CHURCH
745
CHURCH
distinguished from their pastors, the Ecclesia Discens
(Acts xx, 28). In all these cases the name belonging
to the whole is applied to a part. The term, in its
full meaning, denotes the whole body of the faithful,
both rulers and ruled, throughout the world (Eph.,
i. 22; Col., i, 18). It is in this meaning that the
Church is treated of in the present article. As thus
understood, the definition of the Church given by
Bellarmine is that usually adopted by Catholic theo-
logians: "A body of men united together by the
profession of the same Christian Faith, and by
participation in the same sacraments, under the
governance of lawful pastors, more especially of the
Roman Pontiff, the sole vicar of Christ on earth"
(Ccetus hominum ejusdem Christiana? fidei professione,
et eorumdem sacramentorum communione colligatus,
sub regimine legitimorum pastorum et prcecipue unius
Christi in Terris vicarii Romani Pontificis. — Bellar-
mine, De Eccl., Ill, ii, 9). The accuracy of this
definition will appear in the course of the article.
II. The Church in Prophecy. — Hebrew proph- ecy relates in almost equal proportions to the per- son and to the work of the Messias. This work was conceived as consisting of the establishment of a kingdom, in which he was to reign over a regenerated Israel. The prophetic writings describe for us with precision many of the characteristics which were to distinguish that kingdom. Christ during His min- istry affirmed not only that the prophecies relating to the Messias were fulfilled in His own person, but also that the expected Messianic kingdom was none other than His Church. A consideration of the features of the kingdom as depicted by the Prophets, must therefore greatly assist us in understanding Christ's intentions in the institution of the Church. Indeed many of the expressions employed by Him in relation to the society He was establishing are only intelligible in the light of these prophecies and of the consequent expectations of the Jewish people. It will moreover appear that we have a weighty argument for the supernatural character of the I Ihristian revela- tion in the precise fulfilment of the sacred oracles.
A characteristic feature of the Messianic kingdom, as predicted, is its universal extent. Not merely the twelve tribes, but the Gentiles are to yield allegiance to the Son of David. All kings are to serve and obey him; his dominion is to extend to the ends of the earth (Pss. xxi, 28 sq.; ii, 7-12; cxvi. 1; Zach., ix, 10 1. Another series of remarkable passages declares that the subject nations will possess the unity con- ferred by a common faith and a common worship — ■ a feature represented under the striking image of the concourse of all peoples and nations to worship at Jerusalem. "It shall come to pass in the last days [D'^-H n'"inS2, i- e. in the Messianic Era] . . . that many nations shall say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of I he God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth out of Sion, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem" (Mich., iv, 1-2; cf. Is., ii, 2; Zach., viii, 3). This unity of worship is to be the fruit of a Divine revelation common to all the inhabitants of the earth (Zach., xiv, 8).
Corresponding to the triple office of the Messias as
fmest, prophet, and king, it will be noted that in re- ation to the kingdom the Sacred Writings lay stress on three point-: , it is to be endowed with a new and peculiar sacrificial system; (In it is to be the kingdom of truth possessed of a Divine revelation; (c) it is to be governed by an authority emanating
from the Messias. (a) In regard to the first of these
points, the priesthood of the Messias Himself is ex- plicitly stated (Ps. <-ix. 4); while it is further taught that the worship which He is to inaugurate shall supersede the sacrifices of the Old Dispensation. This is implied, as the Apostle tells us, in the very
title, "a priest after the order of Melehisedech"; and
the same truth is contained in the prediction that a
new priesthood is to be formed, drawn from other
peoples besides the Israelites (Is., lxvi, 18), and in
the words of the Prophet Malachias which foretell the
institution of a new sacrifice to be offered "from the
rising of the sun even to the going down" (Mai., i,
11). _ The sacrifices offered by the priesthood of the
Messianic kingdom are to endure as long as day and
night shall last (Jer., xxxiii, 20). (b) The revelation
of the Divine truth under the New Dispensation is at-
tested by Jeremias: "Behold the days shall come
saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel and with the house of Juda . .
and they shall teach no more every man his neigh-
bour, saying: Know the Lord: for all shall know me
from the least of them even to the greatest" (Jer.,
xxxi, 31, 34), while Zacharias assures us that in those
days Jerusalem shall be known as the city of truth.
(Zach., viii, 3). (c) The passages which foretell that
the kingdom will possess a peculiar principle of
authority in the personal rule of the Messias are
numerous (e. g. Pss. ii; lxxi; Is., ix, 6 sq.); but in
relation to Christ's own words, it is of interest to
observe that in some of these passages the prediction
is expressed under the metaphor of a shepherd guid-
ing and governing his flock (Ezech., xxxiv, 23 ; xxxvii,
24-28). It is noteworthy, moreover, that just as the
prophecies in regard to the priestly office foretell the
appointment of a priesthood subordinate to the
Messias, so those which relate to the office of govern-
ment indicate that the Messias will associate with
Himself other "shepherds", and will exercise His
authority over the nations through rulers delegated
to govern in His name (Jer., xviii, 6; Ps. xliv, 17; cf.
St. Augustine Enarr. in Psalm, xliv, no. 32). Another
feature of the kingdom is to be the sanctity of its
members. The way to it is to be called "the holy
way: the unclean shall not pass over it". The iin-
circumcised and unclean are not to enter into the
renewed Jerusalem (Is., xxxv, 8; Hi, 1).
The later uninspired apocalyptic literature of the Jews shows us how profoundly these predictions had influenced their national hopes, and explains for us the intense expectation among the populace described in the Gospel narratives. In these works as in the inspired prophecies the traits of the Messianic king- dom present two very different aspects. On the one hand, the Messias is a Davidic king who gathers to- gether the dispersed of Israel, and establishes on this earth a kingdom of purity and sinlessness (Psalms of Solomon, xvii). The foreign foe is to be subdued (Assumpt. Moses, c. x) ami the wicked are to be judged in the valley of the son of Hinnon (Enoch, xxv, xxvii, xc). On the other hand, the kingdom is described in eschatological characters. The Messias is pre-existent and Divine (Enoch, Simil., xlviii, 3); the kingdom He establishes is to be a heavenly kingdom inaugurated by a great world-catastrophe, which separates this world (altiv oiros, ntri 0^11?), from the world to come aldv nfKXwv, X3n D^U')- This catastrophe is to be accompanied by a judgment both of angels and of men (Jubilees, x. 8; v. 111; Vssumpt. Sfoses, x, 1). The dead will rise (Ps. Solom., iii. II I and all the members of the Messianic kingdom will become like to the Mi ia (Enoch, Simil., xc, 37). This twofold aspect of the Jewish hopes in regard to the coining Messias must be borne
in mind, if Christ's use of the expression "Kingdom of Cod" is to be understood. Not infrequently, it is
true. He employs it in an eschatological sense. Hut far more commonly He uses it of the kingdom set up on this earth — of His Church. These are indeed, not two kingdoms, but one. The Kingdom of God to l.e established at the last day is the Church in her final triumph.
III. Coxstitition by Christ. — The Baptist pro-
