16. What did the prophets foretell of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the rejecting of the Jews?
1. After the Messias shall have been slain, a people with their leader shall come, and destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, and the desolation shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end; 2. The Jews, blinded, rejected, dispersed among all nations, shall have no longer a sacrifice nor a temple; however, they shall not be extirpated by God, but the remnant may be saved at the end of the world (Dan. ix. 26, 27; Ps. lxviii. 24-26 and 108; Isai. X. 21, and lix. 20).
(How this was accomplished, see Short Hist, of Revealed Rel., 31.)
17. What did they prophesy of the conversion of the Gentiles, and of the foundation, spreading, and duration of the Church?
All that we see already accomplished, or being accomplished. They prophesied, 1. That the Messias shall be the light of the Gentiles, and that all nations of the earth shall be blessed in Him (Gen. xxii. 18; Ps. lxxi.; Isai. xlii. 6, etc.); and 2. That He shall establish a new sacrifice and a new priesthood, and found a kingdom of God, that shall reach from sea to sea to the end of the earth, and shall never be destroyed, but stand for ever (Mai. i. 11; Isai. lxvi. 21; Jer. iii. 15; Zach. ix. 10; Dan. ii. 44, and vii. 14, etc.).
18. Did the prophets prophesy long before the coming of Christ?
Malachias, the last of the prophets, prophesied four hundred and fifty years before Christ.
19. Were their prophecies also known long before Christ?
Yes; they had already been written many centuries before Christ, and were preserved and read by the Jews as Divine writings; they were also translated into other languages, and spread among the pagan nations.
