"man esteemeth one day above another: another "esteemeth every day alike*."

1 Cor. vi. 12.† "All things are lawful unto me, "but all things are not expedient:" [or profitable margin] "all things are lawful for me, but I will not be "brought under the power of any.- 13. Meats for "the belly, and the belly for meats; but God shall "destroy both it and them."

1 Cor. viii. 8. "But meat commendeth us not to "God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither "if we eat not, are we the worse. 13. Where"fore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat "no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my "brother to offend."

1 Cor. ix. 19 to 23. 19. "For though I be free "from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto "all, that I might gain the more.-20. And unto "the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain "the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under "the law, that I might gain them that are under the "law:21. To them that are without law, as "without law, (being not without law to God, but "under the law to Christ), that I might gain them "that are without law.-22. To the weak became "I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made "all things to all men, that I might by all means "save some.-23. And this I do for the Gospel's "sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you."

"2 Cor. iii. 12 to 17. 12. "Seeing then that we have "such hope, we use great plainness of speech.

13. And not as Moses, which put a vail over his "face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly "look to the end of that which is abolished.-14.

Behold here the degree of importance attached by Paul to † Ch. x. 23.

sabbaths.

"But their minds were blinded; for until this day "remaineth the same vail untaken away in the read"ing of the Old Testament; which vail is done away "in Christ.-15. But even unto this day, when "Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart "16. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, "the vail shall be taken away.-17. Now the "Lord is that spirit; and where the spirit of the Lord "is, there is liberty.'

Now as to circumcision in particular.

Rom. ii. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29. 25. "For circumci"sion verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if "thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is “made uncircumcision.-26. Therefore -26. Therefore if the un"circumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall “not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? "27. And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by "the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? "28. For he is not a Jew, which is one out"wardly; neither is that circumcision, which is out"ward in the flesh:29. 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. iii. 1, 2. 1. "What advantage then hath the "Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? "2. Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."

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Rom. iv. 9, 10, 11, 12. "9. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the "uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reck"oned to Abraham for righteousness.-10. How "was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, "or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in " uncircumcision.-11. And he received the sign "of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the

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"faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that "he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: —12. And the "father of circumcision to them who are not of the "circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of "that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised."

Rom. xv. 8. "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a "minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to "confirm the promises made unto the fathers."

1 Cor. vii. 18. "Is any man called being circum"cised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any “called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. "19. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumci"sion is nothing, but the keeping of the command"ments of God."

From any one individual, who, in either of these distant cities, had seen any one of these same Epistles, -let it now be seen whether information of their contents, supposing it credited, would not have sufficed to produce those effects, the existence of which is so unquestionable. Not but that the same rashness, which suffered him to furnish such abundant evidence against himself in those distant regions, could scarce fail to have given birth to credence in abundance, of various sorts, and of a character which, on that occasion, would be much more impressive.

CHAPTER XII.

More Falsehoods.-Resurrection Witnesses multiplied.-World's End predicted.-To save credit, Antichrist invented.

SECTION 1.

RESURRECTION-WITNESSES MULTiplied.

AFTER what has been seen of the seven days' course of perjury, proofs of simple falsehood will be apt to appear superfluous. To make certainty more sure, two pre-eminent ones shall, however, be brought to view. They may have their use, were it only as examples of the palpableness, of those falsehoods, which, for so many hundreds of years, and through so many generations of commentators, are, under favourable circumstances, capable of remaining undetected. The extravagance of the addition, made by the audacious stranger, to the number of the Resurrection-witnesses, as given by themselves:-the predicted end of the world in the prophet's own life-time,--and the creation of Antichrist for the purpose of putting off that catastrophe, may even be not altogether unamusing, by the picture they will give, of that mixture of rashness and craftiness, which constitutes not the least remarkable, of the ingredients in the composition of this extraordinary character. Moreover, Antichrist being in the number of the bugbears, by the images of which many an enfeebled mind has not yet ceased to be tormented;-putting an extinguisher upon this hobgoblin may have the serious good effect, of calming a mass of disquietude, which how completely soever groundless, is not the less afflicting, to the minds into which it has found entrance.

First, as to the resurrection-witnesses. In relation to a fact of such cardinal importance, the accounts which have reached us from the four biographers of Jesus are not, it must be confessed, altogether so clear as could have been wished. But, on so ample a subject, howsoever tempting the occasion, any thing that could here be offered, with any promise of usefulness, would occupy far too much space, and be by much too wide a digression from the design of the present work*.

Sufficient to the present purpose will be the observation, that nothing can be more palpably or irrecon

* Matchlessly useful for the examination of this and every other question presented by the history of Jesus, will be found the tabular work, intituled "A Synopsis of the three first Gospels," &c. thin 8vo. London 1812. Printed for Rivington and for Payne. Of those three of the Gospels,-and, as to this part, of all four,—the several texts bearing on each point are brought to view, and confronted in the compass of the same page. By that precedent were suggested the two tabular and synoptic views, attached to the present work.

The account given by Luke of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus is contained in the last chapter, (chap. xxiv.) ver. 53. According to this account, by no men was Jesus seen in the interval between those two events, besides the eleven Apostles aud a few others, all together not more than enough, to sit down together at meat, in one of the houses of a village. Luke xxiv. 9. 28, 29, 30. Number of the occasions on which Jesus was seen by the Apostles, two: the company the same without addition, and both occasions having place within twenty-four hours. Between these two occasions it is that Paul sticks in the one of his own invention, in which Jesus was seen by above five hundred brethren at once.

Point-blank on this head is the contradiction given to this story of Paul's, by his own attendant and historiographer: namely, in the account put into the mouth of Peter, speaking to Centurion Cornelius. Acts x. 39 to 42. Expressly is it there said, ver. 40, "Him" (Jesus) "God raised up the third day, and showed him "openly;41. Not to all the people, but unto witnesses "chosen before of God [even] to us, who did eat and drink with "him after he rose from the dead." When in the year 62, or some posterior year, the author of the Acts was writing his history, nothing, it will be inferred, did he know of the contradictory account given by his hero, in writing in a letter written in the year 57.