greatest prophet that had arisen up to John's time; but he adds, "I have greater witness than that of John."-Christ had a more extended ministry, a greater commission to fulfil. This ministry of Christ was also prophesied of by the former prophets; it was also of divine appointment; it was an authoritative commission; it was the truth. "Every one," said the Son of God, "that is of the Truth heareth my voice." In the first place, I refer again to the prophecy concerning this especial prophet and his ministry. The Lord God of Israel said unto Moses his servant, under the first covenant dispensation, Deut. xviii. 18, &c. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him; and it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Again Isa. lxi. 1. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God." Again Psalm 1xxviii. 1.-"Give ear, O my people to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter dark sayings of old." Many other predictions might be cited: these however are sufficient for my present purpose of proving, that the prophets foretold of Christ, in his prophetic and ministerial offices. Now, for the proofs of this in order: first, with reference to Moses, Deut. xviii. 18. The Apostle referring to Christ, Acts iii. 22, quotes this prediction. "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me,"&c.; and, in the 26th verse, he declares to the Jews, "Unto you first, God, having raised up his son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." This proves the fulfilment of the testimony of Moses, In the next place, we come to Isaiah's prediction, chap. lxi. 1; and we prove the fulfilment of this, in part, when our Lord entered on his ministry, after his baptism and temptation, Luke iv. 16, &c.-" Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah; and, when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bound, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and gave it again to the minister, and he said, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." It is remarkable at this time, that the Son of God did not go through the whole of the prophesy concerning himself: he was not only to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, but also the day of vengeance of our God. This part of his ministry was not fulfilled until towards its close, and it was delivered, as given by Luke, in chap. xxi. 22, "These be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written, may be fulfilled." (See the parallel passages in Matthew's and Mark's Gospel.) This was the period of Christ's second advent, and he declared that that generation should not pass away, till all of this should be fulfilled. When the Son of God was about to leave the world, and to return to the Father, he addressed the prayer, recorded

in John, chap. xvii., in the 4th verse of which he said, "I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do;" that is, his work as a prophet and minister on earth: not his redemption work, which was accomplished through his death; neither was it his salvation work, which was completed and finished at his second coming; but it was his prophetic and ministerial work, which he was to accomplish before he suffered. In the next place, we come to the third prediction, concerning Christ's personal ministry.-Psalm lxxviii.-The Son of God delivered his testimony to the multitude in parables, “and without a parable spake he not unto them: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Matt. xiii. 34, 35. This beautiful chapter abounds in parabolic testimony concerning the kingdom of heaven, which means nothing more than the gospel state or dispensation, ministered by the apostles of Christ after his ascension; and this kingdom of heaven, the Son of God, as well as John the Baptist, declared was at hand, at the commencement of his ministry, saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the Gospel." Mark i. 15. So the twelve apostles, whom the Lord called, were sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and were commanded to go and preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. x. 6, 7. But at this time they were not to go into the way of the Gentiles, nor to enter into any city of the Samaritans, ver. 5. Now, when the Son of God said the kingdom of heaven was at hand, he meant that it was near, and within the compass of that generation; and so he taught his apostles to pray— "Thy kingdom come." This prayer was at that time both necessary and proper the kingdom was not then come but was nigh at hand, and before it came, it was consistent to petition God for its coming; but, when it is come, the petition is no longer required, and it becomes the just to be thankful for its accomplishment. Connect with this, the words of Christ to his apostles, in the 16th of John. He had told them, that, in their prayers up to that time, they had not petitioned in his name; no prayers had been offered to God in the name of Christ before his ascension; but, said Christ, in reference to that state, "And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing ́in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John xvi. 23. The apostles, under the advanced state, said, "Whatsoever ye do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God and the Father by him." This will be sufficient to show, as far as the second boundary line of the Diagram stands, that it contained a ministry prophesied of before. The nature of that ministry was parabolic to the multitude, and was peculiarly adapted to the circumstances of the state manifested of God at this time; it was confirmed by the miracles which Christ performed, and proved by them to be of divine authority, and quite beyond anything of human ordination or appointment. I have proved this ministry, both by prophecy and its fulfilment; and again remark, that there is no succession to this ministry.

Yours, &c.,

ROBERT STARK.

Torquay, March 25th, 1844.

ON THE APOCALYPSE.

To the Editors of the Biblical Inquirer.

LETTER II.

Having, in my last, given Scripture evidence to shew that " THE SEALED BOOK" which John saw, was the book of prophecy by DANIEL, beyond all possibility of cavil, I may venture to add that it was the only book or prophecy said to be sealed. 'Daniel was commanded to shut up the words, and seal the book of his visions.' He alone, of all the prophets of God, received such a command; and, of all the books in the hands of the church, his is the only one which we find shut and sealed. We do find a command given to John not to seal a book. The angel who shewed John these things, and before whom John fell down to worship, said unto him, "See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. And he saith unto me, seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand." Rev. xxii. 9, 10. This explains the whole matter; the difference between a book sealed and a book not sealed is obvious. The sayings of a book that was sealed could not be kept, because they could not be read or known; but of John's unsealed book it is said, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand." Rev. i. 3. And whoever the angel might be, deputed to shew these things to John, he says, "I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book." It will be recollected that of the "book sealed with seven seals," which John saw, it is said, "No man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon:" that is, no power, man or angel, could read its sealed contents: John himself could not, although an inspired and beloved apostle, "I wept much," says he, "because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon." v. 3, 4. If John could not read, because he could not open the " BOOK," and that book should be proved to be the prophecy of DANIEL, then it follows, of necessity, that Paul could not understand the sealed parts of Daniel, neither could Peter and the rest of the apostles; "for no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book."

As it is evident that Paul did know and understand the dark, the secret, sealed things of Daniel, and that Paul's epistles to the Thessalonians furnish abundant evidence of his being able to read the book that was sealed, and "to look thereon," the question instantly occurs, How was Paul enabled to read the "book, sealed with seven seals," and explain it to the church at Thessalonica? The answer is simple, Because that Jesus, "the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, had prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." Therefore that which had been kept hid and secret became manifest, and was represented, as "A LITTLE BOOK OPEN." Rev. x. 2. We see then how Paul could, with the book of "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" in one hand, and the book of Daniel's prophecy in the other, apply the first as a "key" to the "lock" of the latter-open the door-explore the secret chambers-bring forth and exhibit to others the treasures of Jehovah's mind and purpose, hitherto secured and secreted by the perfect seal of

OMNIPOTENCE, called "the seven times sealed book." This serves to shew many important things. First-Paul could not understand the "sealed" parts of Daniel, "but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Gal. i. 12.

If Paul and the other apostles could not understand those parts of Daniel's book, said to be sealed, without the key to unlock it-that is the opening of the seals in the book of "the revelation of Jesus Christ;" and we find Paul writing, especially in the epistles to the Thessalonians, about the secret of Daniel's prophecy ;-it follows, of necessity, that Paul was in possession of that "revelation" when he wrote to the church at Thessalonica; and it is conclusive evidence that the book of "the revelation of Jesus Christ" was circulated and read before any of the epistles; because it is not contradicted by any, that Paul's epistles to the Thessalonians were written the earliest of all. Thus much in favour of the early date of the Apocalypse. This may serve to shew the fallacy of the attempts which have been made, and are still being made, to explain Daniel's book, without the aid of the Apocalypse, in the opening or unsealing the seals of that book, by "the lion of the tribe of Judah." also serves to prove, that every attempt at explaining the book of the revelations of John, apart from Jewish history, or Daniel's people, and the scattering of their power, and " the time of the end" will be, as it always has been, inconclusive and abortive.

It

I have, in order to be regular, to prove that Paul expounded the sealed parts of Daniel, respecting "the man of sin," the opposing, the exalting power, &c. but my attention is drawn to another branch of the subject, that is as to time, in answer to Daniel's eager inquiry, “O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up, and sealed till the time of the end.' Daniel xii. 8, 9. Before reviewing this part of the subject, I feel that I cannot do better than give the opinion of Dr. Tilloch, in his own words, in connection with what I have thus far written, in which lucid opinion I fully concur. He says that Paul, Peter, and John, had spoken very clearly of certain particulars detailed in the prophet Daniel, and observes: "These particulars were among the things that were closed up and sealed in the book of Daniel, and they were to remain so sealed up till the time of the end. The question then is simply this: Whence did these writers derive their knowledge? Certainly not from Daniel himself; for, if his book could be thus read and explained, it could not be called a sealed book ; and if this be the sealed book, spoken of in the Apocalypse, how came John to weep, on the supposition that no one could be found able to open, that is, explain the book? If, until this was effected by the lion of the tribe of Judah, it remained a sealed book to John, how could it be open to Peter and Paul; and not only to them but to the Churches, having been explained by Paul to the believers in Thesalonica, both orally and by letter; and by Peter, to the believers scattered as strangers throughout Pontus, Gallacia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia? What! an open book to such multitudes, and yet a closed book to John! Yet this must be the fact, if John did not write the Apocalypse till the year 96 or 97, as some strenuously contend. Nay, more strange still, John must have forgotten his former knowledge by the time he wrote his vision; for it is allowed even by the most strenuous contenders for so late a date, that John's first epistle was written about the year 80! But the cogency of this reasoning depends upon another fact:

Was the sealed book, which John saw opened in his vision, the book of the prophet Daniel? If we attend carefully to the description which John gives of this book, we shall easily ascertain this point from the character and marks which he has recorded respecting it." p. 126-128.

a

I have proposed examining the time of the book of Daniel, continuing "sealed book," that is, to what period did the events of this prophecy refer, and to what nation or people, when all the things which Daniel heard and saw should "be finished," and the secret or sealed parts of his prophecy accomplished and done, and made known to God's servants.

It is quite clear, that the time was to come when the "kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, should be given to the people of the saints of the most high: whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. HITHERTO IS THE END OF THE MATTER. "Dan. vii. 27. I take it, that the time when the kingdom "should be given to the people of the saints of the most high," and when "the saints of the most high should take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever," ver. 18, is "the end of the matter," and this is connected with the fourth beast, power, or kingdom, of Daniel's dream. I must not now allow myself to be diverted from the main subject under consideration, by this deeply interesting and important one of the "fourth" power, or kingdom of the prophet. Before concluding this series of letters, if ever I do conclude them, I hope to present my own views upon it, differing, as I believe they do, from all writers, at least those that I have seen.

"Shut

Not only does the fact of the saints of the Most High, possessing the kingdom, prove the period of the sealed book being opened, and all that he saw and heard " finished;" but the time of this book remaining sealed is bounded by other remarkable expressions and events, such as, up the words, and seal the book TO THE TIME OF THE END." Dan. xii. 4. Again, "Go thy way Daniel, for the words are closed up, and sealed TILL THE TIME OF THE END." ver. 9. And thus, at 23, "Go thou thy way TILL THE END: for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the END OF THE DAYS.'

I must however leave the further consideration of this subject to my

next.
May, 1844.

A.

ON APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION.

To the Editors of the Biblical Inquirer.
LETTER II.

I am not ignorant of the almost endless controversies about the KEYS, and of the unwillingness of the opposers of the Church of Rome to yield anything like supremacy to St. Peter. I am not entirely unacquainted with the fiery disputes of the clergy of all sects respecting the meaning of our Lord in that celebrated passage-" and I say also unto THEE, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it: and I will give unto THEE the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Matt. xvi. 18. I do not intend entering the lists with the champions on either side; nor will I attempt to wrest a passage of Scripture from its true, simple reading and meaning; because