"be strong in their own might: yet it perhaps, "still remains to be discovered, whether a people, "who would refuse to obey even their sultans if they ordered them to renounce their possessions "in favour of a stranger, and whose country from "the difficulty of forming magazines affords no "facilities to the invader; whether such a people, "in spite of the acknowledged debility of the empire, would not give ambition cause to repent "of its insatiable thirst of conquest*." On the whole, I see little reason to change my opinion respecting my conjectured date of the 1260 years, and still less to adopt the hypothesis of those who suppose that they have already expired. III. I cannot conclude without making my acknowledgments to the present Bp. of Killalla for the correspondence with which he has honoured me relative to the rendering of certain passages in the prophet Isaiah. In consequence of this correspondence and my perusal of his valuable translation of that prophet, I trust that the version, which I had exhibited, is in many parts materially improved. If on some points I have ventured to • Thornton's Present State of Turkey. p. 207-209. differ from his Lordship, my dissent, which was unreservedly expressed to him, has at least been attended with one good effect. It has served to shew, that a man of real talents and sound learning knows how to despise the petty pertinacity of maintaining at all hazards opinions which he has once advanced. Inferior minds, as if conscious that the flimsy texture of their productions must be materially injured even by the slightest detrac tion, seem anxious to consult their dignity, if not by argument, yet at least by an invincible obstimacy in argument: while superior minds, not arrogantly, but necessarily and involuntarily, feeling their superiority, precisely as a strong man cannot avoid feeling his strength, shrink not from the fearless liberality of concession, as well knowing that the sterling value of their labours cannot be depreciated by the generous and unreserved acknowledgment of occasional error. -Ubi plura nitent,-non ego paucis CONTENTS. VOL. L PRELIMINARY STATEMENT. A general statement of what may be collected from prophety relative to the restoration of Israel and the overthrow of Antichrist. p. 3.-I. An attempt to ascertain the era of the restoration of Judah. p. 4.-1. This seems to be marked both by our Lord, St. Paul, and Daniel. ibid.—(1.) Our Lord teaches us, that the Jews will be led away captive into all nations until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. Those times denote either the times of the four great monarchies or the three times and a half, which amounts to the same thing in point of termination. The Jews therefore will begin to be restored, when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled or when the three times and a half shall have expired. ibid.-(2.) St. Paul teaches us, that blindness has happened unto Israel until the fulness (of the times) of the Gentiles be come; but that, when that fulness is come, then all Israel shall be saved. p. 5.—(3.) Daniel teaches us, that the Jews will cease to be scattered, when all the wonders contained within the period of the three times and a half shall be finished; in other words, that they will begin to be restored, £ 4 when when the three times and a half shall have expired. The same conclusion may be drawn indirectly from his fixing the deliverance of the Jews to the period of Antichrist's expedition against Palestine at the time of the end. ibid.-2. Having thus found that the Jews will begin to be restored at the expiration of the 1260 years, we must next inquire at what particular epoch in the Revelation they will begin to be restored; that is to say, at what particular apocalyptic epoch the 1260 years terminate. p. 8.-(1.) Since the Jews are to be restored synchronically with the overthrow of some great confederacy of God's enemies in Palestine, and since that confederacy is represented as being overthrown under the seventh vial; the Jews must begin to be restored under the seventh vial, and consequently the 1260 years must expire when it is poured out. ibid.-(2.) This matter may be further proved by pursuing another train of argument. p. 10.-i. The seven vials are shewn to be all comprehended under the seventh trumpet. p. 11.-ii. From this arrangement it may be deduced, that the 1260 years most probably commence at the sounding of the first woe-trumpet, but that they must terminate at the effusion of the seventh vial; because the mystery of God, which is to be finished in the course of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, is declared to be actually finished at the effusion of the seventh vial. p 18.-(3.) A summing up of the argument. p. 23.-(4.) The conclusion, which has been drawn, perfectly accords with the opinion of the Hebrew doctors respecting the future restoration of their people. p. 24. II. The order and manner of the conversion of Israel, his general restoration, and the expedition and overthrow of the Antichristian faction. p. 25.-1. At the expiration of the 1260 years, one great division of Judah will be converted and restored through the instrumentality of some great maritime nation of faithful worshippers. ibid.-2. At this period, the Ottoman empire will have been overthrown, and the great confederacy of Antichrist will be completed. p. 26.-3. Another great division of Judah will be restored by Antichrist in an unconverted state, p. 28.-4. The route of Antichrist to Palestine will most probably be through Turkey. After conquering Pa lestine lestine and placing the unconverted Jews in Jerusalem, he will proceed to subdue Egypt. p. 29.-5. In the midst of his African conquests he will be troubled by tidings out of the East and out of the North. p. 31.—(1.) Those from the East probably relate to the landing of the troops of the maritime power in Palestine with the converted Jews, their recovery of Jerusalem out of the hands of Antichrist, and the conversion of the Jews who had been restored by Antichrist and placed in Jerusalem. ibid.-(2.) Those from the North seem to be the invasion of the Latin empire by the king of the North during the absence of Antichrist, foretold in the prophecy of the seventh vial under the imagery of a great hail-storm.`p. 34.-6. Troubled by these tidings, Antichrist returns from Egypt and sacks Jerusalem. ibid.-7. He next prepares to attack the troops of the maritime power, and the converted Jews under its protection, in the neighbourhood of Megiddo. But here his progress is finally stopped, and he is miraculously overthrown by a manifestation of the personal Word of God. p. 35.-8. The Jews, nevertheless, will be in some measure secondarily instrumental in effecting his overthrow. p. 37.-9. A discussion of the nature of the personal manifestation of Christ. p. 39.-10. The Jews will suffer severely in the course of their restoration, which will probably occupy a period of not less than 30 years. p. 49.-11. A third part of the Antichristian army will be spared, and converted to the knowledge of the truth. p. 53.-12. Thus converted and scattered through the whole world, they will be instrumental in bringing about the restoration of the ten tribes. p. 54.-13. The ten tribes will certainly be restored. The pro-, phecies relative to their restoration were not accomplished in the return of a few individuals from Babylon with Judah. They will be restored sabsequent to the restoration of Judah. The different manner, in which the two grand divisions of the house of Israel will be restored, is ordered agreeably to the strictest principles of national retribution. p. 55.-14. How the lost ten tribes can ever be discovered and restored. p. 60.-(1.) Account of the Afghans, who are probably a branch of them. p. 61.--(2.) Besides the Afghans, there are many |