Chronikon hebraikon; or, The chronology of the Scriptures: as contained in their historic and prophetic numbers and dates

Front matter

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C^- y

A^ vO o

Contents

THE RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD.

Ckap. I.— The necessity of a Revelation to make known the origin, reason, and tendency of things in relation to man and. the world around him. It is an intelligible mystery, and the only source of true wisdom ; bnt which is practically repudiated by the Moderns.— The study of the Bible urged, to facilitate and promote which is the object of this volume 1

Chap. II. — The earth before the creation of Adam the habitation of the angels who kept not their first estate— A geological error corrected — The Sabbath day and the Lord's day— The formation of man and woman — The " great mystery '' of her formation out of man explained — Eden — The garden of Eden — The original and future paradises considered — Man's primitive dominion confined to the inferior creatures and his own immediate family — Of the two trees of the garden — And man in his original estate .8

Chap. III. — Doings of the Witnesses when invested with power — iiiey b

: justice on their enemies— A great earthquake — The seventh trumpet — Divided into seven vial-periods— The third, fourth, and fifth, vials, and Napoleon— England and the second vial — Turkey and the sixth vial— All Europe and the seventh vial — The prophecy of the Frogs explained— The mission of the unclean spirits — Their operation the sign of Christ's stealthy and sudden return — The great desideratum in view of the Advent 325

Chap. IV. — The vision and prophecy of the East— Of the Ram and the Unicors— The Four Horns of the Goat— Of the fifth, or Little, Horn— Of the Seventy Weeks — Of the 1290 years — Summary of the eleventh of Daniel — Paraphrase of the first thirty-five verses of Dan. xi.— Of the king and the strange god — Mahuzzim-Bazaars 349

Chap. V.— It is impossible that the Holy Land can be for ever subject to the Gentiles — It is to be wi-ested from them in the crisis of " the time of the end" — Of Daniel's 2400 days — Diagram of Daniel's times — Of the beginning of " the time of the end " — Of the king of the south at that time— The Autocrat of Russia the king of the north in " the time of the end " — England and the Jews — Of Gogue and Magogue— Ezekiel's and John's two different and remote confederacies— Daniel's king of the north of " the time of the end," and Gogue of " the latter days," the same— The Gogue of Ezekiel proved to be Emperor of Germany and Autocrat of all the Russias— Gomer and the French — Sheba, Dedan, the Merchants of Tarshish and its young lions, identified as the British power 37(>

Chap. VI.. .The restoration of Israel indispensable to the setting up of the kingdom of God — Israel to be grafted into their own olive on a principle of faith— Not by gentile agency, but by Jesus Christ, will God graft them in again — Britain, the protector of the Jews, as indicated by Isaiah xviii. — The British power in the south, the Moab, &c., of " the latter days" — The second exodus of Israel — The nations of the Image to be subdued b^^ Israel to the dominion of their king — The New Covenant delivered to Judah. and the kingdom of God set up in Judea— The returning of the Ten Tribes to Canaan will occupy forty years — Elijah's mission — Israel re-assembled in Egypt — I'hey cross the Nile, and pass through the Red ^ea, on foot — I hey march into Canaan, receive the JNew Covenant, and, re-united to Judah, form one nation and kingdom under Christ for 1,000 years — The blessedness of thfl nations, and their loyalty to Israel's king — Of the end of the thousand years — Chronology from the Creation to the end of the Melchizedek Kingdom. . .392

DIAGRAMS AKD TABLES.

1. Diagram of the Times of the Apocalypse, page 32S

2. Diagi'am of the Frogs of Rev. xvi. 13, „ " 339

3. Diagram of Daniel's Times, " 373

1. Chronological Table to the Exodus from Egypt, " 253

2. Chronological Table to the Captivity, " 214:

8. Chronikon Hebraikon, , , " 411

AN EXPOSITION

&C., &C. ^HE RUDIME^rS OF THE WORLD

Chapter I

TSl* necessity of a Revelation to make known the origin, reason, and tendency /. things in relation to man and the world around him. It is an intelligible myutery, and the only source of true wisdom ; but which is practically repudiated by the Moderns.— The study of the Bible urged, to facilitate and promote which is the object of this volume.

Revolving upon its own axis, and describing an ample circuit through the boundless fields of space, is a planet of the solar system bearing upon its surface a population of nearly a thousand millions subject to sin, disease, and death. This orb of the starry heavens shines with a glory similar to that of its kindred spheres. Viewed from them, it is seen sparkling " like a diamond in the sky ;" and with the rest of the heavens, declares the glory of God, and shows forth the handywork of him that did create it.

This celestial orb, which is a world or system of itself, is styled THE EARTH. It is tho habitation of races of animals which graze its fields, lurk in its forests, soar through its atmosphere, and pass through the paths of its seas. At the head of all these is a creature like themselves, animal, sensual, and mortal. He is called man. He has replenished the earth and subdued it, and filled it with his renown. His crimes, however, rather than his virtues, have illustrated and distinguished him with an unhappv pre-eminence above all other created things. His heart is evil ; and, left to its uncontrolled impulses, he becomes licentious, merciless, and more cruel than the fiercest beiist of prey.

Such is the being that claims the independent sovereignty of the globe. Pie has founded dominions, principalities, and powers ; lie has built great cities, and vaunted himself in the works of his hands, saying, " are not these by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty ?" He repudiates all lordship over him, and claims the inalienable and inherent right of self government, and of establishing whatever civil and ecclesiastical institutions are best suited to his sensuality and caprice. Hence, at successive periods, the earth has become the arena of fierce and pandemoniac conflicts ; its tragedi« have bai)tizc'd its soil in blood, and tho mingled cries of the oppxxjsftcc and the victim have ascended to the throne of the Most High.

2 RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD.

Skilled in the wisdom which comes from beneath, he is by nature

icrnorant of that which is ** first pure, and then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." This is a disposition U which the animal man under the guidance of his fleshly mind has no affinity. His propensity is to obey the lust of his nature ; and to do its evil works, '^ which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, iasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, sects, envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like."^ All these make up the character of the world, " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," upon which is enstamped the seal of God's eternal reprobation. " They who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God," but " they shall die."

Such is the world of human kind ! The great and impious enemy of God upon the earth. Its mind is not subject to his law, neither indeed can it be. What shall we say to these things? Is the world as we behold it a finality ? Are generations of men, rebellious against God, and destroyers of the earth, to occupy it successively through an endless series of ages ? Are men to repeat the history of the past for ever ? Is the earth always to be cursed, and sin and death to reign victorious ? Who can answer these inquiries ? If we survey the starry canopy, thence no sign or voice is given expressive of the truth. They declare the eternal power and divinity of their Creator, but they speak not of the destiny of the earth or of man upon it. If we question the mountains and hills, the plains and valleys, the rivers, seas, and oceans of the earth, and demand their origin, why they were produced, to what end they were created, their rocks, their strata, their fossils, or deposits, afford us no response. Turn we to man and ask him, " whence earnest thou, and what is thy destiny ? Whence all the evil of thy nature, why art thou mortal, who made thee, who involved thee in this wide-spread ruin and calamity on every side ? Ask an infant of days the history of the past, and he can as well detail it, as man can answer these inquiries without a revelation from him who is before all, and to whom is known from the beginning all he intends shall come to pass. So true is it, that, unaided by light from heaven, '^ since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee what is prepared for him that waiteth for him ;" but adds the apostle in his comment upon these words of the prophet, ^' God hath revealed these things unto us by his spirit * * * which things we (apostles) speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the holy spirit teacheth ; interpreting spiritual things in spiritual words."^

To the Bible, then, all must come at last if they would be truly wise in spiritual things. This is a great truth which few of the sons of men have learned to appreciate acf^ording to its importance. A man may be a theologian profoundly skilled in all questions of *' divinity;" he may be well versed in the mythology of the heathen world ; be ^able to speak all languages of the nations ; compute the distances of orb from orb, and weigh them in the scales of rigid calculation ; he may know all science and be able to solve all mysteries,— but if with all this, he be ignorant of " the things of the spirit ;" if he know not the true meaning of the Bible ; he seemeth only to be wise, while he is, in fact, a fool. Therefore, the apostle saith, " let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men.'' ^ If our contemporaries could only attain to the adoption of this great precept " let no man glory in men," they would have overleaped a barrier which as a fatal obstacle prevents myriads from understanding and obeying the truth.

But while God lightly esteems the wisdom of the reputed wise, there is a wisdom which he invites all men to embrace. This is styled " the wisdom of God in a mystery;" it is also termed " the hidden misdom which God ordained before the world, which none of the princes of this world knew.". It is said to be hidden in a mystery, because until the apostolic age, it was not clearly made known. ^ This will appear from the following texts : — ^^ now to him that is of power to establish you according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret {xpovoi's alcovioii) in the times of the ages, but 7iow (in the time, or age, of the apostles) is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets made known to all nations jTor the obedience of faith." 2 << By revelation God made known unto me, Paul, the MYSTERY, which in other ages (former ages under the law of Moses) was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto the holy apostles and prophets by the spirit, that the Gentiles shoidd be fellow heirs, and of the same body^ and 'partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." ^ Here is " the knowledge of God," in which are contained " exceeding great and precious promises," the understanding of which is able to make a man wise, and *' a partaker of the divine nature." Now, although these hidden things have been clearly made known, they still continued to be styled the mystery ; not because of their unintelligibility, but because they were once secret. Hence, the things preached unto the Gentiles, and by them believed, are styled by Paul, *' the mystery of the faith," and " the mystery of godliness," some of the items of which he enumerates ; such as, " God manifest in the flesh, justified by the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. "4 Thus an intelligible mystery characterizes the once hidden wisdom of God, and becomes the subject matter of an enlightened faith. This, however, is not the case with regard to religious systems which are not of the truth. Unintelligible mystery is the ultima, ratio for all difficulties which are insoluble by the symbols of ecclesiastical communities, whose text of universal application is, that " secret things belong to God, but the things which are revealed, to us and to our children." This is true; but, tlion, these

A 2 tilings which were secret in the days of Moses, have been revealed by God. to the apostles and prophets for our information. No one has any right to set up his own ignorance as the limit of what God hath revealed. A thing may be unknown to such a man, but it doth not therefore follow that it is either absolutely unintelligible or a secret. He may not know of it, or, if explained to him, he may not have intellect enough to comprehend it, or his prejudices, or sectarian bias may darken his understanding — this by no means makes the thing unintelHgible or mysterious to other people. Ail that such persons have a right to say is, ^^ we do not know anything about it." They may confess their own ignorance, and resolve to look into the matter, or not ; but they are presumptuously overstepping the bounds of propriety to venture to do more. This, however, is not the practice of those who have no secondary interests to subserve apart from the truth. They only desire to know that they may believe and do ; but, where to know more, would jeopardize the " vested interests " of a sect, and extort the confession of its leaders and members, that they were in error and knew not the truth, investigation is discouraged, and the things proscribed as too speculative and mysterious for comprehension, or, if understood, of no practical utility. In this way mankind infold themselves as in the mautle of their self-esteem. They repress all progress, and glorify their own ignorance by detracting from things which they fear to look into, or apprehend are far above their reach.

Beside glorying in men, this unfortunate peculiarity of the human mind has developed the organisation of a system of things impiously hostile to the institutions and wisdom of Jehovah. It is a system of many subordinate parts. Lt is animated by one spirit which, under various modifications, pervades and actuates the whole. It is an evil spirit, and may be detected wherever the dogma of unintelligible mystery is at work. The name of this system is " Mystery." Its baneful effects began to be visible in the apostolic age. It was then styled, " the Mystery of Iniquity ^^ which, as was predicted, has, like a cancre, eaten out the truth, and substituted in place thereof, a civil and ecclesiastical constitution, styled, '■' Harlots and the Abominations of the Earth," such as we behold on every side.

" Wisdom," say the scriptures, *^is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom ; and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee : she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thy head an ornament of grace ; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." If thou would'st, O reader, get this wisdom, happy art thou if thou findest it. " For the merchandize of it is better than the merchandize of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her. Length of days is in her right hand ; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peacp, ^ She is a Tree of Life to them that lay hold upon hei- ; and happy is every one that retaineth her."'- Before the Son of God sent forth his apostles to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom in his name^ " He opened their imderstandings that they might understand the scriptures." If thou wouldst gain the knowledge of the wisdom of God which is so inestimable, and which is contained in the word they preached, thou must also be the subject of the same illumination. This is indispensable ; for there is no obtaining of this commodity except through the scriptures of truth. These ^' are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. For all scripture given by inspiration of God is also profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."^ What more dost thou want than perfection, and a crown of life and glory in the age to come ?

Search the scriptures with the teachableness of a little child, and thy labour will not be in vain. Cast away to the owls and to the bats the traditions of men, and the prejudices indoctrinated into thy mind by their means; make a whole burnt offering of their creeds, confessions, catechisms, and articles of religion ; and, after the example of the Ephesian disciples, hand over your books of curious theological arts, and burn them before all.^ These mountains of rubbish have served the purposes of a dark and barbarous age ; the word, the word of the living God alone, can meet the necessities of the times. Let the example of the noble-minded Bereans be ours. They searched the scriptures daily to see if the things taught by the apostle were worthy of belief; ^Uherefore they believed."^ If then not even the preaching of an apostle was credited unaccompanied by scriptural investigation, is it not infinitely more incumbent on us that we should bring to a like test the opinions and precepts of the uninspired and fallible professional theologists of our day ? Let us believe nothing that comes from ^* the pulpit," '* the altar," or the press, not demonstrated by the grammatical sense of the scriptures. Let us be contented with nothing less than a " thus it is written," and a *^ thus saith the Lord ;" for He has laid it down in his law, that no one is worthy of belief who does not speak after this rule. ^- To the lam and to the tedimony, if they speak not according to this v^ord, it is because there is no light in them."* If then their light be darkness, how great is that darkness.

The scriptures can do every thing for us in relation to the light. This is known, felt, and keenly appreciated by all interested in the support of error. Hence, in the days of Diocletian, one of the pao;an predecessors of Constantine, a decree was issued commanding the surrender of all copies of the Holy Scriptures : for it was found that so long as they obtained circulation the christian doctrine could never be suppressed. The Popes, as deadly, and more insidious, enemies of the truth than the pagan Roman emperors, followed the example of Diocletian. The bible and popery are as mutually hostile as the light of the sun and the thick darkness of Egypt that might be felt. But It is not paganism and popery alone that are practically hostile to a "ree and untrammelled investigation of the word of God. The Protestant w^orld, while it deludes itself with the conceit that ^' the Bible,

1 2Tira. iii 15— 17. ^^cts xix ''1. 3 Acts xvii. 11, 12. <Is;u;Ui viii. SO.

I

Q RUDIMENTS OP THE WORLD.

tne Bible aIo7iej is the religion of protestants " — while it spends its thousands for its circulation among the nations in their native tongues, — is itself hostile to the belief and practice of what it proclaims. The " Bible <2/o/ie" is not its religion ; for if it were, why incumber its professors with the " Common Prayer," Thirty-nine Articles, and all the other ^'notions'' of a similar kind ? To believe and practice the bible alone would be a sufficient ground of exclusion from all " orthodox churches." When Chillingworlh uttered the sentiment there was more truth in it than at this day ; but now it is as far from the fact as that protestantism is the religion of Christ. To protest against an error, such as Romanism, and to affirm that every man has a right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, is a very different thing to believing and obeying the gospel of the kingdom of God, and walking in all the institutions of the Lord blameless. To do this would unchristianize a man in the estimation of state churches and sectarian denominations ^ for the bible rehgion requires a man to '^ contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints,"'^ which in these times cannot be done without upheaving the very foundations of the self complacent, self-glorifying and self-laudatory communions of the antipapal constitution of things. It is true, that no man or power, has a right to interfere between God and the conscience ; but, it is also true, that no man has a right to worship God as he pleases.

This is a Protestant fallacy. Man has a right to worship God only in the way God has himself appointed. '* In vain do ye worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." This is the judgment pronounced by the wisdom of God upon all worship which he has not instituted. He declares it to be vain worship ; concerning which the apostle to the Gentiles says, *^ Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath ; let no man beguile you of your reward in a voliuitary humility and worshipping of angels. Be not subject to dogmatisms (^oyfxcLTLX,^(TQ^) after the commandments and traditions of men; which things have indeed a shorn of wisdom in WILL- WORSHIP and humility. "^ These exhortations apply to all faith and worship, papal and protestant. If popery judges men in meats, protestantism doth the same in drinks, and in the sabbath ; they both judge men in holy-days and ^^ moveable feasts ;" and though protestantism repudiates the worshipping of angels, it proclaims in its*' fasts," " preparations," '* concerts," &c., a voluntary humility, and celebration of "saints and martyrs," renowned in legendary tales for "the pride that apes humility." Let the reader search the scriptures from beginning to end, and he will nowhere find such systems of faith and worship as those comprehended in the papal and protestant systems. The gospel of the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus is not preached among them ; they are communions which are uncircumcised of heart ; theological dissertations on texts, called '^sermons,'' are substituted for " reasoning out of the scri])tures" — for *' expound^ ing and testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading men concern iiig Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the Prophets j"j

RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLli. 7

Puseyism, Swedenborgianism, and all sorts of ismSf to which in apostolic times the world was a total stranger, run riot among them ; the lusts of the flesh, of the eye, and of the pride of life have extinguished even the energy and zeal of the antipapal rebellion out of which they have arisen ; they are dead, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, and therefore the time is come to cut them off" as a rotten branch from the good olive tiee.i Let therefore every man that would eschew the wrath which is begun, and who would become an heir of the kingdom of God, save himself from the unholy, lifeless, and effete denominations of these " Latter Days." By remaining in them, a man partakes of their evil deeds, and subjects himself to their evil influences. The word of man has silenced the word of God in their midst ; and religion has degenerated into a professional commodity sold for cash according to the taste which most prevails in the soul-markets of the world.

Let us then ^' cease from men, whose breath is in their nostrils, for wherein are they to be accounted of." " They be blind leaders of the blind " in whom is no light, because they speak not according to the law and the testimony of God. Let us repudiate their dogmatisms ; let us renounce their mysteries; and let us declare our independence of all humap authority in matters of faith and practice extra the word of God. The scriptures are able to make us wise, which the traditions of "divines" are not. Let us then come to these scriptures, for we have the assurance that he who seeks shall find ; though, we must also bear in mind, that " many shall seek to enter in but shall not be able." We must seek by the light of scripture, and not permit that light to be obscured by high thoughts and vain imaginations which exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Great is the consolation that *' the wise shall understand," and '^ shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ;" be this then our happiness, to understand, believe, and do, that we may be blessed in our deed, and attain to the glorious liberty and manifestation of the sons of God.

To the Bible then let us turn, as to " a light shining in a dark place," and, with humility, teachableness, and independence of mind, let us diligently inquire into the things which it reveals for the obedience and confirmation of faith. The object before us then will be, to present such a connected view of this truthful and wonderful book as will open the reader's eyes, and enable him to understand it, and expound it to others, that he may become " a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth ;" and be able intelligently to " contend for the faith ;" and by " turning many to righteousness, to shine as the stars for ever and ever." In eff'ecting this purpose, we must proceed as we would with any other book, or in teaching any of the arts and sciences; namely, begin at the* beginning, or with the elements of things. This was the method adopted by the spirit of God in the instruction of the Israelites by Moses. He began his revelations by giving them, and us through them, an account of the creation of the heavens and the earth ; of animals ; and of man. This then would seem to be the proper plaice for us to start fioin ; and as we have the system completely revealed, which they had not, we may extend our inquiries into the reason, or philosophy, of things farther than they. Be this then our commencement ; and may the Loi-d himself prosper our endeavours to decipher and understand his will and testament, and to disentangle them from the crude traditions and dogmatisms of contemporary theologies, useful in their beginning as " oppositions" to the Mystery of Iniquity, but now " waxed old and ready to vanish away " with the thing they have antagonized ; but which, though consumptive of the civil and ecclesiastical tyranny of the Image of the Beast, have by their glosses in effect taken from the people " the Key of Knowledge," and thus shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. Our endeavour will be to restore this "Key" that they may understand "the mysteries of the kingdom," and " have right to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates into the city."^ And this we will do if God permit.

Chapter II

The earth before the creation of Adam the habitation of the angels who kept not their first estate— A geological error corrected — The Sabbath day and the Lord's day — The formation of man and woman — The " great mystery " of her formation out of man explained — Eden — The garden of Eden— The original .and future paradises considered— Man's primitive dominion confined to the inferior creatures and his own immediate family — Of the two trees of the garden —And man in his original estate.