the Jewish state and nation, which took away. all the obligations the Jews were under to all the laws of Mofes, and that the Profelytes of the Gate were under to fome of them, and confequently destroyed the distinction of the three periods; all men being then bound only to faith and repentance, and a fubjection to the laws of thofe countries where they lived. Ir will be of fome ufe to divide each of these three periods into their leffer periods, as I have done in the Abstract of the Abstract. But it will be found abfolutely neceffary to fubdivide the third period into three; namely, the period in which the gofpel was preached to the idolatrous Gentiles, and that it was not known to be preached to them by any of the church of Jerufalem (which I apprehend to be from the year 45 to the year 49); the period in which it was known to three of the apostles, namely, Peter, James, and John, and concealed from the reft of the church of Jerufalem (which I apprehend was from the year 49 to the year 58); and the period in which it was known to the whole church at Jerufalem, which I apprehend was from the year 58 to the year 70. I PROPOSE this to the learned, with the diffidence that becomes a scheme fo new as this, even in this knowing age. I own too, that that it is not without fome difficulty one can conceive how fo great an event as the converfion of the idolatrous Gentiles, and the gofpel that Paul and Barnabas preached to them, fhould be kept near four years from the knowledge of any of the Jewish apostles, and thirteen years from the reft of the church of Jerufalem. I confefs, this ftartled me extremely at firft; yet, I think, if the following circumftances are confidered, they will very much leffen, if not quite remove, the difficulty with my reader, as they have with me. ift, That there were at that time no pofts, nor any fixed ftated way of correfpondence, in the world. 2dly, That there was then very little intelligence between the Jewish believers in diftant places. We have a ftrong inftance to this purpose in the cafe of Saul, who was not known fo much as to be a difciple by the apoftles, or church of Jerufalem, three years after his converfion; nor then believed to be fo, on his attempting to join himself to them, till they were certified of the miraculous event of his converfion by Barnabas. This is altogether afto See Acts ix. 26. and Gal, i. 18. VOL. I. nifhing, nifh, confidering how great a perfecutor of the churches he had been; how muft reft they all had on his converfion; how remarkable the converfion of a man fo diftinguished: for learning, for zeal for the law, as well as fury against the Chriftians, must have been ; what wonderful circumftances attended it (a voice and a light from heaven, a vifion to Ananias and him, his being miraculously ftruck blind, reftored to his fight, and filled with the Holy Ghoft); preaching and difputing with great fkill and fuccefs in the fynagogues at fo great a city as Damafcus, afterwards in Arabia, and then again at Damafcus; both of them in the neighbourhood of Palæftine. How much eafier is it to conceive how the converfion of the idolatrous Gentiles, fo much more diftant from Palæftine, as the Leffer Afia, Macedonia, and Greece, might be concealed from all the church of Jerufalem four years, and from the body of it very near thirteen? Efpecially fince, 3dly, That there was then no correfpondence between the churches of the idolatrous Gentiles converted to chriftianity and the church of Jerufalem, but by Paul; and that he was at Jerufalem but twice between the year 45 and the year 58 (in which year, • Acts ix. 31. 5 namely, namely, 58, he communicated the converfion of the idolatrous Gentiles to the whole church of Jerufalem, in fuch a manner as to make them understand it); and that he made no ftay at Jerufalem one of thofe times; namely, the fourth time of his being there, which was ann. 54f. 4thly, That when the church of Jerufalem heard of the converfion of the Gentiles, yet they thereby probably only underflood the converfion of the profelyted, and not of the idolatrous Gentiles. Indeed, I believe, Gentiles never fignify any thing but profelyted Gentiles, from the xth to the xiiith chapter of the Acts. And, as I apprehend, when the converfion of the idolatrous Gentiles was fpoken of, Acts xv. it was not underfood to fignify idolatrous, but profelyted Gentiles only by any of the church of Jerufalem, befides Peter, James, and John, to whom Paul had imparted this inatter; and continued to be fo understood by them till the xxift of the Acts. Thus, when Cornelius and his family, profelyted Gentiles, were converted, the Jewish Chriftians fpeak of them as Gentiles. St. Luke fays, “And the apoftles and bre"thren that were in Judea heard that the "Gentiles" (that is, Cornelius and his fa f See the Abftract. * Acts xi. 1. b2 mily) 7 mily)" had also received the word of God. "And they that were of the circumcifion ❝contended with Peter, faying, Thou wenteft "unto men uncircumcifed," or to the Gentiles. And when they were forced to hold their peace on the juftification that Peter gave of himself, they said, " Then hath God alfo unto the Gentiles granted repentance "unto life i." In all these places, Gentiles undoubtedly fignify Profelytes of the Gate, or Devout Gentiles. There had been great debates, in the church of Antioch firft, and in the church of Jerufalem afterwards, about the "brethren, who from among the Gentiles "were turned unto God, in Antioch, Syria, "and Cilicia," and a decree about them : all which, as I hope, I have fully proved in the Fourth Effay, related only to the Profelytes of the Gate converted to christianity. On the other hand, the Jewish Chriftians had no notion of the calling of the idolatrous Gentiles. That was a mystery hid in the council of God from them, as well as from all ages before, and revealed first to Paul'. WHILST the heads, therefore, of these Jewish Chriftians were fo full of the case of the profelyted Gentiles; and whilft it fo little entered into their thoughts that the idolatrous i Ver. 18. 1 See the Third Effay. h Acts xi. 2. k Acts xv. Gentiles |