Old Testament prophets

Biblical-historical characteristics Prophecy, considered in its general sense, assimilated by theological scientific-critical thought, is a miracle in the field of thought and knowledge. It is knowledge that, by virtue of supernatural revelation, has reached that breadth of volume and height of clarity at which the human spirit, freed from the limitations of space and time, has the opportunity to look with a bold glance at the entire complex rationally expedient process of world-historical development along its entire path - from beginning to end - to note the decisive moments, indicate their meaning and the ultimate goals that have to complete the entire process of development. Such knowledge, of course, presupposes freedom from the limiting conditions of space and time - such knowledge should be equally accessible and clear to both the present, the past and the future, both near and distant. History actually confirms this assumption. But the phenomenon of such extraordinary knowledge in world history itself presupposes the important, extraordinary significance of this very phenomenon. There are periods in the history of mankind in which the genius of mankind, usually hidden piecemeal in the whole mass of individuals, suddenly concentrates with such extraordinary force and manifests itself in such a long series of great personalities that these periods at first glance seem to be extraordinary periods appointed for extraordinary purposes. This is in conditions of natural consciousness. But if the same phenomenon occurs under conditions of higher natural consciousness, if there is a supernatural influence in this phenomenon, then of course the period of origin of this phenomenon has the greatest world historical significance. And this is exactly what the phenomenon is - prophecy, or more precisely prophetism (as the expression of an entire phenomenon in its figures and activities). Throughout almost the entire Old Testament history, one after another, great God-inspired men - prophets - appear and with powerful words and energetic activity proclaim to people the great truths of the destinies of world historical development, explain them to human consciousness and exhort them to adequately prepare for the acceptance of the great moments of history that are soon to come. Considered from a historical point of view, prophecy or prophetism is a phenomenon motivated by known historical conditions, and therefore itself is closely, organically connected with these conditions. Its characteristic features as a historical phenomenon are clarified by determining its organic connection with Old Testament history. Old Testament history is the complete opposite of our Christian history and developed under conditions that are now almost incomprehensible. In our time, the idea of ​​the true God is already enlightening the consciousness of almost the entire earth, and only rare dark spots are waiting for that ray that will lift them into the bright horizon. On the contrary, in ancient history, thick darkness lay over the entire earth, and only one insignificant corner of the earth, like a light in the middle of a gloomy night, shone on the dark earth. In this corner lived the people of Israel, that chosen people who were appointed to give light to the pagan world 1 . Therefore, in their special position in history, the people of Israel represent the same contrast to the pagan world as light to darkness. While the pagan world was left to the law of natural sinful development, the law of holiness was revealed to the people of Israel. 2 Here human nature no longer seeks, with instinctive melancholy and dark groping, the unknown God, as it was in paganism; here the Lord himself, in his revelation, comes to meet man and enters into a close alliance with him. By virtue of this union, the people of Israel immediately moved out from the midst of the pagan world, and, according to the covenant, the agreement, they concentrated in themselves everything holy, just, humane, which did not find shelter in the pagan world. By the legislation of Sinai, this people were entrusted with the safekeeping of simple, but eternal and profound truths about a personal, spiritual God, the Deliverer who accepts all the oppressed and despised, about the duty of reverence to parents, about the duty of chastity, respect for human life and property, justice to each other and pure morality. Here, contrary to all the laws of antiquity, the laws of the oppressors who imposed a yoke on the oppressed, the laws of the strong for their own benefit in order to keep the masses of the weak in slavery - here the law of equality was discovered, the harmful system of division into castes was rejected. In this respect alone, Israel becomes a teacher of humanity. But the purpose of this people was not to implement any political or social world idea. These people are neither philosophers nor politicians. His vocation in history is limited exclusively to a religious task. The ultimate goal of world history is the implementation of the kingdom of God on earth. 3 Old Testament history, with the general religious and moral corruption of humanity, represented the only oasis on which the embryo of the kingdom of God, the idea of ​​monotheism and the idea of ​​salvation, which could spread throughout all of humanity, could rest. This oasis - the people of Israel - was chosen as the place for the temporary kingdom of God. “You must be for me a holy kingdom and a holy people” 4 - this is the legal definition of the position of the people of Israel in history. By this act, he stands out from all sinful humanity as a holy people, liberated from the domination of dark world forces and placed under the direct rule of Jehovah, becoming the kingdom of Jehovah, a theocracy. Hence its significance in history is easily explained. According to the covenant, he must be a missionary of the idea of ​​the kingdom of God on earth, and in the sinful world of nations he must be the same as conscience in the sinful nature of individual people. Given his significance for all humanity, he received everything he needed to carry out his important historical mission. He could only holyly fulfill the law given to him by God, and holyly keep the pledge entrusted to him. But the people of Israel, chosen for such a high goal in preference to all other peoples, were, nevertheless, a living people, capable of perceiving impressions from the external pagan world, being carried away by them and thus changing the pure consciousness of their mission. Surrounded on all sides by peoples guided by the principles of a natural sinful state, the chosen people could naturally become carried away by these principles, worship idols, adopt a sensually enervating morality, and get involved in the political intrigues of neighboring states. From the collision of two diametrically opposed principles, a struggle should have arisen. And this struggle developed throughout Old Testament history and was the reason that the people of Israel in their historical life constantly fluctuate in two opposite directions: either they worship Jehovah and live peacefully under the shadow of their vineyards, then they follow the trail of foreign gods and suffer all sorts of political and social disasters, which with their bitterness force them to turn to Jehovah again, etc. The people of Israel sometimes succumbed so strongly to the dark influence of the pagan world, so was completely immersed in the pool of a sinful state, which, apparently, was ready to perish morally and politically, and thus destroy with itself the treasure of entire humanity - the idea of monotheism and the idea of salvation. But holy principles do not perish in history; they are the driving motives of history; without them, history would remain aimless and would stop in its movement. God is alive and the soul of history is alive. During periods of the greatest moral and religious decline of the people, from among them God raised up men strong in God and in their spirit, who, bearing within themselves a higher understanding of the purpose of the people, a higher consciousness of its historical mission, saved the people from destruction with their powerful words and unremitting moral energy. These are the great people of the Israeli people. According to the special position of the race of Israel in world history, its special character, religious and moral principles and civil, social relations that distinguished it from all nations, according to its special spirit, its greatest people differ from the great people of other nations. The spirit of the people in its religious ideal perfection was expressed in the great men of the Israeli people. Therefore, during periods of religious and moral decline of the people, the more exalted, the purer its ideal was reflected in those few individuals who were alien to decline. The religious and moral genius of the people was then concentrated in them alone. When the consciousness of a high world-historical mission faded among the mass of the people, God and laws were forgotten, political and social relations were distorted, at that time, in the peaceful silence of green pastures, or on the working field of a farmer, or at the height of mountain cliffs, in the unknown, far from the worries of the vain world, powerful men matured, who, like heavenly thunder, awakened the morally lulled people, poured into them refreshing elements of life, awakened the consciousness of the ideal and thus saved him from death. These were the judges and prophets of the people of Israel. But judges are mainly political figures, although they also reflected the spirit of theocracy, which constituted the essence of Old Testament history; Moreover, they are a temporary phenomenon, obviously caused by temporary historical circumstances and ceased with their change. Therefore, the spirit of Old Testament history was not fully expressed in the judges; they did not fully embody the ideal of the Israeli people. Prophets appear to be a different kind of phenomenon. All the most important Old Testament events - in religious and moral life, in political and social relations - have their prophets, who, standing at the ideal height of understanding of the law, explain to the people its requirements, in relation to given circumstances, give a proper assessment of the events and thereby firmly support the entire edifice of theocracy. Such activity of the prophets was necessary and irreplaceable in the history of the Israeli people. The people of Israel, called to be the guardian of the great idea of ​​monotheism, the idea of ​​salvation and the highest ideal of morality, could not fully realize this calling in each of its individual members. True, Moses wanted all the chosen people to be prophets, 5 i.e., so that each individual member of the people would carry within himself a clear consciousness of the religious and moral ideal; but for this it was necessary for everyone to have a completely bright unearthly consciousness. Therefore, the religious and moral ideal remained unclear to the majority. Moreover, the law, once forever enshrined in the code, could not respond to each individual case with an unforeseen combination of historical circumstances. Therefore, the prophets were necessary bearers of the religious and moral ideal, its highest consciousness and living interpreters of its people. This irreplaceable importance of the prophets in the history of the Israeli people is provided for by the Mosaic Law itself. The words of Moses in Deuteronomy 6: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among you, from your brothers, like me; listen to him,” based on the words of Jehovah: “I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brothers, like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he will speak to them whatever I command him,” these words constitute the legal definition of the appointment of a prophet, his rights and the scope of his activities. However, there are different opinions regarding this place, of which, according to some, it constitutes a prophecy about the Savior, His coming and activity, and according to others, it is a simple definition of the rights and circle of activity of the prophets who generally appeared, and the name “prophet” is a collective designation of all prophets. Giving justice to both views, we, for our part, are thinking of eliminating the difference between them, taking into account one very important consideration. This passage refers to the Savior who had to appear, and specifically to his prophetic activity. But since the Redeemer had to appear in his prophetic activity and was the ideal executor of the prophetic calling, it is clear that the definition of this ideal prophetic ministry is at the same time an ideal for every other prophet, an ideal with which every prophet must conform in his activity. Thus, the indicated saying, which defines the prophetic activity of the Redeemer, is at the same time a legal definition of the activity of each prophet. This understanding is also inspired by the comparison of the words of Moses with the previous verse: “These nations (the pagans) listen to fortune-tellers and soothsayers, but the Lord your God has not given you that.” And what he gave is explained by the words of Balaam: “there is no magic in Jacob and no divination in Israel: in due time it will be told to them what God is doing” 7 . If so, then the position of the prophets in the history of the people of Israel becomes clear; the law recognizes itself as incomplete, it presupposes further revelations or its development when it says: “I will give My word in the mouth of the prophet and speak to them,” etc., and recognizes the prophet as its further representative, developer and exponent. And since the law was given to the people as a means for them to fulfill their purpose, the prophets, as exponents and representatives of the ideal understanding of the law, were called upon to revive in the minds of the people the idea of ​​​​its world-historical significance, protect it in times of danger, develop it in all directions, explain its meaning in relation to the facts of living historical reality, and thus lead the people to the implementation of its purpose. And we see in history that the prophets fulfilled their calling to perfection. Receiving new revelations, they explained the various provisions of the Law of Moses, depending on the requirements of the circumstances, so that some principles of the law were sometimes insisted on preferentially over other principles. Thus, in times of decline of living faith, the dominance of dead religious formalism, the prophets insisted primarily on the spiritual moral side of law and religion, and at the same time sometimes used expressions that even gave reason to think that the prophets did not know or did not recognize other requirements of the law. Here are a few such sayings. “Obedience is better than sacrifice and submission is better than the fat of rams” 8 “I want mercy, not sacrifice” 9. “I hate, I reject your holidays, and I do not smell the sacrifices during your solemn assemblies. Let judgment flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream." 10 “Is it possible to please the Lord with thousands of rams, or with countless streams of oil? - Oh man! It has been told to you what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” 11 “My soul hates your new moons and your holidays; they are a burden to Me.” But “wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; stop doing evil; seek the truth; save the oppressed; protect the orphan; stand up for the widow,” etc. 12 Based on these and similar prophetic sayings, some learned critics decided that the prophets were not simple guardians and interpreters of the law, but independent exponents of a new, higher stage of religious development. But such a view is unfounded. If we consider the essence of the religious and moral principles of the prophets, and not their individual expressions regarding certain temporary circumstances, then the identity of the prophetic principles with the principles of the Mosaic Law cannot be doubted. The principles of the Mosaic Law about the worship and confession of one God, the Lord of all nations, about the election of the people of Israel from all the nations of the earth into a covenant people, about its purpose to be a light for the Gentiles, about judgment according to the highest idea of ​​\u200b\u200bjustice - all these principles are carried out both in the Mosaic Law and in the prophets 13. At the same time, the prophets have direct expressions aimed at preserving the external ritual Mosaic Law. Thus, the consumption of pork and unclean animals is condemned, the violation of the Sabbath is condemned, the sacrifice of unclean bread and vicious animals is condemned, etc. 14 From here it is clear that the prophets are only interpreters of the law, applying it to various circumstances of historical life, but are by no means innovators, not representatives of a new stage of religious development. But from the fact that the prophets were called to be living interpreters of the law, in relation to the changing conditions of historical life, it is also clear that the prophets agreed with the Mosaic Law only in principle, but not in all details applying the principle. This last difference between the law and the prophets was the reason for various incorrect opinions about the essence of the prophetic ministry. So now the mission of the prophets as members in the organization of theocracy is clear: they are living bearers of the religious and moral ideal specified in the Mosaic Law, ideal exponents of the essence of the world-historical significance of the chosen people. But for such a high position they had to have great means. If the only exponents of the ordinary natural-folk ideal are people possessing the highest powers possibly achievable for the national spirit; then in order to be an exponent and bearer of a divinely revealed ideal, a divine idea expressed in the Law of Moses, to clearly recognize it and bring it into the consciousness of an entire people, it is necessary to have extraordinary, supernatural means. Such means consisted of prophetic inspiration. But what is prophetic inspiration? – The mental life of a person has such hidden aspects that remain inaccessible to the most penetrating gaze. There is no doubt, however, that the human spirit, even without the help of external senses, has the ability to penetrate the mysterious connections of things and combinations of heterogeneous forces. People discover truths that lie beyond the senses. External feelings can only confirm and justify the truths found, but not reveal them. The fact that truth is always revealed to individual minds endowed with special powers, and only later becomes the common property of the people, shows that the soul has the same properties that go far beyond the limits of sensory perception and reason, and therefore has the ability to discover high truths. Based on this, some researchers and critics tried to explain the miraculous fact of prophetic inspiration in a natural psychological way. Western literature presents several such attempts, but they all came from one general view, and therefore, without examining individual opinions and theories, we will consider in general terms this view of prophecy 15. According to this view, prophecy is the highest level of manifestation of the natural human spirit. It, prophecy, is not an original, purely Jewish Old Testament phenomenon, but to a greater or lesser extent is found among all peoples, constitutes a necessary postulate of human religiosity, and stems from a feeling of unconditional dependence on God as the highest power that determines the fate of man and guides him in all events of life. At first, the religious consciousness of man, which does not yet have a clear idea of ​​​​the deity, cannot distinguish the finite from the infinite, the deity from nature, vaguely seeks it in nature, and thinks to find the answer to its existence, its destiny in the phenomena of external nature. This includes fortune telling by the noise of tree leaves, by the flight of birds, by the entrails of animals, etc. This is the lowest level of prophecy. At the highest level of religious development is mantika, as a direct connection with the deity. Here a person, wanting to know his destiny and for this purpose communicates with the deity, and considering his ordinary powers insufficient for this, artificially evokes in himself new forces that elevate him above all the limitations of the ordinary World, and in religious ecstasy unites with the deity, from whom he learns about the destinies of himself, his people and all humanity. Mantika was the dominant type of divination among the Greeks, where Pythia was their famous representative. At a further stage of development of religious consciousness is Jewish prophecy, the distinctive features of which, according to this view, are the highest concept of the Divine as a personal principle, and, according to this concept, the best assessment of the human personality in its relation to the Divine. Here the person, when communicating with the deity, does not lose his individual characteristics, but only naturally, through a mental process, expands his mental powers to that breadth and brings them to that degree of tension at which ordinary consciousness is thrown off the soul as a burden, and its place is taken by a higher ecstatically tense state, making the prophet capable of perceiving the most sublime truths, inaccessible to ordinary consciousness. Ewald expressed a slightly different view. In his opinion, in the depths of the human soul lie eternal, unshakable religious and moral truths, which lie unconscious for a long time in the depths of the human soul until they find a worthy organ that can be their spokesman for people. The best organ for these truths is the pure, impressionable soul. In such a soul, under the pressure of corresponding impressions, hidden religious and moral forces awaken, and awaken with such irresistible force that a person feels forced to express them outwardly in word or deed. The consciousness of these truths takes possession of him with such force that he imagines them in the form of clear images that float before his spirit in the form of visions; his personality as a person fades away, and it seems to him that he hears a voice, not his own voice, but the pure, clear voice of another being standing above him. “Prophetic phenomena were the first strong impulses and wonderful excitements of higher thoughts in their application to human problems and errors, these are the first sparks that fell like lightning into the darkness of human aspirations. The excitement may have failed, the sparks may have died out, but the extraordinary and miraculous here lies in the fact itself, and without it no truths would have awakened in humanity 16 . The whole difference between pagan prophecies and Jewish ones according to Ewald is that in paganism, due to certain unfavorable reasons, the expression of truths was less successful, and they appeared in a distorted form, while among the Jews they were more successful. – Looking critically at all the stated judgments, we can say that they bring the most diverse things under one category. Old Testament prophecy does not contain any features that would equate it to any form of fortune telling. Fortune telling is dark, carried out in the absence of solid foundations - by groping, searching for answers to questions about human fate; and prophecy presupposes immediate clear revelation, already in principle announced to mankind in the law. Nevertheless, it has similarities with mantika, which presupposes a tense-ecstatic state caused by artificial means and darkening human consciousness. The prophetic state is a completely conscious state; in it, a person perceives not the products of a disordered imagination, but the highest revelations, consciously perceived by the prophet and consciously transmitted to the people. As for Ewald’s view in particular, it suffers from a lack of attention to the essence of prophecy and to the properties of human nature. Considering prophecies to be only expressions a priori of great religious and moral truths lying in the human soul, it presupposes the non-corruption of human nature, i.e. sinned in the same way as Pelagianism and the philosophers of the Rousseau school who were condemned in their time sinned. This view has long been refuted and has received proper assessment in science. Here we will only note that the religious and moral truths, revealed to primitive man, were so obscured in the sinful natural process that the best representatives of the pagan world despaired of awakening them by any human means, and they looked to salvation from moral destruction only from above. Moreover, this view does not want to know that in the Old Testament prophecy is not an expression of natural human truths, achievable by the natural process of thinking, but truly divine ones, inaccessible to man with his natural powers alone. But if we consider the prophecy from a general historical and philosophical point of view, it still seems inexplicable, as a natural phenomenon. The very fact that it preaches universal, highest religious and moral truths indicates its highest origin, because as a result of theological and philosophical research it is quite inclined to recognize these truths as having a higher origin. This is fully confirmed by the theory of mental and moral development of mankind. If these truths were the product of the human mind, then of course they would be the product of the mind at its highest stage of development. Yet this is not so. In ancient times (where the prophecy actually belongs), human genius reached its highest development and was expressed in Greek philosophy: here, in the person of Plato and Aristotle, it reached such a height, such a power with which it still, thousands of years later, influences science and philosophy. Meanwhile, standing at the highest possible height, the philosophizing mind could hardly free itself from the crude anthropomorphism of the crowd, and did not achieve the concept of a single personal Deity, a wise and just world government; and in moral terms, the philosophizing mind was so powerless that it could not even determine the true relationships of people among themselves. It is known that Aristotle and Plato in their “Politics” consider slavery to be a completely normal phenomenon and even necessary. In comparison with these minds, the prophets are truly divine, in their simplicity they proclaim truths that were a mystery to philosophical speculation. But they were not philosophers and belonged to a non-philosophical people. Consequently, prophecies cannot be explained by the natural historical process of mental development. No, the spirit that animates the prophets does not come from the depths, as Ewald thinks, but from above, because from childhood the human heart is vicious. Ewald does not dare to descend into this depth of corruption, but wants to find in human nature itself a healthy embryo, which, under favorable circumstances, can develop and conquer everything dark, weak, sinful - and this is for him God in man, the spirit of the prophets. The church has long condemned this opinion as Pelagianism. And according to the prophets themselves, human nature is more likely an abyss of corruption than a soil of dormant germs of goodness and truth; therefore, they hold fast to Jehovah, and He is for them that rock, leaning on which they recognize themselves as strong to fight against all dark forces 17. This is about prophecy, as one of the types of revelation in general. But prophecy has its own characteristic features that distinguish it from other types of revelation and give it special significance in the history of mankind, as an unparalleled supernatural lever in the development of mankind. The very fact that prophecy is an exponent of religious and moral truths, which were a secret to the philosophical mind, places it above all kinds of exponents of ordinary truths in their historical development. But it has another side, which makes any comparison with human conclusions impossible. We understand predictions of the future. The desire to lift the mysterious veil of the future has always been a noticeable and tenacious passion in man. It is rooted in human nature itself. Placed in limited conditions of space and time and at the same time gifted with spiritual power that strives to rise above these conditions, man naturally begins to try by all means to expand the limited area of ​​\u200b\u200bthis knowledge. History is filled with such attempts. Fortune telling, mantling, witchcraft, shamanism - all these are expressions of the same impulse of the human spirit to rise above the conditions of space and time. But all these attempts to push the limits of spiritual human existence were only subjective in nature and, like fog, disappeared as soon as the ray of science fell on this protected area. Now science considers these aspirations an innocent illusion with which the infant mind amused itself. The Old Testament prophecies alone stand unshakably. Their historical reality is not denied even by the most extreme thinkers of the rationalist school. These thinkers only try to explain the prophecies with some scientific data that is more suitable to their view, bold and arbitrary analogies. We will analyze some attempts at a natural scientific explanation of the fact of prophecy. And, first of all, it seems worthy of attention to explain prophecy as a fact of predicting the future, from a psychological point of view. Scientists, based on some mysterious facts of mental life and finding in them some analogy with the facts of prediction or premonition of the future, wanted to explain prophecy by deriving it from the inherent ability of the human spirit to have premonitions, predictions, primarily in the area of ​​individual life, and then in the area of ​​general human life. This theory was developed by the German philosopher-historian Lasol in his essay: “The prophetic power of the human soul in poets and thinkers.” Based on the pantheistic, rational view with its world soul, hidden both in individuals and in entire nations, and nowhere losing the consciousness of its unity, he comes to the following conclusions: “if in the soul of each person there is a part of the collective forces of the soul of his people, of all humanity or even of the world soul, and if at the moments of prophecy, as in every great moment of human life, the individual soul merges or even plunges into the universal soul, into the great the universal reason of natural life and the human world and from there is reborn with renewed strength; it is clear that since the present is as essentially and inextricably linked with the future as with the past, each individual soul can foresee not only its own future, but also the future of its people, even all of humanity. From the depths of the human soul, from its divine creative power, come all great thoughts, everything new, wonderful, everything that leads humanity to its destination” (p. 43). Through the vaguely pantheistic shell of these expressions one can see the fair idea that the human soul is inherent in a teleological idea, by virtue of which it has the ability to deduce one or another conclusion from given premises - inherent, so to speak, a moral instinct, by which a person, recognizing the reality of moral world governance and observing the destinies of individual people and nations, has the opportunity to foresee the further course of events. So, seeing a corrupt people who have lost all sound political, moral and religious principles, we can probably say that the days of this people are numbered. But does such a prediction constitute what is properly called a prophecy? No: such a prediction is very limited and is possible only in the most general areas, such as regarding the fact that every crime is followed by punishment, that every power based on lies and untruths contains elements of decay in itself, and that in general all worldly glory and greatness passes and is subject to destruction. But such predictions cannot contain specific predictions, such as those that distinguish Old Testament prophecy and which, in fact, constitute a miraculous fact in the realm of the spirit. Lasol calls as a truly prophetic word the saying of Scipio, which he uttered on the ruins of Carthage in the words of Homer 18 about the future destruction of Rome. But, not to mention the fact that the Homeric expression could involuntarily escape from Scipio’s lips at the sight of the terrifying picture of the death of the famous city, which until recently had been the threat of Rome itself, at the sight of the picture that vividly reminded the Roman of the overwhelming dominance of inexorable fate over everything, Scipio’s prediction does not have the characteristic feature of prophecy - a positively concrete definition of the subject of the prediction, the reason and purpose of its commission: it was a consequence an unaccountable sad consciousness of the inevitable death of all earthly greatness under the cruel rule of inexorable fate. In conclusion, this fatalistic prediction knows nothing but destruction. A completely different kind of prophetic prediction. When predicting the destruction of a city, for example Babylon, the prophecy indicates the circumstances, the people, the king who will destroy it - and this over tens, hundreds of years. And after the destruction of worldly glory, according to prophecy, there will not remain only sad, dead ruins, witnesses of aimless, fatalistic destruction; but the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea 19 ; after the kingdoms of the world, one after another having prevailed in humanity, the eternal kingdom of the Son of Man coming from heaven will triumph. True, Virgil, in his famous 4th Eclogue, heralds the return of the golden age and the appearance in the world of a royal baby who will bring a new time. But the difference between one and the other prediction will be clear if we take into account the narrowness of the last of them: Virgil imagines the return of the golden age in connection with the consulate of Pollio and the birth of his son, and in the Emperor Augustus he sees the renewer of the world and proudly looks at Rome as an imperium sine fine... 20. No, prophecies cannot be explained from the inherent ability of the human spirit to have premonitions. Even if this ability really, by its nature, could give a person the opportunity to penetrate far beyond the limits of what is usually achievable, then even then pure prediction would be possible only with the healthy development of this ability. But from the time sin penetrated all of human nature, darkened all the abilities that were inherited by everyone in such a darkened state, humanity became an unfavorable environment for the development of the human spirit, and therefore its completely normal and correct development became impossible. Only a higher power can support the spirit in this environment, and only with the help of a higher power can it fully achieve what it has been striving for from time immemorial, but which is never attainable for itself due to the indicated unfavorable conditions. But the more sublimely and more fully he develops with the help of this higher power. Finding in it support for its primordial desire for the perfection of knowledge, the human spirit is freed from the limiting conditions of space and time - its knowledge becomes limitless, the present, past and future are equally accessible to its bright gaze. This is the spirit of the Old Testament prophets. But from this it clearly follows that he achieved this height not by his own strength, but by the supreme power of supernatural inspiration. The prophets’ clear awareness of the plan of the Old Testament historical development, a precise explanation of its purpose, a specific indication of the particular facts in which this completed Old Testament historical development took place and a visual presentation of the process itself capable of leading to the goal, in a word, those clear, detailed predictions of the most elusive events that the prophets give us, are, of course, in no way inexplicable by natural means. From here it is clear that the prediction that positive science strives for with its well-known motto - savoir pour prevoir, is of a completely different nature and has nothing in common with prophetic prediction. It is based on the law of strict causality, and therefore only phenomena that directly follow from given obvious causes, or are located in a chain of causes, are subject to it: any phenomenon that stands outside a continuous causal connection is elusive to it. Meanwhile, the essence of prophetic prediction consists precisely in the prediction of phenomena that do not have a causal connection with phenomena that are obvious at a given time. In contrast to a prediction that is naturally possible according to the law of causality, a prophetic prediction is a completely spiritual miracle, a fact that is possible only with the assistance of a higher supernatural power. The awareness of this assistance of supernatural power fully applies to the prophets. Supernatural inspiration is their main principle of activity - the Holy Spirit calls them, enlightens and elevates their natural powers, guides them and speaks through them to the chosen people and all humanity. Holy Scripture presents many expressions and facts in which the influence of supernatural power on the prophets is expressed and evidenced. “I am filled with the power of the Spirit of the Lord,” the prophet Micah says about himself. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon me and spoke to me,” says the prophet Ezekiel. “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy.” “The Spirit of God came upon Saul’s servants and they began to prophesy.” And in general, everywhere prophecy is put in a causal connection with the descent of the Holy Spirit and the word of Jehovah. That is why, before almost every speech of the prophets, we read their statement: “and the word of Jehovah came to me,” “thus saith the Lord God,” etc., etc. 21 The apostles also clearly testify to God’s inspiration of the prophets: “never was prophecy made by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit”; “God spoke of old in the prophets” 22. Thus, the prophet utters his word (this is a miracle in the theological, philosophical and historical sense) under the inspiration of supernatural power, and only under this condition, according to the biblical view, prophecy receives the meaning of real truth, as it has shown itself in history. But with the recognition of a supernatural factor in prophecy, one of the most difficult questions of theological science arises, the question of the method of inspiration and the method of perceiving this inspiration, a question that naturally arises in view of the two-sidedness of the fact of inspiration - one side is divine - incomprehensible, and the other is human, in all its parts being before the eyes of people. The miraculous fact of the inspiration of the prophets began to interest us from the first centuries of Christianity, that is, even at a time when the prophetic spirit was not only a historical fact, but a living, active phenomenon. Of the Christian thinkers, the first to draw attention to the fact of prophecy was the apologist Athenagoras. He explains prophetic inspiration as the action of the Holy Spirit, and equates the Holy Spirit on the prophets to playing the flute 23. Justin the Philosopher holds the same view: the prophetic spirit descends on the prophets like a plectrum on a lyre and extracts from them the necessary sounds 24. This explanation of prophetic inspiration is passive in nature. It deprives the prophets of any independent activity, presents them as a passive instrument of the Holy Spirit and even, judging by the expression ἔκςασις, acting unconsciously. This view apparently reflects the influence of Plato, who expresses himself as follows: “God, taking away the minds of his servants, himself speaks through them to us” 25. Some church teachers also hold this view. Tertullian insisted on it with particular force, with whose Montanistic views it could not have been more consistent. But such a view naturally should have met with protest from the church fathers due to alien Montanistic errors. Indeed, from this time, with the advent of Montanism, the question of the fact of inspiration entered a new phase of its development. In view of the strong development of imaginary prophecy, expressed in Montanism, in an artificially excited ecstatic state, the view of prophecy should naturally take a different direction. A number of thinkers spoke out, considering themselves the best representatives of theological thought of the first centuries, who began to explain prophetic inspiration differently. Here the principle of activity, initiative, and consciousness was put forward. The ecstatic state, which was a characteristic expression of prophecy among the Montanists, was recognized as a sure sign of a false prophecy: for a true prophecy this state was recognized as unworthy, humiliating the prophecy itself. The principle of activity and consciousness in the prophecy of Origen proved with particular force. He said that when the Holy Spirit influences a person, normal mental activity in a person does not cease, free will and the power of judgment remain in their normal state - and Origen considers the clearest consciousness to be the surest sign of the highest inspiration, and recognizes any clouding of the mind as an obstacle to inspiration 26. The same idea is energetically supported by St. Epiphaius, Jerome and Chrysostom. They all recognize that prophecy is an internal illumination controlled by rational consciousness, and therefore can be transferred to a clear concept of reason. Thus, according to Epiphnius, “the prophet spoke with consistency in his thoughts and consistency, and proclaimed from the Holy Spirit, expressing himself harmoniously” 27. In the same sense, Blessed Jerome says: “the prophets did not speak in ecstasy, not as Montanus raves with his crazy women, so as not to know what they are saying, and teaching others to be ignorant of what they are talking about” 28. The same thought, but even more strongly, is expressed by Chrysostom. Comparing prophecy with mantika, he finds a huge difference between them, which is even expressed in their names. The concept of a mantik contains the concept of a person who is in an abnormal state, deprived of consciousness, a person who is in a frantically ecstatic state, hence its very name - mantik (μάντις from μα ό νομαι - I am in a rage, I am in an abnormal state of mind). On the contrary, προφ ή της - in its general and original meaning, is an orator who speaks truths, and, as such, maintains sound consciousness and mental calm. “Therefore, it is common for a mantic to lose his temper, obey necessity, go into unnatural movement, and twitch convulsively, like a mad man. A prophet is not like that: he speaks with a clear consciousness and calmness, knowing what he is saying." 29 Thus, the opinions of the church fathers are decisively inclined towards the activity and consciousness of the prophets. This view was constantly repeated by subsequent Christian thinkers and theologians - until recently. And only in the present century did some German theologians try to revive the theory of ecstasy, basing it on newly obtained psychological data. So Gengsentberg says: “And the true prophets were in an extraordinary state from the ordinary, characteristically different, were in a certain kind of ἔκστασις, in which rational consciousness was darkened, and all mental life was constrained by the violent action of the Divine Spirit and became in a passive position” 30. Although in the second edition of his work Gensentberg softens his view, his main view remains unchanged: “the prophetic state, inspiration is ἔκστασις, the personal life and consciousness of the prophet are suppressed by divine influence.” They want to substantiate this theory on certain facts and expressions, from which it seems to be revealed that the prophets were not aware or did not quite clearly understand what they were saying. These are those expressions where the action of the Holy Spirit is represented in the image of the “hand of the Lord” - the expression “The Spirit of Jehovah “fell upon me,” etc., such expressions seem to indicate a violent, suppressive action, “total submission,” as Gengstenberg claims. True, the expression “the hand of the Lord” means the power of action, but the power of action can be directed not to suppress consciousness, but to another goal, as some researchers understand, for example. Bonfire. Expression Is. 8:11, “the Lord spoke to me with a strong hand on me”, in his opinion, should be translated and understood this way: and the Lord spoke to me, supporting me with His hand, to encourage me, since He wanted to tell me terrible things. It is known that some visions had a strong effect on the prophets: “there was no strength left in me, and the appearance of my face changed extremely, there was no vigor in me,” the prophet Daniel tells about himself when he saw a terrible vision 31 . Likewise, the words of Jeremiah: “You have drawn me, O Lord, and I have been drawn; You are stronger than me, and you prevailed. And I thought: I will not remind of Him, and I will no longer speak in His name; but it was in my heart, like a burning fire, locked up in my bones, and I grew weary holding it, and could not” 32 . But here, too, there is no talk of a suppressive effect on consciousness, but only an irresistible force is expressed, forcing him to fulfill his prophetic purpose, despite the persecution to which the prophet was subjected for his speeches. It is known with what force the consciousness of moral duty attracts a person to fulfill this duty, despite attractions in the opposite direction, and yet a person does not go into ecstasy under the influence of this consciousness, even intense in the fight against immoral impulses. In general, the entire theory of Gengstenberg seems to have little justification. It strengthens the divine element at the expense of the human, and thereby puts itself in conflict with the biblical view, according to which man entered into direct “friendly” relations with Jehovah and entered into an alliance with him. After Hengstenberg, the theory of ecstasy was defended by Tolyuk, but in his view the independent significance of the prophetic personality is recognized to some extent. “We consider the state of ecstasy to be only a relatively passive state, because if during the perception of revelation, under the action of the Holy Spirit, the self-activity of the perceiver ceases, then receptivity does not cease; Therefore, here we can talk not so much about the suppression of the subjective activity of the spirit, but about its elevation, as Origen already argued against the Montanistic view. If the Montanists insist on amentia, and the newest scientists on the cessation of “consciousness,” then this is a misleading inaccuracy of expression, because even in sleep only the consciousness of the external world ceases, and not self-consciousness and reasoning. It is clear that in this state the absence of self-activity does not entail a lack of self-awareness” 33. This view obviously wants to preserve the personality and self-awareness of the prophets in an ecstatic state. But it does not stand up to criticism a) from a psychological point of view, because the state of ecstasy differs from an ordinary mental state in that it excludes self-consciousness; b) this view does not agree with the facts, because prophets constantly speak with full consciousness of themselves and the outside world. There are many examples. So, how can we determine the mental state of the prophets during inspiration? In order to scientifically answer this question, it is necessary to consider the data that can serve as premises for a correct scientifically based conclusion regarding the subject under consideration. Such premises in our question, first of all, can serve as philological data. Among the many names of the prophet in the Hebrew language, the most characteristic, the most common, although not the most ancient name is nabi נביא. This word primarily came into use only in the time of Samuel, although there were prophets before. Previously they were called by other names 34 . For us in this case, the meaning of the word nabi is of particular interest, because, as we said, it is the most common; and its appearance in an era when prophecy, as a whole society of people acting in one direction, acquired an influence among the people that did not cease until the time of the second church, the appearance of the name nabi in this era indicates its characteristic, etymological correspondence to the phenomenon itself. Therefore, we will pay special attention to the analysis of this word, citing other names only as secondary, explanatory words for the secondary qualities of the prophet. The etymological meaning and origin of the word nabi is still a matter of debate among scholars of various directions. Learned investigators in this case take the direction that is most consistent with their basic view of prophetic inspiration. And since these directions, as we have seen, are divided into two categories (with minor modifications in particulars), the theory of ecstasy and the theory of active consciousness, then the very production of the word nabi is of a twofold kind. Scientists of the first direction derive it from the verb naba, and from its grammatical form they want to derive a definition of the characteristic properties of the prophet. Since this verb is used only in passive forms and never in active forms, like the Latin - loqu, fan, vociferari, vaticinari; then, according to these scholars, the word nabi should mean a passive state. The verb naba means to pour out, burst out, burst out. Nabi, a verbal noun, must mean, when applied to a person, one “in whom the deity excites streams of speech,” i.e. this opinion is based on a metaphor taken from a fountain bursting out of the earth. This is the opinion of Wiener, Gesenius, Redslob, Stanley, Tolyuk and others. According to this view, a prophet is therefore an inspired speaker who is under such a strong, uncontrollable influence of an external force that he speaks involuntarily, just as a fountain involuntarily throws out its waters, has no control over his speech, in a word, he is in an ecstatic state. A different opinion was expressed by Koster 35. He adheres to the same production from naba and recognizes that this verb has exclusively a passive meaning; but he also admits that such proceedings do not explain the matter. It is more natural, he thinks, to bring this word closer to the Arabic naba, which originally means: to produce, and then metaphorically - to pronounce words, to proclaim, to teach. Hence nabi would mean scientific or learned. This production can be based on the fact that the prophets are called disciples and students, which corresponds to the New Testament (Greek words) 36. Therefore, nabi originally meant “taught (from God), scholar.” And from here nabi could naturally receive the active meaning with which it is constantly listed, just as naturally as the Russian passive participle “taught.” Imperceptibly, naturally, a verbal noun with an active character was developed - scientist. Therefore, according to this principle, nabi means one who, being himself taught, actively transmits what he has been taught to others; and since the prophet receives teaching, the word from God, then by prophesying he proclaims the word of God to others. This production completely preserves the active character in the meaning of nabi, and the very process of formation of nabi from naba, a verbal noun with an active character, from a verb with a passive meaning, clarifies those two different moments, of which in the first the prophet is a perceiver, passive, and in the second - a transmitting, active one. Hence, in the second moment of his state, nabi, by the very essence of the matter, appears as a speaking preacher, as an orator, a preacher; and since he speaks someone’s words to someone else, he is a mediator who speaks for someone. This understanding of the word nabi has clear evidence from Holy Scripture. Thus Jehovah says to Moses: “I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your nabi 37 Here, obviously, Aaron is called nabi in relation to Moses because he had to convey the words of Moses, tongue-tied, to Pharaoh. The same meaning is found in the following verse: “And he (Aaron) will speak in your place to the people. And so he will be your mouth, and you will be to him instead of God” 38. Here, therefore, the prophet is a mediator between God and people, so that the words of Jehovah are clearly proclaimed to people. The same idea is consistently contained in the text of Deuteronomy 39: “I will raise up for them a prophet, says Jehovah to Moses, from among their brothers, like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything that I command him.” To Jeremiah, Jehovah Himself says: “You will be like My mouth,” 40 thereby defining the activity of the prophet as a mediator who must convey the Words of Jehovah to people. So, these passages clearly confirm the meaning of nabi as a person destined to convey to people what was communicated to him by God. Hence the translation of nabi in the LXX with the word πραφ ή της is understandable: with this word they wanted to express the main concept of a prophet, as someone who conveys someone’s words, who speaks for someone. Πραφ ή της from πρ ό φημι means one who speaks for someone, in front of someone, speaks in advance, predicts. All these meanings are contained in this verb. Thus, according to the Greek translation, nabi is a conscious speaker, destined to convey the word of Jehovah to people; but in the name προφ ή της another feature, invisible in nabi, clearly appears, namely the feature of a predictor, and this makes the prophet stand out from among ordinary people, ascribes to him knowledge inaccessible to other people. The Slavic “prophet” is quite similar to the Greek, although the latter in its philological meaning deviates from the Greek. The preposition “about” does not correspond to the Greek preposition πρὸ, as it might seem at first glance. The Greek preposition πρὸ corresponds to the Slavic and Russian preposition “pred” in its spatial and temporal meaning, and “pro” means deepening, penetration into something hidden, inaccessible. Thus, a “prophet” is one who penetrates with his thought into depths inaccessible to ordinary people, and conveys the secrets of this depth to others - and since the concept of depth is equally applicable to space and time, a prophet is one to whom the most intimate truths are accessible, who sees equally clearly in the present, past and future, in the near and far. Such a concept of unlimited knowledge obviously presupposes a consciousness that is not only not suppressed, not obscured by ecstasy, but, on the contrary, presupposes a consciousness so sublime and so penetrating and clear compared to the ordinary, insofar as it penetrates further and deeper into the innermost depths of things. Those prophetic visions, in which the prophets sometimes seem to show a lack of self-control, appear as such only with a superficial, biased look at them. We have already noted above that the weakness that Daniel showed during the visions 41 did not at all come from the ecstatic properties of the state, as some try to explain, but solely from the extraordinary nature of the phenomenon itself. This is clearly proven by the fact that the exhaustion that threw Daniel to the ground did not precede the vision itself, but followed it, that is, exhaustion was not the state in which the vision was perceived, but only a consequence of it. No, the prophets did not lose their pure self-awareness during visions, they did not speak without knowing what they were talking about - on the contrary, their consciousness at the moments of visions was enlightened to the point that it gave them the opportunity with a clear look to penetrate into the depths of their hearts and the souls of their brothers and there to discover smoldering sparks of good, to ignite them to fight and destroy everything evil and vicious. If we look at other visions, we will notice in them the clear consciousness of the prophets. Isaiah, at the time of the vision by which he was called to prophetic service, 42 was in full self-awareness. He was aware of all his sinfulness and unworthiness and was also aware - down to the smallest details - of how he had received cleansing from the hand of Seraphim, who touched his unclean lips with a burning coal, and how, cleansed, he had already boldly volunteered to take upon himself the preaching of the word of God. Jeremiah, during the same vision 43, is aware of his unworthiness, his youthful inexperience and weaknesses; but after purification and strengthening, he takes upon himself the great feat of preaching and accepts it with such strength of moral, firm determination that neither persecution, nor shame, nor any disasters can force him to abandon the accepted feat. – When Ezekiel saw a vision, wonderful and incomprehensible, he fell on his face 44. It is clear that the same thing happened to him as happened to Daniel: the extraordinary nature of the vision struck him. But to receive the revelation he had to stand up. The Spirit entered him, raised him to his feet, and the prophet began to hear the speaker speaking to him, and therefore, in a completely clear consciousness, began to perceive divine revelation. Thus, the prophets know down to the smallest details about visions, about their states during them, and everything seen and heard is clearly reproduced and transmitted to others: a clear sign of uninterrupted self-awareness. Based on the philological and factual data we have examined, the general conclusion about the mental state of the prophets is as follows. Prophets are men inspired from above, but in their inspiration they do not lose their self-awareness and self-activity; on the contrary, by virtue of this very inspiration they receive illumination in their self-awareness - illumination that reveals what is hidden in space and time and imparts to them wisdom, giving them authority to proclaim the destinies of kingdoms and peoples. If you need to compare them with anyone on earth in order to more clearly represent the characteristic feature of the prophets with this comparison, then they can be compared with geniuses. A genius differs from ordinary people in that his spirit possesses such mighty power that with its bold flight in all areas of mental or moral activity it outstrips the collective movement of all ordinary minds contemporary to it. Hence the enormous difference in the clarity and breadth of their vision: where for ordinary minds there is only a barely dawning dawn, for a genius it is a clear sunny day, where for the former there is a dark, narrow gorge, for a genius there are wide, bright plains. But this is still in the ordinary state of man. When a ray of inspiration falls on the great human spirit, it rises to those areas that are inaccessible to ordinary minds and sees things that seem like madness or a dream to ordinary minds, and which, however, thousands of years later become the property of grateful posterity and all of humanity. Likewise, but only to an incomparably higher degree, is the spirit of the prophets. Called to guard the embryo of the kingdom of God on earth, to preach all that is good, to fight evil on a sinful earth, called to proclaim on earth the thoughts of God, thoughts that, according to the word of God, are as much higher than the thoughts of men as heaven is higher than earth, 45 the prophets naturally possessed a consciousness that surpasses in clarity and insight any human consciousness; and if geniuses are able to see what the crowd is not able to see, then the prophets were able to see what neither the deepest philosophers nor the strongest bold geniuses dared to even dream of. Strong minds can, to a certain extent, penetrate into the secrets of nature, the fate of history, the secrets of the human spirit and thoughts, but to penetrate into the secrets of God's destinies, comprehend the definitions and predestination of God, see the movement of the very muscle that controls the destinies of history and eternity and know the direction of this movement - in a word, follow the paths of God throughout their vast extent in history and in eternity, know the “secret of God” (46): only prophets can do this, and no one else people. According to this calling, their inspiration, their exaltation, is purer than any human inspiration: it descends on them as a power that revives and enlightens them. An invisible force descended on them, and they felt a burning fire within themselves, and heard, as it were, the blows of a hammer, from which rocks would crumble 47: their mouths began to speak. And they were fully aware that the word they uttered did not come from their own stock of thought, but was communicated to them by another divine Spirit 48 coming from outside, and this Spirit revived them, made the weak courageous, the youth adult, the sinner pure. Hence moral purity, selflessness, complete devotion and fiery zeal for the work to which they were called are the outstanding features of the life and work of the prophets. But further, according to the sublimity of the content of the prophetic word, their very form, in its sublimity, must correspond to the content. The most sublime form of the human word is the poetic form; it alone is capable of expressing in itself the most tender, subtle, noble and sublime movements of the human spirit. From this it is clear why the prophets chose the poetic form of speech for their divine word: it alone, and then barely, could express the wondrous prophetic word, because the secrets of this word are so high that the human language is too poor and insufficient to express them in a worthy manner. But, despite the insufficiency and poverty of language for the full expression of the prophetic word, prophetic speech nevertheless constitutes a miracle of poetry. Regularly flowing in free, logical-rhythmic couplets or tercets, prophetic speech, depending on the content, is majestic and reverent when, for example, a prophet depicts his calling 49 - awe penetrates the reader to the depths of his soul; - it is formidable and terrible, like a scorching fire, a hammer breaking rocks, like a trumpet blast at the hour of judgment, when, for example, the prophet turns to a corrupt and morally lulled people and announces the onset of the well-deserved punishment of God 50; - then meek and gentle, like the voice of a tenderly loving mother, when the prophet turns with consolation to the suffering people - at this time she is able to heal the mortal gaping wounds dissolved from the depths of the soul by the tears of the prophet bursting out - she is a healing balm that alleviates suffering 51; then again sublime and solemn, like the sound of a victorious trumpet, when the prophet, from the deplorable events of the present, turns his bright gaze to the future, to the cherished promise, to the coming Messiah - his suffering tone is enlivened, the spirit is encouraged, the tears just shed are dried and the prophet, full of joy, forgets all the bitterness of the present and sings solemn hymns 52. In the prophetic books there are pages that, in terms of sublimity and power of expression, have nothing similar in the poetic literature of all times and peoples, and it is understandable; prophets are holy poets, and their works are inspired by religion and truth, while the poetry of other nations is often overshadowed by superstition, passion and error. Among the external rhetorical forms the prophets use: allegories, such as the song of the vineyard, which depicts the chosen people 53; hyperboles, when, for example, revolutions and popular movements are presented as movements of the sky and earth, as the darkening and falling of stars 54; bold metaphors, when, for example, spiritual gifts are presented under sensual images - divine inspiration, like a stream of water in a thirsty desert, glory and happiness like the never-setting sun and moon 55; poetic personifications, when, for example, the prophet addresses soulless objects as living persons (such as: “listen to the heavens, and listen to the earth!” “The mountains and hills will sing a song before you, and all the trees in the field will applaud you!”, etc. 56); energetic repetitions such as “comfort, comfort my people”, “O earth, earth, earth! listen to the word of the Lord” and so on 57; irony when, for example, human weakness is depicted in contrast with the greatness of God (“Is the ax magnified before the one who moves it? As if the rod rises up against the one who lifts it!” or “Woe to the one who argues with his Creator, a shard of the shards of the earth!)” 58 Prophetic speeches, generally different from lyrical songs, often turn into them when the prophets either insert into their speeches folk hymns of former times, or they make up their own 59, and then the feeling flows even more fully and deeply, the pictures are drawn even more vividly, the flight of thought becomes even bolder. These intercalary hymns are new rays, adding new shine to the picture, new sounds, bringing the charm of variety into the whole harmony. Apoc. 20:1–7, 1 Cor. 15:28. Ref. 19:5,6 20:5,6 Deut. 26 Small 1 Isa. 42, 43, 69. Isa.1 Ref. 66:17; Ezek.20:11,13 Malakh. 1:7, 8, etc. Its representatives are Ewald, Gitzig, Davidson, Dunker, Knobel, etc. Ewald. Die Propheten. s. 9. Baumgarten. Einl. in d. Pentateucb. Lasaulx S 20. Iliad. IV, 164 et seq. Aenead. I, 278. Herzog. Real-Encyclopadie. Bd. XVII. S. 642 Mich. 3:8. Ezek. 11:5. I Sam. 19:20; 10 Ezek. 16:1. Is. 46:1. etc. Τὸ θεῖον ἐξ ούρανοῦ κατι ό ν πλῆτρον , ἄσπερ ὀργάν ῳ κιθάρας ...etc. Ὁ θεος εζαιρουμε v ος τούτων δινα ί οις ἀνδράσι χρ ώ μενον. Ion. page 534. Ὁ προφ ή της μετἀ καταστ ἁ σεως λογισμῶν καἰ παρακολουθ ή σεως ὲλακει: and so on. Advers. Haeres. XLVIII, cap. 3. Neque vero ut Montanus cum insanis foeminis somniat, prophetae in ecsta-si sunt locuti, ut nescirent quid loquerentur, et quum alios erudirent, ipsi ignorant, quid dicerent. Preface to comm. on Isaiah Ave. ... ό μενον. Homil. XXIX in epist. Prim. Ad Corinth. Christologie. 1 Aufl, and 2 Aufl. 3. Tholnck. Die Propheten und ihre Weissagungen. 1861. S. 68, 69 and 70. Koter Die Propheten d. A. and N. Testaments S 182 and 183. Is. 8:16, 54:13. 50:4 John. 6:3,8. cp. Jer. 31:34. Jer. 6:20, 9–11. 18:18 .. Numbers 16:28, Ezek.13:2 et seq. Is. 1 ; Am. 2 ; Joel. 1 and Joel.2; Jer. 23 Jer. Ch. 30–31, Isa. Ch. 40 and 44 Is. ch.11–12, 19, 40. Joel. 3. Agg. 3, Joel. 3, Ref. 13:10, 14:12. Isa.1:2, 55:12, 56:19; Micah 6:2. Is. 5 ; Ch. 12; 42; Hab.3, etc. You might be interested in: