APPLICATION OF THE TWO TESTS, SAID, IN
DEUTERONOMY, TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY GOD, AS
DISCRIMINATING A TRUE PROPHET FROM A FALSE ONE,
TO THE CHARACTER AND ACTIONS OF JESUS.
In the 18th chapter of Deuteronomy God says,--The Prophet
which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not
commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other
gods, even that Prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart,
how shall we know (or distinguish,) the word which the Lord hath
not spoken? Here is the criterion. When a Prophet speaketh in
the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass; that
is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken. That Prophet hath
spoken presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Again, Deuteronomy 13, If there arise among you a Prophet, or a
dreamer of dreams, and give you a sign or a wonder (i. e. a
miracle,) and the sign or wonder come to pass, whereof he spake
unto thee saying, let us go after other gods, which thou hast not
known, and let us serve them: thou shalt not hearken unto the
words of that Prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord
your God proveth (or tryeth) you, to know whether ye love the
Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul.
And now Christian reader, I ask you what you think of miracles, or
signs and wonders, as proof of a divine mission, to teach
doctrines novel and innovating, after such clear and unequivocal
language as this, from such high authority? I am sure, that if you
are a sincere lover of truth, you must certainly abandon that ground
as untenable. For, from these direc-tions, the Jews were
commanded these things#. 1. That the Prophet who presumes to
speak a word, as from God, which God hath not commanded him
to speak, must be put to death. 2. That the test, or criterion by
which they are to discern a false prophet from a true one, is this:
not his miracles, but the fulfillment of his words. If what he says
comes to pass, he is a true prophet; if the event foretold does not
take place, he has spoken presump-tuously, and must die the
death. 3. If any man arise in Israel, and advise, or teach them to
worship any other besides the Eternal; and in proof of the divinity
of his mission promise a sign, or a wonder, and in fact does bring
to pass the sign or wonder promised, he is nevertheless, not to be
hearkened to; but to be put to death. And these criteria given by
God, or Moses, as the means whereby they might know a true
Prophet from a false one, most exquisitely prove his wisdom and
foresight. For if he had not expressly excluded miracles, or signs
and wonders, from being proof of the divinity of doctrines, the
barriers which divided his religion from those of idolaters, must
have been broken down; since, as we have seen, well attested
miracles (meaning always by miracles, signs and wonders,
brought to pass by human agency,) are related to have been
performed in proof of the divinity of every religion under Heaven.
But veritable prophecy is, and can he a proof proper only to a true
Revelation, because none can know what is to come but God, and
those sent by him. Accordingly, we find that the Jewish Prophets
were not acknowledged as such, but on account of their foretelling
the truth, or being supposed to do so.
Thus, it is said, 1 Samuel iii. 20, And all Israel, from Dan even
to Beersheba, knew, that Samuel was established to be a Prophet
of the Lord. Why? Because he performed miracles? No! he
performed none. But he was known as a Prophet because the
Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground, i.
e. fail of their accomplishment. The same, may be said of all the
Hebrew Prophets, from Nathan to Malachi. For though Elijah and
Elisha performed miracles, yet it was not in proof of their mission,
for that was established before; but these miracles were occasional
acts of beneficence, or protection, but were never considered, or
offered by them as proofs of their being sent from God.
These things being by this time, it is hoped, made plain and
evident, let us now test the character of Jesus as a true Prophet, by
the criteria, by Christians, and by the Jews, believed to be given by
God. If his prophecies were fulfilled, and if he taught the worship
of no other being besides the Eternal, he was, according to the Old
Testament, a true Prophet. But if any of his prophecies were not
fulfilled, or, if he taught the worship of any other Being besides the
Eternal, he was not a true Prophet.
And here it must be recollected, that those prophecies of Jesus
only, can be brought forward in this question, which were
committed to writing, before the event foretold came to pass; and
therefore all Jesus prophecies concerning the manner and
circumstances of his death, &c., must be set aside, as all those
events are allowed to have taken place before any of the Gospels
were written; and of course it is not certain that Jesus did actually
foretell them. This is acknowledged by Christians; and accordingly
they confine themselves to bringing forward as conclusive
evidence in their favour, his Prophecy of the Destruction of
Jerusalem, and the events following. Here it is. Luke xxi. 21.
When ye shall see Jerusalem com-passed with armies, then
know, that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are
in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the midst
of it, depart out, and let not them which are in the counter, enter
thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which
are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child,
and to them which give suck in those days. For there shall be great
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall
by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in
the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth
distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and waves roaring,
mans hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken. And then, shall they see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud, with power, and great glory. And when these
things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads;
for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable,
Behold the fig tree and all the trees. When they now shoot forth, ye
see, and know of your own selves, that summer is now nigh at
hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know
ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you,
this generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Such is the prophecy, and on it I would remark, first, that what
Jesus here foretells concerning Jerusalem did in fact come to pass.
But that was not a fulfillment of his prophecy, but of Daniels, who
did, as is set down in the 7th chapter of this work, expressly
foretell the utter destruction of the city and the temple. And it was
from Daniel that Jesus obtained his know-ledge of the approach of
that event. For he expressly cites Daniel, Matthew xxiv. 15; Mark
xiii. 14; and you will please to observe reader, that he refers to him
in this quotation from Luke, in the words, these be the days of
vengeance that all things which are written, may be fulfilled. So
that in foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem he did no more than
any Jew of that age, who attentively read their Scriptures, could
have done, and. been no prophet either.
2. It would have been better for his reputation as a Prophet, if he
had stopped short where Daniel stopped. For what he goes on to
foretell has not been fulfilled. For he proceeds to say, that there
shall be signs in the sun, and the moon, and the stars, &c. All this
is taken from the 2nd chapter of Joel, who says that such things
shall take place; not, however, at the destruction of Jerusalem, but
in the latter days, at the time of the restoration of Israel. So that
here Jesus has been rather unlucky. For, in truth, there were no
signs in the sun, and the moon, and the stars, at that time; neither
was there upon earth any great distress of nations, except in
Judea. Nor were the powers of heaven shaken. Certainly, they
did not see Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven, with power,
and great glory; and most assuredly, that generation did pass
away, and many others since, and all these things have not been
fulfilled.
I know very well, and have very often smiled over the contrivances
by which learned Christians have endeavoured to save the credit of
this prophecy. They say that--it is a figurative prophecy relating
entirely to the destruction of Jerusalem, which did in fact take
place in that generation; that the expressions about the distress of
nations, and the sea and waves roaring, the signs in heaven,
&c., are merely poetical; and that the shaking of the powers of
heaven was merely the shaking and pulling-down the stones of the
temple, figuratively called heaven; and that the glorious coming of
Jesus in the clouds of heaven, with power, and great glory,
meant merely, that he sent Titus, and the Romans to destroy,
Jerusalem, or perhaps might have been an invisible spectator
himself.
The reader will easily see, that all this is nonsense. And the
Commentator Grotius, after meddling a great while in this
troublesome business, at length ventures to insinuate, that God
might have suffered Jesus to be in a mistake about the time of his
second coming, and to tell the Apostles what he did, for the sake of
keeping up their spirits!
But to annihilate the figurative hypothesis of these well-meaning
Commentators at once, it will be only necessary to bring forward
the testimony following. 1. The other Evangelists make an express
distinction between the destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of
Jesus; and not only so, but represent him as saying, that after that
event, (i. e., the destruction of Jerusalem, in those days, i. e., in
the same era in which that event took place,) the son of man shall
come, &c. Witness for me, Mark, chapter xiii. 24:--But in those
days, after that tribulation, (i. e., the destruction of Jerusalem)
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven
shall be shaken. And then shall they see the son of man coming in
the clouds, with power and glory; and-then shall he send his
angels, and shall gather his elect from the four winds, from the
uttermost part of the earth, to the uttermost part of heaven Verily, I
say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things
be accomplished. This is decisive, and cannot be evaded.
2. The Apostles and Primitive Christians believed that Jesus would
come in that generation, as is evident from many passages of the
New Testament. Pauls Epistles to the Thessalonians prove this,
and contain an argument to them, intended to allay their terrors, or
their impatience. John says in his first Epistle, chapter ii. 18,
Little children, it is the last hour; and as ye have heard that
Antichrist should come, even now (or already) there are many
Antichrists, whereby know that it is the last hour. Many passages
of similar import might be brought forward. The meaning of it is
this--It appears from Pauls 2nd Epistle to the Thessalonians, that
just before the second coming of Jesus, there was a personage to
appear who was to be called Antichrist, i. e., an enemy to the
Messiah. (This notion they got from the interpretation given by the
angel of the vision of the little horn in Daniel.) John, therefore,
seeing many Antichrists, i. e., opposers of the pretensions of Jesus,
considered the sign, and thus knew that it was the last hour, and
that his master was soon to appear.
It appears from the 2nd Epistle of Peter, chapter iii., that there
were many in his days who scoffed at his master, saying,
contemptuously, where is the promise of his coming? And Peter
replies by telling them that their contempt is misplaced, for that
one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day. John, in the 1st chapter of Revelations, says,
concerning the coming of Jesus, Behold he cometh with clouds,
and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and
all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. And in the last
chapter of Revelations he represents Jesus, as saying, Surely I
come quickly!
In short, the Apostles, when they wanted to encourage their
desponding proselytes, they usually did it with such words as
these,--Be anxious for nothing, the Lord is at hand.--Behold!
the Judge standeth before the day.--Be patient, therefore,
brethren, (says James) for the coming of the Lord cometh nigh.
And this persuasion did not end, as might be expected, with that
century; for we find that the heathens frequently laughed at the
expec-tations of the Primitive Christians, who, till the fourth
century, never gave up the expectation of the impending advent of
their master. Nay, so rooted was the idea in their minds, that,
understanding the words of Jesus concerning John, if I will that
he tarry till I come, what is that to thee, to mean that that disciple
should not die, but survive till the glorious appearance of his lord,
so far were they from being convinced of the vanity of their
expectations by that Apostles actual decease, that they insisted,
that, though he was buried, he was not dead, but only slept, and
that the earth over his body rose and fell with the action of his
breathing!!
It is now hardly necessary to add, that Jesus did not at all answer
the character of a true prophet, when tested by the criterion laid
down in Deuteronomy for ascertaining the truth of the claims of a
prophet to a divine mission.
Let us now see, whether he taught the worship of other beings
beside the Eternal, for if he did, the other test laid down in
Deuteronomy will also decide against him. Now, did he not
command the worship of himself in these words, All men should
honour the Son, even as they honour the Father? This, certainly,
commands to render to Jesus the same homage which is rendered
to God. I might prove that his disciples did worship him, by
referring to many passages in the New Testament, especially in the
Revelations, in the latter part of which, Jesus is represented as
saying, I am the Alpha, and the Omega, the beginning, and the
end, the first, and, the last, terms applied to the Eternal in Isaiah,
where God says, (as if in express opposition to such doctrine) that
there is no God with him: He knows not any; there was none
before him, neither shall there be any after him. I could also
adduce many passages relating to the Eternal of Hosts, quoted
from the Old Testament, and applied in the New to Jesus. Witness
the following:--John xii. 41, alludes to Isaiah vi. 5; Revelations
i. 8,.11, 17, and ii. 8, to Isaiah xli. 4, xliii. 11, and xliv. 6; John
xxi. 16, 17, and Revelations ii. 23, to 1st Kings viii. 39; John vii.
9, Jeremiah xi. 20, and xvii. 20, Revelations xx. 12,. to Isaiah xl.
10; and, to crown all, Jesus, in Revelations i. 13, 14,15, 16, 17, is
described in almost the same words as is the Supreme God; the
Ancient of Days in Daniel, 7th chapter; and were there not other
proofs in abundance to this purpose, this resemblance alone would
decide me.
I now leave it to the cool judgment of the reader, whether Jesus
prophecied truly, or did, or did not, teach the duty of paying
religious homage to other beings besides God? and, if so, it is
consequent, according to the tests by Christians acknowledged to
be given by God himself in Deuteronomy, that if Jesus was not
sent by, or from, him; for if he was--Gods own words would be
contradicted by Gods own deeds.