Pfeffer, with many others, fix it to the Year of Chrift 500 or 505, which Era the celebrated Morinus combats. However on the exact Knowledge of the Year, the Calculation of the Time for the Dif perfion of this People appears to depend: and if the first or fecond Period be true, which the Jewish Writers attest, and Christians from them have received for the Birth Day of this famous Offspring of all the latter Rabbies; the Call of that Nation must be near at Hand, within fix or seven Years at moft. It may not be amiss to obferve the three extraordinary Events, which fprang up at no great Distance of Time from each other, and are to expire, probably, in the fame Order. The Thalmud, the universal Bishop, and Mahomet appeared all before the Year 666.

Daniel, in the second Number, receives for an Answer to his Question from the Time that the daily (facrifice) fhall be taken Dan. xii. 11. away, and the Abomination that maketh defolate be fet up, there fhall 1290 Days. be a thousand two Hundred and ninety Days. This Paffage is by many affigned to the Times of the Gofpel, and to the great Corruption to be introduced by that eminent Antichrift of Rome, but it seems rather applicable to Mahomet, who took away the daily Sacrifice of the Gospel in the spiritual Senfe, by bringing in a new Religion without any Sacrifice by Blood fhed, or to be fhed; with- Heb. ix. 12. out which St. Paul tells us there is no Remiffion of Sins: nor could there be any Remembrance of Chrift, the living High Priest in Heaven, by the Sacrifice of himself, whofe living and spiritual Water and Blood is daily pouring into his Priests and Temples, John iii. 5. 6. while they are pouring out the Blood of their Beaft or the fallen Body in which Blood, the Life of the carnal Adam fprings up John v. 6. with all its Lufts and Affections, which are to be crucified, facrificed, and burned away by a new and living Water and Blood continually flowing from the High Priest into his Family and Sons Mal. iii. 3. of fpiritual Levites.

Now 1290 Days of Years computed from the Year of Christ 666 make 1956 Years: upon this Number it may be observed, that the Continuance of the Antichriftian Power is extended to thirty Years, longer than the Time pointed out by St. John. This. small Inlargement may be reconciled without any Contradiction;

D 2

fince

I

8.

fince though the Beast and false Prophets are not to reign, that is, not to execute abfolute Power and Dominion beyond 1260 Years; yet the whole of their Influence and all their Followers may not be quite abolished, till thirty Years after they are expelled their Throne, which Years will fill up the 1290 Years of Daniel. There is yet another Way of bringing these two Prophets to coincide in Time.

It is clear that two of the most principal Characters of the Revelation are the Beast and the false Prophet. The Beast in the outward Character appears the dreadful Power of the Church of Rome within the Gospel: the falfe Prophet seems to be Mahomet fo called by way of Eminence by the Chriftian Church from his firft Appearance, who drew fuch a vast Multitude, even great Nations. at laft, after his vile Delufion.

It is not intended to confine the Beast and false Prophet to this Senfe only they may be confidered in other Views, as may be seen in the Preface of Beaufobre and L'Enfant to the Revelation. The Beast in its inward Character appears to be the carnal Heart or Adam become Flesh, which must be flain, as it was under the Law: the false Prophet is the false Interpreter of the Gospel, feeding it with corrupt Notions of CHRIST and of his Religion. There is Reason to understand them in this fpiritual, or what the ancient Christians called, the mystic Sense; as they belong to all the Churches of CHRIST, in more or less Degree in every Age: and as they have their Root in us, as born of the carnal Adam, who must be cut off and burned away, that the new, inner, and spiritual Adam, from the spiritual Jefus may be planted in the old Tree of this mortal Body of Flesh. In this Light read the numerous Paffages. of St. Paul on Flesh and Spirit.

Now if the 1290 Days of Daniel relate to him only, we shall find a Time and an Event of fufficient Importance to make both Prophecies of 1290 and 1260 Days meet in one Point. In the Year of CHRIST 636, the Saracens took Jerufalem from the Chriftians: they were the first Followers of this extraordinary Phœnomenon of a Man (who affumed the Character of the last Prophet from God to the whole World, after fuch a wonderful Perfonage

fonage as CHRIST had appeared.) These Arabians, pretending themfelves the Children of Abraham, by Sarah, and Heirs of the Promife, took the holy City as a Sign of this Truth, and poffeffed it for the Space of 463 Years. Though Mahomet rose in 622 only, his Succefs and Conquefts were fo rapid and extensive, that in 636, all Syria was fubdued, and great Part of Perfia fell under the Power of his Followers.

This Capture of Jerufalem may well be confidered as an Abomination set up in the holy Place and City, which had been the Scene of divine Favour and Government before. The Success of this Event, in poffeffing the ancient Seat of THEOCRACY, Was boasted and proclaimed as a Mark of Mahomet's true and superior Miffion to that of CHRIST. The Face of Things being thus, there can be little Reason against this Computation, if we reflect how much the impudent Pretences and stupid Superstitions, the cruel Genius and blood thirsty Disposition of both Impoftures, resemble each other. In one Senfe Mahomet feems in a more especial Manner to triumph over the Gospel, as he has planted his Throne upon the Necks of Nations, to whom the Light of the Gospel had rifen before: and he has fpread his deteftable Falfhood upon more Ground, than the Knowledge of CHRIST is acknowledged at this Day to enlighten with its glorious Beams.

If this Inlargement of the 1290 Days of Years in Daniel, be reckoned from this Time and this Event, when Omar the third Succeffor of Mahomet, as King and Priest, (for the Character of Prophet could not be taken away from his Master) took Jerusalem and spread his Banners therein, in 636; then both Numbers of the 1290 and 1260 Days, will correfpond to a Year: for the first computed from the Year 636, and the fecond from that of 666, will make 1926 Years. This again is the Period of Time, or near to it, that the Covenant with Abraham continued down to CHRIST. As Ifhmael was circumcised, and caft out about the Year 1892, before CHRIST, he, in all Appearance, will inherit the Blessing of the true Circumcifion fome Years before Efau, or the Idumean Kingdom of the Romish Babel, fhall kifs Jacob; because Efau was born of the fame Parents as Jacob, and fold his Birth

Right

Dan. xii. 12, 13.

1335 Days.

Right of greater Light in Contempt; as the popish Church, born of the Gofpel, had vilely done by corrupt Doctrines. It is certain. that the Beast and false Prophet are defcribed, as taken and deftroyed together by the fame Hand and Judgments: the fame Thing is fhewn alfo by the 42 Months appointed for the Continuance of the firft, and by the 1260 Days, in which the two Prophets are to testify against the falfe One, who deceiveth the Nations, or the Gentiles.

Further, there will not be any great Difficulty, fhould the 1290 Days be measured from the fame Number 666, as the 1260 Days have been; fince 30 Years may easily be allowed for the total Extirpation of the Beast and false Prophet, among the very Dregs of their former Votaries. The fame Thing happened when the Gospel triumphed firft over the Superftitions of Heathenism in the Roman Empire. The most hardened and vitious Refuge of the Old Religion fled into obfcure Corners and Villages, and there practised their Worship of falfe Gods, when it was banished from great Towns and Cities. From the Remains of it in thofe Retirements, among the more ignorant and brutish Part, it acquired the new Name of Paganifm, from Pagus, fignifying a Village or Country Place. Here my Obfervations conclude upon the facred Prophecy of 1290 Days, recorded by Daniel.

In the third and laft Number, the heavenly Meffenger changes his Stile: Bleed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty Days; but go thy Way till the End be: for thou shalt reft, and stand in the Lot at the End of the Days.

This Prophecy of 1335 Days, calculated from the great Enfign of Time in the Number 666, falls in the Year 2001 after Christ. If then we allow a strong Presumption of Truth in the Opinion of Rabbi Elias, or rather of the ancient Cabbala or spiritual Interpretation, under the Prophets and their Schools; thefe Schools flourished, before the stupid Invention of combining and tranfpofing Letters, Words, and Points, and other Traditions of later Scribes and Pharifees took place. Now if there be Truth in this old Tradition received by the Chriftian Church for many Ages, that fix Thousand Years are figured out by the fix Days preceding the Sabbath;

Sabbath; or if the Proportion of Time obferved for 2000 Years, or near, in the Intervals of revealing the MESSIAH, be a Ground of Probability; this Prophecy of Daniel, which is the last, expires in the first Year of the feventh Thousand of the World, At this Time will begin the great feventh Day, according to the mystic Sense of the fix Days; then will be the Opening of the Seventh great Year alfo, according to the fpiritual Meaning of fix Years before the fabbatic Year. This will answer under the Gospel (which is the Substance of the Law and its Figures) to that Part of the THEOCRACY, under the Institution of the seventh Year, which must be fulfilled; and to which the Thousand Years of St. John, exactly correfpond. But this is not the Sabbath of Eternity, which is foretold, and plainly enough described for the eighth Day by many Figures of the Law, whofe Explanation may hereafter be attempted and offered to the Christian Church. St. John confirms this, by describing the Day of Judgment after the Rev. xx. 7. Thousand Years are expired.

In this Place, it may be proper to remove a Difficulty arifing from the Uncertainty of our Chronology fince the Advent of CHRIST. The Year of our Saviour's Death appears to have been concealed with a providential Defign; fo that our Time must be fo far imperfect, as the Years of his Life (which never were known to the firft Chriftians) may exceed the common Age affigned. And we cannot fay, whether our LORD was born into the human Nature, juft at the Beginning of the great fifth Day, or the fifth Thousand Year of the World; or whether this Event fell out towards the End of the fourth Thousand Year: This Uncertainty must render it impoffible to fix the exact Time of the World before His Incarnation, or of prophetic Time fince. Therefore it is not pretended to ascertain the exact Year, which would require the Knowledge of the Year of the World, when Chrift was born, and also the Year of his Crucifixion: both which Events feem fecreted from us, as to the Certainty of a few Years. We need only prefume, that our Chronology, fince our SAVIOUR, is true within a very little Time; and it is on this, that the Periods of the Prophecies before us depend.

I fhall