epistle to the Corinthians the first chapter and 30. verse where hee sayth that Christ was made righteousnesse vnto vs. To seale vp vision and prophet A testament or couenant in writing is neuer sure before the seale be set vnto it That maketh all good That confirmeth and giueth strength And therfore by a metaphor or borrowed speach to seale vp vision and prophecie is as much as to confirme the same So the word is taken in the 3. chapter of Iohns gospell and 33. verse He which receaueth his testimonie hath sealed vp that God is trewe that is confirmed Whatsoeuer in the old testament had been foretold and promised by the holy prophets of God concerning Christ his birth his redeeming the elect from thrall and sauing from sinne his forerunner his preaching his miracles his humility betraying for money death resurrection ascnceon and glorious kingdome were all most certainly performed by him in their dew time The verifying and fulfilling whereof was as it were a seale for sure confirmation of the vndoubted truth thereof And for this cause the time of vision and prophet is limited to the comming of Christ and the cleare preaching of the gospel in his kingdome wherby he was to verifie confirme and fulfill the same This we are taught in the beginning of the epistle to the Hebrewes in these wordes God in times past spake often and many wayes to the fatheres by the prophets But in these last dayes he hath spoken to vs by his sonne And to anoint This interpretation of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I dare commend vpon my knowledge to the Church of GOD for good if euer any hath been good It is sure as heauen and earth no sillable amisse VVhich I speake to this end that no man doubt to receaue and hold fast this for the vndoubted truth of God in this place cōcerning the annointing of Christ being an excellent point of diuinitie whereof he euen tooke his name to bee called Messias or Christ that is annointed Ioh. 1.42 For the better vnderstanding whereof wee are to know that in time of the lawe the holy priestes prophets and kinges when they first tooke their offices vpon them were annointed with holy oile And this was the ceremonie of consecrating them to the seruice of God in those callinges For the annointing of priestes we haue the commaundement of God in the last chapter of Exodus the 13. verse where speaking to Moses of Aaron Thou shalt sayeth God annoint him and sanctifie him that hee may minister vnto me in the priestes office For the prophets annointing we haue the example of Elizeus annointed by Elias to be a prophet his stead And for kinges many testimonies in VVhereof I wil bring onely 2. one of Dauid annointed king ouer the house of Iuda The other of Salomon annointed kinge by Tsadoc the priest and Nathan the prophet 2. Sam. 2.4 Now Christ was the trewe high priest enduring for euer 1. Reg. 45. much more excellent then the priests of the law Heb. 7.24 and 8.6 Act. 3.22 He was also that excellent prophet commaunded to be heard in al things Lastly he is the eternall king to whome God gaue the throne of his father Dauid Luk. 1.32.33 to raigne ouer the house of Iacob for euer of whose kingdome shall be no end Christ then hauing in himselfe alone al those dignities of King Priest and Prophet at once together to the which other were annoynted seuerally someone some another was therefore by a certaine kinde of excellencie called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the annoynted The Law Priests Prophets and Kings were annoynted with materiall holy oyle but Christ with the spirituall oyle of the holy Ghost which in the 45. Psalme is called the oile of gladnes God hath annointed thee with the oyle of gladnes aboue thy fellowes that is with the holy Ghost which therefore in the first Epistle of Iohn the second chapter the 20. and 22. verses is called an oyntment by a translation taken from the annoyntings of the Law Yee haue an oyntment from him that is holie This spirituall annoynting of Christ is spoken of by Esay in his 61. chapter the first verse The spirit of the Lord is vppon mee therefore hath hee annoynted mee Hee hath sent me to preach good tydinges vnto the poore Clemens Alexandrinus hereof touching Christ his annoynting hath this saying 1. Strom. Our Lord Christ the holy of holies who came and fulfilled Vision and Prophet was annoynted in the flesh with the spirit of his father Therfore those materiall annoyntings of the law were nothing els but tipes and figures of this spiritual annoynting of Christ The holie of holies That is the most holie Christ was endued with the holie Ghost without measure Iohn 3.34 Euen a verie fountaine of holinesse of whose fulnesse wee are all made holie Christ Iesus saith Paul is made vnto vs sanctification Hereof in the first of Luke 1. Cor. 1 30. the 35. verse he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that holie one Ch. 7. v. 26. Hee is in the Epistle to the Hebrewes sayde to be an high Priest holie innocent vndefiled seperate from sinners and made higher than the heauens and therefore not without cause in this place called most holie The Popes holines striueth with Christ about this tittle at least to be equal with him challenging to himselfe the name not to bee called holie which were enough for a spotted man but that is not enough for him he will bee as good as Christ euen most holie yea holinesse it selfe or nothing at all Well if he can say so much for himselfe to haue that title as Gods word sayeth for Christ let him take it otherwise let him see howe hee can auoide Antichristian pride Thus the generalitie of Daniels weekes is declared so plainely pointing out the comming of Christ the effects thereof as though hee had read the writings of the Euangelists the Apostles or had beene an eye-witnes in the time of Christ to the verifying and fulfilling of these thinges Now followeth a more speciall and particular handling of them deuided into three parts in the other three verses The 25. verse The going forth of the word Moses in Deut. the fourth chapter thirteenth verse saith That God declared vnto Israell his couenant euen the ten wordes and wrote them vpon two Tables of stone meaning therby the ten commandements Assuerus commanded his seruants to bring Vashti the Queene before him Hest 1.12 but she would not come at his word that is at his commandement When the same king had decreed that all the Iewes in his dominion should bee destroyed For publishing thereof the Posts went out in all haste by the kinges word which was nothing els but his commandement So here by the word going forth is to be vnderstood a commandement which then is saide to goe foorth when it is first sent to bee published and proclaimed as in
changelinges Pererius reprooueth Annius his childish ignorance follie rashnesse arrogancie and the writinges themselues he termeth false erroneous fained lies deceits with this conclusion in the end Valeat igitur in perpetuū valeat haec Anniana Chronologia quae toties a viris doctis profligata iugulata est iaceat in posterum sempiterna hominum obliuione sepulta nec sit post hac qui eam exhumare ad fidem aliquam atque authoritatem quasi ad vitam reuocare audeat Sat sit adhuc eam cum non erat bene nota imposuisse multis nunc detectis atque in apertum prolatis fucatis eius mendaciis fallaciis si quem circumuenerit ac deceperit nimis profecto stupidū vecordemeum fore necesse est That is Let this Chronologie therfore of Annius farewell yea for euer let it farewell and that which hath often bin cast down and the throte thereof cut let it hereafter lie buried in euerlasting forgetfulnesse neither let any take it out of the graue and call it backe againe into credite authority as it were to life Let this be sufficient that it hath alreadie deceaued many whilest it was not thoroughlie known but now the coloured lyes and deceits thereof being detected and brought to light If hereafter any be deceaued thereby he must needes bee too too blockish and witlesse This is Pererius his censure no otherwise in my iudgement then such forgerie and falsehood hath deserued whereof take this as a manifest argument Iosephus in the tenth booke of his Antiquities the 11. Chapter writeth that Megasthenes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is in the fourth book of his Indian affaires making mention of Nabugodonosor went about to prooue him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to haue passed Hercules in prowesse and greatnes of acts which place Peter Comestor in his Scholastical Historie vpon Daniel vsing to proue Nabugodonoserum fortitudine actuum magnitudine Herculem transcendisse that Nabugodonosor went beyond Hercules in valour and great acts citeth Megasthenes for it in his booke of Iudgements reading Iudiciorum by some corruption in the translation of Iosephus crept in for Indicorum Hereupon Annius transforming first Megasthenes into Metasthenes and then Indica that is Indian affaires into Iudicia which signifieth iudgements made this the title of his forged stuffe Metasthenes his booke of the iudgement of times This I hope is enough if any thing can bee enough to keepe men which haue eyes from taking hurt at this blocke An other much like vnto it hath bin the conceited fancie of Mathew Beroald in the thirde booke of his Chronologie the eight Chapter setting downe the Persian Kinges in this order The first Cyrus the next Assuerus Artaxerxes the third Darius Assirius the fourth Artaxerxes Pius the fift Xerxes And then after him the other sixe in order as they haue beene declared and named by other Of these eleuen Kinges how many yeares particularlie euerie one raigned it is vncertaine saith Beroaldus but generally the whole time of all was 130. yeares beginning with Cyrus in the 3. yeare of the 80. Olympiad the 295 of Rome This is Beroaldus his opinion for the kings and time of that Empire much like that of Annius In maner it is more honest beeing not fathered on other in matter as absurde and ridiculous if not more making more kinges and fewer yeares thrusting in such as neuer were knowne and fayning names which neuer were heard of For where was Assuerus Artaxerxes Darius Assirius and Artaxerxes Pius euer spoken of by any Author of credit diuine or prophane Who euer besides himself once dreamed of an Artaxerxes Pius to be Father to Xerxes Or that Xerxes made warre against Greece before his Fathers death Aeschilus a learned Poet who florished euen in those verie times in his Tragedie called Persa might soone haue taught him a better lesson raysing his father Darius long before dead out of his graue to tell newes Doeth not such stuffe as this deserue the tearmes of monsters dregs dreames lyes toyes as well as that opinion of Annius which euen Beroaldus himselfe reprooueth Is it not worthy of such a farewel as that wherewith Pererius biddeth Annius his Chronologie adew These be the opinions which in the course of Chronologie haue to diuers learned men been occasions of error The vanity whereof shall yet better appeare by that which followeth beeing layde vnto them For as diuers sorts of cloath compared together and held to the light are quickly by the eye discerned the course from the fine So the approoued true historie of ancient time beeing laied to these latter conceits will leaue an easie view for reason and the eye-sight as it were of the minde to iudge which is best First for the kinges of Persia who they were that raigned therein The name of the first to be Cyrus is agreed of all The second was Cambyses heire thereunto as wel by birth as his fathers will The next lawfull king after him was Darius whose father Histaspis as Seuerus Sulpitius in his second booke of the holy Historie writeth was cosen German to Cyrus The fourth king succeeding to the imperiall Crowne of Persia was Xerxes the sonne of the same Darius Then the other sixe in order of whom amongst writers that I know of there is no controuersie at all The first foure kinges here named in that order succeeding one another haue beene so recorded by those names vnto vs of most ancient Poets and noble Historiographers which eyther liued in the dayes of the said kinges or els came very neare vnto them and so haue bin deliuered from hand to hand and from age to age to this day continued by a long successiō of the most skilfull men for learning that euer haue beene whether rightly or no let reason scan First the dominion of the Persians was large and wide and contained manie countries A great part of India all Medea Parthia Babilonia Chaldea Hyrcania Armenia Arabia Mesopotamia Phaenicia all the land of Israell and Iuda all Egypt and much of Lybia all Syria and the lesse Asia wherein also they had their imperiall seate at Sardes a Cittie of Lydia the kinges of Persia oftentimes making their abode therein And continuallie theyr deputies in their absence most of the Kinges blood or alliance Besides Cyprus and manie other Ilands To be short it reached from Persia all a long so neare Greece and Europe that there was no land left to part them but the Sea called Aegeum And that in some place so narrow as a bridge hath beene made ouer it from brinke to brinke not a mile long with continual recourse and traffique betweene them These were the places of this Monarchie of all other for wisedome and prowesse most famous The times therof by the singuler knowledge vertues of excellent mē were no lesse noble The seauen wise men of Greece so renowmed Thales of Miletus Solon the Athenian Chilon the Lacedaemonian Pittacus of Mytilene Bias
The Reader is here to know that in the Hebrew we haue word for word Seuentie weekes is determened A verbe singular being ioyned with a nowne plurall by an vsuall custome of the holy tongue when a thing spoken in generall is to bee applied to euerie part As in the twelft chapter of Iob the seuenth verse Aske the beastes and it shall teach thee that is euerie one of them shall teach thee And in the Prouerbes of Salomon the third chapter the 18. verse in their originall tongue They which holde wisdome is made blessed that is to saye they are made blessed euery one of them So here the same kinde of speech being vsed 70. weekes is determined importeth thus much that euerie one of those weekes particularlie from the first to the last shall bee precisely and absolutely complet Which force contained in these wordes I might not omitte In English thus it may be expressed Seuentie weekes euery one are determined vpon thy people Thy people that is thy countreymen the Iewes for this is a common speech often vsed in the hebrew tongue to call that people mine of which I am one As in the first chapter of Ruth the 15. verse the Moabites are called the people of Orpha a woman of Moab Thy sister is gone backe to her people So in the 10. verse of that chapter the Iewes are called Naomies people We will returne to thy people with thee And the same Ieremies people in the lamentations the 3. chapter and 14. verse where he complaineth that he was a laughing stocke to all his people Here then in like manner by Daniels people are vnderstoode the Iewes whereof he was And vpon thy holy citie The holy citie is Ierusalem mentioned in the nexte verse so called because it was the place consecrate to the holy worship of God Esa the 52. chapter 1. verse put on thy bewtifull garmentes O Ierusalem holy citie And in the 4. chapter of Math. the 5. verse the diuell caried him to the holy citie and set him vpon a pinacle of the temple But why is it called Daniels citie was it because God had forsaken it as though it were now to be called any others rather then Gods citie So the learned father Hierom thought but herein deceaued For being a holy citie it must nedes bee also Gods citie It was rather called Daniels citie ether of his birth or bringing vp therein As in the ninth chapter of Mathew Capernaum is called Christs citie because he dwelt in it And Rama in the first book of Samuel the first chapter is called the citie of Elcana and the citie of Samuel in the 28. chap. of that booke And Rogelim the citie of Barzillai in the second of Samuel the 19. the 38. verse Let me die sayeth he in my owne citie By this which I haue sayde of Daniels people and Daniels citie it may appeare howe wide Hierom shot from the marke with some other of the ancient fathers interpreting it as though God had forsaken both and giuen them ouer as well the Iewes as Ierusalem To end sinne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being as the Masorites terme it the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 keri of these wordes that is the true reading thereof signifieth properly to consume finish or end sinne And therefore Hieroms interpretation Vt finem accipiat peccatum that sin may haue an end is good Neither doe I se how that other of sealing vp sinnes can heere be warranted This abolishing and finishing of sinne was wrought and fulfilled by our blessed Lord and redeemer Christ Iesus He was that vnspotted lambe of God which tooke away the sinnes of the world the first of Iohn the 29. verse In the end of the world he once appeared to put away sinne by the sacrifice of himselfe Hee was once offered to take away the sinnes of many Heb. 9.26.28 He washed vs from our sinnes in his blood In the first of the Reuelation the 3. ver He deliuered vs from sinne By him the bodie of sinne is destroied we are dead to sinne that it should not haue dominion ouer vs. See the 6. chapter to the Romans 6.11.14.18 verses Hee condemned sinne in the flesh Whosoeuer is borne of God can not sin Christ therefore fulfilled this heere spoken of by Daniell that is to say Rom 8.3 1. Ioh. 3.9 made an end of sinne two wayes first in iustifying vs from sinnes past and quitting vs from the guilte thereof And secondly in sanctifying vs from sinnes to come so as though wee afterward sinne yet wee cannot be seruantes vnto it Neither of them was or could bee performed by the lawe For the lawe causeth wrath Rom. 4. Heb. 10.1 Heb. 10.4.11 It could neuer sanctifie the commers thereunto The sacrifices thereof could not take awaye sinnes Iesus Christ onely was the fulfiller hereof according to the saying of Ezechiel the prophet in his 36. chapter the 35. verse I will powre cleane water vpon you and clense you from all your filthynesse A new harte also will I giue you and a new spirit will I put within you and J will take away the stonie hart out of your body and I will giue you a harte of flesh And I will cause you to walke in my statutes and ye shall keep my iudgements and doe them And to make reconciliation for iniquitie by appeasing and pacifiyng God his wrath against sinne Which was the effect of Christ his death offering vp him selfe an acceptable sacrifice to God for the sinnes of the world â—om 5.10 â—om 5.1 By his death we are reconciled to God VVe haue peace toward God through Christ To bring euerlasting righteousnesse The declaration hereof we haue in the epistle to the Hebrewes from the 12. ver of the 10. chap. vnto the end of the 18. verse of the same There wee are taught that by the sacrifice of Christ Iesus once offered remission of sinnes is obtained for euer so as after there can be no other propitiatorie oblation for them Here therefore the euerlasting righteousnes of Christ is opposed to the righteousnesse of the law to the obtaining whereof dayly sacrifices were offered But Christ hauing once made reconciliation for our sinnes by his blood therby purchased vnto vs euerlasting saluation and righteousnesse which in the 9. chapter and 12. ver of that Epistle is called euerlasting redemption The priesthood of christ is euerlasting Heb. 7.24 Heb. 9.11 Heb. 8.2 9.11.12 And of good thinges to come euerlasting His sacrifice once for all euerlasting And the sanctuarie into which he entred euerlasting And lastly the saluation redemption and righteousnesse which he purchased for vs is euerlasting So there is great difference betwene the Leuiticall priestes and Christ and betweene their oblations and his sacrifice Of this effect in bringing righteousnesse he hath this name to be called the Lorde our righteousnesse in the 23. chapter of the prophet Ieremie the reason whereof is giuen by the blessed Apostle in the first
the lawfull custome of sacrificing appoynting priests of the common people and countrie clownes a thing forbidden by Gods lawe They held the Temple and holie places keeping themselues therein as a castle of defence and at the length partly by the sedition within and partly sharpe warre without it came to passe that the priests in time of their sacrificing were slaine by darts and stones hurled from the rebels and in the ende for want of men there was no daily oblation any more offered This Iosephus declareth in the 2. booke the 17. chapter the 4. booke the 5. chapter the 5. booke the 9. chapter the 6. booke the first and fourth chapters the seuenth booke the fourth chapter of the Iewes warre Wherfore not without cause in my iudgement may those words of Daniel touching the sacrifices ceasing in the middest of the last weeke bee referred vnto these times of this warre wherein by meanes thereof the sacrifices of the Lords house were hindered so many wayes some were quite abolished and others done either not by those to whom they pertained or not so safely and freely as they ought Yea I see not how any at all many dayes could bee offered by reason of the seditious hurlie burlies in the citie and the warre without the sacrificers themselues oftentimes being slaine or wounded in the middest of their offering Master Iunius though hee thinke Christ Iesus to bee the agent and worker of these abolished sacrifices yet for all that partly he referreth the working thereof to the time of Ierusalems besieging Impijs sacrificium munus abolebit ex facto quia premente obsidione vrbis destituentur commoditatibus sacrificiorum He shall abolish sayth Iunius speaking of Christ sacrifice and offering in regard of the wicked by deede because that the besieging of the citie pressing them they shall bee bereaued of the profits of sacrifices This exposition is not strayned it is plaine without any wresting turning adding or taking away the course of Heauen and holy Scripture and prophane storie all make one account they all agree in the same reckoning if it bee not new all is well For this is well sayde of an Hebrew writer and worth the bearing in minde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Better is the grape gleaning of the auncient then the gathering of the later Neither is it lightly to be regarded which Iosephus in his second booke against Apion affirmeth that length of time is a most sure proofe For my owne part I reuerence antiquities gray heares as much as any other who beareth but this indifferencie to thinke that good reason is aboue all For without it I would not haue her contradicted Wherefore least this opinion of newnesse discredite my iudgement I am to let the reader vnderstand that though it be not so rife as other yet it is more ancient then peraduenture may be thought Tertullian was one of the Latine Fathers most auncient and very neere the Apostles flourishing in the raigne of Seuerus the Emperor about 200. yeares after Christes birth and not past one hundered after the death of Iohn the Euangelist Who in a booke of his written against the Iewes expounding this prophecie of Daniels weekes beginneth the reckoning thereof from a Darius which raigned nineteene yeares after whome these foure succeeded one after another to the ende of the Persian Monarchie First Artaxerxes then Ochus after him Arses and last of all another Darius who was ouercome by Alexander Whereby it is manifest that he meaneth the same Darius that I doe for the beginning of this 490. yeares Onely herein he was deceiued that he supposed this Darius to be the same which is mentioned in the ninth of Daniel and raigned ouer the Medes when this message was brought vnto him by the Angell Gabriell And for the ende thereof hee bringeth it to the first yeare of Vespasian making this conclusion of all his account Ita in diem expugnationis suae Iudaei impleuerunt hebdomadas 70. praedictas in Daniele So the Iews saith Tertullian at the daye of their subdewing fulfilled the 70. weekes foretolde by Daniel Thus for the Persian king vnder whom Daniels weekes begun there is no great difference betweene Tertullian and me and for the time wherein they ended none at all After Tertullian Seuerus Sulpitius of the same standing with Augustine Epiphanius Chrysostome a writer for skil in the Persian storie deseruing great commendation and to the true vnderstanding of Ezra and Nehemias Daniels weekes bringeth such light as is not in any ancient writer that euer I read to be found the like This Father in the second booke of his holy history speaking of Cyrus saith that hee gaue the Iewes leaue in the beginning of his raigne to build the Temple wherein they went a little forward till such time as they were hindered by their enemies nere a hundred yeres after in the raigne of Artaxerxes who forbad them to meddle any more in that worke which by that meanes ceased till the second yeare of Darius The same Author after Cyrus hauing spoken of Cambyses Darius Hystaspis and Xerxes placeth next him that Artaxerxes Qui templi aedificationē inhibuit which forbad the building of the Temple and then hauing set another Xerxes with his brother Sogdianus betweene commeth to that Darius vnder whom the temple was restored and the building thereof perfected in the sixt yeare of his raigne From which time to the destruction of the Citie by Vespasian he numbreth 483. yeares His words be these Caeterum â restitutione templi vsque in euersionem quae sub Vespasiano Consule Augusto per Titum Caesarem consummata est anni 483. Praedictum id olim est a Daniele qui ab instauratione templi ad euersionem eius 69. hebdomadas futuras pronunciauerat But from the restoring of the Temple saith Seuerus to the ouerthrow of it which by Titus Caesar was finished vnder Vespasian then beeing imperiall Consull were 483. yeares That was by Daniel long agoe foretold who had before declared that from the restoring of the Temple to the ouerthrow of it should bee 69. weekes whereas hee saith that Daniel foretold 69. weekes to bee from the restoring of the Temple to the destruction thereof it is true beeing vnderstood from the commandement going out concerning that restoring to the time wherein the desolation of the Citie the ouerthrow of the Iewes common wealth begun for Daniel in plaine words foreshewed that after 69. weeks counted from that commandement Messias should be cut off the Citie and Temple destroyed leauing the last week of the seuenty for the accomplishing thereof wherein by certaine degrees by little and little it was wrought by the Romans The ruine begun vnder Albinus his gouernment strait after the 69. weekes as before hath beene prooued by one or two euident testimonies of Iosephus It continued and increased more and more vnder Florus till at the length Titus vnder his father Vespasian made a finall end and vtter vndooing of all