952. 
Angyftus died-upon. the x9th of Au- 
guilt, A. D. 14; -and Tacitts informs 
ws, that Tzserzus was icarce feated on the 
throne, when the lesions in Panzoniz re- 
gions to their duty. Drufus having read. 
his father’s letters, and’ received their 
demands, made'a reply, which inftead of 
abating, inflamed their rage. ‘They af- 
faulted his* principal attendant, Cveius, 
Lentulas, with frones, and had certainly 
difpatched him, had he not been refeued 
by the troops he had brought with him ; 
: ga 
it 
but their interpofition did not quell the 
~ 
tumult. Yet the mifchiefs which that 
night threatened, were entirely prevented: 
by the moon. For while the {ky was re- 
yiarkably ferene and clear, the moon, on _ 
a fudden, feemed to lofe her light, and by 
degrees, was totally involved in darknefs, 
The legions ignorant. of the real caufe, 
_dtippofed that the Gods had then teftified _ 
their difpleafure at the mutiny ; and Dru- 
Os artfully improving the opportunity, 
“foon red‘iced them to their'duty. This 
is the account which Tacius has given us 
of that eclipfe; “and. according to Caj- 
wifiys, it happened the 27th September, 
about five in the morning, 
~ Now by the method propofed, it will 
eppear that the eclipfe happened in the 
evenize of the 27th of September, A. D. 
31.----For from the year 14, to 1762, are 
92.cycles of the mioon; and in 92 cycles, 
z* 27! 32", amount:to 54: x4 13! 4i_--- 
~ We find in 1762 a full moon happened at 
London, O&ober 3d, 4» in the morning, 
or according to the Old Style, September 
22d, 4" in the morning, to which if we 
add 5% 4h 12' 4! we come. to September 
27th, about fix in the evening, that is, al- 
jowing for the difference of longitude be- 
tween, London and. Pannenia, it happened 
weout-eight o’elock in the evening’ of 
-September the 27th, that is about two 
heyzs after fun-fet ;. andthouch this. dees 
not, exactly. acree with the calculazion of 
Calwipiis, Hill it does. not vary much, and. 
which may be accoun 
an inaccuracy of Calzifis, or an error: iy 
the moon's theery. Tt is certain, frem the 
account of Tacitus, that the eclipfg hap- 
pened:an the evening ; fer the outrage of- 
teres to Lexjulus, and the behaviour of 
the lesions upon his refeue, threatened 2 
_termibiefuceceding night, and the mitchief . 
yas -pregented by the eclipfe; therefore 
the eclip& muft. have happened: im: the 
‘pyening of that aight. Drugs employed, 
fra of Chrijt’'s Nativiiz, 
ted for, either fom, 
rE Sups 
fome agents, to improve the fuperitioug 
notions which had feized the legions; and. 
in the morning, as foon as it was light,. 
(arte die, fays Tacitus) he arranged them* 
afreth and fucceeded. Hence, I think, we 
may fairly and fafely conclude, that the. 
prefent date of the year of our Lord is. 
right. . 
Whoever will confult the learned Medze, 
_ will foon be convinced that the Jewith 
feaft of Tabernacles was typical of the 
birth or incarnation of our Saviour.-- 
And that our Lord was born near - 
that time, is demonitrably certain, from 
the time of the year it fell to Zacha- 
vias’s lot to burn incenfe. Scaliger fays, 
that he entered upon that office on the 
21ftof July; 1 differ only two days from. 
him, and make the Jewifh fabbath te falt 
that year on the.23d and 24th of July.---_ 
And it is very remarkable, and deierves 
particular notice, that the primitive. 
church cf Alexandria, famous for its 
chronology, celebrated the nativity of, 
John the Bapiitt, on the 23d of our April,. 
which is exaétly nine months after his 
father Zacharias began to offer incenfe, 
The confequence muit be, that our Sa- 
viour was conceived about the end of ja- 
es. ee 
nuary, and was born about the end of our.- 
September, which anfwers exadily to the. 
time of the Jewith feaft of tabernacles, 
which begin on the 15th of their month, 
Tfri. But if the feait of tabernacles 
was typical of our Savicur’s incarnation, 
and in order to that, he muft needs have 
been born on fome one day which fell with-) 
in the eight days of that fea; then we 
have all the reafon to believe, that be was, 
born on the firft day of that feat The 
feaft of the paffover was a type’ of his. 
death ; and on the very day in which they ' 
Killed the paffover, that is on the firt 
day cf that feait, ovr Saviour expired on. 
the crois. The feait of weeks, or Pente- 
eck, was appointed fer a remembrance: 
ot the law, and fora type of the doc.” 
tune of. the gofpel, that is, of the-de- 
{cent of the Hoiy Spirit; and upon the, 
fir day of that feat, it defcended on. 
the apofles. Thus, as two of the grand, 
jJewith tyepes were falatled on the frit day 
x 
_ of their refpective feafts, we may, by ana- 
logy conclude, that on the very day on 
wich the Jews began to dwell in booths, > 
or tabernacles, was-our Lerd tabernacled: 
in our flelk; that is, on the 15th day of 
the Jewith. month Lfiri; -was our Saviour 
bom. We will now proceed to engnire 
what day in our calendar correfponded to! 
“fs 
