4943
The Commission of *69 3537 *78 5021
Ezra
The Commission of 13 3550 13 5034
Nehemiah
The Return of 12 3562 12 5046
Nehemiah
To the Birth of *437 3999 *430 5476
Christ
———— ————
THE SIXTH AGE 583 years. 585 years.
The first interval in this table is determined from the following
texts:—Jeremiah xxv. 12, and xxix. 10; 2 Kings xxiv. 1, and xxv. 2; 2
Chron. xxxvi. 21; and Daniel ix. 2; from these, it appears that the
_seventy_ years’ captivity in Babylon commenced in the _fourth_ year of
Jehoiakim, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar; and, that it preceded the
destruction of the Temple by _eighteen_ years. Consequently, it
terminated exactly _fifty-two_ years after that epoch, namely, in the
_first_ year of Cyrus, when, by his permission, the Jews “went up out of
the Captivity,” in A.M. 4943. The second interval is determined in the
following manner:—from Zechariah vii. 5, it appears that in the _fourth_
year of Darius, _seventy_ years had elapsed from the destruction of the
Temple; consequently, _eighteen_ years must have elapsed from the first
of Cyrus. This computation agrees with that of Ptolemy’s Canon, which
gives _seven_ years to Cyrus, and _eight_ to Cambyses, or Ahasuerus,
making, with the _three_ complete years of Darius, the same amount.
Again, we find, from Ezra vii. 8, that in the _seventh_ year of
Artaxerxes, A. M. 5021, Ezra received a commandment from that king, to
establish the Jews in their own land, and to beautify the Second Temple.
Now, Ptolemy’s Canon gives _thirty-three_ years for the rest of Darius’s
reign, and _twenty-one_ for that of Xerxes, making, with the _six_
complete years of Artaxerxes, the amount of _sixty_ years; consequently,
the whole interval, from the _first_ of Cyrus to the _seventh_ of
Artaxerxes, is _seventy-eight_ years. That the epoch of Ezra’s
commission is the _commencement of the prophetic period_ of _seventy_
weeks, or 490 years, is evident from Daniel ix. 24–27. Hitherto, the
Jews had been hindered in the building of the city and temple; the
latter was indeed built and dedicated; but the walls of the city were
still in ruins, and the inhabitants were exposed to the insults and
inroads of their enemies! Now, by the liberal decree of Artaxerxes, Ezra
was furnished with money and means to forward the work at Jerusalem; and
their enemies were not only silenced, but compelled to assist in
carrying the king’s order into execution. This was, therefore, the epoch
of “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem,” and the beginning of the period “determined upon the people
and the holy city,” until the time, when “the Messiah, the Prince,”
should “be cut off, but not for himself;” when “the transgression should
be finished or consummated” in his crucifixion; and, when
“reconciliation” should be made “for iniquity,” by his death and
resurrection.
The third and fourth intervals in the table are clearly pointed out in
Nehemiah ii. 1; v. 14; and xiii. 6; the date, indeed, recorded in the
latter text, being the _last note of time_ to be found in the present
Hebrew text. At this period, or very soon afterwards (according to Mr.
Cuninghame, in A.M. 5055),[28] the Old Testament Canon was closed by the
prophecy of Malachi, and a long night of darkness reigned, “until at
length the Day-spring from on high” visited the world. Thus we have
proved, from Scripture evidence alone, that at the date of Ezra’s
commission, which was upwards of 5000 years from Creation, and even
before that period, the Jews were in possession of a prophecy extending
nearly 500 years into futurity, and pointing to the Advent of a mighty
Saviour who should restore all things, and “bring in everlasting
righteousness.” The date of the passion of Christ is fixed and
determined as in the following table:—
TABLE XV.
The Date of Ezra’s Commission A.M. 5021
The period of seventy weeks, or 490 years 490
————
THE DATE OF THE CRUCIFIXION, A.M. 5511
Hence, it is clearly demonstrated that the general belief among all
nations, that the Messiah should appear in the middle of the _Sixth
Millenary_ from Creation, had its real origin in a knowledge of the true
chronology of the sacred Scriptures! In arriving at this conclusion, we
have been obliged, in order to establish the exact lengths of the
Critarchal and Hierarchal ages, to borrow _twelve_ years from the
writings of the ancient chronographers, and _seventy-eight_ from the
canon of Ptolemy, amounting only to _ninety_ years in all,—a period
which may be considered as almost evanescent in the long range of 5500
years. Probably the Scriptures originally contained notices even of
these intervals, and in the course of ages, they may have been either
lost, through the negligence of transcribers, or omitted through the
wilfulness of enemies to the truth.
2. Determination of the Epoch of the Birth of Christ—Labours of Mr.
Cuninghame on this point—Coincidence of the extent of the period
of Patriarchal pilgrimage with that of Hierarchal Bondage—Table
XVI. Extent of the _Six Ages_ of the World—Difference between the
true and vulgar dates of the Nativity—Mr. Cuninghame’s dates of
the Nativity and Public Ministry of Christ, deduced from the
chronology of the Septuagint.
The determination of the dates of the Nativity and Passion of our Lord,
is a question of considerable difficulty, and of great importance in the
true system of chronology; but much has been written upon it to very
little purpose. We agree, however, with Mr. Cuninghame, in the
conclusion to which he has arrived, after a very laborious and complete
investigation, in his “Fulness of the Times,” part i. pp. 60–107, and
part ii. pp. 1–27, and in his “Season of the End,” pp. 73–90, where he
refutes the opinions of Newton, Hales, Gresswell and others, and
demonstrates that the Passion of Christ took place in the _thirty-fifth_
year of his age, that is, according to the vulgar reckoning in A. D. 33:
and, that consequently, the true date of his Nativity was B. C. 3. The
Scriptural evidence for this conclusion recommends itself to the mind,
both by its simplicity and sufficiency. It appears from Luke iii. 23,
that Christ was baptized when he was _thirty_ years of age; and from
Luke iv. 16–24, that soon after that period, he began his public
ministry. Moreover, from the whole of the Gospel history, particularly
that of John, it appears that he was present at _four_, if not _five_,
public celebrations of the Passover; and consequently, that his
_thirty-fifth_ year was coincident with the date of the Crucifixion.
Hence, it clearly follows, that the _epoch of the birth of Christ_ was
coincident with the 455th year of the prophetic period of _seventy_
weeks, this being the difference between 35 and 490 years. Again, the
intervals of _thirteen_ years between the commissions of Ezra and
Nehemiah, and of _twelve_ between that of the latter and his return to
the court of Artaxerxes,—amounting to _twenty-five_ years in all,—being
deducted from the 455 years, gives the last interval of 430 years to the
Nativity. Thus, we perceive a singular coincidence in the period of the
pilgrimage and afflictions of the Hebrews in Canaan and Egypt, till the
time of Moses; and that of the persecution and sufferings of the Jews in
Syria and Egypt, till the Advent of the Messiah! The following table
exhibits, according to the two systems, the extent of the _six ages_ of
the world:—
TABLE XVI.
AGES OF THE WORLD. HEBREW. SEPTUAGINT.
Years. Years.
First Five Ages 3416 4891
Sixth Age 583 585
———— ————
THE SIX AGES 3999 5476
Usher states in his “Chronologia Sacra,” p. 45, that the true period
from Creation to the Birth of Christ, is 3999 years, _two_ months,
_four_ days, and _six_ hours; but, according to the vulgar reckoning
4003 years, _two_ months, _eleven_ days, and _six_ hours! Hence,
according to his computation, the true date of the Nativity in current
years is A.M. 4000, and the vulgar date A.M. 4004. It is indeed admitted
by all chronologers that an error of two or three years was committed by
Dionysius Exiguus, who first introduced the Christian era, in A.D. 532;
and, by Bede, who followed him, in A.D. 720. Accordingly, Mr. Cuninghame
very properly places the commencement of the vulgar era in A.M. 5478;
and that of the Public Ministry of Christ, in A.M. 5508, which was in
fact the true period of his appearance to the world! In the whole of
this interesting inquiry, now approaching a close, we must candidly
acknowledge the invaluable assistance we have received from the learned
and original works of Mr. Cuninghame, which have been, as it were, our
guide through the labyrinth of chronological difficulties, till we have
at last arrived at the open field of well-known History.
SECTION II.
CONFIRMATION OF THE GREAT EPOCHS.
The epochs of the Nativity and Epiphany of Christ, determined in the
preceding Section, receive very strong confirmation from the histories
and chronicons of ancient writers both sacred and profane, from the
writings of the early Fathers, and from the prophetic arrangement of
“the Times and the Seasons” by the Great Θεος, or Supreme “Disposer” of
all human events. It is plain, however, that a multiplicity of views
both of the Hebrew and the Septuagint chronology may be taken, according
as more or fewer of the errors, which we have pointed out in the
computation of the different ages of the world, are either adopted or
rejected. Dr. Hales, in his “Analysis,” vol. i. pp. 3–7, gives a list of
more than a _hundred and twenty_ different dates of the birth of Christ,
under the title of “Epochs of the Creation;” and he adds that the list
might be swelled to the number of _three hundred_! In such a multitude
of discordant dates we might, at first sight, despair of ever arriving
at the truth; but let us remember that error is a hydra-headed monster,
which in chronology as well as in more sacred subjects, can only be
successfully destroyed by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God.
It is easy to see the source of the differences of opinion among the
learned, in regard to the point under consideration. Instead of taking
the sacred Scriptures as their guide, men have chosen rather to follow
their own fancies; and, because discrepancies were found to exist in the
ancient texts, they have with one consent agreed to abandon the light of
internal evidence, and to take refuge in the obscure glimmerings of
heathen tradition or the doubtful testimony of Jewish writers and
Christian fathers. Hence, we have all varieties of dates, from the bold
conjecture of Alphonsus, king of Castile, who supposed that the Mundane
Cycle of 7000 years had nearly expired at the birth of Christ, to the
traditionary epoch of the Chronicle of Axum in Abyssinia, which,
according to Bruce, places that event in the year of the world 5500;
and, from the Alexandrian or Constantinopolitan era, which, according to
the computation of the Greeks, places it in A. M. 5508, to the Jewish
epoch of the “Seder Olam Rabba,” which according to Ganz, dates it in
A.M. 3751.
The following Table of the extent of the different ages of the world
according to the three texts, will serve the double purpose of showing
the leading varieties in the computation of the date of the Nativity
from Creation, and of bringing before our readers, at a single glance, a
condensed view of the result of our investigations in the preceding
pages. As the Samaritan text comprehends only the chronology of the
first two ages, the extent of the remaining four ages is borrowed from
the Hebrew.
TABLE XVII.
AGES OF THE WORLD. HEBREW. SEPTUAGINT. SAMARITAN.
Years. Years. Years.
1. Antediluvian age 1656 2262 1307
2. Postdiluvian age 427 1147 1017
3. Patriarchal age 430 431 430
4. Critarchal age 480 612 480
5. Monarchal age 424 439 424
6. Hierarchal age 583 585 583
———— ———— ————
Birth of Christ A.M. 4000 5476 4241
Error in the Sixth age 2 0 2
Error in the Vulgar date 2 2 2
———— ———— ————
Extent of the Six ages 4004 5478 4245
In the preceding Table we have reckoned the date of the Birth of Christ
in current years, and included the year of Abraham’s sojourning in Egypt
in the Patriarchal age of the Septuagint computation.—See page 66 of
this Dissertation.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORICAL CONFIRMATION OF THE TRUE SYSTEM OF CHRONOLOGY.
Testimonies of the ancient chronographers and historians before
and after Christ, in favour of the chronology of the
Septuagint—Demetrius, Eupolemus, Josephus, Justin Martyr, and
all the early fathers of the first three centuries—Theophilus,
Hippolytus, Africanus, Origen, Cyprian, Lactantius,
Epiphanius, Ambrose, Ephrem Syrus, Augustine, Chrysostom,
Sulpicius Severus, Annianus, Syncellus, Eutychius, the author
of the Paschal Chronicle, and the Council called “Synodus in
Trullo”—Probable cause of minute variations among the ancient
chronographers.
In confirmation of the true epoch of the birth of Christ, and the
accuracy of the Septuagint chronology, we select the following examples
of ancient testimony, for which we are chiefly indebted to the learned
works of Russell and Clinton, “Connection of Sacred and Profane
History,” vol. i., pp. 113–120, and “Fasti Hellenici,” vol. i., pp.
286–291. Demetrius, who lived B.C. 220, and is cited by Eusebius and
Polyhistor, states that “from Adam to the Eisodus, were 3624 years; from
the flood 1360; and from the Call of Abraham 215.” It follows, that he
reckoned the _Antediluvian_ age 2264 years, and the _Postdiluvian_ 1145;
adding two years to the former, and taking them from the latter by
mistake, but preserving the correct sum of both 3409 years, and the true
epoch of the Eisodus A.M. 3624, see Tables VII. and VIII. Eupolemus, who
lived B.C. 174, and is cited by Clemens Alexandrinus, states that “from
Adam to the 5th year of Demetrius [Poliorcetes], the 12th of Ptolemy
[Soter], were 5149 years.” If to this number, as Dr. Russell remarks, we
add 296, as the date B.C. of the 5th of Demetrius, the epoch of the
nativity is, according to Eupolemus, A.M. 5445. From the works of
Josephus, who flourished A.D. 90, both Russell and Jackson have
determined the same epoch at A.M. 5481. Justin Martyr, who wrote A.D.
140, speaking of the prophecies concerning Christ, says, “some were
delivered 5000 years before his appearing, some 3000, some 2000; and,
some again 1000, and others 800 years.”[29] Ignatius, Clemens Romanus,
Irenæus, Polycarp, Tertullian, and all the early fathers of the first
three centuries, held similar opinions respecting the antiquity of the
prophecies, and the appearance of the Saviour of the world in the sixth
millennium.
Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, A.D. 180, placed the epoch of the
Nativity in A.M. 5507, according to Kennicott; and Clemens Alexandrinus,
who lived A.D. 194, placed the same epoch in A.M. 5444, according to
Clinton and Cuninghame, on the supposition that he follows Eupolemus.
Mr. Cuninghame, however, has shown, in his “Fulness of the Times,” Part
ii. pp. 59, 60, that by correcting an error of thirty-four years, the
epoch of Clemens is A.M. 5478; and, by the most indefatigable scrutiny
of his numbers, that the epoch of Josephus is A.M. 5472, the difference
of _six_ years arising from his well-known error of this amount in the
_Antediluvian_ age. Hippolytus, A.D. 200, states that “the first advent
of our incarnate Lord took place in the 5500th year of the world.”
Julius Africanus (apud Syncellum) A.D. 220, says that “the Jews have
transmitted to us, from the extant Hebrew histories, the number of 5500
years from creation to the epiphany of the Saviour,”—a conclusion,
which, as Syncellus remarks, was received by all the learned Christians
of his day. It is also remarkable, that although both Theophilus and
Africanus seem to omit the second Cainan in the Postdiluvian age, yet
their dates of the foundation of Solomon’s temple agree with that of Mr.
Cuninghame to a year or two; thus showing that an error of 130 years in
relation to an epoch so generally known, was wholly inadmissible into
any system of chronology pretending to be founded on the sacred
writings. Origen, A.D. 230, states that “our Lord descended from Heaven
for the salvation of man, 6000 years after the Almighty had formed the
first of the human race.” Cyprian, A.D. 250, says that “6000 years are
already almost accomplished since the devil made his first assault on
man.” Lactantius, A.D. 300, says, “philosophers who calculate the
thousands of ages from the beginning of the world, must know that the
6000th year [that is, the sixth millenary,] is not yet finished.”
Epiphanius, A.D. 368, says “the preaching of Christ began in the
fifteenth year of Tiberius Cæsar, in the 30th year of his age, which was
in the 5509th year of the world’s creation.” This date differs only by
_one year_ from that which we have assigned to the same epoch.
Hesychius, a contemporary of Jerome, says, “the incarnation of the
Redeemer took place nearly 6000 years from the foundation of the world.”
Ambrose, bishop of Milan, A.D. 375, says, “but now more than 6000 years
are counted from the foundation of the world.” Ephrem Syrus, A.D. 378,
says, “the Saviour was to appear after 5500 years, [from creation,] to
deliver man.” Augustine, A.D. 398, says, “since from the first man, 6000
years are not yet completed.” Chrysostom, his contemporary, says, “after
5000 years and more, Christ came as the substitute of our race.”
Sulpicius Severus, A.D. 400, makes the date of the Nativity A.M. 5469,
according to Clinton. Annianus A.D. 405, Syncellus A.D. 792, Eutychius
A.D. 937, and a host of later writers, adopt the epoch A.M. 5500,
following Africanus. The author of the “Paschal Chronicle,” makes the
epoch A.M. 5507; and the meeting of the council, called “Synodus in
Trullo,” A.D. 691, reckoned it A.M. 5508, which is the same as our date
of the Epiphany. In short, the epochs of the Nativity, the Epiphany, and
the Resurrection, (ἡ παρουσία, ἡ ἐπιφάνεια, και ἡ ἀνάστασις) appear to
have been so inseparably connected in the minds of the ancient writers,
as to make them sometimes put the one for the other; a circumstance,
which may account for not a few of the small varieties in their
computation of the year of the world which was the commencement of the
Christian era.[30]
CHAPTER II.
REDUCTION OF THE MUNDANE ERA OF REDEMPTION.
Errors of Eusebius, Jerome, and the Western churches—Consistency of
the Eastern and Southern churches to the latest period—Chronology
of the Russians and Armenians that of the Septuagint—Testimony of
Abulpharajius—Chronological innovations of the Venerable Bede—His
denouncement as a heretic on this account—Chronology of the Roman
church different from that of the Latin Vulgate—The chronology of
the Masoretes an abridgement of the true—The chronology of the
Roman Martyrology preserved by Pontifical authority to the present
day—Extract from Strauchius—An important testimony in favour of
the true chronology.
Having shown by incontestable evidence, that the computation of the
Septuagint was universally received as the true chronology of the Church
of Christ from the earliest periods of its history, and that it was also
received by the Jews themselves, at least _two_ centuries before the
Christian era; let us now shortly inquire how it came to be abandoned,
and the chronology of the Masorete Hebrew text adopted in its stead.
Eusebius of Cesarea, A.D. 325, or some one for him, acting under Jewish
influence, reduced the era of Redemption from A.M. 5478 to A.M. 5200, by
the exclusion of the _Postdiluvian_ Cainan, the adoption of the forged
_period_ for the _Critarchal_ age, and the omission of _fifteen_ years
in the _Monarchal_. In these errors, he was followed by Jerome,[31] A.D.
378, and some of the Western churches; but his system was resolutely
opposed by all the Eastern and Southern churches, in which the
chronological authority of Africanus and Epiphanius prevailed. This
opposition has indeed preserved the true chronology in some countries to
a very late period; for we find that the Russians, who received it from
the Greeks, still reckon that the Christian era commenced in A.M. 5509,
as may be seen by reference to their native historians. The remoter
Eastern churches, with some slight variations, also adhered to the
longer chronology; as testified by Abulfarajius, the celebrated Armenian
historian, who flourished in the thirteenth century, and who reckoned
the same epoch at A.M. 5586, apparently to adjust it to the birth of
Peleg, in A.M. 2793, the former number being just double the latter;
for, “in his days was _the world_ divided,” at the command of (θέος των
ἀίωνῶν) the God of the ages, or the worlds. The Western Churches indeed,
can scarcely be said to have followed the chronology either of Eusebius
or of Jerome, till the time of the venerable Bede, A.D. 720; and the
innovations of the latter were so ill received by his contemporaries,
that he was denounced as a heretic, because he dared to assert, in
opposition to all the fathers of the Church, that Christ was _not_ born
in the sixth millenary of the world; see Usher’s “Chronologia Sacra,” p.
50. The chronology of the Roman Church appears to have remained in this
state during the dark ages till the meeting of the Council of Trent,
A.D. 1563, when the Protestants, under the double influence of prejudice
against the errors of the Church, and overweening confidence in the
Hebrew text, adopted the modern and corrupted chronology of the Jews!
The Roman chronologists had, however, abridged the true computation of
the ancient Church of Christ only by 278 years; while the Masoretes and
their followers had abridged it by no less than 1474 years! The system
of the former continues to prevail in the Church of Rome, though
contrary to the Latin Vulgate, and the system of the latter in the
Reformed Churches, even to this day. In the “Roman Martyrology,”
published by the authority of Pope Gregory XIII., in A.D. 1582, and
revised by command of Pope Urban VIII., in A.D. 1640, we find the
following statement, which according to Strauchius, “Breviarium
Chronologicum,” p. 382, is read in the churches every year on the 25th
of December:—“In the 5199th year from the creation of the world, when
God created heaven and earth; and the 2957th after the deluge; the
2015th from the birth of Abraham; the 1510th from the time of Moses and
the Israelites leaving Egypt; and the 1032nd from the time of David
being anointed king; in the 65th annual week of Daniel; in the 194th
Olympiad; in the 752nd year since the building of Rome; in the 42nd year
of the Emperor Octavius Augustus, when the whole world was blessed with
peace; in the _sixth_ age of the world; Jesus Christ, Eternal God, and
Son of the Eternal Father, conceived from the Holy Ghost, was born of
the Virgin Mary, in Bethlehem of Judea.”[32] There are several
contradictions among the synchronisms contained in this statement, which
are acknowledged by Roman Catholic writers themselves, as may be seen in
the works of Baronius and Petavius; but, it is a noble public testimony
to the true faith of the Church of Christ, and an important public
evidence in favour of its ancient chronology.
CHAPTER III.
CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH SYSTEMS OF CHRONOLOGY ERRONEOUS.
Chronology of the English Bible erroneous—Usher influenced by the
Masoretes—Tradition of the House of Elias—Its complete refutation
both from Scripture and fact—Utility and application of Mr.
Cuninghame’s “Chart of Chronology”—Reasons assigned by the Jewish
Rabbis why their expected Messiah is not yet come—Their curse upon
all who calculate the Times.
From the whole of the preceding testimony and argument, it must appear
evident that the chronology of Usher, which places the Christian era in
A.M. 4004, which is adopted in all the larger editions of the English
Bible, and which is still strenuously maintained by English divines, is
but of comparatively recent origin, and rests upon a very unsound
foundation. We have no doubt that the pious and learned Archbishop was
influenced in his determination to adopt the Masorete chronology,
contrary to his better judgment, by a tradition current among the Jews
from a very early period, which appears to be only a corruption of the
more ancient one referred to at the beginning of this Dissertation.
After their rejection of Jesus Christ as the true Messiah, the Jews, in
order to cover their retreat from the truth, gave out in their Talmud
the following gloss on the universal belief of the Church:—“Traditio
Domus Eliæ: Mundus sex millibus annis durabit; duobus millibus inanitas;
duobus millibus lex; duobus millibus tempus Messiæ;”—the meaning of
which is, that according to the tradition of the house of Elias, the
world shall last 6000 years; of which 2000 shall pass without the law;
2000 under the law; and 2000 under the Messiah. It is proper to observe
that the inventor of this tradition was neither Elijah the Tishbite, nor
his antitype, John the Baptist, but a certain famous doctor of the
Jewish schools, who flourished after the Messianic age; and, that not
the slightest trace of the tradition itself is to be found in the Holy
Scriptures! As some writers, however, consider it a confirmation of the
modern Hebrew chronology, we may show that it is not only quite
erroneous, but inconsistent with itself, even in its details. Referring
to Mr. Cuninghame’s “Chart of Sacred Chronology,” in which he has
arranged the Hebrew and Septuagint chronologies in parallel columns, and
exhibited the most remarkable events in ancient history, both according
to the years of the world and before Christ, we see that according to
the Masorete text, the law was delivered on Mount Sinai in A.M. 2513,
more than 500 years after the time said to be predicted by Elias! Hence,
it follows that the interval from that epoch till the end of the next
2000 years, is less than 1500 years, and terminated in A.M. 4000, when,
according to the tradition, the Messiah was _expected to appear_! With
respect to the 2000 years allotted to the reign of the Messiah, they
are, on their own showing, nearly past; inasmuch as 1844 years of this
period have already elapsed, and yet, according to their opinion, _he is
not come_! The reason assigned by the Jewish Rabbis for this long delay,
is that their sins have prevented his coming! This grievous
falsification of their famous Doctor’s prediction, has made them so
ashamed of their traditions, that they have pronounced a curse upon all
who dare to calculate the times: קצין מחשבי תפחרוחן של—“Animam
exhalent illi qui supputant terminos.” On this and other curious matters
relating to the Hebrew chronology, see Father Le Quien’s “Defense du
Texte Hébreu et de la Vulgate,” reprinted in the “Cours Complet,” vol.
iii. pp. 1525–1586.[33]
CHAPTER IV.
CYCLICAL CHARACTER OF THE MUNDANE TIMES.
1. The Revolutions of the Heavenly bodies appointed for Cycles—Origin
of the cycles of the year and the month—The subject of Enoch’s
prophecy—Mr. Cuninghame’s discovery of the cycle from the
Creation to the Era of Redemption—Scriptural Cycles of frequent
occurrence—The numbers of Jubilee and of Pentecost—of Pilgrimage
and Persecution—of Omnipotence, glory, and wisdom; and of
mystery, vengeance, and forgiveness—The prophetic numbers of
Daniel—Discovery of their connection with the Higher Cycles of
Astronomy, by M. de Chesaux and Mr. Cuninghame
The true system of chronology receives its grandest confirmation from
the cyclical character of the times appointed by (ὁ πατηρ τῶν ἀιῶνων)
the Father of the ages. In Genesis i. 14, the word of God created two
luminaries in the firmament of Heaven, for giving light upon the earth,
and for separating day and night; and, _for signs, and times, and days
and years_! Thus early were the phenomena of the sun and moon appointed
to indicate the arrangements of Divine providence, as well as to
regulate the ordinary periods of time. Before man, however, could
understand the nature of these periods as they were gradually unfolded
by the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, or by the still higher cycles
of prophecy which were afterwards revealed to God’s chosen people, the
_natural_ division of the day, and the _sacred_ division of the week
were appointed for his observance. The origin of the year is considered
by the learned as involved in obscurity; but we think there is a
striking indication of its length in the life of Enoch. This favoured
Patriarch lived a year of years on earth, that is, a year of 365
prophetic days; and he himself was a prophet, who, by the Spirit of God,
was enabled to see far into the womb of futurity. It is also very
remarkable that, according to Mr. Cuninghame’s singular discoveries, the
birth of Him, who was the great subject of Enoch’s prophecy, took place
at a period of _fifteen_ years of years, or _fifteen_ years of prophetic
days from the creation! The origin of the month is referable to the same
age; for we recognize the month of _thirty_ days in the account of the
year of the Deluge; and, a period of four prophetic months, or 120
prophetic days, is visible in the 120 years of grace before that awful
catastrophe. The sacred period of _seven_ days also assumed a prophetic
character. In Pharaoh’s dream, the _seven_ years of plenty, and the
_seven_ years of famine, were vividly depicted. After _seven_ days
previous warning, the Diluvian rain descended in torrents for _forty_
days. After Jericho was encompassed _seven_ days, the last day _seven_
times, by _seven_ priests with _seven_ trumpets, the walls were levelled
with the ground. The number _forty_ is prophetic; the Israelites
wandered _forty_ prophetic days, that is, _forty_ years, in the
wilderness; Moses was in the mount _forty_ days; and, Christ was tempted
_forty_ days. In _forty_ days, Nineveh was to be destroyed; Christ was
seen of his disciples _forty_ days after his resurrection; and, in
_forty_ years, after his baptism, was Jerusalem destroyed. The number of
_seven_ days and _seven_ years, with their multiples and higher powers,
perpetually recur in the Mosaic institutes; and the period of _seven_
times _seven_, or _forty-nine_ days and _forty-nine_ years, is
particularly signalized in the feasts of the Jews. Balaam, who knew the
sacredness of the number _seven_, in the divine institutions, at _three_
different times and places, built _seven_ altars, and slew _seven_ oxen
and _seven_ rams, in order to propitiate the favour of God. In the land
of Canaan, _seven_ nations were destroyed in _seven_ years. Solomon’s
temple was _seven_ years in building, and in 430 years after the
celebration of the first passover within its walls, it was destroyed.
The latter number, as we have seen, is highly prophetic, corresponding
to the 430 prophetic days of Ezekiel, and having a mysterious reference
to the 430 years of promise to Abraham, the 430 years of Gentile
persecution, and the _three_ times 430 days, or 1,290 years of Daniel.
But time would fail us to speak of the _seven_ spirits of God, the
_seven_ eyes, the _seven_ lamps, the _seven_ stars, the _seven_ golden
lamp-stands, the _seven_ churches, the _seven_ angels, the _seven_
seals, the _seven_ vials, the _seven_ plagues, the _seven_ heads, the
_seven_ crowns, the _seven_ mountains, and the _seven_ kings; the
_seven_ times, yea and the _seventy_ times _seven_—the perfect numbers
of omnipotence, glory and wisdom; and, of mystery, vengeance and
forgiveness!
We have already seen the prophetic nature of Daniel’s _seventy_ weeks,
and it now only remains to notice his other prophetic periods. In Dan.
xii. 14, mention is made of “a time, times and half a time,” which
should be accomplished, before the wonders he had seen should come to an
end. This period is clearly shown by writers on the prophecies, to
signify _three and a-half_ prophetic years, _forty-two_ prophetic
months, or 1260 prophetic days; and this view is confirmed by the
mention of 1290 and 1335 prophetic days, in the context. Again, in Dan.
viii. 14, we read of 2300 prophetic days, after the lapse of which, “the
sanctuary shall be cleansed.” That these periods are all connected with
each other, and that they each signify so many years, has been long
known and generally admitted; but, that they are connected with the
revolutions of the heavenly bodies, appears to be but a very recent
discovery! Mr. Birks, of Trinity College, Cambridge, in his “Elements of
Prophecy,” just published, has very properly remarked, in p. 368, that,
“It seems to have been first unfolded by M. de Chesaux, a French writer,
purely as a curiosity of science; but it is Mr. Cuninghame who has
revived attention to this interesting topic.” The fact is, that the
original work of M. de Chesaux might have lain for ever on the shelves
of the library of the University of Lausanne, had not Mr. Cuninghame
searched it out with his wonted industry, and republished the author’s
discovery anew in his work on the “Jubilean Chronology.” We shall
endeavour to give our readers some idea of this curious discovery.
2. Lengths of the tropical year and the synodical period of the moon,
according to Sir John Herschel—Application of the method of
_continued fractions_ to the determination of their approximating
ratios—Various lunisolar cycles—The Octaëteris of the Greeks—The
cycle of nineteen discovered by Meton, but probably known to the
Hebrews—The period of Calippus—Proof that the numbers of Daniel
are lunisolar cycles—Remarks of Mr. Birks in his “Elements of
Prophecy”—Observations of Mr. Cuninghame in his “Scientific
Chronology”—Proof that the prophetic month and the jubilean
period are lunisolar cycles.
The latest determinations of the lengths of the tropical year, and the
lunar month, or synodical period of the moon, are, according to Sir John
Herschel, 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 49·7 seconds; and 29 days, 12
hours, 44 minutes, 2·87 seconds. “Astronomy,” pp. 205, 224. By the
method of _Continued Fractions_,[34] we find that the continually
approximating ratios of these periods are represented by the following
series of fractions:
Numbers, (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
Ratios, ¹⁄₁₂, ²⁄₂₅, ³⁄₃₇, ⁸⁄₉₉, ¹¹⁄₁₃₆, ¹⁹⁄₂₃₅, ³³⁴⁄₄₁₃₁, ³⁵³⁄₄₃₃₆, ⁶⁸⁷⁄₈₄₉₇, &c.
where the numerators represent the numbers of years, and the
denominators the numbers of lunations, necessary to bring the sun and
moon again into the same relative position, very nearly at the same
point of time in the tropical year. Of these ratios, some have been long
known; the _fourth_ is the Greek cycle called _Octaëteris_, discovered
B.C. 600, and is a very rude approximation: the _sixth_ is the famous
cycle re-discovered by _Meton_ B.C. 432, but probably known to the
Hebrews from the earliest ages, as the lives of Seth, Methuselah and
Noah are exact multiples of this cycle, as well as the _Antediluvian
age_ itself, and is a remarkably near approximation to the truth; _four
times_ this ratio gives the period of _Calippus_, which was rectified by
the omission of _one_ day in _seventy-six_ years. These approximations,
however, are much inferior in accuracy to the higher terms of the
series; from which, in fact, any number of approximate ratios may be
deduced by the following principle:—If a series of fractions be all
equal to each other, the sum or difference of the numerators and
denominators of any pair will constitute a new fraction equal to each;
and the same is true of fractions whose numerators and denominators are
equi-multiples of those of any of the given or derived fractions. Hence,
from the terms of the preceding series, we derive the following
additional ratios, whose degree of approximation, of course, depends on
that of the fractions of which they are composed. From the _eighth_ and
_ninth_ ratios, by addition, we obtain the ratio ¹⁰⁴⁰⁄₁₂₈₆₃, which is so
remarkably correct, that the approximation is within about
_three-quarters of an hour_ of the truth. From the _sixth_ and _seventh_
ratios, by subtraction, we obtain, the ratio ³¹⁵⁄₃₈₉₆ = ¹²⁶⁰⁄₁₅₅₈₄,
which shows that the prophetic period of 1260 years is a scientific
lunisolar cycle. From the two new ratios thus obtained, by addition, we
have a third new ratio ²³⁰⁰⁄₂₈₄₄₇, which proves that the prophetic
period of 2300 years is another scientific cycle, in which the
approximation is nearly _twelve hours_.
Mr. Birks, in his “Elements of Prophecy,” pp. 368–372, distinctly
acknowledges the “Cyclical character of the Prophetic Times,” and gives
the numerators of the above series of ratios. He adds a very ingenious
explanation of these cycles, and remarks that, “the highest prophetic
period, 2300 years, is perhaps the only _secular_ cycle, composed of
centuries, known to exist!” The _secular_ cycle of 5200, though not, as
far as we are aware, a prophetic period, is “composed of centuries;” and
being _five times_ the cycle of 1040 years, is so close an approximation
to the truth, that it is within about 3¾ hours, and is therefore
considerably more accurate than the cycle of 2300 years! What then does
Mr. Birks mean in this passage? Perhaps the following sentence from Mr.
Cuninghame’s “Scientific Chronology of the year 1839,” will supply the
answer: “Moreover, 2300 years is the only centurial number, which is an
original cycle in astronomy; for though we have a cycle of 5200 years,
it is only as the multiple of the perfect one of 1040 by 5.” From the
_fifth_ and _sixth_ ratios in the series, we obtain those of ³⁰⁄₃₇₁ and
⁴⁹⁄₆₀₆, which shows that _thirty_ years, the prophetic month, and
_forty-nine_ years, the jubilean period, are also scientific cycles, but
not possessing such close approximation to the truth as the larger
cycles. In the same way, it may be easily proved, that the periods of
1290 years and 1078 years are scientific cycles; the former being _three
times_ the prophetic period of pilgrimage and trial, namely 430 years,
which is also a cycle of an inferior degree of approximation; and the
latter being exactly _twenty-two_ jubilees.[35]
CHAPTER V.
DISCOVERY OF NEW MUNDANE CYCLES.
1. Mr. Cuninghame’s discovery of the mystical signification of the
Seventy years’ Captivity—Its connection with the Era of the
French Revolution—Confirmed by the sentiments of the modern
Jews—Prediction of Rabbi Joseph Crool—Prediction in the Hebrew
Tract, “Explanation of the Times,” published in 1794—The latter
prediction not fulfilled—Hope concerning Israel.
Besides developing the original views of M. de Chesaux, and applying
them in a very remarkable manner to the great epochs of the Septuagint
chronology, Mr. Cuninghame has suggested and confirmed the important
discovery, that the period of seventy years’ captivity in Babylon “has a
mystical signification,” as well as a literal one, “and probably
represents the whole period of the captivities and dispersions of Judah,
until the final redemption of the nation.”[36] He has more fully
developed his ideas on this subject, in his “Chronology of Israel,” and
in his “Fulness of the Times;” in which he shows, that the mystical
interpretation is a period of _seventy_ jubilees, or 3430 years in
Spiritual Babylon, at the expiration of which “the Redemption of Israel
draweth nigh.” Reckoning this period to commence at the epoch of the
first Redemption of Israel, the Exodus from Egypt, he finds that it
terminates at the era of the French Revolution, A. D. 1792. This opinion
is strongly confirmed by the sentiments of the modern Jews. Thus, in a
book entitled “_The Restoration of Israel_,” published in 1812, by Rabbi
Joseph Crool, Teacher of Hebrew, in the University of Cambridge, the
author says, p. 59, “By this calculation we may learn that the _Jubilee_
of the Restoration of Israel has begun already these _twenty_ years
back, that is, just when the Revolution began in France; at that very
time, the seventy jubilees were at an end.” The following is still more
curious, p. 60:—“There are yet _thirty-six_ years to the end of the
Jubilee of Israel, _and before the end of these thirty-six years, Israel
will be restored, and the Messiah will take possession of his empire_;”
that is, in A. D. 1848! Mr. Cuninghame, in his “Chronology of Israel,”
p. 69, refers to a Hebrew tract, published in 1794, entitled
“Explanation of the Times,” in which the Advent of the Messiah is placed
at the end of 112 jubilees from Creation, an epoch which, according to
the true chronology, was A.M. 5488, and corresponded exactly to the
_fourteenth_ year of Christ, when, according to the law, he first
appeared in his own person in the Temple, and was no longer a child. It
is also worthy of remark, that, if this period be reckoned according to
the curtailed system of Jewish chronology,—which is even shorter than
that of the modern Hebrew text, placing the birth of Christ in A. M.
3760,—the advent of their Messiah was expected in A. M. 5600, that is,
according to them, in A. D. 1840! The Jews, in this calculation,
erroneously reckon the Jubilee at _fifty_ years instead of _forty-nine_;
for 50 multiplied by 112, gives the product 5600. The epoch being now
past, which, according to the latter computation was to be the era of
their Redemption, let us hope that they will no longer look for the
_first advent_ of the Messiah, seeing that it has long since taken
place; but that, embracing the religion of the New Testament, which is
virtually the same as that of the Old, they will turn with their whole
heart to seek “the angel of Jehovah’s presence, who saved them;” who,
“in his love and pity redeemed them;” and, who “bare them and carried
them all the days of old.”
2. Mr. Cuninghame’s discovery of seven streams of time, of seventy
jubilees each, in the true system of chronology—This test wholly
inapplicable to any other system—His discovery of five streams of
time of different jubilean periods—Utility of his “Fulness of the
Times,” where these discoveries are developed—Notice of his more
recent works.
Mr. Cuninghame proves that the periods of all the great eras in the
history of the Israelites and Jews, are measured by great jubilean and
astronomical cycles. In his “Fulness of the Times,” he demonstrates
the existence of _seven_ streams of jubilean time from the era of the
Exodus and establishment in Canaan, each containing a period of
seventy jubilees, in the true system of chronology; and that these
seven streams are marked at their beginning and end, and at several
intermediate points, by great eras in history. He shows also that all
other schemes of chronology, particularly those of Usher, Hales, and
the Jewish Rabbis, cannot stand this test of accuracy and perfection,
and consequently, none of them can be the true system. To these great
streams of jubilean time, he adds other five streams, consisting of
different periods of jubilees, which he has discovered in the true
system, all marked, in like manner, by remarkable historical events.
In the course of his laborious investigations, in order to establish
these general streams of cyclical time, he touches on many interesting
and disputed facts both in sacred and profane history, which renders
the work a complete storehouse of information on chronological
questions; while the Supplements, Prefaces, Dissertations, and
Appendixes, to which we had such frequent occasion to refer, partake
so much of the same general character, as to make it a work of
universal reference. In the general preface to the second edition, the
author announced some new discoveries in regard to the cyclical
character of the mundane times. These he has more fully developed and
applied with the most extraordinary industry and ingenuity, in the
following recent works:—“The Scientific Chronology of the year 1839;”
“A Supplement to” the preceding work, “comprising the Arithmetical
Solution, and Chronological Application of the Number 666;” “The
Season of the End;” “A Chart of Sacred Chronology,” with an “Essay to
accompany” it; “A Dissertation on the Apocalypse,” with “A Supplement
in two Parts:—I. On the Scientific Chronology, as a Test of
Apocalyptical Interpretation;—II. On the Scientific character of the
Great Numbers of Daniel;” also “A Discourse on the Scientific Measures
of the Mundane Times, and the Reasons for the Greek Chronology;” and,
“A Table of the Greek and Hebrew Chronologies from Creation to the end
of the Jewish War,” 4th Edition. We shall now endeavour to give a
short notice of these discoveries.
3. Various cycles which enter into the true system of chronology—Mr.
Cuninghame’s discovery of the _trinal fraction_—Its explanation
and application by an Algebraic formula—Original form in which it
was discovered—Its superiority to the formulæ of the _figurate
numbers_—Remarkable instance of its application to Scriptural and
other numbers, and to lunar and solar cyclical numbers—Mr.
Cuninghame’s definition of the trinal fraction the most
correct—The series deduced from its formula possesses curious
properties.
It has been already shown that according to the will of Him, who (τοὺς
ἀιῶνας ἐποίησεν) _constructed the ages_, the septenary cycle, with its
multiples and higher powers, and the lunisolar cycles, with their sums,
differences and multiples, including the Metonic, the Jubilean, the
Prophetic and the Secular, enter into the structure of the true
chronology. To these, Mr. Cuninghame adds the Duodenary cycle, and its
multiples and higher powers; the Undenary cycle, which is also
Lunisolar; the Quinary cycle, which is indicated no less than _four_
times in the formation of man; and the _Trinal fraction_, which alone
seems to require explanation. The author was led by circumstances
detailed in “The Scientific Chronology” pp. 5–8, to give the name of
“Trinal fraction” to the general term of a series of numbers of which
each is composed of the root, its square, and unity, that is, in
Algebraic language, _n_^2 + _n_ + 1; an expression, in which _n_ may be
zero, unity, or any whole number whatever, and giving, by the
substitution of 0, 1, 2, 3, &c. as roots, the series itself, namely, 1,
3, 7, 13, 21, 31, 43, 57, 73, &c. To the discovery of this series, as
_new in mathematics_, of course, he makes no claim; because, a mere tyro
in that science could write out a hundred such in as many minutes; see
“Dissertation on the Apocalypse,” fourth edition, pp. 522, 523; but, to
the discovery of its application to the cyclical character of the
mundane times, he has a decided claim, and we think he has fully
substantiated it by a reference to chronological facts.
As to the formula itself, its most general form is (_n_^3 + _n_^2 +
_n_)/(_n_) as originally discovered by the author; and in this form it
is manifestly more simple and general than any of the formulæ of the
_figurate numbers_; for, if _n_ be taken equal to zero, in any of the
latter, the value of the vanishing fraction is always equal to _zero_;
but, in the former, it is equal to _unity_, the first term of the
series, and the basis of all numerical calculation. Let us take some
other examples of its application: the _sacred_ number 3, is the trinal
fraction of unity, and although it includes the higher powers of the
root, is only the sum of _three_ units, mysteriously indicating a
trinity in unity. The _sacred_ number 7, is the trinal fraction of 2,
which is the basis of the binary system of numeration so natural to man.
The number 13, is the trinal fraction of 3, and is a lunisolar cycle of
years, the hebdomadal measure of the seasons of the year, and the actual
number of the tribes of Israel. The number 21 is the trinal fraction of
4, and the product of the sacred numbers 3 and 7, the trinal fractions
of 1 and 2. The number 31, is the trinal fraction of 5, the basis of the
Quinary scale so incorporated with the human frame, and is the measure
of the life of the _first man_. The number 57, is the trinal fraction of
the sacred number 7, and three times the Metonic cycle of _nineteen_
years, being an element of the Mundane Times. Lastly, the number 73, is
the trinal fraction of 8, a lunisolar cycle of years, and gives, when
multiplied by 5, the number of days in the solar cycle.
The trinal fraction has been compared also with the formula _n_^2 − _n_
+ 1, which is only a particular case of it, namely, where _n_ is
negative. It is true, that if in this formula, −1, −2, −3, &c., be taken
for values of _n_, it will still give the series of trinal fractions;
but it does not therefore follow that the two formulæ are the same; for,
if in the latter, _n_ be taken equal to zero, it will give the same
result as when _n_ is taken equal to −1! The definition given by Mr.
Cuninghame, is therefore the most accurate, simple, and general, and one
which can be easily comprehended without any reference to the formulæ of
the _Figurate Numbers_. Moreover, the author has shown in the works last
referred to, that the series of trinal fractions possess higher
properties of science, mathematically, astronomically, and
chronologically, than the triangular numbers, from which it is pretended
that they have been derived. To some very curious properties and
applications of the trinal fractions, the author has added a “Table of
the Trinal Fractions from 1 to 85, showing the sums of the Roots and
Fractions at each Pentad,” p. 519 of the “Dissertation;” and he has
shown how these numbers enter so extensively and so mysteriously into
the whole structure of the Mundane Times!
4. Application of the Theory of the Trinal Fraction to the discovery
of the meaning of the _Number of the Beast_ in the Revelation of
John—Proof that the number 666 is the number of a Man—Its
indication of _Spiritual_ and _Secular_ dominion—Of Tyranny and
Persecution—Recent efforts to raise the Beast again to power—A
warning to Protestants.
We may just give another example of the application of this theory to
the discovery of the meaning of a very much disputed number both in
chronology and history. If we look into Mr. Cuninghame’s table, we find
that the number 111 is the trinal fraction of 10; and if it be
multiplied by the _mathematically perfect_ number 6, the number of
blessing and cursing (Deut. xxvii. 12, 13) it will give the product 666,
the number of the Beast (Rev. xiii. 18). Now, we have seen that the
number 10, or 5 + 5, is a number indicated in the formation of man; it
is also the base of the Denary system of numeration employed by all
mankind; it is plain, therefore, that the number of the Beast, to which
was also given “_a mouth_ speaking great things and blasphemies,” is
thus discovered to be “_the number of a man_;” the _two fives_
indicating _both hands_, with which this human beast grasped at both
_spiritual_ and _secular_ dominion over the saints of God. But, we know
that when he attempted to use a _third_ and a _fourth_ five, by putting
his feet upon their necks, and trampling them under him, his wrath was
mercifully restrained by a higher Power, and he lost _one five_, that
is, _one hand_, even the _secular_ dominion! Nevertheless, we find that
_now_ he is endeavouring to use _both hands_, and is making a mighty
effort to recover strength in the “withered hand.” He has, however, been
compelled to abandon the use of _the foot_, and to declare aloud to
Christendom, not only that it is perfectly innocuous at present, but
that it shall never be used again! Let Protestants beware; if once he
recovers the use of the _lost hand_, he will be sure again to employ the
_sleeping foot!_ The solution of the problem is due to the author, the
commentary upon it is ours. For an extensive and curious application of
this number in the true system of Chronology, see the “Supplement to the
Scientific Chronology of 1839.”[37]
CHAPTER VI.
DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY.
1. Mr. Cuninghame’s application of the Lunisolar cycles and Septenary
periods to the settlement of chronological questions—The
Septuagint proved to be the _exact truth_ by a complex harmony of
scientific time—His “Synopsis of Chronology” recommended.
In his “Synopsis of Chronology,” Mr. Cuninghame very fully developes the
nature of the Lunisolar Cycles and Septenary Periods, settles several
important chronological questions by means of this touchstone of
accuracy, and gives a great many remarkable series of historical events,
whose intervals are all measured by complete cycles from the era of
Creation, from the births and deaths of the Ante and Postdiluvian
Patriarchs, and from the Exodus and occurrences in the life of David the
King. In this manner, he shows that the Septuagint chronology “is proved
to be the exact truth by such a complex harmony of scientific time, or
in other words, of great astronomical periods, which do, as the web and
the woof, intersect and intertwine each other with multiplied and
variegated harmony of arrangement, knitting together all the great eras
of the world, and the most ancient antediluvian periods with the events
of our times, as to make it manifest that it is the workmanship, not of
a finite mind, but of Him who set forth the sun and moon in their
courses;”[38] see page 25. The author next recapitulates the series of
great periods to the birth and death of Christ, shows the use of the
scientific chronology in refuting false dates, &c.; and gives
astronomical evidence of the near approximation of the larger lunisolar
cycles to the exact truth. He then terminates this work with a series of
the most valuable tables of chronology from Creation to A. D. 1837,
including a curious table of the great periods which expire in that
year.
2. Evidence in favour of the Septuagint and Hebrew Chronologies
compared and tested by Mr. Cuninghame—His detection of the Scheme
of Fraud invented by the Jewish Rabbis for shortening the
chronology of the Scriptures—His exposition of this Scheme in
_three distinct Acts_, and the result of the whole.
In his work, entitled “The Septuagint and Hebrew Chronologies Tried,” he
very carefully sifts the evidence in favour of both systems, by a minute
analysis of the Jubilean series from the Greek era of Creation B. C.
5478, and from the Hebrew era, B. C. 4004, and demonstrates, by a
comparative estimate of both series, that the former must be the true
chronology; he then applies the test of the lunisolar cycles to the same
era in both systems, and to other eras of marked importance,
illustrating the whole in a tabular form; establishes the accuracy of
the Greek series in the most irrefragable manner; and, finally, detects
the scheme adopted by the Jewish Rabbis in shortening the chronology of
the Scriptures, showing that, though it be one of deep and artful
contrivance, it will not stand the test of scientific investigation. The
following is their scheme of fraud which the author has detected, and
which they have employed for this nefarious purpose. The _first_ act of
the Rabbis in corrupting the chronology, was to determine the total sum
of years to be annihilated. The _second_ act was to divide it among the
great subdivisions of the Mundane Times. The _third_ act was to
distribute it among the reigns and administrations so as most
effectually to conceal the fraud. They _first_ determined to place the
Mundane era at the birth of Lamech B. C. 4005. This comes out at the 1st
of Nisan, of his first year B. C. 4004. Thus they annihilated 1474
years. Their _second_ act was to divide this sum of 1474 years, by
abstracting periods equal to the following from the great subdivisions
of the Mundane ages:—
I. Before the Deluge; 1st, A period equal to that from Noah’s birth B.
C. 3817, to the flood B. C. 3217, namely 600 years: 2nd, From the death
of Methusaleh to the Deluge, six years; making the total curtailed from
the Creation to the Flood, 606 years.
II. From the Flood to Abraham; a period equal to the interval from the
death of Noah B. C. 2867, to the year before the birth of Abraham B. C.
2146, (“Fulness of the Times,” p. 138), 721 years.
III. From the Exodus to the foundation of Solomon’s Temple; a period
equal to the interval from the Exodus B. C. 1639, to the administration
of Ehud B. C. 1506, 133 years.
IV. From the foundation of Solomon’s Temple to the Captivity; a period
equal to the interval from the Captivity of Jehoiachin B. C. 598, to the
carrying away the last remnant of the people B. C. 584, (Jer. lii. 30;
“Dissertation on the Apocalypse,” p. 504,) 14 years.
The total sum of all the years thus abstracted in these four periods is
1474; for in the
1st Period are 606 years.
2nd „ 721 „
3rd „ 133 „
4th „ 14 „
————
Total sum 1474 „
and the effect is, as above stated, to make the era of Creation, B. C.
(5478–1474) = B. C. 4004.[39]
3. Recommendation of Mr. Cuninghame’s “Septuagint and Hebrew
Chronologies Tried”—His description and Table of the Great
Periods of 1838—His table of both Chronologies—His appeal to the
disciples of Usher—His view of their chronological difficulties
and paradoxes—His call to them to produce their evidence in
favour of their system.
This work concludes with a description and Table of the Great Periods
which terminate in and mark the year 1838, as the point of time which
sums up and concentrates, as in a focus, the chronology of past ages.
These he divides into four great classes, viz., Mundane, Patriarchal,
Mosaic, and Intermediate Eras, illustrating the whole with tables and
arguments, and ending with “A Comparative Table of the Septuagint and
Hebrew Chronologies from the Creation to the accession of Uzziah, B. C.
810, showing their Jubilean difference to the Christian era at each
date.” The inconceivable labour which the author has undergone to find
out the true system of chronology, and his triumphant success in
establishing it on the double evidence of Scripture testimony and
Mathematical and Astronomical Science, entitle him to make the following
decided appeal to the disciples of Usher, “Septuagint and Hebrew
Chronologies Tried,” pp. 88, 89.
“They, it seems, possess the true chronology! incumbered indeed with a
few awkward difficulties and paradoxes; as that the people, whose sins
St. Paul declares to have been filled up, who had crucified the Messiah,
and were the persecutors of his Church, and are the chronological
forgers who have corrupted the times of Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy
weeks, telling us in their almanacs, as I see from that of their year of
the world 5598, answering to 1837–8, now open before me, that from the
destruction of the first temple by Nebuchadnezzar, to that of the second
by the Romans, were only 490 years, the true chronology being 657 years,
are yet more worthy of credit than the apostles of the Lord, and the
first churches, and the text of St. Luke!—As that Abraham was born only
two years after the death of Noah, and was the contemporary of Shem,
Arphaxed, Salah, Eber, the last of whom actually survived him; and thus
that there were different and discordant economies of the world
co-existent and co-etaneous!—As that, it is better to twist, and
crucify, and reject the chronological testimony of the whole book of
Judges, than expressly to admit that the immaculate Rabbis have
interpolated in a single text, 1 Kings vi. 1., a single false
number!—Yet, notwithstanding these few and awkward difficulties,—we
repeat it—the disciples of Usher can have no difficulty, seeing they
possess _the truth!_ in producing from their _hidden treasures_, greater
and more stupendous concentrations of the true chronology, at some given
point of time, than has now been evolved from the Septuagint!”
4. Recommendation of Mr. Cuninghame’s later works—Summary of the
remarkable and original subjects of which they treat—His remarks
on the Theories of modern Geologists recommended—Their large
demands upon time not warranted by the simplicity of the Mosaic
narrative—The authority and authenticity of the Inspired Record
endangered by their speculations—Another mode of solving
Geological difficulties recommended—A boon of 1500 years
additional granted to Geologists—Recommendation of Mr. Morison’s
“Religious History of Man”—Mr. Cuninghame’s discoveries
concentrated in his “Chart of Chronology” and “Essay,” and in the
Appendices to the fourth edition of his “Dissertation on the
Apocalypse.”
The views developed by Mr. Cuninghame, in the preceding work, are still
more fully exemplified and applied in his later works. In these, he
gives, 1st, A Table, accompanied with numerous cyclical demonstrations,
of the great periods which expire in 1839; a further elucidation of the
four great classes of Eras, the Mundane, the Patriarchal, the
Ecclesiastical, and the Prophetical; and remarks on the great periods
which expire in 1840 and 1841. 2nd.—Tables of the whole Eras from
Creation to the last year of Christ’s personal ministry, and of years
subsequent to that event, from which simple Trinal Fractions being
reckoned, terminate in 1839. 3rd.—Table of the Great Periods which
expire in 1840, with remarks and illustrations; Division of the Mundane
period from Creation to 1840, into eleven subordinate periods or ages,
marked by perfect cycles of scientific time; the arrival of the time of
the End, and of the Restoration of Israel.[40] To the latter work, he
prefixes some pertinent and pungent remarks on the modern Theories of
Geology as opposed to the Scriptures, in which we entirely coincide;
and, though our space will not permit us to enter into any discussion,
we cannot avoid remarking, that the principle of interposing, between
the first and second verses of Genesis, chap. i.—“_millions of
ages_”—“_unlimited drafts upon antiquity_”—“_an unutterable
period_”—“_unnumbered ages_,” &c.,—is wholly unwarranted by the truth
and simplicity of the Mosaic narrative, and extremely dangerous to the
authority and authenticity of the Inspired Record. Instead of demanding
“millions of ages,” therefore, we would seriously advise
Geologists—Christian Geologists, at least,—to be content with the
extraordinary rapidity of chemical operations and electrical
developements, within a very limited period of time, and to endeavour to
explain their Geological phenomena in a manner more in accordance with
the known chronology of the world, to the common estimate of which _must
now be added_ nearly 1500 years on the authority of Scripture! But on
this subject we must refer to the author’s work, “Season of the End,”
pp. viii-xiii., and to Morison’s “Religious History of Man,” ch. ii. pp.
25–46. In fine, we observe, that the results of Mr. Cuninghame’s labours
and discoveries are concentrated in the “Chart of Chronology” and
“Essay,” and in the fourth edition of the “Dissertation on the
Apocalypse.”
NOTE A.
The number and variety of the author’s proofs of this general
proposition are so great, that we can scarcely dip into a page of his
chronological works without meeting them; the following are some of
the most remarkable instances.
_From Creation_ B. C. 5478,—to the birth of Enoch B. C. 4357, are 1121
years, _a number_ which is 59 times the cycle of 19 years,—to the
Deluge B. C. 3217, are 2261 years, which is 119 times or 17 weeks of
the cycle of 19,—to Noah’s Egression from the Ark B. C. 3216, are 2262
years, which is a Lunar cycle, the moon fast 15 hours,—to the birth of
Arphaxad B. C. 3215, are 2263 years, which is the product of the
Trinal Fractions 31 and 73,—and _from the death of Adam_ B. C. 4548,
to the birth of Arphaxad, are 1333 years, which is the trinal fraction
of 36, and the product of the trinal fractions 31 and 43.
_To the Dedication of Solomon’s Temple_ B. C. 1019,—from Creation, are
4459 years, which is 91 Jubilees or 13 cubes of 7, or the product of
the cube of the trinal fraction of 2 by the trinal fraction of 3;
otherwise, it is 13 weeks of the Jubilee, 91 and 13 being both trinal
fractions, as well as 343 the week of the Jubilee,—from the birth of
Arphaxad, are 2196 years, which is 12 times the trinal fraction
183,—from the birth of Abraham B. C. 2145, are 1126 years, which is
the sum of the trinal fractions 993 and 133,—from the birth of Isaac
B. C. 2045, are 1026 years, which is 54 times the cycle of 19,—from
the birth of Ishmael B. C. 2059, are 1040 years, which is a perfect
Lunar cycle,—and from the Exodus B. C. 1639, are 620 years, which is
20 times the trinal fraction 31.
_From Creation_,—to the foundation of Rome B. C. 753, are 4725 years,
which is 15 times the Lunar cycle of 315 years,—to the taking of
Babylon by Cyrus B. C. 538, are 4940 years, which is 260 times the
cycle of 19,—to the taking of Jerusalem by Pompey B. C. 63, are 5415
years, which is 15 times the square of the cycle of 19,—to the death
of Christ A. D. 33, are 5510 years, which is 290 times the cycle of
19,—and from the Deluge to the death of Christ, are 3249 years, which
is 9 times the square of the cycle of 19, or the product of the
squares of 3 and 19.
_From the death of Noah_ B. C. 2867, to that of Shem B. C. 2715, are
152 years, which is 8 times the cycle of 19; thence, to that of
Arphaxad B. C. 2677, 38 years, which is 2 times the cycle of 19; and
thence, to that of Cainan II. B. C. 2620, 57 years, which is 3 times
the cycle of 19,—to the birth of Abraham, are 722 years, which is 2
times the square of the cycle 19,—to the death of Joseph B. C. 1784,
are 1083 years, which is 3 times the square of the cycle of 19,—to the
birth of David B. C. 1100, are 1767 years, which is 93 cycles of
19,—and to the French Revolution of A. D. 1789, are 4655 years, which
is 245 cycles of 19, or 95 Jubilees. From the flood to the death of
Salah B. C. 2517, are 700 years; and from the death of Noah to the
same, are 350 years.
From the birth of Judah B. C. 1903, to the attempt to establish a
Christian church at Jerusalem A. D. 1842, are exactly 3744 years,
which is two times the square of 12, added to 3 times the cube of 12.
From the capture of Jerusalem by David B. C. 1063, to A. D. 1842, are
exactly 2904 years, or 2 times the square of 11, added to 2 times the
cube of 11. Hence, from the birth of Judah to the capture of
Jerusalem, are 840 years, which is the product of 70 and 12, or of 7
and 120. From the Exodus B. C. 1639, to the capture of Jerusalem, are
576 years, which is 4 times the square of 12, and to A. D. 1842, are
3480 years, which is 2 times 12 added to 2 times the cube of 12; and
from the entrance of Israel into Canaan B. C. 1599, to A. D. 1842, are
3440 years, which is 8 times 430, (see Exodus xii. 40.)
NOTE B.
It is utterly impossible to give our readers any correct idea of the
extraordinary labour which the author must have had in the
construction of these Tables, or of the astonishing coincidences which
he has discovered in the cyclical periods of time which connect remote
events in the history of the world with those which are passing under
our own eyes in these latter days; we must positively refer our
readers to the works themselves, particularly the “Season of the End.”
We shall take however one event from this work, as an example of the
rest, namely, the “Accession of Victoria,” A. D. 1837, and show how he
connects it with past history in the true system of Chronology. From
the birth of Seth, B. C. 5249, are 7085 years, which is the sum of the
trinal fractions 6973, 91, and 21; the corresponding epochs being a
Grand conjunction of the Planets in A. D. 1725, the first year of
General Peace in A. D. 1816, and the Accession; or, the sum of the
trinal fractions 6963, 91, and 31, the corresponding epochs being the
Rebellion of A. D. 1715, the fall of Prussia in A. D. 1806, and the
Accession.
From the birth of Enos B. C. 5044, are 6880 years, which is the sum of
the trinal fractions 6807 and 73. From the death of Seth B. C. 4337,
are 6173 years, which is the sum of 5932, or 4 times the fraction
1483, and the fraction 241; the corresponding epochs, being the Divine
defeat of the Spanish Armada in A. D. 1596, and the Accession. From
the birth of Methuselah B. C. 4192, are 6028 years, which is the sum
of the fractions 6007 and 21, the corresponding epochs being the
General Peace in A. D. 1816, and the Accession. From the birth of
Japhet B. C. 3317, are 5153 years, which is the sum of 4820, or 20
times the fraction 241, and 333, or 3 times the fraction 111. From the
Egression of Noah from the Ark B. C. 3216, are 5052 years, which is
the sum of 4995, or 45 times the fraction 111, and the fraction 57 or
3 times the cycle of 19.
From the death of Eber B. C. 2416, are 4252 years, which is the sum of
the fractions 4161 and 91, the corresponding epochs being the defeat
of the Pretender at Culloden in A. D. 1746, and the Accession. From
the Call of Abraham B. C. 2070, are 3906 years, which is the sum of
3885 or 35 times the fraction 111 and the fraction 21, the
corresponding epochs being the General Peace in A. D. 1816, and the
Accession. From the beginning of the 3rd servitude of Israel B. C.
1426, are 3262 years, which is the sum of 3219, or 29 times the
fraction 111, and the fraction 43, the corresponding epochs being the
fall of Robespierre A. D. 1794, and the Accession. From the captivity
in Babylon B. C. 606, are 2442 years, which is 22 times the fraction
111, and terminates at the epoch of the Accession. From the birth of
Christ B. C. 3, are 1839 years, which is the sum of 1776, or 16 times
the fraction 111, and 63, or 3 times the fraction 21, the
corresponding epochs being the Accession of Louis XVI. in 1774, and
the Accession of Victoria I. But we must stop here, having cited only
12 instances out of 30 given by the author, in which the latter event
is shown to be linked to great events in the former history of the
world by curious and remarkable cycles of time.
A
DISSERTATION
ON
THE TRUE AGE OF THE WORLD.
=Part II.=
CHAPTER I.
THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY.
Primeval prophecy concerning the Messiah—Errors in the translation of
it, in different versions—Correct in the Septuagint—Tradition of
this prophecy in the Ante and Post Diluvian ages—Its clearer
development in the Patriarchal Age—Dr. Lamb’s explanation of the
word _Shiloh_—Prophecy of Balaam in the Critarchal Age—Predictions
of Moses and Hannah—The glorious revelations of the Monarchal
Age—The testimony of the Psalms to the Messiah—Explanation of the
last words of David from Kennicott—Application of the term _Sun_
to Jehovah—Testimony of the Prophecies to the Messiah—Isaiah, the
Evangelical Prophet—The predictions at the close of the Monarchal
and the commencement of the Hierarchal Age—Testimony among the
Heathen.
In the Introduction to the first part of this Dissertation, we very
shortly alluded to the tradition and prophecies concerning the first
Advent of the Messiah, which were prevalent in the world before the era
of Christianity. That, in consequence of the prophecies, traces of such
a tradition, from a very remote period, should be found among all
nations, will not be deemed improbable by those who attentively read and
sincerely believe the records of Inspiration. There indeed, we find that
the first sweet note of Jubilee which sounded in the ears of Fallen Man,
was the distant promise of Redemption by the hands of a Mediator,
announced in the Divine prediction of the punishment to be inflicted on
the Author of Sin by the Seed of the woman:—“HE shall bruise thy _Head_,
and thou shalt bruise his _Heel_;” Gen. iii. 15. The meaning of this
very remarkable passage is greatly obscured in our vulgar translation by
the use of the neuter pronoun _It_ (Ipsum), instead of the masculine
_He_ (Ipse), which clearly refers to the _Seed_ of the woman, who is
_Christ_. The Seventy Interpreters have correctly employed the masculine
pronoun _He_ (ἄυτος) in the Greek Version; while, in the Latin Vulgate,
the feminine pronoun _She_ (Ipsa) has very absurdly been inserted, as if
the prediction referred to the _Woman_ herself and not to her Seed! Some
have attributed this error to Josephus; but we do not think it is at all
borne out by the passage referred to in his Antiquities, although it is
quite evident that he was utterly ignorant of the true meaning of the
prophecy.[41] To us, it appears to savour more of a Rabbinical or Roman
Catholic gloss; be this, however, as it may, it is evident that had the
translators or editors of the Latin version remembered that “the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,” they would not have
committed such an egregious mistake.
With the reign of sin, began the reign of mercy. Thus early was it
declared that the Messiah should come to destroy the _works_ of the
Devil; and thus early was it announced that the Christ should _suffer_
and enter into his glory! All the attempts of the Wicked One for ages
have never been able to obliterate this first and glorious prophecy of
God from the remembrance of the human mind. Onward it has passed from
father to son, and from patriarch to patriarch, gathering fresh vigour
and clearness in its descent; brightly did it beam, even in the
Antediluvian age, through the righteous preaching of Enoch and of Noah;
and having survived the deluge, anew did it shine forth in the
Postdiluvian age, in the glorious anticipations of the ancient Idumean
prince, and in the Divine revelations vouchsafed to the great Father of
the Jewish nation. “I know,” said Job (xix. 25), “that my Redeemer
liveth, and that he shall stand at the _latter day_ upon the earth.”
Again, “to Abraham and his seed were the promises made;” for, God said
not “_And to seeds_, as of many; but as of one, _And to thy seed_, which
is Christ.” See Genesis xiii. 15; xv. 18; xviii. 7; xxii. 18; and
Galatians iii. 16.
The divine predictions concerning the person and work of the Messiah
were more clearly developed in the Patriarchal age. To Isaac and to
Jacob, they were at first announced in terms very similar to those in
which they were conveyed to Abraham; Genesis xxvi. 3; xxviii. 13; and
xxxv. 10. But to Israel, was it given, to declare to the Twelve
Patriarchs, while uttering his dying benediction, the celebrated
prophecy concerning _Shiloh_, which was fully verified in the Advent of
our Saviour, whatever may be deemed the true interpretation of the name;
Genesis xlix. 10. Although we cannot agree with Dr. Lamb, in his theory
of the existence of a Hieroglyphic language previous to a Phonetic one,
we think that he has struck out the real meaning of this term _Shiloh_,
when he says, “The word is literally ש, ‘who’ or ‘who is’
ילוה(Jelovah), the very same word as יהוה ‘Jehovah,’ with the
original ל restored. Thus Jacob points out the Messiah by a title
which could be applied to no other individual, and declared the Divinity
of our Saviour about seventeen hundred [1838] years before his birth.
The three words, (omitting יס which implies an attribute of omniscience)
אליה Alovah, The Creator,
יהוה Jehovah, The God of Israel,
ילוה Jelovah, The Promised Messiah,
are one and the same. We need no farther comment upon the 58th verse of
the 8th chapter of St. John: Ἀμὴν, Ἀμὴν, λέγω ὑμῖν, πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ
γενεσθαι, ἐγώ εἰμι. “Verily, verily I say unto you, Before Abraham was I
am.” See his work entitled “Hebrew Characters derived from
Hieroglyphics,” p. 86.
During the Critarchal Age, the predictions concerning Christ were less
numerous; but it commenced with the brilliant prophecy of the Star which
was to come out of Jacob, and terminated with the first announcement in
Scripture of the name of the Messiah. To Balaam it was permitted to
foresee in splendid vision, the glory of Israel in the latter days, and
the rise of a Sceptre or King who should possess universal dominion; see
Numbers xxiv. 17. Dr. Gill, in his comment on this passage, seems to
think that the Star which the Eastern Magi saw at the birth of Christ,
is here clearly foretold, and that the Jews themselves were at that
period in expectation of such a phenomenon. That this universal King was
to be a Jew, is manifestly the opinion held by the Seventy Interpreters;
for in their version, the prophecy is thus rendered, “A star shall arise
out of Jacob, and _a man_ shall be raised up, or shall raise himself up,
out of Israel.” How strongly does this passage remind us of our
Saviour’s own words, when speaking of his Mission, he said, “I have
power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it up again;” John
x. 18. Moses, who had so often spoken to the children of Israel
concerning Jehovah their God, and the “Angel of his presence,” was at
last commissioned to predict the Advent of Christ in the following
words: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like
unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth;” Deuter. xviii. 15. To
this prophecy is added an awful sanction, to which our Saviour plainly
alluded when speaking of the unbeliever he said, “the word that I have
spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day;” John xii. 48. But to
the mother of Samuel, the prophet, was it first given to announce in
holy prayer and song, the name of the Messiah, the anointed of the Lord;
for she said “Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall
give strength unto our king, and exalt the horn of his _Messiah_;” 1
Samuel ii. 10.
The clearest revelations of this divine personage, however, were
reserved for the glory of the Monarchal Age, the acme of the Levitical
dispensation, which all along prefigured the good things to come. In the
Psalms written by David the king, “the sweet Psalmist of Israel,” we
find the brightest anticipations of the happiness and universality of
Christ’s kingdom, accompanied with the most distinct intimations of his
estate of humiliation and exaltation. We refer particularly to the 2nd
Psalm, which speaks of him by name as the Messiah; the 8th, of his
assumption of our nature; the 16th, of his resurrection and ascension;
the 22nd, of his words and his feelings on the cross; the 24th and 68th,
of his reception and glory in heaven; the 40th, of the union of his
divine and human nature; the 45th and 72nd, of the eternity and glory of
his reign; the 91st of his temptation; the 97th of his adoration by the
angels; the 102nd and 110th, of his divinity, perpetual priesthood, and
eternal duration; the 118th, of his rejection by the Jews; the 132nd, of
his name and office as the Messiah; and, the 146th, of his final and
everlasting dominion. Moreover, in the last words of David, as
elucidated by the critical industry and acumen of Dr. Kennicott, we have
a remarkable prophecy of the coming of Christ, couched in one of the
most splendid and pleasing figures which can be drawn from the phenomena
of the natural world: “And as the light of the morning, shall arise
_Jehovah_ the Sun, a morning without clouds, with the glittering of the
dew on the tender herb of the earth;” 2 Samuel xxiii. 4. In this passage
of the printed Hebrew text the word _Jehovah_ has been omitted; but the
corresponding words Θεος and Κυρισς have been preserved in the
Septuagint; and Dr. Kennicott found the word יהוה Jehovah, which is
wanting in the printed text, in one of the oldest Hebrew MSS. in the
Bodleian library, marked by him No. 2; see his “Dissertation” entitled
“The Printed State of the Hebrew Text, &c.” vol. i. pp. 468–471. As ש
_Shin_ or _Sin_, in the Hieroglyphics of Dr. Lamb, signifies the _Sun_,
being the first and last letter of the Hebrew word שמש, _Shemesh_, the
Sun, it is possible that even the term שילה _Shiloh_, which he has so
ingeniously explained, may have originally signified the _Sun Jelovah_:
and hence, the origin and propriety of some of the figurative and
prophetical expressions to be found in the Psalms and the Prophets.
Thus, in Psalm lxxxiv. 11, “The Lord God is a _Sun_ and shield:” in
Isaiah xix. 18, “One shall be called the City of the _Sun_;” xxx. 26:
“the light of the _Sun_ shall be sevenfold, as the light of _seven_
days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people;” lx.
20: “thy _Sun_ shall go no more down, neither shall thy moon withdraw
itself, for the Lord shall be thine everlasting _light_;” and, in
Malachi iv. 2, “But unto you that fear my name, shall the _Sun_ of
righteousness arise with healing in his wings.”
Almost all the predictions concerning Christ to be found in the writings
of the prophets, were delivered to the Jews during the Monarchal age;
and so clearly and distinctly have some of the prophecies, particularly
those of Isaiah, pointed out his generation, his person, his office, his
character and his sufferings, that rather than yield to conviction,
infidels have even dared to assert that the descriptions which they
contain were written _after_ the events took place! This Evangelical
prophet first unfolded the true meaning of the primeval prophecy, by
announcing, in the 7th chapter, that he should be born of a Virgin, and
that his name should be called _Immanuel_, or _God with us_; by
ascribing to him, in the 9th, the names and attributes of Deity; by
declaring, in the 11th, his descent from David according to the flesh;
by describing in the 11th, 32nd, and 61st, his offices as a prophet,
priest and king; by foretelling, in the 40th, the words and the office
of his Forerunner, John the Baptist; in the 11th, and 49th, the calling
of the Gentiles to his kingdom; and, in the 49th, 60th, and 65th, their
willingness to receive him as the Messiah; in the 52nd, and 53rd, his
external appearance and circumstances; in the 6th, 8th, and 28th, his
unbelieving reception and final rejection by the Jews; in the 53rd, the
gracious design of his sufferings, and the striking manner of his trial,
death and burial: and by declaring in the 35th, 40th, and 55th, his
glory as the Almighty conqueror, the compassionate Saviour, and the
righteous Judge of all; in the 9th, his heirship to the throne of
_David_, as the _beloved_ king of all the true Israel of God; and in the
35th, 62nd, and 65th, his glorious reign in the new Jerusalem above, in
the heavenly and eternal Zion, as the King of kings and Lord of Lords,
the Omnipotent Creator, the everlasting Ruler, and the immortal
Preserver of Angels and of Men.
Towards the close of the Monarchal age, during the Babylonish captivity,
and near the beginning of the Hierarchal age, many splendid predictions
of the Messiah, were vouchsafed to the Prophets, for the comfort of
those who mourned in Zion for the abominations of the land and the sins
of Judah, and for the solace of those who piously submitted to the
righteous judgments of God. Thus, in the 23rd chapter of Jeremiah, we
have a prophecy of the future elevation of a king of the house of David,
whose name should be called _The Lord our Righteousness_; and in the
33rd, of the _perpetual humanity_ of the final heir to David’s throne;
in the 34th and 37th, of Ezekiel, of the _ultimate accession_ of the
Antitype _David_ as the Shepherd and Prince of his people; in the 7th of
Daniel, of the everlasting dominion of the _Son of Man_ over all the
kingdoms of the world, given to him by the _Ancient of Days_; in the 8th
and 12th, of the _opposition_ to the kingdom of the Prince of Princes,
and of the _Time of the End_ disclosed by the _Wonderful Numberer_; in
the 9th, 10th, and 12th, of the coming of the _Messiah_ the Prince, and
of the Defence of his people by _Michael_ the great and sole Archangel;
in the 2nd of Haggai, of the Advent of the _Desire_ of all nations, and
the _Glory_ of the Second Temple; in the 3rd and 6th of Zechariah, of
the springing up, in due time, of the righteous servant of Jehovah,
denominated _The Branch_; in the 13th, of the mystery of the
_Incarnation_, and the circumstances attending the _Crucifixion_; and,
in the 3rd and 4th of Malachi, of the Mission of John the Baptist, and
the unexpected appearance of the “Angel of the Covenant” in the Temple
at Jerusalem.
In the midst of all these glorious predictions from the fall of Adam to
the close of the Old Testament Canon, comprising a period of more than
5000 years,[42] we cannot suppose that the Heathen were left utterly
ignorant of their existence and their meaning; or, that the people of
God did not, in some way or other, make known to the nations by whom
they were surrounded, the glory of his grace and the manifestations of
his eternal power and Godhead. It is certain, indeed, that Jehovah never
left himself without a witness to his truth, his mercy and his goodness,
in any age of the world; and we shall now proceed shortly to enquire by
what means this testimony was begun and carried on among mankind, by the
perpetual exhibition of the natural and supernatural phenomena, which
accompanied the revelations of his will to his chosen people in all
ages.
CHAPTER II.
TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH TO THE SUBJECT OF PROPHECY.
1. Object of the Disposition of the Cherubim at Eden—Its disappearance
from the earth—The remembrance of its glory transmitted to the
Postdiluvians—Its occasional re-appearance to Abraham, to Moses,
to Israel, to Elijah, and to Isaiah—Identity of the visions of
Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John—Similarity of the visions of Daniel,
John, the Three Disciples, and Paul—Object of these glorious
representations in heaven and on earth—Known among the Heathen,
and grafted on their religious worship—Origin of Zabaism, and its
spread over the world.
The setting up of the Cherubim, and a Flaming Fire, likened to a sword,
as the emblems of the Divine glory and presence, in the garden of Eden,
after the expulsion of Adam, was an evidence of God’s mercy and favour
to fallen man, and a symbolical indication of the ultimate fulfilment of
the primeval prophecy; Gen. iii. 24. As God set the _Bow_ in the cloud
to be a memorial of his covenant with all flesh regarding the future
preservation of the earth from the waters of a flood, so he set the
_Shechinah_ in paradise to be a memorial of his covenant with man
regarding the future destruction of his implacable enemy, and the future
restoration of himself and his posterity to innocence and happiness,
through the Almighty power of Him who dwelt between the Cherubim. That
man was appointed to reside in the vicinity of Eden, and to worship
before this supernatural evidence of the divine glory, is manifest even
from the very short notices of the history of the Antediluvian world,
which now remain. The sacrifice of Abel is supposed to have been
consumed by _fire_ from the Shechinah, as a proof of its acceptance
through faith in the promised Saviour; and the punishment of Cain
appears to have consisted chiefly in his banishment from the face or
presence of the Lord at Eden. There, indeed, did men first begin to call
on the name of Jehovah; and thence, no doubt, was Enoch first translated
to the kingdom of glory.
The flood at last came, and the Shechinah disappeared from the earth;
but the remembrance of its supernal glory was preserved in the family of
Noah. There was nothing, however, in nature with which it could be
compared, for beauty and for dazzling brightness, but the _Sun_ itself,
or a _Flaming Fire_ most terrible to the beholders. Such, indeed, have
always been the terms of comparison used by those whom God hath favoured
with the heavenly vision; and such, no doubt, was the description of the
appearance of the Edenic Cherubim, given by the sons of the great
Antediluvian to their posterity. In the appearance of Jehovah to Abraham,
the divine presence was accompanied by a _flame_, a smoking furnace, and
lamps of _fire_, Gen. xv. 17; to Moses in Horeb, by a flame of fire out
of the midst of a bush, Exodus iii. 2; and to Israel, in the wilderness,
by a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of _fire_ by night, xiii. 21;
at Sinai, by thunders and lightnings, devouring _fire_, and smoke as the
smoke of a furnace, xix. 16, and xxiv. 17; and at the setting up of the
tabernacle of the congregation, by cloud and _fire_, and the _glory_ of
the Lord, the Insessor of the Cherubim, lx. 34. At the destruction of
the priests of Baal, God answered Elijah[43] by _fire_, 1 Kings, xviii.
38; at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, the _glory_ of the Lord
appeared with cloud and _fire_, 2 Chronicles vii. 1; and, in the year
that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the glory of Christ, and spake of Him;
then was the house filled with smoke, and His _glory_ filled the temple
and the whole earth; and then was that glorious _Trisagium_ pronounced
by the Seraphim, in the hearing of the prophet, and afterwards repeated
by the four Living Creatures in that of the beloved disciple, which
establishes for ever in the mind of the believer, His eternal power and
Godhead, Isaiah vi. 1–4; John xii. 41; and Rev. iv. 8.
In the land of Chaldea, by the river of Chebar, and in the Temple of the
Lord at Jerusalem, Ezekiel saw the _glory_ of the God of Israel,
accompanied with a great cloud and a _fire_ infolding itself, and a
brightness about it like the rainbow; the appearance of the _Living
Creatures_, which he knew were the _Cherubim_, was like burning coals of
_fire_, like the appearance of lamps, and out of the _fire_ went forth
lightning; and the voice of the Almighty was like the noise of many
waters, and the earth _shined_ with his _glory_, Ezek. i. x; lxiii. In
his night visions at Babylon, Daniel beheld the _glory_ of the Ancient
of Days, having a throne like the _fiery_ flame, wheels as burning
_fire_, and a _fiery_ stream issuing from before him, vii. 9; and by the
side of the river Hiddekel, he saw a man whose face had the appearance
of _lightning_, and his eyes as lamps of _fire_, his arms and feet like
polished brass, and his voice like the voice of a multitude, x. 6.
Peter, James, and John saw the _glory_ of Christ on the mount of
transfiguration, when his face did shine as the _Sun_, and his raiment
was white as the _light_, and a bright cloud overshadowed them, Matthew
xvii. 2, 5; Paul, at mid-day, saw his _glory_ as a light from heaven
above the brightness of the _Sun_, Acts xxvi. 13; and he declared to the
Hebrews of that age, as Moses did to the children of Israel 1700 years
before him, in language of the strongest metaphor, that Jehovah our God
is a consuming _fire_, Heb. xii. 29, and Deut. iv. 24. John, who said
that God is _light_ and in him is no darkness at all, and that Christ is
the _Light_ of the World, saw, in the Isle of Patmos, his eyes as a
flame of _fire_, his feet like unto fine brass, as if they _burned_ in a
furnace, and his countenance as the _Sun_ shineth in his strength, and
heard his voice as the sound of many waters, Rev. i. 14–16; he beheld
the mighty angel clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow over his head, and
his face as it were the _Sun_, and his feet as pillars of _fire_, x. 1;
and he saw the _Faithful and True Witness_, whose eyes were as a flame
of _fire_, and on whose head were _many crowns_, who possesses _the
Incommunicable Name_, and who is called _the Word of God_, the KING OF
KINGS, and the LORD OF LORDS, xix. 11–16.
From all the splendid and glowing imagery, which is thus employed in
Scripture, to shew forth the glory of Christ, and under which human
language, though the gift of God, seems to labour and groan as under an
insupportable burden, it is manifest that He, who is the brightness of
his Father’s _glory_ and the express image of his person, hath, by
symbolical representations of himself, both under the Old and the New
Dispensations, declared the being and attributes of God from the
beginning of the world. The Angel of Jehovah has, in fact, in all ages,
made the heavens declare the _glory_ of God, and the firmament shew
forth his handy work; in them, he hath set a tabernacle for the _Sun_,
to demonstrate the wonders of his grace; and, he hath ordained the moon
and the stars, not only to rule the night and direct the seasons, but to
utter all his _praise_ in a universal language, which he has imparted to
all nations under the whole heaven; Deut. iv. 19; Psalm viii. 3; and
xix. 3. Thus it appears, that even among the heathen, the remembrance of
the true God and his Son the Redeemer, was kept up by tradition and by
symbol; and that traces of the grand truth first announced in the
primeval prophecy, and afterwards gradually developed to God’s chosen
people at sundry times and in divers manners, are to be found in the
history of the religious worship of mankind in all ages, and from the
remotest times. Before the flood these traces are no doubt very obscure,
but they are not altogether obliterated. Soon after the deluge, however,
was the light of the _Sun of Righteousness_ bedimmed in their gross
minds by that of the natural emblems of his glory; and soon was _“the
truth of God” changed into “the lie” of the devil_; for they began to
worship and serve the _creature_ more than the _Creator_, who is God
over all, and blessed for ever. Hence, arose the earliest and the most
extensive system of idolatry ever known in the world, the worship of the
_Sun_, and the _Moon_, and all the _Host of Heaven_; with this also was
connected the worship of _Fire_, _Light_, and _Ether_, and of all those
symbolical representations of these natural phenomena, which are to be
discovered in the ancient records of the Babylonians, Assyrians,
Chaldeans, Egyptians, Phenicians, and Persians, as well as in the early
histories or traditions of the Chinese and the Hindoos or Eastern
Indians of the Old Continent, the Britons, and the Celts or Gauls who
overspread Europe, and the Peruvians and Mexicans or Western Indians of
the New World.
2. The Sun worshipped by the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans,
under the names of Baal, or Beelsamen—By the Egyptians, under the
names of Orus and Osiris—Connection between the Sun and
Sirius—The Sun and his Satellite worshipped by the Israelites,
under the names of Molech and Remphan, Baal, and Ashtaroth,
during the Critarchal age—The Zabian idolatry set up at Jerusalem
in the Monarchal age—The partial Reformation of Josiah—The
ancient Persians, Sun and Fire worshippers—Origin of Mithras—The
gods of Phenicia, Elioun, and Adonis or Tammuz.
It is of some importance to our general argument, to refer to a few of
the evidences of this universal species of idolatry, which are still to
be found in the names ascribed to the gods which these different nations
worshipped. Among the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Chaldeans,
there existed from the age of Nimrod to the destruction of Nineveh and
Babylon, the worship of _Baal_, in Hebrew בעל _Lord_, which signifies,
astrologically speaking, _Lord of the Ascendant_; this term is in fact
the same as בל, _Bel_, or _Belus_, βῆλος, βέλις, or Ἡλιος, and
signifies the _Sun_, who is called in Chaldee בעלשמין, βεελσαμεν, or
_Beelsamen_, the Lord or _Master of the Heavens_, and Leader of the
Heavenly Host. Among the Egyptians arose, at a period perhaps prior to,
or, at least, coeval with the age of Nimrod, the worship of _Orus_ and
_Osiris_, and at a later period, their attendant or identical gods,
_Isis_, _Apis_, _Serapis_, _Anubis_, &c.; yea, “all the gods of Egypt.”
The earliest of these is _Orus_, from the Hebrew הרס _Eres_, or חרס
_Heres_, the _Sun_; or from אור _Aur_, or האור _He Aur_, the
_Light_, or _Fire_, a term also applied to the Sun; whence, evidently
comes the Greek ὡρος,[44] and ὡρα, or _Horus_, _Hora_, and _Era_, Time,
a period of Time, and the beginning of Time, all of which are measured
by the revolutions of the _Sun_. Next comes _Osiris_, from the Hebrew
הרס, _Eres_[45] inverted, that is _Sere_, the Sun, or from השר and
הסר, _He Ser_, _the Prince_ or _Chief_; whence also, ὁ Σείρ and ὁ
Σείριος, _the Sun_, or _Sirius_ (and the English terms _Sir_, or _Sire_,
and _Sirrah_), the former denoting the _Chief_, or _King_ of Heaven, and
the latter, his _Satellite_ or _Companion_, in Hebrew סריס, _Seris_, a
_Double_, or _himself_, as in Hesiod, “Opera et Dies” line 417, where he
is called Σείριος ἀστὴς; otherwise, the terms Σείρ and Σείριος may be
derived from זהר _Zeer_, _Light_; שחר _Seher_, _Morning_; or זרח
_Zereh_, the East or Sun-rising. All these terms, both in Hebrew and
Greek, have evidently an intimate connection with each other, and
indicate that there was originally some astronomical relation between
the _Sun_ and _Sirius_, the largest and brightest of all the stars in
the firmament. The term Σείριον, _Sirion_, indeed, derived from Σείριος,
_Sirius_, is applied indiscriminately to every star, because all the
stars were either supposed to follow the Sun in his daily course, or to
borrow their light from that luminary. From this source, there can be
little doubt that the Israelites, during their period of bondage in
Egypt, borrowed their מלך, _Moloch_, or מלככם, _Molekem_ and
_Milcom_, that is, their _king_, and the Star of their god _Remphan_ or
_Chiun_ כיון; whence comes Κύων, or _Canis_ and _Canicula_, the
Dog-star or Sirius, idols of which they made to themselves figures to
worship in the wilderness, Amos v. 26; Acts vii. 43.
This kind of idolatry appears to have been pursued with more or less
obstinacy by the children of Israel, during the whole period of the
Critarchal and Monarchal ages; notwithstanding the strict prohibitions
of the _First_ and _Second Commandments_, and the awful sanctions with
which their promulgation was accompanied at Mount Sinai. Passing over
the rebellion of the _Golden Calf_ and the sin in the matter of
_Baalpeor_, in the wilderness, we find that the Israelites forsook
Jehovah, after the death of Joshua and of all the elders who outlived
him, and served _Baalim_, or _Baal_ and _Ashtaroth_, ὁ βααλ and ἡ βααλ,
the _King_ and _Queen_ of Heaven; and as often as they repeated this
iniquity, so often were they punished for it, by subjection to the yoke
of their enemies; Judges ii. 13; iii. 7; vi. 30; and ix. 46. After the
worship of the true God was set up in all its magnificence and glory in
the Temple at Jerusalem, how soon, alas! was it forgotten, and that of
_Moloch_ or _Milcom_, _Chemosh_ and _Ashtaroth_ adopted in its stead;
and how consoling must it have been to the real worshipper of Jehovah,
to be informed, that even in the worst of times, there were 7000 in
Israel who had not bowed the knee to _Baal_; 1 Kings, xi. 5; and xix.
18. Nevertheless, Israel was at last cut short for his idolatry, in
making images and groves, worshipping all the _Host of Heaven_, and
serving _Baal_; and Judah, being seduced by Manasseh to commit precisely
the same abominations, was threatened with a similar captivity; 2 Kings,
xvii. 16; and xxi. 3. A temporary suspension of this sentence, however,
took place; and a respite of _forty_ years was granted to the house of
Judah, because of the reform which was effected in the days of King
Josiah. For, he put down them that burned incense to _Baal_, to the
_Sun_, and to the _Moon_, and to the _Planets_, and to all the _Host of
Heaven_;[46] and he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had
given to the _Sun_, and burned the chariots of the _Sun_ with fire; but,
after his death, they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his
words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose
against his people, and there was no remedy: until, in fact, Jerusalem
was destroyed, and Judah carried captive into Babylon; 2 Kings xxiii. 5;
and 2 Chronicles xxxvi. 16.
Among the ancient Persians, the worship of the _Sun_ and _Fire_ appears
to have existed from a period so remote, that no record remains of its
commencement, though there can be no doubt that it was an offshoot from
the Babylonish idolatry. For ages, it appears to have existed in Persia,
in a state of greater purity than in Chaldea, if such a term can be
applied to a corruption of the worship of the true God; and to have been
mingled with more intellectual notions of the being and attributes of
Deity, than were to be found among other heathen nations. The Persians,
indeed, appear to have had a more distinct idea, though still a very
obscure one, of the method by which the human race were finally to be
rescued from the power of the Evil One, and raised to a condition of
purity and bliss. They worshipped the _Sun_ under the name of _Mihr_,
_Mithr_, or _Mithras_; the latter term, according to Mr. Morrison,[47]
signifying _the wounder or bruiser of the head_, and if derived from the
Hebrew מות־ראש, _Muthras_, _Lord of Death_, conveying a beautiful
allusion to the primeval prophecy, and to him who, long afterwards was
declared in apocalyptic vision, to have the keys of hell and death, and
who “openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth” the
gates of Paradise. Among the Phenicians, we find, according to a
fragment of their ancient historian, Sanchoniatho, preserved by
Eusebius, that one of their earlier gods was called _Elioun_, from
עליון, _the Most High_, who was also considered _Man_; and that
Ὀυρανὸς και Γῆ, _the Heavens and the Earth_, were generated or created
by him. They also worshipped the _Sun_, under the names of _Adonis_ and
_Tammuz_; the former evidently from the Hebrew אדוני, _Adonai_,
_Lord_; and the latter from the name of the Hebrew month appointed for
the celebration of his orgies. In the weeping for the absence, or
eclipse of _Tammuz_, Selden sees the lamentations for _Osiris_, which
originated in Egypt, and were observed in Phenicia; and in the rejoicing
for his return or resuscitation, Parkhurst discovers a prelude to the
joy of the nations at the advent of the promised Saviour, the true
_Adonai_, or Lord of all;[48] Ezekiel viii. 14; and 1 John ii. 8.
3. The gods of the Hindoos, Vishnu, Buddha, Brahma, and Seeva, form no
Trinity—The theft of their names and attributes from the Hebrew
evinced by their meaning—Buddha an avatar of Vishnu—Origin of
Fohi, the god of the Chinese—Druidical, Peruvian, Mexican, and
Parsee worship—Origin of Surya, Suras, and Asuras—Russell’s
citation of Macrobius on the worship of the Solar god—The
concentration of Paganism.
Proceeding farther eastward, to nations whose origin is so remote and so
involved in darkness, that all traces of their derivation from the
Noachian stock is lost, we find in their ancient traditions similar
evidences of the truth, buried under a mass of the grossest and most
debasing idolatry. In the avatars, or transformations of _Vishnu_ and
_Buddha_, the gods of the Hindoos, we perceive the awful perversion of
the primeval prophecy, and its stupid admixture with more recent
revelations concerning the Messiah, which have been purposely mystified
and defaced by the agents of the Evil Spirit, in order that poor
besotted mortals might be led away from the truth as it is in Jesus. But
their own traditions testify against the Hindoos, and show, that in not
seeking to know him who had placed his witness in the physical heavens,
they were without excuse; for when they knew God, they glorified him not
as God. The names of their chief gods, _Brahma_, _Vishnu_ and _Seeva_,
plainly indicate their Hebrew origin and meaning. _Brahma_ signifies the
_great Creator_, and is evidently derived from the word ברא _Bra_, _He
created_, which occurs in Genesis i. 1, and אם or אים, _Am_ or
_Aim_, _terrible_; and _Vishnu_ or _Veeshnu_, _the Preserver_, from the
copulative ו _Ve_ or _Vau_, and אישנו, _Aishnu_ or _Ishnu_, _the Man
for us_; these two, therefore, constitute a _Binity_ or _Duad_, by
reason of the copulative particle between them, and not a _Trinity_ or
_Triad_ in conjunction with _Seeva_, as is generally supposed by
mythologists. As to the latter name, which signifies _the Destroyer_, it
is derived from שואה, _Seevah_, _Storm_, or _Destruction_, or from
שוע, _Seeva_, the _noise_ which accompanies it, thus exemplifying the
idea of the poor untutored Indian, who sees God only in the fearful
storm, and hears Him only in the thunder’s dreadful roar; or, perhaps,
from שוא, _Seeva_, a _dream_ or _vain error_, an “insubstantial
pageant,” or even an _idol_, which is _nothing_ in the world. The
exhibition of this triple absurdity in the temples of Hindoostan, not
like _Janus_ at Rome, with _two_ faces, but like _Cerberus_ in Hell,
with _three_ faces, shows not a _Trinity_, or _Sacred_ _Three in One_,
in which Christians believe, but a threefold exhibition of the same God,
as the _Creator_, the _Preserver_, and the _Destroyer_, in which the
Hindoos, like the devils, believe and tremble. These are, in fact, the
attributes of the _true Deity_; for He is Jehovah, and there is none
else; there is no God besides him; he forms the light and creates
darkness; he makes peace and creates evil; but, inasmuch as “they had
not the sense to acknowledge God (literally to have God in
acknowledgment), God gave them over to a senseless mind, to do those
things which are not lawful (i. e. not appointed by God)”; Romans i. 28.
In the name of _Boodh_ or _Buddha_, an avatar of Vishnu, the principal
God worshipped in the Transalpine, or Ultra-Gangetic regions and islands
of Asia, we again trace the early idea of a Saviour of celestial origin.
This name is evidently derived from the Hebrew פדע or פדה, _Phudah_,
_to deliver or redeem_, by interchange of the labials ב and פ; and
from the same roots are derived a variety of words, signifying either
Redemption, or the Price of Redemption, and reminding us delightfully of
Him, who, by his own blood entered _once for all_ into the holy place,
having obtained eternal Redemption for us; Heb. ix. 12. In the name of
_Fohi_, the chief god, worshipped in China from the earliest times, we
discover also, by its Hebrew origin from פחה, _Phohe_, _Prince_ or
_Governor_, the foreshadowing of Him whom God sent to be a _light_ to
lighten the Gentiles, and the _glory_ of his people Israel; Luke ii. 32.
The Druids of ancient Europe were worshippers of the _Sun_ and _Fire_,
and the name of their god was _Hesus_, most probably derived from the
Hebrew השש, _Hesus_, _burns up_ or _consumes_, emblematic of the
physical objects of their devotion, but still prefiguring the advent of
Him whose _fan_ is in his hand, who will thoroughly _purge_ his floor,
and _burn up_ the chaff with unquenchable fire; Matt. iii. 12; and Isa.
v. 24. Among the Peruvians and the Mexicans were found similar traces of
_Sun_ and _Fire_ worship, accompanied with the apparatus of the _Incas_
or _Children of the Sun_, and the _Vestal_ or _Solar_ virgins, as in
ancient Rome. Nor should we omit that the _Parsees_, the most learned
sect among the Hindoos, are worshippers of the _Sun_, which is called in
their language _Surya_, evidently of a similar origin with the Greek
Σειρ and Σειριος; moreover, in their fabulous histories of the “War
between the Gods and the Giants,” the spirits, who were the worshippers
or children of _Light_ or the _Sun_, are called _Suras_, and the demons
of darkness, _Asuras_, _A_ being evidently privative in Sanscrit as in
Greek. In fine, the names of the gods which were worshipped among the
Greeks and the Romans, as every classical reader knows, carry abundant
evidence of their having been borrowed from the earlier systems of
idolatry already described. Dr. Russell remarks, that “in the 1st book
of the Saturnalia, from the 17th to the 23rd chapters inclusive,
Macrobius establishes, from the writings of the philosophers, as well as
of the poets, that all the gods of Assyria, Egypt, and Greece, were mere
personifications of the _Solar_ influence; and, moreover, that all their
names, however varied, might be resolved into some attribute of the
_Sun_.” He further states, that all the nations of the East acknowledged
originally but one deity, the _Sun_, and he ingeniously accounts for the
rise of _Hero-worship_ and _Polytheism_; he also observes that, however
the titles of the gods may be separated and distinguished from each
other, they are all plainly resolvable into those of the _Solar_ deity.
The same is to be observed of the gods of the Romans. Indeed, it is well
known that the magnates of the Pantheon, Apollo, Phœbus, Bacchus,
Jupiter, &c.,[49] were all severally addressed by the poets, as
possessing the power supposed to reside in the _Sun_, to direct the
seasons of the year, to give success to the operations of agriculture,
to decide the fates of nations, and to influence all the affairs of men.
4. Origin of the Greek and Latin names of the Supreme God—Ingenious
derivation by Dr. Hales—Confutation of that given by Francoeur in
his “Uranographie”—Origin of the New Testament titles of
Christ—Citation of Theophilus on this subject—Irrefragable proof
of the Divinity of our Lord—Original temple of the Sun—Connection
of Religious worship and Astronomical observation—Antiquity of
the Hindoos and Chinese.
Thus it appears, that the heathen nations have, in all ages and
countries, borrowed the names and attributes of Jehovah, the God of
Israel, and applied them to the absurd creations of their own
imagination, the physical objects of the world around them, or the
stupid fabrications of their own hands. The origin of the name Ζεύς or
Δὶς in Greek, and _Jupiter_ in Latin, as applied to the supreme God,
appears to be distinctly traceable to the Hebrew. Dr. Hales endeavours
to deduce the former of these from the Phenician form of יהוה,
_Jehovah_, or _Jahoh_, which in Greek letters is Ιευω, or Ιαω; and he
cites the answer of the oracle of the Clarian Apollo, to the enquiry
“Which of the gods is he to be reckoned, who is called Ιαω?”—
Φραζεο τον, παντων ὑπατον θεον ἐμμεν ΙΑΩ.
Learn this, that JAH is greatest God of all.
This derivation is ingenious; but it is more specious than solid. The
name Δὶς, which gives its oblique cases to Σεύς, is evidently derived
from the Hebrew די, _Di_, _the Sufficient_, or _Self-sufficient One_,
or, with the relative, שדי, _Sdi_ or _Shaddai_, _He who is
Self-sufficient_, _the Almighty_, a Scriptural name of God; Genesis
xvii. 1. From the former comes Δὶς, and from the latter Σεύς,[50] by the
addition of the Greek terminations. The derivation of _Jupiter_ from
_Jah pater_ is obvious; while the oblique cases _Jovis_, _Jovi_, &c.,
clearly show their descent, or rather theft from the Hebrew word
_Jehovah_. These observations on the origin of the Greek and Latin names
of the Supreme Being are rendered the more necessary, in consequence of
the following most extraordinary attempt on the part of an eminent
French writer, to give a different, and we hesitate not to say, a very
absurd account of their derivation. M. Francoeur, in his very curious
and useful work on Astronomy, entitled “Uranographie,” p. 382, 5th
edition, says, “Each PLANET was denoted by a letter; arranging these
bodies in the order of their supposed distances, these representative
characters were:—
Saturn. Jupiter. Mars. The Sun. Venus. Mercury. The Moon.
Ω, Υ, Ο, Ι, Η, Ε, Α.
The Sun seemed to be placed in the middle of the motions, in order to
regulate their march; thus he governed the universe. It was supposed
that the planets revolved round the earth in crystalline concentric
spheres. The world was denoted by the extreme letters Α and Ω; the
letter Ι, of the Sun, united to these, formed the name ΙΑΩ, of the god
of light, of Bacchus, of Osiris, &c.; whence was derived the words
_Jévo_, _Jeova_, _Jovis_, _Jovis pater_, or _Jupiter_!!” It is a
sufficient refutation of this learned derivation, that the name of
Jehovah was known among the Hebrews at least 1000 years before the
doctrine of the crystalline spheres was invented; and that the answer of
the Clarian oracle itself, instituted before the fall of Troy, testified
its well-known antiquity. The Latin term _Deus_, _God_, is evidently
derived from the Greek Θεὸς, by interchange of the dentals Θ and Δ, and
not from Δὶς or Σεύς; and the term Θεὸς itself, from Τίθημι, _Pono_, _to
place, order, or arrange_, the old form of which, Θέω, signifies _to
dispose_ or _create_. This appellation, Θέος, _the Disposer_ or
_Creator_, is peculiarly applicable to Him into whose hands the Father
hath delivered all things, and who of old created and arranged the
universe; John i. 3; and iii. 35. Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, has
given the same derivation in the following eloquent passage, to which we
can never give the spirit of the original: “But God is called Θεὸς,
because he hath _reposed_ all things on his own _infallibility_, and
because he _created_ [all things]; for to _create_, is to originate, and
put in motion, and work upon, and put together, and prepare, and direct,
and put life into, all things; and he is called Κύριος, because he rules
over the whole universe, &c.”[51] Now, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
is perpetually called in the New Testament, ὁ Κύριος ὁ θεὸς, _the Lord_,
_the Disposer_ or _Creator_; hence, his _Divinity_ is established beyond
dispute; his _Unity_ with the Father is demonstrated; and his _claim_ to
the title of the _Sun of Righteousness_, is placed on the triple
testimony of the Heavens, and the Earth, and the Everlasting God.
From the observations of this chapter, we draw the conclusion that all
the various kinds of idolatry which have existed in the world, can be
traced to a common source, namely, the Satanic substitution of the
worship of the _Sun_, _Fire_, or _Light_, which was the emblem of the
glory of God, for the worship of the Great Insessor of the Cherubim, who
_dwelleth in the Light_ which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath
seen, nor can see; and who only hath immortality. We further conclude,
that the tradition respecting the _Shechinah_, or glorious emblem of his
Divine presence, passed through the family of Noah, and on it was
grafted the idolatrous scheme which raised a temple to the _Sun_ at
Babel; that traces of the existence of this worship among Europeans and
Asiatics, and Indians of both hemispheres, from the remotest times, are
to be found in their traditions respecting the heavenly bodies, and in
the names and attributes ascribed to their false divinities; and that
the antiquity of the Hindoos and Chinese, as nations, within the limits
of the true system of Chronology, is no more to be doubted than that of
the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians. In fine, the astronomical
observations and religious worship of the former appear to have been so
intimately connected, that, as we shall see in a subsequent chapter, a
higher degree of credence must be yielded to the ancient records or
traditions of both, than they have hitherto received among the learned
world.[52]
CHAPTER III.
TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL AGES OF THE WORLD.
1. Tradition concerning the Seventh Age—Prophecy of the Universal
Saviour—Traditions of the Jews—Opinion of Irenæus and
the Christian Church in his time—Dr. Russell’s opinion
confuted—Testimony of the Heathen to the Tradition of the _Seven
Ages_—Digression on the Corruptions of the Septuagint and the
Hebrew text—Arguments against the numerical accuracy of
the latter—Remarkable prophecy contained in the names of
the _Antediluvian_ Patriarchs—Opinions of Augustine and
Abulfarajius—Notion of Dr. Isaac Barrow—Important admission of
Eusebius—Opinion of Ephrem Syrus.
The idea that the improvement and the happiness of the human race is
progressive, and that the succeeding age is always to be superior to the
present, appears to have prevailed in every clime and in every age of
the world. Such a sentiment seems indeed to be interwoven with our very
nature and constitution; and the words of the Poet are true, not only of
each individual of the species, but also of every successive
generation:—
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,
Man _never is_, but _always to be_ blest.”
When we take an extensive review of the past, we also find that there
have been ages of the world previous to our own, in which mankind
enjoyed a length of days, and a degree of innocence and happiness, now
altogether unknown. All have, in fact, heard of the blessedness of the
Paradisaical state, and all sigh for its return. The restoration of man
to this state, has been the subject of promise, and the theme of
prophecy and song; the sentiment has been found in all countries, and
under every Dispensation; and many of the Divine appointments, both of
nature and of Providence, seem to have had an express reference to the
accomplishment of this glorious and benignant purpose. The Septenary
division of time was impressed on the human mind from the era of
creation; it was perpetuated in the Mosaic institutions; and a constant
succession of Septennial changes in the frame of man himself from his
birth to his death, has tended to keep alive the idea that the Great
period of the Restoration of all things is measured by the number
_Seven_. Hence, arose the universal opinion, corroborated by tradition,
that the World was to continue for _Six_ successive ages, appointed ages
of trial and probation, and that the _Seventh_ age would be a state of
never-ending felicity and joy. Poets and philosophers, always the most
sanguine of our race, have in every nation seized upon this idea, and by
the splendid efforts of their genius, engrafted it upon the early
history of their respective countries. Thus, compositions which were at
first admired only as the production of superior intellect, became early
incorporated with the popular creed, and were at last admitted by all as
the true records of antiquity.[53]
The Jews, with whose forefathers no doubt the true ideas concerning the
various ages of the world originated, had, as we have seen, divided the
Grand Interval from Creation to the time assigned by prophecy for the
coming of the Messiah, into _six_ subordinate periods, the true extent
of which we have already determined. More than a _thousand_ years,
however, before the latter event took place, the great Hebrew Warrior
and King prophesied in Sacred Song, concerning the only begotten Son of
God, who was to receive the Heathen for his inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the Earth for his possession; concerning Him who was
to be fairer than the children of men, and whose throne, like that of
the Eternal, was to be for ever and ever; whose dominion should be from
sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; and before whom
all kings should fall down and worship, and whom all nations should
serve and call the _Blessed and only Potentate_; Psalms ii., xlv.,
lxxii. About _three centuries_ later than the time of David, Isaiah
received his Divine Commission to deliver the prophecy concerning Him of
whom Moses and the Prophets did write, in which He was described as “the
Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, and the
_Father of the Future or Everlasting Age_.”[54] During the _Fifth_ or
Monarchal Age, therefore, the idea had spread abroad, not only among the
Jews, but among all nations, that the Renovation of the World would be
accomplished in the _Sixth_ or succeeding age, and that the Great King,
called in Scripture, Σωτηρ or Saviour, would then set up his kingdom in
eternal justice, and establish his dominion with everlasting peace; and
nation should no longer lift up the sword against nation, neither should
they learn the Art of War any more.
According to the Jews, however, who lived in the time of our Saviour,
the grand object of the mission of the promised Messiah was not to be
consummated till the _Seventh_ age, when should commence, to use the
words of the Apostle, who applied them very differently, the keeping of
the eternal “Sabbatism which remaineth for the people of God.” This
notion of a _Seventh_ age was not entirely unknown to the Heathen, for
we find some traces of it in their writings; but it seems to have
originated in the mysticism or glosses of those who at that period, had
made “the word of God of none effect through their traditions.” It is of
great importance to our argument, to give some instances of this
mysticism, as it incidentally proves that the Jews originally held the
longer computation. One of the reasons assigned by their Rabbins for the
tradition of the _Seven ages_, from time immemorial, is that because the
Hebrew letter א _Aleph_, which (pointed) stands with them for a
_thousand_, is found to occur _six times_ in the 1st verse of the 1st
chapter of Genesis; therefore, the world is to last in its corrupt or
fallen state for _six thousand_ years; and that then it is to be
restored and purified as at the beginning! Another reason, to which
indeed, we have already adverted in our First Part, is that because God
employed _six days_ in the work of Creation, and rested on the _Seventh
day_; therefore, there are to be _Seven ages_ of the World, each
containing a _thousand years_! Such notions as these appear to have been
current among both Jews and Christians in the days of the Apostles; and
we find them transmitted with even a higher degree of mysticism, to the
first age of _Apostolical Succession_! Irenæus, who flourished A. D.
170, in commenting on the number of the Beast, endeavours to connect the
_Six_ ages of the world, with the number _Six_, which occurs in the
units, tens, and hundreds of that number, and adds, “For in as many days
as the world was made, in so many thousand years is it being brought to
an end”. And on this account, the Scripture says—and the heavens and the
earth were finished and all their garniture; and on the _Sixth day_, God
finished the works which he made; and on the _Seventh day_, God ceased
from all his works—but this is a narration of the prototypes of things,
and a prophecy of things that shall come to pass; for the day of the
Lord is as a _thousand years_: but in _Six days_ the creation was
finished; it is manifest, therefore, that its consummation is the _six
thousandth year_.[55] In this curious passage, it is evident that the
disciple of John, the beloved Apostle, has followed the ideas of the
Jews rather than those of his inspired Master, and has mingled up the
mystical notions of the Rabbins with the sacred truths of Revelation.
While we admit, however, that the followers of Christ and his Apostles
had erroneous views respecting the Jewish tradition, which we have thus
traced to its real source, we cannot adopt the opinion of Dr. Russell,
p. 103, vol. i. of his “Connection,” that the apostles themselves
_wrote_ under the influence of such views, or that it formed any part of
_their theological system_, although it entered deeply into those “of
the age which witnessed the introduction of our holy faith.” They wrote
under the influence of that Spirit which Christ promised to send, in
order to lead and to guide them into _all the truth_; it is impossible,
therefore, to imagine, that the Apostles Paul and John in their
writings, “partook of those impressions relative to the speedy arrival
of the first resurrection, and the beginning of the Messiah’s reign,
which prevailed among their countrymen;” nor, can we agree, as he does,
“with Grotius, who hesitates not to state that St. Paul thought it
possible that he might be alive at the time of the general judgment,” as
we see no evidence for such a statement in any part of the New
Testament. The reply of our Saviour, while yet on earth, to the inquiry
put by his disciples,—“When shall these things be, and what the sign of
thy coming, and of the end of the world?”—sufficiently points out their
mistake in supposing, as the unbelieving Jews did, that the first advent
of the Messiah and the consummation of all things, were contemporaneous
or approximate events: and clearly shows that instead of the “general
judgment” after or upon his advent, there would only be a particular
one, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and that it
would be fulfilled in the experience of that generation, for their
rejection of the true Messiah, as the filling up of the measure of the
iniquities of their fathers. So much hold, however, had the tradition in
question taken on the minds of the Jews as a nation, that we find the
words of Paul, in 1 Thess. iv. 15–17, respecting the resurrection of the
dead, and the Second Advent of Christ, were either misunderstood or
misinterpreted by some of those to whom they were addressed. Hence, he
was obliged to address them a second time, in the following words; 2
Thess. ii. 1: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not
_soon_ shaken in mind, or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor
by _letter_ as from us, as that the _day of Christ_ is at hand.” The
rest of the Apostle’s warning advice in this chapter, plainly indicates
that many ages were to elapse before the epoch of the Second advent, and
the arrival of the end of the world. The time, indeed, necessary for the
fulfilment of the prophecies, of both the Old and New Testament,
especially those contained in the books of Daniel and the Revelation of
John, must have clearly evinced to the minds of well-informed
Christians, as well as those of the Apostles themselves, that many
predicted events had yet to receive their accomplishment; and, that
God’s controversy with the nations, and particularly with his ancient
people Israel, required a longer interval than that which the Judaizing
teachers among them had dared to assign, and which, to give it greater
currency, it appears that they were desirous to father upon the great
Apostle of the Gentiles.