fidelity; to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, by bringing them to the faith and the holy sentiments of the patriarchs their ancestors, as we said above; and in fine, he is destined to restore the tribes of Jacob to the favour of God, by teaching them to acknowledge his divine son Jesus for their Messiah. He will restore the tribes of Jacob, by re-engrafting them on the true olive tree, from whence, according to the Apostle, they had been cut off for their infidelity. "Because of unbelief," says St. Paul, "they were broken off. And if they abide not in unbelief, they shall be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou (Gentile) wert cut off the wild olive tree, which is natural to thee; and contrary to nature, were grafted into the good olive tree; how much shall they, the Jews, that are the natural branches, be grafted in their own olive tree? For, blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in; and so all Israel should be saved." Rom. xi. 20, 23, &c. The same account of Elias is confirmed by our Saviour, who told his disciples: "Elias indeed shall come, and shall restore all things." Matth. xvii. 11. But let us here observe, that the expression of the book of Ecclesiasticus, Elias will restore the tribes of Jacob, and that of our Saviour, Elias will restore all things, seem to indicate more than the conversion of the Jewish nation to the faith, as this conversion is sufficiently insinuated in the expression of Elias, appeasing the wrath of God, and reconciling the heart of the father to the sun. It appears therefore probable, that Elias will, by divine instruction, discover to the Jews the original distinction of their tribes, which they seem to have confounded and lost: then that he will restore the tribes to their primitive possessions, by re-establishing them in their ancient land of Judæa, each tribe in his new respective partition, as marked out by F ch. 48. The execution of this work will not

A teacher of extraordinary

the same kind of assistance. power and virtue will be more wanted, as iniquity will abound in these times, and even the good will be exposed to dangerous and most severe trials. To answer this exigency, the all-bountiful God will send another agent, namely, Henoch. We learn from Moses that this patriarch by a particular privilege was preserved from death: "Henoch walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him." Gen. v. 24. We learn the same from St. Paul: "By faith Henoch was taken away that he should not see death; and he was not found because God had taken him away." Rom. xi. 5. In the whole class of mankind Henoch and Elias are the only two persons to be found, that have not paid the debt of nature; which is deferred, till they shall have completed the functions to which they are destined, and which are not to take place till the latter days. They will then have, each, their separate commission. That of Elias will be, as we have seen, the conversion of the Jews, &c., or, to restore the tribes of Jacob; while Henoch will be sent to preach to the Gentiles, as we learn from the book of Ecclesiasticus: "Henoch pleased God, and was translated into Paradise, that he may give repentance to the nations," xliv. 16. The object therefore of Henoch's ministry is to give repentance to the nations, to withdraw idolaters from idolatry, to move bad Christians to repentance and bring them back into the ways of virtue, and in fine to stem the prevailing tide of iniquity. In the same manner then as St. Peter was appointed the apostle of the Jews, and St. Paul the apostle of nations, Gal. ii. 7, 8; so Elias will be sent, chiefly as the pr tirely co ded

former, and Henoch to the latter; but

each of the two apostles was not enher body of people, but sometimes exlikewise Elias and Henoch will somears in favour of both Jews and nations. be observed, that Henoch represents the and people who lived under the law of as the Je

66

fidelity; to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, by bringing them to the faith and the holy sentiments of the patriarchs their ancestors, as we said above; and in fine, he is destined to restore the tribes of Jacob to the favour of God, by teaching them to acknowledge his divine son Jesus for their Messiah. He will restore the tribes of Jacob, by re-engrafting them on the true olive tree, from whence, according to the Apostle, they had been cut off for their infidelity. Because of unbelief," says St. Paul, "they were broken off. And if they abide not in unbelief, they shall be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou (Gentile) wert cut off the wild olive tree, which is natural to thee; and contrary to nature, were grafted into the good olive tree; how much shall they, the Jews, that are the natural branches, be grafted in their Own olive tree? For, blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in; and so all Israel should be saved." Rom. xi. 20, 23, &c. The same account of Elias is confirmed by our Saviour, who told his disciples: “Elias indeed shall come, and shall restore all things." Matth. xvii. 11. But let us here observe, that the expression of the book of Ecclesiasticus, Elias will restore the tribes of Jacob, and that of our Saviour, Elias will restore all things, seem to indicate more than the conversion of the Jewish nation to the faith, as this conversion is sufficiently insinuated in the expression of Elias, appeasing the wrath of God, and reconciling the heart of the father to the son. It appears therefore probable, that Elias will, by divine instruction, discover to the Jews the original distinction of their tribes, which they seem to have confounded and lost: then that he will restore the tribes to their primitive possessions, by re-establishing them in their ancient land of Judæa, each tribe in his new respective partition, as marked out by Ezekiel, ch. 48. The execution of this work will not at all be impossible to the prophet, as he will be endued with so ample a degree of authority from God, and so extraordinary a power of working miracles. This observation will be confirmed in the sequel from the ancient prophets, who represent the Jews in full possession of the Holy Land after the time of Antichrist.

But if the Almighty, through his special mercy to the Jews, appoints them a teacher in Elias, to bring them back into the true path, from which they have so long strayed. it is not to be imagined he leaves the rest of the world without

66

the same kind of assistance. A teacher of extraordinary power and virtue will be more wanted, as iniquity will abound in these times, and even the good will be exposed to dangerous and most severe trials. To answer this exigency, the all-bountiful God will send another agent, namely, Henoch. We learn from Moses that this patriarch by a particular privilege was preserved from death: "Henoch walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him.” Gen. v. 24. We learn the same from St. Paul: • By faith Henoch was taken away that he should not see death; and he was not found because God had taken him away.' ." Rom. xi. 5. In the whole class of mankind Henoch and Elias are the only two persons to be found, that have not paid the debt of nature; which is deferred, till they shall have completed the functions to which they are destined, and which are not to take place till the latter days. They will then have, each, their separate commission. That of Elias will be, as we have seen, the conversion of the Jews, &c., or, to restore the tribes of Jacob; while Henoch will be sent to preach to the Gentiles, as we learn from the book of Ecclesiasticus: "Henoch pleased God, and was translated into Paradise, that he may give repentance to the nations," xliv. 16. The object therefore of Henoch's ministry is to give repentance to the nations, to withdraw idolaters from idolatry, to move bad Christians to repentance and bring them back into the ways of virtue, and in fine to stem the prevailing tide of iniquity. In the same manner then as St. Peter was appointed the apostle of the Jews, and St. Paul the apostle of nations, Gal. ii. 7, 8; so Elias will be sent, chiefly to the former, and Henoch to the latter; but as the preaching of each of the two apostles was not entirely confined to either body of people, but sometimes extended to both; so likewise Elias and Henoch will sometimes mix their labours in favour of both Jews and nations. It is here further to be observed, that Henoch represents the ancient patriarchs and people who lived under the law of nature; and Elias the Jewish prophets with that people, who were bound to the Mosaic institution: so that by their preaching the Christian religion we understand that both the patriarchs and the prophets, both the law of nature and the Mosaic, will appear again, if the expression be allowed, upon the stage of the world, to concur in giving testimony to Christ.

The two messengers of God, Henoch and Elias, are the

two witnesses, whose appearance and functions are described by St. John in the Apocalypse:" And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth," xi. 3. God will give unto these, his two witnesses, the spirit of preaching and prophecy by virtue of which they will preach and prophesy for a time, that is limited to a thousand two hundred and sixty days, that is forty-two months of thirty days each, or three years and a half. During this period of their ministry they will imitate the conduct observed by St. John Baptist on his preaching, by showing in themselves the examples of a penitential life, and practising the austerities of mortification, as appears by the expression, that they will be clothed in sackcloth. And such example, doubtless, will add great weight to their preaching.

St. John continues to describe the two witnesses: "These are two olive trees, and the two candlesticks that stand before the Lord of the earth," xi. 4. Henoch and Elias are compared to olive trees; because, as olive trees yield the unctious substance of oil, so these two powerful preachers will enrich mankind with the streams of the grace of God, aptly represented by the richness of oil. They are also said to be the two candlesticks that stand before the Lord, or God, of the earth; because as candlesticks are set up to diffuse light, so they will carry the light of faith to the nations of the earth. Here the apostle applies to them a passage in the prophecy of Zachary: "These are two sons of oil, who stand before the Lord of the whole earth." Zach. iv. 14.

66

St. John proceeds: And if any man will hurt them, (the two witnesses,) fire shall come out of their mouths, and shall devour their enemies: And if any man will hurt them, in this manner must he be slain.”

"These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy and they have power over waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they will." Apoc. xi. 5, 6. Here are expressed the miraculous powers, with which the two witnesses, Henoch and Elias, will be vested. Such powers will be necessary, to enable them to prove their mission, and to give weight to their preaching. Every messenger, who appears with a new commission from God, is always furnished with unquestionable proofs of such his commission: and these proofs are no other than miraculous works. Thus did our Saviour, the Apostles, and first planters of Christianity, prove the divine authority of