Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	begin_v	reign_v	year_n	4,068	5	5.9655	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50462	A conference betwixt a Protestant and a Jevv, or, A second letter from a merchant in London to his correspondent in Amsterdam.	Mayo, Richard, 1631?-1695.; Jacob, John, 17th cent.	1678 (1678)	Wing M1523; ESTC R7786	36,017	42

called in Scripture the Lords anointed Having thus proved that the true and only Messiah is here spoken of it remains now that I should shew how the time limited for his coming is long since expired This is expresly said to be Seventy weeks from the going forth of the Commandment to restore and build Jerusalem That by Seventy weeks are to be understood Seventy sevens of years a day being put for a year and a week for Seven years which makes full Four hundred ninety years is generally owned by the Jews as well as the Christians The learned Kimchi upon this place doth acknowledg it so doth Jarchi Rab. Leadias and others And that Four hundred and ninety years are gone and past since the Commandment came forth for the rebuilding and restoring of Jerusalem I suppose will not be denied There are above Six times Seventy weeks from that time to this This then will inevitably follow That the Messiah is long since come R. J. The Christians themselves can't agree when these Seventy weeks did begin or end which weakens their Argument from this Prophecy Mr. B. It is confest what you say is true there is a great difference amongst Learned men in their computation of Daniel's weeks they are not agreed as I said before at which of the Commandments for the building of Jerusalem they do begin nor at the which of these Two seasons they end whether at the death of the Messiah or at the utter subversion and destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem And there is some difference also in their Accounts which is occasioned by the defect of History the number and years of the Persian Kings through whose reigns that Account runs is differently recorded by most authentick Historians But all this doth nothing invalidate my Argument nor is that at all concerned in the Chronological computation of those times or of Daniel's weeks It is sufficient to my purpose that by the consent of all the time is long since past and therefore the Messiah is long since come And this I might further tell you That the differences amongst the Jews about the beginning and ending of the Seventy years Captivity are more and greater than the differences amongst Christians about the Seventy weeks in this Prophesie Yea the ancient Jews were so convinced the Messiah was to come about the time that these Seventy weeks did determine that nothing extraordinary did appear in any person but presently they were in suspence whether he were the Messiah Yea Josephus tells us in his Seventh Book of the Jewish Wars That it was their confident expectation of the Messiah's coming about that season that put them upon that unequal and fatal War with the Romans Yea and the Talmud tells us they were the more obstinate in the War by their dayly and hourly expectation that their Messiah who was to come about that time would appear to their help and seeing as they thought he came not then they have now no other account or reckoning Yea in their Talmud they curse those who compute the time in which the Messiah shall come After a little pause when nothing was objected Mr. B. proceeded and said I shall turn you to the third and last Testimony that I shall bring to prove the Messiah is long since come and that is in the Prophecy of Malachi Chap. 3.1 Behold I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye seek he shall suddenly come to his Temple even the messenger of the Covenant whom you delight in behold he shall come saith the Lord of Hosts That the Messiah is the subject here spoken of is granted by the Jews themselves Aben Ezra Rainbam and Kimchy and others of your learned Masters apply this Prophecy to him The words of Kimchy are express This is the King the Messiah and this is the Angel of the Covenant The Messiah was the Lord whom the Jews your fathers sought whose coming they long looked for and earnestly prayed for He was the Angel of the Covenant Gods messenger who was as we observed before out of Daniel to confirm the Covenant with many By him the new Covenant was to be confirmed and ratified Now that which is predicated of the Messiah by this Prophet is this that he should come suddenly to his Temple his coming there must be whilst the Temple was yet standing and in being And 't is for this reason that the Prophet Haggai tells us Hag. 2.9 that the glory of the latter House shall be greater than the former because the Messiah who is there called the desire of all Nations shall in a little while come to it and afford it his Personal presence You know your selves that in res●●ct of any other glory the latter Temple was far inferior to the former It was not comparable with it for magnificence of structure hence it is that those of the fathers who were ancient men and had seen the first house when the foundation of the other was laid they wept with a loud voice it grieved them to think what a disproportion there was like to be betwixt the former and the latter House R. J. But this second Temple was greatly beautified and enlarged by Herod about 300 years after it was built and it might be said with respect thereto that the glory of the latter House should be great above that of the former Mr. B. 'T is true the latter House was greatly beautified by Herod but it does not appear that it was enlarged by him he built it higher but it was still upon the old foundation and when he had finished what he undertook there was no comparison betwixt this and the former Temple Do but consider the Treasure that David provided besides what Solomon added for the building of the first House we find it was 100000 Talents of Gold and 1000000 Talents of Silver besides Brass and Iron without weight We may rationally compute that Herod in all his wealth and glory was not worth one tenth part of this Treasure nay all Herods revenue was hardly sufficient to find Bread for Solomons Workmen which were above 330000 men nor is it likely that he employed so many in the whole work as Solomon did to oversee his Labourers But besides the Magnificence of the Fabrick there were sundry priviledges which added a great glory to the first Temple that were wanting in the second viz. Fire from Heaven to consume the Sacrifices Vrim and Thummim the Ark of the Covenant the Mercy-seat the Cherubims and Oracles from thence the Cloud filling the Temple the spirit of Prophecy these indeed were the chiefest glory of the first Temple and the Jews acknowledge this as they do in their Talmud that all these priviledges and pledges of Gods Presence were wanting in the second Temple with what face then can you compare the one with the other or prefer the glory of the one to the glory of the other There was nothing doubtless that

where used of him absolutely but here And the addition of the word Nagid the Prince or the supreme Ruler doth make it yet more evident for this word in sundry other places is peculiarly applied to the Messiah See in Isa 55.4 I have given him to wit the Christ to be Nagid a Leader or a Prince unto the people A Learned Critick hath well observed That these words Messiah Nagid that is Messiah the Prince are written in such Hebrew as must needs argue it a proper name and as is not to be found again in all the Bible To which may be added The person here spoken of is not only called Messiah and Messiah the Prince but he is also called the most Holy or the Holy of Holies the most holy place in the Tabernacle and Temple was so called but that can't be here intended The holy place in the 2d Temple was never anointed for it was not lawful for them to make the holy Oyl And besides that was burnt with fire and utterly destroyed about the expiration of these weeks It is therefore the Person that the holy place tipifies that is here spoken of The name of the Type is given to the Antitype he is the most holy that was anointed that is he was made a Messiah And a great Rabbi of your own doth thus expound it This Holy of Holies is the Messiah who is anointed or sanctified from amongst the sons of David And for a further confirmation of this do but consider what work is here assigned to be done by this person and you must conclude it is the Messiah that is here intended Who but he could finish or take away transgression and make an end of sin and make reconciliation for iniquity and bring in everlasting righteousness and seal up Vision and Prophecy and confirm the Covenant with many and cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease If these works could be wrought by any other than the Messiah we had more reason to desire him than the Messiah himself R. J. I confess you have urged good Reasons why the Messiah promised to our Fathers should be spoken of by Daniel the Prophet yet you must give me leave to tell you that our learned men are of opinion that all this is spoken of Cyrus the Persian Emperor and that he is Messiah the Prince and History tells us how he was slain or cut off As for the true Messiah we read in the Law that he abideth for ever And we are confirmed the more in this opinion because in Isaiah the Prophet he is called the Lords Messiah If you please you may consult the place in the beginning of that which you call Chap. 45. of that Prophecy Mr. B. I am not ignorant that some of the modern Rabbies have interpreted Daniels Prophecy of Cyrus for some ages they have abhorred nothing more than that the true Messiah should be there intended for if once they yield to that then they must give up their cause and they have no cloak for their unbelief because as I shall shew by and by the time limited for the coming and cutting off the Messiah is long since expired This Prophesie therefore if it hath any truth in it must have had its accomplishment And it argues the deplorable case of the Jews and desperate shifts they are put to that they can find no more probable person than Cyrus to accommodate this Prophecy to I pray do but consider which of all those works the Messiah was to do can in any tolerable sense be applied to Cyrus Did he take away sin or bring in an everlasting righteousness or make reconciliation for iniquity or seal up Vision and Prophesie or confirm the Covenant with many or cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease Nay was there any such thing as sacrifice or oblation in his days for him to put an end to Nay was not he a means of reviving sacrifices and oblations in after times Again let it be considered that the limited time here spoken of doth begin from the going forth of the Commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem that is exprest in the Prophecy Now some learned men and good Chronologers are of opinion that the Commandment here spoken of did not commence or begin till many years after Cyrus his death This is evident that there were several Commandments and Decrees from the Persian Emperors about this matter The first was made by Cyrus in the first year of his Empire and some think this was not the Commandment spoken of in Daniel because it was only for the building of the Temple whereas that of Daniel was for the building of Jerusalem Besides it had little or no effect within the space of Three or Four years it came to nothing till anon after the death of Cyrus there came forth another Decree from Darius supposed to be Darius Hystaspes the 3d Emperor of the Persians for the building of the Temple Of this we read Ezra 6. and it seems to be a revival of the Decree of Cyrus the roll whereof upon search made was found at Achmet in the Province of the Medes Besides this Decree of Cyrus and Darius we read of another Decree or Commandment of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7 who is supposed to be he that was called Longimanus This was a more authentick Decree or Commandment than either of the former for it was made as 't is in Ezra 7.14 by the King and his Seven Councellors which was the highest legislative power amongst the Persians Here was not only a proclamation of liberty but a formal Commission and that from the King and his Council Authority is given to Ezra to erect a civil Government and a Magistracy amongst the people with power over the estates liberties and lives of men and this is likely to be the Commandment for the building of Jerusalem for it is not Walls and Houses so much as Rule and Government that makes or constitutes a City And if the going forth of the Commandment to restore and build Jerusalem which is the epocha of time now limited and determined be understood as it is by some of the first Decree or Commandment of Cyrus then he can't be Messiah the Prince at whose cutting off the time must determine He did not live long after that Commandment The Temple was not built nor was there any sacrifice or oblation therein during all his short reign The things here foretold were not accomplished till above Four hundred year after his death It 's true he is once called the anointed of the Lord because he was designed and employed by God in that special service of ruining the Babylonian Empire But doth it therefore follow that he is intended in this Prophecy when no one word or circumstance therein is applicable to him and when he was dead some hundreds of years before the determined time mentioned in the Prophet did expire You may as well say Saul or Zedekiah is intended seeing both of them are