is here, for the first
time, brought forward; and because of this, the character of the
prophecy is that of a germ. Behind the person of the future Prophet,
which is as yet _ideal_, the _real_ person of Him who is the Prophet in
an absolute sense, is, in the meantime, concealed. It is reserved for
the future development [Pg 14] of the prophetic prediction to separate
that which is here beheld as still blended in a single picture.

_Finally_, the doctrine of the Divine Mediator of the unseen God, of
the Angel of the Lord, or of the Logos, which forms the theological
foundation for the Christology, is already found pervading the Books of
Moses.

After this survey, we now proceed to an exposition of the particular
passages.

THE PROTEVANGELIUM.

As the mission of Christ was rendered necessary by the fall of man, so
the first dark intimation of Him was given immediately after the fall.
It is found in the sentence of punishment which was passed upon the
tempter. Gen. iii. 14, 15. A correct understanding of it, however, can
be obtained only after we have ascertained who the tempter was.

It is, in the first place, unquestionable that a real serpent was
engaged in the temptation; so that the opinion of those who maintain
that the serpent is only a symbolical signification of the evil spirit,
cannot be admitted.[1] There must be unity and uniformity in the
interpretation of a connected passage. But the allegorical
interpretation of the _whole_ is rendered impossible by the following
considerations:--The passage stands in a book of a strictly historical
character; it is connected with what follows, where the history of the
same pair who, in this section appear as actors, is carried forward;
the condition of mankind announced to them in this passage as a
punishment, actually exists; there is the absence of every indication
from which it might be inferred that the author intended to write an
allegory, and not a history; there exist various passages of the New
Testament (_e.g._, 2 Cor. xi. 3; 1 Tim. ii. 13, 14; Rom. v. 12), in
which the context of the passage before us is referred to as a real
historical fact;--and there are the embarrassment, ambiguity, and
arbitrariness shown by the allegorical interpreters whenever they
attempt to exhibit the truth intended to be conveyed; whereas
perspicuity is a characteristic essential to an allegory.--The subtlety
of the [Pg 15] serpent, pointed out in chap