CHRIST IN TYPE AND PROPHECY Stom f^e £,i6rari3 of (J)rofe06or n3?ifPtdm J^^^^S (Breen QScqueaf^e^ 6g ^tm fo f ^e £i6rairp of (pnnceton S^eofogtcaf ^eminatj .5. MIZ ^^: CHRIST IN TYPE AND PROPHECY. BY Rev. A. J. MAAS, S. J., Professor of Oriental Lanyuac/es in Woodsfork Collrf/r, Mil. Vol. I. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago - Benzioisr Broi^hkrs, Printer.t to the Holy Ajwfttolic See. 1893. APPROBATION. (^1111 opus cui titulus est " C'lirist in Tyi)e and Prophecy," a 1>. A. J. Maas, nostrae Socielatis sacorclote coniijositiun aliqui eiiisdtMu Societatis revisores, quibiis id conunissum fiiit, n-cognoverint et in luceni edi posse probaverint ; facullattni cdnccdiiiius, ut typis niiindctur, si ita iis, ad quos pertinet, videbitiir. In (juoreiu fideni lias litteras manu nostra subscrii)tas et sigilio Socielatis nostrae niunitas dedinuis. T. J. CAMrcELl., S.J. Neo-Ebor., (lie vii. Non. Jul., anno 1893. JmjjvimiUuv. + Michael Augustinus, Ardiiep. Neo-Eboracencis. Nko-Ebor , die ix. Cal. August , anno 1893. PopyninnT, 1S01. nv T^rxziorR PnoTnEn.'^ PREFACE. When St. Luke tells iis (Acts xi. 2G) that "at Aiitioch , the disciples were first udmed Christians," he implies tl.iat they were Christians before they bore the name. If Chris- tian means a believer in Christ, all that have ever believed in the Messias— the Hebrew equivalent for Christ — have been Christians. And since "there is no other name ^ under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved" ^ (Acts iv. 12), all that have been Saved from Adam to Noe, from Noe to Abraham, from Abraliam to Moses, from Moses to Jesus Christ, and from Jesus Christ to our own day, have been Ciiristians, or believers in the Messias. It does not follow from this that the Messianic dispensation ^ has been at a standstill ever since the time of Adam. As the sunlight has its dawn, its increase, and its noonday brightness, illumining the whole earth, so has the Sun of Justice his dawn immediately after the fall of our first parents, his increase under the dispensations of the four great mediators of the Old Testament, and his noonday brightness on Thabor, Calvary, and Mount Olivet, whence he "enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world" (John i. 9). It is the object of the present work to study the rise and progress and supreme splendor of this Light of the AVorld from the inspired sources supplied by God's own goodness and infinite wisdom. The subject is as many-sided as it is important and inter- esting. For it may be treated as a weapon against the Jew ^ and unbeliever, as a crutch for the feeble in the faith, as 2 PREFACE. ixn cverflowing founttiiu for tlie dogmatic tlieologian, as a topic for the preaclior, as a iiieditaLioii for the devout, as a series of interesting facts for the historian and the psycholo- gist. Without extending this treatise to the length that would be required if each of tliese different views were the sole object of the work, the author has endeavored to combine them all in sucli a manner that the reader may readily adapt the subject to his own special purpose. The prophecies have been arranged under the eight heads of the Genealogy, the Birth, the Cliildhood, the Names, the Of- fices, the Public Life, the Suffering, and the Clory of the Messias. This division does not imply that each predic- tion foretells only one event in the life of our Saviour, nor does it neglect the chronological development of the Messianic doctrine, as a glance at the table of contents will show; but it has been adopted chiefly to impress the reader with the trutli that the whole life of Jesus Christ has been the object of proi)hetic vision and divine revela- tion. It is with sincere sorrow that the author surrenders a work that has afforded him so many hours of interior joy and consolation, but also with the lively hope " that the God of our liord Jesus Christ, the Father of (Jlory. may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation, in the knowledge of him" (Ejjh. i. 17). Woodstock roi,i,K(iK, Md., Feast of tfte Assumption of Our Lady, 1893. CONTENTS. Introduction, chapter i, HISTORY AND FORM OF THE PROPHECY-ARGUMENT. PAGE 1. History of the prophecy-argument 13 a. Jesus uses it .13 h. The apostles use the argument 14 c. The evangelists use it 15 d. The patristic use of the argument 16 e. The progressive development of Messianic prophecy 17 f. Why the argument was treated so frequently 18 a. In England 18 fi. In France 19 y. In Germany 19 8. In (jfermany, continued 20 e. The rationalist's historical method 21 C. Christian a])ologies 22 J]. Less conservative apologies 23 ^. Works which deal ])artially with the prophecies 24 2. Dialectic form of the prophecy-argument 24 a. Major premise 25 h. Minor premise 20 a. Historical truth of the prophecies 2G 1. The Old Testament books precede the New Testament.. 27 2. Siljylline oracles 27 8. The Book of Enoch 28 a. Division of the Hook of Enoch 29 6. Author of the Book of Enoch 30 c. Time of coin])osition of the Book of Enoch 30 4. The Book of .J ubilecs , 32 5. The Psalms of Solomon 33 6. The ' ' Ascensio Mosis ". , 34 7. The Revelation of Baruch 34 8. The Fourth Book of Esdras 35 9. Talmudic and liabhinic sources 36 Review of the historical truth of the prophecies 36 ft. Philosophical truth of the prophecies 37 1. Definiteness of the predictions 38 2. Agreement between i)rediction and fulfilment 38 3. Three exceptions 38 a. First exce])tion, and answer 39 h. Second excejition answered 40 c. Third exception. M. Nicolas 41 3 CONTENTS. PAQE a. Ewald's view 42 (S. Keuss" statement of the difliculty 42 ^. M. Seville's addition 43 S. Kuenen's theory 43 €. Kuenen's view i'urther deveUjped 44 ?. Kuenen's inetliod illustrated 45 Answer : 1. The naturally ecstatic state 45 2. This is nowhere said to belong especially to the Hebrews 46 3. Fallacy of Kuenen's induction 47 4. The so-called natural facts have not yet been explained 47 5. Ecstasy is not the criterion of propliecy 48 6. Even one jirojdiecy, estabiislied with certainty, is (Jod's testimony 49 7. Falsely alleged unfulfilled projdiecies 49 8. Philistia's destruction . 50 9. No time determined in i)re(lictions 51 10. Prophecif^s conceruinir Israel 52 y. Helative truth of the pro])hecies 53 1. Organic connection of the prophecies 54 2. Identity of sacred and profane seer 54 CHAPTER II. THE GENEK.VL DIKFLSION OF MESSI.\NIC PROPHECY. 1. General misery 56 n. Among the Egyi)tians and Indians 56 fr. Among the Persians and Mexicans 57 r. 'i'estimony of liunian saes])air at non-fulfilment 75 (5. Origin of Messianic jirophecy 75 CONTENTS. 5 PAGB 0. The Hebrews ...., 76 a. To Solomon 76 (5. Chronological summary 77 y. From Solomon to Ezechias 78 8. The prophets 79 e. Result 79 C. Division of prophetical books 80 7j. Chronology of the prophets 80 ^. Other prophets 81 CHAPTER HI. NAME AND NATU«E OF THE PROPHETS, 1. Verbal definition 82 a. (J reek etymology 82 h. Hebrew etymology 83 (ir. Intransitive meaning 83 fi. Passive meaning 84 y. Active meaning 84 c. Use of the word 84 a. Nabi 84 (i. Roeh and Chozeh 85 y. Difference of use 86 8. Other names of prophets 87 2. Definition from effects 87 a. In the New Testament 87 b. In the Old Testament 88 a. Prophetic authority extends to all Israelites 88 /i. Embraces private matters 88 y. Political affairs 89 8. Religious questions 89 3. Definition from psychological condition of the prophet 90 a. Purely intellectual or sensible 91 h. Seven kinds of sensible prophecy 91 or. Words 93 /i. Visions 92 1. Views of Philo, etc 93 2. This theory rejected 93 3. The prophets passive in their visions 94 y. Dreams 94 8. Ecstasy not excl uded , 95 6. Prophetic certainty 96 4. Rationalistic theories 96 a. Briggs' theory 97 /*. Riehm's theory 100 c. Verdict on Riehm's theory 103 rocess of developnu^nt is merely natural 104 8. The definiteness of the i)rophecies is not explained 105 6. The idea of fuHihneiit is destroyed ,. 105 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. THE I'KOrilKTU; OFFICE. PAGE 1. The exercise of the proplietic office was extraordinary 107 2. The call to the prophetic office was extraordinary 107 a. 'i'lie prophetic order and the prophetic gift are not converti- ble terms 108 h. Pro])hetic S('hools lOS "-" a. Keasons for their existence 10!) /i. treasons not convincing 10!) y. Schools involved in uncertainty 110 d. Probable description of the schools 110 3. The pro])hetic oHice was an ordinary institution Ill a. The i)riests are not the ordinary teachers Ill b. Dent, xviii. 9-22 112 a. Reasons Un- a])i)]ying the text to Christ alone 118 /i. Its ty])iial reference to Christ 114 y. Its literal reference to the prophets. 110 c. The prophets were the ordinary teachers 117 Exception answered 117 d Prophetic influence in the state 118 e. Secondary functions of the prophets 119 4. Pro])hets and priests 119 (f. They are distinct 120 h. Not o])]i()s('d to each other 120 T). i'roi)liets and kings 121 0. The jjiophets and the Pentateuch 122 a. Iniiuntance of this question 12;{ b. Smith's view 124 r. Influence on the historical books 124 d. Exodus, liCvitii-us, Numbers 127 e. Chronological order of sources 127 /. The licxiilcuch a development of i)rophetic doctrine ... 128 ff. Th(! historicid hypothesis is unsound 129 a. 'Vhi' coin])osition is impossible 12!) /i. Language 1:50 ;'. Style of the documents 181 6. Alleged repetiti(ms, contradictions, etc 181 e. Historic ill argument 182 5. Osee's testimony 184 7. Theology of the iirophets 185 a. View of (iod 185 b. Divine nanu's 18(5 C. 'J'he " name of the Lord " 187 f/. Mystery of the Holy Trinity 187 e. Prophetic anthropouiorphism 18S 8. Anthroixilogy of the jirophets 189 a. (I'eneral ou"tline 18!) /). iie'riiiniui' and end 1^*^ r. SI I Mv' Review \i'2 CONTENTS. 7 CHAPTER V. THE WRITINGS OF THE PKOPnETS. PAGE 1. The proplietic writings are inspired 144 3. Spolien and merely written prophecies 145 8. Abbreviated prophecies 145 4. Titles of the prophetic books 14G 5. The prophetic style 147 6. Obscurity of the prophets 147 - a. Reasons of obscurity 148 a. Confusion of tenses 149 (i. Fragmentary character of predictions 150 ■y. The idea of prophecy does not involve absolute clearness. 150 8. Absence of chronological perspective 151 €. Chronological accuracy is not always wanting 153 ?. Prophetic imagery 154 1 . The typical sense 1 54 3. Allegorical types. ... 1 55 3. Difference between symbols and types 15G 4. How to recognize the typical meaning 157 5. The figurative sense 158 Part I. THE GENEALOGY OF THE MESSIAS. CHAPTER I. THE MESSIAS IS THE SON OF GOD. Ps. ii. Introduction. 1. Position of Ps. ii 1(51 3. Structure of Ps. ii 1(U 3. Author of the Psalm 103 4. Subject of the Psalm 1()3 Text and Connuentary 1(57 Corollary : The Messias is the Son of (iod.. 17() 1. In the light of Christian revelation 17(5 3. In the light of the Old Testament 176 A. Rabbinic testimony for the Alessianic character of Ps. ii. 177 B. The Divine Sonship of the Messias as taught in the Synagogue 179 CHAPTER II. THE MESSIAS IS THE SEED OP THE WOMAN. Gen. ill. 1-19. Introduction. 1. Mythical explanation 184 3. Symbolical explanation 184 3. Allegorical explanation 185 4. Messianic character of the passage 186 Text and Commentary 186 CONTENTS. PAaE Corollary : The Messianic character of the passage 207 1. Christian testimony 207 2. Kabbiuic testimony ;]07 CHAPTER III. THE MESSIAS IS THE SON OF SEM. Gen. ix. 18-37. Introduction 21 2 Messianic character of the passage. . . 212 Te^ and Commentary 215 Corollary: Prophetic Summary 220 CHAPTER IV. THE MESSIAS IS THE SON OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB. Gen. xii. 1-9 ; xvii. 1-9 ; xviii. 17-19 ; xxii. 16-18 ; xxvi. 1-5 ; xxviii. 10-15. Introduction : 1. Time and i)lace of the prophecies 221 2. Messianic character of the prophecies 22(> Text and Connnentary 227 Corollaries : 1. Patriarchal hope 234 2. Relation of the patriarchs to the prophecies 234 CHAPTER V. THE MESSIAS IS THE SON OF JACOB. Num. xxiv. 15-19. Introduction : 1. Time and occasion of the prophecy 237 2. Character of the prophet 238 3. Authorship of tlie ])r()])hecy 239 4. Unchristian ajjplications of the prophecy 239 5. Messianic character of Balaam's prophecy 240 Text and Commentary 244 Corollary: Projdietic Summary v 247 CHAPTER VI. THE MESSIAS IS THE SON OF DAVID. Section I. The Son of Dand shall rule forever. II. Kings vii. 1-lG; I. Par. xvii. 1-17. Introduction: 1. History of the prophecy 248 2. Authorship of the prophecy 248 3. Messianic character of the projihecy 250 Text and Commentary 252 Corollary: Proi)hetic Summary 255 Section II. The Son of J)(irid is tJte Prince of Pastors. Jer. xxiii. 1-8 ; xxxiii. 14-26. Introduction: 1. Connection of the prophecy with its context. . . . 255 2. Jer. xxxiii. 14-26 is i)arallel to xxiii. 1-8 256 3. Subject of the prophecy 257 Text and Commentary 261 CONTENTS. 9 PAGE Corollaries: 1. The faithful pastor in the house of David 363 3. The divine nature of the Messias 3G4 3. The priests, princes, and pastors in a moral sense 364 Section HI. The Mesdas will spriiuj from the marrow of the high cedar. Ezech. xvii. Introduction: 1. Time and occasion of the prophecy 365 3. Division of the prophecy 366 3. The Messianic character of the passage 366 Text and Commentary 866 Corollary: Messianic character of Ezechiel's prophecy 369 Part II. BIRTH OF THE MESSIAS. CHAPTER I. PLACE OF THE MESSIAs' IJIKTIF. Mich. V. 3-14. Introduction: 1. Connection of the prophecy with the preceding ones 371 3. Antichristian explanation of Micheas' prophecy 373 3. Messianic character of the prophecy 374 Text and Commentary 375 Corollaries 380 CHAPTER II. THE TIME OF THE MESSIAS' BIRTH. Section I. The Blessing of Juda. Gen. xlix. 8-13. Introduction: 1. Time and occasion of the prophecy 383 3. Place of the prophecy in the critical analysis of Genesis 383 3. Messianic character of the prophecy 384 Text and Commentary 388 Corollaries: 1. More definite meaning of the prophecy 395 3. Is the Messias of the tribe of Juda ? 397 3. What could the Jews understand of this prophecy ? 397 4. Argument against the present Sj'nagoguo 398 Section 11. Daniel's Seventy Weeks. Dan. ix. 33-37. Introduction: 1. Time and occasion of the prophecy.. 399 3. Unchristian explanations of the prophecy 399 3. Messianic character of the prophecy 399 Text and Commentary 308 Corollaries: Chronological agreement between prophecy and fulfilment 316 Section III. The Coming to the Temple. Agg. ii. 1-10. Introduction: 1. The historical connection of the prophecy with its context 333 10 CONTENTS. PAOE 2. Division of the ])ro|)hecy 323 3. Exi)!anati()ns of the propliecy 324 4. Till! Messianic niiture of Ag^eus' i)roi)liecy 32G Text and Coninientary 328 Corol lary : 1 . The general commotion 330 2. The desired of the nations 331 3. The Messianic i)eace 331 CHAPTER III. THE VIRGIN MOTIIEK. Is. vii. 1-17. Introduction: 1. History and occasion of the prophecy 333 2. Erroneous explanations of the prophecy 334 3. Messianic nature of the prophecy 335 Text and Commentary 341 Corollaries: 1. For Christians '. 350 2. For Nationalists 356 3. For Jews 356 CHAPTER IV. THE rUECUHSOIl OK THE MESSIAS. Section 1. The Voice in the Desert. Is. xl. 1-11. Introducti(m: 1. Connection of the i)rophecy Avith the jirojjhetic series of Isaias 358 2. The Messianic character of the prophecy 35*.> 3. The tropological .sense of the passage 300 Text and Commentary 300 Corollary 363 Section II. Eliits the Prophet. Mai. iv. 5, 6. Introduction: 1. Connection of the i)rophecy with its context 303 2. Messianic character of the prophecy 303 3. The Second Advent 305 Text and Commentary 300 Corollary 307 Part III. THE INFANCY OF THE MESSIA8. CHAPTER I. ADORATION OF THE MAGI. Ps. ixxi. 1-17. Introduction: 1. Structure of the Psahu 369 2. Author of the Psalm 309 3. Subject of the Psalm 370 Text and Commentary 373 Corollarv 376 CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTER II. THE SLAUGHTER OP THE HOLY INNOCENTS. Jer. xxxi. 15-26. PAGE Introduction: 1. Connection of the prophecy with its context 378 2. Time of the prophecy 379 3. Explanations of Rachel's weeping in Rama 379 4. Messianic character of the prophecy 381 Text and Commentary 38i Corollaries: 1. The literal and the typical sense of the prophecy. 384 3. The extraordinary manner of Christ's conception 385 CHAPTER III. THE FLIGHT INTO EGYI'T. Os. xi. 1-7. Introduction: 1. Connection of the prophecy with its context 386 2. Messianic character of the prophecy 386 Text and C'ommentary 387 Corollary 388 Part IV. y THE MESSIANIC NAMES. CHAPTER I. THE MESSiAS IS THE ORIENT. Zach. iii. ; vl. 9-15. Introduction: 1. Connection of the propliecies with their context 389 2. Messianic character of the prophecies 390 Text and Commentary 393 Corollary 397 CHAPTER II. THE MESSIAS IS THE SON OP MAN. Dan. vli. Introduction: 1. Division of the prophecy 398 2. The time of the prophecy ' 398 3. Authenticity of the prophecy 403 4. The prophecy of Daniel has not been taken from Babylonian sources 406 5. Messianic character of Daniel's prophecy 408 Test and Commentary 411 Corollary: The Son of Man 425 CHAPTER III. THE MESSIAS IS THE SAAaOUR. Is. li. 1-lii. 12 ; 1x11. Introduction: 1. Connection of the prophecies with the context. 426 12 CONTENTS. PAGE 2. The Messianic cliaracter of these passages 428 Text and C'oninu'ntary 430 Corollary 434 CHAPTER IV. THE MESSIAS WILL BE THE ANGEI, OF THE TESTAMENT. Mai. ii. 17-iii. 6. Iiitnidtirtion: The ^Messianic cliaracter of the prophecy 435 1. The jdirase " My .\nfrel " denotes John the Baptist 435 2. The Ijord is .leliovali himself 436 3. The .\nffel of the Testament is the Mcssias 437 Text and Conmu^ntary .... 438 Corollaries: 1. The divinity of the M-.'ssias 440 3. His coming to the t<'iii]>le and liis ])nrifyinf^ the Levites. . . . 4^10 3. An ari^iinient ajjaiiist the Jews 440 4, 5. The Ivicharistic sacrifice and the two advents 440 CHAPTER V. THE MESSIAS IS THE SEKVANT OF THE LORD. Is. xlix. 1. Introduction: 1. Identity of Jehovah's servant 442 2. Messianic character of the servant of the Lord 443 3. Antichristian exi)lanations 444 Text and Commentary 445 Corollary 448 CHAPTER VI. THE MESSIAS WILL BE THE EMMANUEL. Is. viii. 1-10. Introduction: 1. Connection of the prophecy with its context... . 449 2. Erroneous explanations 419 3. Messianic character of the proi)hecy . . 450 Text and C(miuientary 450 Corollaries: 1. The land of Emmanuel 452 2. Juda's salvation through Emmanuel 452 CHAPTER VII. . THE MESSIAS IS THE I'RINCE OF PEACE. Is. ix. 1-7. Introduction: 1. Connection of the prophecy with its context 453 2. Unchri.stian ex]ilanation of tlie ]iroj)liecy 453 3. Messianic character of the prophecy 453 Text and Coninu-ntary 457 Corollary 458 APPENDIX. IJahhinic literature 459 CHRIST IN TYPE AND PROPHECY. INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. HISTORY AND FORM OF THE PROPHECY-ARGUMENT. AAVILL may be contested ou the plea of defective for- mality in the written document or of the testator's incompetency to dispose of his property in the par- ticular manner indicated in the testament. In the contest about the validity of God's will and testament, now carried on with such earnestness and even bitterness, the plea of in- competence cannot claim the slightest weight of probability. All that the tribunal of reason can investigate is the signa- ture with which God has signed his covenant. This divine seal attesting the reality of God's promises is composed of miracles and prophecies. Though the latter are only a species of the former, we must for the present limit our investigation to this narrower sphere, studying first the nature and properties of prophecy in general, and then comparing meaning with fulfilment of the particular Mes- sianic predictions. 1. History of the Prophecy-argument : a. Jesus uses it. — Before beginning our research proper, it is of the highest 13 14 INTRODUCTION. importance to review briefly wliat may be called the history of the Christian argument from prophecy, and to state its strict dialectic form. We cannot do better than open the historic outline of the prophetic argument with the words of Jesus addressed to his enemies : " Search the scriptures, for you think in them to have life everlasting: and the same are they that give testimony of me" (Jo. v. 39). On another occasion Jesus again appealed to the prophets : " It is written in the prophets : and they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometli to me" (Jo. vi. 45). And to show us that this arguuient is intended not only to confound the enemies of revelation, but also to strengthen the faith of believers, Jesus speaks to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus : " 0 foolish and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken I Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory ? vVnd beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures tlie things that were concern- ing him" (Luke xxiv. '^5-2T). b. The Apostles use the Argument. — The apostles were not slow to learn the use they might make of the prophetic writings. St. Peter, addressing his brethren after Jesus' ascension into heaven, speaks as follows: "Men brethren, the scriptures must needs be fulfilled which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the leader of them that apprehended Jesus ..." (Acts i. 10). A few days later, on the feast of Pentecost, the same apostle speaks to the assembled multitude : " This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel : And it shall come to pass, in the last days (saith the Lord) 1 will ])our out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophcs}', and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams . . ."(Actsii. 10 f.). On the same occasion the prince of the apostles a])peals to a Messianic prophecy as a ])roof of Jesus' resur- rection from the dead: "David saith concerning him: I HISTORY OF THE PROPHECY- ARGUMENT. 15 foresaw the Lord before my face always, because he is at my right hand tliat I may not be moved; for this my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced : moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy Holy One to see cor- ruption " (Acts ii. 25-27). And when Peter and John had healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, Peter again appealed to the prophecies in order to convince his numer- ous audience that the Christ must suffer: "Those things which God before had showed by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ should suffer, he hath fulfilled " (Acts iii. 18). In the course of his discourse the same apostle appeals to Moses' prophecy as a proof that Jesus is the Christ: "For Moses said: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me: him you shall hear according to all things whatsoever he shall speak to you. And it shall be that every soul which will not hear the prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. And all the prophets from Samuel and after- wards, who have spoken, have told of these days" (Acts iii. 22-24). This practice St. Peter must have continued throughout his apostolical life. In his second epistle (i. 19) he insists again on the argument derived from prophecy: " And we have the more firm prophetical word, whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." Here the prince of the apostles exhorts us to be guided by the light of prophecy even to that time when the light of glory shall be our lamp. c. The Evangelists use it. — The prophetic argument is so often urged in the Gospel according to St. Matthew that we can here only indicate some of the principal references without stating either prophecy or fulfilment fully. Com- pare Mat. i. 23 and Is. vii. 14; Mat. ii. G and Mich. v. 2; Mat. ii. 15 and Os. xi. 1; Mat. ii. 18 and Jer. xxxi. 15; Mat. iii, 3 and Is. xl. 3; Mat. iv. 15 and Is. ix. 1 ; Mat. viii. IT and Is. liii. 4; Mat. xi. 5 and Is. xxxv. 5; Mat. xi. 5 and 16 INTRODUCTION. Is. Ixi. 1; Mat. xi. 10 and Mai. iii. 1; Mat. xi. 14 and Mai, iv. 5; Mat. xii. 17 f. and Is. xlii. 1; Mat. xii. 39 and Jon. ii. 1; Mat. xiii. 14 and Is. vi. 9; Mat. xiii. 35 and Ps. Ixxvii. (Ixxviii.) 2; Mat. xv. 30 and Is. xxxv. 5; Mat. xvi. 4 and Jon. ii. 1; Mat. xxi. 13 and Is. Ivi. 7; Mat. xxiv. 15 and Dan. ix. 27 ; Mat. xxvi. 24 and Ps. xl. (xii.) 10; Mat. xxvi. 31 and Zach. xiii. 7; Mat. xxvi. 54 and Is. liii. 10; Mat. xxvi. 5G and Lam. iv. 20; Mat. xxvii. 9 and Zach. xi. 12; Mat. xxvii. 35 and Ps. xxi. 19. The prophecies of Isaias are cited between fifty and sixty times in the New Testa- ment, and the Psalms are quoted not less than seventy times, and very frequently as bein^ predictive. Ezechiel, Abdias, Nalium, and !So])honias seem not to be directly appealed to in the New Testament writings; but it must be remembered that the " Prophets " are often spoken of together (Mat. ii. 23; Acts xiii. 40, xv. 15) as l)eing authoritative. d. The Patristic Use of the Argument. — Still when we keep in mind that the argument from prophecy is one of the mainstays in tlie apology for revelation, it may surprise us at first sight that it is emj)loyed so rarely in the New Testament. But the references to the Old 'I'estament prophecies are so scarce in the New Testament not from any special design, but because the occasions for their use were so few. In point of fact, some Messianic i)rophecies of the greatest import have been entirely omitted in the New Testament, e.g.. Is. ix. 5, 6; Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; Zach. vi. 12, 13. The epistle of Barnabas (71-120 A. d.) and Justin's dialogue against Trypho (d. about 1G3 a.d.) begin a more extensive and systematic discussion of the Messianic predictions. Justin's work may be called a missionary jiroduction, and the author is in so far inferior to his opponent as he is ac- (piainted with the Old Testament only through the second- ary source of the 8ei)tuagint. Origen (d. 254 a.d.) was in this respect better equipped to meet (in his eighth book) Celsus (about 247 a.d.) on the heathen and the Jewish misrepresentations of the person of Christ. But his work HISTORY OF THE PROPHECY ARGUMENT. 17 suffered from the arbitrary allegorization in which the Alexandrian school imitated Philo. The historical inter- pretation of the Antiochian school brought about a reaction, and Theodore of Antioch, bishop of Mopsuestia, trans- gressed in this way the lines of prudence and even of truth (d. 428 A.D.). e. The progressive Development of Messianic Prophecy, — The preparation for the Christian redemption through a progressive and connected history in the Old Testament seems not to have been noticed till the time of the middle ages. The patristic writers appeal to single prophecies or state in general terms that the prophetic argument for Christianity is a powerful one; but they do not perceive the full historic perspective of the Messianic predictions (cf. Chrysost., in Jo. hom. xix. n. 2, t. lix. col. 121; hom. li. n. 1, col. 283-284; August., de Civ. Dei, 1. xviii. c. 41, n. 3, t. xli. col. 602). AVith Cocceius (d. 1G69) began the method of treating the Old Testament in periods. It is to Catholic writers that we owe the first deeper insight into prophecy. Pascal (Pensues, cd. Molinier, t. ii. p. 11), Bossuet (Discours sur I'liistoire universelle; lettres sur le " shilo," cf. Analecta juris pontificii, 187G, col. 1011 sqq.), and Huet (Demonstration cvangclique, Paris 1C79) have given clear proof of their thorough appreciation of proph- ecy. Spener and his school greatly advanced the same study. They were followed in their endeavors by Abadie (Accomplissement des propheties en Jesus-Christ, La Haye 1689), Camphausen, S.J. (Passio Jesu Christi adumbrata in figuris et prophetiis antiquae legis a SS. PP. et Scripturae sacrse interpretibus explicata, Coloniis, 1704), Clarke (Con- nexion of Prophecies in the Old Testament and Application to Christ, London, 1725), Kidder (Demonstration of the Messiah, London, 1726), John Gill (The Prophecies of the Old Testament Literally Fulfilled in Jesus, London, 1728), Gillies (Essays on the Prophecies relating to the Messiah, Edinburgh, 1773), Maclaurin (Essay on the Prophecies re- lating to the Messiah, London, 1778), Hales (Dissertations on 18 INTRODUCTION. the Principal Prophecies, 2d ed., London, 1802), and Robin- son (Proiihccies on the Messiah, London, 1812). Meanwhile Schoettgen's IIon\? Ilebraicje et Talmndica? (vol. ii. de Messia, 1742) had appeared, a work of so eminent scholar- ship that it scarcely stands in need of any further com- mendation. Its only defect, if defect it can be called, con- sists in making Christian theologians out of Jewish rabbis. /. Why the Argument was Treated so frequently: a. L\ England. — It is not surprising that about this period so many treatises on the Prophecies were written; for the supernatural character of Christianity had been attacked on all sides and in all countries. Grotius (15S3-1G4G) and Spinoza (1632-1677) had prepared the way for rationalism by corrupting the genuine idea of scriptural inspiration. Pereyrius, too, minimized the supernatural element in Cliristianity by reducing the miracles to the smallest pos- sible number (1594-1676). In England it was under the fair name of Deism that Christianity was attacked. Her- bert Cherbury (De veritate pront distinguitur a revelatione, a verisimili, a falso, 1629), Jolm Toland (Christianity Not Mysterious), Tindal (Christianity as Old as Creation, 1740), AVoolston (On the Miracles of Christ), Collins (On Free Thought), Bolingbroke, Chubb, Whiston, Shaftesbury, Whittey, Somers, Wharton, Shrewsbury, and Buckingham are some of tlie principal apostles of Deism. It is true that on the other hand appeared several direct refuta- tions of the above works and writers. Locke (Reasonable Christianity, 1695), Kortholt (De tribus impostoribus mag- nis liber, Eduardo Herbert, Thoma? Hobbesio, et liene- dicto Spinosai oppositus, 16S0), Browne (Refutation of Toland's Christianity Not Mysterious, 1696), James Foster (Defence of the Usefuliu^'^s, etc., of the Christiai: religion against Tindal, 1731), John Conyl)eare (Defence of Revealed Religion, in answer to Christianity as Old as Creation, 1732), and Leland (A View of the Principal Deistical Writers that have ap))earod in England in tlie Last and Present Century, 3 vols,, 1754-1756), uphold the supernatural character of mSfORT OF THE PROPHECY-ARGUMENT. 19 Christianity. But it is to be regretted that some of these apologetic works have done more harm than good to their cause. ft. In France. — In 172G Voltaire had to take refuge in England, where he lived for nearly two years in the society of the " Freethinkers." Here he was thoroughly imbued with the writings and the views of Bolingbroke, so that his own works after his return to France in 172S took the same tone. It is wortliy of notice that Voltaire took his difficul- ties against the inspired writings and against revealed truth in general from the classical commentaries of Calmet. This method of copying the learned scholar's objections without so much as mentioning their solution, or even the source from Avhich they had been taken, is truly worthy of the parent of the French Encyclopedists. y. In Germany. — Strauss remarks that in the battle against supernatural religion England has prepared the arms, France has taught the world how to use them, and Germany has been the first to attack the orthodox citadel of Sion. The Wolfian philosophy may be said to have pre- pared the way for the direct attack by freeing the human mind from the strict letter of the Bible (about the middle of the eighteenth century). Laur. Schmidt (Bibel von "Wertheim, 1735) went so far as to translate the Pentateuch into the language of the AVolfian philosophy. The critical Bible editions of Wetstein (1751) and Griesbacli (1779) began to shake men's confidence in the inspired text. Edelmann (1746) was an advocate of pantheism, and placed the origin of the New Testament in the time of Constan- tine the Great. Barlidt (1784) makes Jesus the tool or the ruler of a secret society. Nicolai indirectly propagates ra- tionalism in his "Bibliotheca Germanica Universa " (1705- 1792); and in his "Life and Opinions of Master Sebaldus Nothanker " he proposes a model parson, who teaches his congregation when to rise in the morning, how to take care of their health, how to keep their tools, how to cultivate their fields, and other matters of practical importance. 20 iNTliODUCnON. About this time things had conic to such a pass that few ministers were willing or able to expLiin the Gospel to the faithful. John Albert Bengel (il. 1752) and Chrisfian Augustus Crusius (d. 1775) had modified the idea of in- spiration, no longer regarding the prophets as merely pas- sive, but also as active instruments of the divine spirit. Bnt the climax was reached when Lessinghegan to publish the " Fragments of Wolfenbiittel," the work of his deceased friend, /^uniuel Riimarus (d. 17(38), author of the "Apol- ogy for the Reasonable Worshippers of God." In the "Fragments of an Unknown" (1774) tolerance for the Deists is inculcated ; in the following publication (1777) revelation in general is attacked, and it is shown especially that there is no religion in the Old Testament ; finally, the third })art of the fragments is directed against Jesns and his apostles (177.S), contending that Jesus mainly intended to restore the theocracy; that John the Baptist was his accomplice; that the Temple was violated on the first Palm Sunday; that Jesus died amid loud complaints and moaTi- ings, and that the apostles feigned the resurrection. The founders of the Christian religion are thus represented as so many deceivers. d. In Germany, ro?;//;??/cfZ. — The first opponent of Les- sing was Gotze. Ilis apology for Christianity excited, how- ever, more amusement than conviction. The ins])iration of scripture, he thought, must be denied, all miracles re- jected. Semler (Dec. 18, 1725 -March 14, 1791) was a more logical writer. Still, explaining the life of Jesus as a mere accommodation to the surrounding circumstances he may, perhaps, defend Jesus against the charge of wilful deceit, but cannot grant him a higher position than that of a teacher of religion and morality. PauJus {^o])i. 1, 17<)1 — Aug. 10, 1851) went a step farther. In his Leben Jesu (1828) he explains the miraculous in the gospels as result- ing from the subjective impressions of the evangelists. Illustrating his view, he a])peals to the different impression producccl on three ditTerent observers by the same natural HISTORY OF THE PROPHECY- ARGUMENT. 21 phenomenon, — e.g., the Cartesian diver. The physicist sees in it the application of a general natnral law, the edu- cated man admires it as a wonder of nature, but the simple workingmau feels like reverencing the same fact as a miracle transcending all the powers of nature. The apos- tles and evangelists were similarly impressed by Jesus' words and works. Here, again, Christ's divine character is sacrificed for the sake of a scientific hypothesis. Thus far the would-be apologists of Christian revelation have tried to guard the historical character of the gospels. Strauss (Jan. 27, 1808— Feb. 9, ISTl) did not leave even the historical character of truthfulness to the gospel- records. In his " Leben Jesu " (1835, 180-1:, 1874) the life of Christ is explained as a gathering of pious myths, even as there are mythical personages in nearly every nation and literature. We hardly need to add Bdur's system (Hept. G, 1809— April 13, 1882), according to which the New Testament records are the expressions of two dilferent ecclesiastical parties, the Petrine and the Pauline, and of a third party endeavoring to reconcile the two. 6. The Rationalists' Historical Method. — It is natu- ral that, in the history of the prophetic interpretation, we should have touched on the literature of the life of Christ. For, since type and antitype, prediction and fulfilment, are essentially correlative terms, the view taken of the one necessarily influences the interpretation of the other. Con- sequently, we find a series of writers who carry out the rationalistic view of prophecy according to a historical method. As representatives of this school we may men- tion Staehelin (Messianische Weissagungen, Berlin, 184-7), Anger (Posthumous lectures " Uber die Geschichte der Messiauischen Idee," edited by Krenkel, Berlin, 1873), Hit- zig (d. 1875 ; " Vdrlesungen iiber biblische Theologie und Messianische AYeissagung des Alten Testaments," edited by Kneucher, Karlsruhe, 1880), and above all Kuenen (The Prophets and Prophecy in Israel, London, 1877). The latter dismisses, on principle, all that is supernatural, and 32 INTRODUCTION. rehetism enters into the analogy of history." a. J'Jivfihrs View. — Ewald believes that naturally CUnl calls every one to know him and to share his divine life, n man is faithful to this call, he rises from truth to truth, becomes CJod's friend, and partakes of his divine activity. Still, this divine life differs in different men and accord- ing to different historical periods, liut, in any case, this life is nothing but our natural life brought to its perfec- tion. In a period of special sjjiritual excitement and elevation it may come to pass that a thought, conceived under divine influence, takes such a hold of man's soul that the latter takes it no longer for its own thought, but for God's inspiration. And since man thinks not only of himself, but also of his country and his friends, he con- ceives also projects and plans of benefiting his friends and saving his country. If now one of these supposed divine inspirations enters a man's soul, he cannot rest cpiiet till he has ])roclaimed his idea for the benefit of the world. Thus one becomes a prophet. The prophet sincerely believes he hears the powerful voice of the Most High; he can hear nothing else, is unable to escape the appeal, is urged to jiroclaim his insjiiration, and finds no rest till he has fulfilled his supposed niissioJi. /t Jicnss' Statemoit of the Dijfiad/i/. — Renss (Les Prophctes, t, i. p. 25) agrees with Ewald in reducing the gift of |)roj)hecy to the subjective belief in the presence of a divine voice which has no objective reality. It is of FORM OF THE PROPHECY- ARGUMENT. 43 little practical import in the present question whether, according to this last opinion, Hebrew prophecy must be identified with pagan soothsaying, or whether it is one with the national and tribal presentiment of Israel. Both theories have their adherents. y. M. Reville's Addition. — M. Reville's theory too ex- plains prophecy as " a phenomenon of the life of senti- ment." "To-day's psychological medicine," says the learned author {Revue des deux Mondes, 15 juin 1867, pp. 823, 824), " seriously studies the numerous facts which prove that nervous superexcitement, which may be caused in various ways, is often accompanied by a remarkable dis- play of feeling, of memory, of clear ideas, and especially of foresight. This foresight is, of course, far from being infallible ; but it would be wrong to deny the surprising rapidity and the automatic certainty of the unconscious mental operations at these moments of mental excitement." 6. liuenen's Theor>/. — We must not close the state- ment of our opponents' theories without giving a clear view of Dr. A. Kuenen's position regarding our present subject. For the books " The Religion of Israel to the Fall of the Jewish State" (Dutch ed. 1869-70; English transl. 1874-75) and "Prophets and Prophecy in Israel" (Dutch ed. 1875; English transl. 1877) of the renowned Leyden professor are constantly quoted in our days by both European and American scholars. The former of these is mainly directed against the view which regards the Old Testament chiefly as the fore-court of the temple of Christianity, as a shadow of the Christian truth, as a collection of texts to be inter- preted not simply by the New Testament, but also by the later developments of the Christian dogma {The New World, March, 1892, p. 77). Kuenen expresses his opinion thus (Religion of Israel, vol. i, pp. 10 f.): "It is only by comparison that we can determine whether many persons are right in assuming a specific difference between Israel's religion and its sisters. Without the shadow of doubt, then, we deny the existence of such a difference. . . . The 44 INTItODUCTION. belief in the exceptional origin of the religion of the Israelites is founded simply and solely on the testimony of their holy records. But that appearance vanishes as soon as Ave look at it more closely. . . . Although considered as a whole the Old Testament may -with justice be ad- duced as testifying in favor of suiiernaturalism, its sepa- rate parts, regarded by the light of criticism, speak loudly for a natural development both of the Israelitish religion itself and of the belief in its heavenly origin. As soon as the dispute between the whole and its parts is noticed, it is decided." Prophetism is accordingly a merely human phenomenon, coming from God as everything comes from God. But, notwithstanding this, it comes also from man, and specifically it comes from Israel, of whose spirit it is the most exalted expression. It testifies only to the special destiny of Israel and to the duty of man to seek God and perhaps to find him. e. Knenen's View further Developed. — Kuenen's other book, " Prophets and Prophecy in Israel," deals more directly with our subject, and was written at the instiga- tion of Dr. John Muir, of Edinburgh, on the occasion of A. Reville's articles in the Revue dcs deux Mondes. Its object is to determine the function of the 2>rophetic thought in the religious development of Israel and of mankind. The book has a polemical and ruthless tone. Kuenen takes the prophetic predictions one by one, and undertakes to show that most of them were not fulfilled, and that those which were fulfilled do uot demand any supposition of supenuiturul insight to account for them. He treats the projjhets as living men enveloped in the atmosphere of their own times, acting on the instincts of tlieir own soul**, and he fiiuls no need of the sujiernatural in order to explain their work. 1'he professor places the value of Hebrew jirophecy not in its predictive element, but in its creating the conception of ethical nionotheism. And in order to sliicld himself against the l)lamf of ir- nivercncc tdwai'ds tlicliiu> of proplicts, Kiiciicii s:iys tli;it FORM OF THE PROPHECY- ARGUMENT. 45 the man into whose mind thoughts are mechanically poured hy God is no more to be considered great than the warrior who slays his enemy with an enchanted sword. According to him the prophets must cease to be machines, and become thinkers, wielding an enormous moral jiower {TliQ Neio World, March, 1892, p. 81). C. Kuenen's Method Illustrated. — We may add a speci- men of Kuenen's reasoning: "A specific supernatural character can in nowise be ascribed to the trance; its divine origin is not at all self-evident ; phenomena of tbat nature were far from uncommon in ancient times and in the Middle Ages, as they occur even at the present day. It is true that for a long time people had no hesitation in ascribing them to suiiernatural influence. They seemed so singular and extraordinary that this explanation forced itself quite naturally on men's minds. What could not be derived from God was therefore regarded as a display of the power of the devil. ]3ut we now no longer occupy tliat standpoint. Ecstasy is now accurately studied, compared with other affections allied to it, and is explained from the human organism itself, specifically from the nervous system. It may be— on that point I determine nothing at present — that the trances of the Israelitish prophets were of a nature altogether different; but that must be proved separately, for ecstasy in itself is no supernatural phenome- non. It does not therefore advance us a step in deter- mining the origin of the Old Testament prophecy" (Prophets and Prophecy in Israel, p. 86, London, 1871; cf. Ladd, Doctrine of Sacred Scripture, ii. pp. 440 f., 1883). Ansiver : 1. TJte Naturally Ecstatic State. — First a word concerning the ecstatic state, the natural character of which both Reville and Kucnen are so careful to notice. In a rude and uncultivated age epileptic and deranged persons may have been regarded as possessed by evil spirits or the divine spirit, as tlie nature of the case seemed to indicate. Such persons, too, may have had strange ex- periences and uttered niarvcllous sayings, supposed to be 46 INTRODUCTION. inspired by an indwelling spirit. Moreover, the ecstatic state may have been produced by artificial means. The jiroplicts of Haal, e.g., are said to have cut themselves with knives and to have cried out for hours in a frenzy (III. Kings xviii. ^9); the Jiecromancers are represented as chirping and muttering in the practice of their art (Is. viii. 19); the Shamans of eastern Asia cast themselves into an nnconscious state by means of a tambourine and of stimulants, and though their answers in that state are often surprisingly accurate, they know nothing of what has transpired when they return to consciousness (Tho- luck, " Die Propheten," pp. 8 f.) ; how the Delphian proph- etesses were cast into the prophetic state by the foul gases arising from the clefts in,the rocks is well known (Tholuck, 1. c, pp. 0 f. ; cf. Maudsley, "Natural Causes and Super- natural Sccmings,'' London, ISSO, pp. 17G f.); the whirling and the howling of the Mahometan dervishes are practised even in our days; the Indian Fakirs cut themselves with knives, as did the jjropliets of Baal; besides all this we have the kindred phenomena of second sight, of uncon- scious somnambulism and of hypnotism. 2, This is noichere said to belong especiallij to the Hebrews. — In these so-called ecstatic conditions involving unconsciousness to the external world, the inner emotional and intellectual faculties may move with greater rapidity and freedom, and may reach the solutions of difficult prob- lems and discern the issues of events far and near. Per- haps there is even added an instinctive prediction and an instinctive guidance through difficulties ; but there may be also an entire absence of the latter. Nor do we deny that such phenomena existed among the Hebrews in apparently a similar way as they existed anu)ng other nations of anti(|uity. Thus we read of a l)and of projdiets coming down from the high jdace with i)saltery and timbrel and l)il)(' and harp, and they were prophesying; and when Saul met them, the spirit of the Lord came upon him loo and be proidiesicd witb tlicin (I. Kings x. .") f.); and FORM OF THE PROPHECY- ARG UMENT. 47 again, when Saul went out to seek David the divine spirit came upon him, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Najoth in Ramatha. And stripping off his clothes, he fell down naked all that day and all that night, and he prophesied before Samuel, so that they said : Is Saul also among the prophets ? (I. Kings xix. 23 f.) But if this state is alluded to in the Bible, it is certainly not repre- sented as being peculiar to the Hebrews and to their re- ligion (cf. Briggs, " Messianic Prophecy," New York, 188G, pp. 7 ff.). 3. Fallacij of Kuenen^fi Induction. — We furthermore agree entirely with Dr. Maudsley (Natural Causes and Supernatural Seemings, London, 1886, pp. 3G1, 3G2) : "If all visions, intuitions, and other modes of communication with the supernatural, accredited now or at any time, have been no more than phenomena of psychology, — instances, that is, of subnormal, supernormal, or abnormal mental function, — and if all existing supernatural beliefs are sur- vivals of a state of thought befitting lower stages of human development, the continuance of such beliefs cannot be helpful; it must be hurtful to human progress." But it would surely show a most unscientific bent of mind were we to conclude from the spuriousness of some supposed prophetic ecstasies that all others, even those contained in the Bible, must be rejected as spurious (cf. Briggs, 1. c, p. 5). Hence it appears that Kuenen's argument, taken at its greatest value, is not logically conclusive. 4. TliG so-called Natural Facts have not yet lieen ex- plained.— Then we must keep in mind M. Le Ilir's remarks on the present question (Les Prophetes d'lsrael, in Etudes Bibliques, Paris, 18G9, t. i. p. G) : "Our psy- chologic medicine may be able to observe the phenomena of foresight and second sight, but has it explained them ? Has it assigned their causes ? Not every nervous excite- ment produces them. And who has proved that in no case a supernatural agent is active? Our ancestors believed this. Are we wiser than they, when without any scientific 48 INTltODUCriON. proof we attribute tlieir belief on tliis point to universal ignorance? Ignorance will always produce fools. There are always charlatans, and always enthusiasts, victims of their own illusions. Hut when they undertake to prophesy, the future will show the folly of their oracles, and thus dis- pel the charm with which they had fascinated the simple." 5. Ecstasy is not the Criterioii of Prophecy. — Besides all this, our prophetic argument is not in the least affected by all that Kc'ville and Kuenen have said about the ecstatic state. Were our criterion of true prophecy the ecstasy of its utterer at the time when the prediction is first made, our opponents might, at least, have thrown some doubt on the argument based on such utterances, lint ecstasy is not at all necessarily connected with prophecy; many ])rophe- cies have been uttered outside of the ecstatic state, as there have been many cases of ecstasy not producing any prophecy. It is not so easy as all this to be a pro])het. Since the future does uot yet exist for man, he cannot know it naturally except in its causes. If the latter exist already even in a latent state, if there is question of certain physical effects depending on them, a perfectly developed nervous sensibility may ])erceive them beforehand, as it hajipens in the case of rheumatic jiersons or of the tree- frog. But when there is question of a far-off future event, depending on the changeable wills of innumerable agents who are influenced by a diversity of interests, it appears clearer than daylight that no amount of emotion can fore- see it naturally. Had our opponents appealed to the power of profound calculations and to the calculus of probabili- ties, they might have laid claim to a scientific basis of pro- ceeding; but they well know that even scientific men would have smiled at their unsatisfactory explanation of certain historic facts. Our criterion of jirophecy is there- fore neither the emotion nor the mathematic ability of the prophet, but the exact correspondence of the jiredicted event with the terms of the predictions, the proper conditions regarding both prediction anti fulfilment being verified. FORM OF THE PROPHECY-ARGUMENT. 49 6. Even one Prophecy, estahlished with Certainty, is God's Testimony. — But has not Kuenen proved the futility of the prophecy-argument, even on the supposition of tliis criterion of prophecy being admitted ? Has he not, in other words, shown that most of the supposed Old Testa- ment jiredictions have not been fulfilled ? Let us suppose, for a moment, that Kuenen has really proved what he claims to have proved: even on this supposition our prophecy-argument is still valid on Kuenen's own admis- sion. For he freely admits that some predictions have been really verified, though he maintains that in these instances the event predicted could have been foreseen naturally. In the light of science, i.e., of the calculus of probabilities, the last contention cannot be defended. And as long as we have even one real prophecy testifying for the divine nature and mission of Jesus, our conclusion is logically correct. For one prophecy is as much the work of God, supposes as much God'sinspiration and expresses as much God's approval, as does the whole series of Messianic pre- dictions. It matters little whether a person has signed a legal document only once, or has repeated his seal a hun- dred times; so it is of little import whether God's testi- mony in favor of Jesus' divine natui'e and mission is given once, or a hundred times, it is infallible in any case. All that is added to our argument by the multiplicity of the Messianic predictions is the greater certainty thereby se- cured that we have real prophecies and not merely casual predictions; that, in other words, God himself has inspired the utterers of the predictions. Even as in a single extra- ordinary event it would be hard to determine its strictly miraculous character, so in the case of a single prediction it is difficult to determine whether it is to be attributed to mere chance or to divine illumination. 7. Falsely Alleged Unfulfilled Prophecies. — But apart from all this, Kuenen has not proved that most of tlie Old Testament predictions have not been verified. We need only consider some few of the instances in which the 50 mriwDUCTioN. prophecies are said to liave failed, in order to judge of our opponent's ])osition. In regard to the projihecies against Tyre (Is. xxiii. and Ezech. xxvi.) which are alleged to liave remained unfulfilled, the difficulty arises from not distin- guishing between Old Tyre and New Tyre. Nabucho- donosor took Old Tyre on the continent; but New Tyre, on the island, submitted to the Chalda?ans by capitulation. Tyre regained her independence after the fall of Babylon, and became rich and })rosperous (cf. Elliott, " Old Testa- ment Prophecy," New York, 1889, p. 52). Amos is said to have prophesied the murder of Jeroboam II., simply because his bitter opponent, the priest of Bethel, thus reported the prophet's words; Amos did not speak of the king in person, but of his house and dynasty (cf. Amos vii. 11 and v. 9). Osee is said to have })rodicted an Egyptian captivity for the ten trib(^s, while it is plain from the political circum- stances under which the prophet wrote that he jjredicted only a flight into Egy})t, but a captivity in Assyria (cf. Osee viii. 13; ix. 3, 6; xi. 5, 11). Other prophecies were uttered only conditionally, as was the case in the predic- tion of Jonas and in that of Micheas regarding the destruc- tion of Jerusalem by the Assyrians (cf. Mich. iii. 13). 8. PliiJisfiaH Destraction. — But we must not omit ex- amples of Kuenen's investigation both of the prophecies regarding pagan nations and of the predictions regarding the chosen peojde of Israel. A good instance of the former class is the almost unanimous prediction of the prophets that the cities of Philistia Avcre to be destroyed (cf. Amos i. C-8; Joel iii. 4-8; Ezech. xxv. 15-17; Zach. ix. 4-7; Soph. ii. 4-7; Jer. xlvii.; Is. xiv. 39-32; xi. 14). It must l)e observed that Kuenen insists on two additional points: First, he maintains that according to these prophe- cies Philistia's destruction was to liappcn shortly after the time of the ])redictions; secondly, that the jirophets had expressly indicated the medium through which Philistia was to sutler. Kuenen himself is I'aii' cuouyh to admit that the medium FORM OF THE PROPIIECY-ARO UMENT. 51 of Pliilistia's chastisement is not indicated by the prophets Amos, Joel, Ezechiel, Zachavias, and Sophonias. He ap- peals, however, to Is. v. 30 and to Jer. xlvii. 1. The most probable reading of the former passage is the following: "And if one look unto the land, behold darkness and distress, and the light is darkened in the clouds thereof." Having overcome Achaz, the Philistines imagined that they had no more to fear from Juda. Then it was that Isaias spoke to them (Is. xiv. 29) : " Eejoice not, 0 Philis- tia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken ; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." It is, therefore, Achaz's successor, Ezechias, who is pointed out by Isaias as Pliilistia's scourge, and it is at his approach from the north that "the smoke of the north" will be perceived in the cloud of dust raised by his military lines. The text of Jeremias (xlvii. 2) speaks only of waters "that rise up out of the north " against the city of Gaza, and to identify these waters with the Chalda?ans is an arbitrary exegesis. Hence, neither Isaias nor Jeremias pointed to the Chal- dseans as the scourge of the Philistine cities. 9. No Time determined i7i the Predictions. — As to the contention of Kueneu that these prophecies were to be accomplished shortly after they had been uttered, there certainly exists no general rule to this effect regarding the fulfilment of prophecy. Kousseau's contention, that we ourselves must witness prediction and fulfilment, is alto- gether gratuitous. Hence, if Kueneu wishes that his position should have any scientific value, he must prove it in regard to this special class of predictions. In point of fact, the contemporaries of the prophets who uttered the predictions in question did not witness their fulfilment. Sophonias clearly declares that Juda will not possess Philistia till after its return from the Babylonian captivity. Keil, commenting on Sophonias ii. 4, is of opinion that this particular prediction has not yet found its fulfilment. According to this view the material return of Israel from 52 INTliODUCriON. Babylon was only a figure of the final return of Israel to its God by its conversion to Christ, and after this return will Israel possess the land of Philistia. AVithout denying the probability of this ex2)lanation, we must take notice that Isaias' prediction was sufficiently accomplished by Ezechias, who gained such remarkable advantages over the riiilistiues that he devastated their territory and pur- sued them even to the gates of Gaza. Not to mention the Philistine sufferings during the Egypto-Chaldeean wars, there is the most remarkable fact that shortly after the time at which Zacharias predicts the approaching destruc- tion of Gaza and Ascalon, Philistia disappears from the field of history. 10. Prophecies Concerning Israel. — Next a specimen of Kuenen's reasoning concerning the pro])hecies about the • future of Israel. Not one of them, he says, has been ful- filled. It seems, he adds, to be an unreasonable conten- tion; but it is the simple truth. Tlie return of all Israel to its native land, the supremacy of Israel over the nations of the earth, in a word, Israel's glory, is still expected and will not be realized till the last days shall come (cf. '• The Prophets and Prophecy in Israel," p. 186). To answer Kuenen's observations properly, we have to keep in mind that a double sense must be distinguished in prophecy: the one literal, the other spiritual or typical. Till iiow, no doubt, most of the prophecies concerning Israel's glory, or all of them, have been fulfilled only in their spiritual sense in the Christian Church. To doubt the reality of such a fulfilment is to forget the important truth, so often in- sisted on by the Fathers, that the whole Old Testament is a preparation and a type of the New. But at all avents, the apostles have hoped, and there is nothing to ju'cvent us from hoping, that the Jews will finally enter the king- dom of God, from which they have thus far freely excluded themselves. And though this may not be a sufficient reason for imagining that the temjioral jiromises of the prophets, not accomplished in the foundation of the FORM OF THE PROniECT- ARGUMENT. 53 Churcli, will then find their fulfilment, we have every possible reason for maintaining that all those promises will be fulfilled in a way far surpassing the expectations of the most sanguine believer. For are they not the predictions of the same prophets who foretold the Babylonian Cap- tivity more than a hundred and fifty years before it took place (Mich, iv, 8-10) — even before Babylon had gained its independence — who clearly and accurately predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, who prophesied Babylon's cap- ture by the Medes (Jer. i. 1 f.), and Asia's conquest by Alexander the Great ? (Zach. ix. 1-8.) Since God has sealed with his own testimony these predictions, he has also pledged his authority for the truth of the other prophe- cies from the non-fulfilment of which Kuenen takes his argument against us (cf. Trochon, ''Introduction gcnerale aux prophetes," Paris, 1883, pp. xix. ff.). ;/. Eelative Truth of the PuoPHECiES.—Thus far we have proved the first and second statement implied in the minor propositioii of our argument, that there existed Messianic predictions at or before the time of Jesus Christ, and that these predictions were prophecies in the proper sense of the word. We must now briefly consider the third statement im})lied in the same minor proposition, the statement that the Messianic prophecies were given by God in testimony of Jesus' divinity and divine mission. The logical necessity of this proposition in the prophecy- argument may be inferred from the fact that not every event predicted by true prophecy is therefore of divine origin, or has therefore God's sanction. Jesus really pre- dicted the treason of Judas and the fall of Peter without thereby giving his approval to either event. In the same manner he foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and at the same time wept over the fate of the unfaithful city, — a certain sign of his disapproval. The coming of Anti- Christ is predicted without having, on that account, divine sanction or divine authority. In the same manner it is not owing to the mere fact of the coming and birth, the 54 INTRODUCTION. work aiul siifferiiif^ of Jesus being predicted tluit he can cliiiin to be a messenger of (Jod, and to be one with the Father. To establish tliese claims, Jesus must show that God has given his authority to them by the very fact of predicting them by the mouth of the pro})hets, 1. Onjanic Connection of the Prophecies. — In oi'der to draw our inference logically, we have to remember that the Messianic prophecies contain a double element: they pre- dict certain outward events whose verification can be per- ceived by our senses, and they predict certain inward prop- erties and faculties of the Messias which are not directly subject to our sensitive perception. Now, it must be noticed that these two linesof predictions are so intimately connected tiiat they must ])roceed from the same author; because the first without the second would be vain and empty, while the second without the first would be entirely useless for the human race. The former might be the work of a mere mountebank, and tlie latter could never be })ractically verified so as to affect our moral life and our tenets of belief. Hence .the two lines of prophetic pre- dictions are inseparably woven into one organic whole. If then the prophecies regarding the outward events that are subject to our exjierience are verified ami, therefore, proved to be of divine origin, — for God alone can be the author of true prophecy, — the prophecies regarding the in- ward facts that are above our sensitive experience must be of divine origin too — i.e., must have been ins})ired by God, and are therefore infallibly true. If, e.g., the event has proved that God really foretold of the Messias that he will be despised and the most abject of men, — a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity, — the same event has proved God to be the author also of those other words: "Surely he hath borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows. . . . He was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins" (Is. liii. 3-5). 2 Identilji of Sarred (tint Profttnc Seer. — Besides this there is another way of inferring God's testimony for the FORM OF THE PEOPHECY-ARGXTMENT. 55 divine mission and nature of the Messias from the Messianic prophecies, or perhaps it is the way already indicated, but viewed from a different standpoint. From the fact that a prophet predicted certain future events, which have really come to pass, it may be inferred that God made him his own messenger to his people. Whatever, therefore, this acknowledged divine agent either said or wrote concerning God's kingdom, or the time and manner of its coming, was based upon divine authority. The prophet's contemporaries certainly had no other way of ascertaining the true pro- phetic nature of the Messianic predictions. For they had not yet the correspondence between prediction and fulfil- ment to guide them in their belief or disbelief of any given Messianic prophecy. The negative criterion of true prophecy, laid down in Deut. xviii. 22, could not, in the Old Testament, be applied to the Messianic fulfilment, but was observed in the accomplishment of contempo- raneous events : " Whatsoever that same prophet foretelleth in the name of the Lord, and it cometh not to pass, that thing the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath forged it by the pride of his mind : and therefore thou shalt not fear him." 56 INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER II. THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF MESSIANIC PROPHECY. OX perusing the records of antiquity we are met hy two most striking features pervading all the productions of literature. On the one hand, a universal wail ascends up to heaven deploring the wickedness and the misery of the human race; on the other, a universal strain of expectation vibrates in the human heart, looking forward to a better future and to a coming redeemer. Both these features deserve a moment's reflection. 1. General Misery: Monks, is tlie bnly truth concei-ning sulTering. Death is sulTeriug; old agt; is sulTei'ing; sickness is sulTering: to l)e uiiiled with wliat is not loved is sulTering; to lie jiarted IVnin what is l()ve(l is sulTering; m»t to attain om-'s desires is DIFFUSION OF MESSIANIC PROPHECY. 57 suffering" (Kellogg, "The Light of Asia and the Light of the World," London, 1885, p. 12). b. Among the Persians and Mexicans. — According to Zoroaster the world is at jjresent ruled by Ahriman; and the old Mexicans said to the child at baptism : " Dear child, Onieteuctli and Omecihuatle have created thee in heaven and have sent thee on the earth. But know that life, which thou now beginnest, is sad, laborious, and full of miseries, and thou shalt not be able to eat thy bread without hardship. May God assist thee in the many miseries which await thee " (Clavigero, t. ii. p. 86). c. Testimony of Human Sacrifices and Other Rites. — Many of the pagan traditions explain the origin of human sacri- fices by recalling the time of the Nephilim and the murder of Cain. According to the opinion of the same nations human sacrifices are to cease at the end of the present era. The Mexicans, e. g., believed that the goddess Centeotl or Tzinteotl (like the Greek goddess of justice, who had disappeared on account of human sin, but was to return at the end) would finally gain the victory, abolish human sacrifices, and substitute the offering of the firstlings of the harvest in their place. In the same manner, the Indian Kali (the fallen Eve) has caused death and human sacrifice alike. But she rules only over the present age, and the good Durga-Bhawani will return and gain the victory (Hum- boldt, " Ans. der Cord." ii. p. 60). Again, the ceremonies of baptism, circumcision, and the other rites of purification following among so many nations the birth of the child, are as many signs of the general belief in man's innatp depravity. d. The Greek Sages. — Tlie testimor^y of the Greek lite- rature is especially important in this question of an early belief in man's fall, because among the Greek writers we meet not only prating collectors of every myth and fable, but men of world-wide wisdom. Hesiod speaks of tlie iron age consuming man in labor and sorrow (Op. et dies, edit. Lipsi;\3 1778, v. 176-181); Homer considers man the most 58 INTRODUCTION. iniser