Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1888-11-29

Tho Wonderful Notification of ths
Great Prophet's Rhetorical staL4,

Great PROPHECIES Historical s,aiL4-
nlemis.
Professor Robert W. Rogers Of Hnvsr.
ford College lectured Thursday afternoon
ct Friends School on the subject Of
''Isaiah and his Times"
The lecturer Was introduced to an
audience which almost filled the large
meeting room by Principal Isaac II.
johnson. The speaker introduced his
subject by comparison of the character
of the prophets or what stands for tho
proposed inspired teachings of Greece,
Roms and Of the Hebrew nation. AT
DelpboE the vsatal virgins stood at the
mouth of q cavern from whence flowed
crystal fountain. From Its dnrk depths
issued too the unseen gases which affect
ing the women their deiirious words
noted down as they tainted fsom the
noxious civilizations were announced and
pondered over as the omans OF the
future. Again q great Roman army
marches forth to conquer the world. It's
generals heaitnte in the early morn
ing and seeing that the lightninz,
the prHaaee OF coming atorm, braaks
away 10 the left instead Of the right, that
is taken as an omen of viotnry and the
army marches on conf lent thGt the fates
are propitious. What is ihe oontempor-
airy Hebraic prophecy? A man in coarse
ralmsnt in the wilderness cries out aud
prophecies the oalanities OF Judah and
of tho coming of . savior. The Greek
ana Roman mummerieH OF prophecy have
vanished and the Hehraic remaina. Why
IL il that this difference hns to be recorded
in the annals Of true history. Simply
because the last Ia true The Hsbre
prophet is a preacher and his declarations
the proved part of q grand system NOV.
ing aud advancing with steps Of SIRE
veIifestion forward to later times. The
prophetic times point down to great
climax in later agea. Besides the Hebrew
preached truth and not lies. For
instance, not SO many years
ago what was more common
than to hear the jsering soorn with which
JopGh's description OF Ninevsh was hailed
by the scientiia world. But nov the
least informed upon these matters doss
not oavil against Jonah's statement. In
GAS B. O., the prophet, Nahum, speaking
OF Ninevab, said: ''Nineveh is laid
waste" In 594 b. O.. Ez kiel, speaking
Of Tyre, said: az will scrape dirt ever
\ hpHY hhh ubN5 bnhsl bc bpftFA Al lbE
place. Shaimanezer attacked the city
afterwards, and go did Alexander tho
Great, and other copquerors, bus none
suocaeded,e Bat in q. D., 1893, the
Ssracens attacked Tyre, and nog the sea-
men spread their nets where the merchant
princes walked. 5AW
! Isaiah was born when and where we
know not. All we ara informed upon is
the fact that large part Of his lite was
spent in the city Of Jerusalem. He ap.
peRred without Introduction or warning.
Probably as youth he gazsd up Of the
large blidge~Ry spanning the Tyropoe IN
valley which biseets tho CITY. "hhh he
exclaimed, David gazsd down from those
nights upon the streets below. In thai
marvellous sixth chapter he tells Of King
Uzziahs death and how tho procession
passed through 10 the temple. He de
clsres how the people viii net obey unit
they are taken captive to kssyYia. liz
propheoied for 66 years. He was married
and had two sons. He w9s a historian
aud alsO wrote tho lie Of King Uzziah
which, however, hos not come down TO III
In regard to the book OF Isaiah thor
nre some very curious points. There ar,
&C chapters, the same as the number o
boots in the Bible. The first 80 CHAPTER
OF Isaiah THE same in number as th
books of the Old Testameut) bear il
their contents most remarkable verisi
Multitude to the Old Testament. Aud til,
latter 20 chapters of the book have direc
cogenoy to the contents of the New Teata
ment which also contains 80 hooks. Thi
fact has arrested the attention Of al
scholars, until some claimed they werI
written by different authors, and that we
the general drift Of scholarly opinion n,
TO certain date. The eminent Professo
Oheyney of Oxford University leauet
towards that opinion. But in 1884 pub
lished d recantation of that opinion a
the same time depending q statement tina
he did not for one moment doubt thei
inspiration. Passing the first six chap
ters, from the seventh to tho fifth vers
Of the eighth the text refers to tn
troubles with the Syro.Phm aicial
nations. Little additional light has bsel
gathered by modern research in regard /,
them. But beginning with verse six 0
chapter 10 70 the end of the twelfth
chapter Isaiah talks almost altogether o
Assyria. Here he says God has chosei
Assgria as whip for Israel.
Every recent discovery of Assyrisr
history shows Isaish's historical state
ments correct even in their minute.
Ills assertions when compared with tbs
clay tablets now In tho European
museums indicate that the prophet mus
hayehsd his pulse on the facts OF contem-
poranenus events and must have had Other
help too. Compared with the insceura
cies and fable OF Greek and Roman
history Issiah's writings when placed
alongside recent discoveries show start
ling exaetitude, every allusian being
proven by Assyrian inscriptions Of to day.
The reason why recent discoveries do no
afford much confirmation of illusions Il
Babylon is due TO the fact that all tht
excavations in Mesopotamia have hitherto
been in the northern part along thu
EIphrates. The region of Babylon being
largely subjected TO the inundations o.
the river, aud the waters remaining for {
long term in the beds of the ancient
canals and irrigating bitches with which
that part OF the region 10 thickly inter
sected thus precludipg investigation or d
least not Offering such favorable oppoz
tunity as the district surrounding Niueyel
and the northern regions. Chapter xxx
aliudes to an alliance between the
Syro-P hnnioian states, Egypt and
Judah. The prophet opposes the alli
ence. Chapters xxxIr to IL discloses a
burst Of prophecy, that the people Of
Isrsel with Egypt and Ethiopia and Syro
Phmaicia will form an alliance against
the coming Of Sonnschsrib. Inscriptions
in regard to the accomplishment Of this
very alliance are found to day very e1