by him, of which chaps. xxxviii. and xxxix. are, in reality, the conclusion. Accordingly we find, upon examination, that the perpetuity of the gift of Canaan to Abraham and his seed, absolute in the terms of its first assignment, equally unconditional and unlimited in those of its repetition and confirmation, to Isaac and to Jacob, perpetual as the covenant of Noah, and inseparably allied to promises as unconditional, and unchangeable, as the prediction of Messiah, and described as such specifically by David; we find that this perpetuity of the gift of Canaan is calculated to assure us that Ezekiel's assumption in these chapters of Israel's restoration in the latter days was not only in accordance with his own previous prophecies, and those of other prophets whom he refers to, but also with a known and recognised position, or relationship, of the Israelites as the covenanted people of the Most High, to whom the possession of that land rightly and perpetually appertains; a right which, as shall be shown in its proper place, the penalties of the broken Levitical covenant could not contravene; a position of the people Israel acknowledged of the Almighty as to that land, when He terms it, through the prophet, "my mountains," "my land," in the latter days.

Ezekiel having thus implied a restoration of the whole house of Israel, and having clearly foretold the confederacy of northern powers against him so restored, tells us further that this confederacy, successful in its entire occupation of the land, successful also in the incapacity of Israel to resist it at large, shall nevertheless be soon and completely overthrown. Along the coasts, upon the hills, and in the plains, particularly in that highway valley east of Tiberias, this multitudinous force will be suddenly, and simultaneously, destroyed; so suddenly and simultaneously, that the hand of the Lord shall be felt and acknowledged by Jew and Gentile foeman alike, although the operation of second causes is not excluded. Storm, and pestilence, and intestine divisions, with perhaps the embarrassment of hostilities from other nations, these will aid in that work of fearful destruction, which still, from its suddenness and extent, will be felt to be miraculous; from conviction of which truth results, though in a manner which Ezekiel was not commissioned specifically to describe, the conversion of Israel to Christianity.

[3.] That this conversion is predicted becomes clear, from the consideration that the prophecy appertains to the Christian dispensation,

and that, as the result of Gog's overthrow, Israel is said not only "to
know the Lord," but also to know Him under the influence of the
outpoured Spirit of Grace: now "to know the Lord," as taught of
the Holy Ghost, in times of Christianity, is to know God in Christ,
i.e., to be converted to Christianity; and this being the result of Gog's
overthrow in the land of Israel, in sight of the people Israel therein
restored, it is manifest the conversion is predicted by Ezekiel to take
place after the restoration. This subsequence of the conversion to
the restoration is expressed in three different ways, one of which is
so precise as to admit of no questioning, nor charge of ambiguity,
though each of them is sufficiently strong for the purpose; for, besides
the peculiar force of the verbal noun constructed with?, which was
explained in the second chapter of this work, and of which we have here
given additional and clear examples, there was a peculiar force of?,
in arguing upon which we were sustained by the great authorities of
Noldius and Gesenius, who, writing merely as Hebrew critics, and
without reference to Israel, or his restoration, mark, the first of them,
these very passages as examples of that peculiar use of from which
our argument is adduced, and the other of them, that peculiar con-
struction of, preceded by the verbal noun with, which gives it
here that by which it justifies our conclusion, viz., the force of a
particle of time. Whether we say,
"Thus Israel shall know the
Lord," according to Noldius, or "Then Israel shall know the Lord,"
according to Gesenius, viz., by, or at the time, of Gog's destruction,
matters not, for, in each case, the knowing the Lord is made the
consequence of, and therefore subsequent to, that destruction. But, as
shewn, to know the Lord, taught by the Holy Spirit, as the phrase
is here used by Ezekiel, must mean, in the latter days, conversion to
Christianity; and, since Gog's destruction takes place in the eyes of
Israel, within the Holy Land, this conversion must be after the
restoration.

But, clear as this argument is, Ezekiel has not left us to it alone. He positively and definitely states that Israel's knowledge of the Lord, taught by the Holy Ghost, i.e., conversion, shall date from that time, and, therefore, shall not commence before. This we showed by a collation of examples, at p. 256, from Noldius, was the literal force of

,from that day and foreard מִן־הַיּוֹם הַהוּא וָהָלְאָה the Hebrew phrase

and that Noldius, collating passages in elucidation of the phrase, merely as a Hebrew scholar, adduces our very passage in Ezekiel

as a proof of its force. This statement is precise, and the argument that Israel's conversion will be after the restoration unanswerable, provided that our explanation of the prediction, "They shall know that I am the Lord," taken in connexion with the other, "For I have (i.e., I certainly will at that time) poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel," in the latter days-that it means, and must mean, conversion to Christianity, be a sound explanation, as I believe it is.

is this the whole argument, for,

Nor

Not only does Ezekiel enable us to see that the conversion of Israel will be after the restoration, but also that it will be a national conversion after a national restoration, because, all through the chapters, he describes the people who hold the land, when Gog invades it, by national terms-house of Israel, people of Israel, &c., &c.; and consistency of interpretation with other parts of Scripture, and of this chapter with itself, requires that we understand this of a competent representation of both houses; though to what extent, and under what precedence, or priority, or government, other Scriptures may, but Ezekiel's do not, explain. A competent representation of all the people, at least of the two houses, if not of all the tribes, will be in the Holy Land when Gog invades it. But if so, then the conversion, which results from Gog's overthrow, is national, and dates from that time and forward, i.e., not before; and their theory is directly opposite to Ezekiel's prediction who state that Israel, or any national representation of it, will be restored to the Holy Land, in a state of conversion to Christianity. Accordingly, when, in chap. ix., infrà, we come to Mr. Faber on this prophecy, we shall find him fully admitting that Israel as a nation is repossessed of the Holy Land before Gog invades it.

I intreat the reader to throw off all prejudice before he proceeds to read the next two chapters, in which, with God's blessing, I shall endeavour gradually to unveil the nations of Gog's confederacy, as well as to identify the Tarshish, which opposes them.

THE prophecy to which our attention is now about to be directed extends through the ninth and tenth chapters of Zechariah. The eleventh may also (upon Lowth's authority) be regarded as a continuation of it; but, as all those parts of the prophecy which peculiarly demand consideration, in connexion with our present subject, are contained in the ninth and tenth chapters, we shall confine our observations to them. There seems no good reason for doubting that the six concluding chapters of Zechariah belong really to the book of that prophet; but, however, as Archbishop Newcome, who inclined to the contrary opinion, observes, "whoever wrote them, their divine authority is established by the two quotations from them in the New Testament, chaps. ix. 9, and xi. 12, 13." See Matt. xxi. 5, and xxvii. 9—16, and refer to Henderson's "Minor Prophets," where the question of authorship is discussed, pp. 362-365, and decided in favour of Zechariah.

[I.] Our purpose is not only to show that chaps. ix. and x. undoubtedly predict the future restoration and conversion of the twelve tribes of Jacob, but also (and this is our especial object) that they supply us with a remarkable index to Israel's great adversary in the confederated armies, as predicted in Ezek. xxxviii., xxxix., by assuring us that identified with that confederacy will be found, either in a national or a mystical sense, or both, a power denominated by Zechariah Javan, which means, and, in Holy Scripture, always did mean, the country still denominated by Europeans Greece. Greece, in a territorial, or mystical sense, or both, Zechariah informs us will be joined with the unholy confederacy of northern powers, against the land and peace of restored Israel in these latter days. I shall commence the investigation by endeavouring to give a synopsis of these two chapters.

Chap. ix. 1-6. The prophet commences by foretelling God's judg

ments upon Syria, through Damascus, and Hamath (Antioch), its chief cities, and also upon the coasts of Palestine, through Tyre and Sidon, and the cities of the Philistines, the inhabitants of all which places, both Syrians and Philistines, were well-known enemies of the Jews. He foretels these judgments in language which carries their fulfilment into the times of Christianity, a fact which certainly has been overlooked by some annotators, who, nevertheless, have very decidedly settled the application, as they think, of these prophecies, vers. 7, 8. In contrast with these judgments, he foretels God's mercies towards the house of Israel, and that the strongholds of Philistia should be recovered by Israel as completely as King David expelled the Jebusite from the stronghold of Zion. A parallel seems to be drawn between the exploits of the literal David (2 Sam. viii.), and those yet to be accomplished by Messiah. These predictions, also, are delivered in language which extend their completion to the times of Christianity (vers. 9-11). The prophet, having thus predicted the destruction of Israel's enemies, and the future safety and exaltation of that people, in language which, though distantly, yet certainly, describes the times of Messiah, immediately delivers, by a natural sequence, another prediction, which, to Christians, notoriously identifies the times of his predictions as those of Jesus Christ :— "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass." (Matt. xxi. 5.) It will be seen that this prediction also embraces the entire era of Christianity; so that, although the first part of it (ver. 9) has been fulfilled, as we know, the rest (vers. 10, 11) yet remains to be accomplished (vers. 12-17). The prophet, in these verses, particularly describes the incidents of Israel's final deliverance, the contest being described as one between Greece and Zion, in which Zion, comparatively helpless as to natural resources, is delivered by a supernatural manifestation of the power of God. As this extraordinary part of the prophecy has customarily received another interpretation, to it especially our attention must be directed; and it will be shown, I believe, that the prophecy has been previously misapplied.

Chap. x. may be considered a reiteration, and enlargement, of the preceding. The victory of Israel over his enemies, the victory of a representation of both houses, their progressing restoration, their