XXXII. THIS revelation was actually vouchsafed. It pleased the supreme
Being, through His infinite mercy, to manifest His will, and make known
some great and precious truths, which men would have vainly attempted to
discover with the unaided operation of their reason; He chose to
undertake, to a certain extent, the education of mankind. From the
beginning of the world God revealed Himself to the first man; and He
continued afterwards for many ages, as His eternal wisdom deemed proper,
to communicate to such individuals as were the worthiest among mortals
the instructions which were afterwards to work the salvation of all
mankind. Those instructions, which contain truths by far more comforting
and sublime than any results which man could have arrived at through his
own faculties alone, constitute the substance of Revelation; and he who
acknowledges their divine origin, and conforms to them the actions of
his life, is called a professor of the _revealed religion_.
XXXIII. That God has really revealed Himself to some individuals of the
human species is an historical fact, the truth of which is proved, like
all truths of a similar order, by testimony and documents. But
independently of the existing evidence, the possibility of such an act
can be easily conceived by the human understanding, when we consider
that everything is feasible to the omnipotence of the Creator; and
nothing is more consentaneous to His infinite goodness and wisdom, than
the blessed purpose of granting to human frailty an assistance
calculated to lead the noblest of creatures to the attainment of the
exalted end for which he was created. To conceive, also, the precise
modes and forms in which such a revelation is effected or conveyed, it
was given only to those elect who were themselves the recipients, and
who are called Prophets. But we can arrive at the knowledge of the
principal characteristics which constitute prophecy, after we shall have
placed in a clear light the essence and the final object of revelation.
XXXIV. All the revealed doctrines may be reduced to one fundamental
principle, from which they originate, and on which rests the whole
edifice of revelation. This principle may be expressed as
follows:--Besides the general relation of dependence existing
indistinctly between all creatures and their Creator, there is a
relation more intimate and special between God and man--a relation of a
spiritual and sentimental nature, arising from the circumstance of the
latter being created in the image of God, by virtue of which man is not
subject exclusively to the blind government of the physical laws of
nature, but, almost independent of them, he walks under the immediate
influence of his celestial Father; this independence, however, cannot be
accomplished before he has succeeded in subduing his sensual appetites,
and has bent them to follow the divine direction. Thus acting, he will
not remain a passive spectator of the vicissitudes which accelerate or
retard the fulfilment of that which the Divine wisdom purposed as the
final aim of the creation, but, through the immortal spirit transfused
in him, he will feel impelled to take some active part in the great work
of the ultimate universal perfection, and to associate his own will to
the will of the Creator.
XXXV. The relation between God and man is a tie of love. God being
goodness itself, this finds a more extensive field for its manifestation
in the rational creature than in any other. On the other hand, man,
possessed of a spiritual soul, is superior to matter, and is capable,
more than the other terrestrial beings, of receiving within himself an
abundance of the Divine benevolence, which _diffuses itself throughout
the universe in exact proportion to the various aptitudes of the
recipients_. It is precisely in consequence of the understanding with
which man is endowed, and of his aptitude to nourish love for the
supreme Being, that he has been elected, from among all terrestrial
creatures, to enter into a more intimate relation with God, and to
co-operate, in as much as lies in his power, to the accomplishment of
the divine plan.
XXXVI. The plan of the Creator is immeasurably profound, and therefore
inscrutable. Nevertheless, in so far as it is permitted to the human
mind to penetrate it, and as it has pleased the Divine mercy to reveal
it, we know with certainty that it is all directed to diffuse happiness
and beatitude over all creatures, in proportion to their respective
capabilities of participating in them, and to guide all beings towards
that end, which, in the scheme of the universe, was pre-ordained by the
Infinite Wisdom as _the best_. Now, the inanimate portion of the
creation progresses unconsciously in the way ordained by Providence,
obeys physical immutable laws, and is, therefore, only a means to a more
exalted end. But the moral being, who has self-consciousness, resolves
on action after deliberating upon what he thinks best, and carries out
his resolve with free will; he is, then, himself the aim of his life.
Therefore, to lead this being towards his own destination, it was proper
not to subject him to restraint under laws of necessity, otherwise the
freedom of his will would have been destroyed; it was only necessary to
enlighten him, to place before him some fundamental truths, capable of
dispelling all doubts from his mind, and detaching him from errors and
superstitions, and thus to offer him means and inducements sufficient to
direct his attention and will towards the end designed by the Divine
wisdom.
XXXVII. It is these truths, offered as means and inducements, that
constitute the essence of revelation. Through revelation, man was made
acquainted that God created the universe out of nought, that He governs
it with His wisdom, and can work every change which He deems suitable;
that He created man in the Divine image, that is, with an immortal soul,
capable of receiving within itself the Divine idea, of conceiving its
sublimity, and carrying it into effect. Through revelation, man learnt
that God is One, omnipotent, holy, of infinite forbearance and mercy,
and an inexhaustible source of pure love; that He created as a stock of
all the human family a single individual (to proclaim thereby the
principle of universal brotherhood and mutual love between all the
members of that family); that He desires to be loved, worshipped, and
served by it, with purity of heart, with elevation of spirit, and with
unflinching constancy. Through revelation, we are taught to use wisely
the earthly gifts, and to turn their material enjoyment into a subject
for edification and the glorification of God; to exercise right,
justice, rectitude, charity, piety, and humility; we are also taught
that God judges the human actions, punishes those who contravene His
will, and is disposed to pardon the sins of those who feel a true
repentance. And, lastly, through revelation, an invitation is tendered
to man to elevate his mind to the Creator, to imitate Him, to approach
Him through self-sanctification; and a perspective is opened before his
mind's eye of an interminable future of beatitude beyond the grave, as
the ultimate goal of his longings, and a just reward to his virtuous
conduct.
XXXVIII. When an individual, after long and serious meditations, and
through a concourse of favourable circumstances, acquires a
comprehension of this divine plan, and conceives it in its fullest
extent and excellence, he will feel an irresistible attraction towards
such a contemplation, and an ineffable admiration will seize all his
mind; an internal intense desire will spring up in his heart to see it
carried out, nay, to contribute himself to its accomplishment, since the
first tendency is already engrafted on his very nature. In proportion as
this desire extends its roots in the heart of that individual, so will
he make it his exclusive pre-occupation, voluntarily sacrifice to it
every worldly consideration, and so will he feel impelled to devote
himself to promote, promulgate, and bring to universal knowledge those
truths which, as stated, form the essence of revelation; his soul will
become the receptacle of the Divine idea, his tongue and all his body
the organs of its fulfilment; his whole life will be an expression of
the idea which pervades him; he will feel within himself an irresistible
call to constitute himself, of his own authority, and without any regard
to worldly powers, a preceptor to mankind, an adviser and censor of all,
a supporter of right and virtue, a herald of truth, and a defender of
the cause of God; he will defy every obstacle with unbending spirit,
will employ all his powers, physical and moral, to the attainment of his
aim; and sometimes he will end by becoming a martyr to his holy project.
In short, his will becomes identical with the will of God.
XXXIX. Such a man is a prophet. His mind elevated to the highest degree
of intelligence, his heart bent constantly to love what is good, he has
almost assumed a second nature, and he lives upon earth a purely
spiritual life. Of all that surrounds him, nothing is of any value in
his eyes but that which may contribute to the accomplishment of the
Divine design; in all passing events he sees but as many dispositions of
Providence calculated to direct men to the path in which they are called
to walk; the very thoughts which cross his mind, and the wishes which
form themselves in his heart, he regards them not as the productions of
his own soul, but as emanations from the Spirit of God which dwells in
him, and pervades all his being. Such a mode of viewing things is, after
all, not a mere effect of his imagination, but a true reflex of the
influence that actuates this man, an influence springing from the fact
already stated, that his will has identified itself with the will of
God. Hence the prophet is called a man inspired by God, for it is the
Divine Spirit that pervades, agitates, and directs him; it is the Divine
Spirit that found in him an instrument for its operation, an organ for
its manifestation, a medium to carry out its high designs, a
representative of God on earth, who shall recall men to their Divine
origin, and lead them on to their ultimate destination.
XL. From the foregoing exposition of the characters of prophecy it will
appear obvious, that those are greatly mistaken, who think that the
exclusive or even the principal ministry of the prophet consists in
foreseeing and foretelling future events. The prophet may occasionally
find it necessary to his ends to predict some events, which he does by
virtue of the Divine spirit infused in him; but this is for him only an
accessory means to the chief object, which is to propagate and promote
among men divine knowledge and religious life. With an all-wise
provision, God disposed that, as a rule, the future shall remain hidden
from mortals, that they may exert themselves to render it propitious by
their good actions; and if He sometimes permitted, as an exception, that
it should be revealed to them through the dispensers of His word, it was
not to gratify an idle curiosity, but to excite men to worthily conform
their works to coming events.