determined upon thy people, and upon thy Holy City, to finish the tranfgreffion. But this was done in the crucifying the Lord of life, for then did the Jews fill up the measure of their Fathers, as is evident from that Parable Matth. 21.33. to the end; firft the fervants of the Lord of the Vineyard are killed, verf. 35.36. Thus were the Prophets one after another by their Fore-fathers. But laft of all (faith Chrift) The Lord of the Vineyard fends his Son, faying, They will reverence my Son, verf.37. But these wicked Husbandmen kill him likewise, verf.38.hereupon tranfgreffions are come to the full, the Lord of the Vineyard miferably destroyes these wicked men, and lets out his Vineyard to other Husbandmen, verf.40.41. And what can better evidence tranfgreffions being now come to the full, then this? the chief Heads of the Jews, and the popularity, with one mouth crying out, when the fentence of condemnation was paffing upon Chrift, His blood be upon us, and our children, invoking hereby Heaven for judgement and deftruction upon themselves and their pofterity; yea it is yet more evident that tranfgreffions at this day were come to the full, becaufe, though fome particular perfons, upon the wonderfull miracles of Chrifts Refurrection, fending down the Spirit, and the preaching of the word of the Gofpel hereupon fent forth among them, did afterwards come in and imbrace this Chrift; yet never had the body of the Nation, nor their Rulers from that day forwards hearts fo much as to acknowledge their mott wicked fact, much leffe repent them of it.

A third, fourth, and fifth CHARACTERS. The feventy weeks are then to expire when an end was made of fin, reconciliation made for iniquity, everlasting righteoufneffe brought in.

Seventy weeks are determined to make an end of fins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting Righteoufneffe: But all this was eminently done in the day of Chrifts fufferings when he gave up the Ghost, faying, It is finished.

The Conclufion is, That we are to end Daniels Seventy weeks with the Paffion of Chr ft.

SECT. 6.

Unto the fore-going Opinion, which ends the feventy weeks with the Paffion of Chrift, doth excellently accord the feven weeks, and the fixty two weeks in the following verfe (which Mr. Mede confeffeth to be the greatest knot in this Prophefie) the difficulty hereby being wholly taken off, and thereby our opinion as touching the ending of the feventy weeks confirmed.

But ere this can be made appear, it will be neceffary that the knot concerning the seven weeks be untied.

Four opinions (befides that of Mr. Medes, whereof mention was made before) there are of thefe feven weeks, neither of which can I receive.

1 The firft is, that which would have the feven weeks to be weeks of dayes, and the fixty two weeks, weeks of yeers; the meaning of the opinion is,

That

That the dayes of the feven weeks fhould be understood of Natural dayes, a day confifting of `four and twenty hours, but in the fixty two, of Prophetical dayes, a day for a year, and accordingly it would have these seven weeks to bee meant of the two and fifty dayes, wherein the Wall of Jerufalem was finished, Neh. 6. 15. which (faith the Author) though they are indeed fomewhat more then feven weeks, yet short of feven and a half, and fo not to be regarded in account of weeks.

But this cannot be,

1 Because It is against all Scripture accounts, yea reafon it felf, to conceive that in one and the fame Epock of feventy weeks, we fhould (without any compelling reafon from the Text fo to do) interpret fome of the weeks of dayes Natural, fome of dayes Prophetical.

Y

2 Becaule The Angel affigns no proper work to the feven weeks, as diftinct from the fixty two, no reafon therefore wee fhould. Nay, in cafe we fo do, its more confonant to the Angels words to attribute the building of Jerufalem, with its Wall, to the fixty two weeks, then to the feven weeks; For faith the Angel, Sixty two weeks the street fhall be built again, and the wall, even in trouble fome times.

2 A fecond opinion (and the most common) is, That which makes the feven weeks the Period of time the fecond Temple was building, and the fixty two weeks the time thence to Chrift, in which time Jerufalem was again built, and inhabited,

Anf. This cannot I fubscribe,

1 Because it supposeth seven weeks of the feventy to be expired before Jerufalem began to be built, whereas I have already proved at large the feventy weeks are to take beginning thence. The very foundation therefore of this opinion is a iniitake as to the beginning of the feventy weeks.

2 Because it is a thing that cannot be proved from the teftimony of any clear undeniable Scripture, that the fecond Temple was in building feven weeks,i.c. nine and forty years. As for that, John 2.20. Forty and fix years was this Temple in building, which place fome make interpretative of Daniels feven weeks, fuppofing the Temple to be perfected in the feventh week, towards the end, or about the middle of it, which will agree well to fix and forty yeers; Not to fay, In cafe the thing were fo, that the words can have no relation to Daniels feventy weeks, the feventy weeks not beginning (as I have proved) till after the Temple-work was finished;

My Answer is, That it is a thing doubted among good men, whether these words have any relation at all to Zerubbabels Temple, or not; for fome conceive they relate to Solomons Temple, which computing from the time David made preparation for the building thereof, till the fame by Solomon was finished, amounts to about fix and forty years; But others, with more reason, and likelihood of truth, refer them to the Temple Herod built, who (to

ingratiate himself with the Jews) pulled down the former Temple Zerubbabel had built, building, inftead thereof, another more large, rich and fumptuous Temple (as is tettified by Jofephus, Antiq. lib.15. Cap. 14.) which Temple was the Temple then ftanding; And this work (as Dr. Lightfoot in his Harmony of the four Evangelifts upon the Text, proveth) had been in hand exactly fix and forty years before the time Chrift and the Jews had this Difcourfe,the probability of which opinion (confidering the Jews fpake of a Temple that was, not that had been) weighs down, in my opinion,all others. But if yet any do adhere to the opinion of Zerubbabels Temple, and accordingly fet this Scripture against my Argument, let them (which they muft) produce fome Scripture fpeaking the thing that Zerubbabels Temple is here meant; till that is done, we are in uncertainties, and an uncertain ground is too weak to prove a thing, or difprove the contrary.

And indeed learned men generally feem not in the prefent cafe to lay much weight upon this Text; for thofe, on the one hand, who conceive the fecond Temple was finished in the fixth year of Darius Hyftafpes, reckon not half fix and forty years, betwixt Cyrus his first, and Hyftafpes fixth year: And thofe, on the other, who judge the work was not finished untill the fixth of Darius Nothus, reckon between the firft of Cyrus, and the fixth of Nothus, above twice fix and forty years Yet is not this Text

judged

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