EXAMINATION

OF THE

PASSAGES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT,

QUOTED FROM THE OLD, AND CALLED PROPHECIES OF THE COMING OF

JESUS CHRIST.

[THIS work was first published by Mr. Paine, at New York, in 1807, and was the last of his writings, edited by himself. It is evidently extracted from his answer to the Bishop of Llandaff, or from his third part of the "Age of Reason," both of which, it appears by his will, he left in manuscript. The term, "The Bishop," occurs in this examination six times without designating what bishop is meant. Of all the replies to his second part of the "Age of Reason," that of Bishop Watson was the only one to which he paid particular attention; and he is, no doubt, the person here alluded to., Bishop Watson's apology for the Bible had been published some years before Mr. P. left France, and the latter composed his answer to it, and also his third part of the "Age of Reason," while in that country.

When Mr. Paine arrived in America, and found that liberal opinions on religion were in disrepute, through the influence of hypocrisy and superstition, he declined publishing the entire of the works which he had prepared; observing that "An author might lose the credit he had acquired by writing too much.” He however gave to the public the examination before us, in a pamphlet form. But the apathy which appeared to prevail at that time in regard to religious inquiry, fully determined him to discontinue the publication of his theological writings. In this case, taking only a portion of one of the works before mentioned, he chose a title adapted to the particular part selected.]

The Passages called Prophecies of, or concerning, Jesus Christ, in the Old Testament, may be classed under the two following heads:

First, those referred to in the four books of the New Testa

ment, called the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Secondly, those which translators and commentators have, of their own imagination, erected into prophecies, and dubbed with that title at the head of the several chapters of the Old Testament. Of these it is scarcely worth while to waste time, ink and paper upon; I shall, therefore, confine myself chiefly to those referred to in the aforesaid four books of the New Testament. If I show that these are not prophecies of the person called Jesus Christ, nor have reference to any such person, it will be perfectly needless to combat those which translators, or the Church, have invented, and for which they had no other authority than their own imagination

I begin with the book called the Gospel according to St. Matthew

In the first chap ver 18, it is said, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this wise: when his Mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together SHE WAS FOUND WITH CHILD BY THE HOLY GHOST."-This is going a little too fast, because to make this verse agree with the next it should have said no more than that she was found with child; for the next verse "Then Joseph her husband being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily."-Consequently Joseph had found out no more than that she was with child, and he knew it was not by himself.

says,

V. 20. "And while he thought of these things (that is, whether he should put her away privily, or make a public example of her) behold the Angel of the Lord appeared to him IN A DREAM (that is, Joseph dreamed that an angel appeared unto him), saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son and call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Now, without entering into any discussion upon the merits or demerits of the account here given, it is proper to observe, that it has no higher authority than that of a dream; for it is impossible for a man to behold anything in a dream, but that which he dreams of. I ask not, therefore whether Joseph (if there was such a man) had such a dream or not; because admitting he had, it proves nothing. So wonderful and rational is the faculty of the mind in dreams, that it acts the part of

all the characters its imagination creates, and what it thinks it hears from any of them, is no other than what the roving rapidity of its own imagination invents. It is, therefore, nothing to me what Joseph dreamed of; whether of the fidelity. or infidelity of his wife.-I pay no regard to my own dreams, and I should be weak indeed to put faith in the dreams of another.

The verses that follow those I have quoted, are the words of the writer of the book of Matthew "Now (says he), all this (that is, all this dreaming and this pregnancy) was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying,

"Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emanuel, which being interpreted, is, God with us.

"

This passage is in Isaiah, chap. vii ver 14, and the writer of the book of Matthew endeavors to make his readers believe that this passage is a prophecy of the person called Jesus Christ. It is no such thing-and I go to show it is not. But it is first necessary that I explain the occasion of these words being spoken by Isaiah; the reader will then easily perceive, that so far from their being a prophecy of Jesus Christ, they have not the least reference to such a person, or anything that could happen in the time that Christ is said to have lived— which was about seven hundred years after the time of Isaiah The case is this:

On the death of Solomon the Jewish nation split into two monarchies: one called the kingdom of Judah, the capital of which was Jerusalem; the other the kingdom of Israel, the capital of which was Samaria The kingdom of Judah followed the line of David, and the kingdom of Israel that of Saul; and these two rival monarchies frequently carried on fierce wars against each other.

At the time Ahaz was king of Judah, which was in the time of Isaiah, Pekah was king of Israel; and Pekah joined himself to Rezin, king of Syria, to make war against Ahaz, king of Judah; and these two kings marched a confederated and powerful army against Jerusalem Ahaz and his people became alarmed at the danger, and "their hearts were moved as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind." Isaiah, chap. vii ver.

3.

In this perilous situation of things, Isaiah addressed himself to Ahaz, and assures him, in the name of the Lord (the cant

phrase of all the prophets), that these two kings should not succeed against him. and, to assure him that this should be the case (the case was however directly contrary*), tells Ahaz to ask a sign of the Lord. This Ahaz declined doing, giving as a reason that he would not tempt the Lord; upon which Isaiah, who pretends to be sent from God, says, ver 14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign, behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son-Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good--For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land which thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings"-meaning the king of Israel and the king of Syria, who were marching against him.

Here then is the sign, which was to be the birth of a child, and that child a son, and here also is the time limited for the accomplishment of the sign, namely, before the child should. know to refuse the evil and choose the good.

The thing, therefore, to be a sign of success to Ahaz, must be something that would take place before the event of the battle then pending between him and the two kings could be known. A thing to be a sign must precede the thing signified. The sign of rain must be before the rain.

It would have been mockery and insulting nonsense for Isaiah to have assured Ahaz as a sign, that these two kings should not prevail against him: that a child should be born seven hundred years after he was dead; and that before the child so born should know to refuse the evil and choose the good, he, Ahaz, should be delivered from the danger he was then immediately threatened with.

But the case is, that the child of which Isaiah speaks was his own child, with which his wife or his mistress was then pregnant; for he says in the next chapter, v. 2, "And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah; and I went unto the prophetess, and

* Chron. chap. xxviii. ver. 1st. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, but he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord.-ver. 5. Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captive and brought them to Damascus; and he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

Ver. 6. And Pekah (king of Israel) slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day.-ver. 8. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters.

she conceived and bare a son," and he says, at ver. 18 of the same chapter, "Behold I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel.”

It may not be improper here to observe, that the word translated a virgin in Isaiah, does not signify a virgin in Hebrew, but merely a young woman. The tense also is falsified in the translation. Levi gives the Hebrew text of the 14th ver. of the 6th chap. of Isaiah, and the translation in English with it— "Behold a young woman is with child and beareth a son." The expression, says he, is in the present tense. This translation agrees with the other circumstances, related of the birth of this child, which was to be a sign to Ahaz. But as the true translation could not have been imposed upon the world as a prophecy of a child to be born seven hundred years afterwards, the Christian translators have falsified the original: and instead of making Isaiah to say, behold a young woman is with child and beareth a son-they make him to say, behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. It is, however, only necessary for a person to read the 7th and 8th chapters of Isaiah, and he will be convinced that the passage in question is no prophecy of the person called Jesus Christ. I pass on to the second passage quoted from the Old Testament by the New, as a prophecy of Jesus Christ.

Matthew, chap. ii. ver. 1. "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem-saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod, the king, heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him—and when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born-and they said unto him in Bethlehem, in the land of Judea for thus it is written by the prophetand thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art not the least among the Princes of Judea, for out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel." This passage is in Micah, chap. 5.

ver. 2.

I pass over the absurdity of seeing and following a star in the day-time, as a man would a Will with the wisp, or a candle and lantern at night; and also that of seeing it in the east, when they themselves came from the east; for could such a thing be seen at all to serve them for a guide, it must be in the west to