The reasonableness and certainty of the Christian religion by Robert Jenkin ...

CHAP. X. Of the Prophecies and Miracles of the Prophets.

THe False Prophets prophesied in the Name of Jehovah, 1 King. xxii. which supposes that True Prophecies were wont to be deliver'd in his Name, or else they could never have hoped to deceive by it. And in the Historical Books of the Old Testament, in which the Pro∣phecies and Miracles of the Prophets are rela∣ted, reference is frequently made to the Records then extant in the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and Israel; most of the Prophecies and Miracles being of that Publick Nature, and so intermix'd with the Affairs of State, that they must be recorded together with them.

Josiah (a) was prophesied of by Name, Three hundred sixty one Years before he was born: Behold a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name, 1 King. xiii. 2. and this was foretold by a Prophet who came out of Judah, purposely to denounce the Judgments of God upon the Priests of the Altar, and upon the Altar it self, which Jeroboam had newly set up at Bethel, when Jeroboam stood by the Al∣tar to burn Incense: and his Prediction, at the same time, was confirmed by Two Miracles; one wrought upon Jeroboam himself, by drying up his hand, which he stretched forth against

the Prophet, and which, by the Prophet's Prayer, was restored again whole to him, as it was before; the other Miracle was wrought upon the Altar, by rending it, and pouring out the Ashes from it. And a Prophecy delivered in the presence and to the face of an enraged Prince, against the Religion of his own setting up, to secure to himself the Kingdom he so lately became possessed of, at the very time when he was offering Incense upon his New Altar: And this Prophecy, confirmed by an imme∣diate Judgment both upon the King himself, and his Altar, in the sight of so numerous an Appearance as must be present on so solemn an occasion, and these Enemies to the Prophet, who came from Judah, and to his Religion; a Prophecy thus delivered, had all the Cir∣cumstances to make it remarkable and noto∣rious, in all the Tribes both of Israel and Judah then at hostility with each other, that can al∣most be conceived: And yet the strange Death of the Prophet of Judah, for transgressing, by his own confession, the Word of the Lord to him, and his Sepulchre, with its Title or Inscription still remaining at Bethel, when Jo∣siah demolished the Altar there, gave a further confirmation to it.

The fulfilling of this Prophecy by Josiah, was no less remarkable, 2 King. xxiii. 15. Jo∣siah was the Son of a very wicked King, and born at a time when the People were exceeding∣ly corrupted by the Idolatry of his Grandfather

Manasses; and his Sons likewise proved wicked: so that he was so singular in his Piety, and so wonderful an Example of it, that no Man of his own Age could have imagin'd that of him, which had been fo retold so many hundred years ago. In all humane appearance, this was a very unlikely time to see that Prophecy fulfil∣led; and that which had been wonderful in any Age, was much more wonderful in this: and in so wicked an Age, this good King set a∣bout the Work of Reformation very young, to shew that it was not of Men, but of God.

The Deliverance of Judah, at Jehoshaphat's Prayer, was foretold by Jahaziel in the midst of the Congregation; and was accomplished ac∣cordingly, by their Enemies destroying one a∣nother, 2 Chron. xx.

Elijah foretold, that the Dogs should lick Ahab's Blood in Jezreel, where they had licked the Blood of Naboth: which, as (b) Josephus says, was objected by Zedekiah, one of the False Prophets, against Micaiah, who foretold that Ahab should be slain at Ramoth-gilead; but he was brought home in his Chariot from Ramoth∣gilead to Samaria, and there the Dogs licked his Blood in Jezreel, 1 King, xxii. 38. so that both the Prophecy of Elijah and Michaiah was ful∣filled. And when one Prophet seems contrary to another, one foretelling the principal thing, and another some accidental circumstance, which those that were present, and most concerned in the Action, could not imagine, till it happened:

and False Prophets, in the mean time, watch the Events, to take all Advantages from it, a∣gainst the True Prophets, and can find none: nothing more can be desired, to assure us of the Truth of any Prophecy. The same Prophet foretold the like Judgment upon Jezabel, and that the House of Ahab should be like the House of Jereboam, and like the House of Baasha; the Destruction of both which had been foretold by other Prophets, and their Prophecies fulfil∣led, as this of Elijah's also was.

Elijah, by a Writing sent to Jehoram King of Judah, foretold his Death, and the strange manner of it, viz. That after the loss of his Children, and his Wives, and all his Goods, he should be afflicted in his Bowels, and that his Bowels should fall out by degrees, 2 Chron. xxi. 12. The same Prophet not only foretold the Death of Ahaziah, but caused Fire twice to come down from Heaven, upon those who were sent to Ap∣prehend him, 2 King. i. And at his Prayer, Fire descended from Heaven, and consumed the Sa∣crifice, in the sight of Baal's Prophets, being Four hundred and fifty; to whom Elijah, who was the only Prophet of the Lord there present, had made this Proposal, The God that answereth by fire, let him be God: And when Baal, not∣withstanding all their hideous Cries, and the cutting themselves, did not hear them; then, upon Elijah's Prayer, the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the

water that was in the trench, 1 King. xviii. 38. which was the same Miracle, repeated in the midst of Idolaters who were so enraged and pro∣voked against the Prophet Elijah, that had been before wrought in the sight of the People of Israel, in the time of Moses, Lev. ix. 24. and of David, 1 Chron. xxi. 26. and at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple, 2 Chron. vii. 1. (c) And this Miracle of Elijah, in bringing down Fire from Heaven, to consume the Sacrifice, and that of Moses in like manner, were both confessed to be true, by Julian the Apostate himself.

The miraculous Cure of Naaman's Leprosie, must be notorious throughout the Kingdoms both of Syria and Israel, 2 King. v. The won∣derful Deliverance of the Israelites, when the Syrians heard a noise of Horses and Chariots, and therefore raised the Siege of Samaria, and the Plenty which followed, was foretold by Elisha, with a Judgment upon that Lord, who doubted of the Truth of his Prediction. The same Prophet foretold the Death of Ben∣hadad King of Syria, and that he should neither recover of his Sickness, nor die a Natural Death. And the Reign of Hazael, who succeeded him, is describ'd in such true and dreadful Characters, that Hazael thought it impossible for him to be guilty of so much cruelty, 2 King. vii, viii.

The Leprosie inflicted upon Ʋzziah, for pre∣suming to burn Incense unto the Lord, which it was lawful for the Priests only to do, was a per∣manent Miracle; for his Leprosie continued

till his death; and for that reason, he lived separately, and his Son, from that time, had the administration of Affairs, 2 King. xv. 5. and this Miracle of the Leprosie was accom∣panied with a terrible Earthquake, mention'd Zech. xiv. 5. Amos i. 1. and the (c) Ruines which were caused by the Earthquake, re∣mained as a perpetual Memorial of the Judg∣ment.

An Hundred fourscore and five thousand of the Assyrians were slain by an Angel of the Lord, in one Night, 2 King. xix. 35. and this Deliverance was foretold by Isaiah, when the Assyrians were in the height of their Pride and Blasphemy, and the People of Judah in the extremity of Danger and Despair, Isai. xxxvii. At the Prayer of Isaiah, the Sun went back ten Degrees, for a Sign to King Hezekiah of his Recovery: and the Princes of Babylon sent Embassadors to enquire of this Wonder, 2 King. xx, 11. 2 Chron. xxxii. 31.

It was impossible there should be any mi∣stake in Miracles of this nature, which have the same Evidence that those of Moses him∣self had, having the joint Testimony of a whole People to prove the Truth of them.

Isaiah prophesied of Cyrus by Name, (e) Two hundred and ten Years before the accom∣plishment of his Prophecy; and foretold the Re-building of the Temple, an Hundred and

forty Years before it was demolished. The expressions are so plain and full, that, as St. Jerom (f) observes, the History of Cyrus, by Xenophon, is an admirable Comment upon this Prophecy of Isaiah, That saith of Cyrus, He is my sh••pherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord, to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue na∣tions before him: He shall build my City, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts, Isai. xliv. 28. & xlv. 1, 13. And this Cyrus himself, tho an Heathen Prince, was so sensible of, that he acknowledge it in his Proclamation which he put forth for the Building the Temple: Thus saith Cyrus King of Persia, All the King∣doms of the earth hath the Lord God•• of heaven given me. and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah 2 Chron. xxxvi. 23. Ezra i. 2. And the same Prophet who foretold the Empire of Cyrus the Persian, foretold likewise, That the King∣dom of the Chaldaeans should be destroyed by the Medes, Isai. xiii. 17. which was prophe∣sied of too by Jeremiah, Jer. li. 11, 28. And this is the more remarkable; (g) because tho' Darius Medus conquer'd Babylon, yet he dy∣ing soon after, and Cyrus succeeding him, the Fame of Cyrus who was, at the taking of Babylon, but General of his Army, so obscured

the Name and Memory of Darius, that Histo∣rians have taken no notice of him; though he is found mention'd by the Scholiast upon Aristophanes, who says, that a Darius, who was before him, who was Father of Xerxes, gave Name to the Pieces of Coin call'd 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, who must be Darius Medus. So much better were Transactions known to the Pro∣phets before-hand, than to Historians after∣wards. The Judgments which were to befall divers other Nations, were also foretold by Isaiah, and described by particular Circum∣stances. The Destruction of Nineveh (h) was foretold by the Prophet Nahum, an Hundred and fifteen Years before-hand.

The Prophet Jeremiah foretold the Con∣quests of Nebuchadnezzar, and the Captivity of the Jews by him, in so remarkable and solemn a manner, that it was notorious to all the neighbouring Nations: For, according to the Custom of delivering Prophecies by some visible Signs, as well as in Words, he sent Bonds and Yokes to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Am∣monites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which came to Jerusalem (from these several Kings) unto Zedekiah king of Judah; and foretold, That all these nations should serve Nebuchadnezzar, and his son, and his sons son, Jer. xxvii. 3, 7. And the Jews put him in Prison, for this Prophecy; where he was kept

when Nebuchadnezzar took the City, and set him at liberty. And when the Chaldaeans had raised the Siege, by reason of Pharaoh's Army, which was coming to the Relief of Jerusalem, Jeremiah told the Jews, that Pharaohs; Army, should return into Aegypt, without effecting any thing; and that the Chaldaeans should came again, and take the City, and burn it with sire, Jer. xxxvii. 5. He likewise prophe∣sied against Aegypt, which the Jews made their Refuge and Sanctuary; and pointed out the very Place where Nebuchadnezzar would pitch his Tent, by taking great Stones, and hiding them in the Clay, at the entry of Pharaoh's House Tahpanhes, in the sight of the Men of Judah; declaring, that his throne should be set upon those stones, and he should spread his royal pavilion over thim, Jer. xliii. 9, 10. And the accomplishment of his Pro∣phecy concerning Pharaoh, chap. xliv. 30. is to be seen in (i) Herodotus.

The Prophet Jeremiah was opposed and contradicted by several False Prophets, who prophesied deceitful and flattering Delusions to the People, persuading them, that no evil should come upon them; of whom Jeremiah foretold, That Hananiah should die that same Year in which he vented his false Prophe∣cies, chap. xxviii. 16, 17. and, That Ahab the Son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the Son of Maaseiah, should be taken Captive by Nebu∣chadnezzar, and slain in the sight of the People

of Judah, and roasted in the fire, chap. xxix. 21, 22. And thus distinctly foretelling the Time and Manner of the death of those False Prophets, he vindicated his own Prophecies, which were at first so unwillingly believed, beyond all contradiction.

But that which seemed most strange, and was most objected against in the Prophecies of Jeremiah, was, his Prophecy concerning the Death of Zedeckiah; for in this, (k) He and Ezekiel were thought to contradict each other. Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem, at the same time when Ezekiel prophesied in Babylon, and concerning the same things; and Jeremiah's Prophecy was sent to the Captives in Babylon, and Ezekiel's to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem. But Jeremiah said, Thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Ze∣dekiah king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword; but thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah Lord! for I have pro∣nounced the word, saith the Lord, Jer. xxxiv. 3, 4, 5. But Ezekiel prophesied in these words; I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldaeans: yet shall be not see it, though he shall die there, Ezek. xii. 13. Now these two Prophets writing of the Captivity of

Zedekiah, reckon up all the Circumstances of it betwen them, in such a manner, as that they were believ'd to contradict each other; and thereby the expectation and attention of the People was the more excited to observe the Fulfilling of their Prophecies. Jeremiah said, That he should see the King of Babylon, and be carried to Babylon: Ezekiel, That he should not see Babylon. Jeremiah, That he should die in peace, and be buried after the manner of his Ancestors: Ezekiel, That he should die at Babylon, and if we compare all this with the History, nothing ever was more punctually fulfilled: For Zedekiah saw the King of Babylon, who commanded his Eyes to be put out, before he was brought to Babylon; and he died there, but died pea∣ceably, and was suffered to have the usual Funeral Solemnities, 2 King. xxv. 6, 7. And therefore both Prophecies proved true in the Event, which seemed before to be incon∣sistent. And so critical an Exactness in every minute Circumstance, in Prophecies deli∣vered by two Persons, who were before thought to contradict each other, was such a conviction to the Jews, after they had seen them so punctually fulfilled, in their Capti∣vity, that they could no longer doubt, but that both were from God.

Jeremiah foretold also, That the Kingdom of the Chaldaeans should be destroyed, and that the Jews should be restored, after a Cap∣tivity

of Seventy Years: these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years: And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are ac∣complished, that I will punish the King of Ba∣bylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldaeans, Jer. xxv. 11, 12. For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word towards you, in causing you to return to this place, Jer. xxix. 10. And this Prophecy of Jeremiah the Jews depended upon, under the Capti∣vity, Dan. ix. 2. Zech. i. 12. and it was ex∣actly fulfilled to them. The Generations of Nebuchadnezzar's Posterity, that should suc∣ceed him, till the Destruction of that Mo∣narchy, are foretold, Jer. xxvii. 7. The Destruction of Babylon, with the manner of Taking the City, as it was foretold and de∣scribed by the Prophet, agrees punctually with the Account of it by (l) Herodotus. One post shall run to meet another, and one mes∣senger to meet another, to shew the king of Ba∣bylon that his City is taken at one end, and that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with sire, and the men of war are affrighted. And this was declared in a memorable and solemn manner, by writing it down, and by casting the Book into Eu∣phrates, Jer. li. 31, 32, 62, 63.

The Destruction of Tyre and Zidon, and of Aegypt, was foretold by the Prophet Eze∣kiel;

and the Restoration of the Aegyptians, after Forty Years, Ezek. xxviii. 19. & xxix. 12, 13. The Prophanation of the Temple and of the Sanctuary, by Antiochus Epi∣phanes, with the Death of Antiochus, and a Description of his Temper, and of his very Countenance, was clearly delivered by Daniel Four hundred and eight Years (m) before the accomplishment, Dan. viii. Daniel likewise described the Fate of the Four Monarchies, the Restoration of the Jews, and the Re∣building of their City? and the Birth of the Messias, with the precise Time of it. And Alexander the great is said (n) to have been encouraged by Daniel's Prophecy, in his Ex∣pedition. Indeed, his Prophecy, and the History of the Four Monarchies, are so ex∣actly parallel, that Porphyry could find no other evasion, but to say, That the Book of Daniel was writen after the Events: which, as Grotius observes, is as absurd, as if a Man should maintain, that the Works of Virgil were not written under Augustus, but after his time: For the Book of Daniel was as publick, and as much dispersed, and as univer∣sally received, as ever any Book could be.

Lastly, Haggai and Malachi prophesied, That Christ should come before the Destruction of the Second Temple, Hag. ii. 7, 9. Mal. iii. 1. And Hosea foretold the present state of the People of Israel, in those remarkable words, They shall be wanderers among the nations Hos. ix. 17.

Not to insist therefore upon other Miracles and Prophecies, which were concerning things of lesser moment, or less remarkable in the eyes of the World; these may suffice, which were of that Publick nature, that there could be no deceit or mistake in them: multitudes of Men whom Prejudice or Malice had pre∣pared to make the utmost Discoveries, were Witnesses to the Miracles; and both the Pro∣phecies themselves, and the Fulfilling of them, were notorious to other Nations, as well as to the Jews, to whom they were delivered, and in whose hands they have ever since been, be∣ing read in the Synagogues every Sabbath-day. The Jews had as good Evidence, for Instance, that Elijah wrought his Miracles, as they could have, that there was such a Man in the World. And when the publick Transactions and Coun∣cils of Princes, the Fate and Revolution of Em∣pires, with the Prefix'd Time and Place, and the very Names of the Persons, were so par∣ticularly foretold, Two or Three hundred Years before the Things came to pass; we may as well question the Truth of all History, as the Certainty of these Revelations. For, indeed, they are the History of Things that were to come, set down in the very Circum∣stances in which they afterwards were brought to pass. And yet if a Man should dispute whe∣ther there ever were such a Man as Elijah, or such a Prince as Josiah, or Cyrus, he would but make himself ridiculous; but if he deny that

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Elijah wrought such Miracles, or that Isaiah spoke of Cyrus, and another Prophet of Josiah, by Inspiration, perhaps he may be thought to have made some great Discovery, and to know something above the rest of Mankind, and shall be likely to meet with Applause, instead of that Contempt which such Pretences de∣serve: so strangely partial are Men for any thing which is but against the Authority of the Scriptures. For I think it will be hard for Men to bring better Proof, that there were such Men as Elijah and Josiah, and Cyrus, than may be brought to shew, that the latter were by Name prophesied of long before their Birth, and that the first wrought all the Miracles related of him; or to produce clearer Evi∣dence, that there was such a City as Jerusalem before the Reign of Cyrus, than we have, that the Destruction of the City and Temple, and the Captivity of the people, with their Re∣storation after Seventy Years, was foretold by Jeremiah.

The prophets did their Miracles in the most publick manner; and their Prophecies were delivered not in corners, but openly, before all the People; not in obscure and ambiguous Words, but in plain Terms, with a particular Account of Persons, and Time, and Place: they were kept, they were read and studied by that very People who at first as little re∣garded them, as any Man now amongst us can do, but slew the prophets themselves,

and rejected their Prophecies with rage and indignation; but were afterwards, by the Event of Things, so fully convinced (which was likewise foretold, Ezek. xxxiii. 33.) of their Divine Inspiration and Authority, that they wholly depended and relyed upon them, and lived in an uncomfortable Exile, upon the sole Hopes and Expectations of seeing the rest of their Prophecies fulfilled. And their∣fore the Posterity of those who had slain the Prophets, had the Highest veneration for the Memory of these Prophets whom their Fore∣fathers had killed; they built and ador∣ned their Sepulchres, and chose to die any Death, rather than renounce the Authority of their Books, or part with them, even when they had forsaken their Doctrine, and changed their Religion for vain Traditions, and superstitious Observances; and when it was so reproachful to them to erect Monu∣ments of perpetual acknowledgment, That they were the the Children of them which killed the Prophets, Matth. xxiii. 31. they referred themselves to these Prophets for the Autho∣rity of their Religion, and acknowledged, that they had neither Prophecies nor Miracles after the Captivity.

Notes

• (a)

  Joseph. Antiquit. l. 10. c. 5.
• (b)

  Joseph Antiquit. l. 8. c. 10.
• (c)

  Cyril. contra Ju∣lian. l. 10.
• (c)

  Joseph. Antiquit. l. 9. c. 11.
• (e)

  Joseph. Ant quit. l. 11, c. 1.
• (f)

  ••ieron, ad 〈◊〉〈◊〉. c. 44.
• (g)

  See Sir W. R••. leigh, l. 3. c. 2. § 2.
• (h)

  Joseph. Antiquit, l. 9. c. 11.
• (i)

  Hero∣dot. Enterp c. 169.
• (k)

  ••••••••ph 〈◊〉〈◊〉 l. 10. 〈…〉〈…〉 Ez•••• 12.
• (l)

  〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••o∣do••. 〈◊〉〈◊〉, c. 191.
• (m)

  Joseph Antiquit. l. 11. c. 11.
• (n)

  Ibid. l. 11. c. 8.