of fulfilment and prophecy even the
irrational becomes rational; for the fulfilment of a prediction is not a
proof of its divine origin unless it refers to something extraordinary.
Any one can predict regular occurrences which always take place.
Accordingly, a part of what was predicted had to be irrational. Every
particular in the history of Christ has therefore a significance, not as
regards the future, but as regards the past. Here everything happened
"that the word of the prophet might be fulfilled." Because the prophet
had said so, it had to happen. Christ's destiny attests the ancient
teachings of the prophets. Everything, however, depends on this
attestation, for it was no longer the full truth that was wanting, but a
convincing proof that the truth was a reality and not a fancy.[449] But
prophecy testifies that Christ is the ambassador of God, the Logos that
has appeared in human form, and the Son of God. If the future destiny of
Jesus is recorded in the Old Testament down to the smallest particular,
and the book at the same time declares that this predicted One is the
Son of God and will be crucified, then the paying of divine honours to
this crucified man, to whom all the features of prophecy apply, is
completely justified. The stage marked by Christ in the history of God's
revelation, the content of which is always the same, is therefore the
highest and last, because in it the "truth along with the proof" has
appeared. This circumstance explains why the truth is so much more
impressive and convinces more men than formerly, especially since Christ
has also made special provision for the spread of the truth and is
himself an unequalled exemplification of a virtuous life, the principles
of which have now become known in the whole world through the spread of
his precepts.

These statements exhaust the arguments in most of the Apologies; and
they accordingly seem neither to have contemplated a redemption by
Christ in the stricter sense of the word, nor to have assumed the unique
nature of the appearance of the Logos in Jesus. Christ accomplished
salvation as a divine _teacher_, that is to say, his teaching brings
about the [Greek: allage] and [Greek: epangoge] of the human race, its
restoration to its original destination. This also seems to suffice as
regards demon rule. Logically considered, the individual portions of the
history of Jesus (of the baptismal confession) have no direct
significance in respect to sa