I trust the subject now to be elucidated by this mode, will receive, from some at least, a calm and deliberate consideration. WHAT IS TRUTH ought to be our inquiry; and, if the Bible is considered to be the only standard of truth, let it be received as such. It has been remarked, How is it, that the second advent of Christ as having taken place, and all prophecy as having been fulfilled, have not been discovered until the 19th century? But there have been those who saw this before. It might be equally well asked, How came it to pass, that our boasted-of reformed religion was only established about 300 years ago? Or how is it that so many improvements in other sciences have been but recently discovered? I think this question is well met by the Rev. Professor Lee, D. D., the present Regius Professor of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge, in his work on the fulfilment of Prophecy, (note page 217,) which was very properly noticed in the first number of the Biblical Inquirer.

"In every case, the interpreter of Scripture ought to transport himself as much as possible into the times in which such declarations were made; which, in conjunction with the aids to be derived from other parts of Scripture, and of the New Testament in particular, will never fail to afford him all the light he can want. People generally read the Bible just as they do a newspaper, and as if all had taken place only yesterday." It is desirable that the learned Professor's observations should be strictly attended to: and unless this is done in pursuing our present inquiry, according to the plan proposed, it will prove quite ineffectual to the conviction of any mind; as the second and last advent of Christ, presented to view by this Diagram, took place nearly 1800 years ago, according to the prediction delivered by our Lord concerning it in Matt. xxiv. 34, "Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled;" confirmed also by Mark xiii. 30, and Luke xxi. 32. The epistles of the apostles were sent to the churches established under their ministry, before the second advent at the desolation of Jerusalem, which took place about the year 70; and who can possibly suppose from reading these epistles, that the apostles were not teaching believers in Christ then existing, to be in the full expectation of Christ's second coming; for they declared to these believers, that the coming of the Lord was then drawing nigh? James v. 8. On this, the learned professor, before alluded to, has this excellent remark, page 290. "This coming of the Lord, then, must have been a constant source of consolation to the Christians. It was perhaps, scarcely possible that a day, or even an hour, should pass, without some reference being made to it; and so familiar and popular (if I may use the term) was this consideration, that we find it taken up even by the false teachers themselves, 2 Thess. ii.”

Having made these observations, I will now endeavour to explain the Diagram itself; which presents a brief sketch from the creation of Adam to the consummation of all the counsel and purposes of God in Christ Jesus, to the establishment of his eternal and unchanging kingdom. As I intend to confine my principal observations to the four last states, from John the Baptist to the end, I need only make a few remarks on the line of genealogy presented in the Diagram. It commences with Adam and Eve, and goes onward to Christ: it is carried through the old world to Shem, the son of Noah, who, as well as Noah and his other sons, lived both before and after the deluge. This period or end of that world consisted only in this. "All flesh died that moved upon the earth; both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the

earth. and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the DRY LAND died." Gen. vii. 22, 23. Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark; the fish of the sea were not destroyed; and the sun, moon, and stars, which God, at the creation, gave to lighten the world, remained the same, and still continue to the present time.

The line of the genealogy of Christ proceeds from Shem to Arphaxad, and on to Abraham. The heir of the world, God is pleased to call alone, and to make two especial promises to him: the one under the name of Abram, the father of the families of the tribes of Israel; the other as Abraham, or the father of the nations. In him and in his seed, the families and the nations.-Israel and the Heathen or Gentiles were to be blessed. The seed thus promised is Christ, according to the explanation of the Apostle, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Gal. iii. 16. The promises thus made, with the fulfilment of them, are entirely distinct from the Sinai law and covenant delivered by Moses, the servant of God, to the people of Israel 430 years after the promise was made to Abraham. A diagram shewing this administration, and calculated to convey much instruction in its shadowy representation, might also be drawn; but I must pass this over, it being entirely separate from the spiritual blessings promised to Abraham. The line of genealogy, with the promises, proceeds then from Abraham to Isaac, from Isaac to Jacob, and from Jacob on to David; and, through this line, to the coming of Christ. I have not inserted in the diagram the names beyond David; but they are furnished by Matthew and Luke. Matthew commences his Gospel in these words: "The Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." In this chapter the genealogy is given from David, through the line of his son Solomon, to Joseph, the husband of Mary; and the genealogy, as given by Luke, chap. iii. runs from David, through the line of his son Nathan, to Mary, the wife of Joseph, unto whom the heavenly messenger was sent with these glorious tidings, (tidings sufficient, to use the beautiful language of the prophet, "to make the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb to sing !”)—“ Hail! highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God; and, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke i. 28-35.

To be continued.

ON THE APOCALYPSE.

To the Editors of the Biblical Inquirer.

LETTER I.

I gladly avail myself of your new publication, "THE BIBLICAL INQUIRER," to send you a paper for the consideration of your readers. The liberal

plan you propose in the advertisement of admitting free discussion, objections, and inquiries, connected with Scripture subjects, entitle you to, and will no doubt secure for you, extensive support from a large portion of the religious public, who are sincerely interested in the revelation Jehovah has made to man. A work like this is a desideratum. Casting aside the garb of sectarianism and bigotry, assuming a position of inquiry, a willingness to be instructed and corrected, while aiming to impart instruction in divine knowledge and truth, is unfurling, not the banner of strife and contention, but of peace and good will to men.

For some time I have been an anxious inquirer into the true meaning, interpretation, and fulfilment, of that great and sublime prophecy, the Apocalypse, called especially "THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST." I purpose therefore putting forth, from time to time, a letter in your periodical on this particular part of revelation. For I have worked myself into a belief, that this book is not, as commonly supposed, obscure and dark; but irradiated with the light of Omniscience: that it is not a mystery; but, like the sun, dispels all darkness and all mystery. In other words, it is not a SEALED packet of instructions; but an unsealed, opened revelation to God's servants. I beg at once to fix upon that vision, which John saw. Rev. v. 1, &c.

John saw "A book sealed with seven seals." From the description given of the opening of the seals, chap. vi. 1, &c. we may conceive of this book, that it was a roll or manuscript; for John says, "I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals." Our first inquiry will be, what are we to understand by this "sealed book," or roll? and secondly, do the Scriptures afford any information or light on the subject? I may at once venture to assert that we do not read of any book or prophecy said to be SEALED," but that of DANIEL; for Daniel was commanded "to shut up the words, and seal the book of his visions to the time of the end." This I shall endeavour to prove, as well to explain what we are to understand by the opening the book, or unveiling the mystery that lay hid and secret in this great prophecy by Daniel; but was made manifest by "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," to his servants the apostles.

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I cannot do better in the commencement than adopt the language of Dr. Tilloch, at the close of his examination of this subject. He writes "As the book of Daniel is the sealed book that was opened in the days of John, it follows that the same relation subsists between the writings of these two prophets, as between a lock and its key. They are adapted to each other, and if we would understand "The words that were closed up and sealed till the time of the end," we must use them together; attending at the same time to what has been written upon the same subject by other prophets and apostles--for "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for instruction," &c. If we wish to profit by them, we must take the result which they may offer, even if it reprove and censure what we may have been taught to respect and venerate. If we hearken to the reproof, we shall find that the same Scriptures also point out what is necessary to be attended to for the correction of those things which they condemn, and give ample instruction in every thing that regards faith and practice. Instead of following the Jewish and antichristian interpretations of the Book of Daniel, which have been the principal causes that have prevented him from being understood, let us carefully attend to the explanation that has been given of this prophet by "THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS," as recorded in the Apocalypse; in

which the seals are removed from Daniel; the time for which the vision, and the prophet who saw it, were to continue sealed, having expired. p. 137, 138.

I am aware that many different opinions are entertained, respecting the book which John saw sealed with seven seals. Some think it was symbolical of the hidden wisdom and purposes of Jehovah, or the promises of God in Jesus, "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy," Rev. xix. 10; and others that the sealed book represented all prophecy and all mystery, "which, from the beginning of the world had been hid in God," Eph. iii. 9. It will not be necessary for me to attempt a refutation of these opinions; they are mere conjecture; the more safe, because more simple and scriptural plan is, to "hear what the Spirit saith" on the subject.

Six hundred years before the first advent of Jesus, God suffered Nebuchadnezzar to beseige and take Jerusalem, and it is said, "The Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand." During the seventy years captivity of the house of Judah, in Chaldea, up to the "reign of Darius, and the reign of Cyrus the Persian," Daniel, "a man greatly beloved," had various visions and dreams, which he wrote. Dan. vii. 1. Now, if he wrote these dreams and visions, matters or words, the result would be a BOOK, just as Jeremiah had done before him. He writes, “I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." ix. 2. Here let it be observed that Daniel could understand the book of prophecy by Jeremiah; it was not, therefore, a "sealed book" to him. It will be seen that there is a difference, a peculiarity, with regard to Daniel's book.

I am aware, at the threshold of this subject of Daniel's prophecy, that I have to encounter seeming difficulties; that it requires unusual caution properly to state some facts without compromising others; and that one truth should not be attempted to be supported at the expence of another. I know that it is written, at the commencement of this book, "God gave them (the four) knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and he made Daniel understand all visions and dreams;" i. 17, and that he was enabled, by a "night vision," to make known and interpret to a certain point the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, ii. and his second dream, iv. as well as to interpret and read the writing on the wall of the palace of Belshazzar. But it will be observed, that, while Daniel was enabled to explain these dreams and visions of the kings, he could not understand or explain his own; for he writes, "the visions of my head troubled me."

I admit also, that when Daniel had his first dream, concerning the "four great beasts," vii. it is said that he asked "One of them that stood by the truth of all this; so he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things." Again, when Daniel had another vision, which he could not understand, it is said, he "heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision." viii. So in another vision, one sent to Daniel, says, "Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days; for yet the vision is for many days." x. This vision runs through the three last chapters of this prophecy; and, although it was given to Daniel to understand, that the ram having "two horns" meant

"the kings of Medea and Persia," that "the rough goat was the king of Grecia," and that these with the "lion," representing the king of Babylon, constituted the three dominions or kingdoms, yet he did not know the meaning of the fourth beast or king. This power, the last, and the events connected with it, were among the secret and sealed things of this book; for Daniel expressed his anxiety thus,-"Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all others." vii. 19. This was shewn him only in figures and symbols, and was sealed "to the time of the end." Thus Paul's language is applicable to the case of Daniel, when he writes "for we know in part, and we prophecy in part." 1 Cor. xiii. 9.

Having endeavoured to meet the difficulties in Daniel, which are only apparent, I have now merely to produce direct evidence to shew, that the book or roll, which John saw "sealed with seven seals," Rev. v. was the hidden things of Daniel's prophecy. Gabriel, when speaking to Daniel of events connected with the fourth power or king, says, "the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true, wherefore SHUT THOU UP THE VISION, for it shall be for many days." Further, when the angel was describing events that should take place, connected with the end of Daniel's people, his command is "But thou, O Daniel, SHUT UP THE Words, and seaL THE BOOK TO THE TIME OF THE END.” xii. 4. The language of this prophet puts it beyond all doubt, that, although he "knew in part," he did not know all his own writings or prophecy; for he exclaims, "And I heard, but I understood not; then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, go thy way Daniel, for the words ARE CLOSED UP, AND SEALED till the time of the end." 8, 9.

This evidence is too conclusive to require comment. If a "sealed book" was opened by "the lion of the tribe of Judah," and if we find among the writings of the prophets a "book," called expressly a sealed book, and said to be sealed for a given time, implying that at "the time of the end" it should be unsealed and opened, (for the language is plain and emphatic, "SEAL THE BOOK to the time of the end,") I feel no hesitation in adopting the opinion from such evidence, that the book John saw in the revelations made to him in Patmos, "sealed with seven seals," and then opened and unsealed, one seal after another, meant the opening up, and discovering the hidden, secret, sealed truths of Daniel's prophecy. I have dwelt longer on this first head than may be necessary for many; but, as its importance, in reference to other subjects, is material, I trust that many will excuse it.

April, 1834.

ON APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION.

To the Editors of the Biblical Inquirer.

LETTER I.

A.

I SHALL make no apology for avowing my intention to take part in promoting the design of the Biblical Inquirer. I am a friend and an "associate" in this attempt to provoke an extensive enquiry into, and study of the scriptures; and hence a deep and accurate acquaintance with Theology."

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The learning and ability displayed in the leading article of the first number might well discourage less learned and less able writers, if it was