THE TREATISES OF ST. CYPRIAN
REGARDING THE JEWS
Taken from his work - Testimoniorum libri adversus Judaeos
Cyprian to his son Quirinus, greeting. It was necessary, my beloved
son, that I should obey your spiritual desire, which asked with most
urgent petition for those divine teachings wherewith the Lord has
condescended to teach and instruct us by the Holy Scriptures, that,
being led away from the darkness of error, and enlightened by His
pure and shining light, we may keep the way of life through the
saving sacraments.
And indeed, as you have asked, so has this
discourse been arranged by me; and this treatise has been ordered in
an abridged compendium, so that I should not scatter what was
written in too diffuse an abundance, but, as far as my poor memory
suggested, might collect all that was necessary in selected and
connected heads, under which I may seem, not so much to have treated
the subject, as to have afforded material for others to treat it.
Moreover, to readers also, brevity of the same kind is of very great
advantage, in that a treatise of too great length dissipates the
understanding and perception of the reader, while a tenacious memory
keeps that which is read in a more exact compendium. But I have
comprised in my undertaking two books of equally moderate length:
one wherein I have endeavoured to show that the Jews, according to
what had before been foretold, had departed from God, and had lost
God's favour, which had been given them in past time, and had been
promised them for the future; while the Christians had succeeded to
their place, deserving well of the Lord by faith, and coming out of
all nations and from the whole world. The second book likewise
contains the sacrament of Christ, that He has come who was announced
according to the Scriptures, and has done and perfected all those
things whereby He was foretold as being able to be perceived and
known.[4] And these things may be of advantage to you meanwhile, as
you read, for forming the first lineaments of your faith. More
strength will be given you, and the intelligence of the heart will
be effected more and more, as you examine more fully the Scriptures,
old and new, and read through the complete volumes of the spiritual
books.[5] For now we have filled a small measure from the divine
fountains, which in the meantime we would send to you. You will be
able to drink more plentifully, and to be more abundantly satisfied,
if you also will approach to drink together with us at the same
springs of the divine fulness.[6] I bid you, beloved son, always
heartily farewell.
FIRST BOOK. HEADS.
1. That the Jews have fallen under the heavy wrath of God, because
they have departed from the Lord, and have followed idols.
2. Also because they did not believe the prophets, and put them to
death.
3. That it was previously foretold that they would neither know the
Lord, nor understand nor receive Him.
4. That the Jews would not understand the Holy Scriptures, but that
they would be intelligible in the last times, after Christ had come.
5. That the Jews could understand nothing of the Scriptures unless
they first believed on Christ.
6. That they would lose Jerusalem, and leave the land which they had
received.
7. That they would also lose the Light of the Lord.
8. That the first circumcision of the flesh was made void, and a
second circumcision of the spirit was promised instead.
9. That the former law, which was given by Moses, was about to
cease.
10. That a new law was to be given.
11. That another dispensation and a new covenant was to be given.
12. That the old baptism was to cease, and a new one was to begin.
13. That the old yoke was to be made void, and a new yoke was to be
given.
14. That the old pastors were to cease, and new ones to begin.
15. That Christ should be God's house and temple, and that the old
temple should pass away, and a new one should begin.
16. That the old sacrifice should be made void, and a new one should
be celebrated.
17. That the old priesthood should cease, and a new priest should
come who should be for ever.
18. That another prophet, such as Moses, was promised, to wit, who
should give a new testament, and who was rather to be listened to.
19. That two peoples were foretold, the elder and the younger; that
is, the ancient people of the Jews, and the new one which should be
of us.
20. That the Church, which had previously been barren, should have
more sons from among the Gentiles than the synagogue had had before.
21. That the Gentiles should rather believe in Christ.
22. That the Jews should lose the bread and the cup of Christ, and
all His grace; while we should receive them, and that the new name
of Christians should be blessed in the earth.
23. That rather the Gentiles than the Jews should attain to the
kingdom of heaven.
24. That by this alone the Jews could obtain pardon of their sins,
if they wash away the blood of Christ slain in His baptism, and,
passing over into the Church, should obey His precepts.[1]
TESTIMONIES.
1. That the Jews have fallen under the heavy wrath of God because
they have forsaken the Lord, and have followed idols.
In Exodus the people said to Aaron: "Arise and make us gods which
shall go before us: because as for this man Moses, who brought us
out of Egypt, we know not what has become of him."[2] In the same
place also Moses says to the Lord: "O Lord, I pray thee, this people
have sinned! a great sin. They have made to themselves gods of gold
and silver. And now, if thou wilt forgive them their sin, forgive;
but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. And the
Lord said unto Moses, If any one hath sinned against me, him will I
blot out of my book."[3] Likewise in Deuteronomy: They sacrificed
unto demons, and not unto God."[4] In the book of Judges too: "And
the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord God of
their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and
followed the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and
offended the Lord, and forsook God, and served Baal."[5] Also in the
same place: "And the children of Israel added again to do evil[6] in
the sight of the Lord, and served Baal and the gods of the
strangers, and forsook the Lord, and served Him not."[7] In Malachi:
"Judah is forsaken, and has become an abomination in Israel and in
Jerusalem, because Judah has profaned the holiness of the Lord in
those things wherein He hath loved, and courted strange gods. The
Lord will cut off the man who doeth this, and he shall be made base
in the tabernacles of Jacob."[8]
2. Also because they did not believe the prophets, and put them to
death.
In Jeremiah the Lord says: "I have sent unto I you my servants the
prophets. Before the daylight I sent them (and ye heard me not, and
did not listen with your ears), saying, Let every one of you be
converted from his evil way, and from your most wicked desires; and
ye shall dwell in that land which I have given you and your fathers
for ever and ever."[9] And again:[10] "Go not after other gods, to
serve them, and do not worship them; and provoke me not to anger in
the works of your hands to scatter you abroad; and ye have not
hearkened unto me."[11] Also in the third book of the Kings, Elias
saith unto the Lord: "In being jealous I have been jealous for the
Lord God Almighty; because the children of Israel have forsaken
Thee, have demolished Thine altars, and have slain Thy prophets with
the sword; and I have remained solitary, and they seek my life, to
take it away from me."[12] In Ezra also: "'They have fallen away
from Thee, and have cast Thy law behind their backs, and have killed
Thy prophets which testified against them that they should return to
Thee."[13]
3. That it was previously foretold that they would neither know the
Lord, nor understand, nor receive Him.
In Isaiah: "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath
spoken; I have begotten and brought up children, but they have
rejected me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's
crib: but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath not perceived
me. Ah sinful nation, a people filled with sins, a wicked seed,
corrupting children: ye have forsaken the Lord, and have sent that
Holy One of Israel into anger."[1] In the same also the Lord says:
"Go and tell this people, Ye shall hear with the ear, and shall not
understand; and seeing, ye shall see, and shall not perceive. For
the heart of this people hath waxed gross, and they hardly hear with
their ears, and they have shut up their eyes, lest haply they should
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart, and should return, and I should heal them."[2] Also in
Jeremiah the Lord says: "They have forsaken me, the fountain of
living water, and have dug for themselves worn-out cisterns, which
could not hold water."[3] Moreover, in the same: "Behold, the word
of the Lord has become unto them a reproach, and they do not wish
for it."[4] Again in the same the Lord says: "The kite knoweth his
time, the turtle, and the swallow;[5] the sparrows of the field keep
the time of their coining in; but my people doth not know the
judgment of the Lord. How say ye, We are wise, and the law of the
Lord is with us? The false measurement[6] has been made vain; the
scribes are confounded the wise men have trembled, and been taken,
because they have rejected the word of the Lord."[7] In Solomon
also: "Evil men seek me, and shall not find me; for they held wisdom
in hatred and did not receive the word of the Lord."[8] Also in the
twenty-seventh Psalm: "Render to them their deserving, because they
have not perceived in the works of the Lord."[9] Also in the
eighty-first Psalm: "They have not known, neither have they
understood; they shall walk on in darkness."[10] In the Gospel, too,
according to John: "He came unto His own, and His own received Him
not. As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the
sons of God who believe on His name."[11]
4. That the Jews would not understand the Holy Scriptures, but that
they would be intelligible in the last times, after that Christ had
come.
In Isaiah: "And all these words shall be unto you as the words of a
book that is sealed, which, if you shall give to a man that knoweth
letters to read, he shall say, I cannot read, for it is sealed. But
in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and they who
are in darkness and in a cloud; the eyes of the blind shall
see."[12] Also in Jeremiah: "In the last of the days ye shall know
those things."[13] In Daniel, moreover: "Secure the words, and seal
the book until the time of consummation, until many learn, and
knowledge is fulfilled, because when there shall be a dispersion
they shall know all these things."[14] Likewise in the first Epistle
of Paul to the Corinthians: "Brethren, I would not that ye should be
ignorant, that all our fathers were under the cloud."[15] Also in
the second Epistle to the Corinthians: "Their minds are blinded even
unto this day, by this same veil which is taken away in Christ,
while this same veil remains in the reading of the Old Testament,
which is not unveiled, because it is made void in Christ; and even
to this day, if at any time Moses is read, the veil is upon their
heart. But by and by, when they shall be turned unto the Lord, the
veil shall be taken away."[16] In the Gospel, the Lord after His
resurrection says: "These are the words which I spake unto you while
I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms,
concerning me. Then opened He their understanding, that they might
understand the Scriptures; and said unto them, That thus it is
written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again
from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached in His name even among all nations."[17]
5. That the Jews could understand nothing of the Scriptures unless
they first believed in Christ.
In Isaiah: "And if ye will not believe, neither will ye
understand."[18] Also the Lord in the Gospel: "For if ye believe not
that I am He, ye shall die in your sins."[19] Moreover, that
righteousness should subsist by faith, and that in it was life, was
predicted in Habakkuk: "Now the just shall live by faith of me."[1]
Hence Abraham, the father of the nations, believed; in Genesis:
"Abraham believed in God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness."[2] In like manner, Paul to the Galatians: "Abraham
believed in God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Ye
know, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are children
of Abraham. But the Scripture, foreseeing that God justifieth the
heathens by faith, foretold to Abraham that all nations should be
blessed in him. Therefore they who are of faith are blessed[3] with
faithful Abraham."[4]
6. That the Jews should lose Jerusalem, and should leave the land
which they had received.
In Isaiah: "Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with
fire: your land, strangers shall devour it in your sight; and the
daughter of Zion shall be left deserted, and overthrown by foreign
peoples, as a cottage in a vineyard, and as a keeper's lodge in a
garden of cucumbers, as a city which is besieged. And unless the
Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we should have been as Sodoma,
and we should have been like unto Gomorrah."[5] Also in the Gospel
the Lord says: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and
stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and thou wouldst not! Behold, your house shall be left unto
you desolate."[6]
7. Also that they should lose the Light of the Lord.
In Isaiah: "Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. For
He hath sent away His people, the house of Israel."[7] In His Gospel
also, according to John: "That was the true light which lighteth
every man that cometh into this world. He was in this world, and the
world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not."[8] Moreover, in
the same place: "He that believeth not is judged already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And
this is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light." [9]
8. That the first circumcision of the flesh is made void, and the
second circumcision of the spirit is promised instead.
In Jeremiah: "Thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah, and to them
who inhabit Jerusalem, Renew newness among you, and do not sow among
thorns: circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise the
foreskin of your heart; lest my anger go forth like fire, and burn
you up, and there be none to extinguish it."[10] Also Moses says:
"In the last days God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of
thy seed, to love the Lord thy God."[11] Also in Jesus the son of
Nave: "And the Lord said unto Jesus, Make thee small knives of
stone, very sharp, and set about to circumcise the children of
Israel for the second time."[12] Paul also, to the Colossians: "Ye
are circumcised with the circumcision not made with hands in the
putting off of the flesh, but with the circumcision of Christ."[13]
Also, because Adam was first made by God uncircumcised, and
righteous Abel, and Enoch, who pleased God and was translated; and
Noah, who, when the world and men were perishing on account of
transgressions, was chosen alone, that in him the human race might
be preserved; and Melchizedek, the priest according to whose order
Christ was promised. Then, because that sign did not avail
women,[14] but all are sealed by the sign of the Lord.
9. That the former law which was given by Moses was to cease.
In Isaiah: "Then shall they be manifest who seal the law, that they
may not learn; and he shall say, I wait upon the Lord, who turneth
away His face from the house of Jacob, and I shall trust in
Him."[15] In the Gospel also: "All the prophets and the law
prophesied until John."[16]
10. That a new law was to be given.
In Micah: "For the law shall go forth out of Sion, and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many peoples, and
He shall subdue and uncover strong nations."[17] Also in Isaiah:
"For from Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem; and He shall judge among the nations."[18] Likewise in
the Gospel according to Matthew: "And behold a voice out of the
cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;
hear ye Him."[19]
11. That another dispensation and a new covenant was to be given.
In Jeremiah: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, and I will
complete for the house of Israel, and for the house of Judah, a new
testament, not according to the testament which I ordered with their
fathers in that day in which I took hold of their hands to bring
them out of the land of Egypt, because they remained not in my
testament, and I disregarded them, saith the Lord: Because this is
the testament which will establish with the house of Israel after
those days, saith the Lord: I will give them my laws, and into their
minds I will write them; and I will be to them for a God, and they
shall be to me for a people; and they shall not teach every man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the
least even to the greatest of them: for I will be merciful to their
iniquities, and will no more be mindful of their sins."[1]
12. That the old baptism should cease, and a new one should begin.
In Isaiah: "Therefore remember ye not the former things, neither
reconsider the ancient things. Behold, I make new the things which
shall now arise, and ye shall know it; and I will make in the desert
a way, and rivers in a dry place, to give drink to my chosen race,
my people whom I acquired, that they should show forth my
praises."[2] In the same also: "If they thirst, He will lead them
through the deserts; He will bring forth water from the rock; the
rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow: and my people shall
drink."[3] Moreover, in the Gospel according to Matthew, John says:
"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh
after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; He
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."[4] Also
according to John: "Except a man be born of water, and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. For that which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit."[5]
13. That the old yoke should be made void, and a new yoke should be
given.
In the second Psalm: "For what purpose have the heathen raged, and
the people imagined vain things? The kings of the earth stood up,
and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord, and against
His Christ. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their
yoke from us."[6] Likewise in the Gospel according to Matthew, the
Lord says: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are burdened, and I
will cause you to rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for
I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is excellent, and my burden is light."[7] In
Jeremiah: "In that day I will shatter the yoke from their neck, and
will burst their fetters; and they shall not labour for others, but
they shall labour for the Lord God; and I will raise up David a king
unto them."[8]
14. That the old pastors should cease and new ones begin.
In Ezekiel: "Wherefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I am above the
shepherds; and I will require my sheep from their hands, and I will
turn them away from feeding my sheep; and they shall feed them no
more, and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, and I will feed
them with judgment."[9] In Jeremiah the Lord says: "And I will give
you shepherds according to my own heart, and they shall feed you
with the food of discipline."[10] In Jeremiah, moreover: "Hear the
word of the Lord, ye nations, and tell it to the islands which are
afar off. Say, He that scattereth Israel will gather him, and will
keep him as a shepherd his flock: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob,
and taken him out from the hand of him that was stronger than
he."[11]
15. That Christ should be the house and temple of God, and that the
old temple should cease, and the new one should begin.
In the second book of Kings: "And the word of the Lord came to
Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord,
Thou shall not build me an house to dwell in; but it shall be, when
thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shall sleep with thy fathers,
I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall come from thy
bowels, and I will make ready his kingdom. He shall build me an
house in my name, and I will raise up his throne for ever; and I
will be to him for a father, and he shall be to me for a son: and
his house shall obtain confidence, and his kingdom for evermore in
my sight."[12] Also in the Gospel the Lord says: "There shall not be
left in the temple one stone upon another that shall not be thrown
down."[13] And "After three days another shall be raised up without
hands."[14]
16. That the ancient sacrifice should be made void, and a new one
should be celebrated.
In Isaiah: "For what purpose to me is the multitude of your
sacrifices? saith the Lord: I am full; I will not have the burnt
sacrifices of rams, and fat of lambs, and blood of bulls and goats.
For who hath required these things from your hands?"[1] Also in the
forty-ninth Psalm: "I will not eat the flesh of bulls, nor drink the
blood of goats. Offer to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay your
vows to the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I
will deliver thee: and thou shall glorify me."[2] In the same Psalm,
moreover: "The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: therein is the
way in which I will show him the salvation of God."[3] In the fourth
Psalm too: "Sacrifice the sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in
the Lord."[4] Likewise in Malachi: "I have no pleasure concerning
you, saith the Lord, and I will not have an accepted offering from
your hands. Because from the rising of the sun, even unto the going
down of the same, my name is glorified among the Gentiles; and in
every place odours of incense are offered to my name, and a pure
sacrifice, because great is my name among the nations, saith the
Lord."[5]
17. That the old priesthood should cease, and a new priest should
come, who should be for ever.
In the cixth Psalm: "Before the morning star I begat thee. The Lord
hath sworn, and He will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever,
after the order of Melchizedek."[6] Also in the first book of Kings,
God says to the priest Eli: "And I will raise up to me a faithful
priest, who shall do all things which are in my heart: and I will
build him a sure house; and he shall pass in the presence of my
anointed ones for all days. And it shall be, whosoever shall remain
in thine house, shall come to worship for an obolus of money, and
for one loaf of bread."[7]
18. That another Prophet such as Moses was promised, to wit, one who
should give a new testament, and who rather ought to be heard.
In Deuteronomy God said to Moses: "And the Lord said to me, A
Prophet will I raise up to them from among their brethren, such as
thee, and I will give my word in His mouth; and He shall speak unto
them that which I shall command Him. And whosoever shall not hear
whatsoever things that Prophet shall speak in my name, I will avenge
it."[8] Concerning whom also Christ says in the Gospel according to
John: "Search the Scriptures, in which ye think ye have eternal
life. These are they which set forth testimony concerning me; and ye
will not come to me, that ye might have life. Do not think that I
accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even
Moses, on whom ye hope. For if ye had believed Moses, ye would also
believe me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings,
how shall ye believe my words?"[9]
19. That two peoples were foretold, the eider and the younger; that
is, the old people of the Jews, and the new one which should consist
of us.
In Genesis: "And the Lord said unto Rebekah, Two nations are in thy
womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy belly; and the one
people shall overcome the other people; and the elder shall serve
the younger."[10] Also in Hosea: "I will call them my people that
are not my people, and her beloved that was not beloved. For it
shall be, in that place in which it shall be called not my people,
they shall be called the sons of the living God."[11]
20. That the Church which before had been barren should have more
children from among the Gentiles than what the synagogue had had
before.
In Isaiah: "Rejoice, thou barren, that bar-est not; and break forth
and cry, thou that travailest not: because many more are the
children of the desolate one than of her who hath an husband. For
the Lord hath said, Enlarge the place of thy tabernacle, and of thy
curtains, and fasten them: spare not, make long thy measures, and
strengthen thy stakes: stretch forth yet to thy right hand and to
thy left hand; and thy seed shall possess the nations, and shall
inhabit the deserted cities. Fear not; because thou shalt overcome:
nor be afraid because thou art cursed; for thou shalt forget thy
eternal confusion."[12] Thus also to Abraham, when his former son
was born of a bond-woman, Sarah remained long barren; and late in
old age bare her son Isaac, of promise, who was the type of Christ.
Thus also Jacob received two wives: the eider Leah, with weak eyes,
a type of the synagogue; the younger the beautiful Rachel, a type of
the Church, who also remained long barren, and afterwards brought
forth Joseph, who also was himself a type of Christ. And in the
first of Kings it is said that Elkanah had two wives: Peninnah, with
her sons; and Hannah, barren, from whom is born Samuel, not
according to the order of generation, but according to the mercy and
promise of God, when she had prayed in the temple; and Samuel being
born, was a type of Christ. Also in the first book of Kings: "The
barren hath borne seven and she that had many children has grown
weak."[1] But the seven children are the seven churches. Whence also
Paul wrote to seven churches; and the Apocalypse sets forth seven
churches, that the number seven may be preserved; as the seven days
in which God made the world; as the seven angels who stand and go in
and out before the face of God, as Raphael the angel says in Tobit;
and the sevenfold lamp in the tabernacle of witness; and the seven
eyes of God, which keep watch over the world; and the stone with
seven eyes, as Zechariah says; and the seven spirits; and the seven
candlesticks in the Apocalypse; and the seven pillars upon which
Wisdom hath builded her house in Solomon.
21. That the Gentiles should rather believe in Christ.
In Genesis: "And the Lord God said unto Abraham, Go out from thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, and go
into that land which I shall show thee: and I will make of thee a
great nation, and I will bless thee, and I will magnify thy name;
and thou shalt be blessed: and I will bless him that blesseth thee,
and I will curse him that curseth thee. and in thee shall all the
tribes of the earth be blessed."[2] On this same point in Genesis:
"And Isaac blessed Jacob.[3] Behold, the smell of my son is as the
smell of a plentiful field which the Lord hath blessed: and God give
thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fertility of the earth,
abundance of corn, and wine, and oil: and peoples shall obey thee,
and princes shall worship thee: and thou shalt be lord over thy
brother, and the sons of thy father shall worship thee; and he that
curseth thee shall be cursed, and he that blesseth thee shall be
blessed."[4] On this matter too in Genesis: "But when Joseph saw
that his father placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it
seemed displeasing to him: and Joseph laid hold of his father's
hand, to lift it from the head of Ephraim on to the head of
Manasseh. Moreover, Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father:
this is my first-born; place thy right hand upon his head. But he
would not, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: and he also shall
be a people, and he shall be exalted; but his younger brother shall
be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of
nations."[5] Moreover in Genesis: "Judah, thy brethren shall praise
thee: thine hand shall be upon the back of thine enemies; the sons
of thy father shall worship thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the
slender twig,[6] my son, thou hast ascended: thou layedst down and
sleepedst as a lion, and as a lion's whelp. Who shall stir him up?
There shalt not fail a prince from Judah, and a leader from his
loins, until those things entrusted to him shall come; and he is the
hope of the nations: binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's
colt unto the branch of the vine;[7] he shall wash his garments in
wine, and his clothing in the blood of the grape: terrible are his
eyes with wine, and his teeth are whiter than milky,"[8] Hence in
Numbers it is written concerning our people: "Behold, the people
shall rise up as a lion-like people."[9] In Deuteronomy: "Ye
Gentiles shall be for the head; but this unbelieving people shall be
for the tail."[10] Also in Jeremiah: "Hear the sound of the trumpet.
And they said, We will not hear: for this cause the nations shall
hear, and they who shall feed their cattle among them."[11] In the
seventeenth Psalm: "Thou shalt establish me the head of the nations:
a people whom I have not known have served me: at the hearing of the
ear they have obeyed me."[12] Concerning this very thing the Lord
says in Jeremiah: "Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee;
and before thou wentest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee, and
established thee as a prophet among the nations."[13] Also in
Isaiah: "Behold, I have manifested him for a witness to the nations,
a prince and a commander to the peoples."[14] Also in the same:
"Nations which have not known Thee shall call upon Thee; and peoples
which were ignorant of Thee shall flee to Thee."[15] In the same,
moreover: "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which
shall rise to rule in all the nations; in Him shall the Gentiles
hope: and His rest shall be honour."[1] In the same again: "The land
of Zebulon, and the land of Nephtalim, by the way of the sea, and ye
others who inhabit the maritime places, and beyond Jordan[2] of the
nations. People that walk in darkness, behold yea great light; ye
who dwell in the region of the shadow of death, the light shall
shine upon you."[3] Also in the same: "Thus saith the Lord God to
Christ my Lord, whose right hand I hold, that the nations may hear
Him; and I will break asunder the strength of kings, I will open
before Him gates; and cities shall not be shut."[4] Also in the
same: "I come to gather together all nations and tongues; and they
shall come, and see my glory. And I will send out over them a
standard, and I will send those that are preserved among them to the
nations which are afar off, which have not heard my name nor seen my
glory; and they shall declare my glory to the nations."[5] Also in
the same: "And in all these things they are not converted; therefore
He shall lift up a standard to the nations which are afar, and He
will draw them from the end of the earth."[6] Also in the same:
"Those who had not been told of Him shall see, and they who have not
heard shall understand."[7] Also in the same: "I have been made
manifest to those who seek me not: I have been formal of those who
asked not after me. I said, Lo, here am I, to a nation that has not
called upon my! name."[8] Of this same thing, in the Acts of the
Apostles, Paul says: "It was necessary that the word of God should
first be shown to you; but since ye put it from you, and judged
yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles:
for thus said the Lord by the Scriptures, Behold, I have set Thee a
light among the nations, that Thou shouldest be for salvation even
to the ends of the earth."[9]
22. That the Jews would lose while we should receive the bread and
the cup of Christ and all His grace, and that the new name of
Christians should be blessed in the earth.
In Isaiah: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, they who serve me shall
eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, they who serve me shall drink,
but ye shall be thirsty:[10] behold, they who serve me shall
rejoice, but ye shall be confounded; the Lord shall slay you. But to
those who serve me a new name shall be named, which shall be blessed
in the earth."[11] Also in the same place: "Therefore shall He lift
up an ensign to the nations which are afar off, and He will draw
them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they shall come swiftly
with lightness; they shall not hunger nor thirst."[12] Also in the
same place: "Behold, therefore, the Ruler, the Lord of Sabaoth,
shall take away from Judah and from Jerusalem the healthy man and
the strong man, the strength of bread and the strength of
water."[13] Likewise in the thirty-third Psalm: "O taste and see how
sweet is the Lord. Blessed is the man that hopeth in Him. Fear the
Lord God, all ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear
Him. Rich men have wanted and have hungered; but they who seek the
Lord shall never want any good thing."[14] Moreover, in the Gospel
according to John, the Lord says: "I am the bread of life: he that
cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that trusteth in me shall
never thirst."[15] Likewise He saith in that place: "If any one
thirst, let him come and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water."[16] Moreover, He says in the same place: "Except ye eat the
flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye shall have no life
in you."[17]
23. That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of
heaven.
In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from
the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in
the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out
into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth."[18]
24. That by this alone the Jews can receive pardon of their sins, if
they wash away the blood of Christ slain, in His baptism, and,
passing over into His Church, obey His precepts.
In Isaiah the Lord says: "Now I will not release your sins. When ye
stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my face from you; and if
ye multiply prayers, I will not hear you: for your hands are full of
blood. Wash you, make you clean; take away the wickedness from your
souls from the sight of mine eyes; cease from your wickedness; learn
to do good; seek judgment; keep him who suffers wrong; judge for the
orphan, and justify the widow. And come, let us reason together,
saith the Lord: and although your sins be as scarlet, I will
whiten[1] them as snow; and although they were as crimson, I will
whiten[2] them as wool. And if ye be willing and listen to me, ye
shall eat of the good of the land; but if ye be unwilling, and will
not hear me, the sword shall consume you; for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken these things."[3]
