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Josephus, as Theodoret informs us, wrote a comment on the prophecies of Daniel, in which his object appears to have been to determine the exact time of the Messiah's advent, and thus to enforce the truth of the gospel. The learned Jews, since the time of our Lord, have denied the prophetic authority of Daniel; whereas Josephus extols him, saying, that Daniel surpassed all the other prophets, because he not only predicted good things, but defined the exact time of their fulfilment*. This prophet predicts two periods, in which the Son of Man was to appear: the first, to reveal the gospel, and to tri

την Ουεσπασιανου ἡγεμονίαν, αποδειχθεντος επι Ιουδαίας αυτοκράτορος, αλλα γαρ οι δυνατον ανθρωποις το χρεών διαφύγειν, οὐδε προορώμενοις. οι δε και των σημείων, μεν έκριναν προς ήδονην, ὁ δ ̓ ἐξουθενισαν, μέχρις όν τη ΤΕ άλωσει της πατρίδος, και τῷ σφων αυτων ολεθρώς διηλεκ θησαν την ανοιαν. J. W. lib. 6. c. 5, 6.

* Non enim futura solum, quemadmodum alii prophetæ, Daniel prædicebat sed etiam tempus, quo illa eventura essent, definiebat. See Theodoret, at the close of his Commentary on Daniel. He has quoted these words from A. J. lib. x. c. 11. 7; and it is remarkable, that Josephus regarded Daniel as having predicted the final destruction of the Roman empire, but does not relate it, lest he should give offence. This is the source whence the early christian writers derived the expectation, that the Roman power was to be destroyed.

umph over his enemies in the destruction of the Jewish state; the second, to establish on the earth, when renovated, an everlasting kingdom of peace and righteousness. This distinction Josephus had learnt in the school of Christ, and taught it as the commentator of Daniel. And when he says that the oracle then denoted the government of Vespasian, we are to understand him as saying, that it received its literal and primary fulfilment in him. Hence he calls it ambiguous, that is, capable of being applied to this agent of God in destroying the Jewish community; and then in a more remote and complete sense to that spiritual Prince, who is again to appear, and reign over his revived and glorified subjects, with new heavens and a new earth. With this secondary, Josephus evidently contrasts the primary application, when he says, "The oracle THEN denoted the government of Vespasian, who was chosen emperor in Judea:" and that he represents the prophecy as fulfilled in Vespasian only so far as he was an earthly conqueror, and an instrument in the hands of God to destroy the then wicked Jews, is evident from the following clause: "But it is impossible for men to escape the punishment pre-ordained to them, though they see it beforehand. For the Jews wantonly perverted some of those warnings, and derided others of them, until the

destruction of the city, and their own ruin, evinced their madness." And the meaning of the whole is simply this, "So far was the oracle from predicting a temporal prince, who should rescue the Jewish nation from the Roman yoke, that it was fulfilled in Vespasian, whom God raised to the empire in Judea, the more exactly to accomplish the prophecy, by punishing the inhabitants of that country, as their crimes most richly deserved, with slavery and death."

Our author farther writes, that many of their wise men expected some one of that country to govern the world, and were mistaken in their judgment. There were others then among the wise, who did not thus expect a temporal deliverer, a worldly conqueror; and who therefore were not mistaken in their judgment.

These

were the followers of the Prince of Peace, who interpreting the prophecies in a spiritual sense, considered them as fulfilled in Jesus, who is already come to deliver them from sin, to conquer death, and will hereafter come to establish on the earth the kingdom of God. And it is evident, that Josephus here ranks himself with these, in opposition to those of the wise who expected a temporal deliverance.

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CHAPTER XVI.

THE USE WHICH TACITUS MADE OF THE WRITINGS OF JOSEPHUS.

JUSTUS of Tiberias published an account of the Jewish war; and he charged Josephus and the Galileans with being the authors of it. Though his narrative abounded with falsehoods and misrepresentations, he pretended to have treated that subject with more fidelity than our historian. For his pretensions in this respect Josephus apostrophises him in one part of his life. And as his address places in a very remarkable light the testimonies which accredit his writings, I here subjoin one part of it. "I cannot but admire thy impudence for saying, that thou hast published a better account of these things than all others. Thou wast not acquainted with the affairs of Galilee: for thou wast with the king at Barytes; nor with the events of the siege of Jotapata, because no one that might inform thee, survived the destruction of that town. Nor was it possible for thee to have been better informed respecting the siege of Jerusalem; for thou wast not

present during its progress; nor hast thou perused the commentaries of Vespasian. This is clear; because thy narrative contradicts that of Cæsar. If thou hast written better than any other, why didst thou not publish thy writings, especially as thou hast composed them twenty years ago, while Vespasian and Titus, the generals of this war, also Agrippa and his friends, men deeply versed in Grecian literature, were living. The accuracy of thy publications would then have been attested by persons who knew the truth. But they are no longer among the living, and thou hast brought thy writings to light without any apprehension from them. I have acted quite otherwise in regard to my history. I dedicated my works to the emperors, while the facts were yet fresh in their memories; and to many others, who had been personally engaged in the war, such as Agrippa, and some others related to him. Being conscious that I have recorded the truth, I expected their sanction. The emperor Titus most readily confirmed my narrative; and subscribing his name to my books, ordered them to be published. King Agrippa also wrote me sixty-two letters on the subject, in all which he bears testimony to my veracity*."

* Life of Josephus, 65.

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