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The Spirit of Prophecy Defended (originally published in 1713 as The General Delusion of Christians) is a thoroughgoing apology for the miracles, signs, and wonders of the Christian past and of its followers, the so-called French Prophets, a small ecstatic movement in eighteenth-century England that traced its roots to the Montanists of the early church. In this retypeset edition-an indispensable primary source on the movement-J. Ramsey Michaels establishes that John Lacy was the original author of The General Delusion of Christians. This edition includes the full text of the 1713 edition and Lacy's recently discovered and previously unknown marginalia, as well as the notes and preface of the 1832 edition of Scottish Presbyterian Edward Irving, whose own ministry was marked by ecstatic signs and wonders.
| List of Illustrations | p. xv |
| Introduction to The Spirit of Prophecy Defended, 2003 Edition | p. xvii |
| Preface of Edward Irving (1832) | p. xxxvii |
| Introduction--Our Knowledge of God is imperfect by Revelation, and much more by natural Reason | p. 3 |
| There was something unaccountable for, by natural Reason, in the Way and Manner of revealing; proved from the opposition and contempt of it by those who were most distinguished for human wisdom | p. 7 |
| Natural Reason is perverted, when constituted alone as a judge decisive of Relevation; because its innate and accidental infirmities do incapacitate for such a seat of tribunal | p. 12 |
| We are bound to believe the invisible agency of Angels, asserted in Scripture, to be continually over us: therefore to disbelieve the same when visible is inconsistent | p. 24 |
| Neither is bodily hurt received upon the appearance of an Angel, nor every familiarity on his part to man, inconsisting with the ministration of a celestial one | p. 28 |
| Angels have often assumed the style of the Deity | p. 32 |
| Disquietude of Mind upon a Vision or Dream no argument against its Divinity | p. 40 |
| Many peculiar Honours stamped upon the manifestation by Dream | p. 41 |
| Divine Dreams and Visions not always understood at the time of receiving them | p. 47 |
| Sounds of Terror formed by the Spirit of God | p. 51 |
| Voices angelical or Divine, very terrible sometimes | p. 52 |
| Dark Speeches usual to the Spirit of Prophecy | p. 54 |
| The most bright Communication Divine to Moses was through the ministry of an Angel | p. 54 |
| The word Visionair, or Seer, of equal authority with that of Prophet, throughout the Old Testament | p. 61 |
| Some miraculous Variations of Natural Objects in their Appearance | p. 63 |
| Thick Darkness, in a Prophetic Manifestation, consistent with the Spirit of God | p. 65 |
| Visions often seen without Ecstasy attending | p. 66 |
| The Worship of God, as revealed, was built upon Vision primarily after the Flood | p. 67 |
| God has revealed himself to Persons the most Unholy | p. 69 |
| Visions not seen with the Natural Eye | p. 70 |
| The Meanness of Things represented by Vision does not make it less from God | p. 72 |
| Angels do appear in several Forms different from the human | p. 76 |
| A Supernatural Impression on the Senses of Taste and Smell | p. 81 |
| The Scripture sense of the word Prophet is not specifical of predicting | p. 86 |
| Revelation under the Gospel communicated with Terror | p. 89 |
| Prophetical Ecstasies in the Old and New Testament largely explained to evince a Spirit on the Prophet | p. 92 |
| Prophesying by Signs in the Scriptures largely treated on; proving also a Spirit superior on him | p. 97 |
| The Prophet in Scripture was visibly moved or agitated by a Spirit, both in the New and in the Old Testament | p. 106 |
| Inspiration Prophetic might be, either under the New or Old Testament, by the Hand or Influence of an Angel | p. 124 |
| The Utterance and Words were often inspired to the Prophet as well as the Sense | p. 137 |
| All Preachers in Christian Assemblies not prophetically inspired during the Apostolic Age | p. 144 |
| There were many called Apostles besides the Twelve named by our Lord | p. 145 |
| The full and clear sense of the word Paraclete, rendered the Comforter, promised to the church by our Lord | p. 152 |
| The Bishop of Lincoln's Testimony, that the Gifts prophetical, to women as well as men, continued in the church after the age of the Apostles | p. 155 |
| The Tracts of Barnabas, Clement, and Hermas, enrolled in the New Testament for four hundred years | p. 158 |
| The Volume of the New-Testament Scriptures not limited to the number of Tracts now in it until A.D. 500 | p. 158 |
| The Manner and Ways of the Spirit of Prophecy, exhibited from the Tracts of Barnabas, Clement, Hermas, Ignatius, and Polycarp | p. 160 |
| Prophets mentioned by Eusebius, who, with those in the preceding article, do prove prophecy existing unto A.D. 150 | p. 177 |
| Different Degrees in the Gift of Prophecying, from Mr. Dodwell | p. 178 |
| Diversity in the very Gifts of Prophecy, from Dr. Hicks | p. 180 |
| Justin Martyr declares the Gift of Prophecy publicly refulgent unto A.D. 170 | p. 182 |
| About A.D. 180, Athenagoras, and the Churches of Lyons and Vienne, declare to the same effect | p. 183 |
| That the Gift of Prophecy abounded in Christian churches unto A.D. 200, appears from Irenaeus | p. 184 |
| Of the Pre-eminences and some possible Defects of the Spirit of prophecy | p. 191 |
| Several Marks and Privileges of the prophetic Spirit in the second and third centuries | p. 192 |
| Several Uses, Ends, and Ways of the prophetical Spirit in the churches of the same time | p. 195 |
| The first apparent Decrease of the extraordinary Gifts was between the years 220 and 250 | p. 198 |
| After the year 200, many Evangelists mentioned by Eusebius | p. 199 |
| The Martyrology of Perpetua and others acknowledges new Visions and Prophecyings unto A.D. 220 | p. 200 |
| Natalius and Potamiana, and other public Testimonies of Vision in Eusebius about the same time | p. 201 |
| A great number of Witnesses to Vision, for edification of the churches at Rome and Jerusalem, about A.D. 240 | p. 202 |
| Several Testimonies of Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, to the Spirit of Prophecy, about A.D. 260 | p. 204 |
| Some Manifestations of a Visionary Light frequent in these times | p. 206 |
| Tertullian, who lived to A.D. 230, testifies the Gifts of the Spirit public in his time | p. 207 |
| Theophilus and Minutius Felix are authors witnessing to the like to A.D. 240 | p. 210 |
| The Gifts of Prophecy publicly exercised in the age of Origen, namely, unto A.D. 255 | p. 211 |
| Large Evidences of Revelation given by St. Cyprian in his time | p. 215 |
| Rigaltius's Observations upon the Ecstasies and Dreams in Cyprian's time | p. 224 |
| Arnobius, Lactantius, and Julius Firmicus, with others, prove the extraordinary Gifts subsisting unto the year 300, and afterwards | p. 225 |
| Towards the latter end of this period, Christians became generally scoffers at revelation and the ways of the prophetic Spirit | p. 227 |
| The second and third centuries did acknowledge that there were outward visible signs of a Spirit moving the prophets, among Christians | p. 235 |
| Several Functions of the then Prophets in the churches or public assemblies | p. 240 |
| The falling away, 2 Thess. ii. 3, explained | p. 243 |
| The falling away or apostasy in the Christian church went on increasing from the Apostolic age | p. 244 |
| A summary Account of the Inspired, nick-named Montanists | p. 248 |
| The Christian prophet spake in the name and person of God | p. 254 |
| An Account of the Prophets nick-named Montanists, by Godfrey Arnold, a Lutheran Minister | p. 255 |
| The Spirit of Prophecy properly a Reprover | p. 263 |
| The Fourteen Articles, whereon the Spirit of Montanus, and others, was condemned | p. 265 |
| That a prophet is false who is not owned by the existing church, disproved | p. 267 |
| The Spirit of Montanus, &c. not condemned by the churches generally | p. 271 |
| That the Spirit of Prophecy must be communicated from men, disproved | p. 276 |
| The Montanists falsely accused to have pretended to greater prerogatives than the Apostles | p. 278 |
| The Spirit of Montanus, &c. owned to have had most, if not all the properties of the Divine Spirit; and yet taxed inconsistently with having no demonstration at all | p. 281 |
| The Spirit of Montanus groundlessly charged with enforcing of Legal Observances | p. 284 |
| The same Spirit charged for diabolical, because it pretended to eminent holiness | p. 285 |
| The Montanists falsely charged with scandalous Vices | p. 286 |
| The Montanists falsely taxed with taking of Bribes | p. 288 |
| That the Scripture forbids a prophet to receive gifts or money, proved false | p. 290 |
| The Montanists wrongfully charged again in Article IX | p. 291 |
| The Spirit of these prophets wrongfully charged with avoiding sufferings | p. 292 |
| The persecutors of Montanus manifestly aimed to suppress prophecy in general | p. 296 |
| Some outward manifestation of a Spirit on the prophets owned then even by their accusers | p. 297 |
| Whether the Divine Spirit may not suppress for a time the exercise of reason and the sense, discussed | p. 300 |
| Whether by the Scripture a prediction of the Spirit may not fail of accomplishment, discussed | p. 302 |
| The Montanists falsely accused for setting up a new order of discipline in the church | p. 308 |
| Clear Proofs enumerated of the condemners of Montanus, their being vilifiers and quenchers of the Spirit | p. 315 |
| The great Guilt of rejecting, despising, or quenching the Spirit of Prophecy | p. 323 |
| Some lesser Reasons of condemning the Montanists, examined | p. 340 |
| The Opposers of the Spirit expunged the Revelations of St. John out of their New Testament | p. 344 |
| The Opposers of the Spirit then were erroneous in Doctrine | p. 346 |
| These Opposers wrongfully disannulled the Baptism of the Montanists | p. 349 |
| These Opposers were Scoffers of Sacred Things, under the Cloak of vain Philosophy | p. 351 |
| These Opposers turned Persecutors under the Reign of Constantine | p. 355 |
| The final Extinguishing of Prophecyings by a General Council, examined | p. 359 |
| These Ages (so quenching of Prophecy) did alter and corrupt the Text of Scripture | p. 366 |
| The Scriptures a perfect Standard to measure and judge of Prophecy | p. 371 |
| No Man ought to judge for or against Prophecy by any other Rule, and ought to be determined by that | p. 376 |
| The Danger in our Age of Infidelity in Revelation | p. 383 |
| The Church of England does not hold Prophetic Inspiration to be ceased for ever | p. 387 |
| The Gift of Prophecy was not appointed for any time limited | p. 388 |
| New Prophecying does not undermine or supersede the Scriptures | p. 390 |
| That there be many Promises in the New Testament of the Spirit, indefinite for time | p. 392 |
| To say, There is no need of Prophets, is an Arrogancy, and an unscriptural Usurpation on God | p. 401 |
| To say, God will not send them, because we should not receive them, is unscriptural | p. 403 |
| That no Woman can be authorized to Prophecy, is a doctrine antiscriptural | p. 404 |
| That God never revealed Himself to Children, disproved by Scripture | p. 406 |
| That an Holy Spirit cannot make a Quotation from an Heathen Author, refuted in Doctrine IX | p. 407 |
| To inveigh against the Clergy, proves a Man not to be acted by the Divine Spirit, disproved | p. 408 |
| Improprieties in any Language prove it not to be from God, confuted | p. 409 |
| The Holy Spirit never would speak in a Language unknown to the Hearers, confuted | p. 411 |
| No sort of Impressions inward or outward, by Vision, Voice, &c., can have any certainty, is a doctrine wholly infidel, and overthrows the authority of Scripture | p. 412 |
| Whenever God sent Prophets, He always gave them power to work Signs and Wonders, disproved | p. 419 |
| Every Prophet is bound to prove his Inspirations by Miracles, or we are bound to reject him, though he be really inspired, is a doctrine merely human and unscriptural | p. 422 |
| No Man is to be believed a Prophet without the brightest holiness, confuted | p. 427 |
| Actions that become not a Man of Gravity, cannot come from the Spirit of God, answered | p. 432 |
| Prophets are to be subject in their prophesying to Human Order, refuted | p. 435 |
| Visions of difficult Explication are to be rejected, disproved | p. 437 |
| Threatening of Judgments upon Opposers cannot be of God, antiscriptural | p. 440 |
| Great part of the Scripture was composed with Human Care and Study, answered | p. 441 |
| The Claim of Inspiration is an Affectation of Tyranny over the Understandings of Men, answered | p. 444 |
| Using of the written Word is inconsistent with Inspiration, refuted | p. 447 |
| The Knowledge of Men's Thoughts does not prove a Spirit to be Divine, answered | p. 448 |
| Recapitulation of the General Scheme | p. 451 |
| Reverence to the Prophetic Voice proved a New-Testament Duty | p. 455 |
| Protestants, as such, are bound to practise this Duty | p. 459 |
| Several Uses and Benefits of the Spirit of Prophecy to the Church | p. 467 |
| Sadducism, the principal Delusion of this Age, by Benjamin Camfield, Minister | p. 473 |
| The said Delusion more and more daily increasing | p. 483 |
| The Conclusion--A Citation from Mr. Locke, touching the due use of Reason | p. 485 |
| Another of like kind from Sir Charles Wolsely, in respect to Revelation | p. 487 |
| The regular way of inquiring into, and judging of Revelation | p. 490 |
| A Summary Recollection of the Scope of this Treatise | p. 493 |
| Seventy Unwarrantable Opinions commonly received, touching the Ways of God revealing | p. 501 |
| Mr. Le Clerc's, and others, Objections to the Inspiration of many parts of Scripture | p. 505 |
| Two Citations from Mr. John Hales, of Eaton College | p. 508 |
| Many peculiar Prejudices of the Clergy to the Spirit of Prophecy, instanced | p. 510 |
| Every Man ought therefore to judge for himself | p. 514 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780391041851
ISBN-10: 0391041851
Audience:
Professional
Format:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 584
Published: 1st July 2003
Dimensions (cm): 23.000 x 16.000
Weight (kg): 1.021
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