save he that hath the Beast's mark, name, or number of his name." It is a very natural failing that a human being has in forming a favourable opinion of the place of his birth and kindred. With this feeling towards Great Britain, I observe, that it has given a decisive proof of its being a part of the Beast; but it is also observed with pleasure, that this part of the Beast, at least like Nebuchadnezzar, when the prophetic number of seven times madness had nearly passed over him, is giving signs of returning reason, and is inclined to settle grievances by the force of truth and reason, instead of that height of beastly madness that appeals to the carnal sword.

There is no heavenly body on which more reliance may be placed, to ascertain how far wrong the Christian era has been calculated, than in what is commonly called Halley's comet, on account of the regularity of its appearance every 75 or 76* years, especially as its movement in the heavens exactly squares with the observation made on it by the wise men who came from the East to Jerusalem, enquiring for Him that was born King of the Jews, whose Star they saw in the East: also, history informs us that it appeared before the birth of Christ about 152 years, in the year before the birth of Mithridates, as mentioned by Justin, and about 75 years after the birth of Christ, at

* The eclipses of the sun and moon cannot be altogether depended on, because the eclipses happen every 18 years, 10 or 11 days; therefore, if there is an error of about 18 years in the computation of the Christian era, the date of an eclipse could not be depended on, whereas there is no probability that there could be an error of 75 or 76 years in the Christian era; therefore, the revolution of a body that extends to 75 or 76 years can be depended on.

the destruction of Jerusalem, as mentioned by Josephus, and it was observed at the different periods of time, as stated in the sheet at the end of the book, the author of this work saw it with his naked eye in the following positions, on the 10th and 11th of October, 1835, apparently above that cluster of stars called the Great Bear, or what the country people call the Horse and Waggon.

After the 11th the sky was so cloudy in Manchester that it could not be observed in passing towards the South in its journey round the sun. It fell into the rays of the sun a few days afterwards, and was not observed till February following with telescopes, when it again passed over our zenith on its return. Its movement squares with the observations made on it by the wise men; and the time of year they would have observed it in the East would be about the month of July. This time is ascertained, because the prophetic numbers show that Christ was born about the Winter Solstice, and because the wise men found

*

10th October, Six o'clock, evening, 1835.

Christ at Bethlehem they must have arrived at Jerusalem sometime between the 21st December and the end of January. Now, that they did see the star about six months previous to their coming to Jerusalem, is also confirmed by the conversation they had with Herod, who made particular enquiry of the wise men concerning the time of the star's appearance, which I have no doubt induced him to fix upon two years as the age under which he ordered all the infant children of Bethlehem to be destroyed. In the days of the wise men the chronological account of time would not have been corrupted, and would be clear and distinct to them; and the prophetical time would have pointed out to them the exact year in which the Messiah was to be born; and when their faith directed them to Jerusalem, in search of him that was born King of the Jews, the natural sun in its meridian splendour pointed to them the exact position they were to take in search of Him that the ancient Prophet denominated the rising of the Sun of Righteousness; and this truly was the case, as Bethlehem is about twelve* English miles directly south from Jerusalem.

The wise men must have reached Bethlehem a little after sunset, when they observed the star, which they distinctly said they saw in the East. It would be at that time in the zenith above Bethlehem, after its journey round the sun on its backward course, as this star's path in the heavens as observed by the wise men, and its revolution of 75 and 76 years before the

* That Bethlehem is twelve miles directly South from Jerusalem I learned from Mr. Buckingham, who gave lectures some years ago in Manchester, and I understood from him that he personally visited those places.

birth of Christ, and about 75 years after the birth of Christ, shows it to be the same identical star that we call Halley's Comet, and which is so well known to the present generation of astronomers by that name, and whose path in the heavens they so particularly observed in the year 1835, and in the beginning of 1836.

I consider it the best standard of all the heavenly bodies, by which to calculate the Christian era, and to ascertain how far wrong Dionysius calculated the Christian era, which he designed 517 years after Christ. I say 517 years, because I believe that to be the correct time, and not 532, as stated in our chronologies, because I shall prove that Dionysius miscalculated the Christian era about 15 years too much.

I begin with the first notice that historians have taken of this Comet about 152 years before Christ, which was one year before the birth of Mithridates the Great; and although there are different chronological accounts given of the time of Mithridates, I have a right to assume that the chronological time that squares with the revolutions of this Comet is the correct one, therefore, I adopt Justin's account of the different periods of Mithridates' life.

Justin, in Book 37, chap. ii. states, that a Comet appeared a year before Mithridates was born, and, according to Memnon, he was 13 years old when he came to the throne. Justin, Book 38, chapter viii. says, he proceeded to the war against the Romans 23 years after his coming to the kingdom; and in Book 37, chap. iii. says, he carried war on with the Romans for 46 years, which shows that the time that elapsed from

the first appearance of the Comet till the end of the war, was a period of 83 years, which shows that Mithridates lived till he was 82 years of age, and we find that his death happened about 68 years before the birth of Christ: then, from the year before Mithridates' birth to the birth of Christ, there was a period of 151 years, which makes two revolutions of the Comet.

From the observations made on this star, by Josephus, which he saw over Jerusalem during the summer in which that city was destroyed, he says, "There was a star that resembled a sword, and a Comet that lasted a whole year;" as he states, that lasted a whole year, his words favour that there were two Comets, whose successive appearances lasted a whole year. It is probable that the star that presented itself to Josephus' eyes as a sword, about 75 years before probably presented itself as a sceptre to the wise men, which might have been the reason they called it " His Star" which they saw in the East, especially as we read from history that the whole world at that time were expecting the birth of a great King. The first exact observations made on this star or Comet, were in the year 1531-it was in its Perihelion distance August 24th, 21н. 18м.; in the year 1607, October 16th, 3н. 50м.; in the year 1682, September 4th, 7н. 30M.; in the year 1759, March 12th, 13н. 15м. the year 1759 it was visible in America, and observed to be ascending back from the centre of the solar system. At its nearest approach to the sun it comes within the orbit of Venus: in 1835 it was in its Perihelion distance 14th November.

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The ancients made mention of wandering stars;

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