his prediction was fully accomplished; for 1. Titus, "the prince
that should come," was continually offering peace to the Jews, and
tried to "strengthen the covenant"--i. e., their old treaties made
with the Romans, and in fact did bring over many. 2. On account
of the distress of the siege, the daily sacrifice did in fact cease to be
offered in the temple some time before its destruction; and the
angel further observes, that all this was to come upon them for
their sins, "for the overspreading of abominations, it should be
made desolate."

This is what appears to be a plain and fair explication of this
prophecy; but since Christians, seeing mention made in it of a
Messiah to be cut off, have eagerly endeavoured to press it into
their service, it remains for me to show, that it is impossible to
make this prophecy refer to "the cutting off" of Jesus.

The difficulty that learned Christians have met with, in their
attempts to do this, will be easily conceived by any person, when
he knows, that more than a dozen different hypotheses have been
framed by them for that purpose; but that they have lost their
labour, will be obvious from this single observation, that "the
anointed one, or Messiah," who, the prophet says, was to be "cut
off," was to be cut off "AFTER the threescore and two weeks," i.
e., at the destruction of Jerusalem, or within the seven years
preceding that event! Now, we know from the Evangelists, and;
from profane history, that Jesus was crucified more than forty
years before the destruction of Jerusalem. In addition to this,
nothing need be said, for this circumstance lays flat their
interpretation at one stroke.

Those who desire to see a more elaborate discussion of this
prophecy, and an ample defence of this interpretation, are referred
to "Levi's Letters, to Priestly;" and those who are desirous of
seeing an account of the various, contradictory, perplexed and
multitudinous contrivances, by which it has been endeavoured to
apply this prophecy to Jesus, are referred to Prideaux, Michaelis,
and Blayney.

We have now gone through an examination of the evidence
adduced from the prophets of the Old Testament, to prove that
Jesus is the Messiah of the Old Testament; and those of our readers
who love truth, are, we trust, now made sensible that the religion
of the New Testament, if built upon such proofs as these, is,
evidently, founded on--a mistake.

CHAPTER VIII.

STATEMENT OF ARGUMENTS WHICH