effrontery to reproach us! Is it not heartrending to see an old man on the brink of his grave-I take him near seventy years, if not more-to have only one thought, and that is deceit. His name is Wolf Solomon; he came from Plymouth. I would ask our Jewish brethren to study the following passage from our St. Paul:-"Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest jthy boast of God, and knowest His will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision ? shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. ii. 17-29.)-I remain, yours faithfully, LEOPOLD LOUIS. And THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE CONFERENCE AT NEW YORK. DEAR SIR,-Your strictures on the omission at the Conference of the Evangelical Alliance at New York of all reference to the people of Israel is well deserved. Mr. Tris sent me the following correspondence, which will indicate that the Committee had every Christ Church Vicarage, Leicester, "In the stated meeting of the Society, held in Cooper Union, September the 9th, 1873, Rev. J. C. K. Milligan, President, and Rev. Abraham C. Tris, Secretary, were appointed as a Committee to bring the cause of Israel before the Evangelical Alliance, and handed the following paper to Dr. Prime, Chairman of the Committee of arrangements : 666 To the Committee of Programme of the Evangelical Alliance Meeting, September 20th, 1873, Room 38, Bible House. "Brethren,-We, the Committee of the American Christian Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews in New York and elsewhere, desire to bring before the next meeting of the Evangelical Alliance a very brief paper, calling the attention of all Evangelical Christians to our common duty of preaching the Gospel to the Jews, and the happy results which will follow their conversion to Christ. "We hope that your Committee will give us the opportunity to present that subject before the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance, feeling with us an interest in the salvation of that people of Israel, yet beloved for the fathers' sake. "Please let us know the decision of your Committee. "J. C. K. MILLIGAN, "The following reply was received. "To Rev. Abraham C. Triss, "917, Fourth Avenue, New York. "I am directed by the Programme Committee to state that the time of the Alliance is already overcrowded with papers of general interest, and that it is impossible to introduce papers desired by many local Christian organisations. Queries. THE LAND OF SINIM. DEAR SIR,-I shall feel much obliged to any of your readers who could throw any light on the expression, "The land of Sinim," which occurs in the forty-ninth chapter of Isaiah and 12th verse. I remember the Rev. and lamented George Candy, of Bombay, many years ago saying it was now supposed to mean China. Thomas Scott, the commentator, says some province in Egypt or Arabia is probably meant; and considering that China could scarcely be known to the prophets in their day, if at all in Palestine, probably Mr. Scott is right. But it is an interesting question, and I should like to see some light thrown upon it. I should like also to know if it is supposed there are any descendants of the ten tribes or Jews in China at the present time, or in the West Coasts of South America, or Central America.Yours very truly, T. H. B. Literary Notices. The Coming of the Antichrist: showing from Holy Scripture, the marks of identification by which he way be recognised; and that the Second Personal Advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is nigh at hand. London S. W. Partridge and Co. THERE is no author's name on the title page of this pamphlet, but the perusal of the brochure has enlisted our profoundest respect for the writer of it. This our statement must not be construed into an approval in toto, on our part, of some of the startling theories which the author advances and maintains in his sixty or seventy Far from it. But the tone, pages. the style, the pathos, the unction which characterise the little work are worthy of all commendation; whilst his little work is entitled to a careful perusal. We write this after spending a sleepless night in mastering its contents. The writer is a devout and diligent student of the Bible in the first place, and of the great works on unfulfilled Prophecy in the next place. He is moreover making the best use of his studies, namely crying aloud to a heedless and dormant Christendom, as his motto on his title page betokens:"Now it is high time to awake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." Every such student, every such exhortation takes our sympathy by storm, notwithstanding that we cannot accept some of his minor theories. The following are the subjects which are treated, with considerable clearness, from the author's point of view, in this pamphlet. "The time of the end between 1866 and 1882." "The mode of identification of the Antichrist." "The Pope not the Antichrist." "Who is the Seventh Head of the Beast ?" "Characteristics of the Antichrist, or Eighth Head of the Beast." "His name." "His origin." "The Antichrist's deadly wound and resurrection." "The sword-wound." "Circumstantial evidence in favour of the theory" [viz: "that Napoleon III. will re-appear and become the Antichrist "]. "The ascent of the Antichrist from the bottomless pit." "The ПIAPOYZIA, or mode of appearance of the Antichrist." "To sum up briefly the argument." "The re-appearance of Napoleon III." We wish that our space had allowed us to cull, now and then, a passage from some of the sections, which we have enumerated; but this we cannot do at present. We cannot however, take leave of the small volume without giving the readers of the HEBREW CHRISTIAN WITNESS AND PROPHETIC INVESTIGATOR the benefit of the author's closing remarks; they appear to us strikingly apropos to these last days: "In conclusion, let us remember that, whoever may be revealed as the Antichrist, and whenever he may appear, then we may indeed 'look up and lift up our heads,' for then we shall know that, 'our redemption draweth nigh.' He who said these words, said also, 'Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.' And though it may be said with much apparent force that nearly twenty centuries have elapsed since these words were uttered, and still the world holds on its course,-the trance of the ages has not been broken by this assured manifestation of the Redeemer's glorified Person. We put our ear to the earth; there is heard no sound of His chariot-wheels.'* Be it so-'Yet a little while, and He that shall come * "Memories of Patmos," by J. R. Macduff, D.D. p. 15. will come, and will not tarry.'-For we are expressly told that, as a snare shall the day of the Lord come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.' In the words of the same author, 'Some may indulge unseemly levity as to the apparent stultifying of the Divine declaration,-the bridal lamps kept trimmed in hourly expectancy of the Bridegroom's approach, while no footfall for weary centuries has been heard; but of this we may be assured, that He to whom a thousand years are as one day, has some wise and all-sufficient reasons for the apparent delay, and for the urgent transmission from age to age of the stirring and ever-needful prophetic watchword; andone of these reasons,doubtless, is that "He is long-suffering to usward; not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." "As the children of time, whether for good or evil, we move onwards in perpetual change, but 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.' 'He is at this moment all that he was eighteen centuries ago, all that He has been to our fathers, all that He will be to our children. He is the Divine and Infallible Teacher, the Healer and Pardoner of Sin, the Source of all graces, the Conqueror of Satan and of Death-now as of old, and as in years to come, Now, as heretofore, He is "able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by Him;" now, as on the day of His triumph over death, "He opens the kingdom of heaven to all believers ;" now, as in the first age of the Church, He it is that hath the key of David, that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth." 44 May we all strive to realise these glorious truths in the Coming Advent -the most solemn Advent, as we believe, that has yet dawned upon the Christian Church, since her great Master and Divine Head vouchsafed His gracious promise, 'I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.' "The present is our own; for how short a time we may be permitted to enjoy it is known only to the Infinite Being who inhabits eternity. But while we have the power we may resolve, if we will, to live as men who live for the glory of an Incarnate God.' Let us then put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to with • Canon Liddon, Bampton Lectures, 1866, op. cit. p. 500. stand in the evil day' (Eph. vi. 11-18) which is coming on the world; and let us remember that He who said, 'Behold, I come quickly;' said also, 'Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.' (Rev. iii. 10-11.)" We cannot help expressing our regret that our author should have withheld his name from the title page. We should very much have liked to enjoy the friendship of a man of such earnest faith, sincere piety, and ardent Christian love as is unquestionably the author of "THE COMING OF THE ANTICHRIST." A New Solution of the Contemporary Symbols of the Revelation of St. John; showing that the First Series describes the Apostasy; the Second. the True Church; and that the Constantinian Church of the Fourth Century was the former; the Rupture of the Seals its Development under the Man of Sin, or Antichrist; and the blast of the Seventh Trumpet, or the Discharge of the Vials, its Destruction. By Rev. R. Gascoyne, M.A. Second Edition, corrected, and nearly re-written. IN these last days, the sober inquirer "Watchman, what of the night?" reads with avidity every book and pamphlet that has been published on the APOCALYPSE. A book with such a comprehensive title as the one before us, proclaims on the face of it that it is the production of an original and profound thinker. We have therefore read it carefully, and have found it such as its title page implies it to be. Though we cannot at present endorse the theories propounded by this pious student of the Word of God, we have yet read the result of his studies with attention, interest, aad profit. We have found in it many a gem of spiritual thought, which we value very much. We gladly, therefore, commend it, as well worthy of study, to every one interested in the proper understanding of those portions of Holy Scriptures, the burden of which is essentially prophetical; especially in the right meaning and import of the last Book of our Bible. We say Mr. Gascoyne's work is well worthy of study; a cursory, hasty perusal of it 1 will not enable the reader to perceive the Author's drift. It is impossible, with the limited space at our command, to give an analysis of the work, or even to furnish any specimens of the Author's style and spirit by extracts from it, though we marked many a passage for that purpose. We can simply recommend to our readers to give the work an attentive and studious perusal, and whether they agree with the Author or not in his Apocalyptic interpretations, they will not fail to profit, in a spiritual point of view, by the many valuable suggestions which they will assuredly gather from it. The Two Worlds; or, Here and Hereafter. An Epic in Five Books, by William Howell. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. THE aim and object of our bard seems to have been the same which have stimulated a Milton to indite his PARADISE LOST, and PARADISE REGAINED, or a Pollok, his COURSE OF TIME. Of course their respective works have been differently performed; but the same ruling idea, the same dominant principle, is the vital characteristic of the performance of every one of the poets dead and living to which we allude. Mr. Howell, in his preface, tells his readers: "One prevailing thought has energised throughout the whole exercise-that God may be glorified, being vindicated, feebly but earnestly, in all His dealings with man, and from man's assertion of His governmental character." This is a true description of the poem, but not a sufficiently comprehensive one. The work brings out the results of the Christian bard's deep study of the Word of God. Many a passage in the writings of Ezekiel, Daniel, and St. John are ably elucidated in the course of his poetic narrative. Antichrist is graphically sketched. The kingdom of Christ comprehensively delineated. The sublime themes upon which the Poet seeks to rivet our thoughts, and succeeds in doing so, makes us condone the prosiness which, now and then, finds its way into his verse. We look upon THE TWO WORLDS principally as a study for the soul; in many respects as a commentary on certain prophetic portions of the Word of God. As such we cordially recommend this poem to the readers of THE HEBREW CHRISTIAN WITNESS AND PROPHETIC INVESTIGATOR. The Polyglot Daily Text Book. London: S. W. Partridge and Co. Bible Stand, Crystal Palace, S.E. THIS interesting little volume, as we have already intimated in our issue for last November, p. 526, is the compilation of our indefatigable Hebrew Christian Brother, Mr. J. Alexander. The languages which are used in the TEXT BOOK are English, German, French, and Italian. We cannot do better than give the compiler's own Preface: "The compiler of this little Polyglot Text Book having, in the course of a large experience in Bible distribution among foreigners, been asked for a similar manual to the many little compilations in English, ventures to hope that its special features will be sufficient reason for its appearance. "The comparison of the different translations will, we trust, render it interesting to many; as they will then be enabled to perceive various suggestive shades of meaning in the Divine Word. "The Continental tourist may here find a 'word in season' for his foreign fellow traveller. The blank space after the verses will also serve the purpose of the ordinary Birthday Text-Book,' and for preserving the autographs of friends, and for mementoes of interesting family or public events. "Our chief desire, however, is that the Divine Spirit may by its simple instrumentality give to each and all into whose hands it may come, DAY BY DAY THEIR DAILY BREAD." The tiny book is neatly and hand" somely got up. It has been stamped on the opening cover with a side view of the Crystal Palace, and has for frontispiece a miniature of the grand front of the now world-famed structure. It is a suitable present for the NEW YEAR. Englishmen Not Israelites; An Answer to 66 Twenty-seven Identifications" and "Flashes of Light." By John Wilkinson, a Friend of Israel. London: S. W. Partridge and Co. We have all along, for obvious reasons, abstained from giving an opinion on the interesting problem which the late Mr. John Wilson's work "Our Israeli tish Origin" has raised. Mr. Hine's dilution of that work, in fluids of his own, which he labelled "Twenty-seven Identifications" and "Flashes of Light," we always particularly disliked. Those pamphlets always gave us the idea of miserable burlesques on our dear departed friend's grave and sober work. We have perused therefore the pamphlet which heads this notice with close attention and peculiar interest. We sincerely thank our beloved brother in Christ, the Rev. John Wilkinson, a more genuine friend of Israel we do not know,-for yielding at last to the importunities for an answer, to Mr. Hine's parodies, from his pen. He has given that answer in a Christianlike, scholarly, and effective manner. It is not every one who reviews a work who refutes it. Mr. Wilkinson has searchingly reviewed those pamphlets, and utterly refuted them. We are glad that the refutation has been undertaken by him. Another writer might have been betrayed into the same flippancy which characterises Mr. Hine's productions, and held up the Jews to ridicule, by paying them sinister compliments. Mr. Wilkinson's unaffected love for the kinsmen of our Saviour is never betrayed even into an ungenerous insinuation against the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We recommend his pamphlet as a most important contribution to the literature which the problem, "Our Israelitish Origin," has propounded, and we thank him heartily for his lucid solution of the same. NOTICES TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS, READERS, AND CORRESPONDENTS. OUR UR Subscribers, who transmit their Subscriptions by P.O. Orders, would save us a good deal of unnecessary trouble, and also unnecessary expense, if they would kindly refer, before taking out the order, to our notice on that head; in which they will find explicit directions given as to whom, and where the Orders should be made payable. We reproduce them here. Payments by Post Office Orders (NOT STAMPS) to be made out in favour of the Rev. Dr. MOSES Margoliouth, 22, Pelham Crescent, South Kensington,. S.W. Payable at 127, Fulham Road Post Office, S.W. N.B.-The price of THE HEBREW CHRISTIAN WITNESS AND PROPHETIC INVESTIGATOR is now uniform to subscribers and non-subscribers, SIXPENCE PER NUMBER. The advantage however which subscribers enjoy, is the receiving their copies, most regularly by post, free, before any Country Bookseller receives his monthly parcel. It is of considerable importance to the Proprietor and Editor to be in possession of as many subscribers' names as possible. He would therefore feel obliged if subscribers would lose no time in forwarding their names, along with the annual subscription of SIX SHILLINGS, at their earliest convenience. The Annual Volumes, as advertised on second page of wrapper, can be obtained direct from us, post free, on the receipt of P. O. Orders. Some of our Bishops have pronounced the Volumes "Valuable repositories of precious truths.". "Worthy of a place in every Clerical library as well as in the higher classes of Parochial libraries."" Replete with rare gems of various kinds in Gospel truths, Biblical Criticism and Exegesis, Homiletical Expositions, historical research, Christian biography," &c. &c. |