X

verb, wherefoever the carcafe is, there will the eagles be gathered together;' fo wherefoever the Jews are, there will Christ be taking vengeance upon them by the Romans, who are properly compared to' eagles as the fierceft birds of prey, and whofe enfign was an eagle, to which probably our Saviour in this paffage alluded. And as it was faid, fo was it done; for the victories of the Romans were not confined to this or that place, but like a flood over-ran the whole land." Jofephus faith that t there was no part of Judea, which did not partake of the calamities of the capital city. At Antioch," the Jews being falfely accufed of a defign to burn the city, many of them were burnt in the theatre, and others were flain. The Romans purfued, and took, and flew them every where, as particularly at the fiege of Macherus; at y the wood Jardes, where the Jews were furrounded, and none of them efcaped, but being not fewer than three thoufand were all flain; and at Mafada, where being closely befieged, and upon the point of being taken, they firft murdered their wives and children, and then themfelves to the number of nine hundred and fixty, to prevent their falling into the enemies hands. When a Judea was totally fubdued, the danger extended to those who dwelt at a distance. Many were flain in Egypt, and their temple there was fhut up: and in Cyrene the followers of Jonathan, a weaver, and author of new dif turbances, were most of them flain; he himself was taken prifoner, and by his false accufation three thousand of the richest Jews were condemned and put to death: and with this account Jofephus concludes his history of the Jewish war.

Ꮓ

b

There was fomething fo very extraordinary in the conduct of thefe falfe Christs and false prophets, and in their appearance at that time particularly, that it may not be improper to beftow fome confiderations upon this fub

ject,

τ εδέν δε μέρος ην της Ιεδαίας, ὁ μη τη προανέχεση πόλει συναπολλυτο. Nulla autem pars Judææ erat quae fimul cum urbe eminentiffima non interibat. De Bell. Jud. Lib. 4. Cap. 7. Sect. 2. p. 1190. Edit. Hudfon. u Lib. 7. Cap. 3. Sect. 3.

y Ibid. Sect. 5.

a Ibid. Cap. 10. Sect. 1.

Ibid. Cap. II.

x ĺbid. Cap. 6.

z Ibid. Cap. 9.

b Ibid. Cap. 10.

ject, especially as thefe confiderations may tend to confirm and strengthen us in our most holy religion.

1. It is obvious to obferve from hence, that in all probability there hath been a true prophet, a true Christ, otherwise there would hardly have been so many cheats and counterfeits. Fictions are ufually formed upon realities: and there would be nothing fpurious, but for the fake of fomething true and genuine. There would be no bad money, if there was none current and good. There would be no quacks and empirics, if there were no physicians able to perform real cures. In like man. ner there would be no pretenders to divine infpiration, were none truly and divinely inspired. There would not (we may reasonably prefume) have been fo many falfe Meffiahs, had not a true Meffiah been promised by God, and expected by men. And if a Meffiah hath come from God, whom can we fo properly pitch upon for the perfon, as the man Chrift Jefus? If there were also some mock prophets in imitation of Mohammed, yet their number was nothing near fo confiderable, and his fuccefs was sufficient to excite and encourage them; whereas the fate and condition of Jefus would rather have deterred any impoftors from following his example.

2. Another natural obfervation from hence is, that the Meffiah was particularly expected about the time of our Saviour, and confequently that the prophets had beforehand marked out that very time for his coming. For we read not of any falfe Meffiahs before the age of our Saviour, nor of fo many in any age after; and why did they rife at that time particularly, if the Meffiah was not at that time particularly expected? and why did the Jews expect their Meffiah at that time more than at any other, if that was not the time before appointed for his coming? The prophet Daniel in particular had foretold, ix. 25, &c. that Meffiah the prince fhould come towards the end of seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, from the going forth at the decree to restore and to rebuild Jerufalem. Before thefe weeks of years were, by one account or other, near expiring, history faith nothing of the false Meffiahs; but when the prophetic weeks drew towards a conclufion, then these impoftors arofe frequent, like fo many meteors

to dazzle the eyes, and mislead the wandering fteps of Nothing can be a more evident Jews and Samaritans. that the Jews then understood the and convincing proof,

They pre

prophecy in the fame fenfe as the Christians, however they may endeavour to evade the force of it now. tend that the coming of the Meffiah was delayed for the therefore they still live in expecfins of the people, and

the time nor the place of his appearing. Strange! that he who was tation of him, though

to come for the fins

of the people, fhould delay his coming for their fins: and more ftrange ftill! that God fhould falfify fo many of his promifes made by the mouths of his holy prophets, Num. xxii. 19, God is not a man that he fhould lie, neither the fon of man that he should repent: hath he faid, and would he not do it? or hath he fpoken, and would he not make it good?'

Meffiah without

3. It may be farther obferved from hence, that the Meffiah was expected to work miracles. Miracles are the credentials of a meffenger from God: and it was foretold particularly of the Meffiah, that he fhould work miracles. There was no pretending therefore to the character of the the neceffary qualifications. Had not the power of working miracles been efteemed an effential ingredient in the character of the Meffiah, these impoftors been fo foolish as to hazard their reputation, and venture would never have had the affurance to pretend to it, or their whole fuccefs upon fuch a them to a man drew the people after them with a pretence of working miracles, of fhowing figns, and wonders, and apparitions.

other befides Jefus

an experiment: but all of

Now the very miracles which the

The prophet Ifaiah foretold

and none The prophet Ifaiah foretold, that the Meffiah fhould cure the lame and the blind, the deaf and the dumb; and accordingly thefe very perfons were cured in great numbers by Jefus. likewife, that thefe miracles fhould be wrought in the defert;' and accordingly in the defert Jefus wrought them and by the way I fuppofe this prophecy was one principal reafon why most of the falfe Chrifts and falfe" prophets led their followers into folitudes and deferts, promifing there to show figns and wonders. The prophet Ifaiah foretold, xxxv. 3, &c. The wilderness and the fo

litary

litary place fhall be glad for them, and the defert shall rejoice, and bloffom as the rofe. They fhall fee the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.-The eyes of the blind fhall be opened, and the years of the deaf fhall be unstopped. The lame man fhall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb fing.' The apoftle and evangelift St Matthew relates, xv. 29, &c, that Jefus departed from thence' (from the coafts of Tyre and Sidon) and came nigh unto the fea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain, and fat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them thofe that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jefus feet, and he healed them : infomuch that the multitude wondered, when they faw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to fee and they glorified the God of Ifrael.' Since then the miracles of the Meffiah were wrought by Jefus alone, Jefus alone can have any just claim to be the Meffiah and from his works we may conclude, John vi. 14. This is of a truth that prophet that fhould come into the world.'

:

4. Very obfervable is the difference between the conduct and fuccefs of thefe deceivers and of Jefus Chrift: for in him we have all the marks and characters of fimplicity and truth, in them of fraud and impofture. They were men of debauched lives and vicious principles: he ⚫ did no fin,' 1 Pet. ii. 22. neither was guile found in his mouth;' even Pilate his judge declared, John xix. 6. that he could find no fault in him.' They lived by ra pine and fpoil, by plunder and murder: He, Luke ix. 56. came not to destroy mens lives, but to fave them;' He fed the hungry, healed the fick, and went from place to place doing good. Their conduct breathes nothing but ambition and pride, cruelty and revenge: his behaviour was all humility and meeknefs, charity and love of mankind. They were actuated by worldly motives, and proposed to themselves fecular ends and interests; Jefus was the fartheft removed from any fufpicion of that kind, and when the people would have taken him, John vi. 15. ، to make him a king,' he withdrew himself from them, and departed again into a mountain himfelf alone." Their pretenfions were accommodated to the carnal expectations

of

of the Jews, and withal were backed by force and violence, and yet could not fucceed and profper: on the contrary, the religion of Jefus was fpiritual, difclaimed all force, and took the way (humanly fpeaking) not to prevail, and yet prevailed against all the power and oppofition of the world, Now of thefe who were the deceivers, think you, who was the true Chrift? Had Jefus been an impoftor, he would have lived and acted like an impoftor. Had his design been any thing like theirs, like theirs it would have been discovered and brought to nought. Nothing could make his religion ftand, but its coming from God. This is the reafoning of one, who cannot be fufpected to favour the cause of Christianity, the learned Gamaliel in the Jewish Sanhedrim; and to him that great council agreed, A&ts. v, 36, &c. Before thefe days rofe up Theudas, boasting himself to be fomebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themfelves; who was flain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rofe up Judas of Galilee, in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him; he also perished, and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dif perfed. And now I fay unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; left haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed.'

5. But though the truth will at laft prevail over error and impofture, yet it is a melancholy proof of the weaknefs, and fuperftition, and enthufiafm of mankind, that thefe falfe Chrifts and falfe prophets fhould delude fuch numbers as they did to their deftruction. The falfe Meffiahs had for a time many more difciples and followers than the true Meffiah. The Chriftians were once, Luke The number of the names together,' Acts i. 15. were about an hundred and twenty.' Whereas these impoftors attracted and drew away great multitudes, one of them fix thoufand,

xii. 32. 6 a little flock.

another

d Jofeph, de Bell. Jud. Lib. 6. Cap. 5. Sect. 2. na oxμMINTAS EX LOS TREITOS HIS BEANo85. et plurima multitudo promifcua, ad fex hominum millia. p. 1281. Edit. Hudfon.