PROPHECY (Gr. rpoOrreta, Piro fa an interpretation, a foretelling).
Prophecy is a foretelling of such events as could be known only to God. It is beyond dis pute that there is a Power which governs the world by the exercise of his will ; governments are born and nations rise to supremacy, and when they have answered the purpose for which they were permitted to exist, their authority is trans ferred to others who, in their order, have missions to perform. This will explain the rise and fall of kingdoms and governments in all ages. The nature of prophecy and its bearing upon this ex ercise of divine authority is considered below. The fulfillment of prophecy is an unimpeacha ble evidence of the divine inspiration of the prophet. It is an unquestionable proof of the au thenticity of the Holy Scripture. " \Ve have also a more sure word of prophecy" (I Pet. i :19). if we find events predicted long before they oc curred ; if they were so clearly described that, when completed, the description applies deter to the subject ; and if they were related by persons entirely unconcerned in the events, and who at the time of uttering such predictions rea sonably expected to be removed from the stage of human activity prior to the time of the fulfill ment, it is thereby clearly demonstrated that a Power superior to humanity has been pleased to impart the counsels, which are referred to in such predictions. One clear instance will justify this conclusion, and this one has been selected from the prophet Daniel, because its coincidence with history is unquestionable; but other prophe cies are capable of similar enumerative demon stration. The events, cited in the following table, are prefigured by different emblems, though to the same purpose, in other parts of this prophet ; and it is not improbable that they refer to the heraldic insignia of the nations which they con cern.
The principal considerations involved in this important subject may be arranged under the fol lowing heads: I. The Nature of Prophecy, and Its Posi tion in the Economy of the Old Testament. Divine inspiration is only the general basis of the prophetic office, to which two more elements must be added: Inspiration was imparted to the prophets in a peculiar form. This appears decisively from Num. xii :6, sq., which states it as characteristic of the prophet, that he obtained divine inspiration in visions and dreams, consequently in a state extraordinary and distinguished from the gen eral one. This mode was different from that in
which inspirations were conveyed to Moses and the apostles.
Generally speaking, everyone was a prophet to whom God communicated his mind in this pe culiar manner. Thus c. g. Abraham is called a prophet (Gen. xx :7),not, as is commonly thought, on account of general revelations granted him by God, but because such as he received were in the special form described; as indeed in ch. xv it is expressly stated that divine communications were made to him in visions and dreams. The body of the patriarchs are in the same manner called prophets (Ps. cv :t5). When the Mosaic economy had been established, a new element was added; the prophetic gift was after that time reg ularly connected with the prophetic office, so that the latter came to form part of the idea of a prophet. Thus Daniel's work was not placed in the collection of prophetical books, because though eminently endowed with prophetic gifts, he still had not filled the prophetic office. Speaking of office, we do not of course mean one conferred by men, but by God; the mission to Israel, with which the certainty of a continued, not temporary, grant of the gift of prophecy was connected.
That the Lord would send such prophets was promised to the people by Moses, who by a special law (Dent. xviii :0 secured them authority and safety. As his ordinary servants and teachers, God appointed the nriests: the characteristic mark which distinguished the prophets from them was inspiration; and this explains the circum stance that, in times of great moral and religious corruption, when the ordinary means no longer sufficed to reclaim the people, the number of i prophets increased. The regular religious n struction of the people was no part of the business of the prophets; their proper duty was only to rouse and excite. The contrary, viz., that part of the regular duty of the prophets was to instruct the people, is often argued from 2 Kings iv:23. where it is said that the Shunammite on the Sabbaths and days of new moon used to go to the prophet Elisha ; but this passage applies only to the king dom of Israel, and admits of no inference with respect to the kingdom of Judah. As regards the latter, there is no proof that prophets held meet ings for instruction and edification on sacred days. Their position was here quite different from that of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel. The agency of the prophets in the kingdom of Judah was only of a subsidiary kind.