That  event  was  to  happen  before  the  sceptre  should  depart  from
Judah,a  and  while  a  prince,  of  Jewish  descent   reigned  over  the
Jews  in  their  own  land  :  the  Messiah  was  to  come  while  the  second
temple  was  standing,b  and  a  messenger  was  to  appear  before  him,
the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness  to  prepare  his  way.c     In
the  prophecies  of  Daniel  the  same  event  is  foretold,  (Dan.  ix.  24-27,)
and  specified  periods  (marked  according  to  similar  computations  in
the  Jewish  scriptures,  by  weeks  of  years,  each  day  for  a  year)  are
designated  for  the  birth  of  the  Messiah,  his  death,  the  duration  of  the
Jewish  war,    and  the   destruction   of  Jerusalem.     This   illustrious
prophecy  Sir  Isaac  Newton  declares  to  be  "  tlie  foundation  of  tJie
Christian  religion.'1'1

25.  The  subject  of  the  prophecies  embraced  in  the  Old  Testament
is  one  of  so  vast  magnitude,  that  a  brief  sketch  of  only  a  few  pages
devoted  to  it  must  be  imperfect  in  the  extreme  ;  but  our  object  will
have  been  accomplished  if  the  little  that  we  have  said  shall  induce
the  reader  to  examine  farther  the  historical  evidences  which  the
prophecies  furnish  in  favor  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  which  may
be  found  in  full  detail  in  the  works  of  Newton  and  Hales,d  and  an
excellent  compend  of  which  is  contained  in  the  valuable  work  of
Keith.      The  disciples  of  the   Christiarn  religion   believe  that   its
doctrines  rest  on  a  basis  firm  as  immutable  truth ;  and  among  the
evidences  of  the  reasonableness  of  their  faith  they  point  with  confi-
dence to  the  prophecies  which  set  forth  the  circumstances  attendant
Upon  the  introduction,  progress,  and  final  triumph,  of  that  religion ;
which  contain  historical  proofs  the  most  conclusive,  and  furnish  the
Christian  with  arguments  which  the  cavillings  of  infidelity  have  never
been  able  to  invalidate.     Whoever  expresses  an  infidel  doubt  against
the  Christian  religion,  before  he  has  fully  examined  the  evidences
which  prophecy  and  history  combined  furnish  in  its  favor,  shows  not
only  an  unwarranted  prejudice  against  the  truth,  but  the  most  culpa-
ble ignorance  and  presumption  also.
