An Amicable Controversy with a Jewish Rabbi, on The Messiah's Coming: With an Entirely New Exposition of Zechariah, on the Messiah's KingdomPark, John Ranicar
Religion
An Amicable Controversy with a Jewish Rabbi, on The Messiah's Coming: With an Entirely New Exposition of Zechariah, on the Messiah's Kingdom
_And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from
Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the
hinder sea; in summer and in winter it shall be._
The former and the hinder sea, or as Dr. Blayney proposes to render it,
the Eastern and the Western Sea, may literally signify the Dead Sea and
the Mediterranean; but figuratively the Eastern and Western Gentiles, who
will receive the benefit of the spiritual waters. The expression, in
summer and in winter it shall be, signifies literally, that they shall
neither be dried up by the summer’s heat, nor congealed by the cold of
winter; but figuratively must mean, that the purity of religion shall not
again be corrupted by the heat of fanaticism on the one hand, nor frozen
by the cold of infidelity on the other. The universal prevalence of true
religion is then declared. (See note.)
_And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be
one Lord, and his name one._
The fulfilment of what now remains of the prophecy appears to be still
future, and consequently it does not fall within the limits of our plan to
attempt the particular exposition of each part of it; but sufficient, it
is hoped, will be found in what is already accomplished, to convince the
Christian reader of the general purport of the whole; and to warrant the
statement made at the outset, that these six chapters are not, as former
commentators have supposed them to be, a collection of unconnected
predictions relating to different subjects, but one continued and
uninterrupted prophecy, presenting a view of the progress of our religion,
from its promulgation to its final establishment in purity and perfection.
That the evidence of this will be sufficient to convince the Jew, I am far
from expecting, being well aware of the many objections he has still to
urge against our exposition of prophecy, after those which are here
presented, may have been removed. But it may possibly have some weight
with him, when he finds upon examination, the same view of the subject
offered by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others; which the Christian will
find more circumstantially displayed in the Revelation of St. John. In
fact, my exposition of the Apocalypse, has furnished me with the clue to
guide me through all the prophecies, that relate to the progress of the
Messiah’s kingdom; for I find that each succeeding prophet has helped to
fill up the outline given by his predecessors; while the picture is
finally completed by St. John, the last of them all. But as a portrait is
most easily recognised when the likeness is complete; so the prophecy last
uttered, being most perfect, is most easily interpreted, and naturally
becomes the key to all the others; that is, the last delivered ought to be
the first expounded, which is the order I have pursued.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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