Jesus Christ Proved Himself God by His Prophecies

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This brief Article reviews the doctrine of prophecies as unquestionable proofs of God's approval of a doctrine or mission as divine, since only God can know with certainty the free future. Glenn then verifies some of the prophecies of Christ as true prophecies — among them the predictions of His own passion, death, and resurrection, of the denial of Peter, of the destruction of Jerusalem, and of the fortunes of His Church. These are shown to be genuine foretellings, recorded and fulfilled, and not vague utterances capable of any construction. They are therefore unmistakable proofs of the truth of His doctrine. Now His doctrine proclaims Him to be God; therefore He is proved to be God.

Article 4. Jesus Christ Proved Himself God by His Prophecies

by His Prophecies

a) Prophecies b) The Prophecies of Christ a) prophecies

In an earlier Chapter of this manual we have defined prophecies and have shown them to be a certain proof of truth in the doctrine of the prophet. For a prophecy is the certain foreknowledge and pronouncement of a future free event, that is, of an event that is not capable of being forecast or conjectured from the mere course of nature, but is, in itself, the result of free choice on the part of a rational being. Now, no knowledge that is circumscribed, no knowledge that falls short of the infinite, can know such future free events; and if a man shows that he has such knowledge, then he either is himself possessed of infinite understanding (and is God) or he speaks as the messenger of the All-Knowing.

b) The Prophecies of Christ

If Christ, therefore, is a true prophet, it follows that He is God or a messenger sent by God, whose message is true. But His message is that He is God. Therefore, in any case, if Christ is a true prophet, He is God.

Now, Christ is a true prophet. He made many prophecies of future free events that were so perfectly fulfilled that not even ill-will can assert that His prophecies were mere guesses. No mere conjecture or guess can predict all the details and circumstances of a complex event; and if many complete and detailed predictions are literally fulfilled, then the prophet is a true prophet, and reason must acknowledge him as such. Let us consider some of the prophecies of Christ and then look at their fulfilment.

Christ foretold all the events of His Passion and death. In St. Matthew (xx) we read that He told His disciples that, when they had completed a certain journey to Jerusalem, He would be betrayed, condemned, mocked, scourged, and crucified by the Gentiles. He named His betrayer (Matthew xxvi, 25); He foretold the sum the betrayer would receive for his treachery (John xiii, 21, 26); He foretold the triple denial of St Peter (xxvi, 34); He prophesied that He would be forsaken by His disciples (Matthew xxvi, 31). These, and other details of His Passion, details that no merely human knowledge could contain, and no mere fortunate conjecture could hit upon, were accurately foretold by Christ Therefore, He is a true prophet. Therefore, He is God.
Christ foretold His Resurrection (John iii, 19; Matthew xvii, 9; xx, 19; xxvii, 63). He declared that He would rise oh the third day after His death (Matthew xx, 19), or “three days” after His death, which means the same thing, for the ancient method of computation reckoned each part of a day as “a day.” These prophecies were accurately fulfilled. Therefore, Christ is a true prophet. Therefore, Christ is God.
Christ foretold His Ascension (John vi, 63), which took place, as we read in Acts i, 9. He foretold the coming of the Holy Ghost (John xiv, 26), which took place (Acts ii, 1-4). These prophecies were accurately fulfilled. Therefore, Christ is a true prophet. Therefore, Christ is God.
Christ foretold the rapid growth of His Church, a thing that depended (humanly speaking) on men’s free acceptance of His doctrine. This was, therefore, a prophecy of a future free event. The prophecy (Matthew xiii, 31, 33; xvi, 18) was so quickly fulfilled that, in spite of terrible persecutions, Christianity, within seventy years of the Resurrection, had spread in a fashion that caused the proconsul Pliny to exclaim in amazement and dismay; and by the year 200 Tertullian was able to write, “We [Christians] are but of yesterday, and yet we fill every place that you have, cities, islands, citadels, demesnes.” Christ, then, is a true prophet. Therefore, Christ is God.
Christ foretold the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke xix, 43, 44) and the dispersion of the Jews (Luke xxi, 23, 24). These prophecies were literally fulfilled. Therefore, Christ is a true prophet. Therefore, Christ is God.

Christ prophesied the endurance of His Church until the end of time (Matthew xxviii, 20) and declared that the gates of hell should not prevail against it (Matthew xvi, 18). These prophecies are in course of fulfilment, and as age after age brings its persecutions against the Church, as age after age passes and leaves the Church still flourishing, we find in these prophecies a greater and truer fulfilment, and we acknowledge with their truth the divinity of Him who pronounced them.

To sum up: A true prophet is a true messenger of God; his word is necessarily true. But Christ is a true prophet, as we have amply shown. Therefore, His word is true. But His word is that He is God. Therefore, Christ is truly God.

Summary of the Article

In this brief Article we have reviewed our knowledge of prophecies as unquestionable proofs of God’s approval of a doctrine or mission as divine. We have verified some of the prophecies of Christ as true prophecies. We have seen that these are unmistakable proofs of the truth of His doctrine. Now, His doctrine proclaims Him to be God. Therefore, we have proved Him to be God.