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his fore-runner; John's being formed in literal compliance with prophetic description; that of Jesus in opposition to its received meaning.

3. The only characteristic given by John of the Messiah, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, was not verified during the life of Jesus, and was in apparent contradiction to his baptizing with water equally with John.

4. The coming of Jesus to John's baptism of repentance, was calculated to diminish the opinion of his spotlessness and * superiority.

5. John's message from prison, however natural from human infirmity, would throw suspicions on his own veracity, and the authority of Jesus.

6. The objections of John's disciples to the authority of Jesus, and the milder discipline of his disciples, and their partial union with him.

7. John's neglect to vindicate, in reply to the Pharisees, his: own claim to the character of Elias, which would have been the sole object of imposture.

8. John's repeated designation of Jesus as the "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world,"-implying his violent death, and sufficient, considering the prejudices of the Jews, to ensure his rejection.

Such are the principal arguments adduced-the proof will be found interesting and satisfactory: nor is it immaterial to observe in how small a portion of Christian history they are comprised, and what promise, therefore, of an abundant harvest they hold out to any one who should labour with similar patience in the parts hitherto unexplored. A Christian, indeed, must enter with repugnance on an enquiry, which even vindicates the character of his Saviour; yet the benefit of those, who acknowledging the excellence of Christianity, still account it only a benevolent imposture, will amply compensate the sacri fice.

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II. The last portion of the essay considers the necessity of a fore-runner to the Messiah, and John's fitness for that office. The necessity is fully established by an energetic description of the "mass of prejudice and depravity, which then obstructed the passage of a pure and spiritual religion." The fitness of John is illustrated in his baptism and his preaching. His bap

* A singular confirmation of this argument is supplied by a legend of later times, that Jesus subsequently baptized John. This account, obviously devised to repair the supposed loss of dignity in the first baptism, was contained in peritioribus libris according to the anonymous author of the imperfeet work of St. Matthew published with Chrysostom. See Chrys, T. vi. p. 40, 41, ed Bened..

tism, requiring in addition to the confession of sins practised by the Jews," a complete regeneration of heart and spirit;" his preaching, founded on the necessity of repentance and amendment, and the insufficiency of the covenant with Abraham; and, in its adaptation to his various applicants, giving no slight evidence of his firmness, discrimination, and temperance. Some insight also into the Christian dispensation seems to have been given him; and his occasional hints of the pre-existence, and super-human nature of Jesus-of the reconciliation of the world through him to God, and the necessity of belief in himof the dwelling of the Spirit with him, and the future grant of that Spirit to his followers, (though we would not with the author allege them as "explicit and astonishing prophecies,") must have greatly prepared the minds of his disciples for the full reception of the doctrines of the Gospel. p. 71–89.

The Essay, in conclusion, recalls the points of evidence; and mentions some causes of unbelief, two of which are not perhaps generally appreciated. 1. The habit of creating in the mind an ideal form of revelation with reference to the perfections of its Author, not of the imperfections of the set of beings to whom it is addressed; and thus fixing an unreal standard of excellence. 2. A general restlessness induced by the unsatisfactoriness of all human pursuits, which indisposes minds, not carefully regulated to steady and continued enquiry. Mr. Jeremie closes with expressing the conviction established by daily experience, that "no one who reviews the whole evidence of Christianity with seriousness will be compelled to ask, 'Art thou he that should come,

or do we look for another?'"

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We have great pleasure in acknowledging the spirit of research, and elegance of mind and language evinced in this Essay: yet the author will, we trust, excuse us if we express an anxious wish, that he would weigh more carefully the validity, as well as the degree of evidence, in the arguments which he adduces; and distinguish the information or instruction which Scripture seems to have been originally intended to convey to us, from that which we may adapt to it ;-recollecting the involuntary prejudice which a single strained argument, or unsound application frequently creates against a whole system. His object too would be furthered, would he bear more closely in mind, that too great a profusion of rhetorical ornament frequently obscures the sentiment, and always appears to the majority of readers απίθανον πεπλᾶσθαι γὰρ δοκεί. These imperfections corrected, we should gladly see him at some future period illustrate the important distinction quoted in the commencement of his essay, that whereas all impostors have uniformly avoided

to impart their designs to more persons than was absolutely necessary, and, in the last great instance, Mohammed "consulted* in the case of Hera the spirit of fraud or of enthusiasm," admitting at most but one or two to the knowledge of his designs,"nothing more peculiarly distinguishes Christianity from the ordinary schemes of human artifice, than the remarkable number of persons, differing in professions, capacities, and interests, who jointly bore witness to its early revelations." Introd. p. 1, 2.

-The Crisis: or, an Attempt to shew from Prophecy, illustrated by the Signs of the Times, the Prospects and the Duties of the Church of Christ at the present Period. With an Inquiry into the probable Destiny of England during the predicted Desolations of the Papal Kingdoms. By the REV. EDWARD COOPER, Rector of Hamstall Ridware, and of Yoxall, in the County of Stafford; and formerly Fellow of All-Souls College, Oxford. 8vo. 254 pp. 7s. London. Cadell. 1825.

MR. COOPER appears to have been actuated by the best motives in the publication of the work before us. He has been induced to take that step from a conviction of the vast importance of the subject he has discussed.

"On the supposition," he observes in his preface," that the conclusions to which he has arrived are really sound and legitimate, the consequences resulting from them are so very momentous, and the crisis in which the church of Christ now stands is so peculiarly awful, that he feels it a paramount duty not to withhold from the public the premises on which these conclusions are founded. He feels that he should be guilty of a culpable omission, if he failed to submit a case so interesting in itself and so strongly supported, as it appears to him, by Scriptural testimony and by the signs of the times' to the consideration of many, who in all respects are much more competent than himself to form a solid opinion on the subject, but to whom he has no other way of submitting it than that which the press affords." P. x.

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He informs us, moreover, that the enquiry of which he now gives us the result, has long engaged his thoughts; that it has not been prosecuted without feelings of humility and diffidence, nor published without the advice of friends, "some of whom," he adds, "are much conversant in prophetical studies." So far

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is well: we have, however, very serious fault to find with Mr. Cooper's work.

As the passage already extracted intimates, Mr. C. supposes that the Christian church is at present in a most critical and awful situation: that the season is almost come for the predicted desolations of the papal kingdoms, the restoration of the Jews, and the final extension of the church over the whole world. This opinion is principally founded on a review of the prophecy contained in the 10th, 11th, and 12th chapters of Daniel, which, he maintains, is given with reference to the ultimate establishment of the Jewish people after their long dispersion. The angel, in the opening of the vision, (Dan. x. 14.) expressly 'saying: "I am come to make thee understand what shall befal thy people in the latter days."

"Its chief and leading design was to vouchsafe to Daniel an assurance of the certain though distant accomplishment of the prophecies relating to the deliverance of his people, while, at the same time, in subserviency to this principal design, a full exposition was interposed of intermediate events to be fulfilled in successive ages, as leading to the final events, and as adding, by their own accomplishment, new assurance of its future certainty." P. 11.

It is, then, for the purpose of furnishing a testimony to the near approach of this great event, that the character and exploits of "the king," at the end of the 11th chapter are so minutely described, (Dan. xii. 1.) while the circumstantial particulars respecting the kings of the north and south, in the early part of the same chapter, are intended principally to direct us in our interpretation of the account of that predicted king. Mr. Cooper argues that since the kings introduced in the former part of the prophecy are known, from the event, to have been individual kings, it is to be presumed that the last king is an individual also. Again, that this king is to appear immediately at the close of a certain period, which synchronizes with the termination of the 1260 years of corruption and persecution which both Daniel and St. John allot to the Christian church, (compare Dan. xi. 35. with xii. 6, 7., and vii. 25.) and therefore in the first year of a second period of 75 years, (Dan. xii.. 7. and 12.) called the time of the end, immediately succeeding the former period; in the course of which the persecuting power is to be gradually destroyed, the church advanced towards her promised millennial glory, and the Jewish people perfectly delivered and restored. The last mentioned event, however, is not to take place till after the death of the king, who (as already said) was intended as its harbinger; and as the

prophet divides the 75 years into two parts, one of 30, and the other of 45, (Dan. xii. 7. 11, 12.) we are led from the context to conclude that the standing up of Michael in behalf of the Jews is to take place at the opening of the latter of these periods, and consequently the fall of the king at the termination of the former. He further maintains, (from Dan. xii. 1.) that the standing up of Michael is closely connected with the season of unprecedented trouble, during which the Jews will be thered from their dispersion, and be restored to their own land. This time of trouble he makes contemporize with the symbolical earthquake of the Apocalypse,"such as was not since men were upon earth," (Rev. xvi. 17, 18;) and "the distress of nations with perplexity," which our Lord seems to connect with the "redemption" of Israel, (Luke xxi. 25, 26.)

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These prophecies, thus arranged, he applies as follows: the period of 1260 years is to be dated from the year A.D. 533, "when the emperor Justinian, by his memorable edict, formally delivered the saints into the hands of the little (papal) horn," and consequently, according to the usual mode of computation, terminated in the year 1792, when the 30 years commenced which were to develope the wilful and impious king. This king is the late emperor Napoleon, who, as had been predicted, appeared after 1792, and came to his end precisely at the close of the 30 years, (1821.) In the year 1822, then, was the commencement of the second period, of 45 years, when Michael began to stand up for the Jewish people, and will complete their deliverance during the troubles of the papal states, by A.D. 1867.

These conclusions Mr. Cooper confirms by comparing the character and actions of Napoleon with those of the predicted king; but on this, though a prominent part of his work, we do not enter here; both because we shall presently endeavour to shew that, at best, the parallel is very vague and imperfect; and because, after all, the accordance of a particular description with an individual, necessary as it is to the fulfilment of a prophecy, is confessedly of inferior importance to the argument drawn from agreement in the chronological position.

Mr. Cooper, it may be added, anticipates the objection to his deductions, which is founded on the idea that prophecy is never to be understood till after the event; and argues, that on the contrary, it is often intended to direct and comfort the church in difficult times. As examples in point he adduces Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the 70 years of the Babylonish captivity, and our Lord's against Jerusalem; while, both from the analogy of the cases, and the express words of Scripture,

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