Division -D5 2.0(o Big ' Section . HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. AN INDUCTIVE STUDY IN CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES. The Facts Mentioned in the New Testament Demonstrated to be Historical by the Worst Enemies op Christianity who Lived IN THE First Three Centuries op our Era, CONFIRMED by AS MANY Christian Writers op Fame, Contemporaries who Wrote in Dipperent Countries and Periods : the whole RECONFIRMED by many Remarkable Evidences Recently Discovered: Ancient Documents, Monuments, Arches, Inscriptions, Coins, Superscriptions, and CHRISTIAN ART. EtooTCS OTL CIS OLTroXoycav tov evayyeXt'ou /cet/xat. "I am set for the Defense of the Gospel." — To the Philippians. 'For we have not any power against the Truth, but in behalf of the Truth." — To the Corinthians. BY EEV. S. L. BOWMAN, A.M., S.T.D. CINCINNATI: JENNINGS AND PYE. NEW YORK: EATON AND MAINS. Copyright, 1903, by Jennings anb Pyb. T0 m^ nzxu. PREFACE. This treatise is a contribution to the Christian Evidences demanded by the times. It is dedicated to the intelligent young men of the period. The work is designed to meet the skeptical issues of the day which deny the historical character of Christianity during the first three centuries, holding that the claim is not absolutely based upon the facts of Christ's life as is narrated in the four Gospels. No other work known to the writer has proposed to traverse this territory upon the lines and in the form here adopted. It embraces the period between the crucifixion of Christ and the time when Constan- tine the Great established Christianity throughout the Koman Empire as the religion of the State in A. D. 325. After this date there is no question made touching the historicity of Christianity. Paley's Evidences nobly met the requirements of his age ; but new issues have risen since which call for a restatement of the Christian argument in a more comprehensive form, for- tified by the monumental evidences of recent discovery. As Dr. Philip Schaff judiciously remarks : " Lardner, Doddridge, and Leland made good use of Celsus against the Deists of their day. He may with still greater effect he turned against Strauss and Renan.^'' {Person of Christy p. 101, note.) Mr. George Rawlinson also observes : '•'■It is invportant to hear in mynd the fact that there is no period in the whole range of a/ncient history whereof we possess a more full and exact Tcnowl- edge than we do of the fvrst century of our eraP {Truth of the S(yripture Records^ Amer. ed. 383, Note 3. 4 Pkeface. The method of procedure is to employ the testimonies of the adversaries of Christianity who lived in the first centuries of our era indicated, to confirm the statements of the apostolic writers, and lyrove the historicity of the facts related in the sacred nan^atives. The writers hostile to the Christian re- ligion are of two classes, — Jewish and heathen. Of the Jews the testimony adduced is that taken from the works of Jo- sephus, the Talmud, the Toledoth Jeshu {History of Jesus\ and a few others, such as the recent History of the Jews by Dr. Heinrich Graetz, a professor in the University of Breslau, Prussia ; of the heathen, the testimony of Tacitus, Pliny, Sue- tonius, Lucian, Celsus, Porphyry, and the Emperor Julian as the connecting link between the primitive and the later Chris- tianity acknowledged to be historical. The testimony of the Friends of Christianity, who were the contemporaries of the Adversaries, is that of the Apostolic Fathers, the Christian Apologists, and the first four Pauline Epistles, which are now acknowledged, by all living skeptics of character, to be au- thentic and credible. The testimony of the Christian writers is employed to confirm the testim.ony of their enemies respect- ing the facts alleged in the historical part of the New Testa- ment. Then this mass of testimony is reconfi/rmed by the new "finds" — the Documents, Monuments, Arches, Inscrip- tions, Coins, Superscriptions, and Christian Art. Respecting the value of monumental evidence. Dr. Philip Schaff remarks: "The importance of these literary discoveries and investigations should not blind us to the almost equally important monumental dis- coveries and researches of Cavalier de Rossi, Garrucci, and other Italian scholars who have illuminated the subterranean mysteries of the Church of Rome and of early Christian art. Neander, Gieseler, and Baur, the greatest Church historians of the nineteenth century, are as silent about the catacombs as Mosheim and Gibbon were in the eighteenth. But Preface. 5 who could now write a history of the first three centuries without re- cording the lessons of those rude yet expressive pictures, sculptures and epitaphs from the homes of confessors and martyrs? Nor should we overlook the gain which has come to us from the study of monumental inscriptions, as, for instance, in rectifying the date of Polycarp's mar- tyrdom, who is brought ten years nearer the age of St. John." (Hist, of Christian Church, Vol. II; Preface, p. vii.) Where new witnesses are introduced, there will be found before each chapter an epitome of the life and works of those testifying. The object of this is to furnish the young reader some knowledge of the character of the attesting party, as a proper preparation to appreciate the value of his testimony. Acknowledgment is specially due for the use made of Dr. Na- thaniel Lardner's great work consisting of ten volumes: a the- saurus of learning and apologetic literature. As he has usually furnished his citations in the language in which they were originally written, in some instances this author has made his own translations therefrom; but in all cases where critical care and consideration were regarded as specially due, the rendering found place in the text of the page, that the English reader might experience no break in the continuity of thought; and the original of the citation was placed in the foot-note with proper reference, which the scholarly reader would most desire to see. An Appendix may be found at the end of this volume con- taining valuable matter which could not well be placed in the body of the work. Attention is specially directed to Jose- phus's Testimony of Christ for the reason that all the principal arguments ^r alTovvri y/xaj- X67o»' TrepJ tt}^ iv v/uv iXirldog'. But ready always for every one asking you a reason in respect to a de- fense concerning the hope in you. — Peter. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that belie veth with an infidel ?— Paul. 8 INTRODUCTION. THE CONSPECTUS. § 1. Tlie Proposition. A Scheme of Evidence is to be introduced embracing hundreds of circumstances recorded in the historical New Testament related to the origin, antiquity, and authenticity of those Scriptures. Among others, will be embraced those capital facts and truths upon which Chris- tianity was founded, and upon which it has ever securely re- posed. The argument based upon these occurrences will be conducted informally upon the Inductive rather than the De- ductive principle, proceeding from the facts rather than from propositions to the conclusions. § 2. Plan of the Woi^k. The arrangement following will sufficiently indicate the character and scope of the investiga- tion proposed in this treatise : I. The Gospel and the Christ of History. II. The Gospel and the Work of Christ. III. The Gospel and the Public of Palestine. lY. The Gospel and the Roman Rulers. Y. The Gospel and the Jewish Rulers. YI. The Gospel and the Jewish Nation. YII. The Gospel and the Gentile World. § 3. Witness of Enemies. Those occurrences referred to as basal to the Christian religion are to be substantiated upon the testimony of twenty ancient Ad/oersaries of Christianity who were Roman, Greek, and Jewish writers of antiquity and eminence. They were the contemporaries of the apostles and their successors, all of whom were very unfriendly, and most of whom were the worst enemies that Christianity ever had. Their testimony is preferred because of their known hostility 10 Introduction. to the Christian cause, which gives an added value to their "witness. Of these twenty adversaries, nineteen lived within the first three centuries after the crucifixion of Christ, ten of whom were the contemporaries of the apostles and of the events recorded in the several Gospels; five or six were the contemporaries of the Apostolic Fathers, the pupils and im- mediate successors of the apostles ; and the remaining three were the contemporaries of the Christian Apologists living at a remove of one or two generations later. The twentieth wit- ness reigned on the imperial throne of Rome, and wrote not long after Constantine the Great had established Christianity as the religion of the State throughout the Roman Empire. His testimony may be regarded as furnishing a connecting link in the history of the sub- Apostolic Christianity, and that which has existed ever since. After the adoption of the Christian religion in the Roman world, there is no question entertained touching its historicity. It is to be noted, however, that these twenty adversaries who attest the truth of the sacred record, do not all testify to each one of the hundreds of facts to be adduced. For one may make reference to one fact, and another may mention several facts ; while a third may confirm the first two testi- monies, and perhaps give additional details. But the several testimonies are to be taken together to prove, beyond a ra- tional doubt, the historical antiquity and authenticity of the record claimed; furnishing a broad basis for the induction that the entire content of the New Testament respecting the founding and diffusion of the Christian religion is both ancient and true. Now, the negative contention of ancient infidels really makes for the Christian cause. Even their denial at the times they severally lived is a tacit admission that there had pre- viously existed an account regarded by others as historical re- lated to cardinal Christian facts. For why should any man deny that which no one had ever afiirmed ? Or why should Introduction. 1 1 books be written to refute what nobody had asserted? Or why should men have been persecuted and martyred for their faith, if there existed absolutely no ground for their believing? If the religion of the Christians was founded on nothing more substantial than an innocent fancy, what reason is to be as- signed that an opposition arose so fierce that it put men to death? If we run backward through the earlier centuries of our era, "we shall find in each generation that there existed an account of the occurrence of facts which were the ground of the faith that then existed, an account which antedated the opposition and its generation, until we reach the Founder of Christianity himself, by whom, and in respect to whom, came those occurrences which have inspired the world. Furthermore, it is not the function of historical evidence to compel belief. It is not required that any question shall be placed beyond the ability of an unreasonable man to doubt; for whoever is determined to disbelieve can do so, whatever just grounds exist for conviction. But the mental attitude of such a disputant is that of self-stultification. It satisfies all legitimate demands in reasoning that evidence of such char- acter be adduced as commands that high degree of probability which renders a belief in the contrary conclusion irrational. In short, as reasoning men we have no right to believe with- out reason, and we have no right to disbelieve when we have the reason. Mere prejudice is not reasoning or reasonable. "He that judgeth before he heareth is not wise." Mere opinion is not evidence, and can not be substituted for evi- dence. A denial based upon ignorance of facts at issue can never be taken as disproof of the facts affirmed to be unhistor- ical. Rather all mere assertions and assumptions leave ab- solutely untouched the historicity of questions under con- sideration. § 4. Witness of Friends. The testimony of the friends of Christianity is reserved to confirm the testimony of its enemies. The two classes were contemporaries. This corroborative 1 2 Introduction. testimony will be drawn from three sources of the Christian writers, viz.: a) TTie Apostolic Fathers^ who were the personal Disciples of the Apostles; /?) The Christian Apologists, or Defenders of the Faith, who wrote later ; and y) The first four Pauline Epistles, now universally con- ceded to be authentic and credible. §5. Witness of Antiquities. This kind of testimony is that furnished by ancient Documents recently discovered, by Public MonuTnents, Arches, Coins, Inscriptions, Superscrip- tions, and hy Christian Art. Archaeological testimony applies not to all Christian facts, but to many and sufficient. Wher- ever applicable, this sort of testimony will be adduced for the purpose of recorroboration of the foregoing testimonies. Its evi- dential value in history is very great and decisive, since it is impossible to conceive that such public affairs could be pub- licly imposed upon a given community and be groundless, or be done by fraud. § 6. Witnesses Classified. Both adverse and friendly wit- nesses, as giving weight to their testimony, may here be classed according to their RanTc and Profession among men. ADVERSARIES OP CHRISTIANITY. ' Physicians. One: Galen. Classic Writers. Three : Martial, Juvenal, and Yergil. Philosophers. Five: Seneca, Epictetus, Lucian, Celsus, and Porphyry. Historians. Five: Strabo, Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dion Cassius. Roman Proconsuls. Two: Pliny the Younger, and Hierocles. RomoM Emperors. Four: Trajan, Hadrian, Aurelius, and Julian. Jewish Authors. Many : (1) of the Talmud j (2) of the Tole- doth Jeshu. Introduction. 13 ADVOCATES OF CHRISTIANITY. Apostles of Jesus Christ. One : Paul. Apostolic Fathers. Four : Barnabas, Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp. Other Patristic Witnesses. Two : Irenaeus a Bishop, and. Clem- ent a Teacher, of Alexandria. Christian Apologists. Five: Quadratus, Melito, Tertullian, Apollonius, and Lactantius. Christian Philosophers. Four: Aristides, Justin Martyr, Ap- ollonius, and Origen. Christian Historians. Three : Hegesippus, Eusebius, and Lac- tantius. Roman Emperors. One : Constantine the Great. § 7. Historical Evidence. The characteristics and method of procedure, in case of historical evidence, differ very ma- terially from those of an ordinary court of trial. At the bar of Criticistn there are no living issues on matters of past centuries, no living parties in contention, and no living wit- nesses to command in proof. There is no open court to in- vestigate the facts in the case, and no direct and cross-exam- ination of those testifying to test the validity of given claims. However, when the evidence sought is documentary as in case of the Scriptures, critical consideration is necessitated respect- ing the authorship, the antiquity, the authenticity and credi- bility of the case. The genuineness or the spuriousness of the text, the usage of specific words at the date claimed as a time- test, the material on which the writing appears, and the mode of the writing itself then in vogue, are searchingly examined as against forgery and fraud, the custody of the writing as against interpolations, and the accordancy of the contents with current events known from contemporaneous history. Other sources of information are also open to careful and critical consideration, such as the testimony of contemporaries of the writer of the document, official correspondence of offi- 14 Introduction, cers and rulers, official governmental records, the existence of public monuments commemorative of special occasions in- volved, historical inscriptions found in public places, coins bearing images and superscriptions, works of art illustrative of facts and customs then existent ; in short, appeal may be made to any archaeological proofs discovered relating to the case in hand. Finally the fairness and credibility of the historian himself in his interpretation of the facts involved and the re- liability of the data upon which he has depended, are matters for consideration. On such evidence and by such methods must historical investigation proceed. Of course, no historian is required to have been himself an eye-witness of the occur- rences which he is properly called upon to interpret and re- cord. It certainly is not his function necessarily to write as a witness. He writes legitimately and credibly when he esti- mates the evidential value of the facts which happened centu- ries before he was born. By no means does it render nuga- tory his statements of history that others than the historian were the original witnesses of the facts which it is his part to place upon the historic page. § 8. Value of Added Witnesses. Bishop Butler in his cele- brated Analogy remarks: '"'' Probable proofs, by behig added, not only increase the evidence, but multiply it.^^ Mr. George Rawlinson, in his Bamjpton Lectures (1859), says: " When two independent writers witness to the same event, the probability of that event is increased ^ not in arithmetical, but in geometrical ratio', not by mere addition, but by multiplication ^ ''' That is, the ratio of the credibility to the discredibility is as 100 to 1. Let it be assumed as 10 to 1 that a given event occurred upon the testimony of one witness, and the second witness, of equal credibility, testifies to the same fact. Then the evidence furnished is not 20 to 1 upon the testimony of two witnesses, but 120 to 1. And if three witnesses of equal credibility be taken, the credibility will be to the discredibility *See Wontworth's College Algebra, page 268. Intkoduction. 1 5 as 1,330 to 1, in the final chances. Accordingly, it is of parar mount importance that this principle be kept carefully in sight in the discussion which is to follow, that the true value of the evidence adduced may be duly appreciated in respect to the authenticity and credibility of the New Testament as pro- posed in this treatise. § 9. Criteria of Testimony. In determining the eligibility of witnesses and the validity of their testimony in historical investigation, a just criterion is had in order to discriminate between the true and the false, or the questionable, A few authorities may be cited on judicial procedures, as well as on the credibility of historical treatises, touching the admissibility of different testimonies when they are variant, the proper dis- position of conflicting evidence, reports derived from original witnesses, and the proper custody of documents which have come down to us from ancient times. These may be reduced to four in number : a) Canon of Divergent Testimonies. 1. Statements of substantial truth, with circumstantial variety in detail and expression. 2. Testimony of the original witnesses, when it is confirmed by the testimony of enemies. 3. The testimony given when contrary to the interests of the wit- nesses testifying. 4. The original witnesses testifying possessing stainless characters. P) Conflicting Testimonies Reconciled. Thomas Starkie says: "In case of a seeming conflict in the evidence, it is legitimate to reconcile the differences by the facts involved ; but if the data for com- posing the discrepancies supposed can not be found in the evidence itself, a rational hypotliesis to explain the diflBculty is admissible." {Law of Evidence, 8th Amer. edition.) y) Reports of Original Witnesses. Sir George Cornwall Lewis says : "Accounts . . . derived directly or indirectly from original wit- nesses . . . may be considered as presumptively entitled to credit." (Credibility of Early Roman History, 1856.) 16 Introduction. 8) Custody of Ancient Documents. Simon Greenleaf says: "Documents found in a place in which, and under the care of per- sons with whom such papers might naturally and reasonably be ex- pected to be found, or in possession of persons having an interest in them, are precisely in the custody which gives authenticity to docu- ments found in it." After his citation of cases, he adds this note : " The rule stated in the text is one of the grounds on which we in- sist on the genuineness of the books of the Holy Scriptures. They are found in the proper custody or place where they have been kept from time immemorial. They have been constantly referred to as the founda- tion of the faith by all the sects whose existence God in his wisdom has seen fit to permit; whose zealous vigilance would readily detect any attempt to falsify the text, and whose divergence of creeds would render any mutual combination morally impossible. The burden of px-oof is therefore on the objector, to impeach the genuineness of the books, not upon the Christian to establish it." {Law of Evidence, edition 1853, k 142.) THE PROSPECTUS. Attention is now directed briefly to the territory to be raversed in this treatise. The political condition of the country occupied by the Jews, wherein all the events related in the Gospels are said to have occurred, will naturally be considered; the times and rulers of the land, the language and customs of the people ; their conditions under the imperial government, and the common anticipations of the Coming One who was known as the predicted Ruler of the world. But the main facts narrated in the historical part of the New Testament, such as the Nativity of Christ, His Ministry and Miracles, His Life and Death, His Resurrection and Ascen- sion, together with hundreds of minute circumstances of in- cidental mention therein, will pass duly under review in critical inquiry. For it is the purpose of this investigation to demonstrate in a judicial spirit, the truth of the contents of these Scriptures whose teachings are held to be based abso- lutely upon the facts mentioned. If it shall be found that these Scriptural statements are Introduction. 1 7 confirmed by those who were absolutely hostile to Chris- tianity, by those who sought to destroy the faith and even to destroy the Sacred Books themselves — the contemporaries of the Christian writers adduced — how can the book itself be false? What better proof can be given or demanded on any question whatever of the historical past? For as Dr. Philip Schaff, the great historian of the Christian Church, justly re- marks : " There is no historical work of ancient times which carries on its face such a seal of truthfulness as these [fou/r'\ Gospels.''^ CHAPTER I. ANTICIPATIONS OF MESSIAH. I. Literature : Vergil, Jewish Talmud, Chaldaic Targums. II. The Golden Age and Expectations Entertained. III. Scriptural Revelations Respecting Messiah. IV. The Jewish Talmud and the Incarnate Messiah. V. The Chaldaic Targums and the Expected Messiah. VI. Anticipations Entertained by Other Nations. VII. Testimony op Adversaries Misplacing the Advent. Vergil — Josephus — Suetonius — Tacitus — Celsus. VIII. Critical Considerations and Inductions: a) The Fact Predicted. /3) The Person Predicted. 7) The Time Predicted. 19 HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. Chapter I. ANTICIPATIONS OF THE MESSIAH. § 10. Sources: Biographical Epitome of Witness and Literature. 1. Vergil was a Latin poet of fame, born B. C. 70, and died B. C. 19. In early life he resided in Rome and Naples, Italy. He was of deli- cate constitution, both in body and mind, and was a man of very gentle character. Carefully educated, he developed a genius for writing poetry, accordant with the classic style and Roman stand- ard. Among the most famous of his literary productions which have come down to us, are two works designated Eclogse, consist- ing of ten bucolics, written about B. C. 41-39. In Ecloge iv, he makes distinct reference to the return of " the Golden Age " as the common hope of the nations in his time, expressed in the antici- pated personal incarnation of "^ Holy Progeny who descends from heaven" to men. 2. The Talmud, in Jewish literature, a Code of traditions held in nearly the same valuation and veneration as their Hebi'ew Scriptures. The entire work embraces twelve large folio volumes. It has two principal parts : the Mishna, or the text, and the Gemara, or com- mentary of explanations. a) The Mishna, meaning " repetition " of the Law, is a work said to have been begun by Ezra and his successors upon their return from Babylon to Jerusalem. When they disappeared from the scene, the Sanhedi-in assumed tribunal functions. After some centuries had passed, an immense mass of traditionary matter had accumulated, embracing many contradictory opinions and decis- ions ; whereupon academies arose at Jerusalem, which became famous for digesting and propagating this stock of traditions. Hillel the elder, a Babylonian by birth, was installed at Jeru- salem as Patriarch of Palestine, B. C. 32. He arranged the Mishna into six chief divisions, called Sedarim, meaning orders, viz.: (1) Seraim, "seeds" or "field products;" (2) Moed, "festivals;" (3) Nashim, "laws of women;" (4) Nesikim, "legal provisions;'* 21 22 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. (5) Kodeshim, "sacred things;" (6) Toharoth, "distinguishing between the clean and unclean." Each division was subdivided into Mesachtoth, or tracts, sixty-three in number. The Jews of the true faith study the Mishna with the most venerating care. It is claimed that its traditions and expositions were derived orally from Moses and were reduced in final form by the celebrated Rabbi Jehudah, or Judah " the holy," who received the code from the earlier Rabbis, and they from Simon the Just, the last survivor of Ezra's Great Synagogue ; that the Synagogue received the same from the Seventy Elders appointed by Moses, who received it from Joshua, who received it from Moses, who received it from God! It was written about B. C. 400-A. D. 200. §) The Gemdra, "complement" in the sense of the authorita- tive interpretation of the Law. That is, the Pentateuch was the authoritative written Law, and the Gemdra its commentary, furnishing a code of "completion" or "perfection" such as to render all further additions inadmissible ! As soon as the Mishna was reduced to writing and published, their chief Rabbis wrote commentaries upon the work. It therefore exhibits those traditions of the Phar- isees which Jesus denounced so severely as unauthorized. (Matt^ XV, 1-9.) There were two great centers of Rabbis engaged in writing the Gemara, and two works produced. The older one was called the Jerusalem or the Palestinian Gemara, because composed by the Rabbis of that country, whose center was the city of Tiberias in the later centuries. It was in one large folio, and published towards the close of the fourth century. The other, called the Babylonian Gemara was composed by the Rabbis of the further East under the supervision of the Patriarch of Babylon, and was completed about a century later. It contains thirty-six ti*actates. Of the two works, the Babylonian is regarded as much the better, especially as exhibiting the manners and customs in the times of the Scriptures of the New Testament. This work contains 2,947 folio pages. (See Excursus F, in Appendix.) 3. The Chaldaic Targums. Of these there are several. They are trans- lations or paraphrases of most of the Hebrew Scriptures, omitting only the books Nehemiah, Ezra, and Daniel. They were written in the later Aramaic or Chaldee language when the Hebrew began to fall into decay. Critical opinion dates those which are regarded as most ancient and most valuable in the first Christian century, and certainly before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple under Titus A. D. 70. The Targums were long preserved by oral transmission after the return from the captivity of Babylon. There are two held in high appreciation, called Onkelos, which is based on the Pentateuch, and another called Jonathan ben Uzziel, which Anticipations of the Messiah. 23 is based upon the Hebrew prophets. They serve to illustrate the contemporary view and the prior teachings respecting the expected Messiah of the Jews, especially those views entertained at the time of the Nativity of Jesus Christ. §11. Messianic Expectations. The Fall in Paradise reduces to a practical form the noble legend of the Golden Age, cherished especially in prehistoric Greece. — Glad- stone. The expectation of a Golden Age that should return to earth was com- mon in all the heathen nations. — Dr. Ezra Abbot. I would with such perfection govern, to excel the Golden Age. — Shake- speare. I will give Thee for a Covenant of the people, for a Light of the Gentiles. — Isaiah. The Desire of Nations shall come ; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts. — Haggai. And we have the Word of Prophecy made more sure, whereunto ye do well to take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawn, and the Day-star arise in your hearts. — Peter. ARGUMENT. Ancient writings were numerous in the literature of different languages, anticipating the advent of One who was to be born in Palestine, and become the Ruler of the world. This expectation, common in all the best civilizations, looked for his descent from heaven in the Golden Age of mankind. At first it was the period for the realization which was so frequently voiced by pagan poet and his- torian, but gi-adually the conviction developed that an Unknown Person, in whom would center all interests, would appear in that " great Age to come." The literature of this apprehension, however, was due to the authoritative prediction of the Hebrew prophets, who, again, re- ferred the origin of the notion to a revelation from God. The people idealized the hope for a secular monarchy. If it shall be found that this was a misplacement of the predictions given, the inquiry will be legitimated whether all the lines of prophecy, and the lines of history alike, do not center in the person of Jesus Christ, whose coming when he did, and establishing a Spiritual Kingdom, has, in the highest sense, introduced the Golden Age of Mankind, and that Jesus alone in his imperishable Character and In- fluence, is entitled to be knotvn as* the Man op History. 1. The Golden Age as Preparation for Messiah's Advent. 2. Scripture and Talmudic Teachings of His Incarnation. 3. Testimonies of Adversaries who misinterpret the Facts. 4. Critical Considerations, and the Inductions Warranted. 24 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. messianic expectations. The foremost civilizations of antiquity lived in the expec- tation of the return of the Golden Age. Classic writers* never §12. Golden Wearied of mentioning their belief in the recur- Age. rence of that period of primeval happiness and in- nocence from which they were conscious that the race had once departed. The pagans referred this return to the reign of Saturn. In classic literature, the Golden Age began with the time of Livius Andronicus/ and extended to the death of the Emperor Augustus.^ For a long period, however, this ideal re- mained as a beautiful dream, having no reference to a Person, or to Koyalty, or to Divinity, or to an Incarnation. At length, other influences were at work molding the nations to a better apprehension. In making his march of conquests^ through Asiatic coun- tries, Alexander the Great brought with him the Greek letters and language which became the medium of international inter- course and commerce. It is related that Ptolemy Philadelphus, of Egypt, made request* of the Jews of Palestine to have seventy Eabbis sent down to Alexandria to translate the Old Testament Scriptures into the common Greek, that a copy might have place in the famous Alexandrine Library. Hence this Greek translation is known by the number engaged in the work of translation — the Septuagint. The effect of this move- ment was to give to the nations the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures, which served to mold the expectations respecting the Golden Age into an apprehension of a Divine Person who should descend from heaven, whose advent became the central thought of the Golden Age. Hence Yergil, about forty years before the Nativity of Jesus, wrote : The last Age decreed by the Fates is come, And a new frame of all things doth begin ; *The principal classic writers who refer to the Golden Age were Plautus, Terence, Lucretius, Catullus, Csesar, Cicero, Sallust, Propertlus, Vergil, Tlbullus, Livy, Ovld, Horace, and Heslod ( Works and Days, 100). 1 B.C. 250. 3A. D. 14. s B.C. 33;?. «A. D. 280. Anticipations of the Messiah. 25 A Holy Progeny from heaven descends Auspicious in his birth, which puts an end To the Iron Age, from which shall arise The Golden Age, most glorious to behold!^ The narrative of the Fall in Genesis furnishes the first promise of a Redeemer, The promise, which was predictive in character, was coeval with the expulsion of « 13 TheScrip- our first parents from Paradise. But the predic- tiires. tion was expressed in terms so general that, in effect, it was as broad as the race of man. Meantime there would be constant conflict, and a final conquest. God said : " I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise [snap at] his heel."^ But here is no restriction to a given time or place or person for the realization. The hope is dim and dis- tant, but accordant with the simplicity of the primitive faith. However the promise then, it was reserved for after ages to unfold the supreme meaning in a series of gradual and pro- gressive revelations. These came at each crisis in the world's providential history, when the promise narrowed more and more, and the world's hope received in each instance added details and new inspiration related to the Messiah, In the passage of the ages, the Messianic thought became gradually but amply developed. It was not until the time of Abraham that they knew from what nation the expected Messiah should come : " I will bless them that bless thee, . . . and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed."' Then were realized the words of Jesus: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: he saw it and was glad ! " ^ It was not until the death of Jacob that they knew from what tribe he should be found : " Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. . . . The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh^ come, and unto him shall the gathering SEclogelv. «Gen. 111,15. 'Gen. xll,3. sjohn vlli, 56. • riv'ty, Peafie-mofcer, i. e. Messiah, from hHe^ rest. 26 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. of the people be." The Book of Eevelation supplements the statement by the expression : " Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah: the Root of David hath prevailed." ^° It was not until the time of David that they knew of what family Mes- siah would come : " The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David ... Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne."" " I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." ^ " In that day there shall be a fountain opened in the house of David . . . for sin and for uncleanness." ^^ It was not until the time of Isaiah that they knew what character of woman should give him birth : " Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel," which Matthew cites, add- ing, " Which being interpreted is, God with us." ^^ Nor did they know of what person Messiah should be born, until Ga- briel appeared and himself declared unto "a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David ; and the virgin's name was MaryP'^^ '"''Fear not^ Mary, . . . thou shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David ; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever ; and of bis kingdom there shall be no end." ^^ Nor did they know at what place Messiah should be born until the time of Micah : " But thou, Bethlehem Ephratha, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me [One that is] to be the Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting." " g 14. Jewish Literature. a) Jewish Talmud. Talmudic literature is replete with interesting references to Messianic expectations based upon Hebrew prophecy as taught by the ancient Rabbis respecting both the birth and the character of the " Coming One." A. MessiaKs Birth. The continuance of the world wiU ioRev.v,5. "Ps.cxxxll,ll. 122 Sam, vll, 13. >3Zech. xlll, 1. "Isa.vll, 14 ; Matt. 1, 22, 23. is Luke 1, 26, 27. i« Luke 1, 30-33. " Mic. v, 2 : Matt. 11, 6. Anticipations of the Messiah. 27 be for "a week of heavenly days;" "two thousand years of confusion ; two thousand years under the Law ; and two thou- sand are the days of the Messiah." ^^ "After the two thousand years of the Law, according to the decree, Messiah ought to come." According to this calculation, it was exactly at the close of the period when " the fullness of time was come," that Messiah did appear in the birth and person of Jesus Christ. " He came unto his own [nation] but his own received him not." ^^ Eabbi Frey says that now many of the most distinguished Rabbis agree with the famous Rab, that the time is long past from every viewpoint, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, when Messiah must have come, and we must look into the past to identify him. The Rabbis say, " The right time for Messiah's advent is passed, and he is now believed to have been born." " For the Messiah is born ; his name is Mendchem \^Comforter'\P "Messiah was born at the royal residence of Bethlehem in Judasa," In the Talmudic book called " Gene- rations," it is said : " Jesus of Nazareth was horn . , . under the Emperor Augustus; and at the same time there lived [at Jerusalem] Rabbi Simeon ben Hillel and Jochanan ben Zacha. From this time begin the years of the Nazarene^'' or the Chris- tian era. B. His Incarnation. Founded upon Isaiah's prediction of the Messiah's virgin mother, the Rabbis record that Messiah was born of a virgin, with the added emphasis that "He should be without an earthly father," because he should not be the progeny of any man, but should be " the seed of the woman;" and appearing in the order of Melchizedek, he would come into the world without an ancestry, and leave the world without a posterity. This proposition is substantially conveyed by ancient Rabbis in different forms of expression as follows : "^ 1. " Come see the way of the blessed God is not like that of flesh and blood. For the Lord hath created a new thing: a woman shall * For references to the Jewish Talmud and the Scriptural bases, see Rabbi Fray's Messiahship of Jesus, pp. 125, 126, 137. 18 Edzard, 66; Schottgen, 11, 963. w John 1. 11. 28 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, compass a Man." Jcr. xxxi, 22. " This is the King Messiah of whom it is written: Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee." (Psa. 11, 7.) "This is that seed which shall arise /rom a different place. . . . It is the King Messiah." " The Man whose name is Branch shall grow out of his place by a different principle of generation." (Isa. xi, 1; Jer. xxiii, 5, 6.) " The Redeemer whom I will raise up among you, shall not have a father, according to Zechariah" (vi, 12, 13). " The birth of the Messiah alone shall not be like that of any other creatures in the world ;" but is an Incarnation. "The bii'th of the Messiah alone shall be without defect;" that is, sinless. " The birth of the Messiah shall be like the dew from the Lord, as drops upon the grass expect not the labor of man." 8. " None shall know his Father until he tells it." (John vii, 27 ; ix, 29.) 9. " The King Messiah shall be revealed in the land of Galilee." (John ii, 1-11; Luke iv, 14-22.) These rabbinical references descriptive of the Messiah's Nativity are peculiarly Jewish conceptions and expression. The Incarnation of the Messiah is the central thought. They not only apply to Jesus of Nazareth, but to no others ; and they accentuate his identity with the Messiahship both in character and fact. The revelation of the Messianic character and person, and his relation as Prophet, Priest, and King, came through Hebrew prophets.^ But the realization of his coming and ruling, his power and glory, was by no means re- stricted to the Hebrew people and commonwealth. They were the medium for the communication of the great fact and interests involved applying to the whole human race. Nevertheless, Israel failed of the great apprehension, and mis- interpreted that which was wholly spiritual, as being wholly secular and restorative of the Hebrew nation from the oppres- sions of the Komans, to their ancient kingdom and splendor.'^ )8) Chaldaic Targum. These writings illustrate and evi- dence what the traditional teachings had been previously to the Nativity of Jesus, as well as the contemporary view enter- so Psa. 11, xl, ex; Isa. 11, xl, 1111. «Acts 1, 6; Luke xxU, 24-80; xxlv, 21; Mark xl, 10. Anticipations of the Messiah. 29 tained respecting the Messiah's coming. The loritten para- phrases belong to the first half of the first Christian century. A. The Targum of Onkelos is very restricted and exact in expression, but being limited to the Pentateuch, the Messianic references are necessarily scanty. a) Shiloh. "Till Shiloh come:" " Till Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom, and to whom is the gathering of the nations.'"^* P) Balaam. "A king shall arise from Jacob, and a Messiah shall be anointed from Israel." " B. Targum of Jonathan covering the Prophets, makes frequent reference to Messiah, and the references are accord- ant with later teachings. 7) A King. "A King shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and Messiah shall arise from his sons' sons. This is the Branch of the Lord, the son given to the house of David, who shall endure forever, in whose time shall be much peace."" S) Descent. Messiah is David's Son, who " shall go forth from them, and be revealed from the midst of them, and teach them the worship of the Lord, as the mystical Shepherd to whom the flock should be restored, in whom all the just should trust, and all the humble dwell under the shadow of His kingdom.""* e) Redeemer. "Because God hath cleansed their souls from sins, they shall see the kingdom of their Messiah, they shall have many sons and daughters, they shall prolong their days, and keeping the Law of the Lord they shall be happy according to His good pleasure." 7) Jewish People. As already seen there were fragments and aspects related to the Messianic personality and character scattered along through the Old Testament which the apostles have gathered up and framed into a living portrait of the Christ of God. The Gospels exhibit how widespread was the understanding with the people, and how keen was their antici- pation of his advent, at the time of Christ's coming. lie is especially referred to as a Prophet in a pre-eminent sense, as the Son of David, as the Messiah of Scripture, as the Son of God. These terms were all designations of the Messianic Person : and they are all applied to Jesus Christ. John by « Gen. xlix, 10. «Isa. xl, 1; iv. 2; Jer. xxlli, 5; xxxlii, 15; Isa. Ix, 6. S3 Num. xxlv, 17. !» Hos. ill, 5 ; Jer. xxx, 9 ; xxxill, 13-15 ; Ezek. xvll, 23. 30 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. his preaching intensified the people's sense of apprehension on this subject. When multitudes thronged to his baptism, some questioned whether he himself was not the Messiah. They said : " Who art thou ? And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ." "Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him." "^ " What then, art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that Prophet f and he answered, No."" The Pharisees asked the blind-born: " What sayest thou of him in that he opened thine eyes ? And he said, He is a Prophet."'* When Cleopas and another disciple knew not Jesus on the day of his rising, they related to him the crucifixion, " Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. . . But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel."'^ When, on the last and great day of the feast Jesus at the temple addressed the people, some of the multitude, when they heard his words, said : " This is of a truth the Prophet: others said. This is the Christ. But some said, What, doth the Christ come out of Galilee ? Hath not the Scripture said that the Christ cometh of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"'" Peter said to the people : "And it shall be that every soul which will not hearken to that Prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel, and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days." '^ Nevertheless, the people's hope had been much secularized by rabbinical teachings. Even the disciples were expecting Christ to come and establish an earthly kingdom, in which some of them were ambitious to occupy places of honor. Yet twice at least directly, and oftener by indirection, did the disciples identify and call Jesus " Messiah." " Andrew first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted the Christ."" " Philip findeth Nathanael and saith unto him. We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'"' Nathanael approaching Jesus said, " Rabbi, thou art the Son of God: thou art King of Israel."^* At Caesarea-on-the-Sea, Paul said unto King Agrippa II: " And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers ; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly 28 Luke 111, 16; John 1, 20; ill, 28. =9 Luko xxlv, 19, 21. 32 John 1, 4L S'Johnl, 21. 3"John vll, 40,41,-12. 83/6.1,45. asjohnlx, 17. 3i Acts 111, 23, 24. »*IbA,id. Anticipations of the Messiah. 31 serving God day and night, hope to come."'* With " the just and de- vout Simeon," many were "waiting for the Consolation of Israel;" " and it was revealed unto him that he should not see death before that he had seen the Lord's Christ." And taking the child up in his arms, he said: " Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, O Lord, accord- ing to thy word ; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples ; a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." ^"^ These instances indicate how widespread and constant was the anticipation of "the Coming One" among the Jewish people, but also illustrate their identification of the Messianic Person. Nevertheless, there remained doubts with some re- specting where Messiah should be born, and hence questioning about his identity. Some of Jerus alem said : "Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? How- beit we know this man whence he is ; but when Christ Cometh, no man knoweth whence He is."'' " Many of the people . . . said. Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee ? Hath not the Scripture said, That Christ Cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was ? So there was a division among the people because of him." '® At Capernaum they said : " Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?"'* The Pharisees said unto Nicodemus: "Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look; for out of Galilee ariseth no Prophet." *" When Jesus wrought miracles upon the dumb, the blind, and the possessed, "All the people were amazed, and said: Is not this the Son of David ? " Two blind men followed him and cried : "Thou Son of David, have mercy on us." " Jesus himself said to the Pharisees, "What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? They say unto him. The Son of David. He saith unto them. How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord? . . If David then call him Lord, how is he his Son ? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man ask him any more questions."*' And in his last and triumphal march to Jerusalem, the people shouted: " Hosanna to the Son of David: " " Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh in the name of the Lord."^ 8 15. Other Nations. a) Wise Men. Even the Magi, who had traversed stream and mountain and desert from the distant East, came to Jeru- 8s Acts xxvl, 6, 7, 38 26. vii, 41, 42. ^Ih. vil, 52, « 76. Ix, 27 ; xx, 30. K Luke 11, 25, 26, 28-32, 39/5. yl, 42. « Matt. xii. 23. « /ft. xxU, 41-46, ^ Jolin vli, 26, 27. « Matt, xxi, 9 ; Mark xl, 10 ; Luke xix, 38, 8 32 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. salem, saying: ""Where is he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him."^^ /?) Canaanite. The woman of Canaan understood the situ- ation when she cried out after Jesus: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David: my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." "^ y) Samaritans. The Samaritan woman at the well said to Jesus: "I know that Messias cometh who is called Christ: when He is come, he will declare all things unto us. Jesus saith unto her : / that speah unto thee am he^ She reported to the men of the city: "Come, see a man who told me all things that ever I did; can this be the Christ?" And from that city "many Samaritans believed on him because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all things that ever I did. . . . And many more believed because of his word ; and they said unto the woman : Now we believe, not because of thy speaking; for we have heard him ourselves, and hnow that this is indeed the Savior of the World.^^ ^^ In ascertaining how deep and widespread was the persua- sion of men of the coming of the Messiah, the Scriptures have been cited in illustration, the same as any other literature. This is legitimate since the Scriptures are the only source from which we derive the Messianic idea; and these writings are indispensable in learning what the Messianic idea was. They published abroad among the family of nations the advent of One who should be known as ''Hhe Prince of Peace ^""^ whoso coming would introduce, in the spiritual and supreme sense, the Golden Age of the world. Prophecy had distinctly declared that "The Desire of Nations shall come;""*^ and "the isles shall wait for his Law:"^ "and on his name shall the Gentiles hope,"^^ whose dominion shall be "an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall « Matt. 11,2. «i6. XV, 22. « John Iv, 25, 26, 29, 39, 41, 42. «l8a. lx,6. ♦»Hag. 11, 7. ''Olsa. xlll, 4. " koX iv rip 6v6fj.aTi avroO fOvrj iXTrioOffiv, Matt. xU, 21. Anticipations of the Messiah. 33 not be destroyed."^ As "the fullness of time"^ was at hand, the conviction deepened as it was already widespread, in wait- ing expectancy of Messiah's advent, due probably to the trust and activity of the Jews of the Dispersion, who in all lands abroad had been teaching the Greek Scriptures of the Septu- agint. As remarked by a learned writer : " By their dispersion among so many nations, by their conversations with the learned men among the heathen, and the [Jews' ] translation [the Septuagint] of their inspired writings into a language almost universal, the principles of their religion were spread all over the East ; and it became the common belief that a Prince would arise at that time in Jud?ea, and would change the face of the world, and extend his empire from one end of the earth to the other." ** Meantime, Jesus of ISTazareth was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, exactly accordant with every predicted circumstance mentioned in the ancient Scriptures. He lived his life; he wrought his works; he completed his ministry; he fulfilled the Messianic hope; he claimed the Messianic character as the Christ of Scripture. But in one particular he disap- pointed Jewish expectation grievously. He refused absolutely to become monarch of the Jewish commonwealth. Before the people and before Pilate, he rejected all claims to a temporal kingship. "When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, and make him a king, he with- drew again into a mountain, himself alone." ^ And when the Roman procurator asked him pointedly, "Art thou the king of the Jews? . . . Jesus answered. My kingdom is not of this world." ^ This was an absolute repudiation of an earthly kingdom. He would not deliver the Jews from the Roman yoke. Therefore they ignored his Messianic claims; they rejected his divine character; they crucified his person; and ever since, in order to vindicate their own prophetic Scrip- tures, they have had recourse to some heathen ruler as the "Chosen One," who, so far from delivering them from the MDan. vll, 14. esQal. iv. 4; Eph. 1,10. 6< Dr. Henderson Buck In the £wcZ. Relig. Knowl., 1859, p. 859. 65 John vl, 15. 5* John xvlii, 33, 36. 34 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. oppressive Romans, one actually came at the head of the Roman army and utterly destroyed their nation. About thirt3^-five years after the crucifixion, Yespasian, a Roman general of distinction, with the imperial army invaded Palestine for the express purpose of subjugating mony^o/' the rebellious Jews. At the headquarters the Adversaries, ^g^g ^y^s received that the Emperor of Rome was dead. Thereupon the soldiery immediately proclaimed Yespasian emperor. Accordingly, Yespasian turned over his large and powerful command to his son Titus, who accom- panied him in this campaign, while he himself went to the imperial capital to assume the purple and prerogatives of the throne. This circumstance explains the testimonies now to be introduced. a) Vergil. It has already been seen how this poet anticipated that " the last age had come" when a new era would begin ; "a Holy Progeny from heaven descends, auspicious in his birth," who should introduce ^' the Golden Age, most glorious to behold."^'' /3) Josephus. "That which did especially inspire them [the Jews] to undertake this war was an ambiguous oracle found likewise in their Sacred Writings, how that some one of their own co^intry , pertaining to that time, should attain the empire of the habitable earth. The Jews took this prediction to belong to themselves in particular, and many of their wise men were deceived thereby in their judgment." After this testimony, he adds his opinion: "Now this oracle certainly denoted the govern- ment of Vespasian, who was appointed emperor [while he was yet] in Judfea." ^ y) Suetonius. "A firm persuasion had long prevailed through all the East, that it was fated [i. e., contained in the Book of Fates or Prophecies] at that time, to devolve on some one who should come forth from Jud?ea. This prediction referred to the Roman emperor [Vespasian] as the event proved ; but the Jews, applying it to them- selves, engaged in rebellion."** 5) Tacitus. Speaking of the prodigies which occurred prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, he says: "A few turned these events into a cause for alarm ; the greater number were possessed with a belief that w Ecloge Iv; cf. Ovld, 1, 80, and Eusobius, Prseparationls Evangellcae, Lib. 1, 7; xli 13. 68 wj- Kara rbv Kaipbv inuvov awb rij^ X'^PT ''"'S' a^'"'^'', Wars VI, 5, $ 4. 6»" Precrebuerat Orlente tolo, vetus et constans opinio, esse In fatls ut eo tempore, Judaea profectl reruni potlrentur. Id, de Imperatore Romano, quantum eventu postea predictum parult, Judael ad se trahentes, rebellarunt." Vespas. 4. Anticipations of the Messiah 35 it was written in the ancient writings of the priests that it would come to pass at that very time, that the East would grow mighty, and that men proceeding from Judaea would gain the empire of the world — an ambig- uous oracle which had foretold [the fortunes of] Vespasian and Titus."*" e) Celsus. Representing himself as be-ng a Jew, he says: "The prophets declare Him coming to be great, the Potentate of all the earth, Lord of the nations and armies." " How should we, having made known to all mankind that there is to come from God One punishing the wicked, dishonor him having come?"®^ CRITICAL CONSIDERATIONS. There was a widespread conviction among the nations of a Golden Age to come ; that it would be marked by the advent of a Personage descended from heaven who would ^ j,^ The Fact become the Euler of the world ; that this expecta- Predicted, tion was of long continuance, whose realization was related to a definite period, — are so many facts affirmed absolutely by the several writers cited. Of the five writers quoted, one was a Latin poet, one was an eclectic philosopher, and three were historians, of whom one was a Jewish priest, and two were Eoman authors of fame. Not one of the five can be said to have been friendly to Christ or his cause. Nevertheless, the ideas of every one on this subject were evidently derived from the Scriptures, as is obvious from the reference to "the Book of Fates," which is the heathen designation of the Hebrew prophets kept in the custody of the priests. They agree on the main facts, but differ on the details. The Jews them- selves, unto whom the facts predicted were given by Divine revelations, and in whose special interests they were to have realization, were instructed from the first to understand that the application of this prophecy was absolutely and exclu- sively to be made to Messiah, who was the burden of these Sacred Writings; and that when he should appear, these pre- dictions should find definite and complete verification in his «oHlst. V, 13: "Pluribus persuaslo Inerat, antlquls sacerdotum Uteris contl- nerl eo ipso tempore fore, ut valesceret Oriens, profectlque Judaea reruin potlr- entur. Quae ambages Vespaslanum ac Titum prsedixerant." Westcott's transl. Jntrod. to Gospels, 152. «» Origen contra Celsum, Lib. 11, c. 29; 11, 8. 36 Historical Evidence of the New Testazhent. history. This circumstance is of paramount importance in determining the right interpretation of the facts involved ; for while the demands of the predictive text have never been applicable to any other man in history than Jesus Christ, his case fails in no particular of being the intended realization. But at the time of his advent, the teachers taught that Mes- siah would appear as a political Deliverer, who would rescue them from Koman domination, and give them back their tem- poral kingdom with all its ancient glory. They overlooked the fact that their lawgiver would depart from his place when Shiloh should come. In Jewish apprehension, with notable exceptions, there was a missing of the true sense and grandeur of Christ's character and identity. Certainly no one ever arose to give the Jewish nation deliverance from the Romans. Upon the contrary^ the Romans destroyed the Jewish nation^ hurned down their temple^ and abolished their whole system of religious ceremony. Historically^ they are to-day as they ha/ue been for nearly two thousand years, without a nationality, without a theocracy, withoiit a temiyle, without a sacrifice, without a priest, a/nd without a Messiah! * It is the peculiarity of the attesting witnesses that, in inter- preting the predictive fact, they mention the expression of "the oracle" as being both "mysterious" and 'person "ambiguous," as seemingly best suited to their Predicted, -^igjies. It is obviously scant ground to rest a conclusion upon, that because Vespasian, who, at the head of the Eoman army, came as an invader of the Jews' land and nation, having entered upon the country, was called thence to the imperial throne, he met all the demands of the predicted Messiah. Josephus is explicit in saying that "One of their own country'''' (of the Jews), not Tyfo foreigners from Italy, as Tacitus asserts, "should become the Kuler of the habitable earth." Yespasian was no Jew; he did not arise in the Jews' country, but was a Eoman and belonged to Home. The Jews *See Hosealll, 4. Anticipations of the Messiah. 37 expected their Messiah to come as " the Prince of Peace," but Vespasian came as a man of war. The Jews expected that Messiah would establish for them an independent monarchy ; whereas Vespasian took from them the last of their ancient kingdom and glory. The Jews had hoped to acquire an undi- vided possession of their own land ; but Vespasian expatriated all the people from their native Palestine. The Jews were expected to occupy a position in which they could dominate the Gentile nations about them ; but Vespasian devastated their country and reduced their people to a condition of absolute slavery. The Jews expected a Messianic deliverance from Eoman power, bringing untold prosperity and happiness to their nation; but Vespasian brought them "tribulation, such as there hath not been the like from the beginning of the cre- ation which God had created until now, and never shall be."®^ Dr. Philip Schaff has aptly remarked : "Tacitus and Suetonius speak of a widespread expectation of that kind, at the time of the Jewish war and before, but falsely refer it to the Roman emperors Vespasian and Titus. In this the heathen histo- rians follow Josephus, who well knew and believed the Messianic hopes of his people, and yet was not ashamed basely to betray and pervert them." 63 In critical investigation, it is indispensable to difference that which is fact from that which is the mere opinion of the witness respecting the fact; between the revealed „jq pactand Messianic anticipation, and the perverted interpre- Opinion. tation applied to it. Opinion is not evidence. However sin- cerely a historian may entertain a speculative conclusion, it is not evidential. Mere sincerity can not stand for history. Facts are the canon of truth and sound reasoning: on historical questions. The Messianic fact, however, is secure and can not be destroyed by misapprehension or perversion or misapplica- tion. If it should be said that the claims of Jesus to the Mes- siahship are rendered uncertain from the circumstance that "Mark xiii, 19; Matt, xxiv, 21. **Hist. Christ. Church, Vol. I, p. 114, Note 1. 38 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. "false Christs" have arisen, as in the case of Bar-Kocheba,** in the reign of Hadrian, in which thousands of Jewish adher- ents lost their lives, the sufficient reply is, that no number of false Christs proves that a true Christ never existed. If there were no original, there would be no imitation ; if there were no genuine coin issued, there would be no reason for spurious coin to exist. False evidence can not disprove the truth. Unquestionably even the disciples of Jesus until the Pente- cost were misled by their unspiritual preconceptions of what Messiah's kingdom and reign were to be. They obviously be- lieved that the Son and successor of David meant literally David's royalty and realm. As the disciples accompanied the Master to the Mount of Ascension, they asked him: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel ? " ^ But from the day when the " demonstration of the Spirit and of the power" came upon them, they stood upon a higher plane, and had a realizing sense of Christ's saying before Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world." ^ There is some discrepancy between Josephus and the Roman historians respecting the date when the Messianic prediction of § 20 The Time Haggai should find its fulfillment. Tacitus and Predicted. Suetonius are much more definite as to the exact point of time contemplated by this prophecy. The Roman writers refer the realization to the year 69, when Vespasian was invading Palestine, but was recalled to assume the rule of the empire, instead of the year of Christ's Nativity which occurred about B. C. 4. Suetonius says definitely "«^ i/iat time,"^ meaning the time when Vespasian received the impe- rial crown. He declares that the anticipation was " an old and unvarying expectation" abroad among the nations. Tacitus is even more emphatic in dating the occurrence " at that very time^^^^ referring also to the occasion when Vespasian assumed the imperial purple and power. But Josephus, on whose au- thority both relied, says merely, ^^ During that time" as a «♦ A. D. 132-135. «« John xvili, 86. « Eo ipso tempore. «* Acts 1, 6. •' Eo tempore. Anticipations of the Messiah. 89 'period^ " One from their own country [Palestine'] should obtain the empire of the habitable earths ^ Long after the Jews's na" tionality had been destroyed, with the persistency character- istic of that people, did they carry forward their cherished hope of a Messiah who would become the Governor of their restored nation. But many of their most learned and judicious Rabbis are now, not looking into the future for their King, but into the past; and some have found him in the Man of Nazareth. Quite a number of claimants have arisen in the past ages for the place and honors of Messiah. But they brought with them none of the Christly credentials. Each one §ai.The in turn has been relegated to the list of impostors. Christ. Only One ever absolutely met the demands of the predictive text. If Jesus Christ was not the realization of Messianic prophecy, there never was, and there never will be, a Messiah- Savior. There never was, and there never can be, but the one tiine for his coming. All conditions were present when Jesus camCf and all characteristics centered in his person. No hu- man being as he ever so impressed himself upon the conscious- ness of the world, and made that impression imperishable! For nearly two thousand years the crucified One has lived in the hearts of myriads of human beings. There never was, there never will be, but one Christ. Who else could occupy his place in history? As was beautifully expressed by Jean Paul Richter, " The life of Christ concerns him who, being the holiest of the mighty and the mightiest of the holy, lifted, with his pierced hands, empires off their hinges, and turned the stream of centuries out of its channel, and still governs the Ages." Mln the Greek text, Josephus employs the accusative case to express con' tinuance of time, as during a considerable period within, wliich the event occurred, rather than tlie use of the dative case, which would have conveyed the idea of a definite point of time when the expected Messiah should come. Scholars will observe the force of the preposition in connection with the accusative case: Kara, rbv Kaipbv iKeivov — down along, or, during that period. The testimony of Josephus, then, is to this effect: "Some one from their own country during that period of time should attain the empire of the habitable earth." CHAPTEE II. NATIYITY OF JESUS CHEIST. I. The Four Gospels: Their Objects, Character, and Contents. II. The Value op mere Opinions: Not Evidential as Testimony. III. The Affirmations op Adversaries respecting Christ's Nativity. o) The Witness of the Jewish Talmud. /3) TTie Witness of the Toledoth Jeshu. y) The Witness of the Literary Champion, Celsus. 5) The Witness of the Emperor, Julian the Apostate, IV. The Confirmation op Adversaries by Christian Wbiters. a) Witness of Ignatius, A. D. 110. /S) Witness of Tertullian, A. D. 200. 7) Witness of the Apostle Paul, A. D. 56-58. V. Inductions Warranted by the Facts Evidenced. Analysis, Review and Summary of the Evidence. 41 Chapter II. THE NATIVITY OF JESUS. §22. Soiirces: Biographical Epitomes of Witnesses and Literature. Those hostile to Christianity whose testimony is adduced in this chapter are Julian the Apostate, and the rabbinical authors of the Jewish Talmud, and the Toledoth Jeshu, or '* History of Jesus." Those friendly to the faith are Origen, Ignatius, and Tertullian. Those of modern criticism are Tischendorf, Westcott, and Lardner. 1. Julian was born at Constantinople on November 6, 331 A. D., and died in June 26, 863, when in his thirty-second year. He ruled the Roman Empire conjointly about six years, but as sole emperor about eighteen months. History accords him eminence for genius, learning, and chastity of character. In his extreme ambition for fame he became openly hostile to Christianity. He renounced the Christian religion when about twenty years of age, but kept the fact secret from the army until after it had declared him to be sole emperor. Hence originated the dishonoring epithet ascribed to him, "the Apostate." His education had been nominally Christian under the direction of Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia. But the despotic rule in his education reacted in Julian's mind to that extent that he went over to dire paganism, and became as fanatical in his devotion to heathenism as he was a hater of the Christian religion. " It can not be denied that Julian was a persecutor." (Lard- ner.) He proclaimed to the world tliat he would prove the pre- diction of Jesus false respecting the rebuilding of the Jews' temple at Jerusalem. The Savior had said, "Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left one stone upon another." (Matt, xxiv, 1, 2; Mark xiii, 2; Luke xix, 41-44; xxi, 5, 6.) Julian sent his personal friend Alypius to superintend the reconstruction of the temple at the expense of the imperial treasury, promising that if the Jews would return and assist in the work, on his re- turn from the Persian expedition, he would be present at the dedication, and the Mosaic sacrifices would be resumed. This he did, not for any regard for Judaism, but from a spirit of hatred toward the Christ'an religion. But he never returned, and the temple was never rebuilt, and the Mosaic rites were never re- 43 44 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. sumed. He was mortally wounded in this campaign, and died in camp. He suppressed Christian schools, and meant to exter- minate Christianity fi-om the earth. The skeptical Gibbon says of Julian: "He affected to pity the unhappy Christians, . . . but his pity was degraded with contempt ; his contempt was em- bittered with hatred ; and the sentiments of Julian were expressed in a style of sarcastic wit which inflicted deep and deadly wounds, wherever it issues from the mouth of a sovereign." (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, c. xxiii, Amer. ed.) His profound estrangement is illustrated in several Letters while at Antioch, Syi'ia, which was then the center of Christianity for the Gentiles. These Letters were directed against the Antiochian Christians, as were also his works entitled The Ceesars, Misopogon, a satirical writing ; but with a more general purpose he designated his famous book entitled Kara Xpto-nawv, Against the Christians. By reason of a mistaken zeal this work was destroyed by Theodosius II, mere fragments having been preserved in Cyril's refutation of Julian's writing. 2. The Talmud : * 1. On Mary and the Nativity of Jesus: See tract Avoda Zara, folio 16, b ; Sanhedrin f . 67, a ; Kalla 18, b. of Babylonian Talmud ; also Nederim 48, a ; Kethuhoth 12, a ; Seder Hadoros, p. 119 ; Zamach David, c. ii, p. 84. 2. On Christ's residence in Egypt: Bab. Tal. Sanhedr. 7, a, b; fol. 107, b. See Heb. Talmudic Exercitations, pp. Ill, 112. 3. On the Miracles of Jesus (explained as "Magical Arts " or "Sorcery"): Bab. Tal. Shabbath fol. 104, b; 107, b. Jerusalem Talmud, Shabbath fol. 13, 1 ; f. 4, 2. 4. On the Crucifixion of Jesus: Bab. Tal. Sanhedr. 43, a; 67, a, and 107, b. 5. On the Disciples of Jesus: Bab. Tal. Sanhedrin, 43, a. fin; Avoda Zara f. 16, b. 6. On the Disciples' Miracles: Jerus. Talmud, Shabbath fol. 14, 4; one by James: Avoda Zara, 40, 4; fol. 16. 2 ; 27, 2. 7. On the Destruction of Jerusalem: Bab. Tal. Gittin, Hannis- akin, fol. 56, a. 3. ToLEDOTH jESHuf (i. c., History or Generation of Jesus) is a rabbinical work of very ancient but unknown date. It is understood to have been taken from the Talmud, and was expressly written against Christ and Christianity. It purports to give an account from the Jews' standpoint of the birth, character, and the death of Jesus of Nazareth. Some years ago an English translation was made of * See general description of this work before cliapter 1, pp. 1 and 2. iW^ nnSn The W Is a contraction of i;_W';, originally, j;tyin, Joshua= Jesus. Nativity of Jesus Christ. 45 this work in two volumes in England, under the title The Gospel According to the Jews. It contains some vile and wretched stories which the Jews put in circulation soon after the crucifixion, to prevent a belief in his resurrection, a^d therefore in Chris- tianity.* This opprobrious work contains also important testi- mony relating to the Nativity of Jesus, His Childhood, His Teach- ings, His Miracles, His Royalty, His Passion and Death, His Burial, and His Twelve Disciples. The work is bitter in spirit and is obviously based upon the Jewish Talmud. For citations of this work see Excursus G, VII, at the close. 4. Okigen of Alexandria (b. 185 A. D., d. 254) was celebrated alike for his genius, his scholarship, and his extraordinary influence over men. His father was named Leonidas, and was a rhetorician of high standing, who helped to educate Origen. He pursued his studies in the Catechetical School under the famous Clement of Alexandria. At eighteen, Origen became the head and successor of Clement, who fled from persecution to Palestine. He dili- gently studied philosophy under the chief masters of the several schools, and the different heresies which sprang up in the Chris- tian Church. He also traveled extensively in Arabia, Palestine, Greece, and Italy. He attained to eminence so rapidly that the principal men from abroad sought his counsel in many respects. Both heathen and heretics of much distinction were won over to Christianity in its true faith. A Gnostic of wealth named Am- brosius became his liberal patron, and supplied him with an in- valuable library and with a corps of stenographers to report his daily lectures, and another corps of copyists to engross the work. An Arabian prince visited Origen to learn from him the myste- rious power of his life and religion. Julia Mammsea, the mother of Alexander Severus (who reigned A. D. 222-235) induced him to come to Antioch in Syria, that she might learn the character of his new and strange doctrines. However, Bishop Demetrius, who had nominated Origen for the headship of the Theological School at Alexandria, in which he had served with conspicuous ability and success, partly from motives of envy, but ostensibly on the ground of false doctrines according to the bishop's view, used all the influence of his office and person to have Origen excommunicated from the Church in Egypt. But this was utterly without justification. The Church in Arabia, in Palestine, in Achaia and Phoenicia, refused to con- cur in that decision. Thereupon Origen manfully resigned his charge and position in the school as its principal, and, leaving the country, went to his former teacher and patron in Palestine — * See Justin Martyr's Dialogue ivith the Jew Trypho, c. xvii, and cvlii In the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, pp. 303, 253. 46 Historical Evidenck of the New Testament. to Clement. Under his counsel and direction, Origen opened and organized another school in Csesarea, which soon became even more famous than the one he had left in Alexandria. A former pupil of Origen, named Dionysius, soon became Bishop of Alex- andi'ia, and was careful to invite Origen to i*eturn. He did so ; but the Decian persecution having set in, Origen was arrested, imprisoned, and was subjected to torture by the Roman Govern- ment for his faith, and was condemned to die as a martyr. The death of the Emperor Decius (251) effected his release. But hav- ing been loaded with a heavy chain, his constitution broken by tortm-e, and his body maimed, he died soon after in the sixty- ninth year of his age. Jerome (A. D. 331-420) regarded Origen as the greatest Doctor who had risen in the Church since the apostles. His learning embraced all parts and departments of learning, philology, phi- losophy, and theology. With such a powerful memory he com- bined remarkable penetration and wide comprehensiveness of intellect, with a glowing iinagination and power of expression. His commentaries are a wealth of learning and suggestiveness. His famous refutation of the literary champion of opposition, named Celsus, in eight books, is a masterpiece. It is entitled Origen contra Celsum, and may be found translated in the Ante- Nicene Fathers, Vol. IV. 5. Ignatius (d. 107) assumed the name Theophorus, ^'Bearer of God," having reference to the indwelling Christ. He has been called the "latest and greatest of the Apostolic Fathers." He was elected Bishop of Antioch, Syria, about seventy-four years after Christ's ascension. Eusebius and Jerome place him as the second bishop after Peter, Euodius being the first. Roman traditions represent him variously as the disciple of Paul, of Peter, and of the apostle John. He was certainly the contemporary of the apostles, and Chrysostom is careful to say that Ignatius " con- versed familiarly with them, and was perfectly familiar with their doctrines," and apostolic hands were laid on his head when Ignatius was consecrated to the episcopate. There is withal a pleasing but unhistorical story that Ignatius was identical with the child whom Jesus took up in his arms and blessed, when he said, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Mark x, 16.) Ignatius having been sentenced to death for the crime of being a Christian, he was hurried off to Rome, where lie was cast into the Coliseum to the wild beasts. A prisoner in chains on the way thitlier afoot, he was subjected to much rudeness and insult of the guard who conducted him to the capital. At Smyrna he met Polycarp, a fellow bishop, and he addressed his several letters to the Ephesians, the Magnesians, the Tralliaiis, and the Nativity of Jesus Christ. 47 Romans. At Troas there was a brief halt in the journey, where he wrote three additional epistles to the Philadelphians, to the Smyrneans, and a personal letter to Polycarp. All these are extant. Thence he passed to Neapolis through Macedonia, and thence across the Adriatic Sea, and then over the old Roman road to Rome. The date of his death is somewhat uncertain. If it occurred in A. D. 107 according to the common consensus, it was the same year as that in which Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, the successor of James, our Lord's brother, was martyi'ed. 6. Tertulli.\n (150-220 or 240) was a Carthaginian and an eminent apol- ogist of Chi'istianity. He was born in the city of Carthage, the capital of Africa, the ancient rival of Rome. His father was a Roman centurion in the army, serving under the proconsular government. He is supposed to have lived to a good age and died a natural death ; but nothing is really known on the subject. Tertullian was liberally educated in Grseco-Roman literature, and was learned in the law as a jurisconsult. His mind was well stored with history, philosophy, law, poetry, and eloquence. His writings bear evidence that he was well skilled in juridical lore, and knew well how-to state the claims of the Christians in their defense before the highest authorities of the State. He understood well the doctrines of Christianity. He is called " the Father of Latin Theology, and one of the greatest men of an- tiquity." (Schaflf.) The late M. Ernest Renan regarded Tertul- lian as " a literary phenomenon," if not indeed a prodigy. His translator. Holmes, mentions his style as "terse and vigorous expression of terse and vigorous thought." The late Cardinal Newman regarded him as " the most powerful writer of the early centuries." He was a man of profound convictions and fearless courage. Schaff says: "For his opponents, be they heathen or Jews, heretics or Catholics, he has as little indulgence and re- gard as Luther. With the adroitness of a special pleader, he entangles them in self-contradictions, pursues them in every nook and corner, overwhelms them with arguments,, sophisms, apo- thegms, and sarcasms, drives them before him with unmerciful lashings, and almost makes them ridiculous and contemptible. His polemics everywhere leave the marks of blood." {Church Hist., II, 819, 823, 824.) He flourished in the reign of Septimus Severus (193-211), and possibly in a part of the reign of Antoninus Caracalla (211-217). His Apology was a masterpiece, unexcelled in any literature. It was probably addressed, not to the emperor and Senate at Rome, but to the proconsul and chief magistrates of the African local government. For it is said that when the emperor visited Carthage and learned the facts of the Christian history under 4 48 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. persecutions, he disavowed the persecutions and offered a public apology for the inflictions of Plantinus, an unprincipled magis- trate. (Coffin's Ch. Fathers, p. 264.) THE MODERN CRITICS. 7. TisoHENDORF (1815-1874) was born in Lengenfeld, in Saxony, and was a student under the famous Hermann and Winer in the University of Leipsic. He was the receipient of a medal and many prizes in course. In 1837 the degree of Doctor of Philosophy was conferred upon him. In 1839-1841 he prepared a critical edition of the Greek New Testament ; in 1840 he succeeded in doing what no man had ever done previously, cleaned a palimpsest manuscript by means of chemicals in Paris, restoring the original writing to distinctness. He did this in the case of the Codex Ephraem Re- scriptus of the fifth century. As a recognition of his eminent abilities the University of Breslau thereupon bestowed upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Theology. He visited the great libraries of Holland in 1841, and in 1842 those of England at Cambridge and Oxford, and spent more than 1843 in Italy. During the next year he repeated his visit to the East, spending ten months in Egypt, Palestine, and Sinai, and returned to Vienna and Munich. In 1853 he returned to these countries, visiting Sinai in 1859, when he discovered the famous Codex Sinaiticus, which he published in 1862. Returning, he was elected Professor of Paleography in the University of Leipsic, in consideration of his merits. Broken down by overwork, he died of apoplexy, on December 7, 1874. It has been said of him that no theologian before him received so many marks of honorary distinction, both academic and civil. " He was made a Russian noble, a Saxon privy-councilor, a knight of many orders, a Doctor of all academic degrees. Unquestion- ably, Tischendorf was the foremost scholar in paleology of the age in the New Testament. As a Biblical critic he was equaled by few, and surpassed by none in modern times." His critical works number fourteen. 8. Brooke Foss Westcott (b. 1828, d. 1901) was a graduate of Cam- bridge, England, bearing away high honors, with many medals and prizes in both classics and mathematics. He was made Canon of Peterborough Cathedral in 1869, Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1870, honorary Chaplain to the Queen in April, 1875, and Bishop of Durham, 1890. His chief work is his Canon of the New Testament during the first four centuries, 5th ed., 1861. He was one of the English Company wlio revised the New Testa- ment. He had no superior in his line of work. Nativity of Jesus Christ. 49 9, Nathaniel Lardner (1684-1768) was educated at Uti-echt and Len- den, Holland. He was a profound scholar and a man of rare judgment, who devoted himself to a work to defend the Authen- ticity and Credibility of the New Testament. Some regard it as outranking Bishop Butler's Analogy in character for thorough- ness. Certainly we are indebted to no man of his own time or since for such prolonged critical, exhaustive, and judicious dis- cussion of the varied subjects involved as to Dr. Lardner. His works consist of ten volumes octavo, London, 1838, and constitute a perfect thesaurus of learning and critical care. In faith he was a Congregational Arian. §23. The Nativity of Jesus Christ. The life of Jesus has become the center of religious controversies which agitate our age. The importance of this fact is great. "With the person of Jesus Christianity stands or falls. — Tischendorf. The mode in which the different evangelists deal with the history of the incarnation and birth of our Lord offers a perfect illustration of their independence and special characteristics. Matthew and Luke combine to reveal as much of the great facts as help us to apprehend . . . the mode in which it was welcomed by those by whom God was pleased to work its accomplishment. — West- COTT. Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is begotten in her IS OF the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus. — Angel of the Lord. The Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John. When the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman. — Paul. 'Ei/p-^Kafiev t6v Mecrfflav (o i employing that line of argument which ments of would be most persuasive unto that nation. His main object was to prove by citations from prophecy that Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled every Messianic prediction of the Scriptures, and that therefore he was the true Messiah. Hence, in his (jtneal(Hj]i of our Lord, he traces the royal descent from Abraham the progenitor of the Jewish Nativity of Jesus Christ. 51 nation to prove that Jesus was a Jew, down through the Dor vidic line of Icings, holding that he was the King of kings, and King "of the kingdom of heaven." Matthew affirms that "Jesus Avas born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king,"^ in fulfillment of the Scripture. He then proceeds to mention a number ef extraneous circumstances which group around the Nativity of Jesus, such as the ap- pearance of a strange Star, the visit of the Wise Men, and the slaying of the male children by King Herod's order. Luke, on the other hand, was a Greek, and wrote his Gos- pel in the Greek language, in the special interest of the Greek-speaking Gentiles, relating how that Gabriel had been sent by God from heaven " to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary."^ He notes those circumstances which led up to the birth of Jesus, such as the Roman census or enrollment of the population under the direction of Quirinius, which was conducted in the strictest Jewish method, which required that each household should repair to its own tribal territory to be registered. This accounts for the fact that Joseph and Mary came to the territory of Judah and to Bethlehem, their an- cestral village, for enrollment. Thence, with the instincts characteristic of an intelligent physician, Luke dwells more in detail than the other evangelists upon the physical aspects and incidents of the event; viz., the fulfillment of Mary's days, the bringing forth of her firstborn, wrapping the Child in swaddling clothes, and the circumstance, due probably less to the actual poverty of the family than to the crowded condi- tion of the village, "that they laid him in a manger he- cause there was no room for him in the innP He is also care- ful to mention that these things happened "in the days of Herod the king of Judaea." ^ As Luke wrote for the Gentiles, he neglects the Messianic argument, which was of special in- terest only to the Jews, and, in his genealogy of Jesus, traces 1 Matt, ii, 1. 2 Luke 1, 26, 27. s Luke 1, 5; Comp. ii, 1-5. 52 Historical E^t;dence of the New Testament. his natural descent from Adam, the progenitor of the whole human race, cognizing Jesus as the Redeemer of all mankind. Mark, who bears a Roman name, and had traveled exten- sively in the Roman Empire, wrote at Rome for the special advantage of the Romans. His Gospel was intended as a report of Peter's sermons to those people, made at their re- quest. He omits all reference to the genealogy and birth of Jesus, the details of which would hardly be persuasive or ap- preciated by Roman readers. Accordingly he opens his Gos- pel at once by allusion to John the Baptist, and his witness to the activities of Christ's ministry, w^hose coming and pres- ence John stood forth to proclaim.* Then the Apostle John, "that disciple whom Jesus loved," at a later period wrote his Gospel especially for the indoctrina- tion of the Christian Church. His object was to supplement the statements of the Synoptists' Gospels, supplying what they had omitted, and, wherever traversing the same ground, adding fresh details to their narratives, yet preserving, with the Synoptic Gospels, one central plan and unity of purpose. John's Gospel opens with the Godhead of Jesus Christ as the Word, devoting but a single sentence to his birth and incarna- tion: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." ^ The four Evangelists amply illustrate that principle of credibility which obtains in the courts: circumstantial vari- ation in the statement by witnesses evidences their substan- tial agreement and truth. These several writers had individ- uality of object in view in writing, with unity of design; and all were adapted to mankind in every age, country, and nation, having this one common end, viz. : "These things are written THAT YE MAY BELIEVE THAT JeSUS IS THE ChRIST, THE SoN OF God, and that, believing, ye may have life in his name."® « Mark i, 2-11. " John 1, 14. 6 John xx, 31. Nativity of Jesus Christ. 53 CONFIRMATION. Attention may now be drawn to the testimony of the ad- versaries of the Christian religion for confirmatory witness respecting the statements in the Gospels on the g 25. opinions Nativity of Jesus Christ. It is to be especially ^°^ Evidential. remarked that the personal opinions expressed by witnesses testifying are to be disregarded altogether. Mere opinions are not evidence, and can not be substituted for evidence. A heathen Avriter's belief does not prove a Christian fact, nor does his dlshoiiQi disprove it. It simply illustrates his mental attitude as a heathen toward Christ and Christianity. It is of no worth whatever in critical investigation. This is not say- ins:, however, that concessions of fact and truth in the interests of history are to be set aside as being worthless in evidence. Upon the contrary, concessions made by an enemy are of vital and supreme importance in historical investigation, and con- clusive of any contention. Sometimes, in opposition to Chris- tianity, men have borne inadvertent witness to the truth by in- direction, and in such a manner as to contribute to and cor- roborate that which has been affirmed by the Evangelists. An involuntary testimony thus given comes with more force than when it is voluntary. Even the denial of a certain oc- currence conveys the implication that it had been affirmed by others as true, who possibly were in a better position to know the truth whereof they affirm than he who denies. For, why should denial be made at all of that which no one had ever claimed to be true, which had no existence in the conviction of others? Furthermore, the question affirmed and denied, if entitled to any consideration, related to something supposed to have existed in an earlier antiquity than when the denial was made. If, then, the adversaries, in denying, fail to refute the opposition, the validity of the conviction as based on truth on the part of the opposition stands, and legitimates the in- quiry whether the conviction is not founded on fact. And in 54 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. the last analysis we are led back to inquire respecting the an- tiquity and authenticity of the New Testament which founds the Christian faith on the special facts narrated in its con- tents. That is, the faith is based on Jesus Christ, of whom we could have no proper knowledge except from these Scrip- tures. WITNESS OF ENEMIES. ' Since God is great and diflHcult to see, he put his own Spirit into his body that resembles ours, and sent it down to us, that we might be S26 Testi- enabled to hear him, and become acquainted with him." mony of " If God had wished to send down his Spirit from himself, Celsus. what need was there to breathe it into the womb of a woman?" "And, again, on account of Mary's pregnancy there came an Angel to the carpenter" (i. e., to Joseph). "The framers of the geneal- ogies, from feeling of pride, made Jesus to be descended from the first man, and from the kings of the Jews. . . . The carpenter's wife could not have been ignorant of the fact, had she been of such illustrious descent.'" The testimony of the Emperor Julian, coming as it does at a later date (A. D. 361), furnishes a transitional point between 827 Witness "the faith once delivered to the saints" in the of juuan. primitive Church succeeding the apostles, and that which has through all the centuries since held permanent place in Christian thought. Referring to the nativity of Jesus, Julian says : o) " Jesus whom you celebrate was one of Cfesar's subjects. If you dispute it, I will prove it. , . . For yourselves allow that he was en- rolled with his father and mother in the time op Quirinius. But after he was born, what good did he do to his relations ? For it is said that they would not believe on him." " But Jesus having persuaded a few among you, and those the worst of men, has now been celebrated about thrrr hundred years, having done nothing in his lifetime worthy of remem- brance,'" etc. /3) "For neither is he of Judah, and how should he be so when, according to you [Christians], he was not born of Joseph, but of the Holy Ghost? When you reckon up the genealogy of Joseph, you carry it up to Judah; but you have not been able to contrive this dexterously; for Matthew and Luke have been sliown to differ with one another about the genealogy." " Let this be said of God, though it is not ; for she was 1 Origen contra Celsum, Bk. vi, 69, 73; v, 62; 11, 32. 8 Citations from Cyril in Lard, vll, 626, 627. Nativity of Jesus Christ. 55 not a virgin. . . . However, grant that this also is said of him : does he [i. e., the prophet], say that God should be born of a virgin? But you are continually calling Mary, Mother of God."® The testimony of rabbinical works respecting the birth and incarnation of Jesus Christ is to the following effect : a) The Talmud says: "After the tvFO thousand years of the Law, according to the decree, the Messiah ought to have come." " The right time for Messiah's advent is passed, and he is now be- g28. The Wit- lieved to have been born;" "the appointed times are ness of the long since passed." "For the Messiah is born; his Jewish name is Menachem [Comforter]." "Messiah was born Rabbms. at the royal residence of Bethlehem of Judah." " Jesus of Nazareth was born in the year three thousand of creation, under the Emperor Augustus. From this time begin the years of the Nazarene ." '^'' "The Redeemer whom I will raise up among you shall not have a father, according to Zacha- riah." "The birth of the Messiah alone shall not be like that of any other creature." "The birth of Messiah alone shall be without defect [i. e., sinless]." " None shall know his Father before he tells it." j3) Toledoth Jesh u concedes : That Jesus was born of royal lineage, and of the tribe of Judah ; that he was the offspring of Joseph and Mary ; that he claimed to have been born of a virgin ; that his birth took place in Bethlehem of Jud?ea, under the political rulers named by the evangelists. Such is the witness of the enemies of Jesus respecting his birth. The character and position of these writers lend the greater weight to their testimony. Celsus, the g og ch conspicuous leader in the literary world of those of the wit- whose hostility led them to assail Christianity and hold in ridicule the faith of the Christians, is the first in order. Julian, as emperor of the Roman world, commands attention in that he carried with him all the dignity of his ofl&ce and the force of his authority, based upon the archives of the government. The Kabbins, who wrote the Jewish Tal- mud, represented the greatest teachers of the Jewish Church, arrayed in open opposition to Jesus of Nazareth and his cause ; and the rabbinical writers of Toledoth Jeshu, who based their worli on the Talmud, purporting to give, from the Jewish side of that period, a History of Jesus. These authors are men of 9/6.625, 629, QeorbKov 5k vfieig- ov irwutade Mdpiav KoKoOvre^. lOTalmudlc book called Generations. 56 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. eminence, whose writings reflect the manifold opposition which arose against the Christian Church in those times. Reference is made to the expected Messiahship, and to the nativity of Jesus. This testimony may now be analyzed, and the facts elicited compared with those contained in the Gospels. A. As to Celsus. His witness relates to the incarnation, Joseph's dream, and the genealogies of Matthew and Luke. a) Living about a century after Christ's cruci- § 30. Analysis / <= ... of the Testi- fixion, his testimony evidences by its opposition monies, y^]^.^\^ ]jad been the settled faith of the Christian Church from the beginning in respect to the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This tenet he ridicules in saying that "God put his Spirit into a body resembling ours, that we might become acquainted with him ;" and then demands to know, ""What need was there to breathe into the womb of a woman?" P) Celsus confirms Matthew's account of the Angel's visit to Joseph in a dream respecting the chastity of his betrothed Mary when he says : "And again on account of Mary's preg- nancy, there came an Angel to the carpenter." ^^ y) He distinctly employs i\iQ plural nuiiiber when he men- tions '"Hhe framers of the genealogies^'' as differing in their accounts of the ancestry of Joseph — Luke representing Christ's descent from Adam "the first man,"^^ which was his natural line of descent ; and Matthew " his illustrious descent " " from the kings of the Jews." ^^ This discrimination is entirely cor- rect, and states exactly what was the object of each genealo- gist in his tracing Christ's ancestry at all. Now it should be remarked that Celsus must have had at that time in his pos- session a copy of these Gospels, to have this knowledge. The Gospels, therefore, were in existence within a century of the crucifixion. B. As to JulioM. His testimon}^ relates to the enrollment » Matt. 1, 18-21. w Luke 111, 23-38. " Matt. 1, 1-17. Nativity of Jesus Cueist. 57 of Quirinius, the chronology of Christ's birth, and to his being born of a virgin. a) He affirms in a defiant tone, as that of one who felt entirely sure of his ground, that "Jesus was one of Csesar's subjects." He even challenges the denial of his proposition, and oif ers to prove it. He then attests that " Jesus was en- rolled with his father and mother in the time of Quirinius P'^^ ft) He dates the celebration (worship?) of Christ by the Christians, as "about three hundred years" before Julian's time. This chronological note is of great importance in de- termining "about" the time of Christ's nativity, proving its historicity in opposition to any possible mythical or legendary theory of Christ's life. y) Julian also introduces the discussion in dispute of the fact that Jesus was "born of a virgin ;"^^ and he is indignant that the early Christians about him were " continually calling Mary, Mother of God." C. As to the Talmud. The Rabbins of this work declare a gradually increasing faith in Messiah's birth ; that he ought to ha/ve been horn,' that the time of his birth is now long past; that they believe that his birth has occurred ; and finally they affirm that it certainly did occur at Bethlehem. They also make allusions to his incarnation. a) Among other averments respecting Messiah they un- hesitatingly declare : "He ought to have come," "The right time for Messiah's advent is passed ;" " The appointed times have long since passed;" "He is believed to have been born;" and " Messiah was bokn at the royal residence of Bethlehem of Judah." They also testify that "Jesus of Nazareth was born under the Emperor Augustus, from, which time begin the yea/rs of the Nazarener j8) Of the incarnation they assert that "The Redeemer will not hoAie a father;''"' that "the birth of the Messiah shall noV'^ J Matt. 11, 13, 19, 20, 21. « Origen contra Celsum, V. 52. s lb. I, 66. « lb. 1, 28. » Matt. 11, 16. Circumstances Concukrent avith the Nativity. 69 a) Celsus says : " Chaldseans are spoken of by Jesus as having been induced to come to him at his birth and to worship him as a God while yet an infant ; and to have made this known to Herod the tetrarch ; and that the latter sent and slew all the infants that had been born about the same time, thinking that in this way he would insure his death among the others ; and that he was led to do this through fear that, if Jesus lived to sufficient age, he would obtain the throne."* " But if this was done in order that you might not reign in his stead, when you had grown up to man's estate, why, after you did reach that estate, do you not become a king, instead of you the Son of God, wandering about in so mean a condition, hiding yourself through fear, and leading a miserable life up and down ?"® (3) Macrobius, a rhetorician (A. D. 110), records a joke perpetrated by the Emperor Augustus upon receiving infor- mation, at the same time, that Herod had slain his own son, Antipater, near the same time that he slew the children of Bethlehem : " When he heard that, among the male children within two years of age which Herod the king of the Jews commanded to be slain in Syria, his own son had been killed, he said: 'It is better to be Herod's hog than to be his son.'" ^ y) The Toledoih Jeshu says : "And the king [Herod the Great] gave orders for putting to death every infant to be found in Bethlehem, and the king's messengers killed every infant according to the royal order." *It is not within the purpose of this vrork on Historical Evidences to under- take to refute the adversaries of Christianity so much as to gather concessions and facts from their writings to substantiate the statements in the historical New Testament. Nevertheless, the utterly uncritical character of Celsus, in these criticisms and strictures upon these Sacred Writings, should not go wholly unex- posed. This champion of literary opposition to Christ and Christianity has here compacted into a single sentence no less than four gross misstatements in matters of fact, professedly taken from the Gospels themselves: 1. Jesus did not say one word about the Wise Men coming to Christ's birth, but Matthew makes a different statement. 2. The ChaldiBans are not mentioned at all in any of the four Gospels, but the Magi {M-dyoi). 3. There was no '■'■Herod the tetrarch " in existence when Jesus was born; it was " Herod the king." 4. The king did not order slain "all the infants born about the same time," but all the male infants: dmXev iravTa^ to{>^ TratSaj- (Matt. 11, 16). * Or ig en contra Celsum, 1,58,61. '"Melius est Herodis porcum esse quam fllium" (Saturnalia, Convivia, 11,4). Some suppose a play on the words Cf sow^ and i^i^r son. Of, however, is both masculine and feminine gender. 70 Historical Evidenck of the New Testament. "When the royal power was conferred on the Maccabees in the person of Simon, it was with cm express reservation of the 838 Herod's ^%^^* of the Messiah.'''' But this royal criminal, Crimes. ^ho had killed Ilyrcanus his favorite wife's grand- father, Mariamne herself, and their two sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, thereby extinguishing the priestly and royal house of the Asmonean race or the Maccabees, the last and riffhtful contestants to the throne: who did not hesitate to destroy whole families supposed to be in opposition to his wishes; who ordered all the nobles of the land to assemble when on his death-bed, then shut them up in the hippodrome^ Avith orders that, immediately after he had died, these nobles should be massacred, in order that his own funeral might at least appear to be the occasion for universal sorrow instead of univer- sal joy and gladness, as he seems to have consciously appre- hended would be deserved in his case, — why should it ever have been thought to be incredible that such a royal wretch would slaughter a dozen children at Bethlehem, if thereby he might place beyond recall the heir apparent to the throne of Israel? In his passionate jealousy, Herod sought to destroy the predicted King of the kingdom. The infant Jesus occupy- ing a manger in a stable, is an object of terror to the ruling Herod ! As Lange justly remarks: "The Jews and priests were pleased that Simon should be governor until there should arise a Faithful Prophet." Certain measures relating to the temple were adopted temporarily " until there should come a Prophet to show them what should be done." " While the Asmoneans [Maccabees] enjoyed the royal dignity, with the express acknowledg- ment that the scepter belonged to the coming Prophet, Herod [himself] recognized no such expected Messiah, or, rather, entertained only super- stitious fears about him, and cherished the desire of effecting his destruc- tion." " It is noteworthy that the same Herod who had already extinguished the priestly and royal house of the Maccabees, by the murder of the last heirs, also attempted to destroy the true and eternal Royalty of the House of David " ' by the same means. 8Joseph.^n<. xvU, 6, 5. "Commentary on Matt. 11 1; cf. 1 Macc.xlv, 41; lv,46. CiRCUAISTANCES CONCURRENT AVITII THE NaTIVITY. 71 THE WISE MEN AND THE STAR. "The Star in the East" was the remarkable sign given in fulfiUment of the famous prediction of Balaam, the Moses of the Midianites: '^^ I shall see him, hut not now; § so. The Magi I shall behold Mm, hut not nigh. There shall come ^^d the star. a Star out of Jacoh, and a Scepter shall arise out of Israel. Out of Jacob shall He come that shall have do?ninion.^^ ^° Matthew is the only Evangelist who notes the mission of the Magi who had crossed streams, mountains, and deserts guided by the pres- ence of a single star to the feet of the infant Jesus. They ask Herod, " Where is he that is born King of the Jews, for we saw his sta/r wi the east, and a/re come to worship himV " Dr. Philip Schaff remarks : "The Savior was not without witness amongst the heathen. '"Wise men from the East ' — that is, Pei'sian Magi of the Zend religion, in which the idea of a Zoziosh or Redeemer was clearly known— guided miraculously by a star or meteor created for the purpose, came and sought out the Savior to pay him homage. . . . We must suppose that God saw good to speak to the Magi in their own way ; they were seeking light from the study of the stars, whence only physical light could be found ; and he guided them to the Source of spiritual light, to the cradle of his Son, by a star made to appear to them, and to speak intelligibly to them through their preconceptions." ^^ An Oriental writer relates the following in- „^ ^. o g4o. Tradi- teresting tradition as having been the address tionai made by the Magi to King Herod on the occasion of their visit to Jerusalem, and their inquiry, " Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" a) "A certain person of great note among us, in a book which he composed, warned us in it mentioning these things : A child that shall descend from heaven will be born in Palestine whom the greatest part of the world shall serve ; and the sign of his appearance shall be this : Ye shall see a strange star which shall direct you where he is ; when ye see this, take gold, myrrh, and frankincense and go offer them to him and worship him ; and then return, lest a greater calamity befall you. Now the star has appeared to us, and we have come to perform what he has commanded us."^^ 10 Num. xxiv, 17, 19. " Matt. 11, 1, 2. 12 Smith's Bib.nict.,Vol. II, p. 1349, Am. ed. »s Rabbi Frey's Messiah, 138, citing Abulyshrag, Hist. Dynasty, p. 70. 72 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, /8) The Nestorians claim that Zoroaster was a disciple of one of the Jewish Prophets. " The intercommunication of opinions between the Jewish and Zoro- astrian religions throws great light on the visit of the Magi or Wise Men at Jerusalem . . . who had come more immediately in contact with the Babylonian Jews."" "Now this Zoroaster appears to have been a Jew both by birth and religion, and servant to one of the Prophets of Israel, and well versed in the sacred writings, and therefoi-e may well be supposed to have learned all this from the prophecy of Balaam."^* The late Dr. Nehemiah Adams, in mentioning that the Nes- torians "are confident of the truth of the general belief that Oroomiah was the residence of the renowned Zoroaster," says : "As their tradition is remarkably corroborated by Abulpharagius, I will quote his language: ' Zeradusht [Zoroaster], the preceptor of the Magi, taught the Persians concerning the manifestation of Christ, and ordered them to bring gifts to him in token of their reverence and sub- mission. He declared that in the latter day a pure virgin should conceive, and as soon as the child was born a star would appear, blazing even at noonday with undiminished luster. You, my sons, exclaimed the ven- erable seer, will perceive its rising before any other nation. As soon, therefore, as you shall see the star, follow it whithersoever it shall lead you. He is the Almighty Word who created the heavens.' "^^ y) A Platonic philosopher named Caludius, who was not a Christian, says: "There is also a venerable and sacred history which speaks of the rising of a certain unusual star, not foretelling disease and death, but the descent of a venerable God, born for the sake of human conversation [i. e., conduct, life] and the affairs of mortals; which star truly, when the wise men of tlie Chaldjeans saw in their journey by night, and being very expert in tlieir considerations of celestial things, are said to have inquired after the birth of the new Deity, and having found the infant Majesty, to worship him and pay their vows worthy of such a God." " WITNESS OF ENEMIES, a) Talmud: "Messiah himself shall appear in the North, and his ad- vent will be marked by a Star.''^^ "When Messiah shall be revealed, there shall rise up in the East a certain star flaming with §41. Rabbinical gj^ g^^.^^ ^^ colors." !» "The star shall shine forth from the East, and this is the star of the Messiah. It shall shine forth from the East for fifteen days, and if it be prolonged it will !■* Milman's Hist. Christianity, I, 114. " R. Frey's Messiah, 138, comp. Prldeaux' Connections, I, 207, 208, Part 1, Bk. Iv. u Friends of Christ, 31. "Cited In Frey's Messiah, 138, from Fabricius's Bibliotheca Latin., 142-146. " Schottgen, Horce fJebraiccB ct Tahnudica; 538, 581. '» Frey's Messiah, 137. ClECUTVISTANCES CONCURRENT WITH THE NaTIVITY. 73 be for the good of Israel." 2" "The King Messiah shall be revealed in the land of Galilee ; and lo, a star in the East shall swallow up seven stars of the North, and a flame of red fire shall be in the firmament for six days/'^i (3) Those Jews who are still looking for the Messiah to come, confidently expect a star to appear as the sign of his advent. It was also so in the early Christian centuries; a fact which explains why that Messianic impostor succeeded so well in the reign of Hadrian,* who assumed the name Bar-Kokheba — i. e.^ the son of a star — and issued coins hearing a star, in allu- sion to Balaam's prediction. In his open rebellion against the Eomans he effected a large following from the Jews, and, when captured, he proposed that if the Romans should kill him he would prove his Messiahship by rising from the dead! The Romans took him at his word, and cut off his head. As the impostor did not rise from the dead, the Jews in disgust named him Bar-Kozibar ; i. e., the son of a lie I ^ Origen, in reply to Celsus, says : "In the next place he [Celsus] runs away to what immediately fol- lows the narrative of the birth of Jesus — the account of the star and of the Wise Men who came from the East to worship the Child." " He makes numerous quotations from the Gospel accord- § 42. Celsus ing to Matthew, as the star that appeared at the birth of Christ." "I know not, moreover, why he has passed by in silence the cause which led the Magi to come, and why he has not stated, according to the Scriptural account, that it was a star seen by them in the east."^^ WITNESS OF FRIENDS. a) Irenaeus refers to the Magi, their adoration §43. Patristic and their gifts to the Child,t and their return Testimony, home by way of the Assyrians.'^ *A.D. 117-138. + " The adoration of the Magi is a favorite part of the picture of the Holy Family. . . . Mary sits holding the babe in her lap, and receiving the homage of the Magi. ... In later pictures the star is added." (Schafl, Hist. Christian Church, II, 282, 283.) The picture taken from the Catacombs is supposed to date as early as the third, if not tlae second century. The Romanists claim that the ado- ration of Mary must have antedated the picture. But what justification is there that Mary is the adored one at all? The presence of the mother with her Child is indispensably natural, if not necessary, as otherwise the suggestiveness would be lost. How could the young and dependent Child appear alone? It is clearly Intended to represent Matthew's account how that the Magi " came into the house and saw the young Child and his mother, [and] thet fell down and worshiped HIM "—not the mother. (Matt, ii, 2, 8, 11.) 2" Edershelm's Jesus of Nazareth, 1, 212. 21 Frey's Messiah, 137. 2»Schafr, Ch. Hist., I,i02. i*Orig.cont. Ceis., 1,40,34,58. ^* Heresies, B. iii,c.l6,i. 74 Historical Evidence of the Kew Testament. /?) Justin Martyr mentions the Magi coming from Herod; also the star in the heavens, and, learning from the Jewish elders where Christ should be born, they " came to Bethlehem and worshiped the Child, and presented him with gold, frank- incense, and myrrh, and then returned not to Herod." ^ y) Tertullian refers to the Magi as astrologers from the East ; that " the interpreters of the stars were the first to an- nounce Christ's birth, the first to offer him gifts, . . . frankincense, and myrrh, and gold, . . . the close of worldly sacrifice, and the glory which Christ was about to do away." He also mentions that the Magi returned home by another way.^ ARGUMENTS FROM SCIENCE. a) There is much force, if not absolute conclusiveness in verification of Matthew's account of the wonderful star, in S 44. Tradition the modem discovery of astronomy. It is to be and Science, noted that the learned Jewish Kabbi, named Ar- harbanel {or, properly, Abrabcmel), in his Commentary on Daniel entitled Wells of Salvation, published in 1547, men- tions the tradition of the Jews that there was a conspicuous conjunction of planets which occurred three years before the birth of Moses, in the sign Pisces; and that another conjunc- tion would occur before the Messiah's birth. As this did hap- pen in A. D. 1463, when Abrabanel was living, he was confi- dent that the circumstances indicated the near approach of Messiah's advent, so that he requested the astronomers to in- vestigate this subject. "Ideler and Wieseler conjecture that this astronomical belief existed among the Jews already at the time of Christ." ^^ P) Abrabanel's publication of the Jewish tradition was - ^^^y years prior to the discovery of the great omers* conciu- Kepler, published in 1606-1614, which was a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, with Mars added later, and occurred repeatedly in A. U. 747 » Dialogue with Trypho, 78. » Idolatries c, Ix. " Schaff, Ch. Hist. 1, 115, n. 2. Circumstances Concurrext with the Xativity. 75 and 748, in the sign Pisces. Kepler's calculation has been corroborated by several eminent astronomers in independent investigations — including Schubert's of Petersburg, Charles Pritchard's of London, honorable secretary of the Koyal As- tronomical Society, and Ideler's and Encke's of Berlin. Pritchard affirms the fact of the conjunction to be " as certain as any astronomical phenomenon of ancient date;"^ Ideler in- sists that " the star of astrology has become the torch of chro- nology." ^ Schaff adds : " It certainly makes the pilgrimage of the Magi to Jerusalem and Bethlehem more intelligible." * Pritchard says: " To complete the fascination of the tale, about an hour and a half after sunset the two planets [Jupitei* and Saturn] might be seen from Jerusalem, hanging as it were in the meridian, and suspended over Bethlehem in the distance. These celestial phenomena thus described are, it will be seen, beyond the reach of question ; and at first impres- sion they assuredly appear to fulfill the conditions of the Star of the Magi." 31 Dr. Edersheim states that — " In the astronomical tables of the Chinese — to whose general trust- worthiness so high an authority as Humboldt bears testimony — the appearance of an evanescent star was noted. Pingr6 and others have designated it as a comet, and calculated its first appearance in February, in 750 A. U. C, which was just the time when the Magi would, in all probability, leave Jei-usalem, since this must have preceded the death of Herod, which took place in March, 750. Moreover, it has been astro- nomically ascertained that such a sidereal apparition would be visible to those who left Jerusalem, and that it would point — seem almost to go before — in the direction of, and stand over, Bethlehem. Such, im- partially stated, are the facts of the case ; and here the subject must, in the present state of our information, be left."'* 7) " If we accept the result of these calculations of the astronomers, we are brought to within two years of the year of the Na- s h fr tivity, namely, between A. U. 748 (Kepler), and 750 induction. (Wieseler) . The difference arises, of course, from the un- certainty of the time of the departure, and the length of the journey of the Magi."" «See Schaff, Ch. Hist. I, 115. w/6. I, 116. ^Ib. I, 116. ^Ib. I, 118, 119. w Jesua the Messiah, I, 213. « schaff, Ch. Hist. 1, 116. 76 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. KING HEROD'S DEATH. It is obvious that Ilerod the Great was living when Christ •was born, from the circumstance that he sought "the young §47. Moon's Child to dcstroj him." Exactly when King Eclipse. Herod died is astronomically ascertained, and the event occurred, probably within a few months after the N"ativity. His death took place just before the time of the Jewish Passover, in the city of Jericho, in the valley of the Jordan, on the 13th of March A. U. 750, or, according to our common chronology, in B. C. 4. Josephus has noted a cir- cumstance which affords a datum for a scientific investigation, in saying, " That very night there was an eclipse of the moonf ^ and what renders the fact the more conspicuous is, that this is the only eclipse mentioned by this historian. Now, if the Star of the East was the product of the conjunction of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in A. U. 748 as held by Kepler, then Jesus was born six years before the current Christian era ; but if, on the other hand, the star was identical with the comet of 750, as claimed by Pingre, then Jesus was born B. C. 4. Nevertheless, Wieseler, who is in agreement with Kepler as to the conjunction of the planets, places the date of that event at A, U. 750, or coincident with the year in which Herod died, B. C. 4 ; the discrepancy between Kep- ler and Wieseler being due to the uncertain time when the Magi started upon their journey, and the length of the route. By all accounts, therefore, Christ was crucified, not in A. D. 33, as is generally supposed, but in A. D. 29. In respect to the era of Christianity, Dr. Edward Robinson says: "The present Christian era which was fixed by the abbot Dionysius Exiguus in the sixth century, assumes the year of the Christian era as coincident with the year 754 from the building of Eome. Ghr\ t"a :^a ^^^" ^'"^ begins in any case more than four years too late ; i. e., from four to five years after the actual birth of Christ. This era was fii'st used in historical works by the Venerable Mylni. xvil, 6, 4. ClKCUMSTANCES CoNCURKENT WITH THE NaTIVITY. 77 Bede early in the sixth century, and was not long after introduced in public transactions by the French kings, Pepin and Charlemagne."^* This does not mean that the monk Exiguus invented the Christian era, but he computed it. Considering the data at his command at that time, his work is as remarkable for its difficulty as for its measure of success. ENROLLMENTS UNDER QUIRINIUS. Luke's statement furnishes another datum for „ ,_ „ . _ §49. Registra- determining the time of Christ's birth. In his tion of particularizations, for which he is so remarkable, umnms. he introduces the enrollment of Quirinius as a concurrent event with the E'ativity. He says : "Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius^* was governor of Syria. And all went to enroll themselves, every one to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judsea to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to enroll himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being gi-eat with child. And it came to pass while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered ; and she brought forth her firstborn son." ^^ In making this historical statement respecting Quirinius, as an incident to that fact, the Evangelist introduces the itin- erary of Joseph and Mary from ^Nazareth to Bethlehem, and the occasion which explains that movement. It was precisely this enrollment and the mode of its procedure — a circumstance so incidentally mentioned as related to Christ's birth and so significant in itself — which brought these persons from their quiet homes in the I^orth, to their ancestral village, and into the tribal territory of Judasa, iyi exact circumstantial fulfill- ment of prophecy^ "in the city where David dwelt." Micah's prediction was: "But thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall One come forth unto me, that is to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."*^ 85 Robinson's Greek Harmoiiy of the Gospels. ^ "Cyrenius " is derived from the Greek Kvp-qviO(;-, but " Quirinius" was his proper Roman name. " Luke's Gospel, ii, 1-7. ^ Micah, v, 2. 78 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. A census of the population was to be taken in Palestine as in "all the [Roman] world," but the Evangelist nowhere af- firms or implies that the enrollment was to be conducted by any Roman officer, much less under the personal supervision of Quirinius. Luke simply employs the enrollment to give a general historical date to the Nativity : " When Quirinius was governor of Syria." Quirinius was a man of remarkable ad- ministrative and military abilities. He had subdued the hardy mountaineers of Cilicia, and had accorded to him the honors of a Roman triumph as a great general. Having now been engaged so successfully in military service in the East, he appears to have been appointed special commissioner to en- roll the Jewish nation as the subjects of Caesar's government when Jesus was born. Accordingly, he was known as " Gov- ernor of Syria," ^ a term employed to express the title being very broad, and here understood in its broadest sense as in- cluding the commission extraordinary, as the legatus of Caesar. Quirinius died in Rome, A. D. 21. "W. M. Ramsay, who is one of the latest authorities on the historical New Testament, observes : " The decree of Augustus which Luke mentions is commonly inter- preted as ordering that a single census should be held of the whole Roman world. This is not a correct interpretation of Luke's words. He uses the present tense, and he means that Augustus ordered enrollments to be regularly taken, according to the strict and proper usage of the present tense. What Augustus did was to lay down the principle of sys- tematic enrollment in the Roman world, not to ari'ange for the taking of one single census."*" "While, in compliance with imperial requirement, this was to be a Roman registration, it was to be conducted distinc. §50. Method tivcly by the Jewish method. It was a reserva- of Registration. ^[^^ made in the original compact when the Jews became a dependency on the empire, that they were to exer- cise the sovereign right to manage their internal afifairs in ac- 3" "Ryeixwv, leader, guide, prefect, president, governor of a Roman province. « " Was Christ born in Bethlehem f" c. vl, 123, 124. ClECUMSTANCES CONCURRENT WITH THE NaTIVITV. 79 cordance with their own laws and religion.^ It is easy to see, therefore, why every person was expected to register in his own tribal territory, and in his own native city. " Owing to the care with which the Jews preserved their family rec- ords and pedigrees, all true Jews would know what was their family and their proper city according to the ancient tribal system, even though tliey might have been forced by circumstances to change their abode. This seems to have suggested the mode of enrollment which Luke de- scribes— a mode which would mai-k off, by a broad clear line, the true Jews from the mongrel population of Palestine. All who claimed to be Jews were to repair to the proper city of their tribe and family. The rest of the population, who were probably much more numerous, would be counted according to their ordinary residence."** On this point Dr. Edersheim remarks: " In consequence of the decree of Caesar Augustus, Herod directed a general registration to be made after the Jewish rather than the Roman manner. . . . All country people were to be registered in their own city, meaning thereby the town to which the village or place where they wove born was attached. In so doing, 'the house or lineage' was marked. According to the Jewish mode of registration, the people would have to be enrolled according to their tribes, families, or clans, and the house of their fathers. ... In the case of Joseph and Mary, whose descent from David was not only known, but where, for the sake of the unborn Mes- siah, it was most important that this should be distinctly noted, it is natural that, in accordance with Jewish law, they should go to Beth- lehem." ^ Among the last words which are most valuable touching this enrollment at the time of the Nativity, is that given by the eminent Augustus W. Zumpt, a nephew of the §51, zumpt's celebrated classical scholar of the same name, Researches, himself a superior classical scholar, and one of the most dis- tinuished archaeologists of this or any other age, who is a resident of Berlin. His researches have attracted profound attention and approval from men of critical scholarship and learning on this subject. Schaff cites Zumpt as claiming " that there is nothing in Luke's account which does not receive from modern research /wZ^ historical probability." ^ His conclusion « Joseph. Ant. xvl, 2, 3; Wars, VI, 6, 2. « Christ born at Beth. 188. « Jesus the Messiah, I, 182, 183. « Schaff, Ch. Hist, 1, 125, n. 3. 6 80 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. that the date of the birth of Christ occurred at the time of the taking of the census (B. C. 4) by Quirinius is indorsed by the scholarly Momrasen, and accords with the views of Ideler, Bergmann, Browne, Ussher, and Sanclemente, as also with those of Borghesi, De Rossi, Ramsay, and Schaff. In brief, Zunipt concludes that Saturninus was governor of Syria in B. C, 9-G, Yarus 6-4, and Quirinius 4-1 A. D., and again 6-11, corrected chronology.*^ A question of vital interest historically has been discussed of recent years: How could Quirinius have ordered an enroU- §52, The Two ^ent of the Jews in Palestine in B. C. 4, when it Re^strations. jg ^ known fact that he was appointed governor of Syria and made a registration there ten years later, in A. D. 6 corrected chronology ? The complete answer is, that Quirinius was appointed to that office twice. His first appoint- ment was in B. C. 4, and his second in A. D. 6. In the first Instance his function was to take a census of the Jewish jpop^r lotion; in the second, it was a registration of the Jews^ prop- erty^ for the purpose of taxation. Under Pompey (B. C. 63) the Jewish nation had been reduced to a dependency upon the Roman Empire, and paid a certain tribute to the imperial power. It was now contemplated to replace the produce- tribute due Rome by an individual head-tax imposed upon every man and woman in the nation between the ages of four- teen and sixty-five. The census, however, was taken under the management of several governors in succession. It was begun under Sentius Saturninus, and continued under Quin- tilius Yarus, and completed under Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, as already stated. In this connection it should be noted that this was not merely a local tax of the Jews in Palestine: it was a universal taxation extending to all the nations and dependencies em- braced within the Roman Empire; for Augustus is said to « That Is, Saturninus was governor A. U. 746-748, Varus 748-750, Quirinius 750- 753, and again 7(JO-76S. Circumstances Coxcurkent with the Nativity. 81 have adopted the policy of gathering the statistics of his imperial resources by means of agents employed throughout the empire, which he himself tabulated for ready reference. These tabulations were of two classes; the first being "a sort of balance sheet published periodically" for the information of the people;^ the second, a kind of compendium summing up the dependencies, kingdoms, countries, and allies, to indi- cate the resource and military power of the Roman Empire.^^ These celebrated tables of statistics are said to have been read in the Roman Senate on the occasion of the emperor's death.^ Now, it is quite obvious that Luke, with that historical instinct which characterizes his authorship throughout, makes distinct reference to both enrollments in a man- „^„ , , § 53. Luke ner indicating a perfect understanding of the notes both ., ,. 1 . , 1 xi J. i; 1 • Enrollments. Situation on his own part, and on that oi his con- temporaries whom he addresses. He refers to the first enroll- ment as a principal fact concurrent with the Nativity of Jesus, and he alludes to the second incide7itally in narrating what Gamaliel said before the Jewish Sanhedrin in the defense of the apostles. In recounting the different rebellions in Pales- tine against the Roman power, Gamaliel recalled, "After this man [Theudas], rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the enrollments'^ *^ In the absence of any explanation, these two references indicate that the Evangelist knew that he was per- fectly secure of his ground in respect to both, and that the two enrollments were entirely familiar facts to his contemporaries. For he obviously wrote for those then living, not for those coming two thousand years afterwards. Those whom he addressed needed no explanations, and he offered none. The second governorship and enrollment were much the more important of the two. The appointment of Quirinius thereto was probably due in a large measure to his former rule as governor, and his superior tact and management of the ^ Raliones imperii. *^ Breviariutn totius imperii. *^ Snetonius, Augustus, 28, 101; Tacitus, Annals, 1, 11; Dion Casslus, lii, 30; Ivi, 83. «Acts v, 37. 82 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. people in taking the census previously. The imposition of the imperial tax had always involved much delicacy on the part of the government of Syria, owing to the extreme sensitive- ness of the Jews on that subject. The supreme thing in the mind of Augustus was that order and quiet should be pre- served among the people in the dependencies of the empire. How difficult and delicate the duties imposed on Quirinius in enrolling the property of the Jews for taxation are evident from the fact that the attempts afterward to carry out the imperial requirement were met with vigorous resistance, and finally issued in an open rebellion and war against the Romans, which terminated in the complete overthrow and extermina- tion of the Jewish nationality. § 54. Historical ^^- Philip Schaflf citcs with approval several Accounts, high authorities as having an important bearing upon this historical question.* He says : " Cassiodorus ^1 and Suidas^^ expressly assert the fact of a general census, and add several particulars which are not derived from Luke ; e. g., Suidas says that Augustus elected twenty commissioners of high character, and sent them to all parts of the empire to collect statistics of the population as well as of property, and to return a portion to the national treasury. Hence Huschke, Wieseler, Zumpt, Plumptre, and McClellan accept their testimony as historically correct. . . . "Wieseler quotes also John Malala, the historian of Antioch, as saying, probably on earlier authorities, that 'Augustus in the thirty-ninth year and tenth month of his reign [i. e., B. C. 5 or 6], issued a decree for a general reg- istration throughout the empire.' Julius Cfesar had begun a measure- ment of the whole empire, and Augustus completed it." confirmations by enemies. Josephus does not notice the Jlrst governorship of Quirinius in Syria, and his taking the census of the population of the Jews concurrently with the birth of Jesus. Silence in §55. Test!- -^ mony of a Writer of a given fact, however, can not be le- osep VIS. gii^ijjia^^giy construed as evidence that it never oc- curred. Silence neither proves nor disproves any circumstance. ^HisL Church, 1, 124, 125, n. 4. 6i Variarum, 111, 52. *'*A7ro7pa(/)i7, written about A. D, 19. Circumstances Concurrent with the Nativity. 83 Ko historian records every event of a given time, especially such as does not come within the scope of his work. Josephus was not writing a history of the Roman Empire, much less of the origin of Christianity, that he should have referred to the census or to Christ's birth. The first administration of Quir- inius was, in fact, merely preparatory for the second, and bore no comparison with it in importance and results. A mere census-taking was a very harmless matter in itself; but the inauguration of an imperial tax upon every man and woman in the nation was most offensive to the susceptibilities of the Jews. The second administration of Quirinius in Syria and Pales- tine immediately succeeded the deposing of Archelaus from his ethnarchy of Judsea when his territory became a Roman province under the government of Syria. In reference to Quirinius's second governorship, Luke cites briefly the speech of Gamaliel before the Sanhedrin thus: "After this man [Theudas], rose up Judas of Galilee, in the days of the taxing ^ and drew away much people after him. He also perished, and as many as followed him were dispersed.^ Josephus refers to the conduct of both Theudas and Judas of Galilee by name.^ His testimony is : " Now Quirinius, a Roman Senator, and one who had gone through other magistracies, and had passed through them till he had been made consul, . . . was of great dignity, . . . being sent by [Gains j Caesar to be judge of the nation, and to take an account of their substance. . . . There was one Judas, a Gaulonite, of a city whose name was Gamala, who, taking with him Sadduc, a Pharisee, became zealous to draw them to a revolt, who both said that this taxation was no better than an introduc- tion to slavery, and exhorted their nation to assert their liberty." ^ Why Josephus mentions this "Judas, a Gaulonite of Ga- mala," and elsewhere in four instances, and in both histories, calls him "Judas of Galilee," is not known. Perhaps he was born in Galilee, and afterward resided in Gamala — as Jesus was called a Galilean,^ though he was born in Judsea. Jose- MActs V, 37. i*Ant. xx, 5, 1, 2. f^Ib. xvlli, 1, 1. 66 Matt, li, 23. 84 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. phus mentions him as the author of a certain philosophy^ among the Jews ; in noting that " the two sons of Judas of Galilee were slain : I mean that Judas who caused the people to revolt when Quirinius came to take an account of the estates of the Jews;"® "when Archelaus's part of Judasa was reduced to a province ... a certain Galilean, whose name was Judas, prevailed with his countrymen to revolt, and said that they were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax to the Ro- mans.^ "In the meantime one Manahem, the son of Judas that was called a Galilean, who . . . had formerly reproached the Jews under Quirinius, that after God, they were subject to the Romans."'*' The witness of the Emperor Julian touching Quirinius is here in place. Having in his command all the archives of the empire, he is conscious of the absolute certainty monyof of his knowledge and resources in the case, and assumes a defiant tone against the Christians re- specting Joseph and Mary being at Bethlehem at the time that Quirinius was enrolling the Jews. He says : "Jesus whom you celebrate was one of Caesar's subjects. If you dispute it I will prove it by and by ; but it may as well be done now. For yourselves, allow thLd/e of Christ, 1866, p. 851. s' Llghtfoot's transl. of Epls. to Cor., c. 42. v^Apolofjy, first eel. «'Tertull., Apology, cc. 6, 7, 21. The Historical Christ and Ancient Christianity. 125 person and became his followers; his teaching, by means of which they were instructed in all spiritual truth as the Eevealer of God ; his preaching, by which he appealed to their spiritual conscience and inspired the believing with the new hope of life and immortality brought to light through the Gospel. The Christian writers adduced, not only confirm the testimony of the ancient adversaries, but carry back those same facts through the line of Christian history to the very apostles, and recognize Jesus Christ as their Divine Source. Modern criti- cisms of the rationalistic and destructive school reach the same conclusion, and do not hesitate to exalt and glorify Jesus as ; the Founder of the Christian faith. Even the mention of ! Jesus thus in relation to his work, without any attempt to refute the facts, which rather the adversaries fully concede, makes powerfully for the antiquity of the period, the authen- ticity of the account, and the historicity of the Gospels. The Doctrines of Christianity. We pass from the Ministry of Christ to his Doctrines. It is evident that the pagan writers of that period had also remarkable familiarity with the Christian teachings. Their frequent reference to them, even derisively, proves, from their standpoint of disbelief, that the Christian doctrines synchro- nize with Christ and his apostles, and that the teachings of to-day are identical with those of the New Testament. These may be briefly indicated. o) Celsus : " You, O sincere believers, find fault with us, because we do not recognize this individual [Christ] as God, nor agree with you that he endured these [sufferings] for the benefit of mankind. It was to sinners that God has been sent;" "who was ^^^•^^®^*^* deemed to be a Savior, and the Son of the greatest God." Death. " I am God ; or I am the Son of God. ... I have come because the world is perishing; and you, O men, are perishing for your iniquities. But I wish to save you ; and ye shall see me returning again with heavenly power. Blessed is he who does me homage." " O Jews and Christians, no God nor Son of God, either came or will come down * On Benefits of Christ's Death, etc. See Rom. lii, 26; v, 6, 8, 11; xlv, 8, 9; 2 Cor. V, 1.5; 1 Cor. xv, 3; 1 Thess. v, 10; 1, 10; Tit. 11, 14; Gal. Iv, 4, 5. 126 HiSTOEicAL Evidence of the New Testament. [from heaven] to mankind. 2* Again if God, like Jupiter in the comedy, should, on awakening from his lengthened slumber, desire to rescue the human race from evil, why did he send this Spirit, of which you speak, into one corner [of the earth]? ... Do you not think that you have made the Son of God more ridiculous in sending him to the Jews ?" ^ P) Toledoth Jeshu says that Jesus taught that his blood atoned for the sins of mankind ; that he created the heavens and the earth and all they contain ; that he appropriated to himself the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah: "He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities," etc. He also applied to himself Psalm ex: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool," etc. 7) Porphyry ; " If Christ, as he says, be the way of salvation and the life, and only they who believe on him can be saved, what became of the men who lived before his coming ?" ^s Celsus: "Also, those who are long since dead which will arise from the earth clothed with the self -same flesh [as during this life] ; for such a hope is simply one which might be cherished by worms." ^ §94. Resur- << p^j,^ what sort of a soul is that which would still long Human Body* for a body that has been subject to corruption ? Whence also this opinion of yours [which] is not shared by some of the Christians, and they pronounce it to be exceeding vile and loath- some, and impossible? For what kind of a body is that which, after being completely corrupted, can return to its original nature, and to that self-same first condition out of which it fell into dissolution ? Being unable to return any answer, they betake themselves to a most absurd refuge ; viz., that all things are possible to God." ^ Lucian : " For these miserable men have no doubt S ®5. Immor- ^j^^^. ^j^gy ^y^^^ ^^ immortal and live forever. There- Human Spirit ^^^"^ they contemn death, and many surrender them- selves to sufferings."^ Celsus: " But my prophet once declared in Jerusalem that the Son of God will come as the Judge of the righteous, and Punisher of the wicked."^ " And those who know not the punishments §96. Judg- ^hich await them will repent and gi'ieve in vain; while World those who are faithful to me, I will preserve eternally, . . . but they give occasion to every fool or impostor to apply them to suit his own purposes." ^^ Porphyry: " Christ threatens everlasting punishment §97. Final ^q those who do not believe in him; and yet in another v".^ T°^^^ place he says, ' With what measure ye mete, it shall be of the Incor- ^ , ..,.,., j I .-,. rigible. measured to you again, which is absurd and contradic- tory ; for all measures must be limited to time."^^ * Rom. vlU, 11,22, 23; Philip, ill, 21; Eph. v, 23. a^Cf^s. 11,38; 111,62; 11,9; vil, 9; V, 2, 3. ^i> Cels.\i,7H. «« Cited by Lard, vli, 43!); of. John xlv, 6. «' Crl.i. v, 14. ffKuXriKuv iXirls. ^ Cels. \,li; comp. Mutt, xix, 2(5; Murk x, 27. ^ I^ird. vll, 280. » Cels. 1, 49. »Wels. vll, 9. » Lard, vll, 440, 441. The Historical Christ and Ancient Christianity. 127 Celsus: "It is folly on their part to suppose that when God, as if he were a cook, introduces the fire [which is to consume §98. Confla- the world], all the rest of the human race will be burned nation of the up, while they [the good] alone will remain. 'On all Last Day. the rest will I send down eternal fire, both on cities and on countries.' " ^ Many of these representations of Christian doctrine are extremely crude, or much perverted, or both, Nevertheless, these adversaries were untrained in Christian truth, and very hostile to the Christian faith. But, despite these faulty repre- sentations, the direct references to the doctrines themselves prove the earlier antiquity and historicity of these teachings found in the [New Testament. Institutions of Christiajnity, a) Julian: " That some of those [Christians] who at the beginning received the word from Paul were such, is apparent from what Paul him- self says writing to them: . . . 'And you are not ignorant, brethren, that such were you also. But ye are washed; of Baotism but ye were sanctified in the name of Jesus Christ.' "^ " You see [that he says that] they were washed, having been washed and scoured with water that penetrates even to the soul. And baptism which can not heal the leprosy, nor the gout, nor the dysentery, nor any other distemper of the body, takes away adulteries, extortions, and all other sins of the soul I" ^ " Whosoever is a ravisher, a murderer, guilty of sacrilege, or any other abomination, let him come boldly, for when I have washed him with this water I will immediately make him clean and innocent ; and if he commits the same crimes again, I will make him as clean as before, after he has thumped his breast and beat his head !"^ " I desire not to hear so much of any service of yours, as that you have expelled the wicked Athanasius [a Christian bishop, A. D. 326] out of Egypt, who, under my government, has been so audacious as to per- suade Greek women, wives of illustrious men, to receive baptism !" ^'' B) The Didache or the invaluable document, . '^'' , ' § 100. Conflr- titled The Teaching of the Apostles,* which dates mation by the A. D. 70-100, furnishes absolute confirmation of the fact and early usage of baptism as a Christian institution : " But concerning baptism, thus shall ye baptize : Having first recited all these things, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living [i. e., running] water. But if thou hast not *Matt. xxviil. 19; Mark xvl, 16; Acts 11, fl; vlll, 38; Ix, 18; x, 47, 48; xvi, 15, 33; and 1 Cor. l, 13-16; Gal. Hi, 27. 33 Cels. V, 14; vH, 9. 34 1 Cor. vl, 9-11. ^Lard. vii, 634, 635. 36 Julian (in Lard, vil, 636) . ^ Epis. to Bcdltius, prsefect of Egypt, in Lard, vii, 644. 9 128 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the ISTew Testament living water, then baptize in other water ; and if thou art not able in cold, then in warm [water]. But if thou hast neither, then pour^ water on the head thrice, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." 39 Pliny the Younger (110) obviously refers to the adminis- §101. The tration of the LonTs Supper as the usage of the Lord's Supper, primitive Church, observed on the Lord's day: " They [the Christians] were accustomed to meet on a stated day before it was light, and sing a hymn of praise to Christ as God ; to bind themselves by an oath for the non-perpetration of any wickedness. . . . After this they were accustomed to separate, and then reassemble to eat a harmless meal."*'' a) Tertullian (200): "Before daybreak in congrega- tio°a " *^*^^^ ^^ take from the hand of none but the presidents, the sacrament of the Eucharist which the Lord commanded to be eaten at meal-times, and enjoined to be taken by all alike." *^ /3) Irenseus (178): "And in this state of affairs they held fellowship with each other, and Anicetus conceded to Polycarp, in the church, the celebration of the Eucharist, by showing him respect."^ 7) Justin Martyr (147): "Those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine, mixed with water, over which the thanksgiving was pronounced ; and to those who were absent they carry away a portion. And this food is called amongst us the Eucharist* of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ enjoined." ^ 5) Ignatius (110): "Take heed, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is [but] one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to [show forth] the unity of his blood. *^ Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has intrusted it."** e) Didache (70-100): " But as touching the Eucharistic thanksgiving, give ye thanks thus — first as regards the cup: * We give thanks, O our Father, for the holy vine of thy Son David, that thou firmattori*"' *^^^^* make known to us through thy Son Jesus. Thine is the glory for ever and ever.' Then as regaj-ds the broken bread: 'We give thanks, 0 our Father, for the life and knowledge which thou didst make known to us, through thy Son Jesus. Thine is the glory for ever and ever. As this broken bread was scattered upon the moun- tains, and being gathered together became one, so may thy Chui'ch be *'Eixapi'»Apol, 16. 132 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. not Pentecost, even if they had known them, would they have shared with us ; for they would fear lest they should seem to be Christians. [Though we share with them Sunday], we are not apprehensive lest we seem to be heathens.^' *® 7. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (178), about twenty-two years 6 112 Witness earlier than TertuUian, wrote : "The mystery of of irenseus. the Lord's resurrection may not be celebrated on amy other day than the Lord^s-dayP^ 8. Bardesanes, a learned heretic of Edessa (160), in a work entitled, Laws of the Countries, addressed to 8113. Barde- ' ./ ' sanes' Testi- the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (reigned mony. 161-180), about eighteen years earlier than Irenaeus, wrote: " Wherever we be, all of us are called by the one name of the Messiah, [viz.] ' Christians,' and upon one day, which is the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together, and on the appointed days we abstain from food."«i 9. Justin Martyr, who is said to have been born in the SI 14 Witness ^lose of the first century, when John was still of Justin. living, wrote (1 35-145) : " Sunday is a day on tohich we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the dark- ness and matter, made the world ; and Jesus Christ our Savior, on that day rose from the dead. . . . And on the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together in one place, and the memoirs of the apostles, or the writings of the prophets, are read as long as time permits." ^ 10. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Syria (110), wrote about §115. Witness ^^^^^J J^a^s earlier than Justin : of Ignatius. *< jj^ ^^^^j^^ ^j^^g^ ^^1^^ walked in the ancient practices attained unto newness of hope, no longer observing Sabbaths, but fash- ioning their lives after the Lord's-day, on which our Life also arose through Him, . . . that we may be found disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Teacher." ^ 6» On Idolatry, c. 14. «« Synod. Letter to Bishop Victor of Rome, cited In McCllntock and Strong's Cyclop.yY, 507. «' See Cureton's transl. In McCllntock and Strong's Cyclop., v. 507. *» First ApoL, c. 67. ^Epis.Mag.,v.V, BLshop Llghtfoot's transl. The Historical Christ and Ancient Christianity. 133 11. Barnabas, one of the "Apostolic Fathers" {not the companion of Paul), wrote about A. D. 70-79 : §ii6. witness " Finally he sal th, . . . Your present Sabbaths are of Barnabas, not acceptable to me. ... I shall make a [new] beginning of the eighth day, that is the beginning of another world. Wherefore also we keep the Lord's-day with joyf ulness ; the day also on which Jesus rose from the dead."" 12. The Apostle John, either A. D. 68 or 96, while re- cording his Apocalyptic Visions which he saw g,jj^ witness at Patmos, in his opening chapter says: of John. " I, John, who am your brother and companion in tribulation, . . . was in the isle which is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Chi-ist. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's-day."^ 13. The Didache, or Teaching of the Apostles ^-^-^q -w-itnes (70-1 00), written within the Apostolic Age, reads: of the Didache. " On the Lord's own day gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanks."*^ 14. Paul the Apostle (about A. D. 64) spent seven days at Troas, and his companion Luke thus reports the ^^^q witness apostolic rule there enjoined: ofPaui. " Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the mor- row." " Now concerning the collection of the saints, as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him, that there be no gathering when I come." ^^ The territory traversed respecting the institution of the Christian Sabbath is that period of time embraced between the establishment of the Christian religion as the „ ^go The religion of the Koman Empire (323-325) and Resume, that in which the apostles themselves taught. This yields not only the apostolic teachings on this subject, but also the con- ^Epis., C.14 *s Rev. 1, 9, 10. If John was exiled in the reign of Nero, as all the Internal evidence indicates, the Apocalypse was written about 67; if under Doniitlan, as the external evidence Indicates, the writing occurred about 96 The earlier date Is favored by Neander, Gleseler, Baur, Ewald, Liicke, Bleek, DeWette,Reuss, Diis- terdieck, Weiss, R6nan, Stanley, Bishop Llghtfoot, and Canon Westcott. See also Schaff's Hist. Christ. Church, I, 429. ^^ Didache, c. 14. ""Acts xx, 7; 1 Cor. xvl, 2. 134 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. stant practice of the Church. The testimonies cited are the most authoritative known to early Christian history ; namely, of the emperor, Council, bishops, apologists, a heretic, one dis- ciple of the apostles, the document entitled Teaching of the Apostles^ and, finally, the utterances of two of the most dis- tinguished apostles themselves. The witnesses are fourteen in number ; and their witness comes from different centuries, from different countries, written in different languages ; but each one attests the apostolic teaching and the Christian prac- tice of observing the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath. Moreover, they all confirm the statement made by Pliny that the Christians were accustomed to meet on "a stated day" for their sacred observances. The catena of proofs is complete, extending through the first three hundred years after the crucifixion of Christ, averaging one witness for less than every twenty-five years in consecutive order. Now, reckoning the Christian era to have begun B. C. 4, and allow- ing thirty-three years until the crucifixion, the observance of the Sabbath-day in all Christendom, weekly, has been no less than ninety-seven thousand two hundred and seventj'^-two times until our present twentieth century. Such, then, is a standing witness through all the centuries, from the very beginning, of the constant usage of the Church; and the Sabbath-day is itself a monumental evidence of the antiquity and the historicity of Christianity. The Christianity of Christ. Jesus appears to have passed through his earlier years re- garded as a peasant related to the mountain tribe of Judah, « ^ rather than as the Child of royal blood, until his §121. Christ "^ ' and entrance upon public life at the age of thirty, y- jjjg gpg^ appearance is in company with the Bap- tist, while engaged in his initiative rite for his Messianic work. His ministry opened and closed within the brief period of three years and a half. But, in results, the world knows no comparison. His wondrous success, which augments as the The Historical Chkist and Ancient Christianity. 135 world grows older, can never be explained on mere natural principles. As to all human resources, Christ's were conspic- uous for their poverty. It was clearly a case in which triumph of power came under the worst conditions which it was pos- sible to impose. He was born in obscurity, nurtured in pov- erty, and died in shame. He was without wealth, without in- fluence, without friends, without arms or arsenals, without navy or nation, to enforce his will. Eather, he proposed the immediate aggression and complete conquests in the world merely by the power of persuasion and love; and no other man born of woman ever so impressed himself upon the con- sciousness of mankind. None ever attained his exalted purity of character, or acquired such place and pre-eminence in his- tory. Wherever the story of his life is told, it makes a power- ful impression, and can never be forgotten. Though now it is approaching two thousand years since his crucifixion, he was never more alive and within touch of every man's conscience. His influence has grown to be a thousand-fold greater than it was on the day when he died. Even his enemies are resist- lessly stirred at the very thought of Jesus. They can not leave him alone. He will not down at their bidding. Men who will not pray, at least will blaspheme his name. But his power has never for a moment been repressed. His fame has been given to the nations. It is now encompassing the globe. It has found expression in the great languages of the earth. If all the literature relating to his words and deeds, to his life and death, were suddenly retired from the libraries of mankind, the world would stand amazed at the vacancy which would be created. That his power has changed the course of his- tory, none can intelligently deny. Kingdoms and nations rise and fall, but his name is an everlasting name, which shall not be cut off, and his kingdom shall know no end. Millions who have learned his fame believe that Jesus was the very Son of God ; and many millions more who have lived but are passed away, reposed their hope for immortality in the power of that name. If Jesus be not the Christ of Scripture, there never 136 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. was, and there never can be, another. For he fulfilled the predictions of Christ, and he did the works of Christ, and he suffered the sufferings of Christ; and now he reigns in the royalty of Christ. As Jean Paul Eichter has so beautifully expressed it: "The life of Christ concerns him who, being the holiest of the mighty and the mightiest of the holy, lifted with his pierced hand em- pires off their hinges, and turned the stream of centuries out of its channel, and still governs the Ages." It is to be noted that wherever Christianity has gone and has been cordially received, it has proved itself a stupendous fact and factor in the political world, in the practical affairs of society at large, as well as a directive power acting upon the character and life of the individual man. In every country and community where it has become permanently rooted in society or State, it has been recognized as both a conservative force in restraining vice, and an aggressive force for the upbuilding of moral and spiritual worth in human character. Those civilizations on the atlas of the globe which to-day have pre-eminence in place and power are the Christian nations which stand in the forefront of the universe just in proportion as they have stood for the enforcement of the prin- ciples and spirit of Christianity. A distinct and absolute line can be drawn on the world's map, separating and illustrating just where the gospel has gone, and where it is yet to go. It can not be ignored that the several Christian nations of Europe and America are incomparably superior to those of Asia and Africa, in intelligence, in character and happiness of the people, in civilization and government, in invention, in industry, and the arts, both practical and aesthetic, no less than in military and naval prowess. Who are the " Powers of Europe" but the most advanced Christian nations of the earth? Which are "the Dark" Continents, but those which the Christian religion has not yet penetrated and permeated, where the effete religions of a barbaric ancestry still hold in crudest bondage the minds of a people devoted to their an- The Historical Christ and Ancient Christianity. 137 cient traditions, with all the horrors of their fanatical and superstitious practices? Confessedly the foremost nations of the earth are those which have founded their laws upon the legislation of Moses in the wilderness and the Sermon of Christ upon the moun- tains. Truly did that great judicial mind, Sir Matthew Hale, remark that " Christianity is a parcel of the common law." It does not enter the halls of legislation to dictate or make codes, but it teaches legislators right principles of equity, and molds the conscience to a sense of that which is right and just in ruling. In these nations alone has the spirit existed which destroyed the infamous slave-trade, which has broken off for- ever the shackles of the bondsmen; has elevated the lowly to the possibilities and realizations of places of power and prefer- ment; has enriched countries with educational institutions for the advantage and advancement of the youtli; has created homes for the aged, societies for the protection of children, founded hospitals for the sick and aMcted, established re- formatories for the recovery of the erring and fallen, and built churches for the salvation of the unsaved. They have organized the people into societies to prevent cruelty to brutes. Nay, it is the very spirit and law of the Christian religion to teach kindliness in the home, care for the servants, help for the poor, respect for children, deference to parents, honor to woman, reverence for the aged, love for one's neighbor, to bring charities for the destitute, missions to the pagans, and Christ everywhere for the unsaved. With such a history be- hind it, and such objects for activity before it, and such a spirit within it, it is obviously quite too late to attempt to relegate Christianity to the rear, or politely bow it out of existence, or assign it a place among the common myths of superstitious peoples. The impotent sneer of the disbeliever is a confession that as a reasoner he has ceased to be rational, and feels that he can not refute the just and open claims of the religion of Christ. CHAPTER VI. THE PROOF OF MIRACLES WROUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST. I. PREIilMINARIES TO THE DISCUSSION. 1. General Definition of Miracles. 2. Miracles Witnessed by the Disciples. 3. Miracles not denied for Four Centuries. II. Attestations of Enemies to Miracles. o) The Testimony of Jewish Writers. a. The Witness of Josephus. b. The Witness of the Talmud. c. The Witness of Toledoth Jeshu. /3) The Testimony of Roman Writers. a. The Witness of Celsus. b. The Witness of Porphyry. c. The Witness of Hierocles. d. The Witness of Julian. (a) Heathen Explanations of Miracles. (b) Objection to Witnesses Considered. m. Confirmatory Attestations to Miracles. a. The Testimony of Origen. b. The Testimony of Tertullian. c. The Testimony of Irenseus. d. The Testimony of Quadratus. e. The Testimony of an Arabic Writer. 139 Chapter VI. THE PKOOF OF MIKACLES WKOUGHT BY JESUS CHEIST. §122. Sources: Biographical Epitomes, and Literature. 1. HiEROCLEs ('lepo/cX^r, " Literary," wrote about A. D. 303) was an emi- nent adversary of Christianity, and being in the Roman Govern- ment was J3rst proconsul at Bithynia in Asia Minor; also afterwards at Alexandria in Egypt (284-305). He was a man of superior philosophical acquirements, and wrote a work consisting of two books to suppress the Christian religion. It was entitled A6701 ^iKaXrieeii;- irpdg- Toii(^ Xpi7 Rabbi Frey, Joseph and Benj. I, 214. The Proof of Miracles Wrought by Jesus Christ. 151 To these testimonies of the ancient Jews may be super- added that of the modern Dr. Graetz, himself a Jew and the distinguished historian of the Jews. He says : "The Christian chronicles abound in extraordinary events and de- scriptions of miraculous cures by Jesus. Though these stories may in part be due to an inclination to exaggerate and idealize, they must doubtless have had some foundation in fact. Miraculous cures — such, for example, as the exorcism of those possessed of demons — belonged so com- pletely to the personality of Jesus that his followers boasted more of the exercise of that power than of the purity and holiness of their [own] conduct. "^^ This frank concession of the historical fact that Jesus actually wrought miracles would be very admirable in the Jewish historian if it were not marred by a gratuitous reflec- tion upon his followers, which evades the force of the fact ad- mitted. For is it not quite obvious that if his ^ . § 128. Philos- disciples had ^^boasted^^ at all "of the purity and ophers' holiness of their [own] conduct," it would have ^^ imony. evidenced that they possessed neither? But the "conduct" of Christ's disciples is altogether an admission that Jesus did actually work miracles. 4. Celsus (wrote 150): "Jesus . . . having hired himself out as a servant in Egypt on account of his poverty, and having there acquired some miraculous powers, on which the Egyptians greatly prided themselves, returned to his own country highly elated on account of them, and by means of these he proclaimed himself a God." But "these tenets of his were those of a God-hated sorcerer." ^^ Christians also "deemed Jesus to be the Son of God because he healed the lame and the blind." "Moreover, as you [Christians] assert, he raised the dead."^** Origen, replying, says: " Celsus . . . affects to grant that those statements may be true which are made regarding his cures, or his resurrection, or the feeding of a multitude with a few loaves, from which many fragments remained over," and then he quotes Celsus as saying, "Well, let us believe that these were actually wrought by you."^ " O light and truth! Jesus with his own voice expressly declares . . . that there will appear among you others also who will perform miracles of similar kind, but who are wicked men and sorcerers." ^ >8 Hist, of the Jews, I, 156, 157. " Origen contra Celsum, I, 28, 71. 20i6. 11,48. 21/6.1,68. 22 Origen contra CeUum, II, 49, 53; comp. Matt, xxlv, 24; Markxlii, 22; 2 Thess. 11, 9, 10. 152 HisTOEicAL Evidence of the Is^ew Testament. An analysis of Celsus's testimony yields the following con- cessions of fact : 1. He admits that Jesus actually did "acquire miraculous powers" in Egypt, though Christ then was but a babe! 2. Specifically he effected "cures," "fed the multitude with a few loaves," " healed the lame and the blind," and " raised the dead." 3. N"evertheless, these wonders of Jesus, so far from being miraculous, were the acts of no other than " a God-hating sorcerer." 4. That Jesus confessed that "wicked men and sorcerers" would arise and "perform miracles of similar kind" to his own. Evidently these several propositions are incompatible with each other. For miracles can not at the same time be both true and false, actual and yet deceptive, causing "cures" of "the lame and blind," feeding "thousands with a few loaves," and yet be "the tenets of a God-hating sorcerer." Such, then, is the best and the worst that Celsus has to say of our Lord and his miracles. He obviously criticises these Christian tenets in an unscientific spirit, but in accordance with his own heathen prepossessions. Nevertheless, he does not, so far, evince that vicious disposition which was manifested by the Jews from whom Celsus is said to have derived much of his information respecting the early Christians. However, being a pagan and knowing nothing of miracles, he could not be ex- pected to be prepared to believe them to be possible, much less to understand their purpose and place in the redemptive scheme of the Christian religion. It was quite natural, there- fore, that he should identify miraculous occurrences with the tricks of impostors — jugglers, magicians, or sorcerers; arts which he knew the most about, though he wrote most about that of which he knew the least. However, in this day these explanations of Celsus do not explain. No man of ordinary intelligence would willingly put The Proof of Miracles Wrought by Jesus Christ. 153 his reputation to the rack by tlie offer of a proposition against miracles as explained by the mere tricks of the magician. For is it not self-evident to any but the most superficial thinker that, if Jesus actually did walk upon the sea, cleanse the leprous, give sight to the blind, and raise the dead, these occurrences were in fact miracles, and so at a remove from the power and possibility of the impostor? Did a magician ever give sight to the blind, or raise the dead, or do anything whatever for the permanent good of men ? If the miracles of Jesus were countless in number, and wonderful for variety, they were wrought in accordance with the more ancient pre- diction as the expected "signs" of his Messiahship. They were open to the scrutiny of the public, and witnessed by multitudes of people ; they were attested under the investiga- tion of the Sanhedrists; they were recorded hy the Evan- gelists in the four Gospels without the slightest fear of contra- diction, in the face of their worst foes — a constant challenge for all enemies to refute the high claim. "With all this sanc- tion and authority of Christian antiquity, the Church from the very beginning has affirmed that Christ's miracles were historical; and no enemy for four centuries either attempted to deny or refute the proposition. But the citation from Christ made by Celsus that " wicked men and sorcerers" would arise, is an unfair representation of Christ's words. What Jesus said was that "there will arise false Christs and false prophets, and they will show signs and wonders [not 'miracles of similar kind,' as Celsus affirms], and they will lead astray, if possible, even the elect." !N"ow, the difficulty involved in the representation of Celsus is not etymological^ hut psychological. It is not to be found in the meanings of the words "signs and wonders," but in the failure to make the intended application of the words. " For 'signs and wonders' may alike be properly applied to deeds whether good or evil. It is the usus which determines the application. We must take the writer's standpoint, think his 154 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the Kew Testament. thoughts as he thought them, and take the same sense which he intended. Usually the context settles the meaning of an author. So in this Scripture. Jesus said in the good sense : "Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe."^ At another time, using the same words in a bad sense, he says: " There will arise false Christs and false prophets, and will show [not the same, but] great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect." ^ They are the same words truly, but not the same ^^ signs and wondersr^^ The "signs and wonders" of the false Christ expressly '•''deceive the very elect f the "signs and wonders" of the true Christ confirm and establish the truth. Deceitful signs never disprove the true signs which are miraculous, any more than the counterfeit disproves the genuineness of the true bank's issue. Jannes and Jambres, who withstood Moses before Pharaoh, imitated the miracles of Moses and Aaron, but finally confessed their failure, acknowledging that those of Moses and Aaron were wrought "5y thefim^ger of Ood^^ Paul also differences the signs which were true from those that were false when he refers to " the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wondersP * 5. Porphyry (270), as reported by Colonia, " Acknowledges that Jesus Christ is a man illustrious for piety, and that he is more powerful than ^sculapius and all the other [Greek] gods." 27 iEsculapius, in Greek mythology, was the god of the heal- ing art. Hamann forcefully remarks, "Miracles can not be believed without a miracle." Probably they are inconceivable a priori. At least this testimony of Porphyry, while conced- * An Instance In point Is the case of the famous, or Infamous, Bar-Kokheba, "the son of a star," who succeeded in raising rebellion of the Jews against the Romans In A. D. 135, in the reign of Hadrian. "According to Jerome, this Im- postor pretended to vomit flames by means of a piece of lighted tow which he kept In his mouth 1" After his capture and death, his followers called him Bar- Kozeba, '■^the non of a lie." "27;/iiera Kal r^para, John Iv, 48. «< Matt, xxlv, 24; Mark xlU, 22. ^S7;/ue?a fxeydXa kolI rdpara, Matt, xxlv, 24. a> Comp. Ex. vUl, 18, 19, and 2 Tim. ill, 8. *' Cited by Lard, vll, 445. The Pkoof of Miracles Wrought by Jesus Christ. 155 ing so much from his standpoint, illustrates how difficult it is for an intelligent and honest heathen, as compared with an intelligent Jew, to understand and appreciate the value of a miracle, unless a miracle were wrought directly before his own eyes. He has never for a moment been in the sphere of the miraculous. He has no conception of a power above or apart from nature except the arts of the magician. 6. Hierocles (303) was one of the worst enemies that Christianity ever had to encounter. He was the instigator and director of the fearful persecution which raged in the reign of Diocletian and Maximian (303-306), when Christian churches were razed, the Scriptures burned in public, the Christians deposed from office, deprived of their civil rights, and compelled to sacrifice to false gods under penalty of death. Hierocles, so far from denying that Christ wrought miracles, admits the fact fully, but seeks to depreciate and disparage their evidential value by comparing them with fictitious tricks related of one Apollonius. He says : "They are continually crying up Jesus for opening the eyes of the blind, and other like works. . . . But in the time of our ancestors, in the reign of Nero, flourished Apollonius of Tyana, who having, when very young, sacrificed at ^Egis in Cilicia to that good god ^scula- pius, wrought many and wonderful works. . . . We do not esteem him who did these things as a god, but a man favored by the gods; whereas they [the Christians] for the sake of a few tricks called Jesus God. . . . Christ, it seems, must be reckoned a magician, because he did many wonderful things."^ 7. Julian (361) also bears an important, though unwilling, testimony to the miracles of Jesus. He admits that — He "rebuked the winds, and walked on the sea, and cast out demons, and, as you will have it, made the heavens and the earth — though none of his disciples presumed to say this of him except John only, nor he clearly and distinctly. However, let it be allowed that he said so." " But Jesus . . . having done nothing in his lifetime worthy of remembrance — unless one thinks it a mighty matter to heal the lame and blind people, and exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany."^ «8 Cited by Lard. vU, 478, 479, 476. » Tb. vll, 627. 156 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. ANALYSIS AND SUMMARY. An analysis of the testimonies of these Roman magnates is now in place. Hierocles concedes at least that '' Christ must be reckoned a masrician because he did many wonder- S 129. The , '=' "^ Roman f ul things ;" and Porphyry confesses that he was es imorues. ^^ j^^pg powerful than ^Esculapius and all the other gods" in these deeds; while Celsus frankly acknowledges that Jesus truly possessed " miraculous powers." The following per- sons designate the Mnd and variety of miracles wrought by Christ. Celsus affirms that Jesus "feeding the multitude with a few loaves," did "heal the lame and the blind," and "raised the dead," who also "made the heavens and the earth;" Hierocles, that he "opened the eyes of the blind, and other like works;" Julian, that he "rebuked the winds, and walked the sea, healed the lame and blind people, and exorcised demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany." These writers speak not only for themselves, but also for the great and intelligent populations behind them. The consensus of these ancient adversaries is to the effect that, as a fact^ Jesus Christ actually wrought miracles. But S130 Heathen they felt that they must explain the fact; and Explanations, their explanations of the power by which these effects were produced, differ. But miracles in their very nature are inexplicable. The fact conceded is one thing, and an adversary's conception of the fact is another. Besides, opinio7is are inadmissible as matters of evidences. To desig- nate miracles as "few tricks," as Hierocles has done to mini- mize their force or character, does not make them tricks. To represent Jesus as "a God-hated Sorcerer" as Celsus does, is merely the heathen manner of explaining by calling names. Assertion is not proof. We are dealing now exclusively with the conceded fact as historical, that the Founder of Chris- tianity wrought astonishing " signs and wonders" in vindica- tion of his claim as the predicted Messiah and Redeemer of The Proof of Miracles Wrought by Jesus Christ. 157 the world. Jesus himself said: "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me ; or else believe 7ne for the very works' saker^ It may be objected that these concessions were not made by contemporaries who were eye-witnesses of the miraculous events conceded. The reply is that, for the veri- ^ , ^, ^^. ^ '' ' _ §131. Objec- fication of history, it is not necessary that the his- tion con- torian himself should have witnessed the facts which he records in order to render them historical. But at the very beginning, on the birthday of the Christian Church, the apostle Peter vindicated the claim by his appeal to those who were contemporaries and witnesses of the events alleged, when he said to the gathered thousands at Jerusalem : "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you, by mighty works and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know, . . . whereof we all are ivitnesses." ^^ Such was but the beginning of the proof respecting the historicity of the miracles of Christ, and the continuance of the evidence by the testimony of enemies in the centuries succeeding is but a part of the history of the case ; for it is to be remembered that miraculous occurrences were by no means limited to Christ's life. The apostles and their suc- cessors, in Christ's name and power, continued to work miracles for several centuries afterwards, until the Christian religion had demonstrated its own supernatural character; then the func- tion of miracles had ceased, and they were retired from the world. Those ancient adversaries were the contemporaries of those miraculous events, and must be allowed to have testified advisedly in what they affirm ; for how otherwise is it to be accounted for that those so hostile to Christianity came to have the conviction, and to make those concessions, were there no historical grounds for their belief? The conviction was there; and it is for him who rejects this explanation to furnish a better. How did the belief originate? And is it sojohnxlv, 11; comp.v,86; x,37,38; xv,24. 3» Acts 11,22,32. See also pp. 147, 148, 158 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. reasonable to suppose that these several adversaries arrived at the same conclusion respecting miraculous occurrences with- out any basis in actual facts? What but the facts gave rise to these heathen conceptions? It must be allowed that there was no felt necessity among them, except that imposed by history. They testify as independent witnesses, from different countries, in different centuries, in substantial agreement, in one conclusion. They affirm that Jesus rebuked the winds, walked the sea, fed the multitude, opened blind eyes, cleansed the leper, cast out demons, and even raised the dead to life. For what reason should such testimony from such sources go for nothing? What is the justifying ground for rejecting this testimony, except for the one reason that these adver- saries of Christianity affirm occurrences which are recorded in the contents of the several Gospels? Much more dis- cernment and character were requisite for such witnesses to yield credence to Christian miracles than are required now, at this distance of time, to deny their occurrence. The ques- tion of miracles is a matter of history, and should be treated in an historical spirit. g 132. Friends Conflrm the Enemies' Testimony. 8. Origen (247): "The name of Jesus can still remove distractions from the minds of men, expel demons, and also take away diseases, and produce a marvelous meekness of spirit and complete change of char- acter." ^2 9. Tertullian (200): "As then under the force of their [Judaistic] prejudgment they convinced themselves from his lowly guise that Christ was no more than a man, as a necessary consequence it followed from that, they should hold him [to be] a magician, from the powers which he displayed; expelling devils from men by word, restoring sight to the blind, cleansing the leprous, reinvigorating the paralytic, summoning the dead to life again, making the very elements of nature obey him, stilling the storms, and walking on the sea; proving that he was the Logos of Ood."^^ 10. Irenfeus (177): " It is not possible to name the number of gifts which the Church throughout the whole world has received from God *tContr. Cels. B. 1, c. Ixvii. iii> Apol. c. xxi. The Proof of Miracles Wrought by Jesus Christ. 159 in the name of Jesus Christ, . . . which she exerts day by day for the benefit of the Gentiles, neither practicing deception upon any, nor taking any reward from them. . . . Calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Clirist, she has been accustomed to work miracles for the advantage of mankind. ... If therefore, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ even now confers benefits, and cures thoroughly and effect- ively all who anywhere believe on him ... it is manifest that . . . [he] did all things truly through the power of God."^* 11. Quadratus (125) : "Our Savior's works were always present: for they were real, consisting of those who had been healed of their dis- eases, those who have been raised from the dead, who were seen not only while they were being healed and raised up, but were afterwards constantly present [with the living]. Nor did they remain only during the sojourn of the Savior on earth, but also a considerable time after his departure ; indeed some of them have survived even down to our own time."^* 12. Arabic Writer (name and place unknown): "We know that the people called Christians founded their religion on parables and mir- acles."^* The important features of this testimony should now be carefully noted. Origen, in the middle of the third century, testifies that Christ's power "still removed dis- ^^^^ g^^_ tractions of mind, cured diseases, expelled de- mary. mons, and revolutionized character." Fifty years earlier, Ter- tuUian testifies that Christ "expelled demons from men, restored sight to the blind, cleansed lepers, reinvigorated the paralytic, making the very elements of nature obey him." A quarter of a century still earlier, Irenaeus relates how that "the Church throughout the world" received power from God "to work miracles for the advantage of mankind." About fifty years yet earlier, in the first quarter of the second century, Quadratus mentions that persons then survived who illustrated "our Savior's works," men "who had been healed of their diseases," and " those who had been raised from the dead." And, finally, an unknown Arabic writer affirms that "the people called Christians founded their religion on par- ables and miracles." " yldw. Heresies, B. 11, c. 32, 4, 5. 35 Euseb. E. H. Iv, 3. 3«MS. of Galen In Smith and Wace's Diet. 11 160 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. These testimonies do more than confirm the adversaries' witness to miracles. They invariably ascribe the contimo- ance of this imperishable power to Christ's own personality, as they were miracles wrought in his name. He endued his fol- lowers to do mightier works than those which he himself had done.^ To realize the full force of these several attestations of friends and foes, their testimonies must not be taken sep- arately, but together in combination, as the cable of power results from the union of the several strands composing it, which grapples the ship to shore. wjohnxlv, 12. CHAPTER VII. CHAKACTEKISTICS AND YALUE OF CHKIST'S MIKACLES. I. Miracles as Discriminated from Jugglery. II. Place of Miracles in the Redemptive Scheme. in. Miracles as Christo-centric in Character. IV. Relation of Miracles to Epochs and Progress. V. Evidential Value of Christ's Miracles. 161 Chapter YII. CHARACTERISTICS AND VALUE OF CHRIST'S MIRACLES. § 134. Soiirces : Biographical Epitomes, and Literature. 1. John Chrysostom: (347-407), the celebrated " golden-mouthed '* ora- tor of the ancient Church, was a native of Antioch, Syria. He studied rhetoric in the school of the famous Sophist, Libanius, who deemed Chrysostom to be his best scholar, and desired him to become his own successor as Professor of Rhetoric and Elo- quence. Afterward he studied philosophy and law. Abandoning these, he finally became a devout minister of Jesus Christ, and acquired the fame of being the most eloquent preacher in the an- cient Church. In A. D. 398 he was appointed Patriarch of Con- stantinople, and had St. Sophia for his church. Living most ab- stemiously himself, he gave away his income to help the sick and poor about him, and was greatly revered. His purity of life, added to his remarkable exegetical abilities, gave him a thor- oughly practical trend in his teachings. His courage to reform extended to the imperial court, whose vices he criticised publicly because publicly practiced. In consequence, he was banished by the Empress Eudoxia in the year 407. He died aged sixty. His best works are his sermons on Genesis, the Psalms, and Homilies on most of the New Testament. His published writings number thirteen volumes. 2. John G. Hamann (1730-1788) was a native of Prussia. He studied philosophy, philology, theology, and law. Somewhat eccentric, he designated himself "The Northern Magian," a title by which he is yet known. He found strong friends in such men as F. E. Ja- cobi, Berden, and Goethe. His miscellaneous writings were pub- lished in Berlin in 1821-1843, in eight volumes, which have attracted attention, especially since his death in Germany. 3. Richard Rothe (1799-1867) was a theological student at Heidelberg. " He became successively a member, professor, director, ephorus [superintendent] of the Theological Seminary at Wittenberg." This was in 1828. In 1837 he was appointed professor of the Uni- 163 164 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. versity of Heidelberg, in 1849 in Bonn, and again at Heidelberg in 1854. He was prominent as a dogmatic and historical writer. Since his death his lectures have appeared, entitled Dogmatik (1870), and his Church History (1875). 4. Jean Paul Richter was born in 1763, at Wunsiedel, Bavaria ; in 1781 he attended the University of Leipsic, and afterward in poverty became a teacher and author. He was remarkably brilliant. It has been said that " no writer has made such brilliant remarks, and no ten have made so many." His writings comprise sixty-five volumes. 5. Theodore Christlieb (b. 1833) was a man of very remarkable genius and erudition. His birthplace was Wixrtemberg. He studied in Tubingen, taught in France, preached in London, and died in Prussia. He was Professor of Theology in Bonn. In 1873 he was a delegate to the Evangelical Alliance in New York, where he ac- quired great fame. In 1874, Dr. Christlieb published in English his great work entitled Modern Doubt and Christian Belief, consisting of eight lectures of a powerful apologetic character. g 135. Characteristics of Christ's Miracles. I do not hereby deny in the least that God can do, or hath done, mira- cles for the confirmation of the Truth. — John Locke. With each miracle worked there was a truth revealed, which thence- forward was to act as its substitute ; . . . for reason and re- ligion are their own evidence. — Coleridge. It is God's will by means of the miraculous to reveal to men who were blinded by sin. — R. Rothe. How did men ever arrive at the conception of a miracle if not through witnessing the workings of a Divine Omnipotence which was ut- terly beyond human comprehension? — Anonymous. Miracles can not be believed without a miracle. — Hamann. We have seen that Jesus Christ is the central miracle of histoi*y. . . . The elimination of the miraculous element from the Gospel his- tory can never take place without a deep injury or even a total destructive alteration of the entire substance of the Christian re- ligion.— Christlieb. "0 Ilar^p (wv iu)(^ dpri ipyd^erai, Kayd) ip-yd^ofiai — "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." — Jesus. ARGUMENT. Miracles, as the attesting signs of Christ's mission and truth proclaimed on earth, are to be justly discriminated from the vulgar pretense and arts of the magician, sorcerer, or juggler. The one is a re- vealing act to authenticate a given truth or fact invaluable to hu- manity ; the other is a concealing art which practices deceit upon Chakacteristics and Value of Christ's Miracles. 165 the natural senses. Miracles are permanent in character and be- nign in results ; sorcery is transient and trivial, and worthless throughout. So far from having anything in common, they have in history proved themselves antagonistic, in that miracles have opposed the magician's arts with a destructive energy, and the Scriptures not only denounce his procedures as impositions, but subjected the magician or sorcerer to punishment. The miracles of Jesus are not to be characterized as mere ab- stract facts, casually introduced into Christ's life as having a tem- porary relation to his work. They belong to, and are identified with, the whole redemptive system of Christianity. Contemplated aright, they will be found to have been full of benignity and be- neficence to men. Miracles are a great factor and force in the restorative scheme of human salvation. The words employed in the New Testament to express the idea of miracles are " wonders," "works," "powers," "signs:" words so far as words can convey, not that which occurs on natural principles which can be explained, but that which supernaturally supervenes in attestation of Christ's work on earth, and to inspire faith in his restorative disposition and power. The miracles of the New Testament are strictly Christo-centric in character. In God's progressive Revelation, miracles have an epochal his- tory. They were initiative of new eras closely related to the spir- itual condition and advancement of the Church. They served to inaugurate highly important movements and periods ; and when the object of their existence was secured they were retired. Thus their evidential value is discoverable in the very structure and organization of the Christian system. 1. Miracles as Discriminated from Jugglery. 2. Place of Miracles in the Redemptive Scheme. 3. Miracles as Christo-centric in Character. 4. Relation of Miracles to Epochs and Progress. 5. The Evidential Value of Christ's Miracles. A just distinction exists between the works known as mir- acles and the arts of magician or juggler. In the nature of the case it is not possible to make a scientific ^jgg j^racies analysis of the internal laws and process which and Magic. produce miraculous occurrences, for the insuperable reason that they are wrought by supernatural power, which is in- scrutable. As was forcibly expressed by Schelling, " Nothing is more doleful than the occupation of all rationalists who strive to make that rational which declares itself above all reason." On the contrary, it is often difficult for a spectator 166 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. to detect and expose the arts of the magician or sorcerer, who conceals completely his methods. Externally, however, both may be known by their respective characteristics, trend, and effects. The better judgment of every intelligent person intu- itively detects any sleight-of-hand tricks as a deception of the senses. Indeed, the fact is often avowed, and sometimes even exposed as a matter of pleasant entertainment, by the per- former himself. But when one attempts to assume the role of the impostor, to represent in some sense the interests of re- ligion, it appears in its worst possible form, as in the case of the so-called "spiritualism" which has been so repeatedly and completely exposed as an impious fraud. From the time of Celsus until the present there has been a disposition, if not a determination, on the part of certain skep- tics to identify miracles with the magician's or § 1 37. The Two -^ ° Classes Dif- similar arts, when they could be easily refuted. This clearly betrays a want of insight into the real characteristics which discriminate the two. It is there- fore worth while to compare them as to their trend and effects, and indicate what possible relation the one sustains to the other. This is discoverable in the point of contact, as has not unf requently occurred in the history of miracles. So far from miracles being one with sorcery, their attitude toward each other has been that of open hostility wherever they have been found in contact. They are the two camps of enemies at war. Sacred history records a standing protest against sorcery and all kindred arts. The Mosaic law not only denounces the practice, but provides for its instant punishment as frauds perpetrated upon the people.^ Not unf requently the worker of miracles was encountered in a given crisis with the false pretense and tricks of sorcery. As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses when he wrought miracles in the presence of Pharaoh; 2 as the followers of the pagan god Baal publicly contested against Jehovah at Mount Carmel, each party call- ing down fire from heaven in turn, that the proposed offering 1 Ex. xxll, 18; Levlt. xlx, 26; Deut. xvlU, 9-14. » Ex. vU-xl ; 1 Tim. ili, 8. Characteristics and Value of Christ's Miracles. 167 upon the altar might be consumed,^ so in the history of the New Testament some of the most formidable antagonists of the apostles and their work were sorcerers and exorcists. At Samaria,^ Philip the deacon encountered one Simon Magus, the magician of fame or infamy, who had acquired a great influ- ence over the community ; but no work of wonder is ascribed to his power, and he was admitted on repentance to the fel- lowship of the early Church. At Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, Elymas, a Jewish sorcerer,^ withstood Paul and Bar- nabas in the presence of the ruler, Sergius Paulus, when he was smitten with blindness for a time. At Philippi,^ a slave damsel " possessed of a spirit of divination," who brought her master great gains, on whom Paul wrought the miracle of dis- possession; for which the magistrates commanded Paul and Silas to be beaten and cast into the prison and their feet made fast in stocks. At Ephesus,'^ certain " vagabond Jews, exor- cists," undertook to work miracles over them who had evil spirits, in the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth ;" but the man possessed leaped upon them and drove them out naked and wounded. There is and can be neither identity nor resemblance where all is hostile. While the apostles wrought to dispossess and give liberty and comfort to the aiflicted, the sorcerers were trying to retain in servitude the soul of the afflicted for the end of gains. The issue between them was complete. Ac- cordant with the history of the facts is the teaching of Paul concerning " the working of Satan with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish." As remarked by the distinguished R. S. Poole, of the British Museum : "As there is no evidence in the Bible of real results having been worked by supernatural agency used by magicians, we may draw the im- portant inference that the absence of any proof in profane literature, ancient or modern, in no way militates against the credibility of the miracles recorded in Scripture."^ 3 1 Kings xvili, 17, et seq. * Acts vlll, 5-13. 8 Acts xlil, 6-12. •Acts xvi, 16, et seq. i Acts xix, 13-19. 8 Smith's Bible Diet., Hackett's ed. Vol. II, p. 1753, on " Magic." 168 Historical Evidence of the New Testaisient. From these facts several inductions are warranted, viz. : 1. Jugglers of whatever "name — exorcists, sorcerers, magi, cians, witches, all meaning false arts with possible differences § 138. Some i^ pretense — differentiate themselves in every in- inductions. stance of coutact from the miracle-worher of the Scriptures by the very attitude they so naturally assumed toward real miracles, as well as by the arts in which they prac- ticed impostures. 2. In spirit and purpose, which give character to the act, jugglers were openly and absolutely hostile to the spirit and pur- pose of those who wrought miracles. They are invariably found in contention against miracles. 3. In every instance recorded of antagonisms between them, the sorcerer or magician tooh the initiative in active opposition to the movements of the miracle-worker, and was crushed in his aggression. 4. The Scriptures repeatedly denounce the practices of the magicians as being criminal, and not only forbade the arts in Israel, but affixed to the law in the case the severest penalty for the punishment of the impostors. 5. Jugglery was as selfish and mercenary as it was sinful ; upon the contrary, miracles were purely beneficent, without the hope of reward from any parties. 6. The arts of the juggler or sorcerer were practiced in part to exalt the performer in the esteem of the populace ; but miracles were wrought in reverential spirit toward God, in en- tire self-abnegation, that men through the power of Christ might be brought to realize an endless salvation. 7. As miracles and sorcery differed in their character, so they differed in their results. The effects of sorcery were invariably frivolous^ degrading, and transient^ the effects of miracles were invariably spiritual, elevating, and permanent. In spirit, in purpose, in power, they differed at every point, and agreed in none. Chakacteeistics and Yalue of Christ's Miracles. 169 So self-evident are these facts that an allegation which identified miracles with magic would expose the author to the suspicion of superficiality of mind, or downright perversity of judgment. Dr. Christlieb remarks: "The denial of miracles leads to annihilation, not only of Chris- tianity, but of all religions tvhatever." "Many are averse to the mirac- ulous through fear of superstition. ... In this they overlook the sharp discrimination of Scripture between belief and superstition, be- tween miraculous power and witchcraft. Whereas the heathen sorcerer pretends to make the supernatural powers subservient to his j)erson, the prophet or apostle, if he performs a miracle, accounts himself only the instrument of God. . . . Only notice the noiseless unobtrusiveness of miracles in Holy Scripture, the chastity with which Christ sharply repels the vain curiosity and vulgar thirst of his age of wonders, and his frequent pro- hibition of their publication."^ "A glance at the internal evidences of truth in miracles, at the moral and religious character which reflects and serves, not only the power of God, but also his truth and holiness, and must prove pre-eminently their Divine origin, will show that it is not a very difiicult task for one to defend his belief in Biblical miracles against the charge of superstition. It is a remarkable fact, however, that not the believers in miracles, but their deniers, fall most easily into superstition."^'' Dr. Schenkel observes that — "When men no longer believe in God, they begin to believe in ghosts ! In truth, there has scarcely ever been an age in which men have snatched more greedily after the extravagant than our own, which derides the supernatural."^ It must be remembered that, while a miracle touches with- out absolutely impinging upon natural forces, it has to do directly with man's internal and spiritual being. §139. Miracles We err eo^reo^iously and undervalue the worth of ^^^ , ° Redemption miracles when we regard them as mere abstrac- tions, apart from any internal relation to Eevelation and Ee- demption. So far from being detached circumstances, they 9Matt. Ix, 30; xil, 16, 38,39; xvl, 1-4, 20; Mark, 1,44; 111,12. 10 Mod. Doubt, 287, 297, 298. " Was ist Wahrheit f " }V?iat is Truth f" S, 22. 1 70 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. were facts incorporated into the redemptive scheme, as their internal character and trend imply. As Dr. Christlieb says: " Not merely this or that occurrence, but the whole foundation of the Gospel history, that is the person of Christ itself, is intrinsically mirac- ulous from beginning to end." " For the elimination of the miraculous element from the Gospel history can never take place without a deeply- penetrating injury, or even a total and destructive alteration of the en- tire substance of the Christian religion." ^^ In bodily derangements the remedies known to medical science restore to the normal condition of health and vigor. So the means employed in redemption contemplate man's spiritual restoration to the plan and plane of life intended by his Creator. This supposes a supreme loss by reason of his lapse through sin. Now, the miracles wrought upon mankind in the ministry of Jesus Christ were all in the direction of be- neficence ; were in trend restorative to the condition of ordinary life; and in so far they evidence their internal relation to the redemptive plan. When the blind were given their sight; when the lepers were cleansed from deadly malady ; when the lame were conditioned anew to walk ; when the deaf were en- abled to hear; when the dumb had given them the power of speech; when the withered hand was restored whole like unto the other; when the sick were lifted from the couch into health; when the dead were raised to life again from the grave, — every instance was of the nature of a restoration to the common estate of mankind, proving both in function and effect that miracles were factors in the plan of redemption and cre- dentials of the Divine Redeemer. Miracles, in their restorative character which identifies them with a great organism, have not always received the consideration due to their claim. They have too often been treated as mere single occurrences, rather than as coherent parts of a great and beneficent system looking to the future life. Clearly miracles are not merely the accompaniments of a Divine message or of the Divine Messenger, but are an in- ^^ Modern Doubt and Christian Belief, 351. Characteristics and Yalue of Christ's Miracles. 171 tegral part of that organic whole which we call Revelation and Redemption. In the historical New Testament five different words in Greek are employed to express the fact and function of mir- acles.* They are descriptive and interchange- ^^^ Termin- able terms called "s^^?is," as attesting Christ's oiogy of Messianic character; '■'■ wonders,^'' as related to him whose "ISTame shall be called Wonderful f^^ '■'"works^'* demonstrative of the character of his kingdom ; and '•'• ■powers^'' with special reference to the spiritual forces employed to carry forward his gracious designs in human salvation. In so far as miracles are Christo-centric, they are neither natural nor unnatural, but supernatural. Because supernatural in character, they are not to be placed in the ^^^ Miraciea category of things in nature, or to be judged by as ciiristo- sensible standards. Miracles are facts to be at- tested through the senses by the judgment, yet as an appeal to our spiritual nature. They are for our help, but not subjected to our understanding. For even the forces of nature, such as gravitation and electricity, though known as facts and factors, are not in their nature understood. Miraculous occurrences *Some examples as illustrations: a. ^'- A Sign" ((rr]/jxTov, t6) : " Master, we would see a sign from thee. (Matt, xii, 38.) " Signs upon the earth." (Acts ii, 19.) " This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana." (John ii, 11.) "This is again the second sign which Jesus did." (John Iv, 54. b. "A Wonder" (Oavfiaffiov, t6) : " When the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things he did, . . . they were sore displeased." (Matt, xxl, 15.) Also (T^pa?-, t6, "a Wonder "): " I will show wonders in the heaven above." (Acts ii, 19.) " Except ye see signs and tvonders, ye will not believe." (John iv, 48.) " And many signs and wonders were done by the apostles." (Acts ii, 43.) c. "A Work" (epyov, t6) ; " ZTie works that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness to me." " Many good ivorks have I showed you from my Father; for which of these do ye stone me?" (John x, 25, 32.) d. ^'' Power" (dCva/ii^, ii) : "Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works f^ (Matt, xiii, 54.) " He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." {lb. xiii, 58.) "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works (divafui;-), and wonders (r^pag') and signs (ffrj/ieiov) , which God did by him in the midst of you." (Acts ii, 22.) " Isaiah ix, 6. 1 72 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. are helpful for man's recovery from the deprivation and de- pravation which sinning has imposed upon human nature ; be- ing restorative, they hold an internal relation to Christ's kingdom on earth, and to that final consmnmation when " all things shall become new," and man restored shall appear in his ancient and original glory. a) Accordingly, miracles appertain to the personality of Jesus Christ, whose '^sigtis" and " works ^^ they were, whose ^^ power" and ^^ wonders" centered in himself as their source. As Dr. Christlieb wisely remarks : "Jesus Christ is the central miracle of history." " The person of Christ itself is intrinsically miraculous from beginning to end." " As a rule, anti-miraculists will not admit this. They imagine that miracles and the doctrines resting upon them, merely belong to the outworks of Christianity, and that, even if these fall, the essential, that is, the moral truths of Christianity, will still remain. I have already sought to show how perverted this conception of Christianity is. Christianity in its es- sence is not a definite quantity of moral truths or teachings, but a series of facts. It is Christ himself, his person and work, the religion of the incar- nation of God in Christ, and the redemption of the world therein resulting. In other words, Christianity is essentially miraculous. Its Founder, in his personality as the God-man, is the Miracle of miracles. . . . Our Savior's earthly life and woi'k from his sinless birth to his resurrection and ascension — all the chief facts of redemption — are nothing but mir- acles." " Miracles can be understood only in connection with the his- tory of redemption."" /8) But the Christo-centric character of miracles in the Gospels will become the more evident as we contemplate them as having their center and source in Jesus alone. They were wrought by the exercise of his power. They were wrought by himself in person. They were wrought as credentials of his character and mission. They were wrought to advance the spiritual kingdom of which he was King. They were wrought in the interests of those who were his spiritual sub- jects. His Golden Rule was : '•'■ According to your faith he it tmto you: all things are possible to God."^^ The final end was redemption, of which Christ was the Redeemer. " Mod. Doubt, etc., 311, 286, 351. is Matt, ix, 29; xlx, 20; Mark x, 27. Characteristics and Yalue of Christ's Miracles. 173 In the idea of redemption and restoration there is presup- posed an original order of life and holiness which had been violated, involving a ruptured relation with God, and a lapse into a condition of helpless degeneracy on the part of the race. Sin checked the progressive development marked out in the creative plan as a scheme of living, introducing far-reaching disturbances, "and death by sin." It is not rational to believe that a God of infinite sympathies and affection would not seek to remove the disabilities entailed upon Adam's posterity at least, who had no part in the original transgression. Surely, if God should deliver his ancient people out of Egypt "by signs and wonders and by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm," so much the more would he seek to recover a whole fallen world from their spiritual bondage. As a part of the redemp- tive system, "miracles do not unnaturally break through na- ture, but supernaturally through the unnatural" and abnormal nature produced by sinning. Accordingly, Christ wrought miracles by his own inherent power as the Son of God ; for he that said to the paralytic, " I say unto thee. Arise, take up thy bed and walk," said also to him, " Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."*« y) Furthermore, in tracing miracles to their source and origin, it is to be especially noted that the apostles' miracles were wrought in the name of Christ. Their success was inva- riably ascribed to Jesus." On all occasions under examination they were careful to emphasize this fact. When they wrought the iirst apostolic miracle, on the lame-born at the Gate Beau- tiful of Jerusalem, Peter wrought it " in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth." So far were they from attempting mirac- ulous deeds in their own name or power, they expressly dis- claimed such power in themselves. They said : " Why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made him to walk? . . . By faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know ; yea, the 16 Matt. Ix, 2-6. " Acts iil, 6, 12, 16; iv, 10, 16-19, 30; xvi, 18. 174 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." Before the Sanhedrin Peter again said: "Ye rulers of the people and elders, if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole, be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole." And when the Sanhedrists had conferred together privately, they said : " What shall we do with these men, for that indeed a notable miracle hath been wrought through them is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem, and we can not deny it. But that it spread no further among the people let us threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." ^ These circumstances justify the belief that the miracles of the New Testament were Christo-centric and as such were incorporated into the redemptive scheme of Christ. That miracles were epochal in character is made evident by their history. Abraham, the progenitor of the Hebrew race, g 142 Miracles ^^^ himself Called to place and power in history and Epochs, through supernatural means, during that period which was characterized by theophanies and visions, which was a preparatory period for that of miracles. It extended dis- tinctively from Adam to Moses who was the first miracle worker. As already seen, in cases of close contact between miraculous power and the powers of darkness, so far from col- lusion there was collision, and the sorcerer was defeated in his opposition. This characteristic marks the development of the Jewish theocracy from the beginning. It illustrates what was so well said by Eothe : " It is God's will by means of the mirac- ulous to reveal himself to men who are blinded by their sins." Whenever wickedness had gained an ascendency over or within Israel, wonders and miracles were divinely interposed and wrought deliverance in the crisis. A new impulse was thus given to the theocratic government of God's people, and a new epoch was realized in the progress of their religious history. Hence, miracles helonged to crises^ and marked a new epoch in "Acts ill, Iv. Charactekistics and "Value of Christ's Miracles. 175 the course of the ancient faith, and produced a new advance in the spiritual life of the Church. a) When Moses (B. C. 1500) effected deliverance from Israel's bondage in Egypt the first epoch of the miraculous began in the theocratic nationality. Pharaoh the oppresssor with determination opposed the proposition offered him by Moses for the freedom of God's people, until the infliction of the ten plagues miraculously administered had wrought its work,^^ and forced the obdurate and cruel ruler to yield, wisely though grudgingly, to the dictates of justice and judgment. Through miracles the rights of conscience and freedom of the oppressed were obtained. This was clearly in the direction of beneficence. Within three months, not only was the exodus of Israel accomplished without resort to battle with arms, but the Red Sea had been traversed dry-shod by Israel ; and soon the dusky legislator of the mountain came forth from the face of God, bearing to his people that wondrous code of laws by which he organized more than half a million of slaves from Egypt into a formidable nation, destined to become the fore- most religious nation of the ancient world. It is the same code whose principles are to-day wrought into the government of the very best and foremost civilizations of modern times. This was the beginning of a new epoch in the history of Israel. /8) The second period began in the time of the prophet Elijah* and Elisha, about B. C. 900, when a general apostasy from God prevailed. The people of Israel were rapidly becoming fol- lowers of the heathen god Baal, when miracles were again interposed, the kingdom recovered from its idolatry, and a new epoch in the religious life of the Jewish Church was begun. The crisis culminated on Mount Carmel; and its result seems to have made a lasting impression upon Israel; for after that event no more miracles were wrought until the time of Jesus Christ. There was much sinning and no little idolatry prac- 19 Ex. vli— Ix. «> 1 Kings xvlli. 12 176 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. ticed thereafter, which called, not for miracles, but for the more drastic measure of captivity for seventy years in Baby- lon. This wrought a permanent cure of Jewish idolatry. "The law and the prophets continued until John;" but the Baptist wrought no miracles. y) A new epoch opened with the coming of the " Man of Nazareth," who is described, by one who knew him well, as " a Man approved of God by mighty works and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst" of the people, which for magnitude and multitude had never before been known by mankind. But the Christian era was not introduced without witnessing the pre-eminent crisis brought about by the Jewish Church when it rejected alike his works and words, and cru- cified his person. Jesus had said unto them : " If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works." ^' "If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin."^ This stupendous manifestation of miraculous power on the part of Jesus prepared the people for the founding of the Chris- tian religion, against which the very gates of hell have not been able to prevail. But this gift of power was transmitted to the apostles of Christ and the early Church to win and sustain their faith in Jesus in his absence, during the first cen- turies covering the ten great persecutions of the Christians. Then, when miracles had served the purpose of inaugurating epochal periods in certain crises of religious history ; when Chris- tianity had become established in the world, and reliance was effected and realized in the moral and religious faith and ex- perience of men, miracles had done their appropriate work, and were retired. Thus, as marking special crises and inaugurating new epochs for the spiritual progress in religious history, mir- acles had their place, and did their work. As Coleridge has remarked with discrimination, "With each miracle worked, « John X, 37, 38. « lb. xv, 24. Charactekistics and Value of Christ's Miracles. 177 there was a truth revealed, which thenceforward was to act as its substitute, . . . for reason and religion are their own evidence."^ Faith is justified by evidence. As free and rational beings we may be constrained to reason, but can not be forced to be- lieve. Proofs are evidential, but not irresistible. ' § 143. Miracles "Whoever wills to doubt, can doubt." But in the and J, ,■, rrj • J. •• -I Evidence. presence or the sumcient reason, every rational being is responsible for his belief in that which he ought to believe, when he understands the case, Nevertheless, all evi- dences are not of equal worth. Miracles have their value evidently, but do not rank as the highest order of proof, nor yet as the lowest. Certainly they are not to be disparaged and discarded. They are lower in rank than the teachings of Jesus, yet higher than the testimony of John the Baptist re- specting Christ, whose witness miracles progressively succeeded. They were especially adapted to the condition of mankind when Jesus appeared among men. "Jesus said unto them, Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe."^ "Ye sent unto John, and he hath borne witness unto the truth. But the witness which I have is gi'eater than that of John ; the very works which the Father hath given me to accomplish, the very works which I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me."^ "If I do not the works of my Father believe me not ; but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works." ^ "If I had not done among them the works which none other [man] did, they had not had sin."^ "Now, when he was at Jerusalem at the passover, during the feast, they believed on his name, beholding his signs which he did."^ Obviously miracles were presented by Jesus himself, not as the highest order of evidence, but as that which was the best adapted to the times, and demanded by their condition, and intended as evidence to identify his Messiahship. In matters of external evidence, as human nature is consti- tuted, we are more powerfully impressed by that which comes to us by sensible demonstration, such as miracles furnish, than «3 Statesman's Manual, Vol. I, 425. «♦ John iv, 48. *5 75. y^ gg. MJ6.x,37,38. 27 76. XV, 24. 28/5.11,23. 178 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. by other methods of conviction ; whereas " truth came by Jesus Christ," the highest authority, in the worthiest form. But the Jews rejected his teachings. We are prone to rely upon our senses for evidence, when God would have us believe him. "The Lord prefers a faith which believes without signs and wonders."^ The disciple Thomas rejected the testimony of his brethren that they had seen the Lord after his resurrection, and he demanded both ocular and tangible proof as a condi- tion of his believing. Jesus accommodated the case, as suffer- ing a morbid condition of mind through the dreadful trial of the crucifixion; but Jesus instructed him that faith is better than sight: "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."^ In the winter, at the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem, Jesus was walking on the grounds of the temple when the Jews accosted him with : "How long dost thou hold us in suspense? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered : " I have told you and ye believed not; the works which I do in my Father's name, these hear witness of me." ^^ " If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not sin ; but now they have no excuse for their sin."^^ If miracles in the estimation and design of the Savior were not intended to stand alone as matters of evidence, but consti- tuted a part of a system, they were certainly meant to be a power and have a place in Christ's kingdom. They had a direct relation to the person of Christ as credentials of his teaching and work. They revealed his identity and power. They all looked to the ultimate salvation and glorification of believers. When the Baptist had been long shut up in prison, but heard of "the works of Christ," not knowing whether the great miracle- worker was the one whom he had baptized, and of whom on sight he had borne witness, he sent two of his own disciples directly to Jesus with the inquir}^ ; and Jesus identified himself to John's understanding by means of "signs." MKOslln. 30 John XX, 2!). "/6.x, 24, 25. s* J6. xv, 22, 24. Characteristics and Value of Christ's Miracles. 179 "Go show John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." 33 As credentials, miracles were employed by Christ to pre- pare the public mind for his teachings which thereby found acceptance. It was thus on "the third day" after their call, he wrought the first miracle in Cana of Galilee, " and his dis- ciples believed on him," in consequence.^ With the apostles, however, miracles were secondary to the word^ and conji/rma- tory of their preaching. Accordingly, as we have it in Mark's Gospel, Jesus himself said: "And these signs shall follow them that believe." "And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word hy the signs following^^ 8 144. Inductions. 1. Miracles externally are distinguished from incantation and every form of deception by their mutual antagonism found in every instance of contact in history. 2. Miracles internally constitute an integral part of the Chris- tian religion, being inseparable from, and having to do directly with, the redemption of mankind. 3. Miracles at once evidence and illustrate the Divine claims and character of Jesus Christ as the Messiah touching his mission on earth as the Savior of men. 4. Miracles are Christo-centric, because he is the Source and Center of this outreaching power unto men, and after him, his apostles wrought miracles in his name. 5. Miracles serve not only to characterize special crises in re- ligious history, but distinguish new epochs in the prog- ress of God's Church on the earth. "Matt, xl, 2-5; Luke vil, 19-22. 34 John 11, 1-11. 35 Mark xvl, 17, 20. CHAPTER VIII. MODERN OBJECTIONS TO THE HISTORICITY OF MIRACLES. I. History op the Negation op Miracles. Chubb — Spinoza — Hume — Strauss — Renan. 11. Miracles and the Absolutism op Nature. 1. The Idea of a Miracle. 2. The Absolutism of Nature. 3. Nature and our Knowledge. 4. Absolutism a Fiction. 5. Nature's Laws Modifiable. 6. Nature's Laws Antagonistic. 7. Creation and Science. 8. Origin of Life on Earth. 9. A Personal God and Nature. III. Miracles and Universal Experience. 1. Terms Universal Experience of Mankind Defined. 2. Miracles Included as a Part of Universal Experience. IV. Miracles and Investigation. 1. David Strauss and Investigation. 2. Ernest Renan and Investigation. 181 Chapter VIII. MODEKN OBJECTIONS AGAINST CHRIST'S MIRACLES. §145. Sovirces: Biographical Epitomes, and Literatiire. 1. Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), of Berlin, a scientist of pre- eminent abilities, acquirements, and skill. His Kosmos (in 4 vols., 1845-1859) was his greatest work, scientific in character but popular in style ; a work which would immortalize any man. It has been described as his " chief work, the most pei'fect and the most characteristic." "It is a wonderful book, stupendous in its learning and admirable in its ease." (Peterson.) "With him ends a great period in the history of Science ; and that was his peculiarity ; he was the end of the period, not the beginning." (Agassiz.) 2. SiE Charles Lyell, of Scotland (1797-1875), a graduate of Oxford, England, in 1819, studied law, but, from inclination and taste, devoted himself to enthusiastic pursuits, especially geology, in which he became pre-eminent. He published his Principles of Geology (3 vols., 1830-1833), which soon became a standard author- ity. In 1832 he was chosen Professor of Geology at King's Col- lege, London ; became president of the Geological Society in 1836, and again in 1850. In 1863 he published his Geological Evi- dences of the Antiquity of Man, in which he supported the ^^Dar- winian Theory " of the Origin of Man. 3. Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), a native of Darmstadt, Germany, was educated at the University of Bonn and Erlangen, and became Professor of Chemistry at the University of Giessen and Munich. He was chosen president of the Academy of Science at Munich in 1860, and was made a member of the Academy of Sciences at Paris in 1861. Humboldt became his friend, and he was rec- ognized in the world of science as the greatest chemist of his time. 4. James B. Mozley (1813-1878) graduated at Oriel College, Oxford, in 1834; became Canon of Worcester in 1869, Eegius Professor of Divinity at Oxford in 1871, and was author of several works of note, among which was Eight Bampton Lectures on Miracles (1865). 5. W. B. Carpenter (1813-1885), an eminent English physiologist. Pro- fessor of Medical Jurisprudence in the University College, Lon- 183 184 Historical Evidence of the Kew Testament, don, and editor of the British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Revieiu. " He had few living equals in acquaintance with nat- ural science for original inquiry and skill as a scientific writer." He was chosen president of the British Association for the Ad- vancement of Science in 1872. 6. J. J. VAN OosTERZEE (1817-1882), born at Rotterdam, Holland; edu- cated at the Dutch University of Utrecht ; was chosen Professor of Systematic and Practical Theology in the same institution in 1862. He wrote a number of works of great value, among which are a Life of Christ (1865); Christian Dogmatics (2 vols., transl., 1870); Theology of the Netv Testament (1867); and an Essay before the Evangelical Alliance at New York, in 1873, on Gospel History and Modern Criticism. These are all works of rare worth, pro- found thought, and admirable scholarship and skillfulness. 7. Joseph Ernest Rbnan (1823-1892), of France, distinguished as a philologist and an anti-Christian writer. After winning several minor distinctions, he was sent by the Academie des Inscriptiones on a literary tour through Italy, of which he was elected a mem- ber in 1856 ; was honored with a scientific mission to Syria in 1860-1862; then chosen Professor of Hebrew in the College de France, which position he soon lost by the publication of his Life of Jesus. He was, however, reinstated in 1870, and was chosen a member of the Academie Francaise in 1870. Renan died October 2, 1892. He is most widely known in the literary world by his works entitled Origines du Christianisme , Vie de Jesus (1863) ; Les Apostles (1866) ; Saint Paul (1867) ; L' Anti-Christ (1873) ; and ifarc Aurele (1881). His best work was Historic generale des Langues Semitiques. His style was brilliant and beautiful, but the contents are too imaginary and his postulates relating to the Christian re- ligion too gross in the perversion of facts to find acceptance among critical thinkers. Criticism has relegated his anti-Chris- tian writings to the realms of romance as being utterly unreliable and unhistorical. § 146. Modem Objections to the Historicity of Miracles. 1. The right to deny d priori the possibility of a miracle — if at least one believes in a personal and living God — has never yet been proved. — Van Oosterzee. 2. No one is in a position to declare that there is no power adequate to the production of miracles, neither can he affirm them to be in- consistent with Divine Wisdom and Almighty Power. — Watson. 3. I will frankly confess that, up to this hour, I have never been able to discover a stumbling-block for my intellect in the conception of miracles. — Rothe. Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 185 4. It is, and always has been, a favorite tenet of mine, that Atheism is as absui'd, logically speaking, as Polytheism; and that denying the possibility of miracles seems to me as unjustifiable as specu- lative Atheism. — Huxley. 5. The common attitude toward miracles is not that of doubt, of hesi- tation, of discontent vpith existing evidence, but of absolute, de- cisive, and even unexamining incredulity. — Leckt. 6. Miracle comes into collision only vpith the pretended absolutism of natural laws, and the idolatry with which Atheism regards it. — Bruce. ARGUMENT. The negation of the miracles of Scripture belongs to modern his- tory. Most objections relate to the absolutism of natural forces and laws, an unproved postulate. Thence it is inferred that a miracle is "a violence to nature's laws," "a rent in nature's sys- tem." The most recent theories in opposition to the miraculous are two: that they were occurrences which had their origin in ancient myths believed by an ignorant and superstitious people, or that they were at first the merest legends based on natural facts, but exaggerated by early accretions, and traditionally trans- mitted to us. Therefore miracles, as such, are imaginary ; they never had an actual existence ; they were never subjected to crit- ical investigation. These objections to miracles are not shown to have a foun- dation in facts, are unsupported by proofs, and, indeed, have no existence except in the credulity of the objector. Every shift of the ground for objection is itself a confession that the older position was untenable and is abandoned. It is an opposition based upon an d priori aversion respecting the miraculous, which is unscien- tific in character and precludes investigation. The idea of a miracle is not that of the suspension of a natural force or law, much less its violation ; but, leaving the natural in full and act- ive operation, a different effect is produced by the introduction of the direct power of God, which is the projection of a Higher Law. Nor can a miracle be called "an after-thought with God" to correct an imperfect creative plan of the universe, but God's forethought to rescue man from his abnormal condition in consequence of his having sinned. It is clearly the right which inheres in God as the law of his Almightiness to exert his power to that wisest end of restoring his people from sinful wretchedness to that plane of life originally contemplated in man's creation. 1. History of the Negation of Miracles. 2. Miracles and the Absolutism of Nature. 3. Miracles and Universal Experience. 4. Miracles have not been Investigated. 186 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. The History of the Negation of Miracles. There was no denial of miracles during the first four Chris- tian centuries. Upon the contrary, the fact of such occur- §147. Nega- re^ces was fully admitted, the kind of miracles tions Modem, wrought Were designated, and the apostles who wrought them were mentioned by name by the early enemies of the Christian religion. The history of the negation of mi- raculous occurrences began about two centuries and a quarter ago. The Deists of Great Britain were the first to hold that miracles were unnatural, unhistorical, impossible. Thomas Chubb, a leader in the opposition, admitted that certain re- markable occurrences did actually happen, but that, in his opinion, they were all base deceits and impostures. Benedict Spinoza, the Jew, boldly contended for the absolutism of nature, on the hypothesis that, nature being a perfect and an immutable organization, miracles must be excluded as an in- novation. He said: " The laws of nature are the only realizations of the Divine Will ; if anything in nature could happen to contradict them, God would contra- dict himself." David Hume, in his celebrated Essay on Miracles^ taking the hint from Spinoza, followed his trend, and insisted that miracles were a violation of natural laws, and therefore in- credible. He attempted to refute the proposition of their oc- currence on the ground that — "Miracles are a violation of the laws of nature. But we learn from ex- perience that the laws of nature are never violated." "For miracles we have the questionable testimony of a few persons ; . . . against them we have universal experience ; therefore this stronger testimony nullifies the weaker and more questionable." Then afterward, as Natural Science enlarged and explored its domain, not Science itself but certain scientists, looking exclusively upon the system of nature, became incorrigible Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 187 materialists, and disallowed the Supernatural place and power in the universe. More than sixty years since, David F. Strauss, of Germany, affirmed, in his Life of Jesus^ that all the miracles of the New Testament were resolvable into mere myths, as being figments of the ancient imagination. Now, "a myth is a representation of a religious idea or truth in the form of a fictitious narrative." ^ He did not deny the histor- ical existence of Jesus Christ, but rather admitted that he did exist and that he was a man of rare genius ; yet all that was claimed as supernatural in Christ's birth and person, and all that is narrated as miraculous in his history, he held to be imaginary representations of religious ideas, and not facts, honestly believed by the Evangelists, but without historicity. Proofs he did not oifer to substantiate his position. This would indeed have been the easiest possible disposition to make of the case, if it is allowable to settle anything in rea- soning by merest assertion, and ignore the facts. But he pre- ferred to reflect offensively on the understanding of those who differed from his own judgment, and assume the point to be proved. He said : " The chief offense which the old system of religion necessarily gives to the spirit of our age is its super- stitious belief in miracles."^ Strauss's postulates have been re- futed again and again, both by his own countrymen and by critical scholars in Great Britain and America. Finally, Joseph Ernest Kenan of Paris, professor in the College of France, was pleased to believe that the stories of the miracles were legends ; accounts containing a small amount of history, with an enormous amount of fiction. However, this writer's utter disregard of the facts of sacred history was so phenom- enal when they were against his hypothesis, and his facility in substituting his own imagination for facts was so great, that his critics assign his writings to the department of "romance." Such is the history of the modern opposition to miracles. 1 See Schafif's Person of Christ, pp. 170, 171, 115-118. 2 Leben Jesu, p. 18, 1864. 188 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Miracles as a Violation of Nature's Absolutism. It is important to the discussion of this chapter that the following distinctions should be kept carefully in sight. The line is clearly drawn between the natural and the §148. Impor- "^ i . • i mi tant supernatural as involved m miracles, ihe natural is the universe and its processes ; the supernatural is God and his procedures. The two are to be discriminated in thought as in fact, as the Creator is distinguished from his creation, as cause is distinguished from its effect. All we know of the natural is knowledge derived through the five senses ; all we know of the supernatural is derived through revelation, whether of works or word. By the laws of nature is meant simply that regular method which we observe, in which certain phenomena follow certain causes which are called forces. By the absolutism of nature is meant the prop- osition which holds that the universe is absolutely perfect in its organization and laws, and is absolutely independent and free from all control whatsoever. This rules out God as the Ruler of the universe. The Atheist John Stuart Mill wrote : " The expression Law of Nature is generally employed by scientific men with a sort of tacit reference to the original sense of the word law; namely, the expression of the will of a Superior— a Superior in this in- stance being the Ruler of the universe." "The expression Laws of Nature means nothing else but the uniformities which exist among natural phenomena; or, in other words, the result of induction, when reduced to their simplest expression." ^ The famous scientist, Dr. "W. B. Carpenter, of Great Britain, states : " It must be clearly understood that science is nothing more than man's intellectual representation of the phenomena of nature, and his conception of the order of the universe. That conception is formulated in what we term the laws of nature, which in their primary sense are simply the expression of the phenomenal uniformities, having no co- ercive power whatever. To speak of such phenomenal laws as govern- ing phenomena is altogether unscientific." * ^ Logic, Bk. ill, c. 4. ■• Principles of Mental Philosophy, p. 692. Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 189 A miracle is a supernatural occurrence. It is not effected by nature's laws; it is not accordant with nature's laws; it is not contrary to nature's laws ; it is not a violation §^49 The idea of nature's laws. All these are fictitious concep- °^ Miracle, tions of the miraculous. To be evident to the senses, a mir- acle must touch upon some object in nature, or it could not be manifest. It is brought to pass by the direct exertion of God's power for the good of man. Being the introduction of a new force, it produces a new effect, differing from that pro- duced by nature's forces. The forces of nature were never more free and urgent in activity than when a miracle was wrought; but in such case the natural law did not produce its natural effect. "When Joshua's hosts crossed the river Jordan from the east to invade Canaan, by a miracle the waters above were " cut off," or stayed, and the waters below flowed away, so that Israel passed over dry-shod. ]l^ow, so far from there being a suspension of the natural forces or any interference with their exercise, those forces were never more powerfully exerted than then, but another effect was produced hy the intro- duction of another Cause. That is, there was a direct causation from God in the interests of a wise and beneficent purpose toward man. The transaction took place outside of the or- ganism of nature as to its source and power; but there was no '•'• molence'''' done to nature, as Avas assumed by Hume, and no ^^renV perceptible, as asserted by Strauss. That which is most accentuated by the contestants of mir- acles is, that nature's forces and laws are absolute and immu- table; that, as a system, it is absolutely perfect, ^150. Natiire's unalterable, and inviolate. This postulate neces- Absolutism, sitates the exclusion of the living and personal God. It as- sumes that, in God's creating nature, he limited himself in his own freedom, and ceased to be infinite by such limitation. The universe is absolutely independent of God, and warns off the Creator. Miracles are impossible. Of course, this is sheer assumption. 190 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Unquestionably, in many aspects of phenomena which fall under our observation, there is discernible a constant uni- formity in what we call the active operation of nature's laws. But we do not know, and no one pretends to know, universal nature; and there is in what we know no warrant for believ- ing that the regularities which we observe furnish ground for the exclusion of miracles. It can not be claimed that we have a right to know that the natural activities are always and everywhere the same in regularity. Those who have most emphasized the absolute immutability and inviolability of the universe and its processes, have failed to tell just what the laws of nature are, and why miracles would be debarred be- cause deranging or violating natural laws. Without knowing precisely what the laws of nature are, how can we know what will violate them? In the absence of any justifying reasons for such belief, the claim must be attributed to mere prejudice in advance of investigation, which is not scientific. Every intelligent mind acknowledges the obvious fact that our knowledge of nature and its processes is as and yet extremely limited in comparison with what is unknown. X. Bichat, of France, recognized as one of the most eminent physiologists of the past century, says: " The vital properties are at every instant undergoing some change in degree and kind ; they are scarcely ever the same." "They are sub- ject to a number of vai-ieties ; they baffle all calculation, and would re- quire as many formulae as the cases which occur. In their phenomena, nothing can be foreseen, foretold, or calculated ; we judge of them only by their analogies, and these are in the vast proportion of instances ex- tremely uncertain."* Sir Charles Lyell also observes : "To say that such leaps as have received the name Atavism [i. e., the tendency in generation to return to original species or type] consti- tute no interruption of the ordinary course of nature, is more than we ^ Anatomie Generale, Introd. p. xxi. Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 191 are warranted in affirming. In the case of the occasional birth of an in- dividual of superior genius, there is certainly no break in the regular genealogical succession ; . . . still a mighty mystery remains unex- plained ; and it is the order of the phenomena, and not its cause, which we are able to refer to the usual course of nature."' It is further affirmed by the distinguished Eev. H. C. M. Watson, of New Zealand — "That the operations of nature have never varied is a proposition that can not be maintained. A process of necessary reasoning compels us to believe that they have varied in the past history of the world. The science of Geology witnesses to the truth of this position."^ From all the foregoing citations, taken from scientists and authorities of the first order, the following facts are derived as the basis of further discussion : 1. The Laws of Nature are nothing else than the expression of uniformities of phenomena. 2. Yital properties in nature are every instant changing in both degree and kind. 3. Interruptions in the course of nature called Atavism are by no means uncommon. 4. Geology witnesses to the fact that the operations of nature are certainly variable. 5. To speak of phenomenal laws as coercive or governing phenomena is unscientific language. These facts evidence that no man is entitled to affirm that natural laws are absolutely regular and immutable, that mir- acles should be excluded, as claimed by Hume g 152. Absoiut- and his admirers. Upon the other hand, if, as ism a Fiction. Dr. Carpenter says, " Science is nothing more than man's intel- lectual representation of the phenomena, and his conception of the order of the universe," and "simply the expression of the phenomenal uniformities, having no coercive power what- • Antiquity of Man, c. xxiv. 'Paper read before the Victoria Institute, or the Philosophical Society of Great Britain, Vol. XX, p. 224. 13 192 HisTOEiCAL Evidence of the New Testament. ever," what is the ground on which miracles are excluded? If Bichat's statement is indisputable, that vital properties are " every instant undergoing change, both in degree and kind," what is to be said of physical nature outside of the vital? ^ Geology witnesses that invariability in the operations of na- ^^ ture can not be maintained. What is to be said of those me- teoric showers whose irregular occurrence is always taking the world by surprise? Such displays do not come regularly or constantly. Why, then, should they occur at all under a I system of laws which is absolutely immutable ? What do we know of the hidden causes and conditions lying back of the phenomena by which are produced occasionaUy destructive cyclones, terrible earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions — occur- rences which come without uniformity, and are surprises in time and procedure? Do they not demonstrate changeable- ness in both the forces and phenomena of nature? If these things do not happen at regular intervals, that fact itself denotes deviation instead of immutability in nature. If variableness and deviation are found in the causes and condi- tions, as well as in time and the mode of procedure, then vari- ableness and deviation lie at the very fountain-head of nature's laws, and refute the claim that nature is and always has been uniform and changeless. In short, the absolutism of nature's laws is a purely fictitious claim. No one is warranted in denying the possibility of miracles on the ground of the im- mutability and inviolability of nature's laws. M. Compte declares that "the human intellect is subject to the law of an invariable necessity which is demonstrable a priori from the nature and constitution of the intellect." On the other hand, Huxley indignantly denies the postulate, affirm- ing that, "as a matter of fact, the intellect of man has not heen subjected to the law," as claimed!^ Here are two disbelievers in Christianity antagonizing; each other as to the existence of a law of nature claimed to be demonstrable. * Huxley on Hume. Modern Objectioks Against Christ's Miracles. 193 It clearly can not be maintained that nature is absolute, so that any interference or modification is impossible or would be a violence which would shock the universe. This „_„ „ § 153. Nature's is perfectly demonstrable, and is done every day. Laws The fact is not to be denied that the lower forces of nature are constantly counteracted and modified by those which are higher ; the mechanical by the chemical, the chem- ical by the vital forces.^ In such cases it is not correct to say that the feebler force is in any sense suspended or annihilated ; rather it becomes co-operative in securing ends not attainable by itself. The higher laws or forces are constantly modifying the lower ones in the system of nature, to our greatest advan- tage, and this modification and counteraction are also employed in the mechanical arts. This principle may be variously illus- trated. A seed germinates in the soil, developing a vegetable organ- ism above ground ; the animal consumes the vegetable organ- ism and man consumes both the animal and the vegetable or. ganisms ; but where is the shock administered in the universe ? Through long days and nights the tree holds out the fruit on its tireless limb, in constant exposure to the sun's light and warmth, to secure the silent chemistry which makes for its proper development and ripeness. Meanwhile gravitation grapples and tugs with all its inherent power to draw the fruit down to earth; but a stronger force of adhesion holds the fruit fast in the grasp of the tree, until the ultimate end is accomplished. By due process, the adhesive force weakens its grasp, and the stronger force overcomes, and the fruit at length descends into the lap of earth. In this battle of the forces there is mutual victory and defeat; but there is neither "violence" nor "shock" to the laws of nature. An artisan's skill places overhead the ceiling of a room, and ever after- ward, without an instant of break, the force of gravitation is tugging at every square inch of that broad ceiling ; but gravi- ^Lay Sermons, pp. 156, 157. w See Murphy on Habit and Intelligence, I, 88. 194 IIisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testajvient. tation is again overcome by the stronger force, permanently, without the slightest evidence of shock or violence. A mag- net attracts iron filings, and holds them aloft despite the draw- ings of gravitation; the greater force overcomes the weaker force. It is natural for water to run downhill; but, by means of the siphon, man compels it to run uphill. These are not miracles; but they refute the claim that the laws of nature are absolute, and admit of no modification or change without violence. So man at his will controls the effect of natural forces wherever he employs steam to traverse the ocean, or uses electricity to propel the trolley-car. The higher force of man's will puts the other natural forces to a new purpose. But no law is suspended; nothing is done contrary to nature; but a new effect is produced. If a moM can do so much, how much more the will omd jpower of the infinite God! It is the admirable remark of Dr. Schaff: "The control of nature by the will of man is no miracle, but it involves all the specula- tive difficulties which are urged against it by materialists and Atheists." But there is still another aspect of the case which chal- lenges consideration. As already seen, the miracles of Christ were restorative* in trend and effect. When the §154. Nature's Laws An- yellow fever begins its ravages in a given commu- agoms ic. jji^y^ all the remedies known to the healing art are invoked to stay its destructive work and exterminate the ghastly evil. Here is an antagonism in the forces of nature, between the forces of life and the forces of death. Is this very antagonism to be cognized as a part of nature's supreme perfection and immutability, that its harmony would be dis- turbed and rent by the performance of a miracle to the same end? Eecovering from a deadly disease means the recovery of man from his abnormal to his natural condition. There are laws which are promotive of life and health; and there are laws which are promotive of disease and death ; and these are * See-chap, vll, ^139. MoDEEN Objections Against Christ's Miracles 195 contrary the one to the other. If there are maladies to be suffered, there are also remedies for our restoration. If, now, it be claimed that all these instances cited merely illustrate a normal state of facts in the natural law, in which one force operates to overcome another force which is resistive, and that the system of nature includes all such modifications and an- tagonisms in its legitimate workings, then in what consist this absolute perfection and harmony, in distinction from derange- ment and discord, that miracles should be excluded? But now let the claim be admitted. Then three facts are to be carefully noted: (1) It is a surrender of the contention that any modification or interference with the ordinary activ- ities of natural forces is a violence or outrage to nature. (2) It legitimates the question. If man interfere with and modify the action or results of natural law, as he certainly does, how and why is it impossible for the Infinite God to do so likewise ? (8) It prepares the way for the distinct assertion that miracles can in no proper sense be affirmed to be violative of natural forces. Eather, they are analogous to the healing art. They are beneficent in purpose. They contemplate restoration to the creative plan of life for man. In order that this objection against miracles shall have validity at all, it must be assumed that nature is now, as ever since creation, in its normal condition of absolute g ^55 Laws of perfection and immutability which miracles would contrariety. violate. But evidently natural phenomena do not always prove that that condition exists. For there are natural laws of con- trariety and antagonism which must be taken into the account. As already seen, there are forces which are constantly at war. "When volcanoes disgorge their fires, whole cities are over- whelmed with destruction and desolation, as were Pompeii and Herculanemn before Mount Vesuvius in A. D. 79. When earthquakes rock the globe, calamity and waste follow in the track. Famine stalks the land, peering into every hut and palace, only to fill the land with distress. Pestilence breathes 196 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. across continents, and whole populations disappear from the earth. There are laws which are instinct with the power of life and happiness, and there are laws which are instinct with the power of death and wretchedness. How do all these mis- eries experienced — mental, moral, and physical — these laws of contrariety and absolute antagonism, illustrate and prove the absolute perfections and harmonies of nature? In all this silent war of forces which fill the air and earth, why should it be thought that miracles, which come to our relief, bringing beneficence to cure some of our worst evils, should be ex- cluded? Is it a rational belief that the world should be kept in an abnormal condition of suffering ; that men should have eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hunger without food, life without health, mind without reason, when miracles come to relieve and restore the afflicted to the common condition of mankind? Is it rational to impute violence to the Lord of life, who, with that sweetness of spirit which has never been paralleled by any mortal man, when moving among the lowly and wretched of our race to relieve them of their unnatural bur- dens of life ; so that, at his touch the sightless eyes began to see ; at his word the speechless tongues began to speak; at his com- mand the loathsome leprosy instantly disappeared, the wasted forms of men were lifted into the joys of health ; that this lowly Nazarene, with a tenderness which seems infinite, deliv- ered those who were bereft of reason from those unnamed and unknown tortures of mind experienced by the insane, and restored them to a peaceful spirit and to the fellowship of friends? Would it be better to preserve inviolate this specu- lative theory than that four thousand men, besides women and children, who were out in the wild desert's waste, after suffer- ing from three days' hunger, "having nothing to eat," than that Jesus should, with such dignity, benignity, and benefi- cence, so rend nature and do violence to its laws, by feeding the multitude by multiplying the loaves and fishes! "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil ; that put darkness for Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 197 light, and light for darkness." Is not the postulate itself the very extreme of superficiality and absurdity? It is the discriminating remark of Dr. Philip Schaff that — "We are told that miracles are impossible. This is an d priori assumption and pseudo-philosophical prejudice, in the face of the Apos- tolic Age, the whole Bible, and the common belief of mankind in all ages. It is an unproved dogma turned against the facts." " Truly has Dr. Yan Oosterzee observed : "The right to deny d priori the possibility of a miracle — if at least one believed in a personal, living God — has never yet been proved." ^^ It is to be noted that science knows nothing of creation, as it invariably begins with organization. What asons intervened between the two, no living man can tell. But to § ise. creation speak of the Genesis of the Avorld as the product ^"""^ science. of chance, is simply preposterous, and forestalls all scientific Investigation. Mr. Mozley observes: " Science is not opposed to the idea of creation, because all that is essential to the integral notion of creation is a beginning ; and a begin- ning is not and can not be disproved. . . . Taking the facts of nature as they stand, and abstracted from any hypothesis respecting them, the introduction of all the species were generally exertions of a power different from the course of nature ." '^^ It was the sagacious remark of John Stuart Mill, that "The laws of nature do not account for their own origin."^* It was the characteristic remark of Thomas Carlyle, in his work on Frederick the Great, that "Atheism truly he never could abide. To him, as to all of us, it was flatly inconceiv- able that intelligent, moral emotion could have been put into him by an entity which had none of its own." ^^ Thirty years ago much was said among scientists respecting the origin of life without the office of the living Creator, The doctrine of sjpontaneous generation was stoutly held by Huxley on his dis- covery of '■''Bathyhius,^'' which he defined as "a vast sheet of ^^Person of Christ, p. 99. ^^Dogmatics, Vol. II, 565. '3 Transactions of Victoria Institute, Vol. XX, p. 222. ^*Logic. ^^Biography, B. 23, c. 14. 198 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. living matter enveloping the whole earth beneath the seas;''^® and about the same time Hackel discovered the existence of ^^Moneron^^ which he understood to be "very minute non- nucleated corpuscles forming the simplest living organisms." These two substances were supposed to bridge the impassable chasm between inorganic and organic matter; between the lifeless and the living nature ; so that, starting with the idea of the eternity of matter, the doctrine of creative acts by a li\'ing and personal Creator could be absolutely set aside. In 1872, Strauss admitted that, unless the introduction of life could be accounted for on natural grounds, a miracle must have occurred at the beginning of life. He wrote : " Huxley has discovered the Bathybius, a shining heap of jelly on the sea bottom ; Hackel, what he calls Moneres, structureless clots of albuminous carbon, which, although inorganic in their constitution, yet are all capable of nutrition and accretion. By these the chasm may be said to be bridged, and the transition effected from the inorganic to the organic. As long as the contrast between the inorganic and organic, lifeless and living nature, was understood to be an absolute one; as long as the con- ception of a special vital force was retained, there was no possibility of span- ning the chasm without the aid of a miracle." ^^ The greatest microscopist, Professor Lionel Beale, and the greatest physiologist. Dr. W. B. Carpenter, both of London, from the very first rejected Huxley's great discovery of Bathybius as an unscientific conclusion. In 1869, Dr. Wal- lich, of London, in the Monthly Microscopic Journal^ made an exposure of the unscientific character of Huxley's claim for his Bathybius from scientific data. Meantime the ship Chal- lenger made deep-sea soundings, gathering new evidence against Huxley's doctrine. In 1874, Professor Beale in his work on Protoplasm — a work mentioned by the North Avner- ican Review as " one of the most remarkable books of the age" — says in reference to Bathybius that — "Instead of being a widely-extending sheet of living pi-otoplasm which grows at the expense of inorganic elements, it is rather to be regarded as a complex mass of slime with many foreign bodies and the di'bris of living organisms which have passed away." ^^Microscopic Journal, 1868, cited by Joseph Cook, Biol. p. 2. 1' The Old Faith and the New, $48. See Joseph Cook's Boston Led s., Biol. pp. 2, 8. Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 199 The German Naturalists' Association at Hamburg, in 1876, repudiated Bathybius ; and soon, according to Professor Dana, of Yale University, in the American Journal of Science cmd Arts^^ Huxley himself surrendered his discovery as being an empty pretense, an unscientific conclusion! Such was the end of the "fact" which was to be the golden bridge which was to relegate the doctrine of a supernatural Creator and super- natural miracles to the myths of oblivion ! Tyndall exploded the hypothesis of spontaneous generation. It is now easy to understand why Humboldt in a letter to a friend once wrote : " What I do not like in Strauss is the scientific frivolity with which he finds no difficulty in accepting the generation of organic matter from inorganic, or even the formation of man from some primeval slime." ^^ The confession of Strauss is now in place: "As long as the contrast between the organic and inorganic . . . is an absolute one, as long as the conception as a special force \i. e. a Creator] was retained, there is no possibility of spanning the chasm without the aid of a miracle." Since, as Mill observes, "the laws of nature §157, origin do not account for their own origin," what is of Life, to be said of the Origin of Life? Strauss said in 1872: '^Miracle must he confessed to have occurred once at least at the intro- duction of life, unless some method of filling up the chasm between the dead and the living forms can be found." ^^ liot only has the chasm not been filled, but the notion is absolutely abandoned, and the voice of scientists is now universally against the notion as frivolous to affirm that there is possible a spontaneous origin of life. HSckel conceded that "most naturalists of our time give up the attempt to account for the origin of life by natural causes." ^^ DuBois Eaymond says: " It is futile to attempt by chemistry to bridge over the chasm between the living and the not-living." Huxley said: "If the theory of evolution is true, the living must have arisen from the not- living." " The chasm between the living and the not-living, the present "See Joseph Cook, Biology, pp. 2-4. ^^Letters to Varnhagen, 4th ed. p. 117. » Old Faith, etc., $ 48. sij^tsf. of Creation, Vol. I, 827. 200 Historical Evidence of the New Testajvient. state of knowledge can not bridge." ^^ Sir William Thomson declares : " This seems to me to be as sure a teaching of science as the law of gravitation, that life proceeds from life, and nothing but life."^ Kant said: "Give me matter and I will explain the formation of the world; give me matter alone, and I can not explain the formation of a cater- pillar."^ Tyndall said: "If we look at matter as defined for genera- tions in our scientific text-books, the notion of conscious life coming out of it can not be formed by the mind." "Life came only from antece- dent life. . . . Either let us open our eyes to the conception of creative acts, or, abandoning them, let us radically change our notions of matter."^ Dr. Liebig wrote: "Some philosophers have aflfirnied that life has existed from eternity. Natural science has proved that at a certain period the earth in temperature was such that no organic life could exist, and that therefore it must have had a beginning." ^6 Milller says: "Only a miraculous intei*ruption of the natural laws can form a living organism out of lifeless matter." Dr. Schenkel says: "The already existing harmony of nature is as little annihilated by the appearance of an absolute creative act of God in the w^orld, as is humanity itself by the entrance of anew personality." ^^ Dr. Carpenter stated: "The convertibility of physical forces, the correlation of these with the vital, and the intimacy of that nexus between mental and bodily activity which, explain it as we may, can not be denied, all lead up to one and the same conclusion — the source of all power in mind."^ Or, as expressed by W. R. Grove: "Causation is the will, creation the act of God." 2^ Dr. Christlieb says: " How did the first living organism originate ? Modern science has unquestionably demonstrated that life did not always exist on earth and Cuvier long ago confidently main- tained this to be the case, and that we could easily indicate the point of time when life began." "And not only does the entrance of higher forms of life interrupt the chain of natural causes ; for within the dif- ferent grades of existence themselves, we see the laws broken by exceptions in certain points." ^^ So, then, there was a beginning of life on earth, and the essential idea of a creation is a heginning; and all life is dependent on antecedent life. Scientifically considered, this was a beginning ; theologically, it was a creation. Whatever it may be called, it was a supernatural intervention and change wrought on all precedent natural conditions. What, then, is "^Encycl. Brit.: Biol. «3lnaugural Address before British Association, Nature, Vol. IV, 269. 2* Cited by Joseph Cook, Biology, p. 40. ^^Bclfast Address. i*Au(fsburger Allc/emcine Zeitunq, 1856. ^^ Christliche Dogmatik, 258. '^Mental Physiology, c. xx. ^'^Essay on the Correlation of Physical Forces. ^Mod. Doubt and Christian Belief, 803-305, note. Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 2lii the warrant or value of the thought which supposes that, when God created the universe, he narrowed himself down to limitations in freedom, power, and prerogative to that which he had created, so that he can not work miracles? Nitzsch has happily remarked, ^''Miracles helong to a higher order of things, which is natiire alsoP Creation was a radical and revolutionary innovation as respects all prior conditions of nature. The new and unseen Force which was introduced was as silent and certainly as powerful as that which germi- nates the seed in the soil, or marks the bursting forth of bud and bloom in springtime, or illustrates itself in the falling of the sunshine which we can see. For at last all nature's activities and laws are but effects, referable to the one Divine First Cause. But in what intelligible sense was the beginning an innovation to be held as "d* renV or "« violence^'' on pre- existent nature? Nitzsch justly observed that "the denial of miracles in- volves the denial of the free, living, personal God;" or, as expressed by Dr. Christlieb, "He that believes in ^153. concep- God as a free, living, personal Will, has settled tionsofGod. for himself the possibility of miracles." Deism is the con- ception which separates God from the universe which he created, and holds that nature upholds itself and controls its activities by virtue of its own laws, without the intervention and power of God. Materialism, on the contrary, identifies God with matter as one, in that complete sense that it denies all separate and spiritual existence, negativing God as a Spirit. Pantheism is that conception of God which holds that he is identical with the world, so that outside and beyond matter he does not exist; that he is the Soul of the universe, and all nature is his body. So far from God being a living, self-con- scious personality, he is the merest It — a somewhat having power without intelligence. Of course, such conceptions of the Almighty Godhead are incompatible with the possibility of miracles. 202 HisTOKiCAL Evidence of the New Testament. Miracles Contrary to Universal Experience. Mr. David Hume, of England, was the apostle of this propo- sition. It is said to have been originally perpetrated as a joke to worry a Jesuitical priest, who had just reported to him in conversation a miracle wrought by the Romanists. After- wards, however, thinking that he had thought better than he meant, he amplified his argument in an Essay on Miracles, in which he says: "For miracles we have the testimony of a few persons ; against them we have universal experience ; therefore, this stronger testimony nulli- fies the weaker and more questionable." Notwithstanding the sophistry of this position has been often exposed, Strauss thought his '•'•Essay on Miracles was so universally convincing that he [Hume] may be said to have settled the question ! " Now, precisely what is meant by ^'•universal experienced'' It is defined as " the uniform and undeviating experience of all o, =^ „. , mankind in all okjcs of the worldP The definition 8159. Miracles . , . and is fair. But it may properly be asked. When, and how, and by whom has the consensus of " the universal experience of all mankind in all ages of the world" been taken? And who is the responsible custodian of the re- port made? It is easily shown that the "experience of men" on different parts of the globe is often variant, and sometimes diametrically the opposite. The experience of mankind in the torrid zone would attest the fact that snows are never known to fall, or frosts to blight, or water to congeal into ice; but experience in the Arctic Zone would attest that the earth is universally bound up solid in the embrace of perpetual snows and ice, where is nothing green, and glint exists. If it be claimed, however, that in the universal experience of the whole heathen world in all the ages past, miracles have never been known, the fact may be conceded without a word of con- Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 203 tention. But the atfirmant has surrendered his own premise of "universal experience." The experience of the heathen world is very far from being "the universal experience of all mankind in all ages of the world." Yery obviously, if we are to find miracles at all among men, we must find them where they occur, and not where they are utterly unknown. As a matter of evidence, one might as well demand to see icebergs at the line of the Equator before he will believe that they exist, as to demand Christian miracles in the outside heathen world. It should he carefully noted that the postttlate which excludes the history of miracles wrought in the Jewish nation and during the first four centuries of the Christian era within the Roman Empire^ does not, nor can he, admitted to represent ^Hhe universal experierice of all nnanhind in all ages of the worlds'' Upon the other hand, it may be safely affirmed that universal experience does not sustain the postulate that mir- acles never occurred. We know heathen experience only by its history ; by the same canon of belief we learn of miracles in the Christian world. To omit the experience of the only valid witnesses in the case, would resemble "the play of Hamlet with Hamlet left out ! " To prove a given crime by witnesses, the fundamental question would be, not w^ho did not see it, hut who did. The testimony of the whole wit- nessing Church of God on earth, with its centuries of ex- perience in history, solemnly attests that miracles were wrought within " the universal experience of all mankind in all ages of the world." It is much to the advantage of the argument, that Tniracles were never once denied in those cen- turies where and when they occurred, and hy those who were most entitled to know. Upon the contrary, as we have seen, miraculous occurrences are distinctly admitted, the kind of miracle wrought was designated, and the names of those who wrought them were given, by those who were enemies of the religion which produced them. 204 Historical Evidekce of the New Testament. Miracles Have Never Been Investigated. Nothing has been more put forward as a stock expression by a certain class of dishelieyers than that miracles were never subjected to investigation. Is this true, indeed ? Then miracles have been rejected without investigation! "He that judgeth before he heareth is not wise." Both Strauss of Ger- many and Kenan of France issued this broad challenge. Dr. David Strauss wrote : §160. Strauss " If the friends of the miraculous would explain to on us the working laws [of miracles] as clearly as we know Investigation, ^j^g laws which govern the action of steam, we should then consider their arguments as something more than mere talk."^^ Confessedly, the spirit of this gibe, intended for those who differ with Strauss, does not happily illustrate a philosophical mind in search of truth. He should have known that if the higher law of the supernatural could he explained, that fact would take the case out of the category of the super- natural at once ; it would not be a miracle. Truly did the skeptical Schilling say: "Nothing is more doleful than the occupation of all rationalists who strive to make that rational which declares itself above all reason." We do not explain "the working laws" of our own natures, how thought co-ordi- nates with the sensibilities and with the human will, resulting in the external action ; nor do we have to understand all this inter-relation and inter-action in order to believe any given fact. We do not believe how the grass grows ; but we believe that it grows, nevertheless. Who has ever explained the inter- nal "working laws" whereby the acorn is converted into the oak ? Nature is full of mysteries which were never understood, but which we all accept and believe. Test microscopically and chemically, as you will, two eggs of different species, which, however, so far as discernible, are exactly alike in appearance, in weight, size, color, substance, in quality, and quantity. The 31 Cited In Modern Doubt, etc., 323. Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 205 one egg invariably hatches the bird, the other the serpent. Now, in return, an explanation of nature is in demand. Is the fact to be deemed incredible because it is inexplicable? Can we explain, not the external conditions, but the internal origin of life in the egg ? No man has ever yet explained the "working laws" involved; nevertheless every man believes the fact when it occurs, unless he is an idiot. Until one can explain the phenomena of nature, or of life, or of history, he debars himself from all right on this ground to object a priori to the possibility of miracles. Rightfully does Christlieb say: " We now demand of those who reject the miraculous that they shall explain to us, from natural causes, all the phenomena in nature and history. If they can not do it, they have no right to contest the possibility and the historical nature of the miraculous. . . . Un- belief has yet to find a satisfactory explanation for the most important facts in history. The more thoroughly it investigates, the less can it conceal this. . . . And what is, then, the last resort for deniers of the miraculous ? When the connecting links in nature no longer suflBce, they are feign to recur to chance. . . . But to take refuge in chance is the death of all scientific investigation." ^^ In one of Joseph Ernest Kenan's later works, entitled The Apostles, he says : " It is an absolute rule of criticism to deny a place in history to nar- ratives of miraculous circumstances. . . . Such facts have never been really proved. All the pretended miracles near „,^, „ . „ T., .„ . . §161.Renanon enough to examine are referable to illusion or im- investigation, posture. If a single [modern] miracle had ever been pi'oved, we could not reject in a mass all those of ancient history; for admitting that very many of these last [modern miracles] were false, we might still believe that some of them were true. But not so. Discus- sion and examination are fatal to miracles. Are we not, then, author- ized to believe that those miracles which date centuries back, and re- garding which there are no means of forming a contradictory debate, are also without reality ?"^ a) Two things very remarkable occur in this paragraph. One is that M. Renan, as a critic, should reject that which is true because of the false ; should disallow the money of the genuine bank because of its counterfeit; should disown the M Christlieb, Modern Doubt, 329, 330. » Introduction, p. 37, Amer. ed. 1879. 206 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. ancient miracles of history because of modern pretenses con- fessedly false. This evidences a strange lack of discrimination in judgment. Another characteristic is, that he accentuates that "discussion and examination are fatal to miracles," but respecting " those miracles which date centuries back . . . there are no means for forming a contradictory debate." If ancient miracles can not be opposed by reason in debate, why reject them without reason? Just what kind of evidence M. Renan demands when he says, "Such facts have never been proved," it would be in- teresting to know. If he means historical proof of such oc- currences has not been adduced, he is certainly much at fault as a Professor of History. There are concessions and clear affirmations, and no contradictions made by Jews and heathen directly to the contrary, as we have seen. These attestations of the fact of miracles come from those who were even more hostile to Christianity than was M. Eenan. But they had this advantage of this writer ; they were the contemporaries of the miraculous events, and knew what they were writing about far better than one living in the nineteenth or twentieth century. We have the testimony of the Jewish Talmud, the Toledoth Jeshu, the Antiquities of Josephus on the one hand, and on the part of the heathen, the testimony of Celsus, of Hierocles, and of Julian the Emperor, confirmed by the testi- mony of a document written by an Arab, reconfirmed by the witness of Tertullian, Quadratus, Origen, and a host of Chris- tian writers of that period. These speak of facts which oc- curred where and when they were living, or near that time ; and M. Renan gives us his mere opinion^ without justifying reasons, to overthrow the testimony of these witnesses ! No amount of denial on the part of a disbeliever who knows nothing of the facts in dispute can cancel the historical state- ments of those who were contemporaries of the miraculous occurrences. It is sheer dogmatism thus to deny. It certainly requires more than M. R6nan's dictum to establish it "as an Modern Objections Against Christ's Miracles. 207 absolute rule of criticism to deny a place in history to narra- tives of miraculous circumstances." He is severely criticised by scholarly writers for his facile methods of substituting the vagaries of his own imagination for facts touching the trans- actions recorded in the historical New Testament.* (3) M. Renan further remarks: " Miracles only exist when people believe in them. ... A miracle at Paris, for instance, before experienced savants would put an end to all doubt ! t A miracle never takes place before an incredulous and skeptical public, the most in need of such convincing proof. Cred- ulity on the part of the witness is the essential condition of a miracle. There is not a solitary exception to the rule that miracles are never produced before those who are able or permitted to discuss and criti- cise them."" R6nan has welded together as one the silly pretense of the modern and the historical miracles of the apostles. He refuses to separate them as of altogether different char- acter. His remark, therefore, is a gratuitous sneer unbecom- ing the courteous Frenchman, and a cheap contempt for Christianity to come from a gentle philosopher. It indicates a vice of mind which disqualifies the writer for taking a fair view of things which come within the domain of sacred history. It is his misfortune that in matters relating to the Christian religion he is interested less in the facts to be sought than in their denial. To say that miracles exist only when *Dr. Tlschendorf says of R6nan's writings: "TMs theory of the rise of the Gospels has culminated In a piece of botchwork, . . . Issued from the Paris press In 1863. The author, . . , not troubling himself . . . respecting the share which the apostles may have had in delineating the Gospel portraits, but following his own self-imposed theories about miracles and revelation, has dis- played boundless recklessness, and given way to the most unbridled phantasies respecting the Gospel history, caricaturing both it and its Hero. He has written a book which has much more the character of a shameless calumny of Jesus than of an honest investigation into his career." (Origin of The Four Gospels, pp. 27, 28, Amer. Tract Society.) + Christlleb says to this: " Perhaps before the French Academy? We would remind those who feel inclined to submit to its decision as infallible that this body in former times rejected (1) the use of quinine, (2) of vaccination, (3) lightning conductors, (4) the existence of meteorites, (5) the steam engine." (Mod. Doubt, p. 824, n.) 34 TTw Apostles, p. 87. 14 208 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. people believe in them, is even better than to disbelieve in them when they actually occur. The statement of this Professor of History in the Uni- versity of France is historically inexact according to the only authentic documents we have on that subject. The history of miracles in both the Old and New Testament is an open and standing contradiction of his whole position. Test the fact from the very first instance unto the last. When Moses and Aaron stood before Pharaoh,^ that ruler called in his " ma- gicians Avith their enchantments" to confront and contest the validity of the miraculous signs evidencing a message from God. The contestants broke down completely in the conten- tion, and acknowledged that the wonders wrought by Moses were wrought "by the finger of God!" The narration must stand as authentic until the claim is refuted. Does it prove that "credulity on the part of the witness was the essential condition of a miracle^" "When Elijah on Mount Carmel^ met the eight hundred and fifty priests and patrons of the god Baal, to test and contest whether Baal or Jehovah was the true God, in the presence of the miraculous sign in sacri- fice, when fire fell from heaven at the prayer of the prophet, the unwilling people who saw it fell upon their faces and cried aloud, "The Lord he is God; the Lord he is God," What, then, becomes of Kenan's famous assumption that "Credulity on the part of the witness is the essential condi- tion of a miracle ;" and " miracle never takes place before an incredulous and skeptical public, the most in need of convinc- ing proof?" Turn to the history of miracles in the New Testament. The first miracle wrought by the apostles* was that wrought upon the person of the lame-born at the Gate Beautiful, at the temple grounds at Jerusalem. The man was instantly cured by the word of Peter, in the presence of adversaries. But what was of more importance was the fact that, when Peter *That is, after those of Pentecost, Acts 11, 43. 8s Exodus vlll, 19, etc. ««1 Kings xvlli. Modern Objections Against Chkist's Miracles. 209 and John had been arrested and arraigned before the Sanhe- drin, which sought to suppress the apostles and their work, they were constrained to confess: "What shall we do with these men? for that a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all that dwell at Jerusalem, and we can not deny it^^ What, then, is to be thought of the reckless statement that " There is not a solitary exception to the rule that miracles are never produced before those who are able and permitted to discuss and criticise them !" The same con- ditions were present in the course of Christ's own ministry. When Jesus cured "the sick of the palsy," the opposing scribes did not deny the miracle, but said, "This man blas- phemeth;" but " the multitudes saw it, . . . and glorified God who had given such power to men.'"^ When he pro- posed to raise the dead daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, those that stood by "laughed him to scorn," but when it became an accomplished fact they were silenced and amazed at what had been wrought.^ Even the Pharisees did not attempt to deny his miracles, but admitting the fact, ascribed the power to the devil !^ In the light of history there is no justification to be offered for Kenan's frivolous and unhistorical remark that " a miracle never takes place before an incredulous and skeptical public." Whatever is done in historical investigation, we can not and must not attempt to change the facts of history. We can not play fast-and-loose with the Christian facts which are to be investigated. As to the sacred narratives, we must either ac- cept the accounts as they stand, or refute them with judgment in open, fair, and scholarly criticism. On this point Dr. Christ- lieb says: "Renan proceeds to contest the actuality of all Scriptural miracles, maintaining that no miracle has been established as such, and that ' all supposed miraculous facts which we have been in a position to examine, have proved to be delusions and deceptions.' This result, of course, is «7Actslv,16. 88 Matt, ix, 1-8; Mark 11, 3-12. a* Mark v, 40-42; Luke vlil, 41, 42,63-66. «Matt. xli, 24; Mark ill, 22,23; Luke xi, 15. 210 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. obtained in the most facile mannei-, by aimply changing the facts which are too stubborn to evaporate into delusions, into myths and legends." " The man who calmly aflRrms that no miracle has appeared before those who are capable of criticising it, and who thus declares that the entire Jewish and Roman world, with all their learned and wise men, among whom Christ and his apostles did so many [miraculous] signs, to have been utterly incapable of forming a true judgment in regard to them, — such a man simply gives vent to the presumption of the nineteenth cen- tury, which, on so many questions, arrogates to itself the monopoly of ' competent criticism.' " ^ y) It may now be assumed that the distinction between the Natural and the Supernatural is drawn with sufficient clearness, and that the laws of nature for their existence and maintenance refer us to the Divine Mind as the one and su- preme Author. The following inferences are therefore legiti- mated : 1. The Absolutism of Nature is a claim which is not, and never was justified by proofs. 2. It is unscientific to hold that natural laws are coercive, or exclusive of miracles. 3. The lower forces of nature are never suspended or anni- hilated by the higher forces. 4. Miracles do not suspend or supersede the natural forces, but simply supplement them. 5. If man has power to modify the effects of natural laws, much more has the Infinite God. 6. The work of Creation and the Origin of life on earth were supernatural occurrences. 7. Universal experience in all ages includes, but never excludes, the fact of miracles. 8. The history of miracles develops the truth that they were always open to investigation. « Modern Doubt, etc., 325. CHAPTER IX. PASSION, DEATH/AND BURIAL OF JESUS CHRIST. I. Incidents op His Passion : Testimony of Celsus, Porphyry, Toledoth Jeshu, and the Jewixh Talmud. II. Incidents of His Death : Celsus, Talmud, Toledoth Jeshu, Josephus, Lucian, Hierocles, Tacitus, Mara, and Dr. Heinrich Graetz. III. Incidents op His Burial : Celsus, Tacitus, Rabbi Frey, R. Abrabanel. IV. Confirmation of Adversaries' Testimony by Christian Writers : a) Testimony of a Christian Apostle: Paul. /3) Testimony of Apostolic Fathers: Barnabas and Ignatius, y) Testimony of Christian Apologists: Aristides, Tertullian and Jerome. V. Inductions from the Facts and Evidence Adduced. 211 Chapter IX. PASSION, DEATH, AND BURIAL OF JESUS CHRIST. § 162. Sources: Biographical Epitomes, and Literature. (Adversaries.) 1. LuciAN (A. D. 120-200) was born in Samosata, Syria, and flourished in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138). Under the guise of a narrative he assailed the Christians and the Christian religion with wit and ridicule in a letter written to one Chronis, in which he indulged in both fiction and a parody representative of the death of one Proteus or Peregrinus as being a Christian. He has been critically charactei'ized as "a brilliant but frivolous rheto- rician," " an Epicurean, worldling, and infidel, . . . who could see in Christianity only one of the many vagaries and follies of mankind ; in miracles, only jugglery ; in the belief of immortality, an empty dream ; and in their contempt of death, and brotherly love of Christians, to which he was constrained to testify, [only] a silly enthusiasm." (Schaff.) 2. Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke (1678-1751), was an English statesman and author, who made himself quite notorious by his hostility to Christianity in the first half of the eighteenth century. He was content to resolve " all morality into self-love as the first principle and final center" of human interest. That is, he put himself in the place of God ! " He was educated at Eton and Ox- ford, and was extremely dissipated in youth." " He was brilliant and versatile, but not profound." "His collection of works have but little merit except style." (Johnson's Cyclop.) 3. Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), who attained great fame as an historian. In youth he studied at Westminster and Oxford ; became a Ro- man Catholic ; renounced his Catholicism and religion in 1754, and became and continued a confirmed skeptic. He made great acquisitions in both classic and French literature. One day, while musing in Rome, and the barefooted friars were engaged in their vesper devotions, the thought first occurred to him to write his history of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He pi'o- ceeded at once to begin the work, which he executed during 1776- 1788, when it was published. The best editions are those edited 213 214 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. either by William Smith, or that by Milman. Able as the work certainly is in so many respects, in critical opinion he is regarded as exceedingly unfair toward the early Christians, magnifying their frailties into faults, and being seemingly incapable of ap- preciating their virtues or their pi-oper claims of conscience. He was utterly pitiless of the martyrs for the truth, and had no sense of their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Friends.) 4. The Apostolic Fathers were so named because they were the im- mediate pupils of the apostles, and, at the same time, the first Fathers of the Christian Church. They were, therefore, both con- temporaries and successors of the apostles, and the connecting link between the Apostolical and the Primitive Church. They did not claim theopneustia (inspiration) in their work as did the apostles, nor was it ascribed to them by the Church. Their simple function was to reproduce and hand down the apostles' teachings as they had been taught by them. Sometimes the writings of the Apos- tolic Fathers were read in the Churchly assemblies, but their writ- ings were not considered as a part of the Canonical Scriptures, but as friendly and Christian counsel to enforce the apostles' teach- ings. The evidential value of their writings in Christian history is great, for the reasons that they were for years the personal associates of the apostles, and, after them, were the first re- cipients of apostolic teaching and the media through whom those teachings were transmitted to us ; that they wei'e at once the custodians and witnesses of the apostolic Scriptures and doc- trines, which they had received in both an oral and a written form. They treat the writings of the apostles with profoundest reverence as being the exclusive authority for the Christian Church. They based their own teachings upon the apostolic doctrines. 5. Barnabas (70-79) was not the companion of Paul (Acts xiii, 1, 2), but one of the earliest writers of the Apostolic Fathers. He is only known in his Epistle, which is a curious document, but of very evidential character. "There is no reason to believe that ho received his appointment to the apostolate directly from the Lord." (Westcott, Canon of N. T. 42.) "Our opinion is that these arguments are fatal to the authorship of [the Apostle] Barnabas or any other apostle. It is quite possible that some Alexandrian Christian by the name of Barnabas may have written [this Epistle], for the work is evidently of Alexandrian origin ; its cast of thought and mode of exegesis being such as could hardly have arisen else- where." (Cruttwell's Literary History of Early Christianity, I, 48, 49; 1893.) The Epistle was written in Greek and was found attached to the celebrated Sinaitic Manuscript of the New Testa- Passion, Death, and Burial of Jesus Christ. 215 ment discovered by the celebrated Dr. Tischendorf in the St. Catherine Convent in 1859, " beginning with the fourth page where Revelation ends." (Salmon.) It contains twenty-one brief chap- ters. It witnesses to the existence of a written Gospel in A. D. 70-79. The date of this Epistle is not absolutely certain ; but critical opinions assign the document to the sub-apostolic age, in the sev- enth decade ; but some so late as A. D. 138. a) Those jplacing the date of Barnabas' s Epistle in the second century are: Westcott : " Not before the beginning of the second century." (Canon, 42. ) Fisher: "Very early in the second century." (Beginnings of Chris- tianity, 278.) Kayser, Baur, Miiller, and Lipsius : A. D. 107-120; Hefele, 137. (Schaff, Ch.Hist. II, 679, n. 2.) Tischendorf: "About 117." (Origin of the Four Gospels, 155, 163.) Valkmar : " Under Hadrian ;" i. e., A. D. 119-138. Crooks: "About 125-150." (Letter.) /3) Those ascribing the Epistle to the first century are: Hilgenfeld, Reuss, Ewald, Weizsdcher, Weiseler, and Funk: "At the close of the first century, or before 79." Milligan: "Soon after the destruction of Jerusalem" [70]. (Schaff, Ch. Hist. II, 678.) Cruttwell : " 70-132 " A. D. (Lit. Hist, of Early Christianity, 48, 49.) Hilgenfeld: "Under [the emperor] Nerva, 96-98." (Cruttwell, I, 49.) Smith and Wace : " Only a few years after the destruction of Jerusalem ;" i. e., A. D. 70. (Diet. Christ. Biog.) Bunsen: "About fifteen years before the Gospel of John." (Hippolytus and his Age, I, 54.) Ewald, Weizsdcher, Cunningham : "Not many years later than Vespasian," 70-79. (West. Can. 42 n. 1.) Holzmann : "The Epistle to Hebrews and the Epistle of Barnabas, writ- ten about the same time." (Cited by Watkins, Bampt. Lects., 1890.) Bishop Lightfoot : " We should probably place the date . . . between 70-79." (Apos. Faths. 241, ed. 1891.) Professor Salmon: "We must ascribe it to the reign of Vespasian, A. D. 70-79." (Introd. 513, 518.) Harman: " It must have come down from the first century." (Introd. of Scripts. 515, and n.) The date here given for the Epistle of Barnabas is the seventh decade of the first century, which would be about forty years after the ascension of Christ, and about fifteen yeai-s after the publica- tion of the Gospels. The special value of this document is the 216 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. citation it makes of Matt, xx, 16 ; xxii, 14, in the exact words of the Evangelist, under the formula "It is ivritten," which is the earliest testimony of the written Gospel known. 6. Marcianus Aristides (wrote 123-139) was a philosopher of Athens, who is mentioned by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. IV, c. 3) as the contem- porary of Quadratus. He describes Aristides as "a faithful man of our religion, who left an Apology of our faith, as Quadratus did, addressed to Hadrian." Jerome corroborates Eusebius, and relates that after Aristides became a Christian, he still continued to wear the philosopher's garb, and that he presented to Hadrian " a book containing an account of our sect, that is an Apology [or Defense] for the Christians, which is still extant ; a monument with the learned of his ingenuity." (De Illustrihus Viris, I, 20.) This Defense of Aristides was lost for centuries, but was re- cently recovei'ed in its complete form. An Armenian transla- tion, discovered in 1878, was the fii'st document brought to light. R^nan, with his chai*acteristic repugnance to Christianity, de- nounced the document as spurious. In 1889, Rendal Harris, of Philadelphia, while traveling in Syria, discovered at St. Catherine at Sinai a Syrian manuscript containing a ti'anslation of the long- lost Apology of Aristides. Its accordancy with the Armenian trans- lation is such as completely substantiates the identity and authen- ticity of this Apology. But there is this curious discrepancy: the Syrian manuscript makes it clear that the document was originally addressed to Antoninus Pius (139-161), instead of Hadrian (117-138) according to the Armenian document and the statement of Eu- sebius, and also Jerome. The Syriac gives the writer's full name as Marcianus Aristides. "Now, this name is otherwise known as that of a Christian of great authority in Smyrna, living about A. D. 138-140." (Cruttwell, Literary Hist. I, 292.) A point of principal interest contained in this Apology is the early formulation of the "Apostles' Creed," though not in its complete form. 7. Lactantius (250-830) was a rhetorician and orator of great distinction. The Emperor Diocletian invited him to settle in Nicomedia as Professor of Eloquence. This was about A. D. 301. About 312, Constantine brought him to court in Gaul, and appointed him the teacher of his own son Crispus. Lactantius commanded a culti- vated style, and possessed withal remarkable power of expression. Jerome characterizes him as " the most learned man of his time." He witnessed the cruel persecutions of the Christians for their faith, but without sharing their sufferings, and was well pi'epared to write in defense of his reviled religion. Lactantius was called " the Christian Cicero." His principal work was his Divine Insti- tutes, which was at once a refutation of paganism, and a Christian Apology — a work which he dedicated to his friend and patron Con- Passion, Death, and Burial of Jesus Christ. 217 stantine the Great as the first Christian emperor. In his work entitled De Morie, or Mortihus Persecutorum, if he is the author, he denounced Nero's cruelties to Diocletian, Galarius, and Maxi- minius, invoking God's judgments upon the persecutors. 8. Jerome (Sopronius Eusebius Hieronymus) was born at Stridon, on the confines of Dalmatia, between 331 and 342. He is recognized as the connecting link between the Eastern and the Western Churches. The child of Christian parents, he was carefully educated under Donatus, the famous heathen grammarian, and Victorinus, a dis- tinguished rhetorician. He traveled extensively abroad. But he dovoted himself most devoutly to the studies and labors of an ascetic monk. He attached to his cause many converts in a re- markable manner, especially Roman ladies of the patrician fam- ilies, to whom he expounded the Scriptures, and induced many to become nuns. In 386, Jerome, with Paula and her daughter Eus- tochium, settled in Bethlehem in Judaea. Paula, being a patrician of wealth and distinction, built three convents for nuns, and one for the monks, over which Jerome presided. Here Jerome trans- lated the Bible into the Latin, now known as The Vulgate edition. Jerome died at a great age of fever, about the year 419 or 420. PASSION, DEATH, AND BURIAL OF JESUS CHRIST. The death of Christ is so distinctly foretold in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah that I am forced to believe that Jesus, by a series of pre- concerted measures, brought on his own crucifixion in order that his followers might appeal for supernatural proof to the ancient prophecy. — Bolingbroke. If the life and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life and death of Jesus were those of a God. — Rousseau. It was something far deadlier than death. — Farrar, For Christ suffered for sin once, the Righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. — Peter. And when [Pilate] knew it from the centurion, he gave the dead body to Joseph. — Mark. Now, in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulcher wherein was man never yet laid. There laid they Jesus, . . . for the sepulcher was nigh at hand. — John. Uap^dojKa yap Vfuv iv wpwroi^ 6 Kal irapiXa^ov, Srt "Kpicrrb^ airidavev virkp tGiv a.p.apTi.Q)v ■q/xCiv Kara ra?- ypa< lb. 11, 9. « n,, n, ;«. lo y^. yl, 78. Passion, Death, and Bukial of Jesus Christ, 221 The Toledoth Jeshu also affirms that Jesus taught that " his blood should atone for the sins of mankind, and that he appro- priated to himself the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah." (For de- tails of Crucifixion, see Excursus G, vii.) Celsus again obviously misrepresents and holds up to ridi- cule certain Christians as " inspired persons " who claimed to have Christ formed within them the hope of glory, when he says it was " for the purpose of attracting attention and ex- citing surprise" before the public, but really with the latent sneer in reference to Christ's return to earth to judge the world. He says : "These are accustomed to say, ... I am God; I am the Son of God, or I am the Divine Spirit. I am come because the world is perish- ing; and you, 0 men, are perishing for your iniquities! But I wish to save you ; and you shall see me returning again with heavenly power. Blessed is he who now does me homage. On all the rest I will send down eternal fire, both on cities and on countries. . . . But they give occa- sion to every fool or impostor to apply them to suit his own purpose." " § 167. Recapitulation. The earliest adversaries of Christianity here witness to the existence of the disciples of Jesus ; to the fact that he did re- tire to the garden of Gethsemane ; to his prayer of agony ; to his betrayal by Judas ; to his having been deserted by friends ; that he was led away by his captors as a prisoner ; that he was denied by Peter ; that he was scourged by Pilate ; that he was mocked by Jews and soldiers ; that he was robed in a purple garment ; that he was crowned with thorns ; that a reed was placed in his hand ; and that he was mocked and then condemned to die. These circumstances, related to Christ's passion, are here attested substantially as recorded in the ]S^ew Testament. Moreover, an enemy of Christ witnesses that he was " a man illustrious for his piety," and more pow- erful in the impression which he made upon the world and for the influence which he exerts upon mankind than all the heathen gods together ; that he was the Teacher " Cels. vli, 9. 222 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, of the people ; that, notwithstanding the infamies intended to be cast upon his name both by the mode and associations of his death, he was " deemed to be the Savior, and Son of the greatest God ;" that the sufferings and death of Jesus were be- lieved to be in the interests of mankind ; that he was regarded as the Son of God sent to the Jews, and who, in the cruelties endured, made an atonement for the race. Here are about twenty pa/rticular facts and incidents attested just as they are found in these Christian Scriptures. They are taken from, the writings of Celsius^ the Toledoth Jeshu^ the Jewish Talmud^ and from the witness of Porphyry — the earliest and worst enemies Christianity ever had to encounter. Incidents of His Death. It should be particularly observed that, when the Roman soldier offered Jesus the "vinegar and gall" on the cross to 6 168 Christ's ^leaden his mortal pains, the potion was instantly Last Moments, rejected ;^^ but afterward, when the " vinegar " alone was proffered him to allay the intense thirst induced by his passion, it was promptly received.^^ The sufferings im- posed in crucifixion were endured without mitigation. The Messianic prediction was thus fulfilled : " They gave me gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." ^ To these two distinct potions the rabbinical works respectively refer, confirming the sacred narrative. The Talmud affirms that " after he [Jesus] was condemned to die, they gave him the cup of wormwood, that he should not feel the pangs of death. This mercy to drink wormwood is written in Abel Rdbbati or Semachoti.^ The Toledoth Jeshu says, " They gave him vinegar to drink." Celsus, probably from ignorance of this Jewish custom, mistakes when he con- founds these two potions as one, and misrepresents the fact that Jesus accepted the vinegar, but rejected the other. More "Matt. xxvll,84; Mark xv, 23. »»Matt. xxvll, 48; Mark xv, 36; Luke xxlll, 36; John xlx, 29, 30. K) Psalm Lxlx, 21. " Semachoti, c. 11, 9. Passion, Death, and Burial of Jesus Christ. 223 probably, he was not willing to make the just discrimination, Origen, in citing Celsus, indicates how he colored the facts saying that he " makes the vinegar and gall a subject of re- proach," adding: " He rushed with open mouth to drink of them, and could not en- dure his thirst as any ordinary man frequently endures it.^^ " For what better was it for God to eat the flesh of sheep or to drink vinegar and gall than to feed on filth ?" "^ " The Christians, making certain addi- tional statements to those of the Jews, assert that the Son of God has been already sent on account of the sins of the Jews, and that the Jews, having chastised Jesus and given him gall to drink, have brought upon themselves the Divine wrath." ^'^ Paulus of Heidelberg, and other skeptics of that school, have been pleased to believe the unproved conjecture that Jesus did not really die on the cross, but swooned •^ ' 8169. His OAjoay. If there was no death, there was, of Death Actually course, no resurrection. Special attention, there- fore, is directed to this point in the account as given in the sacred narrative, and is so decisively confirmed by adversaries, who also note certain extraordinary circumstances which im- mediately followed that event. The testimony adduced takes cognizance of circumstances leading up to the crucifixion ; that it was effected at the instigation of the Jews ; that the mode of his death was inflicted by the Romans ; that he was executed by Pontius Pilate, who was procurator of Judsea ; that he was put to death at Jerusalem in Palestine ; that the time of its occurrence was in the reign of Tiberius Csesar ; that the occurrence happened on the occasion of the Jewish Passover, and the exact hour was at three o'clock in the after- noon, when the evening sacrifice was slain. No historical event of the remote past can be authenticated by better evi- dence than that given by enemies, who identify the parties involved, the time, the place, the occasion of a given occur- rence, and the rulers of the hour. All these facts concur in the death of Christ. 22 Cels. li, 37. 2»76. vil, 13. 2*76. Iv, 22; comp. John xlx, 28-80. 15 224 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. a) His Crucifixion. Josephus says : " When Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him." ^^ Lucian testifies that Jesus was "a crucified Sophist;" and adds of the Christians of that day: "They still worship that great man who was crucified in Palestine. . . . Moreover, their first Law- giver taught them that they were all brethren when once they had turned and renounced the gods of the Greeks, and worshiped their Master who was crucified, and engage to live according to his laws."^^ Hierocles says that " Christ was apprehended and crucified." ^^ /8) His Death. Celsus says : " Those who were his associates while alive, on seeing him subjected to punishment and death, neither died with him nor for him ; . . . whereas now you [Christians] die along with him." ^ " Seeing you are so eager for some novelty, how much better it would have been if you had chosen as the object of your zealous homage some one of those who died a glorious death," rather than " one who had ended a most infa- mous life by a most miserable death." ^^ The Talmud places the death of Jesus definitely at the time of the yearly service of the Jewish Passover, which ac- cords with the Gospels. It says : " The tradition is that on the evening of the Passover, Jesus was hanged [upon the cross]; they hanged him on the eve of the Passover."® The rabbinical work called Toledoth Jeshu confirms the state- ment : " Jesus was crucified and died on the eve of the Passover." Tacitus, the celebrated Eoman historian, states : " Christ, the founder of that name, was put to death as a crim- inal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judaea, in the reign of Tiberius " ^^ Caesar. A Syrian document of late discovery named Mara, which is of extra-Biblical character, is one of the very earliest heathen writings of the period. In reference to the Jews and their relation to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, this document reads : " What benefit did the Jews obtain [by the execution] of their wise King, seeing that at that very time their kingdom was driven away [from them]? For with justice did God grant a recompense, . , , and ^Ant. xvlil, 3. 3. 2^ Schaff's Person of Christ, 201, and In Peregrinus, Lard, vll, 279, 280. « Cited from Lactantlus In Lard, vll, 476. *8 Cels. 11, 45. S9i6. vll, 53. 30£a6. Tal. Sanhedr. 43, a. ^^AnTials, xv, 44. Passion, Death, and Burial of Jesus Christ. 225 the Jews were brought to destruction, and expelled from their kingdom ; and [now] are driven away into every land. Socrates did not die be- cause of Plato ; nor Pythagoras because of the statue of Hera ; nor yet the wise King because of the new laws which he enacted." ^^ Dr. Heinrich Graetz, professor in the University of Breslau, Prussia, himself a Jew, and the recent author of a History of the Jews, says, touching the founding of Christianity : " How was it possible to discover what was the secret of this sect ? To bring that to light, it was necessary to tempt a traitor among his followers, and that traitor was found in Judas Iscariot, who, as it is re- lated, incited by avarice, delivered up to the judges the man whom he had honored as the Messiah. The Christian authorities state that Jesus was nailed on the cross at nine o'clock in the morning, and that he ex- pired at three o'clock in the afternoon. His last words were taken from a Psalm, and spoken in the Aramaic tongue: ' God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' The Roman soldiers placed in mockery the following inscription upon theci'oss: 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.' The cross had been erected, and the body was probably buried outside the town, on the spot which was the graveyard of condemned criminals. It was called Golgotha, the place of skulls." " Such was the end of the Man who had devoted himself to the im- provement of the most neglected, miserable, and abandoned members of the people, and who perhaps fell a victim to a misunderstanding. How great was the woe caused by that one execution! How many deaths and sufferings of every description has it not caused among the children of Israel! Millions of broken hearts and tragic fates have not atoned for his death! He is the only mortal of whom one can say, without exaggeration, that his death was more effective than his life. Golgotha, the place of skulls, became to the civilized world a new Sinai." ^ y) After Events. Celsus once more witnesses to the preter- natural darkness and to the earthquake which gave emphasis to the crucifixion, and occurred between the sixth and the ninth hour while Christ was dying. He says : " You have discovered a becoming and credible termination to your drama in the voice from the cross, when he breathed his last, and in the earthquake and darkness."^'* He makes " a taunt also of the blood of Jesus which was shed upon the cross," saying, " What is the nature of the ichor in the body of the crucified Jesus ? Is it such as flows in the bodies of the immortal gods ? " " It is not the ichor such as flows in ^ Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. VIII, p. 737; Bchafif, Hist. Ch. Church, I, 171, 172, last ed. ss Hist, of Jews, Eng. ed., pp. 163, 165, 166. « Cels. 11, 55. 226 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, the veins of the blessed gods."^ Celsus adds: " You will not, I sup- pose, say of him that after failing to gain over those who were in this world, he went to Hades to gain over those who were there." ^^ Even the skeptical historian, Edward Gibbon, affirms the Scriptural account of the preternatural phenomenon when he says : " Under the reign of Tiberius the whole earth, or at least a cele- brated province of the Roman Empire, was involved in preternatural darkness for [the space of] three hours." ^^ In case of capital punishment it was the established custom of the Jews to cast out and leave exposed ignominiously the -« , .^ * remains of executed malefactors, unless friends S 1 70. Incidents ' of His Burial, of the criminal made request of the authorities to take possession of the dead body for burial. This rule was observed in the case of Jesus. Great pains were taken to know that the man executed was really dead before the body was delivered over to the custody of the friends. How carefully the Eomans observed this requirement is narrated in the sacred text. When Joseph of Arimathea, who was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, but had not consented to the death of Jesus, went to Pilate and requested the possession of our Lord's body, it was not granted to him until the governor had ascertained that Jesus had indeed really died. This assurance was given, not through the friends of Christ, nor yet through the honored Sanhedrist Jo- seph, hut his own Roman centurion,^ who was the officer of the day, and in whose custody the hody was kept. At the instance of the Jews, to hasten death, the soldiers approached and " brake the legs of the first and of the other who were crucified with him ; but lohen they saio that he was dead already, they brake not his legs; but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood * Tacitus calls this officer, " exactor mortis.'''' 85 Ceis. 11, 36; 1,66; comp. John xlx,34. 36/;,. 11,43; comp. 1 Pet. ill, 19; Iv, 6. ^Decline and Fall of Rum. Empire, 1, 583, 581 ; comp. Matt, xxvll, 45; Luke xxlil, 44. Passion, Death, and Burial of Jesus Christ. 227 and water.'"® In reference to the disposition of the body, Eabbi Frey says : " Here we behold another instance of the interposing providence of God to fulfill the Scripture. Had the common and natural course of things taken place, if no friend had obtained the body of Jesus, it would have been ignominiously cast among the executed malefactors. But if his body had been thrown there, the prediction could not have been fulfilled." S9 The Toledoth Jeshu relates that Jesus was buried hefore the Jewish Sabhath hegan, which is in exact accordance with the statements of the Evangelists. That is, the burial ^^rj^ Burial occurred on Friday evening, the day of the execu- o*' Jesus. tion, before the set of sun, the Jewish Sabbath being Saturday, reckoning from sunset of the day before. John is the only Evangelist who locates the place of his sepulcher. He says : " Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden ; and in the garden a new sepulcher wherein was never man yet laid ; there laid they Jesus, therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day ; for the sepulcher was nigh at hand." ** The prophet Isaiah had predicted, " His rest shall be glo- rious," ^^ which accords with the Vulgate version;*^ a Scrip- ture, which Abrabanel says, " may be expounded of Messiah's honorable burial." ^ REVIEW OF THE TESTIMONIES. What is the state of the case as narrated by the Evangelist respecting the death of Christ as actually accomplished on the cross, and how has it been absolutely confirmed ^^^^ The case by Christ's adversaries ? This point is made un- stated, mistakably clear in the second Gospel. Mark, in his careful- ness to give details with all correctness, narrates very circum- stantially the several particulars which arose after the cruci- 38 John xlx, 31-37. »9 Messiahship of Jesus, p. 260. See Mishna Sanhed. c. 1, $5 5, 6; Maimonides, Hilch. Sanhed. c. 14, $9. ^Johnxlx, 41, 42. «Isa. xi,10. «The Vulgate re&As.: "Brit sepulchrum ejus gloriosum "—£?»« grave shall be glorious. The Rabbis refer this passage to the Messiah. *5 R. Frey's Messiahshijj of Jesus, 2(51. 228 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. fixion, preliminary to the burial of Christ's body. Incident- ally, but fortunately for us, he employed terms which are absolutely determinati've of the case as to his death. When Joseph requested leave to bury the body, Pilate was amazed that Jesus was already dead, and sent his trusted officer, the Roman centurion, to ascertain the exact state of the case, and then return and report to himself personally. Upon having learned the fact the following significant sentence occurs in the narration : ^^And when hs learned it of the centurion^ he granted the corpse to Joseph^ ^ About thirty circumstances in all connected with the cru- cifixion are recorded authentically in the Gospels, and are §173 The Re- Confirmed by adversaries. Celsus and the Talmud capitulation, mention the proffered vinegar and gall which Jesus refused on the cross ; but the Toledoth Jeshu affirms that he afterwards received and drank the vinegar alone. To make the assurance of Christ's death doubly sure, the soldier pierced his side with the spear, whence flowed forth blood. Hence Celsus draws special attention to this fact and the ^^ichor^^ the supposed blood of the gods. Josephus relates that Jesus was condemned to the cross by Pilate ; Hierocles, that he was " apprehended and crucified ;" Lucian, that Jesus " was crucified in Palestine ;" the Toledoth, that he was " cru- cified and died ;" the Talmud, that his death occurred " on the evening of the Passover ;" and the Toledoth confrms the Talmud. The Roman historian Tacitus, with marked completeness, epitomizes all the essential facts in his own historical method. He gives the name Christ to the person who was executed ; the fact, that he was put to death as a supposed criminal ; his place in history, the Founder of the Christian name ; his execu- tion, by the order of Pontius Pilate ; the office of the rider, the procurator of the Romans; the country which he ruled, the *^Mark xv, 45, Rev. Vers. The Greek is remarkably explicit, rb irrufw., the dead body, in contradistinction from rb John xxl, 1,2. " //,. xxl, 14. « 1 Cor. XV, 6. " Matt, x, 2-5. '< Mark ill, 20, 21. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 255 tified with the other apostles by common recognition. Euse- bius, the first Church historian whose work has come down to us, mentions the pre-eminence which he attained among the early Christians in that he was known as " James the Just,^' ''^ who became first Bishop of Jerusalem, and presided over the Council of the Church in that city, and also wrote the epistle which bears that name. Josephus relates that the Sanhedrin condemned the "brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, companions," '*^ to be stoned, and Eusebius particularizes how the sentence was exe- cuted. Paul mentions a special visit which he made to Jeru- salem early in his own ministry, in which he spent fifteen days with Peter, and says, " But other of the apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's brother;" that "James and Cephas and John were reputed to be pillars " ^ of the Church, all of whom gave him the right hand in recognition of his legitimate Chris- tian apostleship. Paul, accordingly, is careful to note James in his relation to Christ's resurrection, and says: "After that he ^vas seen of James, then of all the apostles." ^ Tenth Reappearance of Jesus Christ. Presumably, all the apostles were present together to re- ceive from Jesus their great commission of the apostolate, after which the Lord led them out to the Mount of the Ascen- sion. Of Christ's appearance on this occasion Luke distinctly afiirms : " Concerning all that Jesus began, both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom he showed himself alive after his passion by many [infallible] proofs, ap- pearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God ; and being assembled together with them, he charged that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. . . . And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight." ^^ i^Eccl. Hist. B 11, cc. 1,23; Iv, c. 5; vll, c. 19. '«^n^xx, c. 9, $ 1. " Gal. 1, 18, 19; 11, 9; Acts xv, 13, et seq. 78 i Cor. xv, 7. '•Acts 1, 1-4,9-11; cornp. Luke xxlv, 50-52; Mark xvl, 19. 17 256 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Thus far goes the record of the New Testament touching the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously these ten appearances alive after his death are not exhaustive in that "he was seen of them for forty days." Nor perhaps is this the strict order of his reappearances. All that is claimed for this scheme is that it seems to be the correct one according to the scanty data given in these Scriptures, as the sacred writers were not careful to note the number or order of his appear- ances. To know them thus certainly would gratify our curi- osity, but would subserve no important interest of the truth. The fact itself, however, is evidently secure. 5) The Difficulties of the Narratives. A revelation of the resurrection of a dead Redeemer, given by angels from heaven, is something altogether unique in itself. § 190. Tiie Many of the supposed discrepancies in the Unique Story, accounts of the Evangelists are due to our own misapprehension of the facts related. A close and careful fol- lowing of the several texts of these writers taken in their natural sense, without preconceptions or forced and arbitrary suppositions, will leave the account with but little or no em- barrassment to the understanding. That there are seeming discrepancies in the several accounts of the Evangelists touching the resurrection of Jesus is at least § 191, Apparent conclusive of the fact that there was certainly no Discrepancies. coUusion between the writers to fabricate the statement given. Those shrewd enough to devise a fictitious scheme on such a subject would obviously be entirely too clever to embarrass it with discrepant details. For how could designing men leave their writings in such bad form as appar- ently to contradict each other on the cardinal point of their fictitious Gospel ? Besides, the contemporaries of these writers and their successors, for whose special advantage they wrote, had no difficulty at all in understanding the whole story of the Gospel just as it is told, with all its omissions and gaps, not- The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 257 withstanding the want of order in the chronology of the facts stated; and they have transmitted to us these writings with- out any attempt to explain or correct any misstatements whatever. The accounts of the resurrection, therefore, come to us, not only uncontradicted in this respect, but bearing upon their face the sanction and sanctity of the highest Christian antiquity. Notwithstanding that each writer wrote independ- ently of the others, and at a remote distance ; that each one had his own specific object in view in writing a Gospel ; that every one neglected to state full details, so that occasionally the data are somewhat scant ; yet all this does not vitiate the validity of their statement in the least, or militate against the truth of the account narrated. Especially in the case of the resurrection of Jesus there is a profound underlying unity in the story itself as given in the several Gospels; a unity which would not be ignored in a court of trial where different wit- unity of the nesses testify, each one communicating substan- ^^' tial t/ruth, with circumstantial variety of statement. Of course, documentary evidence is the silent testimony of the witnesses who have long been dead, and we are without the opportuni- ties to fill the gaps in the narratives given. But this is the necessary characteristic of all documentary evidence of long standing. It is none the less historical on that account. Nevertheless, if we have in any given case insufficient evi- dence to form a proper judgment, our ignorance for the want of information justifies us in forming no judgment against the case ; much less are Ave entitled to attribute our own mistakes to the authors, and. then reject the account altogether. Gries- bach in his Proltision says : "It is to be observed that the Evangelists seem to have dwelt on those particular points in which they were personally concerned. This appears to furnish a vei'y simple key to their apparent discrep- ancies. John who received his first intelligence from Mary Magdalene makes her the principal person in his narrative ; while Matthew, who, with the rest of the disciples, derived his information from the other 258 IIlSTOEICAL EviDEISrCE OF THE NeW TeSTAJHENT. women, gives their relation [of the resurrection], and omits the appear- ance of Jesus to Magdalene. St. Mark gives a few additional minute particulars. But the narrative of St. Luke is altogether more vague and general. He blends together, as a later historian studious of compres- sion, the two separate transactions ; he ascribes to the women collect- ively that communication of the intelligence to the assembled body of the apostles which appears to have been made separately to distinct par- ties, and, disregarding the order of time, he after that reverts to the visit of St. Peter to the sepulcher." *" It is proposed now to examine the several narratives to as- certain whether they are really discrepant, or whether they convey substantial agreement and truth. All the main diffi- culties touching the resurrection of Jesus may be reduced to five in number, namely : a) Differences supposed respecting the angels seen at Christ's tomb. /3) Differences as to Mary's report before or after seeing the angels. 7) Differences in time when the women visited the sepulcher together. S) Differences in the conduct of the women when leaving Christ's tomb, e) Differences as to the places where Jesus appeared to his disciples. e) These Differences Eeoonciled. A. Matthew and Mark, upon the one hand, affirm that there was one angel at the tomb of Jesus, but Luke and John mention two angels. The Evangelists enumerate the angels as one and two, as they appeared to different persons, at different times, outside or inside the empty sepulcher. The exercise of a judicious judgment is therefore called for respecting these circumstances in their proper relations, when the case will be found to be relieved of all discrepancy, without the least resort to arbitrary assumptions.* * As illustrative of the fact thnt from Insufflclent data seeming discrepancies do often arise, Ebrard in his Gospel History, pp. 69, (50, relates the following occur- rences which happened In his own experience: " A messenger named N. was sent from Zurich to Pfafflkon on the occasion of an outbreak [of a mob] in the latter place. Accordingly, Ebrard was Informed by a trustworthy person that N. was sent later in the evening with a letter to Pfafflkon. Another told him that N. was sent in the evening to Pfafflkon, but that, after going a short distance, he returned with the report that the alarm-bell had already rung at Pfafflkon. A third [party] related that two messengers had been sent on horseback to Pfafflkon; and a fourth [party] said that N. had sent two men on horseback to Pfafflkon. These seeming dlscreiiancies vanished when Ebrard afterward learned from N. himself that he had indeed been sent, but met on the way two messengers from Pfafflkon, who reported the outbreak of the riot; that he turned back with them to Zurich, where he immediately procured horses for them, and sent them back to quiet the people of Pfafflkon. Thus we see that, once in possession of the thread of the narrative, it is an easy matter to arrange upon seemingly refractory and incompatible circumstances." soMilman's History of Christianity, Vol. I, 356, note. The Rksurrectiox of Jksus Cukist. 259 Matthew describes one angel as at first seen by the women when they were approaching the sepulcher. The angel is represented as then being outside the tomb: " For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat upon it." " And the angel . . . said unto the women, . . . Come see the place where the Lord lay." ®^ Upon the other hand, Mark says that — "Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they [the women] came to the sepulcher at the rising of the sun, . . . and entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side." *^ The first Gospel mentions an angel outside the tomb, con- spicuously seated upon the great stone which had been rolled away from the entrance; and the second Gospel represents another angel inside the tomb, "sitting on the right side" of the sepulcher. Matthew describes the first as "the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it;" Mark describes the one inside the sepulcher as "a young man" "clothed in a long white gar- ment." But now Luke describes the angels as in the form of "two men" in shining garments within the deserted tomb, and, when seen, were standing beside the women: "And they [the women] entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus ; and . . . behold, two men ptood by them in shining gar- ments."*^ John also speaks of "two angels in white, sitting the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain." 8* Now, it is to be observed that no Evangelist, more than other witnesses in court, undertakes to include all the details of any event in his own narration. It is natural that each witness should testify first of that which impressed him most. This clears the way for the consideration of the seeming con- flict between the first two and the last two Gospels, respecting (a) the number of the angels at the sepulcher, whether one or two; and (b) the posture of the angels when seen, whether standing or sitting. 8iMatt.xxvlli,2,i),6. 82 Mark xlv, 1,2,5. 83Lukexxiv,2-4. 84 John xx, 11,12. 260 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. a) First of all we are indebted to John for discriminating the different procedures in the company of women. He draws the distinction between what Mary Magdalene did and saw apart from what the other women of Galilee did and saw.^ They all came from the city to the sepulcher together, bring- ing sweet spices ; and all alike were surprised to lind the great stone rolled away, and that the body of Jesus was missing. But at this point the road of the women parted. Mary, with- out having seen an angel, ran in great haste and reported to Peter and John the opened grave and missing body ; but the other women remaining saw "the angel of the Lord descended from heaven," who had "rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it."^ "And entering into the sepulcher they saw [another] young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment."^'' Thus there were two angels pres- ent ; one that sat on the great stone outside the sepulcher, and the other that sat "on the right side" within the sepulcher. Luke, however, does not particularize in the same manner; but he mentions that the women from Galilee " entered into [the sepulcher] and found not the body of the Lord Jesus," but that "two men stood by them in shining garments."® John omits altogether what the Synoptists say about the other women, and narrates what the Synoptists neglected to relate about Mary Magdalene ; that she, having reported the empty tomb to Peter and John, returned to the sepulcher, and, standing outside, "stooped down and looked into the sep- ulcher, and seeth two angels in white, sitting the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain."® Thus the difficulty as to the number of angels has vanished. /3) The posture of the angels as seen at the sepulcher is the remaining difficulty of the case. Matthew represents an angel as having a countenance "like lightning, and his raiment 85 Matt, xxvlii, 1; Mark xvl, 1-3; Luke xxlU, 55; xxlv, 1, 2; John xx, 1. MMatt. xxvlli, 2, 3, 5. «' Mark xvl, 5. 88 Luke xxlv, 3, 4. 89 John xx, 11, 12. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 261 white as snow," seated outside the tomb on a great stone. Mark represents an angel as sitting inside the sepulcher, "clothed in a long white garment." Luke represents that "two men 5toc>o* Matt, xxvlli, 7; Mark xvl, 7. 105 Matt, xxvlil, 16, 17. »»« Mark xvl, 12, 14. lOTLuke xxiv, 10, 13-31,36-40, 48, 50-52. »<» Acts 1, 3; see also xiii, 30, 31. 265 266 Historical Evidence of the Xew Testament. people." So Luke also approvingly records Peter's declara- tion : " Plim God raised up [on] the third day and gave him to be made manifest, not to all the people, but unto witnesses that were chosen before of God even to us who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead." ^® So also Paul himself, in mentioning a number of appearances of Jesus about Jerusalem, adds this also : " Then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now." ""^ Then John relates the details of Mary Magdalene seeing Jesus alive again, his repeated appearances to the disciples at Jerusalem, and also to his disciples at the seaside in Galilee. "This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to his disciples [collectively] after that he was risen from the dead,"*^^ It is thus evident that from the record, on the testimony of all the sacred writers, Jesus was seen after his resurrection, hoth in Judaea and Galilee, and no discrepancy appears. III. Confirmations by Enemies of Christianity. The special value of this testimony consists in the fact that as early as the middle of the second century when Celsus in literature assailed Christianity, he §193. Testi- . "^ ' monyof verifies the verdict of Christendom, and dreads the conviction of the heathen world respecting the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. His energetic opposi- tion to the belief admits the prior and current historical claim of Christ's rising. For while he sometimes denies for himself that event, he admits that something certainly did occur which suddenly and powerfully affected both friends and foes of the new religion. That something was rapidly and deeply moving whole communities toward Christianity with a conviction that was as permanent as it was revolu- tionary in character religiously. It required explanation; 109 Acts X, 40, 41. "01 Cor. xv, 4-6; comp. Matt, xxvlil, 16, 17; Mark xlv, 28. 1" John XX, 14, 17, 19-22, 24-26; xxl, 1, 2-14. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 267 but an explanation Celsus was never able to give ; so he weakly resorts to ridicule in the place of reasoning. It will, however, be specially noted that he never in any instance ascribes Christ's resurrection to a mythical origin, or to some vague legend as having a modicum of truth with a large part of fiction. Upon the contrary, he repeatedly reminds his Christian readers, and accentuates the fact, that for his infor- mation on Christian beliefs he relies exclusively on the sacred books of the Christians which he had in his possession — books which he himself affirms were written by Christ's disciples. Accordingly, Celsus accepts the Gospels as those writings relied upon by Christians in distinction from all other writings which were apocryphal which arose in the middle of the second century. He says: " By what, then, were you induced [to become Christians]? Was it because he foretold that after his death he would rise again ?" "^ " But this is the question, Whether any one who was really dead ever rose again with a veritable body?""^ ^'He rose after his death, and exhibited the marks of his punishment, and showed hoiv his hands had been pierced by nails;" and "while alive, he was no assistance to himself, but that when he was dead, he rose again and showed the marks of his punishment, and how his hands were pierced with nails." ^^* Origen, replying to Celsus, quotes him as saying: "We ridicule those who worship Jupiter because his tomb is pointed out in the island of Crete ; and yet we worship him ivho rose from the tomb;"^^^ "He assails us who acknowledge that our Jesus had been buried indeed, but who maintain that he has been raised from the tomb ; a statement which the Cretans have not yet made regarding Jupiter." "6 The evidential value of Celsus's testimony is to be found directly in the disturbing reason which induced the people to become Christians, but which he absolutely fails to answer as his own question. He admits that Jesus was dead as not to be questioned ; and he seems to cite with approval the Chris- tian belief when he says, "He rose after his death and ex- ^v^Origen contra Cefsum, il, .54. I'^/ft. n^ 57. luib. il, 59; ii, 55. "5 lb. lil, 43, t6i> awb rod T6./jLa, expressly a dead body, a corpse. 282 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. feet, his heart ;pierced through by the soldier's spear, with the necessary loss of blood and vitality, would swoon away rather than die^ then recover consciousness, and, when weak and help- less and alone, could hreak the procurator's seal and roll hack the great stone at the door of the sepulcher which imprisoned him, and in the presence of an armed military guard, especially appointed to keep the hody in its custody, escape to his friends unseen. It fails to account for that perfect and profound con- viction, not transient but enduring, that his followers experi- enced when they were suddenly lifted out of the depths of despondency and despair, and filled with a deathless hope, and began at once to proclaim the risen Jesus, right at Jeru- salem where he had just been crucified, in the courts of the temple to the people, and in the hall of the rulers before the Sanhedrists of the nation. The notion of a swoon is not only incompatible with the only authentic accounts given, but is without any authority whatever from any ancient history. It fails completely to ac- count for the founding and continuance of the Christian Church, if based upon a known falsehood; for if Jesus was then and afterwards in the private keeping of his friends, they must have known that the claim of a resurrection was a false pretense, and his claim to the Messiaship a base impos- ture. But here develops a change of base; the theory of a swoon hecomes displaced hy that of fraud. Strauss voices the view of other skeptics on this point. He says: " It is impossible that a being who had stolen half dead out of the sepulcher, who crept about weak, wanting medical treatment, who re- quired bandaging, strengthening, and nursing, and who at last yielded to his sufferings, could have given to the disciples the impression that he was a Conqueror over death and the grave, the Prince of Life— an impression which lay at the basis of their future ministry. Such a resuscitation could only have weakened the impression which he had made upon them in their life and death ; but could by no possibility have changed their sorrow into enthusiasm, have elevated their rever- The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 283 ence into worship." ^^^ "The historian must acknowledge that the dis- ciples firmly believed that Jesus was risen." And "the fact that the Apostle Paul heard from the mouth of Peter, of James, and of othei'S besides, that Jesus had appeared to them ; and that they all, and also the five hundred, were absolutely convinced that tliey had seen Jesus living after he had died, is one which we will not call in question." i« Baur insists that — "History must hold to the assertion that the faith of the disciples in the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a fact, and indisputable. It is on this faith only that Christianity found a ground solid enough to erect upon it the superstructure of its whole historic development." "Noth- ing but the miracle of the resurrection could disperse the doubts which threatened to drive faith into the eternal night of death. For the faith of the disciples of Jesus became the most solid and most irrefutable certainty," "^ Dr. Ewald speaks the final word : "Nothing is historically more certain than that Christ rose from the dead, and appeared to his own; and that this their vision was the beginning of a new, higher faith, and all their Christian labors." "^ It must be admitted that they who think that the Chris- tian faith is too credulous, should be careful not to tax too severely our credulity in their theories, instead of our belief. It is too much to ask us to believe that which exists only in their own imagination to be historical, being unsupported by sound reason or foundation in fact. Worse than all, it is an explanation which fails to explain. II. The Theory op Hallucination. This hypothesis is more commonly known as " The Vision Theory^'' and has found a wider acceptance by those of the skeptical school than the theory of the swoon. ^^^ ^^^ It postulates that the reappearances of Jesus Prevamng alive after his death were merely subjective to the minds of his friends, but were without any ohjectvae reality in fact. In other words, it was all merely an imaginary »« New Life of Jesus 1, 412. i« Leben Jesu, 1864, p. 289. ^*^ First Three Centuries, Vol. I, 39-42. ^«Hist. of Apostolic Age, Vol. VI, 52, 69, el seq. 284 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. illusion, an hallucination of the mind due to the intensely morbid condition of the friends of Jesus in their anguish after his crucifixion, when their sensitive souls were thrilled with the expectancy of seeing him alive again, Kenan refers the Avhole story of his being seen alive again to the authority of Mary Magdalene, who, with the glow of a fictionist exclaims : "Divine power of love! Sacred moments when the passion of a woman under hallucination gives the world a God re- stored from the dead !" This view of the Magdalene was first hinted by Celsus* in the second century; but it was afterward revived and modified by the philosophical Jew named Spi- noza; and more recently it was developed by Strauss, Renan, and in England, by the author of the work entitled Super- natural Religion. Strauss refers the origin of the account of the resurrection to the vision of the apostles in the region of Galilee, but Renan refers it to Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus at Jerusalem. In order to postulate the theory of self-delusion, it is abso- lutely neccessary to discredit the evidence of the senses^ with all the conclusions which they leqitimate in our con- 8 205. The . Theory and its sciousness. For the witnesscs of his resurrection ri icism. ^^ solemnly affirm that Jesus Christ did rise frrnn the dead: " Whereof we are all witnesses.'''' They afiirm this upon the evidence of the three senses — sight, hearing, and touch — the very senses by which we cognize personality and the occurrence of events everywhere in the common course of life. In courts of law the senses of the witnesses are regarded as being as absolutely reliable as are our own. It is upon the evidence of what the witnesses have seen and heard directly in the case involved, and therefore know, that criminals have been condemned to the dungeon and the scaf- fold in all the centuries of the civilizations. If one should dare to distrust the evidences of his own senses, he would fur- *Celsus, speaking of Christ exhibiting his wounda, says: "Who beheld this? A half-frantic woman as you state" (in the Gospels). (Ortgen contra Celsum, 11, 69.) The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 285 nish the best evidence of his inanity or insanity. If we have the absolute right to claim the evidence of our sense-intuitions for ourselves, so have others the absolute right to claim it for themselves. We can not deny their claim. Is it not a violent presumption which attempts to set aside, without the slightest proof of abnormal mind, the conscious convictions of more than five hundred sensible witnesses to any given fact? "Would this assumption and presumption be countenanced for one moment in any civil court? Would this postulate be at- tempted in any other case than that of Christ's rising, or even in that, but with a view of escaping the miracle of the resurrection^ and all that that necessitates? Wisely does Dr. Yan Oosterzee remark: " We feel how boundless is the caprice which would i-emove the glo- rious solution from the history of the life of Jesus, and transfer it hence- forth to the history of the apostles and their self-deception !"^** Upon the other hand, this hypothesis is itself beset with difficulties insuperable. Its character is such that it can com- mand credence with only that class of persons who are super- stitious enough to believe in seeing ghosts. This certainly de- mands a stretch of credulity too exorbitant to find acceptance on the part of persons of intelligence and good sense. The hy- pothesis is put at unqualified disadvantage when offered as a substitute for the faith which we repose in the supreme fact of a risen Redeemer. Does it not border on insane credulity to believe that "more than five hundred" persons in the mountains of Galilee were suddenly seized with a mania, all at the same time, in thinking that they saw the same specter ; that the delusion began at a distinct date, continued just forty days, and then ceased forever as suddenly as it began — an hypothesis which is without a parallel in all the superstitious stories of ghost-seeing? Moreover, we are asked to believe that this mental hallucination extended itself so as to com- 1" Dogmatics, 11, 569. 286 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. mand the credence of multitudes of others ; that the Christian Church, with all its code of moral and spiritual requirements, and all its experience in spiritual development among the mil- lions of mankind through nearly two thousand years since — a Church composed of the wisest and best portions of all the civilizations — is founded on the merest delusion ! Nor is it to be rationally believed that at the outset the Jews, who in their fierce instigation crucified Jesus of Nazareth, should become converted to the faith by the thousand within a few days,"^ and a large company of the priests become deluded into an "obedience to the faith." ^* The hypothesis fails at the initial point of Christianity, as it fails to account for the existence and continuance of the Christian Church. On the historical side of this question, how does the theory of vision explain what became of the body of Jesus? The empty sepulcher demands an explanation on the part of those who have ignored it in their theory. That the body of Jesus was duly sepulchered in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea is a matter of history, and stands undisputed. How did it escape the vigilance of the military guard, and what became of it after it passed from their custody ? The advocates of this theory must account for all the phenomena involved in the case. Either the body of Jesus remained in the tomb, or it was removed by human hands, or it arose from the dead. If it remained, why did not the Jewish Sanhedrists produce it, and boldly refute the bolder claim of the apostles when they were arraigned before the Council and unhesitat- ingly affirmed, " The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom ye crucified. , . . Him hath God exalted with his own right hand to be a Prince and Savior ?"^^^ If the body was removed by friends, the apostles, in preaching his rising as a fundamental fact to the Christian religion, were guilty of the basest duplicity and imposture, and they knew it to be so. But to maintain this is to confess that the theory of the delu- i« Acts 11, 41. >«>/&. vl, 7. 1" lb, V, 30, 31. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, 287 sion has failed, and given place to the theory of fraud. As Dr. Schaff justly remarks : " The Vision hypothesis, instead of getting rid of the miracle, only shifts it from fact to fiction ; it makes an empty delusion more powerful than the truth, or turns all history into delusion. Before we can reason the resurrection of Christ out of history we must reason the apostles and Christianity out of existence. We must either admit the miracle or frankly confess that we stand before an inexplicable mystery." "This illusion we are expected to believe by these unbelievers, gave birth to the most real and most mighty of all facts, the Christian Church, which has lasted these eighteen hundred years, and is now spread all over the civilized world, embracing more members than ever, and exer- cising more moral power than all other religions combined." ^^^ Certainly it can not be claimed that the delusion supposed could have been due to the favorable predisposition and antici- pation of the apostles. The plain record relied upon renders that proposition utterly untenable. When the Magdalene went alone and reported to the apostles that she had seen Jesus alive, they only "mourned and wept," and "they be- lieved not." When the women went together and " told these things unto the apostles, their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not." When Jesus " appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat" he "upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen." When all the apostles in their turn told Thomas, "We have seen the Lord," Thomas replied, " Except I shall see in his hands tl^e print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, ... I will not believe." And even after this, when Jesus was seen by the multitude in the mountain in Galilee, "some doubted." Evidently these facts and this language do not admit, but are absolutely destructive of, the theory that delusion arose out of the expectation of the apostles that Jesus would rise from the sepulcher of death. Nor can it be denied that these witnesses had opportunity under every variety of circumstances to see and test the reality 162 Hist. Christ. Church, 1, p. 183. 19 288 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. of the risen Jesus; for he is recorded as seen by witnesses; some at a distance, but of tener close at hand ; sometimes in- dividually by persons alone, but oftener by small gatherings, as the apostles, or by the great multitude together. He was seen in the light of the early morning, as by Mary Magdalene at the sepulcher; he was seen in the brightness of the noonday sun, as by Paul journeying to Damascus; he was seen toward the close of the afternoon, as by the two who talked with him on the way to Emmaus ; he was seen under the cover of night, as by the apostles as they sat at meat in Jerusalem ; he was seen by the disciples at their nets at the seaside, by the multi- tude on the mountains of Galilee, by two of the Seventy in the country on the public highway, as well as in the city full, by those who had not rejected him ; and by all in the nearest possible personal relations. Their sight was confirmed by the sense of touch, for some came and held him by the feet. He himself said to his disciples : " Behold my hands and my feet that it is I myself ; handle me and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have. And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet." But he was cognized not only by the sight of their eyes, but also his voice was heard by their ears. For altogether unlike the stories of the silent specters, there were occasions when he conversed famil- iarly and at great length with his friends, at once demonstrat- ing the fact of his resurrection and teaching them the special significance of his rising in its relation to the future Church, " speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." And withal Jesus ate fish in the presence of his disciples, to identify himself to their fullest recognition ; and he ate at the table with his disciples, as in the old-time fellow- ship of his ministry. So that these witnesses tested and at- tested without hesitation or qualification : "Him God raised up on the third day, and showed him openly, not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen of God, even to usi who did The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 289 eat and drink with him after lie rose from the dead}^ For " He was seen many days of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who were witnesses unto the people." ^" So that it is conclusive that Jesus was seen alive after his death, not by one single person alone, or by merely one class of persons apart, or on one transient occasion, or on many transient occasions, but often and continuously, and by as many as a great multitude, and for a period of forty days. The eminent Bishop Westcott pointedly remarks : "The ground on which the apostles rested their appeal was the res- urrection ; the function which they claimed for themselves was to bear witness to it. Their belief was not an idle assent, but the spring of a new life. And the belief itself was of a new kind. It was not like the aCfectionate credulity with which an oppressed state or party believes in the reappearance of a lost leader. It was a confession of error before it was an assei-tion of faith. It involved a renunciation of popular dogmas in which those who held it had been reared. It proclaimed a truth altogether new and unlike any which men had held before. If ever the idea of delusion can be excluded, it must be in a case when it is alleged to explain a conviction which transformed at once the cherished opinions of a large body of men of various characters and powers, for which outwardly they had no inclination or advantage."^" The eminent Dr. Keim, who once advocated this theory in a modified form, afterward stated : " The unhesitating denial of the resurrection in spite of the serious difficulties which exist in conflict with the belief of so many among the laity, is the fruit of neither a scientific nor a religious conscience. We are not able to comprehend how the Christian Church, with all its clearness of mind, with all its earnestness of moral purpose, could have been founded as the result of an overexcited vision." To this Dr. Schaff adds this further testimony : " In his last word on the great problem, Keim, in view of the ex- haustion and failure of the natural explanations [of the resurrection], comes to the conclusion that we must either humbly confess our igno- rance or return to the faith of the apostles who have seen the Lord." "* 163 A.cts X, 40, 41. 164 lb, xUi, 31. iw Qospel of the Resurrection, p. 124. 166 See Schaff's Hist. Christ. Church, Vol. I, p. 185. 290 Historical Evidence of the JS^ew Testament. It is related of Cardinal Talleyrand, of Paris, that he Avas once approached by Larevelliere-Lepeaux, who was a member of the French Directory, a Deistical philanthropist, who was the originator of a new religion to displace Christianity; but to his great disappointment he could not get his propaganda introduced. He sought counsel of the cardinal, who seemed to condole with him, but said that the introduction of a new religion was no easy task. The polite but shrewd cardinal hesitatingly suggested that there remained one thing which would give hope of success. "What is it?" said Lepeaux. " It is this, " replied the cardinal : " Go and be crucified, then be buried, and then rise again on the third day ; and then go right on working miracles — raising the dead, healing all man- ner of diseases, and casting out demons, and possibly you might succeed!" The proposition had the suggestive effect, and he left the cardinal in silence. III. The Witness op Modern Skeptics. The following concessions touching the resurrection of Jesus made by modern skeptics have their evidential value. The several authors cited are recognized as of the foremost scholarly critics of the negative school; and the perfect candor with which they treat the subject entitles the Avriters to profound respect. Dr. Theodore Keim, of Zurich, whose Life of Christ is §206. conces- regarded as altogether the best production em- Dr!°Keiin. anating from the school of Freethinkers, says : " After all these considerations, we shall have to admit that the re- cent and strongly-favored theory is nothing but an hypothesis which ex- plains some things, but leaves the main point unexplained, even as the main facts which have been historically subjected to wrong and weak points of view. But if the attempt equally fails to maintain the tradi- tional history of the resurrection ; if the attempt by means of visions of St. Paul fails to build up a natural explanation of things which happened, — there remains for history no other way than the admission that the voluble statements of the legendary history, and the dark brevity of the authentic history, do not allow us to establish a certain invincible result The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 291 of the enigmatical termination of the life of Jesus, however important they may have been in themselves and in their influence upon universal history. For the benefit of history, in so far as it calculates with known factors and with a series of tangible recognized causes and effects, there exists the undoubted fact, only the firm faith of the apostles that Jesus has risen, and the immense effect by this faith, namely, the con- version of mankind." ^*' Dr. Geore: Heinrich August von Ewald, of „ „^„ ^ o o ' _ §207. Conces- Gottingen (died 1875), in History of the Apostolic sion of Age^ held that Christ's resurrection Avas wholly spirittial, a continuous manifestation of him, whatever that may mean. He says : ^'Nothing is historically more certain than that Christ rose from the dead, and appeared to his own ; and that this their vision was the begin- ning of their higher faith and of all their Christian labors." " But it is just as certain that they saw him again — not as an ordinary man, or as a shadow rising out of the grave, or as a ghost, as the legend tells us of such — but as the only Son of God ; as an absolutely superior and supreme Being ; and that wiien thinking of the past they could not imagine other- wise than that whoever was favoi-ed to see him again, had also imme- diately recognized his sole Divine dignity, and that they have firmly believed on him. But as the true King and Son of God, the Twelve and others had already learned to know him during his lifetime ; the only difference being that they now recollect him also in i-egard to his purely Divine side, and by that as a Conqueror of Death. There is, conse- quently, after all, the earthly Christ as he was known to them so well, and an inner relationship between that usual beholding of Jesus and that higher rapturous beholding of the heavenly Chx'ist ; so that they would not have recognized him even in these first dajs and weeks after his death as the heavenly Messiah, had they not known hiin previously so well as the earthly one." ^** Dr. Daniel Schenkel of Heidelburg, when advocating the Vision or Hallucination theory of a real but „„^„ ^ ■^ §208. Conces- purely spiritual manifestation of Christ, though sion of thoroughly convinced that on this fact rests the institution of the Christian Church, acknowledged himself un- able to solve the problem of the resurrection of Jesus, and says : " Never will historical investigation succeed in solving the enigma of the belief in the resurrection. But nothing is more sure in history than the fact that on the belief in this rests the institution of the Christian Church. . . . Over against this hypothesis of visions which •57 Geschichte Jesu von Nazara, ill, 600. Keim died in Qlessen In 1879. ^^^Hist. of the Apostolic Age (Geschichte des Volkes Israel, Vol. VI, 52, OS), sqq.) 292 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. tries to explain the appearances of Christ to his disciples as illusions of the senses, having their origin physical and therefore psychical in the intensification of the nervous and intellectual life, stands especially the keynote of the mood in the disciples, especially in Peter — the deep sad- ness, very humble self-confidence, the lost courage for life ; how from such a mood proceeded the transfigured image of the resurrected One, with this absolute certainty and indestructible joy through which the belief in the resurrection was able to firmly maintain the Church in all storms and persecutions ?" ^^^ Dr. Ferdinand Christian Baur, of Tiibingen, who is called ^^^r. ^ "the master-critic" of the skeptical Church his^ §209. Con- ^ cession of torians, and "the corypheus" of the Tubingen school, in his revised edition of the J^irst Three Centuries^^ published just before he died (in 1860), says : " Nothing but the miracle of the resurrection could disperse the doubts which threatened to drive faith into the eternal night of death." * It is true that the nature of the resurrection lies outside of historical investigation, . . . for to the faith of the disciples the resurrection of Jesus became a most solid and most irrefutable certainty. In whatever light we may consider the resurrection of Jesus, whether as an actual objective miracle or a subjective psychological one, even granting the possibility of such a miracle, no psychological analysis can penetrate the inner spiritual process by which, in the consciousness of the disciples, their belief at the death of Jesus was transformed into a belief of his resurrection. . . . We must rest satisfied with this: that for them the resurrection of Christ was a fact of their consciousness, and had for them all the reality of an historical event." " While the historical crit- icism has nothing to do with the inquiry concerning what the resurrec- tion was in fact, it must hold fast to the assei-tion that, in the belief of the first disciples, it had become an established and incontrovertible cer- tainty. What was presupposed as the essential foundation of this his- tory is not the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, but that it was be- lieved that he had risen. However we may seek to explain the faith, the resun-ection of Jesus had become to the first Christians a fact of convic- tion, and had for them all the reality of an historical fact." In consideration of the failure of these efforts to explain the resurrection of Jesus on mere natural principles, the force 6 210 The ^^^ truth expressed by Beyschlag is sufficiently Close. manifest: "It is infinitely easier to admit that the Christian Church is the offspring of a miracle than to imagine it to be born of a lie." Upon the other hand, the 159 Characterbild Jesu, p. 231, sqq., 1864. lao Oeschichte der Christ. Kirche, Band 1, 8. SO, f. (Vol. I, pp. .'JO, 48, 42). The Resukrection of Jesus Christ. 293 intelligent and thoughtful mind must ever be impressed with a sense of the utter futility, not to say frivolity, of attempting to found Christianity upon a swoon, or a delusion, and thence perpetuated itself with such high character and great princi- ples for living, amidst the fiercest oppositions of every kind, down through the centuries. Now, in consideration of what the Christian system is in itself, and what it teaches, enjoins, and enforces upon those who embrace it ; of the place and power which it has attained and maintained among the best and foremost civilizations of the world ; how it has introduced a new course of history for mankind ; how its principles have gained credence and become incorporated into the best gov- ernments of the most advanced nations of the earth, modifying the horrors of war, bringing honor and prosperity in times of peace, enforcing equity and uprightness between man and man in society, giving happiness in the relations of the family in the home, enjoining purity of character and life upon the indi- vidual, imparting a strengthening with noble courage to meet the severest trials in our probation, and withal, inspiring in the Christian an imperishable hope of the immortal life beyond death, — these considerations legitimate the induction that the Christian religion is founded, not upon an imaginary swoon or delusion, but upon a fact and truth supreme, that its Founder, Jesus Christ, must have risen, and actually did rise from the dead — an event proportionate with such results — as is afiirmed by the apostles who saw him alive again, and has ever been steadfastly believed by all Christians in all Christendom. 1 . The negation of his resurrection raises greater difficulties than the miracle itself. 2. This supernatural event has never been refuted by adver- saries on historical grounds. 3. The admission of his resurrection renders easy the admis- sion of other miracles also. 4. The resurrection of Christ opens the gates of immortality to all believers in Christ. CHAPTER XI. THE ASCENSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 1. The Scriptural Representations of the Ascension. 2. The Fact either Conceded or Affirmed by Adversaries. By Rabbinical Writers: the Targum, Talmud, and Toledoth Jeshu. By Roman Writers who affirm it: Hierocles and Porphyry. 3. The Event Perpetuated later Historically in Current Literature. By the Ancient Fathers: Barnabas, Polycarp, and Irenxus. By Christian Apologists: Aristides, Justin, Melito, and Tertullian, 4. The Teaching of the Apostles respecting the Ascension. By Paul in his First Four Epistles. By the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation. 5. An Analysis op the Evidence Adduced, and the Conclusion. 295 Chapter XI. THE ASCENSION OF JESUS CHRIST. 8211. Soiirces: Biographical Epitome, and Literature 1. Melito (A. D. 170) was Bishop of Sardis, the ancient capital of Lydia, in Asia Minor. When he was made bishop is unknown ; but after the death of Aurelius Verus (169), Melito addressed an Apology to the Emperor Marcus Antoninus (reigned 161-180). But little is known of his life ; yet for many years he was the contemporary of Polycarp. Tertullian refers to his "elegant and oi'atorical genius." In order to secure a thoroughly-authenticated catalogue of the books of the New Testament he visited Palestine and its various localities, where prophetic utterances first found expression, and where facts occurred in fulfillment of the prophecies. Melito says that one Onesimus, who was a Christian, requested him "to make selections for him from the Law and the Prophets concern- ing the Savior and the Christian faith, as he desired to learn accu- rately the account of the old books, and having therefore gone to the East and reached the spot where [everything] was preached and done, and having learned accurately the books of the Old Tes- tament, I have sent a list of them." (Westcott, Canon, 221.) This catalogue is cited in detail in Eusebius (Eccl. Hist, iv, c. 26). From a rediscovered Syriac document containing Melito's treatise on Faith, translated by Dr. Cureton, the original of which is in the British Museum, we have the Confession of this period: "We have made collections from the Law and the Prophets relative to those things which have been declared respecting our Lord Jesus Christ, . . . who in David and the prophets fore- told his own sufferings ; who was incarnate in the Virgin, who was bom in Bethlehem, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger, who was seen of the shepherds, who was glorified by angels, who was worshiped by the Magi, who was pointed out by John [the Baptist], who assembled the apostles, who preached the Kingdom, who healed the maimed, who gave light to the blind, who raised the dead, who appeared in the temple, who was be- lieved on by the people, who was betrayed by Judas, who was laid hold on by the priests, who was condemned by Pilate, who was 297 298 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. pierced in the flesh, who was hanged on the tree, who was buried in the earth, who rose from the dead, who appeared to the apostles, who ascended to heaven, who sitteth at the right hand of the Father, . . . who is God, the Son who is of the Father, Jesus Christ, the King for ever and ever. Amen." (West. Canon, 224-226.) §212. Ascension of Jesus Christ. Had nothing been told us about the fortieth day, we should not need to doubt that He lived glorified above ; but now we know from trust- worthy sources that he was exalted. We have no single reason to reject with distrust this satisfactory conclusion to the history of his earthly life. — Van Oosterzee. The ascension of the Lord forms the close of the resurrection, and the perfecting expression and act of exaltation. — Martensen. It is desirable that the close of the last vision which was common to all the apostles when he delivered to them his last commands, Jesus should be taken up into heaven. — Renan. 'ETTio-Tev^rj iv K6(7n(fi, dpe\^(pdri iv d6^r] — Believed on in the world, received up into glory. — Paul. This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all are witnesses ; wherefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath shed forth this which ye do see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. — Peter. ARGUMENT. The resurrection and ascension of Jesus are distinct facts in themselves, yet are they so interrelated in nature and doctrine as to be re- garded as inseparable. This is clearly discernible in the history of our Lord's earthly existence, as it is also in thought in the system of Christian truth. The apostles place the two events to- gether in equal prominence and side by side in laying the founda- tions of Christianity. His resurrection from the dead having been known as miraculous, it is easy to understand that his ascension naturally follows and is necessitated. In the upward path of progress in the revelation of himself from his estate of humiliation to that of his exaltation, his rising from death to life marks the first stage; and his ascension on high marks the transitional period in his passage between earth and heaven in his return to the Father, from his redemptive work ac- complished to that of intercession, and marks the second stage; while the third is that realized when Jesus assumed the place of The Ascension of Jesus Christ. 299 power and royalty upon his indestructible throne as " King, eter- nal, IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, THE ONLY WISE GoD." ^ It iS thuS that the ascension serves as a connecting link in the chain of events which at once reveals his supreme nature, his authority, and his glory with the Father. And as his resurrection furnished ample opportunity for his identification to believers as being that same One who was crucified and was dead and buried, so his ascension into heaven serves to illustrate his identification in second com- ing, both in fact and method, when " this same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."^ So that his return to earth in judgment at the end of the world is not only the sequel of his ascending to heaven, but completes the circle of his prerogatives as "the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God BLESSED for EVERMORE. AmEN." ^ 1. The Scriptural Representations of the Ascension. 2. The Fact conceded and affirmed by Adversaries. 3. Its Truth perpetuated in the Current Histoi-y. 4. The Case defended by the Christian Apologists. 5. The Apostolic Teaching respecting the Ascension. 6. A Summing Up on all the Testimonies here adduced. An epitome of what is said in the Scriptures by Jesus respecting his ascension may helpfully precede and furnish the fact itself which is to be proved. Matthew, „„,„ „^ ^. ^ _ ' §213. The Wit- though silent as regards the one circumstance ness of jesus that J esus ascended on the fortieth day after his rising, when "a cloud received him out of their sight," records other facts in which this is conveyed by necessary implication. This is brought clearly to view in his report of the controversy which he had with the Pharisees, when the Lord asked them : " How then doth David in Spirit call Him Lord, saying. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool ?" * To his disciples Jesus said: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, . . . and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and gi-eat glory," ^ " and all the holy angels with him ; then shall he sit upon the throne of His glory." ^ Again in the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas the high priest, said unto Jesus : " I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether ilTlm. 1, 17. 2 Acts 1,11- sRom.lx, 5. * Matt, xxil, 43, 44. 6/6. xxiv, 30. «/6. xxv, 31. 300 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said. Nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven !' ' ^ There was special significance in Christ's mentioning before the Jewish Senate that hereafter he would occupy the place of power, '■''coming in the clouds of heaven.'''' To their knowing minds it was a distinct claim that he was the realization of Daniel's prediction.^ So that if the circumstance which char- acterized the great day of Christ's departure from earth is not remarked by this Evangelist, his return from heaven to earth " in power and great glory " is specially and certainly set forth by Matthew with suflBcient explicitness and distinction. Dr^ Neander observes : "Even if none of the apostolic writers had mentioned this visible and real fact, we might have safely inferred from all that they say of Christ, that, in some form or other, the-^ presupposed b. supernatural exaltation from this visible earthly world." ^ Mark's statement respecting the ascension of Christ is exceedinfflv brief and pointed. He compresses §214. Witness . °\ /. . , .. of the other mto a Single sentence his entire deliverance on Evangeusts. ^^^ sublime event which closed the earthly life and history of our Lord. It is this : "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was re- ceived up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God."^'' Luke, at the close of his Gospel, as well as at the beginning of his Book of Acts, furnishes some interesting particulars touching the ascension. Professedly he voices the circum- stances of the occasion as stated by the apostles themselves, and by Mary the mother of Jesus, and others from whom he immediately derived his authenticated information. Grouping only those details which, as most important, we at this remote 7 Matt, xxvl, (B, 64. 8 Dan. vil, 13, 14. » Life of Jesus, c. Ix. 10 Mark xvl, 19, of A. V., but omitted in tvfo oldest MSS. The Ascension of Jesus Christ. 301 period most naturally are concerned to know, he says in his Gospel : " And he led them out until they were over against Bethany ; and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass while he blgssed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven."" He opens his Acts of the Apostles by speaking — " Concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Ghost unto the apostles whom he had chosen. . . . And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. Then retui'ned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jersusalem, a Sabbath-day's journey oflf."^^ John also, as Matthew, records the sayings of Jesus himself, in these words: " I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also."^^ "I came out from the Father, and am come into the world ; again I leave the world, and go unto the Father."" "And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man."^ " What then if ye should behold the Son of man ascending where he was before ?" ^^ " Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended unto my Father." ^^ These are very explicit teachings of Christ touching his translation from earth to heaven. To the understanding of his disciples it was unusually clear and satisfactory. They exclaim : "Lo, now speakest thou plainly and speakest no proverb." ^^ So that the teachings of Jesus on this point were no mere imitations. Simon Peter, with great energy and persist- §215. Peterand ency of purpose, bears witness, both orally and ^ne Ascjension. in writing, respecting the ascension and the doctrines involved. 11 Luke xxiv, 50, 51. " Acts 1,1,2, 9-12. " John xlv, 2, 3. 1*76. xvl, 28; wjb. Ill, 13. is 76. vl, 62. "76. xx, 17. 18 7b. xvl, 29, irapl>-q^Ircn. vs. Heresies, B. 1, c. 10. The Ascension of Jesus Christ. 305 The newly-found Apology of Aristides contains also most of the "Apostles' Creed." The omissions are indicated by stars. It reads :^ " We believe in one God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his Son, ***** Born of the Virgin Mary. He was piei'ced by the Jevps, He died and was buried, And the third day He rose again ; He ascended into heaven. » -s- « * * He is about to come to judge." Justin Martyr (A. D. 145): "After you had crucified him, the only blameless and righteous Man, . . . when you knew that he had risen from the dead and ascended to heaven, as the prophets foretold he would, you not only did not repent of the wickedness which you had com- mitted," ^2 etc. Melito (A. D. 170) wrote the Confession of the period in his treatise on Faith, in the newly-discovered Syrian docvr me7it, which is in the British Museum. " We have made collections from the Law and the Prophets relative to those things which have been declared respecting our Lord Jesus Christ, . . , who was incarnate in the Virgin, who was born in Bethlehem, . . . who was pointed out by John [Baptist], who assembled the apostles, . . . who was hanged on the tree, who was buried in the earth, who rose from the dead, who appeared to the apostles, who ascended to heaven, loho sitteth at the right hand of the Father, . . . who is God, the Son who is the Father, Jesus Christ the King for ever and ever. Amen."^ TertuUian (A. D. 200), in his wonderfully able and eloquent Apology, says: "He spent forty days with some of his disciples down in Galilee, . . . instructing them in the doctrines which they were to teach others. Therefore, having given them commission to preach the gospel through the world, he was encompassed with a cloud and taken up to heaven."^* ^Apology, 25. ^'^ Dialogue with Try pho, 17. 3»Cited In West. Canon of N. T. 224-226. ^Apol. c. 21. 306 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, The universal consensus of negative critics admits, as gen_ nine and credible, Paul's first four Epistles and John's Book of Revelation. The testimony of these apostles §220. The Wit- . '^ ^ ness of is uot that they saw Jesus in the act of ascend- Paui and John. ^^^^ |^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ alive in heaven — a fact which necessitates the induction that the Lord had first liter- ally ascended thither, as the Gospels record, a) Paul says : "As I made my journey and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly thei-e shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, vphy persecutest thou me? And I answered. Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth whom thou persecutest." ^ " Have I not seen Jesus our Lord ?" ^ " And last of all, as unto one born out of due time, he appeared unto me also."^^ "Say not in thy heart. Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down) : or Who shall descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)."% "For to this end Christ died, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living." ^^ "n ^ras Christ Jesus that died, yea, rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." ■'" P) John, the apostle of Jesus, gives this witness in the first chapter of the Apocalypse : " Grace to you . . . from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Wit- ness, the Firstborn of the dead, and Ruler of the kings of the earth. . . . Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him^ and they that pierced him ; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." " Fear not ; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One ; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore ; and I have the keys of death and Hades. Write therefore the things which thou sawest." ^ §221. Analysis of the Evidence Adduced. The chief evidence here adduced is twofold, — to substan- tiate the fact of Christ's literal ascension to, and spiritual royalty in heaven, as well as the peculiar manner of his second a6Actsxxli,6-8. 30 i Cor. 1.x, 1. «/6. xv, 8. 38Rom.x.((, 7. 39/b. xlv, ». »/6. vill, 34; comp. Eph. 1, 20; Col. HI, 1; 1 Pet. Ill, 22; Heb. 1, 3; ix, 24; vlll, 1; X, 12; xll, 2. « Rev. 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17-19. The Ascension of Jesus Christ. 307 advent to earth at the end of time, as the Scriptures afl5rm. The testimony is furnished alike by the adversaries and the adherents to Christianity. Of the enemies of the Christian religion there are two camps — the Jews and the Romans. Both were instinct with opposition which arises from the natural man. But their hostility was due to different motives. The Jews were characteristically malignant and persistent in their oppo- sition to the Man of Nazareth, for the same spirit which had originally crucified his person was transmitted and tradition- ally taught to childhood both in the home and in the syna- gogue. But the Eoman hostility arose partly from the hate and scorn which the Romans cherished toward all Jews, of whose blood and nation the apostles and the first Christians were ; but more especially from what they regarded as consid- erations of patriotism, in that Christianity absolutely rejected and contemned all the Roman gods and the religion of the State. It is quite natural, therefore, that the testimony of both parties to the Christian facts, if recorded at all, should be no more copious or cordial than a brief reference to given circum- stances. It is to be 'noted, however, that neither the Jewish Rabbins nor the heathen Romans claim to have been personal witnesses of the ascension of Jesus Christ. The Jews testify that our Lord's ascension and his eternal royalty at the right hand of power were predicted by Christ himself, as well as his return to earth for judgment, "coming with the clouds of heaven," and so far they authenticate the words of Jesus as truly recorded in the Scriptures. But the Roman writers steadfastly afiirm the ascension to have actually occurred. Upon the contrary, there is no known dissent respecting this occurrence. Now, if these enemies did not themselves see Jesus ascend from earth, their testimony does powerfully corroborate, in the historical sense, the witness of the ajDOstles who did see him ascending in bodily form until "a cloud received him out of their sight." Why is it necessary that a 308 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. literary writer of reputation should, be a personal witness of the events of which he is cognizant in current history, any more than the historian who constantly records events which he has never seen? Nay, how much more is to be received the testimony of those who were confessedly hostile to the Christian religion, and wrote to destroy it ? The rabbinical writers were particularly careful to record scant acknowledgment of anything that would seem to justify the Messianic character and claim of the Nazarene. But they own that "Jesus did predict his own ascension to heaven;" and that he appropriated to himself certain Psalms which the whole Jewish Church had always applied exclusively to the real Messiah. The evangelistic story states that the angel declared to the apostles at the ascension : " This same Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven f that as "a cloud [then] received him out of their sight," so will he return to earth encompassed " with the clouds of heaven." To Caiaphas and the Sanhedrists assembled to try Jesus, the Lord openly confessed that he was in truth the Son of God who would sit at the right hand of power, and would be seen of them there- after returning to the earth amidst the clouds of heaven. The Jewish Talmud thence records Jesus idiomatically and ironic- ally as " the son of the clouds'''' and as " the son of man coming in the clouds of heawenP The Targum applies the appellation " clouds " to the Messiah exclusively. This indirect testimony by the Jewish writers is not without its evidential value. It not only admits Christ's historical existence, but, what is of much importance, it records his own claim as being their Messiah; their testimony consents to the fact that "he pre- dicted his own ascension to heaven," and circumstantially describes that he will come again in the end as he went, encompassed with clouds. Turning to the Romans, wo find none of those idiomatic and figurative representations characteristic of the Jews' ex- The Ascension of Jksus Christ. 809 pression, but we have the literal affirmations of the ascended Lord. Both Ilierocles and Porphyry acknowledge outright that " Jesus ascended to heaven^ Now, this conviction of the fact so thoroughly profound, entertained alike by foes and friends of Christ, remains to be explained, if the ascension did not actually occur to give it origin. It has ever been the universal belief of Christians, who hold the record of the fact. What produced this constant belief of friends and foes? If the occurrence is denied as being unhistorical, a satisfactory account of its origin without any fictitious assumptions is demanded of the disbeliever. For these heathen writers affirm the fact exactly accordant with the evangelistic narrative; accordant with the testimony of Stephen before the Sanhe- drists, when he attested that he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God ; and accordant with the testimony of Paul, who affirmed that near Damascus he saw and talked with the ascended Jesus; and accordant with the testimony of John, who also attests that he saw Jesus on the Lord's day on the island Patmos. Such, then, is the apostolic teaching. The Johannean testimony carries this added force and effect: that John was himself present and personally witnessed the scene and circumstances when Jesus ascended ; so afterward, when John was exiled in Patmos, he recognized the personality of him who announced himself as "the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, and the Living One, who was dead, and hehold I am alive for evermore^ ^''Behold he cometh with the clouds, a/nd every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him?'* To render this catenate of proofs complete and indisputa- ble touching the ascension, the witness of the Apostolic leathers is introduced, supported by their successors the Christian Apologists. These several testimonies evidence and illustrate what was " the faith once delivered to the saints" by those who were eye-witnesses of Christ's exhaltation to glory. For if he was seen in heaven by Paul and John, as they affirm, he must first have ascended to heaven. The authenticity of this 310 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. great doctrinal fact in its simplicity and sublimity, is thus brought to view apart from all fictitious pretense of legendary accretions, and was the universal faith of the Christian Church from the beginning. The sequel, then, of Christ's resurrection was his ascension. He was thereby inducted to royalty and enthroned. And herein is the circle of his activities in the interests of mankind, in both place and power, made complete when he shall come to earth, encompassed with clouds, as when he ascended. It is now easy to understand the facts as real, and the proofs as conclusive and historical, relating to these two events leading from the sepulcher to the throne — from deepest humility to greatest royalty. These two facts are basal to the whole system of Christian doctrine. The Creeds of the Church are but the crystalline expression of Christian beliefs. They summarize the principal facts and §222 doctrines of the primitive Church. As indicative Creeds. of the apostles' faith and teaching — though not formulated until some time after the Apostolic Age — it may be deemed in place to cite here THE APOSTLES* CREED. " I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth ; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord ; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into Hades. The third day he rose from the dead ; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty ; from thence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost ; the holy catholic Church, the communion of Saints ; the forgiveness of sins ; the resurrection of the body ; and the life everlasting. Amen." The reality of the great fact discussed in this chapter, besides verifying inductively the antiquity and authenticity of the New Testament, legitimates the following conclusions : 1. The ascension of Christ occurred visibly at the Mount of Olives. 2. This was the transitional period in his life between two worlds. The Ascension of Jesus Christ, 311 3. Christ's ascension inducted him to his proper place of royalty. 4. The risen and ascended Christ identifies him as the Lord of Glory. 5. His ascension to heaven forecasts his return as the Judge of men. CHAPTER XII. THE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHEIST AND TIIEIK WORK. I. Historicity op the People Called Christians. 1. Appellative "Christians" Applied Fii-st by the World. 2. Attested by the Common Literature of the Period. II, Historical Existence op Christ's Disciples. 1. Attested by the Enemies of Christianity. 2. Confii-med by the Friends of Christianity. 3. Analysis of the Several Testimonies Given. III. James, the Lord's Brother, also an Apostle. 1. Several Persons Named James in the New Testa- ment. 2. James the Brother of Our Lord. a) His Noble Character. /3) His Violent Death. 3. The Several Testimonies Reviewed. IV. Miracles Wrought by the Apostles op Christ. 1. Miracles as Accrediting Signs of Apostleship. 2. Miracles Manifold Wrought in Christ's Name. 3. Miracles Admitted by Foes with Explanations. V. The Apostles' Ministry Abroad Among the Nations. 1. The Common Voice of Disbelief Confirmed. 2. Christianity in Relation to the Roman Empire. 3. Cities and Centers Reached by the Apostles' Min- istry. 4. Obstacles and Oppositions to the Diffusion of Re- ligion. Inductions. 313 Chapter XII. THE APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST AND THEIR WORK. §223. The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Their Work. And the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch [Syria]. — Luke. Nero . . . falsely charged with the guilt . . . the persons com- monly called Christians. Christ, the founder of that name, had been put to death. — Tacitus. And the sect of Christiana, so named from Him, are not extinct at this day. — JosEPHus. James, called the brother of our Lord, because he is called the son of Joseph. — EusEBius. Ananus . . . assembled the Sanhedrin of the Judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James. — Josephus. Go ye therefore, disciple all nations, . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. — Jesus. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, confirming the word by the signs following. — Mark. ARGUMENT. A principal fact in the Gospels is that Jesus Christ attracted to his person and ministry many disciples, who were afterward called apostles, to whom, in the first instance, was due the spread of the Christian religion. The enemies of Christianity either admit or affirm the discipleship to have been Iiistorical. Accordant with Jewish custom, the names of certain disciples are mentioned. Some adversaries refer to one "James, the brother of Jesus who was called Christ." It is quite certain that this James was not one of the original twelve disciples of Christ, but that he became an apostle by reason of the Lord's resurrection. All parties ascribe to James a pure and upright character. He died a martyr for his Christian faith. The followers of Christ were early called Christians after his name. The disciples afterwards were designated apostles with reference to their gi'eat commission in being sent forth to the nations by Christ to preach his gospel. Having been invested with power from on 315 316 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, high at the great Pentecost, they began the work of their apostolate, first in Judsea, but afterward among the populations, civilizations, and gi*eat centers of the Roman Empire. Wherever they went, they published the saving power of Jesus Christ, and they wrought miracles in his name. The apostles and their successors met with an amazing success — a success which is not to be explained on any natural principles. 1. The Followers of Christ, from His name, were called Christians. 2. The Historical Existence of Persons known as Christ's Disciples. 3. James, who was the Brother of our Lord, also became His Apostle. 4. These Apostles wrought Miracles by the Name and Power of Clirist. 5. They also went to the Nations, publishing His Gospel with Success. I. Christ's Followers Called Christians. The Book of Acts records that "the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." The designation 8224. The ° Appellative had special reference to Christ, the Founder of the Christian religion. It was the remark of Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria : "The Christian people never took their denomination from their own bishops, but from the Lord in whom we believe. And though the blessed apostles are our masters, and have administered to us the gospel of our Lord, we are not named from them. For from Christ we are, and are called Christians."^ From the circumstance that the word Christian is derived from a Greek stem with a Latin termination, it is supposed that the appellation was of Roman origin, and was not assumed by the apostles in the first instance. Kevertheless, because of its reference to Christ, it was not unacceptable. Paul seems to have avoided its use altogether, even in the famous defense of his faith at Caesarea, when Herod Agrippa II pronounced the name " Christian," perhaps sneeringly, and the apostle responded with such impressive dignity and cour- tesy to the king. Peter, however, employed the term Avith reference to its origin when he wrote : J Lard, iv, 153. The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Their Work. 317 "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye ; . . . but let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, or as a meddler in other men's matters. Yet if any one suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name." 2 The appellation seems to have been in common use by foes and friends for a period of two centuries after the apostles. Josephus says that " the sect of Christians, so ^ 225. common named from Him, are not extinct at this day."^ i^ Literatiire. Tacitus mentions "Christ the founder of that name," and declares that Nero "falsely charged with the guilt [of himself in burning Rome] those persons . . . commonly called Christians."^ Pliny the younger, in his official Letter to Trajan^ speaks of the judicial "trials of the Christians" who were "brought before him as Christians." He says: "I asked them whether they were Christians;" some "con- fessed that they were Christians, but others denied it."^ Suetonius, also referring to the burning of Rome, says of Nero that "he likewise inflicted punishments on the Christians."* Celsus speaks of the first Jewish Christians as "deserters to another name, and another mode of life." ® Lucian, mentioning one Peregrinus, says : "At which time he learned the wonderful doctrines of the Christians." '' Porphyry refers to Origen, who " was in great esteem, . . . whose authority is very great with the teachers of this [new] doctrine, . . . who went over to this barbarian temerity, . . . living as a Christian, and contrary to the laws." ^ Aristides says : " Those who to-day believe in his preaching are called Christians, who are well known." ^ TertuUian says: "The outcry is that the State is filled with Christians ; they are in the fields, in the citadels, in the islands. They make lamentation as for some calamity, that both sexes, every age and condition, even high rank, are passing over to the profession of the Christian faith." ^° * Lives of the Ccesars, Nero, c. 16. 2 1 Pet. Iv, 14, 16. 3 Ant. x\m, S, 3. * Annals, xv, U, i5. s Hpis. X, 97. 6 Orig. con. Cels. 11, 1. ' Cited by Lard, vll, 279. 8 Jb. p. 397. » Apology. lo Apol. c. 1. 318 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. This common usage in the cmrent literatm'e of those times proves the early origin of Christianity, and the authenticity of the references to Christians made by Luke and Peter. II. Historical Existence of the Disciples. In ancient times it was usual for philosophers and teachers to have a following of those who were attracted to their pres- ence for the purpose of receiving instruction. § 226. The Dis- ^ ^ ° cipies of Socrates and Plato had their learners ; John Bap- tist and Jesus had their disciples. After having spent a night in prayer, our Lord chose twelve men" whom he ordained to be the companions of his ministry, the witnesses of his miracles, and the learners of his doctrines. With such ample opportunities and advantages they were to be qualified to attest his own resurrection from the dead, his ascension to heaven, as well as to write the Tnemoirs of his life, and then preach his gospel to the nations of the world. A discijple was a follower of Jesus; an apostle was one sent to publish salvation in his name unto all people. These chosen twelve disciples after- wards became his commissioned apostles. Of these twelve, however, "Judas by transgression fell," and one Matthias was chosen to take his place in the apostolate. Thenceforth the superstructure of Christianity was " built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." * Now, those writers who were hostile to the Christian relig- ion made a record which strongly confirms the history of the apostolate of Jesus as given in the historical part ords of the of the New Testament. They recognize and ^' affirm the fact that our Lord did ordain and send forth his apostles to preach Christ's saving power. 1. Josepjius mentions the broad fact of Christ's following : " He drew after him many of the Jews and many of the Greeks. "" *Eph.ll, 20; 1 Pet. 11, 6. 11 Matt. X, 2-5; Mark HI, 14; Luke vl, 13-16; John vl, 70, 71; Acts 1, 13. "^nt.xviil, 3, 3. The Apostles of Jesus Christ axd Thkik Work. 'U9 2. The Talmud mentions some of the disciples' names : "The Rabbins have taught that there were five disciples of Jesus: Matthai [i . 11, 11. " iard. vll, 630, 631. 21 320 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. of God. . . . They that preached unto us the forgiveness of sins and the purification of our heart, they to whom being twelve in number, for a testimony unto the twelve tribes — for there are twelve tribes of Israel — he gave authority over the gospel, that they should preach it."^^ Aris- tides says: "This Jesus . . . had twelve disciples, in order that a certain dispensation of his might be fulfilled. . . . He ascended [to heaven], and then these twelve disciples went forth into the known parts of the world, and taught concerning his greatness." ^^ Tertullian says: " He spent forty days with some of his disciples down in Galilee, a re- gion in Judaea, instructing them in the doctrines they were to teach others. Thereafter, having given them commission to preach the gospel through the world, . . . his disciples also spreading over the world, did as their Divine Master bade them."^^ The Apostle Paul says: "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to those that were apostles before me. . . . But other apostles saw I none save James the Lord's brother." " He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. . . . After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles."-^ An analysis of the foregoing testimonies yields Analysis of the following propositions confirmatory of facts Testimonies. ^^ i • j.i /-i i auirmed in the (rospels : 1. That Jesus attracted to himself many disciples, both Jews and Gentiles. (Josephus.) 2. Some of the disciples of Christ are mentioned by name, by Jewish Eabbis. (Talmud.) 3. Through these disciples a very great multitude of Israel became believers. (Toledoth.) 4. The converts to Christianity went over to another name and mode of life. (Celsus.) 5. The chronology of these facts dates in the reign of Tiberius and Claudius. (Julian.) CONFIRMATIONS 6. Barnabas confirms Toledoth as to twelve disciples according to the twelve tribes. 7. Aristides confirms Toledoth in the number and vocation of the apostles of Jesus. 8. Tertullian confirms Paul of Christ's teaching in Galilee after his resurrection.'^ 19 Epis. cc. 5, 8. so Apol. « Apol. c. 21. 22 Gal. 1, 17-19: 11,9; 1 Cor. xv, 5, 7. «« Acts xlil, 31. The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Theik "Work. 321 9. Julian confirms Toledoth as to reputable standing of some Christian converts. 10. Paul confirms the Talmud in naming, and the Toledoth in numbering, the disciples. 11. And all the testimonies witness to the antiquity and truth of the New Testament. III. James the Brother of Our Lord. Four persons of eminence are named James in the New Testament: "James the Elder," "James the g230. Four Little," "James the son of Alphaeus," and " James named James, the Lord's brother." James the Elder, was brother of the Apostle John, son of Zebedee.^ These two were designated by Christ as "sons of thunder." ^ They both enjoyed special relations with Jesus in preparation for special services in their future apostolate. They, with Peter, were the favored three of the Twelve who were chosen to witness Christ's Messianic work when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, ^ who were admitted to behold the glory of Christ's transfiguration "on the holy mount," ^ and who witnessed the Lord's humiliation and agony in the garden Gethsemane. ^ This James was the first martyr, as John was the last survivor, of the twelve disciples. He was beheaded by order of Herod Agrippa I, in A. D. 44. ^ James the Little,^ probably so called from his stature, was the son of a certain Mary and a brother of Joseph.^ His mother is named as one of the women from Galilee who brought sweet spices to the Savior's tomb.^ This James is quite commonly supposed to be the son of Alphaeus, on the hypothesis that his mother was the wife of Cleopas, who was 2« Matt. Iv, 21; x, 2. "^ Mark 111, 17. "^^ Mark v, 37; Luke vlll, 41, 49-55. " Matt, xvii, 1-13; Mark ix, 2-10; Luke Ix, 28-36; 2 Pet. 1, 17, 18. 28 Matt, xxvl, 36-46; John xvili, 1; xli, 27. 29 Acts xli, 2 30 '0 Mt/cp6r, ihe Little, not the Les/s, as In the A. V., Mark xv, 40. 81 Matt, xxvil, 56, Mapla rj rod 'laxti/Sou Kal ^Iwaij fiifiTrjp. 82 Mark xvl, 1; coiiip. xv, 40; Luke xxiii, 55, 56; xxlv, 1. 322 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. also named Alphaeus ; ^ but this is seriously questioned. Though a man of prominence in the primitive Church, he does not seem to have been one of the twelve apostles. James the son of Alphaeus, who was one of the original Twelve, and is named in the four apostolic lists. ^ James, the Lord's brother, was the eldest of Joseph and Mary's children, Jesus being the firstborn of the Yirgin, In the family list contained in the Gospels, the name 8 231. The "^ -, T • Lord's of James is invariably mentioned first, denoting priority as to his brothers and unnamed sisters.'^ It is a curious circumstance noted by the Evangelist that Christ's nearest kindred at first did not believe on him as the Messiah when engaging in his Messianic work. Upon the contrary, they regarded his claims thereto as merely so much evidence that Jesus was beside himself. ^ Quite probably the Lord referred to this fact when he said : " A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.'''' '^ This James is not mentioned in the four registries of the twelve disciples, ^ but appears to have become converted upon first seeing the risen Christ. In the records of the Lord's reappearances alive, no details are given as to his appearing to James, but the fact itself is clearly stated by Paul: "After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles."^ Subse- quently Paul, relating his visit to Jerusalem, recognizes the Lord's brother as an apostle, and holding a pre-eminent position in the Apostolic Church: "But other of the apostles saw I none save James the Lord's brother." ^ " And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars [in the Church], perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me »3 John xlx, 25; comp. Matt, x, 3. 34 Matt. X, 3; Mark Hi, 13-19; Luke vl, 14-16; Acts 1, 13. 35 Matt, xili, 55, 5(5; Mark vi, 3; John vl, 42. 30 Mark ill, 21 ; Matt, xii, 46-50; John vll, 5. 37 Mark vl, 3, 4; Luke iv, 24. 38 Matt. X, 2; Mark 111, 14-19; Luke vl, 13-16; Acts 1, 13. 89 1 Cor. XV, 7. « Gal, i, 19; ii, 9. The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Their "Work. 328 and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision." ^ James appears to have taken front rank with the apostles ; for he was chosen as the first Bishop of Jerusalem;^ he was the presiding spirit in the first Council of the Church;^ and he wrote an Epistle of the New Testament which bears his name and indicates his relationship to Jesus. How faithful he was after his conversion to Christ, how spiritual he was in his character and life; and how he finally won a martyr's crown, are things to be related in the testimonies to follow. The pre-eminent position of this James as given in the !New Testament iustilies a reference to his charac- „ ^ ^, "l §232. Charac- ter as indicated in the views of him entertained ter of the by those who lived in his times and succeeding. Brother. There are two sources, Jewish and Christian. The Talmud: "James was so eminent among the Jews that they designated, him to be a mighty man [or, a leader of the people] ; and he wore a white garment, and drank no wine, and ate no meat, and never cut his hair, nor did he trim his beard." Hegesippus, a Christian historian, who wrote about A. D. 170, is cited by Eusebius thus : "Hegesippus also, who flourished nearest the days of the apostles, in the Fifth Book of his Commentaries gives the most accurate account of him [i. e., of James the Just] thus: ' But James, the brother of the Lord, who, as there were many of this name, was surnamed the Just by all, from the days of our Lord until now, receiving the government of the Church with the apostles. This apostle was consecrated from his mother's womb. He drank neither wine nor fermented liquors, and abstained from animal food. A razor never came upon his head. . . . He alone was allowed to enter the sanctuary [of the priests]. He never wore woolen, but linen garments. He was in the habit of entering the temple alone, and was often found upon his bended knees, and interced- ing for the forgiveness of his people ; so that his knees became as hard as camels', in consequence of his habitual supplication and kneeling before God. And indeed, on account of his exceeding great piety, he was called the Just.' " ** «Gal. 11, 9. *!^ Euseb. E.H.,B.n,c.l. «Actsxv, 13. « Euseb. E. H., B. 11, c. 23. 324 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Clement of Rome, the companion of Paul, in the sixth book of the Institutions^ attributed to him, says : Peter, James, and John, after the ascension of our Savior, though they had been preferred by our Lord, did not contend for the honor, but chose James the Just as Bishop of Jerusalem. . . . The Lord imparted the gift of knowledge to James the Just, to John and Peter, after his resurrection ; these delivered it to the rest, and they to the Seventy, of vphom Barnabas was one." *^ In the Constitutions of the Ajyostles^ Clement gives the following declaration as being official from James the Lord's brother : "I James, the brother of Christ according to the flesh, but his servant as the only begotten of God, and the one appointed Bishop of Jerusalem," *^ etc. Eusebius says : " James being the first that received the dignity of the episcopate at Jei'usalem from the Savior himself, as the sacred Scriptures show that he was generally called the brother of Christ." *^ Dr. Philip Schaff, having cited some legendary works relating to the Lord's brother, says : "Legends gather around the memory of great men, and reveal the deep impression they made upon their friends and followers. The char- acter which shines through these James-legends is that of a loyal, zealous, devout, consistent Hebrew Christian, who, by his personal purity and holiness, secured the reverence and affection of all around him." ""s g 233 Martyr- Joscphus, referring to the year A, D. 63 as domofthe ^j^g jg^^g ^f James's death, mentions the Roman Lord's Brother. procurator of Judaaa as " Festus [who] was now dead, and [his successor] Albinus was but upon the road [from Rome to Jerusalem to take his place]; so he [Ananus] assembled the Sanhedrin of Judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others [companions] ; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned. « Euseb. E. H. B. 11, c. 1. « Ante-Nicene Falhrrs, Vol. Vll, B. vlll. ConstUution o/ Apostles, c. 3.5, p. 49fi, « Euseb. E. H., B. vll, c. 19. *^ Hist. Christ. Church, 1, 208, 269. The Apostles of Jp:sus Chkist and Tiieik Wokk. 325 . . . Whereupon [after his arrival] Albiniis . . . wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done ; upon which King Agrippa [the Second] took the high priesthood from him when he had ruled but three months." ^^ Clement of Rome: " There were two Jameses ; one was called the Just, who was thrown from the wing of the temple, and beaten to death with a fuller's club; and another, who was beheaded"^ in A. D. 44. See Acts xii, 1, 2. Hegesippus, as cited by Eusebius, narrates that the scribes and Pharisees came to James with very flattering words, and besought him, because of his great influence with the people, to use it in recalling them from their faith in Jesus. They "placed James upon a wing of the temple, and cried out: ' O thou just man, whom we all ought to believe, since the people are led astray after Jesus that was crucified, declare unto us. What is the door to Jesus that was crucified ?' And he answered with a loud voice : * Why do you ask me respecting Jesus the Son of man ? He is now sitting in the heavens on the right hand of Power, and will come on the clouds of heaven.' Then the people shouted, 'Hosanna to the son of David.' Thereupon they cast him down from the temple, saying, ' Let us stone James the Just !' As he did not die immediately when cast down, but turning around, he knelt down saying: ' I entreat thee, O Lord God and Father, foi-give them, they know not what they do !' Thus they were stoning him when one of the priests" interposed, and another brained him while he was praying for them. "Immediately after this Vespasian invaded and took Judfea." Eusebius here re- marks: " Such is the more simple testimony of Hegesippus, in which he fully coincides with Clement." ^^ Eusebius continues : " The Jews, after Paul had appealed unto Cpesar, and he had been sent by Festus to Rome, frustrated by their hope of entrapping him by the snares they had laid, turned themselves against James, the brother of the Lord, to whom the Episcopal seat at Jerusalem was committed by the apostles . . . For Festus about this time died in Judeea, and the province [of Judaea] was without a governor or head. But as to the manner of James's death, it has been already stated in the words of Clement, that he was thrown from the wing of the temple, and beaten to death with a club."^^. Origen, referring to the prediction of Christ concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, says : " It is recorded that: 'When ye see Jerusalem compassed about by armies, then shall ye know that the desolation thereof is nigh.' But at *9Ant. XX, 9, 1. ^Euseb. E. H., B. li, c. 1. ^^ lb. B, II, c. 23. M/&. B. il, c. 23. 326 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. that time there were no armies around Jerusalem, encompassing and inclosing and besieging it. For the siege began in the reign of Nero, and lasted till the government of Vespasian, whose son, Titus, destroyed Jerusalem, as Josephus says, on account of James the Just, brother of Jesus who was called Christ; but in reality, as the truth makes clear, on account of Jesus the Son of God."^ §234 The The evidential worth of these testimonies is Reviewed^ ^ery considerable in substantiating the historical existence and antiquity of Jesus and James. 1. Whether James was by blood the half-brother of Jesus, and next to him in birth, is not the purpose of this dis- cussion. It is sufficient to prove the historicity of the case that James was in any sense a close relative of Jesus, though " called James, the Lord's brother." For it is obvious that if there was no historical Christ, no one could be called the brother of Christ. Josephus names " James, the brother of Jesus who is called Christ." James, in an episcopal document, designates himself as " James, the brother of Christ according to the flesh." Paul affirms that he saw at Jerusalem with Peter, "James, the Lord's brother." Eusebius mentions " James, the brother of the Lord, who was generally called the brother of Christ." Clement, who agrees with Hegesip- pus in all details of his death, calls him " James the Just." Hegesippus speaks of " James, the brother of the Lord, who was surnamed the Just by all." Origen, citing Josephus, mentions " James the Just, the brother of Jesus who was called Christ." Kow, this constant identification and characterization of the same persons, in the current literature of different persons, in different ages, in different countries, these designations can not be accidental coincidents, can not be applied to fictitious personages, can not be unhistorical ; for more decisive language could not be used when it was the intention to convey the thought that Jesus and James were brothers by blood, having 6s Orig. contra Cels. 11, 13, close, and Luke xxl, 20. The Apostles of Jesus Christ anb Their AVokk. 327 the same mother. It thm appears that not only Jesus was known as the Man of History^ hut his family relations were also known and named, herein unmistakably confirming the Evangelists. 2. The historical antiquity and chronology of the apos- tolate are also conclusively proved by these testimonies. Two distinct references are made to the death of James, which fix the date of its occurrence quite definitely. Josephus makes express allusion to Ananus the younger, who is said to have illegimately assumed the high priesthood after the death of the procurator Festus, and then proceeded to instigate the martyrdom of James by stoning. For this procedure he was threatened with punishment by the new procurator on his arrival, and King Agrippa II, who was charged with the temple and its interests, deposed Ananus at the end of three months from his assumption of the priestly robes. There was considerable of an interval in the Roman procuratorship over Judaea, between the ruling of the Jews by Festus who had died, and that of his successor, Albinus, before his arrival. It was during this interval, when the country was without a Roman ruler, that James the Just was slain. This occurred in the year 63,^ or soon after. Eusebius mentions the event briefly : " Festus about this time died in Judaea, and the province was Avithout a governor or head," and that already "Paul had appealed to Caesar." Hegesippus places the date of James's death somew^hat later. He says : " Immediately after this [i. e. James's death] Yespasian invaded and took Judaea." ISTow, this invasion actually occurred in the year 67. ^ The Emperor Nero ordered the invasion and conquest of the Jews. But Kero died in 68, when Vespasian being then in Palestine, and hearing of the emperor's death, the soldiers of his com- mand at once proclaimed Vespasian emperor ; whereupon he handed over his military forces to his son Titus. 64 Schaff, ^is<. Christ. Ch. 1, 267. ^^Ib. 1, 395. 328 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. TV. Miracles "Wrought in Christ's Kame. The apostles, going before the nations in their high commis- sion from Christ, required miraculous credentials to be success- ful. The world was a bulwark of idolatries, but- § 235. Mira- . ' cies in tresscd on every side against the invasion of any Demand. ^^^^ religion. The religion of a revered ancestry dominated and was to be defended at all hazards. A deep and persistent prejudice was permanently inwrought by tradition and education. But that which made the enterprise the more formidable and dangerous was, that idolatory was the chosen religion of the Koman Empire, and was so incorporated into the constitution and laws of government that the very proposition which Christianity had to offer was held to be high treason against the State. The established policy of the empire, of which the emperor in person was chief pontiff, the civil officers of the several provinces abroad, the armies and their commanders everywhere, were committed against that which they all jealously regarded as a criminal invasion of the government. Upon the other hand, the Christian religion was without a friend at the court. It had not even the sanction of an earlier antiquity to render it respectable in their eyes, or the sanctity of an ancestral wor- ship to make it acceptable. It had no nation at its back to enforce its claims or to protect its subjects. Unlike Moham- med's movement, it had neither arms nor armies to invade and make conquest of whole communities, or States or nations, by force. It had an incomparably better mission; but it was purely a mission of peace. Its only method was that of persuasion ; was an appeal to the personal conscience for con- viction in the direction of right doing, and to the resulting consciousness of supreme satisfactions in a nobler life. But to secure attention at all, anywhere and everywhere, the first advocates of the new religion must produce evidence of advantages superior to those already possessed. They The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Their Work. 329 must come invested with a divine power, known not only to themselves, but with an ability to make known their supreme claims by supernatural signs and wonders cor- responding, in order to obtain a hearing and produce convic- tion. How could the apostles possibly succeed except they illustrate, in some benevolent way, the exercise of some sujKmatitral power lohich helonged to their cause, and not to themselves ? And how could that manifestation of power be made effectual in impression otherwise than in the instantane- ous working of miracles in the name of their high authority ? Accordingly miracles were at once the credentials of the apostles, commending their mission to the world, and the attestation of the supreme authority and the supernatural religion of Christ in his relation to the world. A study of the facts associated with the founding of the Christian religion embraces the history of miracles as con- tained in the New Testament. It is to be § 236 Miracles specially noted that those wrought by the apos- in cimst's ties were wrought in Christ's name, and by the ^™®" power with which he had invested them. * They expressly disclaimed producing miracles by their own power. They were wrought in the direction of beneficence. Jesus had carefully prepared their minds for this responsibility when he said to them : " He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do." ^ To this end, he charged them to tarry in Jerusalem until they received the investiture of power, having the promise that the Holy Spirit should come upon them, and then would they be qualified to bear witness for him unto the uttermost parts of the earth. ^ Sometimes these miracles are recorded in general terms, *SeG $ 143. y ). As the general subject of miracles has been already trav- ersed In three prior chapters of this work, only those which were peculiarly the apostles' will be considered here. MJohn xlv, 12. WLuke xxiv, 49; Acts, 1, 4, 8. 830 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. and sometimes they are ascribed to individual apostles named. Sometimes the account of a given miracle embraces specific details and sometimes very many miracles are massed in one § 237. Miracles general statement. After the pentecostal man- Manifoid. ifestations were realized, "many wonders and signs were done by the apostles." ^ They were wonderful for numbers, and for the insignificance of the means employed. " Many signs and wonders were wrought among the people, . . . insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by, might overshadow some one of them. There came also a multitude from the cities round about Jerusalem, bringing sick folk and them that were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed every one."^^ "And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons ; and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them."^" "To the Corinthian Church which Paul had planted, he wrote from Macedonia about the year 57: "Truly the signs of the apostle were wrought among you in all patience, by signs and wonders and mighty works." *^ The interesting and valuable fact may here be recalled, that while the enemies of Christianity for the first four centuries „, . „ , did not deny the occurrence of miracles, thev §238. Explana- -^ _ 'J tionofthe admitted wonderful things did happen by the hands of the apostles, which they felt that they must explain. In a word, they endeavored to explain the miracles wrought in their times by ascribing them to magic or sorcery. It is, however, stated by an unknown Arabic writer, who seems to have been a philosopher, that, " in the practice of virtue, they [the apostles] surpass the pliilosophers • . . . in the genuine performance of miracles, they infinitely excel them." ^ Celsus asserts that " it is by the names of demons and by the use of incantations that the Christians appear to be possessed of [miraculous] power." "^ Porphyry calls the 68 Acts 11, 43. ''9/6. V, 12, 15, 16. «"76. xlx, 11, 12. 6' 2 Cor. xli, 12. 62 See "Galen," in Smith and Wace's Diet, of Christ. Biograjihy. « Orig. con. Cels. 1, 6. The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Their Work. 331 apostles "ignorant and indigent men [who], because they had nothing, performed some signs by magical art, which is no great matter, for the magicians in Egypt, and many others, have wrought signs. Let it be granted that the apostles wrought signs." ^ Julian the emperor wrote that the Chris- tians " have introduced a body of wonderful works, to give it the appearance of truth. . . . Paul also exceeded all jug- glers and impostors that ever were." "^ The Talmud relates that of miracles — "There is an example in the son of Dama, nephew of R. Ismael, by his sister. When he had been bitten by a serpent, James of Schechania came to heal him. But Rabbi Ismael did not allow it to be done. The son of Dama said to R. Ismael: 'O Rabbi Ismael, my uncle, let me be healed by him. I will allege a text out of the Law which allows it.' But before he had finished all he would say, he expired. Thereupon Ismael pi'onounced this speech over him: 'Thou art happy, O son of Dama ; for thy body has remained pure, and thy soul has gone pure out of it ; and thou hast not transgressed the words of thy brethren.' "^ The Talmud of Jerusalem affirms: "A child of the son of Rabbi Joses, son of Levi, swallowed a some- what poisonous. There came a man who pronounced some words to him, in the name of Jesus, . . . and he was healed. And when he was going away, R. Josea said unto him, 'What word did you use?' He answered, such a word. R. Joses said unto him : ' Better had it been for him to die than to hear such a word.' And so it happened ; that is, he died at once ! " "^^ The first of these two Talmudic testimonies is inserted here as illustrative of the power of the early Christians to work miracles, and no less the gracious design to be a blessing to their Jewish enemies; and upon the other hand, the ungra- cious and vindictive spirit in which their efforts of love were received, that death was preferred to life saved by a Christian miracle. As nothing is known of the home residence of either James, no opinion can be formed as to which James, if either is here referred to. In the second case, there is manifested the same old hatred to Jesus Christ, in whose name the mira- cles were wrought, carried to the same extreme. But thus M Lard, vll, 142. 65 75. 622. M Tal. Jerus. Avoda, Sara 40, d. fol. 27, col. 2, med. 6'i7>. Tr. Sabbat. Pugio Fidei, p. 170. 332 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. were they taught, and so did they feel, as furnished by their Rabbis, in the work which they hold as their highest authority, their Talmud. To these Jewish testimonies may be added that of the modern Jewish historian, Dr. Heinrich Graetz, professor in the University of Breslau, Prussia, who says : "Christianity, only just born, went forth upon a career of conquest and proselytism. The disciples asserted that Jesus had imparted the power of healing the sick, of awaking the dead, and of casting out evil spirits. With them the practice of exorcism became habitual, and thus the belief in the power of Satan and demons, brought from Galilee, first took form and root. . . . The early Christians used, or rather misused, the name of Jesus, for the purposes of incantation . . . Exorcism by degi*ees became a constant practice among the Christians."^ In corroboration of the foregoing testimonies relating to miraculous power and work on the part of the apostles and §239. origen their successors, the recorded testimony of Ori- conflrms. ggj^ respecting miracles wrought in his own time is now due. Origen wrote about A. D. 240-245. He says: "We, if we deem this a matter of importance, can clearly show a countless multitude of Greeks and Barbarians who acknowledge the existence of Jesus. And some give evidence of having received, through this faith, a marvelous power by the cures which they perform, invoking no other name over those who need their help than that of the God of all things, and of Jesus, along with the mention of his history. For hy these means we, too, have seen many persons freed from grievous calamities, and from distractions of mind, and madness, and countless other ills, which could be cured neither by men nor devils." ^^ Here are admissions of the miraculous power exercised by the early Christians for curing fatal diseases, "the power of healing the sick, awaking the dead, and casting ^'^' out demons;" "a constant practice among the Christians" at that time. But in explanation, the adversaries superstitiously attribute these works to "incantation" or to "the belief in the power of Satan."'" The curious question arises, "Why this preference as to the source of power ? Ees- 68 Hist, of the Jews, Vol. I, p. 170. "* Orig. contra Cels. Ill, 24. 'OMatt. Ix, 32, 34; xll, 22, 80; Mark Hi, 22, 30. The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Their "Work. 333 cuing the poisoned by a word, "healing the sick, awaking the dead, and casting out demons," are pure miracles in fact, though called by any other name. It is the same old charge which Jesus refuted when his opposers ascribed the miracles which he himself wrought to Satan. Miracles were helpful to the ministry of the apostles and their successors in opening the new epoch known as the Christian era; and when they had done their work for the world, they were retired. The evidence of experience and Christian consciousness replaced the external evidence of miracles. This was the deeper, because the internal proof of the Christian religion, precisely where all other religions fail ; ultimate, because it was personal affecting the character and the life of the individual believing in Christ. V. Ministry of the Apostles to the Nations. The student of the New Testament will readily recall Christ's commission intrusted to his apostles: "Go ye there- fore and make disciples of all nations." "And „ - , 8 241. Ministry they went forth and preached everywhere, the of the Apostles Lord working with them and confirming the ^°^^' word with signs following."'^ It is now in place to observe how the work of the apostolate progressed, and how the doc- trines and practice of the Christian religion became diffused abroad among mankind, under the ministry of the apostles and their immediate successors during the first three centuries. Waiving mere opinions which are not eviden- §242. The ° ^ Voice of tial, and crediting the facts conceded touching DisbeUef. the rapid spread of Christianity, we begin with Tacitus. "At first only those were arrested who acknowledged [themselves Christians]. Next, on their information a vast number [of others] were convicted [of being Christians]." ^^ Pliny affirms that "Many of every age, of every rank, and of either sex, are exposed and will be exposed to danger. Nor has the contagion of the superstition been confined to the cities, but it extends to the villages, and even to the [open] country. " Matt, xxvili, 19; iropevd^vre^ oSv fiadriTeuaaTc ir&vra rd edvi), Mark xvl, 20. 1^ Annals, xv, 44; comp. Matt, xxiv, 9, 10. 334 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. The temples had already been deserted and the victims heretofore could hardly find a purchaser. . . . From this it is easy to imagine what a multitude of men might be retained, if pardon should be ailorded to those who repent'^ [of following Christ]." Lucian exclaims: " Pontus is full of Atheists and Christians!"^* Julian writes: "Many of you, it seems, I have offended — in a manner all of you: the Senate, the rich, the people. The greatest part of the people, or rather the whole of them, are offended at me because they love impiety, and they see that I embrace and adhere to the religion of my ancestors." ^^ "A great multitude of men in the cities of Greece and Italy were seized with this distemper." ''* Josephus alleges that " Jesus was a teacher of such as received the truth with gladness. He carried away with him many of the Jews and also of the Greeks."" Toledotli Jeshu concedes that "Israel went after him, and some of them were reputable people who confirmed the doc- trine of Jeshu [/. e., Jesus] and declared that they were his messengers; and they gathered unto them a vast multitude of Israel ; that the number of his disciples amounted to two thousand ; that the belief in him increased more and more for thirty years after his death ; that his followers were called Nazarenes ; and that the belief in Jesus became strong and spread abroad until they numbered thousands and tens of thousands." Clement of Rome says: "Saint Paul preached both in the East and in the West, taught the whole world righteousness, and traveled to the utmost bounds of the West."^* Ignatius of Antioch §243. Con- mentions "bishops that are settled in the farthest parts Christians '^^ *^^^ earth." ^^ Justin Martyr of Palestine says: "There is not a single race of men, whether Barbarians or Greeks, or those dwelling in wagons, or without houses, or such as dwell in tents,*" among whom prayers and thanksgiving are not offered to the Father and Creator of all things through the name of the crucified Jesus. "^^ Irenseus of Lyons wrote: "The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith." "^ Tertullian of Car- thage said: "We are but of yesterday, and we have filled every place among you ; [your] cities, islands, fortresses, towns, market-places, the camp, tribes, companies, palace, Senate, Forum: we have left you noth- ing but the temples of your gods."^ "The outcry is that the State is filled with Christians ; that they are in the fields, in the citadels, in the islands. They [the accusers] make lamentation as for some calamity, that both sexes, every age and condition, even high rank, are passing over to the profession of the Christian faith."*** " For upon whom else " Official Epis. to Trajan. See Append., Excursus B, i^Lard. vil, 2*}, 284, '6 Misopngon, lb. vli, 6-17. ''^ lb. 628. IT Ant. xvlli, 3, 3. i^Epis. to Cor. c. 5; coinp. Phtlipp. iv, 3. 1^ Epis. to Eph. c. 3. ^' Afx.a^oliiu}v=nomad tribes. 8» Dialogue with Tryphon, c. 117. ^Heresies, c. 10, 1. 83^poJ. C.37. 8«/6. c. 1. The Apostlks of Jesus Chkist and Theik Work. 335 have the [univei-sal] nations believed but upon the Christ who is already come? For whom have the nations believed: Parthians, Medes, Elam- ites, and they who inhabit Mesopotamia, Armenia, Phrygia, Cappadocia, and they who dwell in Pontus, and Asia, and Pamphylia, tarriers in Egypt, and inhabiters in the region of Africa which is beyond Cyrene, Romans and sojourners; yes, and in Jerusalem Jews, and all other nations. ... In all places the name of Christ who is already come reigns, as of him by whom the gates of all cities have been opened, and to whom none are closed, before whom iron bars have been crumbled, and brazen gates opened. ... In all these places dwell the people of the name of Christ."^ "For if such multitudes of men wei-e to break away from you, and betake themselves to some remote corner of the world, why, the very loss of so many citizens . . . would cover the empire with shame ; nay, in the very forsaking, vengeance would be inflicted. Why, you would be horror-stricken at the solitude in which you would find yourselves at such all-prevailing silence, and that stupor as of a dead world. You would have to seek subjects to govern. You would have more enemies than citizens remaining. For now it is the immense number of Christians which makes our enemies so few ; almost all the inhabitants of your various cities being followers of Christ."*^ Origen of Alexandria shall speak the final word on the success of the Gospel up to his time. Writing a little more than two centuries after the crucifixion, this eminent and learned apologist said: "Any one who examines will see that Jesus attempted and success- fully accomplished works beyond the reach of human power. For although, from the very beginning, all things opposed the spread of his doctrine in the world, both the princes of the times, and their chief captains and generals, and all — to speak generally — who were possessed of the smallest influence ; and in addition to these, the rulers of the different cities, and the soldiei-s, and the people ; yet it proved victori- ous, as being the WORD OF GOD, the nature of which is such that it can not be hindered ; and becoming more powerful than all such adver- saries, it made itself master of the whole of Greece, and a considerable portion of barbarian lands, and converted countless souls to his relig- ion."*^ "But the God who sent Jesus, dissipated all the conspiracies of the demons, and made the Gospel of Jesus to prevail throughout the whole world, for the conversion and reformation of men ; and caused the Churches to be everywhere established in opposition to those of superstition and licentiousness and wicked men ; for such is the char- acter of the multitudes who constitute the citizens in the assemblies of various cities; . . , for who would not admit that even the inferior members of the Church, and those who in comparison with the better 86 A ns. to Jews, c. 7. ^Apol. c. 37. 87 Contra. Cels. 1, 27. 22 336 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. are less worthy, are nevertheless more excellent than many of those who belong to the assemblies in different districts?"^ " Chi-istians do not neglect, so far as in them lies, to take measures to disseminate their doctrine throughout the whole world. Some of them accordingly have made it their business to itinerate, not only through cities, but even villages and country houses, that they might make converts to God." "At the present day, indeed, when, owing to the multitude of Christian believers, not only rich men, but persons of rank and delicate and high-born ladies receive the teachings of Christianity."**^ In the temporal sense, the success of Christianity culmi- nated when it had effected a conquest over the idolatrous § 244. Chris- sjstcm which had been incorporated into the th ^Roman government of Eome, when all oppositions and Empire. persecutions were disallowed by law, and when Christianity had itself become the established religion of the State, under Constantine the Great. This, however, did not all come to pass suddenly, but was the progressive development of some years. Although Constantine did not identify himself personally with the Christian Church until just prior to his death in 337, he issued several imperial decrees which led up to the adoption of the Christian religion by the empire. The first Edict of Toleration was issued in A. D. 311, which put an end to persecutions. The second Edict of Toleration was issued in 313, which was preparative for legal protection and final rec- ognition. The Mcene Council assembled in 325, over which the emperor presided in person; a Council which has been properly designated " the solemn inauguration of the Imperial State-Church." «> " In 312, Constantine, in conjunction with his Eastern colleague, Licinius, had published an Edict of Religious Toleration not now ex- tant. ... In January, 313, the two emperors issued from Milan a new Edict (the third) on religion, still extant, both in Latin and Greek, in which in the spirit of religious eclecticism they granted full freedom of all existing forms of woi'ship with special reference to the Christian. This religion the Edict not only recognized in its existing limits, but also— what neither the first nor perhaps the second had done — allowed every heathen subject to adopt with impunity. At the same time the 8« Contra. Ccls. Ill, 29, 8» Tb. Ill, 9. 90 See SchafT, Hist. Christ. Church, Vol. II ; Preface, p. v. The Apostles of Jesus Curist and Their AVorx. ooJ church buildings and property, [previously] confiscated in the Diocletian persecution, were ordered to be restored, and private property owners to be indemnified from the imperial treasury." In March, 313, " he exempted the Christian clergy from military and municipal duty ; abolished various customs and ordinances offensive to Christians in 315; facilitated the emancipation of Christian slaves [before 316] ; legalized bequests to Catholic Churches in 321 ; . . . contributed liberally to building churches and the support of the clergy ; erased the heathen symbols of Jupiter and Apollo, Mars and Hercules, from imperial coins (323) ; and gave his sons a Christian education. . . . The emperor now issued a general exhortation to his subjects to embrace the Chris- tian religion, still leaving them, however, to their own conviction, . . . in 324." "The first Edict of Toleration, A. D. 311, made an end of persecu- tion ; the second Edict of Toleration, 313, prepared the way for legal recognition and protection ; the Nicene Council, 325, marks the solemn inauguration of the Imperial State-Church.^^ Such was the progress and the success of Christianity which attended the apostles' preaching Christ's Gospel to the nations. What account, then, do the historical ' ' 8 245. The Scriptures of the I^ew Testament give of the scriptural apostles' ministry and miracles, which history records as opening such a new and amazing era to the world? First, on the day of Pentecost at Jerusalem, which dates the occasion of their first investiture of power and spiritual coro- nation, the apostles stood up before the vast multitudes assem- bled, and received from heaven each a flaming crown.*^ The fruit of their first day's labor for Christ and Christianity, at the metropolis of the Jews, was three thousand souls.*' A few days later, "a notable miracle" was wrought — the first dis- tinctively known by the apostles — and five thousand converts were added to the Church.^ Then "a great company of priests became obedient to the f aith ;" ®^ after that, "believers were added to the Church, multitudes of both men and women;"* then there were " myriads "^^ of Jews who gladly accepted the Christian doctrine and life. The jealousy of the Jews, how- ever, now found its expression in persecutions vehement and »ii7is<. Christ. Church, Vol. Hi, 29-32; Preface to Vol. II, p. 1. 92 Acts li, 3, etc. M/6. 11, 41. M/6.iv,4. » lb. vi,7. wjft. v, 14. ^t Mvpidde^, Ib.xxi,20. 338 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. fierce, and full of fanaticism. They seized some of the Twelve and inprisoned them;^ they beat and threatened them.* Herod Agrippa I, having arrested Peter, and James, the brother of John, intended to have them slain, James was be- headed, Peter was incarcerated, but found deliverance through the interposition of an angel.^'^ Stephen was stoned to death .^°^ Saul of Tarsus "made havoc of the Church," and continued "breathing out threatenings and slaughter." ^"^-^ At length the apostles of the Lord, as he had enjoined upon them scattered, abroad to other cities and nations, but continued their preach- ing and miracles as they went. Very soon the city of Antioch, in Syria, became the great center of the Gentile Christians, as Jerusalem had been the great center of the Jewish Christians. From this geograph- ical point, Paul, Parnabas, and Silas planned and executed ex- tensive missionary journeys abroad in the interests of Christian- ity and humanity. They traversed the Roman provinces em- braced in Asia Minor, and along the coast of Eastern Europe, organizing mission stations in the various communities, civili- zations, and States, and in the larger centers and capitals, offer- ing the salvation of the gospel first to the Jews, and after- wards to the Gentiles. And wherever they went many souls were won to the Lord. To this end, they traversed lands, and seas, and islands, publishing Christ's name and love. They touched at cities made forever famous in classic story, announcing the glad tidings of a Savior come, who was "the Desire of Nations." There were "Mitylene, the beauti- ful;" Chios, the birthplace of Homer; Samos, where JEsop, the immortal fabulist, first opened his eyes upon the world; Miletus, the home of Thales, one of the seven wise men of Greece; Athens, the seat of learning and culture before the world, "the very eye of Greece," where Euclid wrought out his geometric propositions; where Demosthenes thundered «8 Acts Iv, 8. 99/6. V, 40 ; Iv, 17, 18. lO" lb. v, xii. iM J6. vii, 68. '02/6. vill, 1-3; Ix, 1. The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Their AVork. 339 forth his eloquence against Philip; where the genius of Phidias and Praxiteles and Alcamedes embodied their fame in the beautiful arts on marbles, as enduring as time. There were Macedonia, where Aristotle was born; and Philippi, where Augustus and Mark Antony triumphed in battle over Brutus and Cassius ; and Actium, where Antony and Cleopatra conjointly were defeated by Octavius; and Ephesus, where Alexander the Great proffered all his spoils of war in Asia for the privilege of carving his own name upon the great temple of Diana, " one of the Seven Wonders of the World." Then, there were Egypt, the university of the nations, and its vast Alexandrian library; Italy, wherein centered the great mili- tary power which ruled the world ; where Cicero spoke in his charming eloquence; where Sallust and Livy, Horace and Ovid and Yirgil thought, or wrote, or sung. And there was old Rome itself, the world-capital, in which the first pagan persecutions began under Nero, and near which they also ended. These capitals and cities, among others, were cap- tured soon by the Prince of Peace, and in turn became centers of the new and Christly influence. How effectual was the work may be best understood by the Jews' outcry in opposi- tion at Thessalonica : "These that have turned the world up- side down are come hither also." Meantime, Tacitus at Rome, the greatest of Roman historians, records that the Christian religion, though suppressed for a brief time, was that "pernicious superstition which had burst forth again," and spread from Juda}a to the capital of the empire, and that "a vast multitude" were convicted of the crime of being: Christians ! And the younger Pliny, entering upon the gov- ernment of Pontus and Bithynia, reports to the emperor that " the contagion of the superstition " had spread through the cities and the land, so that "many of every age and every rank, and of either sex, were exposed to the danger" of the inflictions of persecutors. 340 Historical Evidence of the New Testainient. Meantime, Christianity was bitterly opposed by several schools of philosophy — the Cynics, the Epicureans, the Neo- Platonists, and the Eclectics — as if by a coali- § 246. Obsta- ' -^ . ciesand tion. The literature of the day assailed the pposi ions. Q]^j.^g^j^^ religion, Celsus, of the Epicurean or Eclectic school, taking counsel of his prejudices and of the Jews' malice, wrote a treatise to break the power of Christ, whom he did not hesitate to call "an impostor," verifying and vindicating the predictive statement of the devout and just Simeon: " Behold, this Child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that w^ill be spoken against." Lucian, his contemporary, the universal infidel re- specting all religions, wasted his impotent scorn on the poor Christians, calling their religion "the latest folly in the world's great madhouse." Julian the Emperor, known as the "Apos- tate," acknowledged that the Senate, the rich, aye, "the greatest part of the people, or rather the whole of them, were in love with impiety," for rejecting and condemning the mon- strous fraud of the pagan gods elected by the State ; and he affirms that " a great multitude of men in Greece and Italy were seized with this [mental] distemper." The rabbinical work called Toledoth Jeshu admits that the Christian converts within thirty years of Christ's crucifixion, " became strong, and spread abroad until they numbered thousands and tens of thousands." These are the witness of foes outside the Chris- tian world. In confirmation of their testimony is that of Clement and Ignatius^ of Justin and Ire7UBus, and of Ter- tullian and Origen, who enter into the minutiae of the Chris- tian life, as known from the interior standpoint of ancient Christendom. And with what forces in the field did Christianity meet this coalition of its adversaries from the seats of literature and philosophy? Without arsenals or armies, without friends or wealth or influence, it opposed the sanctity of ancestral re- ligions, the prejudice of contempt for a "new" worship, which The Apostles of Jesus Christ and Their "VVokk. 341 had for its object an unseen and "unknown God," and the constant presence and demands of Koman law and imperial armies which stood across its path of progress. Yet it did more than win hearts by the multitude ; it destroyed the im- ages of the heathen gods, and overthrew the altars dedicated to them. It swept away the religious systems of ancient pa- ganism, born of a degenerate human nature, full of degrading- superstitions and depraving sensualities — systems which had required whole generations and ages to grow into form, and incorporate into laws, and organize into institutions of the State. It caused the sacred temples, which had become dimmed and hoary with the sanctity and services of past an- tiquities, to be vacated by their votaries, and abandoned to be the abode of the bat and the midnight owl. Within three centuries of the crucifixion it had won its way by virtue of its intrinsic worth, permeating whole populations of the continents^ and so changing the course of history that, when Constantine came to the throne as the sole ruler of the empire, the world was prepared for the great change to come, and, seizing the diadem of the Caesars, placed it upon the imperial brow of this follower of the lowly Nazarene — the first Christian emperor. That old government which was once the synonym for power, with its horrible dungeons and tortures, its stakes and crosses wherewith to punish the Christians, has long since gone down to the dust and perished from before the eyes of men. But from its ancient ruins there have risen unto Jesus, the once despised, crucified One, but now " the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God," "a dominion, and a glory, and a kingdom, that all people and nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed." "The gospel, preached by men without name, without study, with- out eloquence, cruelly persecuted, and destitute of all human support, did not fail to get established in a short time throughout the whole world. It is a fact which nobody can deny, and a fact which proves that the work was of God." 342 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. inductions. 1. Christianity possesses an Historical Monument in the Kame of its great Founder. 2. Christ's apostles are accorded a place in history even by his worst adversaries. 3. Success among the nations was ever secured by Divine Truth, attested by miracles. 4. Permanency was insured by the power of conscious experi- ence and life in believers. CHAPTER XIII. THE PERSECUTIONS OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. I. Heathen Opinions of Christians and Christianity. o) Opinions reflected by Epictetus, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, Antoninus, Galen, Porphyry, and Julian. /3) Watchwords given the Christians by the Apostle Paul. II. Primitive Christians Blameless in Character. a) Affirmations by Adversaries: Pliny, Lucian, Julian, and an Arabian. /3) Confirmation by Adherents: Aristides, Apollonius, and Didache. III. Prediction of Persecutions uttered by Christ. 1. Jewish Persecutions. 2. Roman Persecutions. a. Literary Persecutions. b. Imperial Persecutions. c. Roman Punishments. IV. Occasion for the Persecution op the Christians. o) Witness of the Persecutors. ^) Graffiti in Caricature of Christ. V. Voice op Modern Historians respecting Early Persecu- tions. Edward Gibbon, Thomas Arnold, Wm. E. H. Lecky, Philip Schaff, McClintock and Strong. A General Survey op the Situation. a) The Aggressive Character of the Gospel. /3) The Effects of Aggression on the Natural Man. y) The Exaltation of the Christians in Suffering. Inductions. 843 Chapter XIII. THE PEESECUTIONS OF THE PEIMITIYE CHRISTIANS. § 247. Soiirces : Biographical Epitomes, Testimonies and Literature. 1. Juvenal (A. D. 50-130) was the contemporary of Tacitus and Pliny, the friend of Martial, and lived during the reign of four success- ive emperors. Moreover, he was the author of sixteen Satires, which are still read with much interest by men of letters, as well as by the student of the ancient classics. He evidently refers in his first Satire to the sufferings imposed upon the Christians in the reign of Nero, as also described by Tacitus and Suetonius ; facts which occurred about thirty years after the crucifixion, of which some have supposed Juvenal to have been an eye-witness. Alluding to a wretch who was a minister and minion of Nero, Juve- nal wrote : "Pone Tigellinum, tseda lucebis in Qua stantes ardent, qui fixo gutture fumant, Et latum media sulcum deducit arena." — Sat. lib. i, 256-157. 2. Martial (A. D. 95) a Latin epigrammatist of celebrity, the author of twelve books which have come down to us. He was of Spanish blood, born in the reign of the Emperor Claudius, in the year 48, and died near the same place in 104. He is mentioned by Pliny junior, as the intimate friend of Juvenal, and he was the favorite of several emperors under whose reign he lived. Coming to Rome at the age of twenty-three, when Nero was on the throne, he had ample opportunities to acquaint himself with the emperor's methods of persecution of the Christians, and was undoubtedly an eye-witness of the great conflagration of the capital in the year 54, and all the wicked cruelties which Nero practiced upon the resident Christians of Rome. One of Martial's epigrams is based upon Nero's tortures of the Christians inflicted upon his innocent subjects, to gratify " the ferocity of one man." He says: " In matutina nuper spectatus arena. Mucins, imposuit, qui sua membra focis, 345 346 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Si patiens fortisque tibi durusque videtur, Abderitanse pectora plebis habes. Nam, cum dicatur, tunica praesente molesta, Urn manum, plus est dicere ; non facio." 25. — Lib. X, Epigr. 3. Lucius Ann.eus Seneca (65) was a Stoic philosopher and the teacher of Nero. He was a rhetorician of fame, the contemporary of the Apostle Paul. Eetiring from public life, he offered his ample fortune to the emperor, who declined to receive it, and having incurred Nero's suspicion, Seneca, in his old age, was ordered by his former pupil, Nero, to commit suicide, wliich he proceeded to do at once. He was a spectator of the burning of Eome in the year 64, and probably witnessed the sufferings of the Christians for his own guilt in ordering the city to be burned. Seneca describes the cruelest appliances in vogue with the Roman Gov- ernment to impose slow tortures, and finally death, upon supposed criminals. 4. Epistle to Diognetus (date A. D. 100-150) is a document supposed to have been addressed to a heathen philosopher of note and cul- ture. An early teacher of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius bore the name Diognetus, who was a Stoic philosopher. The language and style of the Epistle would indicate an Alexandrian origin and authorship ; but the hypothesis that this Diognetus was the tutor of Aurelius, places its composition at Rome. Possibly its author was Pantaenus, the head of the Alexandrian Theological School and the tutor of Clement of Alexandria. In chapter xi of this document the writer claims to have been diroffTdXwv fiadfiT-fi^ " a disciple of the apostles," who had "become a teacher of the Gentiles." Bishop Lightfoot speaks of this letter as "one of the most impressive of the early Christian Apologists in style and treatment," "the simplicity in the mode of stating theological truth, and the absence of all reference to the manifold heresies of the earlier time," point to the middle of the second century as the proper date of this Epistle. (See Bishop Lightfoot's Apostl. Fathers, 488.) Dr. Schaff, however, suggests that the time of its composition was " rather earlier than later than this date." {Hist. Christ. Church, ii, 702.) 5. Apollonius (d. 185) was an eminent Christian Apologist when Com- modus was upon the throne. Cliristianity, stigmatized at that time as " the new religion," because having neither ancestral traditions from antiquity to command Roman respect, nor identification with a nation to yield it prestige in standing, was condemned by the Senate to be exterminated. Eusebius mentions "Apollonius, one of the faithful of that day, renowned for his learning and wisdom," who was led to the tribunal. "But this most approved and The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians. 347 divinely-favored martyr, as the judge [Perennis] earnestly desired and entreated him to give an account of himself before the Senate, delivered a most eloquent defense of the faith for w^hich he was suffering, in the presence of all, and terminated his life by decapi- tation, according to the decree of the Senate." (E. H. B. V. c. 21.) At his execution the magistrate said: "I would fain let thee go, but can not because of the decree of the Senate ; yet with benevolence I pronounce sentence on thee ;" and he ordered him to be beheaded with the sword." (Conybeare in Monuments of Christianity , p. 48.) 6. Thomas Arnold (1795-1842) was an eminent English^historian, teacher, and divine. Graduated at Oxford in 1814, he became " Head Master of Rugby School," and managed its affairs with pre-emi- nent success. In 1838-1842 he issued his best work on the History of Rome ( 3 vols. ; incomplete ). " His chief excellence lay . . in analyzing laws, parties, and Institutions." (Stanley.) In 1841, he was made Regius Professor of Modern History in Oxford Uni- versity. He was father of Matthew Arnold, the poet, and William D. Arnold. He was a high-toned Christian gentleman. 7. Epictetus (109) was an Eclectic philosopher, born about the middle of the first century. He was at first a slave, then a freedman ; he began his philosophic teachings at Rome, was expelled from the city by order of the Senate before the year 90, in the reign of Domitian. His manner of life is described as exceedingly eccen- tric ; he was naked, penniless, wifeless,, childless; without a want or a wish, without passion or temper, independent, imper- turbable, indifferent to life or death. Epictetus nowhere des- ignates Christianity by that name, but he does mention the Galileans as those who evinced no fear of death by martyrdom ; a fortitude which was so much superior to his own philosophy that he attributes it to " madness" of mind. 8. Heinrich E. G. Paulus (1761-1851) was born at Wtlrtemberg, stud- ied theology and Oriental languages at Tiibingen,[.G6ttingen, Lon- don, and Paris ; was chosen professor at Jena, and in Heidelberg in 1811. He became a prominent rationalist in theology in respect to history and criticism, and adopted some strange and extrava- gant views, especially in regard to Christ's miracles. Notwith- standing his acute skill, his great learning, and large experience in historical exposition, he was so mentally perverted by his preconceptions of Christianity, which he adopted to fit his views, that he severely taxed the credulity of his readers far more to accept his extravagant theories than was called for to believe the simple and obvious story of miracles in the Gospels. His Life of Jesus (1828) and his Commentary on the New Testament (Vol. IV, 1800-1807) were his chief works. 348 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. 9. Galen — Claudius Galenus (130-200) was born at Pergamus, Asia Minor. He was a physician of great celebrity, was twice called for professional services in the imperial household of Aurelius and Verus, as he was without a peer in his profession. He exerted a powerful influence upon the whole medical profession for a period of thirteen hundred years. § 248. The Persecution of the Christians. The rules of the highest living are the Gospels of Christ. — Edmund Burke. Of all systems of morality, none appears so pui-e to me as that of Jesus. — Jefferson. It was inevitable that the preaching of the new sect, even while they were disseminated with much reserve, should revive the animosi- ties which had accumulated against its Founder, and had ulti- mately resulted in his death. — Eenan. It was to sustain the deliberate and systematic attack of the temporal power, arming in almost every part of the empire in defense of the ancient Polytheism. — Milman. It was the greatest absurdity that can be conceived for any to impose on others a worship contrary to their conscience, or deny to men the liberty to choose their own religion. It is not religion, but a love of power, that makes men persecutors. — Lactantius. The whole body of Christians unanimously refused to hold any com- munion with the gods of Rome, of the empire, and of mankind. It was in vain that the oppressed believer asserted the inalienable rights of conscience and private judgment. — Edward Gibbon. And ye shall be hated of all men for my Name's sake. — Jesus. Ai(i}K6fi€vot, dX\' oiiK iyKaraXenrdfievoi, KaTa^aWd/xevoi, dXX ovk (XTroW^/jievof = " Persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed." — Paul. argument. The early Christians were distinguished for their purity and blameless- ness of life. Nevertheless, profane writers evidence a common dislike and contempt, even among the better classes of heathen, as regards Christians and the Christian religion. Such misappre- hension of character naturally led to open hostility against Chris- tianity. Christ had himself predicted that his followers would have much tribulation. His apostles after him were the first to suffer persecution. Though subjected to terrible cruelties and outrages on account of their faith in Christ, the apostolic writers record no complaints or bitterness on this account. While de- ploring that any believer should suffer for any given crime, yet to suffer as a Christian was a ground for glorying. The persecutions of the Christians by Jews and Gentiles The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians. 349 were manifold in number and terrible in experience. They suffered by imperial decrees, but especially by Sanhedrists and by provincial governors. The ungovernable malice and fanaticism of the Jews against Jesus was transferred to his followers. When mere reasoning was protested as being insufficient for the de- mands of religion and of our spiritual nature, the philosophers of the day antagonized Christianity. But the chief offense of the Christians consisted in their pronounced opposition to the gods of the State as false, immoral, and degrading. Instead, they intro- duced a " new religion," which had neither the sanction nor the sanctity of antiquity to commend it, and had no nation behind it to command respect for it or enforce its claims. The Chris- tians persistently refused as an act of worship to burn incense to the statue of an emperor, and declined absolutely to revile the name of Jesus Christ as a test of loyalty to the government. Thereupon the inalienable rights of conscience were outraged by violence and persecution. As the empire, of which the emperor was the high pontiff, had incorporated into its organic structure the exclusive rights of religion, Christianity was imperially de- nounced, and those who advocated or adhered to the faith were declared to be guilty of high treason. 1. Heathen Opinions of Christians and Christianity. 2. Character of the Primitive Christians Blameless. 3. The Occasion for the Persecution of Christians. I. Heathen Opinions. "What the Roman heathen opinions were respecting Chris- tians and the Christian religion is sufficiently re- ° "^ 8 249. Opin- flected in the following testimonies, which have ions of been transmitted to us in their own writings. Let us take no other than the views entertained by their own representative men. a) Epictetus wrote (109) respecting the fortitude of Chris- tians who had to brave martyrdom, because they could not and would not worship the false gods chosen by the State, and execrate Christ, as Roman magistrates required : "Is it possible that a man may arrive at that temper and become indifferent to those things from madness or habit as the Galileans* do, *Suldas, a man of letters, wi-lting in the tenth century, said: "In the time of the Emperor Claudius (41-{>1) they who before had been called 'Nazarenes ' and ^Galileans,'' received a new name at Antioch, and were called Christians. ''' See Acta xl, 26. 350 Historical Evidence of the !N"ew Testament. and yet no one should be able to know by reason or demonstration that God made all things in the world?" ^ )8) Tacitus (110), the famous historian, says of the Jews : "Whatever might be the origin of their religion, it has the ad- vantage of antiquity;" but Christianity was ^'the deadly superstition^ [which], repressed for a time, broke out again, not only in Judaea, where the mischief originated, but throughout the city of Rome also, where all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters as a common re- ceptacle, and where they are encouraged." y) Pliny, junior, (112), when proconsul of Pontus and Bi- thynia, in his official report to the Emperor Trajan, expressed his prejudice against the Christian religion in severest terms. After torturing two deaconesses to compel a confession of mere imaginary wrongs in Christian practices, he writes: " I could discover nothing but a perverse and extravagant supersti- tion."^ *' There were others also under like infatuation, but as they were Roman citizens, I directed them to be sent to the capital." " Nor has the contagion of the superstition* been confined to cities, but has ex- tended to the towns, and even to the open country." ^' But the crime spread as is wont while the prosecutions were going on;" and "what- ever the nature of their profession might be, a stubborn and unyielding obstinacy certainly deserved punishment [with death] !"^ 8) Suetonius (122), the distinguished biographer of the Twelve CcBsars, also shared in this unreasonable prejudice; for in his work he is careful to mention "the Christians as a class of men of a new and deceitful superstitionr ^ €) Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (d. about 180), the Stoic philosopher and emperor (161-180), "had no room in his cos- mopolitan philanthropy for the purest and most innocent of his subjects, many of whom served in his army." In his re- flective moments he wrote: " What a soul that is which is ready, if at any moment it must be separated from the body, either to be extinguished or dispersed, or to 1 'T7r6 ixavla^, Lib. 4, c. 7, cited by Lard, vll, 88, 89. - Exitiabllis superstltio, Annals, xv, 41. 3 Prava et Inimodlca superstltio. *Contaglo pervagata est . . . pervlcacla Inflexlbllls obatenatlo. 6 DlfTundente se crimlne. Epis. x, 97. See App., Excursus, B. oSuporstltlonls novi© et maleflcae = deceptive; maijical, with reference to miracles. Nero, IC. The Persecutions of the Pkimitiye Christians. 351 continue to exist; but [only] so that this readiness [to die] comes from a man's own judgment, not from mere obstinacy as with the Christians,'' but considerately, and with dignity, and in a way to persuade another without scenic display."^ ^) Claudius Galenas {^^Galen,''^ 180), a physician of great celebrity and a high authority in the healing art, remarked of those of his profession who refused to be united in faith and practice as physicians : " It is easier to convince the disciples of Moses and Christ than physicians and philosophers who are addicted to particular sects." ^ Yj) Porphyry (270), a man famous in the literature of the Roman world, knew so little of Christianity, which yet he de- spised, that he speaks of — " Origen as a Greek, being educated in Greek literature, but who went over to the barbarian temerity,^" . . . living contrary to the laws." "And now the people wonder that this distemper^^ has oppressed the city so long, ^sculapius and the other gods no longer conversing with men. For since Jesus has been honored none have received any public benefits from the gods." 0) Julian the Emperor (361) was not only "an apostate" from the faith, but was bitterly opposed to Christianity, as his own words witness : "A great multitude of men in the cities of Greece and Italy are seized with this mental malady." "By the madness of the Galileans all things were brought to the brink of ruin ; and now we are all safe by the goodness of the gods." " I think it right to show to all men the reasons by which I have been convinced that the religion of the Galile- ans is a human contrivance, badly put together, having nothing in it divine, but abusing the childish, irrational part of the soul which delights in fable. They [the Christians] have introduced a heap of wonderful works to give it the appearance of truth." He mentions " the calamity [which the Christians] brought upon themselves, who, forsaking the immortal gods, betake themselves to dead men." "Shall we, for this, most hate the understanding, or most pity the simple and ignorant ' Kara \pi\r]v wapdra^iv = according to naked discipline. ^'ArpdYifJSw?- = "without noise or fuss." Medit. xl,S. 9 De Differentia Pulsuum, lib. 11, p. 22. (See Lard, vil, 301.) i<'np65- rb ^dp^apov i^JjKeiXe T6\iiT]/..a=''' ran aground respecting tJie barbarian act of daring ;" i.e.. In rejecting the heathen gods, and resisting the emperor's edict. See Lard. vU, 397, and Euseb. E. H. vl, 224. 11 'H v665 e) Edward Gihhon, the skeptical historian of Rome, gives his testimony in reference to some of the earlier imperial per- secutors of the Christians. He says : " The ^nnaZs of the emperors exhibit a strong and various picture of human nature, which we shall vainly seek among the mixed and doubtful characters of modern history. In the conduct of these mon- archs we may trace the utmost lines of vice and virtue ; the most exalted perfection and the meanest degeneracy of our own species. The Golden Age of Trajan and the Antonines had been preceded by an Age of Iron. It is almost superfluous to enumerate the unworthy successors of Augustus. Their unparalleled vices, and the splendid theater on which they acted, have saved them from oblivion. The dark and unrelenting Tiberius, the furious Caligula, the feeble Claudius, the profligate and cruel Nero, the beastly Vitellius, and the timid and inhuman Domitian, are condemned TO EVERLASTING INFAMY. Duriiig fourscorc years Rome groaned beneath an unremitting tyranny, which exterminated the most ancient families of the Republic, and was fatal to almost every virtue and every talent that arose in that unhappy period." ^^ From his province as proconsul of Pontus and Bithynia, Pliny the younger wrote to the Em- cution Under rri • X J • X • i u • Caius Pliny. peror Irajan tor advice reierring to his proper treatment of the Christians. Among other particulars con- tained in this official letter are the following: " I have pursued this course towards those who have been brought before me as Christians. I asked them lohether they were Christians ; if they confessed [that they were] I repeated the question the second and a thii'd time, adding threats of punishment. If they still persevered, / ordered them to be led away to punishment; for I could not doubt, whatever the nature of their profession might be, that a stubborn and unyielding obsti- nacy certainly deserved to be punished [with death] ! There were others also under like infatuation. . . . But the crime spread, as is wont to happen while the persecutions were going on. . . . An information was presented to me without any name subscribed, accusing a large number of persons who denied that they were Christians or ever had been. They repeated after me an invocation of the gods, and with wine aitd frankincense made supplication to your statue, which I had ordered to he brought in for this purpose, together tvith the statues of the deities. Moreover, they reviled the name of Christ. Whereas those who are truly Christians, it is said, can not be forced to do any of these things. I thought, therefore, that they ought to be discharged. Others were named by an informer, who at first confessed themselves Christians, but afterwards denied it. The rest affirmed that they had been Christians, but they had renounced ^^ Roman Empire, 1, 130, 131. 366 Historical EvroENCE or the New Testament. their error. . . . They all did homage to your statue and the images of the gods, and at the same time reviled the name of Christ. ... It is easy to imagine what a multitude of men might be reclaimed, if par- don should be offered to those who repent [of having been Christians].^' ^ The Emperor Trajan's Rescript to Pliny Junior. " Trajan us Plinio, S. "Trajan to Pliny wisheth health and happiness. You have taken the right course, my dear Pliny, in your proceedings with those who have been brought before you as Christians ; for it 8 261. Rescript jg impossible to establish any one rule that shall hold uni- Pliny versally. They are not to be sought for. If any are brought before you, and are convicted [for being Chris- tians] they ought to he punished. However, he that denies his being a Christian, and makes it evident in fact — that is, by supplicating to our gods — though he be suspected to have been formerly , let him be par- doned upon repentance. But in no case of any ci'ime whatever, may a bill of information be received without being signed by him who pre- sents it ; for that would be a dangerous precedent, and unworthy of my government."^ The Emperor Hadrian's* Rescript to Serenius Granianus, Who was proconsul of Asia, and had written to the emperor: " It seems to me unjust that the Christians should he put to death only to § 262. Rescript gratify the clamor of the people, without trial, and without ^ . any crime proved against them." As Minucius Fundanus, meantime had succeeded to the proconsulship of Granianus, the emperor's Rescript was addressed to him as follows: " It seems to me that this is an affair which ought not to be passed over without examination if it were only to prevent disturbances being made among the people, and that room may not be left for informers to practice their wicked arts. If, therefore, the people of the province will appear publicly, and in a legal way, charge the Christians, that they may answer for themselves in court, and not pi-oceed [against them] by importunate demands only, and loud clamors, for it is much the better method if any one bring accusations, that you should examine them — if any one shall accuse and bring out anything con- trary to the law, do you determine according to the nature of the crime. But, by Hercules ! if the charge is only a calumny, do you take care to punish the author of it with the severity it deserves."^ The Emperor Diocletian (284-305), though cution of the son of a slave, proved to be in the main an Diocletian. ^^-^^ ^^^ judicious ruler, but he was a man of superstition and a despot. The Coptic Churches of Egypt * Hadrian was emperor A. D. 117-138. «2 See Excursux P. for the letter complete. ^ Lib. x, 98. ** Euseblus, Eccl. Hist, iv, cc. 8, 9. The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians. 367 and Abyssinia reckon the "Era of Martyrs" as beginning with his reign. Dr. Schaff says : "In 303, Diocletian issued in rapid succession three edicts, each more severe than its predecessor. Maximian issued the fourth, the worst of all, April 30, 304. Christian churches were to be destroyed ; all copies of the Bible were to be burned ; all Christians were to be deprived of all public offices and civil rights ; and at last, without exception, were to sacrifice to the gods, upon pain of death." " The persecution began on the twenty-third of February, 303, the feast of the Terminalia (as if to make an end of the Christian sect), with the destruction of the magnificent church in Nicomedia, and soon spread over the whole Roman Empire, except Gaul, Britain and Spain." ^ Besides the open confession of persecution by ^^^ ^ ^^^^ the enemies of Christianity, it is due the suffer- getic confir- ing victims of their ferocity that they should be heard in their own defense. In his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, the writer says : a) Justin Martyr: "These things have happened to you in fairness and justice ; for you have slain the Just One and his prophets before him, and you have rejected those who hope in him, . . . cursing in your synagogues those who believe on Christ." " For other nations have not inflicted on us and on Christ this wrong to such an extent as you have, who in very deed are the authors of the prejudice against the Just One and us who hold by him."^ /3) Epistle to Diognetus : 'Are not all [the gods] deaf and blind? Are they not soulless, senseless, motionless ? Do they not all rot and decay ? These things ye call gods ; to these ye [heathen] are slaves ; these ye worship; and ye end by becoming altogether like them. Therefore ye hate the Christians, because they do not consider these to be gods. For do not ye yourselves who now regard and worship them, much more despise themf" The Christians "obey the laws, and they surpass the laws in their own lives. They love all men, and they are persecuted by all. They are ignored, and yet they are condemned. They are put to death, and yet they are endued with life. . . . They are evil spoken of, and yet they are vindicated. They are reviled, and they bless; they are insulted, and [yet] they respect. Doing good, they are punished as evil-doers. . . . War is waged against them as aliens by the Jews, and persecution is carried on against them by the Greeks ; and yet those that hate them can not tell the reason of their hostility; . . . thrown to wild beasts that they may deny the Lord, and yet are not overcome." " « Hist. Christ. Ch. 11, 66, 67. <^ Dialogue, cc. 16, 17. « Bp. Llghtfoot's Apos. Fathers, % 2, 5, 7. 24 368 Historical Evidence of the New Testajvient. 7) Apollonius: Jesus "was slain, as were also before him philoso- phers and just men. For the just are seen to be a cause of offense to the unjust." '^ S) Tertullian : " O blasphemy, bordering on martyrdom, which now attests me to be a Christian, while for that very account detests me. The cursing of a well-maintained discipline is a blessing of the name."^® " We lay this before you as the first ground on which we urge that your hatred of the name ' Christian ' is unjust." " You think the Christian a man of crime, an enemy of the gods, of the emperor, of the laws, of good morals, of all nature ; yet you compel him to deny, that you may acquit him, which without his denial you could not do. You play fast- and-loose with the laws. ... In our case, you are either ashamed or unwilling to mention the name of our crimes. If to be called ' a Christian ' does not imply any crime, the name is surely vei'y hateful when that of itself is made a crime." ''^ "But now without any sifting or knowl- edge . . . the mere name is made a matter of accusation ; the mere name is assailed, and a sound alone brings condemnation both on a sect and its Author, while of both you are ignorant, [but] because they have such and such a designation, not because they are convicted of any wrong." ^^ " When you stei'nly lay it down in your sentences, ' It is not lawful for you [Christians] to exist,' and with unhesitating rigor you enjoin this to be carried out, you exhibit the violence and unjust dom- ination of mere tyranny, if you deny a thing to be lawful simply on the ground that you wish it to be unlavful, not because it ought to be."''^ " For but lately, in condemning a Christian to the leno rather than the leo, you made confession that a taint on our pui'ity is considered among us something moi-e terrible than any punishment, and any death."" Two eminent Roman historians, each independently of the other, have completely exonerated the Christians at Rome of the charge of incendiarism in the ffreat confla- §265. Review " ° of gration in the year 64, which was made by Nero the occasion of the first great persecution on the part of the Romans. Edward Gibbon, Sulpicius Severus, and Tertullian unqualifiedly confirm their statements of the main facts, and add many details. All are agreed in opinion, and also reflect the popular belief of the contemporaries of the event, that the firing of Rome was the crime of one man, and that was the crime of Nero the Emperor himself. This *i Monuments of Early Christianity, c. 46. '^^ Idolatry, c, 14. "> Apology before tho Rom. Senate, co. 1, 2. "i6. e. 3, close. ''*Ib. c, 4. '3i6. c, 50. '■'• Lcno . . . ieo "=subjected to the seducer to be debauched, Of to the Hon to be devoured. The PERSECcrTio>fs of the Primitive Christians. 369 itself justifies the statement of Tacitus, that in consequence of the terrible inflictions imposed upon the innocent Chris- tians, there arose among the spectators of their sufferings " a feeling of compassion toward the sufferers because they seemed not to he cut off for the public good, but as the victims of the ferocity of one man^ In the nature of the case but few per- sons could conspire together in the work of incendiarism, so that in no event could that accusation be brought against the whole body of Christians. Besides, the monumental evidence in the province of Portugal proves how the persecution, inau- gurated by the emperor, spread to the different and remote parts of the empire, seeking to exterminate the people who were Christians. An official correspondence, here noted, con- ducted between Pliny and the Emperor Trajan, relates exclu- sively to the persecution of the Christians, and describes how it shall be conducted. The Christian religion itself is called and treated as " a crimed'' Loyalty to Christ was esteemed to be disloyalty to the government. The fortitude and faithful- ness of Christians under trial were regarded as a contumacious " unyielding obstinacy " towards the proconsul himself, which he would not brook, but condemned as worthy of death. He doubts " whether repentance entitled to pardon," and "whether to renounce his error shall avail nothing for him who had once been a Christian ; whether the [mere] name itself without any crime [attaching] should subject to punishment." For as Professor W. M. Pamsay aptly remarks, " Pliny and Trajan treat them [Christians] as outlaws and brigands, and punish them without reference to crimes." " Pliny and Trajan both assume that Christianity is itself a crime deserving of death." ''^ Serenius Granianus, another proconsul of Asia, protests vigor- ously against the recent departure from Koman law and justice in that, in his province, Christians had been put to death without the preferring of charges, without law, without trial, without proof, and without defense, on the mere clamors of M The Church in tJie Roman Empire, pp. 245, 248. 370 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. the fierce and fanatical populace. Diocletian, who reigned conjointly with Maximian (A. D. 292-305), inaugurated a persecution of ten years or more, during which churches were burned down, the sacred books were burned up, innocent men proscribed, and many martyrs made at the stake. Edward Gibbon admits that — "The ancient apologists of Christianity have censured with equal truth and severity the irregular conduct of their persecutors, who, con- trary to every principle of judicial proceeding, admitted the use of torture in order to obtain, not a confession, but a denial of the crime, which was the object of their inquiry." Notwithstanding, he becomes apologist for the persecutors in the same paragraph. He insists that those who confessed that they were Christians, or were so attested by others, " still retained in their own power the alternative of life and death ;" that the magistrate " was persuaded that he offered them an easy pardon, since if they consented to cast a few grains of incense upon the altar, they were dismissed from the tribunal in safety and with applause !"^^ But according to the evi. dence adduced, the only crime confessed or attested by others was that they were Christians; that they refused to sacrifice to the heathen gods, or burn incense to the statue of C£esar, and would not curse the name of Christ their Redeemer.^ The very suggestion of such a surrender to the superstitious heathen is unworthy of the character of the great historian. There were several distinctive periods or epochs in the history of these Christian persecutions which should be remarked. Firsts that in which the Romans were indifferent to the Christian religion, and had not yet learned to discrim- inate it from the religion of the Jews. From their subordi- nation to the Romans, the Jews had granted to them and guaranteed the rights and customs of their religion. This lack of distinguishing between the religion of the two explains the remark of Suetonius, "Claudius banished from Rome all ''^Decline and Fall, etc., 1, 612. '•See Pliny's Epistle to Trajan, In Excursus B. The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians. 871 the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Christ" — an obvious reference to the dis- putations which naturally arose between these two classes of the one race concerning Jesus. If it was a period of indiffer- ence on the part of the Romans, it was certainly a period of intense activity, hatred, and persecution of the Christians on the part of the Jews, especially in the community about Jerusalem. The second period was that in which the Christians were accused of most abominable crimes, — incendiarism, child- murder, cannibalism, and the like. The first instance which furnished an occasion for persecution was the great conflagra- tion in the year 64, which destroyed most of the city of Rome. The Emperor Kero charged the Christians with the crime of incendiarism. Tacitus unqualifiedly affirms that " Nero falsely charged the guilt, and punished with the most exquisite tor- ture, the persons . . . commonly called Christians." Sue- tonius openly declares that the guilt of incendiarism was the crime of no other than of Nero himself, whose emissaries were caught in the very act, and claimed to be acting under impe- rial orders. When his life was threatened by the infuriated mob, he blamed the Christians with the crime, and proceeded to punish them with the "exquisite torture" and burning alive, described by Tacitus. The third epoch is that in which Trajan and Pliny ruled as indicated. There were investigations conducted by Pliny ; but, so far as appears, the only offense of the Christians was that of hatred and hostility to mankind. The only question asked to be answered was, ^^Are you a OhristicmT'' It was the one question which Pliny asked twice and thrice in his investigations respecting those brought to his tribunal. No questions were asked about any specific acts of crime, after the torture of the two women called "deaconesses." The mere acknowledgment that they were "Christians" was the one sufficient thing to determine their condemnation unto death. 372 Historical Evidence of the New Test anient. "Without evidence or trial, they were classed with robbers and brigands, and treated as outlaws. The fourth epoch may be designated as " the Diocletian per- secution." Maximian ruled with him conjointly A. D. 294-305, when both resigned ; but the persecution which they inaugu- rated by their edicts in 303 continued for at least ten years, and was exceedingly distressing. Innocent men were pro- scribed, their property confiscated, their persons martyred, their churches were destroyed, and the Christians were re- quired to bring forth their Scriptures and burn them publicly, under pain of being themselves burned. Sulpicius Severus says, "Never was the world more wasted by any war." The destruction of the Scriptures, of which, at this early date, there were probably but comparatively few copies in exist- ence, will account for the fact that we have transmitted to us no known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament dating earlier than A. D. 325. The end of this persecution brings us to near the time of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor. It may be worth while to consider more particularly what occasion the Christians furnished for these high-handed perse- cutions which looked for their extermination. §266. Occasion for The principal reasons were manifold, and to the Persecution, pp^^^j .^^^ powerful Komans aggravating. The Christians did not hesitate to refuse absolutely to render idola- trous homage to the statue of the emperor; refused to recog- nize or worship the heathen gods chosen by the State ; and on purely conscientious grounds, as a sovereign and inherent rierht, refused to execrate the Name of Christ. Moreover, they not only ignored the religion of the empire, but sought to introduce a "new" and an illegal religion in the worship of Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord of all. The Romans did not recognize the inalienable rights of conscience in any man, and, as they saw it, loyalty to Christ meant disloyalty to the government, which was treason and punishable with death. The Persecutions op the Primitive Christians. 373 The Eoman Government and people were the more devoted to their own religion because it was their ancestral religion, and accordingly opposed resolutely whatever proposed to dis- place and destroy their own ancient faith. This was the more exasperating to them, inasmuch as Christianity was, in their view, the seditious offshoot from Judaism, and from a place regarded as the very hearthstone of a detested superstition ; itself "a new and mischievous superstition" which had no history before it, and no nation behind it, to make it respect- able, and which, withal, sought to elevate and impose upon others, as an object of vforship, one who had been crucified between two thieves as an outlaw — a "dead Jew," Dr. Philip Schaflf represents the situation thus: "The piety of Romulus and Numa was believed to have laid the foundation of the power of Rome. To the favor of the deities of the Republic, the brilliant success of the Roman arms was attributed. . . . The emperor [himself] was ex officio the pontifex maximus [high priest of the empire], and even an object of worship. The gods were national, and the eagle of Jupiter Oapitolinus moved as a good genius before the world-conquering legions. Cicero lays down as a principle of legisla- tion, that no one should he allowed to worship foreign gods, unless they were recognized by public statute. Maecenas counseled Augustus : 'Honor the gods according to the custom of our ancestors, and compel others to worship them. Hate and publish those who bring in strange gods.' " " In North Africa arose the proverb : ' If God does not send rain, lay it on the Christians.'" "At every inundation, or drought, or famine, or pestilence, the fanatical populace cried, 'Away with the Atheists!' ' To the lions with the Christians !' Persecutions were sometimes started by priests, jugglers, merchants, and others who derived their support from their idolatrous worship. These, like Demetrius of Ephesus, and the masters of the sorceress at Philippi, kindled the fanaticism and in- dignation of the mob against ' the new religion,' for its interference with their gains."" a) Celsus wrote : " O sincere believers, you find fault with us because we do not recognize this individual [Jesus] as God, nor agree that he endured these [sufferings] for the benefit of mankind."^* "If you should tell them that Jesus is not the Son of 8267. The Wit- T16SS of God, but that God is the Father of all, and that he alone persecutors should be truly worshiped, they would not consent to discontinue their worship of him as their leader in the sedition. And '^T Hist. Christ. Church, il, 41-44; comp. Acts xlx, 24; xvl, 16. ii^Cels. 11, 38. 374 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. they call him the Son of God, not out of any extreme reverence for God, but from an extreme desire to extol Jesus Christ. "^^ "You . . . set up as a God one who ended a most infamous life by a most miserable death." ^ /3) Porphyry: " That man is not so much of an Atheist who neglects the worship of the images of the gods as he who transfers to God the opinions of the multitude." ^^ " For since Jesus has been honored, none have received any public benefit from the gods."*^ "Jesus Christ is a man illustrious for piety, and he is more powerful than Ji^sculapius and all the other gods." ^ " Christ, therefore, is not to be calumniated ; they should be pitied who worship him as God."** 7) Hierocles: "That all may perceive our just and reasonable judg- ment, and the levity of the Christians, forasmuch as we do not esteem him [ApoUonius] who did these things a god, but a man favored by the gods, . , . whereas they [the Christians], for the sake of a few tricks, call Jesus God ! " ^ 8) Julian: "When the Alexandrian Christians presented to the emperor a petition requesting that he would revoke his edict banishing their Bishop Athanasius from Egypt, the emperor replied : "By the gods, ye men of Alexandria, I am ashamed that any Alex- andrian should acknowledge himself a Galilean. . . . Alexander, the Ptolemies and other princes, their founders and patrons, were worship- ers of the gods ; and had not raised their city and constitution to its grandeur by the words of Jesus, nor by the doctrine of the hateful Galileans. None of these gods do ye worship ; but Jesus, whom neither you nor your fathers have «een, him you think to be God, the Word."**^ "We ought to pity rather than hate men who suffer the gi'eatest calamity, . . . which calamity they bring upon themselves for for- saking the immortal gods, betaking themselves to dead men."^'^ " But you love Christ, and esteem him the tutelar patron of your city, instead of Jupiter and Apollo of Daphne."^ "It concerns me extremely that all the gods are despised."*^ "Forbear to converse with the wives, children, and servants of the Galileans, who are impious towards the gods, and prefer impiety to religion."^" A crude drawing, caricaturing Christ, discovered in 1857, but dating in the second or third century, serves to 79 Cel.s. vill, 14. »'>Ib. vli, 5.3. "1 Porphyry's Letter to his wife, cited by Neander in Ch. Hist. 1, 171. 8s See Lard, vli, 438. ss/^. yii, 445. 84 Neand. Ch. Hist. 1, 171. ef'Lard. vil, 478, 479. 86/5. yli, 043. ^t Edict to People of Bostra, lb. vli, 061, i^Miapogon, lb. 047. ^^Epis. to Ecditius, lb. vli, 044. ^Letter to Arsaciux, high priest of Galatiu, Jb. vli, 645, The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians. 375 illustrate the spirit of contempt for Jesus Christ in his death, and ridicule of the religious sentiments of the Christians which prevailed at that time about the imperial T. P 1 . -r. ■ ^ ■, 8 268. Graffiti palace, it was round m Kome, m the basement in of the Palace of the Cce^ars, on the wall which is <^^"<^^^''e- now in ruins on the western slope of the Palatine Hill, and is preserved in the KircheriaTio Museo, near the Vestal Yirgins. The figure is that of a man clad in a toga, extended on a cross, having the head of a horse or ass, and a human figure before it in the attitude of homage. Underneath is a Greek inscrip- tion rudely scratched, reading "Alexamenos worships [his] God."^^ It is certain that in the second century both Jews and Christians were ridiculed as being worshipers of the ass ; and it is a known fact that at this time there were Christians within the imperial palace. Tertullian refers to another cari- cature on the same subject. In his Apology to the Roman Senate he says: "Lately a new edition of our god has been given to the world in that great city [Rome]. It originated with a certain vile man [a Jew named Onocoites],* who was wont to hire himself out to cheat the wild beasts, and who exhibited a picture with this inscription : 'The God of the Christians, born of an Ass.' He had the ears of an ass, was hoofed in one foot, carried a book, and wore a toga. Both the name and the figure gave us amusement. But our opponents ought straightway to have done homage to this bi- formed divinity ; for they have acknowledged gods dog-headed and lion- headed, with horn of buck and ram, with goatlike loins, with serpent legs, with wings sprouting from the back or foot! These things we have discussed out of the abundance, that we might not seem willingly to pass by any rumor against us unrefuted."^ Since the whole government was so decidedly opposed to Christianity, it is easy to understand that Christians were ex- posed to every method of persecution which caprice or malice *Or Onoccetes. ^I'AXe^d/iei'OC (r^j3aT[ai] Oebv. See Schaff's Hist. Christ. Church, ii, i'72, note; and Bennett's Archceol. of Christian Art, pp. 94, 95. ^Apology, c. 16; comp. Ad Nationes, Lib. 1, c. 14; il. 11. 376 HisTOKiCAL Evidence of the New Testament, might suggest. The pen of ridicule prepared society to make of the Christian religion a laughing-stock ; the pencil of cari. cature made their devotions a butt and byword of scorn in the community; and any form of assault upon their persons to cause pain and suffering was considered as done under the sanction of a virtual license. This was the natural sequence of the fact that the magistrates of the law gave away the lives of the Christians to the most horrible deaths on the clamors of an ignorant and superstitious rabble. The character and modes of Roman punishment may be briefly indicated. It is not to be supposed that these methods were expressly invented to be inflicted upon the § 269. The i J r Roman Christians ; but as they were employed prior to Punishments, ^j^^ Christian era, there is no reason for believing that they were not expressly appropriated to that purpose. The descriptions given are taken from the writings of the most prominent and reliable of the Roman minds, and all were adverse to the Christian faith. a) Juvenal: "Do you expose Tegellinus [one of Nero's court], and you will blaze in that torch where, with throats transfixed to a stake and emitting froth, they stand and burn, and you draw a furrow in the midst of the sand." ^^ ^) Martial: "You have perhaps seen recently acted in tlie theater, Mucius, him who thrusts his hand into the fire. If you think such an one patient, valiant, stout, you are a senseless dotai'd. For it is a much greater thing, when threatened with the troublesome coat, to say ' I do not sacrifice [to thy gods]' than to obey the command, 'Burn the hand.' " "^ 7) Seneca: "Imagine here a prison, crosses, and racks, and the hook ; and a stake thrust through the body and coming out at the mouth ; and limbs torn by chariots pulling adverse ways ; and the coat be- smeared and interwoven with materials nutriment for fire ; and, besides these, whatever else cruelty has invented. It is no wonder if, in such case, fear rises high where the variety of evils is so great, and the prep- aration is so terrible."^* § 270. III. The Voice of Modem Historians. 1. Edward Gibbon: "The primitive Christian demonstrated his faith by his virtues ; and it was justly supposed that the divine persua- ^Salura ( Satira), 1, 155-157. ^ Lib. x, Eplgr. 35. »6 Seneca's Letter, xlv, cited \nLard. vl, (537. The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians. 377 sion which enlightened or subdued the understanding, must at the same time purify the heart and direct the actions of the believer. The first apologists of Christianity who justify the innocence of their brethren, and the writers of a later period who celebrate the sanctity of their an- cestors, display in the most lively colors the refoi'mation of manners which was introduced into the w^orld by the preaching of the gospel. . . . It is a very ancient reproach, suggested by the ignorance and malice of infidelity, that the Cliristians allured into their party the most atrocious criminals, who, as soon as they were touched by a sense of re- morse, were easily persuaded to wash away in the water of baptism the guilt of their past conduct, for which the temples of the gods refused to grant them any expiation." " Those who survey with a curious eye the revolutions of mankind, may observe that the gardens and circus of Nero on the Vatican, which were polluted with the blood of the first Christians, have been rendered still more famous by the triumph and by the abuse of the persecuted religion. On the same spot a temple, which far surpasses the ancient glories of the Capitol, has been since erected by the Christian pontiffs, who, deriving their claim of universal do- minion from an humble fisherman of Galilee, have succeeded to the throne of the Caesars, given laws to the barbarian conquerors of Rome, and extended their spiritual jurisdiction from the coasts of the Baltic to the shores of the Pacific Ocean." ^ 2. Dr. Thomas Arnold : Referring to the Church of San Stef ano at Rome, this writer remarks : " It is likely enough, too, that Gibbon has truly accused the general statements [given by monks] of exaggeration. But this is a thankless labor. Divide the sum total of the reported martyrs by twenty, by fifty if you will ; after all, you have a number of persons of all ages and sexes suffering cruel torments and death for conscience' sake and for Christ's; and by their sufferings, manifestly with God's blessing, in- suring the triumph of Christ's Gospel. Neither do I think that w^e consider the excellence of this martyr spirit half enough. ... As God's grace enabled rich and delicate persons, women and even chil- dren, to endure all extremes of pain and reproach in times past, so there is the same grace no less mighty now; and if we do not close ourselves against it, it might be in us no less glorious in the time of trial." 9^ 3. "William E. H. Lecky, himself a rationalist, criticises severely Gibbon's cold-blooded account of the early persecu- tions of the Christians. He says : " The complete absence of all sympathy with the heroic courage manifested by the martyrs, and the frigid and in truth most unphilo- 96 Decline and Fall, etc., 1, xvi, pp. 543, fi02, Amer. ed. OT Cited by SchaS, Hist, of Christ. Ch. 11, 81. 378 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. sophical severity with which the historian [Gibbon] has weighed the woi-ds and actions of men engaged in the agonies of a deadly struggle, must repel every genei'ous nature ; while the persistence with which he estimates persecutions by the number of deaths, rather than the amount of suffering, diverts the mind from the really distinctive atrocities of the pagan persecutions." " There was a time when it was the just boast of the Romans, that no refinement of cruelty, no prolongation of tor- ture, were admitted in their stern but simple penal code. But all this was changed. Those hateful games which made the spectacle of human suffering and death the delight of all classes, had spread their brutaliz- ing influence wherever the Roman name was known ; had rendered millions absolutely indifferent to the sight of human suffering; had produced in many, in the very center of an advanced civilization, a relish and a passion for torture, a rapture and an exultation in watching the spasms of extreme agony, such as an African or an American savage alone can equal." . . . " For the love of their Divine Master, for the cause they believed to be true, men and even weak girls, endured those things without flinching, when one word would have freed them from their sufferings. No opinions we may form of the proceedings of priests in a later age, should impair the reverence with which we bend before the martyr's tomb."^* 4. Dr. Philip Schaff: "It was not so much the amount of suffering which challenges our attention — although it was terrible enough — as the spirit with which the early Christians bore it. Men and women of all classes, noble senators and learned bishops, . . . hoary-headed pastors and innocent children, approached their tortures in no temper of unfeeling indifference and obstinate defiance, but, like their Divine Master, with calm self-possession, humble resignation, gentle meekness, triumphant hope, and forgiving charity. " Only two imperial persecutions — those of Decius and Diocletian — extended over the empire. But Christianity was always an illegal re- ligion from Trajan to Constantine, and subject to annoyance and violence everywhere." " The long and bloody war of heathen Rome against the Church . . . utterly failed. It began in Rome under Nero, and it ended near Rome at the Milvian bridge under Constantine."^ 5. McClintock and Strong: "The very earliest sufferings of the Church of Christ and its Head are the subjects of New Testament his- tory. . . . The last persecution of the Christians began in the nineteenth year of the Emperor Diocletian, A. D. 303. The most violent promoters of it were Hierocles the philosopher, who wrote against the Christian religion, and Galerius, whom Diocletian had declared Cfesar. . . . The human imagination was indeed almost exhausted in inventing a variety of tortures." ^'^ ^ Hist. European Morals, 1, 494,etseq. ^ IJisl. Christ. Church, 11, 7.5, 76, 34. 100 Cyclop, vli, 965, 906. The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians, 379 A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE SITUATION. A circumstance injurious to the success of Christianity was the self-exposure to persecutions imposed upon all who embraced and adhered to that religion. In view of the ° . § 271. Char- natural heart, this was necessitated by the acter of the aggressive character of the Gospel itself , for by °^^® " nature it was more than exclusive of all other religions; it was uncompromising in its demands respecting them. In its inherent spirituality and purpose, it was thoroughly antago- nistic toward all heathen and traditional beliefs of men. It recognized no friends among the nations; it permitted no protection from any earthly power ; it allowed no treaty of peace with the disbeliever. Though it employed the gentlest methods of persuasion, it exacted an unqualified submission to its own behests. It could do no less, since it involved a move- ment of men's conscience in the direction of truth as an appeal for the salvation of mankind. The Gospel was to be enforced by its own exactions. The Christian apostle met the philosopher pursuing his studies at the porch of the Academy, sapng : " The world by wisdom knew not God." " Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? God hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise ; . . , for it hath pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." He met the heathen priests beneath the shadow of their own temple, attired in their most gorgeous apparel, engaged in their sacer- dotal rites at the altars, and told them : " Your pretense of religion is a degrading superstition and a cheat ! " He entered the synagogue of the Jew, and said: "Tour ceremonies have outlived their usefulness; your system has become a mere worthless shell ; and your last chance of eternal life is to de- vote your whole heart and life in service to the Man of Nazareth, whom you have despised and crucified ! " He told 380 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. the average unbeliever: ''You are a depraved sinner: you must repent of your sins and reform your life, or you will be damned." Whatever beliefs, wherever found, whatever institutions of ancient origin, whatever laws, however wise, whatever customs however venerated, which had come down from antiquity with the sanction and sanctity of an ancestral relig- ion, were required to submit without qualilication to the supremacy of the new religion of Jesus Christ. There was no place left for the pomp and display coveted by the natural man. Temples built of rarest marbles, flashing in all the lights of the skies; priests robed in brilliant costumes, ministering in ceremonies on festive occasions ; public games religiously observed in honor of Jupiter, the supreme god, who was supposed to preside; the imposing processions organized for the entertainment of the populace, — these were the very things to be relinquished and replaced by a religion of humil- ity without display ; a religion which was without a temple, without an altar, without a priest, without a sacrifice, and without the statue of a god. Such exactions and such antagonisms, of course, enraged the people. Senators, magistrates, magnates, and rulers; men of distinction, of position, and power in society fects on the and in the State, naturally scorned the upstart Natural Man. ,. . (« .i tvt i • u i j j religion of the JNazarene, which would under- take in one stroke to remove both the histories and the mys- teries of their own ancient and ancestral worship, substituting a life of self-denial and self-humiliation. Kings who had ruled their realms in peace; emperors who were high priests of the religion of the empire; conquerors who had received tri- umphals at the Roman Capital, became alarmed and were aroused to determined resistance and hostility to the new and pernicious superstition. For all understood perfectly that Christianity proposed to displace the gods adopted by the empire, and in place enthrone One whom they designated The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians. 381 " a dead Jew." Could any proposition have carried with it more to disgust and excite the antagonism of the lordly and powerful Roman? But they were filled with astonishment and dismay when they learned that the people were flocking by multitudes from the old altars to embrace the new religion; that their ancestral faith, which had been incorporated into the very structure of society and the government, and had applied to all the civic functions of the State, and ruled in all the military expeditions of the empire, must hereafter be dis- avowed and destroyed, for the establishment of another king- dom which shall know no end. Naturally enough, as a matter of reprisal and for the suppression of the new faith, laws were legislated making Christianity unlawful, and imperial edicts were issued for the extinction of the Christian religion by the extermination of its subjects, declaring its acceptance hence- forth an act of high treason ! From such ground it is easy to see what would naturally follow. Persecutions fierce and cruel arose, the like of which the world has never seen. How could Christianity be main- tained, much less voluntary accessions be made to its numbers, with the opposition of the powerful government of earth and hell? Everything was now at stake. It darkens the soul to contemplate the atrocities perpetrated upon a people w^hose whole offense was the crime of being good. On the human side, the most astounding wonder is that the world should ever hoAje believed on Christ / for his followers knew that they must be willing to lay down their lives for his sake and the gos- pel's; for the Savior had said that he that loved father or mother, son or daughter, more than Christ, was not worthy of him. Nevertheless, to be driven from one's home, to go unloved by the nearest kindred ; to draw down upon one's self the open hostility of those dearest to us on earth, with the passionate revenges of rulers who were clothed with an irre- sponsible power, is a fearful test of human fidelity. But the Christians chose to escape to the wilds and wastes of the des- 382 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. ert; to be exiled from the dearest friends of affection, and betake themselves to the solitudes of the wilderness; to hold fellowship with the wild beasts in the dens and caves of the mountains; to take refuge in the catacombs underneath the city of Rome, and receive communion in remembrance of Christ in its rocky chapel; or die and be buried by fellow- refugees in the niches of those dark and silent galleries of stone underground, satisfied in death to have the simplest sym- bol or expression of their faith carved over the place of sep- ulture, rather than make the surrender implied in worshiping fictitious gods, or revile the Savior s name. Their happiness of spirit brought charms to the solitudes of their dwelling- place. Immured in dungeons, they join in midnight praise- meetings, and Divine power bowed the prison walls, shook the earth, and freed the prisoners from their stocks. What is the meaning of this sublime endurance for the sake of Jesus? It certainly was not because the primitive Christians possessed a sullen perverseness of tion in spirit, that in the exactions of the Roman Gov- ernment they so nobly braved such nameless wrongs without repining, choosing to suffer all kinds of insults and injuries rather than recant their faith and blaspheme the Christ of their love, or burn incense before the statue of Caesar and his false gods. Their only return is made in the sweet- ness of a forgiving spirit : " Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. . . . Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." " But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil- doer, or as a busybody in other men's matters ; yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf." " Whence but from heaven could men unskilled in arts, In several ages born, in several parts. Weave such agreeing truths? or how, or why, Should all conspire to cheat us with a lie? Unasked their pains, ungrateful their advice, Starving their gain, and martyrdom their price." — Dryden. The Persecutions of the Primitive Christians. 383 INDUCTIONS. The facts established by the foregoing evidence warrant the following inductions : 1. That the real position, spirit, and character of the primitive Christians were misunderstood both by the Jews and Romans. 2. That the Christians merely maintained their inalienable rights of conscience and just judgment touching their own worship. 3. That the imposition of tortures and death on Christ's followers was a departure from the ancient Roman laws and justice. 4. That the severity of the Christians' sufferings was such as even excited the sympathy of the heathen spectators and public. 5. That the offense the most offensive to the Romans was the rejection of their deities, and the exaltation of Jesus Christ as God. 6. That the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth, being spiritual and imperishable, can not be destroyed by any power possessed by man. 7. That the doctrine and faith of the primitive Christians re- specting Jesus Christ were identical with those of Christen- dom to-day. 25 CHAPTEE XIV. UNIQUE CONDITION OF PALESTINE FOE THE FIRST FIFTY YEAES. I. The Unique Condition op Society and the Country. II. Two Civilizations sidb by side in one Community. III. Sudden Changes op Rulers under Imperial Government. IV. Evidential Value op Minor Circumstances in History. 385 Chapter XIV. UNIQUE CONDITION OF PALESTINE FOR FIFTY YEARS. § 274. Sovirces : Biographical Epitomes of Witnesses and Literature. 1. Flavius Josephus (born A. D. 37, died about 103), whose birth occurred in the eighth year after the ascension of Christ, accord- ing to the Christian Calendar, was born in the first year of the reign of Caligula, the Roman Emperor. He was accordingly the contemporary of the Apostle John, and died about the same time. Josephus was a priest of the Jews, a Pharisee in sect, the governor of Galilee, a general in the Eoman-Jewish war, and an historian in literature. He became commander of the Jewish forces at the famous fortress named Jutapata, to resist the Roman invasion begun by Vespasian. After a siege of seven weeks, and suffering great distress, he was compelled to surrender ; an offense to the Jews which they have never forgiven him. A prisoner of war, he was kindly treated, and had unusual privileges accorded him at the Roman headquarters. From thence he became a per- sonal witness of all the military details and events which occurred later, in the investment of Jerusalem under Titus. He has fur- nished the very best historical account extant of the reduction of the Holy City to a ruin, the burning of the Jewish temple, the complete destruction of the Jewish nation, the expatriation of " the peculiar people," and the subjection of his surviving coun- trymen to untold humiliation and distresses, exactly accordant with the sorrowful pi'ediction of Jesus Christ concerning that gen- eration. These events occurred in A. D. 70, and Josephus wrote his history of this war about the year 75. According to the opinion of Dr. Schaff, this work was completed prior to his wi'iting the Antiquities of the Jews, which was not long before his death. As indicating the character of the Wars, Josephus claims to have had the indorsement of Vespasian and Titus, the two who con- ducted the invasion, and afterwards became emperors. He also states that Titus affixed his signature to verify the accuracy of his history of the war, and that he ordered it to be published ; and that King Herod Agrippa II, who also had a command against the Jews, added his personal approval in verification, as may be seen 387 388 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. in two letters which appear in the Life of Josephus prefixed to his works, § 65. For a discussion pro and con respecting the genuine- ness of the celebrated testimony concerning Jesus Christ, see Appendix A, and Wars I, c. 1, §9. 2. Suetonius (wrote about 110 A. D.) was the celebrated biographer of the " Twelve Caesars " who ruled the Roman Empire. He was the secretary of Hadrian through the friendly offices of Pliny, junior. That circumstance gives an added value to these biographies, for the reason that he sustained such confidential relations with the emperor as secured for him access to the governmental archives. In two of his biographies he refers to Christ, though briefly, and to the Christians thrice. 3. Cblsus (wrote A. D. 150-175) was a Greek Eclectic philosopher, al- though mentioned by Origen as an Epicurean. Nothing is known of his personal life or his ancestors. He was, however, the literary champion and the first writer who endeavored to extinguish Christianity with his pen, employing all the force of learning, wit, and ridicule against the Christian faith. His work was entitled A6yog' 'AXij^^r, A True Discourse. He first represents himself ficti- tiously as a Jew believing in the supernatural — a belief, however, which he actually rejected ; and then he endeavoi'ed to test the Christian religion by the principles of his philosophy. Withal, he is said to have mingled much with the Jews to learn all he could against Chi-istianity, making capital from their unctuous hate toward the Christians. His work was published about one hun- dred years after the publication of the four Gospels, which he often cites. The Enci/cl. Britannica, under his name, observes: " He takes note of almost every objection which has been brought against Christianity, and his position is substantially that which is assumed by the scientific opponents of Christianity in the pres- ent day." Dr. Schaff remarks: " Lardner, Doddridge, and Leland made good use of Celsus against the Deists of their day. He may with still greater effect be turned against Strauss and Eenan" in our day. We know Celsus's work only through the reply of Origen in refutation, which is entitled Origen contra Celsum. Origen re- marks: " We are careful to guard against being supposed to pass over any of the charges advanced by him." (Bk. ii, c. 46 ; viii, 76.) From these comprehensive extracts made by Origen, the original work of Celsus has been reconstructed by several distinguished critics, more recently by Dr. Keim, of Zurich (1878). Celsus had a remarkable knowledge of tlie contents of the New Testament, mentioning nearly every event in our Lord's life with great exactness. Unquestionably he was tlie possessor of a copy of those Scriptures, the authorship of which he again and again ascribes to Christ's disciples. Unfortunately his work is Unique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Years. 389 marred by a malignant spirit, delighting in ridiculing what is sacred to reverent minds ; that which he least understood. It was in bad taste that he employed opprobrious and scandalous language in regard to the origin of Jesus and his mother. 4. LivY (Titus Livius) was born in North Italy B. C. 50, and resided mostly in Rome. He enjoyed an intimacy with Claudius when young, and also the favor of the Emperor Augustus. He acquired great fame by his Annals, written in Latin, containing a history of Rome from its foundation until the death of Drusus, B. C. 9. Of the original 142 books, only 35 are now extant. It is divided into Decades, magnifying the Roman greatness, and is written in a pleasing narrative, unlike any other ancient history in style. 5. Plutarch, a native Greek, studied philosophy in A. D. 66, when Nero made his notorious visit to Greece ; became a Lecturer on Philos- ophy in Rome during the reign of Domitiau (A. D. 81-96), and died in the reign of Hadrian (117-138). His literary work by which he acquired a great reputation boi-e the title Parallel Lives. It is unique in character, consisting of forty-six biographies of notable men divided into pairs. It is written in a flowing style, and is very intei-esting and instructive. C. Alford, Henry (1810-1871), was a distinguished scholar, theologian, and poet. A native of London, a Fellow of Trinity College, Cam- bridge, in 1834, he became Dean of Canterbury in 1856. He was a Biblical critic of the first class. He was the author of a Oreek Testament, Critically Revised Text; a Commentary (4 vols. 1872, 6th ed.) § 275. Unique Condition of Palestine During the First Fifty Years of the Christian Era. Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out. . . . Shall not they teach thee and tell thee ? — Job. Let all the nations be gathered together. . . . Who among them can declare this, and show us former things ? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified ; or let them hear and say. It is truth. — Isaiah. The points where the documents of the New Testament touch upon his- tory pi'oper are not direct, but indirect, and the allusions are and must be incidental. But for this very reason they are ex- tremely important as respects their evidential value. ... To maintain accuracy in a wide field of incidental allusion is a matter of the utmost difficulty ; and no one but an honest, truth- ful writer would venture on such a perilous experiment at all. [It would be] utterly at variance with the mythical spirit which the narrative of the New Testament is sometimes affirmed to be the product. . . . [As such] its composers would have no ob- ject to maintain accuracy at all. — Maclear. 390 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, ARGUMENT. During the first half-century of the Christian era occurred the most extraordinary changes and apparent complications in the political condition of the land unparalleled in history. This anomalous condition of society was due to sudden altei-ations and reversions in the local governments, occasioned by the deposing or death of the rulers severally, and the appointment of new and different functions, together with the twofold ruling of the Jews by the Romans and the Sanhedrin. The historical situation was rendered exceedingly diflRcult of description by any one, not a native, living in the apostolic times. Two different civilizations existing side by side in one community, having but little in common, but much in diversity in respect to religion, language, laws, and polit- ical institutions, rendered the situation complex. A study of the historical part of the New Testament demonstrates a marvelous insight on the part of the writers into the spirit and occurrences of the times, and also attests the antiquity and authenticity of the Gospels themselves. 1. The unique Condition of the Country during the First Fifty Years of the Christian Era. 2. Two Civilizations side by side in one Community and the Diversities peculiar to each. 3. Sudden Changes in Administration over the Jews, under the Imperial Government of Rome. 4. The Evidential Value of many Minor Circumstances touching the Truth of Sacred History. I. Unique Condition of Society for Fifty Years. A scientific inquiry conducted along the line of the internal evidence of the New Testament in its historical narratives which are to have confirmation from various ex- 8 276. The Case ternal sources, must take account of the polit- ical condition of Palestine as organized during that particular period. Comparisons instituted between the contents of the Book and the current facts of the times as ascertained from secular writers, with a view to the authen- ticity of these Scriptures, is that which is in request in such investigation. Any correspondences or discrepancies should be noted as between the sacred and secular writers, no matter how brief or incidental the mention; whether relating to persons, places, or periods ; whether referring to pivotal occur- Unique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Years. 391 rences in history, or to minute circumstances of seemingly inconsiderable importance. For such particulars furnish the very evidence to be sought. A multitude of subtle indications evidence that the sacred writers were either personal witnesses of facts which they de- scribe in their narratives, or received their information directly from those who were eye-witnesses. The principal occur- rences of the times are mentioned, the names of the political rulers are given, sudden and surprising events are narrated involving governmental changes in respect to both a part and the whole of the Palestinian country, all referred to in the most incidental manner, in terms of the briefest expression, and then left unexplained, as if perfectly understood by the writers themselves and their contemporaries addressed. The political situation of Palestine is to be investigated in reference to that period in which Jesus Christ and his apostles lived and labored for the establishment of the ^^„„ ^ ^.^. §277. Condition Christian religion. Within the limits of about of the a half -century, beginning with the incarnation of our Lord and extending to the coronation of Herod Agrippa II, great-grandson of Herod the Great — from the first to the last of the house of the Herods — there existed a condition of public affairs probably never known for the same period in the history of the world. In the year 63 or 64 B. C, Pompey the Great made a complete conquest of the Jews, and captured Jerusalem. At the opening of the Christian era, the nation had been for a long time enduring the reign of the first Herod ; for it had been specifically stipulated that their king should be from their own land, and they should live under their own laws, and maintain their own religion. But Herod the Great and his successors were the merest dependents upon the imperial will at Kome. It thence came to pass, in the distribution of authority over the Jewish nation, that its civil affairs were administered mostly by Romans, who were su- preme and enforced their will by an army of occupation, while 392 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. the Jews governed themselves by a hierarchy known as the Sanhedrin, which was their supreme judicial council. Each had its own appointed place and power. The high priest had usually been chosen as president of the Council because of his eminence in wisdom and worth ; but at length the high priest- hood became a political appointment and was often changed by Herod Agrippa II. Previously, and at surprisingly short intervals of time, changes came touching both the government and the people, out of which arose new political divisions and combinations of territory, the assignment of new rulers of an entirely different character, by the order of the emperor at the Capital. These changes were precipitated sometimes by the deposing of a ruler, and sometimes by his death ; but in either case the occasion was followed by a transfer or a rever- sion of the territory to the condition of a province, and some- times by the transfer of a king from an inferior principality to a kingdom, each instance requiring a reorganization of the governmental administration. The result was that matters of political geography among the Jews in Palestine, which seem to have been perfectly sim- 8 278. Mistakes pl^ to the Writers of that age, were intricate of Writers, ^^^^i^ difficult of understanding, if not absolutely complicated, to a writer of a century or two later. Hence Celsus, the apostle of literary opposition to the Christians, about a century after the publication of the Gospels, made egregious mistakes in tracing the history of the apostolic times ; a notable instance of which occurs in his confounding Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee and Persea, with his father, Herod the Great, the first Herodian king of Palestine. He says: "The Chaldeans are spoken of by Jesus as having been induced to come to him at his birth and woi-ship him while he was yet an infant as a God ; and to have made this known to Herod the tetrarch ; and tliat the latter sent and slew all the infants that were born about the same time,"^ etc. * Origen contra Celsum, 1, 58. Unique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Years. 393 In like manner it is claimed that the Roman historian Dion Cassius's " notices are confused. He scarcely seems able to distinguish between one Herod and another." ^ Yet these writers lived not far i-emote from the events which they attempt to describe. Such instances of mistake relating to matters of that period witness to the extreme difficulty and dangers to which later writers would be exposed who should falsely attempt to represent themselves as living in the Apos- tolic Age when describing the stirring and surprising events occurring around them. So with the four Evangelists writing the Gospels. They must have written in the times ascribed to them, to have written so accurately. One might have acquired the reputation of being a literary adventurer, but he would have scant hope of escaping the charge of being an impostor or a fool in presuming to foist upon mankind unhis- torical documents as being Gospels of truth purporting to have been written in that remarkable country, in those remarkable times. For as remarked by Mr. George Rawlinson : " It is important to bear in mind in this connection the fact that there is no period in the whole range of ancient history whereof we possess a more full and exact knowledge than we do of the first of our [Christian] era."^ ISToAv, the Evangelists illustrate the times in which they lived b}^ describing in the Gospels the current history of the period with such remarkable exactness. Sometimes they de- tail main facts with fullness and force; and sometimes, also, they pass important as well as incidental circumstances with briefest mention, as being perfectly understood without re- quiring further remark. But in all cases, they obviously speak out from amidst the current events of the Apostolic Age in which they were living, without reseiVe, and without explana- tion ; and, as a consequence, so far from being contradicted by any of their contemporaries, they are often absolutely con- ^ Hist, of Rome, xllv, 1111, Iv, Ix, cited by Mr. George Rawlinson, Bampton Lects., Amer. ed., note 21, end. 3i6. p. 383, n.8, end. 394 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, firmed by those unfriendly to their faith, who lived in or near their own times. And, withal, the Evangelists mention public occurrences without any strain or effort, without exaggeration or glorification, but rather with that simplicity and candor of spirit which have carried conviction of truth to millions of minds in all succeeding ages. II. Two Civilizations Side by Side in one Community. In the distribution of legal authority over the Jewish nation there were two jurisdictions. The Jewish Sanhedrin §279. Twofold was composcd of the high priest, the elders and Authority. scribcs;* but superior in power was the office of the Roman procurator, who seems at this time to have the exclusive right over life and death. We do not know at what time the Jews lost their ancient power in this respect; but Josephus mentions " Coponius, . . . who was sent as pro- curator, having the power of death put in his hands by Caesar." ^ Accordingly, Pilate said to Jesus : " Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to re- lease thee?"^ "The Jews therefore said unto him: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death."' The Sanhedrin could condemn Jesus as "guilty [deserving] of death," but were powerless to execute their own verdict. To secure an execution, they were compelled to deliver Jesus to Pilate, the Roman procurator.** This they did. However, the indictment must not refer merely to matters of their religion ; it must, in order to be entertained at all, contain an averment of a polit- ical character. So the wily conspirators against Christ in- serted a charge of treason against him: ""We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Csesar, saying that he himself is king."^ When a foreign nation dominates another and occupies its territory, it naturally imports its own manners and procedures, ♦ Mark xlv, 53. <> Jewish War, B. II, chapt. 8, $1. 'John xlx. lib. xvill, 3L 8 John xvlll, 35. « Luke xxlll, 1, 2; cf. Matt. xxU, 15-21. Unique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Yeaks. 395 and the mixed population then exhibits customs incongruous, if not conflicting. So, during the ministry of Christ, and afterward, Palestine had its peculiar character- ' ^ § 280. Laws istics. Ever after Pompey's conquest the Jew- and ish nation and country were held as a depend- ™^' ency upon the Roman Empire; and an army of the Romans was in occupation, ready always to enforce the requirements of the rulers, and subdue the tumultuous spirit of the Jews. By express stipulation, however, the Jews were from the first free to enjoy all the rights of their religion and the exercise of their own laws, except the power to impose and execute death. Touching the situation Ananias, the high-priest, makes this guarded concession: " If indeed it be necessary to adjust names to deeds, any one might easily find that the Romans have indeed been those who were the confirmers of our laws unto us, and that the enemies have been those within [the nation]."^" In the final rebellion of the Jews, while Titus was conducting the siege of Jerusalem, which eventuated in the utter destruction of the city and nation, he appealed to the Jews to discontinue their resistance as fanatical. He said, according to Josephus : " In the first place, we gave you this land to possess it ; and, in the next place, have set over you kings of your own nation [viz., the Her- ods] ; and, in the third place, have preserved the laws of your fore- fathers unto you, and withal permitted you to live either by yourselves or among others as you please." " The historical argument as to the fact that the Jews and Romans at this period were existing side by side in very pe- culiar relations, as is constantly brought to view in the Gospels, may be further illustrated by many instances incidentally mentioned therein. Two bodies of armed men exercised author- ity at Jerusalem ; the one was known as the Levitical temple guard called "a band,"^ led by "a captain," ^^ but armed w Wars, Iv, 3, 10. " Wars, vl, 6, 2. i*Sirerpa, a co/ior<; "a band, John, xvlU, 12. i* SrpaTTj765- Luke xxll, 4,52. 396 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. "with staves and weapons;"^* the same party who arrested Jesus and bound him at the garden of Gethsemane ; the other, the Roman soldiers who were an army of occupation, whose headquarters were at Caesarea, one cohort consisting of four hundred and twenty to six hundred soldiers being stationed at the fort built at Jerusalem named Antonia, located at the northwest of the temple grounds. Here they were charged with the duty of guarding the public peace, especially on the great feast-days of the Jews. It was the duty of a small detachment to conduct to its completion the sentence of cruci- fixion, and to guard against the interference of friends to take the body away without express permission from the procura- tor.^^ There were two modes of inflicting capital punishment. The old law of Jewish independence, consisting either of ston- ing, according to the original law of Moses, which was illegally exercised in the case of Stephen, or of strangling, according to the rabbinical law inserted in the Talmud, in which " strangu- lation was the mode of execution for a learned man who rebelled against their words ;"^'^ while the Romans, after due process, were addicted to first scourge the condemned criminal, and then crucify him." In case of crucifixion, the Jews sought to mitigate or shorten the sufferings by what was called crucifragium, known in the Gospels as the breaking of the legs of the sufferer. Both Livy {Titus Zivius) and Josephus, who ment of wrote their histories in the Apostolic Period, Criminals, ^^^^ ^^^j, yv^j^ness to the Roman custom of pun- ishment. a) Scourgings. Livy affirms that, " after they had been scourged they fastened them to crosses." *^ Josephus says : "They caught many of the quiet people and brought them before Florus I the Roman procurator], whom he first chastised with stripes, "Matt, xxvi, 47; Mark xlv, 48; Luke xxll, 52; John xvlll, 3, 12, Rev. Vers. "Matt xxvll, 64; John xlx, 28, 24, 88; Luke xxlil, 47, 51, 52; Mark xv, 43-45. '« Deut. xlll, 9; xvll, 7; Ex. xvll,4; Luke xx, 6; John x,81; vlli, 7; Acts vil, 58; Talmud, Sanhedrin, vl,l, i; HilcJioUi, Mamrim, c. 1, 2. " Matt, xxvll, 26; Mark xv, 15; John xlx, 1. »8Llvy, x,9; he died 17 A. D. Unique Condition of Palestinp: for Fifty Years. 897 and then crucified. . . . Florus adventured to do what no other [procurator] had done before him, to have men of the equestrian order whipped and nailed to the cross before the tribunal." "So they first whipped [them] . . . before they died, and [they] were then crucified befoi'e the walls of the city. ... So the soldiers, out of wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way and another after another, to the crosses . . . when the multitude was so great that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses were wanting for the bodies." ^^ /3) Cross-hearings. The Romans executed their laws with rigor in cases of capital punishment, and their custom was to compel the condemned man to bear his cross to the place of crucifixion. The Gospel records an illustration of this re- quirement in the case of Jesus : "And he bearing his own cross, went forth unto a place called the place of a skull, . . . where they crucified him."^ Plutarch wrote: "Every kind of wickedness produces its own torment, [just as] each one of the criminals bears forth his own cross." "^^ Artemidorus of Ephesus said : " The cross is the symbol of death ; and he that is about to be nailed to it, first carries it along." ^ y) Superscription. A superscription placed by the Ro- mans on the tablet at the head of the cross was intended to be declarative of the supposed crime in any given case. The Gospels mention this custom in referring to the crucifixion of Jesus. John says : " Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross," ^ and Matthew adds, "and set up over his head this accusation."^ His designation of the superscription as an "accusation" is significant, not as implying that the charge Avas true, but that it was merely an "accusation" and impliedly false.* It was a tri-written superscription in the principal languages of the world at that time ; in the Hebrew, the ver- nacular of the Jews ; in the Greek, the commercial language between nations ; and in Latin, the court language of the Ro- * Rawllnson's Bampton Lectures, 1859, Amer. ed., p. 401, note. »» Wars, 11, 14. 9; v. 11, 1. »" John xix, 16-19. 'i'E/ca Cited by Rawlinson, Id., p. 402, note 62. 31 Deut. xxi, 22, 28; comp. Acts v, 30; x, 39; xlil, 29, Gal. HI, 13; 1 Pet. 11, 24. »Wars. Iv, 5, 2. "Alford's Oreek Testament, Vol I, in loco, 6th ed; comp. John xlx, 23, p. 899. 26 400 Historical Evidence of the N^ew Testament. 1)) Enrollments. Two enrollments^ of the Jews in Pales- tine were made by Cyreniiis (Quirinius) under the order of the Emperor Augustus ; the first about the time of the birth of Jesus, B. C. 4, which was to ascertain the population of the country; the second, about ten years afterward, in A. D. 6, corrected chronology, which was to ascertain the property of the people. The peculiarity of both instances is, that the two registries were Koman in authority and purpose, but entirely Jewish in the manner in which the enrollments were effected ; that is, each person and family, in order to be enrolled, had first to go to the native tribal territory, wherever else the residence might be. Hence Joseph and Mary, who were resi- dent at Nazareth, repaired to the territory of Judah ; and, by this simple circumstance, Jesus was born at Bethlehem^ of Judaea in exact fulfillment of prophetic prediction.^ Then, withal, there were two different kinds of tax imposed upon the people ; the one called " a tribute " tax, which Cassar usually exacted of a conquered country. The Pharisees referred to this when they asked Jesus : " Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?"^ The other tax, called didrachma, was given in support of the temple service, and is referred to by Matthew : " When they that received the half -shekel came to Peter and said. Doth not your Master pay the half-shekel?"^ In recording time, the Evangelists employ two distinct sys- tems of notation. Both methods were military in character. 8 282 Nota- '^^^ distinctive references made in the New Tes- tions of Time, tament are to three particulars; viz., the several watches of the night, an interval of days when inclusive or exclusive of the extremes in which certain events occurred, and an indefinite date fixed in a certain year in the epoch of a given ruler. 6) Nightrwatches. The Jews originally divided the night into three watches, extending from sunset to ten o'clock; "Luke 11, 1-3; Acts V, 37. » Luke 11, 4. "Mlcahv, 2. w Matt, xxli, 17. »» Matt, xvll, 24. Unique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Years. 401 thence to two ; and thence to sunrise. Jesus said : " Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching. . . . And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them so, blessed are those servants." ^ Upon the other hand, the Romans observed four night- watches, beginning at six o'clock in the evening, and termi- nating every three hours severally, corresponding with the statement of " four quaternions of soldiers," ^ mentioned as in service of Herod Antipas's army. But in consequence of the dominance of the Romans over the Jews, the latter naturally conformed to the Roman usage, and computed the fourth watch in dividing the night. So Mark says : "Watch therefoi*e, for ye know not when the lord of the house com- eth, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing [i. e., three o'clock], or in the morning."*^ t) Intervals. In case of an interval of several days between two events, the Romans excluded the two extreme days in which the two events happened, while the Jews in their count included them. Thus between the promise of Christ and the realization of his transfiguration, there is a twofold enumera- tion by the Evangelists, Matthew reckoning the time between exclusively, "After six days ;" ^ while Luke reckons inclusively, "About eight days after." ^ k) Reigns. The Romans dated important events according to a given year in a given emperor's reign; but the Jews reckoned according to the high priesthood of their theocracy. Now, Luke observes both methods in one notation, including all the several rulers in Palestine thus : " Now, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod [Antipas] being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrai'ch of the region of Itursea and 3» Luke xli, 37, 38. « Acts xll, 4 ; Matt, xlv, 25. « Mark xill, 35. «Matt. xvll, 1. «Lukelx, 28. 402 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Trachonitis, and Lysanius tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of the Lord came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness," ** etc. Now, it should be specially remarked that such unusual particularization as this, if false, furnishes the readiest possible means of detection; but on the contrary, if true, especially when introduced into the text incidentally without a word of explanation, it furnishes powerful evidence that these Scrip- tures are thoroughly historical, and were written at the time usually ascribed to them. Very subtle but ingrain evidence of the antiquity of a given document is to be found in the language which it em- ploys. There are local characteristics and forms '8283. Test ^ "^ of of expression which belong to and mark the age, Language, ^^^j^ ^^ Latinisms and Hebraisms in Palestine, which prevailed in the vocabulary and literature of the period, taken up into Greek forms of language, relating to the prac- tical affairs of life and religion, which convey by necessary implication the thought of the Roman and Hebrew people living together in one body politic. They serve to illustrate, as no other method could do, a society composed of two differ- ent civilizations, having two classes of institutions, two kinds of authority, two systems of laws, two procedures in court, two sorts of punishments; all evidencing the peculiar condi- tion of the country at the time of Christ and his apostles^ a/tid at no period since, when Roman power held the occupancy and the supremacy in the land of the Jews, all of which was brought to a perpetual end within forty years after the cruci- fixion of Jesus Christ. It is a powerful verification both of the antiquity and authenticity of these historical writings, that they should find such remarkable confirmation by both Jewish and classic historians of fame. But that which renders the case incontrovertible is the fact that the very language *«Luke ill, 1, 2; cf. Ant. xvlll, 4, 6 ; xvll, 8, 1, and 11, 4. Ukique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Years. 403 imbedded in the accounts of the Gospels proves their age by something more substantial than the mere color of the period. It has been forcefully said by the scholarly Trench, that " Words are fossil histm^y^'' and that " any one with skill to analyze the language might re-create for himself the history of a people speahing that language^^ The principle applies to the historical New Testament without question. It is the function of language to give expression to the thought and life of those with whom it was vernacular. Some illustrations are now to be furnished. We thus have the word — Centurion^ meaning the commander of a hundred soldiers of the Eoman army.^ Legion, usually a great but indefinite number; strictly 4,200 to 6,000 soldiers.^ Proetorium, the official judgment-seat among Romans for the trial of causes.^ Custody, a guard set to watch and keep prisoners in their power.*^ Census, a registering of population, or rating of property val- uation for taxing.^ ^^ ^ Quadrans, a small Roman coin worth an English "farthing" or an American half-cent.^ ^ Study of Words, p. 96, Eng. ed. LATIN. GREEK. ENGLISH, ■•• Centurio, Kevrvplwv, centurion, *> Legio, \eye(bv, a legion, ^ PrcEtorium, irpairuypiov, judgment-hall, etc., ^Custodia, KovffTwdia, custody, watch, fio Census, K^vtrot;- tax enumeration. *i Descriptio, awoypacp^ , enrollment or registration. ^Profiteor, diroypdcpeffOai to make a public return, »» Quadrans, Kodpdmrig-, farthing, half-cent, REFERENOE. Mark xv, 39, 44, 45. Matt, xxvi, 53; Luke vili, 30. John xviii, 28; xix, 9, etc. Matt, xxvli, 65, 66; Matt, xvii, 25. Acts V, 37. Luke ii, 1-3, 5. Matt. V, 26; Mark xil,42. 404 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Assarius^ another Roman coin of about the same value as that of the quadrans.^ Denarius, translated by the English " penny," and worth about two cents in America.^ Drachma, a silver coin of the Greeks, worth about sixteen cents in American money .^ Flagello, to scourge, a peculiar form of lashing prisoners both Jewish and Roman.^ Executioner, an oflBcer of the body-guard to carry out a judi- cial death sentence.^ Besides these words, which are mostly of Roman origin, there are others employed in the New Testament derived from the Hebrew or later Aramaic language, the letters of which the Jews brought with them from their captivity. Thus we have — C'orbam,, a sacrificial or dedicatory gift of the temple service.® BahU, which means "My Master;'"* and Eahhoni, "My great Master." ^^ Raca, a senseless, empty-headed fellow; a fool; one who is worthless.^ Bar-jona, a Hebrew formula to express " son of Jona." ^ LATIN. ^Assarius, GREEK. dcycrdpiov, f>^ Denarius, btjvdpLOv, ENGLISH. farthing, a half-cent, penny, 5« Drachma, " Flagello, 68 Speculator, HEBREW. 6" -an, *^ xpl dpaxfJ'Tl, [lost] " piece of silver," pa.y€\\6cj, to scourge, ffTreKOvXdrwp, executioner. GREEK. KOpBav, ENGLISH. "Corban," " Rabbi," REFERENCE Matt. X, 29; Luke xll, 6. Matt, xviii, 28; xx, 2, 9, 10, 13; Mark vl,37. Luke XV, 8, 9. Matt. xxvil,26; Mark XV, 15. Mark vi, 27. RKKERKNOK. Mark vll, 11. John HI, 2. John XX, 16; x,51* 'pafi(iovvl, 'pa^^ovl, Rabbonl, 'Pa/cd a worthless fel- ' low, a simple- ton. Matt. V, 22 Bapduva Bar-Jona, son of '^ ' Jona, Matt, xvl, 17 Unique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Years. 405 Boanerges, sons of thunder, a designation applied by Jesus to James and John.^ Kephas, a rock ; a name given to Peter by Christ, after his great confession.^ Gehenna, a valley running east and west, lying south of Jerusalem.^ Talitha cumi, "Damsel, arise;" words spoken by Jesus to the daughter of Jairus.^ Ephphatha, "Be thou opened;" Christ's address to the deaf and dumb man.*^ Hosanna, the shout of the multitude on the mount of Olives, near Jerusalem.*' Jot C), the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet; and tittle, the little tick on the smallest Hebrew letter.™ By so much as the sacred biographers represent in their several Gospels the language employed by the people of the country in which they wrote during that particular period, by so much do they demonstrate both the antiquity and the historicity of their writings. Sudden Changes in the Political Geography of Palestine. Frequent changes in the rulers and realms of the country, occurring at brief intervals, necessitated changes also in the form of the local government. First, there was an unbroken kingdom over all the land; then through the king's death came divisions of the territory, with conversion into three HEBREW. GKBBK. ENGLISH. KEFEKENOK. "iyj"l-'J3 'Roavepykc "sons of thun- Mark lil, 17. . T ■• . r f > » der," « X3'3, Ktjfpds Cephas, John 1, 42. 405 M Di;n'Jj Te^vva, " Gehenna " [flg- ■ ' ure of Perdl- Matt, v, 29, 80. tionj, •'■•pip i A7it. xvlll, 6, 10; xlx, 5, 1. '«^n<. xvlll, 4, 6, end; c. 7, $ 2; Wars, 11, 9, 6. ti Ant. xlx, 5, 1. '8/6. xlx, 9, 1, 2; Wars, 11, 11, 6. 408 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. bestowed upon the son of Agrippa I, known as Agrippa II, the two tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanius;^ and in the 3'ear 54, Kero, becoming emperor, added several cities named Abila, Tiberias, Tarichaea, and Julias,* with some fourteen villages.^ All the remaining territory continued provincial governed by procurators, until the close of the Roman-Jewish war in A. D. 70, when the Jewish nationality was completely destroyed, and the whole land once more became Roman. A SUMMARY. 1. An Undivided Kingdom, ruled by a native king of the Jews, known as Herod the Great. 2. A Divided Domain: an ethnarchy and two tetrarchies organized for Herod's three sons. 3. A Fractional Change: in the year 6, Archelaus's eth- narchy becomes a Roman province. 4. A Tetrarchy Reduced: in 84, Philip dies, and his tetrarchy becomes a Roman province. 5. A Reconstructed Kingdom: in 37, Agrippa I is made king over Philip's old tetrarchy. 6. Accessions to Agrippa I: he receives from Caligula, Anti- pas's Galilee and Persea. 7. Additional Accessions: in 51, Agrippa receives from Clau- dius, Samaria and Judaea and Ablia. 8. Kingdom Abolished: in 44, Agrippa dies, and his whole domain now becomes provincial. 9. A New Kingdom: in 53, Agrippa II becomes king over tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanius. 10. Accessions to Agrippa II: the Emperor Nero adds four cities and fourteen villages. 11. Jewish Nation Destroyed: in A. D. 70, the Jews were expatriated, and all becomes Roman again. ^»Ant. XX. 7,1; Wars, n, 12, 8. «o Wars, li, IS, 2. »^AnL xx,8,4. Unique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Years. 409 The Evidential Yalue of these Facts as Regards the Four Gospels. The Evangelists make frequent reference to the rulers of the land, calling them properly by name, and sometimes even referring to a given realm; but they never c 285 The pause to explain changes in the government, induc- er what was the occasion by which rulers came to office. They invariably assume the political situation to be just as it was, and as it was understood to be by their con- temporaries to whom they addressed their writings. To them no explanations were requisite. But this course would obviously be a most dangerous procedure for any writers to gain credence unless the Gospels were true. If true, the writers required no better security than the actual history of the times, upon which they evidently rested their case in open disregard for their own fame. Upon the other hand, Josephus, a contemporary and a Jewish historian, not only corroborates the existing facts of the Gospels as assumed, but makes ample explanations how the political changes came to pass. Closely and carefully does he follow up the transitions in the political geography of the whole country, giving the order, the occasion and details re- specting the changes in government, as well as the names of the rulers and their respective realms. So far from there being any conflict between the secular and the sacred writers, Josephus supplements the statements of the Evangelists. But these authors do not follow the same lines of history, as they have not the same ends in view. Josephus wrote expressly the history of the Jewish nation ; the Evangelists wrote exclu- sively of the founding of Christianity. It is fairly presumable that none but those living in the midst of such abrupt and stirring events leading to such apparent complications and transitions, could have composed 410 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. a true narrative of the times and touch, upon the political situ- ation without error. For if neither Tacitus, the Roman writer of fame who lived in the close of the first century, and wrote just after the Apostolic Age; nor Celsus, of the second century, who was the contemporary of the Apostolic Fathers, and wrote purposely to destroy the Christian religion; nor yet Dion Cas- sius, of the third century, and a contemporary of the Chris- tian Apologists, who wrote his history in Greek, could really understand to unravel the governmental complications of the Apostolic Period — for they made grave mistakes, which they would not have made had they lived contemporaneously with the events they describe, and in the very land where they occurred — how is it that the Evangelists, simple in their character and unpretentious in literary fame, were entirely successful and inerrant in allusion to these events in writing the Gospels? This challenges critical consideration. There is but one answer: They lived and wrote in the very epoch when the events themselves occurred in the current history, and hence were familiar with the facts which they record. The peculiarities arising out of the Roman and Jewish civilizations existing side by side — the one in domination, and the other in subjection, with all that that implies — is not the least important circumstance in proof of the antiquity and the historicity of the Gospels. The ingrain evidence is found in every fact, whether prominent or of minor mention, but es- pecially the occurrences of incidental record, which thread through all the contents of those writings, as in the warp and woof of a fabric. Besides these proofs of historical character, there is inter- nal evidence imbedded m the very words employed, in the Gos- pels illustrative of the two civilizations composing one com- munity or State, as seen in the tri-superscription placed on the cross of Jesus. It is further demonstrated in the terms of usage in their laws, in the processes of their courts of trial, in the penalties they imposed for crime, in the designation of Unique Condition of Palestine for Fifty Years. 411 the officers who inflicted punishments, and in the different modes of execution, as shown by Livy the Roman, and Jose- phus the Jewish historian. It is further found in their divisions of time, their different night-watches, their inclusive and exclu- sive dates, their fixed epochs according to the accession of chief rulers and high priests. It is also discoverable in the Augustan order for the enrollment of the Jews; a Roman re- quirement, but conducted in the Jewish method, which brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem in their tribal terri- tory in exact fulfillment of prophetic prediction. The gov- ernmental history of that land during the first half-century of the Christian era is itself a monument in proof of the accu- racy of the writers composing the several gospels, as well as of the period in which those writers lived and wrote. No amount of reasoning can cancel these facts as unhis- torical. Can any candid mind ignore the force of the facts ? It is not in the power of genius to translate such facts into fic- tion, as is implied in the legendary and mythological theories of the Gospels. Cmi all this detail^ running through the con- tents of these sacred writings as verified, he true, and yet the record itself he false f Can a conclusion to the contrary he verified on the facts adduced? CHAPTER XV. THE ROMAN RULERS OF THE JEWS IN THE NEW TESTAMENNT. o) CiYiL Administrations: Emperors, Legate, Procurators, Procon- suls. /3) Roman Administrators Related to the History of the New Testa- ment: Their Character, the Occurrences and Incidents op Their Administrations. I. Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero. II. Legate: Quirinius (Cyrenius). III. Procurators: Pontius Pilate, Antonius Felix, Porcius Festus. IV. Proconsuls: Sergius Paulus in Cyprus; Gallio in Achaia; and the "Proconsuls in Asia." 413 Chapter XY. THE ROMAN EULERS OF THE JEWS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. §286. Roman Officers of Palestine. In reality it is altogether in minute points that the difference is to be perceived between truth and fabrication — Whatelt. Every quotation from Josephus, Tacitus, o^r Suetonius ; every fresh archaeological exploration in Palestine, Asia Minor, or Greece, only serves to illustrate this minute accuracy with which their titles are given to Roman procurators and proconsuls, Greek " politarchs," and Asiatic sediles, and demonstrates the fidelity with which the dual system of government, of military forces, and of religious life, are described, as blended together and coexistent, side by side, at the only period when that coexistence was possible, among the strangest of all strange people, the Jewish nation. — Macleab. The agreement to be traced between sacred and profane narratives is to be found chiefly, if not solely, in harmonious representations with respect to facts which, in the Scripture narrative, are incidentally mentioned as names, ofiices, and characters of political personages to whom there happens to be allusion. The value of such confir- mation is not less, but rather greater, than that of a more direct confirmation, which would result from an accordance with main facts, because it is a task of extremest difficulty for any one but an honest contemporary writer to maintain accuracy in the wide field of incidental allusion; and because such exactness in such matters is utterly at variance with the mythical spirit of which according to [one] of the latest phases of unbelief, the narrative of the New Testament is the product. If it can be shown that the detail is correct, and the exactness that of persons intimately ac- quainted with the history of the time and bent on faithfully recording it, the [contrary] theory may be considered as com- pletely subverted and disproved. It is important to bear in mind in this connection the fact that there is no period in the whole range of ancient histoi'y whereof we possess a more full and exact knowledge than we do of the first century of our era. — Geokge Rawlinson. 27 415 416 B.ISTORICAL Evidence of the New Testament. ARGUMENT. That the Romans gained by conquest and maintained a political suprem- acy over the Jewish nation, in and after B. C. 63, is a fact which is thoroughly known in history. Thenceforth the two distinct and dissimilar civilizations coexisted side by side in one country and community, the Jews being held in subordination by the presence of the Roman army of occupation. Many striking coincidences occur in statement between sacred and secular narrativ^es of these times, appertaining to the civic offices and ruling officers mentioned in the New Testament. This subordination and domination of the Jews could have occurred in but one definite period of time. If, then, it shall be found that, however incidentally the fact is mentioned, and that notwithstanding under the re- markable changes occui'ring in the government and in the political divisions of the country, the Roman rulers are all properly dis- tinguished and placed in order, in the right period and divis- ion, if also events of prominence are correctly indicated as having occurred accordant with accredited secular history, then two inductions are logically inevitable : viz. , that the sacred writers have given us an historical account of these public affairs, so far as they go, and that it is evident and obvious tliat the sacred writers wrote as contemporary with the facts recorded of which they had a proper knowledge. These inductions warrant the an- tiquity and historicity of these Scriptures. 1. Emperors. 3. Procurators. 2. Legatus. 4. Proconsuls. From the characteristics of society in the Jewish land we pass to the consideration of its political Roman rulers. The emperors were the supreme heads of the em- Buier8°^d^ pire, holding the olRce for life. Augustus, the the New fj^st Roman Emperor, effected a division of the Testament. '■ provinces between himself and the Senate. Those provinces which stood most in need of military force were re- tained by him, and ruled by those who were his exclusive appointments. They were administered by procurators or legates; the procurator had military power to govern when necessary, but the legate was a civic officer. A procurator had an indefinite tenure of office, while that of the legate was limited from three to five years. The more peaceful provinces Roman Rulees of the Jews in New Testament. 417 were assigned by the Senate to government of proconsuls, who were civil officers, and whose tenure was for only one year. The inferior offices not mentioned in the Kew Testa- ment have no place in this historical investigation. EPITOME. I. Emperors: Augustus, B. C. 27-14 A. D; Tiberius, 14-37; Caius Ca- ligula, 37^1 ; Claudius, 41-54 ; Nero, 54-68. II. Legate: Sulpicius Quirinius [Gr. "Cyrenius"], B. C. 4-1 A. D. and 6-11 as governor of Syria,* and Commissioner Extraordinary as Registrar of Palestine, in the second appointment. III. Procuratores : Pontius Pilate, A. D. 26-36; Antonius Felix, 53-60; Porcius Festus, 60-62. IV. Proconsuls:^ Sergius Paulus of Cyprus, 46; Junius Annseus Gal- lio of Achaia,t 53 ; "Proconsuls of Asia." I. Emperoks. The emperors, whom the Romans called Imperatores, exer- cised a supreme and universal authority over the nations and individual subiects of the empire, claiming as their , §288. The function the power of life and death, but also the imperial right to extend that power to certain subordinates governing the provinces. X The emperor was also invested, as chief pontiff or high priest, with the care of the religion of the State. In honor of the great Caius Julius Csesar the first five emperors assumed as the imperial title, the family name " Caesar, " § which became extinct in Nero. To this title was added " Augustus," in honor of the first and famous Emperor *Legatus Augustl proprsetore in Syria. t Achaia, as the Romans called Greece In distinction from Macedonia and Illyria on the north. See Lewin's Paul, i, 269, 291, note. t The Jewish Sanhedrin, a judicial body, seems to have been deprived of their power of life and death over Jews in Judisa, and this power was conferred upon the procurators of that province. Josephus says: "Coponius, one of the equestrian order, was sent as a procurator, having the power of death put into his hands by Csesar." ( Wars, 11, 8, 1.) The Jews confessed to Pilate: "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death;" and Pilate himself said to Jesus: "Knowest thou not that 1 have the power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee?" (John xvill, 31;xlx, 10.) 5 Observe the German Kaiser for emperor, and the Russian Czar, a corruption of "Caesar." > Av^i^aToc, Acts xiil, 7; but sometimes called a,\so proprcetor. 418 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. of the Romans. Both titles are mentioned in the New Testar ment. Some of the emperors, such as Augustus, Trajan, and Hadrian, are considered to have been men of superior qualities and noble characteristics; but others, as Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vitellius, and Domitian, the famous historian of the empire, Edward Gibbons, affirms "are condemned to everlasting infamy." 1. Augustus Caesar was the first Roman emperor. He was nephew of the great statesman and warrior, Caius Julius Csesar (B. C. 100-44). Augustus was born B. C. 63, 8 289. The ^ i p n i ^ Emperors and he was named for his father Caius Octavius, y. ^^^ subsequently assumed the name Caius Julius Caesar Octavius. He, with Antony and Lepidus, composed the temporary government known as the Triumvirate. But the relations of the three became strained, and upon the retiracy of Lepidus, a struggle ensued for the supremacy between Augustus and Antony, which finally culminated in the naval battle at Actium, B. C. 31, when Augustus was declared to be Imperator by the Roman Senate. But as he now offered to resign this supreme power, they conferred upon him the title " Augustus." ^ This imperial name, meaning august or revered, was rendered in the Greek Sebastos, ^ and was a title afterwards conferred upon his successors as a matter of heredity.^ Some- times in history he is called Octavius. He possessed superior judgment and tact in the management of public affairs, and died A. D. 14, much honored and beloved. The history of this great emperor comes in touch with sacred history by reason of his decree causing a registration of the population to be made in Judaea at the time of the nativity of Christ. Luke in his Gospel refers to him thus: '■'■Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Ccusar A urjustus that all the world should he enrolled. " ^ It is a re- '^ S€/3a(7T6c, ( "-4MsrMsius"), a title applied twice to Nero IntheN.T. ; viz., In Acts XXV, 21, 26. 'Suetonius, ^MflfMs(MS, 7. ^ lb. Tiberius, 2f>. ^ Luke 11, 1. Roman Rolers of the Jews in New Testament. 419 markable circumstance that this decree and the registration which it ordered brought to pass at Bethlehem, accordant with ancient prophecy, the birth of Jesus ; for Joseph and Mary were required to go to Judaea, their own tribal territory, for registra- tion, according to the Jewish method of enrollment. 2. Tiberius was the second Emperor of the Romans. About two years before the death of Caesar Augustus he associated with himself his friend Tiberius, with a view to his becoming his successor to the crown. Accordingly, Tiberius was reigning when the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness, and also dur- ing the ministry of Jesus. Three allusions are made to this emperor in the historical New Testament. In the one instance he is mentioned by name, in the others by title. In fixing the date of John's ministry Luke says : " Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar . . . the word of the Lord came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness."® In the second instance, Christ's enemies asked him : " Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? " ' And the third allusion to Tiberius was when Jesus was before Pilate, and the Jews shouted : " If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend ; every one that maketh himself king speaketh against Caesar." ^ Thus near the beginning and middle, and at the end of Christ's ministry, a reference is recorded to this Emperor Tiberius. 3. Caius Caligula, the third emperor, is not mentioned or alluded to in the New Testament. Secular history, however, is replete with the narrative of his foul, despotic, desperate deeds. He insisted upon having his own statue set up in the temple grounds of the Jews at Jerusalem, that they should be compelled to accord him divine honors. In A. D. 41, says Josephus, Caligula " Asserted his own divinity and insisted on greater honors to be paid him by his subjects than are due to mankind, . . . and had the bold- ness to call himself the brother of Jupiter." ^ "He gave orders [to Vitellius, president of Syria] to make an invasion of Judsea with a great •Luke 111, 1, 2. TMatt. xxll, 17; Luke xxlll, 2. «John xix, 12. * Antiquities, xlx, 1, 1; xvlU, 8, 1, 2; comp. xvlU, 8, 2, 7. 420 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. body of troops, and if they would admit his statue willingly, to erect it in the temple of God ; but if they were obstinate, to conquer them by war, and then do it."^" The emperor, however, was finally dissuaded from his pur- pose by the influence of his special friend, Herod Agrippa I, who was a zealous Jew. " Caligula died by assassination. ^ 4. Claudius, the fourth and " feeble-minded " emperor, was fifty years old when he ascended the throne of Rome. He succeeded to the imperial ofiice through the personal influence of Herod Agrippa I, who was the first to nominate him to the Eoman Senate. It proved, however, that the emperor was governed by his f reedmen. Suetonius says : " Among his f reedmen the greatest favorite was the eunuch Posides ; . . . next tohim, ifnot equal in favor, was Felix," who is mentioned in Acts xxiii and xxiv.^' Luke represents that Claudius became emperor at the time when Paul and Silas were making the second apostolic journey in Asia Minor and along Eastern Europe. This Evangelist refers twice to this emperor, and each reference has its historic interest. The first relates to the prediction of a great fam- ine; the second to a certain edict of Claudius expelling the Jews indiscriminately from the Capital. a) The Fami7ie. Agabus, a Christian prophet journeying from Jerusalem to Antioch, "signified by the Spirit that there should be a great famine over all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius."" It is not particularly impor- tant to the historicity of the fact or the argument based upon it whether this famine predicted was local or universal; whether the words rendered "over all the world "^^ be taken in the extensive, or the restricted sense according to the usus of the Jews in Jud£ea; for it is clear that the Greeks also restricted this universal term to the Greek world, the Romans 10 Antiquities, xvlll, 8, 2. » lb. xvlil, 8, 7, 8. '« Suetonius, Calig., 58. >'/6., Claud. 28; comp. Tacitus, Annals, xll, 54; and Joseph. ^n<. xx, 7, 1; Wars, 11, 12, 8. "Acts xl, 28. ^^'EffeffOai iIb. Nero,%. "^ rb. Nero,7, 52. ^Annals, xiii, 26. •3/6. XV, 38, 39; Sueton. iVero, 88. »*Sueton. Nero, 49. »8ueton. Nero, 49; Tacit. Hist. 1, 4. ^Decline and Fall, 1, c. 3, p. 181. 424 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. In the New Testament several allusions are made to Nero, not by personal name, but by the imperial title "Caesar" or "Augustus."* The Apostle Paul refers to him at least four times; thrice at Caesarea, when he said, "I appeal unto Caesar,"^ and once in his Epistle to the Philippians when sending his special salutations "to any of the household of Caesar."^ Besides, there are four references made to this emperor by the Procurator Festus under the title of Caesar or Augustus ; and also once by King Agrippa II at Caesarea, as recorded by Luke.f In the statement then of what facts have these apostolic writings been vindicated as strictly historical by the citations of other authorites? The main facts may be summarized thus: 1. The imperial decree of Augustus Caesar for enrollment, dates the nativity of Jesus. 2. The date of the Baptist's ministry, heralding in that of Christ, gives its chronology. 3. The conversation of Jesus with the Jews about the tribute money as lawfully Caesar's. 4. The accusation against Jesus that claiming to be a king was speaking against Caesar. 5. The prediction of Agabus of the famine realized in the fourth year of Claudius's reign. 6. The expulsion from the Capital City of all Jews by reason of continual disputations. 7. The one reference made by King Agrippa II to Nero as being then the reigning "Caesar." 8. The four references to Nero as the emperor made also by the Roman procurator, Festus. Here, then, are eight facts recorded by sacred writers re- specting emperors and events touching twenty-one special * " Augustus " descended as an Imperial title to all the Caesars from the first Roman Emperor, but some relinquished the title. + See Acts xxv, 12, twice, 21, 25; and xxvl, 32. 3^ Acts xxv, 8, 10, 11. ^Epia. to Philipp. Iv, 22. Roman Rulers of the Jews in New Testament. 425 points which have confirmation from secular historians whose writings cover tlie same period. All the facts fit in exactly in the proper order and chronology respecting the Roman rulers and their reign, as also the references to current events. Are all these facts, personages, and references alike fictitious and unhistorical ? If anything can be proved by historical evidence to a reasonable mind, the conviction becomes resist- less, and there can be but one answer to the question. Further, it is just as evidential and obvious that these writ- ers— sacred and profane, the one class as much as the other — wrote in those times within lohich they purport to have written. Such evidence can not be set aside lightly, but is entitled to, and demands, as complete an explanation for our belief as is here given on the part of him who rejects the proof adduced and its induction — a reason^ not mere assertion, not a specula- tion based on hypothesis or conjecture, but based on real his- torical grounds. § 290. II. Legate. This officer was a civil functionary sent out from Rome by the emperor to govern a Roman province, and held office from three to five years. Quirinius was appointed twice to this office in Judaea for the purpose of making enrollments of the Jewish nation in the interests of the empire. In the first in- stance he numbered the population; in the second, he regis- tered the valuation of property. The Evangelist Luke records a note of both registrations. Of the first, a census associated with the birth of Christ, he says: "This was the first enroll- ment made by Quirinius" in distinction from the second one mentioned by Gamaliel : " that there rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the enrollment." The first enrollment occurred B. C. 4, and the second A. D. 10.^ In the latter Quiriniois is said to have been Commissioner Extraordinary. NLuke li, 2; Acts v, 37. 426 Historical Evidence of the New Testajvient. §291. III. Procurators. A procurator^ was a military ruler having charge of the imperial revenues, under the appointment of the emperor, with a life- tenure, unless recalled for cause. In rank the office was considered to be inferior to that of the proconsul and prefect. In the New Testament, as well as in the writings of Josephus, this officer is designated by the less strict and more generic title of " governor ;"^^ a term also sometimes applied to a pro- consul. The procurator was invested with the authority to inflict capital punishment upon criminals ; but for such inflic- tion he was required to report the fact to the emperor at Eome, together with the circumstances] which led up to the execution.* The procurators mentioned in the New Testament are three in number ; namely, Pontius Pilate, A. D. 26-36; An- tonius Claudius Felix, 52-60; and Portius Festus, 60-62. These may be taken in the order of their official succession in the government of the province of Judaea. Any special cir- cumstances occurring under their respective administrations will furnish subjects for critical consideration, and when found to be authentic, will illustrate the historicity and the spirit of those times. I. Pontius Pilate. In ascertaining points of accordancy between sacred and secular history, relating to this procurator, attention should be fixed upon three propositions to be verified ; and of these — * Euseblus says: "That nothing might escape him [the emperor], Pontius Pilate transmits to Tiberius an account of the circumstances concerning the resurrection of our Lord from the dead, the report of which had already spread throughout all Palestine." (E. H., B. 11, c. 2, p. 89.) Justin Martyr, in his first Apology appeals twice to these transmitted reports as then at Rome. He says: "That these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilait';'''' "And that he [Jesus] did those things you can learn from the Acts of Pontius Pi- late." (First Apol. cc. 35,48.) Tertullian adds: "All these things Pilate did to Christ; and now, In fact, a Christian In his convictions, he sent word of him to the reigning Ocesar, who was at that time Tiberius." (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. Ill, c. 21, p. 85.) *> ijyembv, 6. <> Inexactly iiriTpoiroc= ijytfj.dv In the N. T. which is also a generic term for the oflBce. Roman Rulers of the Jews in New Testament. 427 § 292. 1 . The Procuratorship in Judeea in the Time of Christ as an Histor- ical Fact. The historical New Testament makes several distinct affirmations relating to his government of the Jews, viz. : "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod [Antipas] being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Itrurtea and the region of Ti-achonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests [of the Jews], the word of God came unto John [the Baptist]."^ "Now when morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death ; and they bound him and led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor." ^ "For of a truth in this city, against thy Holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together."** So far, three Evangelists witness separately, and all the apostles witness together in prayer. Luke's statement is very remarkable for the web of circumstances which he weaves to- gether in one brief paragraph, to authenticate historically the beginning of John's ministry. Seven officers are named; each one is mentioned as a ruler of a given country; each country is designated correctly respecting its ruler, — the Ro- mans in relation to their territories ; the high priests in rela- tion to their people. This extraordinary mention of concurring governments, all brought to view in one sentence to establish a single circumstance, is calculated to emphasize the fact con- veyed as very important. Every particular brought forward exposes the Evangelist to a critical testing respecting its historical character, and if one should be found to be untrue, that fact would certainly impeach his record so far, and raise a presumption against the other particulars as questionable. Now, it should be accentuated that no writer would adven- ture to give all these details unless he knew them to be his- «Luke ill, 1, 2. «Matt. xxvU, 1; Mark xv, 1. «Acts Iv, 27. 428 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. torical and that they would bear a critical examination by his contemporaries, and certainly no mythical or legendary writer could serve his purpose by descending to many details to substantiate a single fact by citing many ; for that is the very opposite of the mythical spirit. It greatly accentuates the character of Luke as a critical historian that not one of these particulars has ever been questioned by a reputable writer, ancient or modern. Among these particularizations it is stated that "Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea" at the very time when John began his ministry. Matthew also makes reference to "Pon- tius Pilate the governor;" and Mark does not mention the office as such, but assumes its existence as understood, and then proceeds to relate many remarkable acts which the pro- curator performed as an officer of the Romans. When the apostles were dismissed from trial before the Sanhedrin, they met and reported to the other Christians all that had occurred ; and then they voiced in prayer to God the fact, but connected the name "Herod" Antipas with that of "Pontius Pilate," of having something in common in the procedure against Jesus prior to his crucifixion. Pilate's procuratorship is abundantly corroborated by both classic and Jewish historians. An appeal to the writers of the first and second century will be satisfactory. Tacitus records in a single sentence that which is conclusive on this point. It should be noted that he designates the several historical cir- cumstances of time, place, and persons associated with two facts of paramount importance in this investigation; and all are related to the administration of Pilate, exactly as repre- sented by the several Evangelists. He says : " Christ, the Founder of this name [Christians], was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, pi'ocurator of Judsea, in the reign of Tibe- rius."** Josephus records that Tiberius "sent in" as procurator of Judsea, " Gratus and his successor in the government, Pilate." ^ "When *^An7ials, XV, 44. «,4n«. lib. xvlil, c. 6, $5. Roman IIulp:bs of the Jews in New Testament. 429 Gratus had done these things he went back to Rome, after he had tar- ried in Judaea eleven years, when Pontius Pilate came as his suc- cessor."^^ "But now Pilate, the procurator of Judaea, removed the army from Csesarea to Jerusalem."'*® Here are two historians of reputation — the one a heathen residing at Rome, the other a Jew dwelling in Palestine, con- temporaries of each other, mutually confirming themselves, as well as the Evangelists, on the historicity of the statement that Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judaea in the reign of Tiberius Caesar. §293. 2. Prominent Occurrences under Pilate's Ruling as Narrated in the Gospels. The points to be accentuated in the Evangelistic narrative are these : a) The presence of the procurator at Jerusalem on the occasion of the Jews' great feast-days, and the special reason therefor. b) The importance of the " tessellated pavement," incidentally men- tioned, and its importance in the Roman administration of justice. c) The presence of Pilate's wife at Jerusalem, at the trial of Jesus, contrary to the earlier requirements of the empire. It was the established custom of the procurator of Judaea, whose headquarters were regularly at Caesarea, to go up to Jerusalem to the high festivals of the Jews in order to prevent any disorder or tumult among the people. It is an unseemly reflection on the Jews that it was requisite for heathen rulers to keep the peace when the Jews assembled together to ob- serve their own great annual and religious feasts. Josephus relates how a gang of ruffians known as the sicarti, so called from the daggers which they carried on their persons, were accustomed on those occasions to carry on assassination and plunder " in the midst of the city ; this they did chiefly at the festivals when they mingled among the multitude, and con- cealed daggers under their garments with which they stabbed those who were their enemies." ^^ « Ant. xvlil, 2. 2. « 7 6. xvlil. 8, 1. 49Coinp. Ant. xx, 5, 3; xx, 9,3; xx, 8, 5, 6; Wars, ii, 12, 1; 11, 18, 8. 430 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. It was in accordance with this purpose to exercise author- ity, if there should be occasion, that Pilate was present at the Jews' passover at Jerusalem at the time when Jesus was cruci- fied. For his official residence on these occasions, he took the palace of Herod the Great. To the courts of this royal resi- dence the officers of the Jews conducted the Savior, after they had formally denounced him for blasphemy; but their cere- monial scrupulousness about defiling themselves as Jews ex- cluded them from entrance into the palace to Pilate's presence, lest they should prohibit themselves from eating the passover. "They lead Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the palace [prseto- rium] ; and it was early in the morning, and they entered not into the palace that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. Pilate therefore went out to them."^" When the trial of Jesus had reached its crisis, Pilate pro- posed to execute Barabbas, and release Jesus. To receive their response to the proposal in a judicial manner, Pilate as- cended the Bema, which was a tribunal erected before the palace, on an elevated piece of ground covered with a tessellated pavement. John relates that " when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew Gabbatha." ^ Now, the importance of the tessellated pavement in judicial procedures is remarked by both Eoman and Jewish authorities. Suetonius mentions an instance in point in the case of Julius Caesar, who " carried about in his expeditions tessellated and marble slabs for the floor of his tent."^ And also Josephus mentions this usage in connection with Herod Philip the te- trarch, as follows: " His tribunal on which he sat in judgment followed him on his prog- ress ; and when any one met him who wanted his assistance, he made no delay, but had his tribunal set down immediately wheresoever he happened to be, and sat down upon it, and heard his complaint ; he then ordered the guilty that were convicted to be punished, and absolved those that had been accused unjustly."^ w John xvlU, 28, 29. "jb. xlx, 13. ^»Jul. Cces. 46. ^^Ant. xvlll, 4, 6. Roman Rulers of the Jews in New Testament. 431 Accordingly Matthew, referring to the occasion of Christ's trial narrates that Pilate — " While he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife* sent unto him saying, Have thou nothing to do with that righteous Man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him."^^ According to Seneca, in the earlier period of the empire, Augustus^ was very strenuous in his policy requiring that magistrates, going to imperial provinces to govern, should not be accompanied by their wives — only allowing rare exceptions. In his biography of Augustus, Suetonius confirms the state- ment, restricting the exceptions to very peculiar circumstances. Yet as Tacitus writes, " How often did the deified Augustus [himself] travel to the east, how often to the west, accompa- nied by Livia!"^ Nevertheless, Germanicus in Germany felt constrained to send away his own wife, that she might not "be exposed among the soldiers, infuriated and violators of everything held sacred by man." Of this fact, Tacitus sym- pathetically remarks: "The wife of a great commander com- pelled to be a fugitive, and bearing an infant son in her bosom !"^'' Tacitus also relates that in the time of Tiberius, and in the year 21, one Caecina Severus moved in the Roman Senate that " No magistrate should go into any province accompanied by his wife." ^ But his proposition was promptly met with elo- quence and urgent opposition, and was rejected finally with no little indignation. This disposition of the question settled the future policy of the government on that point, so that within five years Pilate is found to have entered upon office in Judaea accompanied hy his wife, as Matthew states without explana- tion. It thus appears how that, on the occasion of our Lord's trial before the procurator a few years later, Pilate's wife sent her husband the strange and startling message : " Have * Pilate's wife's name was Olauda Procula (Necepha, Eccl. 1, 30). M Matt, xxvil, 19. S5 De Controv. 26. 6«.4nnaJs, Hi, 38,84. 67 16.1,40. 63/6.111,33. 28 432 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. thou nothing to do with that righteous Man!" This incident, of so exceptional a character, interwoven with the narrative of Matthew, without mentioning any circumstance leading up to the incident, without explanation why Pilate's wife was with him at Jerusalem, conveys the implication that the changed law was perfectly understood at the time, and incidentally attests the correctness and fidelity of the Evangelist's historical record. § 294. 3. The Discovery of Pilate's Character Accordant with Sacred and Secular History. 1. The first instance illustrative of the procurator's charac- ter for violence and vacillation was evidenced in his interview when Jesus stood before his tribunal a silent prisoner, charged with high crimes in an indictment by the Jews. Pilate ques- tioned Jesus respecting his origin and his claims as King. It is stated that "He entered into the palace again, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said unto Him: Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I liave power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee? Jesus answered him : Thou wouldst have no power against me except it were given thee from above ; therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. Upon this Pilate sought to release him." "When Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying: lam innocent of the blood of this Just Person ; see ye to it. . . . But he scourged Jesus, and de- livered him to be crucified !"*^ On another occasion, when Pilate undertook to force upon the unwilling Jews the ensigns of Caesar, he evinced the same unworthy characteristics. Josephus records of him: "Now Pilate, who was sent as procurator into Judaea by Tiberius, sent by night those images of Caesar which are called ensigns into Jeru- salem," which occasioned "very great tumult among the Jews" and loud protests "to preserve to them their ancient laws inviolable." "On the next day Pilate sat on his tribunal in the open market-place, and called to him the multitude as desiring to give them an answer ; and then gave a signal to the soldiers ... to encompass the Jews with their 69 John xlx,8-12; Matt.xxvii, 24, 25. Roman Rulers of the Jews in New Testament. 433 weapons ; so the band of soldiers stood round about the Jews three ranks [deep.]" "Pilate also said to them that they should be cut to pieces unless they would admit Caesar's images, and gave intimation to the soldiers to draw their naked swords." But the Jews, casting themselves upon the ground, "exposed their necks bare, and cried out that they were sooner ready to be slain than that their law should be trans- gressed."*^ Upon which Pilate was deeply affected with their firm resolution to keep their laws inviolable, and presently commanded the images to be carried back from Jerusalem to Ca?sarea. ^^ Here at one moment is the threat of instant death, and in the next the offensive order is conntermanded, illustrating that contradiction of character which always accompanies a base and weak mind — making such an issue with the Jews touching their religion, and when absolutely resisted unto death, order- ing the detested images back to Csesarea. Violence and vacil- lation in the presence of high moral courage are the evidence of a moral coward. And these characteristics were evidenced when Pilate, in the presence of the multitude, meekly washed his hands in attestation of Christ's innocency which he had protested again and again, but immediately countermanded. 2. A second illustration of Pilate's character relates to the occasion of enmity, and then amity, between himself and Herod Antipas. Luke relates : " Now there were some present at that very season who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices." "And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other on that very day ; for before they were at enmity between themselves." ^^ The peculiarity of these two passages of Scripture is, that both purport to be narratives of historical facts; that both stand detached from any other written history; that both were written by the same writer; and that both are recorded in a manner which indicates the facts related were well known and unquestioned in the community where they are said to have occurred. Circumstantial evidence is strongly corrobo- rative of these citations from Luke. Josephus states that "after «o Wars, li, 9, 2, .3. « Ant. xvlil, 3, 1. 62 Luke xlli, 1 ; xxill, 12. 434 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. this, Pilate raised another disturbance by expending that sa- cred treasury which is called Corban upon aqueducts. . . . At this the multitude had great indignation."^ A strong feeling of resentment arose, which Pilate sought to repress in his own dark way, as he was wont. Soldiers clad in the gar- ments of men in private life were armed with concealed weap- ons in their garments, and mingled with the multitude. He, himself, gave the signal, when the soldiers fell upon the people indiscriminately, cruelly causing many deaths, "And equally punished those that were tumultuous and those that were not." "Now, the Jews were so sorely beaten that many of them perished by the stripes they received ; and many of them perished as trodden to death by themselves, by which means the multitude was astonished at the calamity of those that were slain."** On another occasion Pilate, without any apparent provoca- tion, ordered his soldiers to fall on the Samaritans. "And when they came to an action, some of them they slew, and others of them they put to flight, and took a great many alive ; the principal [men] of whom, and also the most potent of those that fled away, Pilate ordered to be slain." "The Samaritan Senate sent an embassy to Vitellius, . . . president of Syria, and accused Pilate of the murder of those that were killed. . . . So Vitellius sent Marcel- lus, a friend of his, to take care of the affairs of Juda?a, and ordered Pilate to go to Rome to answer before the emperor to the accusation of the Jews; . . . but before he could get to Rome, Tiberius was dead." 6* A case in strong resemblance to the procedure of Pilate against the Galileans occurred under the rule of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus, who dreaded the influence of "Judas and Matthias, those teachers of the law," upon the multitude assem- bling for the keeping of the Passover : " Lest some ten-ible thing should spring up by means of these men's madness, [he] sent a regiment of armed men, and with them a captain of a thousand, to suppress the violent efforts of tlie seditious, before the whole multitude should be infected with like madness." M TTars, il, 0, 4. "ylni. xvlll, 3, 2; Wars, n, 9, 4,. ^^ A?it. xvili, i,l,2, Roman Ruleks of the Jews in New Testament. 435 The Jews, however, assaulted the soldiers so that the cap- tain and many of the soldiers fled, and when they " had done thus, they returned to the sacrifices which were already in their hands." Thereupon Archelaus sent the whole army upon them and "slew three thousand men."^ While there is absolutely nothing recorded in opposition to Luke's record of the report made by others to Jesus that Pilate had mingled the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices, there is much to credit the statement by indirection. If there is not identity in the facts as narrated in sacred history, there is circumstantiality enough to justify the belief that Pilate was capable of just such a deed, in that liis character is en- tirely accordant wdth the representations made. The follow- ing conclusions may therefore be legitimately considered : 1. That the Jews generally, and the Galileans particularly, were restive and tumultuous toward the Roman procurators, especially on the great festival occasions, due probably, in a large measure, to the cruel injustice which they had suffered at their hands, but particularly from the outrages committed against their religion by these political and heathen rulers. 2. That in at least one other instance under Archelaus, the Jews left their own altars and worship and drove away the soldiers, "when they returned to the sacrifices which were already in their hands." This clears the way and creates a measure of probability in favor of Luke's record of the report as authentic, inasmuch as the same affair would be attempted again, even though unsuccessfully, as in the case of those " Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices." Pilate was not afraid to shed the blood of his subjects, pro- vided he could make it appear at Rome that he was suppress- ing an uprising of the people. 3. Those Galileans were not the subjects of Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judaea, but of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Gal- ilee. Accordingly, any violence and slaughter of Herod's «^n«. xvil, 9, 3; T^'ars, ii, 2, 5. 436 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. subjects could not but be regarded as a high-handed outrage committed upon his people, but also was a deep affront offered to his government. Herod's principality was much inferior to Pilate's province in extent, in resource, and in population; and as recourse to war was not allowable without the imperial consent, and as Pilate had robbed Herod's subjects of their share in the sacred votive fund called Corban, which he had wrongfully appropriated to the public works at Jerusalem, these were just the kind of procedures most likely to engender "enmity" between these two neighboring rulers of the Jews. 4. But if there was occasion for enmity between them, there was also an occasion for amity. Now, it happened that Herod was at the passover at Jerusalem when Jesus was ac- cused by the Jews before Pilate. When, then, Pilate had learned that Jesus belonged to that tetrarchy, he at once sent Christ to Herod as the proper judge of the case. This act in the procurator was doubly pleasing to Herod: (1) Because the action was an open acknowledgment of the principle that Herod's subjects were subject to Herod for their conduct, and not to Pilate ; and (2) Because the sending of such a personage as Jesus to his presence, was extremely gratifying in itself, since, " When Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad ; for he was de- sirous to see him for a long time ; and he hoped to see some miracle done by him." "And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day ; for before they were at enmity between themselves." ^^ § 295. II. Antonius Claudius Felix. This man was not the second procurator of Juaaea, out he is the second one mentioned in the Evangelistic history. And he is properly placed in the order of the "governors" of that country. He is named Antonius Felix by Tacitus, and is named Claudius by Suidas, but is mentioned simply as Felix both by Luke and Josephus. Originally, Felix was a slave of Antonia, the daughter of Antony and Cleopatra, and the 67 Luke xxlll, 8, 12, Roman Kulers of the Jews in New Testament. 437 mother of Emperor Claudius. He assumed the name Antonius because he was the slave of Antonia, as he was afterwards of her son Claudius. Subsequently the emperor manumitted both Felix and his brother Pallas, both of whom became at- tached closely to the person of the emperor, became his chief advisers, and in fact, in a large sense, controlled the action of the feeble-minded chief during his reign.^ As procurator of the Jews, Felix occupies a conspicuous place in three chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. But in every case his name is mentioned incidentally in • -11 • ^ -i-^ 1, 1 §296. Histor- connection with the narrative oi Pauls work icity of Felix's and sufferings, which Luke therein has made the P^curatorsWp. special subjects of his discourse. The first occurrence is in the order issued by Claudius Lysias, the military commandant of the castle Antonia at Jerusalem, which overlooked the temple and its courts. This order provides that the soldiers under him shall "bring him [the apostle] safe unto Felix the gov. ernor," whose residence was at Caesarea-on-the-Sea ; and he wrote a letter after this form : " Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix, greeting." ^ Both the fact and the time of Felix's appointment as pro- curator of Judaea are circumstances well attested by various independent witnesses, w^ho are even more explicit in statement than was Luke. It should be noticed, however, that Felix was twice appointed to this office in different parts of Palestine; once when he ruled conjointly with Cumanus in the govern, ment of Galilee, Samaria, and Peraea ; and once when he had exclusive jurisdiction over Judaea. This will be clearly veri- fied by the following testimonies : Tacitus remarks: "Felix too, meanwhile, by applying unseasonable remedies, inflamed the disaffection, emulated as he was in his aban- * Suetonius says: "Among his freedmen, ... if not equal in favoi-, was Felix, . . . being entirely governed by these freedmen." (Claud. 28, 2^).) Tac- itus adds: "The Jewish kings being ei her dead, or their dominion reduced to narrow limits, he [Claudius] committed the province of Judaea to Roman knights or to his freedmen. One of these, Antonius Felix, wielded the scepter of a king with the soul of a slave." [Hist, v, 9.) 68 Acts xxill, 24-26. 438 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. doned courses by Ventidius Cumanus, who held part of the province ; the division being such that Galilee was subject to Cumanus, and Sama- ria to Felix. "^^ Josephus says: "After this, Csesar sent Felix, the brother of Pallas, to be procurator of Galilee and Samaria and Persea."^" As respects the procuratorship in Judaea, Josephus adds: " Claudius sent Felix, the brother of Pallas, to take care of the affairs of Judaea." " And Tacitus says: " Felix, for some time governor of Judaea, acted not with . . . moderation, but relying upon such powerful protection [as that of Pallas] supposed that he might perpetrate with impunity every kind of villainy." '^ In addition to these historical attestations, there exists an § 297. evidence incontestable in a coin struck under the Evidence, authority of Felix, which is thus described : "Obverse: a palm branch with the legend, 'Of Caesar,' in'the year 5 ; [i. e.] in the fifth year of Nero's reign [Claudius's successor], and there- fore struck by Felix [ himself] sometime between the 13th of October, A. D. 53, and the 13th of October, A. D. 59. Reverse: the legend, Nepwi/os, 'Of Nero,' within a wreath." ^^ Thomas Lewin, Esq., in his famous work on Paul, says : "Felix was certainly appointed in A. D. 52, and it is equally clear that Albinus annved in the province as successor to Festus in A. D. 62. The portion, therefore, of this interval of ten years not occupied by Festus will represent the procuratorship of Felix. The events in the time of Festus were few, and would not require so much as two years. Festus died at the close of A. D. 61, and as prefects left Rome for the provinces on the 15th of April, the arrival of Festus in Judaea as suc- cessor to Felix may be placed about midsummer A. D. 60. Thus the procuratorship of Felix lasted from A. D. 52 to 60, a period of eight years, a tenure of office unusually long."^^ If, now, there be added to this period that in which Felix was procurator in Samaria, there is ample vindication of the truth in Paul's courteous remark: " Forasmuch as I know thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do cheer- fully make my defense." ^^ The material points substantiated by these evidences are these : That Felix was appointed procurator of Judsea as a matter of historical fact. This is shown by the testimony of *^ Annals, x\l, 5i. ro TTars, 11, 12, 8. "^m<. xx,7, 1. «^nn. xll, 64. '8 Lewln, Life and Epis. of Paul, Vol. II, p. 121. 74 jb, u, p. 170, note 117, » Acts xxlv, 10. Roman Rulers of the Jews in New Testament. 439 both Tacitus and Josephus, from both the Roman and Jewish side of history; also that he ruled Judaea from the years 52 to 60, as demonstrated by the coin struck by Felix during his procuratorship in Judaea, in the reign of Nero. The two pro- curatorships of Felix over the Jews more than justify the re- mark of the apostle — that Felix had been ruler of that "nation" for "many years" in the comparative and natural sense, since the usual period for the exercise of such authority had been but bwo or three years. The Unknown Egyptian Impostor. An incident of very considerable importance occurred unaer the administration of Felix, which connects this procurator with the Apostle Paul in the account of the New ^ . § 298. The Testament. While Paul was engaged in his spir- unnamed itual devotions in the courts of the temple during ™^°^ °^ his last visit to Jerusalem, he was seized and beaten by some of his Jewish brethren, but rescued by the Roman soldiery garrisoned at the castle Antonia, at the extreme northwest grounds of the temple. When the soldiers brought Paul into the castle, the chief captain said : "Dost thou know Greek? Art thou not, then, the Egyptian who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the assassins? But Paul said: I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city." ''^ The particular point to be observed is not Paul's personal experience, but the inquiry of the chief captain Lysias as to a nameless impostor who figured as a prophet, called " the Egyp- tian," whom Paul was supposed to be. That there was in fact such a character, who brought disaster upon a multitude of Jews, is made evident by secular and contemporary history. Josephus describes the man and his procedures with much circumstantiality in his different works. He says : "There came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem one who said that he was a prophet, and advised the multitude of the common '6 Acts xxl, 37, 39. 440 Historical Evidence of the Kew Testament. people to go along with him to the Mount of Olives, . . . that from thence he would show them how at his command the walls of Jerusalem should fall down ; and he pi-omised them that he would procure them an entrance into the city through those walls when they were fallen down." Felix "ordered his soldiers to take weapons, and he came against them with a great number of horse and footmen. . . . He slew four hundred of them, and took two hundred alive. But the Egyptian him- self escaped."" In another history Josephus mentions this occurrence, adding merely that " the Egyptian fled, followed by only a few," and that " the greatest number of those that were with him were either slain or taken prisoners." ^ 1. The first thing to be noticed is, that the incident of the adventure of the Egyptian impostor referred to by Luke is oor^o rr^v, historical. It is interesting, if not remarkable, § 299. The " ' ' Case is that both the chief captain and Josephus identify the notable false prophet as " an Egyptian." Jo- sephus mentions him as "the Egyptian false prophet" who "came out of Egypt;" that others joined " with the Egyptian" in the "sedition," and that at the close of the battle "the Egyptian escaped." Lysias, the chief captain, also said: "Art thou, then, not the Egyptian? " Naturally he supposed that he had at last the escaped criminal in custody in the person of Paul, as he could not readily understand why the Jews other- Avise should raise a tumult in their own temple grounds in the midst of sacrificial services, and assault one of their own brethren in that murderous way. But he soon discovered his mistake. Nevertheless, the coincidence of language by Josephus and the chief captain designating the place of the false prophet's nativity, is precisely that kind of language to be looked for as determinative of any case as historical. 2. It is contended, however, that Josephus and Luke are at „ ^^^ ^. variance as to the numbers led off in tliis sedition § 300. Discrep- ancy Between by the Egyptian. Josephus records that three thousand were led out into the wilderness, while Luke records "four thousand." A discrepancy in the estimate 'Mni. XX, 8, 6. 78 Wars, il, 13, 6. Roman Ruleks of the Jews in New Testament. 441 of the numbers does not vacate the fact. But it is to be noted carefully that it is not at all Luke's estimate, but that of Lysias^ the chief captain ; and the only responsibility of Luke involved is that of recording faithfully just what Lysias said in the premises. The discrepancy is exclusively between Josephus and the chief captain, and Luke's record remains unimpeached. Paul and Roman Citizenship. As matters now progressed, the chief captain proposed to know who the prisoner was, and prepared to , ... . ' §301. The make examination by exposing the person of the Rights of apostle to the torture of the rods, when Paul Citizenship, appealed to his rights as a Roman citizen under the law. The record is that — " When they had tied him up with thongs, Paul said unto the centu- rion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Koman and uncondemned? . . . And the chief captain came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? And he said. Yea. And the chief captain said. With a great sum obtained I this citizenship. And Paul said, But I am a Roman born. They then who were about to examine him [by scourging] straightway departed from him ; and the chief captain also was afraid when he knew he was a Roman, and be- cause he had bound him." '^ The right of Roman citizenship involved personal freedom. It was in itself a proud claim of character entitling one to the consideration due to high dignity and position in society. It afforded immunity from burdens of the government, and conveyed claims which were sacredly secured and protected by law. Among other privileges, a citizen enjoyed full rights of property and control over his children and depend- ents; he had a voice in the assemblies of the people, and in the election of magistrates, and after his death his will was sacredly authoritative to dispose of property. For crime he was liable on condemnation to be beheaded ; but he was ex- empt by law from bonds and imprisonment, from scourging and crucifixion. These punishments were reserved for slaves 79 Acts xxil, 25-29. 442 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. and criminals, but were held to be too inhuman and ignoble to be inflicted upon a Roman citizen. It was a grave crime to impose such punishment upon a " Eoman," and it is said that any magistrate doing so, rendered himself liable to the same penalty. This explains the fear of the officers in charge of the apostle both at Philippi and at Jerusalem, where his claim of citizenship was made and respected. The mere declaration, ^^I am a Roman citizen^'' was deemed sufficient, and if falsely claimed, rendered the claimant liable to death. But exemp- tion on this plea was available only in the presence of a Roman magistrate, and was not available before a Jewish authority. Hence the apostle says: "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one." ^ At a Roman tribunal, a citizen was entitled to a trial by legal process ; and the right of appeal from a provincial magistrate's decision to the Em- peror of Rome was an inviolable right of a Roman citizen under the law. The Valerian law (B. C. 508) disallowed strictly the hind- ing of a Roman citizen; and the Porcian law (B. C. 300) for- bade the citizen being heaten with rods. Cicero, § 302. Citizen- : . . ° ' ship and in his Oration against Verres, speaks with much Roman Law. •. £ i-\ \ • ^ t • j-^i £ i pride 01 the high claim and its lawful pro- tection and immunities. He says : " That exclamation, ' I am a Roman citizen,' which often has brought assistance and safety among barbarians in the remotest parts of the earth." *^ "Whosoever he might be whom thou wert hurrying to the rack, were he even unknown to thee, if he said that he was a ' Roman citizen,' he would necessarily obtain from thee, the prijetor, by the sim- ple mention of Rome, if not escape, yet at least a delay in punishment." ^^ With great indignation he says; "A Roman citizen was publicly beaten with rods in the Forum of Messina ; during this public dishonor, no groan, no expression of the unhappy wretch was heard amid the cruel- ties he suffered and the sound of the strokes which were inflicted, but this : ' I am a Roman citizen.' " ^ "The Porcian law removes the whips from the body of all Roman citizens." "The Porcian law takes away the liberty of a Roman citizen «« 2 Cor. xl, 24. " Orat. pro Verrem, lib. v. c. 57. 82 J6. Act. 11, 1. V, cc. 64, 65. ^OAgainst Verres, Roman Rulers of the Jews in New Testament. 443 from the hand of the lictor."^ "It is a violation of the law that a citizen be bound; it is a crime that he be scourged." "The cause being heard, many can be absolved; but unheard*^ no man can be condemned." In view of these noble principles of Roman judicature, then so well established and so generally understood, it was unquestionably a matter of painful surprise and alarm to the chief captain when he discovered that the prisoner in his cus- tody, whom he should have protected by the shield of the law, was a Roman citizen, whom he had ordered tied up with two thongs to the whipping post with the purpose of scourging him as a criminal slave! A better insight into the embarrass- ing situation of Lysias in the castle of Antonia can hardly be furnished by written history. The very naturalness of the narrative is so impressive as to convey to the mind the con- viction of its truth. Claudius Lysias affirms that he had purchased his citizen- ship "with a great sum." Was this transaction accordant with the history of the times? Tacitus men- •^ . 8 303. Citizen- tions that in the times of Claudius (41-54), ship. How " The census of citizenship [in the entire empire] was five millions, nine hundred and eighty-four thousand and seventy-two."^ Now, it is historical that, during the period of the empire, citizenship was conferred very freely and readily, and even capriciously; sometimes for a price, some- times for a service, sometimes for merit. In some cases it was bestowed as a favor upon individuals; in others upon cities and even a whole province! Suetonius relates how that Augustus deprived some cities in alliance with Rome of their freedom, and rebuilt others which had been destroyed by earthquakes, or were deeply in debt.^ " To those who could produce any instance of their having deserved well of the Roman people, he presented with the freedom of the Lat- ium, or even that of the City [Rome]." Philo represents Agrippa I ^ Oral, pro Rabiro. ^Verrem, v, 66, Oral. 5. s" Annals, xi, 25. *'' Augustus, 47. 444 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. as saying to Caligula his friend: "You have enabled whole countries to which your friends belong to be citizens of Rome."^ Suetonius mentions that Nero had " the Pyrrhic dance performed by certain youths, to each of whom, after the performance was over, he granted the free- dom of Rome."^^ Dion Cassius states that Antony " collected money from private individuals, selling to some the right of citizenship, and to others exemption from taxes." "After this Claudius . . . took away the liberty of the City from many who were worthy of it, and, without any reason, gave it to others ; sometimes to single individuals ; at other times to a great number collectively. For the Romans, so to speak, having the preference over strangers, there were many who begged the citizenship of the emperor, and others who bought it of Messalina or of Cfesar's friends. On account of this, the privilege which formerly had been purchased at a great price, thereupon was rendered cheap by this reckless accommodation ; so that even the story was invented that albeit, if a man should give to one as compensation pieces of shattered glass, he shall become a citizen." ^ These historical references and citations amply confirm the statement of Lysias in claiming to have purchased his citizen- ship at a great price; and of Luke, who, in recording the claim, wrote in accordance with the spirit of the times. A different but a very material point touching 8 304. Citizen- "^ ^ ° ship and the historicity of Luke's record is the case and the ews, ^laim of the apostle to being a Roman citizen by heredity: "But I am a Roman born." Facts shall speak for themselves. Appian says: " Mark Antony gave liberty and immunity from taxes to Laodicea and Tarsus, and by special edict ordered that all citizens of Tarsus who had been captured and sold for slaves should be manu- mitted."®^ Lucian mentions " that on the request of Athenodorus, a Stoic philosopher of Tarsus, and teacher of Augustus, the city was freed from tribute ;"*** and Pliny adds "that Tarsus was a free city."** Conybeare and Howson say: "We have good reason to believe that at the period of the apostle's birth, the Jews were unmolested at Tarsus, where his father lived and enjoyed the rights of a Roman citizen. It is a mistake to suppose that this citizenship was a privi- lege which belonged to the members of the family, as being natives of this city. Tarsus was not a municipium, nor was it a colonia, like Philippi in Macedonia, or Antioch in Pisidia; but it was a free city (urb8 libera) like the Syrian Antioch and its neighbor city, Seleucia- M De Virtue, 11, 578. e^Nero, 12. <" JJi.H. Rom. Ix, 17. ^^Appian de Bell. Civ. v. « Workg, Vol. II, 473. «» Pliny, lib. v. 27. Roman Rulers of the Jews in New Testament. 445 on-the-Sea. Such a city had the privilege of being governed by its own magistrates, and was exempt from the occupation of a Roman garrison ; but its citizens did not necessarily possess the civitas of Rome. . . The family of St. Paul were in the same position at Tar- sus as those who wei'e Jews of Asia Minor, and yet citizens of Rome at Ephesus."9< " Rawlinson observes: "Citizenship by birth on the part of a for- eigner might arise (1) From his being a native of some colony or mu- nicipium ; (2) From a grant of citizenship, on account of service rendered to his father or a more remote ancestor ; or (3) From his father or more remote ancestor having purchased his freedom."^ W. L. Bevan says: "The right once obtained, descended to a man's children."^ T. J. Woolsey adds: "Roman citizenship was most frequently acquired by birth ; but for this it was requisite that both father and mother should be citizens. If a citizen married a Latina or a Peregrina, the children followed the status of the mother."^ Suetonius says, however, that Caligula restricted the privilege of citizenship by heredity to the sons ; that the emperor declared that " none had any right to the freedom of Rome, although their ancestors had acquired it for themselves and their posterity, unless they were sons ; for that none beyond that de- gree ought to be considered posterity."^ Josephus remarks that the Jews having been highly serviceable in Egypt, in the interests of Julius Csesar in opposition to Pompey, Julius " honored Antipater very greatly and confirmed Hyi-canus in the high priesthood, and bestowed upon Antipater the pi'ivilege of a citizen of Rome, and freedom from taxes everywhere." ^^ "Two of the principal Syrians in Csesarea persuaded Burrhus, who was Nero's tutor and secre- tary for his Greek Epistle, by giving him a great sum of money, to dis- annul the equality of the Jewish privileges of citizens which they had hitherto enjoyed."^™ "Lucius Lentulus, the consul, freed the Jews that are in Asia from going into the armies, at my intercession for them." But the procurator Florus " whipped and nailed to the cross before his tribunal those who, although they were by birth Jews, yet were they of the Roman dignity, nevertheless."^''^ Arrian says that "those who feigned to be Roman citizens were severely punished." ^"^ Suetonius affirms that Claudius "confiscated the estates of all freedmen who [falsely] presumed to take upon them the equestrian rank."^''^ " Those usurping the freedom of Rome, Clau- dius beheaded on the Esquiline " ^"^ — a place devoted to the execution of the worst criminals at the Capital. ^ Life and Epis. of St. Paul, i, 55, 56, Eng. ed. «'Bamp. Lects. 18.59, Amer. ed. p. 398, n. 50. Lect. vll. 96 Smith's Bib. Did. " Citizenship." 9' Johnsoa's Cycl. ^ Caligula 38. ^Ant. xiv. 8, 1-3. i^i 6. xx. 8, 9. i<>^Ant. xlv. 10, 13; Wars, 11. 14, 9. 102" Qui jus Romanae clvitatis luentluntur, gravlter punluntur" (cited by Blscoe). lo^sueton. CTowrfms, c. 25. i^n<. xx,8,9. "« TFars, 11, 14, 1. »".4n«. XX, 8, 10. Roman Rulers of the Jews in New Testament. 451 famous address before King Agrippa II and the chieftains and dignitaries of the city. In introducing his distinguished pris- oner, Festus said: " I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death ; and as he himself appealed to the emperor I determined to send him. Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my Lord.""^ But it is evident that this title was applied to the emperor as early as the time of Augustus, for Suetonius says: "He always abhorred the title of lord as ill-omened and offensive. And when in a play performed at the theater at which he was present, these words were introduced, '0 just and gracious Lord,' "^ and the whole company with joyful acclamations testified their appi'obation of them as applied to him, he instantly put a stop to their indecent flattery by wav- ing his hand and frowning sternly ; and the next day publicly declared his displeasure in a proclamation. He never afterwards would suffer himself to be addressed in that manner, even by his own children or grandchildren, either in jest or earnest ; and he forbade them the use of all such complimentary expressions to one another." Suetonius mentions the disapproval by Tiberius, the suc- cessor of Augustus, in regard to this title. He says : " Being once called ' lord ' by some person, he desired that he might no more be affronted in that manner." ^^ Tacitus cites an in- stance in which he "sharply rebuked such as said 'his divine occupations,' and called him 'Lord.'" ^^^ Now, the fact that both these emperors repudiated the title, proves that the title had heen used. Josephus also mentions "a sect" of pharisaic philosophers whom he represents as saying that — "God is to be their only ruler and Lord, . . . nor can any fear make them call any man Lord ; and since this immovable resolution of theirs is well known, I will speak no further'about the matter." ^^2 '« Now Caius Caesar did so grossly abuse the fortune he had arrived at as to take himself to be agod."i23 " jje also asserted his own divinity, and insisted on gi-eater honors to be paid him by his subjects than are due to mankind." ^* 118 Tt 7p35Eni HATAOT [ANejIIlATOT. See, further, Bishop Llghtfoot in Contemporary Review for May 1878, and Essays, p. 294; also Salmon's Introd. to the JV. T. chap, xvlll, pp. 321, 822, note. i86Actsxvill, 12. Roman Ruleks of the Jews in New Testament. 455 and Macedonia praying relief from public burdens, were for the present discharged of their proconsular government, and transferred to Tiberius." ^^ Then in the fourth year of his reign Claudius restored the province to the Senate, and it was again governed by a proconsul, Suetonius says of Claud- ius: "He gave up to the Senate the provinces of Achaia and Macedonia which Tiberius had transferred to his own administration." ^® Now, Paul was brought before Gallio at Corinth about the year 53, and Claudius reigned A. D. 41-54. Pausanius, Sue- tonius, and Dion Cassius agree that the province was already then existent, in the close of Claudius's reign. His successor Nero, soon after that made the Greeks free, and the Senate then lost the province altogether. It thus came to pass as stated by Dr. Salmon : "Under Tiberius, Achaia was imperial ; under Nero it was independent ; under Claudius it was sena- torial, as represented by St. Luke. In Ephesus the mention of avOmrcLTOL \i. 6., proconsuls] (Acts xix, 38) is equally cor- rect." ^^ It was, then, during this last proconsular period, and not long before the province was finally dissolved, that Paul appeared before the tribunal of Gallio, who refused to enter- tain a charge against him on the score of his religion.^^ By reason of these frequent transfers of the province of Achaia between emperor and Senate, it would have been more than difficult for any writer living in a subsequent century or two to furnish an exact history of the political condition of the country in detail during those times. Ample proof of this is furnished in the case of several classical writers of fame who lived remote from the country or the times, but at- tempted to give an historical account of the political situation of the period, and made egregious errors both with respect to ^«' Annals, 1, 7«. i^s Claudius, 25. ^f^Inirod. N. T. 322. See Tacit. Annals, 1, 76; Sueton. Claudius, 25. »«) Acts xvill, 14-16. 456 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. historical facts and the titles of the rulers of the land, as is demonstrated by Pitiscus in his notes on Suetonius's Twelve Ccesars, and Cardinal Korisius in his Cenotaphium Pisanum^^ as well as in the writings of Tacitus and Celsus. Upon the contrary, Luke has written out of the times, without any apparent consciousness of difficulty or embarrassment, without hesitation or explanation, without strain or affecta- tion; entering into details in a most natural way, recounting scenes which stand before the mind like life-]3ictures, having in them the interest and glow of reality, and going before the world with a brief record which has proved to be of inerrant correctness, to which every new discovery has given a fresh affirmation and confirmation. Such exactness in de- tails is incompatible with the spirit of mythological or legend- ary writings. Luke's carefulness in historical narrative is something wonderful; and the easy flow of his style and his natural handling of facts are such as become almost self- evident of the authenticity and credibility of the things which he narrates. " If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen that are Avith him have a matter against a man, the courts are open, and S311. ThePro- there are proconsuls.""^ "The town-clerk" ^^ consuls of Asia, -^^g^g originally a scribe or secretary, who was the custodian of the laws, and the public reader of the decrees of Greece ; but in Asia Minor he was a magistrate, who was the chief of a municipal government.^^ In the Hebraistic sense of the term, he was simply a man of learning.^^ In the passage cited, the magistrate of Ephesus meant " The courts of law are held [for civil action], and there are proconsuls [for the trial of criminal causes]." The case presents no difficulty; l)ut it illustrates the Evangelist's accuracy as an historical writer. K'Bf.s-coc on -4cethlehem and all the borders thereof, from two years old and younger, according to the time which he had carefully learned of the wise men." This account of Herod by the Evangelist is not only consistent with itself in its cumulative character, but accordant with the char- acteristics of Herod as represented by the Jewish historian. 8"Matt. 11. 3. 31 //j. 11,1. 82 Luke 1,5. 88 Matt. 11, 4. 84 7/,.ii, g. 35 i6. 11, 16. The gendei' In Greek Is masculine: wdpras toiJs iraldas. Jewish Rulers of the Jews: House of the Herods. 469 There is no known reason in the history of the facts narrated by Josephus in his characterization of Herod the Great but compels our belief in Matthew's statement of this circum- stance, which is but a mere detail in Herod's life and reign. To reject both without a suflS.cient reason would be highly irrational, if not absurd. II. The Second Generation of the Herods. Three Sons and Successors of Herod the Great. ARCHELAUS— PHILIP II— ANTIPAS. Objection has been made against the accuracy of the his- torical New Testament on the ground that the sacred writers designate the Herodian princes by one set of ^ ... §321. "Herod" names, but secular historians by others which the are assumed to be correct. The synoptists uni- formly call the tetrarch of Galilee "Herod," while Josephus and other accredited historians call him "Antipas." It is thence inferred that the Evangelists betray an ignorance of the persons and names of the royal family, and histor- ically erred, and must have written in a later period than is commonly claimed. Now, not only is the case not proved, but, upon the contrary, the criticism is invalidated by the facts. It will be seen that both classes of writers are unquali- fiedly correct in designating the house of the Herods just as they have done. a) It should be carefully noted that the appellation "Herod" was not the personal name of any one prince, but the family name of all the princes ; the surname of four gen- erations of the Herodian house mentioned in the Scriptures of the New Testament. Accordingly, written in full, the proper names of the several princes were Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Herod Philip II, Herod Agrippa I, and Herod Agrippa II. Such is the historical fact. Now, so far from proving a dis- crepancy between the secular and sacred writers, and raising thereupon a presumption against these Scriptures as being un- 470 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. historical, the case raises a powerful presumption in their favor. That is, the usus being found to be entirely correct, there is the necessary implication that the Evangelists were the contemporaries of the facts which they relate, and were perfectly understood by those addressed of that age without explanations. An historian would be perfectly understood in writing the surname Washington, without any historical rea- son to prefix the personal name George. P) But the objection alleged fails fatally when it claims to be founded on fact, that secular writers use one set of names to the exclusion of the other names. The case of Antipas is cited in illustration, whereas it proves the very contrary of that claimed. Josephus, as well as the apostles, was a sub- ject of the Herodian government, and presumably knew critically the names of the rulers of whom, as an historian, he had so much to write. He names this tetrarch both "Herod" and "Antipas" interchangeably; and even takes pains to explain the identity of the person so named. He says : " Now as the ethnarchy of Archelaus was fallen into a Roman province, the other sons of Herod [the Great, viz.], Philip and that Herod who was called Antipas.''^ ^ Luke mentions this te- trarch as "Herod," and "Herod the tetrarch," and as "Herod the tetrarch of Galilee" in the same chapter,^ while Josephus repeatedly calls him "Herod the tetrarch,"^ and "Herod the tetrarch of Galilee,"^ and "that Herod who was called Anti- pas."^ The identification, therefore, is perfect as regards the person, the official title, the political geography, and Luke's references and names are proved to be strictly historical. Herod the Great was especially favored by Augustus with the privilege of bestowing his realm upon his children by will, subject to the approval and confirmation of Sons and Cassar.*^ After Herod's death the three sons His Kingdom, j^gj^j^JQjjg^j j^ ^\^q y^m^ and Others of the royal household, presented themselves before the emperor to have » Warn, n, 9,1. 'J Ooxpelill, 1, 19. »» Ant. xviii, 2, 3; TFars, 1, 33, 7; 11, 9, 6, s»>ln<. xvlU, 7, 1, 2. *o Wars, il, 9, I. «/6.1, 33, 8. Jewish TIulers of the Jews: House of the Herods. 471 their several appointmeiits ratified by imperial authority, Jo- sephus records : " So Caesar, after he heard both sides, dissolved the assembly for the time ; but a few days afterward he gave one-half of Herod's kingdom to Archelaus by the name of ethnarch [i. e., ruler of a people in a princi- pality], and promised to make him king afterwards, if he rendered himself worthy of that dignity; but as to the other half, he divided it into two tetrarehies [each equal to one fourth of a province], and gave them to the other two sons of Herod ; the one of them to Philip [II] and the other to Antipas." *^ Tacitus made note that " On the death of Herod a man by the name of Simon, without waiting for the authority of the emperor, seized the sovereignty. He, however, was punished for his ambition by Quintilius Varus, the gov- ernor of Syria; and the nation, reduced to submission, was divided in three portions between the sons of Herod." ^ Herod's kingdom covered all Palestine, including Idu- maea, and upon his death was divided among his three sons as indicated. Taken in the order of their ages, Archelaus was made ethnarch of one-half of Herod's kingdom, and included Samaria, Judaea, and Idumsea, which he ruled for ten years, from B. C. 4 to 6 A. D. Herod Philip II was appointed tetrarch of one-fourth of the realm located in Northeastern Palestine, and included Bataneea, Trachonitis, and Auronitis [Gaulonitis], and parts of Jamnia.^ Herod Antipas became tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea,^ and included the remaining fourth of the original territory. There exists a coin struck by Philip II for his principality, which furnishes an incontestable proof, verifying the histor- ical veracity of both Josephus and the Evangel- §323. Numis- ists in styling Herod Philip II "a tetrarch," and matic Evidence, "tetrarch of Ituraea." It bears the following superscrip- scription and legend, namely : Obverse: "Tiberius Augustus Cfesar;" Keverse : " Of Philip, Tetrarch ;" with the legend, L A Z, or 37, the year of our Lord's Crucifixion.''^ « Wars, 11, 6,3; comp. Ant. xvil, 8, 1; 11, 4. *^ Hist. Rom. v, 9. M^n^xvll, 1, 3; xvli, 8, 1; 11,4. « /^,. xvll, 1,3; xvll, 8, 1; Wars. 1,83,7. ^•Obv: Ti^epio^ Se/3a When in the act of celebrating the Passover feast, Arche- laus was put under arrest and hurried off to Rome to answer to the emperor for his cruelties and crimes. The result was, that he was deposed from his government in the tenth year of his ruling, his estates were confiscated, and his person was sent into perpetual banishment at Vienna in Gaul^^ [France], and his territory was reduced to a Roman province. It was attached to Syria, which was under the presidency of Quin- tilius Yarns, and under the special superintendence of Quirin- ius (Cyrenius) in respect to its financial affairs ^^ as propraetor, and under the immediate government of Coponius as procura- tor.^ Quirinius thoroughly adjusted the new relation of Judaea to the empire, and so reconstructed the internal constitution for order that he was called the lawgiver^ of the country. This is the time when Quirinius made his second en- rollment of Judaea ; for it will be remembered that in B. C. 4, he effected the registration of th.Q population ,• and now, in A. D. 6, it was to obtain the registration of the property,^ as the new province was tributary to the empire. As to Coponius, it is the first time that the procurator was imperially invested with absolute power over life and death, which power was then withdrawn from the Jewish Sanhedrin^ at Jerusalem. " With Archelaus ended all remaining semblance of the mon- archy. The scepter had departed from Judah."^' It is under- stood that Paul was born A. D. 2.*^ »yln<. xvli, 9. 3-5; TTars, 11, 7, 3. 6i^m<. xvil, 13, 2; TTars, 11, 6, 1, 2; 11,7,3. 62 ^n/. xvill, 1, 1 ; xvlU, 2, 1 ; Wars, vll, 8, 1. ^Anl. xvill, 1, 1; xvlU, 2, 1, 2; Wars, 11, 8, 1. ^ AiKaiod&rr)^ , Ant. xvill, 1, 1. i^Ant. xvill, 1, 1; Wars, 11, 8, 1; comp. Luke 11, 1, 2, and Acts v, 37. 6« Wars, 11, 8, 1 ; John xvill, 31; xlx, 10, "Farrar. ^sLewln. 474 HiSTOKiCAL Evidence of the New Testament. Upon the reduction of the ethnarchy to a Roman province, Jud£ea became more intensely Roman than ever before. Roman money circulated freely in the markets of the Jews ; Roman words became current in the language of the people ; Roman monuments were constructed in honor of the em- peror ; Roman buildings were erected for the accommodation of the garrisons ; cities were adorned and elevated and given Roman names; Betharamptha, already a city, was "called Julias, from the name of the emperor's wife ;" the tetrarch Philip advanced Bethsaida to the dignity of a city, and called it Julias, in honor of Caesar's daughter; and at the foun- tain of the Jordan he built up Paneas, and named it Caesarea- Philippi in honor of Caesar ; while Herod Antipas built a city on the west side of the sea and called it Tiberias, in honor of the Emperor Tiberius.^^ A single reference is made in the New Testament to Herod Archelaus, and it is exceedingly brief and incidental to the „ ^ narrative given. It is, however, in exact ac- §325. Arche- ^ ' ' laus and the cordancc "with his character. The allusion relates probably to the close of the first year of Christ's infancy, when Joseph and Mary were returning from Egypt, intending to go to Galilee by way of Jerusalem : " But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judaea in the room of his father Herod [the Great], he was afraid to go thither; and being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee, and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth."™ a) Objection has been made with reference to this passage, that Matthew fell into error in saying that Archelaus '■^was reigning,^'' an expression which is exact only when applied to a king, and not when applied to an ethnarch. In reply, it is to be said that the usus of the term "reign" at that time must govern in any such case, and Matthew wrote in strict accord- ancy with the usage of his times. It is not fair criticism to determine accuracy or error of a writer by a modern restric- 60 ^71^ xvlll,2, 1, 2. w Matthew 11, 22, 23. Jewish Ruleks of the Jews: House of the Herods. 475 tion put upon a word which was wholly unknown in the usage of the ancients. The exclusive application of the term "reign" to royalty is modern, and without force in the case in hand.* /8) But the criticism is fallacious in that Matthew is not making an original statement of his own on his own responsi- bility, but he has merely placed on record what the report was which Joseph heard: "But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judaea in the room of his father Herod," etc. To record aright the rumor which Joseph "heard" is Mat- thew's part, and there his responsibility ends. Moreover, the report was probably based upon the fact that Herod the Great had provided in his will that Archelaus should be made king of Judaea and Peraea, and upon the opening of the will at Jericho, the soldiers and people made acclamation and con- gratulation that he was to be advanced to royalty. But Caesar did not approve this provision.^^ HEROD PHILIP II (B. C. 4-34 A. D.) This prince, the second ruling prince in age, was the son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra.^^ He must be carefully dis- tinguished from his half-brother Philip I, the son ° ^ §326. PhiUpII of Herod the Great and Mariamne, Herod's the favorite wife, whom he slew. By his will, Mari- Tetrarch. amne's son, Philip, was excluded from having any share in the government, on his mother's account.^ He married Herodias, and they had one child named Salome. Herodias afterwards eloped with Herod Antipas. Salome seems to have accompa- nied her mother, and, at the instigation of the mother, de- manded the head of John the Baptist. Cleopatra's son, Philip II, married Salome, who was his niece.^ He was the tetrarch of Itureea, whose subjects were mostly Syrians and Greeks, but very loyal to the tetrarch. In secular history, Philip II is represented as a peaceful and successful ruler of *See this principle discussed fully under Herod Antipas. 61 Wars, 1, 33, 8, 9; Ant. xvil, 8, 1, 2; xvll, 6, 1. «^Ant. xvil, 1, 8; xvlll, 5, 4; Wars, 1, 28, 4. «»Wars, 1, 30, 7. ^Ant. xvlll, 5, 4. 476 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. his tetrarchy for a period of thirty-seven years, and was "a person of moderation and quietness in the conduct of his life and government," who had such consideration for his people that whither he went in travel he was accompanied by his tribunal, ready at any time to stop and ascend the seat of jus- tice to adjudicate cases for cause. He died in A. D. 34, in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius. He was much be- loved, and "when he was carried to his monument, which he had already erected for himself beforehand, he was buried with great pomp."® He left no child to succeed him in the government, and his territory was annexed to the province of Syria. Philip II had the distinction of being the first Jewish frince who had images struck on his coins^ — a circumstance which was remarkable in that the Jews regarded themselves prohibited by the commandment from making images of any kind in art. rm, m Four persons named Philip are mentioned trarch in the in the historical New Testament. These are — ospe 8. ^ Philip the disciple and apostle of Christ ; " )8) Philip the deacon and evangelist;*^ ■y) Philip I, son of Mariamne, who married Herodias;^' S) Philip II, son of Cleopatra, the " tetrarch of Ituraea." ^ Reference is made also to the city built by this tetrarch in honor of the emperor, at the base of Mount Hermon, called Caesarea-Philippi, which, in sacred geogriiphy, is to be dis- tinguished from Caesarea-on-the-Sea. It was at or near this city, in the northern extreme of Palestine, that Jesus engaged his disciples in the memorable conversation respecting the opinions entertained of himself, when he asked: " Whom do men say that the Son of man is? . . . But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said : Tliou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah ; for flesh and blood hath not «u4?U. xvlil, 4, 6. *« Madden, Jewish Coins; Lewin, Life and Epis. of SI. Paul, 1, 17. •7 Matt. X, 3; Acts 1, 13. «8Acts vi, 5; vlil, 26-40; xxl, 8. «» Mark vl, 17. 'o Luke 111, 1. Jewish Eulers of the Jews : House of the Herods. 477 revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." "And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests, and be killed, and after three days rise again."" No other references are made in the New Testament to Herod Philip II, "tetrarch of Ituraea." HEROD ANTIPAS (B. C. 4-39 A. D.) This prince was the youngest son of Herod the Great and Malthake.^ Josephus says that the mother of Herod Antipas "was of the Samaritan nation,' whose sons were §328. History Antipas and Archelaus ; " "^ that on his death-bed of the father "altered his testament, . . . for Antipas. he appointed Antipas, to whom before he had left the king- dom, to be tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea."^^ "And he made Antipas tetrarch.""^ As a ruler he was regarded as "sly, ambitious, luxurious, but not so able as his father." '^ Hausrath does him the scant courtesy of calling him "a wily sneak." Of Antipas, Jesus said: "Go tell that fox, Behold I cast out devils."" His ad- ministration was characterized by cunning and crime, for he was intensely selfish and utterly destitute of principle. In the year 37 the Emperor Tiberius died, and he was immediately succeeded by Caius Caligula. This emperor soon discovered the real character of Herod Antipas. Moreover, that he was disloyal to the imperial throne was evidenced by the discovery that Antipas had been intriguing with one Sejanus, a Roman officer of the army, and had confederated with Artabanus, King of Parthia, against the Roman Empire, and had laid in store armor for seventy thousand men of war. Upon the proof of this procedure by his o^^^l nephew, Herod Agrippa I, who was the devoted friend of the emperor, Caius Caligula, in the year 39, "took away his tetrarchy and gave it to Herod '»Matt. xvl, 13-17; Mark vlil, 27-31. "TTars, 1, 28, 4; Ant. xvll, 6, 1. ^»Ant. xvli, 1, 3. 7*76. xvil, 8, 1. i^Wars,i, 33, 7. 'o Scbiirer. " Luke xlii, 32. 478 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Agrippa," who had exposed the intrigue, and Antipas was sent into perpetual banishment in France and Spain, where he died. On this point Josephus says : " So he [i. e., Caligula] took from him his tetrarchy, and gave it by way of addition to Agrippa's kingdom ; he also gave Herod Antipas's money to Agrippa, and by way of punishment awarded him a perpetual banishment, and appointed Lyons, a city in Gaul, as the place of his habitation." " So Herod died in Spain." ^' Dion Cassius adds: " Herod the Palestinean, having given a certain occasion by reason of his broth- ers, was banished beyond the Alps, and his portion [estates] of the gov- ernment confiscated to the State." ^^ "What brought to pass this state of affairs was this. Anti- pas had been for a long time urged by his wife Herodias to go to Eome and request the emperor to bestow upon him the kingly crown. He was extremely envious of his nephew, Agrippa I, who had suddenly risen, from being in prison under Tiberius, to receiving a kingdom under Caligula. Anti- pas had deeply offended Agrippa by insulting reflections on his former condition, before royalty had been bestowed upon him. Meantime Agrippa maintained a confidential intimacy with the emperor, and kept him posted regarding these move- ments and projects of Antipas. "When, then, Antipas started for Kome in quest of his own interests, accompanied by his wife, Agri]3pa instantly sent his freedman, named Fortunatus, to Rome also, bearing the necessary documents in proof of the accusations to be made against Antipas; and Agrippa followed in a few days further to confront his uncle in the presence of the emperor. Antipas had arrived, and was having his first interview with Caligula, when Fortunatus entered into the presence of the emperor and placed in his hands the letters in his possession. Agrippa arriving very soon, and all the accu- sations being now well understood by all parties, he challenged Antipas to deny the confederating with Sejanus and with Artabanus, and his secret storing of arms in perfidy against KAnt. xvlU, 7, 1, 2; Wars, 11, 9, 6. ^^Hist. of Rome, B. Iv, Aug. 27. Jewish Rulers of the Jews: House of the IIerods. 479 the imperial government. As Antipas could not deny the accusations, he confessed his guilt.*' Turning to the Scriptures, Herod Antipas is frequently re- ferred to in the first two Gospels as being " a kinyj " whereas Josephus distinctlv states that kingship was the . - 1,1 §329. Antipas thmg denied him, and that he was "made te- as trarch " in his government. Criticism accordingly ^ '^^e- claims that this discrepancy in the writers is evidence that the Evangelists erred. Matthew designates Antipas both as te- trarch and king in the same chapter. Mark invariably calls him a king, and frequently in the same chapter. Upon the other hand, Luke invariably designates him as a tetrarch. Matthew says: "Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus." . . . And again: " The king was grieved." *i Mark says: "The king heard thereof;" "and the king said unto the damsel;" " and she came straightway with haste unto the king ; " and " the king was exceeding sorry ; " and " the king sent a soldier of the guard, "^^ q^^q Luke, however, says: " Herod being tetrarch of Galilee ; " " Herod the tetrarch being reproved by him;" "Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done;" and " Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch." ^ Now, it is obvious that this frequency of the title "king'' was not a matter of inadvertance, but of design, in the sacred writers, and there must be some good reason for its use. The case demands an explanation. Even some eminent scholars seem to have felt embarrassed, prior to investigation, perhaps.* At any rate the only justifying reason for the Evangelists' usage in employing the terms "king" and "tetrarch" inter- changeably, is the etymological reason. As in the case of Archelaus '-'■ reigning'''' in his father's stead, so here in the case of Herod Antipas and the cognate appellation "king." We have only to difference the modern idea and usus from the *AIford says: " Herod was not king properly, but only tetrarch." Westcott says : " He was called king by courtesy." Farrar says : " It is only popularly that he is called king." Whedon says that he was called king " In compliance with custom." w^n^. xviii, 7, 1, 2. siMatt. xiv, 1. 9. S2 Mark vi, 14, 22-27. MJjuke ill, 1, Terpapx^t^; Terpdpxv^, ill» 19; Ix, 7; Acts xill, 1. 31 480 HisTOEicAL Evidence of the New Testament. ancient to have the sufficient explanation. For we noiv apply this appellative exclusively to royalty, whereas at that period it applied not only to a sovereign, but " in a general and lower sense it applied equally to a prince, ruler, viceroy, and the like^ " ^ '■Ho a king's son, a prince, or any one sharing in the government, . . . and, after Augustus, to any great man^^ Josephus himself, indeed, who so constantly designates Herod Antipas as having been made "tetrarch" by his father's will, employs this usage when he says that his father "sent also for his testament and altered it, and therein made Antipas hingT ^ The ancient usus in distinction from the modern beinff con- sidered, the difficulty at once disappears. Herod Antipas was twice married ; first to the daughter of Aretas, an Arabian king of Petraea. Nevertheless, he in- trigued with Herodias, who was then the wife of §330. Baptist ° . ' and Herod Philip I, the son of Mariamne, in whose n ipas. jjouse Antipas was a guest.^ Antipas and Hero- dias eloped together, although both were married at the time. Herodias was a granddaughter of Herod the Great, and sister of Herod Agrippa I. Now the scandalous conduct of Antipas and Herodias is pointedly referred to in the three Sjmoptic Gospels which cite the reproof administered by John the Baptist to the tetrarch Herod Antipas. " For John said, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife ; " and Luke adds: "Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch being reproved by him for Herodias, Philip's wife, and for all the evils which he had done, added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison."^* From the time that Herod Antipas had slain the Baptist, this crime haunted his conscience. When, then, he heard of the miracles done by Jesus, " he was perplexed, because it was *See chap. Iv, $$ 69-76, and Herodias In this chapter, 5$343-345. 8« Robinson's Greek Diet, of N. T., BacriXei/?- and ^affikeiiw. 86 Llddell and Scott, Or. Diet., 1883, BofftXeyw. 8« Wars, 1, 32 7, and 1, 33, 8, f'lAnt. xvlll, 5, 1; xvlil, 5, 4. MMatt. xlv, 3; Mark vl, 18; Luke ill, 19. Jewish Kulers of the Jews: House of the Herods. 481 said of some that John had risen from the dead." "And Herod [Antipas] said: John have I beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?" "This is John ^ §331. Jestos the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and there- and fore mighty works do show forth themselves ^ ^^^^' in him," ^ Jesus said of Antipas : "Go ye and tell that fox. Behold I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." "* During the trial of Christ before Pilate, Herod Antipas was at Jerusalem, When Pilate came to understand that Jesus was from Galilee, the territory and realm of Antipas, "he sent him to Herod" as belonging to his jurisdiction. "And when Herod saw him, he was exceedingly glad; for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him, and hoped to see some miracle done by him." But when Christ declined to answer any questions of curiosity for Herod's gratification, the tetrarch wasoffended, and "Herod with his men of war set him at naught, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends to- gether ; for before, they were at enmity between themselves." ^^ This is the last glimpse we have of Herod Antipas in the his- torical New Testament. When he was deposed and banished, as already cited, the second generation of the rulers of the house of the Herods passed out of history. Ill, The Third Generation of the Herods. HEROD AGRIPPA I (A. D. 37-44). Prince Agrippa was the son of Aristobulus and Bernice, and grandson of Herod the Great, He was born S 332 His B, C. 10, and died A, D. 44, He was the child Life as of two first-cousins, and he was himself married aPrmce. to his own cousin, the daughter of an aunt, Avho again mar- ried an uncle. ^ Josephus calls him "Agrippa" and "Agrippa 89 Matt, xlv, 2, 10; Luke ix,7 , 9. «0Luke xlll, 32. 91 Luke xxill, 6-12; coinp. Acts Iv, 27. »« Wars, 1, 28, 1. 482 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. the Great ;"^^ but in the New Testament he is known onl}^ b}' the surname " Herod," or " Herod the king." He was educated at Rome, as were most of the Herodian princes. He grew up to be a young man of gracious manners, of kindly spirit usually, with great powers of eloquence, and quite vain withal. In religion, Agrippa was a zealous rather than a devout Jew,^ at- tentive to the " tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin," but neglectful of "the weightier matters of the law — judgment, mercy, and truth." He seems to have had much personal mag- netism, and was keenly alive to popularity.^ At Rome, Agrippa formed a warm friendship with Prince Caius ( Gains) Caligula who was heir-apparent to the imperial throne; a friendship which subsequently turned greatly to the advantage of Agrippa. A surprise of fortune arose out of this intimacy. As these two friends were riding out together in a chariot one day, Eutychus, a freedman, was charioteer. In the §333. Agrippa ^ ' ' and course of confidential conversation, Agrippa dra- aigua. niatically stretched out his hands and said to Caligula that he wished that old Tiberius would die, that Caligula might assume the purple and the crown. The freed- man, overhearing the remark, reported it to his master, the Emperor Tiberius, who at once ordered Agrippa put in chains and incarcerated in prison. The order was executed, Agrippa still wearing his princly robe among the criminals of the State. This humiliation was endured by Agrippa about six months, when Tiberius died, and Caligula immediately succeeded him as emperor. Soon after the imperial funeral, Agrippa was summoned to appear at the imperial palace of Caligula. Hav- ing shaved and changed his robe, he presented himself before the emperor, his friend, wlio at once " Proceeded to put a diadem upon Agrippa's head, and appointed him to be a king of the tetrarchy of [his uncle] Philip;" "also . . . changed his iron chain for a gold one of equal weight," which he hung 93^7i<. xvli, 2, 2; xvlU, 5, 4. 9*i6.xlx,6, 1,2; xlx,7, 8. 96 Acts xU, 1-3. Jewish Rulers of the Jews : House of the IIerods. 483 about Agrippa's neck. And Agi-ippa afterwards " hung it up within the limits of the temple at the treasury [at Jerusalem] that it might be a memorial of the severe fate he had lain under, ... a demonstration how the greatest prosperity may have a fall, and that God sometimes raises what is fallen down; . . . for this chain thus dedicated, af- forded a document to all men that King Agrippa had once been bound in a chain for a small cause, but recovered his former dignity, and was advanced to be a more illustrious king." ^ The Senate also gave him the honorary position of praetor. In the second year of Caligula's reign, Agrippa requested leave of the emperor to return home to Palestine and take possession of his kingdom. Permission was ^ . 8 334. Agrippa granted, and Agrippa sailed on the Mediterranean and in the usual course by way of Alexandria in °^^ *^' Egypt. At this time the Jews and Greeks of the city were in unpleasant relations with each other. When the Greeks saw this new Jewish king, accompanied by his body-guard, exploit- ing much gold and silver, they mocked his royalty with mean- est insults. They engaged a naked idiot boy, named Carabas, who was the butt of the street boys, placed on his head a crown of paper, clothed him in mat-cloth, and, with a stick in his hand to represent a scepter, and with a body-guard composed of the gamins of the city, they derided the new king on the stage. Not so, however, at his liome ; for when Agrippa reached his own subjects in Palestine, the Jews were astonished to see him returning with all the honors of royalty, and received him with every evidence of satisfaction. In accordance with his promise in taking leave of the emperor at the Capital, Agrippa, having organized and estab- lished his kingdom, returned to the imperial city. ° ' f J §335. Retuma It was about the time that Caligula developed to unmistakable signs of incipient insanity, demand- °'^®* ing that he should be universally deified throughout the empire and be adored as a god, and that all men should swear by his name. He filled his Jewish subjects with consternation and horror when he ordered Petronius from Syria to place a gilded »6 A )tf. xviil, 6, 10, 11 ; xlx, 6, 1. 484 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. statue of the emperor in the Holy of Holies in the temple at J erusalem, to be worshiped ; for when they submitted to be- come subjects of the empire, they were guaranteed all their national and religious liberty and rights. An embassy com- posed of the principal men of Alexandria, with the eminent Philo at their head, went to Rome to protest and persuade Caligula to desist from such an inexpressible wrong, Caligula refused them his presence, and bade Philo " begone." * Petro- nius marched an army to Jerusalem to compel submission. At Ptolemais, the Jews flocked by the ten thousand to petition the Syrian prefect not "to violate the laws of their fore- fathers ;" but, if he persisted in carrying out the imperial order, he should first kill them, and then do what he was resolved upon doing. Petronius, touched with their loyalty to their religious convictions, promised to write to the emperor in their behalf.^^ Meantime Agrippa had reached Pome, and furnished, in honor of his friend Caligula, a magnificent banquet ; and when the emperor was full of wine, and Agrippa had drunk to his health, Caligula, under a generous impulse, proposed in re- turn,— " All that I have bestowed upon thee that may be called my gifts, is but little. Everything that may contribute to thy happiness shall be at thy service, and that cheerfully, and so far as my ability will reach" — "thinking that he would ask for some large country, or revenues of certain cities." "Agrippa replied: Since thou, O my Lord, declarest such is thy readiness to grant that I am worthy of thy gifts, I will ask nothing relating to my own felicity, . . . but I desire somewhat which may make thee glorious for piety, . . . and may be for an honor to me among those tliat inquire about it, . . . that thou wilt no longer think of the dedication of that statue which thou hast ordered to be set up in the Jewish temple by Petronius."** This appeal was successful. Nevertheless, Petronius, for having so far disobeyed the imperial command as to intercede against the order given him, which he failed to obey, was now ordered to commit suicide ; but the order was delayed at Rome *Flaccum, ^J 5, 8. w Ant. xvlil, 8, 1-6. ^Jb. xvili, 8, 1-9. Jewish Rulers of the Jews: House of the Herods. 485 for a short time, and in the meantime Caligula died by the dagger of an assassin, a tribune named Chasrea, whom the emperor had outrageously insulted. This was in A. D. 41. The weak-minded Claudius, who had been the laughing- stock of the Roman court, now came to the front for the suc- cession. Through the friendly offices of Herod ^ . . "^ §336. Agrippa Agrippa I, who, with adroit diplomacy, used his and ms influence with the Senate, this man was made °^ °°^* emperor. His pre-eminent services were recognized "as am- bassador to the Senate," and to the soldiers. As his return for his elevation to the imperial succession in the house of the Csesars and the empire of the world, Josephus again states that — " Claudius confirmed the kingdom of Agrippa which Caius [Caligula] had given him, and therein commended the king highly. He also made an addition to it of all that country over which Herod [the Great], who, was his grandfather, had reigned ; that is, Judaea and Samaria." " More- over, he bestowed on Agrippa his whole paternal kingdom immediately, and, besides, added to it those countries that had been given by Augustus to Herod [Philip II] ; namely, Trachonitis and Auranitis, and still, be- sides these, the kingdom which was called the kingdom of Lysanias. This gift he declared to the people by a decree, but ordered the magis- trates to have the donation engraven on tables of brass, and to be set up in the Capital." ^ Such in brief is the story of the attainment of the crown and kingdom of his grandfather, Herod the Great, by Herod Agrippa I. But he was made to feel that, after all, his do- minion was but a dependency upon the empire which domi- nated the nations which it included. Being of Idumsean origin, it is related that on one occasion, at the Feast of the Taber- nacles, the lesson of the Law for the day was read: "Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee whom the Lord thy God shalt choose. . . . Thou mayest not set a stranger over thee which is not thy brother." Remembering that he was of foreign stock, and so recognized by his brethren, though the Idumaeans had been Jews for more than a hundred years, ^Ani. xlx, 5, 1 ; Wars, 11, 11, 5 486 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. he burst into tears before them all ; and the people sympathiz- ingly said : " Fear not, Agrippa, thou art our brother." For the Law also required : " Thou shalt not abhor the Edomite, for he is thy brother. . . . The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord, in their third generation." Agrippa's case met these conditions, and he was therefore entitled to the proposed consideration.^*" Agrippa I made his residence mostly at Jerusalem, and commenced building impregnable walls to fortify the city. But Marsus Vibius, noAV prefect of Syria, ordered its discon- tinuance on the mere ground of his suspicion. The king, like all the Herods, was fond of ostentatious displays.^"^ He had once invited a number of friends, who were petty kings contiguous to his own realm, to be his guests and enjoy his hospitality at the city of Tiberias, where royal spectacles were to be wit- nessed. Vibius came also from Syria. Agrippa and the five kings thought to do him honor, and went forth in a chariot about seven furlongs to meet the prefect. But Yibius, being again suspicious of the real intent of this gathering, m?,de an affront to every one assembled, by peremptorily ordering the five kings to proceed at once and quietly to their respective homes.^^ There is numismatic evidence in existence of this sovereign's reign, which completes the historicity of his kingdon. It con- sists of a coin struck at Caesarea by Herod Agrippa, which reads : Obverse ; Agrippa the Great, Lover of Caesar. Reverse : Csesar-on-Port-Sebaatos.* There are two points of contact between the Evangelist Luke and the historian Josephus in their narratives, and two points of unpremeditated coincidence. These relate to the *Obv.: BASIAETS MEFAS AFPinnA *IA0KAISEP. Rev.: KAISEP H SEBASTO AIMENI. Se/Saerror (Bebastos) was tbo standing Greek word for Augustus, a title assumed by several emperors; e. g., Acts xxv, 21, 25. " Cumanus took one troop of horsemen, called the troop of Scbaste, out of Ccesarea." ( Wars, 11, 12, 5.) looDeut.xvil, 16; xxlll, 7, 8. wi^nt.xlx, 7, 2,5. i<» /6. xix, 8, 1. Jewish Rulers of the Jews : House of the IIerods. 487 kingship and the death of Herod Agrippa I. Luke's state- ment is to the effect that "Herod the King" afflicted the Cliurch, beheaded James, brother of John, and ' ' ' §337. Agrippa I imprisoned Peter, "because he saw it pleased and the Jews." The record of the story is : " Now about this time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the Church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also, . . . intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people, . . . but prayer was made earnestly of the Church for him." ^o^ Now, the beheading of James is accordant with the Talmud in the Mishna: "The ordinance of putting to death by the sword is as follows: The man's head is cut off with a sword, as is accustomed to be done hy royal command^ ^^ The giving to Herod Agrippa I the title of king, with the implication of royalty, is absolutely and historically correct ; but it would be correct only for the brief period of three years ; namely, A. D, 41-44. There never had been a king ruling in royalty over Judaea during the forty years previously, and never since those three years ; and these years were the last of the life of Herod Agrippa I, called also " Agrippa the Great," ^°^ the grandson of Herod the Great, who was king of all the land of Palestine from 37 to 4 B. C. Agrippa, his deputies, and other dignitaries of his kingdom, were assembled at Caesarea, at the seaside, to celebrate the games at a festival, and to offer vows for the ° . § 338. The safety and prosperity of the Emperor Claudius. Death of Early in the morning of the second day of tne ^^pp^ • celebration. King Agrippa presented himself to the people clad "in a garment made wholly of silver and of a texture truly wonderful." Josephus says that when the sun's rays touched his dress, the reflections shone out with amazing splendor. The people shouted "that he was a god," and "the king did 108 Acts xil. 10* Professor Lumby's note, iw ioco. »o5^/ii. xvli, 2, 2;xviii, 5, 4. 488 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. neither rebuke them nor reject their impious flattery." After five days " he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age."^'* Luke, upon the other hand, says of King Agrippa : " He went down from Judaea to Csesarea, and tarried there. . . . And upon a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel and sat on the throne, and made an oration unto them; and the people shouted saying, The voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory ; and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." ^"^ The points of accordance between these two independent writers is something remarkable. They agree injmany par- ticulars, and conflict in none ; and what one in brevity omits, the other supplies in matters of detail. Josephus was writing an historical account of Herod Agrippa I, but Luke was writ- ing an account of the persecution of the Church, and incident- ally refers to Agrippa's death. Accordingly, Luke's reference is the briefer, yet sufficiently full to be germane to the end had in view. An analysis of the two writings yields some in- teresting parallels of mutual confirmation. Both authors mention that Agrippa went to Caesarea, where he spent some time. Josephus relates that it was a festival occasion, when games were exhibited in honor of Caesar, which circumstances Luke naturally omits ; Luke, on the other hand, relates that "Agrippa sat on his throne and made an oration unto them," circumstances which Josephus omits to mention. Luke indi- cates that in the public occasion there was "a set day" when Agrippa appeared before the people; Josephus says that it was on the "second day when he appeared in the theater" to the multitude. Luke makes mention of a large assembly of "the people," whom Agrippa addressed; Josephus explains that there was a gathering of " the principal persons of dig- nity throughout the province." Luke says that " Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel ;" while Josephus describes his robes as " made wholly of silver and of a contexture truly wonder- '"« lb. xix, 8, 2. >07 Acts xll, 9, 21-23. Chalcis o KINGDOM OF HEROD ACtRIPPA IL ^"«» Jewish Ruleks of the Jews : House of the IIerods. 489 ful." Luke says that the effect of this surprising spectacle was such that the "people shouted;" Josephus says that the king's appearance was " so resplendent as to spread a horror [awe] -over those" that beheld it. Luke says that they cried out, "The voice of a god, and not of a man;" Josephus says that they cried out, one in one place and another from another, "He is a god." Luke implies that the king accepted their homage "because he gave not God the glory;" Josephus says that "he did not rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery." Luke says that he was smitten of an angel "and gave up the ghost;" Josephus says that "after five days he departed this life." Josephus, in general terms as an historian, says that Agrippa died from "a pain in his belly;" but Luke, as a careful physician, says that "he was eaten of worms." "What two witnesses in any court giving independent testi- mony would agree more perfectly in the recital of facts? And what is most remarkable in these descriptions is not the points of difference, but the points of agreement between them. Josephus the historian therefore, again and in an extraordinary manner, confirms the historicity of the Evangel- ist Luke. IV. Fourth Generation of the Herods. HEROD AGRIPPA II (52-70 A. D.) Considerable difficulty has been experienced in distinguish- ing the father and son, as they bear exactly the same name, and both were Jewish kings. Attention, there- , „ ° , §339. The Two fore, IS drawn to the fact that, in both sacred Agrippas and secular history, these two personages are ^^ "^g^is known by different appellations. Outside the Scripture the elder is called Herod Agrippa I, and the younger, Herod Agrippa II. But in the New Testament the father is named either "Herod," as he is repeatedly called in a single chapter or " Herod the king ;" ^'^ whereas the son, in contradistinction 108 Acts xii, 1,6, 11, 1&-21. 490 Historical Evidence op the New Testament, from his father, is called either "Agrippa," or " King Agrippa."^°* Both were kings, and were known by the same name ; but they did not reign at the same time, or rule the same realm. Herod Agrippa I, as was Herod the Great his grandfather, was king of all Palestine during A. D. 41-44 and, later, Herod Agrippa II was king of about one-third of that country lying in the northeast, embracing that region for. merly known as the tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias, which he ruled A. D. 52-70. As to Scriptural incidents associated with each, it was Herod Agrippa I who beheaded James, the brother of John, and imprisoned Peter whom the angel deliv- ered by night;"" but it was Herod Agrippa II who was present to hear the masterly and courtly address of Paul at Caesarea whom the apostle mentions as "king" and "King Agrippa," as does also Luke when narrating the same occasion."^ Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in A. D. 44, after delivering an oration in the theater; and Herod Agrippa II died at Rome in private life, in A. D. 100, in the third year of Trajan's reign. The great grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Herod Agrippa I, was but seventeen years of age when the father died."2 He was born in A. D. 27, and at the § 340. The ' Youth of death of his father was residing at Rome, re- ^^* * ceiving his education under the patronage of the emperor. "Now Agrippa the son of the deceased was at Rome, and brought up with Claudius Ca3sar." This emperor at first contemplated placing young Agrippa at once upon his father's throne to rule all Palestine ; but, better counsels pre- vailing, he concluded that it would be "a dangerous experi- ment for so very young a man," who was without experience, to undertake to govern "so large a kingdom." "So Claudius made the country a Roman province, and sent Cuspius Fadus to be procurator of Judaea and of the entire kingdom." "^ 109 Acts XXV, 22, 23, 26; xxvl, 27, 28, 32. ""Acts xll, 1-3. i"7b. xxvl, 1, 2, 7, 19, 27; xxv, 13, 22-24, 2«; xxvl, 28, 32. »i» Ant. xlx. 9, 1. 11876. xlx, «, 2; Wars, 11, 12, 1. Jewish Rulers of the Jews: House of the IIerods. 491 When his uncle Herod, King of Chalcis, died in A. D. 48, young Agrippa had attained the twenty-first year of his age. Thereupon "Claudius set Agrippa, the son of ^ & rr ) §341. Agrippa Agrippa, over his uncle's kingdom." " But he ii and took from him Chalcis when he had governed °^^ ^' thereof four years," and "removed Agrippa [II] from Chalcis to a greater kingdom," embracing the former tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias, with considerable additions."^ All the remainder of his father's kingdom continued as a Roman province until the destruction of the Jewish nation in A. D. 70. Herod Agrippa II was now made superintendent of the temple at Jerusalem, and manager of its treasury, with i\il\ power to remove the high priests from office at pleasure, an authority which he was often pleased to exercise, as also did his uncle Herod of Chalcis before him.^^^ When !Nero's acces- sion to the throne of the e.iipire had been effected, he made an imperial gift to his dominions of several cities and fourteen villages."^ Agrippa II thereupon had a coin struck in honor of Nero bearing the following representation : Obverse: Nero Caesar; with the head of Nero laureated. Reverse: By King Agrippa, Neronias; within an olive crown.* That is, Caesarea Philippi being the capital of his kingdom, Herod Agrippa II re-named the city Neronias in honor of Nero. Josephus says: "About this time it was that King Agrippa built Caesarea Philippi larger than before, and in honor of Nero named it Neronias." ^^'' But the subjects of the younger Agrippa regarded him as a cold-blooded and arbitrary man, and did not entertain for him the love which they had *Obv.: NEPfiN KAI. Rev.: EHI BASIAE. AFPinn. NEPflNIE. In June, 1891, there was discovered in Si'a, Hauran, near Damascus, a mon- umentallnscrlptlon in Greek, in honor of Agrippa II, which reads: BASIAETS MEFAS *IAOKAIEAP ET2EBHS KAI IA0Pi2MAI0S="Great King, Lover-of- Csesar, devout, Lover-of-Rome. " ( See George Adam Smith's Historical Geogra- phy of the Holy Land,") ii20Acts XXV, 13. '*' lb. XXV, 13, and xxvi. Jewish Rulers of the Jews: House of the Hekods. 493 when he assumed the procuratorship of Judaea ; and again in 66, when Tiberius Alexander became prefect of Alexandria. With regard to both these occasions, Josephus says he went " to Berytus with the intention of meeting Gessius, the Roman governor of Judaea/' ^ Also, " about this time King Agrippa [the II] was going to Alexandria to congratulate Alexander upon his having obtained the government of Egypt from Nero." ^ In both instances King Agrippa was accompanied by his sister Bernice. King Herod Agrippa II was the last reigning prince of the house of theHerods. In the closing part of the sixth Christian decade, when the Jews made their final revolt against the Roman Empire, Agrippa urged the Jews against such pro- cedure; and when the issue was fully determined upon, the king joined his royal forces against his own subjects. Vespasian first made the invasion of Palestine with the imperial army ; but being called to Rome after being proclaimed emperor, he transferred the army to his son Titus to complete the campaign and subjugation of the Jews. In the capture of Jerusalem in the year 70, the Jewish nation was destroyed, the temple was burned, and the survivors were expatriated. King Agrippa's kingdom came to an end. TV. Princesses of the House of Herod. HERODIAS— BERNICE— DRUSILLA. These Jewish princesses were not themselves Jewish rulers, but were married to Jewish rulers. By birth they belonged to the royal house of the Herods. In the histor- £ 1 TVT §343. The ical part of the JN ew Testament these princesses Herodian are named as associated with specific incidents "^cesses, the mention of which justifies an inquiry as to the historicity of their existence and character. The investigation will com- plete the evidence furnished respecting the royal house of the Herods, and yield an added interest and evidence to the an- tiquity and authenticity of the sacred writings. >2a Life of Josephus, $ 11. i23 Wars, 11, 15, 1. 494 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. I. HEEODIAS. Herodias was granddaughter of Herod the Great and sister of Herod Agrippa I. She first married Herod Philip I, her full uncle, and while he was still living she §344. Herodias ' ° and the eloped with her husband's half-brother, Herod ospe . Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, while his wife was yet alive.^^ The first two Gospels mention " the daughter of Herodias " ^ who danced before the festive party of nobles when celebrating Antipas's birthday, but do not mention her name, or say that she was the daughter of Herod Philip I. Josephus witnesses that a daughter was born of the first marriage with Philip I, whose name was Salome,^* who afterwards became the wife of Herod Philip II, the te- trarch. He also states that Herodias, being a Jewess with a child born to the first marriage, with the Jews, was a bar to a second legal marriage.^^ Her whole conduct in this matter of elopement was an aggravation to the Jews, particularly unto John the Baptist, the pure and rugged reformer; and the in- tense indignation aroused was deepened by the fact that He- rodias and Antipas were both members of the royal family ; and their offense was " sin in high places," the more notorious in that Antipas was conspicuously a ruler of the Jews, who thus defiantly violated the Jewish laws. The scandalous conduct of these infamous persons is cited in all the Synoptic Gospels; as also tiie reproof administered to them by John the Baptist for their guilty misconduct, Mark mentions the occasion calling for John's strictures, which was "for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he married her. For John said unto Herod, It is not lavuful for thee to have thy 'brother's wlfeP Matthew also reports the same circumstance in nearly the same words, Luke's testimony is briefer and broader: "But Herod the tetrarch being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the things which Herod had done." ^^ >M^n<. xvlll, 5, 1. 126 Matt, xlv, 6; Mark vl, 22. >« Ant. xvlU, 5, 4. i«Matt. xlv, 4; Deut. xxv, 5; Levlt.xvlil, 16; xx, 21. isa Matt, xlv, 1-14; Mark vl, 14-29; Luke Hi, lit. 20. Jewish Rulees of the Jews: House of the Herods. 495 The Synoptic Gospels are in entire accordance with each other in accounting for the origin of the Baptist's reproof of Herod Antipas, the circumstance which led up T 1 , • T 1 , mi • T §345. Josephua to John s imprisonment and death. The mde- and the pendent testimony of Josephus is at once an un- "^^-^s® designed but significant coincidence in history, remarkably corroborative of the story of the criminal and incestuous mar- riage of these parties in high life. For Josephus not only fully confirms,, but explains in detail the story of the elope- ment, by giving a circumstantial account of how it was brought about. He says nothing, and probably knew noth- ing, respecting the reproof administered to Antipas as the ground for the tetrarch's punishing the Baptist with imprison- ment and death. Either in ignorance or in suppression of the fact, Josephus omits mentioning it, but attributes the defeat of Herod's army by the Arabian prince, Herod's first father- in-law, as a just judgment of God for having beheaded John.^ II. BERNICE. This princess was the eldest daughter of King Herod Agrippa I, the sister of King Herod Agrippa II, and the wife of that Herod who was the kinof of Chalcis, ° ' §346. Bernice " who was both her husband and her uncle." and her Connected with royalty in all directions by blood ^^^ ®^" and marriage, she was sometimes called a "queen," although she never wore a crown. She is described as a woman of rare personal beauty. Tacitus remarks, "Queen Bernice at that time in the bloom of youth and beauty."^® Her husband died in the year 48, when she was but twenty years of age. Ac- cording to the testimonies of the historians of those times, she retrograded in character, and acquired a bad fame in her rela- tions with different personages — Vespasian, Titus, and even with her own brother Agrippa 11.^^ One citation in proof is sufficient. Josephus says of Bernice : " She lived a widow a long time after the death of Herod, who was both her husband and her uncle. But when the report went out that ^^Ant. xvlU, 5, 1, 2. i^Hist. 11, 81. 181 Life 0/ Josephus, $ 11; Tacitus, Hist. 11, 81; Sueton. Claudius, 28. 32 496 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. she had criminal intercourse with her brother, she persuaded Polemo, who was king of Cilicia, to be circumcised, and to marry her, as sup- posing that, by this means, she would prove these calumnies to be false ; and Polemo was prevailed upon, and that chiefly on account of her riches. Yet did not this matrimony endure long, but Berniee left Polemo," ^^ and is supposed to have returned to the house of her brother. That Berniee was accustomed to accompany her brother on public occasions on visits of salutations has been already considered. It remains to be remarked that she §347. Berniee and exerted no little influence on political affairs. ^ ^' This was illustrated when the two went together to Jerusalem, and succeeded for a while in quieting the spirit of rebellion and war among the Jews, who had been terribly exasperated by the illegal procedures and cruelties of the Roman procurator Florus. Having placed Berniee in a gallery overlooking the multitudes, Agrippa made an address with a. powerful appeal; and "when Agrippa had thus spoken, both he and his sister wept, and by their tears repressed a great deal of the violence of the people." ^^ When she went to Caesarea with King Agrippa, the princess was thirty-two years old, and as she sat at King Agrippa's side, ''blazing with all her jewels," they listened to the apostle's powerful address, which seems to have greatly moved both Festus the procurator and King Agrippa, his royal guest.*** III. DRUSILLA. Princess Drusilla was the youngest of three daughters of Herod Agrippa I, and was, of course, the sister of Agrippa II and Berniee.*^ She was but six years old when §348. DrusUla . i • * -r^ and her her Toyal father died, in A. D. 44. This princess arnage. ^^^^^ ^ celebrated beauty, and, being a Jewess, consented to marriage with Azizus, King of Edessa, upon the express condition of his complying with the required cere- mony of becoming a Jew.** Josephus relates the particulars : "While Felix was procurator of Judsea he saw Drusilla and fell in ^«.4n^ XX, 7, 3; comp. Tacitus, Hist. 11, 81; Sueton. Ti7ms, vll, and note; Juvenal. Satires, vl, 155-157. issn'ars, 11. 16. 1-5. iMSee $342. l».4 nt. xvlll. 5. 4. '»»/6. XX, 7, 1, 2. Jewish Kulers of the Jews: House of the IIerods. 497 love with hex* ; for she did indeed exceed all other women in beauty ; and he sent to her a person whose name was Simon, one of his friends ; a Jew he was and by birth a Oypriot [i. e., of Cyprus], and one who pre- tended to be a magician ; and he endeavored to persuade her to forsake her husband and marry him ; and promised that if slie would not refuse him, he would make her a happy woman. Accordingly she acted ill, and because she was desirous to avoid her sister Bernice's envy [who was ten years older than herself] , for she was very ill treated by her on account of her beauty, was prevailed upon to transgress the laws of her forefathers and marry Felix. And when he had a son by her, he named him Agrippa." ^^^ The mother and son perished in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the first year of the reign of Titus, A. D. 79. As Bernice afterward accompanied Agrippa to Csesarea, so now Drusilla went with her husband Felix to the same city, curious to see and hear the famous prisoner, the ^ ^ ' 8349. DnisiUa Apostle Paul, whose strange history, lofty per- and the sonality, and marvelous powers of eloquence, had dp^^^^'es- made such a deep impression on all the great community of friends and foes. Luke records that — " After certain days, Felix came with Drusilla his own wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned of righteousness and temperance and a judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered: Go thy way for this time ; when I have a convenient season, I will call thee unto me. He hoped withal that money would be given him of Paul [as bribery to purchase his personal freedom]. But when two years were fulfilled, . . . desiring to gain favor with the Jews, Felix left Paul in bonds." ^^ It is important to keep in sight in this connection the origin and character of Felix, the procurator of Judaja History represents him as once a slave in E-ome, -^ ^ . . ' §350. Felix that he had been freed and raised to position and her power by the weak-minded Claudius,^^ and that in his government he evinced all the low instincts of a slave^ Dr. Farrar says that — "Felix had been a slave, in the vilest of all positions, in the vilest of all epochs, in the vilest of all cities." ^^ Tacitus says: "Antonius Felix exercised the prerogatives of a king with the spirit of a slave, riot- ing in cruelty and licentiousness"^'" — "who supposed he might perpe- i^A nt. XX, 7, 2. i38Acts xxlv, 24-27. ^^Ant. xx, 7. 1. >*) Life and Work of Paul, 11, 341. "» Hist, v, 9 498 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. trate with impunity every kind of villainy." ^''^ Suetonius says: "He became in consequence of his elevation the husband of three queens.""^ At the time Felix left Paul in bonds at Csesarea, he had been recalled to Eome by Nero to answer for the cruelties and crimes of his administration in Judaea. In traversing the evidence for the existence and authority of the Jewish rulers of the house of the Herods and the prin- §351 The cesses, in all the historical details of persons, Review. places, and times, we have the statements j)rin- cipally of two independent writers. They were the contem- poraries of each other, and evidently the contemporaries of the events which they narrate. The one was a Christian evangelist, the other a Jewish historian; the one a friend, and the other an adversary of Christianity. Both were residents in the land whose events and incidents they describe Each wrote in entire freedom of mind, and without any knowledge of the other, yet their accordancy and accuracy, even to the minutest detail, is something remarkable. Can two other writers of equal antiquity be named who parallel each other in as many details? Now, it is obvious that no writer of a later date could have mentioned, often casually, occurrences of special character, with such sharpness of circumstance, under such frequency of governmental change in the political geography of the land, in part and again in whole, involving such complications without falling into errors, as did Tacitus, Celsus, and Dion Cassius, who lived and wrote somewhat later.* The exact relation of these rulers to the people as subjects, and to the country as realms, are distinctly and accurately stated, but incidentally to another end, by Luke ; for he was merely writing biographical memoirs touching the beginnings of Christianity, while Josephus was writing a methodical * Tacitus substantially dates the death of Agrlppa I In 49 Instead of 44 (Annals xll, 23); Celsus represents that It was " Herod the tetrarch," Instead of Herod the Great, who "sent and slew all tfie infants, Instead ot all the male children, born about the same time" (Orig. contra Cels.i, 58); and Dion Casslus confuses and confounds t)ie rulers of the Herodlan family (Hist, of Borne, chapters 49, 53, 55, and 00). ^*!iAnnals, xll, 54. ^** Claudius, 28. Jewish Rulers of the Jews : House of the Herods. 499 histoiy of the Jewish nation. The Evangelist gives certain main facts; and every essential particular is confirmed by Josephus, whether the ruler was an ethnarch, a tetrarch, or king over a part or the whole of Palestine ; or whether one of the several Roman procurators who ruled in his time was in power over a province. Josephus both corroborates and sup- plements Luke's record of persons and occurrences. Luke's notices are mostly of personages and events associated with them as pivotal occasions in the early history of the Christian Church ; while Josephus gives the circumstances in detail as connected with the Jewish nation. Josephus, accordingly, is quite full in his particularizations respecting him who was the ruler, when he began to rule, the boundaries of his territory, the contentment or contention of his subjects, the principal events occurring under his government, together with some account of the end of his government, whether recalled, de- posed, or by death, and what became of the territory during those first fifty years of the Christian era. Besides this con- firmation on the part of Josephus, as well as by others — as Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dion Cassius at given points — there is the incontestable substantiation of Luke's statement by numismatic proof, bearing the images and superscriptions upon the several rulers' coins, struck when they were in power. It should be perfectly obvious that no spurious writer could possibly produce a belief favorable to such writing, or escape detection now as an impostor, if he wrote of events, rulers, and realms in that remarkably changeable period. Sci- entific investigation can neither demand nor supply better data in facts for historical induction than are to be found in these writings of the New Testament, related to this period. The same is true of the several Herodian princesses, whose names, character, and conduct have mention on the sacred page. There is no error in matters of fact in the record. Thus by all these minute details, so circumstantially but inci- dentally introduced by the Evangelist, the Book of Acts is shown to be strictly historical. 500 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. oT S OJ CO do: i 0.04^ 03 .« ^ rt = rH d -g ftf*! f -"J .- |f^J 0 M 2Sl IS mQ p3 *j (N 0 &i OCD S5 ^ t:; 2 ^ d 0 M'S '^ :: 2 hH Is d " _- - d !5 M o ■* '0--0 ~*2 — b£)<} . " Herod the kl; tetrarch," Matt. 19; Ix, 7; Mark vi erod " Agrlppa I vl, 30. 10. " Dr o bi 0 P 13 3

2 Matt, xxvl, 66; John xvlli, 31. »» Acts vll. i^ Ant. xx, 9, 1, 2. >5 Sanhedr. x. i« Matt, xxvl, 3. Jewish Nation in Times of .the New Testament. 507 moved from the temple, and was located elsewhere on Mount Moriah ; " and after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin met at Tiberias, on the west side of the Sea of Galilee.i« The references to the great Sanhedrin in the New Testa- ment are numerous. Before that body Jesus was indicted on several counts, for being a " false prophet," for uttering " blasphemy," and for " perverting the ' hedrin and nation." ^^ John and Peter were arraigned as Testament, false teachers;^ and Paul as "a seditionist," "and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes ;" '^ while Ste- phen was charged with having spoken against the law of Moses and against the temple.^ Paul was placed before the Sanhedrin by the Roman officer "to know the certainty whereof he was accused by the Jews," when Ananias the high priest ordered him to be smitten on the mouth with the iron heel of a shoe, as an act of supreme contempt for his having made a profession of conscientiousness respecting his life.23 By reason of the Babylonian captivity and the return of only two tribes, various distinctions arose among the Jews respecting their rights and mutual recognition, one ground of which was sectional differences. encesof The geograpical lines of Palestine limited the Jewish nation known as the Hebrews ; a patronymic referring to Abraham, the progenitor of the Jewish race, having crossed the river Euphrates when he immigrated to the promised land of Palestine. '-'' Israelite'''' was the term used to designate a Jew among his brethren, as "Hebrew" was used among other nations. But those Jews who were scattered abroad and did not constitute a part of the nation were called '-Hhe Disper- sion;^ while in the New Testament they were called, not " Tal. Avoda Zara, 1 ; Oemara Bab. ad Sanhedr. v. '^ Lightfoot. "John xi, 47; Matt, xxvl, 65; Luke xxiii, 2. «> Acts Hi, Iv. M/6. xxlv, 5. 22J6. vll. «8/6. xxU, 30; xxiil,!, 2. «John, vii,85. 508 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, Greeks, but '■'■Grecians'''' or '•'- Grecian Jews^^ Those dis- persed abroad among different nations spoke the Greek lan- guage, which was another point of difference. That ancient Hebrew spoken by their ancient ancestors was lost to the Jews during their Babylonian captivity, and was replaced by a dialect of the Chaldee known as the Syro-Chaldaic or later Aramaean tongue, which thence became the vernacular of the Palestinian Jews, now known as "the Hebrew." Three lan- guages were spoken in Palestine in the time of Christ, — the Latin, which was the language of the court; the Greek, which was the common commercial language of the nations; and the Hebrew, which was the vernacular of the Jews. The Jews of Palestine had their temple for religious serv- ices, while those of the "Dispersion" were not excluded there- ._ from, but had among the nations their syna- §359. Differ- ' o -^ encesin gogues as places of worship. Foreign Jews recited their Greek sentences and read their Sabbath lessons from the Pentateuch or the prophets in the Greek Septuagint, according to Rabbi Elias Levita, or from the Hebrew Scriptures, by means of an interpreter, according to Lightfoot and Vitringa and the Talmudists. The Talmud- ists say that, in the Law, only one verse was read at a time for fear of a mistake, but three verses were read by the reader at a time when an interpreter translated them. These differences of locality and language gave rise to nar- row prejudices, greatly to the disadvantage of those of the Dispersion. It was made a matter of Talmudic record that "the Jewish offspring of Babylon is more valuable than that *ln the New Testament a distinction is observed, 'EXXtjc being rendered Greek, and 'EXXi;^^^^^, Orecian. The difference of the English termination, how- ever. Is not sufficient to convey the difference of meanings. 'EXXtjc in the New Testament is either a Greek by race, as in Acts xvi, 1-3; xviil, 17; Rom. 1, 14; or more frequently a Oentile, as opposed to a Jew (Rom. 11, 9, 10, etc.); so fern. 'EWriul^, Mark vll, 26; Acts xvii, 12. 'EXXt^wcti^j- (properly "one who speaks Greek") Is a foreign Jew; opposed, therefore, not to 'Iov8aio^, but to 'E^paw?-, a home-Jew, one who dwelt in Palestine." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, Vol. II, Hackett'8 edition, p. 967, first column). Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 509 in Judaea itself."^ Rabbi Levi Ben-Chaiatha, upon hearing some Jews on their way to Caesarea reciting sentences in the Law in Greek, disallowed it on account of the ... §360. Diflfer- language; upon the hearing of which, Rabbi ences begot Jose, with much indignation, demanded : "If a ^^^^-dvantages. man does not know how to recite in the holy tongue [the Hebrew], must he not recite them at all? Let him perform this duty in what language he can." ^ The Hellenistic Jews, speaking the Greek language as their vernacular, were regarded as the inferiors of the Palestinian Jews who spoke the Hebrew or later Aramsean. The Babylonian Talmud was esteemed as much superior to that of Jerusalem. Josephus, who wrote his nistories in the Greek language, states the prejudice of his countrymen against the Greek thus : " Our nation does not encourage those that learn the language of many nations, and so adorn their discourses with the smoothness of their periods, because they look upon this sort of accomplishment as common, not only to all kinds of freedmen, but to as many servants as may choose to learn them. But they give him the testimony of being a wise man who is fully acquainted with our laws, and is able to interpret their meaning." 2^ During the period of the Roman- Jewish war the Talmud- ists recorded a decree prohibiting a father teaching his son the Greek philosophy, under a ban : "Cursed is the man who teacheth his sons the wisdom of the Greeks."^ "Rabbin Simeon, the son of Gamaliel, is made to say: 'There were a thousand in my father's school [^. e., Hillel's], of whom five hundred learned the Law, and five hundred the wisdom of the Greeks ; and there is not now one of the last alive excepting myself and my uncle's son.' " ^ The meaning of this extraordinary statement is, that God vindicated the " curse " of the decree issued by the Sanhedrin *6 Lightfoot, Hebraic and Talmudic Exercit. Vol. II, p. 967. 2« Tal. Jerus. Sola, fol. xxl, 2. " Ant. xx, 11, 2. ^Bava Kam. fol. 82, 2; and Mishna, Sola, 9, 14. «» Oemdra, Bav. Kam. t. 82, and Soia, f. 40, 1, in Lightfoot, II, p. 660. 33 510 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. against Greek letters and learning; nevertheless, there was one qualification admitted: "They allowed the family of Rabbin Gamaliel the Greek learning, because it was allied to the royal blood." With such prejudice and contempt for the language which had become the vernacular of the Jews of the Dispersion, it is easy to infer the self-asserted superiority of the " home-Jew " for his brother born in a foreign land. These historical circumstances and distinctions indicated are not only in entire agreement with the Scriptures, but are notablv preserved and incidentally interwoven 8 361.Distinc- . " ... tions in the New with the Very text. The principal points to be es amen , observed are the universal " Dispersion " of the Jewish race among the nations, the several appellations desig- nating the Palestinean and the foreign Jews, and the worship of the Synagogue in place of that of the Temple as a neces- sity. These facts, as being already existent, are particularized in the dedication of the Sacred Writings, in the practical work of the apostles, no less than in the ministry of Christ. a) The Jews asked among themselves : " Will he go unto the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks ?" ^ James dedicates his Epistle ^^ "To the Twelve Tribes which are of the Dispersion." Peter, in his first Epistle,^ addresses "The elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cap- padocia, Asia, and Bithynia." )8) Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites ? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I."^ To the Philippians he wrote: "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews." ** That is, to the brethren abroad he made himself known by the familiar name of Israelite / to the Gentile nations as a Hebrew ; and to all^ as " a Hebrew of the Hebrews^'' meaning that there was no proselyte blood coursing in his veins. y) In Asia, Paul and Barnabas " came to Antioch in Pisidia, 30 John vll, 34, 35. »i Epls. 1, 1. saiPet. 1, 1. m 2 Cor. xl, 22. 84 pbii. m, 5, Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 511 and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and sat down," ^ and on invitation Paul preached. At Iconium they "entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake that a great multitude both of Jews and Greeks be- lieved.''^ Also m. Europe, as in Asia, Paul and Silas "came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews."^ At Athens, Paul "reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and devout persons." ^ At Corinth " he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks."^ And at the great Pentecost at Jerusalem, there were present "Jews, de- vout men from every nation under heaven."*' Josephus states that — "The Jewish nation is widely dispersed over the habitable earth among its inhabitants."*^ "Avery sad calamity now befell the Jews that were in Mesopotamia, and especially those that dwelt in Baby- lonia.'"^ In agreement with the facts cited, Luke records an item of history respecting the early Christians at Jerusalem : " Now in these days when the number of the disciples was multiply- ing, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministrations."*^ The dispersion of so large a portion of the Jewish popula- tion is thus shown to be historical, corroborating the references to the condition of the Jews abroad made in the New Testa- ment. But the non-intercourse of the home and the foreign Jews; the loss of "the holy tongue" as the popular vernacular on the part of the dispersed ; the substitution therefor of the Greek, which in Palestine was placed under the ban of a curse ; the self-conscious superiority assumed by the " home- Jew" in his relation to the daily temple-service; his being tinder the government of the Sandedrin, which was so re- vered,— these, and other circumstances of like character, » Acts xlli, 14. 36 /{,. xiv, 1. « Acts xvll, 1. 38 J6. xvll, 17. 3» J6. xvill, 4. «> J6. 11, 5. « Wars, vll, 8,3. «t Ant. xvill, 9, 1. « Acts vl, 1. 512 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. explain the narrow bias felt towards the brethren of the " Dispersion," as well as the partiality and injustice practiced towards the widows of the Jewish Christians, calling for a Board of Administration to be organized, in which Philip the Evangelist and Stephen occupied a conspicuous place. The sects of the Jews have prominence in sacred history. The principal divisions were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes, the last of which are not men- §362. Jewish ^^^^^^ j^ ^]^g ;^g^y Testament. Thevwerenota Sects and tne " New Testa- distinct class of persons, but with a distinct set of ^^^ ' beliefs. The Pharisees were distinguished chiefly for their maintenance of the doctrine that man possessed a spirit; that the spirit is immortal ; that the body will have a resurrec- tion; and they further held that oral traditions, which they claimed had descended from the ancient elders of Israel in the time of Moses, were equally binding upon the Jews with their Scriptures. The Sadducees originated about B. C. 160-143 under Jonathan, successor to Judas Maccabaeus,** and were dis- tinguished for their rejection of that doctrine believed by the Pharisees. Each sect had its own institution of learning at Je- rusalem, founded to maintain and advance its own faith. Hillel represented the Pharisees, whose head was the famous Ptabban Gamaliel and his renowned descendants. Shammai represented the views of the Sadducees. These two sects were ever in open contention ; so that it passed into a proverb, " That even Elijah the Tishbite would not be able to reconcile the adher- ents of Hillel and Shammai." ^ The Pharisees were most prominent in the account of the Gospels, and were the more severely dealt with by Jesus because they made obligatory their self-imposed '•'■traditions;''-'^ but the Sadducees were noted for their fierce character, and the Sadducean high priest Caiaphas and his father-in-law Annas maliciously extorted from Pilate the death-warrant of Christ. However, after the crucifixion and the claim made by the <'.ln«. xlll. 10, 6; xvlll, 1, 4. «Kitto. «Matt. xxill. Jewish ^Nation in Times or the Xew Testament. 513 Christian Jews of Christ's resurrection, the Pharisees no lonsrer appear in the foreground of persecution of the apostles, as if in some measure sympathizing with Christian doctrine."*' Once the Sadducees attempted to entrap Jesus by proposing a ques- tion of a man who had had seven wives in succession, whose husband would he be in the resurrection. But Jesus " put the Sadducees to silence."^ This Jewish historian says : " At this time there were sects among the Jews: . . . the one was called the sect of the Pharisees, another the sect of the Sadducees."*^ "The Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers which § ^®®' Josephus are not written in the law of Moses ; and for that reason these Sects it is that the Sadducees reject them, and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the wi-itten Word, but not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our fathers. And concerning these things it is that great disputes and differ- ences have risen among them."^° The Pharisees " believe that souls have an immortal vigor in them ;" that " there will be rewards and punishments according as they have lived virtuously or viciously in this life ;" that tlie wicked will be " detained in an everlasting prison," but the righteous "shall have power to revive and live again." " But the doctrine of the Sadducees is this, that souls die with the bodies." " " The behavior of the Sadducees one toward another is in some degree wild, and their conduct with those of their own party is as barbarous as if they were strangers to them." ^^ Paul makes distinct claim to being a Pharisee, educated "at the feet of Gamaliel,"^ "exceedingly zealous for the tradi- tions" of his fathers;^ " as touching the law a Pharisee."^ In the Sanhedrin he said : " I am a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee." ^ But for his pharisaic traditions, we should never have known that it was " Jannes and Jambres" who "withstood Moses" before Pharaoh.^' In the time of Christ's ministry there existed hereditary enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans, the origin of which dated centuries earlier. The Samaritans were a mixed « Oomp. Acts V, 17, 34-40, and xxlii, 6-9. « Matt, xxll, 25-34. «^7i<. xiil, 5, 9; TTars, 11, 8, 2. 6o^„^. xlli, 10, 6. "vine, xvlll, 1, 3, 4. M TTars, 11, 8, 14. 53 Acts xxll, 3. siQai. i, 14. ssPhll. 111,5. 66 Acts xxlll,6-8. "2 Tim. Ill, 8; comp. Ex.vll, 11; vlil, 17-20, etc. 514 Historical Evidence of the JS^ew Testament. race of Assyrian descendants and renegade Jews, and others of foreign extraction. During the period of the Babylonian captivity, the Samaritans ravaged and occupied Jews and Jewish estates ; and upon the return of the two tribes the Jews excluded them from all participa- tion in the temple. The Samaritans were called the " adver- saries of Judah and Benjamin."^ This racial dislike and hostility are more than intimated in several passages in the Gospels. The woman at Jacob's well said unto Jesus: "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me who am a woman of Samaria; for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans ?" ^ In another instance the Lord, with his disciples, was journeying toward Jerusalem, and a certain Samaritan village refused to accord the usual rights of sacred hospitality, for this express reason : " Because his face was as though he were going to Jerusalem. And when his disciples saw this, they said: Lord, wilt thou that we bid Are come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them, and said: Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of."^ A more opprobrious term the Jews could not employ against Jesus than this: "Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?" Of the ten lepers cleansed by Jesus, only one returned to him "to give glory to God," "and he was a Samaritan."^ Josephus confirms the enmity and antagonism existing be- tween these two peoples when he mentions how the Samaritans "distressed the Jews, cutting off parts of their land and carrying off slaves ;" ^^ how the Samaritans attacked the Galileans who were journeying to Jerusalem to their festivals, passing through Samaria, when many Jews were killed;"^ and withal, how the Samaritans stole into the city by night and " threw about dead men's bodies in the cloisters" of the temple, "on which ac- 6« Ezra Iv, 1, etc. s'.Iohplv.O. •<> Luke Ix, 51-55. «• John vlU, 48; Luke xvli, 15-18. « A7it. xll, 4, 1. "'/(i. XX, 6, 1 ; Life of Josephus, $ 52. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 515 count the Jews afterward excluded them out of the temple, which they had not been used to do at such festivals."" These instances sufficiently illustrate and demonstrate the ancient animosity existing between these two races, occupying the country of Palestine, and more than verify as historical the fact so briefly and incidentally alluded to in the Gospels. It is a sad indictment of the characteristics of the Jews of that period, which Josephus makes against his own people con- cerning their contumacious spirit, their disposi- tion to conspiracies, and their general practices Jewish o . T,. TT- J T xi -J. Characteristics. of immoralities. His deliverance on these points are suggestive of the tone and trend of one who was himself a witness, or was otherwise well assured of the facts involved in what he narrates. a) A Spirit of Insubordination. Matthew relates how the Pharisees in behalf of the Jews, and the Herodians in behalf of the Romans, conspired together to ensnare Jesus, when they approached him with a proposition for his answer which they intended should deprive him of his influence over the Jews, or, on the other hand, cause him to forfeit his life for treason to the Romans. After the most flattering words they said : " Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou: is it lawful to give tribute unto Csesar or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said: Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them. Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them: Render unto Csesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things which are God's. And when they heard it, they marveled, and left him and went their way." ^ Luke records the speech of the famous Gamaliel in defense of the apostles before the Sanhedrin, when he said : " Before these days rose up Theudas, giving himself out to be some- body ; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves, who were slain ; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed and came to nought. After this, rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some of the people after him ; he also per- ished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad."^ 6<.4»i«. xvlll,2,2. «Matt.xxll, 15-33. ee Acts v, 35-39. 516 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. At this point several things are to be kept in sight : 1. That, historically, the Jewish nation was divided as to the right and policy of resisting the imperial government in taxing the Jewish estates; a fact evidenced by the question submitted to Christ for his decision by the mutually opposing parties touching the legitimacy of that measure. 2. That the time of this taxing was in the second enroll- ment of Cyrenius, which occurred in A. D. 6 corrected, or A. D. 10 of our present current chronology ; his first enroll- ment having been taken B. C. 4, when Christ was born, -which was of the Sqwb^ population; the second of their property f' — ■ and there is no account whatever of any other enrollment afterwards. 3. That it was the enforcement of this taxation upon prop- erty which was the occasion for the open revolt of Judas of Galilee, referred to by Gamaliel, and passed as understood by the Sanhedrists as historical, when the apostles were before them for examination respecting the facts and doctrines which they were preaching. 4. We have no other account of this particular Theudas named by Gamaliel, whose revolt dates ^/'w to the enroll- ment of Cyrenius, since " after this man rose up Judas of Gal- ilee in the days of the enrollment^'' of whom Josephus gives considerable information and confirmation. Nevertheless, he narrates particulars of a later Theudas, an impostor, whose exploits occurred in the procuratorship of Cuspius Fadus (A. D. 44-46), who was slain with many others.** Josephus authenticates the case of a Judas as occurring under the procuratorship of Coponius, which was A. D. 6-9 corrected chronology. He says: " Coponius, also a man of the equestrian order, was sent to have the supreme power over the Jews. Moreover, Cyrenius came himself into Judaea ... to take an account of their substance. There was one Judas, a Gaulonite, of the city, whose name was Gamala, who, taking «'See$59(7). «'^n<.xx,5,l Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 517 with him Sadduc, a Pharisee, became zealous to draw them to a revolt, who both said that this taxation was no better than an introduction to slavery, and exhorted the nation to assert their liberty." ^^ " The sons of Judas of Galilee were now slain ; I mean that Judas who caused the peo- ple to revolt when Cyrenius came to take an account of the estates of the Jews, as we have shown in a foregoing book." ™ /3) A Disposition for Conspiracies. This characteristic spirit of the Jews illustrated itself in the time of the apostles, when "the Jews banded together and bound themselves with a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul; and they were more than forty who made this conspiracy." ^ But the conspiracy was detected and de- feated by the apostle's nephew, " Paul's sister's son." It is mentioned in Jewish history that a similar conspiracy was organized against the life of Herod the Great in the early part of his reign, on account of his having introduced strange and heathen customs among the Jews and forced them upon the people. " Ten men that were citizens [of Jerusalem] con- spired together against him, and sware to one another to undergo any dangers in the attempt; and took daggers with them under their garments" for the purpose of killing Herod. But the plot was detected, exposed, and the parties implicated suffered death.'^ These instances are sufficient to illustrate the character and condition of the Jews at that period. The case of Paul is interesting in that the conspirators boldly approached the chief priests and Sanhedrists, the highest judicial body of the Jews and rulers of the nation, seeking their complicity by co-operation in this self-confessed plot to assassinate a man for the crime of being a Christian; a fact which naturally recalls an earlier conspiracy, conceived in deadly malice, and cul- minating in the crucifixion of the Son of God. y) Immorality of Conduct. We are indebted to one who was himself a Jew and a priest and historian of the Jews for ^•>Ant. xvUl, 1, 1; Wars, ii, 8, 1; lb. vll, 8, 1. 'i'^ Ant. xx, 5, 2. "Acts xxiil, 12-16. ^iAnt. xv, 8, 3, 4. 518 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. the following terrible arraignment of his brethren who were his contemporaries. Joseph us thus witnesses: " That was a time most fertile in all manner of wicked practices, insomuch that no kind of evil deeds wei-e then left undone ; nor could any one so much as devise any bad thing that was new ; so deeply were f they all infected and strove with one another, in their single capacity and their communities, who should run the greatest lengths in impiety towards God, and in unjust actions toward their neighbors ; the men of power oppressing the multitude, and the multitude earnestly laboring to destroy the men of power. The one part were desirous of tyranniz- ing over others ; and the rest offering violence to others, and plundering such as were richer than themselves." " He further makes a record touching the iniquities of his brethren to the effect that "no city ever suffered such mis- eries," "no age, since the beginning of the world," "ever bred a generation more fruitful in wickedness;" that they overthrew the city and forced the Roman army to come and make a con- quest of their nation, and that they drew the fire which con- sumed the temple of God at Jerusalem. Then, as a final arraignment, he adds : " I suppose that had the Romans made any longer delay in coming against these villains the city would either have been swallowed up by the ground opening upon them, or been overflowed by water, or else been destroyed by such thunder-[storms] as the country of Sodom per- ished by ; for it brought forth a generation of men much more athe- istical than were those that suffered such punishments ; for by their madness it was that all the people were destroyed." ^^ II. The Destruction or the Jewish Nation. The Lord Jesus, having wept over Jerusalem, left the temple accompanied by his disciples, and ascended the slopes of the Mount of Olives to the east of the city, over §366. Predic- ^ . tions of opposite the sacred courts. From this point the Holy City was to be seen at the greatest advan- tage, overlooking the walls. His disciples directed his atten- tion to the magnificence of the buildings which adorned the sacred grounds of the temple. Jesus there gave utterance to 73 TTars, vll, 8, 1. ''/b. v, 13, 6. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 519 that which was at once one of the most marvelous, as well as most momentous, predictions that ever fell from prophetic lips, or found verification in human history. It was his prophecy of the desolation of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, involving the overthrow of the Jewish nation, the expatriation of the people, and the discontinuance of the theocracy. As the distinguished historian Milman remarks : "The distinctness, the minuteness, the circumstantial accuracy with which the prophetic outline of the siege and fall of Jerusalem is drawn, bear, perhaps, greater evidence of more than human foreknowl- edge than any other in the sacred volume." ^* The Prediction: "And Jesus went out of the temple and was going on his way, and his disciples came unto him to show him the buildings of the temple. . . . And as he sat on Olivet the disciples came unto him privately, saying: Tell us when will these things be? And what will be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" '* "And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings, he said: As for these things which ye behold, the days will come in which there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down! And they asked him, saying: Master, when shall these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to come to pass? " " Obviously here are two distinct questions asked, and two different replies given. Matthew gives prominence to the signs of Chrisfs coming at "the end of the world." Luke gives prominence to the destruction of the temple, when " there shall not be left one stone upon another." To avoid confusion of understanding respecting which event is referred to in the twofold answer returned, the two lines of thought related to the two subjects of Christ's prediction should be carefully dis- criminated. The present discussion is interested only in the proposition appertaining to the overthrow of the Jewish theoc- racy, including all that that conveys, so circumstantially fore- told and historically fulfilled. This is restricted to the de- struction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nationality. The Synoptic Gospels contain the complete record of this conver- «Zfis«. of Christianity, Vol. I, 311. "Matt, xxlv, 1-3. "" Luke xxl, 5-7. 520 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. sation, at least so far as transmitted to us.* The following particulars may be elicited from these Scriptures: 1. There would first arise many false Messiahs and impostors. 2. But the Gospel would first be published unto all the nations. 3. Then would be realized by the Jews "the beginning of sorrows." 4. The final calamities would be preceded by certain signs. 5. Of the Christians, not a hair of their heads should perish. 6. And all these things would occur within the generation then living. How far this deliverance of Christ was realized when the Jews were destroyed in their theocracy and state, remains to be verified by the witness of both Jewish and pagan histori- ans who were unfriendly to the Christian religion. False Messiahs and Impostors. The Prediction: "Jesus answered and said: Take heed that no man lead you astray, for many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ, and will lead many astray, . . . and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. Then if any man shall say unto you : Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not ; for there will be many false Christs and false prophets, and will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, the very elect." "Behold I have told you all things beforehand. "^^ The Fulfillment: Josephus in his Histories records the circumstantial realization of this prediction. The evidential events selected occurred under the procuratorship of Cuspius Fadus, A. D. 44-46; Claudius Felix, 50-58; and Fortius Fes- tus, 58-60.^ The destruction of the Jewish theocracy and commonwealth culminated in the capture and desolation of Jerusalem in the year 70, a) " Now it came to pass while Fadus was procurator of Judaea, that a certain magician whose name was Theudas persuaded a great part of 6 367. Procu- *'^^ people to take their effects with them, and follow rators and him to the river Jordan ; for he told them that he was the FulflUment. ^ prophet, and that he would by his own command divide the river [Jordan], and afford them an easy passage over it; and *Mark states that the disciples who enf^aged privately In this conversation with Christ were Peter, James, John, and Andrew (xlU, 3). "Matt, xxlv, 4, 5, 11, 23, 24; comp. Mark xlll, 5, 6, 23. '9 Thomas Lewln. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 521 many were deluded by his words."*" But Theudas was captured and beheaded, and many of the deluded ones were slain. /3) " Now as for the affairs of the Jews, they grew worse and worse continually, for the country was again filled with robbers who deluded the multitude. Yet did Felix catch and put to death many of the im- postors every day." "And now these impostors and deceivers persuaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, and pretended that they would exhibit manifest wonders and signs that should be per- formed by the providence of God."*^ 7) "So Festus sent forces, both horsemen and footmen, to fall upon those that had been seduced by a certain impostor who promised them deliverance and freedom from the miseries they were under, if they would follow him as far as the wilderness. Accordingly, those forces that were sent destroyed both him that deluded them, and those that were his followers also."*^ In these citations no mention is made by Josephus of "false Christs" as such; nevertheless, he does call them false prophets, deceivers, and impostors; and many of them promised to deliver the Jews from the (oppressions and distresses which they suffered under the Roman domination, which was the popular expectation to be realized in the coming of the Christ. So that, not in the form of words, but in the reality, they ver- ified Christ's prediction of " false prophets " who would " arise and lead many astray." The Gospel Given to All Nations. The Prediction: "And the gospel shall first be published unto all nations."*^ "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be published in the whole world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."** The FulfillTnent: In Paul's apostolate he preached the gospel personally in Antioch, in Syria ; at Paphos, in the island, Cvprus; at Antioch, in Pisidia ; Iconium, Lystra, . § 368. The Gos- and Derbe, in Lycaonia ; at Perga and Ephesus, pel and the in Asia Minor; in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, »°°^«'" world. Athens, Corinth, and Rome, in Europe ; as well as in Csesarea and Jerusalem, in Palestine. To many of these cities he ad- dressed epistles full of Christly instruction. So that this man's ^Anl. XX, 5, 1. 81J5. XX, 8, 5, 6; comp. further Wars, 11, 13, 4, 5; vl, 5, 2, 3. ^Ant. XX, 8, 10. 88 Mark xUl, 10. 8«Matt. xxlv, U. 522 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. apostolical labors more than justified his own affirmation that— "For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ wrought not through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders in the power of the Holy Ghost ; so that from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ ; yea, making it my aim so to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation ; but as it is written : They shall see to whom no tidings of him came ; and they who have not heard, shall un- derstand." ^ In the same epistle Paul declares of the Christians, that "their faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world." ^ The Apostle Peter also addressed his first epistle to the Chris- tians resident in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. And at the great Christian Pentecost at Jerusa- lem, there were present " Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven," who were "confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language." And they said: "How hear we every man in our own language wherein we were born ? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Meso- potamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we do hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God."'^'^ Eusebius, referring to the Emperor Tiberius having pro- posed to the Roman Senate the name of Christ to be enrolled among the gods of the State, quotes from the Apology of Ter- tullian before the government in the Christians' behalf, the following : "Tiberius therefore, under whom the name of Christ was spread throughout the world, when this doctrine was announced to him fi-om Palestine, where it first began, communicated with the Senate, being obviously pleased with the doctrine." ** Tacitus testifies that Christianity, " the pernicious supersti- tion, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only through 86 Romans xv, 18-21. ^Ib. 1, 8. 8^ Acts 11, 5-11. ^ Eccl.HUt. 11, 2; comp.Tertulllan's Apoloi/y, Ante-Nicene Fathers, 111, pp. 21, 22. Jewish Kation in Times of the New Testament. 523 Judsea where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also."* About forty-two years after the subjugation of Palestine by Titus, Pliny the younger was appointed governor of Bithynia. Upon his accession to power he found the Chris- tians so numerous in Asia Minor that he sought to suppress the religion by either recantation or extermination; and he sought the advice of his emperor, Trajan, aiRrming that the course would expose to danger "many of every age, and of every rank, and of either sex." ® He feared for the stability of his government over the province. To have attained such place and power in a community, the gospel must have been preached there within the limits of that generation w4ien the prediction was uttered. The Beginning op Sorrows. The Prediction: "And there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. But all these things are but the beginning of travail."*^ " And there shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilence." ®^ The Fulfillment: These phenomena of nature, which oc- curred during that generation, were very marked as regards both frequency and severity. Luke records the ^ ■J -J 8369. Predicted prediction of the Prophet Agabus respecting a Famine famine which occurred in the reign of Claudius ; ^^ °"*^ ' a famine which lasted through several years and spread far and wide.*^ Eusebius also refers to it, and remarks : "In his reign there was a famine that prevailed over the vrhole world; an event which has been handed down by historians [who are] very far from our doctrine ; and by which the prediction of the Prophet Agabus, recorded in Acts of the Apostles, respecting the impending famine over the whole world, received its fulfillment."^ But there are other historical notices of prevailing famine. Josephus confirms Luke's account, by relating how that, at that time, Queen Helen relieved Jerusalem by furnishing food for the hungry in the stress of famine;** Dion Cassius, in his his- * Ann. XV, 44. 89 Epis. to Trajan, x, 97. s^Matt. xxiv, 7, 8. «' Luke xxi, 11. 92 Acts xl, 28. ^^Eccl. Hist. 11, 8. «< A nt. xx, 2, 5; xx, 5, 2. 524 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. tory, also mentions the famine as severely afflicting Rome and all Italy .^ Tacitus remarks the fact, affirming "a failure in the crops," which was "regarded as a prodigy, and that, "It is certain that there was then in Rome provision for only fifteen days."** Suetonius mentions "a scarcity of provisions occa- sioned by bad crops for several successive years," on account of which the populace thronged about and abused the em- peror, threatening personal violence, he with "some difficulty escaping into the palace by a back door!"^^ Josephus relates that about the year 40 " a pestilence came upon those at Babylon" from which the Jews suffered ex- tremely. And during the siege of Jerusalem, lence and^" there " Came a pestilential destruction upon Earthquakes them, and soon after such a famine as destroyed Historical. ' "^ them more suddenly." ^ As regards earthquakes, Eusebius mentions three cities, "Laodicea, Hieropolis, and Co- losse, which were overthrown by earthquakes." ^ Tacitus states that " Many prodigies happened this year ; . . . frequent earthquakes occurred."^*" Seneca also mentions this great calamity,^'" which occurred about A. D. 65 or 63. Tacitus adds: " This year . . . was by the gods branded with storm and pesti- lences." He mentions a whirlwind whose " violence extended so far as the neighborhood of the city of Rome, in which a tei-rible pestilence was sweeping away every living thing, without any discernible derange- ment of the atmosphere, though the houses were filled with the dead, and the streets with funerals. Neither sex nor age was exempt from danger; bondmen and free were snatched off indiscriminately, amid the wailing of wives and children, who, while they were yet attending and lamenting them, were themselves seized and frequently burned on the same funeral pile."^''^ Aloner with the disturbances in the course of §371. Wars *= ,. , j, , and Tumults nature were the disturbances of human society. Historical. ^^ reason of tumults and wars experienced in that generation, which begot sorrows. «6 //w(. 0/ JBome, 1, 49, 60. ««^nnais, xll, 48. ^t Claudius, xix. »« IFars, vi, 9, 3. ^ Chron. p. Idl. ioo^„,iaZs, xii, 43. JO" Quaest. Nat. Q. vl, 1. ^Annals, xvl, 18. JEWISH Nation in Times of the New Testament. 525 The Prediction: "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."'"^ "But when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified: for these things must needs come first; but the end is not immediately." ^^ The Fulfillment: About the year 40, at Seleucia, the Greeks and Syrians united against the Jews; "they fell upon them and slew about fifty thousand of them; nay, the Jews were all destroyed excepting a few who escaped." ^°^ Cuspius Fadus, having become procurator of Judaea (44-46), "found quarrelsome doings between the Jews that dwelt in Peraea and the people of Philadelphia, about their borders at a village called Mia, that was filled with men of warlike temper ; for the Jews of Peraea had taken up arms, . . . and had destroyed many of the Philadelphians." ^"^ A celebrated quar- rel and tumult arose under Cumanus (48-50), between the Jews and Samaritans, resulting in the killing of many on both sides, the crucifixion of some, and the deposing and banish- ment of Cumanus himself.^"^ In a contest between the Jews and Syrians, "the daytime was spent in slaughter, and the night in fear," until "the cities were filled with dead bod- jgg»io8 "Those of Askelon slew twenty-five hundred, and those of Ptolemais two thousand ; those of Tyre put a great many to death, but kept a greater number in prison." ^^ In Damascus, ten thousand unarmed Jews were slain in a gymna- sium, in one hour's time."° "Above thirteen thousand Jews were killed" in a night, and plundered of all they had.^" At Csesarea, in one hour's time, twenty thousand Jews were slain, "and all Csesarea emptied of its Jewish inhabitants." There- upon the Jewish nation arose and destroyed about fifteen cit- ies, and many of the villages near these cities they plundered, together with an immense slaughter of men in the villages."^ At Alexandria, "fifty thousand of them [the Jews] lay down 103 Matt, xxiv, 6, 7. iM Luke xxl, 9, 10. los ^n«. xvlii, 9, 9. los lb. xx, 1, 1. i"' lb. xx, 6, 1-3. los Wars, 11, 18, 2 109 76.11, 18, .5. 110 7 6.11,20,2. m i6. 11, 18, 3. 11*76.11,18,1. 34 526 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. upon heaps, nor had the remainder been preserved had they not betaken themselves to supplication." "^ A Eoman soldier offering a gross and vulgar insult to the Jews at the Passover at Jerusalem, a furor was raised, and the Roman army sta- tioned at the garrison Antonia were summoned to quiet the tumult, and twenty thousand Jews were killed, which caused mourning throughout the nation.^" Tacitus, in opening his celebrated Roman History, allud- ing to Servius Galba and his first consulship (A. D. 33) and afterwards, says: "The period before me is fertile in vicissitudes, pregnant with sanguinary encounters, embroiled with intestine dissensions, and in the intervals of peace, defoi'med with hoi-rors. Four princes put to death ; three civil wars ; with foreign enemies more ; and in some conjunctures, both at once ; Italy afflicted, moj-eover, with calamities unheard of, or occurring after a long series of ages ; cities overwhelmed or swallowed up by earthquakes in the fertile country of Campania; Rome laid waste by fire ; her most ancient temples destroyed ; the Capitol itself wrapped in flames by the hands of citizens ; . . . the sea crowded with exiles ; the rocks stained with blood of murdered citizens ; Rome itself a theater of still greater horrors. . . They carried rapine and plunder in every direction, impelled by personal hate and armed with terror.""^ Such is but a part of the melancholy picture of the times, fulfilling the prediction of Jesus respecting " the beginning of travail" to be experienced by that generation before the final catastrophe" comes. The Signs of Warning. The Prediction: " When ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judciea flee unto the mountains ; and let them that are in the midst of her depart out; and let not them that are in the country enter therein. • For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." "And not a hair of your head shall perish.""^ " When ye see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the Holy Place, let them that are in Ju- daea flee to the mountains ; let him that is upon the housetop not come down to take out the things that are in the house ; and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak." "^ 118 Wars, 11, 18, 8. i" >l»i<. xx, 5, 3. "5 Hist. B. 1, 2. "o Luke xxl, 18-22. 117 Matt, xxlv, 15-18; Mark, xill, 14. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 527 By "abomination, of desolation" is meant the abomination which desolates — a Hebraism. The reference is to the Roman eaffles borne by the Roman soldiery at the head . § 372. " The of the several legions, and were the objects of Abomination of Roman worship, by which also they took their oath of loyalty to the empire, but were the objects of detesta- tion to the Jews. The eagles, therefore, became the symbols of the victors. Now, the Jews were taught that they were prohibited by the Mosaic "Commandments" from counte- nancing any made or graven image of anything in heaven or earth; and the Roman eagles were " images." ^^^ As images led to idolatory, the Jews' susceptibilities were extremely sen- sitive on this point, and they would not suffer the presence of these standards even in Jerusalem, if they could avoid it, much less within the inclosure of the temple grounds. On one occasion Pilate thought to impose his eagles upon this people by stealthily bringing them into the city by night ; but upon the discovery of it there was a tumult raised which he could not repress; and he felt necessitated to remove them back to his headquarters at Caesarea-on-the-Sea.'^^ Once Herod the Great dedicated a large golden eagle to the temple, placing it upon the great gate to the entrance, when one Mat- thias, one of the men of eloquence and great interpreters of the law, instigated pulling it down and destroying it; for which Matthias was burned alive as a seditionist by the king's orders.^^ So Vitellius, president of Syria, to whose dominions Judaea was attached, while marching his army through the Jews' country to attack Aretas, the king of Petraea, was pre- vailed upon by the earnest protest of the principal Jews to bear his eagles by another route.^^ Now, because of the gen- eral but not universal apostasy from God, the Roman eagles, however much an "abomination" to Jewish taste and in- stincts, symbolized the Roman power which was to destroy ii8.4n<. xvii, 6, 2. "9/6. xvlii, 3, 1; T^ars, 11, 9, 2, 3. 1S0.4 nt. xvll, 6, 2-4. ^i jb, xvill, 5, 3. 528 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Jerusalem and the temple, and "stand in the holy place" as "the abomination which desolates" the sacred places of their worship. The Fulfillment: The time had come in that generation when a military movement was inaugurated against the Jews, ^ ^. by which the Christians of that community should S 373. The Siege *^ . _ -^ of cognize the signs of warning, and make good Jerusalem. ,, . i! j.i rs? • , t their escape from the suiierings to come. Jesus had said: "When ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand." "And not a hair of your head shall perish." For certain reasons, Cestius Gallas, president of Syria, marched his army to the Holy City and besieged it. This was the first investment of Jeru- salem. Josephus relates that this brief siege was made in the twelfth year of Nero (54-68), which would be in the year 66 A. D, of the current Christian era;* and that, after burning certain portions of the city, Cestius pitched his camp over against the royal palace. He adds : " Had he at this very time attempted to get within the walls by force he had won the city presently, and the war had been put an end to at once." "And now it was that a horrible fear seized upon the sedi- tious [Jews] insomuch that many of them ran out of the city as though it were to be taken immediately." . . . But instead, " he recalled his soldiers from the place, and despairing of any expectation of taking it, without receiving any disgrace, he retired from the city without any rea- son in the world." "After this calamity had befallen Cestius, many of the most eminent of the Jews forsook the city as men do a sinking ship."^^^ This was the opportune moment for the escape of the Jew- ish Christians of that community from the awful calamities «^„. r,,^ ^ which were to come in the near future. The 8 374. The Es- cape of the day for which they had watched and waited, as Christ had admonished them, was now at hand ; for, as remarked by Dr. Philip Schaff : " The Christians of Jerusalem, remembering the Lord's admoni- tion, forsook the doomed city in good time, and fled to the town of Pella *Eu9eblus places the escape before the war under Titus (irpb rod noX^/iov) which agrees with the above date— four years before the destruction of Jerusalem In A. D. 70. iM Wars, U, 19, 6, 7; and note, and 11, 20, 1. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 529 in the Decapolis, beyond the Jordan, in the noi-th of Persea, where Herod Agrippa II, before whom Paul once stood, opened to them a safe asylum. An old tradition says that a divine voice, or angel, re- vealed to their leaders the duty of flight. There, in the midst of a population chiefly Gentile, the Church of the Circumcision was re- consti'ucted. Unfortunately, its history is hidden from us. But [the city] never recovered its former importance. When Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Christian city, its bishop was raised to the dignity of one of the four Patriarchs of the East, but it was a patriarchate of honor, not of power, and sank to a mere shadow after the Mohammedan invasion. ^^^ Eusebius, the author of the first Christian history which has been handed down to us, gives the following account of the exodus of the Christians from Jerusalem : "The rest of the apostles, who were harassed in innumerable ways with a view to destroy them, and driven from the land of Judsea, had gone forth to preach the gospel to all nations, relying upon the aid of Christ, when he said: ' Go ye, teach all nations in my name.' The whole body, however, of the Church at Jerusalem, having been com- manded by a Divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt in a certain town beyond the Jordan called Pella. Here those that believed in Christ having removed from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city itself and the whole land of Judaea, the Divine Justice for their crimes against Christ and his apostles finally overtook them, totally destroying the whole generation of these evil-doers from the earth." 124 Epiphanius, who lived a little earlier,^^ mentions the Chris- tians dwelling in Jerusalem, as being warned by Christ of the approaching siege and removing to Pella, being warned by an angel; and in another book he speaks of the return of the Christians thence afterwards, when Hadrian had rebuilt the city, calling it by his own name, ^lia Colonia. As respects the failure of the Jews pent up in Jerusalem to regard the signs of the approaching doom which was about to destroy the temple and city, and to overthrow and displace their apostate nation for having crucified the Christ of God, Josephus, though not conscious of that cause, remarks : " It is not possible for men to avoid fate, although they may see it beforehand. But these men interpreted some of these signs according 188 Hist. Christ. Church, 1, 402. "^ Eccl. Hist. B. Hi, 5. 125 About A. D. 310, Hares Nazarceorvm. c. 7. 530 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. to their own pleasure ; and some of them they utterly despised, until their madness was demonstrated both by the taking of the city and their own destruction." ^^^ Accomplished in that Generation. The Prediction : Jesus exposed the sins and hypocrisy of scribes and Pharisees present before the multitude, as the leaders of the apostate people ; yet with sympa- venJeanc^Tn '^^1 ^^^ tendemess did he even weep and that Genera- lament as he predicted the doom impending over that generation, which meant the com- plete destruction of the nation. He said : " Behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes ; some of them ye will kill and crucify ; and some of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city ; that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation. " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! How often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate !" ^27 " And when he drew nigh he saw the city and wept over it, saying: If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee when thine enemies shall cast up a bank ^^s ^bout thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall dash thee to the ground, and thy childi-en within thee ; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation." " For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. . . . And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations ; and Jerusa- lem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gen- tiles be fulfilled. . . . But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draweth nigh. . . . Verily I say unto you. This generation shall not pass away till all things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away ; but my word sliall not pass away." ^"^ i2« Wars, Vl, 5, 4. >27 Matt. xxUl, .34-38. '** '0 X'^/'«?. ^ palisade; i. e., rows of pales between which earth, stones, and timbers were heaped and packed together as a rampart for defense, >2» Luke xlx, 41-44; xxl, 22-24, 28, 32, 33. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 531 For clearness of statement, circumstantiality of fulfillment in history, and for tenderness of pathos in the prophet, the Scriptures contain no parallel to this prediction of Christ. It seems remarkable that no apostle or Evangelist makes any reference to the terrible calamities denounced against that generation, especially as the destruction of the temple is men- tioned by heathen and Jewish historians who were contem- porary with the event described. Barnabas, the Apostolic Father, who wrote A. D. 70-79, states that the temple was destroyed accordant with the purpose of God, by the enemies of the Jews, through war. But such mention of the catastro- phe only renders the more conspicuous the neglect of the sacred writers. But the satisfactory explanation is to be found in the fact that the Synoptic Gospels and all the Epistles were written some years prior to the fulfillment of the prediction, and not one was a witness of the event. These Gospels contain the prediction, but not its realization. According to Clement of Alexandria (b. 150), Matthew continued his stay at Jeru- salem with the other apostles, busy with his countrymen for a period of twelve years after the crucifixion of Christ. After that they were abroad, "teaching all nations," accordant with their great commission. When, then, the Evangelists had re- corded the prophecy, their work was done ; and the realization and vindication of the prediction was left to its development in history and record by those who were enemies of Christ Josephus and the Talmudists on the part of the Jews, and Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dion Cassius on the part of the heathen historians, witness to the historical fulfillment of Christ's pre- diction respecting the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. The Fulilllment : The prophecy contains sev- '' r 1 J §376. Partic- eral specific predictions, the evidence of whose cir- uiars in the cumstantial realization may now be considered in ^^®"^^<^^°°- detail. a) ''''For the days will come when thine enemies will cast a hank about theeP 532 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Josephus says that, Titus " ordered that they should bring timber together, and raise banks against the city. . . . He placed those that shot darts and the archers in the midst of the banks that they were then raising." ^^ " So now Titus's banks were advanced a great way."^^^ /8) " And they will compass thee round and keep thee in on every side^'' Alford, in his Greek Testamient^ says: "When the Jews destroyed this [military palisade] Titus built a wall around them, to which the Lord tacitly refers." ^^ Tacitus says : "Such was the city and such the nation against which Titus Csesar determined to act by means of mounds and mantelets ; such being the nature of the locality, it was adverse to assault and sudden attack." ^^ Josephus says that Titus told his officers that, " They [the Romans] must build a wall about the whole city, . . . the only way to prevent the Jews from coming out in any way . . . that, besides this wall, ... he would take care then to have the banks raised again. These arguments prevailed with the commanders. So Titus ordered that the army should be distributed to their several shares of the work. . . . Now, the length of the wall was forty furlongs, one only abated [nearly five miles long]. . . . The whole was com- pleted in three days, . . . in so short an interval of time as is in- credible. ... So all hope of escape was now cut off from the Jews, together with all liberty of going out of the city." " When Titus had therefore encompassed the city with this wall, and put garrisons into proper places, he went round the wall at the first watch of the night, and observed how the guard was kept ; the second watch was allotted to Alexander ; the commander of legions took the third watch." ^^^ y) " For there shall he great tribulation, such as there hath not been since the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be:' '^ Josephus continues : " Then did the famine widen its progress, and it devoured the people by whole houses and families ; the upper rooms were full of women and children dying of famine ; and the lanes of the city were full of dead 180 Wars V, 6, 2. isi lb. v, 11, 1. ^^'Commcntary on Luke xlx, 43, In Vol. I, «25i i^Hist. V. 13. 134 Wars, v, 12, 1, 2; comp. Isa. xxlx, 1-8. »3s Matt, xxiv, 21 ; Mark xlli, 19. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 533 bodies of the aged ; the children also, and the young men wandering about the market-places like shadows, all swelled with famine, and fell down dead wheresoever their misery seized them. . . . Nor was there any lamentation made under these calamities, nor were heard any mournful complaints ; but the famine confounded all natural passion ; for those who were just going to die looked upon those who were gone before them with dry eyes and open mouths. A deep silence also, and a kind of deadly night, had seized upon the city." ^^ 8) " They shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee.^'' Josephus continues the story of the siege in fulfillment of Christ's prediction : " Many of the eminent citizens told [Titus that] . . . the entire number of the poor that were dead [were] no fewer than six hundred thousand [who] were thrown out of the gates, though still the number of the rest could not be discovered ; and they told him, further, that when they were no longer able to carry out the dead bodies of the poor, they laid the corpses on heaps in very large houses, and shut them up therein." 1^7 " Manneus, the son of Lazarus, came running to Titus, . . . and told him that there had been carried out through that one gate which had been intrusted to his care, no fewer than one hundred and fifteen thousand, eight hundred and eighty dead bodies." ^^ " Simon took the tower into his own custody, and seized upon these men [whom he sus- pected of treachery], and put them to death in the sight of the Romans ; and when they had mangled their bodies, he threw them down before the vmll of the city.'' ^^^ " Now the seditious at first gave orders that the dead should be buried out of the public treasury, as not enduring the stench of their dead bodies. But afterwards, when they could not do that, they cast them down from the walls into the valleys beneath." ''"' e) " And they will not leave in thee one stone upon another, hecause thou hnewest not the day of thy visitation. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may he fulfilled:' The siege is drawing near its crisis and close. Josephus, himself a Jewish commander, but now captured ' ^ §377, Be^nning yet allowed large privileges at the headquarters of the J. ,1 -n 1 •, n Desolation. of the Koman army, becomes an eyewitness or the final overthrow of the Jews at Jerusalem. In his Histories 138 Wars, V, 12, 3. i" lb. v, 13, 7. iM 76. v, 13, 7. i89 /^. y, 13, 2, close, iw/ft. V, 12, 3, close. 534 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. he says that, "This war began in the second year of the gov- ernment of Florus [as procurator], and the twelfth year of the reign of Nero," which was also the seventeenth year of Herod Agrippa II, corresponding to May A. D. 66.^*^ It was in the month of July of that year that Titus made a night assault, surprising the Jews and capturing the castle Antonia. This was a great gain, making easy the early capture of the temple. On the seventeenth of the same month "the daily sacrifice failed at the altar of burnt-offerings, for the want of men to offer it : and the people were erievously troubled §378. Sacrifices . ' . ceased at it." According to Whiston, this fact was the literal fulfillment of DanieFs prediction made 606 years previously, but now the realization is brouglit to pass by Titus: '■''Andfor the half of the week he sJiall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease f " for from the month of Feb- ruary, A. D. 66, about which time Vespasian entered on this war to this very time, was just three years and a half." On learning of the discontinuance of the Jews' sacrifice, Titus himself informed John, one of the Jewish chiefs, "that he might, if he pleased, offer the sacrifices which were discon- tinued, by any of the Jews whom he might pitch upon." He also had Josephus appeal to them in the same manner. But John* was incorrigible, and replied "that he never did fear the taking of the city, because it was God's o\xn city." Josephus replied : " But thou hopest to have God for thy supporter in this war, whom thou hast deprived of his everlasting worship ; and thou imputest those sins to the Romans who at this very time, take care to have our laws observed, and almost compel those sacrifices to be ofifered to God which by thy means have been intermitted." "^ *The three Jewish chieftains were Simon son of Gioras, who commanded fifteen thousand men occupying Mount Zlon; John of Oischola, with six thousand Slcaril or robbers and others, occupied Acra on the north, and the outer temple courts; while Eleazar son of Simon, the treasurer of the temple, commanded two thousand four hundred men in the Inner courts of the temple. These three camps were Implacable In hate for each other, and fought desperately when not engaged with the Romans, their common enemy. i« Ant. XX, 11, 1; see Lard, vl, p. 407. i*> Wars, vl, 2, 1, and notes; comp. Dan. Ix, 27. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 535 If^ow it is a marveloua fact that the Mosaic sacrifices ha/oe never heen resumed, from the seventeenth of July A. D. 70 until this day ! Josephus relates: " So Titus retired to the tower Antonia, resolved to storm tlie temple the next day early in the morning with his whole army, and to encamp round the Holy House. But as for that house, God had for certain doomed it to the fire; ^^^' ^^® and now the fatal day was come, according to the revolu- Burned tion of the ages. It was the tenth day of the month Lous JAb, i. e., August] upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon." ( B. 0. 588; viz., Nebuchadnezzar; and also B. C. 63, by Pompey the Great. )i*3 The storming party of the Romans were successful in cap- turing the sacred grounds, and all hope of the Jews died in them.^** In their fright, they forsook their own walls which seemed almost impregnable, upon which the battering rams of the enemy had thundered lor six days without making any impression.^^ The contending factions, led by Simon and John, betook themselves to flight, but could not effect their escape owing to the wall and soldiery of the Romans surround- ing the city. Many concealed themselves in the caves and caverns beneath the temple and elsewhere, within the area of the outer walls. The streets and houses were filled with the dead everywhere. The spectacle was that of complete desola- tion and solitude created in the midst of a city ; so that in the final onset, when the Romans mounted the ramparts, they were amazed at the silence and ruin which had been wrought by famine, flames, and death.^* All that was now left for the Jews to do, was for each one to make the best terms he could for his own surrender. In noting these events, Dion Cassius remarks " a certain superstitious respect" which the Jews entertained for the walls of the temple, who thought " themselves happy in being em- ployed to fight for their temple, or die near it ;" but that when they saw their sanctuary in flames, i« Wars, vl, 4, 5. "< lb. vl, 4, 2. i« jft. yl, 4, 1 ; vi, 8, 4. i«_n,. yi^ g, 5. 536 Historical Evidence of the Kew Testament. " Some surrendered themselves, some yielded to be killed, some cast themselves into the fire; "and it was truly imagined by all, but especially by those persons [interested], that it was not death, but to be both a victory and a deliverance and a complete happiness that they might perish along with the temple. And, at all events, so truly others were captured, even bar-Gioras their leader ; and, indeed, he alone in the triumphal procedures was punished with death. So assuredly Jerusalem was utterly destroyed on that day of Saturn [i. e., Saturday], which even yet now do the Jews reverence ."* S380 jerusa- "^^^ ^^^^ itself, however, was captured the iem Captured, gth day of September, A. D. 69. f Josephus now expresses this melancholy reflection : " A city that had been subject to so many miseries during the siege that, had it always enjoyed as much happiness from its fii'st foundation, it would have certainly been the envy of the world. Nor did it on any other account so much deserve the sore misfortune as by producing such a generation of men as were the occasion of this overthrow." ^^^ Suetonius mentions that Titus, having been left by his father Vespasian to " finish the reduction of Judaea, in his final assault of Jerusalem, . . . took it upon his daughter's birthday."!^ The city of Jerusalem was now left in shapeless ruins. The temple, with its wealth of associations and treasures of gold, was reduced to ashes. The whole aspect §381. Jerusa- ° ' ^ Iem a of the sacred courts was a dreary desolation. The magnificence of those buildings, once pointed out so admiringly by the disciples of Christ, and those others which adorned "Mount Zion, beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, on the sides of the north," had forever dis- appeared, " like the baseless fabric of a vision, leaving not a rack behind." Those massive walls which surrounded and divided the city were leveled to the ground, excepting a por- tion on the western side, and the three most powerful towers, * Kai e56Kei iraffi fikv, /idXiffra di iKeivoi<^ o6x ^''t SKeOpo^, dXXA Kal vIkt), Kal ffcoTTjpia, evdaifiovla re eipai, 6ti tQ va(^ avvair6WoivTo . 'EdXwcraj' 5' odv Kal &^ &Woi re, Kal 6 BapTropS.^ 6 ipx^v adruv Kal ixbvo- ye oOro^ iv toi<;' fTriinKloi^ fKoXdffdr]. oiiTU) fi^u TO. 'l€po air-g rif rod Kp6vov r)p.ipq., ifv fiaXicTTa eri. Kal vvv 'lovSatoi ai^ovcnv, i^dXero. (Lib. Ixvi, I'e.spas. ^^ 6, 7. + Suetonius' Lives of the (a'sam, Titus, p. 469, Note 1. 1" Wars, vl, 8, 5. ^*»Ti/ ,ix, v. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 537 which had proved to be absolutely impregnable, known as Mariamne, Phasael, and Hippicus, which are still standing near the gate Yaffa. These had belonged to Herod's palace. After the conquest, these were left purposely as monuments of the complete reduction of the city and the nation."^ Every- where throughout the city, in its lanes and streets and courts ; underneath, in its subterraneous regions ; above ground, in the palaces and homes; outside the walls, and down along the surrounding valleys and ravines, — were found, in heaps and scattering, the bodies of the dead and the dying. The victorious Romans now brought their standards, sur- mounted by the detested eagles, into the courts of the temple, and, placing them over against the eastern arate, ' ^ ° P . . §382, The proceeded to make their customary sacrificial Abomination offerings in thanksgiving for the conquest ° esoiation. achieved.^^ Then was realized the predicted '■^abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.'''' " They placed their ensigns upon the towers, and made joyful acclamations for the victory they had gained, as having found the end of the war.'^' And to complete their expression of admiration for their commander, the soldiers assumed to bestow upon Titus the title of Imperator. It was merely a complimentary title, for his father Vespasian, under whose authority he was acting, was at that time the emperor. Centuries before the event, Daniel the prophet „ ggg ,p.^^g had forecast the situation as at length it devel- ^^^ go'I- oped in history. He predicted that — " The people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be [as] with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war. Desolations are determined. He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate ; and even unto the consummation . . . shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate." '*2 Titus now had occasion and time to survey the situation as wrought by famine, pestilence, and war ; not only the desola- i«TFars, vii, 1, 1. ^^Ib. vi, 6, 1. >5»i6. vl, 8, 5. »« Dan. Ix, 26, 27. 538 Historical Evidence of the 'Nbw Testament. tion effected by the Romans, but that eifected within the city by the deadly strifes of the three camps under the leadership of Simon, John, and Eleazar. Nothing remained but "the tattered fragments of departed glory." When he witnessed the ruin and destruction of the city and the temple, — "He gave a groan, and spreading out his hands to heaven, called God to witness that this was not his [own] doing ;"'*3 that "he cer- tainly had God for his assistant in this war;"^^* that "he had himself not done this gi-eat work," but " only lent a hand in the service of God when he was pleased to show his displeasure toward that nation ; " ^^^ and that " it was God who put down by force the Jews from their defenses." ^^^ An eloquent Koman lawyer of an early Christian century, named Minucius Felix, refers the Roman people to Josephus, but also to Antonius Julianus, a Roman author and historian of this Roman- Jewish war, as one "From whom they might learn that the Jews had not been ruined, nor abandoned of God, until they first had abandoned him; and that their present low condition was owing to their [own] wickedness and obstinacy therein ; and that nothing had happened to them but what had been foretold." ^^'' " They will not leave in thee one stone upon another T The depth of meaning here intended may now receive considera. „^„. ^v. , ., ation. This Roman-Jewish war was virtually 8 384. Christ's "^ Prediction ended when Jerusalem was captured and de- stroyed. A few frontier fortresses to which the Jews in flight found refuge remained, and were not all taken until the year 73. Meantime Jerusalem was razed to the ground. Josephus witnesses that — "Caesar resolved to leave there as a guard the tenth legion, with certain troops of horsemen and companies of footmen." '^'Its wall was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the founda- tion, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the Ksiyars, v, 12, 4. 16477,. vl, 9, 1. ^^^Philosiratus de Vit. 1, 6, c. 29, cited by LMrd. vi, 478. 1** 0 Ge^j- ^v 6 rCivBe ipv/xdruv' lovSaiovg- KadeXQv, Wars, vl, 9, 1; cf. vl, 8, 5. Incited by LMrd. vi, 477. Jewish Nation in Timks of the New Testament. 539 madness of those that were for innovations — a city otherwise of great magnificence and of mighty fame among mankind. "^°* Eusebius records : "All this occurred in this manner, in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, according to the predictions of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who, by his Divine power, foresaw all these things as if already present at the time, who wept and mourned indeed at the prospect as the holy Evangelists show in their writings." " How can one fail to ac- knowledge and wonder at the truly divine and extraordinary foreknowl- edge and prediction of our Savior? Concerning the events, then, that befell the Jews after our Savior's passion, and those outcries in which the multitude of the Jews refused the condemnation of a robber and murderer, but entreated that the Prince of Life should be destroyed, it is superfluous to add to the statement of the historian [Josephus]." "The occasion of their being so great a multitude of people at Jerusa- . lem . . . was, that it was the time of the Passover, for which reason the Jews, having come up from all parts to worship at the temple, were shut in the city as in a prison. And indeed it was Jit that they should be slain at the same time [i. e., at the Passover time] in which they crucified our Savior." ^^^ Centuries before these calamities were realized, God's proph- ets had voiced to this people how that the Divine indignation was unmistakably kindled against them, foretelling the doom which would certainly overtake them if they persisted in their wickedness. Precisely what did occur was that which was pre- dicted with marvelous circumstantiality. Jeremiah, quoting the words of Micah, said : " Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah, King of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying : Thus saith the Lord of hosts : Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps; and the mountain of the house [of God] as the high places of the forest." ^^ As to the fulfillment of this repeated prediction of the prophets, confirmation is given by the Talmudists, who were adverse witnesses, who refer to a certain Roman captain named Turnus, but called in the Talmud Terentius Ruf us, who was left with a guard in charge of Jerusalem in ruins. The Talmud reads : " On the ninth [of the month] Av, five things happened: It was de- creed in the wilderness that Israel should not enter into the land [of "STTars, vll, 1, 1, 2. ^^^chronicles, 162. >60 Jer. xxvl, 18; Mic. ill, 12. 540 IIisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. promise]. The temple was destroyed both the first and the second time. The great city Either was taken,, and there were in it thousands and tens of thousands of Israel ; and they had a great king, whom all Israel and the greatest of the wise men imagined to be King Messiah. He fell into the hands of the Gentiles,~and the Israelites were slain ; and there was a great affliction similar to the desolation of the temple. On the same day destined for punishment, the wicked Turnus Rufus plowed up the sanctuary and the adjacent parts, to fulfill that which is said: Zion sitall be ploioed as a field." ^^^ Edward Gibbon, in his celebrated history of 8385. Witness ' "^ of Infidels. the Roman Empire, on the downfall of Jerusa- lem and its destruction by Titus and Hadrian, says : " A part of the hill distinguished by the name of Moriah, and leveled by human industry, was crowned with the stately temple of the Jewish nation. After the final destruction of the temple by the arms of Titus and Hadrian, a plowshare was drawn over the consecrated ground, as the sign of perpetual interdiction. Zion was deserted ; and the vacant space of the lower city [Mt. Moriah] was filled with the public and pri- vate edifices of the iElian colony, which spread^^themselves over the adjacent hill of Calvary. The holy places were polluted with monu- ments of idolatry ; and, either from design or accident, a chapel was dedicated to Venus on the spot which had been sanctified by the death and resurrection of Christ." ^^^ Yolney, one of the extremest of the schools of disbelief, who traversed the lands of the Bible to discover, if possible, evidence w^ith which to invalidate the Scriptures, thus testifies respecting the condition of Judaea : " I have traversed this desolate country. ... I wandered over the country ; I enumerated the kingdoms of Damascus and Idumsea, of Jerusalem and Samaria." " Great God! from whence proceed such melan- choly revolutions ? For what cause is the fortune of these countries so strikingly changed ? Why are so many cities destroyed ? Why is not that ancient population reproduced and perpetuated ? . . . Why have these favors been transferred, as it were, for so many ages, to other nations and different climes? . . . Within two thousand and five hundred years we reckon ten invasions, which have introduced in Syria a succession of foreign nations." ..." God has doubtless pronounced a secret malediction against the land!" ^^ 161 Talmud in Hilchoth Taanioth, c. v, on Mlc. Ill, 12. i62Milman's ed. of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 11, 826: Porter and Coates's ed., Phlla., 1845. 168 See Keith's Demonstr. of Truth and Christianity, pp. 23, 24, 26, etc. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 541 No, not a '•^secret malediction," but a most public one, pre- announced in prophecy, literally fulfilled in history, and the whole land is now a standing monument of Divine indignation against an apostate and incorrigible nation ! It is the terrible retribution of God upon the ancient Jews, brought upon them- selves by the high-handed wickedness of that nation which cul- minated in the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus Christ; a punishment which he foretold would come to pass in that very generation ! Jesus himself foretold : "These are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled."^®* For "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Loi^ "165 " YoY the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee, shall perish: yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." ^^* i) ^^ And they shall fall hy the edge of the sword; and §386. they shall he led captive into all the nations ; and Jerusa- lem shall be trodden down hy the Gentiles^ until the time of the Gentiles he fuliilledr ^^^ This part of Christ's prediction contains three averments; namely, the killed in battle, the prisoners captured, and Jeru- salem trodden down by the Gentiles. We shall see that these particulars were realized to the letter. Joseph us* estimates the number of Jews assembled at Jerusalem in A. D. 65, when Cestius Gallus attempted the first siege, to have been three millions gathered from all lands to the festival of the Pass- over. According to the careful computation of Milman, there perished of the Jews — In different cities prior to the siege at Jesusalem, - - 129,500 And, besides, during the war conducted in Galilee and Judaea, 118,300 At Jerusalem, by siege, battles between the Jews, famines, and pestilence, - - 1,100,000 After the fall of Jerusalem, at the several forts of the frontier, 8,660 Total, 1,356,460 Number of prisoners taken at the end of the siege, 97,000 Prisoners taken at Gischala and the Jordan, - 4,700 101,700 Grand total, 1,458,160 '64 Luke xxi, 22. »» Rom. xll, 19. J««Isa. Ix, 12. '" Luke xxl, 24. * Wars, vl, 9, 3. 85 542 HisTOKicAi. Evidence of the Xew Testament. Besides, ninety-seven thousand captives were sold into sla- very. The aged and infirm who survived the siege were slain. Those whose age was seventeen and above were put into bonds and sent to the mines of Egypt ; while others were sent away to C£esarea, to Berytus (BejToot), and Antioch in S}Tia, and to other cities, to be entered in the amphitheater, to be killed by each other or by skilled gladiators, or to be thrown to the wild beasts, as a holiday spectacle "to entertain and amuse the half-civilized populace of that region. But a special reserva- tion was made of the tallest and handsomest young men, together with those reg^arded as the chieftains in the rebel- lion — such as John of Gischala, and Simon son of Gioras — to grace the triumph of Titus at Kome. The number of these prisoners is that reported by Josephus from only three places ; but there were others not included here. He adds : " They left only the populace, and sold the rest of the multitude with their wives and children ; and every one of them at a very low price ; and that because such as were sold were very many, and the buy- ers were very few." ^^ These cruelties, which are beyond compare, were then jus- tified by the rules of ancient warfare. Upon the other hand, the two alternatives were conspicuously placed before all Israel while yet in the wilderness. Moses taught and edu- cated the people: "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth." " If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD ; ... ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude ; because thou wouldst not obey the voice of the Lord thy God." '"And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from one end of the earth to the other, . . . and among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall give thee a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind : and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee ; and thou shalt fear by day >« Wars, vi, 8, 2. Jewish Xatiox ix Times of the New Testament. 543 and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life ; in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, AVould God it were morning! for fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee: Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you [back]." "The generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, . . . even all the nations, shall say: Wherefore hath the Lord done this unto this land? AVhat meaneth the heat of this anger? Then shall men say : Be- cause they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers." ^^ Since the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, there have been Jewish communities, but no Jewish nation or State. From those days until now, neither Jerusalem nor Judtea has ever been in possession of the Jews. The country has changed ownership frequently; for first it was held by the Eomans who had conquered it; then by the Saracens who overran it; afterwards by the Franks ; then by the Mamelukes ; and now it is governed by the Turks who belong to the Mohammedan religion. The Divine prediction had its verification in that generation : " For in those days there shall be tribulation, such as there hath not been from the beginning of the creation which God hath created until now, and never shall fee."^™ " There shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people ; and they shall fall by the edge of the sword; and they shall be led captive into all the nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled." ^''^ If, now, it should be asked, "Why should this indignation of God be judicially visited upon this particular "generation" rather than another? the reminder should be . § 387. Retribu- made that this generation had the advantages tiononthat of more light than all the others; the accumu- eneration. lated teachings of all prior generations for two thousand years were theirs, and not one generation with less instruction was so incorrigibly wicked. The culmination of all wickedness •MDeut. xxvlli. 1, 58, 62-68; xxlx, 22, 24, 25. "OMark xlll, 19. 1" Luke xxi. 23, 24. 544 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. occurred in this generation as in no other, when Jesus "came unto his own, and his own received him not," ^^ but when " this generation " of both nation and rulers perpetrated the unparalleled crime against the life of the Christ of God whom they crucihed as the vilest criminal. For let it not be forgot- ten that, after all the miracles which attested his Divine Son- ship, he at last wrought the stupendous miracle in their pres- ence in raising Lazarus from the dead, their only response was that they sought to kill both Jesus and Lazarus ; for they said : " If we let him alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and na- tion." ^^ It was " this generation " of both rulers and people who openly committed the deathless infamy of preferring the release of Barabbas, who was a murderer, that the Son of God should be tortured by his death on the cross! Falsely professing loyalty to the Roman Emperor, with one voice they cried out to Pilate: "We have no king but Caesar; if thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend ; every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar!" Against Pilate's repeated protest, ^'■All the people answered : His hlood he upon us, and on our children. ^^^'^^ Their fearful imprecation was granted. They preferred Caesar's rule to that of Christ, and to Caesar's rule they were relegated. Is not the horrid imprecation of the Jews before Pilate the sufficient and supreme answer to the question why God's retri- bution fell upon that particular generation? He who is "King of the nations""^ "shall judge among the nations." ^^^ The abrupt but complete turning point between the dispensation of the Old and New Testament had now come. The siege of Jerusalem in its succession of events is significant of " God in History.'''' The siege began at the time of the Passover, the anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ; at the time when the predicted "sacrifice and oblation should cease," which was the "2 John 1, U. I" 76. xl, 48; xll, 10, 11. m John xlx, 12; Matt, xxvll, 25. "SJer. x, 7. "» Psa. 11, 4, 6; vU, 8; Ix, 8. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 545 abolishment of the Jews' whole sacriticial system; the oc- casion in which their ancient temple was burned to the ground, the utter extinction of their revered center of wor- ship; on a Saturday, the abolition of the Jewish Sabhath; the reduction and destruction of " the Holy City " Jerusalem ; and, withal, the expatriation of the Jewish people from their native Palestine; that which finally terminated the existence of their ancient theocracy ! It stands forever as the answer to all questions, and for the understanding of all the genera- tions to come, that that generation of the Jews in which Jesus Christ Imed and died, in their frenzied outcry for the cruci- fixion of the '"''Lord of Glory'''' invoked upon themselves the hor- rible malediction: ^^ His hlood he on us, and on our children r'' The revenge of History was but too fully accomplished. It was the vindication of God. And the Gentile Avorld ever since has read, with wonder and profound sympathy, the story of these calamities endured, which ended in the blotting out from the great family of nations, and the removal from the geography of the world, the nationality and commonwealth of the ancient Jews of Palestine. From that day forth, His- tory was changed in its course. It is indeed a sad but historical record of the Divine procedure, but one which had been tearfully but faithfully portrayed by Christ himself. It was also long preceded by the longsuffering and "patience of Christ," which should not be lost sight of when taking an account of the memorabilia related to his sufferings. These are : 1. The Sympathy of Jesus t "And when he drew nigh he saw the city, and wept over it." 2. The Visitation op God : ** These are the days of vengeance . . . and wrath unto this people." 3. By Methods op War: "Jerusalem compassed by armies . . . know her desolation is at hand." 4. Excruciating Sufferings: "Hath not been the like from creation, and never shall be." 546 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. 5. The Destruction op the Temple: "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." 6. The Escape of the Christians: "And not a hair of your heads shall perish." 7. The Overthrow of the City: "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles." 8. The Condition op Survivors: "And they shall be led captive into all the nations." 9. The Perversity op the Jews: "Because thou knowest not the days of thy visitation." 10. The Christians Emancipated: "Lift up your head, because your redemption draweth nigh." The Roman triumph is the sequel of this conquest, involv- ing further humiliating sufferings on the part of the Jews. c^r^r. ,„r- rr, • Thc Scnatc at Rome ordered a triumph to be 8 388. The Tri- ^ umph and its awarded in honor of each, Yespasian and his son Titus. They themselves, however, chose that there should be but one occasion, in which they should share jointly. The triumph was celebrated in the next year, A. D. 71- Milman thus describes the expenditure and splendor of the pageantry : " Nothing could equal the splendor of the triumph which Vespasian shared with his son Titus for their common victories. Besides the usual display of treasures, gold, silver, jewels, purple vests, the rarest wild beasts from all quarters of the globe, there were extraoi'dinary pa- geants, three or four stories high, representing to the admiration and delight of those civilized savages, all the horrors and miseries of war, — beautiful countries laid waste; armies slain, routed, led captive; cities breached by military engines, stormed, destroyed by fire and sword ; women wailing ; houses overturned ; temples burning, and rivers of fire flowing through regions no longer cultivated or peopled, but blazing away into the long and dreary distance. Among tlie spoils, the golden table, the seven-branched candlestick, and the Book of the Law from the temple of Jerusalem, were conspicuous." "'' The triumphal procession was most impressive in its ap- pointments. Vespasian and Titus appeared as conquerors. Each clad in the ancient purple, each crowned with laurel, each riding in his own chariot, accompanied by Domitian mounted upon his blooded steed, moved slowly along the Sacred 1" Hist, of Jews, 11, 889. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 547 "Way, amidst the joyful acclamations of the Roman people. Before them had already passed the victorious army; the sol- diers without their arms, clad in festive silk, followed by- seven hundred selected and reserved captives of the war. In accordance with the ancient custom, the triumphal procession paused and waited at the temple Jupiter Capitolanus, which marked the end of the victorious march, to hear announced the death of the general of the conquered army. This distinction was awarded to Simon, son of Gioras, who commanded the Jews and Idumaeans on Mount Zion in the great revolt, who, with a rope about his neck, was dragged to the place of his execu- tion, whipped as he went along the highway in public expos- ure. Upon reaching the famous Tarpeian rock, he was hurled therefrom headlong to his death, and the fact was reported and announced to the conquering Romans. John of Gischala was doomed to perpetual imprisonment. And for the occasion of triumph coins were struck bearing the legend: '■'•Judoea capta, Judcea conquered^'' ^''^ In addition to all this, there was erected in Rome a monu- mental arch of Pentelic marble, constructed in most beautiful design, known now as the Arch of Titus. Of all the antiqui- ties preserved in the Old World capital, this arch is unrivaled in Christian interest. After the death of Titus in A. D. 81, his brother Domitian, who succeeded him to the imperial throne, caused this monument of triumph to be erected to commemorate his victory over the Jews and the destruction of their State. It yet stands on the old street known as Summa Sacra Via, or the highest part of the Sacred Way, between the Forum and the Coliseum. It is that street which extends from the southern gate of Rome to the Capitol, over which the Roman conquerors were wont to move in triumphal proces- sions, the royal captives being chained to the triumphal chariots, drawn by four horses, accompanied by the spoils of i'8 Judcea capta., Judcea devicta. 548 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. war as trophies. A translation of the inscription on the Arch of Titus reads thus : the senate and people of rome to the deified titus vespanianus augustus the son of the deified vespanianus,* This Arch of Triumph still survives the wastes and dan- gers of time, and its inscription tells its own story. Its moldering entablature in part represents the procession tri- umphal, and the sacred furniture taken from the temple of Jeru- salem, as borne along over the pavement with measured step, displaying the spoils of war to the Roman peoples ; the images of their gods preceding ; the shew-bread, the silver trumpets which announced the year of jubilee, the seven-branched can- dlesticks of massive gold, the vessels of incense, and the roll of the Law. The only representation of those sacred vessels now existing, aside from the written description by Moses, is that sculptured in relief in entablature placed on the inside of this monumental arch. The Book of the Law and the veils of the Holy Place do not appear on the arch, but were deposited in the palace of the emperor ; all the other articles were placed in the Temple of Peace, which was burned in the time of Commodus, who was emperor A. D. 180-192. Of the Jews' survival and pertinacity of ex- §389. Sur- . ^ "^ vivai of istence, Dr. Philip Schaff makes the following the Jews. • ^ j ^ pointed remarks : " Thus, therefore, must one of the best of the Roman emperors ex- ecute the long threatened judgment of God, and the most learned Jew of his time describe it, and thereby, without willing or knowing it, [both] bear testimony to the truth of the prophecy and the Divinity of the mission of Jesus Christ, the rejection of whom brought all this and the subsequent misfortunes upon the apostate race." ^™ " But the Jews still * Senatvs popvlvovb. Romanvs. Divo. Tito. Divi. Vespasiani. F. Ves- pasiano. avqvsto. "*Hist. Christ. Church, 1, 399. Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament. 549 had the Law and the Prophets and sacred traditions, to which they cling to this day with indestructible tenacity, and with the hope of a great future. Scattered over the earth, at home everywhere and nowhere ; re- fusing to mingle their blood with any other race; dwelling in distant communities ; marked as a peculiar people in every feature of the coun- tenance, in every rite of their religion ; patient, sober, and industrious ; successful in every enterprise ; prosperous in spite of oppression ; ridi- culed, and yet feared ; robbed, yet wealthy ; massacred, yet springing up again, — they have outlived the persecution of the centuries, and are likely to live till the end of time, the object of mingled contempt, admiration, and the wonder of the world." ^^^ THE REVIEW. The evidential value of our Lord's prophecy uttered on the Mount of Olives can not be overestimated. The prediction is so circumstantially stated, and the fulfillment was in such exact aOTeement with the prediction, 8 ^qo. The Pre- ° ^ ' diction. that some have quite insisted that the Evangel- ists did not record these successive events while they yet per- tained to the future, but afterward, when they had become identified with the past ; not prophecy, but history. Of course, no proof is offered, as it is mere conjecture. But it concedes and certifies the complete accordancy between the foretelling and the fulfilling of the prediction. Obviously, on the ground assumed, it would be impossible to verify any prophecy what- ever, since the more circumstantially accordant the prophecy and the history, the more evident would be the attempted fraud ! In other words, only such predictions as do not corre- spond ^\^th the realization could be entitled to consideration as true! Such assumptions would destroy all canon of belief, from sheer absurdities. But the internal evidence of the case contravenes and de- stroys any such objections to the record of the Evangelists. For the prediction publishes certain signs of warning which are to be observed by the Christians of Judaea, with directions when and how to escape the impending horrors of the siege; viz, "When ye see Jerusalem compassed by armies, then know 180 Hist. Christ. Church, i, 402. 550 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judaea flee to the mountains, and let them that are in the midst of her depart out," etc. Now if the prediction be conceived as an imposture, what possible design could the writer have entertained to insert at all the admonition given, and the direction respecting the time and manner of escape, after the event had already passed? But, on the other hand, if the Christians, and they alone, were in possession of the admoni- tion, and conformed their conduct to the directions, then it must have been exactly because they possessed the admonition and prediction before the occurrence of the event. It was said : " Not a hair of your head shall perish." Not a single Christian suffered from the siege. And to this fact all the historical circumstances of the case correspond with extraor- dinary exactness. Upon every reasonable ground, therefore, the supposition which attempts to deny the reality of Christ's prediction, as such, is inadmissible. The destruction of Jerusalem involving the destruction of the theocracy, was that which was to be accomplished in that §391 The generation. Both were to fall by the judicial Realization, judgment of God, whose occasion is designated as "the day of vengeance." And in that character it came to pass. Armies encompassed the city as foretold; banks and walls were constructed about Jerusalem, to confine the Jews within the siege ; people fell by the edge of the sword by the ten thousand ; the temple where the nation for centuries had gathered to observe all the rites of worship was reduced to ashes; the foundations thereof were so uptorn that not one stone was left upon another; the surviving people became cap- tives in war, but slaves in peace; and the Holy City, the joy of many generations, became literally trodden down by the Gentiles ! What calamities were involved in this stupendous fulfillment of prophecy ! Can conviction rest satisfied in the belief that all this cumulative suffering, and the final extinction of this great and ancient nation, were but a commonplace oc- Jewish Nation in Times of the New Testament, 551 currence in history, having no significant relation to the provi- dence and government of God ? The complete and permanent obliteration of a whole nation from the face of the world — and that by far the most religiously-instructed people of their time, who had for centuries past regarded themselves as God's peculiar people — is an effect which all just reasoning demands that the cause and occasion should be explained. Those who reject this explanation should furnish a better one. For the whole course of history was changed by the results of that war. Set aside, now, the several prophecies related to this oc- casion, who will furnish the sufficient explanation ? Upon the other hand, if we accept the situation as we find it, we clearly have not far to go for the satisfactory answer. It is obvious that those most active in this war, as Titus, most familiar with its pivotal occurrences, are most clear in the discernment which attributes the whole issue to the retribution of God visited upon that apostate generation. The Jewish mind, the heathen mind, and the Christian mind have reached the same consen- sus. The captive Josephus, a captive in chains ; the conquering general, Titus, in command of the Roman army ; the Roman Julianus, an eyewitness and historian of the siege ; the Chris- tian writer, Eusebius, of a succeeding generation, in his Chrmi- icles / and in modern times, the skeptical Gibbon in England, writing on the Roman Empire; and the Atheist Yolney trav- ersing Palestine in researches for materials to refute the Scriptures, all concur in seeing the movement of God's hand visible behind the dark clouds whose vengeful bolt in one day blotted a nation from the geography of the earth. Much was meant in behalf of the Church which the Savior was founding, when he said: "When these things ^^^^ ^^^ begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your Advantages, heads, because your redemption draweth nigh." Of course, the apostles of Jesus were Jewish Christians. They had been regularly admitted to the Church of the Jews 552 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. at a time when all the ancient rites of that Church were yet binding. No rule had been published, either by the authority of Christ or by the Jewish Church, prohibiting Christians from worshiping in the temple. Upon the other hand, these rites and services were powerfully enforced upon all Jews by re- ligious instinct, by education, and by legal requirement. Hence Christ's disciples continued their services at the temple long after the death of Jesus. There was nothing incompatible with duty, or inconsistent in conduct, involved in the disciples' observing such service. For while the death of Christ was itself sacrificial as the Antitype of the whole sacrificial system, and virtually abolished the necessity of subsequent sacrificing at the temple, yet as no authoritative utterance had been made, by Christ or the Christian or Jewish Church, prohibitive of such observances to the Jewish Christians, they naturally con- tinued the old ritual. The gospel was " to the Jew first," and associations in the same Jewish solemnities were most likely to win the Jews to the new faith of which the old observances were so illustrative. The Jewish ritual was allowable, but it was not obligatory. But in the ordering of God it was reserved for the seventeenth of July, A. D. 70, to bring in the one de- cisive measure, when, accordant with the prophecy of Daniel, all "sacrifice and oblation should cease;" and on the tenth of August the temple was burned,* and the theocracy was brought to an end. The point of complete and final separation between the Jews and Christians was now definitely reached. The Gentiles were not to be enslaved by the effete forms of Judaism, nor to be degraded in their freedom of spirit. There existed now no longer a common bond of unity between the old and the new Church ; but in a free spirit all Christians could " lift up their heads, because the day of their redemption" had come. * Alex. Thomson says that Jerusalem Itself was captured and sacked on Sep- tember 8, A. D. 69, on the Sabbath (see Sueton., p. 417, note). Jewish Nation in Times]of the New Testament. 553 On this point Dr. Schaff remarks with characteristic force and clearness : " The awful catastrophe of. the destruction of the Jewish theocracy must have produced the profoundest sensation among the Christians, of which we now, in the absence of ail particular information respecting it, can hardly form a true conception. It was the greatest calamity of Judaism, and a great benefit to Christianity ; a refutation of the one, a vindication and an emancipation of the other. It not only gave a mighty impulse to [the] faith, but at the same time formed a proper epoch in the histoi-y of the relation between the two religious bodies. It separated them forever. . . . God himself destroyed the house in which he had thus far dwelt ; injwhich Jesus had taught ; in which the apostles had prayed. He rejected his peculiar people /or their obstinate rejection of the Messiah; he demolished the whole fabric of the Mosaic theocracy, whose system of worship was in its very nature associated with the temple. . . . Hencefoi'th the heathen could no longer look upon Christianity as a mere sect of Judaism, but must regard and treat it as a new, peculiar religion [of itself]. The desti'uction of Jerusalem, therefore, marks that momentous crisis at which the Christian Church, as a w.hole, burst for- ever from the chrysalis of Judaic a, awoke to a sense of its own maturity, and, in government and worship, at once took its independent stand before the world." " This breaking away from the hardened Judaism and its religious forms involved no departure from the spirit of the Old Testament revelation." ^^^ "The ruin of Jerusalem was for Christianity an unequal fortune." ^^ It was a change from the old Covenant to the New. It involved not the moral, but the whole ceremonial law. The change embraced services and people, conditions and admissions, Jews and Gentiles. The restriction of religion to one nation exclusively now completely ceased ; the extension of privileges equally and universally to all nations was now directly asserted. The result inured greatly to the advantage of Christianity. Bishop Westcott remarks : "The Christians of Jerusalem had clung to their ancient law till their national hopes seemed crushed forever by the building of ^lia, and the establishment of a Gentile Church within the Holy City. At length men saw that they were already in the new age — the world to come ; they saw the kingdom of heaven, as distinguished from the typical king- dom of Israel, was now set up ; and it seemed that the Gospel of St. Paul 181 Hist. Christ. Church, 1, 403, 404. isa R6nan. 554 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. w as to be the common law of its citizens. Under the pressure of these circumstances the Judaizing party naturally made a last effort to regain their original power. It was only possible to maintain what had ceased to be national by asserting that it was universal. The discussions of the first age were thus reproduced in form, but they had a wider bearing. The struggle was not for independence, but for dominion. The Gentile Christians no longer claimed tolerance, but supremacy." ^^ The same writer sets forth the removal of the distinctions between the Jew and the Gentile in the following particulars : a. " The admission of the Gentiles to the Christian Churoh. (Acts X, xi.) b. The freedom of the Gentile converts from the Ceremonial law. (Acts XV.) c. The indifference of the Ceremonial law for Jewish converts. (Gal. ii, 14-16.) d. The incompatibility of Judaism and Christianity." 188 Canon of the New Testament, 67, 68. CHAPTEE XVIII. PAUL'S MISSIONAEY JOURNEYS TO THE GENTILE WORLD. I. Thk Historical Geography op the Book op Acts. II. Paul's Journey to the Gentile Countries. 1. The Apostle Visits Asiatic Cities. a) Damascus (in Syria). /3) Ephesus (in Asia Minor). 2. The Apostle Visits European Cities. a) Philippi (in Macedonia). ^) Thessalonica (in Macedonia). 7) Athens (in Achaia). III. Paul's Journey by Sea to Italy. o) The Apostle's Voyage (Mediterranean Sea). /3) His Shipwreck at Melita (Malta). 7) Puteoli, the Italian Harbor (Pozzuoli). IV. Paul's Residence at Rome. a) In Bonds in his " own hired house." /8) Immured in the Mamertine Prison. 7) His Death at the Three Fountains. 555 Maj) 1. Chapter XYIII. PAUL'S MISSIONARY JOURNEYS TO THE GENTILE WORLD. § 303. Paul's Missionary Jovirneys to the Gentile World. It is said that twelve fishermen founded Christianity. I will show you that one Frenchman can overthrow it. — Voltaire. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, Philosophy will triumph, and Christianity will fade away. — Hume. It is the Bible, the Bible itself, which combats and triumphs most effica- ciously in the war between incredulity and belief. — Guizot. In the Parables of the Mustard-seed and the Leaven, Jesus depicted the small beginnings and the future extent and power of the Christian religion. What a gaze was that which thus looked far down the stream of time ! The unaided faculties of no man in the situation of Jesus could have thus forecast the drama of history. — Fishbr. Christ wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit ; so that from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are at Kome. — Paul. Now God be praised, that, to believing souls. Gives light in darkness, comfort in despair. — Shakespeare. ARGUMENT. The geography of the historical part of the New Testament is full of interest to the investigator, by reason of the lands and seas trav- ersed, the incidents occurring on the way and the circumstances under which the old civilizations, devoted to their idolatries, re- ceived the new Gospel of Christ. The Apostle of the Gentiles complies with the requirement of Jesus at his conversion : " Depart, for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles." He first visits the cities in Asia: Damascus in Syria, Jerusalem in Judaea, Ephe- sus in Asia Minor ; then he introduces Christianity into Eastern Europe, establishing mission stations along the coast-line ; at Philippi and Thessalonica, in Macedonia; and at Athens and Corinth, in Greece. 36 557 558 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. A prisoner, on his " appeal unto Caesar," he is conveyed from Csesarea-on-the-Sea to Rome under the special care of "a centurion named Julius of the Augustan band," a route which comparatively recently has been surveyed, and the vphole journey in detail has been thoroughly established. The several islands, where the ship which carried the apostle touched in its course, have been fully identified ; the terrific storms encountered for " fourteen days and nights " still characterize the Mediterranean Sea ; the shipwreck on the island Melita (Malta), with the interesting incidents of their stay during winter ; Puteoli, the southern port of Italy, where he landed ; and thence on foot over the Appian Way to Rome,— are now all known to be historical. Entering the Capital a prisoner, the treatment the apostle received there, where he spent " two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbid- ding him," and his subsequent trial and death, are all matters of note in this chapter. 1. The Historical Geography of the Book of Acts. 2. Paul's Visits to the Various Gentile Countries. 3. The Apostle's Journey by Sea and Land to the Capital. 4. The Occun'ences, and Close of Paul's life at Rome. The following admirably condensed presenta- §394. The . o ./ r Historical tion of the Geography of the New Testament eograp y. jjjg^-Qpy^ jg taken from the Bamjpton Lectures of the distinguished Professor George Kawlinson,^ of Exeter College, England: "Among minute points of accordance, maybe especially noticed the Geographical accuracy [of Luke]. " a) Compare the Divisions of Asia Minor mentioned in Acts with those of Pliny; Phrygia, Galatia, Lycaonia, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Pisidia, Asia, Mysia, Bithynia, are all recognized as existing provinces by the Roman Geographer, writing probably within a few years of Luke.^ " P) The Divisions of European Greece into two provinces, Macedonia and Achaia,^ accords exactly with the ari'angement of Augustus noticed in Strabo* [the famous ancient geographer]. "7) The various Tracts in or about Palestine belong to the geograj)hy of that time, and of no other. Judsea, Samaria, Galilee, Trichonitis, Itursea, Abilene, and Decapolis are recognized as geographically distinct at this period by Jewish and classic writers. ^ " 5) T}ie Routes mentioned are such as were in use at that time. 1 Bamp. Lecls, 1859, Amer. ed., pp. 402, 40;J. 2 Pliny, Hixtoria JValuralis, v, 27. ^Acts xlx, 21. * Strabo, xvil, ad. fln. 6 Pliny, //. N. \,U, 18, 23; Strab. xvl, 2, 10, 31; Joseph. Ant. xix, 5, 1, etc. Paul's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile "World. 559 'The ship of Alexandria' which conveyed St. Paul to Rome, lands him at Puteoli [modern Pozzuoli], follows the ordinary course of the Alexan- drian corn-ships, as mentioned by Strabo,^ Philo,^ and Seneca ;** and touches at the customary harbors. ^ Paul's journey from Troas by Neapolis to Philippi, presents an exact parallel to that of Ignatius sixty years later, i" His passage through Amphipolis and Apollonia on the road from Philippi to Thessalonica [modern Salonica], is in accordance with the Itinerary of Antonine," which places those towns on the route be- tween the two cities. e) '* The mention of Philippi as ' the first city of Macedodia ' ^^ to one approaching from the east, is entirely correct, since there was no other between it and Neapolis. The statement that it was 'a colony' is also true." 13 g 395. The Cities of Asia. a) Damascus (Syria). "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me ; but I went away into Arabia ; and again I returned unto Da- mascus."" " In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to take me ; and through a window I was let down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands." ^^ This Aretas was king of Arabia, whose capital was Petra. Herod Antipas married his daughter ; then repudiated her, and married Herodias, the wife of Herod Philip [I] while her husband was still living, for which John Baptist sternly re- proved Antipas, while Aretas made war upon him and de- stroyed Herod's army. Thereupon Herod appealed to Emperor Tiberius for counsel and help ; and Tiberius ordered Vitellius, then president of Syria, to capture Aretas dead or alive, and send him to Rome in chains, or send him his head.^^ But before this order could be executed, Tiberus died, on March 12th, A. D. 37, and the news of his death reached Yitellius at Jerusa- lem while on the march with his army to take Aretas. Vitel- lius now regarded the order as nugatory, and its requirement as extinguished ; whereupon he returned to Antioch in Syria. Yitellius is said to have entertained an old grudge against «^n<. XTlil, 6, 3. T In Flacc. 96S, 969. «Epis. 77. [» Suetonius, Ti^ms, c. 5. ^<^Martyr. Ignai. c. 5. " lb. c. 2. i^Acts xvi, 12. 13 Dion Casslus, Hist, of Rome, 11, 4; Pliny's H. N. Iv, 11; Sirabo, vil, 41. n Gal. 1, 17. 15 Bee Alford's Comm. on 2 Cor. xi, 32,33; comp. Acts Ix, 22-2.5. 16 Josephus, Ant. xviii, 5, 1-3. 560 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Herod Antipas.^' Upon the death of Tiberius, Caius Caligula immediately succeeded to the imperial throne at Kome. Some considerable embarrassment has been experienced by some writers in placing this King Aretas in power over Da- mascus just at the time that Paul effected his escape from the governor of the city ; and others have not hesitated to pro- nounce the statement of Paul as unhistorical. But absolute proof to the contrary exists in coins struck by this king;^^ and what renders the case the more extraordinary is the fact that after the accession of Nero and several of his successors, coins again exist. Now Damascus had previously belonged to a pre- decessor of this Aretas ; and there is strong probability that when Caligula deposed and banished Herod Antipas, giving his realm to Herod Agrippa, he also gave Damascus to Aretas. Caligula made a number of changes in the year 38, "granting Ituraea to Sooemus, Less Armenia, and parts of Arabia, the territory of Cotys to Rhaemetalces,'^ etc. Conybeare and Howson state that " The Nabathsean Arabs, after the Babylonian captivity, grew into a civilized nation, built a great mercantile city at Petra, and were ruled by a line of kings which bore the title of ^Aretas.' The Aretas dynasty ceased in the second century, when Arabia Petrsea became a Roman province under Trajan."^ Josephus mentions that the Damascenes had many years before invited an earlier Aretas to rule over them ; that Agrippa I, the favorite at court, became interested in their behalf ; that indeed he received a bribe from them to advocate their claims before Flaccus, prefect of Syria.^^ Eckhel then remarks : "It is therefore not unlikely that, in A. D. 38, the Damascenes, through the influence of Agrippa at the imperial court, may, at his own request, have been transferred, from the province of Syria to the king- dom of Petra. The coins of Aretas (II), with the inscription * Lover-of- 17 Josephus, Ant. xvlll, 4, 5. 18 See Lewln's Paul, 1, 67, 68; comp. Conybeare and Howson's Paul, 1, 99, n. 4; McOllntock and Strong's Cycl. 1, 385, In which Is one coin of Nero exactly answer- ing to this date, A. D. 37; Smith's Bible Diet. 1, 152. 19 Smith's Bible Diet. 1, 152. «» Life and Epis. of Paul, 1, 99, n. 4. 2i.4n«. xvlll,6, 3. Paul's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile World. 561 Greeks,' with whom he wished to ingratiate himself, may have been struck on this occasion. It is not a little remarkable that coins of Da- mascus have been found with the heads of Augustus and Tiberius ;22 but none with the head of Caligula or Claudius;^ but in the time of Nero 24 the head of the emperor again appears. The inference is that Damascus during the reign of Augustus and Tiberius was annexed to Syria, but that in the time of Caligula it was severed from it until the reign of Nero. This would satisfactorily explain how Damascus came to have an ethnarch or Jewish ruler under Aretas in A. D. 39." ^^ '* Weiseler, in his article on Aretas, refei's to Mionnet as his authority for the existence of a coin of Aretas which bears the date of 101 [A. D.] Now, if this date refers to the Pompeian era, the coin would belong to A. D. 37-38, about the time in which Saul's mission to Damascus took place." 26 Here is evidence drawn from biographical, historical, and numismatic sources, all of which concur in confirming the state- ments of Paul and Luke respecting Aretas being in power as King of Damascus, whose subordinate — a Jewish governor — sought to seize upon the person of the apostle when he escaped by a basket let down over the wall. Now over against this evidence there is absolutely no historical warrant whatever to render a contrary conclusion reasonable. Apart from the con- firmation, the statement of Paul and Luke are entitled to the consideration given to profane writers of history under similar circumstances ; and he who challenges is bound to refute the sacred writers by historical facts, and not make merest asser- tions or assumptions. /3) Ephesus (Asia Minor). "And when the town clerk [temple-keeper] had quieted the multi- tude, he saith: Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter ?"27 The citizens of Ephesus, in whose keeping the temple was, charged the JVeokoros with the duty of adorning this sanctuary of Diana, especially on the occasions of the public games. This temple was known as one of the Seven Wonders of the 22 A. D. 1-37. S3 A. D. 37-54. 2* A. D. 64-68. 25 Eckhel, 111, 381. 26 Farrar's Life and Work of Paul, Vol I ; Excursus, vlil and Ix. •'Acts xlx, 35. 562 HiSTOKICAL EvroENCE OF THE NeW TeSTAMENT. World, and the sacred games observed at Ephesus were espe- cially famous. There are several coins extant which bear the veritable words used by Luke in reference to this particular occasion. Some of these coins add "Diana." The term iVe- oko/'os, variously rendered in English,* occurs in the New Testament but once, and this one use serves to illustrate the minute accuracy of the sacred historian, even in this incidental matter, in giving this officer his proper designation. Alford says : " He was the keeper of the archives, and public reader of the decrees in the assemblies." ^s Thomas Lewin says: " He was in fact, during the year he was in office, the representative of the civil power, and was president and speaker of the Senate and Assembly. This will account for the tone of authority which was assumed by him on the riot of Demetrius." ^ Conybeare and Howson say: " The games of Asia and Ephesus were pre-eminently famous ; and those who held the office of president of the games were men of high distinction and extensive influence. When robed in mantles of purple and crowned with garlands, they assumed the duty of regulating the gymnastic con- tests, and controlling the tumultuary crowd in the theater, they might literally be called the ' Chief of Asia.' '"^ §396. The Cities of Eiirope. a) Philippi (Macedonia). "And on the Sabbath day we went forth without the gate by the river-side, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spake unto the women who had come together." ^^ The question to be asked and answered in reference to the Scripture cited is: What is the meaning of Paul's going forth out of the city of Philippi on the Sabbath-day to a place of prayer, in order to find a congregation of hearers? The an- cient Jews entertained the sentiment that the seashore or river-side was the purest possible place of an open country for the worship of the pure and true God. The answer to the question is best furnished by Jewish and other authorities. * Nea)K6po5- Is rendered '■'■Recorder" by Lewin; ^'' Clean-sweeper^^ by Green, but denied by Suidas; ^^ adornrr" by Alford and Bisooe; '■'■temple-keeper " by Rev. Version; while Thayer's Greek-English Lex. of the New Testament defines the term: " 1. ^ temple-cleaner ; 2. One in charge of, and adorner of the temple; 3. A wor- shiper of a deity." i'^ln loco. 29 Life and Epia. of Paul, 1, 815, 310. »' Life and Epia. of Paul, 11, i»6. a'Acts xvl, 13. Paul's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile World. 563 Josephus says: "Moses . . . thought himself obliged to follow the custom of his forefathers, and offered his prayers in the open air." ^ Pie mentions his own friends at Tiberias, who "on the next day all came into the proseuoha [i. e., place of prayer] ; it was a large edifice, and capable of receiving a great number of people."^ He also cites the decree of the city Halicarnassus : " We have decreed that as many men and women of the Jews as are willing so to do, may celebrate their Sabbaths, and perform their holy oflBces, according to the Jewish laws; and may make their proseuchse at the seaside, according to the custom of their forefathers."^ Philo, the celebrated contemporary of Josephus, mentions a custom of the Alexandrian Jews in Egypt, who "Early in the morning go out of the gates of the city in crowds; that they go to the shores near by, and, standing in a very pure place, they raise their voices together^^ [in worship]." " But there are many places of prayer, according to each section of the city." ^ Juvenal refers to the Jews at Kome having a place outside the gate Capena, where a fountain was, and plenty of water. This was a convenience, for the Jews were accustomed to wash their hands before prayers. Tertullian, the Carthagin- ian, says: " By resoi'ting to these customs you deliberately deviate from your religious rites to those of strangers. For the Jewish feasts are the Sab- bath, . . . and the fasts of unleavened bread, and prayers at the sea- side." ^^ And after the temple was burned, and people dispersed, "by every seaside"^ or river-side. Proseucha means prayer ; and then by usage acquired the secondary sense of a jplace for prayer. Where no synagogues existed it became the place for assemblies, whether it was a building, an oratory, a chape], or neither, but out under the open sky. Proseuchae were usually placed outside of towns or 32 Josephus contra, Ap. 1, lib. 11, 2. 33 i,iff. o/ Josephus, 54. 3* Ant. xiv, 10, 23. ^ ^In Place. QSJ, D. **Twi' irpoffevx^^v iroXXai 3^ elcrl Kad' ^Kacrov T/xTJixa Trj<^ 7r6X€W5-, in Flacc. 1011. iT Oradones littorales; Ad IVationes, i, xiii. 3«Per omne litus {Ante-Nic. Fathers, Vol. Ill, p. 123, n. 7, citing de Jejun xvl. 564 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. cities, as the laws and administrators would not allow them to be placed within the walls, especially in the Roman cities and colonies. Often they were located in the open air, or in a grove, or amidst shrubbery, or under a tree ; yet always near the water, for the purpose of ablutions, which preceded Jewish devotions, as with the Moslem of to-day. The proseucha seems to have existed prior to the synagogue. In Alexandria the proseucha was a synagogue, but not so in Judaea. Philip23i was a colony. No great number of Jews lived there; and the persecution of Paul and Silas at Philippi was due to the Gen- tiles and not to the Jews ; for the city was a military garrison, a colony of soldiers, and was poorly adapted to trade. The proseucha was outside the city, for the reason that the author- ities would not permit a service so at variance to heathen wor- ship, to be near heathen temples. Thomas Lewin says : "These proseuchse were commonly in the open air and uncovered, being spacious areas, like for a or market-places. The Jewish ceremo- nial law was accompanied with frequent ablutions ; and the public wor- ship was generally conducted for convenience in the immediate vicinity of water ; and Luke places the oratory in question without the city by the side of the river. ... It would seem that this river was not im- mediately under the walls of the city, but at some little distance. Now, Philippi is surrounded by numerous little springs ; whence its old name ^ Krenides;'^ but there is only one river'*" in the vicinity, . . . the Ganges or Gangltes, and is now known as Bournabachi. ... As Paul's invariable practice was to make the first appeal to his own countrymen, the missionaries on the Sabbath-day attended divine services at the or- dinary [proseucha], for the purpose of preaching the new doctrine." *^ Thus again the custom of Paul in his missionary itinerary as recorded by Luke, and incidentally introduced in the narra- tion, finds ample confirmation in both ancient and modern authorities respecting the Jewish usage of worship of that pe- riod in heathen lands. No author of equal antiquity, feigning historical claims, would think to adventure into such minute particularizations of description for fear of tripping. It is precisely this incidental mention of minute details, uncon- 3» Kprjvcde^. «> UoTa/xd^. 5- TToXtTdpxar. 566 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. ancient author ; but the arch which to this day spans the main street bears the inscription that it had been raised by the seven politarchs." * It is something to be remarked that, out of the seven names mentioned in the inscription on the arch as politarchs, iv "E\\i]vwv, Contra Ap. 11, 12. '>TComm. Tit. 1, 12. 58 Lib. X, 471. ^'^ Pausan. xxlv, C. Paul's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile World. 569 the name of ' the street Hermes.' Another street of the Tripods was lined with tripods dedicated by winners in Greek national games, and carrying each one an inscription of a deity." ^ In short, so numerous were the niches for the statues of the gods in this classic and elegant city, that in every grove and garden, on every street and avenue, at every gate and angle of the highway, at every porch and purlieu, was a sculptured form of a deity to address the eye, or a sanctuary for devo- tions to a god. Everywhere was one in the presence of a divinity ; so that the stricture of a Roman satirist was hardly an exaggeration, that " in Athens it was easier to find a god than a man."^^ Even the Acropolis, the eminence of great height, which was the earliest seat of Athens, whose summit embraces about two acres, was adorned with marble tem- ples of a magnificent order and finish — the crowning glory of Athens — parts of which temples remain to this day, evi- dencing the greatest skill of the mightiest masters of art, verifying the figurative saying attributed to Xenophon that " The Acropolis was one altar, sacrifice, and votive offering to the gods, and that they were obliged to keep such a number of feasts as did no other city of the Greeks."® Dionysius Hali- carnassensis declares that, " If any praise belonged to the city of the Athenians, it was chiefly that in all things, and at all times, they followed the gods, and did nothing without their direction."^ These facts are in strict accordance with the statement that there did exist at Athens an altar dedicated " To the Unknown God." Secondly, "We are not left to conjecture, however, as to the specific fact of such an altar as that referred to by the apostle, which commanded the devotions of the Athenians. Apollonius says that, at Athens, altars of the unknown gods were built ;'^ and other pagan writers mention those dedicated 60 Pp. 140, HL Tr ' Adrjvai:;' , Philopat. xlii, 769. 78 That is, the high priest Jacklua ('loSSovc) B. C. 332; Josephus, Ant. xl, 8, »-6. '^mn' — Jehovdh, or probably proQOunced ^^ Vahveh.^' 572 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. a year. Further, Josephus relates that, upon discovering this ISTame, Alexander "approached by himself, and adored that Name," declaring that at Deos in Macedonia he had had a vision, in which he saw this identical man as high priest, in these robes, and bearing this miter with this inscrutable Name, who urged Alexander to push on his campaign, for he would " Conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians ;" that he then " went up into the temple and offered sacrifice to God, according to the high priest's directions, and magnificently treated both the high priest, and the [other] priests. And when the Book of Daniel was shown him, wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person in- tended." Moreover, "he said to the multitude that if any of them should enlist in his army, they should continue to live according to the laws of their forefathers, . . . and many were ready to accompany him in his wars." ^^ Now, since the spread of the Greek language throughout the East is attributed to this conqueror and campaign, with so many Jews mixed with his soldiery in making his conquests, it is rational to suppose that, upon his return to Greece, Alexander and his army brought with them a knowledge of the Supreme Being whose prophet had predicted Alexander's successes, especially as Alexander himself had had a vision apart from the prediction of Daniel respecting him, all of which had been verified now in history to the very letter. Nevertheless, as respected the relation, the character, and claim of this inscru- table Deity, he must have remained to the religious Athenians essentially " The Unlinown God." About a half-century after- wards, the Jewish Scriptures were translated into the Greek Septuagint, and were published abroad as that language be- came the language of common intercourse between the na- tions.'* Thomas Lewin observes : " Since the conquest of Alexander the Great an intimacy subsisted between the Jews and Greeks, and in particular the Athenians had en- '5^n^ xl, 8, 5; comp. Dan. vU, 6; vlll, 8-8, 20-22; xi, 3. « About 280 B. C. Paul's Missionary Joukneys to the Gentile World. 573 tered into a treaty with that singular people, and had greatly honored Hyrcanus the high priest ; and it is scarcely credible that the Athenians who adopted the gods of all foreigners, should have excluded Jehovah, whose mighty acts could not but be familiar to the neighboring nations."" Nor is there any evidence of such exclusion. Here is a combination of circumstances extraordinary in- deed, and without a parallel in history. The repeated refer- ence to the Athenian altar bearing such an inscription — an altar with reference to which oaths were solemnized; the different forms of expression used by different heathens, espe- cially by Roman pagans of eminence ; such as emperor, historian, and adversary to Christianity, as well as by Christians, to con- vey the thought of "The Unknown" but not unknowable God — are the things which justify the belief in the historical existence of the Athenian altar and inscription referred to by the Apostle Paul, and recorded by Luke. As to the identity of that God with the nameless one seen by Alexander in his vision at Deos, and afterward on the high priest's miter near Jerusalem, known as the incommunicable Name, and Alexan- der's return to Greece with his army in close contact with so many Jews, these facts furnish a reasonable and sufficient ground for the Athenians to erect for themselves an altar with the inscription, "To the Unknown God,"^^ §397. Paurs Voyage to Borne (Mediterranean Sea). I. "And when it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band.™ And embarking on a ship of Adramyttium which was about to sail unto the places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea."80 Whether Julius and his cohort were citizen soldiers of Caesa- rea, a city of Judaea, built in honor of Augustus Caesar, or be- " Life and Epis. of Paul, 1, 268, 264. "See Lewln, Life and Epis. of St. Paul, i, 263, 264. ''^ Iiirelpr)^ ScjSao-riJ?- Augustan cohort, trom the city Sebaate; both city and cohort so named in honor of Augustus, the first and honored emperor of the Romans. so Acts xxvii, 2. 37 574 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. longed to that band at Rome which was attached to the person of the emperor, is possibly now indeterminate, and certainly is irrelevant to this discussion. There are opinions favoring each proposition among learned men. There is conclusive proof that in both countries there were bodies of soldiers bear- ing the designation. Alford thinks that Julius had been sent from Rome to Asia on some service, and was now returning when Paul, with other prisoners, was placed in his charge. Josephus says that, "the Syrians, . . . valuing themselves highly on this account, that the greatest part of the Roman soldiers that were there [i. e. at Caesarea] were either of Cses- area or Sebaste." *^ Tacitus says : "At this time also was first enrolled the body of Roman knights entitled Augustani; men in the prime of life and remarkable for their bodily vigor. Some were naturally licentious, others with the pros- pects of promotion. They are occupied by day and night in applaud- ing the prince [the emperor] as loudly as they could, applying to him and his voice terms appropriate to the gods, and lived in honor and re- nown, as though they were preferred for their virtues." ^^ II. But the main predicates in the Scripture cited may be formulated thus: that prisoners were not unfrequently sent to Rome for judgment ; that often they were sent to the capital in chains; that those from this region were sent to Italy by sea ; and that the apostle was thus sent upon his appeal unto Caesar. It is interesting to know in the outset that every impor- tant detail of the apostle's voyage, as reported in Acts, has been questioned and even condemned in advance of any proper investigation. It is even more interesting to know that the whole history of Paul's journey thither has been traversed critically anew ; and after the most critical exami- nation possible, every particular narrated by Luke has been M Josephus mentions that " Cumanus took one troop of horsemen out of CiEsarea called the troop of Sebaste.'''' Wars, 11, 12, 5. ^'^ Annals, xiv, 15; comp. Sueton. on Nero, c. 20, close. Paul's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile World. 575 completely verified. The nautical terms used by Luke have been declared incorrect; the ports mentioned have been un- real; the Island of Melita (Malta), the scene of Paul's ship- wreck, has been called a myth ; the existence of serpents on the island has been absolutely denied ; and the geography and hydrography of the route have been more than doubted ; while maps and charts have been reconstructed accordant with these preconceived notions. As intimated, a comparatively recent survey, conducted upon strictly scientific principles of modern navigation, has been made, which not only destroys these false assumptions, but substantiates beyond recall the record by Luke of Paul's voyage. A thorough search has been made into the local and historical facts, independently of traditions, relating to the har- bors touched in the route, and verifications found and recorded, which leaves nothing more to be desired. The results have been given to the world, published in London, entitled The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul^ in which both processes and conclusions are given. One or two citations must sufiice : " Since the second edition was printed, the completion of the Admiralty survey of the South Coast of Crete, and the publication of sailing directions for the Island of Crete by Captain Spratt, R. N., and the travels and researches in Crete by the same author, leave noth- ing to be desired for the geographical details of this part of the voyage. We have now all four localities mentioned; viz., Fair Havens, Clauda, Lasea, and Port Phenice, each of them agreeing most minutely with the nar- ratives, and still retaining the names given them by St. Luke."^ " Although we can scarcely have a stronger case of traditional evi- dence than the present, in the following inquiry I attach no weight to it whatever. I do not even assume the authenticity of the narrative of the voyage and shipwreck contained in Acts of the Apostles, but scru- tinize St. Luke's account of the voyage, precisely as I would do those of Baffin or Middleton, or of any ancient voyage of doubtful authority, or involving points on which controversies have been raised. A search- ing comparison of the narrative with the localities where the events so circumstantially related are said to have taken place, with the aids which recent advances in our knowledge of the geography and the navi- gation of the eastern part of the Mediterranean supply, accounts for 83 By James Smith, F. R. S., etc., 3d ed. 1866. 84 " Voyage and Shipwreck,^' Preface, 3d ed, p. 1. 576 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. every transaction, clears up every difficulty, and exhibits an agreement so perfect in all its parts as to admit of but one explanation, namely, that it is A NARRATION OF REAL EVENTS, WRITTEN BY ONE PEIISONALLY ENGAGED IN THEM, AND THAT THE TRADITION RESPECTING THE LOCALITY IS TRUE." ^ It is a common practice of the period for the authorities to send prisoners from this region to Rome, to account to the emperor for their conduct. Josephus says that Quadratus, president of Syria, " Sent away Ananus the high priest, and Ananus the commander [of the Temple], in bonds to Rome, to give an account of what they had done to Claudius Caesar. He also ordered the principal men, both of the Samaritans and of the Jews, as also Cumanus the procurator, and Celer the tribune, to go to Italy to the emperor that he might hear their cause and determine their differences."^^ "Then Varus did for- give the multitude their offenses, but sent their captain to Ceesar to be examined by him."*^ " Felix took Eleazar, the arch robber, and many of them that were with him alive, when they had ravaged the country for twenty years together, and sent them to Rome."** "When Felix was procurator of Judsea, there were certain priests of my acquaintance, and very excellent persons they were, whom, on small and trifling occasions, he had put into bonds and sent them to Rome to plead their cause before Osesar." ^^ " Vitellius sent Marcellus, a friend of his, to take care of the affairs of Judpea, and ordered Pilate to go to Rome to answer before the emperor the accusation of the Jews."^° Pliny remarks of his own administration respecting the Christians : " There were others under like infatuation ; but as they were Roman citizens, I directed them to be sent to the capital." ^^ Suetonius states that "All appeals in causes between inhabitants of Rome were assigned every year to the praetor of the city, and, where the provincials were concerned, to men of consular rank, to one of whom the business of each province was referred." ^^ §308. Shipwreck at Melita (Malta). III. "And when we were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita" (Malta).^^ Several persons of distinction have expressed the opinion that the island Malta was not the scene of Paul's ship\vTeck, 86 Voyage and Shipivreck, Introd. xv, xvl. 8^ Ant. XX, 6, 2; Wars, 11, 12, 6. 8- Wars. 11, .5, 3. 88 /ft. ij, 13^ 2. 89 Life Josephus, $ 3. ^Anl. xvlU, 4, 2. 91 Epis. to Trajan; comp. Martyr. Igiiatius, c. 11. »2 Augustus, 33. »3Acts xxvlU, 1. Paul's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile "World. 577 and others have not hesitated to claim the occurrence took place at the island Melita, or Meleda, in the Adriatic Sea or Gulf of Venice. Thus Lord Lindsay says : " This [Malta] is not the Melita where St. Paul was shipwrecked."^ Neal affirms : " I am bound to express my entire certainty that Melita is Meleda." ^ Coleridge adds : " The supposition itself is quite absurd." ^ All this, however, proves to be the merest conjecture, and is thoroughly refuted by Smith's work reporting the survey and research on all questions involved. His reasoning is too copious for extraction, and too minute for condensation. His conclusions may be sufficiently indicated by brief citations from the work. He says : " There is one objection to the locality assigned by the Maltese tra- dition as the scene of the shipwreck which meets us at the very thresh- old of our inquiry, and which it is necessary to obviate in a work which aims at exhausting the subject. It is maintained by Giorgi, Bryant, Falconer, and others, that it did not take place at Malta at all, but at Meleda, in the Gulf of Venice, an island which was anciently known by the same name as Malta, namely, Melita. But for the above- mentioned reasons I should have been much inclined to have noticed this objection very briefly, thinking, with Joseph Scaliger, that it would not deserve to be confuted if it had not had supporters. But when I find it adopted by modern commentators and biographers, ... I feel called upon to subject the arguments by which it is supported to a minute and sifting examination."^^ " The progress of the nan-ative has brought us to the question whether the traditional locality is in reality that of the shipwreck. Now, if we attend minutely to the narrative, it will be seen that the number of con- ditions required to be fulfilled, in order to make any locality agi'ee with it, are so numerous as to render it morally impossible to suppose that the agreement which we find here is the effect of chance." ^ Conybeare and Howson say: " This therefore is the place for sum- ming up the evidence which has been gi-adually accumulating in proof that it was the modern Malta. We have already seen the almost irre- sistible inference which follows from the consideration of the direction and rate of drift since the vessel was laid-to under the lee of Clauda. But we shall find that every succeeding indication not only tends to bring to the shore of this island, but to the very bay (the Gala di San 9< Letters, 1, 19. «5 Notices of Dalmatia, «6 Table Talks, 185. ^T Introd, to " Voyage," xxx-xxxii. 98 /&, pp. 127, 128. 578 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, Paolo), which has always been the traditional scene of the wreck." '^ M. R6nan says: "They soon learned that they were on the island of Malta." ^'"' "The Gala di San Paolo at Malta corresponds well to the Acts."i»i lY. " Now in the neighborhood of the place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island named Publius, who received us and entertained us three days courteously." ^'^'^ "The chief man of the island"**^ may mean the principal personage of Maltese society, it may mean distinctively an official title, or it may refer to one who possessed both claims. It is the natural sense that Luke meant the official title. Two inscriptions have been discovered in Malta, one written in Greek, the other in Latin, and in both the term is of the same import, and is an official title applied to a Roman knight. He was called '■'' P7'imate of the Maltesey^'^ " But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out by reason of th j heat and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the creature hanging on his hand, they said one to another: No doubt this man is a murderer, whom though he has escaped the sea, yet Justice hath not suffered to live. Howbeit, he shook off the creature into the fire and took no harm, . . . [when] they said that he was a god." '°^ Coleridge again adventures a conjectural opinion when he says: "Now, in our Malta there are, I may say, no snakes at all! "106 The assertion of the merest speculative conclusion is some- thing very different from the assertion of a well-ascertained fact. It is an error to say there are no serpents in Malta ; and if there were none, it would not prove that there were not any in Paul's time. Luke distinctly designates the viper, ^^ which is a venomous reptile. The following citations were written 99 Life and Epis. of Paul, il, 421. i"" Saint Paul, 323. id lb. 421, 18. los^lci.v xxviii, 7. 103 IIpcDTO?- T^g- v^ffov • comp. Mark vi, 21; Acts, xill, 50; xxvlll, 7. 104 npwTOf MeXiraioji' ; and In Latin '■'■MeLPrimux,'''' "T''o.va(/<'," 150, 151 ; Lewln's Life and Epis. of Paul, 11, 208, 209. 106 Acts xxviii, 3-fi. \f» Table Talk, \x.^i. '"""ExiSKa, « Viper. Pajl's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile World. 579 by two different parties who visited the island for the purpose of critical observations, and will prove very evidential on the points questioned. The writers are of the highest authority, who traversed the entire region and made thorough investiga- tions. Thomas Lewin, Esq., remarks : " It has been objected to this account [of Luke] : 1. That there is no wood in Malta, except at Bosquetta; and, 2. That there are no vipers in Malta. How then, it is said, could the apostle have collected the sticks, and how could a viper have fastened upon his hand? But when I visited the Bay of St. Paul in 1851 by sea, I observed trees growing in the vicin- ity, and there were also fig-trees growing amongst the rocks at the water's edge where the vessel was wrecked. But there is a better ex- planation still. When I was again at Malta in 1853, I went with two companions to the Bay of St. Paul by land, and this was the same season of the year as when the loreck occurred. We now noticed on the shore just opposite the scene of the wreck, eight or nine stacks of small fagots, and in the nearest stack I counted twenty-five bundles. They consisted of a kind of thorny heather, and had evidently been cut for firewood ; as we strolled about, my companions, whom I had quitted to make observa- tions, put up a viper, or a reptile having the appearance of one, ivhich escaped into the btmdles of sticks. It may not have been poisonous, but it was like an adder, and was quite different from the common snake. One of my fellow-travelers was quite familiar with the difference be- tween snakes and adders, and could not well be mistaken. After all, therefore, it may be found that vipers, though rare, still exist at Malta." 108 Admiral Smith adds his testimony. He says: "My lamented friend, the late Dr. Landsborough, in his interesting excursions in Arran has repeatedly noticed the gradual disappearance of the viper from that island since it has become more frequented. . . . Perhaps there is nowhere a surface of equal extent, in so artificial a state as that of Malta is at the present day, and nowhere has the abo- riginal forest been more completely cleared ; but it by no means follows that this was the case when St. Luke wrote. Indeed, there are tra- ditions and other indications of former woods in the island. We need not, therefore, be surprised that, with the disappearance of the woods, the noxious reptiles which infested them should also disappear." ^"9 It is obvious from these facts that there are, even in this day, serpents in Malta, which is the special thing denied ; that there are yet fagots of wood gathered in bundles for burning wsLife and Epin. of Paul, 11, 208. i'« Voyage and Shipwreck, 148, 149. 580 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. on the very shores of the shipwreck, as in Paul's time ; that a serpent bearing the characteristic marks of the viper, and un- like any other snake, took refuge in a bundle of firewood, exactly as related in Luke's narrative. These facts can not be ignored. Nevertheless, the burden of proof is with the objector by the established rules of logic. It is his part to prove by veritable facts, and not assume or assert without proof, that there are not now, and never were, wood and vipers in Malta, the shipwreck can be shown to be unhis- torical. The facts which remain to be refuted are those cited by these persons who purposely visited the island to make critical investigations on the spot, and whose high au- thority can not be set aside by the merest conjectural asser- tions, without facts, by those who have never made a personal examination of the island, and have no justifying reasons for their disbelief. § 399. The Harbor Puteoli (the modem Pozzuoli). "After three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria which had wintered in the island, whose sign was The Twin Brothers. And touch- ing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And from thence we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium ; and after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli ; . . . and so we came to Rome.""" The ancient harbor of Italy on the Mediterranean where the vessels from Alexandria landed was called by the Italians Puteoli, but the older name given it by the Romans was Di- cearclda. It is now called Pozzuoli. Sir James Smith describes this port thus : *' Puteoli was then, as it is now, the most sheltered part of the Bay of Naples. It was the principal port of Southei'n Italy, and in particular it was the great emporium for the Alexandrian wheat-ships. Seneca, in one of his epistles, gives an interesting and graphic account of the arrival of the Alexandrian fleet. All ships entering the bay were obliged to strike the topsails except wheat-ships, which were allowed to carry theirs. They could therefore be distinguished whenever they hove in sight. It was the practice to send forward fast-sailing vessels to announce the speedy arrival of a fleet." '" "OActs xxvUl, 11-14. 1" Voyayc, etc., 153, 154. Paul's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile World. 581 Suetonius mentions that after the subjugation of the Jews in Judaea, Titus resolved to go to Rome; "therefore, making what haste he could into Italy, he arrived at Puteoli, [and] went to Rome with all possible expedition." ^^ The late Pro- fessor Renan, of Paris, said: "Puteoli, as we have already- said, was that port of Italy most frequented by the Jews. It was there in general that ships from Alexandria discharged their cargoes.""^ Josephus, describing his own shipwreck when journeying to Rome says that at length, he came " to Dicearchia, which the Italians call Puteoli /" ^^* that by sail, on a certain occasion, Herod "Agrippa [I] was come to Puteoli ;" "^ and that Herod Antipas and the slave Fortunatus '''"both sailed to Picearchia,^'' ^'^^ in search of the emperor. Thus the two names given the harbor near Kaples were used interchange- ably, and it is the same harbor where Paul and his ship's company landed, and he was met by Jewish brethren, and thence pursued his course over the Appian Way through "the Market of Appius" and "the Three Taverns" to Rome, The custom of sending forward "fast-sailing vessels" to discover and announce the approach of the grain-ships from Alexan- dria, accounts for the fact that the brethren resident at Pute- oli, and even at Rome, had opportunity to meet the apostle — the one class at the harbor, and the other at the Three Taverns, which was forty-three miles south of the Capital. The entire distance from Puteoli to Rome was about one hun- dred and forty-one miles; a distance which Paul and Lulie traveled afoot. § 400. Paul at Rome (Italy). V. "And when we had entered into Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the Pr?etorian guard ; but Paul was suffered to abide by himself with the soldier that guarded him." "^ Ulpian is referred to as authority for the statement that it was the part of the chief ruler of the country under the Ro- ns Titus, V. 113 St. Paul. 324. n* Life of Josephus, $3. ii5^M<. xvlli, 6, 3, 4. »«/&. xvlll,7. 2. ii'Acts xxvlil, 16. 582 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. mans, to determine whether an arrested person should be immured in prison, or should be committed to the keeping of a soldier, or should be placed in charge of securities, or be left to take care of himself.""^ It is evident, then, that the prisoners of the Romans in military custody could be treated with severity or lenity, at the discretion of the chief officer of the law, he taking into account the previous character and standing of the prisoner in society. Tacitus makes note of an instance in point, in the treatment of a Roman lady by the Emperor Tiberius, who "took the slaves of [Emilia] Lapida from the guard of the soldiers, and transferred them to the consuls ; nor did he suffer them to be examined by torture." ^^^ When Herod Agrippa (I) was young, pursuing his educa- tion at Rome, for words of indiscretion spoken to his friend young Caligula disrespectful of the Emperor Tiberius, Agrippa was imprisoned for six months. Through the influence of Antonia, Caligula's grandmother, it was permitted " his freed- men and friends to come to him, and that other things that tended to ease him might be indulged him." ^* The case of the apostle throughout his period of imprison- ment from Jerusalem to Rome illustrates in a remarkable manner, no less the dignity and commanding character of the prisoner than the consideration, and even sympathy, extended to him as a Roman citizen who was not charged with any crime. It was purely a question of religion between Paul and the Jews, and his being conducted in bonds to Rome was on his own "appeal to Caesar" in order to avoid being judged by those who had already formed a conspiracy against his life. Claudius Lysias, the commandant of the castle Antonia at Jerusalem, not only showed him much courtesy, but in his official letter to the procurator at Caesarea, he expressly states that the prisoner was merely "accused of questions of their [the Jews'] law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy H8 Digest of Justinian, xlvlll, TituU 3; De Ulp. 1 ; comp. Acts xxlv, 23. ^itAnnals, HI, 22. i!" J^ospp/nts, Ant. xvlli, 6, (j, 7. Paul's Missionary Journeys to the Gentile "World. 583 of death or of bonds." ^^ Even the conscienceless Felix at Caesarea ordered that " he should be kept in charge, and should have indulgence, and not to forbid any of his friends to min- ister unto him." ^ His successor, Festus, after having made an occasion of much magnificence, presented Paul to King Herod Agrippa II, before whom the apostle made his pow- erful defense, "Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto C^sar."^ When started upon the voyage to Rome, at Sidon the officer in charge, " Julius, treated Paul kindly, and gave him leave to go unto his friends and refresh himself." ^^ At Malta, the scene of the shipwreck, Luke narrates how " the barbarians showed us no common kindness ; for they kindled a fire and received us all, because of the present rain and because of the cold." ^'* And " the chief man of the island, named Publius," " received us and entertained us courteously ;" and the people who had been miraculously cured by Paul, " also honored us with many honors ; and when we sailed, they put on board such things as we needed." ^ Accordingly, (vhen we recall the leniency of the Romans toward the apostle hitherto, we are prepared to un- derstand that, when Paul entered the capital, "he was suffered to abide by himself with a soldier," "in his own hired dwelling, and received all who came unto him, none forbidding him"^ his labors in the gospel. These facts reflect light upon the apostle's own expressions in writing to brethren elsewhere during the continuance of his present imprisonment at Rome : " So that my bonds became manifest throughout the whole prsetoriau guard, and to all the rest; and that most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear."^^ "All the saints salute you, especially they that are of Caesar's household."^ i« Acts xxl, 39, 40; xxili, 26-30. 122/6. xxlv, 23. 123 lb. XXV, 28-27 ; xxvl, 32. 124 lb. xxvil, 8. 125 lb. xxvlil, 2. 126 lb. xxvili, 7-10. 127 lb. xxvlil, 16, 30, 31 128 Phil, i, 13, 14. iMib.iv, 22. 584 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. VI. If the traditions are historical respecting the last days of the Apostle Paul, he wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy by a lighted taper when immured in the Mamertine prison, which is near the Senate-house, on the Capitoline Hill of Rome. It was written after his second trial, in which he was condemned to die. From the first indictment, which was preferred by vicious Jews of Jerusalem, he was exonerated on trial. In reference to this occasion Paul himself wrote : "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil; the Lord render to him according to his works ; of whom be thou ware also, for he greatly withstood our words. At my first defense, no one took my part, but all forsook me ; may it not be laid to their account. But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I loas delivered out of the mouth of the lion." '^ It has been the constant tradition that upon his second trial, instigated by persons from Ephesus, Paul was condemned to die, at some date between 66-68 A. D. This was under the reign of Nero. It is said that he was led out through the southern gate, which now bears his name, into the Via Ostiensis, about two miles, to the " Three Fountains," where is a natural amphitheater for the accommodation of the vulgar populace, who thronged the Christian prisoner along the way to witness his execution. A small church edifice, built in 1599, is said to mark the spot where the Apostle Paul was beheaded. It is called S. Paolo alle Tre Fontane. 1302 Tim. iv, 14-17; comp. 1 Cor, xv, 32; Ignatius, Epis. ad Bom. c. v; and Josephus, Ant. xvlll, 6, 10. CHAPTER XIX. VERIFICATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT AS HISTOEICAL. I. Consideration op Some Points Preliminary to the Investigation. 1. The First Three Centuries of the Christian Era the Old Battleground. 2. Paul's First Four Epistles Concededly Authentic and Credible. 3. Reaction in Rationalistic Criticism on the Chronology. 4. The Nativity of Christ as the Basis of the Christian Era. II. Books of the New Testament Affirmed by Enemies to be His- torical. 1. The Witness of Julian, known as the Apostate, dating 362 A. D. 2. The Witness of Hierocles, the Instigator of Persecutions, 303 A. D. 3. The Witness of Porphyry, who wrote against Christian Doc- trines, 295. 4. The Witness of Lucian, an Officer of the Roman Govern- ment, 160. 5. The Witness of Celsus, the Literary Champion of the Enemies, 150. 6. The Witness of Tacitus to Fundamental Facts of Christian- ity, 110. 7. The Witness of Josephus to the Life and Death of Christ, 103. III. Testimony op the Enemies Confirmed by the Christian Writers. 8. The Testimony of Origin of Alexandria, 254 A. D 9. The Testimony o^ Tertullian, the Jurisconsult of Carthage, 200 A. D. 10. The Testimony of J7-ena?us, the Bishop of Lyons, in 170 A. D. 11. The Testimony of Justin on ^'The Memoirs of the Apostles," 140 A. D. 12. The Testimony of Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, Phrygia (uncertain). 13. The Testimony of Clement of Rome, Companion of Paul, 64-67 A. D. 14. The Testimony of Barnabas of Matthew's " Written" Gospel, 70 A. D. IV. Some Collateral Evidence Respecting the Books op the New Testament. 1. The Titles Prefixed to the several Books of these Scriptures. 2. The Quotations made from them in Comparison with Classic Writers. 3. A Table of Citations by Four Eminent Men from the whole New Testament. 585 Chapter XIX. VEEIFICATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT AS HISTORICAL. ^401. Sources: Biographical Epitomes of Witnesses and Literature. 1. Papias (b. about A. D. 70), who wrote 110-116, and. died about 153, was Bishop of Hierapolis in Plirygia in the first half of the second century. Irenseus, mentioning certain matters, says: "And these things are borne witness to in a writing of Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp." {Against Here- sies, V, c. 33, 4.) Papias wrote a book entitled Explication of the Lord's Discourses (Aoyiwu KvpiaKwv'E^rjyvo'i-^), in which he has re- corded many historical traditions which had previously been pre- served in oral discourse, having been received from the apostles, concerning our Lord's teachings. This work was extant in the fifteenth century, but is now lost, except some fragments pre- served in the writings of Irenseus and Eusebius. Jerome also possessed the writings of Papias. Dr. Philip Schaff aptly i-emarks: "Papias proves the great value which was attached to the oral traditions of the apostles and their disciples in the second cen- tury. He stood on the threshold of the new period, when the last witnesses of the Apostolic Age were fast disappearing, and when it seemed to be of the utmost importance to gather the re- maining fragments of inspired wisdom which throw light on the Loi'd's teaching, and guard the Church against errors." {Hist. Christian Church. II, 696.) Besides these teachings of our Savior, unrecorded in the Gospels, but transmitted through his apostles, Papias bears witness to the existence of Matthew's Gos- pel, originally written in Hebrew, to Mark's Gospel, to the Book of Acts, to the First Epistle of Peter, the First Epistle of John, and to the Apocalypse. 2. JoHANN Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) in youth was carefully edu- cated in the languages, was well acquainted with the Bible, but the Scriptures exerted no influence on his spirit and life. He appears to have been deficient in all spiritual impressions. At the age of nineteen young Goethe went to the University of Leipsic (1768). He then became a novelist and poet, as well as a writer of dramas. In 1775 he became a member of the court by invita- 587 588 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. tion of Charles Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. He occupied several posts of honor in the government, and finally became Minister of State. Retiring from this position, he became deeply interested in practical and scientific matters, studying vrith great care, Botany, Comparative Anatomy, Mineralogy, and Optics, making some valuable discoveries in these directions. After his marriage he was regarded as an authority among his people, es- pecially in the way of liberating the German civilization from the bonds of the Middle Ages. In person he was tall and re- markably handsome, reserved, and sometimes haughty and even arrogant in manner, but withal, strangely attractive in social in- tercourse. 3. Samuel Psideaux Tregelles (1813-1875) was an Englishman of Quaker descent, who was well and classically educated. Studying the Oriental languages as a life-study, his fii-st production was a critical edition of the text of the New Testament from the most ancient manuscripts and versions. He occupied no little time in visiting the gi-eat libraries of Europe, making scholarly researches with a view to subsequent productions. Some of the principal works from his pen are The Book of Revelation, in Connection with the Old Testament (1836), The Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament (1839), The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon (1843), The Greek New Testament (1857-1872), and many others. 4. Andrews Norton (1786-1853) was born in Massachusetts, graduated at Harvard University in 1804. While serving as tutor at Bowdoin, he delivered a course of lectures on Biblical Criticism in 1813. Upon the organization of the Harvard Divinity School (1819), he was chosen Professor of Sacred Literature, which position he re- signed in 1830. In theology he was a Unitarian, and wrote works of character against infidelity. His best production was The Genu- ineness of the Gospels (5 vols.), the last of which was issued after his death (1856). It is a critical work of invaluable worth. 5. Arthur Penrhtn Stanley (1815-1881) was a favorite student of Dr. Thomas Arnold, of Rugby school, who took a number of notable prizes as an essayist at Oxford, graduated at the university college in 1838, and became Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Ox- ford in 1856, chaplain to the Prince of Wales in 1854, and to Queen Victoria in 1862. He was also distinguished for his defense of " free thought" in the Church of England, in the controversy precipitated by the publication of Bishop Colenso's work on the Pentateuch. Some of Dean Stanley's literary productions are Es- says on the Apostolic Age (1847), Epistles to the Corinthians, with Critical Notes (2 vols. 1855, 14th ed. 1876), Sinai and Palestine, Verification of the Kew Testament as Historical. 589 Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church, and A HUtory of the Jewish Church. He was a member of the British branch of the company who revised the translation of the Bible. 6. George Rawlinson (b. 1815) is brother of the distinguished Sir Henry 0. Rawlinson, who for many years was president of the Royal Geographical Society ; also of the Society of Biblical Ar- chaeology, in England. George Rawlinson graduated at Trinity College, Oxford, in 1839; delivered the Bampton Lectures in 1859, and in 1861 was chosen Professor of Ancient History at Oxford. He is the author of a number of very valuable works, among which may be named The Five Great Monarchies of the Eastern World (4 vols. 1862-1867), A Manual of Ancient History (1869), History of Egypt and Babylon (1885), and Historical Evidences of the Truth of the Scripture Records (New York, 1859). This last work is exceedingly interesting to Christians and critical scholars, as directed against the prevailing disbelief in the truth and authority of the Holy Scriptures in the present day. § 402. The Verification of the New Testament as Historical. We have no less weighty an inquiry before us than this : Whence spring our Gospels ? for on the origin of these books hinge their trust- worthiness and all their value. . . . With the person of Jesus, Christianity stands or falls. — Tischendorf. Christianity alone of all religions claims to be founded, not on fancy or feeling, but on Fact and Truth. — Stanley. I believe the four Gospels are genuine ; for I see in them an emanation of that greatness which proceeded from the person of Christ, such as was never before manifested on earth. — Goethe. The sayings of Jesus, being especially characteristic of their time, have all the signs of an exalted and reticent originality, of a Divine sanctity and force; [and] bear the stamp of a spirit of develop- ment which no evangelist, Jew or Gentile, nor even Paul him- self, would have known how to invent.— Keim. I confess to you that the majesty of the Scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the Gospel has its influence upon my heart. It is more inconceivable that several men should have united to foi-ge the Gospel than that a single person should have furnished the Subject of it. The marks of its truth are so striking and inimitable, that the inventor would be more astonishing than the hero. — Rousseau. So great is the certainty respecting the Gospels that even the heretics themselves testify to them, and each one of them, starting out from these, endeavors to establish his own doctrines. — Iren^us. 38 590 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. The apprehension has grown into a certainty, that the Scriptures are the Word of God, and are of Divine authority. — Tregelles. ARGUMENT. That the disciples of Christ wrote the four Gosples is a fact constantly assumed or asserted by the enemies of Christianity, especially during the first four centuries. In truth, they make that circum- stance their basis in assailing the Christian religion. This convic- tion is shared and amply confirmed by patristic testimony. Some learned extremists at first dated the several books of the Nevjr Testament nearly through the second Christian century ; but crit- icism has compelled a general retrocession in this particular. For these writings, though dateless as to modern methods, bear the col- oring of the age and antiquity of their origin. For obvious reasons the apostolic writers omitted their signatures to the four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, while in contradistinction, the Epistles bear the authenticating autographs of their several writers. Nevertheless, so far from causing doubt of the authorship by the omission of signatures in case of the historical books of the New Testament, in the minds of contemporaries and their successors, foes and friends were entirely agreed in holding to the apostolicity of these writings as unquestioned and unquestionable. Both classes even mention the names of the respective writers as well understood. Both held that the sacred books were regarded by Christians as of supreme authority. Sometimes the Gospels were called Memoirs of Jesus. By the rules governing in cases of his- torical evidence, universally applicable, these books were kept and found in the proper custody. The numerous references to, and citations from, their contents furnish a complete catena of proof, extending from the time of Constantine the Great, through whom Christianity became the religion of the State, back to the period when the New Testament writings were written and published first to the world. 1. A Retrocession made by Adverse Critics respecting the Dates of these Sacred Writings. 2. The Main Facts of Christianity mentioned in the New Testament, attested by lOnemies. 3. The Authorship of the Several Books ascribed by Foes to Christ's own Disciples. 4. Three-fourths of all the Writers of the New Testament are expressly named by Foes. 5. Reasons why Writers of the Historical Books omitted to subscribe their Signatures. 6. Confirmation of the Adversaries' Testimony by that of the Early Christian Writers. Verification of the New Testament as Historical. 591 7. A Catena of Proofs extending from Constantine back to the very Apostles of Jesus. 8. The Authenticity and Antiquity of these Scriptures attested by many Early Citations. The first three centuries of the Christian era are the old battleground between Christian scholarship and Destructive Criticism respectino^ the historical existence of ^ * 8 403. The the New Testament Scriptures, as well as of Ancient Christianity itself. There is no question made ^ egroun about the historicity of Christianity after its establishment as the religion of the State by Constantine in 325 A. D. It would be, therefore, a waste of labor and time to prove what no one denies. As the discussion of this subject is thus re- stricted to the first three hundred years, it is proposed to estab- lish a chain of proofs extending from the time of Constantine back to the Apostolic Age, beginning with the remotest period from the origin of the Christian religion, proceeding upward in chronology toward the apostles until we stand within hear- ing of their original utterances. The investigation to ascertain the origin, the authenticity, and historicity of these Scriptures is limited to this period. Meantime, as a point preliminary to the discussion, it is especially worthy of note that all living critics of learning or distinction, of whatever school of thought, now ' *= . ' §404. Paul's fully admit that Paul's first four Epistles — Four namely, Romans, the two Corinthians, and Gala- ^^^ tians — are truly authentic, credible and evidential. Baur used these very writings to assail the harmony and faith of the apostles' teachings. Of the thirteen Pauline Epistles, Hilgen- feld admits seven, and Renan nine, with Acts as genuine and authentic. Now, if the first four Epistles of Paul contain such evidential worth as claimed by Baur in his assault, they certainly are of equal value evidentially on the Christian side, for the defense. These Epistles were written A. D. 54-58. That is, they date within a quarter of a century after Christ's 592 IIisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. crucifixion. During tliis period nearly all the twelve apostles were still living, and were accessible to Paul, from whom he would easily and naturally learn any great facts of the per- sonal life and ministry of Jesus Christ.^ Paul's conversion is generally placed in A. D. 37. Just before Baur's death in 1860, Ije confessed that the apostle's conversion was to him an insolvable mystery — "amounting to a miracle." What, then, is the gain to Christian evidence by the univer- sal concession of the first four Pauline Epistles Avhose contents are held to be authentic and historical by extreme critics ? Dr. Philip Schaff thus briefly summarizes the conceded facts : * "The leading facts in the life of Chi'ist: his Divine mission ;i his birth from a woman ; ^ of the royal house of David ; •'' his holy life and example;^ his betrayal,^ passion, and death for the sins of the world ;^ his resurrection on the third day ; ' his repeated manifestations to his disciples^ [and others] ; his ascension and exaltation to the right hand of God,^ whence he will return to judge mankind ; i" the adoration of Christ as Messiah," the Lord and Savior from sin;^^ ^^g eternal Son of God;^'' also the election of the Twelve ,^^ the institution of Baptism ,i* and the Lord's Supper ;i*^ the mission of the Holy Spirit, ^^ the founding of the Church. ^^ Among other facts may be added the account of Paul's conversion and call to his apostleship by the personal revelation of Jesus Christ ; ^^ the knowledge we have of miracles wrought by the apostles especially by Paul;^" and the early controversy in the Church between the Judaizers from Jerusalem and the Christians of Antioch in Syria." ^* A wonderful reaction and retrocession in the chronology of the New Testament is to be noted among the extreme critics *Hist. of Christian Church, vol. i, 213, and following. iGal.lv, 4, 5. 2J6.lv, 4. 3Rom. 1, 3. 4 76. xl, 16; 1 Cor. xl, 1 ; 2 Cor. v, 21. b i Cor. xi, 23. 8Rom. V, 8-21; vUl, 3; xiv, 15; ICor. 1, 23; 11,2; v, 7; xv, 3; 2 Oor. v, 21; Gal,i, 4; Hi, 13; Iv, 4-6; vl, 14. n Cor. XV, 4, 20; Rom. 1, 3; iv, 24, 25; vl, 4, 9; vlU, 11; x, 7, 9; ICor. vl, 14; Gal. 1, 1. 81 Oor. XV, 4-8; 45-49. 'Rom. x, 6; vlil, 34; 1 Cor. xv, 47. 10 Rom. 1,32; 11,2,16. uRom. Ix, 5; xl,36; Gal. 1, 3-,''). 12 Rom. 1, 16; vl, 10; vlll, 8; 1 Oor. 11, 8; xv, 3; 2 Cor. v, 14, 15, 21; Gal. HI, 19; iv, 4, 5. i»Rom. 1, 3, 4; vlii, 3; ix,5; Gal. 11, 20; Iv, 4. iTi ^dp^apov i^uKeiXe T6XjotTj/ua = lit. "drove headlong in the barbarian ad- venture." « Euseb. Ecel. Hist., cited In Lard. vU, 397. M Cited In Lard, vll, 445. «» lb. 446. Verification of the New Testament as Historical. 605 in the sixth decade of the second century, immediately after the celebration of the sacred Olympic games, publicly burned himself to death " in the eyes of all Greece." Although he represents Paul in terms of disrespect, he pays a tribute of praise to Christ and the Christians generally of that period. He says: " It is incredible what expedition they use when any of their friends are known to be in trouble. In a woi'd, they spare nothing upon such an occasion." " They also have a sovereign contempt for the things of this world, and trust one another with them without any particular secu- rity." "For these miserable men have no doubt that they shall be immortal, and live foi*ever; therefore they contemn death, and many surrender themselves to sufferings." "They still worship that great man who was crucified in Palestine, because he introduced into the world this new religion." " Moreover, their first Lawgiver taught them that they were all brethren when once they have turned and renounced the gods of the Greeks, and worship that Master of theirs who was cru- cified, and engage to live according to his laws." ^ "When the Galilean, half bald, long nosed, who traveled through the air to the third heaven, and there learned the most extraordinary things, came to me, he i-enewed us by water. ... I entreat you, . . . though, with your Master, you should be taken up and admitted to unspeakable mysteries." ^ The references to the Scriptures are to Acts, Corinthians, and apparently to other Pauline Epistles, as Philippians and Titus, also to Hebrews, and frequently to the Book of Life in Kevelation. A SUMMARY. A summary may now be given of the points in evidence furnished by the last three adversaries of the Christian religion. 1. Hierocles affirms the miracles of Jesus; admits that he ascended into heaven ; and that the Christians in his period, and earlier, were accustomed to deify Jesus Christ. He also acknowledges the apostolic authorship of Peter and Paul, of Matthew, Luke, and John, in respect to the several Gospels, Acts, and the Pauline Epistle? to the Corinthians and the Ga- latians. Thus five of the seven or eight writers of the New M Lard, vll, 280, 279. « lb. 287. 39 606 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Testament are named and admitted, as already in his own possession. 2. Porphyry mentions Christ's character and power in strong commendation; acknowledges that he wrought many miracles; affirms that he was superior to all the heathen gods whom he worshiped, and, finally, that Jesus ascended into heaven. Referring to the Gospels, he expressly calls the writers "the Evangelists," cites directly from the Gospels of Matthew and John, and makes specific references to Acts, Corinthians, and to Galatians. Moreover, he admits the authorship of Peter and Paul, and acknowledges the miracles of the apostles after Christ's ascension. 3. Lucian states the capital fact that Christ was crucified in Palestine, and the reason of the fact, "because he intro- duced into the world this new religion." He was therefore recognized by adversaries as the Founder of Christianity. He also alludes to Paul's description of "a certain man" who was carried up to the third heaven and heard things unspeakable. Eeference is made to Acts, Corinthians, possibly to Philippians and Titus, but particularly to Hebrews and Revelation. 4. So these writings existed in the middle of the second century as authoritative with the Christians, and the several incidents alluded to were known from those Scriptures by the enemies of Christianity. That other writings of the New Testament are not mentioned or referred to^ by no means jus- tifies the inference that they were not in existence, but rather that the adversary writing, in his purpose had no occasion to use them. And of that, he was the sole judge. No Chris- tian writer, even, on any occasion whatever, is expected to refer to, or make citations from, all the books of these Scrip- tures. 5. Celsus, born about A. D. 110, or earlier, and wrote about 150, was the literary champion of those who assailed the Christian religion in their writings. He unintentionally and Verification of the New Testament as Historical. 607 inadvertently furnishes an invaluable witness to the sacred writings, as well as their authorship, in his open and active hostility to Christ and Christianity. For he claims to have made these books of the New Testament the exclusive source of his information respecting Jesus and his doctrines. Never- theless, it is said of Celsus that he took counsel of the Jews of his period, and shared in their prejudice and hate of the Christians and their religion. Be that as it may, it is in evi- dence throughout his work, Celsus not only assumes, but abso- lutely affirms and reiterates, that the disciples of Christ wrote the four Gospels which he takes for his exclusive written autho7'- ity in opposition. This fact he constantly exploits. Bishop Westcott justly remarks : "Celsus quotes the writings of the disciples concerning his life as possessing unquestioned authority ; and that these were the four canon- ical Gospels is proved both by the absence of all evidence to the con- trary, and by the special facts which he brings forward. And not only this, but both Celsus and Porphyry appear to have been acquainted with the Pauline Epistles." ^^ From the use which is made by this adversary of Chris- tianity, it is obvious and evident that these Scriptures were the only books which he relied upon as being authoritative with the Christians. It is easy to prove the identity of the books which he cites with our own canonical Gospels, by an appeal to the facts and doctrines found in their contents. For Celsus is clear and express in terms, tracing the history of Jesus, en- larging upon the capital facts of his life, such as His Nativity, His Baptism, His Ministry, His Miracles, His Death, and His Resurrection, all in exact accordance with our canonical Gos- pels. Lardner states that there are no less than eighty pas- sages of our Scriptures alluded to and cited by this disbeliever. A limited number of instances, illustrative of the whole, are sufficient to determine the identity of our Gospels in contents with those used by this inveterate enemy. Except in the form 6« Canon of N. T., pp. 404, 405. 608 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. of citations made at a later date than the writing of the Gos- pels, these various facts are not found in any work in the world of literature. §408. Internal Evidence. These facts particularized are : 1. That Jesus descended from the Jewish kings. 2. That his birth was of a virgin mother. 3. That he was born in a village in Judaea. 4. That Joseph was suspicious of Mary's chastity. 5. That at length Mary married the carpenter. 6. That a Star appeared at the time of Christ's birth. 7. That certain Wise Men came to do him homage. 8. That Herod slew young children at Bethlehem. 9. That an Angel directed the flight of the family. 10. That thereupon the family took refuge in Egypt. 11. That finally they returned to their home in Nazareth. 12. That Celsus thence calls Jesus Christ "a Nazarene." 13. That subsequently he underwent the rite of baptism. 14. That the Spirit then descended in the form of a dove. 15. That a Voice also was heard descending from heaven. 16. That Jesus then became known as a public Teacher. 17. That he was Leader in the " sedition from the Jews." 18. That he collected a number of disciples about him. 19. That he healed the lame and blind, and raised the dead 20. That he was really betrayed by one of his disciples. 21. That he was publicly denied by another disciple. 22. That the Jews instigated Christ's condemnation. 23. That he was robed in purple and derided by men. 24. That he was also crowned with thorns and mocked. 25. That he was offered gall and vinegar to drink. 26. That the death of Christ was due to crucifixion. 27. That his disciples at once claimed his resurrection. 28. That a preternatural darkness prevailed at his death. 29. That Celsus refers to the earthquake without denial. 30. That an Angel rolled away the great stone at his tomb. 31. That Jesus showed himself alive after his resurrection. 32. That Jesus Christ was the Founder of Christianity. 33. That the disciples of Jesus wrote his life in the Gospels, etc. Here are no less than thirty-three important facts alluded to in the work of Celsus which he entitled A True Dis- course,^'' as quoted by Origen, who refuted him. Very many Verification of the Npjw Testament as Historical. 609 other instances of his reference to the sacred books could be adduced, if they were called for. But these substantiate the induction that this adversary was using our Scriptures, and more proof in that direction would be redundant. Nor did Celsus confine himself strictly to the four Gospels ; for, as Dr. Lardner remarks : *' Celsus . . . had read, as it seems, all the books of the New Testament, but when he had done that, he supposed that he need not give himself much trouble about any of them, except the historical books, particularly the Gospels."^ It is quite probable that Celsus thought that if he could succeed in destroying the power of Christ's life, the epistolary teachings, which are but expositions of that life, would fall with the Gospels. At any rate. Professor Keim has succeeded in reconstructing the original work of Celsus against the Christians, from the large and exact citations which Origin made in order thoroughly to answer him,^^ A few decisive cases must stand for the many •^ §409. Author- which prove that Celsus assumed, asserted, and ship of the insisted that the writers of the Gospels were no others than Chrisfs own disciples. This proves the authenticity and antiquity of these writings : a) That the disciples of Jesus did record the facts a/nd teachings of his life. " Jesus with his own voice expressly declares, as you yourselves have recorded, that there will appear among others, [those] also who will per- form miracles." " He distinctly declares with his own voice, as you yourselves have recorded, that there will come to you, even others employ- ing miracles."™ /?) That the disciples wrote the Gospels to relieve Jesus of certain cKarges. " Tlie disciples of Jesus wrote such accounts regarding him by way of extenuating the charges which told against him." ^^ 7) That Celsus himself used these Boolcs as being unques- tionably authoritative. 68 Lard, vii, 263, s^Schaff, Person of Christ, p. 199, n. '0 Origen contra Celsum, li, 53, 49. " lb. 11, 16. 610 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. "All these statements are taken from your own books, in addition to which we need no other witness ; you fall by your own swords." '^ S) That certain heretics had effected alterations in the text of the Gospels. " That certain of the Christian believei'S, . . . having corrupted the Gospels from their original integrity, to a threefold, and fourfold, and many-fold degree, and having remodeled it, so that they might be able to answer objections,"'''^ etc. e) Celsus claims that he suppressed some things he knew derogatory of Jesus. " I could say many things concerning the affairs of Jesus, and those too true, different from those written by the disciples of Jesus. But I pur- posely omit them."^'* So far Celsus. This shrewd and keen antagonist of the Christians admits incontestably, and even directly ascribes the writing of these books of the New Testament to the disciples of Christ, and to no others, relying upon these writings as his sole authority for both friends and _foes, wherewith to assail the Christian religion and refute the Christians. There is no evidence that any person at that time believed any otherwise. The rankest disbeliever of his period did not attempt to dis- pute the authorship of these writings, which he himself pos- sessed, and had evidently studied with the greatest care. Thus upon the witness of one who was the champion of the ene- mies of Christianity y the OAitheriticity and antiquity of tJte sa- cred hooks are placed heyond recall. For, as remarked by the famous Chrysostom: "Celsas and Bataneotes \i. e., Porphyry] are sufficient witnesses to the antiquity of our books; for I presume they did not oppose writings which had been pub- lished since their own time."^ They lived within a century of the publication of these sacred books, and were in a position to know what they were writing about, quite as well as one living two thousand years afterwards. It is a very remarka- ble circumstance that after having named about all the main " Origen contra Celsum, 11, 74. " /ft. u^ 27. *Jb. II, 13, 76Chrys. Homily vl, on 1 Cor. Verification of the New Testament as Historical. 611 facts which occurred in our Lord's life, from his Nativity to his resurrection, Celsus affirms and reiterates these propositions : 1. "Jesus . . . declares as you yourselves have recorded." 2. " The disciples of Jesus wrote such accounts regarding him." 3. "All these statements are taken from your own books." 4. " Certain . . . Christian believers . . . corrupted the Gos- pels from their original integrity." 5. *'/ could say many things concerning the affairs of Jesus . . . different from those written by the disciples of Jesus." The charge of Celsus that certain believers had corrupted the Gospels of their original integrity is quite true. Near the middle of the second century, Cerinthus, Yalentius, and Mar- cion, and others who were denounced as heretics in conse- quence, did mutilate these Scriptures to adapt them to their own preconceived notions of how they should read and what they should teach; and this high-handed procedure aroused the just indignation of the Church, and called forth protests and condemnation from Justin Martyr, TertuUian, and other defenders of the faith. But all this distinctly proves that there were ^^ written hooks''^ existing at that time to corrupt^ and such as had ''^ their original integrity y'' which was liable to he cor- rupted. But not all nor most of these Scriptures, by any means, underwent this mutilation and corruption. But the uncorrupted manuscripts and versions which have come down to us prove the identity of the Scriptures used by Celsus with our own, by his numerous citations. This adversary makes "plain references to Matthew, Luke, and John, and probably Mark also ;" and he refers to several of Paul's Epistles, if not to the Epistles of St. Peter and St. John.^^ And, without ex- ception, all these writings are attributed to apostolic writers. 6. Tacitus, born A. D. 61 or earlier, and wrote in the first decade of the second century or before. This man of fame is adduced as a witness respecting a single fact which is funda- mental to the authenticity of these sacred books and to the whole system of Christianity. Yery high authority represents '« Dr. Lardner, vll, 223, 224. 612 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Tacitus as " the famous Roman historian who ranks beyond dis- pute in the highest place among inen of letters of all ages^ who lived in the latter half of the first, and in the early part of the second, century of our era." In the reference which this histo- rian makes to the great conflagration which nearly consumed all Rome in A. D. 54, ordered by the Emperor Nero, who laid his own crime upon the defenseless Christians that he might escape the terrible indignation and vengeance of an infuriated popu- lace, Tacitus mentions "the persons commonly called Chris- tians;" and that "Christ, the Founder of that name was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Ju- daea, in the reign of Tiberius^ [Csesar]." Respecting the character and credibility of this brief par- agraph, the celebrated author of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon, one of the worst enemies of Christianity in his century, thus attests : "The most skeptical criticism is obliged to respect the truth of thisv extraordinary fact, and the integrity of this celebrated passage of Taci- tus. The former [the truth] is confirmed by the diligent and accurate Suetonius, who mentions the punishment which Nero inflicted on the Christians, a sect of men who had embraced ' a new and criminal super- stition.' The latter [the integrity] may be proved by the consent of the most ancient manuscripts ; by the inimitable character of the style of Tacitus ; by his reputation, which guarded his text from the interpola- tions of pious frauds," ^^ etc. "What fact or facts attested by Tacitus, and unqualifiedly indorsed by Gibbon, are here brought to view? These, namely: 1. The historical existence of Jesus Christ whom Tacitus names. 2. That Jesus was known and named as the Founder of the Christian religion. 3. That he was supposed to have been executed in the character of a criminal. 4. That he was put to death by the Roman officer, Pontius Pilate. 5. That Pilate was at that time the procurator of the Province Judnea. 6. That the death of Jesus Christ occurred in the reign of Tiberius. 7. That Christ had disciples in " the persons commonly called Chris- tians." IT Annals, xv, 44. 's Vol. I, p. 602. Verification of the New Testament as Historical. 613 Now, it is perfectly evident from this testimony of Tacitus, giving these cardinal facts, that the narrative of Christ's earthly life was no myth; for all the characteristics of history blend in this one remarkable attestation : the personal subject, Christ; his work, the Founder of Christianity; the peculiarity of his death, as a criminal; the name of the ruler who sen- tenced him, Pilate ; the character of his Roman office, procu- rator; the province where it occurred, Juda3a; the time when he was executed, in the reign of Tiberius ; the sect that assumed Christ's name, the Christians. These facts so distinctly stated by this eminent Roman historian are perfectly consistent with each other, and are in exact accord with the statements given in the Gospels respecting Christ's death. And since books which narrate facts are declared to be historical, these books of the New Testament are historical. Tacitus was the contemporary of the Apostle John; so this writer stands within the Apos- tolic Age. The testimony of the last of the adverse witnesses is that of 7. Josephus, the Jewish priest and historian, born near the time of the crucifixion, in A. D. 37. His work, entitled Jewish Antiquities,'^ contains ten facts in one paragraph, all which are found in the historical New Testament."" He says: "Now there was about this time. a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man ; for he was a doer of wonderful works ; a teacher of such. as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many (if the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him did not forsake him ; for he appeared to them alive again on the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him ; and the sect of Christians so named from him, are not extinct at this day." II. The second line of testimony is that of friends of Chris- tianity, in order to confirm the witness of the enemies relating to the historicity of the facts and statements contained in the *On genuineness of this paragraph, see Excursus A. T»Ant. B. xvlil,c.3. $3. 614 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. sacred books now under discussion. It will embrace three classes of patristic evidence; namely, ancient firmed by bishops, the ApostoHc Fathers, or disciples of the apostles, and the Christian Apologists. 8. Origen, born at Alexandria, A. D. 185, and wrote by or before 254. Eusebius, in his ^Ecclesiastical History, makes the following citation from Origen : a) " These are the books which he mentions. . . . He attests that he knows only four Gospels, . . . which are the only undisputed ones in the whole Church throughout the world. The first was written according to Matthew; the same who was once a publican, but after- wai'd an apostle of Jesus Christ, who having published it for the Jew- ish converts, wrote it in Hebrew. The second [Gospel] is according to Mark, who composed it as Peter explained it to him. And the third [Gospel] according to Luke, the Gospel commended by Paul, which was written for the converts of the Gentiles ; and, last of all, the Gospel ac- cording to John."*" j8) The question is critically asked : "Why did not the sev- eral writers of the four Gospels add their signatures to their writings to substantiate their genuineness and authenticity? The sufficient answer is, that these points were substantiated in another and better way. Chrysostom, Bishop of Constan- tinople (347-407), says: " Moses did not put his name to the five books ; nor did the histo- rians who wrote after him, prefix their names to their writings ; but the blessed Paul everywhere prefixes his name to his Epistles, except- ing to that of the Hebrews, where he had reason to be on his reserve. What is the reason of this? They [the Evangelists] delivered their writings to those who were present, when it was needless to put down the name. He [Paul] sent his writings to those who were at a distance in the form of an Epistle, where the addition of a name is necessary ." ^^ So direct and personal was this method of authenticating the apostolicity of these historical books of the New Testa- ment, that these documents were regarded as incontestable, and therefore were never held in dispute in the Church. y) Origen further mentions the three Epistles of John, two 80 Book vi, 25. »^Hom. on Rom. B. 9. Yerification of the New Testament as Historical. 615 by Peter, the first of which was undisputed, but of the second Epistle there was some doubt ; also the Apocalypse, and the Epistle to the Hebrews. Of this last Epistle Origen says : " It differs from Paul's style ; is writtten in purer Greek ;" but " the ideas are admirable, and not inferior to any of the books acknowleged to be apostolic." " But I would say that the thoughts are the apostle's, but the diction and the phraseology belong to one who recorded what the apostle said, as one noted down what the Master dictated. But who it was that really wrote the Epistle, God only knows." '^^ 8) Obviously, to be able to name the writer of a given document is so far satisfactory ; but it does not prove that the document is inspired of God, or even that its contents are authentic. Such claims rest upon more solid grounds than a writer's signature. There is, indeed, no warrant for believing that the apostles were acting under that supernatural inspira- tion known as theopneustia^ in their daily life and conduct; hut merely loTien engaged in the work of their apostolate.^ Authorship, then, is one thing, and inspiration is another. For the foregoing reason, given by Chrysostom, Paul took special care to authenticate his own writings to the several Churches or the individual addressed. Some, if not all, his apostolic Epistles were circular letters ; a circumstance which necessitated the more attention respecting the authentic evi- dence of his apostolic authorship. He seems to have posited his autograph and "token" with the several Churches to which he wrote, in order to detect certain spurious letters circu. lated at that time, in the names of the apostles. Hence he wrote : "Paul an apostle . . . unto the Churches of Galatia." ^ And again: "When this Epistle is read among you, cause it to be read in the church of the Laodiceans ; and that ye likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea." ^ " The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every Epistle. So I write." ^ 8» Euseblus, £. H., vl, c. 25. « gee Acts xvl, 7, 9; xv, 37-39; Gal. 11, 11-13. MGal.i, 2. 86Col.lv, 16. » 2 Thess, ill, 17, comp. 1 Cor. xvl, 21 ; Col. Iv, 18; Gal. vl, 11. 616 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. c) The Muratorian Canon, dating A. D. 170. This docu- ment of recent discovery gives a peculiarly Fourth interesting account of the origin of John's Gos- pel. Professor Brooke Foss Westcott, of Cam- bridge University ,^^ England, makes the following statement respecting it : " The fragment commences with the last words of a sentence which evidently referred to the Gospel of St. Mark. The Gospel of St. Luke, it is then said, stands third in order [in the Canon], having been wr'itten by Luke the physician, the companion of St. Paul, who, not being him- self an eye-witness, based his nari-ative on such information as he could obtain, beginning from the birth of John. The fourth place is given to the Gospel of St. John, ' a disciple of the Lord,' and the occasion of its composition is thus described : 'At the entreaties of his fellow-disciples and his bishops, John said: Fast with me for three days from this time, and whatever shall be revealed to each of us [whether it be favorable to my writing or not] let us relate it to one another: On the same night it was revealed to Andrew, one of the apostles, that John should relate all things in his own name, aided by the revision of all. . . . What wonder is it, then, that John brings forward each detail with so much emphasis, even in his Epistles, saying of himself. What we have seen with our eyes, and heard with our ears, and our hands have handled, these things have we written to you. For so he professes that he was not only an eye- witness, but a hearer, and, moreover, an historian of all the wonderful works of the Lord in order.' " The assistance rendered to John by the other apostles, here referred to, serves to explain a single sentence which other- wise seems disconnected and inexplicable. It is at the close of the Gospel, and reads as the indorsement of the revision- ists should read, respecting the authenticity of John's Gospel ; namely, " This is that disciple who testifieth these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true." 88 Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, who was the disciple of Poly- carp, who was the disciple of the Apostle John, wrote : "John the disciple of the Lord, the same that lay upon his bosom, also published the Gospel while he was yet at Ephesus in Asia." 89 w Canon of the New Testament, 5th ed., p. 214. 88 John xxl, 24. 89 Euseb. E. H. v, c. 8, p. 176. Yekification of the New Testament as Historical. 617 Clement of Alexandria, who wrote in the second century, is the authority for the tradition from the apostles : "John, the last of all [the Evangelists], perceiving that what had reference to the body of our Savior was sufficiently detailed [in the other three Gospels which he had i-ead], and being encouraged by his familiar friends, and urged by the Spirit, wrote a spiritual Gospel."*' To which Eusebius himself adds: "But he [John] com- menced with the doctrine of the Divinity [of Christ] as the part reserved for him by the Divine Spirit, as for a su- perior." ^^ 9. TertuUian, of Carthage, the learned jurisconsult and eminent defender of the faith, born A. D. 150, and flourished in the close of the second century, wrote : " The Gospel of Luke, which we are defending [against the heretic Mareion] with all our might, has stood its ground from its very first publication ;" " while that which Mark published may be affirmed to be Peter's, whose interpreter Mark vas. For even Luke's form of the Gos- pel men usually ascribe to Paul. And it may well seem that the works which the disciples published, belong to their Masters." "On the whole, then, if that is evidently the more true which is earlier; if that is earlier which is from the beginning ; if that is from the beginning which has the apostles for its authors — then it will certainly be quite evident that that comes down from the apostles, which has been kept as a sacred deposit in the Churches of the apostles. Let us see what ' milk' the Corinthians drank from Paul ; to what rule of ' faith ' the Galatians were brought for correction ; what the Philippians, the Thessalonians, the Ephesians read by it ; what utterances also the Romans give who are nearest to us, to whom Peter and Paul conjointly bequeathed the Gospel, even sealed with their blood. We have also John's foster Churches [viz., the seven Churches of Asia]."^ An analysis of TertuUian's testimony written about one hundred and thirty-five years after the publication of the Gos- pels, yields the following facts : 1. Even with heretics, Luke's Gospel had an undisputed credit from the beginning. 2. Mark's Gospel was considered as the substance of Peter's preaching at Rome. 3. The four Evangelists are correctly named ; John is identi- fied with " the Churches in Asia." 90 Euseb. E. H. vl, 14. « Ih. ill, 24. ^ Against Mareion, Iv, 5. 618 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. 4. Six Pauline Epistles, as addressed to Churches, are here mentioned by TertuUian. 5. He affirms that writings "from the beginning had the apostles for their authors." 6. That these had been "kept as a sacred deposit in the Churches of the apostles."* 10. Irenaeus, born A. D. 115-125, was a Smyrnean, who was at but one remove from the instructions of the Apostle John. He became Bishop of Lyons in 178. He calls the books of the New Testament " the Sacred Scriptures'''' and '•''the Oracles of God^ ^ Then he makes this attestation : '* We have not received the knowledge of the way of salvation by any others than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us ; which Gospel they first preached, and afterward, by the will of God, transmitted in writing, that it might be the foundation and pillar of our faith. . . . After our Lord had risen from the dead, and they were clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit, . . . they went forth to the ends of the earth, spreading the glad tidings of the blessings which God conferred on us, announcing peace from heaven to men, having all and every one alike the Gospel of God. " Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundation of the Church. And after their departure [from earth], Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached, by Peter. Luke, also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book, the Gospel preached by Iiim. Afterwards John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned upon his breast, did himself publish a Gospel, during his residence in Asia."^^ "The Church, though dispersed throughout the earth, received from the apostles and their * Simon Greenleaf on the Laiv of Evidence, 15th ed., Vol. I, $ 142. "Documents found in a placo in which, and under the care of persons with whom, such papers might naturally and reasonably be expected to be found, or in the possession of persons having an Interest in them, are in precisely the custody which gives authenticity to documents found within it." Note.—" The rule stated in the text is one of the grounds on which we Insist on the genuineness of the books of the Holy Scriptures. They are found in the proper custody or place, where alone they ouglit to be looked for; namely, the Church, where they have been kept from time immemorial. They have been con- stantly referred to as the foundation of faith by all the opposing sects, whose ex- istence God in his wisdom has seen fit to permit, whose jealous vigilance would readily detect any attempt to falsify the text, and whose diversity of creeds woald render any mutual combination morally Impossible." «3 Adv. Heresies, B. i, 8; 11, c. 27. o^Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. c. 8, p. 176; Iren. adv. Heresies, B. iii, c. 1, Verification of the New Testament as Historical. 619 disciples this faith." ^ " The Gospel [itself] and all the elders witness, who in Asia conferred with John the Lord's disciple, to the effect that John delivered these things unto them ; for he abode until the times of Trajan [A. D. 98-117]. And some of them saw not only John, but others of the apostles also, and had this same account from them, and witness to the aforesaid account."^ Clement of Alexandria gives a brief testimony respecting the origin of the Gospel by Mark. He says : " When Peter had proclaimed the word publicly at Rome, and de- clared the Gospel under the influence of the Spirit, as there was a great number present, they requested Mark, who had followed him from afar, and remembered well what he said, to reduce those things to writing; and that after composing the Oospel, he gave it to them who requested it of him. Which, when Peter understood, he directly neither hindered nor encouraged it." ^ The substance of these several testimonies is to this effect : that the Gospels were written by the apostles of Jesus ; that they wei^e transmitted by the writers to the Church •^ §412. ACom- throughout the whole world ; that the Church re- parative ceiving them were the proper custodians of the ummaiy. Sacred Books; and that the witness of Celsus, the champion of disbelief, stands confirmed in his affirmation of the author- ship of the Gospels, by his Christian contemporaries in the middle of the second century ; namely, by Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Clement of Alexandria, all of whom lived within eighty- y five years of the publication of the Gospels. i. A comparative view of their testimonies is conclusive that written Gospels were historically existent, and in wide circula- tion, long before the middle of the second century. 1. Irenseus testifies to the names of the four Evangelists as known as the writers of the four Gospels, who are mentioned in their proper order as we now have them. 2. Irenfeus affirms the first of the following propositions : o) That " Matthew issued a ivritten Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect." Celsus says: "T/ie disciples of Jesus wrote such accounts regarding him." ^ Ant. Fathers, Iren, vs. Heresies, c. 10, B. 1. 96 See Bp. Lightfoot's Apos. Fathers on Iren. 11, 22. 5, Fragment iv, p. 554. •J " Hypotsrposes," cited by Eusebius, Eccl. Hist,, B. vl, c. 14. 620 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. /3) That " Mark handed down to us, in writing, what had been preached by Peter." Clement says: "Mark . , . reduced those things to writing; and after composing the Gospel, he gave it to those who had requested it of him." 7) That "Luke recorded in a book the Gospel preached by Paul." Tertullian says: "The Gospel of Luke has stood its ground from its very first publication." Celsus says that he could relate " things differ- ent from those written by the disciples of Jesus." S) That " John, the disciple of the Lord, who leaned upon his breast, did himself publish a Gospel, during his residence in Ephesus, in Asia." And Celsus, having cited from each Gospel, says: "All these things are taken from your own books, in addition to which we need no other witness." ii. The transmission, reception, and custody of the Sacred Books are thus substantiated with reference to the Church : 3. Irenseus says: "Which Gospel they first preached, and after- wards transmitted in writing, that it might be the foundation and pillar of the Faith;" that " the Church, though dispersed throughout the eai'th, received from the apostles and their disciples, this faith." Clement says that " Mark, after composing the Gospel, gave it to them that re- quested it of him." Irenpeus says specifically of John's Gospel: "The Gospel [itself] and all the elders witness who in Asia conferred with John, the Lord's disciple, to the effect that John had delivered these things unto them ; for he abode until the times of Trajan. And some of them saw not only John, but others of the apostles also, and had this same account from them ; and witness to the aforesaid account [of the cor- rectness of John's Gospel]." By another movement upward in chronology we have a witness who was born in the first century [A. D. 89], and was living before the Apostle John died, whose testimony is of paramount importance as respects the existence of the Gospel in written form, at that date. 11. Justin, surnamed the Martyr, a philosopher, and the most eminent Greek Apologist of his century, a Samaritan by birth, born at Shechem, now called Nablous, in Central Pal- estine. He was remarkable for his memory, his wide reading, and great learning. An undisputed authority states that " he cites our present canon, and particularly our four Gospels con- tinually, . . . about two hundred times." ^ His references »8 Jones, New and Full Method, 1, 589. Verification of the New Testament as Historical, 621 to and citations from the Gospels alone number one hundred and twenty instances. In his First Aj)ology he makes nearly fifty allusions and quotations from the New Testament, and in his Dialogue with Trypho he makes about seventy more. But that which is of special importance is that designation which he applies to the four Gospels referring to their author- ship, as The Memoirs of the Apostles, or in respect to their contents. Memoirs, and Memorabilia.^ In his Dialogue, he calls the Gospels Memoirs four times, and Memoirs of the Apostles ten times. A few instances are sufficient to illustrate the fact: 1. "A Star arose in the heavens at the time of his birth, as is re- corded in the Memoirs of His Apostles ." ^^^ 2. "They parted my garments and cast lots upon my vesture, . . . and this is recorded to have happened [unto Jesus] in the Memoirs of His Apostles." '^''^ 3. "As those having written Memoirs touching all things concerning our Savior Jesus Christ taught, whom we believe." ^"^ 4. "For the apostles in the Memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have delivered unto us, what was enjoined upon them/'^^^ 5. "In the Memoirs, which I affirm were drawn up by his apostles, and those that accompanied them, that his sweat fell down like drops of blood, while he was praying." ^"^ Professor Andrews Norton, in his famous work, says: " From the works of Justin might be extracted a brief account of the life and doctrine of Christ, corresponding with that contained in the -^ Gospels, and corresponding to that degree, both in matter and words, that almost every quotation and reference may be readily assigned to its proper place, in one or the other of the Gospels." ^"^ Having made specific citations and repeated references to each of the four Gospels, Justin further alludes to and cites from : Acts, Romans, the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Second Thessalonians, Hebrews, Sec- ond Epistle of Peter, and the Book of Revelation. «* Td Airofjivr}fjL6v€VfMTa,= things worthy of remembrance. 100 Dialogue ivilh Trypho, 106. loi Dialogue, 104. ^'^ First Apology, 88. 103 76. 66. 104 Dialogue, 103. i» Genuineness of the Oospels, Vol. I, p. 127, 2d edition. 40 622 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, 12. Papias, who seems to have been born in the first cen- tury, was Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, whom Irenaeus mentions as " a hearer of John [the apostle] and the associate of Polycarp." His only work was entitled, An Exposition of the Discourses of the Lord^^ of which about fifteen fragments remain. Papias says : " Matthew composed his history in the Hebrew dialect, and every one translated it as he was able." "Mark being the interpreter of Peter [into the Greek], whatsoever he recorded he wrote with great accuracy, but not in the order in which it was spoken or done by our Lord ; for he never heard nor followed the Lord ; but ... he was in company with Peter who gave him such instruction as was necessary, but not to give a history of our Lord's discourses. Wherefore Mark has not erred in anything by writing some things as he has recorded them, for he was carefully attentive to one thing; [viz.,] not to pass by any- thing he heard, or to state anything falsely in these accounts." There are also other " testimonies from the First Epistle of John, and likewise that from Peter." "^ Another upward movement of about seventy-five years brings us completely within the Apostolic Age, and to the tes- timony of two persons of distinction who were the converts and companions of the apostles themselves. They are known as the Apostolic Fathers; the Fathers who were the immediate pupils of the apostles. 13. Clement of Rome, of whom Paul wrote to the Philip- pians: "Help those women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also^ . . . whose names are in the Book of Lifey^^ Irenaeus wrote of Clement: "This man as he had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echo- ing [in his soul] ." ^^ Clement was Bishop of Rome A. D. 93-101. He wrote but one Epistle, which had for its object to compose a feud in the Church at Corinth. In this Epistle he cites the four Gos- pels, Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, First Epistle of io« Aoyiuv KvpiaKiav 'fliJTetf. w Euseb. E. H., B. Ill, c. 39, pp. 115, 116. See Bishop Llghtfoot's Apos. Fath., p. 529. «» Phil, iv, 8. 109 ^civ. Heresies, ill, c. 8, $ 3. Yerification of the New Testament as Historical. 623 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, First Epistle of Peter, the Epistle of James, and the Book of Revelation; making fourteen in all. There are no less than seventy-three references and cita- tions in this Epistle. ) Here is one reference : " Take in your hands the Epistle of the blessed Paul [to you Co- rinthians]. "What wrote he unto you in the beginning of the Gospel ? Of a truth he charged you in the Spirit concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos ; because even then ye had made parties," ^^^ etc. 14. Barnabas (70-79). The common consensus of the latest critical scholarship refuses to identify this man with Barnabas the Apostle, a Levite of Cyprus, who was the companion of Paul in his missionary journey into Asia Minor. He seems to have been a layman, and his Epistle is general in object and character, in opposition to the Judaizing teachers of that pe- riod. The document was written in Greek and attached to the famous Greek manuscript of the New Testament found by Dr. Tischendorf in the convent of St. Catherine, at Mount Sinai, in 1859, and published in 1862. It is obvious from this Epistle that the three Synoptic Gospels, the Epistle to the Romans, the two to the Corinthians, Philippians, the Second to Timothy, and the Second of Peter, and the Apocalypse, were all in circulation at that time, which was within from five to fifteen j^-ears of the publication of the Gospels. The contents of this Epistle furnish three lines of evidence touching the point under discussion, namely : 1. Conspicuous Facts and Occurrences mentioned in the Gospels. 2. Quotations and References to the Substances of the Scriptures. 3. A direct citation under the formula, ".4s it is written." Of the Facts and Occurrences, a few instances are given to illustrate the proposition : 1. The mentioning of Jesus Christ by name."^ 2. Choice, Number, and Authority of Christ's Apostles. "^ 3. Miracles wrought in Christ's Ministry. "^ 4. The peculiar Sufferings which he endured."* »0J5;pfs. c. 47. ^^^Epis.of Barnabas, cc. 2, 7-9. "«J6. cc.6, 8 »3Jb. 5. "*76. 5, 7. 624 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. 5. The Spitting upon, and Smiting of his Person. "^ 6. The Mockery of Herod with the Scarlet Robe."® 7. The putting of Christ to death by Crucifixion."' 8. Giving him Vinegar and Gall to drink."* 9. The Casting of Lots for his Garments before the Cross."' 10. His Resurrection on the Third Day.^" 11. Its Celebration on the Eighth Day.i^i 12. The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. ^^' A few illustrations of the Keferences and Quotations of Scripture must answer : "Thou shalt not hesitate to give."^*^ "He came not to call the righteous, but sinners." ^^^ "The Son of God being Lord, and future Judge of the quick and dead."*^ "By receiving the remission of our sins . . . we are become new, created afresh from the beginning." ^' " The glory of Jesus, how that in him, and unto him are all things. "i''' " He himself endured that he might destroy death." ^^8 " The day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years." ^^ Barnabas quotes the words of Jesus occurring in the first Gospel, under the formula "^4« it hath heen written,^'' "For many are called, but few chosen."^* These words of Jesus appear in Matthew's Gospel, and nowhere else in Scripture.^^ The Epistle of Barnabas reads : " Let us take heed, lest haply we be found, as it hath heen written.^^ Many are called, hut few chosen.''^ The words in the original of the Epistle of Barnabas and of the Greek Testament are the same,^^ as they are also in the English. The Latin version is ambiguous when taken by itself ;^'^ while in the Greek the expression is entirely clear and determinate. The argument in which all these details converge is the conclusive one that the Church from the hands of the apostles has always been in possession of the apostolic Scriptures. It was not a mere oral or traditional Gospel whose teachings »5 Epis. of Barnabas, 5, 7. »>6 Zb. 7, »' lb. 7. »8 /b. 7. us n,. 6. "!»J6. 5, 16. wi/6. 15. iMib. 15. >M/6. 19; Matt. V. 42. "4/6. 5; Mark 11, 17. J25 J6. 7; Acts X, 42. i«»/6. 16; 2Cor. v, 17. >«76. 12; Rom. xl, 36. >S8 lb. 6; 1 Cor. xv. 26. »» 76. 15; 2 Pet. ill, 8. i3o 75. 4^ close. 131 Matt. XX, 16; xxll, 14, In A. V. "''fie yiypairrai. i'^ IloXXoi KKrjTol 6X^701, 5^ iK\€KTol ^** Sicurit scriplum est. Yeeification of the New Testament as Historical. 625 governed the life of the primitive Christians, but they held in their hands and studied the written books of the New Testament. On such evidence, it is obviously irrational to hold that these Sacred Books did not have an historical existence during the first three hundred years of the Christian era, and that the contents of the books were not historical. For it is irrational to maintain on any historical grounds or questions, that so many different writers could state so many circumstances as are recorded in these Scriptures, when no such facts ever occurred, and no such Scriptures then existed. It is irrational to believe that so many adversaries could name so many apostolic writers, could describe so many apostolic acts, and would ascribe the ac- counts of these acts to certain sacred books, but the books did not exist until long afterwards. It is as irrational as it is absurd to believe that the enemies of Christianity do not con- jvrm and authenticate these Scriptures, when constantly refer- ring to these writings they make the distinct affirmation : '•'•All these statements are taken froin your own hooks,'''' "«s you your- selves have recorded'''' them. And it is as irrational as it is in- credible to hold that the apostolic authors did not write these books ascribed to them, when, without a single exception, friends and foes unanimously voice the first four centuries with the imputation and declaration that they did ! The evidence adduced substantiates beyond recall the historicity of the Scriptures of the New Testament ; for the catena of proofs is complete respecting the authorship, as well as the antiquity and authenticity of these Scriptures. It is the wise and forcible remark of the scholarly and critical Dr. Ezra Abbot which is indorsed by Professor Norton respecting the Christian witnesses here adduced, that — " It is not [merely] the testimony of a few eminent Christian writers to their private opinion, but it is the evidence '^fney afford of the belief 0/ the v)hole body of Christians; and this .not in respect to ordinary books, whose titles they might easily take on trust, but respecting books in which they were most deeply interested ; books which were the very foundation of that faith which IhmI separated them from the world 626 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. around them, exposed them to hatred, scorn, and persecution, and often demanded the sacrifice of life itself." ^^ That which is of paramount importance in this argument is the admissions and claims made by the adversaries of the Christian religion in respect to the fundamental §413. Review ^ '- of the facts respecting the life, death, and the work of the VI ence. j^istorical Christ. On these very facts rest the whole system of Christianity. Next in evidential value is the distinct implication, or assertion, that the disciples of Jesus wrote the books of the New Testament which they constantly cite, or to whose contents they refer. An added fact is, that their testimony mentions correctly by name five of the seven or eight writers of these Scriptures, and designates what they w^rote. This voluntary witness of those adverse to Christianity stands absolutely confirmed on the main facts and many minor circumstances, by the testimony of the Christian Fath- ers. These writers are not merely a few isolated individuals who stand along the centuries apart from the communities in which they lived, but men of highest character among their contemporaries, voicing the universal judgment of the Church as it has been from the beginning. Here are mentioned cities unto whose people these Epistles were addressed, the names of the apostles who were the writers of these Epistles, and the different Churches which were made the depositories of these Epistles. By the rules of evidence applying alike to historical documents, whether secular or sacred in character, these apos- tolic books were kept in the proper custody to insure their authenticity. III. Destructive critics have laid great stress upon the titles which are prefixed to the several historical books §414. Some '■ Collateral of the New Testament. It has even been sug- Evidence. ggg^-g^j ^]^g^^ ^]^q Christian faith originated in, and was formulated by, the titles superscribed, as the exclusive evi- ^^ Authorship of the Fourth Gospel, first edition, p. 14. Verification of the New Testament as Historical. 627 dence of credibility. Dr. David Strauss went so far as to insist, that " the alleged ocular testimony is sheer assumption, originating from the titles which the Biblical books bear in the Canon." ^ But, in turn, this is sheer assumption, andjdestitute of proof. It is a well-ascertained fact, however, that these titles are very ancient, as they are found on some of the earliest Greek manuscripts extant. But it does not appear that they were placed by the apostolic authors upon the original auto- graphs. Nor is it known when or by whom these superscrip- tions were prefixed, but they clearly antedate the great Councils of the Church. It is, however, most natural to suppose that they were originally placed upon these documents by those receiving them, to whom they came authenticated, in order to distinguish one book from another. Some special minute was necessitated to preserve the authenticated author- ships from running into confusion. Tertullian censures Mar- cion's mutilated Gospel for the omission of its title, insisting that "A work ought not to be recognized . . . w^hich gives no promise of credibility from the fullness of the title. ''^ ^" Several different 'yers^c>?^5 which are among the earliest, and long antedate the most ancient Greek manuscripts, have dis- tinguishing titles of the First Gospel. Thus the Syriac has : " The Gospel^ the, Preaching of Matthew^ In the Persian it reads: '■'■The Gospel of Matthew which was spoken in the Hebrew tongue in the City of Palestine.^ hut writteri in Syriac.''^ In the Arabic : " The Gospel of Saint Matthew which he wrote in Hebrew, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit P ^^ Next to the peculiar age-coloring of an ancient document, one of the most reliable proofs of its antiquity and authenticity is the use made of it in citations, made by contem- ' . "^ §415. Citations poraries and their successors, especially when the as authorship is accredited. As they know their authority, this is decisive against the spuriousness of the writ- i«« Leben Jesu, $ 13. 13T Tertull. adv. Marcion, Iv, c. 2. 138 Hornets Introduction, American Edition, Vol. I, 215; II, 295, 296. 628 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. ing; and they could not quote from writers who lived after themselves. In all respects, the books of the New Testament have the advantage of incomparable superiority over all classic writers known. Dr. Lardner, who was a famous investigator on all lines respecting the books of the New Testament, says : " We have seen and examined a large number of works of learned Christian writers in Palestine, Syria, the countries of Asia Minor, Egypt, and that part of Africa that used the Latin tongue, and in Crete, Greece, Italy and Gaul ; all [written] in the space of about one hundred and fifty years after the writing of the first book of the New Testament. In the re- maining works of Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian . . . there are perliaps more and larger quotations of the New Testament than of all the works of Cicero." " The facts upon which the Christian religion is founded, have made a stronger proof than any facts at such a distance of time; and the books which convey them down to us may he proved to he uncor- rupted and authentic, with greater strength than any other writings of equal antiquity." '^^ Mr. Rawlinson, in his Bam^Hon Lectures^ already cited, makes some very pertinent remarks on the point of quotations and their authenticating force, in a comparison of these Scrip- tures and the writings of classical authors. He says : "Before the titles were attached, the belief must have existed [in their authenticity]. In truth, there is not the slightest pretense for insinu- ating that there ever was any doubt as to the authorship of any one of the historical books of the New Testament, which are as uniformly ascribed to the writers whose names they bear, as the 'Return of the Ten Thousand' [ascribed] to Xenophon, or the 'Lives of the Csesars' to Suetonius. There is, indeed, /ar better evidence of authorship in the case of the four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles than exists with respect to the works of almost any classic author. It is of very rare occurrence for classic works to be distinctly quoted, or for authors to be mentioned by name, within a cen- tury of their publication. The Gospels . . . are frequently quoted within this period, and the writers of three at least out of the four are mentioned within the time, as authors of the works correspondingly per- fect to those which have come down to us as their compositions. Our conviction of the genuineness of the Gospels does not rest exclusively, nor even mainly, on the titles, but on the unanimous consent of ancient writers, and of the whole Christian Church in the first ages." "" Test the matter by a few instances of conspicuous character. Herodotus, who lived B. C. 484-408, and has been called "the ^*>Lardner'sWorks, Vol. V, 197, 198. »« Led. vl, p. 159. Yerification of the New Testament as Historical. 629 Father of Greek History " in the classic world, is said to have been cited by Ctesias only once in the first century ; and in the second century by Aristotle alone ; and in the third century hy no writer whatever ; and in the fourth, hy Chins a/nd hy Cicero. Thucydides (B. C. 470-403), the greatest Greek historian, is first quoted by Hermippus, about two centuries after the publi- cation of his work. Tacitus, the greatest of Koman historians, who wrote about A, D. 110, is mentioned once by his personal friend Pliny the younger in a mere friendly and incidental way, but he is not quoted or referred to in any writings until the close of the second century, by Tertullian. Professor John J. Given, of London, says: " Every one acquainted with the matter will agree with us when we affirm that there is ten times stronger and more satisfactory evidence for the genuineness and substantial integrity of the books of the Scriptures than for the History of Tacitus and Thucydides, of Livy and Xenophon, about which no scholar ever entertains a doubt. If beginning with the present century we trace the writings of the New Testament, for example, backwards and upwards along the stream of time to the very source, we shall find them accredited by each foregoing generation and by men of each pre- ceding century, till we reach the days of primitive Christianity itself, when we find them universally believed by early Christians to be the works of their eight reputed authors, and quoted as such by the earliest Christian writers and contemporaries and successors of the primitive penmen. Add to this the testimony of neutrals, apostates, heretics, foes as well as friends of Christianity. What more conclusive proof of author- ship can reasonable criticism demand, or the archives of human literature produce, than this combined and concurrent testimony of the genuineness of the Sacred Scriptures f " ^'^^ That we have not now any Greek copies of the New Testa- ment of earlier date than 325 A. D. by no means necessitates the conclusion that none existed previously ; for, §415. citations as will be seen, these Scriptures were constantly ^y t^e appealed to and cited by the Fathers of the Church. An incident gives point and illustration to this fact. In the course of conversation which occurred in London between Dr. Buchanan and Lord Hales, a curious but most interesting question was proposed : "If every copy of the New Testament "' Revelation, Inspiration, and Canon, 210-212. 630 HiSTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. had been destroyed [under the Diocletian-Maximian persecu- tion] at the end of the third century, could it be recovered from extracts made from it in the works of the Fathers of the second and third centuries ? " Alter a short lapse of time these personages met again, when the subject was renewed by Lord Hales saying : "As I possess all the extant Fathers of the second and third century, I commenced the search ; and up to the present thne, I have found the entire New Testament, all but eleven verses ! " ^*^ How could the Fathers of the second and third centuries have made their numerous and copious citations from these Scriptures unless they were then and pre- viously in existence? In bringing to a close the argument for the antiquity, authenticity, and the historicity of the New Testament, it is proper to remark that the enemies of Christianity affirm the cardinal facts narrated in these books, naming nearly all of the authors, and refer to their ■writings, which they evidently had in their possession in the second and third century. The wit- ness of friends confirins the testimony of the enemies, carrying upward the citations from the same and other books, naming the same writers, through the same centuries, to the very times of the apostles themselves. The internal evidence of the gen- uineness and historicity of the several books furnished by their ancient titles as well as the signatures of apostolic authority in all the Epistles; the lack of signatures to the historical books explained by Chrysostom as due to their personal de- liverance directly to those to whom they were immediately addressed; with the added evidence of nearly ten thousand references and citations from these Scriptures, made therefrom in less than two centuries after they were written and pub- lished,— constitute a combination of proofs which can not be adduced in favor of the authorship, antiquity, and historicity of any other boolc, or set of boohs, in the whole literary world. ^*^New Companion of the Bible, cited by Professor Given In his Canon, p. 361. Yekification of the New Testament as Historical. 631 A further proof on this subject is needless. The induc- tions on the facts adduced are inevitable. According to the Rule of Evidence^ cited from Greenleaf as the highest author- ity for the practice of the courts on all historical questions, the sacred books have always been in the proper custody, being in the possession of the Church. The contents of the earliest Greek manuscripts, and of the still earlier versions in other languages, attest the identity of the facts and doctrines with the Scriptures which we now possess. Their antiquity and historicity are therefore established. It only remains to pre- sent a Tabulated Exhibit of references to, and quotations from, all the books of the New Testament, made by two eminent Fathers in the Church, and by two of the greatest Apologists who defended the Christian faith and people before the Eo- man Government. These citations of Scripture were made at different dates, according to the time when the different writers wrote, the remotest being within one hundred and eighty-fjve years after the publication of most of the books of the New Testament, and within about one hundred and fifty years of the time that the writings of John the apostle appeared, and were received by the Church. The words of Professor Given are here in place, respecting the antiquity and authenticity of these sacred writings as a whole : " No one can pretend to gainsay the fact that they have been estab- lished on a hundred-fold more historical basis than of those literary productions of classical antiquity which nobody ever thinks of calling in question." ^^ The great uncial manuscripts of the New Testament date about from 325 down to the sixth century; but Vei'sions and text can be traced back to the second century. There is no known manuscript of Herodotus or of Thucydides dating earlier than the tenth, or of Xenophon earlier than the eleventh to the thirteenth century. There is no reference in literature i« Professor Given on N. T. Canon, p. 212. 632 Historical Evidence of the New Testament, to Thucydides for two centuries after his death. Wor can a/ny Latin History hear the test which is applied to the hooks of the New Testament. The first six books of Tacitus's Annals depend on only one MS., dating not earlier than the ninth cen- tury. (See Watkin's Bampton Lectures^ 1890, p. 138, note.) The following exhibit is compiled from Keith's Demon- stration of the Truth of Christianity^ and Mair's Christian Evidences. The figures given are approximate, if not exact. § 417. The Citations Made Between 65-248 A. D. IrenaBus. Clement of Alex- andria. Ter- tullian. Orlgen. Total Grand Total. Years after the Publica- tion of the New Testa- ment 115 180 15 125 80 50 60 70 17 22 27 10 10 2 8 5 5 2 0 9 3 5 0 6 3 0 0 33 150 180 20 110 60 20 110 150 30 14 15 11 8 4 1 11 5 2 0 11 0 8 0 6 0 0 0 2 150 400 80 500 240 110 160 350 120 67 64 31 24 24 18 33 18 5 0 12 2 12 0 39 0 2 0 80 185 1352 185 649 775 147 731 620 238 150 135 68 91 48 26 92 55 18 3 154 20 50 5 77 0 0 6 60 2112 300 1384 1155 327 1061 1190 405 253 241 120 133 78 53 141 83 27 3 186 25 75 5 128 3 2 6 175 Matthew Mai'k Luke John Acts 5278 Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon 3788 Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation 605 747 778 2391 5749 9671 9671 CHAPTER XX. MANUSCRIPTS— YEKSIONS— CANON. I. Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament. 1. The Codex Alexandrinus. 2. The Codex Vaticanus. 3. The Codex Sinaiticus. 4. The Codex Rossanensis. II. Versions prom the Greek in Other Languages. 1. The Old Latin Version : a) The Vulgate of Jerome. 2. The Syriac Versions : o) The Peshito Version. /3) The Careton Version. 7) The Harklein Version. S) A Syrian Gospel, 1895. 3. The Egyptian Versions : a) The Memphitic Version. /3) The Thebaic Version. 7) The Bushmuric Version. III. Canon op the New Testament. 1. The Councils and the Canon. 2. The Historical Canon. a) Synod of Laodicea. jS) Catalogues of the New Testament. 7) Council of Trent. 5) How our Canon was Established. The Conclusion. 633 Chapter XX. MANUSCRIPTS — VERSIONS — CANON. g418. Manuscripts— Versions— Canon. Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. — Jude. In regard to the great Book, I have only to say that it is the best gift which God has given to man. — Abraham Lincoln. No book contains more truths, or is worthy of more confidence, than the Bible ; for none brings more comfort to the sorrowing, more strength to the weak, or more stimulus to the nobly ambitious ; none makes life sweeter, or death easier or less sad. — Justice David J. Brewer. Every fair-minded, unbiased person who will carefully read the Bible, with the desire to master its contents, will find abundant evidence of its Divine origin, and that it was designed to teach our duty to God and our fellow-men. — Chief Justice Maxwell, Neb. Hold fast the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties ; write its pre- cepts upon your hearts, and practice them in your lives. — Ulysses S. Grant. I have always had, and shall always have, a profound regard for Chris- tianity.— Henry Clay. I own that I never read the New Testament with attention. — David Hume. Your Age of Reason may prevail with some readers, [yet] you will not succeed as to change the general sentiments of mankind on the subject ; and the consequence of printing your piece will be a great deal of odium drawn upon yourself ; mischief to you, and no benefit to others. "He that spits against the wind, spits in his own face." — Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Paine. My hatred and horror of infidelity are greater than ever. I know it to be the extreme of madness and misery, the utter degradation and ruin of a man's soul. — Joseph Barker. (A converted skeptic.) Bring with thee the books, especially the parchments. — Paul. Yes, I might almost say to the Lord, Here is a copy of Thy Word, Written out with much toil and pain: Take it, 0 Lord, and let it be, As something I have done for thee. — Lonqpbllow. 635 636 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. argument. To give completeness to the whole historical argument of this treatise, a brief account of the circumstances which gave origin to the books of the New Testament, and our warrant now for their cred- ibility, is superadded. The modern foundation for Christian belief in these Sacred Books is threefold, — ancient Greek manuscripts, versions in other languages, and the history of the Sacred Canon. It is proposed to refute the unliistorical pretense which has gained some credence, that an early Ecclesiastical Council assumed the authority to determine, by a capricious majority, what books should be voted into the Canon, and what others of equal claims should be rejected. When and how these Scriptures received their canonicity, will appear in the discussion ; but it was centu- ries before any Council was convened. Three classes of literature arose in the middle of the second century, from which the writings of the New Testament are to be discriminated: (1) Those in which certain Scriptures had been corrupted and mutilated by the heretics so as to suit their precon- ceived notions of what they should teach: (2) Those which were mere romances, purporting to give the life of Jesus, containing shreds of histoi*y, but, on the whole, spurious as they were puerile ; and (3) Others which were issued as apostolic writings, but were fraudulent in fact, and bore the forged names of the apostles to give them authority. The Church of Christ took public measures of a decided character to protect itself from these impostures. The Manuscripts of the New Testament. The New Testament was not originally written and pub- lished as one volume as we now have it, but was composed of no less than twenty-seven distinct writings. It 8419. The New ^ , . . , Testament was not all Written by one man, but it is the Many in One. pp^^jy^^ ^f eight Writers, who wrote from differ- ent countries, at different dates within about thirty-five years. Each separate document, however, had its own distinctive occasion and purpose, its individual function and scope ; so that, when they were brought into one, an extraordinary inter- relation was discovered, in which the teachings of the docu- ments were found to be supplemental to, and confirmatory of, each other, and the whole evidenced a deep internal unity of design^ hem'ing the characteristics of a progressive revelation from God. Manuscripts — Versions — Canon. 637 No book in all the history of literature has exerted so powerful an influence upon human conduct and individual character and life; none ever so endeared itself to the heart of all classes and conditions of mankind. To the teachings of this volume the foremost nations of the earth bow with rev- erent homage, and profess to be guided in a large measure by its principles and spirit. Those civilizations which are ac- knowledged to hold the most masterful place in the family of nations, to be most advanced in science and literature, in learning and culture, in commerce and influence, — the most powerful in war, the most prosperous in peace, and invincible before all enemies, — are the Christian nations called the Great Powers of the world, who attribute their pre-eminence to the accepted truth and principles taught in these Scriptures. It may be worth while to remark the external circum- stances in which the New Testament was originally written. The art of ancient book-making is in this matter ° §420. The something more than interesting. We have not Ancient ,, ... • ^ 1 • 1 Book-making. m our possession those origmal manuscripts which are called the Autographic Documents of the Apostles, but we do have the early Greek copies, which date about A. D. 325. Why there are none known of earlier possession will be ex- plained hereafter. The materials upon which the ancients wrote in the time of the apostles were either papyrus or parchment. Papyrus was made of the inner cellular tissues of the papyrus plant, a reed which grows in abundance in the Delta district, in the valley of the Nile, in Egypt. Thin strips were laid together in layers, the one placed horizontally and another vertically, and made to hold by means of a glutinous substance under great pressure.^ The product was naturally delicate and perish- able. Accordingly, papyrus was early superseded by the use of animal skins carefully prepared for the manufacture of manuscript books. Parchment was, indeed, a beautiful product J Wilken Breslas, George Ebers, and Sir Mamede Thompson. 41 638 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. of both sheep and goat skins. As evidencing the use of parch- ment in the apostolic times, Paul wrote to Timothy to bring with him to Kome the cloak which he had left at Troas, " and the books, especially the parchments." ^ It was about the third century when the skins of calves and young antelopes were converted into vellum, which largely superseded the poorer and cheaper materials used previously; but by the ninth century the art of its manufacture had deteriorated to such an extent that it was replaced by a coarse and common paper made of cotton rags. This was again superseded by a fine quality of paper made of linen. It was of fine and elegant texture quite resembling the earlier vellum, whose use con- tinued until the art of printing was invented in the middle of the sixteenth century. The evidential value of these facts con- sists in the index which they furnish for determining the date of any given manuscript. The writers of the early Christian centuries were called scribes, whose industry was that of eopyisU, ^vhich was re- garded as a worthy and dig-nified work. There §421. The ° JO Ancient Were two classcs of scribes : the one called Tachy- graj)hers, jnesmingsw/ft-writer.^, who wrote rapidly in shorthand what authors dictated; the other class called Calligraphers, or Beautiful writers, who copied the shorthand reports in a large and elegant form resembling our copper- plate. Paul, who was by far the most extensive writer of the New Testament, employed amanuenses to do his writing. One Tertius, a Christian copyist, is especially mentioned as uniting with the apostle in Christian salutation to the Roman brethren : "I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord."-^ It is related that Origen employed many transcribers, and his friend Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, founded one of the earliest libraries of ecclesiastical manuscripts at Caesarea-on- the-Sea, to which Eusebius had free access in writing his historical works. It is stated that, upon the accession of Con- 8 2 Tim. Iv, 1.3. « Rom. xvl, 22. Manuscripts — Yeksions — Canon. 639 stantine to the throne of the empire at Constantinople, he issued an imperial edict to Eusebius to prepare fifty imperial copies of the New Testament entire, to be written by the very best copyists, on the finest vellum, in the form of rolls, subject to imperial examination. The work was accomplished in the library of Alexander, from the transcriptions of Origen. These volumes, when completed, were transported in two wagons of the government from Caesarea to Constantinople, whereupon the emperor examined and distributed the manuscripts to be kept in the custody of the several Churches for future use and careful preservation. The great critics, Tregelles, and Bleek, and others, entertained the belief that these very books are now in possession of the Biblical scholars and in the libraries of Europe/ The sacred manuscripts are of two general classes, belonging to two different periods, and are easily distinguished by their chirography. The older class of writine^s were to r J ^ to §422. Two designated Uncials,^ because written originally. Classes of i-T,, I.J. -i-i xi Manuscripts. as supposed, in letters about an inch m length. The text appears without a break in the lines, or space between words, or any mark of punctuation. Whenever occasion served, a word was divided at the end of a line, but without regard to the syllables. However, there were certain indications of para- graphs or divisions of the text. The four Gospels were marked by irregular sections, and in the later copies these are found also in Acts and the Epistles. Ammonius of Alexandria marked off certain parallel passages in the four Gospels in order to harmonize them; and after him, Eusebius modified these by making ten tables called " Canons." In manuscripts of the fifth century, certain titles^ were given sections as head- ings, designated by a given number. Matthew had sixty-eight titles, Mark had forty-eight, Luke eighty-three, and John eighteen. At a later period these marks are found also upon Acts and the Epistles. * Merrill's Story of the Manuscriptti , p. 28. '> From Uncia, an Inch. TitXoi, titles, superscriptions. 640 Historical Evidenck of the New Testament. Another class of manuscripts far more numerous are called Cursives because written in a running hand, on parchment or vellum, and also on cotton and linen paper. The cursives are characterized by certain dots placed over the lines, by spaces between the words and sentences, and by an irregular system of punctuation, indicating an advance upon the older style of writing. This class began with the tenth century. Many of the cursive class are wrought with the greatest painstaking, and have the quality of elegance. The vellum used was often of very delicate finish, sometimes dyed with richest coloring, the text being written in bold and beautiful characters, in colored inks or in silver, and brilliantly illuminated by hand. When a manuscript has been once written and erased, and used again, it is called d^ palimpsest? The ink, having been made of vege- table substance, was easily obliterated; and a given vellum having been once written over, the writing was ruhhed off to make place for a second and even a third text to be inscribed. By means of a chemical process discovered by Dr. Tischendorf, all the erased writings are recoverable and the desired text restored. The Uncial manuscripts of the New Testament, according to Scrivener,^ number about ninety-seven ; and of the cursives^ about one thousand, nine hundred and ninety- §423. Distribu- . . '' tion of seven. Occasionally, in order to obtain a com- Manuscripts. pi^^^^ copy of thesc Scriptures, a combination is made of the several parts or fragments, which are made to supplement each other; but the parts are of different chro- nology, and therefore of unequal antiquity and value for critical purposes. All the manuscripts of the New Testament now known are in the form of books, several volumes of which embrace these Scriptures. These manuscript-books are pre- pared in the form of a folio, a quarto, or a duodecimo. They are distributed, mostly in the libraries of European countries^ as follows: Sweden has one copy; Ireland has three; Den- ' "^Tfv {\j/du) , to rub away, and irdXiv, aflnin s Introd. 8d ed. 1883. Manuscripts — Versions — Canon. 641 mark, three; Holland, six; Scotland, seven; Switzerland, fourteen; Spain, nineteen; Kussia, over seventy ; Germany and Austria, ninety ; England, two hundred and fifty ; Italy, three hundred and twenty. So by cities: Pesth has two; Treves, two ; Modena, six ; Hamburg, six ; Naples, nine ; Cam- bridge, nineteen; Turin, twenty; Munich, twenty-seven; Vi- enna, twenty-eight; Venice, fifty; Florence, fifty ; Oxford, one hundred and twenty-five ; Rome, one hundred and twelve, of which more than a hundred are in the library of the Vatican ; Paris has two hundred and twenty-eight, which are in the Im- perial Library, besides ten placed elsewhere in France. Only one uncial book contains the entire New Testament complete in itself, although thirty of all kinds have substan- tially all these sacred writings. The Gospels ^^^ ^^ j^_ are more numerous than the Epistles. Of the mentary sixty-three uncials of all kinds, fifty-seven are of the Gospels. Dr. Scrivener gives six hundred and twenty- three cursives of the Gospels, while Acts and the General Epistles have fourteen uncials and two hundred and thirty -two cursives. Paul's Epistles are Avritten in fifteen uncials, and in two hundred and eighty-three cursives. The Book of Revela- tion is written in five uncials, and one hundred and five cur- sives. Many of these manuscript books are stained with age, the vellum being fragile and worm-eaten. The following co- dices are regarded as most valuable critically, namely : 1. The Alexandrine Codex. This codex was brought from Egypt in 1628 by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, and presented in person to Charles I, and is now in possession of the British „ _^ ^ „. ' ^ . . § 425. Its His- Museum. Dr. Scrivener assigns this interesting tory and document to the beginning, but Dr. Davidson to ®scrip ion. the middle, of the fifth century. An autograph note from the patriarch named accompanied the codex, certifying that the Egyptian tradition refers the copying of the document to the 642 Historical Evidence of the JSTew Testament. martyred and sainted Thecla, about thirteen hundred years previously; and this corresponds Avith an Arabic note on the first page, attesting the same fact. This would place the date in the early part of the fourth century, and it is doubted on just grounds. The Alexandrine Codex was the best known and most studied by the scholars of the past. It consists of four books, one of which contains the New Testament. At the beginning of the several books the first line is written in vermilion. The text is in uncial characters, marked with Ammonian sections, bearing " titles " as heads ; but there are no spaces between words, no accents or breathing signs at the aspirates in this Greek. The paragraphs are made conspicuous with initial letters, and a new line marks the divisions. Each page has two columns ; each column has fifty lines, with about twenty letters to the line. The manuscript evidences many erasures and abbreviations ; and there are grave defects in the document. It begins with Matthew xxv, 6, and omits John vi, 50, to viii, 52 ; and 2 Cor. iv, 13, to xii, 6. 2. The Vatican Codex. This codex ranks at least among the best transcripts of the New Testament. It is supposed to be nearly two hundred § 426. Its years older than the Alexandrine. It Avas found History. by Pope Nicholas Y, a great scholar in his age, in the year 1448. It was long kept concealed in the Vatican at Rome by the successive popes ; and although it was twice captured by Napoleon I, and carried away to Paris, after his defeat at Waterloo in 1815, with other treasures, it was re- stored by the allied powers to Italy. When this occurred, Tregelles was but three years old, learning his vernacular in England, and Tischendorf was yet a child of two in his mother's arms at Legenfeld, in Germany. In form it is in red morocco quarto, ten and a half inches in length, and ten inches broad, and about five inches thick, con- Manuscripts — Yersions — Canon, 643 taining seven hundred and fifty-nine thin leaves of vellum, of which one hundred and forty-six contain the New §427. its Testament. It is written in uncial character, Descnption. three columns to the page. ' There are no divisions except the spaces made by the omission of letters, as at the beginning of a new subject; and there are no punctuation marks. Dr. Tischendorf dated this document in the fourth century, and Dr. Tregelles assigned it to the end of the first quarter of that century. 3. The Sinaitic Codex. This manuscript is one of the most ancient and valued of the whole collection. In the first instance, Dr. Tischendorf in the year 1844, discovered the document in ? •^ ' 8428. Its His- forty-four old, molded leaves which were brought tory and to him for kindling his fire, at the convent of ®scrip ion. St. Catherine, at the foot of Mount Sinai. He presented these leaves as the Codex Frederica- Augusta, in honor of his patron, the Saxon king, to the library of the University in Leipzig. These leaves belonged to the Old Testament. In 1859, Tisch- endorf in the same place found the remainder of the docu- ment, which he presented to his Kussian patron, Emperor Alexander II. In 1862 the government issued a magnificent fac simile of the manuscript in four folio volumes, as a me- morial of the One Thousandth Anniversary of the Russian Empire. Copies were presented to the great institutions and libraries of the world. About a dozen copies were sent to the United States, and are found in our great libraries. In the consensus of Christendom, the Codex Yaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus are held for all critical purposes as the most ancient and most valuable of all the codices of the New Testament. The writing is in the uncial style, upon very fine thin vellum, in three hundred and forty-six and a half leaves, which are thirteen and a half inches in length by more than fourteen inches in breadth. The text of the New Testament is in four 644 HiSTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. columns of forty-eight lines each on a page, the whole number of pages being one-hundred and forty-seven and a half. It is without accents or aspirates, without spacing between words, or large initials to indicate the beginning of a paragraph. In connection with this manuscript was found the Epistle of Barnabas, and a part of the Shepherd of Hermas, and a large portion of the Old Testament. 4. The Codex of Rossano. This Codex Hossanensis is among the latest discoveries of manuscripts related to the New Testament. It takes its name from a village named Rossano, near which, on a 8429. Its His- » ' . ' tory and hill, the document was found, in South Italy, escnp ion. ^j^q^^ three miles from the sea. It does not rank as first class for the objects of critical investigation; but it is easily first in respect to its pictorial illustrations, being the oldest pictorial Gospel known. It is adorned with about forty miniatures in rich and vivid colors, on the margins and spaces. The subjects are prominent scenes of the Gospels, — the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the Bridegroom ; the Tri- umphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem ; Judas Restoring the Thirty Pieces of Silver, and in the background is depicted his body dangling from the bough of a tree ; the Scene of the Lord's Agony in Gethsemane; and a representation of the four Evangelists, each bearing a book on his left arm, while the right hand is extended in the act of benediction. Profess- ors Gebhardt and Ilarnack, who discovered this work, issued a descriptive volume of the manuscript, with fac similes and miniatures in outline and monochrome. The document is a thick quarto, bound in strong black leather, containing the two Gospels of Matthew and Mark — a purple vellum of one hundred and eighty-eight pages, written in uncial letters, in double columns of silver text, twenty lines to the column, and from nine to twelve letters to the line. The first three lines of each Gospel are written with gold. Manuscripts — Versions — Canon. 645 The words are without spaces, without accents, without aspi- rates, with few erasures, and with only an occasional punctua- tion. It has the Ammonian sections and the Eusebian canons. From these internal evidences of its antiquity, it is assigned as having been written in the fifth, or at least the sixth, cen- tury. These are the principal Greek manuscripts yet discovered of a high antiquity and superior authority. They furnish im- portant advantao^es for the critical study of the ir o J §430. Occasion New Testament. But some passages have been of rendered doubtful by liberties taken with the rrors. text in transcribing these sacred books. The alteration of a single letter by mistake, or by the insertion of a word explan- atory, written by the copyist or the reader on the margin of the document, became incorporated into the text by a subse- quent transcriber, has the effect to put the true and original text in doubt. A careful and critical comparison and editing of the several texts collated, furnish the means of detecting and correcting any such error. Truly these instances of cor- rupting the text are in most unimportant passages, and in the vast majority of instances are a mere matter of spelling ; but clearly where the sense is changed even in minor details, one prefers fact to fiction. The critical Michgelis classed these divers readings, attributing them to one of the following causes or occasions, viz. : " 1. The omission, addition, or exchange of letters, syllables, or words, from the mere carelessness of the transcribers. " 2. Mistakes of the transcribers in regard to the true text of the original . " 3. Errors or imperfections in the ancient manuscripts from which the transcriber copied. "4. Critical conjecture, or intended improvements of the original text. "5. Willful corruptions [made in some copies] to serve the purpose of a party, whether orthodox or heterodox." A very natural question arises whether scholars may not be exposed to the imposition of spurious documents by experts 646 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. in old Scriptology? Frauds have been attempted again and affain. It was the opinion of Dr. Scrivener that §431. Detection ° ^ of in England alone there were at least fifty diflfer- mpos ures. ^^^ persons who could detect the most skillfully- executed fraud of this character that the world could produce, on the mere internal evidence of the case. Some remarkable instances are cited. In 1856, one Constantine Simonides, a most accomplished impostor, tried to sell, along with certain genuine manuscripts, a document purporting to be a classical history of an Egyptian. Dr. Tischendorf detected the fraud and telegraphed to Berlin to beware of the spurious document. Upon arriving, Simonides offered his manuscript for sale, when it Avas tested microscopically and also chemically, with the re- sult that he was instantly arrested for attempted imposture. The same man, in the same way, offered for sale in the Bod- leian Library, at Oxford, England, some genuine manuscripts and some fragments produced skillfully in the uncial text, the vellum being stained with age and bearing all the marks char- acteristic of a very early antiquity. The librarian merely smelled the leaves, and returning the fragments said that they dated in the middle of the nineteenth century ! The Versions of the New Testament. The early translations were made from the Greek manu- scripts into the vernacular speech of the various nations, and circulated widely. These constitute another and §432. The Uses -^ of the more ancient source for determining the genu- ineness and authenticity of the sacred books. Being written in different languages and dialects, this fact in itself erects impassable barriers against success in any at- tempted corruptions of the sacred text. Versions, therefore, constitute an independent and invaluable line of Christian evi- dence, some of them antedating, and others paralleling, the proofs furnished by the Greek manuscripts already cited. Only the most important versions are here mentioned. Manuscripts — Versions — Canon. 647 1. The Old Latin Version. This is claimed as first in value and in time, dating about the middle of the second cen- tury. TertuUian of Carthage, Cyprian of Alexandria, and Augustine of Africa, were familiar with this translation. It was used in the fourth century in Piedmont and Lombardy, in Xorthern Italy. The version originated in Africa about A. D. 150. Christianity spread rapidly then, and the Old Latin version went with Christianity. It contains the Canon of the New Testament. Out of this Old Latin version came the Vulgate^ which is held in such high honor, a revision made by the scholarly Jerome. He began his work at Rome in A. D. 383, and con- cluded it in his monastic cell, in the Church of the Nativity, at Bethlehem of Judaea, in 385. The revision was urged upon Jerome by the Roman Bishop Damasus, and was in- tended for the common people speaking the Latin language, as its name imports. Dr. Scrivener remarks of the revision : "As an interpretation, the Vulgate far surpasses its prototype; as an instrument of criticism, it is decidedly supei-ior, where the evidence of the Old Latin may be had, bringing before us the testimony, good and bad, of documents of the second century ; but only that of the manuscripts which Jerome deemed correct and ancient at the end of the fourth [century]." 2. The Syriac Versions. These constitute a second class of the first importance. The Aramcean branch of the Semitic family of languages was used in Northern Syria. These Versions are among the most ancient and most valued of the New Testament. These are : a) The Peshito ; that is, " simple, literal, faithful." It is written in Old Syriac, and is dated by most scholars near the middle of the last half of the second century ; but Michaelis places it in the first century. Eusebius says of Hegesippus, the first Christian historian after the Evangelists, that " he also states some particulars [citations] from the Gospel of the He- brews, and from the Syriac." The Peshito is wanting in the 648 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. Second and Third Epistles of John, Second Epistle of Peter, that of Jude, and also Revelation. It contains all the rest of our Canon. The version is remarkable for its purity and exactness of translation. The Syrian Christians hold that their version is the original New Testament, which claim, however, is hardly valid. Nevertheless the Churches in Syria have certainly had in unbroken use these Scriptures from an early antiquity until now. /?) The Cureton Version. This is so named in respect to Dr. Cureton, who discovered and first published it. It is a fragment of eighty-two and a half leaves, but is one of the earliest of the Syriac versions. It was discovered in 1842 in a convent of the desert, about seventy miles northwest from the city of Cairo, in Egypt. Scrivener seems to place the date in the fifth century, and says that it is " inferior in every respect to the primitive version, which is still read throughout the Churches of the East." But other critics, such as Cureton, Tregelles, Alford, Ewald, Bleek, and others also, believe that this text dates earlier than the Peshito. y) The HarTdean Syriac Version belongs to the fifth cen- tury, and was written by the heretical Bishop Xenias, of Eastern Syria. It is in the Protestant College at Beirut. 8) A Syrian Gospel, discovered in 1895 at St. Catherine convent, Mount Sinai, has attracted considerable attention recently. A photograph of this, with several other docu- ments in Syriac, Greek, and Arabic, was taken by Mrs. Lewis and her twin sister, Mrs. Gibson, from Cambridge, England. The Syriac Codex consisted of one hundred and ten pages Its peculiarity is in differing from all the Gospels of the Canon in representing the opposite of the doctrine of the Incarna- tion. It reads : " Joseph, to whom was betrothed the Virgin Mary, begat Jesus, who was called Christ." This circum- stance, indicating a departure from all the Greek manuscripts which were original, would suggest that its origin was due to a heretic of the middle of the second century, which is the Manuscripts — Versions — Canon. 649 date claimed for this document. If so, it is the recovery of one of those corrupted and mutilated Gospels issued by the Gnostics or Ebionites of that period, when they chose to alter the text to conform to their own peculiar preconceived views of what the Gospel ought to teach. 3. The Egyptian Versions are otherwise known as the Coptic Versions. They are written in three dialects, namely : a) The Memphitic {JBahirio) dialect, which was spoken in Lower Egypt, of which there are extant twenty-eight manu- scripts of the Gospels, seventeen of Acts, the Pauline, and the General Epistles, and ten of the Book of Kevelation. This version is held to be the purest and freest from corruptions of all those of the second century. )8) The Thehaic (Sahidic) Version, which belonged to Upper Egypt, is a mere fragment. y) The BashTmiric {Elea. rchian) Version was made in the third century. It consists of fragments of John's Gospel and of the Pauline Epistles. These several versions go quite far in filling up the gap be- tween the writing of the Gospels in A. D. 55-65 and the first Greek manuscripts dating 325 A. D. The Canon of the IS^ew Testament. The term Canon^ originally meant a measuring rule in mechanics. It thence easily acquired the figurative sense of a rule of life. In its application to religion, it „^^„ „ ^^ . §433. Meaning imports the rule which tests our faith and prac- of the tice. When applied to the Scriptures, it is called the Sacred Canon, meaning that rule by which the sev- eral books which constitute the Bible were originally placed in authority in the Church as containing the Word of God. The term Canon is here employed with special reference to the respective books of the New Testament, whether viewed as individual writings, or collectively as a body of Scrip- •Kacwf, Canon. 650 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. tures, and the manner in which they came to be regarded as the authoritative source and standard of Christian belief. A false notion has gained considerable publicity and cre- dence respecting the method by which these books had as- signed to them a canonical character. It is su]> § 434. The ^ , . . ^ Canon and poscd by some that the claim of these writings oiinci 8. ^^ ^j^.^ high authority originated in and is due to the decision of a Churchly Council ; that the several docu- ments constituting our New Testament Avere subjected to a selection of this literature to the exclusion of other litera- ture of equal claim, by a class of incapable men at the Council of Nicaea in A. D. 325, who arbitrarily voted these books into the Canon, and as arbitrarily rejected the others, in accord- ance with their own peculiar ignorance, caprice, and power as a majority ! The hypothesis is a fiction, and is utterly destitute of historical truth. The sacred Canon did not originate in that way ; and the Council of Niccea did not touch the snhject. Neither at Jerusalem where Christianity was cradled, nor at Rome where it centralized, nor at Antioch where the disciples were first called Christians, nor yet at Nicsea Avhere the first Ecclesiastical Council met in the presence of Constantine the first Christian emperor, was any such movement known or contemplated. We do not find in history that the apostles of Jesus in their collective capacity, or their juipils the Apostolic Fathers, or any of their successors, adopted a procedure so absolutely unsafe and absurd. Nor could such a course have won the confidence, much less have commanded the faith of the myriads of intelligent people who hastened to embrace the Christian religion at the peril of their lives, in the first epochs of Christianity, Now, no man is willing to die for a lie, he knowing it to be such ; but multitudes of men, women, and even children, who were in a position to know whereof they affirmed, surrendered life itself under the cruelest con- ditions that could be imposed, rather than yield their confi- dence in the Christ of these Scriptures. If such procedure Manuscripts — Yersions — Canon. 651 had been historical, the New Testament were a worthless class of documents. It is always difficult to trace mere myths to their origin. But something more than a half-century ago, William Hone, of Great Britain, issued two editions of a work which ' 8435. Fiction first appeared with this truthful title, The Apoc- for ryphal New Testament^ but with the purpose of '^" disparaging our authentic and Canonical Scriptures. Subse- quently he issued a new edition with the title-page reading: "TAe Suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the Original New Testament of Jesus Christ, venerated hy the Primitive Chris- tian Churches during the first four centuries, hut since, after violent disputations, forbidden hy the Bishops of Nicene Coun- cil, in the reign of the Emperor Constantine.''^ It would seem a sufficient refutation of the pretense, that these two title-pages be held up in open contradiction of each other. The first title affirins that the writings were spjurious; the second denies the admission, insisting that they are historical! The claim that any " violent disputation" whatever occurred respecting receiv- ing any books into the Sacred Canon, in the Council of Nicsea, is altogether fabulous. Mr. Hone was at that time an ardent adversary of Christianity ; but he is said to have since regret- ted the publication of his book in the form given, and with the object of its issue. He represented that our Scriptures of the New Testament were selected out of a large number of other works on the same subject, of equal worth and acceptability ; and that the selection was made arbitrarily by ignorant and incompetent persons, who were unworthy of our confidence His work was offered as an answer to his own question : " After the writings contained in the New Testament were selected from the numerous Gospels and Epistles, what became of the books that were rejected by the compilers?" Mr. Hone also cites an old fable of the Dark Ages, "a mediaeval story,"* which originated centuries after the Nicene Council, to the effect that the selection of our Canonical New Testament was "made ♦Indorsed by Hackel, in Riddle of the Universe, p. 827. 652 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. by a miracle; that a number of books were placed upon and under a given table ; that the party in charge then prayed over the matter and retired for the night ; that in the morning it was found that the right books had of themselves jumped upon the table, and the wrong books had gone under the table ; and that the Sacred Canon of the New Testament was thus settled! Now, surprising to say, this credulous and superstitious Mr. Hone found readers just as gullible as himself, who believed that this fable was a fact ! This man, however, grows sus- picious that his position is untenable, and shifts his ground. After citing Jortin's opinion on the supposed violence of that Council, he intimates that if the selection of our Canon did not actually occur as descrihed, it was made hy the peo])le no more entitled to respect than were the memhers of that Council! In this, Mr. Hone yields his former claim as entirely fictitious, and makes another affirmation equally groundless. He then furnishes his own preferred apoci'yphal Gospels, Acts, and Epistles, having shaped the documents conformably in chapters and verses with the Canonical Books ; and in this particular attempts to do what he charges upon the Council as having done — attempts to perpetrate a fraud upon the world ! It is in place now to consider the proofs that the Nicene Council entertained no proposition whatever respecting the Canon of the New Testament. The first authority §436. The •' Historical to be citcd is that of Professor George Salmon, Canon. ^ j^ ^ -p -^ g^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ University of Berlin, now Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, in his Historical In- troduction to the Books of the N'ew Testament. Eeferring to this apocryphal account of the origin of our Canon, he re- marks : "I need not tell you that the Council of Niaea did not meddle [at all] with the subject of the Canon, and we need not trouble ourselves in discussing the proofs. . . . The fact is, that, as I have told you, authority did not meddle with the question, . . . and instead of this abstentation weakening the authority of our sacred books, the result has been that the great majority have higher authority than if their claim rested on Manuscripts — Versions — Canon. 653 the decision of any Council, however venerable. They rest on the spon- taneous consent of the whole Christian world, the Churches the most remote agreeing independently to do honor to the same books. Some of the books which Mr. Hone printed as left out ' by the compilers of our Canon/ were not in existence when the Canon was established ; and the best of the others is separated in the judgment of any sober man, by a wide interval from those which we account Canonical." ^^ Bishop B. F. Westcott, than whom there is no higher crit- ical authority of the past century on the subject of The Canon of the New Testament^ says : " The first Synod at which the books of the Bible were made the sub- ject of a special ordinance, was that of Laodicea [about A. D. 365], in Phrygia Pacatiana. . . . Neither in this [Nicene Council], nor in the following Councils, were the Scriptures themselves ever the subject of dis- cussion. They underlie all controversy as a sure foundation, known and immovable." " Scripture was the source from which the champions and assailants of the orthodox faith derived their premises." " Since the Scriptures were the basis of discussion, and not the subject discussed, it is obvious that, at some earlier time and by some other mode, our Canon was established as the basis. The sanction as well as the sanctity of these sacred books must be discovered in the immediate relations existing between the apostolic writers and those persons and Churches to whom the writings, in the first instance, were handed or sent by the respective authors. How could it be otherwise? The conditions for securing acceptance were ample to satisfy the most critical ; but they were at the farthest remove from a Churchly Council, Bishop Westcott again remarks: "That a book should be ' acknowledged' as Canonical, it was requi- site that its authenticity should be undisputed [universally], and that its author should have been possessed of apostolic power ; if it were supposed to fail in satisfying either of these conditions, then it was 'disputed,' however well it satisfied the other [condition]." ^ The first public cognizance given the Canon was that of the small Synod of Laodicea, " a gathering of the clergy from ^ojntrod. pp. 175, 176. » The Canon of the New Testament, 429, 430, 431. >2 76. 421. 42 654 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. parts of Lydia and Plirygia," composed of thirty-two members. „ ^ „ „ , Thev did not attempt to determine what books §437. Synod -^ ^ of were to be held as Canonical, but they took Laodicea. , . /. 77 - 7 /? • 77* action jormaUy to aejine^ tn a pubttc manner y those books which historically had been accepted and recog- nized as Canonical from the time that they were first pub- lished. That is, the Synod did not make any selection of the sacred hooks at all, hut for certain reasons catalogued the hooks as having heen Canonical from the heginning. The effect of this action was to give publicity, emphasis, and confirmation to the Canon as originally established hy the apostles, which until then had never had the formality of a public declaration hy the Church. Now, evidently, to ratify a given matter, is not to originate it j and merely to give it puhlic utterance is not to make a puhlic selection of literature. The Synod of Laodicea did not create the sacred Canon. It reaffrined the universal consensus of the Church from, the time of the apostles for three centuries. There its function ceased. The immediate occasion for cataloguing the sacred books and giving public announcement of the Canon, as was done at Laodicea, was the character of the literature §438. The Oc- ' n 1 1 • i • casion for which had appeared and claimed a rivalship in Such Action. ^q,^q sense. Works of fiction purporting to give the life of Christ; spurious Epistles bearing the forged names of the apostles, as well as the corrupted and mutilated Scrip- tures which the heretics had produced, necessitated such a movement. Otherwise it was in the power of any impostor to circulate and palm off these apocryphal and fictitious writ- ings upon the unwary as being apostolical and Canonical. To protect the Church of Christians, especially the converts and those wishing to become such, and all Christian communities, against fraud in all matters involving tlie sacred faith in Christ, it was indispensable that the distinction should be made known and be preserved inviolate between this sacred and secular literature. In consequence, it is said that no apoc- Manuscripts — Aversions — Canon. 655 ryphal writing ever found place on the catalogue of Canonical Books, or was ever referred to or quoted as being authorita- tive by either friends or foes of Christianity for many centu- ries. The apocryphal Scriptures were not in existence until from the middle of the second century and down to the fifth. So the Canonical Scriptures were long before recognized by the universal Church, and their character and authority thor- oughly established before the spurious literature appeared. The Apostolic Fathers, named Clement, Barnabas, Hermas, Ignatius, and Polycarp, were the first writers after the apos- tles; and they constantly allude to these Canonical writings, and to no others, as authoritative in all matters pertaining to the Church and the Christian religion. No apocryphal docu- Tuent ever found place in the sacred Canon. That the Christian communities had steadfastly made this discrimination between the sacred and the secular literature is evident from facts occurring- during the terrible ° ° §439. This Dis- persecution m the joint reign of Diocletian and tmction Maximian in 303. The government proposed iii^^strated. the extermination of Christianity, and, for the first time in history, required that the Christicins shoidd hring forward and publicly burn their sacred boohs, under penalty of themselves being burned. The persecution derived its chief inspiration and force from Hierocles, proconsul of Bithynia at that date, and afterwards at Alexandria (306), a man who was well acquainted with the Canonical literature. Some Christians brought forward spurious books and burned them, which was satisfactory to the inquisitorial magistrates; but their Christian brethren viewed the procedure as highly wrong and deceptive, merely to avoid persecution, and did not hesitate to call them '■Hraitors^''^^ A schism followed and a controversy which lasted for three hundred years. Dr. Schaflf observes : " In 303 Diocletian issued in rapid succession three edicts, each more severe than its predecessor. Maximian issued the fourth, the worst of 13 Traditores. 656 HisTOKicAL Evidence of the New Testament. all, on April 30, 304. Christian churches were to be destroyed ; all copies of the Bible were to be burned ; all Christians were to be deprived of public office and civil rights ; and last of all, all without exception were to sacrifice to the gods upon the pain of death. Pretext for this severity was afiforded by the occurrence of fire twice in the palace of Nicomsedia, where Diocletian resided." " This wide destruction of the Christian Scriptures accounts for the fact that we have at present no earlier Greek manu- scripts transmitted to us of the New Testament than those dating 325 A. D. ; namely, the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus. In reference to this persecution Bishop Westcott again remarks : "The books of the New Testament were formed into distinct collec- tions— ' a quaternion of Gospels ;' ' fourteen Epistles of St. Paul ;' 'seven Catholic Epistles.' Both in the West and in the East the persecutor had done his work, and a New Testament rose complete from the fires which were kindled to consume it. That it rested on no authoritative decision [of a Council] is simply a proof that none was needed ; and in the next chapter it will be seen that Conciliar Canons introduced no innovations, but merely proposed to preserve the tradition which had been handed down." "But . . . the ordeal of persecution left the African Churches in possession of a perfect New Testament."^* Yery many catalogues of these Scriptures have come down to us ; some incomplete, others almost perfect, and all made at §440. cata- different dates, by different persons. Churches, or ttf^N^^^ Councils. Those which agree exactly with our Testament. Canon now, are eleven in number. They are here presented in their chronological order, as follows : 1. That of Augustine (A. D. 355), a man of powerful influ- ence and great activity in the establishment of the collective Canon in the Western Church. 2. That of Athanasius the Great (d. 373), "the Father of Orthodoxy," in a Festal Epistle, gives our Canonical Books. 3. That of Philastrius (387), Bishop of Brescia, Italy, is also identical. 4. That of Jerome (390), a man of rarest talents and schol- arly attainments; a remarkable Biblicist, possessing extraor- dinary influence in the Western Church. ^*JIist. Chrint. Church, II, 66. i* Canon of N. T., pp. 42.5, 414. Manusckipts — Versions — Canon. 657 5. That of the Third Council of Carthage (397) at Hyppo, a ratification. 6. That of Epiphanius (403), the Patriarch of Orthodoxy, Bishop of Constantiathe, capital of Cyprus, in his larger work, against Heresies. 7. That of Oelasius (405), which declares our Canonical Books. 8. That of Rwfmus (d. 410), of Aquileia, Italy, whose list is identical with ours. 9. That of Innocens 1 (d. 417), a Roman bishop, attests our Canon. 10. That of Leontius (590), a Byzantine by birth, and Bishop of Cyprus. 11. That of Isidore (d. 636), of Seville, leader in the Span- ish Church, and president of two Councils, contains the same. The Council of Trent (A. D, 1546)* was distinctively a Roman Catholic affair. It was the only Council that under- took to construct a Canon for themselves, and ' §441. The this related exclusively to the Old Testament. councu The object of having the Council was to condemn the Protestant principles and doctrines. For the first time in the history of the Church, the books of the Bible were made an article of faith. While this Council did not touch the Canon of the New Testament, it did add the several Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament, and put them upon the same plane Avith the Scriptures — books which had never claimed to be sacred or Canonical. This was a matter of deep offense and stern indignation on the part of Protestantism, which rejected the decree outright. On February 15, 1546, the Council of Trent passed the decree, and published it on the 8th of April following, reading thus: "The Holy and Ecumenical Council of Trent, . . . following the example of the orthodox Fathers, receives and venerates all the * May 1, 1564, was the date assigned the decrees were made binding. (Encycl. Britt. Vol. XXIII, 585, Phll'a edition. Westcott assigns the decree to April 8, 1546i» when the decree was flnaUy adopted. (Canon of N. T., p. 476.) 658 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. books of the Old and New Testaments . . . and also traditions per- taining to faith and conduct, . . . and with equal feeling of devo- tion and reverence." (Here is given a catalogue of the books of the Old and New Testaments ; and the Apocryphal books named Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, and First and Second Maccabees are added as sacred). "If, however, any one does not receive the entire books with all their parts as they are accustomed to be read in the Catholic Church, and in the Old Latin Vulgate edition [Jerome's with additions] as sacred and Canonical, and knowingly and wittingly de- spises the aforesaid traditions, let him be Anathema." Martin Luther condemned this action of the Council of Trent unqualifiedly ; he said " A Council can not make that to be Scripture which is not Scripture by nature." John Calvin denounced the decree as " a most pernicious error, [viz.] that the Scriptures have only so much right as is conceded to them by the suffrages of the Church; as though the eternal and in- violable truth of God depends on the arbitrary will of men ! " Bishop Westcott remarks : " This fatal decree . . . was ratified by fifty-three prelates, among whom there was not one German, not one scholar distinguished for historical learning, not one who was fitted by special study for the examination of the subject, in which the truth could only be determined by the voice of antiquity. How completely the decision was opposed to the spirit and letter of the original judgments of the Greek and Latin Churches, how far in the doctrinal equalization of the disputed and acknowledged books of the Old Testament it was at variance with the traditional opinion of the West, how absolutely unprecedented was the conversion of an ecclesiastical usage into an article of belief, will be seen from the evidence which has already been adduced." ^^ So far respecting Councils and the settlement of the Sacred Canon. If the Sacred Canon did not originate in the authority of any Council, it must have had its origin directly between the writer and the parties addressed. The Evangel- §442. How ^ , ° Books Bec5ame ists handed the Gospels m person to those who Canonical. ^^^ requested them to be apostolically and authoritatively written. The Epistles, going out to distant countries, addressed to Churches, required to be carefully and >» WcstcoU's Canon of the N. T., ■iT7, 478. Manuscripts — Versions — Canon. 659 satisfactorily authenticated to find acceptance. They must come properly authenticated as apostolical, or the writing was held in "dispute;" not condemned absolutely, but held in sus- pense until the evidence satisfactory was furnished. Only per- sons of eminence in the Church were intrusted with bearing to the Churches an apostolical writing. The means and methods of travel for the conveying and circulating of sacred books were extremely slow. If a given document was returned for inspection and for the proper guarantees, much time Avas some- times consumed before the document reached its ultimate des- tination and was universally accepted. Individuals could not traverse alone mountains and seas ; they must delay for cara- vans and company. They must pass from one nation to another speaking a different language. Like the apostles in their mis- sionary journeys, they were exposed in city and country to dangers, on mountain and on sea to disease and robbers, and everywhere were "in deaths oft." It is therefore easy to un- derstand why a few of the smaller Epistles and the Apocalypse were slow in coming to hand and receiving acknowledgment, especially in case they were wanting in any of the indispen- sable requisites for their verification ; for no hook was consid- ered entitled to a place in the Sacred Canon tintil all the Churches of Christendom had independently^ and ujponjyroper guarantees^ hecome entirely satisfied to give it recognition. Thus the Collect- ive Canon was organized. It sometimes occurred that a book, having justified its claim with some Churches, was " disputed " in other Churches where the claim had not yet been properly safeguarded. But it was not held to be Canonical without universal consent. Hence the occasion for long delays in the acknowledgment of its apostolicity. Paul was extremely care- ful in that his name appeared in the text at the beginning of every Epistle, and often at the end in connection with saluta- tions, together with his personal and private " token in every Epistle." All this delay over a "disputed" writing, so far from creating suspicion respecting its claim, is a commendation 660 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. of the critical care which finally, on sufficient warrant of evi- dence, assigned it a place in the Sacred Canon by the universal consensus of the Churches. In the first instance, all Christendom placed its ancient seal upon each individual book, and again upon the whole collect- S443 The ^^^^Y^ before these documents received sacred Conclusion, canonicity. Moreover, it is a grateful circum- stance to us that these writings have been transmitted to our hands with evidence so multiform and conclusive of their claim to authenticity and apostolicity. After all the early attempts to corrupt, and mutilate • or absolutely destroy these Scrip- tures by burning, it is a matter of deep satisfaction to know that, kept in the custody of the Church with such jealous care, they have come down to us with marks of their imperishable pu- rity and truth. "Written originally in Greek, those ancient manu- scripts which we now have in our possession attest the identity of their contents with our own sacred books. Translated into other languages and dialects, the ancient versions tell the story of preservation from corruption and destruction. Persons of eminence, having these documents in their possession for daily use in study, made constant and copious reference and citations in their own writings. The adversaries of Christianity in their active assaults upon the system, holding in their hands these Canonical Books, defiantly charged the authorship of the writings upon the apostles, giving each his proper name. Eleven Catalogues extending along the centuries, with a view to mark and preserve the discrimination between the sacred and the spurious, between the apostolic and the apocryphal, ratify completely our own Canon. The action of the early Councils to make public the same distinction, also confirmed and announced what had always been the consensus of the Church respecting the apostolical authenticity of its Scrip- tures— all attesting singly and unitedly the just claims of these writings to sacred canonicity. Then, most of all, there has existed an institution with a Manuscripts — Yeesions — Canon. 661 history of unbroken continuity, possessing an indestructible character and power in the world, which has been the watch- ful custodian of these Scriptures from the first. Its witness is invincible. That institution is the great Christian Church. !From the founding of Christianity, whatever of character for power and glory it has possessed before mankind, it has pro- fessedly derived from its Founder, whose personality and life are the subject of the contents of these Scriptures. No other works of like antiquity have come down to us so com- pletely inwrought and overwrought with the very seals and stamp of truth and apostolicity in the recognition of the wisest and most critical men. But the complete and final test of the Divine origin of these writings is, that it brings to our spiritual nature supreme satisfactions just where all else fails — that which rules us by a Divine right. It offers a gracious challenge to every man's consciousness to which it appeals. "If any man wills to do His will, he shall know of the doctrines whether they are of God." APPENDIX. I. ExcuKSUS A. JosEPHUs's Testimony Respecting Jesus Christ. II. Excursus B. Pliny's State Paper to the Emperor Trajan. III. Excursus C. Logia of the Lord, or the " Sayings op Jesus." rV. Excursus D. The Didache, or the " Teaching of the Twelve Apostles." V. Excursus E. The Muratorian Canon; Description and Con- tent. VI. Excursus F. The Jewish Talmud : Expurgated Editions re- specting Christ. VII. Excursus G. The Toledoth Jeshu, or " Gospel According to THE Jews." a) Exhibit A, On the Chronology of the New Testament. /3) Exhibit B. On the High Priests and the Procurators of Pales- tine. y) Exhibit C. On Critical Opinions respecting Chronology of the Testimonies . S) Exhibit D. Table of Comparative Contemporaries of the Sev- eral Witnesses. e) Exhibit E. Chronological Table of the Content of the Entire Work. 663 EXCURSUS A. Testimony of Josephus concerning Jesus. Tivtrai di Karb. rovTov t6v xP^'^o" 'It/coOj-, ffoTO^ Tip. Koi avrbv ivdei^et tQv vpuTuv dvdpuv irap rj/uv aravpifi iiTiTiTip.riK6To<^ ntXaroK, oiiK eiramavro oiyi irpurov avrbv dyaTrri(ravT€(;-, i(pdv7) ykp oi/TO??- rplTTfv ex^" Vf^^P'"-'' '"'dXi.v fwi', twv Oeioov ir po(j)i)T Cov radrd re Kal fiXXa p,vpla davpLdffia trepl avrov elprjKdruv. Etf 4tl vvv tQv xP"'"'''aJ'w»' dwb roOde uvonaffp^vuv oiK itr^Xiire t6 ov ffov. . . . ' and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.' 2. A^et 'iT/croCf idtv /j-i} V7]ffT€V(rr]Te rdv kScthop ov /xt] evpr)Te rrfv ^acriXelav rov ^eoO- Kal ikv fii) ffa^^ariffTfTe t6 (Td^jiarov ovk 6\j/e\ol eiaiv ry Kapdlg. avTCj[v]. 'Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world, and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieveth over the sons of men, because the are blind in their heart.' . . 4. . . . TTIV TTTCxJX^taV. . . . ' the poverty. . . 5. [A^7]et ['IrjffoO^- SttJoii idv Jiffiv [ . . . ]e[ . . . ] . . 6€oi Kal [...] CO ...€[.. ] ecTTiv p.6vo(^ [ . . JTw ^7w elixl fj.€T avT[ov] e-/€i[p]ov rbv \idov KaKei eiipTrjaeig' p,e, ffx^cov rb ^vKov KayC) iKei ei/xl. 'Jesus saith. Wherever there are . . . and there is one . . . alone, I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me ; cleave the wood, and there I am.' 6. A^yei IrjffoO^' oiK eariv deKrb^ irpo'r)Tr}<^ iv tj irarplbi aiJT[o]u, ovbk iarpbg' iroiet depaTTela^ el^ Toii^ yivdiffKovra^ ainbv. 'Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them tliat know him.' 7. A^7€i I?;croOs"' irbXu^ (^Kobop.riixivr) iw'' dKpov [fijpoi^s" wprfKov Kal ir] oijre Tr€[cr]€iv d'tivarai. oUre Kpv[^]rjpaL. 'Jesus saith, A city built on the top of a hill and established, can neither fall nor be hid.' EXCURSUS D. DiDACHK ; OK, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. This recently-discovered and famous writing was written in Hellen- istic Greek, as were the New Testament and the Septuagint of the Old Testament. It is believed to have been written in Syria or Palestine. The subject-matter of the manuscript was first announced in 1875, and in 1883 it was given to the world printed in complete form by the dis- Appendix. 675 coverer, the distinguished scholar and prelate, Bryennios, then metro- politan of Serae, now of Nicomedia. The original writer is unknown. The document was found in what is known as the Jerusalem manuscript, in the library of Constantinople. This copy was made in A. D. 1056; but, in the judgment of the critics, the original was written A. D. 70-100, with a strong probability of 70-79. In 1884, Hilgenfeld issued his Novum Testamentum along with this manuscript, with critical emendations (Leipsic, iv, 94-103 ). The Didache bears a twofold title. The briefer one is the Teaching, but a more descrii)tive title is The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, {Aidaxrj tQv SdideKa ' ATroffrdXuv) . The opening sentence of the document reads: •' Teaching of the Lord by the Twelve Apostles to the Nations" (AIAAXH Kvplov 8id tQv dudeKa ' AiroffrdXwv toii;- 'Edveinv). There is no claim for in- spiration in this writing, or that it was a part of the Scriptures of the New Testament. Rather it is a summary of the apostolic teachings, intended to be used in the catechetical instruction of converts by the successors of the apostles. It is concededly identical with the work mentioned by Eusebius and Athanasius, and cited by Clement of Alexan- dria. It very much resembles the Epistle of Barnabas (not the Apostolic Father), with which the manuscript was connected when discovered, and it is of the same chronology. It contains sixteen chapters, nearly half of which relates to The Two Ways ; the remainder referring to rites and orders in the Church, and to sacred occasions and observances related thereto, directions about the mode of baptism, formulae respecting the Eucharist, words about the Lord's Day, the Christian apostles and proph- ets, and it enjoins also a careful watchfulness for the Second Coming of Christ. Dr. Salmon, professor in the University at Dublin, remarks: "This work bears every mark of a great antiquity, and it is commonly accepted as belonging to the beginning of the second century, if not the latter part of the first." (Introd. N. T. 5th ed. 1891, p. 555.) Bishop Lightfoot says :" The archaic simplicity of its practical suggestions . . . point to the first or the beginning of the second century as the date of the work." (Apos. Fathers, ed. 1891, p. 216.) Dr. Schaff adds: " Didache is no modern or ancient forgery, but has every internal evidence of gi-eat antiquity and genuineness." " It has the highest marks of antiquity. . . . There is nothing in it which could not have been written between A. D. 70 and 100." (Teaching of Twelve Apostles, pp. 114, 119, 122.) EXCURSUS E. The Muratorian Canon. This fragment is so called from the name of its discoverer, Muratori, an Italian. It was originally found in Bobbio in the monastery, and thence was carried to Milan and placed in the Ambrosian Library^ where, after being for a long time lost to sight, it was discovered. This 676 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. copy was made about the seventh or eighth century, but the original was composed about the middle of the second Christian century. At the beginning and the end, this manuscript is considerably disfigured by the transcriber. It is written in Latin, but unquestionably it is a translation from the Greek. Nevertheless, it is a document of the high- est interest and importance. It is also much mutilated at the beginning and the ending. In its present form several of the first leaves are miss- ing, and the fragment begins with the last words of a sentence evidently taken from Mark's Gospel. It then mentions Luke's Gospel as being third in order, having been written by Luke the physician, the compan- ion of Paul. It distinctly assigns the fourth Gospel to John, who is expressly named as " a disciple of the Lord." Its authorship is unknown. Bunsen attributed it to Hegesippus, the earliest Church historian, whose work, except a fragment, has per- ished. But there is nothing in the internal evidence to determine who the writer was, and the assigning it to any person is merely a shrewd guess. Dr. Westcott claims for the fragment a very high authority, and says that its composition can not be placed much later than A. D. 170. He says: "The internal evidence fully confirms its claim to this high antiquity ; and it may be regarded on the whole as a summary of the opinion of the Western Church on the Canon, shortly after the middle of the second century." Acts follows the Gospels ; the thirteen Pauline Epistles are referred to that apostle as their author. Nine are addressed to the Churches, and four to individuals in the Church. Of Paul it is said that he " wrote by name only to seven Churches, showing thereby the unity of the general Church ; though he wrote twice to the Corinthians and Thessalonians for their correction." "He wrote at greater length first to the Corin- thians to forbid heretical schism ; afterwards to the Galatians to put a stop to circumcision ; then to the Romans, according to the rule of the [Old Testament] Scriptures, showing at the same time that Christ was the foundation of them." He also mentions " an Epistle to Philemon, one to Titus, and two to Timothy." " First Peter, and First John and the Epistle of James, Second Peter, and the Epistle to the Hebrews, are all omitted ; but, with these exceptions, every book in our New Testament Canon is acknowledged." (Westcott, Canon, pp. 212, 217-219.) EXCURSUS F. The Expurgated Editions of the Jewish Talmud. In A. D. 1240 a conference was held at Paris between the Jewish Rabbins on the one part, and Nicolaus Donin on the other, in regard to certain blasphemies and opprobrious epithets recorded against Jesus of Nazareth and his mother, Mary the Virgin. These things had long been taught to the Jewish youth. The chief of the Rabbins, whose name was Appendix. 677 Jechiel, would not admit that the Jesus there referred to was the " Jesus of Nazareth," but affirmed that the opprobrious language of the Talmud then existing was meant to apply to another bearing the same name ! This discovery was the more remarkable inasmuch as the Rabbi could not designate the "other" Jesus as the distinguished personage. Dr. Levin, himself a Jew, in a prize essay remarks: " We must regard the at- tempt of F. Jechiel to ascertain that there were two by the name of Jesus as unfortunate, original as the idea may be!" However, the result of this conference was, that " the Talmud in wagon-loads was burned at Paris in A. D. 1242." These highly offensive passages were thereupon expunged from the Talmud, the last unexpur gated, edition dating at Amsterdam in 1645. The expurgation was done under an edict published by the Jewish elders in Council, convened in Poland in 1631, or A. M. 5391. The Edict. " Great peace to our beloved brethren of the House of Israel: Hav- ing received information that many Christians have applied themselves with care to acquire the knowledge of the language in which our books were written, we therefore enjoin upon you, under the penalty of the Great Ban (to be inflicted upon such of you as shall transgress this our statute), that you do not in any new editions of the Mishna or Gemara publish anything relative to Jesus of Nazareth; and you take special care not to write anything concerning him, good or bad ; so that neither ourselves nor our religion be exposed to any injury. For w^e know what those men of Belial, the Murim [i. e., "Heretics"], have done to us when they be- came Christians, and how their representatives against us have obtained credit. Therefore let us make you cautious. "If you should not pay strict attention to this our letter, but act contrary thereto, and continue to publish our books in the same way as be- fore, you will occasion both to us and yourselves greater afflictions than we have hitherto experienced, and be the means of our being compelled to embrace the Christian religion as we were formerly ; and thus our latter troubles be worse than the former. For these reasons we com- mand you that if you publish any new editions of these books, let the places relating to Jesus the Nazarene be left blank, and fill the space with a circle like this: O. But the Rabbins and teachers of the chil- dren well know how to instruct the youth by the word of mouth. Then Christians will no longer have anything to show against us upon this subject, and we may expect deliverance from the afflictions we have heretofore laboi-ed under, and reasonably hope to live in peace." (See C. Leslie's Short and Easy Method ivith the Jews, p. 2, et seq., London, 1812, in which the Hebrew and the English translation appear side by side ; also McClintock and Strong's Cyclop, x, 172; also Rabbi Joseph S. C. F. Frey's Messiahship o/Zesus, 1850, pp. 123, 124; also his Joseph and Benja- min, 9th ed.. Vol. I, p. 238.) In the unexpurgated editions of the Talmud the name of Jesus oc- curs about twenty times. Besides being named Jesus, he is often covertly 678 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. referred to in terms of disguise, and in a manner marked with malignity illustrative of the ancient spirit which crucified him. Among those opprobrious epithets are the designation " J.6saZom;" " Ben Stada," i. e., the son of Stada; " Ben Fandira, i. e., either scourge or ravenous lust, meaning the son of adultery ; " A certain one," ''Jl73=6 deXva, ^'He ivhom we may not name;" " The Nazarene;" " The Fool;" " The Hung" upon the cross, — cf. Acts v, 30, and x, 39. Hence Abn Ezra remarks, under Gen. xxvii, 89, that Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, "placed the figure of The Hung" upon his standard; and Rabbi Bechal, on Psalms Ixxx, 14, says: "Behold and visit this vine, adding that in the word 1 Ji^'D, the Hebrew letter;; is suspended to indi- cate that those who ruin the vineyard [the Christians] are the worshipers of The Hung." But more and worse than this is the substituting Hebrew letters for the Greek form of Christ's name (B'lT'' for 'I7;n crowns ; and the name of the beast was Blasphemy, and the num- ber of the beast was 666. [Rev. xii, 3; xiii, 1.] " When, now, the elders and wise men heard of what was done, they came to the king and consulted him and his council. Then answered Judas, son of Zachar: 'I am the first of the king's princes; I will go myself and see if it be true what is said, that 684 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. this man blasphemeth.' After that Judas went to Jerusalem. . . . Now, when Judas was come to Jerusalem, he related to the king and the elders the words and deeds of Jeshu, and how, through the power of the incommunicable Name, he had wrought such wonders that the people of Ai believed on him. Then the king and the elders asked counsel of Judas how they might take Jeshu and his disciples." 6, Conspiracy of Judas. "Therefore, the wise men went forth with sad hearts, and one turned to another and said : ' Let us use subtlety, that we may get him into our hands.' And one said to another: 'If it seems right unto you, let one of us learn the Name as he [Jeshu] did, and work miracles, and perchance we shall secure him.' And this counsel pleased the elders ; and they said : ' He who will learn the Name, and secure the Fatherless One, shall receive a double reward in the future life.' And thereupon one of the elders stood up, whose name was Judas, and he spake unto them saying; 'Ai"e ye agreed to take upon you the blame of such action, if I speak the incommunicable Name ? For if so, I will learn it, and it may happen that God in his mercy may bring the Fatherless One into my power.' Then they all cried out with one voice: ' The guilt be on us ; but do thou make the effort and succeed.' There- upon he went into the Holiest Place, and did what Jeshu had done." [Afterwards Judas is represented as woi-king miracles by the use of the incommunicable Name, and in contest with Jeshu, Judas overcomes him, and the power of Jeshu leaves him, and he was subjected to the taunts of his captors, the elders.] "Now when the disciples saw this, and all the multitude of sinners who had followed him, they fought against the elders and the wise men of Jerusalem, and gave Jeshu opportunity to escape out of the city. And he hasted to the Jordan ; and when he had washed therein, his power returned, and with the Name, he again wrought his former miracles. Thereafter he went and took two millstones and made them swim on the water ; and he seated himself thereon, and caught fishes to feed the multitude that followed him." 7. The Royal March. [At length Jesus is invited by the deputation from Jerusalem headed by Ananias and Achasias, by deceit and treach- ery, to come to that city.] "And Jeshu said, I will go forthwith on my way ! And it came to pass when he had come as far as Nob, nigh unto Jerusalem [a city near and in sight of Jerusalem, in the territory of Benjamin, by which the Assyrians approached the city mentioned in Isa. x, 28-32], that he said to his followers: ' Have ye here a good and comely ass ?' They answered him that there was one even at hand. Therefore he said: * Bring him hither to me.' And so a stately ass was brought unto him, and he sat upon it and rode into Jerusalem. And as Jeshu entered into the city, all the people went forth to meet him. Then he cried saying : Appendix. 685 ' Of me did the prophet Zacharias testify, Behold thy King cometh unto thee, righteous and a Savior, poor and riding on an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.' [Compare Matt, xxi, 1-11 ; Mark xi, 1-11 ; Luke xix, 29-40; John xii, 12-16.] Now when they heard this, they all wept bitterly and rent their clothes." 8. Arrest of Jesus. [Judas forewarns the elders of the Sanhedrin of Christ's coming to Jerusalem, and on arriving and entering the temple, he is attacked by armed men. Judas is identified as one of the disciples of Jeshu; but the Jewish servants do not know him from being a disciple ; so Judas casts himself down befoi-e Jeshu, and thus indicates to the armed men whom they are to capture. Some disciples offer resistance, but are readily overcome, and be- take themselves to the mountains, where they are caught and killed.] "But the elders of Jerusalem led Jeshu in chains into the city, and bound him to a marble pillar, and scourged him [Matt, xxvii, 26; John xix, 1], and said: ' Where are now all the miracles thou hast wrought?' And they plaited a crown of thorns, and set it on his head." " But when the feast of the Passover drew nigh, it was heralded through all the land of Judaea that any one who had aught to say in favor, and for the exculpation of Jeshu, should declare it before the king." 9. Sentence of Jesus. "Then they led Jeshu forth before the Greater and the Less Sanhedrin, and he was sentenced to be stoned, and then to be hung on a tree." " Therefore, on the eve of the Pass- over, Jeshu was brought out of the prison ; and they cried before him: ' So may all thine enemies perish, O Lord !' " "And it was on the eve of the Passover* and of the Sabbath." 10. Crucifixion of Jesus. " And they led him forth to the place where the punishment of stoning was wont to be executed, and they stoned him there till he was dead. And after that the wise men hung him on the tree ; but no tree would bear him ; each brake and yielded." "And they hanged him on a tree outside of Jerusalem, as the king and elders of Jerusalem had commanded. And all Israel looked on and glorified God." *The Jewish Talmud, which is the basis of these two writings, states: "The tradition Is, that on the eve of the Passover, Jesus, . . . the son of Mary, was hanged " [on a cross. Comp. Acts v, 80-33, and x, 89]. (Babylonian Talmud, Tract Sanhedrin, fol. 43a.) Again, "No defense could be found; therefore they hanged him upon the eve of the Passover." (Bab. Tal. Tract. Sanhedr. fol. (57a.) And again, "But I say his mother was Stada; and thej' hanged him up on the eve of the Passover." (Bab. Tal. Sanhedr. 67a.) Thus the Jewish Talmud confesses to the following facts, viz.: 1. That the Per.ion executed was no other than ''■Jesus:" " The tradition is that Je- sus, . . . the son of Mary." 2. That Jesus was put to death by crucifixion: " Tfmt Jesus luas hanged up." 8. That his crucifixion occurred at a known date: " They hanged him up on the eve of the Passover." 44 686 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. ll.Incidents of the Crucifixion. " Then the Fathei-less was in anguish through thirst, and he cried, saying: 'Give me water to drink!' [John xix, 28.] So they gave him acid vinegar [Psa. Ixix, 21 ; Matt, xxvii, 34; John xix, 29, 30] ; and after he had drunk thereof, he cried : ' Of me did my father David prophesy. They gave me gall to eat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.' But they answered : ' If thou wert God, why didst thou not know it was vin- egar before tasting it ? Now thou art at the brink of the gi'ave, and changest not !' But Jesus wept and said: ' My God, my God ! why hast thou forsaken me !' [Matt, xxvii, 46.] And the elders said: ' If thou be God, save thyself from our hands.' [Matt, xxvii, 39-43; Mark xv, 29-32; Luke xxiii, 36, 37.] But Jesus answered, saying: 'My blood is shed for the redemption of the world; for Isaiah prophesied of me : He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities ; our chastisement lies upon him that we may have peace, and by his wounds we are healed.' [Isa. liii, 5.]" 12. Burial of Jesus. "And when even was come, the wise men said: ' We may not, on account of the Fatherless, break the letter of the law which forbids that one who is hung, should remain all night on the tree. Though he may have set at naught the law, yet will not we.' [John xix, 31.] Now when even was come, Judas took down the body of Jeshu from the tree, and laid it in his gar- den in a conduit." " Therefore they buried the Fatherless in the place where he was stoned. [John xix, 41, 42.] And when mid- night was come, the disciples came and seated themselves on the grave, and wept and lamented him. Now when Judas saw this, he took the body away, and buried it in his garden under a brook. He diverted the waters of the brook elsewhere ; but when the body was laid in its bed, he brought its waters back again into its former channel." 13. His Resurrection and Ascension. " Now on the morrow, when the disciples had assembled and had seated themselves weeping, Judas came to them and said : ' Why weep ye? Seek ye him who was buried?' [John xx, 11-15.] And they dug and sought, and found him not ; and all the coinpany cried : * He is not in the gi'ave ; he is risen and ascended into heaven ; for wlien he was alive yet, he said he would raise him up. Selah ! ' And some of these went to Ai, and declared that on the third day after Jeshu had been hung, fire had fallen from heaven, which sur- rounded Jeshu, and he had risen alive, and gone up to heaven." "Now there was among them an elder whose name was Tan- chuma. . . And the Rabbi Tanchuma answered [Judas] : * Jeshu the Fatherless is the occasion [of this new fast] ; for he was hung up and buried on the spot where he was stoned ; but now he is taken away, and we know not where he is gone. And Appendix. 687 his woi'thless disciples cry out that he is ascended into heaven.'" [Then Judas produced the body of the Fatherless from his own garden.] "Then the Rabbi Tanchuma hastened to the elders of Israel and told them all, and they came together and drew him [Jeshu] forth attached to the tail of a horse, and brought him before the queen and said : ' See, this is the man who they say has ascended into heaven.' " [Simon Cephas is then represented as saying], "And this also doth he require of you, that ye do not celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but that ye keep holy the day on which he died. And in the place of the Feast of the Pentecost, that ye keep the fortieth day after his stoning, on which he went up into heaven." 14. Change of" the Sabbath. "Therefore they arose and desecrated the Sabbath." "Therefore they abolished the law, and chose the first day of the week as the Sabbath, for that was the birthday of Jesus ; and they ordained many other customs and bad feasts. Therefore have they no part and lot in Israel. They are accursed in this world, and accursed in the world to come. But the Lord bless his people Israel with peace. These are the words of Rabbi Jochanan, son of Saccai in Jerusalem." [The foregoing extracts taken from Baring-Gould's Lost and Hostile Gospels, occur as follows: the First Toledoth Jeshu, on pages 76-101 ; the Second Toledoth Jeshu, on pages 102-115.] EXHIBIT A. Thb Chronology of the Books of the New Testament. In the first scheme following, the first four persons named are known as eminent Christian authors of the orthodox faith ; those following are recognized critics of the negative school, rationalists of views more or less liberal respecting the Scriptui-es. Their several opinions as to the dates when the Historical Books of the New Testament were written are here indicated. w 72 > K g ?i tn 5C K fO 5 o s! i-i 0 > w > o a g k 5 X 53 >• « ■=3 » M N !2! £ » /, > ■=g 0 >■ M B W !2| !? 2 > W •^ t< 5< !ri Matt. t50-67 41-48 60-6.3 6»-69 66 68 70 70 70 84 105-115 130 Mark 60-67 63 67-68 68-6!) 00 7,5 58 6!) 81 76 73 150 Luke 64-66 50-.58 en 63-67 90 80 80 7C )-80 100 94 100-103 14(1 John 80-11)0 70-87 80 7H-90 ») 123 120 98 140 27 150 170 Acts 61 6.3 (Hi-dl ] 20 688 Historical Evidence of the New Testajvient. a) THE historical BOOKS. Book 1. Synoptic Gospels First Gospel Second Gospel ... Third Gospel 2. Fourth Gospel ... 3. Acts of Ajiostles ... Writer Matt. Mark Luke John Luke Place Judaea Rome Osesarea Ephesus ' Rome Addressed to Date Key Thought Jewish Christians.. 60-65 Jesus the true Messiah. Roman Christians 60-65 Jesus the Son of man. Greek Christians .. 58-65 Jesus the Re- deemer of men. Christian Church .. 90-95 Jesvis Incarnate Son of God Gentile World 5&-67 /3) THE PAULINE EPISTLES. Writings 4. Earliest Epistles : Two in number. 1. Thessalonians . 2. Thessalonians. 5. Epistles univer- sally accredited: Four in number. Galatians 1. Corinthians 2. Corinthians Romans 6. Epistles of his Captivity: Three. Phllippians Ephesians Colosslans 7. Pastoral Epistles Three. 1. Timothy 2. Timothy Titus 8. 07ie Personal Epistle: Philemon 9. One General Epistle: Hebrews Place Corinth Corinth Corinth or Ephesus Macedonia Macedonia Corinth CsBsarea or Rome Rome Rome Macedonia Rome Macedonia Rome Palestine Addressed to Thessalonlan Christians... Thessalonlan Christians... Cliurch in ) GalaLia ) Church in i Corinth ( Church in > Corinth J Christians at / Rome s Church at ) Phillppi I Church at ) Ephesus S Church at \ Colosse j His Convert ) Timothy j His Convert Timothy S Titus of Crete Master of Onesimus , .} Jewish Christians.. Date 58-60 62-6:3 61-63 62-65 65-«6 65 6^ 63, 64 Key Thought ( Second Advent of ) Jesus Christ. J Misapprehensions of ) advent corrected. Salvation by faith, j Resurrection of ( Jesus Christ. j Defense of his own 1 apostleship. j Sin and the power \ of grace. f Spiritual encour- \ agements. ( Unity of the ( Christians. j Corrections of heret- l leal views. I Church officers and / tlieir duties. f Apprehension of his t own death. f Persons of Churchly I offices. J Slavery or freedom ( of Onesimus. J High Priesthood of \ Jesus Christ. Appendix. 689 7) THE CATHOLIC EPISTLES. Writings Place Addressed to Date Key Thought I. James Jerusalem... Babylon Unknown... Jewish ) Christians... ( The Dis- persed Jews i The Church In general... j The General \ Church ]■ To the Elect ( Lady \ Elder Be- j loved Galus J 63-64 64 65 90-95 90-95 90-95 j Duties: prayer, ( faith, works. j Encouragements in \ Christian life. j The new heaven ( and new earth. j Love of Jesus and ( the brethren. j Loyal obedience to ( Jesus Christ. j The general state of 1 the Church. 2. 1 Peter 8. 2 Peter 4. 1 John 5. 2 John Ephesus Ephesus 6. 3 John 5) BOOK OF REVELATION. The Apocalypse Patmos* or Ephesus... Seven ^ Churches of > Asia J 96-98 or 68-69 r*The consummation 1 of all things. *If the Apostle John was banished to Patmos under the reign of Nero, as the internal evidence indicates, he wrote the Apocalypse about A. D. 68 or 69; but the Gospel and Epistles were written at the later date given. This view Is accepted by Neander, Liicke, Bleek, Ewald, DeWette, Baur, Hllgenfeld, Reuss, Diister- dieck, Weiss, R6nan, Stanley, Asbe, Stuart, Davidson, Cowles, Bishop Llghtfoot, Westcott, and Schaff. But the older coTnmentators and some recent ones, among whom are Elliott, Alford, Hengstenberg, Ebrard, Lange, Hofmann, Qodet, Lee, etc., favor the traditional date as the external evidence indicates, which Is A. D. 96, after Domitlan's death. John Is said to have died a natural death in the reign of Trajan about A. D. 98. (See on this Schaff, Hist. Christ Church, 1, 429, note 1; 834, note 2 and 3.) EXHIBIT B. Table op High Priests and Roman Procurators. A COMPLETE CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE ROMAN PROCURATORS OF JUD^A. No. High Priests Date Procurators of Jud^a Date 1 Annas or Ananus, son of Seth A. D. 6 Appointed by Augustus Coponlus A. D. 6-9 9-12 12-16 Marcus Aniblvius Annius Rufus 2 3 4 6 6 Ishmael, son of Fabus 15 17 18 34 36 Appointed by Tiberius 15-26 26-36 36,87 Eleazar, son of Annas Simon, son of Camlthus Joseph Calaphas, son-in-law of Marcellus* or Marcus Jonathan, son of Annas 690 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. No. High Pkiests Date Pkoourators of Jud^a Date 7 8 Theophilus, son of Annas 37 41 Appointed by Cahsula MaruUus + or Marylllus Publlus Patronius Herod Agrippa I, king 37-39 89-41 41-44 Simon Canthera, son of Boethus.. 9 10 11 12 13 14 42 43 45 47 47 69 Appointed by Claudius Cuspius Fadus 44-46 46-48 48-52 62-60 Aljoneus, or Eliouseus, son of Cantheras Joseph, son of Camydus Ananias, son of Nebseus Ishmael, son of Fabl, junior 15 16 17 18 19 20 61 62 62 63 65 67 Appointed by Nero 60-62 62-64 64-70 69,70 Ananus, son of Annas Jesus, son of Damnseus Jesus, son of Gamaliel Marcus An tonius ) Julianas^ j * Appointed pro tern, upon the removal of Pontius Pilate from the pro- curatorship in A. D. 36. Publius Patronius, President of Syria governed Judasa 89-41, when Herod Agrippa I had Judaea added to his Itingdom from 41 to 44, when the king died, and Judaea lapsed into a province under a procurator. tMarullus was titled " Hipparch,'" or " Master of the Horse:" 'lirirdpxov iirl TTJc 'lovdaiag- iKTviixnei MipvWov. (Joseph. Ant. xviii, 6, 10.) 5 Julianus is inexactly called iiriTpoirog- for procurator by Josephus ( Wars, vi, 4, 2) ; but probably never governed, but identified himself with the army of Titus, which completely obliterated the Jewish nationality in A. D.70. EXHIBIT 0. A Comparative View of the Opinions of Pre-eminent Critics Respecting the Chronology op These Witnesses and Documents. first century : a. d. 30-130. 03 a oc f to H w H O 33 "Witnesses Q W > ^5 a n > W 0 !2l CO o M H > 0 and '^ >'^ «> W O 4 Documents. ^2 izl d w M CI W H 0 O w H Seneca d.i 65 Paul 52-63 2 70 70-100 97-98 100 40-1 10 100 100 100 109 Martial Didach^ 107 120 115-116 98-138 100 b.i68 100 110 ib.=born; d.=died. 2 Date of writing. Appendix. 691 Witnesses AND Documents. •M Q H S3 H a M M Q 0 GO % 0 > w 0 a a W 1 H M on Q a « 0 O w B CO H Q O >■ 3, 0 2! Pllny, Jr 109-1112 98-1173 117-1383 d.1103 150 95 97-100 107-108 d. 155 117-137 117-137 126-150 61-115 Ant. 93 TFars, 100 93-101 119-126 d. 166 b.i61 b. 87 68-81 70-79 d. 155 12:^126 125-127 106-107 106-107 117 Wars. 75 Ant. 93 180 96 70-79 70-107 108 123 123 95 70-79 100-110 d. 155 180-210 117 70-80 117 100-105 96 70-79 d.l55 Trajau Hadrian Josephus Talmud Toledoth Jeshu Clement (Rome) Barnabas Ignatius Polycarp Aristides Quadratus SECOND CENTURY : A. D. 180-230. Aurellus 161-180 161-180 b. 120 d.200 147-1.50 155-229 d.I80 170 177 177-190 b.l50 198-211 200 138-161 154-166 150 130-200 148-165 155-229 177 198-211 b. 121 176 137-161 180 177 b. 125 192 176 176 176 180 140 230 173 177 167 194 200 165 165 140-160 b. 120 b. 120 161-180 150-160 138-139 177 177 145-146 157-168 170 169 130-220 165-220 150 170 170 170 180 d.I85* 197* Luclan \ Galen Justin Dion Casslus Hegesippus Muratorlan Mellto Apollonius Clement (Alexandria).. Tertullian THIRD CENTURY : A. D. 230-330. 245-248 290-300 d. 330 315 812-337 363 270 302-329 284-305 361-363' 246 b.233 304 361-363 230 270 306 303 815 361 304 225-254 160-240 Lactantlus Hierocles Constantlne _ 1 b.= born, d. = died. 2 Date of writing. 'Emperor's reign. ^Opinion of Conybeare and Howson. 692 Historical Evidence of the New Testament. EXHIBIT D. Table of Contemporaneous Witnesses. The design of this Exhibit is to represent the interlapping in the lives of contemporaries who witness to facts recorded in the New Tes- tament, whether friends or foes. It serves to give in one view the unity and continuity of their collective testimony. Each line is based upon the supposed or known date of the author's birth. Also the evidential date and value of the documents related to different times and countries should be carefully noted. B. C. 8 Seneca, 65 A. D. A. D. 1 Apostle John, 95-100. A. D. 2 Apostle Paul, 66 or 67. A. D. 37 Josephus, 105. A. D. 40 Barnabas, 126. A. D. 40 Epictetus, 105. A. D. 43 Martial, 110. A. D. 45 Clement of Rome, 101. A. D. 50 Tacitus, 117. A. D. 52 Trajan, 117. A. D. 60 Juvenal, 105. A. D. 60 Ignatius, 107. A. D. 61 Pliny Junior, 118. A. D. 69 Polycarp, 155. A. D. 123 Celsus, 188. A. D. 70 Suetonius, 130. A. D. 125 Irenseus, 202. A. D. 76 Hadrian, 138. A. D. 130 Galen, 200. A. D. 83 Aristides, 144. A. D. 150 Apollomus, 240. A. D. 84 Quadratus, 148. A. D. 150 Tertulhan, 240. A. D. 105 Justin, 165. A. D. 150 Clement of Alex'a., 220. A. D. 105 Hegesippus, 180. A. D. 155. Dion Cassius, 210. A. D. 120 Melito, 188. A. D. 185 Origen, 254. A. D. 120 Lucian, 190. A. D. 239 Porphyry, 310. A. D. 121 Aurelius, 180. A. D. 250 Lactantius, 327. A. D. 255 Hierocles, 310. A. D. 270 Eusebius, 340. Mara, dating A. D. 70. A. D. 272 Constantine, 337. Diadachg, A. D. 70-100. A. D. 331 Julian, 363. Logia of the Lord, A. D. 100-150. Epistle to Diognetus, A. D. 125-150. Muratorian Canon, A. D. 170. Jewish Talmud, A. D. 100-150. Toledoth Jeshu (Hist, of Jesus), date unknown. i2 X b. O IS 00 >>>, „2 S 3>% ^ 0) Q> » 0) a> ID m bcbo 33 33 0 0 M'r bCT- he 00 0"*^ 0 z: ^ a o< D.ow<;« ^S ^5 00 0 Bo >o ^c cO ft ftft ftft ftft ft » ftT3 ft ^ a O O O — w HW WW S a d ft ftft £ja > Q « « Q W tipq pqpq PmCm ja ■" a ft a diTwm-t) £^ < i5 ^ ?f; ?§g ^ gS SS S5S u'? 0 [^ (^ in ■^ 0 s g s si^ il r-lC-l !C '"^ a t«l W M 5f 5 M }i IC 0 1- ooo:» 0 1—1 t-x < z rH rH » t)K, W ^ m oS Q rr "S £? 5 « S g O 7 05 « o m O 9 t =^ < d 0 0 ^ m 3 n w o ^ t3 a ^^■= QJOfi cS <» '^ ri Si OJ 1:2 1 15 l^ to -Universal IRST CENT O ■9 cd 1 S Jsflo 1 liiilsi m 7; 3 0 g '^ .2 S 5 altliHa^SS 0 0 . x:x: d a < o 1 > t- be 0 0 0 1 1 2 gaas 2ggo a5o^ (-1 .pi^ .^ »i*j dx3x:ja 1 5 1 fc ^ CO •w meo 0 lO 0 *>! C"' O: im>- <: ''^ r '1 f i r-H >— < p. i .— I rH ai (M ^ ^»— O! P= i ^ H 3 1 u m W O d ^ ft d 1 © O § ^I'Tdl'SS 01 Sh ^ C^ ^ a n a d 0 5 O rt N 01 -^ ic :o l~ X 0-. 0 -1 eo Z — rt ■"" K ■C 1 JJ H # # «; S w O < » o 1 t * 1 ^13^ 1 z "*** is 5! S S g goSSS 1^ s —1 0 C-l C^ OT rt t- X (M 10 1 2 c is; I» 5; s S gg3SE !a CO & OQx! ■»!!» p 2 -< H o U I5C5 C>>r-iC2; H a •< S ofl- ^xdsa< rH IN OB •* io:c t- X C-. 0 — ■ fM rr T). ^ ^ -» iri ;m o» M alsum tory tory %) 1 "3 M o 5 S 5j u o Contra Eccl. H Eccl. H e 1^ Syrlac Greek Greek Syrlac Greek Hebrew Rabbi nl Greek 15 0) 70 100 150? 100? 150 150 170 O soph rlan rlan ^ 0 o o o o C) a o •«H en CQ Q ^ > ja a S ^ W W a O !0 lO S S OS 3 «< ,^^ ■?d P £ gla el tus Imud :h Jes torla on OD £ .ao&'ia3oo3C3 00 q IZi rlgen actan usebli S Q H <1 Q H Eh ^v-- M 0 r-l(XC0-*lO«Dt- 00 ^ <, O iJ W 6 0> O i-H ^ rt (M oi >i -^ w-- 00 © .a T3 H fl ^ ^ 15 aSd « M >'* Q 03 < (4 kl u O O 0 o .a ja 43 0 Q. > Is M 0 '0 3 w <1 > m A «' M phyr irocle Ian 0 «> ^ --I IV — « 0 TJ D P4 W H, 5§ 6 I- 00 Oi >5 •gS « H H d ^^ H H if , O «> X 0 >-.a h .0 s CDU <) EhEcOhO/^^O Q ^CSOCK^'SOkJCOC'-s 0 SS!?5S?5«S§3SSS S SSSSS^^ ^ 5:'-5^^^?gS;3SSlg 691 INDEX. A. Page. Abbot, Dr. Ezra, on the Golden Age of mankind, 23 Consensus of the books of the N. T., 627 Abrabanel, Rabbi, on the Star of the Messiah, 74, 75 Accompaniments of Christ's Nativity, 63-89 Adams, Dr. Nehemiah, on Zoroaster, and the Magi of the East, . . 72 Administrations, remarkable changes in, 385-411 Adversaries of Christianity classified, 12 Advocates of Christianity classified, 13 Agabus predicts a great famine, 420,421 Age, The Golden, of the vrorld, 24-26, 32 Agrippa I, Herod, king of Judaea, 481-489 His parentage, birth and death, 481 His surname, title and religiiui, 481,482 His early relations w^ith Caligula, 482 Is imprisoned by Emperor Tiberius 482 Caligula's grandmother intercedes, 582 Tiberius dies and Caligula succeeds, 482 Agrippa is exalted to royalty, 482,483 Departs to his kingdom of Judaea, 483 His royalty mocked in Alexandria, Egypt, 483 Soon returns to Rome on religious mission, 483 Caligula, insane, claims Divine honors, 483,484 Agrippa dissuades him fi'om erecting his statue in the Jewish Temple, 483-485 Caligula dies and Claudius succeeds 485 His accession largely due to Agi-ippa, 485 Claudius confirms and enlarges Agrippa's kingdom, 485 Agi'ippa distressed about his eligibility to be ruler of the Jews 485,486 Is humiliated by his superior, Vibius, president of Syria, . . 486 A coin of Agrippa's sovereignty, 486,500 Agrippa beheads the Apostle James, 487 Visits Csesarea to honor the Emperor, 487 Appears in theater in amazing splendor, 487 Is there smitten with death, 487,488 Accounts thereof by Luke and Josephus compared, 488, 489 Agrippa II, Herod, son of Agrippa I, 489-493 Distinguished from his father, in the New Testament, .... 489, 490 695 696 Index. Page. His youth and education at Rome, 490 Is early appointed King of Chalcis, 490, 491 Soon transferred to a greater kingdom, 491 Is appointed superintendent of Jews' Temple, manager of their treasury, with power to remove high priests, .... 491 Claudius dies, and Nero succeeds, who adds cities and villages to Agrippa's realm, 491 Agrippa issues coin in Nero's honor, 491,500 Visits Csesarea, and hears Paul's defense of his faith, .... 492,493 In the war, joins Eoman forces against his own Jewish subjects, 493 Alexander the Great, brought Greek letters into Palestine, ... 24 On meeting Jews, is amazed beholding on the High Priest's miter the name Jehovah, 571, 573 Offers sacrifices in the Jews' Temple, 572 Alexamenos, a caricature of the crucified Christ, 374, 375 Alford, Dr. Henry, an epitome of, 389 On disposition of criminals' garments, 399 His reason for calling a tetrarch a " king," *479 His explanation of the term 'NeuKdpos * 462 Andrew's discovery of the Messiah, 49 Anonymous writer's conception of miracle, 119, 164 Anticipations of Messiah, 21-39 Chaldaic Targum, The, on his Advent, 28, 29 Jewish Talmud, The, on Messiah's birth, 26-28 Anticipates his Incarnation, 27-31 Jewish People's expectations, 29-31 Other nations looked for a Messiah, 31-33 Messiah of Canaanites and Samaritans, 32 Christ's own claim to Messiahship discussed, 35-39 Antioch, in Syria, where Christ's followers were first called Christians, 316 Antipas, Herod, the Tetrarch 477^81 His character as a man and ruler, 99, 100 How settled over his Tetrarchy, 99,100 Intrigue and marriage with Herodias, 100,480 His imprisonment of John the Baptist, 100 Machaerus, the name and place of John's prison, 102, 103 There Antipas executes the Baptist, 103, 104 Discussion of the Tetrarch's motives and vacillation, .... 103-105 Exposure of his disloyalty to Caligula, 477 Antipas is deposed, confiscated, and banished by the Emperor, 477, 478 His tetrarchy transferred to Agrippa I, 477,478 Antipas's relations with Jesus 477,481 Why a mere Tetrarch is called King in the New Testament, 279, 280, and note. Index. 697 Paqb. Antiquities, as witnesses of sacred history, 12 Apologists of Christianity explained, 12 Apollonius, The Apologist, an epitome of 346,347 On the life of primitive Christians, 356, 357 The just an offense to the unjust, 368 Apostles of Jesus, and their Work, 315-342 On the historical existence of the Apostles of Jesus Christ, . 318 The four lists recorded in the New Testament 322 First called Christians at Antioch, 316, * 349 Talmud on the Apostles' names, 319 Toledoth Jeshu on the number, mission, and success of the Apostles, 319 Celsus on their number, and character, 319 Julian on the success of the Apostles' mission, 319 Testimony of Barnabas, Aristides, Tertullian, and Paul on Christian success 319,320 Analysis of the foregoing testimony, 320,321 James, the Lord's brother, becomes also an Apostle, .... 321, 322 When he became converted to the faith, 322 Pre-eminence of James among the Jews, 323, 324 Pre-eminence of James among Christians, 322-324 Review and inductions, 326,327 Christ's Apostles wrought many Miracles, 328-333 Miracles in demand by their work, 328,329 Their miracles were all wrought in Christ's name, 329 How adversaries explained miracles, 330-332 Origen's witness on the continuance of miracles in his time, 332 Review of testimony on the Apostles' miracles 332,333 Apostles' Mission and Ministry to the Nations, 333-342 The testimony of disbelievers on the success of Christianity, 333, 334 Confirmed by Christian writers, 334-336 Christianity and the Roman Empire, 336-342 Edicts of Constantine the Great, 336, 337 The apostolic success as recorded in the New Testament, . . 337-341 State Church as organized under Constantine, 336,337 Obstacles which opposed the Christian religion, ...... 340, 341 The final triumph of Christianity, 337-339 Apostles' Creed, summarizes the facts of the Faith, 310 Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (Didache), 674,675 Apostolic Fathei'S, the appellation explained, 12, 214, 278 Appeals to the reigning Csesar : Agrippa appeals against Antipas, . 477, 478 Philo and company appeal to Rome, 452 Suetonius on appeals to the Emperor, 576 Pliny on Christian appeals, 576, 671 Paul appeals from Festus to Caesar, 447,448 Appendix of this work, 663-694 698 Index, Page. Appian, on Roman citizenship, 444 Archseology (see Bennett's Christian Art), on Christian Baptism, 109, 110 Archelaus, Herod, the Ethnarch, ..... c 472-475 Is denied royalty by Augustus, 472 Made Ethnarch over half of Judsea, 472 Usurps kingly authority at once, 472,473 Is extremely cruel towards his subjects, 473 Is finally deposed, confiscated, and banished, 473 Gospel's brief notice of Archelaus, 474 Criticism on the Gospel's exactness, 474, 475, 479, 480 Aretas, King of Arabia. On his Kingship over Damascus, . . . 455, 559 Testimony of Josephus, Conybeax'e and Howson, 560 Coins of Aretas in existence, 560,561 Weiseler's explanation of the coins, 561 Eckhel's explanation of the situation, 560, 561 Aristides, Marcianus, an epitome of, 116, 216 On Christ as the source of Christian Eeligion, 124,230 On the identity of the spoken and vpritten Gospel, 304 Jesus pierced, died and was buried, 304 After three days he rose and ascended, 304 The Apostles then went forth preaching, 304 The Apostolic Creed partly cited, 306 The practical life of early Christians, 355, 356 Arnold, Matthew, an epitome of, 237 On the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 239 Arnold, Thomas, an epitome of, 347 His criticism of Gibbon on the Christian persecutions, . . . 377 Arrian, on feigned Roman citizenship, 445 Ascension of Jesus Christ, 295, 297-311 The sayings of Christ respecting it, 299, 300 The realization attested by evangelists, 300, 301 The witness of Peter and Stephen, 301,302 The witness of John and Paul, 306 Testimony of Jewish adversaries, 302, 303 Testimony of Roman adversaries 303 Testimony of Apostolic Fathers, 303,304 Testimony of Christian Apologists, 304, 305 Analysis of testimonies, and inductions legitimated, . . . .310,311 Astronomical argument on the Star of the Nativity, 74, 75 Athanasius, on the Founder of Christianity, 316 Athens, Paul waiting at, 567 Athenians extremely religious, 567, 568 The numerous statues of their gods, 568 Introduction of strange gods was death, * 568 On the altar of the Unknown God, 567, 569-573 Augustus, First Emperor of Rome, 413, 415-419 Indkx. ()99 Page. His title and life 418 How the appellation Augustus descended to subsequent em- perors, 418, note, * 424 In authority and power supreme, 416-418 Is angry toward Herod the Great, 466 His sarcasm on Herod's murderous conduct 69,467 Augustan band explained, 573, note 79, 574 Aurelius, Marcus Antonius, Emperor, an epitome of, 118 His dislike of Christians and Christianity, 350,351 B. Bacon, Lord, on the Bible, 503 Balaam, on the advent of the coming Messiah, 66 Baptism, the element and mode, 109, 110, 127, 128 Baptist, John, his unique place in history, 91-111 The sanctity of his life and work, 95 Testimony of Evangelists and Josephus, 96, 97 Chronology of John's ministry, 97 Strauss confirms Luke's accuracy, 98 Luke confirmed by Tacitus and Josephus, 99, 100 Evangelists on John's offense, 100 Josephus's confirmation of the Gospels, 100,101 Occasion for the Baptist's execution 101 Machserus the place of John's prison and death, 102, 103 Antipas's motive for beheading John, 103 His vacillation of purpose explained, 104, 105 Skeptical objection to the narrative of the execution, .... 105 John's peculiar relation to Jesus, 106, 107 John's unique mission with his people 108 Confirmations by Christian writers 108, 109 Re-corroboration by Christian Art, 109, 110 Review and summary, 110, 111 Bardesanes, on the Lord's day, 132 Barker, Joseph, on the horror of infidelity, 635 Bar-Kokheba, the false Messiah, 73 Issued a coin bearing a Star, 73 Barnabas, epitome of, 214-216 Antiquity of his epistle, 215, 216 His testimony on the number and authority of the Apostles, 623 On the mii-acles wrought by Christ, 623 On six details of Christ's sufferings, 623,624 Barnabas testifies to Christ's crucifixion, 624 To his resurrection, 624 To the institution of the Sabbath, 624 To the Lord's ascension, 624 To Matthew's Gospel as then " written," 624 700 Index. Page. Battle-ground, ancient, of Christianity 591 Baur, Ferdinand Christian, epitome of 236 On the historicity of Christ's resun*ection, 279, 292 On the disciples' faith in the resurrection, 283 Beale, Professor, on Protoplasm and Bathybius, 198 Bernice, a Herodian Princess, 493, 495, 496 Bevan, on Roman citizenship, 445 Beyschlag, Christian Church the offspring of a miracle, not of a lie, 292 On Christ's resurrection, 238 Bichart, X, on the constant changeableness of natural forces, . . 190 Birth-place of the Messiah designated, 26, 27, 57, 58 Biscoe, errors of classic writers on apostolic times, 456 Talmud's explanation of Paul's scourging 447 Blackstone, William, on the law of Nature, and the law of Reve- lation, 503 Body-guard of executed criminals, 398, 399 Bolingbroke, an epitome of, 213 On Isaiah's prediction of Christ's death, 217 Books of the New Testament, 637-639 On the art of ancient book-making, 637,638 The materials used in the art, 637, 638 The methods of ancient writers, 638,639 (On the manuscripts of the Sacred Books, see Manuscripts of the New Testament) ; Witness of Roman adversaries to the existence, authors, contents and antiquity of the Books of the New Testament, 598-626 Emperor Julian's witness to Sacred Books, and their contents, 596-599 On their apostolic authorship, 597 Hierocles attests five sacred books, 600,601,605 Porphry's witness to several authors, 602, 603, 606 Celsus constantly attributes the historical books to Christ's disciples, 606-611 Justin confirms, calling them " Memoirs," 620,621 Papias on Matthew, Mark, John and Peter, 622 Origen on the Gospels, the Johannine and Petrine Epistles, Hebrews, and Revelation, 615 Tertullian on six Pauline Epistles, 617,618 Clement of Rome cites fourteen books, 622, 623 Muratorian Canon, on the origin of John's Gospel, 616 Confirmation by Clement of Alexandria, 617 Irengeus, on the Gospels, 618-620 On the authority of Matthew's ''written" Gospel, 619,620 Barnabas on Matthew, the contents, quotations, and declara- tion of a "wn«en" Gospel 623-626 On the Titles of the Sacred Books, 615. 5, 626, 627, 639 On the Signatures of the Sacred Writers, 614, 615 Index. 701 Paqb. Lord Hales's citations of the New Testament taken from the early Fathers 629,630 Citations from all the Books of the New Testament by two apostolic Fathers, and two Christian Apologists, for two cen- turies after their publication, 627-632 Lardner, Rawlinson, and Given, on citations from New Testa- ment, compared with those from classic writings, as evidence of historicity, 627-631 How Sacred Books were propei'ly preserved, *618 How transmitted, identified, and accepted as apostolic, . . . 620 How the Sacred Books were first burned by the Eoman gov- ernment, 600, 656 Canon of the Sacred Books, how formed, 649-661 (See Council of Trent), 657,658 Brewer, Justice David J. , on the satisfactions and comforts of the Bible, 635 Bruce, on Christian miracles, 185 Bunsen, on the date of Barnabas's Epistle, 215 Burial of criminals' dead bodies, 399 O. Caligula and Herod Agrippa 1 482-485 Were educated together at Rome, 481, 482 Became mu tally and warmly attached, 482 Caligula becomes Emperor, 482 His character as Emperor, • • • 419, 420 He demanded divine honors to himself, 419, 483, 484 As characterized by Edward Gibbon, 365 Caludius, on the Star of the Messiah 72 Canaanite cognizes the Messiah in Christ, 32 Canon of the Books of the New Testament, 649-660 The term Canon explained, 649 The Canon and the Church Councils, 650 History of the Sacred Canon of the New Testament, 652-660 Discussion by Salmon and Westcott, 653, 654 William Hone, on the Canon of the New Testament 651, 652 Caricature of the Crucified Christ, 374, 375 Tertullian on a Roman caricature, 375 Carpenter, Dr. W. B., epitome of 183,184 On the source of all power in mind, 200 Science, man's conception of the order of the universe, . . . 188, 191 Rejects Huxley's doctrine of Bathybius, 198 Cassidorus, on Quirinius's enrollments, 82 Cassius, Dion, epitome of, 94 Great famine in Italy, 523,524 On the execution of Lollia Paulina, 105 45 702 Index. Page. A slave bearing a tablet with a written accusation thereon, . 398 Jews' supei'stition for the walls of the Temple, 535, 586 Catalogues, eleven, of the Books of the New Testament, .... 656, 657 Carlyle on Atheism and the Creator, 197 Caesars, The, five in number, 413, 415-425 Caesarea Philippi, the capital of Herod Agrippa II, 491 Celsus, epitome of, 388 On the Messiah, foretold and honored, 35 The Nativity of Jesus, 54, 56, 58, 59, 61, 69 On the Magi (Wise Men) of the East, 73 Slaying of children of Bethlehem, 69 On the flight of Jesus to Egypt, 68, 69 Concedes the fact of Christ's baptism, 107 On the ministry of our Lord, 121-123 He ascribes miracles to Jesus Christ 151 Incidents of Christ's passion, 219 His agony in Gethsemane, 219, 220 His betrayal by Judas Iscariot, 220, 319 The mock-royalty to taunt Jesus, 220 Scourging inflicted on Christ's person, 220, 224 Incidents connected with Christ's death, 222 The crucifixion of Jesus Chi-ist, 224 His reception of proffered vinegar, 223 The Jews punished for offering him gall, 223 On the outcry of Jesus to the Father, 225 The veritable death of Jesus, 224, 267 On the blood which followed the spear, 225 Earthquake and preternatural darkness, 225 On the descent of Christ into Hades, 226 The Son of God sent to save the Jews, 125, 126, 220 Christ the object of supreme worship, 125, 224, 373, 374 The resurrection of Jesus Christ, 267 Christ suffered in behalf of mankind, 125, 220 On Jesus as the God-hating sorcerer, .151,152 Savior the Son of the greatest God, 125 On the disciples of Christ, 319 The inspiration of the Apostles, 221 Sacred books ascribed to Christ's disciples, 606-611 On Celsus's knowledge of the New Testament, 388, 389 He persecutes the Christians, 361 His mistakes about the Magi and the Herods, * 69, 392 Census or registration, 403 Centurion, 403, note 46 Christ (see Jesus Christ.) Christ, the Historical, 113, 115-125 His unique ministry inaugurated, 120-124 Index. 703 Pask. His activities as Leader, Teacher, and Preacher, 121-123 Christ the Founder of Christianity 123-125, 224, 228, 229 Christianity, The Ancient, 125 Its ancient doctrines, 125 As attested by adversaries, 125-127 The Institutions of, 125-127 Baptism, as teaching of the Apostles, 127, 128 The Lord's Supper or the Eucharist, 128, 129 The Lord's-day, 130-134 Council of Nicaea on the Lord's-day, • 130 Constantine and other Christian authorities, 130-134 Christianity of Christ, 134-137 The atonement made by Christ, 125, 126 The resurrection of the human body, 126 The immortality of the human spirit, 126 The general judgment of mankind, 126 The final punishment of the incorrigible, 126, 127 Christian Era, the, and Dionysius Exiguus, 76, 77, 593, 594 Christians escape at the siege of Jerusalem, * 528-530 Christian persecutions, 343, 345-383 Christlieb, Theodore, epitome of, 164 On the miraculous foundation of Gospel history, 170 Christ himself the central miracle of history, 172 Place of miracles in the Christian system, . 169-210 On the origin of living organisms, 200 Eeply to Strauss on explaining a miracle, 204, 205 Criticism of Kenan's treatment of miracles, 209, 210 His reply to R^nan on submitting a present miracle to the savants of Paris, 207 Chronology of the Books of the New Testament, 687-790 Chronological table of Contemporary Witnesses, 693, 694 Chronology of John the Baptist's ministry, 97 Chronology of the Apostle John's exile to, and release from Patmos, 133, note 65 Chrysostom, John, epitome of 163 On the evangelists' want of signatures to their Gospels, . . . 614 Chubb, Thomas, his view of miracles, 186 Circumstances concurrent with the Nativity of Jesus, 63, 65-89 Joseph, and family, and Egypt, 67,68 Children of Bethlehem slain, 68 The fact conceded by Celsus 69 Testimony of the Toledoth Jeshu, 69 Sarcastic jest by Augustus on Herod, 69 Maccabean treaty violated by Herod, 70 The Wise men of the East and the Star, 71 Nestorian claim about Zoroaster and the Star of Bethlehem, 72 704 Index. Page. Testimony of Caludius, a philosopher, 72 The Jewish Talmud and the Star, 72, 73 The Christ-impostor, Bar-Kokheba, and his star, 73 Origen and Celsus on the Star, 73, 74 Patristic testimony on the Star, 73, 74 Testimony of Rabbi Abrabanel on the Star, 74 Kepler, Schubert, Pritchard, Ideler, Pingre, and Encke, on this astronomical phenomenon, 75 Edersheim, Wieseler, and Schaff, on the Star of Bethlehem, 75 The death of king Herod the Great, 76 The enrollments under Quirinius, 77, 78 The Roman enrollment, but Jewish method, 78, 79 The researches of Augustus W. Zumpt, 79, 80 Cassidorus, Suidas, and others on the enrollment of the Nativity, 82 Confirmation by Josephus, Julian, Justin, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria, 8i,85 Reconfirmed by a monumental slab bearing an inscription, . 86, 87 Summary of this evidence, 87-89 Cicero, on Roman citizenship, 442-443 Citizenship, Roman, 441 How acquired and restricted, 444,445 The rights conferred by law, 441-443 Sometimes conferred by sheer caprice, 443 The Jews eligible conditionally 444, 445 How deprived and annulled, 443,444 Citizens exempt from torture by law 442, 446 Feigned citizenship severely punished, 445 Citizenship of Paul, 446^49 Why did he not claim his rights from scourging, 446-448 How the order was given to scourge, 446 Claudius, the Emperor, epitome of, 413,420 His character as an Emperor, 365,417,420 He banished Christian Jews from Rome, 363, 422, 423 Clay, Henry, his regard for Christianity, 635 Clement of Alexandria (born about 160, died about 215), on the first enrollment at the Nativity, 85 On Peter preaching publicly at Rome, 619 Mark's Gospel composed from Peter's preaching , 619, 620 On the origin of John's Gospel, 616, 617 On John the Baptist, 108 Clement of Rome, epitome of, 116,235 On the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 269 Coins of the Herods 500,501 Coin of Aretas, 560, 661 Coleridge on miracles and Revelation, 164 Index. 705 Page. On vipers on the island Malta, 578 Comparative table of witnesses, 690 Compt<5, on the subjection of the intellect of man to a law of necessity, 192 Huxley's repudiation of the doctrine, 192 Conspectus of this work, 9 Constantine, the Great, epitome of, 118,8 His imperial edicts favorable to Christianity, 336, 337 His inauguration of the State Church, 336 Converts to Christianity called Christians, 316, 317 Conybeare and Howson, on Tarsus as a free city, 444 The Aretas dynasty and Damascus, 560 On the Politarchs of Asia, 565, 566 • The identity of the island Melita (Malta) 577,578 Coponius, procurator of Judaea, replaces Arclielaus the Ethnarch, 473 Is invested with the power of life and death, 473 Council of Nicsea, . 130 Council of Trent, ; 657,658 Critics, on the chronology of witnesses and documents, 690,691 Criteria of Testimonies, 15 Custody proper for the Sacred Documents, 16, * 618 Cyprian, Bishop, on the Lord's-day, 131,279 D. Damascus, and Paul's escape from Aretas, 559 Dana, Professor James D., on Science and the Book of God, . . . 503 Dates comparative of critics' opinions, 690, 691 Davies, G. S., on the numerous statues to the gods at Athens, . . 568, 569 Didache, or teaching of the Apostles, 119 On Christian Baptism 127, 128 Diocletian, Emperor, on persecutions of the Christians, . . . 366, 367,372 Burial of dead bodies of criminals, . . .398,399 Diognetus, on the Epistle to, 346 On Christian persecutions, 367 Dion Cassius see Cassius). Dionysius Exiguus (see Exiguus), 76,77,594 Divergent testimonies, Canon of, 15 Domitian, the Emperor, arrogates to himself the title Lord, . . . 452 Drusilla, a Herodian princess, wife of Felix, 496,497,500 Dryden, lines on Christian persecutions, 382 DuBoise, Raymond, on bridging the living, and not-living, . . . 199 E. Ebrard, on how seeming discrepancies arise, *258 Eckhel, on exchange of Damascus and Petra, 560 Eclipse of the moon at Herod's death, 76 706 Index. Page. Edersheim, epitome of, 66 On the Advent of the Messiah, 67 Christ's life began and ended with a miracle, 237 On the Nativity and the Chinese astronomical tables 75 On the method of Jewish enrollments, 79 't,\\r]v and 'EXXtjkio-tiJs in distinction in the New Testament, . . . *508 Emperors, Koman, 413, 416-425 Their function and power, 417, and t Some assumed the title of the Deity, 419, 420 Several characterized by Gibbon, 365 Encke, on the Star of the Nativity, 75, 88 Enrollments made by Quirinius, 77-89, 400 Luke's statement thereon, 77 Two different enrollments effected, 80 Both are mentioned by the Evangelist, 81 Cassidorus and Suidas on enrollments, 82 Silence of Josephus, as evidence, 82,83 Testimony of Julian (Emperor), 84 Testimony of Justin, Clement of Alexandria, and TertuUian, 85 Monumental evidence of, 86, 87 Epictetus, epitome of, 347 His opinion of the Christians, 349 Ephesus, city in Asia Minor, 561,562 Visited by Paul, 561 Era, Christian, reckoned by Dionysius Exiguus, 76,77,594 Escape of the Christians from tlie siege of Jerusalem, 528-530 Josephus on this escape, 528,529,530 Dr. Philip Schaff on this event, 528, 529 Eusebius on its occurrence, 529 Epiphanius, makes mention of it, 529, 530 Eusebius, the first Christian historian, epitome of, 93 On the Holy Quaternion of the Gospels, 95 On John the Baptist, 95-111 On James the Just, the Lord's brother, 315 On the Lord's day, 131 Time in Christ's life covered by John's Gospel, 96, 97 The Lord's brother first Bishop of Jerusalem, 324 After Paul's appeal, Jews turned upon James the Just in persecution, 324,325 Pilate reported Christ's resurrection to the Emperor Tiberius, * 426 Tiberius proposed to the Senate Christ to be a deity of the empire, 622 Great famine prevailed over the world, 523 Apostles' exodus from the siege, Jerusalem, 528,529 Christ predicts Jerusalem's destruction, 519 Evidences, documentary and monumental, 4, 5 Index. 707 Pawb. Historical evidences, characteristics of 13, 14 Evidential value of the Gospels, 409-411 Criteria of testimonies 15 Value of added witnesses, 14, 15 Custody of ancient documents, 16 Mere opinions not historical evidence 53 Ewald, epitome of, 236 On the Apostles and Christ's resurrection, 237,283,291 Exchange of territory between Emperor and Senate, . . 416, 417, 455, 560 Excursus, A-G, 663, 665-694 A. Josephus's testimony of Jesus, 665-671 B. Pliny's State paper to Trajan 671,672 C Logia of our Lord (Christ's sayings), 673,674 D. Didach^, or teaching of the Apostles, 674,675 E. The Muratorian Canon, 675,676 F. Expurgated Talmud of the Jews, 676-678 G. Toledoth Jeshu (History of Jesus), 678-687 Exhibits, A-E, 663, 687-694 A. Chronology of Books of the New Testament, 687-889 B. High Priests and Procurators, 689, 690 C. Critics' Chronology of Witnesses and Ancient Documents, 690, 691 D. Contemporary Witnesses, 692 E. Universal Chi'onological table, 693,694 Exiguus, Dionysius, on the Christian Era, 76, 77, 594 F. Family of David, Messianic fulfillment 25,26 Famine, great, predicted by Agabus, 420-422 Farrar, on the passion of Jesus Christ, 217 Machserus, the Baptist's prison, 103 On scourging of Paul, a Roman citizen, 447 The character of procurator Felix, 497 The kingship of the Tetrarch Antipas, *479 The coin of the line of Aretas, 561 Felix, procurator of Judaea, 436,437 His character by Tacitus, * 437, 438, 497,498 As given according to Josephus, 438, 439 According to Thomas Lewin, 438 According to Farrar, 497 Evidence of procuratorship from coins, 438 His marriage with Drusilla, 496, 497 Paul's address to Felix justified, 438,439 Felix arrested and sent to Rome, 450 Festus, succeeds Felix as procurator of Judaea, 450 Josephus on the succession 450 The character of Festus, 449, 450 708 Index. Page, Hisuseof the title "my Lord," 450,451 Fisher, Professor George P., epitome of, 143,144 On the advancement and power of the Christian Religion, . . 557 Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, 545,546 First day of the week (see Lord's-day), 130 Fortitude of the Christians persecuted, 558,559 Franklin, Benjamin, on Paine's ^gre o/'i?eason, 635 Frey, Rabbi, traditional Address of Magi to Herod, 71 Disposition of Christ's body after death 227 Fronto on the expression " My Lord," 452 G. Galen, epitome of, 348 His opinion of Christian firmness, 351 Gallio, proconsul of Achai'a, 452 Refuses charge against Paul, 452,454,457 Garments of executed criminals, 399 Genealogy of the Herodian family, 500 Geography, Historical, of the New Testament, 557,558,559 Paul at Damascus, 559 Paul at Ephesus, 561 Paul at Philippi, 562 Paul at Thessalonica, 565 Paul at Athens, 567 Paul at Melita (Malta), 576-580 Paul atPuteoli (Puzzuoli), 580,581 Paul at Rome, 581-584 Gibbon,Edward, the historian, epitome of, 213,214 On preternatural darkness at Christ's death, 226 Confirms Tacitus and Suetonius on the persecutions of the Christians, 229,362,363 Justifies early Christians against their persecutors, . . . 370, 376, 377 Criticised by Thomas Arnold, and by Lecky as destitute of all sympathy for the persecuted, 377,378 On the inalienable rights of conscience, 353 Christians rejected the gods of Rome, 348 Holy places polluted by monuments of idolatry, 540 Gibbon's characterization of some early Emperors 365 Given, Professor J. J., comparison of sacred and classic books for authenticity, and citations 629,631 Lord Hales on citations of early Fathers from the New Testament 629, 630 Golden Age, 23-26, 32 Gospels, the special objects of Evangelists, in writing them, . . . 50-52 Government, remarkable changes in the first fifty years of our era, 406^08 Index. 709 Page. Goethe, epitome of 587,588 His emphasis upon the Gospels of Christ, 589 Graetz, Heinrich, a Jewish historian, 225 His testimony on Christ's miracles, 151 Apostles went forth executing miracles, 332 Jews tempt Judas to betray Jesus 225 On the exact time of the Crucifixion, 225 The inscription on the cross, 225 Christ's outcry to the Father 225 On the place of Christ's burial, 225 The terrible results following to the Jews 225 Confesses the founding of Christianity 225 Granianus, Serenius, his protest against Christian persecution, . 366 Rescript of Hadrian on persecution, 366 Grant, TJ. S., on the Bible 635 Greek and Grecians distinguished in the New Testament, .... *508 Greenleaf on the custody of ancient documents, 16,* 618 Griesbach, on prolusion, 257,258 Grove, W. R., on causation and creation, 200 Guizot, Professor, on the Bible and its triumphs, 557 H. Hackel, Professor, on the origin of life, 199 On the existence of Moneron, 198 Haddarshan, Rabbi Moses, on the Resurrection of the Messiah, . 269 Hadrian, Emperor, his rescript on the persecutions, 386 Hakkodesh, Rabbi Judah, on the Resurrection of the Messiah, . 269 Hales, Lord, on citations from the New Testament, on early Fathers, 629, 630 Hamann, John G., epitome of, 163 A miracle required to believe a mii*acle, 164 Hausrath, characterization of Herod Antipas, 477 Hegesippus,the historian, on the Lord's brother, James the Just, 323-325 Herod the Great, king, 462-472 Born of Idumsean stock, 463 How he became procurator, 463, 464 How he acquired royalty 464 His character as a ruler, 462-464,76 His conduct in his own family, 466,467 His disposition toward Christ, 467,468 His treachery to the royalty of the Maccabees, 70 Herodian rulers of the second generation, 472-481 Herod Archelaus (see Archelaus), 472-477 Herod Philip II (Herod Philip), 475-477 Herod Antipas (see Antipas), 477-481 Herodias, a princess of the house, 494,495 710 Index. Page. Eloped and married Antipas, 100, 480, 494, 495 Her dealings with John the Baptist 480, 495 Herschel, on all discoveries confirming Scriptures, 503 Hesychius, Bishop of Egypt, on accusations written on tablets, . 398 Hierocles, epitome of, 141 On Christ as a magician, 144 Concedes that he wrought miracles, 144, 601 Affirms that Christ ascended to heaven, 303 Christians called Jesus God, 374 His persecution of the Christians, 655 Attests Peter and Paul as Apostles, 601 Histories, Sacred and Secular, compared, 628,629,632 Hodge, Dr. Charles, on miracles, 145 Huldrich, his edition of the Toledoth Jeshu 678-687 On Jesus learning magic in Egypt, 680, 681 A marriage of Mary and Joseph Pandira, 679 On the beheading of the Baptist, 682 Hume, David, epitome of, 142 On not having read the New Testament, 635 His position about miracles of Scripture, 146, 186 Hume's position refuted by Huxley, 146, 147 Miracles contrary to experience, 202 His prediction that Christianity will fade away in 1900, ... 657 Huxley, Thomas H., epitome of, 142,143 Kefutes Hume on miracles, 146, 147 On the absurdity of atheism, 185 Is refuted on Bathybius, and spontaneous generation, . . . 197-199 On evolution and the living and not-living, 199-200 I. Ideler, astronomer, on the Star of the Nativity, 75 Ignatius, epitome of, 46, 47 On the tribe and incarnation of Jesus, 58 Christ's passion, death and resurrection, 230,270 On the Lord's-day as the Sabbath 132,278 On the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper, 128 Incarnation of Jesus Christ, 60-62 Institutions of Christianity, 127-134 On the institution of Baptism, 127, 128 On the Lord's Supper, 128 On the Lord's-day, 130-134 Constantine's edict on the Lord's-day, 131 Eusebius verifies the same, 131 Confirmations by Peter and Cyprian, 131 Testimonies by Irenaeus, Bardesenes, Justin, Ignatius, on the Lord's-day, 131,132 Index. 711 Page. Testimony of John, Bai-nabas, the Didache, and Paul, on the Lord's-day, 133 Introduction of this book, ix-xvii Plan of the work, ix The proposition, ix Function of witnesses, ix-xii Adverse witnesses classified xii Advocates classified, xiii Characteristics of Historical Evidence, xiii, xiv Value of added witnesses, xiv, xv Criteria of testimonies, xv, xvi Canon of divergent testimony, xv Starkie on conflicting testimony xv Lewis on original witnesses, xv Greenleaf on custody of documents, xvi Prospectus of the work, xvi,xvii Irenaeus, epitome of, 66 On the Lord's Supper (Eucharist), 128 On the Lord's-day (Sabbath), 182,278 On Christ's ascension, 304 Written Gospels the soui-ce of Christianity, 618-620 Adoration and gifts of the Magi, 73 On the Star of Bethlehem, 73 On Christ's resurrection, 278 Christian miracles wi-ought in Christ's name, 158, 159 J. James, the Just (the Lord's brother), 315, 321-327, 254, 255 Josephus's reference to James, 666, 667 Discriminated from others of that name, 321 His place in Joseph's family, 322 His pre-eminence among the Jews, 323 Not mentioned in the four lists of the Apostles, 322 How afterward he became an Apostle, 254, 255, 322 Became pre-eminent among Christians, 322, 328, 255 How he became first Bishop of the Church, 255, 324 How he was martyi-ed by the Jews, 324-327 Jefferson, Thomas, on Christ's system of morality, 348 Jerome, epitome of, 217 On an eclipse of the sun at Christ's crucifixion, 230,231 Jerusalem, destruction of 519-554 Jesus Christ, anticipated as the Messiah of prophecy 21, 23-39 On the Nativity of Christ, 41-62 On concurrent circumstances, 63-89 The Christ of History, 113, 115-125 His unique ministry, • • ■ • 120-123 712 Index. Page. Was the Founder of Christianity, 123-125, 134-137 Proof of miracles which Christ wrought, 139, 141-160 A definition of a miracle, 145, 146, 189 Christ's miracles witnessed by his disciples, 147 Never denied for centuries, 148 Attested by Jewish authorities, 149-151 Conceded by Roman philosophers, 151-155 Heathen explanations of Christ's miracles, 156 Testimony of Christian writers, 158, 159 Miracles true and false, 152-154 The Christianity of Christ, 184-137 (For Christ's passion, death, and burial, see 213-232 For the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, see 233-293 For Christ's ascension to heaven, see 295-311 For characteristics and value of his miracles, see .... 161, 163-179 For modern objections to miracles, see 181,183-210.) Jewish Literature of the Messiah, 26-31 The Talmud on Messiah's birth, 26, 27 On the incarnation of Messiah, 27,28 Chaldaic Targums on Messiah, 28, 29 Jewish people and their Messiah, 29-31 Persecutions of the Christians, 343, 359-361 Implacable hate for Christ's people, 360 Prayers for curses on the Gentiles, 360, 361 Jewish Nation, in times of the New Testament, 501, 503-554 Jews' condition in the period of Christ,- 504 Sanhedrin, how organized, 505,506 Its functions and place of sitting, 506 Rise of sectional differences and services 507-509 " The Dispersed " put to disadvantage, 509-512 On different sects among the Jews, 512,513 Spirit of insubordination and conspiracy, 515-518 Destruction of the Jewish nationality, 518-554 Christ's predictions and their fulfillment, 518-546 The beginning of sorrows, 523 The signs of warning, 626 To be accomplished in that generation, 530 Cessation of sacrifices forever, 534, 535 The Temple at Jerusalem burned to ashes, 535 The predicted conquest completed, 538,543 The captives and their treatment, 541,542 Why visited on that generation, 543, 544 Christ and this terrible situation, 545,546 The Roman conquest and triumph, 546, 547 The Arch of Vespasian and Titus at Rome 547, 548 Index, 713 Pane. The prediction, realization, and advantages to the Christian world 549-554 John, the Lord's Apostle 52, 133, 616-619 His release from Patmos, 133 note How John's Gospel originated, 616,617,619 Confirmed by Clement of Alexandria, 617 Its authorship identified by Irenseus, 616 Attested by other Apostles, present, 616 Special object in writing his Gospel, 52,617 John's witness to Christ's resurrection and ascension, .... 306 His testimony on the Lord's own day, 133 Ii-enseus on the death of John, 619 John, the Baptist (see under Baptist, John), 91,93-111 Joseph's family and Egypt, 67, 68 Josephus, epitome of, 387, 388 On the expected Messiah, 34, 38, 39 His testimony of Jesus Christ, 613, 665-671 On the success of his ministry, 318,665 On James, the brother of Jesus, ... 315, 324, 325 Character of John the Baptist, 97 His imprisonment and death, 100-103 Occasion of John's execution, 101 Confirms Luke on Theudas and Judas, 83, 84 On Herod's sons and their territories, 99, 100, 406-408 Marriage of Antipas and Herodias, 100 Aretas's quarrel with Antipas, 100 Florus on scourging and crucifying Jews, 396, 397 The great famine in Judaea, 420-422 Coponius appointed procurator, 473 Jews lived under their own laws, 395 Idumeeans and the unburied dead, 399 Caligula claims to be a deity, 419,451 Orders his statue in Jews' Temple, 419, 420 Is dissuaded by Agrippa I, 420, 483, 484 Claudius controlled by his freedmen, 420 Gratus and Pilate made procurators, 428, 429 Pilate transfers his army to Jerusalem, 429 Pilate's cruelty and vacillation, 432,433 The traveling tribunal of Philip II, 430 Pilate appropriates the sacred Corban, 434 He orders the slaughter of the Jews, 434 He also massacres many of the Samaritans, 434 Felix appointed as procurator, 438 Felix and an Egyptian impostor, 439,440 Festus succeeds Felix as procurator, 450 714 Index. Page. Herod's father once procurator 463, 464 The Herods were of Idumaean stock, 463 The time of Herod's procuratorship, 463 Governed conjointly with his brother, 464 Herod usurped the power of death 506 Parthians invade Herod's territory, 464 Herod flees to Rome for help, 464 Caesar crowns Herod king of Palestine, 464 He restores the Temple at Jerusalem, 465 Rebuilds the Temple of the Samaritans, 466 Builds a monument over royal tombs, 466 Herod the Great married nine wives, 467 He executes his favoi'ite wife, Mariamne, 467 And her grandfather Hyrcanus 467 He also slays three of his own sons, 467 Proposes to massacre his own nobles, 467 Augustus is angry with Herod the Great, 466 Had allowed him to appoint his sons his successors, 470 Simon usurped his kingship at Herod's death, 471,475 Josephus designates Antipas a tetrarch, 470, 476 How Herod Archelaus became ethnarch, 471 The localities in Philip's tetrarchy, 471 The localities in Antipas's tetrarchy, 471 Archelaus mentioned as eldest brother, 472 Augustus denied him a kingdom, 472, 475 But he usurped kingly prerogatives, 472 Archelaus slew thousands of subjects, 473 Soon he was deposed and banished, 473 His ethnarchy became a Roman province, 473 Coponius was made procurator over Judaea 394, 473 Power over life and death given Coponius, 473 Quirinius registers the Jews' property, 473 Quadratus sends Ananus to Rome in chains, 576 Julius made Antipater a citizen of Rome, 445 Jews refuse to call any man Lord, 451 Jews discourage learning foreign languages, 509 The dispersion of Jews in all lands, 511 Antipas builds the city of Tiberias, 474 The parentage of Herod Philip H, 475 Salome was his wife and niece 475 Philip builds Csesarea-Philippi for his capital, 476 The death and burial of Philip II, 476 Antipas, the youngest of three brothers, 477 Is appointed tetrarch over Galilee and Pereea, 477 The character of Herod Antipas, 477 Proves disloyal to Emperor Caligula, 477 Index. 715 Pa«b. Is deposed and perpetually exiled, 477,478 Had eloped and married his brother's wife, 480 Antipas's behavior with Jesus, 480, 481 Parentage and marriage of Agrippa I, 481 He is styled Agrippa the Great, 481, 482 He was a zealous Jew educated at Rome, 482 In youth was intimate with Caligula, 482 Was magnetic and fond of popularity, 482 He reflected on Tiberius and was put in irons, 482, 582 Tiberius dies and Caligula succeeds him, 482 Caligula appoints Agrippa to royalty, 482 Substitutes a gold chain for the iron one, 483 Claudius succeeds Caligula, as emperor, 485 Makes Agrippa's kingdom identical with that of Herod the Great, his grandfather, 485 Agi'ippa I is twice humiliated by Vibius, president of Syria, 486 King Agrippa celebrates games at Cfesarea, 487 Is arrayed in gorgeous apparel in the theater, 487 People shout that Agrippa is a god, 488 Nor does he rebuke the impious flattery, 488 Agrippa I dies after five days, 489 His son was now but a youth at Rome, 490 Claudius makes him king of Chalcis, 491 Fadus made procurator over the kingdom of Agrippa I, . . . 490 Soon Agrippa II is removed to a greater kingdom, 491 He has authority over the Temple, its treasury, and the High Priests 491 He enlarges Csesarea-Philippi in honor of Nero, 491 Is regarded as cold-blooded and arbitrary, 491 Makes several visits of courtesy, 492,493,496 Respecting Bernice, this Agrippa's sister, 495,496 Respecting Drusilla, sister of Agrippa II, 496,497 Origin of the sect called Sadducees, 512 On the sect of Jews called Pharisees, 513 On enmity between Jews and Samaritans, 514 Samaritans excluded from the Temple, 515 The two impostors, Theudas and Judas, 516 A conspiracy to kill Herod the Great, 517 Josephus arraigns some Jews as criminals, 618 Procurators deal with impostors and robbers 520,521 On earthquakes and pestilence, ... 524 Greeks and Syrians slay many Jews, 525 Many instances of thousands of Jews slain, 525, 526 Cumanus deposed and banished, 525 Roman soldier insults Jews at Passover, 526 Pilate and Roman eagles in Jerusalem, 527 716 Index. Paoe. Herod's golden eagle and the Temple, 527 Vitellius marched around the Jews' land, 527 Cestius withdraws army from his siege of Jerusalem 528 Many inhabitants now escape the siege, 529, 530 Titus raises banks against Jerusalem, 532 The Roman army constructs walls, 532 The calamities of famine and deaths, 532, 533 Dead bodies thrown down before the walls, 533 Date when the Jewish-Roman war began, 534 When sacrificing at the Temple ceased forever, 534 Titus resolves to storm the Temple, 535 Battering-rams fail at certain points, 535 The Temple burned to its foundation, 535 Massive walls were leveled, 538,539 The city reduced to shapeless ruins, 536,540 Romans bring in " the abomination of desolation," 537 They sacrificed to their gods in the Temple courts, 537 Titus attributes the conquest to God, 537, 538 The former city contrasted with its ruins, 536, 540 Captives, their wives and children sold to be slaves, 542 Estimates of numbers lost in this war, 541-543 Vitellius held a grudge against Antipas 559 Damascenes and the bribery of Agrippa I, 560 Moses offering prayers in open air, 563 Alexander meeting the High Priest 571, 572 Syrian's appreciation of Csesarean soldiers, 574 Varus sends a captain to the Emperor, 576 Felix sent noted robbers to Caesar, 576 Vitellius sent Pilate also to Rome, 576 Josephus ship-wrecked, reached Puteoli 581 Both Antipas and Fortunatu sailed to Puteoli, 581 Julian, Emperor, epitome of, 43, 44 Affirms Jesus was a subject of Csesar, 54 That he was enrolled by Quirinius 54 That Christ's relatives did not believe on Jesus, 54 That Christ had been celebrated 300 years, 54 That Christians claimed Jesus was begotten by the Holy Ghost 54 That the genealogy derives him from Judah, 54 That Matthew and Luke differ in genealogy, 54 That Christians believed Jesus born of a Virgin, 55 They continually call Mary, mother of God, 55 On the birth and incarnation of Jesus, 596, 597 On the books of the New Testament, 597-599 On the miracles of Jesus Christ, 155, 599, 600 Names the authors of the four Gospels, 597 Index. 717 Page. Mentions also Peter and Paul, 597 Also citations from Matthew and Luke, 598 Cites from Pauline Epistles, 598, 599 His disparagement of early Christians, 596 His opinion of the Christian religion, 351,354 His ridicule of Christian Baptism, 127 He persecutes Christians for their religion, 354,357 On the Apostles' success in preaching, 319 Admits the conversion of Corneli".s, and of Sergius Paulus, . 319 Julius, the Centurion, Paul placed in his charge to sail, .... 573 The cohort of soldiers under him, 573, 574 Justin Martyr, theApologist, an epitome of, 65, 66 On the Magi, or Wise Men of the East, 74 The enrollment of Quirinius, 85 Prophecy of John until Jesus came, 108 The Christians were called Atheists, 353 The place of Jesus in the Trinity, 353 The practice of the Lord's Supper 128 The practice on the Lord's-day, 132 The resurrection and ascension of Christ, 305 The Jews' persecution of Christians, 367 Pilate's official repoi't of Christ's resuiTection, to the Emperor, *426 His reproof of Jews for sending abroad false reports about Christ and Christianity, *243 On Jews cursing the Christians in their synagogues 367 Juvenal, the Roman poet, an epitome of, 345 On punishments inflicted on criminals, 376 The Jews' place of worship at Rome, 563 K. Kant, creation inexplicable by matter alone, 200 Keim, Dr. Theodore, epitome of, 236,237 On the resurrection of Christ, 271, 272 Denial, not due to scientific or religious conscience, 328, 329 Keim's criticism of "the vision theory of Christ's resurrection, 290,291 The exalted and reticent originality of Christ's sayings, . . . 589 Paul on the resurrection, 271, 272, 290, 291 Kepler, his astronomical argument on the Star of the Nativity, . 75 Koslin, on a faith without signs and wonders, 178 L. Lactantius, epitome of, 216, 217 On absurdity of forcing conscience, 348 Lange, on Herod and the Messianic Prophet, 70 Lardner, Dr. Nathaniel, an eminent critic, epitome of 49,5 On the authenticity of the New Testament Scriptures, . . . 628 46 718 Index. Page, Lecky, on Christ as an ideal character, 120 Critics' unexamining incredulity, 185 Christ, the enduring principle of regeneration, 124 Gibbon's want of sympathy with martyrs, 377, 378 Legate, Quirinius, his functions of office, 425 Lewin, Thomas, on the coins of Aretas, 560 The Jews proseuchse, 564 Magistrates on monuments, not in books, 566 Death for disturbing religion of the State, 568* Felix and Festus procurators of Judoea, 438 The Neokoros of Thessalonica, the authoritative Speaker of Senate and Assembly, 562 Paul at the Philippian proseucha, 564 On Alexander, and the Book of Daniel, 572 Intimacy of Jews and Greeks, 572,573 On the Primate of the Maltese, 578 On viper, and bundles of wood at Malta, 579 Lewis, Sir George C, on credibility of original witnesses 15,461 Liebig, the eminent scientist, epitome of, 183 Denies life existing from eternity, 200 Life, its origin unaccountable says Hackel, 199 DuBoise, on the living, and the not-living, 199 Huxley, on evolution and origin of life, 199 Thomson that life proceeds from life 200 Kant, matter alone can not explain life, 200 Tyndall, life only from antecedent life, 200 Liebig, once organic life did not exist, 200 Schenkel, harmony not annihilated by a creative God, . . . . 200 Grove, creation is the act of God, 200 Christlieb, life on earth has not always existed, 200 Cuvier, it is easy to indicate when life on earth began, . . . 200 Lightfoot, on the Rabbis, and the Greek language, 509 Lincoln, Abraham, the Bible the best gift of God to man, . . . . 635 Livy, epitome of, 389 On scourging and crucifixion, 396 Locke, John, on the miracles of Jesus Christ, 164 Logia, or the sayings of Jesus Christ, 673, 674 Longfellow, lines on the word of the Lord, 635 Lord's-day, by whom instituted, 130-134, 278, 279 Lucan, on the Unknown God, 570,571 Lucian, epitome of, 115, 604, 605 On Christ's introduction of Christianity, 123 Christians' worship of Christ, 605 Their disregard for temporal things, 605 Their belief in their own immortality, 361,605 Their tender offices for each other, 355, 605 Index. 719 Page. Lucian's disrespectful reference to Paul, 605 On freedom given to the city Tarsus, 444 Summary of Lucian's testimony, 606 Luke's special object in writing a Gospel, 51 Christ's followers first called Christians, 315 Luther, Martin, on the Council of Trent, 658 Lyell, Sir Charles, epitome of, 183 On atavism among descendants, 190, 191 Lyndhurst, Lord, on the resurrection of Christ, 239 M. Machserus, prison of John the Baptist, 102, 103 Maclear, on indirect liistorical allusions in the New Testament, . 389 Changes in government first fifty years, 461 Archaeological discoveries and sacred history, 415 Macrobius, Augustus's sarcasm on Herod the Great, 69 Magi, or Wise Men, and the Star of the Nativity, 71,72 Malta (island Melita), and the ship-wreck of the Apostle Paul, . 576-580 Manuscripts of the New Testament, 636-646 On many books in one, 636 The ancient art of book-making, 637 The ancient penmen employed, 638 The materials used for wi'iting, 637,638 The Uncial manuscripts, characteristics, 639 The Cursive manuscripts, characteristics, 640 Origin and distribution of Uncials, 638,639 Number and distribution of Cursives, 640, 641 Supplementary manuscripts, 642 Palimpsest manuscripts, 640 Alexandrian manuscript, 641,642 Sinaitic manuscript, 643,644 Vatican manuscript, 642,643 Occasion of errors in transcriptions, 645 Detection of impostures, 646 Mara, an Arabic writer, on Christianity based on miracles and parables, 159 The Jews and the crucified Christ, 224, 225 Purity in life of early Christians, 355 Mark's Gospel, its origin and characteristics, 52 Martensen, on the ascension of Christ 298 Martial, epitome of, 345 Desci'ibes the sufferings of Christ, 376 Matthew's Gospel, special object and peculiarities of, 50,51 Maxwell, Chief Justice, on reading the Bible, 635 Melito, epitome of, 297 Incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, . . 305 720 Index. Pagk. Memorabilia, Christ's prediction of the destruction of the Jewish nation, 545,546 Messiah of Scripture, 31-39 Anticipations of, 19, 21-89 Realization of, 41, 43-62 Accompaniments of his advent, 63, 65-89 Mill, John Stuart, epitome of, 119 On historicity of Christ, 120 Proof of miracles legitimate, 145 Explains the phrase, " Laws of Nature," 188 Which can not account for their own origin, 199 Miracles of the New Testament, 139, 141-210, 328-333 Definition of the word " miracle," 145, 189, 171, 172 Anonymous author's idea of miracle, 164 Miracles as explained by heathen writers, . 156, 330-332, 599, 603, 604 Miracles distinguished from Magical Arts 166-169, 179 On miracles true or fictitious, 152-154 Reality of Christ's miracles, 141-160 Wrought in the disciples' presence, 147 Adversaries witness to his miracles, 154, 155 Christian writers also attest, 158 Apostles wrought miracles in Christ's name 328-333 They were manifold in number, 330 Miracles wrought in later centuries, 332 All miracles Christo-centric, 171-174 Were evidential in character and design, 178 Were epochal in history, 174-177 Negation of miracles historically, 186 Miracles not denied for centuries, 148 Modern objections to miracles, 183-210 Hume, on miracles as violation of natural laws, 146, 186, 202, 203, 188 Huxley's refutation of Hume, 146, 147 Nature, and our knowledge of her laws, 190 Nature's forces modifiable by man, 193 Natural forces antagonistic, 194, 195 Miracles a higher order of nature, 201 Hume on miracles contrary to experience, 202, 203 Miracles and Deism, Materialism, and Pantheism, 201 Miracles as having never been investigated, 204-207 Characteristics and value of miracles, 163-179 Evidence of miracles reviewed, 332,333 Missionary journeys of Paul, 555-584 Mistakes of Roman writers on apostolic times, . . * 69 , 391-393, 406, * 498 Monumental evidences of the New Testament : Schaff on the value of monumental evidence, 3, 4 Palestine itself a perpetual monument of history, 411 Index. 721 Paqk. An inscription on Nero's freeing Portugal of robbers and Christians, 364 On Quirinius's enumeration of citizens at Venice, 86 Another of Quirinius as legate and proconsul, at Tibur, Tivoli, 86, 87 Still another of Quirinius at Rome, mentioned by Tacitus, . 87 A monument at Ancyi'a, recording three eni-ollments, .... 87 An inscription in Judaea, mentioned by Tertullian, 87 An inscription of seven Politarchs, in Thessalonica, 565, 566 Two inscriptions in Malta, dedicated to the " Primate of the Maltese," 578 Ai'ch and inscription to Vespasian, and Titus at Rome, . . . 547, 548 Ancient coins with inscriptions: Coin of Herod the Great, king, 500, 501 Coin of Archelaus, ethnarch, 66,471,472 Coins of Philip II, tetrarch, 66,471,472,476,500,501 Coin of Herod Antipas, tetrarch, 500, 501 Coin of Agrippa I, king, 486,500,501 Coin of Agi-ippa, II, king, 491,500,501 Coin of Felix, procurator of Judaea, 438 Coin of Cominius Proculus, proconsul of Cyprus, 454 Coin of Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cyprus, 454 Coin of Diana of the Ephesiaus, 562 Coin of Aretas of Damascus, 561 Coin of Judaea conquered, 547 Monuments in other different forms: The existing Church of Christ, 273-275 The ordinance of Christian Baptism, 109, 110, 127, 128 The ordinance of the Lord's Supper, 128-130 The institution of the Lord's-day, 130-134, 275-279 A Graffito in caricature of Christ crucified, 374-376 Word-tests of the New Testament 402-405 Moses, prediction of happiness or punishments of the future Israel, 542,543 Mozley, creation and science not contradictory, 197 Michselis, on origin of errors in sacred books, 645 McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia on Christian persecutions, . 378 On coins of Aretas, 560 Milman, on the accuracy of Christ's prediction of the Jews' sufferings, 519 Romans polluting the sacred places, 540 Empire armed to defend polytheism, 348 Splendor of the Roman triumph, 546 Milller, on formation of living organisms out of lifeless matter, 200 Muratorian Canon, a description of, 616,675 722 Index. N. Pagb. Nativity of Jesus Christ, 43-89 Nero, his infamies of life, and suicidal death, 417,423 Nestorians, on Zoroaster and the Magi, 72 NewK6po?-, explained, 561,* 562 New Testament historicity verified, 585, 587-632 Newton, Sir Isaac, on the Bible, its sure authenticity, 503 Nitzsch, Karl Immanuel, epitome of, 143 To deny miracles as impossible, is to deny the freedom of God, 144 Norton, Professor Andrews, epitome of, 588 Exactness of Justin on Christ's life, 621 Christendom and the Canon of the New Testament, .... 625 O. Onkelos's Targum, on the anticipated Messiah, 29 Oosterzee, J. J., van, epitome of, 184 On denying the impossibility of miracles, 184 On Christ's ascension to heaven, 298 The caprice of transferring from the history of Jesus to the Apostles, 238 No one has the right to deny the possibility of miracles, . . . 197 Opinions, mere, not evidential, 37 Those held respecting miracles, 148 Those held for early Christians and Christianity, 349-351 Origen, epitome of, 45, 46 On the Nativity of Christ, 73 On the virginity of Mary, his mother, 271 On the resurrection of Jesus, 271 John's baptism and the Holy Ghost, 109 On Celsus saying Jesus was Leader of his people, 122 That miracles vpere wrought in the middle of the third century, 158, 332 On Celsus writing, " A true Discourse," 388 Christ's prediction and armies at Jerusalem, 325, 326 On the success of the Gospel to his time, 335,336 Transmission of the four Gospels, 614 John's three, and Peter's two Epistles, 614, 615 On the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 615 P. Palestine, changes of government first fifty years 385-394 Two civilizations in one community, 394-405 Two systems of law for one people, 395-402 Changes in political geography, 405-408 Value of these facts in the Gospels, 409-411 Paley, on his Evidences of Christianity, 3 Index. 723 Pase. Papias, epitome of 587 Testimony on the four Gospels 622 Paul, the Apostle, the great change "wrought in his life, 271,306 On the Nativity of Jesus Christ, 58 Testimony on his death and resurrection, 271-273 On Christ's ascension to heaven, 306 On the first day of the week as the Lord's-day, 133 Paul as a Roman citizen, thrice claimed, 441,446 Why he did not claim it when scourged, 446,447 His appeal to Csesar at Rome, 448,449 His journeys to the Gentile world, 555, 557-584 The Apostle Paul at Damascus, 559-561 Paul at Ephesus, 561,562 Paul at Philippi, 562-565 Paul at Thessalonica, 565-567 Paul at Athens, 567-573 Paul at Csesarea, 573, 574 Paul at Melita (Malta), 576-581 Paul at Puteoli (Pozzuoli), 580,581 Paul at Rome, 581-584 Paulus, Heinrich, E. G., epitome of, 347 On Christ's resurrection, 281 Pausanias, on the images of Hermes extending from Athens to Perseus, 568 Persecutions of the primitive Christians, 345-383 Oppi'obrius opinions entertained by Epictetus, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, Aurelius, Galen, Porphyry, and Julian, 349-358 Occasion of this heathen prejudice, 353, 354, 361, 372-374 That Christians were pure and blameless in character, . . . 354-357 On persistent persecutions by the heathen, 358, 359 And malignant persecutions by the Jews, 359,361 Cruelty imposed by the Sanhedrin, 359, 360 Christians cursed in Jewish prayers to God, 360 Ostracized in service and intercourse, 360, 361 Denounced in Talmudic literature, 360 Persecuted by the Romans, 361-383 Occasion of Roman persecutions, 372-374, 379-383 Literary persecutions by philosophers, Celsus, Lucian, Porphyry, and Hierocles, 361, 373, 374 Imperial persecutions by Claudius 422, 423, 363, note 52 By Nero, 361-365, 368, 423, 362, note, 52 By Trajan, (with Pliny), 365,366,369,371 By Hadrian, 366 By Diocletian, and Maximian, 366 367, 370, 372 By Julian, 374, 351 Gibbon severely denounces the last five Csesars, •••.... 365 724 Index. Page. Confirmations by Apologists, Justin Martyr, Diognetus, Ap- pollonius, and Tertullian, 367,368 Review of the evidence adduced, 368-370 The four periods of Christian persecution, 370-373 Caricature of the crucified Christ worshiped, 374, 375 General survey of the situation, 379-382 Inductions from foregoing facts, 383 Peter's sermons reported as Mark's Gospel 52 Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, testimony on the Lord's-day, . . . 131 Philo, and company call Caligula, " My Lord," 452, 570 On the Jews' praying place, 563 Pilate, made procurator of Judaea, 428,429 His character as a Roman ruler of Jews, 432-436 His violence and vacillation to his subjects, 432 Why he was at Jerusalem on Jewish feast-day, 429, 430 How Pilate's wife was at Jerusalem when Jesus was put on trial, 431, 432 Her message to Pilate about Christ, 431,432 His tessellated pavement for purposes of judicature 430 His enmity and amity over Christ, 433-436 Pilate reports his resurrection to the Emperor Tiberius, . 230, * 426 Pilate is arrested and sent to Rome, 576 Pingre, on the Star of the Nativity, 75, 76, 88 Plato, on the just and righteous man, 218 Pliny, epitome of, 117 His State paper to Emperor Trajan, 671,672 On the Lord's Supper, 128 Obligations assumed by early Christians, 356 Christians' fidelity to Christ, bi'ought death, 865, 366 On Christians as Roman citizens 576 Plutarch, epitome of, 389 On punishments, 397 Politarchs in Asia, the title of oflBce explained, 565-567 A monument of, in Thessalonica, 566 Polycarp, epitome of, 235, 236 On the resurrection of Christ, 270 On Christ's ascension to heaven, 304 Pompey, his conquest of the Jews' Palestine, 391, 462,535 Pool, of British Museum, on magicians and miracles, 167 Porphyry, epitome of, 117 His question on universal salvation, 126 He concedes miracles as facts, 154 He affirms Christ's ascension, 303 His opinion of Christians, 351 On persecution of Christians, 374 Pritchard, on the Star of the Magi, 75 Index. 725 Page Proconsuls, three instances mentioned in the New Testament, . . 452-458 Proconsul, a term of office, explained, 456 Exchange of territory between the Emperor and Roman Senate, 453-455 Paul and proconsul Sergius of Cyprus, 453 Paul and proconsul Gallio of Achaia, 454 A coin attests Luke's exactness, 454 Summai'y and inductions, 457,458 Procurator's office explained, 426 (For list of procurators, see Exhibit B), 689,690 Proseucha, a place of prayer, 563-565 Punishment of criminals, 396-398 Roman orders to scourge, 446 Other modes of inflicting punishments, 376 Voice of modern historians on, 376-378 A sui'vey of punishment inflicted on Christians, 379 Antagonism of the natural man, 380 Christians exulted in sufferings, 382 Dryden's lines in conclusion, 382 Inductions, 383 Q. Quadratus, a Christian Apologist, epitome of, 141, 142 Attests the miracles of Christ, 159 Quadratus, Roman president of Syria, sent Samaritans and Jews to Csesar, 576 Sent Ananus, the high priest to Rome in chains, 576 Quirinius, a Roman Legate of Syria, 425 Charged with financial affairs in Judsea 473 Enrolled the population at the time of the Nativity, .... 77, 80 Registered the Jews' property about six years afterward, . 79-89,425 B. Rabbis, Jewish, on Christ's ascension, 303 Ramsay, on Quirinius's enrollments, 78, 79 Rawlinson, Professor George, epitome of, 589 On present knowledge of first century, 3 Agreement of sacred and secular history, 415 Credibility of contemporary witnesses, 461 Roman citizenship, how acquired 445 On historical geography of the New Testament, 558, 559 On the titles of the books of the New Testament, 628 Registration (see enrollments), 77-89,400 Renan, epitome of, 184 On Christian miracles, 187, 205-210 His eulogy on the crucified Christ, 124 726 Index. Paoe. On the ascension of Christ, 298 The Apostles' preaching and persecutions, 348 Retrocession in the chronology of critics, 592, 593 Revelation progressive in character, 25, 26 RIchter, Jean Paul, epitome of, 164 On the life of Christ and history, 136 Roman rulers of the Jews, 413, 415-458 Rothe, R., epitome of, 163, 164 On miracles as a mode of revelation, 164 No stumbling-block in conceiving miracles, 184 Rousseau, epitome of, 142 On the death of Socrates and Christ, 119 The absui'dity of questioning miracles, 144 The majesty of the New Testament Scriptures 589 Applies Plato's Just Man to Jesus Christ, 218, 219 S. Sabbath, the Christian (see Lord's-day), 180-134,275-279 Salmon, Dr. George, Professor, epitome of, 652 On formation of the New Testament Canon, 652,653 Transfers of territory between Emperor and Senate, .... 455 Sanhedrin, Jewish, on how it originated, 505,506 Its functions and place for sessions, 506 Its persecutions of Gentiles and Christians, 360,361 Schaff, Dr. Philip, epitome of, 143 On recent discoveries and investigations, 4,5 Gospels unparalleled by secular history, 17 Witness of Persian Magi, and Savior, 71 On homage paid to Mary by the Magi, 73t Astronomical argument on the Star of the Nativity, .... 75 On Celsus as against deists, Strauss and Renan, 3,388 The Lord's Supper as a sacrament and a sacrifice, . ... 129 Christ's contemporaries' belief in his miracles, 144, 149 On the impossibility of miracles, 194, 197 On shifting the resurrection from fact to fiction 287 On Keim's confession of ignorance, or return to Apostles' faith in the resurrection, 289 On James the Just, the Lord's brother, 324 On the Diocletian persecution, 367, 655, 656 Romans exacting worship of their gods, 373 Toi'tured Christians, of both sexes, of all ages, 378 On Christians' escape from siege of Jerusalem 528, 529 Work of Titus, and sui-vival of Jewish race 548, 549 The awful destruction of Jewish nationality and of the the- ocracy, 553 Index. 727 Page. Main facts and doctrines of Christianity, in the first four Pauline Epistles, *592 Josephus's testimony of Jesus Christ in every manuscript and version of his Antiquities, 668 Schenkel, Daniel, epitome of, 143 More intelligence required to believe than to reject miracles, 144 No conflict with nature on the appearance of a creating God, 200 On a belief in the resurrection of Christ, 291,292 Those disbelieving in God, believe in ghosts, 169 Scholiast, The, on Nero's persecution, 362, note Scrivener, on the Vulgate version, 647 Seneca, the philosopher and statesman, epitome of, 436 The teacher of Emperor Nero, 423 On Roman punishments of criminals, 376 An awful pestilence destroys population, 524 Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cyprus, 453 His own coin of oflBce as proconsul, 454 His successor's coin of office also, 454 Conversion of Sergius mentioned by Emperor Julian, .... 319 Shakespeare, William, on the comfort of believing in God, . . . 557 Smith, Dr. William, Bible Dictionary, on Aretas and Paul, . . . 590,note Smith, Sir James, Admiral, on the voyage and shipwreck of Paul, 573-580 Fair Haven, Clauda, Lasea, and Port Phenice, identified, . . 575 All traditions disregarded in investigation, 575,576 Identification of the place of Paul's shipwreck, at Malta, . . 577-579 Coin of Primate of the Maltese, 578 The harbor Puteoli (or Dicearchia), the modem Puzzuoli, at Naples, 580 Spinoza, Benedict, on the negation of miracles 186 Stanley, Dean Arthur P., epitome of, 588,589 On Christianity founded on Fact and Truth, 589 Starkie, Justice Thomas, on reconciling conflicting testimonies, 15 Story, Joseph, on the Bible, the source of religion, 503 Strauss, David, absurdity of Christianity without Christ, .... 120 He is the highest model of religion conceivable, 123 Life requires a miracle for its origin 199 Demands explanation of working laws of miracles, 204 Denounces the Swoon theory as impossible, 282 Suetonius, the historian, epitome of, 388 Christ the Leader of exiled Jews at Rome, 122 Held Christianity as a " new and deceitful superstition," . . 350 Nero burns Rome, and punishes Christians for his own crime, 362 A criminal carried tablet with accusation, . - 398 Claudius's advisers were freedmen, 420, * 437 Provincials exiled, were barred from Rome, 422 7'2S Index. Page. Augustus deprived cities of freedom, 443 He referred all appeals to his prjetor, 448 He abhorred the title, "Lord," as offensive, 451 Tiberius regarded the title an affi'ont, 451 Transfer of Achaia and Macedonia to the Roman Senate, 454,455, 560 Populace assault Emperor because of famine, 524 Suidas, the geographer, on the designation, Nazarenes and Gali- leans, *349 Sulpicius Sever us, on the guilt of Nero in burning Rome 363 On Christians burned for Nero's crim'e, 363, 367 Sunday (Sabbath), see Lord's-day 130-134, 275-279 ' ' Supernatural Religion," an anonymous work against Christianity , 119 T. Table of Contemporary Witnesses, \ . . 692 Tacitus, the celebrated Roman historian, epitome of, 115, 116 On the advent of the expected Messiah, 34 Christ, the founder of Christianity, put to death by Pontius Pilate, 99,123,428 On Nero burning Rome, 315 On Nero's persecution of Christians, 333, 362 Gibbon's confirmation of Tacitus, 363 Mentions Pilate as procurator of Judaea, 428 Felix becomes procurator, 437 note, 438, 497, 498 Census of Roman citizens given, 443 Augustus rejects the title " Lord," 451 Calamities of the times described, 526 Failure of crops, and famine, 421,524 Popular indignation at Claudius therefor, 421 Nero sang " Destruction of Troy," over burning Rome, . . . 423 Emperor and Senate exchange territory 454, 455, 560 . One Simon seizes sovereignity over Judaea, on the death of Herod the Great, 471 On the death of Herod Agrippa I, * 498 Irresistible advance of Christianity, 522,523 On Titus's siege of Jerusalem, 532 Soldiers at Caesarea called Augustani, .... 573 note, and 574 note Talleyrand, Cai-dinal, on how to found a religion successfully, . . 290 Talmud, Jewish, epitome of, 21,22 On Messiah's advent and character, 55 His coming to be signalized by a Star, 66, 72, 7S On the birth of the expected Messiah, 26, 27 The incarnation of the Messiah, 27-29 Time for his birth long since passed, 57,62 Opprobrious references to Jesus and his mother, 44, 678 Index. 729 Page. Mentions Jesus in manhood resident in Egypt 44 Acquired there miraculous powers, 150 Concedes Jesus actually wrought miracles 44 Jesus mocked and condemned to die, 220 Mentionshe was crowned with thorns, 220 The exact time of his crucifixion, 44, 224 The cup of wormwood offered Jesus, 222 On Christ's ascension to heaven, 308 His return encompassed with clouds 308 Disciples of Jesus mentioned and named, 44,319 On miracles wrought by the Apostles, 331 The destruction of the Jewish Temple, 44, 539, 540 Jerusalem destroyed and Zion plowed, 539, 540 Sanhedrin removed to Jamnia, 359 It exacted Christian persecutions, 359-361 Edict to expui'gate references to Jesus from the Talmud, . 676, 677 On the pre-eminence of James, the Lord's brother, 323,324 Targum Chaldaic, epitome of, 22,23 Messiah's advent signalized by a star, and clouds, . 22, 23, 28, 39, 308 Teachings of the Apostles (document Didach6), epitome of, 119, 674, 675, (Excursus D.) On Christian baptism of converts, 127, 128 The Lord's-day as a Christian Sabbath, 133 On the Lord's Supper (Eucharist), 128,129 Ofifenses forbidden in apostolic teachings, 356, 357 (Opinions on the Didache by Dr. Salmon, Dr. Schafif, and Bishop Lightfoot), 675 Temple of the Jews destroyed by Titus, 275,466,535,552 Tertullian, Quint. S. F., juriconsult in law and Christian Apolo- gist, epitome of, 47,48 On the Magi or the Wise Men of the East, 74 Christ's ancestral tribe, the tribe of Judah, 58 The enrollment at time of Nativity 85 On administration of Lord's Supper, 128 On the institution of the Lord's-day, 131 Jews' views of Christ and his miracles, 158 The Jews extorted Christ's crucifixion, 230 Refers to Pilate's report of Christ to Tiberius, *426 For the fact, appeals to the archives of the Roman govern- ment then existing, 230 Mentions the preternatural darkness, 230 Christ's body watched by a large military guard, 270 Resurrection of Jesus on the third day, 270 His ascension encompassed by clouds 305 He had spent forty days with disciples in Galilee, 305 730 Index. Page. Emperor Tiberius proposed Jesus to the Senate, to be a Roman God 522 His exposure of an image of a Roman God, 375 His defense of persecuted Christians, 368 Testimony, criteria of, 15 Critics' comparative table of, 690 Value of added witnesses, 14, 15 Canon of divergent testimonies, 15 Historical testimony, its method and characteristics, .... 13, 14 Thomson, Sir William, on life from life only, 200 Time, notations of , by Jews and Romans, 400,401 Historical periods, by reigns, of rulers, 401 Time-test ingrained in language, 403-405 Toledoth Jeshu, epitome of, 44, 45, 678, 679 On lineage, tribe, and virgin mother of Jesus, 58, 62, 678, 1 On Bethlehem as the place of his birth, 58, 62, 678, 2 On Herod ordering children slain, 69, 680, 3 Jesus, Creator, atoned for men's sins, 126, 221 How Jesus wrought miracles, 150, 680, 4 That Jesus was crowned with thorns, 220 That he was crucified and died on the eve of the Passover, 224, 685, 8, 685, 7, and * Mentions vinegar given him on the cross, 222, 686, 9 And the time Jesus was buried, 227, 686, 10 On the disciples and his resurrection, 268,686,11,681,5 Admits Jesus predicted his ascension, 303,686,11 Gives number and vocation of disciples, 319, 681, 5 The royal march to Jerusalem, 684,7 The Jews' conspiracy with Judas, 684, 6, 225 The arrest of Jesus, 685, 8 His death sentence given, 685, 9 The crucifixion of Jesus, 685, 10 Incidents of the crucifixion, 686, 11 Burial of Christ's body, 686, 12 His resurrection and ascension, 686, 13 Institution of the Sabbath, 687, 14 Trajan, Emperor, his Rescript to Pliny on persecution, 366 Transfer of territory in government, 454, 455, 560, 361 Tregelles, S. P., epitome of, 588 On the Scripture as the Word of God, 590 Trench, on Words, as fossil history, 403 Triumphal arch of Vespasian and Titus, 546-548 Tyndall, on life coming out of life, 200 On spontaneous generation, 199 Index, 731 U. Paub. Ulpian, on treatment of priaoners at Rome 581,582 Ulpianus, bodies of executed given to friends, •399 Unique condition of Palestine for fifty years, 385, 387-411 Unknown God, the, 567-573 V. Value of added witnesses 14 15 Vergil, epitome of, 21 On the Golden Age, 34 On Messianic anticipation 24, 25 Versions of the New Testament, 647-649 The Old Latin Version 647 The Syi'iac Version, 647 The Peshito Version, 747 The Cureton Version, 648 The Harklean Version, 648 A Syrian Gospel, 648 The Egyptian Versions, 649 The Memphitic Version, 649 The Thebaic Version, 649 The Bashmuric Version, 649 Virgin Mary, 26 On her supposed worship, +73 Volney, his exclamation on the ruins of Judaea, 540 Verification of the Books of the New Testament, 587-632 Watson, Dr. H. C. M., on denial of the possibility of miracles, . 184 That nature's operations are never varied not verifiable, . . 191 Washington, George, impossible to govern well without God and the Bible, 503 Webster, Daniel, on our country and the Bible, 503 Gospel of Christ a divine reality, 503 Westcott, Bishop, B. F., epitome of, 48 On the incarnation of Jesus Christ, 49 Christianity involves but creates no difficulties, 144 On the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 289 On the kingship of the tetrarch Antipas *479 On Celsus quoting the Gospels as unquestionable authority, 607 On the Muratorian Canon, 616 How Sacred Books became canonical, 653, 656 Whately, Richard, epitome of, 237 On how to distinguish between truth and fabrication, .... 415 Whedon, Dr. D. D., on the kingship of Antipas, tetrarch * 479 732 Index. Pagk. Whiston, on Daniel's prediction fulfilled in the Roman-Jewish war, 534 Wieseler, on the astronomy of the Star of the Nativity, 75 Woolsey, T. J., on Roman citizenship, 445 Worship of the Virgin Mary, 73+ Z. Zoroaster, and the Nestorians, on the Star and the Magi, .... 72 Zumpt, Augustus W., researches on Quirinius's enrollments, . . 79, 80 Date Due M/iyi*w^ ^ 1 f)