i8 7 4] NEWMAN S THEORY OF PROPHECY 271 



warfare against enemies, acts of judgment on the 

 proud, acts of triumph over the defeated high imperial 

 majesty towards the suppliant, and so on if, I say, the 

 Christian Church really does manifest all these attributes 

 just in the literal sense in which they are meant by the 

 prophets, and does so as the continuation of the Jewish 

 theocracy, then I think we may fairly admit that Mr. 

 Newman has justified his assertion of a present literal 

 fulfilment of prophecy in spite of the figurative character 

 of the mere names, and the poetical character of some 

 descriptions in the Old Testament. But, on the other 

 hand, Newman s theory is not proved unless it can be 

 shown (a) that the Christian Church is a theocracy, 

 (b) that the Church is in substance (names and poetic 

 ornament apart) just such a theocracy as the prophets 

 describe. Now both of these positions I deny ; and I 

 maintain further that unless Mr. Newman had approached 

 the subject with the a priori conviction that the Church 

 is a theocracy, he would never have dreamed of asserting 

 on purely exegetical grounds that it is literally such a 

 theocracy as the prophets looked for. In looking at 

 this matter more closely, let us begin with the latter- 

 point. 



What is meant by a literal fulfilment ? I do not 

 think the expression is a very happy one ; but its meaning 

 must be a fulfilment which in all fulness corresponds 

 with the principle and details of the prophecy as these 

 appear by a process of literal exegesis ; i.e. a literal ful 

 filment is an exact fulfilment of the prophecy literally 

 interpreted. In comparing the fulfilment with the 

 prophecy we may, as already said, be allowed to make 

 deduction of names that are mere names, and of manifest 

 poetic figures ; but if in any farther point the fulfilment 

 falls short of the prophecy, it can no longer be proved to 

 be the true fulfilment by mere exegesis, but some theo 

 logical principle as to the proper relation between prophecy 

 and fulfilment must be applied. Now I conceive that 



