Vindication of the Truth of the Christian Religion, Religious treatise · Section 2 · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
Of the Prophecies of Jeſus Chriſt.
THey will perhaps be much more affected with the Prophecies that occur in the Goſpel, ſeveral of which are very expreſly delivered. But among the reſt we ſhall make choice of one which we ſhall particularly examin: 'tis that concerning the final deſtruction of Jeruſalem.
We may eaſily perceive how clearly 'tis ſet down by the Evangeliſts, who bring in Jeſus Chriſt fore…elling it, and how exactly 'twas afterwards fulfilled.
The words of the Prophecy are theſe. And Jeſus anſwering ſaid unto him, ſeest thou theſe Mark 13. 2.…reat buildings? There ſhall not be left one …tone upon another, that ſhall not be thrown down. &c. And when ye ſhall hear of Wars, and Rumours of Wars, be ye not troubled: for all theſe things muſt come to paſs, but the end is not yet. For Nation ſhall riſe againſt Nation and Kingdom againſt Kingdom: and there ſhall be Earthquakes in divers places, and there ſhall be famines and troubles: for all theſe are but the beginnings of ſorrows, &c. When ye therefore ſhall ſee the Abomination of Deſolation ſpoken of by Daniel the Prophet, standing where it ought not (whoſo readeth let him underſtand) then let them which be in Judea, flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the houſe top, not come down to take any thing out of his houſe, &c. But wo unto them that are with Child, and to them that give Suck in thoſe days. For in thoſe days ſhall be affliction, ſuch as was not ſince the beginning of the Creation which God created unto this time, neither ſhall be again. And except that the Lord had ſhortned thoſe days, no fleſh ſhould be ſaved, but for the Elects ſake, &c. And then if any man ſhall ſay unto you, lo here is Chriſt, or lo he is there: believe it not. For there ſhall ariſe falſe Chriſts, and falſe Prophets, and ſhew great ſigns and wonders to ſeduce (if it were poſſible) even the Elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
It is not requiſite that a man ſhould be very well acquainted with the Jewiſh Hiſtory, to know that this Prophecy was exactly fulfilled. Thoſe who doubt it, may conſult the Hiſtory Joſephus wrote of it. There they will hear of Troubles, of Wars, Rumours of Wars, of Famines, Earthquakes from place to place, which preceeded for ſome years the final deſtruction of Judea. Therein they will find Jeruſalem ſurrounded with Armies, and trodden down by the Gentiles. There they will read of a time, wherein 'twas much better for the Inhabitants of that miſerable Country, to forſake their abodes in the Cities, and to flee to the Mountains. There they will ſee the Temple of Jeruſalem burnt down and demoliſhed, without having one ſtone left upon another; and ſurely be convinced that there was never Tribulation like unto the Tribulation of thoſe days. They will be no longer ignorant of the Abomination of Deſolation ſet up in the holy place which the Prophet Daniel ſpeaks of, when they ſhall ſee the Jews ruſhing into the Temple, and there cutting one anothers throats on a ſolemn feaſt day. But if they would further conſult our Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtorians, or the Primitive Fathers, they would find them all agree in this Relation, that the faithful Diſciples of Jeſus Chriſt, who were at Jeruſalem, fled to a little City called Pella, after having been forewarned of it by the Spirit; and there will be no longer reaſon to think theſe Words of Jeſus Chriſt obſcure, But pray ye that your flight be not in the Winter, &c. There are few people but what perceive the exact Conformity of this prophecy with its Event; and we need not at all queſtion the certainty of it: But 'tis not ſo very certain that it was not compoſed after the Event, and it will concern us to enquire into it.
It appears then firſt, that the Goſpels wherein 'tis related, were compoſed before the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, becauſe St. Luke wrote not the Book of Acts, till ſome time after he had compoſed his Goſpel, as he teſtifies himſelf in theſe Words: The former treatiſe have I made O Theophilus of all that Jeſus begun both to do and to teach, &c. Acts 1. 1. Beſides, it ſeems that St. Luke, had written the Book of Acts before the deſtruction of Jeruſalem; becauſe he is ſo far from ſpeaking of that Event, that on the contrary he ſpeaks of Jeruſalem as of a City that was ſtill in being, and wherein there was a flouriſhing Chriſtian Church.
But perhaps this is not ſo much inſiſted upon; It may be further ask'd whether that prophecy might not have been inſerted in the Goſpel by ſome Zealous Chriſtians, who having ſeen the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, might have took occaſion from thence to honour their Maſter, by pretending he had foretold it.
For the clearing of this doubt, we ſhall obſerve firſt, that tho' this Prophecy be the ſame in ſubſtance in the three Goſpels wherein 'tis related, yet 'tis expreſſed after a very different manner, which is ſufficient to perſwade us that it was not inſerted by one and the ſame Author in the Goſpel according to St. Matthew, in the Goſpel according to St. Mark, and in the Goſpel according to St. Luke. For to examin the beginning of it only, it appears that St. Matthew relates it thus, Chap. 24. And Jeſus ſaid unto them, ſee ye not all theſe things? Verily I ſay unto you, there ſhall not be left here one ſtone upon another that ſhall not be thrown down. And as he ſat upon the Mount of Olives, the Diſciples came unto him privately ſaying, tell us when ſhall theſe things be, &c. Now St. Luke expreſſes himſelf thus, Chap. 21. And as ſome ſpake of the Temple, how it was adorned with goodly ſtones, he ſaid, as for theſe things which ye behold, the days will come in the which there ſhall not be left one stone upon another. Here he does not ſay as St. Matthew, that the Diſciples as he ſat upon the Mount of Olives asked him ſaying, Maſter, but when ſhall theſe things be? &c. Laſtly, after this manner alſo St. Mark begins this Narration, Chap. 13. And as he went out of the Temple, one of his Diſciples ſaith unto him, Maſter, ſee what ſtones and buildings are here. And Jeſus anſwering ſaid unto him, ſeeſt thou theſe great buildings? there ſhall not be left one ſtone upon another that ſhall not be thrown down. And as he ſat upon the Mount of Olives over against the Temple, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew asked him privately, tell us when ſhall theſe things be, &c. This laſt Evangeliſt perfectly explains and reconciles the other two together, by delivering all the Circumſtances of the matter of fact, viz. that Jeſus was two ſeveral times asked concerning the buildings of the Temple, and that the laſt time was as he ſat upon the Mount of Olives, from whence one might very well ſee the Temple, and where that proſpect gave occaſion to his Diſciples to deſire that he would explain what he ſaid of its Demoliſhing, when he was yet in the Temple it ſelf. In the mean while it is to be confeſſed that the little difference we perceive in this reſpect between the Evangeliſts, utterly overthrows the ſuſpicion we might entertain, that this Prophecy was forged by ſome body or other, who had inſerted it in all the three Goſpels.
But II. it's worth our obſervation that the Diſciples having confounded together two very remote Events in the queſtion they asked their Maſter, viz. the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, and the end of the World, ſaying, tell us when ſhall theſe things be? And what ſhall be the ſign of thy coming, and of the End of the World? Mat. 24. 3. Jeſus Christ anſwered without undeceiving his Diſciples, and without diſtinguiſhing what they had thus confounded together. Now what likely-hood is there that a man who had ſeen the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, but could not imagin it ſhould be attended with the End of the World, ſhould make the Diſciples utter ſuch a Queſtion, without making Jeſus Chriſt anſwer the leaſt thing for the clearing of it?
But rather III. how ſhould he have been able to joyn in this Prophecy the deſtruction of Jeruſalem to the coming of the Son of Man in the Clouds with great Power and Glory? How could that Man who had been an eye-witneſs to the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, have reaſonably ſaid, that preſently after the tribulation of thoſe days, the Sun ſhould be darken'd, and the Moon ſhould not give her light; that the Stars ſhould fall from Heaven, and the powers of Heaven be ſhaken; that mens hearts ſhould fail them for fear, and for looking after thoſe things, and that the World ſhould mourn, &c. How were it poſſible he ſhould have intermixed all thoſe Circumſtances with the hiſtory of that matter of fact, the falſhood of which he muſt needs well know, if he compoſed the Prophecy after the Event?
But do we not fall here from one difficulty into a greater? For if all thoſe ſigns which were to accompany the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, did not really come to paſs, wherein then lies the truth of this ſame prophecy?
To anſwer this Objection ſome think it ſufficient to ſay, that Jeſus Chriſt expreſſed himſelf in this place after the uſual manner of the Prophets, who ſay, that Nature trembles, and Heaven and Earth is moved, when God viſiteth men after ſome extraordinary manner either in his Goodneſs, or Juſtice. They further add, that the Judgments of Chriſt executed on the Jews, are repreſented to us as a coming, and as a Singular coming, by reaſon of the terrible plagues he inflicted on them. But what ſeems to me more reaſonable and natural than this is, that Jeſus Chriſt thought it not convenient to undeceive his Diſciples who being prepoſſeſs'd with a favourable Opinion of their Nation, thought that Jeruſalem ſhould laſt as long as the World, and that the ruine of the one, ſhould be the ruine of the other. He therefore ſeemed to ſide with their Opinion, and repreſented thoſe two Events to them by the ſame ſigns.
And indeed I conceive there might be ſeveral Reaſons which obliged Jeſus Chriſt ſo to act. For not to alledg here that Obſcurity is the true Character of all Prophecies, and that it was neceſſary this here ſhould be ſomewhat overſhadowed, as well as the reſt, leſt any one ſhould foreknow the time of its Accompliſhment, God having reſerved that knowledge to himſelf, as it is delivered to us in this ſame Prophecy, was it not alſo Neceſſary that Jeſus Chriſt ſhould follow the ordinary Cuſtom of all the Prophets, which is to unite ſeveral very remote events together in one ſingle Prophecy, to ſhew that the remoteſt things are nigh one another in the ſight of God? Beſides, the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem being the greateſt and moſt perfect Deſcription of the End of the World, what could be more wiſely thought of than to repreſent the one to us by the other, according to the Notion of the Diſciples, who confounded thoſe two Events together.
There happened Peſtilences, Wars and Famines immediately before the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem: there will alſo happen the like immediately before the end of the World. As the Tribes which dwelt in the holy Land, mourn'd to ſee the effects of the Curſe of Heaven falling upon their Nation; ſo ſhall all the Tribes of the Earth mourn, and be aſtoniſhed, when God ſhall deſtroy this inferiour World, and proceed to the laſt Judgment. As the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem happened not till the Goſpel was preached throughout the World, that is, in all the parts of the known World: ſo in all appearance the end of the World will not happen till all the Nations which lay concealed and unknown have been converted to the Faith of Jeſus Chriſt. As there were ſeen falſe Christs, and falſe Prophets, before the final deſtruction of the Jews; ſo there will be alſo falſe Teachers who ſhall endeavour to ſeduce men, before the End of the World; and it will be often ſaid, lo here is Chriſt, or lo he is there, before the laſt day of Judgment. As before the deſtruction of Jeruſalem Jeſus Chriſt gathered together in ſome Chriſtian Churches the Elect, from the four Winds of Heaven, and that by the preaching of the Apoſtles his Myſtical Angels; ſo likewiſe at the end of the World, he will ſend his Angels to raiſe his Elect from the Duſt and Obſcurity of the Grave. For the Lord himſelf ſhall deſcend from Heaven with a ſhout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the Dead in Chriſt ſhall riſe. 1 Theſſ. 4. 16. As there were ſeen ſeveral Comets and terrible Signs that foretold the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem; as the Smoak of the City and Flaming Temple hid the light of the day, and darkned the Sun and Stars; ſo without doubt the end of the World will be alſo attended with Signs and Prodigies much more terrible. St. Peter ſaith, the Earth ſhall be burnt up, and the Elements ſhall melt with fervent heat, &c. 2. Epiſtle 3. 10. As the Deſtruction of the Jews happened after an unexpected manner; ſo alſo ſhall the laſt day come as a thief in the night. As Jeruſalem and the Temple were utterly deſtroyed as ſoon as the Jews had compleated the meaſure of their ſins: ſo this World which we inhabit muſt periſh as ſoon as the end or Calling of all Nations ſhall be fulfilled, as Jeſus Chriſt himſelf ſays in that Prophecy we now have under Conſideration.
Beſides, one may reaſonably imagin the Diſciples to be always prepoſſeſſed with this Opinion, that the End of the World would immediately follow the deſtruction of Jeruſalem. For when it was reported among the Diſciples that St. John ſhould not die, becauſe Chriſt had ſaid to one of them ſpeaking of John 21. 22.him, If I will that he tarries till I come, what is that to thee? They ſtretch'd that till I come, as far as the end of the World: but they might have confined it to the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem, a time which the Apoſtles in reality ſaw, and in which Jeſus Chriſt viſited the Jews in his juſtice. Further, this Tradition being ſpread abroad, that the day of the Lord drew nigh, the Theſſalonians were ſo terrifi'd at it that St. Paul to comfort them, again ſent them the following aſſurances to the Contrary. Now we beſeech you, Brethren, that ye be not ſoon ſhaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by ſpirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Chrst is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day ſhall not come, except first, &c. 2 Theſſ. 2. 2, 3.
In a word, there is no reaſon to wonder that that Prophecy of Jeſus Chriſt ſo faithfully related by his Diſciples, ſhould have left this Impreſſion in their minds. For Jeſus Chriſt on the one hand had given ſuch marks and ſigns of his coming, that it ſeemed as if the laſt judgment was immediately to follow it; ſaying, that he ſhould appear as the lightning that cometh out of the Eaſt; and ſhineth even unto the Weſt: and on the other hand he had declared ſeveral times that all thoſe things ſhould happen to that generation, that many of thoſe who were preſent with him, ſhould not taſte of Death until they had ſeen all thoſe things.
Since then Jeſus Chriſt united thus two ſeveral Events in one and the ſame Deſcription, but two ſubordinate Events, as like unto one another as the Copy and the Original may be, it follows thence that his Prophecy muſt have had two accompliſhments, the one very nigh, and the other remote. This in my opinion is the true way of unravelling all thoſe Difficulties. The Diſciples confounded together two very remote Events, and Jeſus Chriſt ſuffered them to continue in that Opinion. 'Tis neceſſary that the Event ſhould juſtifie the Prophecies, but not that the Prophecies ſhould be contrary to their Event. It is neceſſary therefore they ſhould be obſcure before their Completion, but clear and eaſy when once accompliſh'd.
But however probable what I've laid down may ſeem to be, I ſhould be very ſorry any one ſhould think I lay the ſtreſs of my argument upon it. I make a diſtinction between bare Conjectures, and true and certain Principles; and I leave all the Explanations I have juſt now given to the Readers judgment, to uſe according to his Diſcretion. I am indifferent whether he uſes my Notions, or thoſe of any other Man, to ſolve certain difficulties which may occur therein: I ſhall only inſiſt upon two certain Truths, which in my opinion admit of no Difficulty. The firſt is, that this Prophecy is ſo circumſtantially related, that it is abſurd to imagin it compoſed after the event: or that a man took occaſion from the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem (at which none but Titus and his Army were ſeen) to make Jeſus Chriſt ſay, when he foretold that Devaſtation, that he would come in the Clouds of heaven; that he would ſend his Angels to gather his Elect from the four winds; that they would ſee him coming with power and great glory; as the lightning that cometh out of the Eaſt, and ſhineth even unto the Weſt; that all the Tribes of the Earth ſhould mourn at his coming; and that day ſhould come as ſuddenly as the fire of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The ſecond Truth which ſeems to me altogether unqueſtionable, is, that notwithſtanding that little darkneſs with which the Wiſdom of God thought fit to overſhadow this prophecy, it was nevertheleſs in all Reſpects ſo very exactly related in all its Circumſtances, and ſo clearly fulfilled, that ſuppoſing it compoſed before the Event, we cannot but acknowledge it to proceed from a Prophetical Spirit. For what can we Read in the Hiſtory of the Jews, but what is included in this Prophecy? The beginning, the continuation and ending of the Misfortunes of the Jews are all to be found in it. It does not foretel a particular Captivity of that people, but a general diſperſion of the whole Nation: and they ſhall be led Captives into all Nations, Luk. 21. 24. Jeſus Chriſt wept over Jeruſalem on another occaſion at his entring into it, and uttered theſe Compaſſionate Words, O that thou hadſt known, even thou, at leaſt in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days ſhall come, that thine Enemies ſhall caſt a Trench about thee, and compaſs thee round, and keep the in on every ſide, and ſhall …ay thee even with the ground, and thy Children within thee, and they ſhall not leave in thee one ſtone upon another: becauſe thou kneweſt not the time of thy Viſitation. Luke …9. 42, 43, 44.
And can any one believe that this paſſage of our Saviours weeping over Jeruſalem was alſo inſerted in …he Goſpel? Were all thoſe Prophetical Parables in…erted too, in which Jeſus Chriſt threatned the Jews …ith their approaching Deſtruction, telling them …ne while, that the Lord would let his Vineyard to other Huſbandmen, after having deſtroyed them as ſo ma…y unfaithful ſervants; another while that the King …ho had invited them to the Marriage of his Son, would …nd his Soldiers to deſtroy them, and burn up their City?
But not to go ſo far off, one of the Marks where…y they ought to have known that the Event which eſus Chriſt had foretold drew nigh, was that the …entiles were to be called to the knowledge of the …ue God. This is expreſly delivered in the places …e have already quoted. He therefore that inſert… this Prophecy in the Goſpel, muſt have imagin… that in his time, the Gentiles had already been …lled to the knowledge of Jeſus Chriſt. But ſince …ere were then an infinite number of Chriſtians, diſerſed throughout World, ſince an infinite number … Perſons had the Writings of the Apoſtles in their …ſſeſſion; How was it poſſible either to alter or …d thereto ſeveral Parables and Chapters, nay to …rrupt three Goſpels in three Eſſential places? If ch a thing had been done in Aſia, how could it afterwards have been received in Europe, where there muſt neceſſarily have been an infinite number of Copies of that Goſpel? For of all the Books of the New Teſtament, the Goſpels were firſt compoſed.
And now do not the Incredulous as yet perceive that Truth overthrows more ſcruples than they are able to raiſe againſt it. That they continually offer Violence to thelr Reaſon, by reſiſting the Truth which appears ſo ſtrong and invincible on all hands; and that tho' their Reaſon is ſometime perverted and blinded by their Paſſions, ſo that they cannot ſee things in their due light; yet the Objects, the Nature of things, and the Truth which is immutable, never ſhift or turn a ſide to follow the fooliſh fancies of their Underſtanding, or the perverſe Inclinations of their Heart?