Divine communication, which is that the message should present an intelligible sequence of cause and effect.

Truth

No man can prove that God has spoken to him; the only possible proof is the inherent truth of the message, making it appeal to our feelings and our reason with a power that carries conviction with it. "The Spirit of Truth shall convince you", said the Master; and when this inner conviction of Truth is felt, it will invariably be found that, by thinking it over carefully, the reason of the feeling will manifest itself in an intelligible sequence of cause and effect. Short of realising such a sequence, we have not realised the Truth. The only other proof is that of practical results, and to this test the Master tells us to bring the teaching that we hear; and the teaching he bade us judge by this standard was his own. It is a principle that no great system can endure for ages, exercising a widespread and permanent influence over large masses of mankind, without any element of Truth in it. There have been, and still are, great systems influencing mankind which contain many and serious errors, but what has given them their power is the Truth that is in them and not the error; and careful inquiry into the secret of their vitality will enable us to detect and remove the error.

Now had the leaders of the Jews investigated their national system with intelligence and moral courage,