March 1, 1865. have a sure word of prophecy, which shineth as a light in a dark "take heed unto it." place." Let us If any one ask, How am I to employ the prophetic light? we answer, for the increase of our knowledge in the gracious designs and purposes of God, concerning ourselves and the world at large. Our blessed Saviour, as well as His apostles, enjoin a diligent study of the word of God, with a view to increase our knowledge of Him and of His kingdom. Our Lord mourned over Jerusalem, saying, "O that thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." And St. Peter exhorts us "to look for and hasten the coming of the day of God." The Apostle Paul also prays for his beloved Philippians, that "their love might abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment. that they might be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ." The Church at Thessalonica he enjoins “to wait for the Son of God from heaven," in order not to be overtaken by "the day of the Lord, as by the coming of a thief." And to the Hebrews he writes, speaking to them of Christ's second coming, “And unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin (sin offering) unto salvation." No other portion of God's holy word, besides prophecy, offers such a fund of knowledge regarding the Lord's gracious purposes and merciful designs concerning His people, and His certain and fearful judgments determined upon the devil and this ungodly world. The prophecies concerning Christ's pre-millennial advent, and the results of that event, are not things of small import, or with which we, as Christians, have no concern. They involve things of the greatest moment and of general interest-things which have the most direct reference to the kingdoms of this world and the nations that inhabit this earth. And however unexpected and improbable these predicted events may be to most who call themselves Christians, they are certain, and will be as literally and assuredly fulfilled as those predictions were that had reference to Christ's first coming. "Heaven and earth shall pass away," says our Lord, "but my word shall not pass away till all be fulfilled." And the design of the Lord in having predicted these events is, that they may serve both as an evidence of the truth of the Bible, and afford support and encouragement to God's people, amidst trials and persecution, in their onward course through this world. In the prophetic word God has made known to His own the mystery of His will. If God, therefore, has so graciously condescended to give us an insight into His purposes, shall we be indifferent to them? Let it be noticed God has not revealed anything in His word which at some time will not be needful for His people. The latter days of this dispensation are evidently coming fast upon us, when a knowledge of the unfulfilled prophecies will become of special importance to conduct and support us through the labyrinth of errors and confusion, and to enable us 'to endure unto the end." Our Lord speaks of "false Christs and false prophets, who shall show great signs and wonders: insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." The tribulation in those days will be such as never was, "no, nor ever will be." Yea, He adds, "And except those March 1, 1865. days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elects' sake those days shall be shortened." These predictions of our Lord teach us the imperative necessity of attending to them, in order to be safely conducted by that light, and to be encouraged thereby to "be faithful even unto death," and obtain "a crown of life" at the hands of our blessed Lord and Saviour. Our Lord, after having warned us in the above words, significantly adds, "Behold, I have told you before." Another motive may be mentioned, regarding the great importance of attending to the light of prophecy, which is the example of the Jews. They were not altogether regardless of it; but in their carnality of mind they dreamed of a reigning Messiah before a suffering one. The light of prophecy, however, distinctly showed that Christ should suffer and then enter into His glory. (Compare Ps. xxii. and Isa. liii.) The Jews, therefore, had no right view of prophecy. This led them to reject their Messiah, and made them cry out, "Crucify Him, crucify Him;" and thus they brought upon themselves all their misery and suffering, under which they have groaned for nearly these eighteen hundred years. "They did not know the day of their visitation," nor did they "discern the signs of their times." Their history ought to be a warning to us. Again, let us consider what would have been the case of the primitive Christians had they not attended to the sure word of prophecy at the destruction of Jerusalem. Would they have fled at the right moment, according to our Saviour's words, and thus escaped the destruction of the rest? We know they understood our Lord's words literally, and acted upon them, and were saved, while the remainder were miserably destroyed. Now "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," and so is His word. In every way, therefore, we should take heed to the sure word of prophecy, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in our hearts." THE VOICE OF CHRONOLOGY. BY MAJOR J. SCOTT PHILLIPS. HAVING received from my kind and valued friend, J. W. Bosanquet, Esq., the treasurer of the Chronological Society of London, many valuable papers of his production, and among them especially one upon the Assyrian Chronology, and one upon that of the Israelites, commonly called Hebrew Chronology, I have for a long time been endeavouring to apply the information thus obtained to the solution of the great question of the commencement and end of "the times of the Gentiles." Mr. Bosanquet's chronology, founded upon history, is sustained by scientific astronomical calculations. The leading points upon which his corrections of other chronologies rest are those of solar eclipses, verified under the recalculations of the Astronomer Royal; while more especially has he tested his Scripture Chronology-to use his own March 1, 1865. words-by the most rigid and appropriate test, the sacred calendar of Sabbatical years and jubilees. There is a remarkable question in Job (xxiv. 1), "Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know Him not see His days? I venture to think this question is highly suggestive of the fact that it is not impossible for Christians to understand their times. While Jeremiah (viii. 7) writes, "Thus saith the Lord, . . . . . the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord;" implying that we can know, and ought to understand, both times and seasons. These considerations are most impressive. We trust with the guidance of the word to make them useful. Let us therefore turn to the primary settlement of Israel as a nation, under a divinely-given constitution, confirmed with promised blessings to the obedient, and threatened curses upon the disobedient, as detailed in the 26th chapter of Leviticus. Alas! that we should have far more reason to dwell upon the curses than the blessings, at least in this investigation. We notice the first time of punishment, v. 14-17: "But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I will do this unto you. . . . . And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies; they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.' Now here is one awful threatened time of punishment. But what follows? "And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power (national self-government); and . . . .I will bring seven times more plagues upon you. .. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. . . . . And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons." Thus, then, as it appears, we have a primary time of punishment, and a secondary threatened, and the last to be equal in duration to seven times the former. The first time is not distinctly so expressed, but it is allusively settled by the precise word “more "twice used; even as seven years more would at the very least refer to the period of one previous year. We fasten, then, upon the recognition of one primary time, and seven following times; and for the definite meaning of "a time," where should we turn if not to the book of the Revelation of "Jesus Christ (not "of St. John the divine "), who in His times shall be shown forth King of kings and Lord of lords, and who, in the revealing as given through St. John, has furnished mankind with wondrous clues and keys to times and seasons? 66 Our readers know full well how "the Revelation gives the understanding of a time as in the book of Daniel, and, therefore, I will not enter upon the long-settled view of 360 years as making up one time; but taking that view for granted, I will endeavour to show from Scripture the fulfilment of the primary threatened punishment for March 1, 1865.] 360 years; and then the commencement of the second long period of punishment, the seven times, corresponding with "the times of the Gentiles," even 2,520 years, as regards all Israel, for 7 × 360 = 2,520 years; and then upon even another subordinate scriptural period, even 49 × 49 +49 2,450 years, which, commencing 70 years later as affecting the house of Judah, will combine to fix the years A.D. 1867-68 as those which will conclude the seven times of punishment. In the last chapter of Joshua we find that "Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua," which is a second time recorded, as it were, for our especial instruction in Judges ii. 7. But the 11th verse tells us that Israel fell away to false gods, and the 14th that "the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said (Leviticus), and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed." The Lord ceased to drive out before them the nations of Canaan, and then, about 1406 (as the margin states), commenced the first time 360 years' punishment. The books of Judges and Samuel show continual troubles, with only brief intervals of comparative ease, for 360 years; till at length, about B.C. 1046-47-common chronology-in 1 Chronicles i. 14 we read of the smiting of the host of the Philistines by David. God returned in His favour and power unto His people Israel. He went before them (v. 15) "to smite the host of the Philistines." And the curse of the first time of punishment being removed, we read in the 17th verse that "the fame of David went out into all lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations." Having then established the period of 360 years as that of the first time of punishment since 1406-360 gives B.c. 1046, i.e., simply, since the Bible shows that Israel was, in the first instance, under punishment exactly 360 years-let us multiply 360 by 72,520 years, that we may obtain a knowledge of the precise period, described as seven times more, during which Israel was to be made to suffer for their transgressions, as stated in Leviticus xxvi. And then, after studying the state of Israel under King Solomon and his successors, we have, alas! to note how terribly, while yet the Lord bore with them, they fell away and departed from His judgments and His commandments, until in the year B.C. 652, the measure of their iniquities being complete, the long-suffering of God ended, and He again brought against them His hand for evil, "as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them." Yet not without warning and especial instruction for us upon "whom the ends of the world are come" did that awful period of seven times more of punishment commence. For in Isaiah vii. we are told that "in the days of Ahaz" the prophet was instructed: "Thus saith the Lord God,. . . . . within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people." And if we apply this space of 65 years from B.C. 717, the first year of Ahaz, says Bosanquet, it will bring = us to the year 652, the date when the ten tribes were broken up as a people, and carried into a captivity from whence they have never returned. The first year of Ahaz, by Usher, marg. ref., as by 2 Kings xvii. 1, "In the twelfth year of Ahaz," &c., marg. ref. 730, and add 12 742, differs by 25 years from Mr. Bosanquet's 717. But my duty is simply to avail myself of that gentleman's studies, based as they certainly are upon the admirable idea of strict attention to the Scripture calendar of Sabbatical years and jubilees-God's own appointed ordinances, be it reverently said, for the conservation of times and seasons-and also upon his admirable plan of verification of times by astronomical calculations of historically recorded solar eclipses. And it may be left to the learned colleges, wherein so many maintain the doctrine of apostolical succession, to meet Mr. Bosanquet's statement-p. 104, "Trans. Chron. Institute," vol. 2, part 4-that "it is a striking proof of the worthlessness of the commonly-received reckoning, that confessedly it draws no support from the calendar of Sabbatical years and jubilees." If, however, we deduct 65 years from 742, we come to 677, and on referring to 2 Kings xvii. 23 we read, "So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon. and placed them (cir. 678) in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof." "The Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets." = Thus, either by the marg. ref. or by Mr. Bosanquet's chronology, the correctness of the application of 65 years from the first year of Ahaz is established, and the captivity of the ten tribes and consequent degradation of the Israelitish people from political power commenced as prophesied. And taking Mr. Bosanquet as the best authority for the commencement of the seven times punishment, which, of course, must correspond with the times of the Gentiles (Jerusalem being to be "trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled"), we arrive at the important and inevitable conclusion, that 7 × 360 = 2,520 applied from 652-53 B.c. will expire about A.d. 1867, and by consequence that about that very year 1867 the people of Israel will return to their own land; first, for a third brief period of chastisement, and then for honour, happiness, and glory. While, however, we reckon the seven times 2,520 years in full application to the whole people of Israel, we must take into consideration a period of 49 × 49 +49 2,450, which has by some been thought to compose the times of the Gentiles. And it is a curious and interesting fact that this period, as it affects the house of Judah, has a beginning which dates from the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, and which makes the "times" terminate at the same date, namely, A.D. 1867-68. For turning to 2 Kings xxiii., and having noted the goodness of king Josiah, we read that, "Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of His great wrath, wherewith His anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked Him withal. And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel." And this removal came to pass in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, counting, as in the case of Ahaz, from the first year of his reign, = |