Having, in the treatise before this one, set forth to all men the manner of true piety put forward through the evangelical teaching, and having gone through the polity that is in Christ, and having shown, and, as I think, persuaded, that it was not possible for all the nations, even had they wished it, to live according to the customs of the Jews — I now, in the present work, taking up the discourse again from the beginning, return to the testimonies drawn from the prophetic voices, intending to make a fuller reply to our accusers from among the circumcision, since they have asserted that we have no share whatsoever in the promises recorded among them; for, they say, the prophets belonged to them, and to them also Christ — whom indeed they are pleased to call their own Savior and Redeemer — is proclaimed; and to them also the recorded promises are to be expected to be rendered; whereas we, they say, are superfluous to these things, being, as to our race, aliens, to whom the worst things are foretold throughout all the prophecies.
In reply to these things, then, come, let us make our answer to them from their own prophetic books. That the Christ of God was indeed promised among them, and that his coming proclaims redemption to Israel — this we ourselves would not deny either, since it is admittedly and manifestly established throughout the whole of their Scripture; but as for excluding the nations from the good things expected through Christ, as though these had been promised to Israel alone and not also to the nations, it is no longer just to grant this to them when they assert it, contrary to the testimony of the divine Scriptures.
First, then, since they themselves are accustomed to gather up the more favorable sayings on their own behalf and to have these by heart, let us set over against them the demonstrations concerning the nations drawn from the prophecies themselves, showing that there are countless predictions that foretold good and saving things for all the nations, and that they declared that the things promised to the nations would be brought to fulfillment in no other way than through the coming of Christ alone.
Having established this point here, we would have demonstrated that it was no more fitting to say that the expectation of God's Christ pertained to them than to us; and since the hope of the things promised has been shown to be equally balanced between Jews and Greeks, so that in this respect those who are to be saved through Christ from among the nations are inferior in nothing to those of the circumcision, we shall next prove, over and above what has been said, that the divine oracles proclaim beforehand, in connection with the coming of Christ and the calling of the nations, the utter downfall and rejection of the whole Jewish nation—foretelling the better things only for a few of them, selected by number—and that their city, together with its temple, will be captured, and that all its solemn institutions will be destroyed, things which have already been shown by the very facts themselves to have been fulfilled.
But how it is that the sacred oracles, at one and the same time, in connection with the coming of Christ, ordain both deliverance from evils for Israel and the enjoyment of good things, and conversely the deprivation of good things and the falling away from piety toward God, we shall clarify at the fitting time. For the present, however, let us proceed to the first point, having gathered a few things, selected out of countless prophecies, as proof of what has been said.
Since, then, they are accustomed to set before us the more favorable prophecies concerning themselves, as though the good things previously bestowed had been promised to them alone, it is time for us in turn to bring forward and set against them the promises concerning the nations, which are found in this manner among their own prophets. 1. From Genesis. That the nations of the earth shall be blessed, in the same manner as the naming of Abraham.
And the Lord said, I will not hide from Abraham my servant the things that I do. Abraham shall become a great and numerous nation, and in him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. The oracle declares that it will not hide from the many a hidden and secret mystery, but will reveal it to him who is beloved of God. And this was the mystery concerning the blessing of all the nations, which was formerly hidden, because in the days of Abraham all the nations were held fast by an unspeakable error of superstition; but now it has been made manifest in our time, when, through the evangelical teaching of our Savior, whoever worships God in the same manner as Abraham partakes of the same blessing as he.
But that it was not possible for all the nations to live as citizens according to the legislation of Moses, we have discussed most fully in the treatise before this one, lest anyone should suppose that the oracle was spoken concerning the proselytes among the Jews.
And having there established, in the same place, that the blessing pronounced to Abraham concerning all the nations would apply only to those from all the nations who come through Christ, we shall now again refer those eager to learn to that treatise. 2. From the same book. That all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, in connection with the seed that would come forth by succession from Isaac.
And the Lord, speaking with Isaac, among other things says also this: And I will establish my oath to Abraham your father, and I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven; and I will give to your seed all this land, and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
Our Savior and Lord, Jesus the Christ of God, came into being, according to the flesh, from the seed of Isaac, in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed, having learned through him the God of the universe, and having been taught, again through him, to bless men who are beloved of God. Therefore they are in turn blessed themselves, enjoying a blessing equal to those whom they bless, according to the word which God spoke to Abraham: they that bless you shall be blessed. 3. From the same book. Concerning the very many nations and assemblies of nations that would be constituted from Jacob, even though only the Jewish nation had come forth from him.
Now, according to what is manifest, only one nation—that of the Jews—was constituted from Jacob. How then could the oracle speak truly, using the plural? But since the Christ of God, having come into being from the seed of Jacob, has assembled many congregations of nations through his evangelical teaching, it is fitting that the prophecy has already, in and through him, attained its fulfillment beforehand, and will attain it still more fully hereafter. 4. From Deuteronomy. A statement of the joy of the nations before God.
Rejoice, O heavens, together with him, and let all the sons of God worship him. Rejoice, O nations, with his people, and let all the angels of God strengthen them. Instead of 'Rejoice, O nations, with his people,' Aquila says, 'Shout aloud, O nations, his people,' and Theodotion, 'Exult, O nations, his people.' 5. From the Psalm. That there shall be a turning to God on the part of the ends of the earth and of all the nations, and that the generation that is to come, and the people that is to be born, shall receive his righteousness.
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before him; for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is master over the nations.
And next he adds: The generation that is coming shall be announced to the Lord, and they shall declare his righteousness to the people that shall be born, whom the Lord has made. These things are clear and need no interpretation. 6. From the Psalm. A proclamation of piety together with sobriety to the nations, and the kingship of God over the nations.
All you nations, clap your hands; shout aloud to God with a voice of exultation; for the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
And next he adds: For God is king of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. God has become king over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne. The rulers of the peoples have been gathered together with the God of Abraham. These things too are clear and need no interpretation. 7. Psalm 85. A statement of the piety of the nations.
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, and there is nothing like your works. All the nations that you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name; for you are great, and doing wonders, you alone are God. Likewise these too are clear. 8. Psalm 95. A statement of the piety of all the nations, and of a new song, and of the kingdom of God, and of the setting-right of the inhabited world.
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name, proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day; declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among all the peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
And he adds: Bring to the Lord, O families of the nations; bring to the Lord glory to his name. And next: Say among the nations, The Lord has become king; for indeed he has set the inhabited world aright. 9. From [——]. The recognition, by all the nations—including the Egyptians, who are the most superstitious of all—of the one true God, and of the spiritual worship and feast according to the divine law.
And it shall come to pass that as many as are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up year by year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall come to pass that whoever of all the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty—they too shall be added to those.
And if the family of Egypt does not go up, nor come, upon them too shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that do not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles; this shall be the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all the nations that do not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Clearly, these words too contain the calling of all the nations, the statements about Jerusalem and the feast of tabernacles being understood only in a spiritual sense—statements which will also, in due season, receive their fitting interpretation. 10. From [Isaiah]. A statement of the choosing of the apostles and the calling of the nations.
Do this first; do it swiftly: O land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, and the rest who dwell beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the people sitting in darkness, see a great light; you who dwell in the region and shadow of death, light shall shine upon you. 11. From [Isaiah]. A statement of the calling of the nations.
Listen to me, O islands, and give heed, O nations. It shall stand fast for a long time, says the Lord. To which he next adds, concerning both the nations and the Christ together: Behold, I have given you as a covenant of the race, as a light of the nations, that you should be for salvation unto the end of the earth.
You yourself would find countless other things scattered throughout all the prophets among the promises concerning the nations, which it is neither the time to gather up nor to interpret at present; but what has already been set forth suffices to establish the point at hand.
Now this was our aim, in the face of those of the circumcision who boast greatly in themselves and take pride, as though God had preferred them alone above the rest of the nations and had deemed them alone worthy of the divine promises—to show that nothing better has been promised to them individually, in the divine promises, beyond all the rest. Since, then, it has been demonstrated that the nations have been deemed worthy of the divine promises, let us now go on and consider through whom the nations are said to attain the calling of God and the divine promises; for it is good to perceive also the cause said to procure these good things for the nations.
And what could this be but the coming of Christ, through whom even those of the circumcision confess that their own redemption is to come about? It must be shown, then, that the expectation of the calling of the nations too was none other than the Christ of God himself, who was to appear as savior not only to the Jews but also to all the nations. For the present I shall make use of the bare testimonies of the prophets, without any interpretation, intending at leisure to interpret each one fully, whenever, with God's help, I shall gather together all the predictions concerning the nations and set about interpreting them as a whole.
12. Psalm 2. A statement of the conspiracy against Christ, and of his being proclaimed Son of God, and of his receiving the nations as an inheritance from the Father. Why did the nations rage, and the peoples meditate vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ, and so on—to which he adds: The Lord said to me, You are my Son, today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession. 13. Psalm [71]. A statement of the kingship of Christ, and of the calling of the nations, and of the blessing of all the tribes of the earth.
O God, give your judgment to the king, and your righteousness to the king's son, to judge your people, and so on; to which he adds: And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the inhabited world. And again: All the nations shall serve him.
And again: All the tribes of the earth shall be blessed in him; all the nations shall call him blessed. And at the end of the psalm: And all the earth shall be filled with his glory. Amen, amen. 14. Psalm 97. A statement of the new song, and of the arm of God, and of the manifestation of his salvation to all the nations; and 'salvation' is shown, by the Hebrew word, to be the name of the Son.
Sing to the Lord a new song, for the Lord has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have saved him. The Lord has made known his salvation; before the nations he has revealed his righteousness. He has remembered his mercy toward Jacob, and his truth toward the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout aloud to the Lord, all the earth.
And next he adds: Let the sea be moved, and the fullness thereof, the inhabited world and all who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands together; let the mountains exult before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth; he shall judge the inhabited world in righteousness, and the peoples in equity. 15. From [Genesis]. How, after the failing of the kingdom of the Jews, Christ himself, having appeared, would become the expectation of the nations.
A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes for whom it is reserved, and he is the expectation of the nations. 15. From [——]. A statement of the appearing of Christ, and of the abolition of idolatry, and of the piety of the nations toward God.
The Lord shall appear against them, and shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations; and all the islands of the nations shall worship him, each one from its own place. 17. From [——]. A statement of the day of the resurrection of Christ, and the gathering together of the nations, and the recognition of God by all men, and one manner of piety, and how the Ethiopians shall bring sacrifices to him.
Therefore wait for me, says the Lord, until the day of my resurrection as a witness. For my judgment is to the gathering of the nations, that I may receive kings, to pour out upon them my wrath, all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be consumed in the fire of my jealousy. For then I will turn to the peoples a tongue, unto their generation, that all may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him under a single yoke. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia they shall bring me sacrifices. 18. From [——]. A statement of the coming of Christ, and of the flight of many nations to him for refuge, and how peoples from the nations shall become a people gathered together for the Lord.
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come, and I will dwell in your midst, says the Lord; and many nations shall take refuge in the Lord in that day, and they shall become a people to him. And they shall dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 19. From Isaiah. A statement of the birth of Christ, who was to come forth from the root of Jesse, and of the calling, through him, of all the nations.
There shall come forth [a shoot] from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall spring up from the root, and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, and so on, to which he adds: And in that day there shall be the root of Jesse, and he who rises up to rule the nations; on him shall the nations hope. 20. From the same [Isaiah]. A statement of the coming of Christ, and of the benefit that came to all the nations through him.
Behold, my servant; I will uphold him; my chosen one, my soul has accepted him. I have put my Spirit upon him, and he shall bring forth judgment to the nations. He shall not cry out, nor relax his effort, nor shall his voice be heard outside. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoking flax he shall not quench, but he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall shine forth, and shall not be broken, until he sets judgment on the earth; and in his name shall the nations hope.
And next he adds: I, the Lord God, have called you in righteousness, and I will hold your hand, and strengthen you; and I have given you as a covenant of the race, as a light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the bound from their bonds, and those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord God; this is my name; my glory I will not give to another, nor my praises to graven images. The former things, behold, have come to pass; new things which I now announce, and before they spring forth they were made known to you. 21. From [——]. A statement of Christ, both of his birth and of the calling of the nations.
Listen to me, O islands, and give heed, O nations; it shall stand fast for a long time, says the Lord. From my mother's womb he called my name, and he made my mouth like a sharp sword, and he hid me under the shelter of his hand; he made me like a chosen arrow, and in his quiver he covered me.
And he adds: Behold, behold, I have given you as a covenant of the race, as a light of the nations, that you should be for salvation unto the end of the earth. 22. From [——]. A statement of the coming of Christ and the calling of the nations.
Thus says the Lord who redeemed you, O Israel: Sanctify him who despises his own soul, him who is abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers; kings shall see him, and rulers shall rise up, and shall worship him; and so on.
To which he adds: In an acceptable time I heard you, and in a day of salvation I helped you, and I have given you as a covenant of the nations, to establish the earth, and to inherit desolate inheritances, saying to those in bonds, Come out, and to those in darkness, Show yourselves. And they shall feed along all the ways, and their pasture shall be on all the paths; they shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the scorching heat nor the sun strike them, but he who has mercy on them shall comfort them, and shall lead them by springs of water; and I will make every mountain a way, and every path a pasture for them.
Behold, these shall come from far, these from the north and the sea, and others from the land of the Persians. Rejoice, O heavens, and let the earth exult; let the mountains break forth into joy, for the Lord has had mercy on his people, and has comforted the lowly of his people. 23. From the same [Isaiah]. A statement of Christ and the calling of the nations.
Give heed with your ears, and follow my ways; hearken to me, and your soul shall live in good things, and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him as a witness to the nations, a ruler and commander to the nations. Nations that do not know you shall call upon you, and peoples that do not understand you shall flee to you for refuge, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
Having therefore learned, through these testimonies, that the coming of Christ was being prepared in advance to be salvific not only for the Jews but for all the nations, come, let us now demonstrate the third point—how, at the time of his appearing, not only were better things being prophesied for the nations, but also the opposite for those of the circumcision.
For their own oracles expressly foretell that the falling away and rejection of the Jewish nation will come about on account of their unbelief toward Christ, so that we are shown to be no longer merely equal to them, but even superior to them over and above. And now again I shall make use of the bare citations of the prophets, without any interpretation of them, both because of their clarity and because I intend, at leisure, to make a most thorough examination of them. 24. From Jeremiah. A statement of the rejection of the Jewish nation, and of the adoption of the nations in their place.
Thus says the Lord: Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the eternal paths of the Lord, and see which is the good way, and walk in it, and you shall find purification for your souls. But they said, We will not go. I have set watchmen over you: Hear the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hear. Therefore the nations heard, and those who shepherd their flocks among them. 25. From the same [Jeremiah]. A statement of the piety of the nations and an accusation of the impiety of the Jewish nation. And a prediction of the evils that would come upon them after the coming of Christ.
O Lord, my strength and my help, and my refuge in the day of evils. To you shall the nations come from the end of the earth, and shall say: Our fathers acquired false idols, and there is no profit in them. Shall a man make gods for himself? And these are not gods.
Therefore, behold, I will show them, at this time; I will make known to them my hand and my power, and they shall know that my name is the Lord. The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, engraved with the point of a diamond, inscribed upon the tablet of their heart, whenever they remember their groves upon the leafy tree, and upon the high hills, and the mountains in the field. Your strength and your treasures will I give for plunder, and your high places, because of your sins in all your borders. And you shall be left alone, and shall be brought low from the inheritance which I gave you.
And I will enslave you to your enemies in a land which you have not known; for a fire has been kindled in my wrath; it shall burn forever. 26. From Amos. Concerning the dispersion of the Jewish nation among all the nations, and concerning the renewal of the coming and kingdom of Christ, and the calling of all the nations that took place in connection with it.
Behold, I command, and I will winnow the house of Israel among all the nations, just as [grain] is winnowed with a winnowing fan, and not a fragment shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, Evils shall not come near us, nor overtake us. In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David, and will rebuild the ruins thereof.
And I will raise up her ruins, and will rebuild her as in the days of old, that the remnant of mankind may seek me, and all the nations upon whom my name has been called, says the Lord who does all these things. 27. From Micah. An accusation against the rulers of the Jewish nation, and a statement of accusation against their metropolis, and of the appearing of Christ and of the house of God, his church, and of the coming of the Word and the Law, and a statement concerning all the nations. Hear now these things, you leaders of the house of Jacob, and you remnant of the house of Israel, who abhor judgment and pervert all that is right, who build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquities: her leaders judged for gifts, and her priests answered for a price, and her prophets divined for silver, yet they leaned upon the Lord, saying, Is not the Lord among us? No evil shall come upon us.
Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become as a garden-watcher's hut, and the mountain of the house shall become as a wooded thicket. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, prepared upon the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall hasten to it, and many nations shall go and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and they will show us his way, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 28. From Zechariah. A statement concerning the coming of Christ, and the destruction of the Jews' preparation for war, and the peace of the nations and the kingdom of the Lord unto the ends of the inhabited world.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; proclaim, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your king comes to you, righteous and saving, meek and mounted upon a beast of burden and a young colt; and he shall utterly destroy chariots out of Ephraim, and horses out of Jerusalem, and the battle-bow; and there shall be abundance of peace from the nations; and he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the outermost parts of the earth.
29. From Malachi. A repudiation of the Jewish nation, and a rejection of their bodily worship according to the law of Moses, in favor of the spiritual worship delivered through Christ to all the nations. I have no pleasure in you, says the Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands; for from the rising of the sun to its setting my name has been glorified among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord Almighty, but you profane it. 30. From Isaiah. The falling away of the Jewish nation from the word of God and from the new law, and the manifestation of his house, and a statement of the piety of all the nations.
The daughter of Zion shall be left as a booth in a vineyard, and as a watcher's hut in a cucumber field, as a besieged city. And next he adds: How the faithful city Zion has become a harlot, in which righteousness once lodged, but now murderers.
And in addition to these things: For they shall be like a terebinth that has shed its leaves, and like a garden that has no water. And their strength shall be like tow, and their works like sparks of fire, and the lawless and sinners shall be burned up together, and there shall be none to quench it.
To all these he adds: And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, and the house of God upon the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall come to it, and many nations shall go and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will declare to us his way, and we will walk in it; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge between the nations. 31. From the same [Isaiah]. The abolition of the glory of the Jewish people, and the turning of the nations away from idolatry toward the God of the universe; and concerning the desolation of the Jewish cities, and concerning their unbelief toward God.
Thus says the Lord Sabaoth: And it shall be, just as if someone gathers standing grain in a solid ravine, and stubble is left in it, or as when two or three berries of an olive are left at the top of the highest boughs, or four or five are left on their branches.