their Messiah. But they do not allow that it defines or limits the
time of his coming.

And that it in fact does not, will be perfectly, evident to all who
will look at the place in the Hebrew bible, which they will find
pointed to read not--“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
and a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come,” &c.; but
thus--“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver
from between his feet, for ever; for Shiloh shall come, and to him
shall the gathering of the people be.” So that the prophecy does
not intimate that the Messiah should come before the sceptre be
departed from Judah; but that it should not depart for ever, but
shall be restored when Shiloh comes. This is the plain and obvious
sense of the prophecy; and, moreover, is the only one that is
consistent with historical fact. For, in truth, the sceptre had
departed from Judah several hundred years before Jesus of
Nazareth was born. For from the time of the Babylonish captivity
“Judah” has never been free, but in subjection to the Persians, the
Syrians, the Romans, and all the world.

If my readers desire further satisfaction with regard to this
interpretation of this famous prophecy, I refer them to the dispute
upon this subject between the celebrated Rittangelius, and a
learned Jew, (preserved in Wagenseils’ “Tela Ignea,”) where he
will find Rittangelius first amicably inviting the Hebrew to discuss
the point, who does so most ably and respectfully toward his
Christian antagonist, and unanswerably establishes the
interpretation above stated, by the laws of the Hebrew language, by
the ancient interpretation of the Targum, by venerable tradition,
and by appealing to history. Rittangelius begins his defence by
shuffling, an ends by getting into a passion, and calling names;
which his opponent, who is cool, because confident of being able
to establish his argument, answers by notifying to Rittangelius his
compassion and contempt.

The next prophecy proposed to be considered, is the celebrated
prophecy of Isaiah, consisting of part of the 52nd, and the whole of
the 53rd, chapter. It is the only prophecy which Paley thinks worth
bringing forward in his elaborate defence; and it must be
confessed, that if this prophecy relates to the Messiah, it is by far
the most plausible of any that are brought forward in favour of
Jesus Christ. It merits, therefore, a thorough discussion, and I shall
endeavour that it shall be a candid one. This prophecy is quoted by
Jesus himself in Luke xxii. 39, and by Philip, when he converted
the Eunuch, (Acts 8,) for “beginning at this prophecy, he preached
unto him Jesus.”

It will not be necessary to cite the passage at length, it being one
perfectly familiar to every Christian. I will, then, before I consider
it, first premise, that since it has been heretofore abundantly made
evident, that the Messiah of the Old Testament was not to suffer,
and die, but to live and reign, it is according to the rules of sound
criticism, and I think sound theology too, to interpret this solitary
passage, so that it may not contradict very many others of a
directly contrary import. Now, if this passage can relate only to the
Messiah, it will throw into utter confusion the whole scheme of the
prophetical scriptures. But if it can be made to appear, that it does
not necessarily relate to him; if it can, consistently with the
context, be otherwise applied, the whole difficulty vanishes. Now,
the authors of the New Testament have applied this prophecy to
the Messiah, and to Jesus as the Messiah; and for doing so, they
have been accused of misapplication of it-from the earliest times;
since we know from Origen, that the Jews of his time derided the
Christians for relying upon this prophecy; alleging that it related to
their own nation, and was a prophecy of their suffering and
persecuted state, and of their ultimate emancipation and happiness.
And this interpretation of the prophecy the learned Vitringa, in his
commentary upon Is. in loc., allows to be the most respectable he
had met with among the Jews, and, according to him, “to be by no
means dispised.”

In order that the fitness or unfitness of this application of the
prophecy may be made apparent, and evident, we will new lay
before the reader this famous prophecy, part by part, each part
accompanied by the Jewish interpretation.

Isaiah lii. 13, “Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be
exalted, and extolled, and be very high.” Interpretation--My
servant Israel, though he be in great affliction for a time, yet
hereafter shall be released from captivity, and be honoured and
raised to elevation very high among the nations of the earth. [That
the Jewish nation is spoken of, in the singular number and under
the title of God’s servant frequently in the Old Testament, is well
known, and will be here made certain by a few examples. Isaiah
xli. (the chapter preceding the prophecy,) “But thou Israel my
servant, thou, Jacob, whom I have chosen,” presently afterwards,
“saying to thee, thou art my servant.” Again, chapter xliv.--
“Now, therefore, hear Jacob my servant,” and so frequently in the
same chapter. See also ch. xlv., and Jer. ch. xxx., and Ps. cxxxvi.,
and Isaiah throughout, for similar examples.]

“And many were astonished at thee (his visage was so marred
more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.)”
That is--And many were astonished at thee, on account of thy
abject state, and miserable condition, being squalid with misery,
and suffering more than any men.

“So shall he sprinkle many nations, the kings shall shut their
mouths at him; for that which had not been told them, shall they
see, and that which they had not heard, shall they consider.”

Interpretation--As the Gentiles wondered at their abject state, so
as to make them a proverb of reproach, so shall they admire at their
wonderful change of circumstances, from the depth of degradation
to the height of prosperity and honour. So that they shall lay their
hands upon their mouths, which had beforetime reproached them,
when they shall see their felicity to be so far beyond what had been
told them, and they shall attentively consider it, and they shall say
to each other--

“Who hath believed our report, and the arm of the Lord to whom
was it revealed? For he grew up [Hebrew, not “he shall grow up,”
as in the English version] before him as a tender plant, and as a
root out of a dry soil; he had no form nor comeliness; and when
we saw him, there was no beauty that we should desire him.”

The sense is--The Gentiles shall say to each other in wonder,
“Who believed what we heard concerning them? And to whom
was the interest the Lord took in them made known? For it was a
dispised people, feeble, and wretched, like a tender plant springing
up out of a thirsty soil. Their appearance was abject, and there was
nothing attractive in their manners.”

“He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief: and we hid, as it were, our faces from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

That is--They were despised, and held in abhorrence: they were
men of sorrow, and familiar with suffering. We looked upon them
with dislike: we hid our faces from them, and esteemed them not.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.”

Interpretation--Surely their sufferings are as great as if they had
borne the sins of the whole world; or, they are, nevertheless, the
means appointed to remove the sufferings of an afflicted world, for
God hath connected universal happiness with their prosperity; and
the end of their sufferings, is the beginning of our joys.

“Yet did we esteem him smitten of God, and afflicted.”

Interpretation--Nevertheless, we considered them as a God-
abandoned race, and devoted to wretchedness by him, for having
crucified their king.

“But he was wounded for [or by] our transgressions, he was
bruised [for or by] our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was
upon him; and through his stripes we are healed.”

That is--But, instead of being the victims of God’s wrath, they
were wounded through our cruelty, they were bruised by our
iniquitous treatment, we being suffered to do so, to chastise them
for their sins, and to prove their obedience; and this chastisement is
that by which our peace is to be effected; for their chastisement
and probation being finished. God will by them impart and diffuse
peace and happiness.

“All we like sheep have gone astray, we, have turned every one to
his own way, and the Lord hath caused to meet upon him the
iniquity of us all.”

But it is we who have sinned more than they: we have all gone
astray in our ignorance, being without the knowledge of God, or of
his law. Yet the Lord hath permitted us to make them the subjects
of our oppressive iniquity.

“He was oppressed, [or “exposed to pecuniary exactions”] and he
was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he was brought as a
lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so he opened, not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from
judgment, and who shall declare his generation, [“into his manner
of life, who stoopeth to look?” according to the Hebrew] for he
was cut off out of the land of the living; for, [or by] the
transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave
with the wicked; but with the rich were his deaths, [or tomb]
because he had done no violence, neither was deceit in his mouth.”

Interpretation--How passive and unresisting were they, when
oppressed!--They were afflicted, and they complained not; when
through false accusations, and mistaken cruelty they were
plundered, and condemned to die, they went like a Iamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so they
opened not their mouth. They were taken from the dungeon to be
slain, they were wantonly massacred, and every man was their foe;
and the cause of the sufferers who condescended to examine; for
by the thoughtless crimes of my people, they suffered. Yet
notwithstanding their graves were appointed with the wicked; yet
they were rich in their deaths. This did God grant them, because
they had not done iniquity.

Rabbi Isaac, author of the famous Munimen Fidei#, renders the
original--“on account of impieties was he given to his sepulchre,
and on account of his riches was his death, because he did no
violence, neither was deceit in his mouth”--which he interprets
thus:--We (the former speakers) raised against them false
accusations of impiety, on account of their religion, and refusing to
worship our idols; but their riches was the real cause why we put
them to death. Nevertheless, they used no violence in opposition
to our oppressions, neither would they forsake their religion, and
deceitfully assent to ours in hypocrisy.*

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him: he hath put him to grief.
When thou shalt make his soul a propitiation for sin, he shall see
his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hands.” [This proves that this prophecy cannot
refer to any individual, but may refer to the Jewish nation, because
one individual cannot be put to death, and yet “see his seed,” and
“prolong his days.”] “After [or on account of] the travail of his
soul, seeing he shall be satisfied, by his knowledge shall
my righteous servant make many righteous [or show them
righteousness,] and he shall bear the burden of their iniquities.”

That is--After and for their sufferings, they shall be abundantly
rewarded; by their superior knowledge of religious truth, shall they
make many wise, “for many nations shall go, and say, come ye,
and let us ascend to the mount of the Lord, and to the house of the
God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways”--Mic. iv. ch.

“Wherefore, I will give him a portion with the great, and with the
mighty shall he divide the spoil, because he poured out his life
unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors, and himself
bear the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.”

Interpretation--Therefore, their reward shall be exceeding great,
because for the sake of their duty, they willingly exposed
themselves to death, and were accounted as transgressors, and bore
the cruel afflictions inflicted by many, and made intercession for
them who afflicted them.

Such is the explication given by the Jews of this prophecy. I have
made no important alterations of the common English translation;
except, that in some passages, I have made it more conformable to
the original by substituting a verb in the past tense, instead of
leaving it in the future, as in the English version. Those translators
have taken certain liberties in this respect to make this prophecy
(and several others) more accordant to their own views, which are
not supported by the Hebrew: many of these expressions, however,
we have left unaltered, as they are quite harmless. But if any of our
readers desire further information with regard to the propriety of
this interpretation of this prophecy of Isaiah, we refer him to the
“Munimen Fidei,” contained in Wagenseil's “Tela Ignea,” where
he will find it amply illustrated, and defended. Here, in this work,
we shall content ourselves with proving, that this prophecy can by
no means relate to Jesus, from these circumstances:--1. Jesus
certainly was not exalted and magnified, and made very great upon
earth, which, as has been shown, was to be the scene of the
exaltation of the Old Testament Messiah; but was put to a cruel
and disgraceful death. 2. He was not oppressed by pecuniary
exactions, as is said of the subject of this prophecy. 3. He was
never taken from prison to die, for he was never in one. 4. He did
not “see his seed,” nor “prolong his days,” since he died childless;
and we will not permit the word “seed” to be spiritualized on this
occasion, for the word “seed” in the Old Testament, means
nothing else, than literally “children,” which it is not pretended he
ever had; and how could he “prolong his days,” when he was cut
off in his 33d year. 5. Besides, who were “the strong and mighty,”
with whom he divided the spoil? Were they the twelve fishermen
of Galilee? and what was the spoil divided? In a word, the literal
application of this prophecy to Jesus is now given up by the most
learned Hebrew scholars, who allow, that the literal sense of the
original can never be understood of him. [See Priestley’s notes on
the scriptures, in loco; and the context before and after.]

We have now come to the last subject proposed to be considered in
this chapter, viz., Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks, the
“instar omnium” of the prophetical proofs of Christianity, and
which was for ages held up to the view of “the unbelieving race,”
as cutting off beyond doubt their “hope of Israel” from ever
appearing, since the time so distinctly foretold had elapsed. But
such is the instability of human opinions, that it was at length
suspected, and at last ascertained-by the learned, that “the stubborn
Israelites” had some reason for denying that prophecy, any voice in
the affair.

During many years, one learned man after another, had amused
himself with destroying the system of his predecessor, and
replacing it with his own, not a whit better, but tending to the same
end, viz., to make the prophecy of the seventy weeks tally and fit
with the event of the crucifixion. At length Marsham, a learned
Englishman, declared, and demonstrated, that his predecessors, in
this enquiry, had been grossly mistaken, for that the prophecy in
all its parts was totally irrelevant and irreconcileable with the time
of the crucifixion. The appearance of his book put all the
theologians of that age in an uproar! But many learned Christians
in the last, and present, century, now freely acknowledge, that
Daniel is not on their side, but as much a Jew as his brethren.

This celebrated prophecy, literally translated from the original, is
as follows:--Dan. ix. 24, &c.--“Seventy weeks are determined
upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression,
and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity,
and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and
prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy, [i. e., the sanctum
sanctorum, or Holy of Holies.] Know, therefore, and understand,
that from the going forth of the word to restore and build
Jerusalem, unto the anointed prince, shall be seven weeks; and (in)
threescore and two weeks, the street shall be built again, and the
wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks
shall the anointed (one) be cut off, and be without a successor;
(Heb. “and not, or none to him”) and the city and the sanctuary
shall be destroyed# by the people of the prince that shall come;
and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the
war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week, and half the week (i. e., in the midst of
the week) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and
for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate,
even until the consummation and that (is) determined, be poured
upon the desolate?”

This is the prophecy on which such stress has been laid, as
pointing out the precise time of the coming of the Messiah; and I
shall fully demonstrate that it hath not the most distant reference to
that event. And for the better explanation of the prophecy, it is
proper that we attend a little to the context.

*In the preceding chapter of Daniel it is said, that when Daniel was
informed of the vision of the two thousand and three hundred days,
he sought for the meaning; but not rightly understanding it, he
judged, that that great number was a contradiction to the word of
God as delivered by Jeremiah, concerning the redemption at the
end of seventy years; (Jer. xxv. 11, 12, and ch. xxix. 10) and from
thence he concluded that the captivity was prolonged on account of
the sins of the nation. This doubt arose from his not understanding
the prophecy, and, therefore, the angel said unto him,--“I am now
come forth to give thee skill and understanding.” And he proceeds
to inform him, that as soon as he began to pray, and God saw, his
perplexity, the royal command went forth from him, that he should
come to Daniel to make him understand the truth of those matters,
that were to come to pass in future time. And as the angel Gabriel
had explained to him the vision from whence his doubt arose, it
was incumbent on him to perfect the explanation; and that is what
is meant by the expression “to show,” i. e., as I began the
explanation, the commandment was, that I should finish it.

Before I proceed to give the Jewish explanation of the prophecy, it
is proper to show in what manner the answer of the angel in it,
agreed to Daniel’s question, and also the reason of his using the
term weeks, and not years, or times, as in the other visions.

It appears, that Daniel, from the words of Jeremiah, perceived that
God. would visit all the nations, and punish them for their sins, as
may be observed from the following words:--“Thus saith the
Lord God of Israel unto me, Take the wine cup of this fury at my
hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee, to drink it”--
Jer, xxv. 15. He then mentions first Jerusalem, afterwards the king
of Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, and all the Isles beyond the sea, and many
others; and at last the king of Sheshak, or Babylon.

He also further perceived, that the visitation of each nation would
be at the end of seventy years, as Isaiah observes of Tyre: “And it
shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy
years.” Isaiah xxiii. 15, the same of Babylon: “And it shall come to
pass, when seventy years are accomplished, I will punish the King
of Babylon.” Jer. xxv. 12, And as it is observed in the next verse:
“All that is written in this book which Jeremiah hath prophecied,
against all the nations.” From whence it appears, that as the
visitation of Babylon was to be seventy years, so was that of the
other nations to be; for so had the wisdom of God decreed to wait
according to this number. For which reason, and because the
prophets say that the restoration of Israel is to be contemporaneous
with the destruction of their enemies, Daniel appears to have.
judged, that the sins of his nation would be done away by the
seventy years of the captivity of Babylon; and, therefore, the angel
informed him of his error, by telling him, that this was not to be the
case with his nation, for that their wickedness was come up before
God, and their sin was very grievous; and that, therefore, their sins
would not be atoned for by seventy years, as in the case of the rest
of the nations, to whom he allowed seventy years to see if they
would repent; and, if not, then he would punish them. But as for
Israel, he would not only wait seventy years, but seven times
seventy years; (for thus it is literally, in the Hebrew, the words
translated “seventy weeks,” are, literally, “seventy sevens”) after
which, if they had not repented and reformed, their kingdom
should be cut off, and they return into captivity, to finish an
atonement for their transgressions. Hence the cause of Daniel's
question is evident; and the propriety of the angel’s answer to the
question, is manifest; as also the expression of weeks or sevens.

These seventy weeks are, without doubt, four hundred and ninety
years, the time elapsed from the destruction of the first temple, till
the destruction of the second.

This, it seems, was the more necessary for the angel to inform him
of; because Daniel judged, that after their return from Babylon, by
means of that visitation only, all their sins would be done away.
For which reason the angel showed him that it would not be so,
[for the return from Babylon was not a perfect redemption,
because there was not a general collection of all that were in
captivity, even all the tribes, save only a few of Judah and
Benjamin, and those not the most respectable. And after their
return, they were not free, but were under the dominion of the
Persians, Greeks and Romans. And although they, at one time,
threw off their yoke, and had kings of the Asmonean and Herodean
families, yet was there no king among them of the seed of David,
neither had they the Shechinah, nor the Urim and Thummim, all
which is a manifestation that it was not a perfect redemption, but
only a visitation, with which God was pleased to visit them; so that
they were allowed to build a temple to the Lord, by the permission
of Cyrus, and according to the measure given by him. This was
that they might be the better enabled to do the works of repentance
during the time allowed, and thus “make atonement, and thus
finish the transgression, and make an end of sins, and make
reconciliation for iniquity;” and thus, at the end of the time
assigned, even “seventy weeks,” they would bring in “everlasting
righteousness,” i.e., universal virtue and felicity, throughout the
world, when the Eternal should be known, worshipped, and obeyed
by all mankind. But if they did not repent, and amend, if they did
evil, as their fathers, then their kingdom was to be cut off at the
expiration of the seventy weeks; which, in fact, took place.]

After the angel had thus expressed himself in general terms, he
descended to particulars; and laid down three propositions (if I
may be allowed the term,) or periods.

First. “Know, therefore, and understand, (that) from the going
forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem, unto the anointed
prince, (shall be) seven weeks.”

That is, it shall be seven weeks or forty nine years from the
destruction of the first temple, to Cyrus, “the anointed prince,”
who shall give leave to build the second. [With regard to the
import of the phrase “the going forth of the word,” I refer the
reader to Levi's Letters to Priestley, and shall here only concern
myself with settling the meaning of the expression of “the
anointed prince.”] Many Christians have objected to the term
Messiah, or anointed, being applied, as in our interpretation to
Cyrus a heathen prince; and they apply it themselves to Jesus of
Nazareth. But that the term, or appellation, Messiah, can be applied
to Cyrus, is evident; since we find it so applied by God himself in
the xlv. ch. of Isaiah. “Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to
Cyrus. 2. It is a singular fact, that the appellation “Messiah” is
never applied to the expected deliverer of the Israelites in the
whole bible, except, perhaps, in ii. Psalm. It is an appellation
indifferently applied to kings, and priests, and prophets; to all who
were anointed, as an induction into their office, and has nothing in
it peculiar and exclusive; but the application of it to the expected
deliverer of Israel, originated in and from the Targums. 3. In order
to make this prophecy, and this phrase, “Messiah the prince,” or
“the anointed prince,” apply to Jesus of Nazareth, Christians
connect, and join together, this first member of the prophecy with
the second, in open defiance of the original Hebrew; and after all,
they can reap no benefit from this manoeuvre; for the term
“Messiah Nagid,” or “the anointed prince,” can never apply to
Jesus, in this place, at any rate; because he certainly was no prince
or “Nagid,” a word which in the Hebrew bible always, without
exception, denotes a prince, or ruler, one invested with temporal
authority, or supreme command. Now, as it is allowed on all
hands, that Jesus had no such temporal power, as a prince, or ruler;
it, consequently, follows, that he can by no means be the
“anointed prince” mentioned in the prophecy.

Second Period. “And (in) threescore and two weeks, the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times,”

Here the angel gave him to understand, that after the seven weeks
before mentioned, there would come a time in which the building
would be hindered, (and which was on account of the letter written
by Rheum and Shimshai to Artaxerxes, who, in consequence
thereof, made the building to cease-See Ezra and Nehemiah) till
the second year of Darius, who gave leave to finish the building:
which continued till the destruction by the Romans, sixty-two
weeks, beside the last week, at the beginning of which, the Romans
came, and warred against them, and at length entirely destroyed the
cities of Judah, Jerusalem, and the temple. For, from the time that
Cyrus first gave leave to build the temple, till its completion, was
twenty-one years; and its duration, four hundred and twenty; in the
whole, sixty-three weeks, or four hundred and forty one years. But
the angel made his division at sixty-two weeks, as he afterwards
described what was to come to pass in the last week (and with
reason, for the horrible Jewish war lasted seven years!) And by the
words, “in troublous times,” he informed Daniel, that during the
building of the temple, they would have continual trouble and
alarms from their enemies, as is mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah,
where we find, that while some worked, the others held the shield
and spear. And even after finishing it, they were almost continually
in trouble, and persecuted, as is evident from the books of
Maccabees, and from Josephus.

Third Period. “And after threescore and two weeks shall the
anointed be cut off, and have no successor--[Heb. “and not, or,
none, to him”]--and the city and the sanctuary shall be destroyed
by the people of the prince that shall come; and the end thereof
shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are
determined.”

That is, and after that period, shall the High Priest (or “the
anointed one”) be cut off--[The High Priest is called “Messiah,”
witness Lev. iv. 3--“If the Messiah Priest, (or anointed priest)
doth sin,” &c.]--and have no successor; and the city and the
temple shall be destroyed by Titus and the Romans, and until the
end of the war, your country shall be swept with the besom of
destruction.

The angel finishes the prophecy with these words:--“And he (the
prince that shall come) shall strengthen the covenant with many,
for one week. And in the midst of the week (i. e., the seventieth
and last week,) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease.”

This prediction was fully accomplished; for 1. Titus, “the prince
that should come,” was continually offering peace to the Jews, and
tried to “strengthen the covenant”--i. e., their old treaties made
with the Romans, and in fact did bring over many. 2. On account
of the distress of the siege, the daily sacrifice did in fact cease to be
offered in the temple some time before its destruction; and the
angel further observes, that all this was to come upon them for
their sins, “for the overspreading of abominations, it should be
made desolate.”

This is what appears to be a plain and fair explication of this
prophecy; but since Christians, seeing mention made in it of a
Messiah to be cut off, have eagerly endeavoured to press it into
their service, it remains for me to show, that it is impossible to
make this prophecy refer to “the cutting off” of Jesus.

The difficulty that learned Christians have met with, in their
attempts to do this, will be easily conceived by any person, when
he knows, that more than a dozen different hypotheses have been
framed by them for that purpose; but that they have lost their
labour, will be obvious from this single observation, that “the
anointed one, or Messiah,” who, the prophet says, was to be “cut
off,” was to be cut off “AFTER the threescore and two weeks,” i.
e., at the destruction of Jerusalem, or within the seven years
preceding that event! Now, we know from the Evangelists, and;
from profane history, that Jesus was crucified more than forty
years before the destruction of Jerusalem. In addition to this,
nothing need be said, for this circumstance lays flat their
interpretation at one stroke.

Those who desire to see a more elaborate discussion of this
prophecy, and an ample defence of this interpretation, are referred
to “Levi’s Letters, to Priestly;” and those who are desirous of
seeing an account of the various, contradictory, perplexed and
multitudinous contrivances, by which it has been endeavoured to
apply this prophecy to Jesus, are referred to Prideaux, Michaelis,
and Blayney.

We have now gone through an examination of the evidence
adduced from the prophets of the Old Testament, to prove that
Jesus is the Messiah of the Old Testament; and those of our readers
who love truth, are, we trust, now made sensible that the religion
of the New Testament, if built upon such proofs as these, is,
evidently, founded on--a mistake.



CHAPTER VIII.

STATEMENT OF ARGUMENTS WHICH PROVE THAT
JESUS WAS NOT THE MESSIAH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

Most of our readers have, no doubt, heard from the pulpit, many
exclamations and declamations against the “blindness of the Jews,”
in not recognizing their Messiah in Jesus of Nazareth. The reasons
of this “blindness” are made, I think, by this time pretty
intelligible.

Nevertheless, for the further satisfaction of the reader, I will here
set down the principal reasons given by Rabbi Isaac, in his
“Munimen Fidei,” which cause the Jews to deny the Messiahship
of Jesus.

“At a certain time, (says he,) a certain learned man of the wise men
of the Christians said unto me:--‘Wherefore are you Jews
unwilling to believe Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah, when yet
your veritable prophets testified of him, whose words you profess
to have faith in.’

“I gave him this answer. ‘How, I require, could we believe him to
be the Messiah, when you can produce no genuine proof from the
prophets in his favour, since all those things adduced by the
evangelists from them, to prove Jesus the Messiah, are nothing to
the purpose? And we have many and evident reasons to prove that
he was not the Messiah. And of these, I will bring forward a few,
arising, 1, From his genealogy. 2. From his works. 3. From the time
of his appearing. 4. From the prophecies of the things to take place
in the time of the Messiah not having seen fulfilled in his age. And
in these things are contained the genuine marks characteristic of
our Messiah.’

“1. As to what concerns his genealogy; it does not prove this
necessary thing, that Jesus was the son of David, because he was
not begotten by Joseph, as the Gospel of Matthew testifies; for in
the first chapter of it, it is written, that Jesus was born of Mary
when she was yet a virgin, and had not been known by Joseph;
which things being so, the genealogy of Joseph has nothing to do
with Jesus. The descent and origin of Mary, is still less known, but
it seems from Luke’s calling Elizabeth, who was of Levi, her
cousin, that Mary was of the tribe of Levi, and not of Judah, and,
consequently, not of David; and, if she were, still Jesus is not the
more the son of David; descents being reckoned from the males
only. Neither is the genealogy of Joseph rightly deduced from
David, but labours under great difficulties. Matthew, and Luke
also, not only disagree, but irreconcilably and flatly contradict
each other, in their genealogies of Joseph. Now, it cannot be that
the testimony of two witnesses, who directly contradict each other
in the matter to be proved by them, can be received as true. But the
prophets have directed us to expect no Messiah but one born of the
seed of David.

“2. As to the works of Jesus, we object to what he said concerning
himself:--‘Do not consider me as come to establish peace on
earth, for I have come to send a sword, and to separate the son
from the father, and the daughter from her mother, and the
daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law,’ which words are written
in Mat. ch. x. But we find the prophecies concerning the Messiah
to attribute to him very different works from these; nay, the very
opposite. For, whereas Jesus testifies concerning himself, that he
did not come to establish peace in the earth, but ‘division,’ ‘fire’
and ‘sword,’ Zechariah says, concerning the expected Messiah, ch.
ix.:--‘He shall speak peace to the nations.’ Jesus says he came to
send ‘fire and sword’ upon the earth, but Micah says, ch. ii., that in
the times of the true Messiah they shall beat their swords into
ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’
Jesus says that he came ‘to put division between the father and the
son,’ &c. But in the time of the true Messiah, Elias, the prophet,
shall come, of whom Malachi prophecied ‘that he shall convert the
heart of the fathers unto the children, and the heart of the children
to the fathers.’ Jesus says ‘that he came to serve others, not to be
served by them’ – Mat. xx. 29. But of the true Messiah it is said,
Psalm lxxii.:--‘All kings shall bow themselves before him, all
nations shall serve him.’ The same also is said by Zechariah, ch. ix.:--
‘His dominion shall be, from one sea to the other, and from the
river unto the ends of the earth;’ and so Dan., ch. vii.:--‘All
dominions shall serve and obey him.’

“3. As to the time, we object to the Christians, that Jesus did not
come at the time designated by the prophets; for the prophets
testify, that the coming of the Messiah should be ‘in the end of
days’ or, in the latter days, (which, surely, have not yet arrived) as
it is in Isaiah ch. ii.:--‘It shall come to pass in the latter days, that
the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of
the mountains, and all nations shall flow unto it;’ and it
immediately follows, concerning the king Messiah, ‘that he shall
judge among the nations, and rebuke many peoples, and they shall
beat their words into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks.’ See also Hosea, ch. iii, and also Dan., ch. ii., where it is
written:--‘God hath made known unto king Nebuchadnezzar
what shall come to pass in the latter days,’ (or, in the end of days.)
And this pertains to what follows, viz., to this:--‘In the days of
those kings, (i. e., of the kingdoms that arose out of the ruins of the
Roman Empire) the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed.’ Thus you see, that the prophets
predicted, that the kingdom of the Messiah should be after the
destruction of the Roman Empire, not while it was in its vigour;
when Jesus came; in ‘the latter days,’ and not before.*

“4. Besides all these difficulties, neither were the promises made
to us by the prophets, concerning the things to come to pass at the
coming of the Messiah, fulfilled in the time of Jesus. For examples,
take the following:--‘1. In the time of the king Messiah, there was
to be one kingdom only, and one only king upon earth, viz., the
king Messiah--see Daniel, ch. ii.; but behold, we see with our
eyes, many independent kingdoms, distinct, and distinguished by
different laws and customs, religious and political, which things
being so, it follows, that the Messiah is not yet come.

“2. In the time of the king Messiah, there was to be only one
religion and one law throughout the world; for, it is written in
Isaiah, ch. lii. and lxvi., that all nations shall come at stated times
to worship the Eternal at Jerusalem. See also Zechariah, ch. xiv.
and ch. viii., and indeed throughout the writings of the prophets.

“3. In the time of the king Messiah, idols were to be cut off, and
utterly to perish from the earth; as it is said in Zechariah, ch. xiii.,
and so in Isaiah, ch. ii., it is written, ‘And the glory of idols shall
utterly pass away;’ and so in Zephaniah, ch. ii., ‘The Lord shall be
terrible among them, when he shall make lean (i. e., bring to
nothing) all the gods of the earth; and all the countries of the
nations shall bow themselves to Him, each out of his place.’

“4. In the times of the Messiah, there shall obtain no more sins and
crimes in the earth, especially among the children of Israel, as is
affirmed in Deut. xxx., Zephaniah, ch. iii and in Jeremiah, ch. iii.
And l., and so in Ezekiel, ch. xxxvi. and xxxvii.

“5. In the times of the Messiah, there shall be peace between man
and beast, and between the tiger and the tame beast; and the little
child shall stroke, with impunity, the variegated skin of the serpent,
and,--as one of our own poets has beautifully said,--‘and with
his forked tongue shall innocently play.’ See in Isaiah, ch. xi. and
lxv., the original from whence he derived his beautiful poem.

“6. In the time of the king Messiah, there are to be no calamities,
no afflictions, no lamentations throughout the world. But the
inhabitants thereof are to lead joyful lives in gratitude to the good
God, and in the enjoyment of his bounties. See Isaiah lxv.

“Lastly. In the time of the king Messiah, the glory of God was
again to return to Israel, and the spirit of the most High God was to
be liberally poured out upon them, and they were to be endowed
with the spirit of prophecy, and with wisdom, and knowledge, and
understanding, and virtue; and God will no more hide his face from
them; but will bless them, and give them a ready heart and a
willing mind to obey his laws, and enjoy the felicities consequent
thereupon. And the Shechinah shall inhabit the temple for ever,
and the glory of God shall never depart from Israel; but they shall
walk amid the splendours of the glory of the Eternal, and all the
earth shall resound with his praise, as is written in Ezekiel, ch.
xxxvii., and xxxix., and xliii.; and in Joel, ch. ii., and in Zech., ch.
ii., and Isaiah, ch. xi., and throughout the latter part of his
prophecies, and in Jer. xxxi.”

And now, reader, let me ask you this question, has any one of the
foregoing prophecies been yet fulfilled, either in the days of Jesus,
or ever since? Thou canst not say it! Now, then, hear the
conclusion, which, in sincerity, and with the hand upon the heart, I
am compelled to draw from these precedents. “Since these
distinctive characteristics predicted by the Hebrew prophets, as to
be found in their Messiah, were certainly, and evidently, never
found in Jesus; and since these conditions and circumstances, and
many others beside, which, to avoid prolixity, have been omitted,
most assuredly did not take place in the time of Jesus, nor ever
since, and since they were according to those prophets, certainly to
be expected in the time of their Messiah; therefore, from all this, it
seems to be demonstrable (allowing the prophets to be true,) that
Jesus of Nazareth was not this true Messiah.” And I would ask the
candid Christian, in which link of this chain of proofs he can find a
flaw? And I would ask him, too, as a moral and honest man,
whether any Jew, in his right mind, could, without setting at
nought what he conceived to be the word of God, receive him as
the Messiah? The honest and upright answer, I believe, will be,
that he could net. And, accordingly, it is very well known, that the
Jewish nation have never done so. And this their obstinacy, as it is
called, will not by this time, I think, appear unreasonable to any
sensible man; and he will now be able to appreciate the justice of
that idle cant about “the carnal Jews,” and their “worldly-minded”
expectation of a temporal prince, as their Messiah. Certainly, the