Signs of the Times [Himes], vol. 1
December 15, 1840
VOL. I. BOSTON, NO. 18
Joshua V. Himes
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
of the Second Coming of Christ.
“The Time is at Hand.”
Illustration of Prophecy
BEGG’S LETTERS—NO. III
On the precise signification of the word translated “Generation.” HST December 15, 1840, page 139.1
Reverend Sir,—In all the extracts contained in the preceding Letter, very pointed reference is made to the words “This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.” The arguments which have been founded upon them, and the interpretations to which they have given rise, render necessary, therefore, a more careful examination of their meaning. More correct acquaintance with their precise signification will be of the highest importance to the right understanding of our Lord’s whole prophecy concerning His Return; for should it be proved that the idea which you and others have attached to them is not the only one of which they can admit, it necessarily follows that any interpretation dependent on that idea will be deprived of its support. And, with Mr. Faber, I am firmly convinced, that “the passage where it occurs has been the chief ground of those erroneous expositions which would confine one of the most magnificent prophecies of Holy Writ to the mere destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by Titus.” (Sacred Calendar of Prophecy, vol. 1. p. 262,) It forms the ground of Gibbon’s insinuation; it is expressly assigned by the writers formerly quoted for all the absurdities into which they have fallen, and on it you took your stand for affirming, that the whole of the predictions preceding are necessarily confined to the term of existence of those who were the contemporaries of the apostles who then listened to our Lord. On this you founded the necessity of making your particular application; although in not a few instances, was it evinced that your interpretation was adopted as one rather of imagined dire necessity, than of obvious accordance. But before affirming that the Son of man was seen coming in the clouds of heaven, and sending his angels to gather together his elect at the destruction of Jerusalem—an idea which is not very easy for an unprejudiced mind to adopt—would it not have been proper farther to examine whether no other signification could be found for the expression which seemed to impose such a necessity? Had this been done, some explanation might have been discovered—as more than one have been suggested—which would wholly have freed you from the necessity of adopting an interpretation so strained and inconsistent with the express terms of the prediction itself, concerning the previous fulfilment of the times of the Gentiles. HST December 15, 1840, page 139.2
Mr. Cuninghame, who has given much attention to the subject, considers the solution of this difficulty “to consist in a close attention to the word which is supposed to indicate the complete fulfilment of the prophecy in that generation.” Considering it rather to signify “commencement running into subsequent continuance of action,” he proposes, therefore, as the more correct rendering of the verse, “this generation shall not pass away, till all these things shall be i. e. shall begin to be accomplished.” Dissertations on the Seals and Trumpets, pp. 241, 242. HST December 15, 1840, page 139.3
This view Mr. Cuninghame still inclines to believe correct, and has adhered to it as one principle by which a consistent interpretation of the prophecy may be given; justifying it in his Letter to the Editor of the Edinburgh Theological Magazine, in 1828, by adducing several passages in which a similar phraseology in like original is supposed to require a translation corresponding to that which, in the verse under consideration, would read, “this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilling.” HST December 15, 1840, page 139.4
But another, and what I esteem the proper explanation, yet remains to be considered. In the above, as also in all the interpretations which seek to find a fulfilment of the prediction of the coming of the Lord in the events connected with the destruction of Jerusalem, it is uniformly assumed that the “generation” spoken of, absolutely and only means those alive at the particular time. This does not, however, appear to be always the case, nor to be its only signification. The word used in the original occurs frequently in the New Testament, and is, indeed, generally translated in our authorized version, generation. In many cases, however, this translation, if “generation” is so understood, appears incorrect, and in many the original would probably be better rendered “race,” or “people.” By the present translation, and the idea usually attached to it, our Lord, during his personal ministry, is frequently represented as condemning with much severity that generation as a whole, when it is evident that he directly referred to that particular people to whom he was more immediately sent, and among whom he lived and labored. “I am not sent,” he said, “but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel:” and the condemnation which he so often pronounces upon “this generation,” is not upon the whole of mankind then alive, but upon that race to whom he was especially missioned, and by whom alone he had hitherto been rejected. HST December 15, 1840, page 139.5
Now this, you are aware, is the sense in which I apprehend we are to understand the word when our Lord said “this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled,” regarding Him to intimate, not the continuance of those alive, or any part of them, till the accomplishment of all he had predicted, but rather as foretelling the preservation of the Jews as a people, even in the most peculiar circumstances, till His Return. This view has been taken of the verse by many eminent men. Although Mr. Cuninghame, as already noticed, adopts another explanation, he yet admits that when “the great and justly celebrated Mede,” in maintaining that here the word translated generation “does not mean a generation of co-existing men, but a race or nation, and the nation spoken of he takes to be that of the Jews,” and that when Mede “refers to the declaration of God in Jeremiah 31:35, 36. as being parallel thereto,” he considers such a view as admissible adding, that the word “is sometimes used in this sense, both in the Greek version of the Old and New Testaments, is shown by Mede in the passages of his works referred to.” Dissertations, p. 240. The peculiar force and beauty, as well as the propriety of this translation, is well urged by Mede. These he considers obvious when we regard it as our Lord’s design “to assert the continuance of the Jewish nation. Verily I say unto you the Jewish nation, even to the wonder and astonishment of all who consider it, remains a distinct people in so long and so tedious a captivity, and after so many wonderful change as have befallen the nations where they live. And after stating that the word used in the original signifies not only an age, but also a people, a nation, a race, he adds “ no one can deny but this is one of the native notions of the Greek word translated “generation” yea. and so taken in the Gospels as in the foregoing chapter, (Matthew 23:36.) Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this nation. So Beza renders it twice in the parallel place, Luke 11:50, 51, and seven times in this gospel. Again,” Mede continues, “Luke 18:25. the Son of man must be first rejected by this nation.” HST December 15, 1840, page 139.6
Nor is it only in these instances referred to by Mede, that Beza has so rendered genea, the word translated “generation” in our Lord’s prediction. Of thirty-nine instances I have examined, in which this word occurs in the Greek New Testament, twenty-two are in Beza’s Latin translation, rendered either by gens or natio, words always signifying a people or nation. This is not an unimportant testimony in favor of the proposed reading of the disputed verse; since, of Beza’s Translation of the New Testament, Horne, in his Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, says, “On account of its fidelity it has always been highly esteemed by Protestants of every denomination.” HST December 15, 1840, page 139.7
Still I do not quote Beza as an infallible guide, but I do appeal to him as, in this case. a valuable and unbiassed witness to the real meaning of the word. He must be allowed to have been a very competent judge, and he cannot be suspected of adopting generally a rendering suitable to his views of the passage in question; for although in more than twenty instances he has translated this word in the Greek by that which signifies “a nation,” in our Lord’s prediction itself, he has rendered it by a word really signifying, in the disputed sense, “a generation.” But it is not to his opinion of this or any other particular passage I now refer, but to his understanding of the general signification of the word. And on his testimony the more reliance may certainly be placed, that contrary to his prevailing practice he has made this one of the exceptions to his more uniform translation; because so far from his being a witness objectionable on account of partiality, it is thus shown that his tendencies, if they operate at all, must have been to give the other rendering a preference. If then, a witness so well qualified and so unexceptionable, intimates his conviction of the meaning of the word to be that of a nation or people, by so translating it in a majority of the cases in which it occurs, he has, in so far as the mere words are concerned, and to the extent that his authority is regarded, removed all ground of complaint that it in any degree does violence to the language of our Lord, so to understand it in this prediction,—which, as I shall afterwards show, necessarily requires some such extended signification, by its including within it events posterior to the fulfilment of the times of the Gentiles, which you admit to be still future. HST December 15, 1840, page 139.8
But such an interpretation has not been confined, even among Scripture Expositors, Mede and Beza. While the first edition of my “Connected View” was passing through the press, a dear friend put into my hands a Millenarian work published in 1770, by the Rev. S. Hardy, Lecturer at Enfield, Middlesex, in which nearly the same view is given of our Lord’s whole prediction. On the word translated “generation,” in addition to the sanction of Beza and Mede, he refers, as authority in support of the substituted rendering to Chrysostom, Erasmus, and Pasor. I have since ascertained, that the same interpretation of the passage has been offered by many others. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.1
Indeed, although in our authorized version the word is almost uniformly translated “genereration,” this rendering is rather to be viewed as intimating the translators’ sense of the passages in which it occurs, than as demonstrating their conviction, that this is the unvarying signification of the word. In Philippians 2:15 (“in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,”) they have themselves translated it by the very word contended for by Mede, and adopted by Beza, and received by Hardy, and which I regard as that which ought to have been used in the translation of our Lord’s prediction. Now I do not contend that our Translators are right in their rendering in the particular instance, but I again cite this passage as containing evidence unbiassed by Millenarian tendencies, that nation is really one of the significations of the word. If, in every case where such a translation would bear directly in favor of the view I am now defending, they have adopted one that is different, it certainly strengthens much the argument to be derived from any admission they may indirectly make. Here, then, I again remark, as in the case of Beza, the rendering of our Translators in this particular instance proves unquestionably their conviction, that the word really has such a signification. Nay, the very impropriety of the translation in this case, if you choose to regard it in that light, only proves more decidedly that such a rendering must have been easily admitted by them as correct, if adopted without their having been compelled to have recourse unto it by the obvious sense of the passage. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.2
It might be highly useful, but would occupy much space, to examine with minuteness many of the passages in the New Testament in which this word is used, apparently in the sense of people or nation. Two or three cases may, however, be noticed. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.3
In that discourse in the temple which led to the delivery of the magnificent prediction now under consideration, the Savior had denounced vengeance on the Jews as a rebellious people. On the Scribes and Pharasees wo after wo was pronounced, for their hypocrisy, the last of which is in these words: “Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ye build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up, then, the measures of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ys scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city; that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.” Matthew 23:29-36. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.4
The last word in this passage is the same which occurs in our Lord’s subsequent prediction: and it can scarce be doubted, that here it refers to the Jews only, and not to the whole generation of living men. It has the Savior’s previous denunciations of wo upon that people all included, when he says, “all these things shall come upon this generation.” It was they who were “the children of them which killed the prophets;” and to them the Savior said, “Fill ye up, then, the measures of your fathers.” It was them the Savior still addressed, as those who should kill His disciples in their “synagogues.” In all these circumstances, there is a reference to the Jews, and to them only; and it was upon this guilty people,—and not upon the whole living race of men,—that wrath was now denounced for such enormities; “Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation” this race, this people. My idea is farther confirmed by what follows; for the Savior immediately takes up a lamentation for the punishment entailed by the guilt of “this generation.” And does this pathetic address apply to the circumstances of mankind generally? Not at all; its expression of His grief and sympathy is wholly expended on the Jewish people; and instead of embracing the whole generation of living men over a wide world, his apostrophe only is, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.” HST December 15, 1840, page 140.5
Farther, I would ask, is it true that all that Christ now denounced came upon “this generation.’ in the limited sense for which you contend? Is it not the punishment of those very crimes specified by our Lord that the Jews are still suffering? “Behold your House is left unto you desolate.” It has continued desolate for many generations, and is so still, and therefore “all these” things did not come upon that generation, but it has all come upon that people who were addressed. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.6
In another prediction of His Return, our Lord “said unto the disciples, the days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here! or see there! go not after them nor follow them. For as the lightning that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must He suffer many things and be rejected or this generation.” Luke 17:22-25. It is not my intention at present to insist on the beautiful harmony which there is between this prediction and that which forms the particular subject of immediate investigation; but to confine my attention to what is said of his rejection as confirmatory of the idea attached to “this generation.” That here also it is the Jewish people to whom he refers will appear by attention to several circumstances. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.7
Before this day of the Son of man desired by his deciples, He must first “be rejected of this generation.” Now, that he was and is rejected by the Jews as a people, admits not of doubt. But, rejected as he was by that nation, he was not more rejected of that generation of Jews than any which has succeeded, but much less. We read of “the many thousands of Jews who believe,” when Paul came up to Jerusalem—nay of the myriads of them. Has the success of the gospel been so great among the Jews in any subsequent age, that it would warrant the idea of his having been peculiarly rejected of that generation then living. Or is it said the “generation” is to be understood more generally, and instead of confining it to the Jews to extend it to the whole of mankind then alive? In this sense will your idea of the word better accord with matter of fact? Not at all. So far from the Savior having been peculiarly rejected of the whole Gentile world in that age, was not the gospel extensively preached, and preached with power—preached with a degree of zeal and success which has not since been equalled? Instead of that generation having rejected the Savior in any peculiar degree, you have once and again recounted the triumphs of the cross as being then the most obvious, when you would maintain that our Lord’s prediction,—which I regard as even yet unfulfilled,—that the gospel should “be preached in all the world for a witness” before the end came, had its fulfilment before the destruction of Jerusalem. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.8
Having thus seen the inapplicability of the words to that generation in such a sense, observe now its perfect application and beauty when understood of the Jewish race or people. By them he was indeed rejected—rejected by them as a nation, and for eighteen hundred years, which have since elapsed, he has continued to be rejected by that people of whom our Lord appears to speak. The parallel passage in another gospel proves, indeed, that it is in this sense we are here to understand “this generation:” And “he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes.” Mark 8:31. That is, he was to be rejected of the Jewish nation, for these were the supreme authorities among the Jews, constituting, therefore, the representatives of that nation. Now the evangelists, by they specially using the term generation and the Jewish representatives in expressing our Lord’s idea, show clearly that “this generation” is used in a sense synonymous with “this people,” else the expressions could not have been given as recording the same statemen. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.9
Our Lord’s language here seems also to imply, that when the rejection of this generation shall cease, that then will his glorious coming be visible to all “as the lightning.” Now, as this rejection is predicted to cease just at the commencement of the Millenium; it intimates clearly that his Coming will be at the conversion of Israel, when they shall return to their allegiance. And the whole passage may surely be regarded as additional evidence, that the Savior referred to the continued existence of the Jewish people even till his return, when he said, “this genertion shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.” I shall refer to only one other passage in which I think our Lord obviously means the Jews, when, using the word under consideration, he speaks of this generation. It was on an occasion when the Jewish “people were gathered thick together, He began to say, this is an evil generation; they seek a sign and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto, Ninvevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. Luke 11:29, 30. In these words our Lord appears expressly to compare the Ninevites with the Jews. It is not the whole people living in the days of the prophet Jonas compared with the whole people living when our Lord thus spake. The comparison evidently is between the Ninevites to whom Jonas was sent, and that people who were now tempting the Savior by asking a sign. HST December 15, 1840, page 140.10
These various passages, in which the word is obviously used in the sense of nation or people, do therefore support the idea that the Savior, in Matthew 24:34, fortells the preservation of the, Jews as a distinct people till His Return. HST December 15, 1840, page 141.1
Although Mr. Faber denies the Coming of the Son of man with the clouds of heaven to be the Personal Return of Christ, he has done much to correct the misapprehension so generally entertained respecting the Time to which the prophecy relates, and also concerning the meaning of this 34th verse. When, in the First edition of the “Connected View,” I expressed my conviction that the word translated “generation” ought to be here rendered “nation” or “people,” I was quite unaware that precisely the same view was maintained by this eminent critic, or by any other in the present day. In that author’s “Sacred Calendar of Phrophecy” it is, however, distinctly and accurately stated. “The original word,” he says, “which our translators have rendered generation, has been commonly supposed to denote the then existing generation of men, or the generation of men who were contemporary with the Apostles. But the primary meaning of the word is a race, or family or nation: it is only in a secondary sense that it acquires the signification of a single generation of contemporaries. Let it, then,” he adds, “in the present passage, be understood in its primary and proper sense, and the whole difficulty will vanish; for, in that case, our Lord’s declaration will run as follows:—Verily, I say unto you, this nation shall not pass away, until all these things shall have been fulfilled. HST December 15, 1840, page 141.2
And, in confirmation of this view, he has appended, as a note, the following satisfactory evidence. “I subjoin the very accurate and satisfactory exposition of the word, which has been given by Scapula. HST December 15, 1840, page 141.3
[The extract from Scapula illustrates the sense of the Greek genea, by the Latin genus progenies: and again by the Latin Aetas and Seculum; in support of which he quotes Homer twice, Philo and Eschylus; and adds:] HST December 15, 1840, page 141.4
“The primary meaning, then of the word is a race or family or nation: and accordingly, it is used in this sense, both by the Seventy, and by the writers of the New Testament. Thus, in Genesis 43:7, the Seventy use the word genea to express what our translators render kindred; and they similarly employ the same word, for the same purpose, in Numbers 10:30, and elsewhere. Thus also, as Beza rightly understands them, the writers of the New Testament use genea to denote a people or nation, in Matthew 23:36, Luke 21:32. 17:25, and in other places. In like manner Chrysostom uses the same word to describe the whole collective body of Christians. He styles them he genea zetounton, the people or nation of those who seek the Lord. See Mede’s Works, book iv. epist. 12. p. 752.” Sac. Cal. of Prophecy, vol. i. pp. 263, 264. HST December 15, 1840, page 141.5
Dr. Adam Clarke also, (a commentator who will not be suspected of accommodating his interpretation to favor Millenarianism,) gives precisely this idea to the word generation, and understands our Lord to say “this race, i. e. the Jews shall not cease to be a distinct people till all the counsels of God, relative to them and the Gentiles, be fulfilled.” HST December 15, 1840, page 141.6
My object, in these remarks, you will perceive, has been to ascertain the precise meaning of that word in the original, which has been translated “Generation.” But I have now to remark, that before building so much of your interpretation of our Lord’s prediction of His coming in glory upon the verse under consideration, as fixing its entire fulfilment to the days of those then alive, it might also have been proper to inquire whether the word “generation,” even in the translation, never admits of another signification. Without insisting at length on this, the citation of a few passages will be sufficient to prove, that it is sometimes used in a corresponding sense with that already noticed. Is not this the case where it is said, “there is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother? There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, Oh how lofty are their eyes; and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw-teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.” Proverbs 30:11-14. The “generations” here evidently mean particular classes of wicked men. HST December 15, 1840, page 141.7
By the Psalmist, those who have clean hands and a pure heart—who receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of their salvation, are also called “the generation of them that seek him.” (Psalm 24:4-6.) Again, “God is in the generation of the righteous.” (Psalm 14:5.) “A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.” (Psalm 22:30.) And “the generation of the upright shall be blessed.” (Psalm 112:2.) In like manner the apostle Peter, speaking of those “which believe,” calls them “a chosen generation.” 1 Peter 2:9. HST December 15, 1840, page 141.8
By the prophet Jeremiah, “generation” is used in precisely the same sense, in direct application to the kingdom of Judah. He first addresses them as “Judah,” and afterwards beseeches them, “O generation.” Jeremiah 2:28, 31. The same prophet again uses the same word, in the same sense, when it is said, “This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God,” and concerning whom it is added, in the following verse, “the Lord hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.” And it is again immediately repeated in the next verse, “For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight.” Jeremiah 7:17-28. HST December 15, 1840, page 141.9
In the song of Moses the children of Israel are expressly called, in prophetic anticipation, “a crooked and perverse generation.” He does not in these words, refer to their condition as they existed at the time he spake, but is avowedly looking forward to their conduct in the latter days: “For I know,” says he, “that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 31:29. 32:5. And in this same song of Moses, in the 20th verse of the last-cited chapter, they are again called “a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith;” while, in the, 28th verse, they are renewedly called “a nation void of counsel.” HST December 15, 1840, page 141.10
In reference to our Lord’s prediction of His Coming in the clouds of heaven, surely such multiplied instances are sufficient to prove, not only that the original word on which the whole difficulty has been founded, may without impropriety be viewed in a sense consistent with its us reference to His future Personal Return, but also that the very word by which it has unhappily been translated, is itself occasionally used, in a similar sense. These citations prove, satisfactorily that the word, both as it occurs in the original and in the translation, does signify a race of men, a people, a nation, and that both are so used in reference to the Jews, HST December 15, 1840, page 141.11
With such proofs, I therefore hold it to be in disputable, that when our Lord says, “the generation shall not pass till all these things fulfilled, “he may have intimated that the Jewish people should continue to exist as a separate and distinct race, even while in captivity among the Gentiles, and subjected every species of oppression, by all the nations among whom they should be mingled. It naturally follows, therefore, that it is not a point to be assumed, that our Lord meant to assert that all he had foretold should be accomplished are forty or fifty years should have elapsed. For if, as I have proved, the word is really used in different senses it is necessary to show, that the one in which we find it thus often used is not that in which it is to be understood in the present instance. The face of Christ’s not having been seen coming in the clouds of heaven before the generation of men then living had died, is itself presumptive evidence that such was not our Lord’s prediction. And, accordingly, by attending a little more closely to his language we shall find, that it neither was nor possibly could be his meaning. HST December 15, 1840, page 141.12
For, besides the evidence derived from the use of the term in a different sense in the works of Greek authors, and in numerous passages of the New Testament, there is yet another important argument, of which I must still avail myself, against the idea you attach to “this generation.” We have still to inquire, whether such a sense as that on which your objection is founded will really accord with our Lord’s statements. Is it really true, then, that all he predicted, prior to making that declaration, was fulfilled before the men then living had ceased to exist? 47 Our conceptions of prophecy may be aided by history, as speculative opinions are often corrected by our knowledge of matters of fact. The generation of men who were living upon the earth when our Lord delivered his prediction, has long been consigned to the dust—the destruction of Jerusalem has long found its place in the records of past events—and, for 1700 years, the city itself has been trodden under foot of Gentile nations. Is it then true,—without having recourse to an idea of double sense, a scheme for which our Lord himself has made no provision, and which the direct terms of his prediction wholly exclude; a scheme which, even if admitted, is, in so far as the present question is concerned, absolutely self contradictory,—without such an assumed sense, allow me to ask, Do you, Reverend sir, believe it to be true—with the historic page in view, do you really think that our blessed Lord ever meant it to be understood as true—that his coming in the clouds of heaven would take place before the generation of men then upon the earth should cease to live—that at that time he would be seen so coming in power and great glory by all the tribes of the earth, (or even the Jewish tribes only, if you prefer to have it so,)—and that then also he should send forth his angels to gather together his elect from the four winds of heaven—and do you believe he declared that all this should take place, not before, nor in, nor during the destruction of Jerusalem, but “immediately after” its tribulation? HST December 15, 1840, page 141.13
Nay, putting aside for a time the question concerning the return of the blessed Son of man, permit me to ask, do you believe that all the other events, included in our Lord’s prediction, and uttered before he said “this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled,” were accomplished before those then living had died? There are various statements contained in that prediction, the nature of which you will not dispute, which really were not fulfilled before the grave had received the last survivors. I am perfectly willing that the term of existence allotted them be extended even to that of longevity; but the accommodation will still be insufficient—and that by many hundreds of years—to bring within its little compass the mighty things previously foretold by Christ. Let me then ask if it be true, that within this period the gospel was really “preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations?” With a full knowledge of the explanation usually offered—that in the apostolic age the gospel had made very extensive progress,—yet, keeping in view the design expressed by the Savior, for which the gospel should be preached, “as a witness,” for myself I dare not make the limitation which the offered explanation demands, and have still to ask of you and others, if it be really true, that even yet the gospel has been preached in all the world, for a witness unto “all nations?” and whether the complete accomplishment of this work when performed, will not rather mark “the end of the age? 48 “ HST December 15, 1840, page 142.1
Before uttering the words, I have so long been considering, our Lord had also foretold that the Jews should “be carried captive into all nations;” and again I ask, is it true that this also took place before that generation of living men had ceased to exist? Great as was the slaughter of the Jews by the Romans under Titus, and numerous as were his prisoners, it was not until after their revolt, towards the end of the reign of Adrian, between 130 and 140 of the Christian era, that this prediction was accomplished. It was not till after this repeated ruin of their nation, that the Jews were “led captive into all nations,” and dispersed over the face of the earth. Neither will this circumstance, therefore, come within the time of those living when the prediction of our Lord was delivered. HST December 15, 1840, page 142.2
But there is yet farther evidence in the prophecy itself, that the Savior, when he said “this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled,” did not mean to affirm, that the whole prophecy should have received its accomplishment within a single life-time. That prediction previously foretold that Jerusalem shall be “trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21:24-32. Now I unhesitatingly affirm that whatever be the right interpretation of the 34th verse, yours must be wrong; for our blessed Lord never could declare that a prediction of events extending at least over 1800 years, should all be fulfilled before those then living had censed to exist. Yet your interpretation of the prophecy founded on the verse in question, necessarily involves that absurdity. Endeavor to conceal it as you may, it is not a matter to be questioned, that the words by which you felt constrained to maintain that the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven referred to the destruction of Jerusalem, by the same kind of interpretation will necessarily require it to be believed that the times of the Gentiles should have been fulfilled at the same early period. But the times of the Gentiles are not yet fulfilled, for Jerusalem is still trodden under foot of the Gentiles, and these times will not be fulfilled so long as this is the case, for “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” I therefore appeal to you, and to all who know the Lord whether He could afterwards mean to affirm in the sense which you attached to his words, “this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled?” HST December 15, 1840, page 142.3
With the same design, I again ask, whether any “Kingdom of God,” either spiritual or external, visible or invisible, which was not established prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, has since been erected; so that concerning it our Savior could have said of the destruction of Jerusalem, “When ye see these things come to pass; know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand?’ Luke 21:31. Was there any kingdom which had not been erected when the Savior uttered the words just quoted—any kingdom that was not erected when, at the day of Pentecost, the disciples first enjoyed those spiritual gifts which were to qualify them for their Master’s work—that was not even erected when myriads of Jews embraced Jesus as the promised Messiah, and when the gospel had been so extensively propagated that you have once and again affirmed it to have been preached in all the world? Was there any “Kingdom of God,” which had not been erected even after the spiritual kingdom of Christ had made such triumphant progress, of which our Lord could yet declare that before those then living had died, and at the destruction of Jerusalem, it was only “nigh at hand?” HST December 15, 1840, page 142.4
And farther, What “redemption” was enjoyed, either by the Jews as a nation, or by the disciples of Christ in particular, which could be promised by our Lord as to take place within the term of existence of his contemporaries, and as only drawing nigh when the destruction of Jerusalem began to come to pass? Luke 21:28. Were the Jews as a nation, called to look and lift up their heads, while misery and desolation approached? or did his Jewish disciples then enjoy any “redemption” in which they were to exult? No: much they suffered even in that early period, but they enjoyed no such redemption; and in the very destruction of Jerusalem they lost all that they possessed. Compelled to flee in haste to the mountains, they escaped only with their lives. Their whole property was left as a spoil to the Gentile oppressor, or consumed by the devouring flame; and the House of their God, which they held more dear, was laid waste and pillaged by the fierce idolator. They regarded not as their “redemption” an event so disastrous, and which was followed by manifold persecutions and much distress. Their redemption was not, therefore, an event “nigh at hand” at the destruction of Jerusalem, nor has any thing since taken place that can be regarded as that object of hope to which our Lord could allude, when he said, “when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh;” and this having been delivered prior to that declaration which is the subject of immediate inquiry, also sets aside the force of your objection to a more extended and consistent interpretation of the whole prediction. HST December 15, 1840, page 142.5
From all the circumstances noticed, I therefore, infer the absolute incorrectness of that exposition, which would confine the fulfilment of the entire prediction to the term of existence of any of those alive when it was uttered. And not only so; but from the multifarious evidence adduced, I believe our Savior’s meaning in the expression to be, that notwithstanding of his having just predicted unparalled sufferings to which the Jewish nation should be subjected—of their being carried captive into all nations, and having their capital laid waste and subject to the power of ruthless spoilers—that still as a distinct nation or people, they should yet continue to exist till his return. And as if it were almost incredible that a nation could survive such complicated distress, he adds the assurance, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” HST December 15, 1840, page 142.6
That the explanation thus offered, in so far as it is agreeable to the mind and word of God, may be blessed to your soul, is the sincere prayer of, HST December 15, 1840, page 142.7
Reverend Sir,
Yours in Christian love, etc.
THE BIBLE
It exposes the subtile Sophist, and drives Diviner’s mad. HST December 15, 1840, page 142.8
It is complete code of laws, a perfect body of Divinity, an unequalled narrative. HST December 15, 1840, page 142.9
It is a book of lives. HST December 15, 1840, page 142.10
It is a book of travels. HST December 15, 1840, page 142.11
It is a book of voyages. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.1
It is the best covenant that ever was agreed to; the best deed that ever was sealed. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.2
It is the best evidence that ever was produced; the best will that ever was made. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.3
It is the best Testament that ever was signed. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.4
It is wisdom to understand it: to be ignorant of it is to be awfully destitute. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.5
It is the King’s best copy, and the Magistrate’s best rule. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.6
It is the housewife’s best guide, and the servant’s best instructor. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.7
It is the young man’s best companion. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.8
It is the School-boy’s Spelling Book. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.9
It is the learned man’s Masterpiece. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.10
It contains a choice Grammar for a novice, and a profound mystery for a sage. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.11
It is the ignorant man’s Dictionary, and the wise man’s Directory. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.12
It affords knowledge of all witty inventions, and it is its own interpreter. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.13
It encourages the wise, the warrior, and the overcomer. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.14
It promises an eternal reward to the exellent. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.15
And that which crowns all is, that the author, without partiality, and without hipocrisy, “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,” is GOD! HST December 15, 1840, page 143.16
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
“Can ye not discern the signs of the times.”
BOSTON, DECEMBER 15, 1840.
The Rev. Mr. Kirk In Boston. This gentleman has been lecturing in the Park St. Church, nearly every evening for two weeks past. His audiences have been large, consisting of almost all classes and denominations. His lectures are on practical and experimental subjects; and we are happy to learn that the effect is salutary, both on the church and the world. In a former visit, his labors failed of producing the good hoped for. But this was, perhaps, more the fault of the ministers, and churches, than of the lecturer; for he then spoke the truth in great plainness and affection. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.17
Mr. K. holds to the popular idea of a temporal millenium; and frequently refers to the conquest of the world by missionary efforts; and ardently prays the Lord to “come quickly” and reign on the earth. This with him is all spiritual, and before the resurrection. Popery, Mohamediam, Paganism are all to be destroyed; and Christianity triumph over all the earth a long time before the resurrection takes place. But how vain is such a hope. Popery is now gaining strength in almost every land. The “little horn,” (Papacy) will make war with the saints (or the true church,) till the “Ancient of Days shall come,” then the beast and the false prophet, with all the hosts of hell, will be put to flight; the saints shall rise, and the earth shall be filled with the glory of God. Then we shall have a millenium indeed. Reader, are you prepared to meet the coming Lord? HST December 15, 1840, page 143.18
THE CHRISTIAN WORLD
We have been favored with two numbers of the Christian World, a large quarto of eight pages, beautifully executed, and is issued monthly, at 1,25 per annum. It is published in Philadelphia, and edited by Thomas H. Stockton, a distinguished minister of the Protestant Methodist Church. It is not to be devoted to the interest of a Sect, or Sectarianism, but to the great cause of Bible Christianity. The editor says, “The Bible, and the Bible alone, is the religion of Christians.” By adopting this principle “as the rule by which our course in this department of our work is to be governed, we design to secure an eminent and independent position; neither Catholic, nor Protestant, nor yet neutral; but higher and stronger than either.” HST December 15, 1840, page 143.19
Able and distinguished writers of various denominations, have been secured as regular contributors to the work. We wish Bro. Stockton success. His work deserves a list of ten thousand subscribers. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.20
Mr. Miller’s Chronology, as revised and corrected by himself, will be found on the next page. He says in a note, that “If this chronology is not correct, I shall despair of ever getting from the Bible and history a true account of the age of the world. At any rate, I shall rest satisfied here, and wait the event; time will determine. As it respects the text in 1 Kings 6:1, it cannot be reconciled with the history of the Judges and the statement of St. Paul. I have therefore followed two witnesses instead of one. As it respects Samuel, I have no doubt of as long a period as 21 years; but it may possibly have exceeded 24 years.” HST December 15, 1840, page 143.21
The Report is in progress. It will be got out about the first of January. It will contain near two hundred pages, and will cost more than we at first calculated. We intend to publish as many copies as we have money to pay for. Those who want reports, therefore, must give us “straw,” and the “bricks” will be forthcoming. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.22
Erratum.—At the head of Chronology, where it reads “See p. 18,” it should be See No. 10. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.23
See advertisement of “Miller’s Views,” the last page. This collection of Mr. M’s writings will exceed the expectations of his friends, both in their interest and value. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.24
“WARD” AND HIS NAMESAKE, JONATHAN
Mr. Editor:—Your 16th number contains the note of one, who has been called to bear the cross of fathering some of my poor offspring. I am not regardless of the patience he exhibits under circumstances mortifying to the feelings of an upright man; to be taken for the author of that which he disapproves. All your readers will henceforth understand that of the many Wards in the world, one at least does not wish his influence to be taken to support the views of Mr. Miller. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.25
In this very thing my namesake shows a degree of manly independence that makes me willing to call him brother, notwithstanding I know nothing of him, save only his note to you. I am inclined to think, from his reverence for Scott and Whitby, that he is not accurately informed of Mr. Miller’s views; and in their day they were scarcely more noted than Mr. Miller is in his day. Mr. Miller’s views are not to be despised by any sound mind that examines them; nor are they to be received without examination. When searched once, they will be found to accord mainly with the views of the church in all primitive and martyr-ages. The Holy Word enjoins the same things which Mr. Miller eloquently preaches. As to the single point of time, A. D. 1843 for the end of the world, Mr. M. comes to the conclusion that fails to convince many; and yet the reader of the whole argument will find more just cause of forbearance, than of severe censure, even on that point. A large number of very learned and pious men agree to contemplate that year, as a memorable era in the history of the holy people; as the time when the antichrist will be destroyed, both East and West, and the chosen people will be gathered from the four quarters of the earth into their own promised land. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.26
The blessed God has not called me to illustrate or defend Mr. Miller’s views; but this I am constrained to acknowledge, that when the holy people come into the holy land, it is under the lead of David their king forever; and when antichrist is destroyed, it is done by the Lord coming in the clouds of heaven: and therefore, every proof and argument brought by the wise to show that antichrist will fall, and the Jews will be restored, in 1843, is so far a proof of the correctness of Mr. Miller’s views, that the world comes to an end in 1843; for Christ the Lord comes only the second time without sin unto salvation; comes only once more in the end of the world to raise and judge and rule over all nations in the resurrection of the dead; comes only once in the glory of his Father to give unto his saints their great reward, the inheritance promised to Abraham and to his seed of faith, and not his seed according to the flesh. I am sure for myself that whenever Israel is restored, out of Zion will come the Deliver; and whenever antichrist is slain and cast into the lake of fire, the Judge of the whole earth will set on the throne of his glory. Therefore, as any man proves to conviction that the Jews will return and antichrist will perish in 1843, proves to my understanding the correctness of Mr. Miller’s view in the date of this worlds destruction; for I take the promise of the Jews’ return to have been made to all believers in all ages; and to them it will be fulfilled to whom it has been made in person, and not to their children. Together with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob they must rise from the dead to receive the thing promised, the true rest; the city that hath foundations; the better country, even as heavenly; the everlasting inheritance of the world to come. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.27
I give my namesake the right hand, and assure him that as Abraham believed, so do his faithful seed, not in a Canaan under the curse, but in a heavenly Canaan: and I pray that heavenly may come, though this under the curse forever passes away. Yet how gloomy it makes some excellent people, to think of passing off this old world, with sin and death into the bargain, and receiving instead thereof the new heavens and new earth in which dwell righteousness, joy, and eternal life! They would seem to prefer to pull out weeds, and burn up bramble hedges, and contend with pain and difficulties, threescore years and ten, and then die leaving the same legacy to their children, rather than to have a new earth in which neither sin nor its wages, nor changes ever can enter. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.28
Mr. Scott’s views of the milennium deserve respect for their wide diffusion over our country; but it should be known by all who adopt his views, or incline to do so, that they are of recent origin. That Dr. Daniel Whitby, whom Scott quotes to support them, is the first man on the records of history who gives an honorable name to their support. And that you may not take only my word for it see and consider how becoming it would be in Mr. Scott, or any other commentator, to refer to the most ancient and approved authors in support of any point of doctrine on which Christians differ. The millenium is one on which they differ; and Mr. Scott ought to quote, and he has quoted, in support of his own peculiar views, the most ancient, honorable name which he could find. And that name is Daniel Whitby, D. D. who was born A. D. 1638 and died A. D. 1726. No learned and devout Christian found out and propounded the doctrine of a millenium in this world without the personal presence of the Lord in the resurrection of the dead, until Daniel Whitby. I have been at some pains to search out this matter, and I can truly say Mr. Scott is referring to that man, has done justice to the subject, so far as I have been able to learn. The primitive Christians believed no such doctrine as Whitby and Scott teach respecting the millenium: the Roman church in its apostacy or before, never received or taught this doctrine; the Reformers of the church disowned and condemned it, and also the fanatics without any honorable name, who began in the 16th century to circulate it. Daniel Whitby about the beginning of the eighteenth century gave it an honorable name, but truly I had rather follow Mr. Miller with the apostles, than Dr. Scott with only Dr. Whitby. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.29
These are things new to my namesake, I dare say; and he ought to be allowed time to search them out before they are multiplied. Therefore, I pause for the present, with any wishes for a better acquaintance. WARD. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.30
Dec. 8th, 1840.
Bible Chronology
“A Subscriber,” sent us several queries some months since, which were laid aside, and unintentionally neglected. Bro. M. has now given a full solution of his queries. Ed. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.31
MILLER’S ANSWER TO QUERIES OF “A SUBSCRIBER;”
concerning daily sacrifice and pagan rome
1. The question in Daniel 8:13, is “How long shall be the vision?” Not how long shall the daily sacrifice, or pagan Rome be? Let me state a case to illustrate. Suppose, Mr. Editor, you write to me that you have employed an agent to go to Maine, and Halifax, and then to London, to procure subscribers for the “Signs of the Times.” In my next letter I inquire of you, How long will your agent be gone, concerning his agency to London for the Signs of the Times? Your answer is ninety days. Now, would any man suppose that his agency would be in London ninety days; or would they suppose you included the whole tour? The latter, certainly. Precisely so is the question and answer in Daniel 8:13, 14. The people of God are by the vision shown to be under the agency of the three kingdoms, the two first, Persia and Grecia are wholly pagans, the third is Rome: but Rome after she comes into power will continue pagan for a given time, then she will take away paganism and set up papacy, which will rule a certain time and then the kings will be the agents for a time and the vision end. HST December 15, 1840, page 143.32
| Years, | |
| 1. Persia and Grecia pagan agents Daniel 8:1-8. | 299 |
| 2. Rome pagan agent, Daniel 8:9-12 Rev. 13 and 17 chapters. | 666 |
| 3. Ten horn’s kingly agents, 11:31. 12:30. Revelation 17:12. | 30 |
| 4. Papacy is the agent, Daniel 7:25. 11:32-39. Revelation 11:2. 13:5, 17:4-8 | 1260 |
| 5. Ten horns or kings agents, Daniel 11:40 to end Revelation 17:16-18. | 45 |
| Vision concerning pagan, papacy and ten kings as above divided, Daniel 8:14. | 2300 |
A BIBLE CHRONOLOGY FROM ADAM TO CHRIST
BY WILLIAM MILLER. Corrected. See p. 18.
| No. | Names of Patriarchs, Judges and Kings. | Age or Years | A. M. | B. C. | Proof Book. | Chapter and Verse. | Remarks. |
| Creation, | 1 | 4157 | Genesis. | 1:2 | |||
| 1 | Adam, | 130 | 130 | 4027 | do | 5:3 | |
| 2 | Seth, | 105 | 235 | 3922 | do | 5:6 | |
| 3 | Enos, | 90 | 325 | 3832 | do | 5:9 | |
| 4 | Cainan, | 70 | 395 | 3762 | do | 5:12 | |
| 5 | Mahalaleel, | 65 | 460 | 3697 | do | 5:15 | |
| 6 | Jared, | 162 | 622 | 3535 | do | 5:18 | |
| 7 | Enoch, | 65 | 687 | 3470 | do | 5:21 | |
| 8 | Methuselah, | 187 | 874 | 3283 | do | 5:25 | |
| 9 | Lamech, | 182 | 1056 | 3101 | do | 5:28 | |
| 10 | Noah, | 600 | 1656 | 2501 | do | 7:6 | To the flood. |
| The Flood, | 1 | 1657 | 2500 | do | 8:13 | ||
| 11 | Shem, | 2 | 1659 | 2498 | do | 11:10 | |
| 12 | Arphaxed | 35 | 1694 | 2463 | do | 11:12 | |
| 13 | Salah, | 30 | 1724 | 2433 | do | 11:14 | |
| 14 | Heber, | 34 | 1758 | 2399 | do | 11:16 | |
| 15 | Peleg, | 30 | 1788 | 2369 | do | 11:18 | |
| 16 | Reu, | 32 | 1820 | 2337 | do | 11:20 | |
| 17 | Serug, | 30 | 1850 | 2307 | do | 11:22 | |
| 18 | Nahor, | 229 | 1879 | 2278 | do | 11:24 | |
| 19 | Terah’s life, | 205 49 | 2084 | 2073 | do | 11:32 | |
| 20 | Exode in Egypt, etc., | 30 50 | 2514 | 1643 | Exodus. | 12:40, 41 | |
| 21 | Sojourn in the wilderness, | 40 | 2554 | 1603 | Joshua. | 5:6 | |
| 22 | Joshua | 25 51 | 2579 | 1578 | do. | 14:7. 20:2. 5:29. | |
| 1 | Elders and Anarchy, 52 | 18 | 2597 | 1560 | See Joseph us. | ||
| 2 | Under Cushan, etc., | 8 | 2605 | 1552 | Judges. | 3:8 | |
| 3 | Othniel, | 40 | 2645 | 1512 | do | 3:11 | |
| 4 | Eglon, | 18 | 2663 | 1494 | do | 3:14 | |
| 5 | Ehud, | 80 | 2743 | 1414 | do | 3:30 | |
| 6 | Jabin, | 20 | 2763 | 1394 | do | 4:3 | |
| 7 | Barak, | 40 | 2803 | 1354 | do | 5:31 | |
| 8 | Midianites, | 7 | 2810 | 1347 | do | 6:1 | |
| 9 | Gideon, | 40 | 2850 | 1307 | do | 8:28 | |
| 10 | Abimelech, | 3 | 2853 | 1304 | do | 9:22 | |
| 11 | Tola, | 23 | 2876 | 1281 | do | 10:2 | |
| 12 | Jair, | 22 | 2898 | 1259 | do | 10:3 | |
| 13 | Philistines, | 18 | 2916 | 1241 | do | 10:8 | |
| 14 | Jepthah, | 6 | 2922 | 1235 | do | 12:7 | |
| 15 | Ibzan, | 7 | 2929 | 1228 | do | 12:9 | |
| 16 | Elon, | 10 | 2939 | 1218 | do | 12:11 | |
| 17 | Abdon, | 8 | 2947 | 1210 | do | 12:14 | |
| 18 | Philistines, | 40 | 2987 | 1170 | do | 13:1 | |
| 19 | Eli, | 40 53 | 3027 | 1130 | 1 Sam. | 4:18 | |
| 20 | Samuel, the Prophet, | 24 54 | 3051 | 1106 | do | 7:2-17 | |
| 1 | King Saul, | 40 | 3091 | 1066 | Acts. | 13:21 | |
| 2 | David, | 40 | 3131 | 1026 | 2 Sam. | 5:4 | |
| 3 | Solomon, | 40 | 3171 | 986 | 1 Kings. | 11:42 | |
| 4 | Rehoboam, | 17 | 3188 | 969 | 2 Chron. | 12:13 | |
| 5 | Abijam, | 3 | 3191 | 966 | 1 Kings. | 15:2 | |
| 6 | Asa, | 41 | 3232 | 925 | do | 15:10 | |
| 7 | Jehoshaphat, | 25 | 3257 | 900 | do | 22:42 | |
| 8 | Jehoram, | 5 55 | 3262 | 895 | 2 Kings. | 8:17 | |
| 9 | Ahaziah, | 1 | 3263 | 894 | do | 8:26 | |
| 10 | His Mother, | 6 | 3269 | 888 | do | 11:3, 4 | |
| 11 | Joash, | 40 | 3309 | 848 | do | 12:1 | |
| 12 | Amaziah, | 29 | 3338 | 819 | do | 14:2 | |
| Interegnum, 56 | 11 | 3349 | 808 | do | 15:1, 2 | ||
| 13 | Azariah, | 52 | 3451 | 756 | do | 15:2 | |
| 14 | Jotham, | 16 | 3417 | 740 | do | 15:33 | |
| 15 | Ahaz, | 16 | 3433 | 724 | do | 16:2 | |
| 16 | Hezekiah, | 29 | 3462 | 695 | do | 18:2 | |
| 17 | Manasseh, | 55 | 3517 | 640 | do | 21:1 | |
| 18 | Amon, | 2 | 3519 | 638 | do | 21:19 | |
| 19 | Josiah, | 31 | 3550 | 607 | do | 22:1 | |
| 20 | Jehoaz, 3 Mo. | “ | “ | “ | do | 23:31 | |
| 21 | Jehoiakim, | 11 | 3561 | 596 | do | 23:36 | |
| The 70 years of captivity, begun | 24:2-16 | ||||||
| here, ended 1 y. Cyrus, | 70 | 3631 | 526 | 2. Chr. | 36:5-10, 15-23 | ||
| Cyrus, | 6 | 3637 | 520 | Rol. vol. 1, p.354 | |||
| Cambyses, | 7 | 3644 | 513 | “““366 | |||
| Darius Hystaspes | 36 | 3680 | 477 | Rol. vol. 2 p. 9. | |||
| Xerxes, | 13 | 3693 | 464 | “““ | |||
| Artaxerxes Long. | 7 | 3700 | 457 | Ezra | 7:10, 13 | ||
| Birth of Christ, | 457 | 4157 | Ferguson’s Astron. | ||||
| Add present year, | 1840 | 5997 | Prideaux connect. | ||||
| To 1843, | 3 | 6000 | See page 30 of this | ||||
| paper. |