Prophecy
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs contain a substantial amount of prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah. From a Christian perspective, a number of statements can be associated with events in the life of Jesus. Many consider this significant since several of the books are thought to predate Jesus. This opinion, first propagated by Bacon in his Opus Majus, is hardly defended in modern scholarship, where all passages that clearly refer to Jesus are either considered Christian interpolations (by those who consider the author to be Jewish) or Christian writings (by those who consider the author to be Christian).
For example, compare the following passages from the Testament of Levi:
The heavens shall be opened, and from the temple of glory shall come upon him sanctification, with the Father's voice as from Abraham to Isaac. And the glory of the Most High shall be uttered over him, and the spirit of understanding and sanctification shall rest upon him in the water.(Levi 5:21-22)
with this passage from the Gospel of Matthew
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."(Matthew 3:16-17)
Read more about this topic: Testaments Of The Twelve Patriarchs
Famous quotes containing the word prophecy:
“A divine person is the prophecy of the mind; a friend is the hope of the heart.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Every theory is a self-fulfilling prophecy that orders experience into the framework it provides.”
—Ruth Hubbard (b. 1924)
“The difference between heresy and prophecy is often one of sequence. Heresy often turns out to have been prophecy—when properly aged.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)