Reference: Prophecy
American
The foretelling of future events, by inspiration from God. It is very different from a sagacious and happy conjecture as to futurity, and from a vague and equivocal oracle, without any certain meaning. A true prophecy can come only from God; and is the highest proof of the divine origin of the message of which it is a part. A true prophecy may be known by these marks; being announced at a suitable time before the event it foretells; having a particular and exact agreement with that event; being such as no human sagacity or foresight could produce; and being delivered by one claiming to be under the inspiration of the Almighty. Many of the prophecies of Scripture foretold events ages before they occurred - events of which there was then no apparent probability, and the occurrence of which depended on innumerable contingencies, involving the history of things and the volitions of persons not then in existence; and yet these predictions were fulfilled at the time and place and in the manner prophesied. Such were the predictions respecting the coming and crucifixion of the Messiah, the dispersion and preservation of the Jews, etc. The Scripture prophecies are a scheme of vast extent, the very earliest predictions reaching down to the end of the world's history - a scheme gradually and harmoniously developed from age to age, and by many different persons, some of them not fully apprehending, and "searching diligently what the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify," 1Pe 1:11, the whole manifestly the work of Jehovah, and marvelous in our eyes. A degree of obscurity rests on the prophetic writings, which patient and prayerful study alone can dispel; while those that are yet unfulfilled must await the coming of the events, which will make all at length clear. Many predictions relating primarily to events and deliverance's near at hand, were also designed of God as sure prophecies of yet more illustrious events in the future. For example, the general subject of the predictions in Mt 24 is the coming of Christ, to judge his foes and deliver his friends. In penning a sketch of this subject, Matthew imitates a painter depicting from an eminence the landscape before him: the tower of the village church in the near foreground, and the mountain peak in the dim and remote horizon, rise side by side on his canvas. So in painting the coming of Christ, Matthew sketches first some features of his coming in the destruction of Jerusalem to occur within forty years, and in the next verse some distinctive features of his second coming at the end of the world; yet both belong to the same general view. Respecting the New Testament phrase, "This was done that it might be fulfilled," etc., see FULFILLED. For other meanings of "prophecy," see PROPHETS.
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Attempting to see what sort of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them was pointing to, when it gave witness to the pains which Christ would undergo and the glories which would come after them.
Easton
or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a "miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human sagacity to foresee, discern, or conjecture." (See Prophet.)
The great prediction which runs like a golden thread through the whole contents of the Old Testament is that regarding the coming and work of the Messiah; and the great use of prophecy was to perpetuate faith in his coming, and to prepare the world for that event. But there are many subordinate and intermediate prophecies also which hold an important place in the great chain of events which illustrate the sovereignty and all-wise overruling providence of God.
Then there are many prophecies regarding the Jewish nation, its founder Abraham (Ge 12:1-3; 13:16; 15:5; 17:2,4-6, etc.), and his posterity, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants (Ge 12:7; 13:14-15,17; 15:18-21; Ex 3:8,17), which have all been fulfilled. The twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy contains a series of predictions which are even now in the present day being fulfilled. In the writings of the prophets Isaiah (Isa 2:18-21), Jeremiah (Jer 27:3-7; 29:11-14), Ezekiel (Eze 5:12; 8), Daniel (Da 8; 9:26-27), Hosea (Ho 9:17), there are also many prophecies regarding the events which were to befall that people.
There is in like manner a large number of prophecies relating to those nations with which the Jews came into contact, as Tyre (Eze 26:3-5,14-21), Egypt (Eze 29:10,15; 30:6,12-13), Ethiopia (Na 3:8-10), Nineveh (Na 1:10; 2:8-13; 3:17-19), Babylon (Isa 13:4; Jer 51:7; Isa 44:27; Jer 50:38; 51:36,39,57), the land of the Philistines (Jer 47:4-7; Eze 25:15-17; Am 1:6-8; Zep 2:4-7; Zec 9:5-8), and of the four great monarchies (Da 2:39-40; 7:17-24; 8:9).
But the great body of Old Testament prophecy relates directly to the advent of the Messiah, beginning with Ge 3:15, the first great promise, and extending in ever-increasing fulness and clearness all through to the very close of the canon. The Messianic prophecies are too numerous to be quoted. "To him gave all the prophets witness." (Comp. Mic 5:2; Hag 2:6-9; Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; 11:1-2; 53; 60:10,13; Ps 16:11; 68:18.)
Many predictions also were delivered by Jesus and his apostles. Those of Christ were very numerous. (Comp. 24/type/bbe'>Mt 10:24; 11:23; 19:28; 21:43-44; 24; 25:31-46; 26:17-35,46,64; Mr 9:1; 10:30; 13; 11:1-6,14; 14:12-31,42,62; 16:17, etc.)
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And there will be war between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed: by him will your head be crushed and by you his foot will be wounded.
Now the Lord said to Abram, Go out from your country and from your family and from your father's house, into the land to which I will be your guide: And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing: read more. To them who are good to you will I give blessing, and on him who does you wrong will I put my curse: and you will become a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.
And the Lord came to Abram, and said, I will give all this land to your seed; then Abram made an altar there to the Lord who had let himself be seen by him.
And the Lord had said to Abram, after Lot was parted from him, From this place where you are take a look to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west: For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your seed for ever. read more. And I will make your children like the dust of the earth, so that if the dust of the earth may be numbered, then will your children be numbered. Come, go through all the land from one end to the other for I will give it to you.
And he took him out into the open air, and said to him, Let your eyes be lifted to heaven, and see if the stars may be numbered; even so will your seed be.
In that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram, and said, To your seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, read more. And the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, And the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.
And I will make an agreement between you and me, and your offspring will be greatly increased.
As for me, my agreement is made with you, and you will be the father of nations without end. No longer will your name be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of a number of nations. read more. I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.
And I have come down to take them out of the hands of the Egyptians, guiding them out of that land into a good land and wide, into a land flowing with milk and honey; into the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
And I have said, I will take you up out of the sorrows of Egypt into the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, into a land flowing with milk and honey.
You will make clear to me the way of life; where you are joy is complete; in your right hand there are pleasures for ever and ever.
You have gone up on high, taking your prisoners with you; you have taken offerings from men; the Lord God has taken his place on the seat of his power.
And the images will never be seen again. And men will go into cracks of the rocks, and into holes of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and before the glory of his power, when he comes out of his place, shaking the earth with his strength. read more. In that day men will put their images of silver and of gold, which they made for worship, in the keeping of the beasts of the dark places; To take cover in the cracks of the rocks, and in the holes of the hills, for fear of the Lord, and before the glory of his power, when he comes out of his place, shaking the earth with his strength.
For this cause the Lord himself will give you a sign; a young woman is now with child, and she will give birth to a son, and she will give him the name Immanuel.
For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his rule and of peace there will be no end, on the seat of David, and in his kingdom; to make it strong, supporting it with wise decision and righteousness, now and for ever. By the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.
And there will come a rod out of the broken tree of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will give fruit. And the spirit of the Lord will be resting on him, the spirit of wisdom and good sense, the spirit of wise guiding and strength, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
The noise of great numbers in the mountains, like the noise of a strong people! The noise of the kingdoms of the nations meeting together! The Lord of armies is numbering his forces for war.
And men from strange countries will be building up your walls, and their kings will be your servants: for in my wrath I sent punishment on you, but in my grace I have had mercy on you.
The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the sherbin-tree together, to make my holy place beautiful; and the resting-place of my feet will be full of glory.
And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Zidon, by their servants who come to Jerusalem, to Zedekiah, king of Judah; And give them orders to say to their masters, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Say to your masters, read more. I have made the earth, and man and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I will give it to anyone at my pleasure. And now I have given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant; and I have given the beasts of the field to him for his use. And all the nations will be servants to him and to his son and to his son's son, till the time comes for his land to be overcome: and then a number of nations and great kings will take it for their use.
For I am conscious of my thoughts about you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you hope at the end. And you will go on crying to me and making prayer to me, and I will give ear to you. read more. And you will be searching for me and I will be there, when you have gone after me with all your heart. I will be near you again, says the Lord, and your fate will be changed, and I will get you together from all the nations and from all the places where I had sent you away, says the Lord; and I will take you back again to the place from which I sent you away prisoners.
Because of the day which is coming with destruction on all the Philistines, cutting off from Tyre and Zidon the last of their helpers: for the Lord will send destruction on the Philistines, the rest of the sea-land of Caphtor. The hair is cut off from the head of Gaza; Ashkelon has come to nothing; the last of the Anakim are deeply wounding themselves. read more. O sword of the Lord, how long will you have no rest? put yourself back into your cover; be at peace, be quiet. How is it possible for it to be quiet, seeing that the Lord has given it orders? against Ashkelon and against the sea-land he has given it directions.
A sword is on her waters, drying them up; for it is a land of images, and their minds are fixed on false gods.
Babylon has been a gold cup in the hand of the Lord, which has made all the earth overcome with wine: the nations have taken of her wine, and for this cause the nations have gone off their heads.
For this reason the Lord has said: See, I will give support to your cause, and take payment for what you have undergone; I will make her sea dry, and her fountain without water.
When they are heated, I will make a feast for them, and overcome them with wine, so that they may become unconscious, sleeping an eternal sleep without awaking, says the Lord.
And I will make her chiefs and her wise men, her rulers and her captains and her men of war, overcome with wine; their sleep will be an eternal sleep without awaking, says the King; the Lord of armies is his name.
A third of you will come to death from disease, wasting away among you through need of food; a third will be put to the sword round about you; and a third I will send away to every wind, letting loose a sword after them.
This is what the Lord has said: Because the Philistines have taken payment, with the purpose of causing shame and destruction with unending hate; The Lord has said, See, my hand will be stretched out against the Philistines, cutting off the Cherethites and sending destruction on the rest of the sea-land. read more. And I will take great payment from them with acts of wrath; and they will be certain that I am the Lord when I send my punishment on them.
For this cause the Lord has said, See, I am against you, O Tyre, and will send up a number of nations against you as the sea sends up its waves. And they will give the walls of Tyre to destruction and have its towers broken: and I will take even her dust away from her, and make her an uncovered rock read more. She will be a place for the stretching out of nets in the middle of the sea; for I have said it, says the Lord: and her goods will be given over to the nations.
I will make you an uncovered rock: you will be a place for the stretching out of nets; there will be no building you up again: for I the Lord have said it, says the Lord. This is what the Lord has said to Tyre: Will not the sea-lands be shaking at the sound of your fall, when the wounded give cries of pain, when men are put to the sword in you? read more. Then all the rulers of the sea will come down from their high seats, and put away their robes and take off their clothing of needlework: they will put on the clothing of grief, they will take their seats on the earth, shaking with fear every minute and overcome with wonder at you. And they will send up a song of grief for you, and say to you, What destruction has come on you, how are you cut off from the sea, the noted town, which was strong in the sea, she and her people, causing the fear of them to come on all the dry land! Now the sea-lands will be shaking in the day of your fall; and all the ships on the sea will be overcome with fear at your going. For this is what the Lord has said: I will make you a waste town, like the towns which are unpeopled; when I make the deep come upon you, covering you with great waters. Then I will make you go down with those who go down into the underworld, to the people of the past, causing your living-place to be in the deepest parts of the earth, in places long unpeopled, with those who go down into the deep, so that there will be no one living in you; and you will have no glory in the land of the living. I will make you a thing of fear, and you will come to an end: even if you are looked for, you will not be seen again for ever, says the Lord.
See, then, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an unpeopled waste, from Migdol to Syene, even as far as the edge of Ethiopia.
It will be the lowest of the kingdoms, and never again will it be lifted up over the nations: I will make them small, so that they may not have rule over the nations.
This is what the Lord has said: The supporters of Egypt will have a fall, and the pride of her power will come down: from Migdol to Syene they will be put to the sword in it, says the Lord.
And I will make the Nile streams dry, and will give the land into the hands of evil men, causing the land and everything in it to be wasted by the hands of men from a strange country: I the Lord have said it. This is what the Lord has said: In addition to this, I will give up the images to destruction and put an end to the false gods in Noph; never again will there be a ruler in the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
And after you another kingdom, lower than you, will come to power; and a third kingdom, of brass, ruling over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron: because, as all things are broken and overcome by iron, so it will have the power of crushing and smashing down all the earth.
These great beasts are four kings who will be cut off from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will take the kingdom, and it will be theirs for ever, even for ever and ever. read more. Then it was my desire to have certain knowledge about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, a cause of great fear, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass; who took his food, crushing some of it to bits and stamping on the rest with his feet; And about the ten horns on his head and the other which came up, causing the fall of three; that horn which had eyes, and a mouth saying great things, which seemed to be greater than the other horns. And I saw how that horn made war on the saints and overcame them, Till he came, who was very old, and the decision was made and the authority was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came when the saints took the kingdom. This is what he said: The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom which will come on earth, different from all the kingdoms, and it will overcome all the earth, crushing it down and smashing it. And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will come to power; and after them another will come up: he will be different from the first ones and will put down three kings.
And out of one of them came another horn, a little one, which became very great, stretching to the south and to the east and to the beautiful land.
My God will give them up because they did not give ear to him; they will be wandering among the nations.
These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Gaza, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they took all the people away prisoners, to give them up to Edom. And I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, burning up its great houses: read more. Him who is seated in power I will have cut off from Ashdod, and him in whose hand is the rod from Ashkelon; and my hand will be turned against Ekron, and the rest of the Philistines will come to destruction, says the Lord God.
And you, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, the least among the families of Judah, out of you one will come to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose going out has been purposed from time past, from the eternal days.
For though they are like twisted thorns, and are overcome as with drink, they will come to destruction like stems of grass fully dry.
But Nineveh is like a pool of water whose waters are flowing away; Keep your place, they say; but no one is turning back. Take silver, take gold; for there is no end to the store; take for yourselves a weight of things to be desired. read more. Everything has been taken from her, all is gone, she has nothing more: the heart is turned to water, the knees are shaking, all are twisted in pain, and colour has gone from all faces. Where is the lions' hole, the place where the young lions got their food, where the lion and the she-lion were walking with their young, without cause for fear? Food enough for his young and for his she-lions was pulled down by the lion; his hole was full of flesh and his resting-place stored with meat. See, I am against you, says the Lord of armies, and I will have your war-carriages burned in the smoke, and your young lions will be food for the sword: you will no longer get your food by force on the earth, and the voice of your she-lions will be stopped for ever.
Are you better than No-amon, seated on the Nile streams, with waters all round her; whose wall was the sea and her earthwork the waters? Ethiopia was her strength and Egyptians without number; Put and Lubim were her helpers. read more. But even she has been taken away, she has gone away as a prisoner: even her young children are smashed to bits at the top of all the streets: the fate of her honoured men is put to the decision of chance, and all her great men are put in chains.
Your crowned ones are like the locusts, and your scribes like the clouds of insects which take cover in the walls on a cold day, but when the sun comes up they go in flight, and are seen no longer in their place. Sorrow! how are the keepers of your flock sleeping, O king of Assyria! your strong men are at rest; your people are wandering on the mountains, and there is no one to get them together. read more. Your pain may not be made better; you are wounded to death: all those hearing the news about you will be waving their hands in joy over you: for who has not undergone the weight of your evil-doing again and again?
For Gaza will be given up and Ashkelon will become waste: they will send Ashdod out in the middle of the day, and Ekron will be uprooted. Sorrow to the people living by the sea, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will send destruction on you till there is no one living in you. read more. And the land by the sea will be grass-land, with houses for keepers of sheep and walled places for flocks. The land by the sea will be for the rest of the children of Judah; by the sea they will give their flocks food: in the houses of Ashkelon they will take their rest in the evening; for the Lord their God will take them in hand and their fate will be changed.
For this is what the Lord of armies has said: In a short time I will make a shaking of the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; And I will make a shaking of all the nations, and the desired things of all nations will come: and I will make this house full of my glory, says the Lord of armies. read more. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord of armies. The second glory of this house will be greater than the first, says the Lord of armies: and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of armies.
Ashkelon will see it with fear, and Gaza, bent with pain; and Ekron, for her hope will be shamed: and the king will be cut off from Gaza, and Ashkelon will be unpeopled. And a mixed people will be living in Ashdod, and I will have the pride of the Philistines cut off. read more. And I will take away his blood from his mouth, and his disgusting things from between his teeth; and some of his people will be kept for our God: and he will be as a family in Judah, and Ekron as one living in Jerusalem. And I will put my forces in position round my house, so that there may be no coming and going: and no cruel master will again go through them: for now I have seen his trouble.
A disciple is not greater than his master, or a servant than his lord.
And you, Capernaum, were you not to be lifted up to heaven? you will go down into hell: for if the works of power which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been here to this day.
And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you that in the time when all things are made new, and the Son of man is seated in his glory, you who have come after me will be seated on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
For this reason I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing the fruits of it. Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust.
But when the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then will he be seated in his glory: And before him all the nations will come together; and they will be parted one from another, as the sheep are parted from the goats by the keeper. read more. And he will put the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then will the King say to those on his right, Come, you who have the blessing of my Father, into the kingdom made ready for you before the world was: For I was in need of food, and you gave it to me: I was in need of drink, and you gave it to me: I was wandering, and you took me in; I had no clothing, and you gave it to me: when I was ill, or in prison, you came to me. Then will the upright make answer to him, saying, Lord, when did we see you in need of food, and give it to you? or in need of drink, and give it to you? And when did we see you wandering, and take you in? or without clothing, and give it to you? And when did we see you ill, or in prison, and come to you? And the King will make answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Because you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Then will he say to those on the left, Go from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which is ready for the Evil One and his angels: For I was in need of food, and you gave it not to me; I was in need of drink, and you gave it not to me: I was wandering, and you took me not in; without clothing, and you gave me no clothing; ill, and in prison, and you came not to me. Then will they make answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you in need of food or drink, or wandering, or without clothing, or ill, or in prison, and did not take care of you? Then will he make answer to them, saying, Truly I say to you, Because you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment; but the upright into eternal life.
Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where are we to make ready for you to take the Passover meal? And he said to them, Go into the town to such a man, and say to him, The Master says, My time is near: I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. read more. And the disciples did as Jesus had said to them; and they made ready the Passover. Now when evening was come, he was seated at table with the twelve disciples; And while they were taking food, he said, Truly I say to you that one of you will be false to me. And they were very said, and said to him, one by one, Is it I, Lord? And he made answer and said, He who puts his hand into the plate with me, the same will be false to me. The Son of man goes, even as the Writings say of him: but a curse is on that man through whom the Son of man is given up; it would have been well for that man if he had never come into the world. And Judas, who was false to him, made answer and said, Is it I, Master? He says to him, Yes. And when they were taking food, Jesus took bread and, after blessing it, he gave the broken bread to the disciples and said, Take it; this is my body. And he took a cup and, having given praise, he gave it to them, saying, Take of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the testament, which is given for men for the forgiveness of sins. But I say to you that from now I will not take of this fruit of the vine, till that day when I take it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And after a song of praise to God, they went out to the Mountain of Olives. Then said Jesus to them, All of you will be turned away from me this night: for it is said in the Writings, I will put to death the keeper of the sheep, and the sheep of the flock will be put to flight. But after I am come back from the dead, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter made answer and said to him, Though all may be turned away from you, I will never be turned away. Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you that this night, before the hour of the cock's cry, you will say three times that you have no knowledge of me. Peter says to him, Even if I am put to death with you, I will not be false to you. So said all the disciples.
Jesus says to him, You say so: but I say to you, From now you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.
And he said to them, Truly I say to you, There are some here who will have no taste of death till they see the kingdom of God come with power.
Who will not get a hundred times as much now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land--though with great troubles; and, in the world to come, eternal life.
And when they came near to Jerusalem, to Beth-phage and Bethany, at the Mountain of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, And said to them, Go into the little town opposite: and when you come to it, you will see a young ass with a cord round his neck, on which no man has ever been seated; let him loose, and come back with him. read more. And if anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? say, The Lord has need of him and will send him back straight away. And they went away and saw a young ass by the door outside in the open street; and they were getting him loose. And some of those who were there said to them, What are you doing, taking the ass? And they said to them the words which Jesus had said; and they let them go.
And he said to it, Let no man take fruit from you for ever. And his disciples took note of his words.
And on the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb is put to death, his disciples said to him, Where are we to go and make ready for you to take the Passover meal? And he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, Go into the town, and there will come to you a man with a vessel of water: go after him; read more. And wherever he goes in, say to the owner of the house, The Master says, Where is my guest-room, where I may take the Passover with my disciples? And he will take you up himself to a great room with a table and seats: there make ready for us. And the disciples went out and came into the town, and saw that it was as he had said: and they made ready the Passover. And when it was evening he came with the twelve. And while they were seated taking food, Jesus said, Truly I say to you, One of you will be false to me, one who is taking food with me. They were sad, and said to him one by one, Is it I? And he said to them, It is one of the twelve, one who is putting his bread with me into the same plate. The Son of man goes, even as the Writings say of him: but cursed is that man through whom the Son of man is given up! It would have been well for that man if he had never been given birth. And while they were taking food, he took bread, and after blessing it, he gave the broken bread to them, and said, Take it: this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given praise, he gave it to them: and they all had a drink from it. And he said to them, This is my blood of the testament, which is given for men. Truly I say to you, I will take no more of the fruit of the vine till the day when I take it new in the kingdom of God. And after a song of praise to God they went out to the Mountain of Olives. And Jesus said to them, You will all be turned away from me: for it is in the Writings, I will put the keeper of the sheep to death, and the sheep will be put to flight. But after I have come back from the dead, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said to him, Though the others may be turned away from you, I will not. And Jesus said to him, Truly, I say to you that you, today, even this night, before the cock's second cry, will say three times that you have no knowledge of me. But he said with passion, If I have to be put to death with you, I will not be false to you. And they all said the same.
And Jesus said, I am: and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.
And these signs will be with those who have faith: in my name they will send out evil spirits; and they will make use of new languages;
Watsons
PROPHECY, the prediction of future events; it is especially understood of those predictions which are contained in the Holy Scriptures; all of which claim divine inspiration, and by their wonderful fulfilment are proved to have proceeded from God, who only with certainty can know the future. Prophecy is one great branch of the external evidence of the truth of the Scriptures; and the nature and force of this kind of evidence may here be properly pointed out. No argument a priori against the possibility of prophecy can be attempted by any one who believes in the existence and infinitely perfect nature of God. The infidel author of "The Moral Philosopher," indeed, rather insinuates than attempts fully to establish a dilemma with which to perplex those who regard prophecy as one of the proofs of a divine revelation. He thinks that either prophecy must respect events necessary, as depending upon necessary causes, which might be certainly foreknown and predicted; or that, if human actions are free, and effects contingent, the possibility of prophecy must be given up, as it implies foreknowledge, which, if granted, would render them necessary. The first part of this objection might be allowed, were there no predictions to be adduced in favour of a professed revelation, except such as related to events which human experience has taught to be dependent upon some cause, the existence and necessary operation of which are within the compass of human knowledge. But to foretel such events would not be to prophesy, any more than to say that it will be light to-morrow at noon, or that on a certain day and hour next year there will occur an eclipse of the sun or moon, when that event had been previously ascertained by astronomical calculation. If, however, it were allowed that all events depended upon a chain of necessary causes, yet, in a variety of instances, the argument from prophecy would not be at all affected; for the foretelling of necessary results in certain circumstances is beyond human intelligence, because they can only be known to him by whose power those necessary causes on which they depend have been arranged, and who has prescribed the times of their operation. To borrow a case, for the sake of illustration, from the Scriptures, though the claims of their predictions are not now in question; let us allow that such a prophecy as that of Isaiah respecting the taking of Babylon by Cyrus was uttered, as it purports to be, more than a century before Cyrus was born, and that all the actions of Cyrus and his army, and those of the Babylonian monarch and his people, were necessitated; is it to be maintained that the chain of necessitating causes running through more than a century could be traced by a human mind, so as to describe the precise manner in which that fatality would unfold itself, even to the turning of the river, the drunken carousal of the inhabitants, and the neglect of shutting the gates of the city? This being by uniform and universal experience known to be above all human apprehension, would therefore prove that the prediction was made in consequence of a communication from a superior and divine Intelligence. Were events, therefore, subjected to invincible fate and necessity, there might nevertheless be prophecy.
The other branch of the dilemma is founded on the notion that if we allow the moral freedom of human actions, prophecy is impossible, because certain foreknowledge is contrary to that freedom, and fixes and renders the event necessary. To this the reply is, that the objection is founded on a false assumption, the divine foreknowledge having no more influence in effectuating or making certain any event than human foreknowledge in the degree in which it may exist, there being no moral causality at all in knowledge. This lies in the will, which is the determining acting principle in every agent; or, as Dr. Samuel Clarke has expressed it, in answer to another kind of objector, "God's infallible judgment concerning contingent truths does no more alter the nature of the things, and cause them to be necessary, than our judging right at any time concerning a contingent truth makes it cease to be contingent; or than our science of a present truth is any cause of its being either true or present. Here, therefore, lies the fallacy of our author's argument. Because, from God's foreknowing the existence of things depending upon a chain of necessary causes, it follows that the existence of the things must needs be necessary; therefore, from God's judging infallibly concerning things which depend not on necessary but free causes, he concludes that these things also depend not upon free but necessary causes. Contrary, I say, to the supposition in the argument; for it must not be first supposed that things are in their own nature necessary; but from the power of judging infallibly concerning free events, it must be proved that things, otherwise supposed free, will thereby unavoidably become necessary." The whole question lies in this, Is the simple knowledge of an action a necessitating cause of the action? And the answer must be in the negative, as every man's consciousness will assure him. If the causality of influence, either immediate, or by the arrangement of compelling events, be mixed up with this, the ground is shifted; and it is no longer a question which respects simple prescience. (See Prescience.) This metaphysical objection having no foundation in truth, the force of the evidence arising from predictions of events, distant, and beyond the power of human sagacity to anticipate, and uttered as authentications of a divine commission, is apparent. "Such predictions, whether in the form of declaration, description, or representation of things future," as Mr. Boyle justly observes, "are supernatural things, and may properly be ranked among miracles." For when, for instance, the events are distant many years or ages from the uttering of the prediction itself, depending on causes not so much as existing when the prophecy was spoken and recorded, and likewise upon various circumstances and a long arbitrary series of things, and the fluctuating uncertainties of human volitions, and especially when they depend not at all upon any external circumstances nor upon any created being, but arise merely from the counsels and appointment of God himself,
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The rod of authority will not be taken from Judah, and he will not be without a law-giver, till he comes who has the right to it, and the peoples will put themselves under his rule.
It is to be taken in one house; not a bit of the flesh is to be taken out of the house, and no bone of it may be broken.
He will be the builder of a house for my name, and I will make the seat of his authority certain for ever. I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son: if he does wrong, I will give him punishment with the rod of men and with the blows of the children of men;
And by the order of the Lord he made an outcry against the altar, saying, O altar, altar, the Lord has said, From the seed of David will come a child, named Josiah, and on you he will put to death the priests of the high places, who are burning offerings on you, and men's bones will be burned on you. The same day he gave them a sign, saying, This is the sign which the Lord has given: See, the altar will be broken and the burned waste on it overturned.
He made request to you for life, and you gave it to him, long life for ever and ever. His glory is great in your salvation: honour and authority have you put on him. read more. For you have made him a blessing for ever: you have given him joy in the light of your face.
Dogs have come round me: I am shut in by the band of evil-doers; they made wounds in my hands and feet. I am able to see all my bones; their looks are fixed on me: read more. They make a division of my robes among them, by the decision of chance they take my clothing.
When I was waiting quietly for the Lord, his heart was turned to me, and he gave ear to my cry.
Then I said, See, I come; it is recorded of me in the roll of the book, My delight is to do your pleasure, O my God; truly, your law is in my heart. read more. I have given news of righteousness in the great meeting; O Lord, you have knowledge that I have not kept back my words. Your righteousness has not been folded away in my heart; I have made clear your true word and your salvation; I have not kept secret your mercy or your faith from the great meeting.
I said, Lord, have mercy on me; make my soul well, because my faith is in you.
For this cause the Lord himself will give you a sign; a young woman is now with child, and she will give birth to a son, and she will give him the name Immanuel.
And I will put over them one keeper, and he will give them food, even my servant David; he will give them food and be their keeper.
I saw in visions of the night, and there was coming with the clouds of heaven one like a man, and he came to the one who was very old, and they took him near before him. And to him was given authority and glory and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and languages were his servants: his authority is an eternal authority which will not come to an end, and his kingdom is one which will not come to destruction.
And a strong order will be sent out against the great number for one week; and so for half of the week the offering and the meal offering will come to an end; and in its place will be an unclean thing causing fear; till the destruction which has been fixed is let loose on him who has made waste.
And the king will do his pleasure; he will put himself on high, lifting himself over every god, and saying things to be wondered at against the God of gods; and all will be well for him till the wrath is complete; for what has been purposed will be done. He will have no respect for the gods of his fathers or for the god desired by women; he will have no respect for any god: for he will put himself on high over all.
Then in my hearing the man clothed in linen, who was over the river, lifting up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, took an oath by him who is living for ever that it would be a time, times, and a half; and when the power of the crusher of the holy people comes to an end, all these things will be ended.
When Israel was a child he was dear to me; and I took my son out of Egypt.
And you, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, the least among the families of Judah, out of you one will come to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose going out has been purposed from time past, from the eternal days.
Be full of joy, O daughter of Zion; give a glad cry, O daughter of Jerusalem: see, your king comes to you: he is upright and has overcome; gentle and seated on an ass, on a young ass.
See, I am sending my servant, and he will make ready the way before me; and the Lord, whom you are looking for, will suddenly come to his Temple; and the angel of the agreement, in whom you have delight, see, he is coming, says the Lord of armies.
Now all this took place so that the word of the Lord by the prophet might come true,
And was there till the death of Herod; so that the word of the Lord through the prophet might come true, Out of Egypt have I sent for my son.
And if you are able to see it, this is Elijah who was to come.
When, then, you see in the holy place the unclean thing which makes destruction, of which word was given by Daniel the prophet (let this be clear to the reader),
As the snake was lifted up by Moses in the waste land, even so it is necessary for the Son of man to be lifted up:
I am not talking of you all: I have knowledge of my true disciples, but things are as they are, so that the Writings may come true, The foot of him who takes bread with me is lifted up against me.
These things came about so that the Writings might be true, No bone of his body will be broken.
That is, it is not the children of the flesh, but the children of God's undertaking, who are named as the seed. For this is the word of God's undertaking, At this time will I come, and Sarah will have a son. read more. And not only so, but Rebecca being about to have a child by our father Isaac-- Before the children had come into existence, or had done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose and his selection might be effected, not by works, but by him whose purpose it is, It was said to her, The older will be the servant of the younger. Even as it is said, I had love for Jacob, but for Esau I had hate.
For it is my desire, my brothers, that you may keep in mind how all our fathers were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea; And they all had baptism from Moses in the cloud and in the sea; read more. And they all took the same holy food; And the same holy drink: for they all took of the water from the holy rock which came after them: and the rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not pleased: for they came to their end in the waste land. Now these things were for an example to us, so that our hearts might not go after evil things, as they did. Then do not go after false gods, as some of them did; as it is said in the holy Writings, After resting and feasting, the people got up to take their pleasure. Again, let us not give way to the desires of the flesh, as some of them did, of whom twenty-three thousand came to their end in one day. And let us not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and came to their death by snakes. And do not say evil things against the Lord, as some of them did, and destruction overtook them. Now these things were done as an example; and were put down in writing for our teaching, on whom the last days have come.
Because it is in the Writings, that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant-woman, and one by the free woman. Now the son by the servant-woman has his birth after the flesh; but the son by the free woman has his birth through the undertaking of God. read more. Which things have a secret sense; because these women are the two agreements; one from the mountain of Sinai, giving birth to servants, which is Hagar. Now this Hagar is the mountain Sinai in Arabia, and is the image of the Jerusalem which now is: which is a servant with her children. But the Jerusalem on high is free, which is our mother. For it is in the Writings, You who have never given birth, be glad; give cries of joy, you who have had no birth-pains; for the children of her who has been given up by her husband are more than those of the woman who has a husband. Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are the children of the undertaking of God. But as in those days he who had birth after the flesh was cruel to him who had birth after the Spirit, even so it is now. What then do the Writings say? Send away the servant-woman and her son; for the son of the servant-woman will not have a part in the heritage with the son of the free woman. So, brothers, we are not children of the servant-woman, but of the free woman.
To which of the angels did God say at any time, You are my Son, this day I have given you being? or, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son?
Where Jesus has gone before us, as a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
For this Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who gave Abraham his blessing, meeting him when he came back after putting the kings to death, And to whom Abraham gave a tenth part of everything which he had, being first named King of righteousness, and then in addition, King of Salem, that is to say, King of peace; read more. Being without father or mother, or family, having no birth or end to his life, being made like the Son of God, is a priest for ever.
Being servants of that which is a copy and an image of the things in heaven, as Moses, when he was about to make the Tent, had special orders from God: for, See, he said, that you make everything like the design which you saw in the mountain.