Richard Watson
Published: 2015-07-02
Total Pages: 456
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Excerpt from A Collection of Theological Tracts, Vol. 5 of 6 The argument for the Truth of Christianity which is taken from the history of the definition of Jerusalem as related by Josephus, compared with our Saviour's prediction of that event recorded by the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke, has always been considered as one of the strongest which can be urged, either against the Jews in particular, or against Unbelievers in general. In modern times this argument has been illustrated by Jackson in the first volume of his works, 1673; by Tillotson in the 12th vol. (8vo ed.) of his Sermons; by Kidder in his Demonstration of the Messiah; by Whitby in his Commentary on St. Matthew, and in his General Preface; by Sharpe in a discourse intituled, The Rise and Fall of the Holy City and Temple of Jerusalem, preached at the Temple Church, 1764; and, to mention no others, by Jotin in the first vol. of his Remarks on Ecclesiastical History. This author has also well proved, not only that the Gospels, in which the predictions of Christ relative to the destruction of Jerusalem are delivered, were written before that event; but that the predictions themselves could not have been inserted into the Gospels, as interpolations, after the event: the reader will not esteem this to have been an unnecessary labour, who recollects the confidence with which Voltaire, with a view probably of evading the force of the Argument in question, declares, that the Gospels were written after Jerusalem was destroyed - fans doubte apres la destruction de Jerusalem. - Many an unbeliever is apt to think and fay, that he would have faith in the Gospel, if he could fee a mail raised from the dead, or any one notable miracle performed in attestation of its truth; now the completion of an ancient prophecy is, to us who fee the completion, a Miracle; and I would sincerely recommend it to every one, who is not steadfast in the faith, to examine carefully, and liberally, whether the prophecies - concerning Jerusalem being trodden under foot of the Gentiles - concerning the sterility of Palestine - the state of the Jewish people - the introduction of the Gentiles into the Church of God - the apostasy of the latter times - the Independency of the Arabs - the Servitude of Ham's posterity, &c. have not been laterally fuelled. These things are facts which fall within our own observation, and if we search the Scriptures we shall find that these facts were predicted long before either we or our fathers were born. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.