These _prophecies_ of Christ concerning His own religion are certainly very striking. We find, on the one hand, a most absolute conviction as to the triumph of His Church. It was to spread far and wide; its missionaries were to go into _all the world_ and make disciples _of all the nations_, and its enemies would never _prevail against it_.[452] And on the other, there is an equally certain conviction as to the constant sufferings of its members, who were to expect life-long persecution and the universal hatred of mankind.[453] [Footnote 452: Mark 16. 15; Matt. 28. 19; 16. 18.] [Footnote 453: _E.g._, Matt. 10. 17, 22.] Yet these strange prophecies of continual success amidst continual suffering were for three centuries as strangely fulfilled, including even the little detail that Christ's followers were to be hated for His _name's_ sake.[454] Since as a matter of fact they were often persecuted for the mere _name_, and it was this that made them so indignant. Thus Justin says, 'You receive the _name_ as proof against us.... If any deny the _name_ you acquit him as having no evidence against him.'[455] As Christ foretold, it was literally for His _name's_ sake. [Footnote 454: Mark 13. 13.] [Footnote 455: Justin, Apol. 1. 4; 1 Peter 4. 14.] Moreover, Christ's assertions regarding His own influence in the world are equally remarkable. We will give but two examples.[456] He said, _And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Myself_. He was lifted up on the cross, and, however strange we may think it, millions of men have in consequence been drawn to Him with passionate devotion. Again, He said, _I am the light of the world_. And now, after nearly nineteen centuries, both friends and foes admit that His is the teaching which has enlightened and purified mankind. Had He been a mere Jewish peasant, His making such prophecies as these seems almost as incredible as their fulfilment. But what shall we say when they were both made _and_ fulfilled? Have we not here a powerful argument in favour of Christianity? Nor can we get out of the difficulty by denying the genuineness of the passages; for they would be quite as remarkable if invented by an evangelist, as if spoken by Christ Himself. [Footnote 456: John 12. 32; 8. 12.] We may now sum up this chapter on the _History of Christianity_. We have considered in turn, both its early triumphs, and its later history; and each of these is, strictly speaking, unique, and each is inexplicable on purely natural grounds. But undoubtedly the more important is the marvellous success of Christianity at first, in spite of the immense difficulties it had to encounter; and, as we have seen, all natural explanations of _this_ fail hopelessly.