prophesied

Thus Ezekiel the Prophet prophesied and said, "I your God will come, and I will walk about among them, and they shall know Me that I am their God."

Thus David prophesied and said, "Blessed is He Who cometh in the name of God: we have blessed you in the Name of the Lord."

Thus Habakkuk prophesied and said, "God shall come from the South, and the Holy One from Mount Faran and from the cities of Judah."

Thus Elijah the Prophet prophesied and said, "With a new covenant shall God come unto us."

Thus Joel the Prophet prophesied and said, "The heavenly Emmanuel shall come and shall deliver the work which He hath fashioned with His own hand from the hand of the Devil, the deceiver, and his devils which lead astray."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "The God of gods shall show Himself in Zion.

Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "Verily God shall be with men, and He shall walk about upon the earth."

Thus his father David prophesied and said, "He shall come down like the dew upon wool, and like the drop which droppeth upon the earth, and righteousness shall spring into being in his days."

Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "A Saviour shall be born out of Zion, and He shall remove sin from Jacob."

Thus Hosea the Prophet prophesied and said, "I will come to thee, O Zion, and I will walk about in thee, Jerusalem, saith God, the Holy One of Israel."

Thus Micah the Prophet prophesied and said, "The Word of God shall appear in Jerusalem, and the Law shall go forth from Zion."

Thus Hosea the Prophet prophesied and said, "God shall appear upon the earth, and shall dwell with men like us."

Thus Jeremiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "A saviour shall be sent from Zion, and He shall remove sin from the people of Israel."

Thus Micah the Prophet prophesied and said, "God shall come from the heavens and dwell in His temple (or, citadel)."

Thus Zechariah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Rejoice, O daughter of Zion!

Thus Micah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Behold, God shall come, and shall shine upon those who fear Him; Sun of righteousness is His Name."

Thus Hosea the Prophet prophesied and said, "God shall come upon thee, Jerusalem, and shall appear in the midst of thee."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "And He shall live, and they shall give Him of the gold of Arabia, and they shall pray for Him continually, and He shall be the stay of all the earth upon the tops of the mountains."

Thus Job the just prophesied and said, "God shall walk about upon the earth, and He shall travel over the sea as upon the dry land."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "He bowed the heavens and came down."

Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a Son, and she shall call His name Emmanuel."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "I brought Thee forth from the womb before the star of the morning."

Thus Gideon prophesied and said, "Behold, He shall come down like dew upon the earth."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, and from the temple of His sanctuary."

Thus Moses the Prophet prophesied and said, "And all the children of God shall say: He is strong, for He avengeth the blood of His sons."

Thus David prophesied and said, "And there will I make a horn to David to rise up, and I will prepare a lamp for Mine Anointed, and I will clothe His enemies with shame, and in Him shall My holiness flourish."

Thus Hosea the Prophet prophesied and said, "Fear not, for Thou shalt not be put to shame.

Thus David the Prophet prophesied saying concerning Christian folk, "Declare ye to the nations that God is King, and that He hath made fast the world so that it shall never be moved."

And he also prophesied concerning His coming to the nations, and said, "Before the face of God shall He come, He shall come and shall judge the earth, and He shall judge the world in righteousness, and the nations with justice."

Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "The Lord of hosts hath planned to destroy the contumely of the nations, and He shall bring to nothing the nobles and the mighty ones of the earth."

Thus David prophesied, and said, "Sing ye unto God Who dwelleth in Zion, and declare ye to the nation His work."

Thus Solomon his son prophesied and spake concerning our Saviour Emmanuel, the Sun of righteousness, "He brought Me forth before the hills, and before He made the lands and set them in order, and founded Me before the world; before He made the earth, and be- fore He made the abysses, and before the waterfloods came forth, and the beauty of the flowers appeared, and before the winds blew, God created His work before His face, and I existed conjointly with My Father."

Thus his father David prophesied and said, "His name was before the sun, and before the moon, generation to generation."

Thus his son Solomon prophesied and said, "When He made strong the firmament above the clouds, and when He set in position the walls of the boundaries of the heavens, and when He set the sea in its appointed place, and before He founded His throne above the winds, and when He made strong the foundations of the earth, I existed conjointly with Him.

Thus Job the Prophet prophesied and said, "The face of my God is in the East, and His light is before [that of] the sun, and the nations put their trust in His Name."

Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Remember ye not the things of the past, and think not about the things of olden time; behold, I will make a new thing, which shall now spring up, so that ye may know that I make a road through the desert and water floods in the wilderness; and the beasts of the field shall follow after Me, and the young birds, and the ostriches.

Thus Solomon prophesied and said, "Who hath gone up into heaven and come down?

Thus Micah the Prophet prophesied and said unto the Jews, "I have no pleasure in you, saith God Who ruleth all things.

And many nations shall go thereto and shall say, `Come ye, let us go up into the mountain of God, and they shall declare unto us His way, and we will walk therein.'" Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "Hearken unto Me, O My people, and I will speak unto thee, Israel, and will bring testimony to thee; I am God, thy God."

Thus Moses the Prophet prophesied and said concerning the Trinity, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is One."

And the Prophets have prophesied concerning His glorious entry into Jerusalem, and Isaiah the Prophet said, "Shine thou, shine thou, Jerusalem, thy light hath come and the glory of God hath risen upon thee."

Thus the Prophet Zechariah prophesied and said, "Rejoice, rejoice, daughter of Zion, and let Jerusalem shout for joy."

Thus David prophesied and said, "Out of the mouth of children and babes Thou hast prepared praise because of the enemy, so that Thou mightest overthrow the enemy and the avenger."

Thus Solomon prophesied and said, "The children are taught by God, and the peoples rejoice within thee."

Thus David his father prophesied and said, "Blow ye the horn in Zion, on the day of the new moon, on the appointed day of our festival, for it is an ordinance for Israel."

Thus Ezra the Scribe prophesied and said, "Get ye out, make ye a festival in gladness, and say unto the daughter of Zion, Rejoice thou, behold thy King hath come."

Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Rejoice thou, Jerusalem, rejoice thou.

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord."

Thus Jacob the son of Isaac prophesied and said, "Judah, thy brethren have praised thee.

And he also prophesied and said, "His teeth are white as with snow, and His eyes are glad as with wine, and He shall wash His apparel in wine and His tunic in the blood of clusters of grapes."

And again he prophesied, saying, "Judah is a lion's whelp; thou hast lain down, and thou hast slept; no one shall wake him up except him that hunteth until he findeth him; rise up from thy strong place."

And Habakkuk prophesied, saying, "Horns are in his hands, and he hath placed the beloved in the strength of his power," which meaneth, "The palms of the hand, wherein the life of all is held, of the holder of the dominion of kings, are pierced with nails, which Christ, the beloved, hath endured in the strength of His might."

And the Prophets prophesied concerning the wickedness of the Jews.

Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "The foolish man and the man of iniquity travel by paths that are not straight.

And David his father prophesied and said, "They brought forth against me the word of error; he who sleepeth shall he not awake?

Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "Woe be unto the man of iniquity who bringeth wrath."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "The sinner speaketh what will condemn him, and there is no fear of God before his eyes."

Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "The man of iniquity bringeth tumult to the city; and he willingly maketh to come destruction, and beating, and calamity which cannot be healed, for he rejoiceth in everything which God hateth."

Thus prophesied Moses the Prophet and said, "God wisheth not to forgive him but rather to increase vengeance upon him; and He will make punishments to rest upon him, and the curse which is written in this book shall come upon him; and his name shall be blotted out from under heaven."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "His heart is ready for slaughter; he preferreth cursing and it shall come to him; he refuseth blessing and it shall be far from him."

Thus Jeremiah the Prophet prophesied concerning him and said, "The man of iniquity shall be destroyed because of the love of money, and he looketh upon darkness because of his fraud."

Thus Job prophesied and said concerning him, "His Creator will destroy his fair work, and his root shall dry up under him, and his flower shall be beaten down upon him, and his memorial shall be blotted out from the earth, and his name shall be cast fir away, and men shall remove him into the darkness so that he may not see the light, and the house of the man of iniquity shall be blotted out.

Thus Hosea prophesied and said concerning him, Hearken unto me, O children of Israel, for there is no righteousness, and no mercy, and no fear of God in his heart, but falsehood, and theft, and murder, and fornication."

And David the Prophet prophesied and said, "Satan standeth at his right hand and again he said, "Let another take his office."

Thus Habakkuk the Prophet prophesied and said, "The governor maketh [men] wise concerning this perversion of the Law, and no right judgement cometh forth; for the sinner corrupteth the righteous man, and therefore a perverted judgement cometh forth."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "The sinner seeth and becometh wrathful, and he gnasheth with his teeth and is dissolved."

Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "A false balance is a hateful thing to God."

Thus Jeremiah prophesied and said concerning Judah, "My hire is ready (or, weighed) for me--thirty [pieces of] silver."

And the Prophets also prophesied concerning the Crucifixion of Christ.

Thus Moses, the servant of God, prophesied and said, "Ye shall see your salvation crucified upon the wood, and shall not believe."

Thus David prophesied and said, "Many dogs have seized Me; and they drove nails through My hands and My feet; and they counted all My bones; though they knew Me they despised Me; and they divided My garments among themselves; and they cast lots for My apparel."

Thus Isaiah prophesied concerning the Incarnation and Crucifixion of Christ, and said, "Who believeth our word, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

Thus Solomon prophesied and said, "Let us kill the righteous man, for he is a burden unto us; he setteth himself up against our works, he resisteth our intentions continually, and we are an abomination unto him because of our sins."

Thus David prophesied and said, "They cast gall into My meat, and they gave Me vinegar to drink to [quench] My thirst."

Thus prophesied Isaiah the Prophet and said, "He hath taken our disease and carried our sickness, and by His wound we are healed; and we saw Him suffering, and wounded in his pain; and He opened not His mouth in His pain, and He came to be slaughtered; like a lamb before his shearer He opened not His mouth in His suffering until they took away His life; and they knew not His birth; through the sin of My people have I come even unto death."

Thus Jeremiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "And they took the price of the honourable one thirty [pieces of] silver, whom they had honoured among the children of Israel.

Thus Isaiah the Prophet prophesied and said, "They counted Him with the sinners, and brought Him to death."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "Those who hate Me wrongfully are many, and they have rewarded Me with evil for good."

Thus Zechariah the Prophet prophesied and said, "And they shall look upon Him Whom they have crucified and pierced."

And the prophet David also prophesied, concerning His Resurrection and said, "I will arise, saith the Lord, and I will make salvation and manifest it openly."

And he also prophesied and said, "Rise up, O Lord, help us, and deliver us for Thy Name's sake."

And he also prophesied and said, "God hath risen up like one who hath woke up from sleep, and like a mighty man who hath left [his] wine."

Thus Isaiah the prophet prophesied and said, "He will remove sickness from his soul, for he hath not committed sin, and falsehood hath not been found in his mouth.

Thus prophesied David the Prophet and said, For My soul shall not be left in hell."

Thus Solomon his son prophesied and said, "The Sun of righteousness shall arise, and shall travel towards the right, and shall return into His place."

Thus all the Prophets and many of the early Fathers prophesied concerning His Ascension and His Second Coming to judge the living and the dead.

Thus Amos the Prophet prophesied and said, "The Messiah, Who made the time of the morning, hath come and is exalted from the earth into the heights: and His Name is God Who ruleth all things."

Thus prophesied David the Prophet and said, "Thou art exalted, O Lord, by Thy might, and we will praise and hymn Thy strength."

Thus prophesied Zechariah the Prophet and said, "His foot standeth on the Mount of Olives to the east of Jerusalem.

Thus Zechariah the Prophet prophesied and said, "That day the Lord my God shall come, and all His saints with Him."

Thus David the Prophet prophesied and said, "God spake once, and this according [to what] I have heard: Compassion belongeth unto God.

And all the Prophets prophesied, and nothing that hath happened hath been without the prophecy of the Prophets.

And this they have done not only by what they have prophesied and declared, but together with their prophecies they have given manifestations of Him in their bodies.

Hath not David prophesied saying, `Ethiopia shall make her hands come to God?'

And thou hast prophesied also what shall happen to the two cities, the brides of Christ, the Churches Nestasya and `Arkadya, and Marena, and Ethiopia, the great cities of God, wherein pure sacrifices and offerings shall be offered up at all times.

But if this is to be understood as spoken of the Spirit of God, since Adam also is found to have prophesied of some things, it may be taken not as of general application, but as confined to those who are saints. Finally, also, at the time of the flood, when all flesh had corrupted their way before God, it is recorded that God spoke thus, as of undeserving men and sinners: “My Spirit shall not abide with those men for ever, because they are flesh.” By which it is clearly shown that the Spirit of God is taken away from all who are unworthy. In the Psalms also it is written: “Thou wilt take away their spirit, and they will die, and return to their earth. Thou wilt send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created, and Thou wilt renew the face of the earth;” which is manifestly intended of the Holy Spirit, who, after sinners and unworthy persons have been taken away and destroyed, creates for Himself a new people, and renews the face of the earth, when, laying aside, through the grace of the Spirit, the old man with his deeds, they begin to walk in newness of life. And therefore the expression is competently applied to the Holy Spirit, because He will take up His dwelling, not in all men, nor in those who are flesh, but in those whose land has been renewed. Lastly, for this reason was the grace and revelation of the Holy Spirit bestowed by the imposition of the apostles’ hands after baptism. Our Saviour also, after the resurrection, when old things had already passed away, and all things had become new, Himself a new man, and the first-born from the dead, His apostles also being renewed by faith in His resurrection, says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This is doubtless what the Lord the Saviour meant to convey in the Gospel, when He said that new wine cannot be put into old bottles, but commanded that the bottles should be made new, i.e. that men should walk in newness of life, that they might receive the new wine, i.e. the newness of grace of the Holy Spirit. In this manner, then, is the working of the power of God the Father and of the Son extended without distinction to every creature; but a share in the Holy Spirit we find possessed only by the saints. And therefore it is said, “No man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” And on one occasion, scarcely even the apostles themselves are deemed worthy to hear the words, “Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you.” For this reason, also, I think it follows that he who has committed a sin against the Son of man is deserving of forgiveness; because if he who is a participator of the word or reason of God cease to live agreeably to reason, he seems to have fallen into a state of ignorance or folly, and therefore to deserve forgiveness; whereas he who has been deemed worthy to have a portion of the Holy Spirit, and who has relapsed, is, by this very act and work, said to be guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Let no one indeed suppose that we, from having said that the Holy Spirit is conferred upon the saints alone, but that the benefits or operations of the Father and of the Son extend to good and bad, to just and unjust, by so doing give a preference to the Holy Spirit over the Father and the Son, or assert that His dignity is greater, which certainly would be a very illogical conclusion. For it is the peculiarity of His grace and operations that we have been describing. Moreover, nothing in the Trinity can be called greater or less, since the fountain of divinity alone contains all things by His word and reason, and by the Spirit of His mouth sanctifies all things which are worthy of sanctification, as it is written in the Psalm: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens strengthened, and all their power by the Spirit of His mouth.” There is also a special working of God the Father, besides that by which He bestowed upon all things the gift of natural life. There is also a special ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ to those upon whom He confers by nature the gift of reason, by means of which they are enabled to be rightly what they are. There is also another grace of the Holy Spirit, which is bestowed upon the deserving, through the ministry of Christ and the working of the Father, in proportion to the merits of those who are rendered capable of receiving it. This is most clearly pointed out by the Apostle Paul, when demonstrating that the power of the Trinity is one and the same, in the words, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are diversities of administrations, but the same Lord; and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God who worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” From which it most clearly follows that there is no difference in the Trinity, but that which is called the gift of the Spirit is made known through the Son, and operated by God the Father. “But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every one severally as He will.”

These points now being briefly established, viz. regarding the deity of Christ, and the fulfilment of all that was prophesied respecting Him, I think that this position also has been made good, viz. that the Scriptures themselves, which contained these predictions, were divinely inspired,—those, namely, which had either foretold His advent, or the power of His doctrine, or the bringing over of all nations [to His obedience]. To which this remark must be added, that the divinity and inspiration both of the predictions of the prophets and of the law of Moses have been clearly revealed and confirmed, especially since the advent of Christ into the world. For before the fulfilment of those events which were predicted by them, they could not, although true and inspired by God, be shown to be so, because they were as yet unfulfilled. But the coming of Christ was a declaration that their statements were true and divinely inspired, although it was certainly doubtful before that whether there would be an accomplishment of those things which had been foretold. If any one, moreover, consider the words of the prophets with all the zeal and reverence which they deserve, it is certain that, in the perusal and careful examination thus given them, he will feel his mind and senses touched by a divine breath, and will acknowledge that the words which he reads were no human utterances, but the language of God; and from his own emotions he will feel that these books were the composition of no human skill, nor of any mortal eloquence, but, so to speak, of a style that is divine. The splendour of Christ’s advent, therefore, illuminating the law of Moses by the light of truth, has taken away that veil which had been placed over the letter [of the law], and has unsealed, for every one who believes upon Him, all the blessings which were concealed by the covering of the word.

And while we thus briefly demonstrate the deity of Christ, and [in so doing] make use of the prophetic declarations regarding Him, we demonstrate at the same time that the writings which prophesied of Him were divinely inspired; and that those documents which announced His coming and His doctrine were given forth with all power and authority, and that on this account they obtained the election from the Gentiles., We must say, also, that the divinity of the prophetic declarations, and the spiritual nature of the law of Moses, shone forth after the advent of Christ. For before the advent of Christ it was not altogether possible to exhibit manifest proofs of the divine inspiration of the ancient Scriptures; whereas His coming led those who might suspect the law and the prophets not to be divine, to the clear conviction that they were composed by [the aid of] heavenly grace. And he who reads the words of the prophets with care and attention, feeling by the very perusal the traces of the divinity that is in them, will be led by his own emotions to believe that those words which have been deemed to be the words of God are not the compositions of men. The light, moreover, which was contained in the law of Moses, but which had been concealed by a veil, shone forth at the advent of Jesus, the veil being taken away, and those blessings, the shadow of which was contained in the letter, coming forth gradually to the knowledge [of men].

Having spoken thus briefly on the subject of the divine inspiration of the holy Scriptures, it is necessary to proceed to the [consideration of the] manner in which they are to be read and understood, seeing numerous errors have been committed in consequence of the method in which the holy documents ought to be examined, not having been discovered by the multitude. For both the hardened in heart, and the ignorant persons belonging to the circumcision, have not believed on our Saviour, thinking that they are following the language of the prophecies respecting Him, and not perceiving in a manner palpable to their senses that He had proclaimed liberty to the captives, nor that He had built up what they truly consider the city of God, nor cut off “the chariots of Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem,” nor eaten butter and honey, and, before knowing or preferring the evil, had selected the good. And thinking, moreover, that it was prophesied that the wolf—the four-footed animal—was to feed with the lamb, and the leopard to lie down with the kid, and the calf and bull and lion to feed together, being led by a little child, and that the ox and bear were to pasture together, their young ones growing up together, and that the lion was to eat straw like the ox: seeing none of these things visibly accomplished during the advent of Him who is believed by us to be Christ, they did not accept our Lord Jesus; but, as having called Himself Christ improperly, they crucified Him. And those belonging to heretical sects reading this [statement], “A fire has been kindled in mine anger;” and this, “I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation;” and this, “I repent of having anointed Saul to be king;” and this, “I am a God that maketh peace, and createth evil;” and, among others, this, “There is not wickedness in the city which the Lord hath not done;” and again this, “Evils came down from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem;” and, “An evil spirit from the Lord plagued Saul;” and countless other passages like these—they have not ventured to disbelieve these as the Scriptures of God; but believing them to be the [words] of the Demiurge, whom the Jews worship, they thought that as the Demiurge was an imperfect and unbenevolent God, the Saviour had come to announce a more perfect Deity, who, they say, is not the Demiurge, being of different opinions regarding Him; and having once departed from the Demiurge, who is the only uncreated God, they have given themselves up to fictions, inventing to themselves hypotheses, according to which they imagine that there are some things which are visible, and certain other things which are not visible, all which are the fancies of their own minds. And yet, indeed, the more simple among those who profess to belong to the church have supposed that there is no deity greater than the Demiurge, being right in so thinking, while they imagine regarding Him such things as would not be believed of the most savage and unjust of mankind.

Moreover, how is it that they who were captives among the Chaldæans, lost and won at play, thrown out unburied on the streets, as was prophesied of the former captivity, their sons torn from them to be eunuchs, and their daughters to be concubines, as had been prophesied; how is it that such could pass sentence of death, and that on the wife of their king Joakim, whom the king of the Babylonians had made partner of his throne? Then if it was not this Joakim, but some other from the common people, whence had a captive such a mansion and spacious garden? But a more fatal objection is, that this section, along with the other two at the end of it, is not contained in the Daniel received among the Jews. And add that, among all the many prophets who had been before, there is no one who has quoted from another word for word. For they had no need to go a-begging for words, since their own were true; but this one, in rebuking one of those men, quotes the words of the Lord: “The innocent and righteous shalt thou not slay.” From all this I infer that this section is a later addition. Moreover, the style is different. I have struck the blow; do you give the echo; answer, and instruct me. Salute all my masters. The learned all salute thee. With all my heart I pray for your and your circle’s health.