down from thence, when he fays Ch. xii. There was War in Heaven, Michael and his Angels fought with the Dragon; and the Dragon fought, and his Angels, and prevailed not, neither was their Place found any more in Heaven, for fo many of the Holy Fathers and ancient Writers interpret this Place." They have likewife fhewed, by the Conftructions of feveral Texts in the Targums, &c. that the Men who are to be faved are to fupply the defection of the faln Angels, cited by Pet. Galat. 258, 259.

Befides allowing the general Scheme of Christianity in these seven Things proposed, and decreed, to exift, and fhewing when, how, and why, Chrift took the Name of Son, &c. the Devil has put these Apoftates upon telling fo many Stories, to make fo many Evafions, and the Scriptures are fo exprefs in many Points, that they could not poffibly evade interfperfing fome other Truths, whofe Confequence perhaps they did not understand; nor foresee that any one, at this Diftance of Time, after they had blinded, and fo led, or ruled, the Doctors of the Chriftian Church fo long, fhould dare to diffect their Stories, and produce the Evidence they had laboured fo indefatigably to hide. They have allowed me enough to prove all that is true, and to

difprove all that they have built upon their Evafions. For the fake of putting Christ under the Throne, they allow there was a Throne of Glory exhibited upon this Occafion in Heaven; and, without confidering that they had pointed Shemim to make it Shamaim to evade the Names of the Perfons in the Trinity; which, when 'tis now retrieved, deftroys both the Heathen Syftem and theirs, they allow there was fomething under the Throne, which Satan knew to be, and called, the Light, which is the borrowed Name of the fecond Perfon, our Meffiah, both in the Old, and New Teftament; which Satan was not pleased to fee, and which they will not own, and which they make God own be the Meffiah, and call him his Juft One, another of the Names of our Meffiah, whom the Scriptures declare to be of the Effence. They, for the fake of making this Light, the Meffiah, a created Soul, tell you that God made a Covenant with this Light, this Meffiah, to fuffer and to destroy Satan; and that this Light, this Juft One, this Meffiah, agreed upon Conditions to fuffer, &c. I have shewed that this Light, this Meffiah, this Juft One, appeared in the Throne with his Manhood, as one of the Parties to this Covenant; after that, above the Throne,as Prophet to dictate,

to

and as King, by the Oeconomy of that Covenant, to direct and rule the Church, destroy Satan, and Apoftates; and below, or at the Foot of the Throne, to fuffer, atone by his Blood, and justify by his Works; fo, as Priest, Sacrifice, and Interceffor. And, truly, this was that which vexed Satan, and made him an Oppofer. Their making this Covenant to be made with the Soul of their mere Man, who they imagine is to be their Meffiah, cannot be tacked to thefe Truths. I have fhewed that they agree that Souls were created in Succeffion, from Adam, and will be, to the Day of Judgment; and no Creature could be a Party, much less be able to perform that Part the Scripture attributes to the true Meffiah. Who he was is clearly proved. They have thewed us what the holy Angels were commanded to do in Heaven; and the Apostle has fhewed us that they were commanded, and repeated, what they had done above at the first pub-. lication, here below, upon Christ's Birth; and what the Devils have done, and why they did it. And though the Apoftates have not afferted one Article for their Scheme, which they can prove, yet, befides what they have allowed, as above, by this they fhewed what many of their Difciples, who pretend to be Chriftians, would never

shew,

fhew, nor willingly own when it was lately fhewed, why the Creators of this Syftem, Man, &c. were called Aleim, though that fuch a Covenant was made by Oath appears from Scripture, that the Word Aleim expreffes those who made it. I have proved, that the Aleim are Jehovah the Effence existing, and Objects, for this and the Creation, of eternal Worship, Praife, Love, &c, the Scripture, by pofitive Affertions, and from their other Actions, infinitely demonftrate.

The Abuses in Pointing, and in fome modern Attempts of the like Nature, and the Occafion I fhall have to fhew the Formation of Names, put me under a Neceffity to fay fomething of the Hebrew Tongue. I must not leave my Subject, but be very fhort, only touch what ferves my present Purpose; fo must pass several confiderable Points, and not defcend to small Matters.

The pointed Hebrew is nothing a-kin to the written Hebrew; not only many of the Words are so changed, as to change their Senfe, but 'tis conform to the Languages in ufe, when it was pointed; takes away all the Perfection in the Original, fuch as the Concifenefs, and the Simplicity, of the Language, though it was done under pretence of fettling the Pronunciation, and reading it; takes away even the natural,

3

natural, audible, and infallible Diftinctions in the Parts of Speech, or Grammar ; which, when it was fpoken, was learned with one tenth Part of the Labour, or Memory, with which any other Language was ever learned; and, in writing, has not one third of the Number of Characters used, as are used in other Tongues, to exprefs the fame Sentence; nor any Sound, or Variation of Sounds, but the fimple, identical Sound to each Letter as 'tis pronounced, or writ, in every Place, a few Finals excepted: So, became an infallible Method of recording Things, or Facts. Pointing has made it an arbitrary Hodge-Podge, with neither the native Perfections, nor with fuch as are in the New Languages; but with fuch a Burthen of Things to be remembred, that the Contrivers furely intended that none fhould ever learn it: That it can never be learned without Book, nor in the Time that one might learn three or four others; and, then, could not be understood, in common fpeaking, except by fuch as are bred to speak a Corruption of it; a Language where Vowels are fupplied, in that Manner, and never so as to be understood, or writ, from the Mouth of the Reader, as 'tis written in the Original; nor fo as to preserve the Distinctions of Grammar.