Among the great spiritual gifts possessed by Christ Jesus was that of prophecy. His spiritualized consciousness enabled him to discern the mental nature of existence and to foresee and foretell events which would occur as a result of the coming of the Son of man.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 84), "The human manifestation of the Son of God was called the Son of man, or Mary's son."

Christian Scientists recognize the nativity of Jesus to be unique. It was both human and divine. He was born of a virgin. As the Saviour of mankind, he partook partly of Mary's earthly condition, but he was well aware of his heavenly origin. The clarity of his thinking, his inherent knowledge of his Father, God, his marvelous control over material and afflictive conditions—all these reveal his spiritual origin, which enabled him to move in the heavenly kingdom of spiritual consciousness even while he walked the earth.

It is not surprising therefore that Jesus was able to foresee and foretell events and to warn his followers to escape from sin and its effects. Mrs. Eddy defines the word "prophet" in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 593) as, "A spiritual seer; disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth."

As we discern the spiritual nature of existence, this discernment uncovers the false basis of mortal mind and all its so-called effects. Self-love, self-indulgence, self-pity, self-satisfaction, all the "self" family, originate in the belief that life is material and that there is an existence apart from God, Spirit. As the spiritual nature of man is discerned by us in Science, we learn to turn from materialism in all its forms and thus to escape the penalties imposed by a material sense of existence.

Prophecy is not a gift bestowed upon the few and withheld from the many. The gift of foresight is the precious heritage of the spiritually-minded. They do not blunder blindly into error, but are guided by God to avoid the snare, the fowler, and the noisome pestilence. It is "he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High," as described in the ninety-first Psalm, that "shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

Prophecy is the ability to discern the errors of mortal mind, to cast them out and to replace them with the facts of Spirit. Since the discovery of Christian Science mankind has entered a new era in which the Christ, Truth, the spiritual idea of man and the universe, is beginning to be understood.

For the first time since the early Christian era the utter falsity of the material basis of life has been uncovered, and this uncovering is producing changes in human thought unprecedented since the foundation of the world. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (p. 98), "The prophet of to-day beholds in the mental horizon the signs of these times, the reappearance of the Christianity which heals the sick and destroys error, and no other sign shall be given." This interesting passage from our textbook points the way to true prophecy.

Prophecy, then, is not the premonition of disaster, but the uncovering of the falsity of material existence and its replacement by the spiritual facts of true being. Those asleep in the pleasures and pains of matter must awaken to the joy and harmony of Spirit. As they do so, many phases of error are uncovered and destroyed. Mortal mind claims to be attractive. There are temptations to rely on matter and to gain ease or pleasure in wrong directions.

The Son of man has been revealed to us in terms of simplicity and unselfishness. The vision which exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul, that is, the unselfed love which is always at hand to heal the afflicted, is expressed by devotion to Truth and the simplicity of life that goes with such devotion.

As prophets of today we rejoice to see the "disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth." This disappearance of error and the appearing of Truth take place in the healing work of Christian Science.

We can all be prophets in the spiritual meaning of the term, and true prophecy shows the way out of the pains and allurements of matter and "into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21); thus spiritual existence is understood in all its perfection, harmony, and strength.

Robert Ellis Key