ESSAY III.

ON

The Time when PAUL and BARNABAS became, and were known to be, APOSTLES.

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AVING confidered the hiftory of St. Paul with fome care and attention, and particularly in relation to the order of time and place; it appears very plainly to me, from taking feveral parts of it together, that he did not appear to be an apostle to any part of the christian church, till he was declared to be feparated to that office in the church of Antioch1; and that he did not even commence an apostle, or receive his commiffion from Chrift as fuch, till a very little before he came thither; namely, at Jerufalem, the fe cond time of his being there, after his converfion to the faith of Chrift, about the latter end of the year 43.

Acts xiii. 12.

Before

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Before I enter upon the proof of this point, which has never been, as far as I know, af ferted before, it will be neceffary for me to repeat what I faid in my former Effay I meant by an "apostle," that fo every one may judge of the ftrength of the proof I offer, to fupport this affertion. By "an apoftle" then I mean a chief and primary minister of the kingdom of Christ, commiffioned and commanded by God to testify the refurrection of Chrift, and the other great facts of chriftianity, as far as he was perfonally acquainted with them, on being an eye and ear witness of them, and particularly of Chrift's refurrection from the dead; and to publifh the doctrines and mysteries of the gofpel: endued with fuperiour courage and utterance, in the times of the greatest danger, and before the greatest audience, in order to teftify the refurrection of Christ, and the other facts of christianity, and publifh his gofpel, the better; and with extraordinary and uncommon powers of curing difeafes, and inflicting grievous distempers, and death, on obftinate offenders, and imparting the Holy Ghoft; for the confirma-. tion of the truth of what he taught and teftified. I refer my reader to the Second Effay for the proof of this defcription.

I fhall therefore proceed directly to St. Paul's ftory. As much of it as concerns this matter feems to be this:

As

in the year 35,

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As he went to Damafcus, a Gentile city, "with letters from the highpriefts to the fynagogues there, to fend any of the disciples of the Lord, that should "be in those parts, bound to Jerufalem;" he fees," about noon," near that city, "a great

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light from heaven, above the brightness of "the fun, fhining round about him m" This light feems to have been a large and bright ray of the glory of Chrift darted from heaven upon him, and those that were with him; or the bright cloud, which appeared on many occafions under the Old and New Teftament; and which in particular fhone round about the fhepherds at our Saviour's birth", overthadowed Peter, James, and John, at Christ's transfiguration; which St. Peter calls "the "excellent glory "," and which took Chrift out of the apoftles fight at his afcenfion. But it does not feem to have been the glory that furrounded our Saviour's perfon, then ftanding near Saul, as has been generally thought: fince it is exprefly faid, to have been a "light from heaven," in all the three places that I have just now quoted, and the only places where St. Luke mentions this tranfaction. Nor is this light described fo

much like that which St. Matthew mentions at Chrift's transfiguration, "when his

face is faid to fhine as the fun, and his "raiment was white as the light;" but rather like the bright cloud that is then mentioned to have overshadowed the three apoftles, from which a voice iffued; which was diftin&t from the brightness of our Saviour's face and garment: as appears yet more plainly in Luke. For this glory, that shone in the road to Damafcus, is spoken of; not as furrounding Christ, but as a light from heaven surrounding Paul and his companions. From whence (that is, from the cloud) in all probability also the -voice came, faying, "Saul, Saul, why perfe"cuteft thou me?" as the voice likewife did at Christ's transfiguration, and perhaps at his baptism *.

And it is the lefs probable that Chrift perfonally appeared at that time, fince Saul did not know him; which most probably he would have done, if Chrift had perfonally appeared to him, from the marks of crucifixion, which it is moft likely his body carried about it: fince he did not only appear with them to his disciples after his refurrection"; but to St. John, after his afcenfion. For St. John fays, he faw him, " as the lamb flain "," that

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Acts ix. 3. xxii. 6. xxvi. 13. John xx. 25, 27.

is, as Chrift flain; who went under the character of a lamb, and whom, the fame apostle tells us in his gospel, John Baptist introduced to the world, by faying, "Behold the lamb of "God, which taketh away the fins of the "world." Now it is plain, Saul did not know Chrift, nor whofe voice it was that fpake to him; fince he afks, "Lord, who art "thou?" And even that question he seems to afk, because he was fenfible, as a learned Jew, well acquainted with the notion of the Schecinah, or thefe bright and luminous appearances, that this must be fome divine manifeftation, though he knew not precifely what manifeftation it was.

But, after all this, if we can fuppofe that Chrift made any perfonal appearance at that time, yet it is not likely that Saul faw him; fince Luke never fays that Saul did (but only the light from heaven), either where Luke tells the story himself,, or where he introduces Paul as telling it: when yet, in all those places, it is particularly related, that "Saul heard the Lord;" who, as it is most likely, as I obferved before, fpoke to him from the cloud, or heavenly glory. And fo likewife Luke fays, that the "men who