aid Moses. I have often repeated the agreement of Jews and chriftians, as to time, but not the perfon of their Meffiah. to soft bisw s Boy. What are the expectations of Ifrael in the perfon of the Meffiah? Hundi au want bas STE Mofes A great Prince and Prophet, who will restore and enrich Ifrael with every grandeur, and grant them their full wishes, and restore them and reinstate them in their promifed everlasting poffeffions, infured to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacobs activ 5/3 qu

SW

Boy. We agreed that the whole flock of Adam was involved in the guilt of their firft parent's fin, and as it was a fin of equal magnitude with the crime of the angels that fell, being against the deity, and which has entailed an eternal reprobation on the angels, not being capable of making reftitution to the divinity, the nature of a creature not being adequate to an offence against its Creator of what nature or quality, therefore, does Ifrael hold the Meffiah? 9100 growin ad

Mofes, Ifrael holds and efteems her Meffiah the great and fupreme prophet, a great and powerful Prince, who will rule all nations, and place Ifrael in her own country and privileges, know no grief, but enjoy every, felicity without abatement indɔ bap awal yo be wonder

Boy. The fummit of Ifrael's felicity confifts purely in gratifying the fenfes, terreftrial pleafures. This fums the chief accufation against Jefus Chrift, whofe poverty was his crime, and rock of offence to Ifrael.

Mojes. Let us proceed in the examine of the prophecies, where we may fearch out truth.

Boy. It will be in vain to feek or expect celeftial bleffings in the odour or fragrancy of terreftrial perfumes. This does not correfpond with the malediction pronounced against our culprit original, with their pofterity, which defcended even to the mould from whence we were produced, and its productions, being thorns and briars. Genefis 3d chapter, The Lord God faid unto Adam, Curfed is the earth for thy fake; in forrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life thorns alfo and thistles fhall it bring forth to thee: and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the fweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return to the ground: for out of it waft thou taken, for dust thou art, and there return thou shalt.

Mofes. All thefe maladies will be taken from us; this is the promise when we fhall act in fubordination to his will, which will be the will of God, whenever he is manifefted to Ifrael. The reign of the Meffiah will be a time of all bleffings, truth and happiness. A voluptuous life was never my paffion, as my meagre carcafe gives teftimony; but my God and his divine truths have ever from my youth been my defire.

Boy. And to feal up the vifion and prophecy, and anoint the most Holy.

Mofes. The moft Holy is agreed by all to be the Meffiah; but the words feal up the vifion and prophecy, is, I confefs, a dark paffage. What can it mean, but that vifion and pro

phecy

She

Phecy fhould be until the coming of the Meffiah, when we fhall fee all things clearly; but the period marked out is paft near two thoufand years. During that time Ifrael has had no communication with her God, having neither prophet, temple, or facrifice, and not even a refting place, which they can fay, this is mine. O miferable, forfaken and loft nation, no longer a people, but the dregs and excrefcence of the human race, not pitied, but defpifed, hated, and fhunned, as an adder whofe fting is deadly, abandoned by her Creator, and hated as condemned wretches by her own fpecies, fufpected capable of every treafon, faithlefs, and not having the common feeds of honesty. Ifrael, from the beginning never was without her God, her prophets, even in her captivity had her princes, her temple, her facrifices, and was always a nation; but when the expected more tranfcending glory and to be at the fummit of her wifhes, under the wing of her Meffiah, the most dear spouse and darling of her foul, fhe finds herfelf at that very epoch and period of time caft down in the horror of unparalelled woe. Her temple, cities, towns and all that appertained to her, totally destroyed, her country parcelled out to ftrangers, and themselves deftroyed; fo that the woods could. not fupply croffes to gibbet the number of wretches that was put to death. What offends human nature ftill more, three parties of themfelves in the city of Jerufalem feemed refolved to favour the deftruction of Ifrael; every man's fword was against his neighbour, deftroying all within

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of melaluiel of beer54 mun en within the city, whilft the Roman army hemmed them in on all fides without, A deftroved whilft the Roman army kkan deeach other within, whilft the Roman troyed whoever was found without; so that difficulties within and without ftarved them into the unnatural catastrophe of feeding on each other, the most delicate ladies eating their infants. After this unequalled and unparalelled fcene, enfues another equally bafe. Ninety thousand were fold flaves into Egypt and elfewhere; flaves, according to hiftorians of that sage, thirty for a piece of filver. The prophet Jeremiah mentions one fold for thirty pieces of filver, and the price was laid out in the purchafe of the potters field; but here we find thirty bought for one piece of filver. Here would come in the lamentation of the fame prophet very feasonably. "O Ifrael, miferies are not to be recounted, being numberless. O my people.

3

Q

Boy. Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to reftore and to build Jerufalem unto the Meffiah, the prince fhall be feven weeks; and three fcore and two weeks the ftreet fhall be built again, and the wall even in troublesome times. And after three fcore and two weeks fhall the Meffiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that fhall come fhall 5 deftroy the city and the fanctuary and the end thereof fhall be with a flood, and unto the end baof the war defolations are determined.

49 was the mo

ods Mofes. bloody and obftinate and moft dreadful war in the annals of the

world.

world. The number gathered to Jerufalem to folemnize the Great Paffover, or Eafter, were computed to amount to three millions which were all deftroyed but about one thirtieth pare, that were fold flaves; fo that, as the prophet terms it, we may truely call it a flood of blood, and to this period defolation. And that no footsteps might remain to declare its former grandeur and magnificence, Titus, the Roman general, made a total defolation, according to the prophet.

Boy. And he fhall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he fhall caufe the facrifice and the oblation to ceafe: and for the overspreading of abominations he fhall make it defolate, even until the confummation, and that determined, fhall be poured upon the defolate.

A

Mofes. The prophecy is clear and determined. Ifrael has brought a curfe upon herfelf, and entailed defolation and infamy on her pofterity; To that when we expected a blefling, we received a curfe, and this at the time the blessing was promised; for immediately after, Caius, who fucceeded Tiberius in the empire, greatly diftreffed the Jewish nation; and he changed and transformed the temple of JerufaJem, which had hitherto been the temple of the bas living God, into a temple dedicated to himfelf, caufing it thenceforward to be called the tembple of Caius Junior Jupiter Confpicuous. And at the expiration of forty years, after the expectation of the Meffial, when Jerufalem and all Judea was laid waste and destroyed by the ed to sons 343 i 16t basib om baRo,blow