{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p>By the favour of God we have treated distinctly of His\r\npromises made to Abraham, that both the nation of\r\nIsrael according to the flesh, and all nations according to faith,\r\nshould be his seed, and the City of God, proceeding according\r\nto the order of time, will point<a id=\"FNanchor_343_343\"></a><a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_343_343\">[343]</a> out how they were fulfilled.\r\nHaving therefore in the previous book come down to the reign\r\nof David, we shall now treat of what remains, so far as may\r\nseem sufficient for the object of this work, beginning at the\r\nsame reign. Now, from the time when holy Samuel began to\r\nprophesy, and ever onward until the people of Israel was led\r\ncaptive into Babylonia, and until, according to the prophecy\r\nof holy Jeremiah, on Israel's return thence after seventy years,\r\nthe house of God was built anew, this whole period is the\r\nprophetic age. For although both the patriarch Noah himself,\r\nin whose days the whole earth was destroyed by the\r\nflood, and others before and after him down to this time when\r\nthere began to be kings over the people of God, may not undeservedly\r\nbe styled prophets, on account of certain things\r\npertaining to the city of God and the kingdom of heaven,\r\nwhich they either predicted or in any way signified should\r\ncome to pass, and especially since we read that some of them,\r\nas Abraham and Moses, were expressly so styled, yet those\r\nare most and chiefly called the days of the prophets from the\r\ntime when Samuel began to prophesy, who at God's command\r\nfirst anointed Saul to be king, and, on his rejection, David\r\nhimself, whom others of his issue should succeed as long as it<span class=\"pagenum\"><a id=\"Page_166\">[Pg 166]</a></span>\r\nwas fitting they should do so. If, therefore, I wished to rehearse\r\nall that the prophets have predicted concerning Christ,\r\nwhile the city of God, with its members dying and being born\r\nin constant succession, ran its course through those times, this\r\nwork would extend beyond all bounds. First, because the\r\nScripture itself, even when, in treating in order of the kings\r\nand of their deeds and the events of their reigns, it seems to\r\nbe occupied in narrating as with historical diligence the affairs\r\ntransacted, will be found, if the things handled by it are considered\r\nwith the aid of the Spirit of God, either more, or\r\ncertainly not less, intent on foretelling things to come than on\r\nrelating things past. And who that thinks even a little about\r\nit does not know how laborious and prolix a work it would be,\r\nand how many volumes it would require to search this out by\r\nthorough investigation and demonstrate it by argument? And\r\nthen, because of that which without dispute pertains to prophecy,\r\nthere are so many things concerning Christ and the\r\nkingdom of heaven, which is the city of God, that to explain\r\nthese a larger discussion would be necessary than the due proportion\r\nof this work admits of. Therefore I shall, if I can, so\r\nlimit myself, that in carrying through this work, I may, with\r\nGod's help, neither say what is superfluous nor omit what is\r\nnecessary.</p>","headings":["THE CITY OF GOD.","BOOK SEVENTEENTH.","ARGUMENT."],"marker_anchor":null,"paragraph_id":"pg45305-paragraph-283"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"7dcfbe28619c81cddbfe8b0f93668533fa30a2f4eb35ddb80d3b54b59f5becb7","edition_title":"The City of God, Volume II","edition_translators":["Marcus Dods","George Wilson (Books XVII-XVIII)"],"edition_year":1871,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg45305-Footnote_343_343","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Provider catalog reports public domain in the USA. Original transcription title leaves state T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1871; printed translator allocation retained. Gutenberg credits Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries without an exact scan identifier. Full provider license preserved with acquired original; republication and per-work metadata remain unreviewed.","source_anchor":"Footnote_343_343","source_ebook":45305,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\">\n<p><a id=\"Footnote_343_343\"></a><a class=\"pginternal\" href=\"#FNanchor_343_343\"><span class=\"label\">[343]</span></a> \"Has pointed.\"</p></div>","source_sha256":"7e0ced9e70512f3cf050b53c9d548e36b70d468d875153869f95d8aff5bbb530","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45305/pg45305-images.html#Footnote_343_343","text_sha256":"b44c0c1ffd0e6c6a3bfe2dfdcc3b2b42a1c1dcc3f7c325de4e209d64d6c0c9d7","verified":false,"work_id":null}