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  WRITINGS OF FRED J MELDAU
  by Fred J. Meldau
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A collection of theological writings, sermons, and essays by Fred J. Meldau,
compiled for study and devotional reading.

  Chapters: 14

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    1. 00.00. Meldau, Fred J. - Library
    2. 01.00.1. Messiah in Both Testaments
    3. 01.00.3.     Foreward
    4. 01.00.4.     Contents
    5. 01.00.5.     Introduction
    6. 01.01.     I. The Credentials of Messiah
    7. 01.02.     II. Prophecies of the Life and Ministry
    8. 01.03.     III. Prophetic Paradoxes in Prophecy
    9. 01.04.     IV. Prophecies Concerning Sufferings, Death,
   10. 01.05.     V. Prophecies Describing Messianic Offices
   11. 01.06.     VI. The Deity of Messiah in Both Testaments
   12. 01.07.     VII. Types and Indirect Forecasts of...
   13. 01.08.     Conclusion
   14. S.     57 Reasons Why We Know That the Bible is the Word of God

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  CHAPTER 1: 00.00. MELDAU, FRED J. - LIBRARY
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Meldau, Fred J. - Library Meldau, Fred John - Messiah in Both Testaments S. 57
Reasons Why We Know the Bible is the Word of God


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  CHAPTER 2: 01.00.1. MESSIAH IN BOTH TESTAMENTS
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MESSIAH In

Both Testaments By FRED JOHN MELDAU ABSOLUTE PROOF OF: The Fact of God The Deity of Christ The Truth of Christianity The Inspiration of the Bible ----------------------------------------- $1,000 REWARD OFFERED!

(See Inside Front Cover for Details)

{eSword module note: this reward was offered by the original author in 1956. It
is not offered by anyone connected with any e-Sword module.}


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  CHAPTER 3: 01.00.3.     FOREWARD
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{eSword module note: this reward was offered by the original author in 1956. It
is not offered by anyone connected with any e-Sword module.}

FOREWORD

$1,000 OFFERED THE BIBLE has no competitor. It is the only Book in the world
that contains genuine prophecy. CHRIST has no competitor. He is the only One in
the history of the world whose life was pre-written and who came down from
Heaven to be the Saviour of mankind. Christianity is based on these facts: the
Bible is the inspired Word of God; Christ is the unique Son of God.

We are offering a thousand dollars reward to anyone who

Can show that there is another book in the world, beside the Bible, that has
genuine prophecy about a coming Messiah;

Can produce any "Christ," living or dead, (other than Jesus of Nazareth), who
can fulfill even half of the many predictions about the true Messiah as given in
the Bible and as set forth in this book.

See pages 43 and 44 for full details about this offer.

{There are no page numbering in the e-Sword format} A WORD TO THE READER

WE URGE YOU to read this book carefully and prayerfully, with an honest heart
and an open mind. Ask God to reveal His truth to you. The thing of utmost
importance to each of us is, that we might come to know "the one true God, and
His Son Jesus the Christ." For through Christ we get eternal life! (John 17:3).

PRESENTED BY (Correspondence Invited)


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  CHAPTER 4: 01.00.4.     CONTENTS
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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION I.THE CREDENTIALS OF MESSIAH II.PROPHECIES OF THE LIFE AND MINISTRY
OF MESSIAH III.PROPHETIC PARADOXES IN PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST IV.PROPHECIES
CONCERNING THE SUFFERINGS, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF MESSIAH

Psalms 22:1-31

Isaiah 53:1-12

V.PROPHECIES DESCRIBING THE MESSIANIC OFFICES OF CHRIST VI.THE DEITY OF MESSIAH
IN BOTH TESTAMENTS VII.TYPES AND INDIRECT FORECASTS OF THE COMING MESSIAH

NOTE: The Biblical references in this book for the most part are from the King
James, Authorized Version; so we suggest you use an Authorized Version Bible as
you look up the references. We use the abbreviation RV to indicate the Revised
Version—the American Standard Revised of 1901.


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  CHAPTER 5: 01.00.5.     INTRODUCTION
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The Greatest Miracle in Print: the Record of MESSIAH in Both Testaments

"To HIM give all the prophets witness" (Acts 10:43). "In the volume of the Book
it is written of Me" (Psalms 40:7; Hebrews 10:7).

INTRODUCTION

"THE MOST AMAZING DRAMA that ever was presented to the mind of man-a drama
written in prophecy in the Old Testament and in biography in the four Gospels-is
the narrative of Jesus the Christ. One outstanding fact, among many, completely
isolates HIM. It is this: that one Man only in the history of the world has had
explicit details given beforehand of His birth, life, death and resurrection;
that these details are in documents given to the public centuries before He
appeared, and that no one challenges, or can challenge, that these documents
were widely circulated long before His birth; and that anyone and everyone can
compare for himself the actual records of His life with those old documents, and
find that they match one another to a nicety. The challenge of this pure miracle
is that it happened concerning one Man only in the whole history of the world"
(D. M. Panton).* [*Scores of other Bible students have called attention to this
same amazing fact. We quote from one more. Canon Dyson Hague. He says:
"Centuries before Christ was born His birth and career, His sufferings and
glory, were all described in outline and detail in the Old Testament. Christ is
the only Person ever born into this world whose ancestry, birth-time,
forerunner, birth-place, birth-manner, infancy, manhood, teaching, character,
career, preaching, reception, rejection, death, burial, resurrection and
ascension were all prewritten in the most marvelous manner centuries before He
was born."

"Who could draw a picture of a man not yet born? Surely God, and God alone.
Nobody knew 600 years ago that Shakespeare was going to be born; or 250 years
ago that Napoleon was to be born. Yet here in the Bible we have the most
striking and unmistakable likeness of a Man portrayed, not by one, but by twenty
or twenty-five artists, none of whom had ever seen the Man they were painting."]
To focus attention on the unparalleled wonder of this literary miracle, think
for a moment: who could have prewritten a life of George Washington or Abraham
Lincoln, or any other character, five hundred years before he was born? No where
in any of the literature of the world, secular or religious, can one find a
duplicate to the astounding miracle of the pre-written life of Christ. "The
inspiration of that portrait came from the Heavenly Gallery, and not from the
studio of an earthly artist" (A. T. Pierson). So amazing is this miracle of the
pre-written life of Christ and its perfect fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth that
"Nothing but Divine prescience could have foreseen it, and nothing but Divine
power could accomplish it." As the full evidence is presented, all thoughtful
readers will agree that "the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man,
but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).

Four Great Truths Demonstrated by This Fact With no variations or aberrations
between the Old Testament predictions of the coming Messiah and the New
Testament fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth, one instinctively leaps to the
conclusion that "the Hand that drew the Image in prophecy moulded the Portrait
in history"; and the inevitable conclusion to this miracle is fourfold:

(1) It proves that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, for unaided man is
neither capable of writing nor fulfilling such a literary wonder.

(2) It proves that the God of the Bible, the only One who knows the end from the
beginning, and who alone has the power to fulfill all His word, is the true and
living God.

(3) It demonstrates that the God of the Bible is both all-knowing to be able to
foretell the future entwined around numberless men who are free moral agents,
and all-powerful, to be able to bring to pass a perfect fulfillment of His word
in the midst of widespread unbelief, ignorance and rebellion on the part of men.

(4) It demonstrates that the Person, Jesus of Nazareth, who so perfectly and
completely fulfilled all the Old Testament predictions, is indeed the Messiah,
the Saviour of the world, the Son of the Living God.

Christ Is the Center of History So CHRIST is seen to be the center of all
history as well as the central theme of the Bible. "The Christ of the New
Testament is the fruit of the tree of prophecy, and Christianity is the
realization of a plan, the first outlines of which were sketched more than 1500
years before."* (*David Baron, in Rays of Messiah’s Glory, p. 14.) Fulfilled
Prophecy Is Unique to the Bible The fact of fulfilled prophecy is found in the
Bible alone; hence, it presents proof of Divine inspiration that is positive,
conclusive, overwhelming. Here is the argument in brief: no man, unaided by
Divine inspiration, foreknows the future, for it is an impenetrable wall, a true
"iron curtain," to all mankind. Only an almighty and an all-knowing God can
infallibly predict the future. If then one can find true prophecy (as one does
in the Bible), with definite fulfillment, with sufficient time intervening
between the prediction and the fulfillment, and with explicit details in the
prediction to assure that the prophecies are not clever guesses, then the case
is perfect and unanswerable. Remember, there were 400 years between the last of
the Messianic predictions of the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the
Christ of the Gospels.* Many prophecies are of course much older than 400 B. C.
During the period of 1100 years, from the age of Moses (1500 B.C.) to that of
Malachi (400 B.C.), a succession of prophets arose, Messianic prediction took
form, and all of them testified of the Messiah who was to come. (*The perfect
proof of the long period of time that elapsed between the last book of the Old
Testament and the first book of the New Testament is the presence in the world
of the SEPTUAGINT, a translation of the Old Testament into Greek about 200 B.C.
This translation was begun in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 280 B.C.
and was completed not long after. With a TRANSLATION of the entire Old
Testament, as we now know it, made over 200 years B.C., it is obvious that the
books of the Old Testament from which the translation was made are still older.

It is well to remember also that there were no prophets in the 400-year
inter-testament period. In 1Ma 9:27 we are told of the "great affliction in
Israel, such as there was not since the day that a prophet was not seen among
them." Intense regret over the lack of a prophet merged into an intense longing
for the coming again of prophets, so that even in their public actions men were
careful to claim validity for their legislation only until a faithful prophet
should again rise. (See 1Ma 14:41; 1Ma 4:46.) So minute and so voluminous are
these Old Testament predictions and so complete is their fulfillment in the New
Testament, that Dr. A. T. Pierson says, "There would be no honest infidel in the
world were Messianic prophecy studied . . . nor would there be any doubting
disciples if this fact of prediction and fulfillment were fully understood."
"And," he continues, "the sad fact is, we have yet to meet the first honest
skeptic or critic who has carefully studied the prophecies which center in
Christ" (Many Infallible Proofs). Here indeed is "God’s Rock of Ages, faith’s
unshakable standing place."

"Prophecy" Is God’s Own Method of Proving His Truth The teachings of the Bible
are so peculiar and different from all other religions, and so important-telling
us that man’s eternal destiny, for weal or woe, depends on his acceptance of the
Christ of the Bible-that we have the right to know whether the Bible is or is
not a Heavenly Decree, the absolute and final Word of God, whether its message
is fully authorized by the Almighty. If God has given a revelation of His will
in the Bible, there can be no doubt that in some unmistakable way He will show
men that the Bible is indeed His revealed will; and the way He has chosen to
show men that the Bible is His Word is a way that all men of average
intelligence can understand; and that way is through the giving and through the
fulfillment of specific, detailed prophecies. It is the Divine seal, letting all
men know that He has spoken. This seal can never be counterfeited, affixed to
the Truth which it attests-for His foreknowledge of the actions of free and
intelligent agents, men, is one of the most "incomprehensible attributes of
Deity and is exclusively a Divine per­fection."* (*Evidences of Prophecy, by
Alexander Keith: p. 8.) In challenging the false gods of Isaiah’s time, the true
God said:

"Produce your cause bring forth your strong reasons show us what shall happen
declare us things for to come. Show us things that are to come hereafter, that
we may know that ye are gods" (Isaiah 41:21-23).

There are false faiths like Mohammedanism and Buddhism that have tried to prop
up their claims on pretended miracles, but neither these, nor any other religion
in the history of the world, except the Bible, have ever ventured to frame
prophecies.

It is the peculiar "glory" of the Almighty, the all-knowing God, who is "the
Lord, the Creator" (Isaiah 40:28) to "declare new things before they spring
forth" (Isaiah 42:8-9) and that glory He will not share with another (Isaiah
42:8). The true God alone foreknows and foretells the future. And He has chosen
to confine his foretelling to the pages of Scripture."* Though there are many
other subjects of Divine Prophecy in the Bible-such as the Jews, the Gentile
nations that surrounded Israel, ancient cities, the Church, the last days, etc.,
the divine perfections of foreknowledge and fulfillment can be seen better in
the realm of prophecies concerning Christ than in any other sphere. (*Many have
made an effort to foretell the future-not one, outside the Bible, has ever
succeeded. "The extreme difficulty of framing a prophecy which shall prove
accurate, may be seen in that familiar but crude rhyme known as ’Mother
Shipton’s Prophecy’. Some years ago it appeared as a pretended relic of a remote
day, and claimed to have predicted the invention of the steam locomotive, the
rise of D’Israeli in English politics, etc., etc. . . . For years I tried to
unearth and expose what seemed to me a huge imposture, and I succeeded. . . . I
traced the whole thing to one Charles Hindley (of England) who acknowledged
himself the author of this prophetic hoax, which was written in 1862 instead of
1448, and palmed off on a credulous public. It is one of the startling proofs of
human perversity that the very people who will try to cast suspicion on
prophecies two thousand years old, will, without straining, swallow a forgery
that was first published AFTER the events it predicted, and will not even look
into its claim to antiquity. "(Dr. A. T. Pierson, pp. 44, 45, in Many Infallible
Proofs.) Here is the clear statement that God alone, in the Bible alone, gave
true prophecies:

"I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me,
DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING, and from ancient times the things that are
not yet done, saying, MY COUNSEL SHALL STAND AND I WILL DO ALL MY PLEASURE"
(Isaiah 45:9-10). (The appeal by God that He alone can give and fulfill
prophecy, and that it is to be found alone in the Bible, is found in many places
in the Bible. See 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Deuteronomy 18:21-22; Isaiah
41:21-23; Jeremiah 28:9; John 13:19, etc.)

Sensing the tremendous force of this fact, Justin Martyr said, "To declare a
thing shall come to pass long before it is in being, and to bring it to pass,
this or nothing is the work of God."

"Chance Fulfillment" of Prophecy Is Ruled Out

Desperate atheists and other unbelievers, seeking a way to circumvent the fact
of fulfilled prophecy and its connotations, have argued that the fulfillments
were "accidental," "chance," or "co-incidental." But when a number of details
are given the "chance" fulfillment of prophecy is ruled out. One writer says,
"It is conceivable that a prediction, uttered at a venture, and expressing what
in a general way may happen to result, may seem like a genuine prophecy. But
only let the prophecy give several DETAILS of time, place and accompanying
incidents and it is evident that the possibility of a chance fulfillment, by a
’fortuitous concurrence of events,’ will become extremely desperate-yea,
altogether impossible. Hence the prophecies of heathen antiquity always took
good care to confine their predictions to one or two particulars and to express
them in the most general and ambiguous terms. Therefore, in the whole range of
history, except the prophecies of Scripture, there is not a single instance of a
prediction, expressed in unequivocal language, and descending to any minuteness,
which bears the slightest claim to fulfillment. ’Suppose,’ says Dr. Olinthus
Gregory, ’that there were only 50 prophecies in the Old Testament (instead of
333) concerning the first advent of Christ, giving details of the coming Messiah
and all meet in the person of Jesus . . . the probability of chance fulfillment
as calculated by mathematicians according to the theory of probabilities, is
less than one in 1,125,000,000,000,000. Now add only two more elements to these
50 prophecies, and fix the TIME and the PLACE at which they must happen and the
immense improbability that they will take place by chance exceeds all the power
of numbers to express (or the mind of man to grasp). This is enough, one would
think, to silence for ever all pleas for chance as furnishing an unbeliever the
least opportunity of escape from the evidence of prophecy.’ (Gregory’s
Letters)."* (*Evidences of Prophecy, by Alexander Keith; p. 8.)

Let it be further observed that many of the prophecies about Messiah are of such
a nature that only God could fulfill them, such as His virgin birth, His sinless
and holy character, His resurrection and His ascension. Only GOD could cause
Jesus "to be born of a virgin or be raised from the dead" (David Baron). THE
COMING MESSIAH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT there is a definite, clear and continuous
teaching that "Messiah will come." Dozens of times we read such promises as
"Behold thy King cometh unto thee" (Zechariah 9:9); "the Lord God will come"
(Isaiah 40:10); "the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple"
(Malachi 3:1); "the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the
midst of thee" (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) who will be the Lord’s "fellow" (equal)
(Zechariah 13:7). Daniel predicted the coming of "Messiah the Prince" at a set
time (Daniel 9:26-27), and Isaiah foretold of the "rod out of the stem of Jesse"
(Isaiah 11:1) on whom the Lord would "lay the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53).
Prophets and Seers of old often spoke of the time when "the Desire of all
Nations" would come (Haggai 2:7). (See also Isaiah 35:4; Genesis 49:10; Numbers
24:17; Psalms 118:26; Psalms 2:5-6; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Isaiah 62:11; Genesis 3:15,
etc.).

Christ’s Coming Is the Central Theme of the Bible The coming of Christ, promised
in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New-His birth, character, work,
teachings, His sufferings, death and resurrection-are the grand, central themes
of the Bible. Christ is the bond that ties the two Testaments together. The Old
Testament is in the New revealed, the New Testament is in the Old concealed. The
Average Bible Reader Can Understand

"The most ordinary reader," says A. T. Pierson, "may examine the old curious
predictions of the Messiah’s person and work found in the Old Testament, follow
the gradual progress of these revelations from Genesis to Malachi, and trace the
prophecies as they descend into details more and more specific and minute, until
at last the full figure of the Coming One stands out. Then, with this image
clearly fixed in his mind’s eye, he may turn to the New Testament and beginning
with Matthew, see how the historic personage, Jesus of Nazareth, corresponds and
coincides in every particular with the prophetic personage depicted by the
prophets. . . . There is not a difference or a divergence, yet there could have
been no collusion or contact between the prophets of the Old Testament and the
narrators of the New Testament. Observe, the reader has not gone out of the
Bible itself. He has simply compared two portraits; one in the Old Testament of
a mysterious Coming one, another is in the New of One who has actually come; and
his irresistible conclusion is that these two blend in absolute unity." A BRIEF
SUMMARY OF THE PROPHECIES

Let us briefly trace a few of the outstanding points in the comparison of Old
Testament prediction and New Testament fulfillment. The work of redemption was
to be accomplished by One Person, the Central figure in both Testaments, the
promised Messiah. As the "Seed of the woman" (Genesis 3:15) He was to bruise
Satan’s head (Galatians 4:4). As the "Seed of Abraham" (Genesis 22:18 with
Galatians 3:16) and the "Seed of David" (Psalms 132:11; Jeremiah 23:5 with Acts
13:23) He was to come from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10 with Hebrews 7:14).

He must come at a specified time (Genesis 49:10; Daniel 9:24-25 with Luke 2:1),
be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14 with Matthew 1:18-23), at Bethlehem of Judea
(Micah 5:2 with Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:5-6). Great persons were to visit and adore
Him (Psalms 72:10 with Matthew 2:1-11). Through the rage of a jealous king,
innocent children were to be slaughtered (Jeremiah 31:15 with Matthew 2:16-18).

He was to be preceded by a forerunner, John the Baptist, before entering His
public ministry (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1 with Luke 1:17 and Matthew 3:1-3).

He was to be a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18 with Acts 3:20-22); have a
special anointing of the Holy Spirit (Psalms 45:7; Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 61:1-2
with Matthew 3:16; Luke 4:15-21, Luke 4:43). He was to be a priest after the
order of Melchizedeck (Psalms 110:4 with Hebrews 5:5-6). As the "Servant of the
Lord" He was to be a faithful and patient Redeemer, for the Gentiles as well as
the Jews (Isaiah 42:1-4 with Matthew 12:18-21). His ministry was to begin in
Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2 with Matthew 4:12, Matthew 4:16-23); later, He was to
enter Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9 with Matthew 21:1-5) to bring salvation. He was
to enter the temple (Haggai 2:7-9; Malachi 3:1 with Matthew 21:12). His zeal for
the Lord is spoken of (Psalms 69:9 with John 2:17). His manner of teaching was
to be by parables (Psalms 78:2 with Matthew 13:34-35): and His ministry was to
be characterized by miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6 with Matthew 11:4-6, John 11:47). He
was to be rejected by His brethren (Psalms 69:8, Isaiah 53:3 with John 1:11,
John 7:5) and be a "Stone of stumbling" to the Jews and a "Rock of offense"
(Isaiah 8:14 with Romans 9:32, 1 Peter 2:8).

He was to be hated without a cause (Psalms 69:4; Isaiah 49:7 with John 7:48;
John 15:25), rejected by the rulers (Psalms 118:22 with Matthew 21:42, John
7:48), betrayed by a friend (Psalms 41:9; Psalms 55:12-14 with John 13:18-21),
forsaken by His disciples (Zechariah 13:7 with Matthew 26:31-56), sold for 30
pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12 with Matthew 26:15) and His price given for
the potter’s field (Zechariah 11:13 with Matthew 27:7). smitten on the cheek
(Micah 5:1 with Matthew 27:30), spat on (Isaiah 50:6 with Matthew 27:30). mocked
(Psalms 22:7-8 with Matthew 27:31, Matthew 27:39-44) and beaten (Psalms 50:6 cf.
with Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:26-30).* [*It is most impressive to read in
parallel statements the prediction in comparison with the fulfillment. For
example, compare Isaiah 50:6 with the New Testament fulfillment:

Prophecy: “I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off
the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”

Fulfillment: “Then did they spit in His face and buffeted Him; and others smote
Him with the palms of their hands” (Matthew 26:67).] His death by crucifixion is
given in detail in Psalms 22:1-31; and the meaning of His death, as a
substitutionary atonement, is given in Isaiah 53:1-12. His hands and His feet
were to be pierced (Psalms 22:16; Zechariah 12:10 with John 19:18; John 19:37
and John 20:25); yet, not a bone of Him was to be broken (Exodus 12:46; Psalms
34:20 with John 19:33-36). He was to suffer thirst (Psalms 22:15 with John
19:28) and be given vinegar to drink (Psalms 69:21 with Matthew 27:34); and He
was to be numbered with transgressors (Isaiah 53:12 with Matthew 27:38). His
body was to be buried with the rich in His death (Isaiah 53:9 with Matthew
27:57-60), but was not to see corruption (Psalms 16:10 with Acts 2:31).

He was to be raised from the dead (Psalms 2:7; Psalms 16:10 with Acts 13:33),
ascend to the right hand of God (Psalms 68:18 with Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9; also
Psalms 110:1 with Hebrews 1:3). This bare sketch of Old Testament Messianic
prophecy with its New Testament fulfillment is of course far from complete; it
is merely suggestive, though we have covered many of the main points. Remember,
there are actually 333 predictions concerning the Coming Messiah in the Old
Testament!** (**It is valuable however to gather together as in a great museum
at least some of the prophetic masterpieces scattered throughout the realm of
the entire 39 books of the Old Testament, so that the reader can get a view of
them in one group without having to travel laboriously throughout the hundreds
of pages of the Scriptures.) THE MESSIAH WHO HAS COME Christ’s Testimony to the
Fact That He Fulfilled Old Testament Prophecy The Golden Milestone in the
ancient city of Rome, was the point in the old world at which the many roads,
running from all directions in the Roman Empire, met and converged. So all lines
of Old Testament Messianic prophecy meet in Jesus the Christ of the New
Testament. Not only was the life of Christ prewritten in the Old Testament, but
Jesus the Christ of the New Testament knew it and fully witnessed to that fact
in the New Testament. This is a miracle in itself, and finds no parallel in the
literature of the world. No other character of history-Caesar, Gladstone,
Shakespeare, or any other-ever dreamed of saying of the Bible or any other book,
as our Lord did, "Search the Scriptures, for they . . . testify of Me" (John
5:39). Nor has any false Christ ever appealed to fulfilled prophecy to vindicate
his claims.* (*In "Rays of Messiah’s Glory," page 46, David Baron calls
attention to the fact that "More than forty false Messiahs have appeared in the
history of the Jewish nation," and NOT ONE OF THEM ever appealed to fulfilled
prophecy to establish his claims. Rather, they bolstered their fake claims by
"promises of revenge and by flatteries which gratified national vanity. And now,
except to a few students of history, the remembrance of their names has perished
from the earth, while Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah, who fulfilled ALL the
prophecies, is worshipped by hundreds of millions.") So we face this vast truth:
Christianity is NOT a new religion unconnected with the Old Testament. It is
based solidly on being the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. "Christianity,
with its central Figure human and Divine: Prophet, Priest and King, is nothing
less than the translation of prophecy from the region of ardent belief to actual
fact . . . and we see the living and organic connection between the two
Dispensations and recognize it is the same God who spake in both-in the first to
prepare, in the second to accomplish. . . . ’Known unto God are all His works
from the beginning.’ "** Jesus calmly said, "Abraham saw My day" (John 8:56) and
"Moses wrote of Me" (John 5:46). Then, to show the connection between Old
Testament prediction and New Testament fulfillment. He said in His Sermon on the
Mount, “I am not come to destroy the law and the prophets . . . but to fulfill
them" (Matthew 5:17). [**E. A. Edghill in The Value of Prophecy, pp. 389, 390.]
The life of Christ was unique: all was according to the Divine Pattern as given
in the Old Testament. He was the "One sent" by the Father to fulfill all His
will: to accomplish His work as Redeemer and to fulfill all the prophecies
concerning Him (John 3:16-17; 1 John 4:14; Hebrews 10:9). In the beginning of
His ministry, after reading to the people in the synagogue at Capernaum the
important Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 61:1-2 -when all eyes were fastened on
Him-He said, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:16-21).
When talking to Him at the well, the woman of Samaria said to Jesus, "I know
that Messiah cometh"-all devout readers of the Old Testament knew that-"and when
He is come. He will tell us all things." Then the Lord Jesus said to her, "I
that speak unto thee am He" (John 4:25-26). When Peter confessed his faith in
Jesus as the Messiah-"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew
16:16)-the Lord Jesus acknowledged the truth of what he had said by answering,
"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven (hath revealed it unto thee)" (Matthew
16:17).

He quoted from Psalm 110 to identify Himself as "Son of David"-a Messianic
title-and also to prove that David called Him Lord (Matthew 22:41-46). By taking
the title "Son of Man" He identified Himself with that Messianic title as used
in Daniel (Daniel 7:13 with Mark 14:62; cf. also Psalm 8). By taking the title
"Son of God" He identified Himself with that Messianic title as used in the
Second Psalm.

He connected the blessings of salvation given to all who trust in Him with the
promises of the Old Testament: "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath
said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38 RV.) Here
our Lord was speaking of the fulfillment, through Him, of the type in the Feast
of Tabernacles (see context, John 7:37; Leviticus 23:34-36; cf. Isaiah 12:3).

Almost everything Christ said or did had some connection with Old Testament
prophecy. His miracles were in fulfillment of Old Testament predictions (Isaiah
35:5-6); His ministry was in accord with what Isaiah had predicted concerning
Him (Isaiah 61:1-3; Isaiah 42:1-4; cf. Matthew 12:17-21). His sufferings and
death at Jerusalem were all in accordance with what had been foretold (Psalms
22:1-31; Isaiah 53:1-12). When praising John the Baptist, Christ called
attention to the fact that John was His forerunner, even as was predicted in
Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1.

"For this is he (John the Baptist) of whom it is written. Behold, I send My
messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee" (Matthew
11:10). And so, our Lord not only said that John came in fulfillment of
prophecy, but that He, Jesus, was the One that John came to be Forerunner for!
As he drew near to the cross, He said to His disciples, "Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of
man shall be accomplished" (Luke 18:31). On the eve of His crucifixion, He said,
"this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, and He was reckoned with
transgressor: for that which concerneth Me hath fulfillment" (Luke 22:37 RV).
Note the word "must."

During the crucial hours of His trial, Jesus said to Peter (who was willing to
defend his Master with his sword), "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my
Father, and He shall even now send Me twelve legions of angels? But how then
shall the Scripture be fulfilled that thus it must be?" (Matthew 26:55-56). Then
chiding the multitudes. He said, "Are ye come out as against a robber with
swords and staves to seize Me? . . . But all this is come to pass that the
Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled" (Matthew 26:55-56) At His trial,
when the high priest put Him under oath, and asked Him, "Art thou the Christ,
the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus answered, "I AM" (Mark 14:60-62).

Suffering on the cross, the Lord Jesus identified Himself as the One whose hands
and feet were to be pierced (Psalms 22:16), according to Psalms 22:1-31, by
quoting Psalms 22:1 :

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" Three of His seven sayings on the
cross were in the very words of Scripture.

After His resurrection, while talking to His two disciples on the Emmaus road.
He began "at Moses and all the prophets . . . and expounded unto them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). And later, when meeting
with the assembled disciples. He said to them, "These are the words which I
spake unto you . . . that all things MUST be fulfilled, which were written in
the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me" (Luke
24:44). Notice how the Lord on different occasions spoke of the
necessity-"MUST"-of Old Testament prophecy being fulfilled in Him: necessary,
because the Word of God cannot fail, and the God of the Word cannot lie, and the
Son of God who ful­filled the Word cannot fail. "The Scripture cannot be broken"
(John 10:35). The Lord also gave His disciples, after His resurrection, the KEY
that unlocks Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament: "And He said unto them.
Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the
dead the third day (and so He began His ’glory’) and that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations" (Luke
24:46-47). This great statement is perhaps a summary of His teachings during the
forty days that He ministered to His disciples between His resurrection and His
ascension. The Jews of His day, and to this day, looked for a triumphant,
reigning Messiah, and failed to see from their own Scriptures that Christ must
SUFFER for the sins of the people before entering His glory. Peter bears the
same testi­mony of the witness of the Holy Spirit, through the prophets of the
Old Testament, when He testified beforehand of "the sufferings of Christ, and
the glory that should follow" (1 Peter 1:11). The Apostles and Writers of the
New Testament Also Bear Witness that Jesus the Christ Fulfilled Old Testament
Prophecies

Many modern Christians have lost-or never had-an en­lightened understanding of
the genius of Christianity: that the New Testament is the fulfillment of the
predictions and promises of the Old; that Jesus the Christ is the link who binds
the two Testaments together. The early New Testament church writers and
preachers saw this clearly and constantly pointed out the New Testament
fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. When Matthew narrated the virgin birth of
Christ in Matthew 1:18-25 he said it was the fulfillment of the Old Testament
prediction of Messiah’s virgin birth:

"Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord
by the prophet, saying. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us" (Matthew 1:22-23; cf. Isaiah 7:14). When King Herod in a jealous
rage slaughtered the innocent children in his vain effort to kill the Christ
Child, Matthew called attention to the fact that even this gruesome murder was
foreknown by God who had it written down in the Bible as a prediction that was
then fulfilled (cf. Matthew 2:16-18 with Jeremiah 31:15). In dozens of places in
the Gospels the evangelists infer or state that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament
prophecy. Peter expressed the convictions of the other disciples when he made
his great confession:

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). See also
Matthew 8:17; Matthew 12:17; etc.

It is neither practical nor necessary in this brief treatise to list every case
in the New Testament where the writers referred to the fulfillment of some Old
Testament prediction. But we do want to call attention to the fact that the main
theme, not only of the Gospel of John, as stated in John 20:31, but of ALL FOUR
GOSPELS, is to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the predicted Messiah, the Son of
God, the One who was to come. "These are written, that ye might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through His name" (John 20:31).

Paraphrased, this statement reads:

"The Gospel of John was written to offer full proof, so that you might believe
it, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah that the Old Testament predicted would
come, and this Messiah, this Jesus, is the Son of God. Moreover, you get eternal
life through believing on Him." The gist of John’s proof in his Gospel of John
is to show that Jesus has all the qualifications, the character, and the works
of Messiah-Jesus fulfills all that was written of Messiah-hence He is Messiah.*
(*All the apostles "laid great stress upon this argument from prophecy: it was
not only the main, but almost the sole, argument employed in the New Testament .
. . (They felt) it necessary to show the marvelous correspondence between the
well known facts (of the life, death and resurrection of Christ) with Old
Testament prophecy, in order to carry conviction to every fair mind; and so this
was the common method of preaching the Gospel, the solid but simple base of
argument upon which rested all appeal." (A. T. Pierson, in Many Infallible
Proofs; p. 187). The backbone of Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost was an
argument from the Old Testament to prove to the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth,
whom they with wicked hands had crucified, but whom God had raised from the
dead, was the Messiah that David had written about. And that "this Jesus . . .
God raise up ... and made both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:22-36). In Peter’s
second sermon in the book of Acts (Acts 3:12-26) at the gate of the Temple, he
climaxed and enforced his argument and appeal by saying:

"And now brethren, I know that through ignorance ye did it (rejected and killed
Jesus, their Messiah), as did also your rulers. But those things, which God
before had showed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer,
He hath so fulfilled.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out..."
(Acts 3:17-19).

Even in his sermon to the assembled Gentiles in the house of Cornelius, Peter
said,

"To Him (Jesus) give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever
believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43). In Paul’s sermon
in the Synagogue at Antioch he said:

"And when they had fulfilled ALL that was written of Him, they took Him down
from the tree and laid Him in a sepulcher. But God raised Him from the dead"
(Acts 13:29-30).

Paul’s method of preaching the Gospel to the Jews is given in Acts 17:2-3 :

"And Paul, as his manner was, . . . reasoned with them out of the Scriptures
(Old Testament), opening and alleging, that Christ (Messiah) must needs have
suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that THIS JESUS, whom I preach unto
you, IS CHRIST." When Paul would define the Gospel, by which people are saved,
he connects the New Testament facts of the death and resurrection of Christ,
with Old Testament prediction and teaching.

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel ... by which also ye are
saved how that Christ died for our sins ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES (the Old
Testament); and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day
ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES" (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

Many more citations could be given to show that the apostles, writers and
preachers of the New Testament constantly pointed out that Jesus the Christ
lived, suffered, died and rose again in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
Commenting on this fact, Dr. A. T. Pierson said, "No miracle which He wrought so
unmistakably set on Jesus the seal of God as the convergence of the thousand
lines of prophecy in Him, as in one burning focal point of dazzling glory. Every
sacrifice presented, from the hour of Abel’s altar-fire down to the last
Passover lamb of the Passion Week, pointed as with flaming finger to Calvary’s
cross. Nay, all the centuries moved as in solemn procession to lay their
tributes upon Golgotha."

We must now go into more detail, under different categories to further
demonstrate that "all Messianic predictions of the Old Testament converge in
Jesus of Nazareth into a focal point of dazzling glory." We will present a brief
of the voluminous material under these seven headings:

I.THE CREDENTIALS OF MESSIAH II.PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF
MESSIAH III.PROPHETIC PARADOXES IV.PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE SUFFERINGS, DEATH
AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST V.PROPHECIES DESCRIBING THE MESSIANIC OFFICES OF
CHRIST VI.PROPHECIES SHOWING THAT MESSIAH-CHRIST-IS

GOD VII.TYPES AND INDIRECT PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT FULFILLED IN CHRIST


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  CHAPTER 6: 01.01.     I. THE CREDENTIALS OF MESSIAH
========================================================================

I. THE CREDENTIALS OF MESSIAH

Credentials are testimonials, written proofs, such as letters of commendation,
or legal documents, proving the bearer to right of office or position, such as
an ambassador brings from his government to a foreign court. Our gracious
Redeemer, when He came to our earth, condescended to present His "credentials"
from the Heavenly Court. The following facts are the credentials that Jesus is
the Christ. Matthew in Matthew 1:1-25 presents a succinct summary of His
credentials:

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of
Abraham" (Matthew 1:1).

Reaching One Person Out of a World of People Via Mail

All are familiar with this commonplace fact: any person living in any part of
the world having mail service can be picked out from the rest of the three and
one-half billion people on earth by simply addressing a letter to him, using six
or seven definite specifications. For example, if we write a letter to

LESTER B. SMITH 4143 Madison Ave., Chicago, IL, USA. we are picking out one man
from all the world. We can positively identify him and reach him by selecting
one country where he lives from all the nations of the world-the USA; and so we
eliminate all other countries. By selecting one state out of the country where
he lives-Illinois-we eliminate all other states in the world. By designating one
city-Chicago-in that state we eliminate all the other cities of the world. By
pointing out by the correct address, the one house in Chicago where he
lives-4143 Madison Ave.-we automatically exclude all other houses of the world,
and by giving him his one correct name-Lester B. Smith-we not only distinguish
him from other individuals who may live in the same house, we also eliminate all
other persons in the world! In like manner, in giving a sufficient number of
definite "specifications" in the Old Testament, concerning the coming Messiah,
God enabled us to pick out one Man from all history, from all nations, from all
peoples, and be absolutely sure that one Man is the Messiah! Let us carefully
examine His "credentials," His "address" as it were. These details, these
specifications, these elements of His "address," were Given that all might know
who the true Messiah is. As we proceed with the listing and explanation of these
predictions-and their cumulative effect is overwhelming-it will soon become
obvious that no other person in all the history of the world could fulfill all
the Messianic predictions-or even a very small percentage of them-except JESUS
OF NAZARETH.

(1) In the first place. God eliminated half of the human race as the immediate
parent of Messiah-and at the same time He made it clear Messiah would come as a
Man and not as an angel, when He gave the promise that the coming Deliverer
would be "the Seed of the woman."

"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

This, the first of the direct Messianic promises in the Bible, is "the Bible in
embryo, the sum of all history and prophecy in a germ."* For here we have
intimated not only the virgin birth of Christ, but also His vicarious
sufferings-"thou shall bruise His heel"-and His complete, eventual victory over
Satan and his works-"it (Messiah) shall bruise thy head." (*H. Grattan Guinness,
in The Approaching End of the Age.)

We have remarkable evidence in Genesis 4:1 that this promise in Genesis 3:15 was
well understood by Adam and Eve: for at the birth of her first son, Eve
ecstatically exclaimed, "I have obtained the Man, even the Lord!" (Heb. of
Genesis 4:1). When her firstborn arrived, Eve thought the promised Deliverer had
come. But she was mistaken as to the time, place and many other yet-to-be-given
specifications. Many centuries must pass before Messiah could come. But when the
fullness of time was come, "God sent forth His Son, made of a woman ... to
redeem . . ." (Galatians 4:4).

(2) Next, God eliminated two-thirds of the nations, by indicating that Messiah
must come through Shem-not Ham or Japheth-of the sons of Noah. In the very
beginning of the history of the nations God through His prophet Noah identified
Himself with Shem in an especial way:

"Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem" (Genesis 9:26 RV). In the Hebrew of verse
Genesis 9:27 there is no word answering to "he" that is found in the AV. So the
verse correctly reads:

"God will enlarge Japheth, and will dwell in the tents of Shem" (Genesis 9:27).
The Chaldee of Onkelos thus paraphrases the verse ". . . . and will make His
glory to dwell in the tabernacles of Shem." The final fulfillment of the
prediction in Genesis 9:27 came when the Eternal Word, who was with God and was
God (John 1:1), was made flesh and tabernacled among us: "and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth"
(John 1:14). He came to His people Israel, who are descendants of Shem, through
Abraham (see Genesis 11:10-27).

(3) Later, another choice was made. All of the hundreds of the nations of the
world were eliminated except one: the new nation started by God Himself when He
called Abraham. So the God of history divides the nations into two groups: Jew
and Gentile, and segregates one small nation, the Jews, that through them
Messiah might come.

"Now the Lord had said unto Abram get thee out of thy country . . . unto a land
that I will show thee . . . and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee . . . and thou shalt be a blessing . . . and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed. Unto thy seed will I give this land" (Genesis
12:1-3, Genesis 12:7; see also Genesis 17:1-8, Genesis 17:15-19).

"By Myself have I sworn saith the Lord that in blessing I will bless thee and in
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 22:16-18).

(4) Here we have a phenomenon of the first magnitude: a record that goes back
1500 years before Christ in which the writer hazards multiple predictions: that
God would bless Abraham, make him a blessing, give him the land of Canaan, and
bless the world through him and his "seed." A great nation was created and given
a land of their own for one purpose: that Messiah might come to and through
them, to bless the world! The prediction is a literary fact; it has been in the
book of Genesis, unchanged, for thousands of years. Its fulfillment is an
age-long miracle, and is as definite and complete as the original prophecy. For
not only did God make of Abraham a great nation, giving Canaan to the Jews under
the conquest of Joshua, but in due time Messiah came to them, and the world has
been immeasurably blessed through Abraham’s Seed, which is Christ (see Galatians
3:8, Galatians 3:16).

"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through
faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all
nations be blessed."

"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds,
as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:8,
Galatians 3:16).

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, THE SON OF
ABRAHAM" (Matthew 1:1). So the Messianic story slowly unfolds in the Old
Testament: Messiah must be the "Seed of the woman," come through the line of
Shem, and be "the Seed of Abraham." That narrows our search for Messiah: we now
know we must look for Him in the Jewish race, as a descendant of Abraham.

(4) But Abraham had several sons, including Ishmael his firstborn, and Isaac.
So, another choice had to be made. We are now informed that Messiah was to come
through Isaac (Genesis 17:19; Genesis 21:12; cf. Hebrews 11:18; Romans 9:7 -"in
Isaac shall thy seed by called"), and not through Ishmael, the progenitor of the
modern Arabs. That narrows the line still more.

"And the Lord appeared unto him (Isaac), and said unto thee, and unto thy seed,
I will give all these countries (the promised land), and I will perform the oath
which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as
the stars of heaven and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed" (Genesis 26:2-4). That Messiah and the promised blessing must come
through Isaac and the Jewish race, not the Arabs, is further emphasized in
Deuteronomy 18:18, where it is distinctly stated that Messiah, the Great Prophet
yet to come, will be raised up "from the midst of thee" (i.e., Israel), "of thy
brethren." This fact is also clearly given in the New Testament:

"Who are Israelites . . . whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerneth the
flesh Christ came, who is over all, God, blessed for ever" (Romans 9:5).

(5) Since Isaac had two sons, the Messianic line must be further narrowed. The
prediction is clearly made that Christ must come through Jacob, not Esau; that
is, Messiah could not be an Edomite (the descendants of Esau).

"And behold the Lord . . . said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and
the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to
thy seed . . . and in thy seed shall all families of the earth be blessed"
(Genesis 28:13-14).

"I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall
come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel . . . Out of
Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion" (Numbers 24:17-19).

(6) But Jacob had twelve sons: so another choice had to be made by the Almighty.
One of the twelve, JUDAH is selected. So, Messiah can not come from eleven of
the twelve tribes of Israel, He must come through Judah. (See Genesis 49:8-12).

"Moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of
Ephraim but chose the tribe of Judah" (Psalms 78:67-68).

"For Judah prevailed above his brethren and of him is (to come) the chief ruler"
(Heb. of 1 Chronicles 5:2). Note-the word ruler in the original is Nagid
(<H5057>), the same word as in Daniel 9:25, where it is applied to Messiah.

"The sceptre shall not depart from JUDAH, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until SH1LOH come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis
49:10).

Coming to the New Testament, we read that Jesus our Lord "sprang out of Judah"
(see Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5).

(7) Next, of the thousands of families in the tribe of Judah, another choice
must be made: Messiah must come from ONE family line, from the family of Jesse,
the father of David.

"There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow
out of his roots; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon HIM. . .(Isaiah
11:1-2). The word "rod" appears in but one other passage in the Old Testament
(Proverbs 14:3), and carries the meaning of "a twig, a shoot such as starts up
from the roots of a cut down tree stump." The passage in Isaiah 11:1-2 is a
clear statement that God will take a man with no standing-a mere "stump" of a
tree cut down-and ingraft new life into it. Jesse was not the head of a royal
family, until God made him the father of a king (David), and put him into the
Messianic line!

(8) Since Jesse had eight sons, another Divine choice must be made: Messiah is
to be a descendant of DAVID, Jesse’s youngest son.

"I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I
will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom for ever”* (2 Samuel 7:12-13). See also 1
Chronicles 7:11-14; Psalms 89:35-37; Jeremiah 23:5-6. (*Mark Lev in his book
"Lectures on Messianic Prophecy" (p. 125) comments on the next verse (2 Samuel
7:14), which reads in the AV, "I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If
he commit iniquity, I will chasen him with the rod of men, and with the stripes
of the children of men." ’Mr. Lev says, "This could be rendered ’For iniquity
committed (not by Him, but my men) I will chasten Him with the rod due to men,
and with the stripes due to the children of men.’ This speaks of vicarious
sufferings of the Son of David, and agrees with Isaiah 53:6. If the AV rendering
be correct, it is a reference of the backslidings and consequent chastening of
Solomon. David’s immediate successor.)

"The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; He will not turn from it; of the fruit
of thy body will I set upon thy throne" (Psalms 132:11). From this last passage
quoted (Psalms 132:11) we see that the Lord not only made a promise to David, He
confirmed His promise by an oath. God had done the same for Abraham (see Hebrews
6:13-18).

Turning to the New Testament, we read:

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, THE SON OF DAVID, . . . " (Matthew
1:1).

"Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which . . . was made of the seed of
David according to the flesh" (Romans 1:3; cf. 2 Timothy 2:7-8; Revelation
5:5-6; Revelation 22:16; Acts 2:30-32; Luke 1:30-36).

"And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying.
Thou son of David, have mercy on us" (Matthew 9:27).

"A woman of Capernaum. . . cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, 0 Lord,
thou son of David" (Matthew 15:22). The public knew Jesus as "the Son of David"
and so called Him. (See Matthew 9:27; Matthew 12:22-23; Matthew 15:22; Matthew
20:30-31; Matthew 21:9, Matthew 20:15; Mark 9:10; Mark 10:47-48 : Luke
18:38-39). The Pharisees knew full well that Messiah must be the Son of David.
When Jesus asked them, "What think ye of Christ (Messiah)? whose son is he?"
they answered, "The son of David" (see Matthew 22:41-46).

It is obvious Messiah had to be a son of David, according to the flesh-and Jesus
was. The Genealogical Records

During Bible times, every Jew could trace his genealogy. "So all Israel were
reckoned by genealogies" (1 Chronicles 9:1). These records were kept in the
cities (Nehemiah 7:5-6; Ezra 2:1) and were public property. Each Israelite’s
genealogical record constituted his title to his farm or home-so he had a
pecuniary interest in preserving the genealogical records of his family. These
national genealogical records were carefully kept until the destruction of
Jerusalem and the temple and the Jewish state in 70 A.D. During the life of
Jesus, no one offered to dispute the well known fact that He was of the house
and lineage of David, because it was in the public records that all had access
to.

Since 70 A.D., when Israel’s genealogical records, except those in the Bible,
were destroyed or confused, no pretending Messiah can prove he is the son of
David as prophecy demands. In other words, Messiah had to come before 70 A. D.

(9) Moreover, of all David’s "many sons," Messiah must get His right to the
throne of David through Solomon’s regal line.

"And of all my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons), He hath chosen
Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel" (1
Chronicles 28:5; cf. v. 1 Chronicles 29:6; also, 1 Chronicles 29:24). In the New
Testament, Solomon is in the royal line from David to Joseph (see Matthew 1:6).

(10) Yet another most important "specification" about Messiah’s lineage is
given: He must be born of a virgin. And since Messiah must be of the fruit of
David’s body (Psalms 132:11) this virgin must be a direct descendant of King
David.

"Hear ye now, O house of David ... the Lord Himself shall give you a sign (a
’sign’ in the Bible is a ’wonder’ a ’miracle’); Behold, a virgin* shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us)"
(Isaiah 7:13-14). [*The new Revised Standard Version of the Bible is grossly in
error in translating the Hebrew word almah in Isaiah 7:14 as "young woman."
Almah refers to a virgin in every instance of its use in the Old Testament (one
of which is Exodus 2:8, where it is used of a maid, a young girl, the baby
Moses’ sister), in the Septuagint almah is translated by parthenos, the Greek
word for virgin.]

It is remarkable that whenever the birth of the Messiah is spoken of in the Old
Testament, reference is made to His mother-or the womb-never to a human father.
See:

Isaiah 49:1 : "The Lord hath called me from the womb".

Isaiah 49:5 : "And now saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be His
servant".

Jeremiah 31:22 : "The Lord hath created a new thing in the earth: A woman shall
encompass a man."

Psalms 22:9 : "Thou art he that took me out of the womb."

Micah 5:3 : "... until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth."

Turning: to the New Testament we find that Jesus indeed was born of a virgin, a
virgin who was a direct descendant of King David. After listing the genealogical
record from Abraham to Christ, using the oft-repeated phrase as "Abraham begat
Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob," etc., showing descent by natural generation, we
finally come to the striking statement:

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on THIS wise: when as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she wax found with child of the
Holy Spirit for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is. God with us" (Matthew 1:18-23).

We are dependent on a good woman, Mary, a good man, Joseph, a good doctor, Luke,
a faithful recorder, Matthew, the word of an angel, and the word of God who gave
both the prediction and its literal fulfillment, for an honest, accurate account
of the birth of Jesus. See Matthew 1:16-23; Luke 1:28-35; Luke 2:1-20.

Here indeed is a sign-a WONDER-that only God can fulfill. Obviously, no
Messianic pretender can cause himself to be born of a virgin. And since "every
truth is consistent with every other truth in the universe" it would not only be
difficult, it would be impossible for a pretender to collect five such good
witnesses as Mary, Joseph, Luke, Matthew and the angel of the Lord to lie for
him without the fraud being detected sooner or later.* We can depend on the
testimony of these five witnesses. (*A literary fraud is well-nigh impossible,
for each lie exposes itself sooner or later by NOT being "consistent with other
known truths in the universe." Scholars, by knowing contemporary history,
geography, philol­ogy and the manners and customs of the era can easily detect a
literary fraud, for it will not fit in with the known facts in those realms.)
This much is clear: who ever the Almighty sent to earth via the virgin birth is
the Messiah: for here is a true "sign," a wonder of heavenly origin, that cannot
be faked. The God who gave the specification in Isaiah 7:14 fulfilled it in the
virgin of Jesus, We see the truth of Jeremiah 1:12 RV:

"Jehovah said . . . I watch over My word to perform it."

Remember, this Messianic chain giving Messiah’s lineage was formed through many
centuries: from Eve, to David, to Isaiah, to the prophet Micah’s time. It was
added to by many human agents, who spoke "in diverse manners, times and places."
And every time Prophecy made a particular choice, there was a new risk, humanly
speaking, of selecting the wrong branch, and nothing short of absolute accuracy
will do when God claims to speak.** (** A. T. Pierson in God’s Living Oracles.)

"Absolute accuracy" it was: for when Messiah came He fulfilled to the letter ALL
the specifications of His lineage and was indeed "the Seed of the woman," "the
Son of Abra­ham, the Son of David" (Matthew 1:1). No other person in all the
world than Jesus of Nazareth could meet all, or even a small part, of these
specifications.

Let us illustrate. Remember, there are no two people exactly alike in all the
world-not even identical twins. Suppose you are "George Bardon." You live at 113
Smith Drive, Detroit, Mich. You are five feet ten inches tall; you weigh 165
pounds. You are married and have five children: three boys and two girls. You
sell life insurance for a living. You have $5,124.76 in the bank. Manifestly no
one else in all the world has ALL of your "specifications." It is easy to see,
if enough characteristic details are given, identification is positive; the same
is true of prophecy: if a sufficient number of details are given, identification
is positive. So many details of Messiah are given, and each one is exactly
fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, so identification is positive.

(11) To further help all know Messiah when He came, the Place of His birth is
given. Prophecy has given us His "address" in terms of the town where He was to
be born.

"But thou, BETHLEHEM Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of
Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in
Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2).
Of all the continents, one is chosen: Asia; of all states, one is chosen:
Canaan. All provinces of Palestine are eliminated save one: Judea; all cities of
Judea are eliminated save one: Bethlehem Ephratah-a tiny village having at that
time fewer than a thousand inhabitants. The prophet pin-points one obscure
village on the map of the world, but he speaks infallibly, for the omniscient
God was behind his utterance. The prophet spoke clearly, too, with unequivocal
certainty; for when King Herod demanded of the chief priests and the scribes of
the people where Christ should be born, they told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it is written by the prophet" (Matthew 2:4-6; cf. John 7:42). The Drama
of Fulfilled Prophecy

Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea (Matthew 2:1) in a manner altogether
marvelous. Until shortly before the time of Jesus’ birth, Mary was living at the
wrong place-that is, if her coming baby was the Messiah. Note now the
intricacies of God’s Providences in fulfilling His Word. In 1923 at Ankara,
Turkey, was found a Roman temple inscription (reported by Sir William Ramsay,
noted British chemist and archeologist) which, when deciphered, related that in
the reign of Caesar Augustus there were three great tax collections. The second
was ordered four years before the birth of Christ. The third, several years
after His birth. The second one is the one we are concerned with. The proud Jews
resented the idea of a special tax, so they sent a commission to Rome to protest
it. Quirinius, the local governor of Syria, had not the authority to settle the
problem. Those were days of slow communications and slower travel. The
commission finally failed and the Jews had to submit to the enrollment and
taxing. But by the time the official tax collectors had worked their way
eastward, town by town, and province by province, and after the time-consuming
delays caused by the Jewish protests, exactly enough delay was caused, and all
in the natural course of events, so that where the enrollment was put in force
in Judea the exact time had come to Mary for the birth of the baby Jesus!

Neither Mary nor Caesar nor the Roman tax collectors did the timing, nor were
they in charge of affairs: but the God who rules the world behind the scenes had
His hand on the wheel, and He literally "moved the peoples of the world" and
timed everything to the very day, so that Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem in
the nick of time, that Jesus, the chosen Messiah, might be born in the right
place, the place designated by the infallible finger of prophecy!

Blind indeed is the man who can’t see or who won’t see the Mind of the Infinite
planning these details and the Hand of the Almighty executing His perfect plan!

(12) Finally, to pin-point Messiah, the TIME of His coming, as well as the
place, is given. Of all generations of earth’s history, Messiah had to come when
Jesus was born! All before Jesus’ time are eliminated; all after His time are
disqualified; and since Jesus of Nazareth had no consequential "competitor" in
His generation, the Finger of Prophecy points infallibly to HIM.

There are three general predictions as to the time of Messiah’s coming, and one
specific.

(A) Messiah must come before the tribe of Judah lost its tribal identity.

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the obedience of the people be" (Genesis
49:10). The word "scepter" in this passage does not necessarily mean a king’s
staff. The word* translated "scepter" means primarily a "tribal staff." The
tribal identity of Judah shall not pass away-as did that of the other ten tribes
of Israel-until Shiloh come. (*The word shebet, which is translated sceptre in
the AV signifies a rod or staff, particularly the rod or staff which belonged to
each tribe as an ensign of their authority. Each tribe was in possession of its
own peculiar ’rod’ or ’staff’ with its name inscribed thereon." (Bishop
Sherlock’s Diacourses on Prophecy.) Hence, the "sceptre" signifies their
identity as a tribe.) For ages both Jewish and Christian commentators have taken
"Shiloh" to be a name of Messiah. It means "Peace" or "One sent."

Even though Judah, during the seventy-year period of their captivity at Babylon,
had been deprived of national sovereignty, they never lost their "tribal staff,"
their national identity; and they always had their own "lawgivers" (judges) of
their own, even in captivity (Ezra 1:5; Ezra 1:8). At the time of Christ, though
the Romans were overlords of the Jews, the Jews had a king in their own land;
moreover, they were to large extent governed by their own laws, and the
Sanhedrin of the nation still exercised its authority. But in the space of a few
years, during the year when Jesus was twelve years of age, when He appeared
publicly in the temple (Luke 2:41-52), Archelaus, the king of the Jews, was
dethroned and banished. Coponius was appointed Roman Procurator, and the kingdom
of Judah, the last remnant of the former greatness of the nation Israel, was
formally debased into a part of the province of Syria.* For almost another half
century the Jews retained the semblance of a provincial governmental structure;
but in 70 A.D. both their city and their temple were destroyed by the armies of
the Roman General Titus, and all semblance of Jewish national sovereignty
disappeared. But the remarkable thing is this: Messiah (Shiloh) came before
Judah lost its tribal identity, exactly as stated in Genesis 49:10! (*See
Josephus’ Antiquities 17, Chapter 13:1-5.

Twenty-two years before the Lord Jesus was crucified, the Sanhedrin lost the
power of passing the death sentence (see John 18:31) when Judea became a Roman
province, as mentioned above. Rabbi Rachmon says, "When the members of the
Sanhedrin found themselves deprived of their right over life and death, a
general consternation took possession of them; they covered their heads with
ashes and their bodies with sackcloth, exclaiming, "Woe unto us, for the sceptre
has departed from Judah and the Messiah has not come." (Chosen People). The
rabbis did not realize that Messiah had come. From this it is apparent that they
considered Genesis 49:10 Messianic, and had a clear concept of its meaning.) (B)
Messiah must come while the second temple was still standing.

"And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I
will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this
latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and
in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:7-9).

Malachi confirms the prediction in Haggai 2:7-9; "the Lord shall suddenly come
to His temple." This prediction in Malachi, as well as the one in Haggai, could
not be fulfilled after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. So, if Messiah
came at all, He had to come before the temple was destroyed. Zechariah 11:13
also demands that Messiah come before the destruction of the Jewish temple, for
that prediction speaks of "the thirty pieces of silver" being "cast to the
potter in the House of the Lord" (the temple) (Zechariah 11:13). In Psalms
118:26 the prophetic pen informs us that the people who should welcome Messiah
would say not only "Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord" but also
"We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord" (Psalms 118:26). That is,
from the House of the Lord (the temple) the people will bless Him when He comes.
This was beautifully fulfilled in the life of Jesus. When He approached
Jerusalem, for His triumphal entry, the people said, "Blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest" (Matthew 21:9). Then we read
that Jesus healed many that were blind and lame in the temple (Matthew 21:14),
and there can be no doubt that those who were healed in the temple "blessed Him
in the House of the Lord," even as Psalms 118:26 said they would! And there is
another definite fulfillment to the prediction: Matthew 21:15 tells us that the
children cried in the temple, saying, "Hosanna to the son of David." Surely,
"out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise" (Psalms
8:2; Matthew 21:16)-and God used children to fulfill His prediction given in
Psalms 118:26 that Messiah should be blessed in the House of the Lord!

There are at least five Scriptural predictions of the coming of Messiah that
demand that He come while the temple at Jerusalem was still standing. This is a
fact of great significance. Since the temple has NOT been rebuilt since its
destruction in 70 A.D. These five Scriptures are: Haggai 2:7-9; Malachi 3:1;
Zechariah 11:13; Daniel 9:26 and Psalms 118:26.

Therefore, the public entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and into the temple as
recorded were all prearranged and predicted and are part of the perfect Plan
that foretold Messiah and His activities when He should come, and then perfectly
fulfilled the blueprint in the movements of Jesus of Nazareth when He came. See
Matthew 21:1-16; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-40.

"And Jesus went into the temple of God . . . and the blind and the lame came
unto Him in the temple; and He healed them . . . and the children crying in the
temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David;" (Matthew 21:12-15).

Two other intensely interesting Scriptures bear on this; when the child Jesus
was taken to the temple by His parents, as recorded in Luke 2:25-32 (please
read); also, when Jesus as a boy of twelve was "in the temple, sitting in the
midst of the doctors . . . and all that heard Him were astonished at His
understanding" (Luke 2:46-47)

After years, yea centuries, of waiting, Messiah suddenly came to His temple!
(Malachi 3:1). Then a few years later, God with a dramatic gesture destroyed the
temple and the city of Jerusalem, even as Jesus had told the people.* And on the
old temple site now stands a heathen shrine, the Mosque of Omar. Providence, by
these significant facts, is saying to all Jews, to all people everywhere,
Messiah has already come! He can’t come now, there is no temple. Messiah had to
come 1900 years ago, before He had the temple destroyed. (*Jesus told them that
the temple, the heart of their worship, yea the heart and soul of their very
national existence, would be torn down, and "not one stone left upon another"
(Matthew 24:2). As Jesus the true Prophet had said, so it came to pass-no doubt
sooner than the disciples expected.)

Either Jesus of Nazareth is the true Messiah, or there is no Messiah, no
prophecy, no Word of God, no God, no objective truth; and then all history, as
well as all the future, is as meaningless as the babbling of a dribbling idiot
and as purposeless as the driftwood on the outskirts of a maddening whirlpool.

(C) Daniel says something remarkable about the coming of Christ relative to the
temple. In giving the time-table from his time to the coming of Messiah (see the
next paragraph) Daniel makes it very clear that Messiah will come and be "cut
off (die) before the "people (the Romans) of the prince that shall come shall
destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary" (the temple) (Daniel 9:26).
Since we have already discussed this under point "B" (above) we pass on to our
next fact relative to the time of Messiah’s coming.

(D) Messiah must come 483 years after a specific date in Daniel’s time. This
definite prediction as to the exact TIME of the coming of Messiah is one of the
most wonderful prophecies in the entire Bible. It establishes the date of
Messiah’s advent almost five hundred years before He came. Here is the
prediction:

"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to
restore and to build Jerusalem unto MESSIAH THE PRINCE shall be seven weeks, and
threescore and two weeks: the streets shall be built again, and the wall, even
in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary" (Daniel 9:25-26). The date of the "commandment to
restore and to build Jerusalem" was the decree by Artaxerxes in 444 B.C.*
granting permission to the Jews to return to Palestine and rebuild the city of
Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 2:1-8). [*"Some authorities differ as to the exact date,
the dates given ranging from 454 to 444 B.C., within a ten-year period. In any
event, the 483 years that begin with this event bring us to the time of Jesus of
Nazareth. For a detailed discussion of this amazing prediction, see Sir Robert
Anderson’s book "The Coming Prince"; also see John Urquhart’s "Wonders of
Prophecy" and Mark Lev’s "Lectures on Messianic Prophecy."] The Hebrew word
translated "weeks" in the Scripture quoted above (Daniel 9:25-26) means "sevens"
or heptads, and is used for years. (See Leviticus 25:8; Genesis 29:27-28). In
other words, the "seventy sevens" that are prophetically determined on Israel
and on the holy city, with specified events (Daniel 9:24), is a period of 490
years. This period is divided into three sections: (1) Seven "weeks," or seven
sevens of years-the 49 years the prophet allotted for the rebuilding of
Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra and those associated with
them (see the books of Nehemiah and Ezra). History tells us it took 49 years to
do this rebuilding job. (2) A second period of 62 "weeks," or 434 years, which
would bring the time to MESSIAH. (3) The 70th "week," a period of seven years
some time after the coming of Messiah.

We now are especially interested in the period "from the commandment to restore
and to build Jerusalem" to "Messiah the Prince," which totals to a period of 483
years. Sir Robert Anderson in his book "The Coming Prince," figured it out, and
gave the world his findings. We quote from the facts he presents:

He starts with March 14, 444 B. C, the date of the commandment to restore and
build Jerusalem; and he ends the period with Jesus’ triumphal entry into
Jerusalem (which he believes was the official presentation of Messiah as
"Prince" to Israel. cf. Luke 19:38-40 with Zechariah 9:9). After careful
investigation and consultation with noted astronomers, he gives these startling
findings: From 444 B. C. to 32 A. D. is 476 years; 476 x 365 is 173,740 days;
from March 14 to April 6 (the day of Christ’s triumphal entry) is 24 days; add
116 days for leap years, and you get a total of 173,880 days. Since the
"prophetic year" of the Bible is always 360 days, the 69 "sevens" of this
prophecy in Daniel (69 x 7 x 360) is 173,880 days! And so the time given by
Daniel from the "commandment to restore and build Jerusalem" to "Messiah the
Prince" comes out perfectly-to the very day! This is a genuine prophecy, as
detailed as a road map, with no taint of ambiguity: and it is a prediction that
can be proven true. It is a sign that points unerringly to JESUS OF NAZARETH who
was "Messiah the Prince," who was "cut off (by a violent death) but not for
Himself. When Jesus began His public ministry. He said significantly, "The TIME
is ful­filled and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15). Messiah must be
born at some time; it might have been in any century, in any year; but with
absolute certainty the exact year, the very month of a notable event in His
life, is foretold.

We now have given twelve points, showing Messiah’s Credentials. These were given
in the Prophetic Word so that all might know Messiah when He came. The accuracy
of prediction is minute; the fulfillment is exact. One mistake would be
fatal-but all is in perfect agreement: Jesus of Nazareth fulfills ALL the
specifications as to His lineage, His birthplace, and the time of His birth. And
is it not most remarkable that within a generation of Christ’s sufferings on the
cross the temple was destroyed, the Jewish priesthood ceased to exist, the
sacrifices were no longer offered, the Jews genealogical records were destroyed,
their city was destroyed, and the peo­ple of Israel were driven out of their
land, sold into slavery, and dispersed to the four corners of the earth! Since
those dreadful national judgments fell on Israel it has been utterly impossible
for a "Messiah" to come with proper "credentials," such as the Old Testament
demands, and such as Jesus of Nazareth presented.


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  CHAPTER 7: 01.02.     II. PROPHECIES OF THE LIFE AND MINISTRY
========================================================================

II. PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF MESSIAH

(1) Messiah’s Character and Characteristics are clearly Delineated: He will be
the Sinless One-as holy as God.* (*For a delightful Bible reading, look up these
Scriptures on the character of Messiah: Psalms 40:6-10; Psalms 45:1-8; Isaiah
11:2-5; Isaiah 42:1-7; Isaiah 63:1-3 : Isaiah 53:7-9.)

Messiah must be as righteous as the Lord Himself: for He will be the "righteous
Branch . . . who shall be called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
Messiah must be God’s chosen One in whom He will "delight" (Isaiah 42:1). In
Matthew 3:17 we read that the Father said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased." Messiah, on His part, will be the obedient "Servant of
the Lord" who will ever "delight to do God’s will" (Psalms 40:8). The Lord Jesus
could testify, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His
work" (John 4:34; see also John 6:38).

Messiah will be anointed by the Holy Spirit in a manner and degree far beyond
any man or men ("above" His fellows, Psalms 45:7; cf. Hebrews 1:9). Read the
remarkable passage in Isaiah 11:3-6 that tells us:

"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of
the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove
after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor. .
. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the
girdle of His reins" (Isaiah 11:2-5). In the New Testament, we read of Jesus’
anointing with the Holy Spirit at the time of His baptism, when the Holy Spirit
like a dove descended and lit upon Him (Matthew 3:16). He bare witness that the
"Spirit of the Lord" was upon Him (Luke 4:18), which was in fulfillment of a
prediction about Messiah’s character and ministry in Isaiah 61:1-3. The people
"bare Him (Jesus) witness, and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out
of His mouth" (Luke 4:22).

Messiah must be a man of perfect self-control: "His voice (in anger, or as an
excited rabble-rouser) shall not be heard in the streets" (Isaiah 42:2); He will
have patience with the frailties of men: "He shall not break the bruised reed,
nor quench the smoking flax" (Isaiah 42:3); Messiah will have perseverance in
the course of doing right, His Father’s will; He will have courage and success
in that goal, as well as steadfastness of purpose: "He shall neither fail nor be
discouraged" (Isaiah 42:4). Matthew, in describing the ministry of Jesus, says
that Jesus fulfilled what Isaiah had said about Him:

"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying.
Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen; My Beloved, in whom My soul is well
pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall show judgment to the
Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in
the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not
quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory. And in His name shall the
Gentiles trust" (Matthew 12:17-21).

Messiah’s compassion and tenderness are revealed in an exquisite figure of
touching tenderness: "He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in
His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young" (Isaiah 40:11). "He
shall feed His flock like a shepherd" (Isa. 40: llf.c.). In the New Testament we
read of the compassion of Jesus in Matthew 9:36; Matthew 14:14; Matthew 15:32,
and many other places. In the tenth chapter of John, Christ is presented as the
"Good Shepherd" who loves His sheep and cares for them, even giving His life for
them (John 10:10-18).

Messiah will be "just and lowly" (Zechariah 9:9), "fairer than the children of
men" with "grace poured into His lips" and blessed by God for ever (Psalms
45:2). He will be "without violence"-a blameless outward life-"and without
deceit"-an innocent inner life (Isaiah 53:9; cf. 1 Peter 2:22). He will suffer
great personal wrong done to Him without complaining either to God or man
(Isaiah 53:7; Isaiah 50:4-7). Coming to the New Testament, we learn that Jesus
"is meek and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29); and the Father testified of Him,
"Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God hath anointed
Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows" (Hebrews 1:9). When the Lord
Jesus was crucified, He meekly suffered all the indignities, the insults, the
blasphemies, the mental torture, the physical violence heaped upon Him, and did
not complain; in fact, He prayed for His persecutors (Luke 23:34; Matthew
27:12-14). As a teacher. Messiah "shall not fail . . . till He have set
judgment* in the earth" and the nations "shall wait on His teaching" (Isaiah
42:4). Today, multitudes in our most advanced nations "wait on Jesus’ teaching"
and when finally the king­dom of God, with Christ as king, is set up on earth,
He will indeed have "set judgment in the earth." (* The word translated
"judgment" is a very rich word, translated by 31 different words in the AV. It
means to bring justice, law, order, salvation, truth, righteousness, to mankind.
Messiah’s ministry was to bring Salvation and Truth ("judgment") to Gentiles as
well as to Jews (Isaiah 42:6).

It was prewritten of Messiah that He would "open His mouth with parables" ... He
will "utter things hidden from the foundation of the world" (Psalms 78:2). When
Jesus the Great Teacher came, He taught "as one having authority, and not as the
scribes" (Matthew 7:29). The scribes taught by quoting what such-and-such a
Rabbi had said; but when Jesus taught, He gave God’s words and spoke with
finality and assurance: "Verily, verily, I say unto you . . ." (see John 5:24;
John 6:47, etc.).Moreover, Christ’s characteristic method of teaching was by the
use of parables-"for without a parable spake He nothing unto them: that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth
in parables" (Matthew 13:34-35).

It is plain from the reading of the Old Testament that when Messiah comes, He
will be holier and wiser than men, even as just and righteous as God himself.
Who in all the history of the world could this be speaking of, other than Jesus
the Christ, who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made
higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26). The Miracle of All Literature: the
Portrayal of the Perfect Character

Now we come to the miracle of all literature: the portrayal of the Perfect
Character, Jesus the Christ in the New Testament. That which is given in general
terms, in an abstract way, in the Old Testament, in the portrayal of the coming
perfect Messiah, becomes a concrete reality, in the flesh, in the Person of
Jesus the Christ in the New Testament. In the Lord Jesus we see the One who is
altogether lovely, the chiefest among ten thousand, the delight of the Heavenly
Father.* (*Contrast with Christ the wily Mohammed who pretended to receive a
divine warrant to sanction his past impurities and to license his future crimes.
How different was the Lord Jesus! He said, "If I do not the works of My Father,
believe ME not" (John 10:37).

Christ’s perfectly poised character was not unbalanced by eccentricities or
human foibles. His perfections were not tainted by pride, nor was His wisdom
marred by an occasional bit of folly. His equity was not twisted by prejudice,
nor was His justice adulterated by selfish whims. He had a becoming dignity that
was happily blended with His gracious humility. He had concern for others
without worry, zeal without fretfulness, patience without dilatoriness, tact
without dishonesty, and frankness without rudeness. His authority was balanced
and blended with gentleness and patience.

He never had to admit defeat, retract a statement, offer an apology, change His
teachings, confess a sin or a mistake, or ask advice. He never lost His temper,
or spoke rashly. He was never bested in an argument: He always had the right
answer-the will and the word of God.

He went about doing good, prayed much, gave God the glory and thanks in all
things, had no interest in the accumulation of material things; He lived and
died in poverty-yet He never lacked until His sufferings on the cross. His
miracles were all beneficent-never for vainglory. He was the perfect Teacher who
lived what He taught. He was one of us in the truest sense: "the Son of man";
yet He was not one of us, for He never sinned. He was from above and not from
the earth, and He was the unique Son of God. Never man spake like this man.

He never made a claim to supernatural power or prerogative but what He performed
a miracle of like kind to prove it. He who said "I am the Light of the world"
(John 9:5) also opened the eyes of the man born blind, so all could see His
right to the claim. He who said "I am the resurrection and the life" (John
11:25-27) proved that these were sober words of truth by raising Lazarus from
the dead! (John 11:25, John 11:43-44). He who said "I am the bread of life"
(John 6:35) gave full evidence that He was all He claimed to be by performing
the miracle of feeding the five thousand from a few loaves and fewer fish (John
6:5-14). If Jesus were not the true Messiah, the Saviour of the world, what an
unmitigated crime against humanity, what brash folly, what unforgivable egotism,
for Him to make the promises He did, and so deceive people for time and
eternity. Certainly such evil could not come from One as good and as loving as
Jesus. We believe and are sure that He is indeed the Christ, the Son of God, the
One who should come into the world to be the Redeemer of mankind.

Volumes have been written, volumes more will be written, on the moral glory, the
perfect character of the Lord Jesus. Suffice it to say in summary: He is the
image of the invisible God (Hebrews 1:3), the sum and substance of all good, the
One in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead (Colossians 2:9). His holiness
shone with undimmed lustre; His loveliness was as pure and genuine as the glory
of God. His love was as selfless and as complete as the love of God-for in all
the history of the world mankind has never seen, except in the death of Christ,
"a perfect character dying under an unparalleled weight of unmerited agony." The
mighty yet lowly Royal Suf­ferer uncomplainingly bore the weight of the sin of
the race in His atoning death on the cross.

(2) Messiah’s Supernatural "Miracle" Works are clearly Foretold: He must show as
His Hallmarks Supernatural Work* that show Him to be the God-appointed, God-sent
Redeemer. And as His "Special" Work, Messiah will offer Himself as a
Substitutionary Sacrifice to redeem the Race.

Messiah’s whole ministry must BLESS the people. As Isaiah foretold:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the
broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord . . .
to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of
praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isaiah 61:1-3).

Messiah, as the Lord God in the midst of the people, must be the miracle worker
par excellence:

"Behold your God will come . . . He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and. the ears of the deaf shall be un­stopped. Then shall
the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Isaiah 35:4-6).

"I the Lord have called thee in righteousness . . . and give thee for a covenant
of the people and for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring
out the prisoners from the prison..." (Isaiah 42:6-7).

Messiah will be the worldwide SAVIOUR for "salvation to the ends of the earth"
(Isaiah 49:6) as a "Light to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:6-7; Isaiah 11:10), and
the "Redeemer of Israel" (Isaiah 49:7; also. Isaiah 42:6). In the New Testament,
Christ is the worldwide Saviour:

"For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son. that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The
prophet Simeon, in the temple, when he saw the child Jesus, knew this was the
Christ. He said, "Lord, . . . mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast
prepared before the face of all people; a Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the
Glory of Thy people Israel" (Luke 2:29-32). See also Luke 1:68-79; Romans
3:28-30, etc.

Messiah’s special work will be to offer Himself, His soul and body, as a ransom,
an offering, a sacrifice, for sin and sinners (see Isaiah 53:4-6, Isaiah
53:10-12). By this supreme sacrifice of Himself. He will "bruise Satan’s head"
(Genesis 3:15 with Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8); and by that great work of
redemption He will establish a kingdom that will last for ever (Daniel 7:14;
Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:32-33; Hebrews 2:9-14).

Turning to the New Testament again, we see the identification of the Old
Testament Messiah with the Christ of the New to be perfect, as far as His holy
character, His "works" and His special "work" on the cross are concerned. The
miracles that Jesus wrought-His works-were well known by His generation. Peter
in his sermon on the day of Pentecost uses the fact of Christ’s miracle-working
ministry as PROOF of His Messiahship.

"Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
among you by MIRACLES and WONDERS and SIGNS, which God did by Him in the midst
of you, as ye yourselves also know . . . Therefore let all the house of Israel
know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified (whom
God hath raised up) both LORD AND CHRIST" (Acts 2:22, Acts 2:36-39). In the
Gospels we read that Jesus blessed, saved and helped all seekers who contacted
Him: He healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, opened the eyes of the blind,
raised the dead, fed the hungry, walked on the Sea of Galilee, and performed
many other miracles.* (*See Mark 1:32-34, Mark 1:41-42; John 9:7; John 11:3-44;
John 6:11-13; John 6:19-21, etc., etc.)

John the Baptist, after his imprisonment by king Herod, sent two of his
disciples to Jesus to ask Him, "Art thou He that should come (the Messiah), or
do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:2-3), thereby putting a direct question to
Jesus: "Are you Messiah or are you not?" Jesus answered by reminding John and
his disciples of His MIRACLE WORKS, thus assuring them He was Messiah for
Messiah alone could do those works:

"Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive
their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them" (Matthew
11:4-5)-and THESE THINGS ARE THE VERY MARKS OF MESSIAH GIVEN IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT!

Finally, after His benevolent ministry of healing and blessing the people,
Christ accomplished the great work for which He came into the world, to which
work He was foreordained from before the foundation of the world (see 1 Peter
1:18-20); He died on the cross, offering Himself as a vicarious sacrifice to
redeem the race.

"Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:6).

"Jesus ...by the grace of God… tasted death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).

"Christ. . . . once in the end of the ages appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

Jesus Himself appealed to the people to believe on Him for "the very works’
sake" (John 14:10-11).

"Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words
that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me,
He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or
else believe Me for the very works’ sake" (John 34:10-11). No mere pretender can
have this TRIPLE SEAL as proof of his genuineness: (1) Have a perfect character;
(2) perform "miracle" works; (3) offer Himself as a Sacrifice for the redemption
of the race. These three requirements not only eliminate all fake "Messiahs,"
but also clearly establish the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the true Messiah,
for He fulfilled all three!

During; the last nineteen centuries His gospel has literally been preached
around the world, and millions upon millions of Gentiles as well as multitudes
of Jews, have trusted and are trusting Him. Jesus is indeed the universal
Saviour, the "Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). His
love envelopes the world (John 3:16); His gospel is for every creature (Mark
16:15); His is the only Name under Heaven, given among men "whereby we must be
saved" (Acts 4:12). The Overwhelming, cumulative Effect of Added Signs

We have traced the Messianic Line from Shem, through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Judah, Jesse, David-and down to the virgin birth, the "Seed of the woman," at
the appointed time and place-and we found all perfectly fulfilled in Jesus of
Nazareth, without one failure! We also saw that since all the genealogical
records were destroyed in 70 A. D., no Messianic claimant since then can prove
his Messiahship.

We have shown that the Old Testament predicts a Messiah with a perfect
character, a benevolent ministry characterized by miracles of healing, and that
His great work will be to offer Himself as a sacrifice to redeem the people.
Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of the four Gospels, fulfilled all this perfectly.
The cumulative effect of one fulfillment after another, without one failure, is
staggering.

We present an illustration to show that comparatively few distinctive "signs"
are sufficient to identify one individual out of billions.

Identifying David Greenglass When U. S. authorities got on the trail of the
traitor, David Greenglass, who gave atomic secrets to the Russians after World
War II, he fled to Mexico. His confederates arranged for him to meet the
secretary of the Russian Ambassador in Mexico City, and to identify himself by
these prearranged signs. (Identical instructions were given to both Greenglass
and the Secretary). (1) He was to write a note to the Secretary and sign his
name as "I. Jackson." (2) After three days he was to go to the Plaza de Colon in
Mexico City, and (3) stand before the statue of Columbus, (4) with his middle
finger placed in a guidebook. (5) When the Secretary approached, Greenglass was
to say, it was a magnificent statue; and that he was from Oklahoma. (6) The
Secretary then was to give him a passport. Needless to say, the plan worked.*
(*These facts are taken from the April 2, 1951 edition of The New Leader.)

They knew-all men know-that with as few as six identifying signs, it would be
impossible for an impostor to deceive the Secretary, unless he learned what the
signs were. God has seen fit to give us not six but scores of signs to identify
Messiah and to make the signs of such a nature (such as the virgin birth or
resurrection of Messiah) that no false Messiah could possibly fake them! All who
take the firm* to look into the facts, such as we are presenting here, will come
to know positively that a Messiah was predicted and that the only One who could
be that Messiah is Jesus the Christ of the New Testament. (*These- facts are
taken from the April 2, 1951 edition of The New Leader.) We Challenge the
World-$1,000 Reward Offered!

We hereby challenge the world with this double challenge; and we will give
$1,000 reward to any one proving either of these two propositions:

(1) Show that there is another book than the Bible in the literature of the
world that contains prophecies about a coming Messiah, similar to those in the
Bible; and after a lapse of our hundred years gives evidence of a definite
fulfillment in twenty or more details.

(2)Produce any "Christ," living or dead (other than Jesus of Nazareth) who can
fulfill even half of the predictions concerning Messiah that we give in this
book. We would ask of any who claims or who claimed to be the true Messiah: Was
he born in Bethlehem? Was he born of a virgin? Is he a direct descendant of both
Abraham and David? Did he come approximately 490 years after Daniel’s time? Did
he exercise a benevolent ministry characterized by miracles? Was he a perfect
character? Did he die on a cross? And rise again the third day? Did he offer his
body to be wounded and pierced, as a sacrifice? for the sins of the people? Did
he rise from and ascend to Heaven? Was he sold for thirty pieces of silver? Did
any ever part his garments or cast lots for his vesture? Did he ever use the
cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? A moment’s thought will
convince all fair-minded persons that Jesus the Christ of the New Testament who
fulfilled ALL of the 333 prophecies that relate to His first advent is the only
character of all history to qualify as the predicted Messiah; and that There is
no other book than the Bible that has anything comparable to Messianic
Predictions, having twenty or more specific details.* (*If anyone wishes to lay
claim to the $1,000 offered, write out your case, and include a copy of the book
which you believe rivals the Bible in its prophecies. This book must, of course,
antedate by at least 400 years the destruction of Jerusalem which took place in
70 AD., for there is no way of proving any Messianic claims after 70 A.D. for
all Jewish genealogical records were destroyed at that time.)


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  CHAPTER 8: 01.03.     III. PROPHETIC PARADOXES IN PROPHECY
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III. PROPHETIC PARADOXES IN PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST The Old Testament
presents a mysterious prophetic puzzle of strange combinations of prophecies
concerning the coming Messiah that appear at times so conflicting they seem
impossible of fulfillment. We call these prophecies that are seemingly
contradictory and apparently irreconcilable "prophetic paradoxes." We define a
"prophetic paradox" as two or more prophecies that contain a seeming
contradiction, with no real absurdity involved, and presenting an enigma which,
without the "clue" or fulfillment, seems impossible of solution. The Old
Testament abounds with such prophetic paradoxes concerning Christ which were and
still are absolute mysteries except as the New Testament solves them in Christ.
These paradoxes in prophecy have an element of obscurity presenting as it were a
LOCK for which only the New Testament has the KEY*-and that key is Jesus the
Christ. (*Harry Houdini, perhaps the greatest magician that ever lived, once
gave a demonstration in Paris of his ability to unlock locks. A local ma­gician
claimed he could do all that Houdini did. And he publicly offered to extricate
himself the next day from a cage, locked by Houdini’s special lock. The wily
French magician had an accomplice, unknown to Houdini, who wormed the
combination of the lock from the American magician. But Houdini suspected the
trick-so that night he changed the combination. The next day the cocky French
magician had himself locked in the cage. To his chagrin, he could not unlock the
combination lock. He tried in vain to discover the new combination, midst the
jeers of the crowd. Finally, he had to beg Houdini to release him, which he did
after a little showmanship. Then Houdini showed him and the audience what the
new five-letter combination was: F-R-A-U-D. The one who worked out the
combination is the one who could unlock it. The One who gave these mysterious
Old Testament prophecies, as a LOCK, knows the combination that unlocks the
mysteries, and He alone knows them. Jesus had the "key" in His own Person and
ministry that unlocks them! All counterfeit "Messiahs" are frauds!) This amazing
feature of many Messianic predictions prevents both wicked men and over-zealous
disciples from purposely fulfilling them-if they could. For the prophecies, in
at least some instances, were not fully understood until the fulfillment
explained and made them plain. (See 1 Peter 1:10-11). Such unique prophecies
absolutely prove that the God of Prophecy who designed them and the God of
Providence who fulfilled them are one.

Another astonishing feature about these prophetic paradoxes is the perfectly
normal, artless way in which they were providentially, even miraculously,
fulfilled in the life of Jesus the Christ in the New Testament. It is not
necessary to strain or force either the facts or the predictions to make them
match.

Consider for a few moments some of these "impossible" contrasts: God will come
to earth-to be born as a child. Messiah will be begotten by God-yet He will be
God. He will be a "Son" in time-yet He is "Father of Eternity" (Isaiah 9:6).
Chosen by God, elect, precious-yet despised and rejected by men. He is a "man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief." Coming to the Jews, and rejected by them as
a nation-He will be sought by the Gentiles and will be a "light to the
Gentiles." He will be a man who is God-and God who is man. Sinless, and having a
wholly benevolent ministry-He will eventually be forsaken by both God and man.
He will be "abhorred"-yet extolled and exalted. "Cut off-yet His days will be
prolonged." "Grief and glory, travail and triumph, humiliation and exaltation,
cross and crown are so strongly inter­mingled that the ancient Jewish expositors
could not reconcile these prophecies. The whole prophetic picture of the coming
Messiah, with its fulfillment, is so wholly novel, so mysterious, so artless and
yet so intricate, that it was and is and must for ever remain the wonder of all
literature" (A. T. Pierson).

Let us examine in more detail a few of the many prophetic paradoxes in the
predictions of the coming Messiah.

(1) Concerning His birth. Notice in the following predic­tions these striking
irreconcilables: a virgin . . . shall bear a son: something unknown in human
experience. And this man-child will be GOD-"God with us." God-begotten-yet God
incarnate!

"The Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name EMMANUEL" (Isaiah 7:14).

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall
be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful (Heb., miracle).
Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah
9:6). To fulfill these amazing prophecies God performed a "biological miracle"
and Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) and born of the virgin
Mary as recorded in Matthew 1:16-25. To fulfill these two predictions quoted
above, given 700 years before their fulfillment, God in the person of His Son
came to earth, and the incarnation became a reality: "the Son of the Highest"
became Mary’s son: God manifest in the flesh (see 1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:1-3-14;
Luke 1:31-33)-and all this though Mary "knew not a man" (Luke 1:34). Not only
was Messiah to be the GOD-MAN, born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6), He
was in some mysterious way to be all of these: "the Seed of the woman" (Genesis
3:15); "the Son of man" (Daniel 7:13); the "Son of God" Psalms 2:7); the "Seed
of Abraham" (Genesis 22:18); and the "fruit" of David’s body (Psalms 132:11).
But how can God be man and man be God and at the same time be a son of man and
Son of God? And how can a person be God and yet be born of God? And how can one
be a "son of man" and yet have no human father? And how can he be the "seed of
the woman" when the woman "knew not a man?" How in the world-pardon the
expression-could one person be ALL these? Wonder of wonders, Jesus was! The Lord
Jesus was GOD (John 1:1); He was man (John 1:14); He was the "seed of the woman"
(Galatians 4:4); He was the "Son of man"-the representative man (Luke 19:10); He
was the "Son of God" (John 3:16); He was the "seed of Abra­ham and the seed of
David" (Matthew 1:1). Behold, the Miracle of the ages: Christ Jesus, perfect
man, yet very God; God begotten, yet God incarnate in one indivisible, loving,
matchless personality! John the evangelist explains the supreme mystery (called
the "mystery of God and of Christ," Colossians 2:2; Col :4:3) in these words:

"And the Word (who was God and was with God, in the bosom of the Father) was
made flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (see John 1:1-2, John
1:18-24).

(2) The Place of His Origin: from whence did He come: Bethlehem? Egypt?
Nazareth? Here is another involved series of predictions. Prophecy said, "Out of
thee (Bethlehem) shall he come forth . . . who is to be ruler in Israel" (Micah
5:2). But another Scripture said. "I have called my Son out of Egypt" (Hosea
11:1 with Matthew 2:15). And there was a spoken prophecy commonly known among
the people of Israel, as one of the predictions of the prophets, "He shall be
called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:23), based possibly on Isaiah 11:1 where Messiah
is called the Branch (Heb., neh-tzer), meaning the separated One, or "the
Nazarene." Are these contradictory? Not at all when the Person came who unlocked
the puzzle by the course of events in His divinely ordained life. He was born in
Bethlehem, as Micah said; soon after, He was taken to Egypt by Joseph and Mary,
from whence God "called" Him back to the Holy Land after the death of wicked
king Herod (Matthew 2:13-23). And when Joseph and Mary came back to Palestine
with the child Jesus, they settled in Nazareth, the city where the Lord was
reared.* Hence, in His ministry He was called "Jesus of Nazareth" (Luke 18:37;
Acts 2:22; etc.). Isn’t it strange that, though He was born in Bethlehem, no one
ever calls Him "Jesus of Bethlehem," and though He is called "Jesus of
Nazareth," everyone knows He was born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth! (*There is an
interesting historical sidelight that adds pungency to the understanding of the
prediction and its fulfillment. When Joseph and Mary returned to the holy land,
from Egypt, Joseph was apparently about to settle near Bethlehem, in Judea; "but
when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go thither: ... he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and
he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene" (Matthew 2:22-23).
Humanly speaking, all hinged on this queer fact: In a peevish fret, before his
death, King Herod changed his will and put Archelaus, the worst of his living
sons, to rule instead of Antipas. It was this fear of Archelaus that led Joseph
to look for another residence; then God led him to Nazareth! So God, who uses
the wrath of man to praise Him permitted the wrath of a petulant king to bring
to pass a fulfillment of His Word! (See Psalms 76:10). Being of the tribe of
Judah, and born in Bethlehem, He was indeed a true "Nazarene," a "separated
one," by living in Galilee instead of with his Judean brethren in Judah! Even as
Joseph of old also was separated ("Nazared") from his brethren by his exile for
so many years in Egypt (see Genesis 49:26, where the word "separate" comes from
the Hebrew root (nazar). The historical record of the life of Jesus makes
crystal clear these three apparently contradictory prophecies.

(3) How could Messiah be both David’s Son . . . yet David’s Lord? Christ Himself
raised this interesting question with the Pharisees, when He asked them
pointedly:

"What think ye of Christ? whose son is He? They say unto him. The Son of David.
He saith unto them, How then doth David in Spirit call Him Lord, saying, The
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, till I make thine enemies Thy
footstool? If David then called Him Lord, how is He his Son?" (Matthew 22:41-45;
Christ quoted from Psalms 110:1). Is it hard to see how Christ could be both
David’s son and David’s Lord? Not at all when one has the key to the problem in
the facts as presented in the New Testament. Christ was David’s son in that He
was a descendant of David, after the flesh (Luke 1:32; Romans 1:3); and He was
David’s Lord, for Messiah is God: King of kings and Lord of all (Revelation
19:16). Messiah is called LORD (Jehovah) in Jeremiah 23:6, and He is called GOD
(Elohim) in Psalms 45:6 (cf. Hebrews 1:8), and He is called Lord (Adonai) in
Malachi 3:1 and Psalms 110:1 -all three names and titles of Deity in the Old
Testament. It is clear, Messiah is not only David’s Lord, but He is LORD OF ALL.

(4) Christ’s Right to David’s Throne. Here is an intricate, involved puzzle: so
involved it will take a little concentration on the part of the reader to follow
the problem and its solution-but it will well repay the effort.

Christ, the Seed of David, must be Virgin-born and yet have a legal right to the
throne of David despite the fact that one of Solomon’s descendants was a certain
evil man named Jeconiah of whom it was written that none of his descendants
would ever rule in Judah (see Jeremiah 22:29-30); and despite the fact that in
Israel the right to the throne was trans­mitted only through the male line: and
here Christ was born of a virgin!

It is perfectly clear that Messiah will inherit "the throne of David" (Isaiah
9:7; Jeremiah 33:15-17; Jeremiah 25:5; Psalms 132:11; 1 Chronicles 17:11-14).
But, since He had to be born of a virgin, how can He get His legal right to the
throne of David? And how can the roadblock erected by Jeconiah’s sin be
circumvented? Who can untangle these apparently hopelessly confused predictions?
Leave it to the Master Mind who both devised the strange prophecies and worked
out their fulfillment. Remember, the prophet Isaiah said, "The zeal of the Lord
of Hosts shall perform this" (Isaiah 9:7). Not only was the apparently
impossible solved and resolved in JESUS THE CHRIST, but God has given us the
complete record of how He did it in the genealogies of the New Testament. In
Matthew’s genealogy the genealogy of Christ through Joseph is given. This
genealogy shows Christ to be "the son of David"-so giving Him right to David’s
throne-and also "the son of Abraham"-so giving Him right to the Land of Promise,
the territorial possessions given to Abraham and his seed.* (*It is interesting
to observe that in Luke 3:38 the genealogy of Christ is traced back through Heli
(Mary’s father) to ADAM and to GOD-so giving Christ a title-deed to the whole
earth, as "son of Adam" (see Genesis 1:27-30; Psalms 8:4-6; Hebrews 2:6-9;
Revelation 5:1-10) and to "ALL THINGS" as "Son of God" (see Hebrews 1:2). In
Matthew’s genealogy, Joseph is seen to be in the REGAL line of descent from King
David, down through Solomon. But Joseph was also a descendant of David through
Jeconiah (also called Coniah)-hence, succession to the throne for Joseph
personally is barred. Matthew’s genealogical record is careful to show that
Jesus was NOT, through Joseph, the "fruit of David’s body," i. e., a direct
descendant of David through Joseph. In Luke 3:23-38 Christ’s genealogy is given
through Mary. (Heli was obviously Mary’s father, Joseph’s father-in-law, v. Luke
3:23).** In the record Christ is shown to be the LITERAL "fruit of David’s body"
through His mother Mary. But, and this is important: while Mary was in A ROYAL
line from David, she was not in THE REGAL lineage, for she was a descendant of
king David through Nathan, whereas the throne rights were to come through
Solomon’s line (see 1 Chronicles 28:5-6). Therefore, Joseph’s marriage to Mary
before Christ was born was an absolute necessity-and that is exactly what
happened! (**It is interesting to note that in the genealogical record in
Matthew, it is written that "Jacob begat Joseph" (Matthew 1:16); that is, Jacob
was the actual father of Joseph. But in Luke it is written that "Joseph was the
son of Heli" (Luke 3:23), and the word "son" is not in the original, but is
supplied by the translators. In this verse (Luke 3:23) it should be "son-in-law"
instead of son. Obviously, Joseph could not have two fathers-hence, he is the
"son-in-law" of Heli, or the "son" in the sense that he is married to Heli’s
daughter. This is in accordance with Jewish custom (see 1 Samuel 24:16).

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Spirit. . . . And behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou SON OF DAVID, fear not to take unto thee Mary THY
WIFE: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew
1:18-20).* (*It is a mistake to minimize the importance of the genealogical
records of the Bible. They are of prime importance in proving that Jesus of
Nazareth is MESSIAH and that He has the right to the throne of David.
Incidentally, the presence of the genealogical records in the New Testament
shows the importance God places on the PROOF that Jesus is David’s Son, and
indirectly shows the importance of the whole argument from fulfilled prophecy.)

So, through Mary, Jesus the Christ obtained His literal descent from king David;
and from Mary’s marriage to Joseph, who was also a "son of David." He obtained
His legal right to David’s throne, for Mary was Joseph’s wife before Jesus was
born, so making Joseph Jesus’ legal father, His foster father. And, withal, the
prophecy concerning Jeconiah was fulfilled too, for Jesus the Christ is NOT the
"seed"-a direct descendant-of Jeconiah. Can you think of anything more intricate
and involved, and yet worked out with such precision?

Joseph and Mary had to be the parents (foster father and mother) of Jesus the
Christ: they were the only two people of that generation who could be, and
fulfill prophecy about Messiah. And Joseph had to be married to Mary before
Jesus was born, so He could get His legal right to David’s throne through
Joseph. At the same time, Christ could not be a child of Joseph because of the
bar against a descendant of Jeconiah. And though Joseph had to be married to
Mary, yet Joseph could not "know" Mary as his wife until after Jesus was born,
for He had to be born of a virgin! And the Divinely ordered fulfillment was
perfect in every detail!

(5) Messiah was to be Both the "Chief Corner Stone" and the "Rock of Offence."

"He shall be... for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the
houses of Israel" (Isaiah 8:14).

"The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the comer"
(Psalms 118:22; Isaiah 28:16). The key that unlocks this mystery is a simple
one: belief or unbelief in Christ. To those who disbelieve, Messiah would be a
"Rock of Offence" and a "Stone of Stumbling." Peter explains the mystery by
showing that all depends on one’s attitude toward Christ, whether of faith or
unbelief:

"Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be
confounded. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which
be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed the same is made the
head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to
them which stumble at the word, being disobedient" (1 Peter 2:6-8). See also
Romans 9:32-33. As He did so often, the Lord Jesus called attention to the
prophecy in the Old Testament, making Himself the New Testament fulfillment of
it.

"Jesus saith unto them (the Pharisees), Did ye never read in the Scrip­tures,
The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the
corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Matthew
21:42). The Lord also added this significant statement: "And who­soever shall
fall on this stone"-seeking His mercy and grace-"shall be broken"-his hopes in
himself completely crushed. "But on whomsoever it shall fall"-in judgment-"it
will grind him to powder"-completely ruin him for time and eternity. (See
Matthew 22:44). To the believer, Christ is the CHIEF CORNER STONE, and He is
very precious. To the unbeliever, Christ is the STONE OF STUMBLING or ROCK OF
OFFENCE. To the one, Christ the Rock brings eternal salvation; to the other. He
brings judgment. Those who stumble in unbelief over Christ reject Him and fall
to their eternal destruction.

(6) Rejected by Israel (Isaiah 53:3), Messiah would then become "a Light to the
Gentiles" for "Salvation unto the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:5-6).

Racially, Messiah would be a Jew (a "Branch" out of the stem of Jesse, Isaiah
11:1, Isaiah 11:10); and yet, the Gentiles will seek Him (Isaiah 11:10)-an
unheard of thing, for there is and has been for ages a natural animosity between
Jews and Gentiles. But this enmity is done away "in Christ" (Ephesians 2:14-15).
The veil over the hearts of the Gentiles will be destroyed for multitudes of
believing Gentiles (see Isaiah 25:7), and a veil of unbelief will form over the
hearts of many (not all) Jews. Isaiah predicted this judicial blindness for
Israel, because they "despised and rejected" their Messiah.

"Make the heart of this people (Israel) fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut
their eyes; lest they. . . convert, and be healed" (Isaiah 6:10).

"It is a light thing that thou shouldest be My Servant ... to restore the
preserved of Israel; I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that
Thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6).

Nineteen centuries of history attest the truth of these words. When Israel
crucified and rejected their Messiah, a veil of unbelief settled over the
nation, and though some believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved, blindness is
still over the hearts and minds of most Israelites (2 Corinthians 3:14-15). The
Gospel was then given to the Gentiles (see Acts 28:28), and the glorious gospel
in John 3:16 is now preached to the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike. That
Gentiles should trust in a Jew for salvation is most unlikely, but true. That
the very nation He came to bless turned from Him seems most unlikely, but it
happened (John 1:11-12); and that the Gentiles who were not the people of God
should become the people of God through faith in the Jewish Messiah seems
preposterous-but that is the way God is working and that is the way it is
happening.

(7) Messiah was to have a DOUBLE ANOINTING-A Ministry of Mercy as Saviour, and a
Ministry of Judgment, as Coming King.

Since Christ at His first advent came to suffer for the sins of the people we
now know (though the Jews of Jesus’ day found it hard to realize this) that His
role as JUDGE and KING will be fulfilled at His second advent.

"Isaiah who describes with the eloquence worthy of a prophet the glories of
Messiah’s coming kingdom, also characterizes with the accuracy of the historian
the humiliation, the trials, the agony, which were to precede the triumph of the
Redeemer of the world," says W. G. Moorehead, "presenting on the one hand a
glorious King, Himself Deity, ’God with us, who has all power; yet, on the other
hand, One whose visage was more marred than any man. His bones out of joint and
dying of thirst (Ps. 22). How can He be both the great Davidic Monarch,
restoring again the glory of Solomon’s House, and also be a Sacrifice bearing
the sins of the people? Clearly, destinies so strongly contrasted could not be
accomplished simultaneously. There is only one answer possible; ... in the
Divine purpose the mighty drama is to be IN TWO ACTS (His first advent and His
second advent)." The "suffering" Messiah (and His ministry of mercy) is often
presented in the same Scripture with His work as Judge and King. In the
Scripture we quote below we print in CAPS the phrase that describes His work of
judging at His second advent. The rest applies to His first advent.

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the
broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, AND
THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR GOD" (Isaiah 61:1-2). The same intermingling of
prophecy describing Messiah’s work at both advents-to save and to judge; His
humiliation and work as the Redeemer at His first advent, and His work to
establish His righteous kingdom at His second advent-is seen in many other
Scriptures, such as Zechariah 9:1-10; Micah 5:1-4; Daniel 9:24, etc. In studying
Messianic prophecy, it is important to determine if the first or second advent,
or both advents, are in view. When Christ in the synagogue at Capernaum applied
this Scripture in Isaiah 61:1-2 to Himself (see Luke 4:17-21) He stopped His
reading with the words, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Why? He
will NOT proclaim the Day of vengeance of our God until His second advent. The
ancient Rabbis, studying these and similar predictions about the coming Messiah,
came to the conclusion there must be TWO MESSIAHS: One a suffering, the other a
conquering, judging Messiah. They failed to see this great truth, even as most
of Israel to this day has likewise failed, that there is only ONE MESSIAH, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who has two distinct tasks to perform: One at His first
advent, "to make reconciliation for iniquity" and the second when He returns to
earth at His second advent as the mighty King: "to bring in everlasting
righteousness" (Daniel 9:24). In Christ, the scores of apparently contradictory
Messianic prophecies that refer either to His first advent or to His second
advent, with their different objectives, are fully harmonized. These two advents
of Christ are in contrast in such passages as Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 11; Psalm 22
and Psalm 72; Psalm 69 and Psalm 89. This same truth is fully revealed in the
New Testament in such passages as 1 Peter 1:11, which speaks of "the sufferings
of Christ" at His first advent and "the glory that should follow" at His second
advent. Contrast also John 3:16-17 with Revelation 19:11-21; Luke 9:56 with Jude
1:14-15 and Luke 19:10 with 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10.

(8) Messiah will be a "Priest upon His Throne."

"Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying. Behold the man whose name is the
BRANCH ... He shall build the temple of the Lord ... He shall be a priest upon
His throne" (Zechariah 6:12-13). In Psalms 110:4 Messiah is called "a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek." In Jeremiah 23:5 Messiah is called "the
righteous Branch a King." In the history of Israel the chosen line of kings
always came from the tribe of Judah (except among the Ten Tribes of Israel).
Priests came from the tribe of Levi. Since Christ was from the Tribe of Judah
(Hebrews 7:14) how could He also be a priest, since He could not come from two
tribes (Judah and Levi)?

How was the puzzle solved? Christ is a King from the tribe of Judah; He will sit
upon His throne on earth at His second advent. Christ also is a Priest whose
priesthood is patterned after the Aronic priesthood in which the priests offered
sacrifices for the sins of the people (and Christ offered Himself as the
once-for-all Sacrifice for sin, Hebrews 9:26). But He was made a priest after
the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6; Psalms 110:4) who was both a king and a
priest (Hebrews 7:1-2). This whole intriguing subject of Christ’s priesthood is
fully explained in Hebrews 7, 8, and 9. So, the mystery is solved in Christ!

(9) His Soul delighted" (Isaiah 42:1); yet this "Holy One" would be "abhorred"
by the Nation Israel (Isaiah 49:7).

Isaiah 40:5 tells us that in Messiah, the Coming One, the "glory of the Lord"
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it. Then, in complete contrast,
Messiah is spoken of as the One who would be "despised and rejected of men" in
whom the nation will see "no beauty" that they should desire Him (Isaiah
53:1-3). In the history of Jesus the paradox is explained. The Father said of
Jesus, His Beloved One, "this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased"
(Matthew 17:5). On the other hand, the people rejected Him; and no prophecies
than those that tell of His rejection ever received a sadder fulfillment. The
pathos of Messiah’s rejection is told by Jesus Himself:

"O Jerusalem. Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are
sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not" (Matthew 23:37).

They that "hated Him without a cause" were "more than the hairs of his head"
(Psalms 69:4; John 16:25). The New Testament record tells us that "He came unto
His own and His own received Him not" (John 1:11).

(10) "Thirty Pieces of Silver"-the Price of Christ or the Price of the Pottery
Field?

"And I said unto them. If ye think good, give Me My price; and if not, forbear.
So they weighed for My price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto Me,
Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took
the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the
Lord" (Zechariah 11:12-13)

Strange words indeed that one would have difficulty in understanding or
reconciling with any specific event in history, were it not for the fulfillment
as given in the New Testament, where we read that Judas covenanted with the
chief priests to betray Christ and deliver Him to them: "and they cove­nanted
with him for thirty pieces of silver" (Matthew 26:15). When the heinousness of
his crime dawned on Judas, he

"brought the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders . . . and
he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple . . . and went out and hanged
himself . . . And the chief priests took the silver pieces . . . and they took
counsel and bought with them the potter’s field. . . . Then was fulfilled that
which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying. And they took the thirty
pieces of silver, the price of Him that was valued . . . and gave them for the
potter’s field" (Matthew 27:3-10). Not only Judas, but the nation Israel sold
Christ and woefully underestimated Him. They sold Him for thirty pieces of
silver, the price of a dead slave (Exodus 21:32); and so the Jewish leaders
expressed their hatred for and contempt of the Holy One. Here is the perfect
example of "the certain degree of obscurity" in some prophecies that is
"unveiled in the fulfillment."

"No one can suppose that the perfect agreement of the Old Testament prediction
with its New Testament fulfillment, centering about the exact amount of the sum
of money (30 pieces of silver) could be accidental. Still less can it be
conceived that the appropriation of the money to the purchase of the Potter’s
field could have taken place without an overruling design" (Book of Prophecy.
pp. 343-344). In the fulfillment, all obscurity is removed and the perfect
harmony of the ful­fillment with the prophecy is seen. "It was so exactly
fulfilled that every one can see that the same God who spoke through the prophet
had, by the secret operation of His omnipotent power, which extends even to the
ungodly, so arranged matters that when Judas threw back their money and the
chief priests purchased the potter’s field, they (not only fulfilled prophecy,
but) perpetuated the memorial of their sin against their Messiah, and called
forth the vengeance of God against their nation."* (*David Baron, in "Visions
and Prophecies of Zechariah," p. 409)

(11)Prophecy presents the Messiah as not only rejected by Men, but forsaken by
God too; horrible Sufferings and Death would come to the One who perfectly
obeyed God at all times. In Psalms 22:1 Messiah prophetically ejaculates, "My
God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" The desolate cry of the One forsaken by
God as well as by man is repeated in the New Testament, while Jesus was being
crucified.

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying. My God, My God,
why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46).

God "hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). This forsaking of
the Righteous One in whom God delighted (Psalms 22:8), is all the more strange,
for from the beginning of human history "the fathers (who) trusted in God ...
where delivered" (Psalms 22:4-5)-but not so in THIS instance. The strange enigma
is only fully understood by the explanation of the New Testament that in the
sufferings and death of Christ on the cross, God turned away from Christ, for:

God "made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

(12)"Wounded" and "Pierced"-yet "not a Bone broken," is the amazing prophetic
record of the Coming Messiah, He was to be "wounded in the house of His friends"
(Zechariah 13:6). with both "hands and feet pierced" (Psalms 22:16)-yet in some
miraculous way not a bone of the suffering Messiah was to be broken. In the
Psalms Jehovah said of Messiah, "He keepeth all His bones: not one of them is
broken" (Psalms 34:20; cf. Exodus 12:16). At the crucifixion, when the Jews
feared that the three who were being crucified might linger on until death came
too late to remove their bodies from the crosses before the Sabbath, they sought
permission from Pilate that "their legs might be broken"-an act to hasten death,
that they might be removed sooner from the crosses.

"Then came the soldiers and brake the legs of the first, and the other which was
crucified with Him; but when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead
already they brake not His legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced
His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare
record, and his record is true: for these things were done, that the Scripture
might be fulfilled, a bone of Him shall not be broken. And again another
Scripture saith, They shall look on Him whom they pierced" (John 19:31-37).

Marvelous miracle of Divine Providence: they broke the legs of two of those who
were crucified, but NOT of the third; for prophecy had said, "not a bone of Him
shall be broken." They pierced His hands. His feet and His side, and each time
the weapons went between the bones and did not break them.

(13)Messiah who was to be "cut off (Daniel 9:26; Isaiah 53:8 and who "poured out
His Soul unto Death" (Psalms 53:12), was also to be "exalted and extolled and be
very High" (Isaiah 52:13); and God shall "prolong His Days, and the Pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in His Hand" (Isaiah 53:10), and God "shall divide Him a
Portion with the Great" (Isaiah 53:12). And so the glorious facts of Messiah’s
atoning death and resurrection are prophetically stated in language clear when
fulfilled but obscure until fulfilled, one of the most thrilling prophetic
paradoxes in the whole realm of Scripture. In the New Testament we read that
Jesus

"humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above
every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father"
(Php 2:9-11).

Man despised Him and set Him at nought (Isaiah 53:3); but in His time God will
make Him "higher than the kings of the earth" (Psalms 89:27). Both Old Testament
prophets and readers puzzled over this mystery (see 1 Peter 1:10-11), but all
was made plain when Jesus the Christ in the New Testament died for our sins. and
was raised from the dead on the third day.


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  CHAPTER 9: 01.04.     IV. PROPHECIES CONCERNING SUFFERINGS, DEATH,
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IV. PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE SUFFERINGS, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF MESSIAH. An
Examination of (1) Psalms 22:1-31; (2) Isaiah 53:1-12.

(1) Psalms 22:1-31 THE MIRACLE OF THE TWENTY-SECOND PSALM is this: Crucifixion
was a Roman and a Grecian custom, unknown to the Jews until the days of their
captivity (600 B.C.). The Jews executed their criminals by stoning. And yet,
written one thousand years before the time of Christ, by a man who had never
seen or heard of such a method of execution as crucifixion, Psalms 22:1-31 gives
a graphic portrayal of death by crucifixion! The Messianic nature of this Psalm
is almost universally admitted by devout students.

"Psalms 22:1-31," said D. M. Panton, "one of David’s Psalms, reveals
someone-Messiah-dying an awful death, under very peculiar circumstances. The
ancient document says, "The assembly of evil-doers have inclosed Me: they
pierced My hands and My feet. I may tell all my bones; they look and stare upon
Me" (Psalms 22:16). Crucifixion in David’s time was unknown among the Jews; yet
the piercing of hands and feet together with the partial stripping-’telling all
the bones’-obviously means crucifixion: the crucified are pierced only in their
hands and feet, and stripped for expos­ure. WOULD A FALSE MESSIAH HAVE CHOSEN
THIS PASSAGE FOR FULFILLMENT? This old document (Psalms 22:1-31) holds the very
crucifixion cry, for the Psalm opens with it-’My God, my God, why hast Thou
forsaken Me?’ (Psalms 22:1). Not a jot or tittle of this Psalm has miscarried:
exactly as in His birth and in His ministry, so also in His death-but more
so-the ancient document is a photograph of the fact, fulfilled in flawless
detail." (Dawn Magazine). The Forsaken One

Christ on the cross identified Himself with the One spoken of in this Psalm by
quoting its first verse: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew
27:46). This Psalm has been called "The Psalm of Sobs."* (*Bishop Alexander in.
"Witness of the Psalms to Christ.")

"The Hebrew shows not one completed sentence in the opening verses, but a series
of brief ejaculations, like the gasps of a dying man whose breath and strength
are failing, and who can only utter a word or two at a time: ’My God-My God-why
forsaken Me-far from helping Me-words of My roaring’-presenting a picture
overwhelmingly pathetic: the suffering Saviour, forsaken by God, gasping for
life, unable to articulate one continuous sentence. The writer thus forecasts
the mystery of the cross which remained unsolved for a thousand years. It was
like a dark cavern at the time, but when the Gospel narrative portrays Jesus as
the Crucified One, it is like putting a lighted torch in the cavern."* (*A. T.
Pierson, in "Living Oracles," p. 107.) Periods of Light and Darkness In Psalms
22:2 one sees alternate periods of light and darkness:

"O my God, I cry in the daytime but Thou hearest not; and in the night season,
and am not silent" (Psalms 22:2). In the New Testament account of the
crucifixion of Christ, We read:

"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth
hour" (Matthew 27:45).

Righteous-yet Forsaken by God In Psalms 22:3-5 we see a prophetic discussion of
this strange anomaly: a truly Righteous One forsaken by God. It never happened
so before in the history of the "fathers": they trusted, and were delivered;
Messiah on the cross is for­saken. Christ on the Cross was forsaken by God and
man.

They Mocked Him Psalms 22:6-8 tell of those who reproached and mocked Him:

They "laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out the lips, they shake the head, saying,
He trusted on the Lord: let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him" (Psalms
22:6-8). The New Testament tells us how the people ridiculed and derided Christ
on the cross (see Matthew 27:39-44), using almost the identical words the
prophet used:

"Likewise also the chief priests mocking him said ... He trusted in God; let him
deliver him now" (Matthew 27:41-43). His Weakness, Thirst and exposure to Public
Scorn In the prophetic record, further startling details are given: The people
"gaped upon Me ... I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of
joint: my heart is like wax: it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength
is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast
brought me into the dust of death" (vs. Psalms 22:13-15).

Messiah’s exposure to public scorn-"they gaped upon Me" (Psalms 22:13)-was
fulfilled in New Testament times, at the cross, when the people "sitting down .
. . watched Him" (Matthew 27:36). His extreme weakness, perspiration and thirst,
under the pitiless beating of the oriental sun, are predicted:

"I am poured out like water. . . my strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my
tongue cleaveth to my jaws" (Psalms 22:14-15). The forsaken Sufferer in the New
Testament expressed in one simple statement His weakness and thirst:

"After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the
Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst" (John 19:28).

He Died of a Broken Heart

One weeps in heart, thinking of Messiah’s horrible sufferings: such as the agony
from dislocated bones, caused by the weight of the body suspended only by the
nails in the hands and feet: "all my bones are out of joint" (Psalms 22:14). Add
to that the mental and spiritual torture so great it literally broke His heart:
"My heart is melted in the midst of my bowels" (Psalms 22:14). At last, His
sufferings were ended by death: "Thou hast brought me into the dust of death"
(Psalms 22:15).

There is evidence from the New Testament record that Christ died of a broken
heart. When the Roman soldier "pierced His side" (John 19:34) "forthwith came
there out blood and water," indicating that the heart had been ruptured (before
it was pierced by the Roman spear), probably from the great emotional strain
Christ had been under. The lymphatic fluid apparently had separated from the red
blood, producing "blood and water." The word "lymph" comes from the Latin
lympha, meaning water. See also 1 John 5:6. The Parting of His Garments "They
part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture" (Psalms 22:18). For
exquisite detail, dramatically fulfilled, this is the gem of all prophecy. The
divinely inspired prophet, looking down through ten centuries of time, sees and
records an incident connected with the crucifixion that seems so trivial and
un­important one wonders why it is referred to at all-unless it be to let us
know that Omniscience wrote the prophecy and Omnipotence fulfilled it. In the
New Testament account of the crucifixion of Christ - when they "pierced His
bands and His feet"-that addi­tional, "unimportant" detail about the disposition
of Messiah’s garments is mentioned. Roman soldiers, ignorant of both God and
prophecy, and knowing nothing of the sacred import of what they were doing,
fulfilled to the letter that age-old prediction!

"Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made
four parts, to every soldier a part; and also His coat: now the coat was without
seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves. Let
us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture
might be fulfilled which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my
vesture they did cast lots" (John 19:23-24). And so an obscure prophecy, hidden
in the Old Testament for a thousand years, springs forth as a witness, a living
mir­acle, proving again that GOD SPAKE in the Old Testament and GOD FULFILLED in
the New Testament. This one prophecy is enough to convince the most skeptical,
if he have an honest heart, that the predictions concerning Messiah in the Old
Testament were fulfilled in the Christ of the Gospels, so giving a satisfying
demonstration of the Divine origin of both Testaments. The Resurrection of
Messiah This Messiah, so cruelly put to death, will be "helped" (Psalms 22:19),
"delivered" (Psalms 22:20), "saved from the lion’s mouth" (Psalms 22:21). His
prayer will be "answered" (Psalms 22:21 : "Thou hast answered Me," RV.) Psalms
22:21 is the end of a section. Psalms 22:22 begins a new section; and Messiah
now gloriously delivered, resurrected, says:

"I will declare Thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congre­gation
will I praise thee" (Psalms 22:22). The New Testament of course bears abundant
evidence that though Christ died, forsaken by God and man, yet God raised Him
from the dead on the third day.

"Ye have taken (Christ), and by wicked hands have crucified and slain (Him):
Whom GOD HATH RAISED UP. Having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not
possible that he should be holden of it" (Acts 2:23; Acts 2:24). A Summary

"The predictions concerning Christ in this chapter," writes Moses Margoliouth,
"are so numerous and so minute that they could not possibly have been dictated
by any but by Him to whom all things are naked and open, and who worketh all
things according to the counsel of His own will. The most insignificant
circumstances connected with our Lord’s death are set forth with as much
accuracy as those which are most important . . . What could be more unlikely
than that Messiah should be crucified when crucifixion was not a Jewish but a
Roman punishment? And yet David in this Psalm predicted such would be the case
centuries before Rome was founded" and ten centuries before the prophecy was
fulfilled!

(2) Isaiah 53:1-12 THIS REMARKABLE PROPHECY of the sufferings and exaltation of
Messiah was written 700 years before the time of Christ. It reads more like "an
historical summary of the Gospel narrative of the sufferings of Christ and the
glory that should follow, instead of a prophecy" (David Baron). With this agrees
Augustine, who said, "Methinks Isaiah writes not a prophecy but a Gospel." And
another commentator says, "It reads as if it had been written beneath the cross
of Golgotha. It is the deepest and the loftiest thing that Old Testa­ment
prophecy, outstripping itself, has ever achieved."

"This chapter," says A. T. Pierson*, (*Living Oracles, p.110) "is a bundle of
paradoxes, or ap­parent contradictions, as numerous as the verses in the
chapter. In fact, it was DESIGNED to present a prophetic enigma which only the
Person (and work) of the Christ of the New Testament can solve. He is a root out
of the dry ground-yet fruitful; He has no form nor beauty-yet He is the chosen
Servant of God; He is despised and rejected of men-yet He is the appointed
Saviour; He suffers unto death-yet He survives; He has no offspring-yet He has a
numerous seed; men would make His grave with the wicked-yet He is buried with
the rich; He suffers un­believable adversity-yet He enjoys prosperity; He is
triumphed over-yet He" triumphs; He is condemned-yet He justifies the condemned.
These paradoxes remained a problem until the cross was set up, the sepulchre
burst open, and the Son of God who came to die went up to reign."

Unfortunately, the chapter division comes at the wrong place. It should begin
with Isaiah 52:13, which starts with the words, "BEHOLD MY SERVANT" ... and that
is the sub­ject of this entire section, Isaiah 52:13-15, Isaiah 53:1-12. It is a
graphic portrayal of The Suffering Messiah... "Jehovah’s Servant" The first
question to be answered is, "Of whom speaketh the prophet? of himself, or of
some other?" (Acts 8:34). The only possible correct answer is. This prophecy
speaks of an individual, MESSIAH,* and there is only One Person in the history
of the world whom it fits: Christ of the New Testament. (*Some unbelievers have
sought to interpret this chapter as referring to "Suffering Israel," the nation,
rather than to the "Suffering Messiah." But these five facts prove the theme of
Isaiah 53:1-12 to be MESSIAH, not the Jewish people. (1) This prophecy speaks of
an INDIVIDUAL all the way through. It is "HE shall grow up" (Isaiah 53:2), "HE
is despised ... a MAN of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3), "HE was wounded" (Isaiah 53:4),
and so all through the chapter.

(2) Verse 8 is conclusive: the Sufferer was stricken for the transgres­sions of
"My people" (Israel); and so He is an individual who suffers vicariously FOR the
people; hence, He cannot be "the people."

(3) He is an INNOCENT Sufferer (Isaiah 53:7; Isaiah 53:9). which could never be
said of the nation Israel.

(4) He is a VOLUNTARY Sufferer, who willingly "pours out His soul unto death"
(Isaiah 53:12)-again depicting the death of an individual, not a nation.
Moreover, Israel as a nation has never suffered willingly, voluntarily or
vicariously.

(5) He is an UNRESISTING Sufferer, who "opened not His mouth" (Isaiah 53:7),
which could never be said of the nation Israel. Words could not make the meaning
more clear to those open to truth; Isaiah 53:1-12 describes a sinless,
voluntary, unresisting INDIVIDUAL who suffers vicariously for God’s people
Israel.)

"Let any one steep, his mind in the contents of this chapter," observes
Professor James Orr, "and then read what is said about Jesus in the Gospels, and
as he stands underneath the Cross, see if there is not the most perfect
correspondence between the two. In Jesus of Nazareth alone in all history, but
in Him perfectly, has this prophecy found fulfillment."

We wish now to call attention in more detail to some of the prophetic wonders,
descriptions of Messiah’s rejection, sufferings, death, resurrection and
exaltation, in this chapter. As we do so, we will call attention repeatedly to
this bewildering phenomenon: When Jesus of Nazareth came 700 years later, and
died on the cross, these predictions were fulfilled with a literalness that
astonishes, and an exactness that parallels mathematical certainty.

(1) Messiah’s Astonishing EXALTATION, Isaiah 52:13

"Behold, my servant shall prosper; He shall be exalted, and shall be extolled,
and shall be raised very high" (Lit. trans., Isaiah 52:13).

Before the depths of Messiah’s humiliation is presented in this section (Isaiah
52:13-15 - Isaiah 53:1-12), we are in the very beginning assured of His final
VICTORY and GLORY. Franz Delitzsch calls attention to the progressive nature of
the words "exalted . . . extolled . . . raised." He says,

"From these words we obtain this chain of thought: He will rise up. He will
raise Himself still higher. He will stand on high." And Stier rightly connects
this with the three principal steps in the fulfillment of the prediction in
Jesus of Nazareth after His death: Namely, His RESURRECTION. His ASCENSION, and
His sitting down in EXALTATION at the RIGHT HAND OF GOD.

Here then we are at once confronted with Messiah’s final end-to prepare us, as
it were, for the shock of His temporary abasement: the "Servant of the Lord
(after His sufferings) is seen rising from stage to stage; and at last He
reaches an immeasurable height that towers above everything beside"
(Delitzsch).* [*Quoted in "The Servant of the Lord." p. 58.] The New Testament
makes very clear the final exaltation of Christ after His sufferings and death:

"Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and
upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our
sins"-by His atoning death on the cross-" (He) sat down on the RIGHT HAND OF THE
MAJESTY ON HIGH" (Hebrews 1:3).

"Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God: but ... He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross.

"WHEREFORE GOD ALSO HATH HIGHLY EXALTED HIM, and given Him a name which is above
every name" (Php 2:6-11; see also Matthew 28:5; Matthew 28:6; Acts 1:3; Acts
1:9; Ephesians 1:20-23, etc.).

(2) Messiah’s shocking ABUSE, Isaiah 52:14

"Just as many were astonished at Him, for so disfigured was He that His
appearance was not human, and His form was not like that of the children of men"
(Trans, by Delitzsch).

If Messiah’s "exaltation" (Isaiah 52:13) is astonishingly "high," His sufferings
are even more astonishing. The word (shamem) here rendered "astonished" by the
RV means "startled, confused, as it were petrified by paralyzing astonishment"
(David Baron).

During the terrible hours before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus was brutally
manhandled, buffeted, scourged* and abused in other ways. And on the cross, the
crown of thorns, the nails driven through His quivering flesh, and the
consequent agony of crucifixion in which every nerve, every muscle became "a
flame of torture," added to the excruciating mental agony and soul suffering, so
affected Him that His features became so marred and distorted that He no longer
resembled a man. This horrifying fact is well nigh unbelievable, but it is
clearly revealed of Messiah in the Old Testament, and just as clearly given in
the records concerning the sufferings and death of Jesus the Christ in the New
Testament. (*The scourging itself was violent, inhuman. The scourge was often
made of leather thongs, fastened to a handle. At the ends of the thongs, at
times, were fastened bits of sharpened metal or rock, that cut and lacerated the
flesh of the victim, and turned the back into a bleeding pulp.)

"Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers platted a crown
of thorns and put it on His head"** (John 19:1-2). [**We saw thorns in Bible
lands having spines two to three inches long. When dried, they were very hard,
pointed-and sharp as needles. Such a "crown" if pressed down on the brow, would
puncture the skin in a score of places and cause both pain and a gory trickle of
blood, which would result in matted, disheveled hair, presenting a horrible
appearance.]

"Then they spit in His face, and buffeted (beat and manhandled Him); and others
smote Him with the palms of their hands and they stripped Him, and put on Him a
scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His
head and mocked Him, and took the reed and smote Him on the head" (Matthew
26:67-68; Matthew 27:27-30).

God permitted, and Jesus endured, this horrible suffering not only to fulfill
the prophetic picture, but to suffer in our stead. We ask-Who but the true
Messiah would want to be a Messiah like that?

Before the cross, but leading up to it, His face was marred; on the cross, His
form was marred, so the fulfillment of the prediction was complete. The bloody
sweat, the traces of the crown of thorns, the spit on His face, and the result
of the smiting on the head, disfigured His face; while the scourging, the
buffeting, the nails driven through His hands and feet, the weight of the body,
pulling it out of joint, and the final spear-thrust through His side, distorted
His body. Add the extreme mental anguish and soul grief, and the result is. One
so marred that He no longer resembled a man. How much He loved; how much He paid
for our redemption! As we humbly contemplate the intensity of the dreadful
sufferings of the Saviour, may our hearts be "bowed with shame and sorrow for
the sin which was the cause of it all, and may we have a greater love and
undying gratitude to Him who bore all this for us" (David Baron).

(3) A Message that will STARTLE many Nations, Isaiah 52:15

"So shall He startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of Him:
for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had
not heard shall they understand" (Isaiah 52:15).

God has devised a unique way to catch the attention, win the souls and win the
devotion, of men. He Himself, in the Person of His Son, suffered so violently,
creating so ghastly a scene, that it has IMPRESSED ALL AGES. The memory of
Calvary startles the most dormant, pricks the most calloused, stirs the most
lethargic. Men now understand both the love of God and the wisdom of God:
CALVARY reveals it. Men see both the grace of God, and how God righteously can
give righteousness to sinners who believe: For "Him who knew no sin He made to
be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2
Corinthians 5:21). The Gospel will STARTLE many into believing.

(4)A Message that will be DISBELIEVED by Israel, Isaiah 53:1 "Who hath believed
our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1).

Strange as it may seem, though the shocking message of a Suffering Messiah will
startle many nations, yet it will find but few believers among Messiah’s own
people, the Jews. In the New Testament we read of the fulfillment of this
prediction.

"But though He (Jesus) had done so many signs before them, yet they believed not
on Him: that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake.
Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been
revealed?" (John 12:37-38).

(5)Messiah’s Supernatural Birth and Spiritual Growth, Isaiah 53:2 a "For he
shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground"
(Isaiah 53:2 a).

Messiah’s supernatural birth is intimated in the phrase, "as a root out of a dry
ground." A root growing out of dry ground is a miracle: one essential element
(moisture) is missing. Messiah’s birth was to be a miracle-the miracle of the
virgin birth.

Note also this paradox: His supernatural, and yet natural, growth: "He shall
grow up" (normally, much as other children), and yet it will be "before HIM," i.
e., Messiah shall grow up in Jehovah’s Presence and under His watchcare Here too
He will owe nothing to natural surroundings, for Messiah shall be "a tender
plant . . . out of a dry ground." That is, Messiah will be a precious, wholesome
plant in His youth, growing up before the Heavenly Father’s watchful care, yet
He will grow up in the midst of the universal spiritual dearth of the nation, in
a desert of hardness, sin and unbelief. But it will be a normal process; He will
"grow up." He will not "burst upon the world all at once, in a sudden splendour
of daring and achievement: He will conform to God’s slow, silent law of growth"
(James Culross).

Isn’t it amazing that God foretold the manner of His coming to earth, and the
"growth" of His childhood, as well as the spirituality of His childhood? And, lo
and behold, when Messiah came, all was fulfilled exactly as predicted. Messiah
did NOT come as a full-grown king in His might, with dash and splendor; that is
reserved for His second advent. In the New Testament, we read of the child
Jesus:

"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the
grace of God was upon Him" (Luke 2:40).

(6) Messiah’s Generation will fail to see and appreciate His Greatness, Isaiah
53:2 :

"He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him there is no beauty
that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2). When Messiah came, the people, looking
for a mighty king and a political reformer, were disappointed in Him. Men did
not see His beauty-the beauty of holiness-nor did they understand His mission.
"He did not answer to the worldly ideal; having misread the prophecies, they
found nothing to charm or attract them in ’Jehovah’s Servant’ when He came." The
work of Messiah in His first advent, to make His soul an "offering for sin" was
foreign to their ideas of what Messiah should be; Hence, (7)He was DESPISED and
REJECTED of Men, Isaiah 53:3

"He is despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we
esteemed Him not" (Isaiah 53:3). . . . "We did esteem Him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4).

"Rejected of men," says David Baron, "means actually ’rejected by men of high
rank’." That is He will have no men of high standing, no "important" men, few
men of distinction, to support Him and His program with their authority and
in­fluence. And so it proved to be in the life of Jesus the Christ. The
following record from the New Testament reveals these facts: The Pharisees
(speaking to certain officers) said, "Are ye also deceived? Have any of the
rulers or of the Pharisees believed on Him?" (John 7:47-48; see context). Who
but the infinite God, who knoweth the end from the beginning, would dare frame a
prophecy like that, presenting Messiah as being without the support of the
leaders of the people? But history fully confirmed the truthfulness of the
prediction.

(8) Messiah will be known as a MAN OF SORROWS, Smitten of God, Afflicted, Isaiah
53:3-4

". . . a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from Him; ... we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, afflicted"
(Isaiah 53:3-4). The point here emphasized, and true in its fulfillment, is that
Messiah will be "a man of pains" (Heb.)-sorrow of heart in all its forms.

Jesus’ sorrow came, not only as He compassionately suffered with the ills of
humanity, a sympathetic suffering, but also when He was repelled in His efforts
to bless. His sorrow was overwhelming when the people rejected Him and continued
in their lost estate. And this added to His sorrows, when men of rank and
position turned from him-"hid their faces from Him." Instead of counting Him
precious, "they esteemed Him not"-estimated Him "at nothing" (Luther).

"He came unto His own and His own received Him not" (John 1:11).

Worst of all, the people considered Him "smitten of God"- not realizing that He
suffered to redeem them, and that He permitted Himself to be "made a curse" that
He might save those He suffered for.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:
for it is written. Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).

(9) Messiah’s VICARIOUS SUFFERINGS

"Surely He hath borne OUR griefs and carried OUR sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4); "He was
wounded for OUR transgressions. He was bruised for OUR iniquities: the
chastisement of OUR peace was upon HIM, and with HIS stripes (Heb., wounds) we
are healed" (Isaiah 53:5); "The Lord hath laid (Heb., caused to meet) on HIM the
iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6); "For the transgression of my people was He
stricken" (Isaiah 53:8); "Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin" (Isaiah
53:10); "HE shall bear THEIR iniquities" (Isaiah 53:11); "He bare the sin of
many" (Isaiah 53:12). (Quotations are from Isaiah 53:4-5, p, 8, 10, 11, 12)*
[*"The Divine Author makes it impossible for any ingenuity or learn­ing to
eliminate the doctrine of vicarious atonement from this passage by presenting it
so often, and in forms so varied and still the same, that he who succeeds in
expelling it in one place is compelled to meet it in another" (Dr. Alexander).]
The outstanding fact of this chapter is the vicarious, substitutionary suffering
of Messiah. "Marvelous chapter," comments A. T. Pierson, "containing only twelve
verses, yet four­teen times announcing the doctrine of the vicarious sacrifice
for all human sin." The whole section (Isaiah 52:13-15-53:1-12) overflows with
this conception, and never was the mystery solved until the Lord Jesus was "made
sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21) and "died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3).

Jehovah "hath caused to meet with overwhelming force in HIM the iniquity of us
all" (Heb.). Messiah was the Divine Redeemer on whom fell "all the fiery rays of
judgment which would have fallen on mankind" (Baron). How wonderful is God’s
grace through Christ’s substitutionary atonement! So the cross became at once
Christ’s deepest humiliation, yet His highest glory-and the appointed means of
bringing salvation to men. When the Lord Jesus came. He fulfilled these
Messianic predictions by His atoning death on the cross:

"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).

(10) Messiah will suffer WILLINGLY and without Complaining, Isaiah 53:7

"He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so He openeth not His mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).

Other sufferers usually register murmuring or complaining, especially when they
are unjustly treated-but not so the suffering Messiah. He voluntarily submitted
Himself to His appointed task of "bearing our sins" and went as a lamb to the
slaughter. "In sublime and magnanimous silence Messiah will endure to the
uttermost, because Jehovah wills it. . . . And here we look down into the
unfathomed mystery of infinite love" (Culross). In the New Testament, when Jesus
the Christ was beaten, falsely accused, mistreated, mocked, spat upon,
persecuted, manhandled, scourged, and crucified, there was no flame of
resentment, no incriminations against His executioners, no loud complaining, but
a prayer for His persecutors:

After many false witnesses appeared against Him, Jesus "held His peace." And the
high priest wondered about it and said, "Answerest thou nothing?’ (See Matthew
26:59-63). And here is Jesus’ prayer, while suffering the tortures of
crucifixion: "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
This whole procedure is so unusual, so contrary to nature and human experience,
one cannot help but be struck, startled, by both the strange prophecy and its
even more remarkable fulfillment.

(11) When taken from Prison and Judgment, Messiah will have NO ADVOCATE to plead
His Cause, no friend to declare His Innocence, Isaiah 53:8

"He was taken (Heb., snatched away, hurried away) from prison and from judgment:
and who shall declare His generation?" (Isaiah 53:8). An alternate reading of
the last phrase is, "And who (among) His generation shall declare (His
innocence)?" The Sanhedrin had the custom in "trials for life" to call on those
who knew anything in favor of the accused to come forward and declare it.* This
was not observed in the trial of Jesus of Nazareth, but rather, the proceedings
at His hasty, mock, illegal trial before the Sanhedrin were in flagrant
contradiction with their own regulations, and against all standards of right and
fairness. (*David Baron in "The Servant of Jehovah." p. 106.)

Jesus had to appear alone, and undefended, before the corrupt Jewish hierarchy
and the representatives of the greatest Gentile power on earth at that time. Not
one person appeared to take His part. Judas betrayed Him; Peter denied Him, with
oaths; and the other disciples "forsook Him and fled" (Matthew 26:56). And many
of the women that had during His ministry "ministered unto Him," stood
"beholding (from) afar off when He was crucified (Matthew 27:55). In the hour of
His greatest need, humanly speaking, NOT ONE PERSON STOOD BY HIM. True, later
on, after the weary hours of suffering had numbed His broken body, Mary His
mother, a few faithful women, and John His beloved disciple, "stood by" at the
cross; but during His trial and the early hours of His crucifixion He was left
alone-absolutely alone. Never in the history of the world has anyone been so
completely forsaken by friends and loved ones as Jesus was.

Jesus was arrested, NOT by proper officials, but by a mob, the rabble: "a great
multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the
people" (Matthew 26:47). Even Jesus commented on the inconsistency of their
approach-"Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take
me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple" . . . "but all this was done
that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled" (Matthew 26:55-56).

"False witnesses" were suborned to witness against Him "to put Him to death"
(Matthew 26:59). And He was tried at night, which was illegal. In the Roman
court, when Pilate sought in vain for a cause to justly condemn Him, he asked
the people, "What evil hath He done?" The only answers he got were the
unreasonable shouts of the mob, edged on by their leaders, "let Him be
crucified, let Him be crucified" (see Matthew 27:33). Then, when Pilate saw that
words of reason and justice "prevailed nothing" and that a worse "tumult" was
developing, he weakly washed his hands of the affair and turned Jesus over to
them that they might crucify Him (see Matthew 27:24-26). This was the worst
miscarriage of justice in the annals of all history. But Christ’s innocence was
not only attested to by Pilate-"I find no fault in Him" (John 19:1)-but also by
the Messianic prophet of old, "He had done no violence, neither was any deceit
in His mouth" (Isaiah 53:9).

(12) At the Moment of Death, Messiah’s Humiliation was to end; and though Men
planned His Burial "with the Wicked," Providence Planned It "with the Rich,"
Isaiah 53:9

"They (men) appointed Him His grave with the wicked (but) He was with a rich man
after His death" (Isaiah 53:9, Delitzsch).

"Dying as a criminal, ordinarily His body would have been flung over the wall to
be burned like offal in the fires of Topheth (west of Jerusalem); but when His
vicarious sufferings were finished no further indignity was permitted to His
lifeless body" (A. T. Pierson). "And. this remarkable coincidence," wrote Franz
Delitzsch, is truly wonderful "if we reflect that the Jewish rulers would have
given to Jesus the same dishonorable burial as that given to the two thieves,
but the Roman authorities handed over His body to Joseph the Arimathean, a ’rich
man’ (Matthew 27:57) who placed it in his sepulchre in his own garden. And at
once we see an agreement between the Gospel history and the prophetic words
which could only be the work of the God of both prophecy and its fulfillment,
inasmuch as no suspicion could possibly arise of there having been any human
design of bringing the former into conform­ity with the latter." The reason
assigned for His honorable burial, which was so different from what had been
planned or "appointed" for Him by His enemies, is, "He hath done no violence,
neither was any deceit found in His mouth"-another reiteration of the absolute
INNOCENCE of the Divine Sufferer.

Re-read with rapt interest the New Testament account of Jesus’ burial, to find
the perfect fulfillment:

"When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea named Joseph, who
also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of
Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken
the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb"
(Matthew 27:57-60).

(13) After Messiah’s Soul and Body have been made an Offering for Sin. God will
"Prolong His Days," his RESURRECTION; and He will see His Seed, the Fruits of
His Travail, Isaiah 53:10

"When thou shalt make his soul a trespass offering for sin. he shall see seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand"
(Lit. trans., Isaiah 53:10).

After Messiah’s offering of Himself as a trespass offering, God will "prolong
His days" in resurrection and He shall "see SEED"-saved souls-as the result of
His sacrifice. The fulfillment of this paradox, as we have already pointed out,
is in the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, who

"Died for our sins according to the Scriptures . . . and rose again the third
day, according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This fact of Messiah’s
resurrection is in accord with other Old Testament Scriptures, such as Psalms
16:10 :

"Thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol; neither will Thou suffer Thine Holy One
to see corruption."

Moreover, the will of God will "prosper" in Messiahs hand-Messiah will
accomplish God’s will with zeal, and He will indeed bring salvation and
righteousness to both Israel and the nations (see Isaiah 42:4). The New
Testament not only tells as of the glorious resurrection of Christ, but also of
the beginning of His ministry after His resurrection-working through His
disciples-by which multitudes were saved:

Acts 2:41 : "Three thousand souls" were saved and added to the church.

Acts 4:4 : "And the number (of men) who believed was about five thousand."

During the last nineteen centuries of church history, multiplied millions have
believed on Christ and have been saved. Christ indeed has seen SEED, and the
will of God is prospering in His hand. The gospel of Christ will eventually,
after His second advent, come to final and complete triumph, and then "the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord" as the waters now cover the sea
(Isaiah 11:9). Truly, the "Captain of our Salvation" is "bringing many sons unto
glory" (Hebrews 2:10)

(14) Not only will God be "Satisfied" with Messiah’s Sacrifice, but through
Knowing Messiah, many shall be JUSTIFIED, Isaiah 53:11

"He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by His knowledge
shall my righteous Servant make many righteous; for He shall bear their
iniquities" (Isaiah 53:11).

Here we are given a forecast of the tremendous truth, so fully developed by Paul
in the New Testament, of JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, salvation by Grace-because
Christ died for our sins and purchased a full redemption for all. This truth of
justification by faith is the grand, central truth of the New Testament.

"Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unto all them that
believe being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:22-24).

"For by grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph :2:8-9). See also Romans 4:5-6;
Romans 5:15-19; Titus 3:5, etc.

Lest we forget that ALL grace bestowed upon believers is based on Messiah’s
sacrifice, we again are reminded that "He shall bear their iniquities." Dr.
Alexander observes that there is an "antithesis here suggesting the idea of
exchange or mu­tual substitution: they shall receive His righteousness, and He
shall bear the heavy burden of their iniquities." This of course is consonant
with the doctrine of the New Testament:

"For He (God) hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
(sinners) might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

(15) A Strange CIRCUMSTANCE of Messiah’s Death is given, Isaiah 53:12

"He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12).

Similar to the mention of the disposition of Messiah’s garments in Psalms
22:1-31, we here have a concomitant incident showing true DETAIL in prophecy,
which marks it as genuine; for details in prophecy are the marks that
immediately set it off as being of Divine origin-that is, if the fulfillment
matches the prophecy. The point here is, in this prophecy (Isaiah 53:12), the
word "transgressors" does not refer to ordinary sinners, but to "criminals"
(Heb., poshim, criminals, open transgressors of the law of God and man).
Furthermore, Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, Baron and others translate the reflexive
verb used here: "He permitted Himself, voluntarily, to be numbered or ’reckoned’
with criminals," showing again Messiah’s willingness to suffer ALL that the
Father had planned for Him.

It is of more than passing interest to recall that Christ Himself quoted this
Scripture (Isaiah 53:12) just before His own crucifixion:

"This that is written must yet be accomplished in Me, And He was reckoned among
the transgressors" (Luke 23:37). And so, as Delitzsch observed, this prediction
and its fulfillment becomes "one of those remarkable coincidences which were
brought about by Providence between the prophecies and our Saviour’s passion,"
that Christ should have been crucified between two thieves (literally,
"robbers"). See Luke 23:39-43.

Much has already been said about the vicarious nature of Messiah’ sufferings as
given in this chapter (Isaiah 53:1-12). In this the closing verse that fact
again is stressed:

"He Himself bare the sin of many" (Lit. trans, Isaiah 53:12).

Those familiar with the New Testament will recall many Scriptures that set forth
the substitutionary nature of the death of Christ. We quote but two:

"Now once in the end of the age hath He (Christ) appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself. ... So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many"
(Hebrews 9:26-28).

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He
might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

Many volumes have been written that show the wonders of Messianic prophecy in
this chapter (Isaiah 53:1-12), and the fulfillment in the atoning death of Jesus
the Christ as described in the New Testament. We believe, in touching the high
spots as we have, and so calling attention again to these phenomena, these
miracles in print, that the faith of many will either be generated or confirmed
in both the supernatural character of the prophecies and their fulfillment. This
shows clearly that Scripture has upon it "the stamp of its Divine Author-the
mark of Heaven-the impress of eternity." Therefore, it is "beyond even the
wildest credulity to believe that the resemblance in every feature and minutest
detail between this prophetic portraiture in Isaiah 53:1-12, drawn centuries
before His advent, and the account of His life, death and glorious resurrection,
as narrated in the Gospels, can be mere accident or for­tuitous coincidence"
(David Baron).* (*In. The Servant of Jehovah, pp. VII, VIII.)


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  CHAPTER 10: 01.05.     V. PROPHECIES DESCRIBING MESSIANIC OFFICES
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V. PROPHECIES DESCRIBING THE MESSIANIC OFFICES OF CHRIST Christ, the Anointed
One

Both the words "Christ" (Greek) and "Messiah" (Hebrew) mean the Anointed One.*
Since the Fall of man, and consequent separation from God (Romans 5:12), mankind
has needed a Mediator, a Redeemer who can fill Man’s three basic needs. (*For
examples of the use of "anointed" in the Old Testament, see Leviticus 4:3-5;
Psalms 2:2; Daniel 9:25-26; 1 Samuel 2:10, etc. The word "anointed" occurs most
frequently in Leviticus, 1 and 2 Samuel and in Psalms. The term "Messiah"
(anointed) is applied to the high priest (Leviticus 4:3-5, Leviticus 4:16;
Leviticus 6:22), who was a type-picture of Christ our High Priest. It occurs 18
times in 1 and 2 Samuel, but not always with Messianic connotation. It is found
ten times in the book of Psalms, but again, not always with Messianic import.
Psalms 2:2; Psalms 20:6; Psalms 28:8; Psalms 84:9; Psalms 89:51; Psalms 132:10,
Psalms 132:17; we believe are Messianic. Psalms 2:2 and Daniel 9:25-26 are the
outstanding passages that refer to the coming Messiah.)

(1) Sin left man guilty, lost, separated from God; hence, he needs forgiveness
of sin, a restoration of a righteous character, and restoration to Divine
fellowship. For this man needs a Priest. (2) Sin left man in spiritual darkness,
ignorant of God; because of this, man needs a knowledge of the Word, Will and
Ways of God: so, man needs a Prophet. (3) Sin, which is rebellion against God’s
government, left man with a rebellious nature that expresses itself also in
antagonism to his fellowmen. Since man is a social creature, a unit in society,
he needs authoritative governmental supervision. Hence, he needs a King. In Old
Testament times, God provided these basic needs of mankind through His chosen
prophets, priests and kings. But all human instruments come short and fail-so
God planned from the beginning that He would provide the perfect Prophet, Priest
and King for mankind in the perfect One, His only begotten Son. In Old Testament
times these three classes of public servants-prophets, priests and kings-were
consecrated to office by an anointing with oil; prophets (see 1 Kings 19:16),
priests (Leviticus 8:12; Exodus 29:21), kings (1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel
16:12-13).

(1) CHRIST AS PROPHET The Old Testament prophet represented God to the nation
and he gave His words. His message, to the people. When Messiah came, He would
represent God perfectly and completely in Person, as well as in words, to Israel
and to the world. When Jesus came He proved to be God’s perfect Prophet:

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom
of the Father, he hath declared (revealed, manifested) Him" (John 1:18).

"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. Believest thou not that I am in the
Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of
myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works" (John 14:9-10),
As Prophet, the coming Messiah would be "like Moses":

"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee
(Moses), and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all
that I have commanded him.

"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which
He shall speak in my name, I will require it of him" (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

Moses was a remarkable character, and he was chosen above all other prophets, to
set forth in type the prophetic ministry of the coming Messiah. In these
outstanding points Christ was a Prophet "like unto Moses": Moses was a LAW
GIVER, a LEADER, a KING (Captain), a DELIVERER; PROPHET (God’s spokesman), and
an INTERCESSOR for the people, with whom God spake face to face; so there arose
not in Israel a prophet, like Moses (cf. Deuteronomy 34:10-12; Numbers 12:6-8).
He was the only man in Jewish history who exercised the functions of Prophet,
Priest and King in one ministry.

How right the people were (John 6:14) who, when they Had seen the miracle of
Jesus’ feeding the five thousand from a few loaves and fishes, said:

"This is of a truth that PROPHET that should come into the world". That prophet
is also referred to in John 1:21.

Though Moses was great, Christ was infinitely greater. Moses as a "servant" was
faithful; Christ as the "SON" was the perfect and omniscient PROPHET (cf.
Hebrews 3:5-6) who was ever faithful to Him who appointed Him. (Hebrews 3:2)
Peter summed up his sermon in the temple by these words:

"For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a prophet shall the Lord your God raise
up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things
whatsoever He shall say unto you, and it shall come to pass that every soul
which will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people" (Acts
3:22-23).

Other references are made in both Testaments to the prophetic ministry of
Christ. Both Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:18 refer to Christ’s prophetic ministry, and
both passages use the same words:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the
gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broke hearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives," etc.

(2) CHRIST AS PRIEST The Old Testament Priest, chosen by God, represented the
people to God and offered sacrifices for their sins. He also had a ministry of
compassion for the "ignorant and erring" (see Hebrews 5:1-4). This priesthood,
of which Aaron was the first high priest, was imperfect, for the priests were
sinners themselves and so they had first of all to offer sacrifice for their own
sins, and then for the sins of the people (Hebrews 5:3; Hebrews 7:26; Hebrews
9:7). Moreover, their priesthood was short-lived; it was frequently interrupted
by death (Hebrews 7:23). Furthermore, the offerings they offered were merely
types, for "it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take
away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). But in CHRIST, God’s appointed High Priest, we have
not only the perfect High Priest who lieveth forever, but He gave HIMSELF for
our sins, the perfect offering, the once-for-all, complete atonement for the
sins of the race!

"For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those
high priests (of the old covenant), to offer up sacrifice, first for his own
sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did ONCE when He offered up
HIMSELF.

"For the law maketh high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath,
which was since the law, maketh the SON (our High Priest), who is consecrated
for evermore" (Hebrews 7:26-28). See also Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 9:25-26). So
by that one perfect Offering on the cross, Christ "perfected forever" them that
are saved through faith in Him. (See Hebrews 10:10-14; Hebrews 9:25-28; Hebrews
7:23-28). Most of the book of Hebrews is devoted to the fact that in Christ
Jesus God has given us His perfect HIGH PRIEST, who offered the perfect offering
to atone for the sins of the race, and thereby give eternal life to all who
accept Him as their Substitute and Saviour. Messiah gave both His body and His
soul as an offering for sin and sinners (Isaiah 53:5, Isaiah 53:10)* (*In a
sense, Messiah was anointed to be as a leper when He bore the sins of the world.
He was truly "made sin" for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Isaiah 53:4 intimates this.
The AV reads, "We did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, afflicted." Jerome
translates the first phrase, "We thought Him a leper." The word "stricken" was
often used of the plague of leprosy; David Baron says of Isaiah 53:4, "
’Stricken, smitten of God, afflicted’ "-every one of these three expressions was
used of the plague of leprosy; and the phrases are intended to describe one
suffering a terrible punishment for sin." In Messiah’s case it was for OUR sins,
not His own, that He suffered so. Marvelous Grace, that Christ actually was
willing to become as a LEPER for us! In this connection, it is of more than
passing interest to note that the leper who was to be "cleansed" in Old
Testament times, was ANOINTED (Leviticus 15:15-20). So, one might conclude that
Christ, the Anointed of God, was not only anointed to be God’s Prophet, Priest
and King, but He also had an "anointing" to be the Sin-offering, and He
literally became SIN ("the leprous One") for us. For such grace, such love,
every believer will be eternally grateful.)

Though the Aaronic priesthood presented to the people continuously their need of
atonement for their sins, and that remission of sins could only be obtained
through the shedding of blood (see Hebrews 9:22), the one person chosen to
picture Messiah’s ETERNAL priesthood was not Aaron, but Melchisdeck (see Heb. 5,
6, 7; Psalms 110:4). Melchisdeck as a type of Christ presents His eternal,
unchanging priesthood (Hebrews 7:3, "He abideth a priest continually.") (3)
CHRIST AS KING "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion" (Psalms 2:6).

Since man is not only an individual, but a social unit, he needs a KING
(Government) to supervise his community life. So God, who first ruled the people
of Israel through the patriarchs, later through "captains" (leaders, like Moses
and Joshua), and later yet through "judges," finally consented to give them
KINGS. In God’s Messiah we have the perfect King-the "King of kings and the Lord
of lords" who will have a wholly righteous, beneficent reign.

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth. . . . and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:5-6). "And the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon Him (Messiah), and. with righteousness shall He judge..." (Isaiah
11:2-5). See also Zechariah 9:9; 1 Chronicles 17:11-14; 2 Samuel 7:12-17; 2
Samuel 23:1-8; Numbers 24:17, etc.

God selected three great men to picture the work of Messiah as Prophet, Priest
and King. Moses as prophet, Melchizedeck as priest, and David as king. The ’term
"Messiah" is found eighteen times in the book of Samuel, the book giving the
life of David. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, has the honor of being the first
one to use the word "Messiah" as referring to the Coming One; and it refers to
Christ as God’s anointed King.

"The Lord shall give strength unto His King, and exalt the horn of His anointed"
(1 Samuel 2:10). The coming of Messiah as King usually refers to His second
advent, when He will establish His kingdom reign of righteousness. (See Isaiah
11:1-9; Micah 4:1-5, etc.).

Many Psalms speak of Messiah as the coming King. (See Psalm 2, Psalm 45, Psalm
47, Psalm 72, etc.). In Psalm 2 we see the coronation of Messiah as King on
Mount Zion (Psalms 2:6), and His inheritance of the heathen nations (Psalms
2:8). In Psalm 45 we see the majesty and beauty of the King, and His glorious
Bride. In Psalm 47 we see Messiah as GOD, and His coronation as King of the
earth (Psalms 47:2, Psalms 47:7).

Psalm 72 gives us the most complete picture in the book of Psalms of Messiah’s
coming kingdom and His reign of righteousness:

Messiah is identified as the King’s Son (Psalms 72:1)

Messiah the King’s Perfect Righteousness (Psalms 72:2-4)

Messiah the King’s Wholesome Reign (Psalms 72:6-7)

Messiah the King’s Universal Dominion (Psalms 72:8-11)

Messiah the King’s Divine Compassion (Psalms 72:12-14)

Messiah the King’s Reign produces Material and Spiritual Prosperity (Psalms
72:15-17)

(7) Perfect Praise of the Lord God during Messiah the King’s Reign (Psalms
72:18-19)* (*Messiah is also presented as the Priest-King: "A Priest on His
throne." The message to Joshua in Zechariah 6:13 certainly looks beyond Joshua
to the Messiah, for there are statements in the passage that can be fulfilled
only in One greater than man.

"Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying. Behold the man whose name is the
Branch"-so identifying the message definitely as being Messianic-"He shall grow
out of His place"-having a natural yet supernatural growth as a child (cf.
Isaiah 53:2)-"and He shall build the temple of the Lord"-which Christ is doing
even now (Ephesians 2:21-22)-"and He shall bear the glory"-the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14)-"and shall sit
and rule upon His throne"- as King and Priest, even as Melchisedeck (Psalms
110:4)-"and the counsel of peace shall be between them both"-as King Messiah
will bring peace (Psalms 72:7; Psalms 46:9), and as Priest He will bring peace
through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20; Ephesians 1:7). In Jeremiah
30:21 is another remarkable Messianic passage, giving a similar testimony.
Messiah will be the King-Priest: He will "rule" the people, and He will "draw
near and approach unto God" as the perfect MEDIATOR (cf. 1 Timothy 2:5).

Turning to the New Testament we see that the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the
root of David" (Revelation 5:5)-Christ as King-is also the One who hath "an
unchangeable priesthood" (Hebrews 7:24-28). The New Testament Witness that Jesus
is the Christ, the Anointed of God In the New Testament, Jesus the Christ is
clearly set forth as God’s anointed Prophet (John 17:8) who gives His people
God’s words, God’s anointed Priest, who "through the eternal Spirit offered
Himself without spot to God, to purge your conscience. . . ." (Hebrews 9:14),
and as God’s coming "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Revelation 19:16). In
Hebrews 1:9 Christ is seen as the anointed of God:

"Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God, even thy God,
hath ANOINTED thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

We have referred before to Luke 4:18 where Christ said He was the One "anointed
to preach the gospel to the poor" that Isaiah had spoken about (Isaiah 61:1). In
Revelation 1:5 Jesus is presented as Prophet, Priest and King:

"And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness (Prophet), and the first
begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth (King). Unto Him
that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Priest)." And also
in Hebrews 1:1-3 Christ is presented as Prophet, Priest and King:

"God .... hath in these last days spoken unto us in His Son (Prophet) who, when
He had by Himself purged our sins (Priest), sat down (as King) on the right hand
of the Majesty on high."

"BEHOLD" ... "GOD’S BRANCH"

Other Bible teachers have called attention to the remarkable fourfold use of the
Messianic name "the BRANCH" in the Old Testament, and the frequent use of
"Behold," in connection with God’s Messiah, the Branch. "Behold" is used as
God’s "Ecce Homo" in the Old Testament. Taken together (the "Beholds" with "the
Branch") they present a beautiful summary of the CHRIST of the four Gospels.
Here is the fourfold use of "the Branch" and "Behold" as used of Messiah in the
Old Testament.

(1) As KING

"Behold the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous
BRANCH, and a KING shall reign and prosper" (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

"BEHOLD-thy KING cometh" (Zechariah 9:9). This corresponds to the Gospel of
MATTHEW, where Christ is presented as KING.

(2)As SERVANT OF THE LORD "BEHOLD, I will bring forth My Servant the BRANCH"
(Zechariah 3:8). This corresponds to the Gospel of MARK, where Christ is
presented as the SERVANT OF THE LORD.

(3) As SON OF MAN

"Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, BEHOLD the MAN whose name is the
BRANCH" (Zechariah 6:12; Zechariah 6:13). This corresponds to the Gospel of
LUKE, where Christ is pre­sented as the ideal and the representative MAN.

(4) As the SON OF GOD

"BEHOLD your God" (Isaiah 40:9). "In that day shall the BRANCH of the LORD be
beautiful and glorious" (Isaiah 4:2). This corresponds to the Gospel of JOHN,
where Christ is pre­sented as the SON OF GOD-yes. GOD HIMSELF in the flesh.

These four uses of "the BRANCH" are the only four instances in the Hebrew
Scriptures (except Jeremiah 33:16, which is a repetition of the thought in
Jeremiah 23:5-6) where Messiah is designated by the title "The Branch." Several
times Messiah is introduced in the Old Testament by the word "Behold"-as though
to call special attention to HIM.* (*Professor Godet says, "Just as a gifted
painter, who wished to immortalize for a family the complete likeness of the
illustrious father, would avoid any attempt in combining in a single portrait
the insignia of all the various offices he had filled by representing him in the
same picture as general and magistrate, as a man of science and as a father of a
family; but would prefer to paint four distinct portraits. So the Holy Spirit,
to preserve for mankind the perfect likeness of Him who was its chosen
representative. God in man, used means to impress upon the minds of the writers
of the Gospels, four different images."

ALL of these four accounts of the life of Christ present Him as the
MESSIAH-God’s perfect Prophet, Priest, King and Son of God-yet each has a
different emphasis. In Matthew He is KING; in Mark He is the SERVANT OF JEHOVAH;
in Luke He is the SON OF MAN; and in John He is the SON OF GOD.) OTHER NAMES OF
MESSIAH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT There are scores of names of Messiah in the Old
Testament; we mention but a few.

"The Servant of the Lord" In Isaiah, Messiah is frequently called "The Servant
of the Lord," or "My Servant." (See Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 52:13, etc.). As the
"Servant of the Lord (Jehovah)" He is the exponent of righteousness and true
humility, the teacher and Redeemer of mankind. He fulfills all God’s desires:
hence. He is: The Second Adam-the Perfect Man The Second Israel-the Perfect
Servant The Second Moses-the Perfect Prophet The Second David-the Perfect King
The Second High Priest-the Perfect Priest The growing purposes of God toward the
whole human race, which were manifested in the creation of Adam, the election of
Israel, the raising up of Moses, the appointment of Aaron, and the call of David
are "brought to their full completion by, in and through Christ" (Delitzsch).
The "Shepherd"

Isaiah sees Messiah as "the Servant of the Lord"; Ezekiel sees Him as "the
Shepherd of Israel" (see Ezekiel 34:23 and Ezekiel 37:24, where "David" is used
as a name of Messiah. "David" means "beloved").

Christ, the truly Beloved of the Father, took both the name and the character of
the true Shepherd. (See John 10).

More Names and Titles of Messiah

Messiah is frequently called "the Angel of the Lord"-the Messenger of the Lord.
(See Judges 2:1; Judges 6:12-13, Judges 6:21-22). He is also "the Stone" or "the
Rock" (Isaiah 8:14); "the Comer" (Isaiah 28:16); "Nail" (Isaiah 22:21-25);
"Battle Bow" (Zechariah 10:4); "Shiloh" (Genesis 49:10); "Star" (Numbers 24:17),
etc. The Name "JESUS" in the Old Testament In an enlightening study: "YESHUA IN
THE TENACH" (The Name JESUS in the Old Testament), Arthur E. Glass points out
the amazing fact that the name JESUS is actually hidden in the Old Testament,
and "is found about one hun­dred times from Genesis to Habakkuk." "Every time
the Old Testament uses the word SALVATION (especially with the Hebrew suffix
meaning ’my’, ’thy,’ or ’His,’ with very few exceptions (when the word is used
in an impersonal sense) it is identically the same word as YESHUA (Jesus) used
in Matthew 1:21," says Mr. Glass. He continues: "This is actually what the angel
said to Joseph:

" ’And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name YESHUA
(SALVATION), for He shall-save His people from their sins.’ "

Let us see how it works out in a few Old Testament passages. In Psalms 9:14
David says, "I will rejoice in thy salvation." What he actually said was, "I
will rejoice in thy YESHUA (Jesus)." And in Isaiah 12:2-3, we have something
truly wonderful. SALVATION is mentioned three times, presenting three great
facets of Jesus and His Salvation. We give them (quoting Glass) as they read in
the Hebrew, with Jesus as the embodiment and the personification of the word
Salvation:

"Behold, mighty One (or God the Mighty One) is my YESHUA (a reference to Jesus
in His pre-incarnation eternal existence, cf. John 1:1); I will trust and not be
afraid; for JAH-JEHOVAH is my strength and my song: He also is become my YESHUA
(Jesus, the Word made flesh; John 1:14). Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water
out of the wells of YESHUA (Jesus crucified, waters of salvation flowing from
Calvary, cf. John 7:37-39).


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  CHAPTER 11: 01.06.     VI. THE DEITY OF MESSIAH IN BOTH TESTAMENTS
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VI. THE DEITY OF MESSIAH (CHRIST) IN BOTH

TESTAMENTS The Dual Nature of Messiah For a correct comprehension of the Person
of Messiah, it is necessary to understand that He has a DUAL NATURE, but is a
single personality: He is very God and perfect man; rather. He is the God-man,
God and man in one, indivisible personality. His humanity is seen in such names
and titles as Son of man, Son of David, Son of Abraham, etc. His Deity is seen
in such names and titles as Son of God, God, Lord, Jehovah, El, Elohim etc. The
purpose of this present study is to present this fact of supreme importance: the
Bible reveals Messiah (Christ) to be GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. The Deity of
Christ as Presented in Hebrews, Chapter 1 In the first six verses of Hebrews 1
(Hebrews 1:1-6), these ten facts are presented about Christ, all of which prove
and establish the fact of His Deity; for none of these facts could be postulated
about a mere man.

(1) Christ (Messiah) is called God’s "SON" in contrast to the "prophets" who
were only men, even though they were inspired men, Hebrews 1:1-2 : "God, who. .
. . spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days
spoken unto us in His Son."

(2) Christ is "Heir of all things," (Hebrews 1:2). He is the Son, therefore He
is the heir.

(3) The worlds (universe) "were made through Him (Christ)," Hebrews 1:2. This
not only proves His pre-existence, but reveals Him as the active agent in
creation. cf. John 1:1-3 : "all things were made by Him (Christ); and without
Him was not anything made that was made" (Hebrews 1:3).

(4) He is identified with the GLORY of God as much as the brightness of the sun
is identified with the sun: "who being the effulgence (brightness) of His
Person," Hebrews 1:3.

(5) He is identified with the CHARACTER of God as much as he impress of a seal
exactly reproduces the seal: "the very image (impress) of His Person," Hebrews
1:3.

(6) He (Messiah, Christ) is the One who upholds this vast, well-nigh in-finite
Universe, which of course is the work of an omnipotent God: uphold­ing all
things by the word of His power," Hebrews 1:3. cf. Colossians 1:16-17 : "For by
Him (Christ) were all things created . . . and by Him all things consist (Gr.,
are held together)."

(7) He, Christ, accomplished the redemption of the race ALONE. No sinful man,
not even a perfect man, could redeem a race of billions of lost sinners. It
takes an infinite Sacrifice to atone for a world of sinners: "When He had BY
HIMSELF purged (made purification of) our sins," Hebrews 1:3.

(8) He now occupies the highest position in the Universe next to the Father: at
God’s right hand, sharing with God the Father the Eternal Throne: "He sat down
on the right hand of the Majesty on high," Hebrews 1:3. That Christ, the Lamb of
God, shares the Eternal Throne is evident from Revelation 22:1 : "the Throne
(singular) of God and of the Lamb."

(9) He Is "much better" than the angels, Hebrews 1:4 : "having become by so much
better than the angels." (R.V)

(10) Again, the Father-Son relationship of the Father and Messiah is
established. Even the angels are commanded to worship Him (Messiah); see Hebrews
1:6 : "Let all the angels of God worship Him." Remember, only GOD is to be
worshipped (Matthew 4:10). "Thou art My Son"-the Father’s testimony to the Son,
Hebrews 1:5. cf, Hebrews 1:5, l.p: "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be
to Me a Son." In the rest of the first chapter of Hebrews (together with the Old
Testament Scriptures from which citations are made in this first chapter of
Hebrews), we discover this impressive fact: Messiah is called by the three
primary names and titles of God used in the Old Testament, and by the two
primary names of Deity used in the New Testament. In verse 8 (Hebrews 1:8), God
the Father, speaking to God the Son (Messiah) calls Him GOD (Gr., Theos), This
eighth verse is a quotation from Psalms 45:6, where the primary name of God,
Elohim, is used of Messiah: "Thy throne, 0 God (Heb., Elohim,) is forever and
ever." In Hebrews 1:10, God the Father, still speaking to and about the SON
(Messiah) calls Him LORD (Gr., Kurios). This is a quotation from Psalms
102:25-27. These verses (Psalms 102:25-27) refer to JEHOVAH; see Psalms
102:16-19, Psalms 102:21-22. Let us now quote this passage from the New
Testament :

"And Thou Lord (Gr., Kurios), in the beginning hast laid the founda­tion of the
earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands: they shall perish: but Thou
remainest: and they shall all wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shall
they fold up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years
shall not fail" (Hebrews 1:10-12).

Notice that in these verses (Hebrews 1:10-12):

The Father (as in Hebrews 1:8) is still speaking to the Son.

The Father says that the Son is the Creator of the Universe: "the heavens are
the works of Thine hands" (Hebrews 1:10).

The Father says of the Son That He is ETERNAL-UNCHANGEABLE. The Universe will
get old as a used garment, but of the SON (MESSIAH) He says, "Thy years shall
not fail" (Hebrews 1:12).

The writer of the book of Hebrews adds two more inspired Comments concerning
MESSIAH:

"But to which of the angels said He (God the Father) at any time, Sit on My
right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool?" (Hebrews 1:13)-again
showing the exalted position of Messiah: at God’s right hand.

"Until I make thine enemies thy footstool" (Hebrews 1:13)-assuring all of
Messiah’s ETERNAL VICTORY.

Since God the Father has testified so emphatically in this chapter of the Deity
of Christ, and has given us 15 statements that fully set forth the DEITY OF
MESSIAH, it is folly for any one to deny that basic truth. In fact, our eternal
salva­tion depends on our accepting this truth of Christ’s Deity:

"If ye believe NOT that I am He (the Lord-Jehovah), ye shall die in your sins"*
(John 8:24) [*Christ here uses the words "I AM" which is the meaning of the name
Jehovah (see Exodus 3:14), so identifying Himself as the JEHOVAH of the Old
Testament] Old Testament Statements about the Deity of Messiah Turning to Old
Testament predictions and comparing them with their New Testament fulfillments,
we discover:

(1) Jehovah calls Messiah His "Fellow" (equal);

"Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man that is My Fellow,
saith the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 13:7). In the New Testament Christ said the
same thing: "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30).

Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, testifies in Php 2:6 that Christ is "equal
with God." "Christ Jesus who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
(a thing to be grasped after) to be EQUAL WITH GOD."

(2)In Isaiah 9:6 we have a forecast of Messiah’s humanity, Deity, and Kingship
Names of Deity are given to the coming Messiah that none but the willfully
unbelieving can mistake:

"For unto us a child is born (Messiah’s humanity), unto us a Son is given (His
eternal Sonship, in the Trinity) and His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, THE MIGHTY GOD (Heb., El Gibor). THE FATHER OF ETERNITY-both names
of Deity-"the Prince of Peace."

Remember, names as used in Hebrew express that which a person IS; Being called
anything means being that thing. So, when Messiah is called by the name "THE
MIGHTY GOD" it means He IS the Mighty God.

(3)Messiah is called GOD (El, ELOHIM) in the Old Testament The following
Scriptures show that Messiah is called GOD (Heb, EL, ELOHIM):

"Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God (Elohim). Behold, the Lord GOD
(Elohim) will come with strong hand" (Isaiah 40:9-10).

We already have referred to Psalms 45:6 where Messiah is called GOD: "Thy
throne, O GOD, is forever and ever." In Psalms 47:7-8 we read of Messiah’s
second advent: "For GOD (Elohim) is King over the whole earth" . . . "GOD
(Elohim) reigneth over the nations. It is abundantly clear that it will be
Messiah (Christ) who will reign over the nations. See Revelation 11:15;
Revelation 19:16; 1 Corinthians 15:24-25.

(4)Messiah is also called JEHOVAH in the Old Testament In Zechariah 2:10 we read
that the Lord (Jehovah) has said "Lo, I come, and I WILL DWELL IN THE MIDST OF
THEE."

"For the LORD (JEHOVAH) most high ... is a great King over all the earth"
(Psalms 47:2). (The context shows this is a Messianic Psalm, looking forward to
the second advent of Christ). In Jeremiah 23:5-6 we read that Messiah shall be
called JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." In Psalms 102:16 we are told that: "The LORD
(JEHOVAH) . . . hath appeared in His glory." In Zechariah 14:9 we read that it
is "the LORD (JEHOVAH)" who "shall be King over all the earth." And to prove
that it is JEHOVAH IN THE FLESH who is King, we see in verses three and four of
the same chapter that "Jehovah shall go forth and His feet shall stand in that
day upon the Mount of Olives." In Zechariah 12:10 there can be no mistaking of
the meaning: "They shall look upon Me (Jehovah) WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED"-a
reference of course to the crucified Messiah. In a crystal clear prediction in
Isaiah 40:3, Messiah is called both Jehovah (LORD) and (Elohim) (GOD): "The
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD
(Jehovah), make straight in the desert a highway for our God (Elohim)." In the
New Testament this Scripture is quoted, showing its fulfillment in Christ and in
John the Baptist, His forerunner (see Matthew 3:1-3). In both Zephaniah 3:14-15
and Isaiah 12:6 we learn that it is Jehovah Himself the "Holy One" of Israel who
will be in their midst: "The King, even JEHOVAH, is in the midst of thee"
(Zephaniah 3:14-15). That JEHOVAH OF HOSTS is a title of Messiah, we see clearly
by comparing Isaiah 6:1-3 with John 12:41; and Isaiah 8:13; Isaiah 8:14 with 1
Peter 2:5-8.

(5)Jesus in the New Testament claimed to be the great "I AM" of the Old
Testament Jehovah says of Himself in Isaiah 13:10 :

"Ye are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye
may know and believe Me, and understand that I AM HE."

It is therefore full of significance that Christ in the New Testament made the
same claim in John 8:24; John 13:19; John 4:26; Mark 13:6, etc. "That ye may
believe that I AM HE" (John 13:19). Jesus frequently used the expression "I AM"
in con­nection with some special revelation of His Person or work:

"I AM the Good Shepherd" (John 10:14) "I AM the Door" (John 10:9) "I AM the
Light of the World" (John 8:12) "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John
14:6) (6)The Title of God, Adonai, is given to Messiah in he Old Testament:

"Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and
the Lord (Heb., Adonai) whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple" (Malachi
3:1). The "messenger" who prepared the way for the coming of the Lord (Adonai)
was John the Baptist; and the Lord for whom he prepared the way was
Messiah-Jesus of Nazareth.

"The LORD (Jehovah) said unto my Lord (Adonai), Sit Thou at right hand, until I
make thine enemies thy footstool" (Psalms 110:1). On the Day of Pentecost, Peter
quoted this passage in his sermon to prove both the Messiahship and the Deity of
Christ of Nazareth. See Acts 2:34-36; cf. Matthew 22:41-45, where Jesus Himself
proves to the Pharisees that Messiah is not only the son of David, He is also
his Lord (Adonai).

(7)The Old Testament also teaches the PRE-EXISTENCE OF MESSIAH In Psalms 72:17
we read in the English translation:

"His name shall continue as long as the sun." But the original Hebrew reads:

"Before the sun was, His name (was) Yinon." This is the only occur­rence in
Scripture of the word "Yinon," and all ancient Jewish com­mentators agree that
it is a name of Messiah. In Proverbs 8:22-24 we read of the Pre-existence of
Messiah:

"The LORD possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I
was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was." That
this description of "Wisdom," personified, is really a description of the
Eternal Messiah, is beyond doubt. The New Testament also teaches the
pre-existence of Christ, the Eternal Word:

"In the beginning WAS the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1-2).

(8) The Old Testament presents Messiah as "the GLORY OF THE LORD"-a Phrase
signifying Deity

"And the Glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it."
(Isaiah 40:5; cf. Isaiah 40:3-4, which proves this verse, Isaiah 40:5, to be
Messianic). In the New Testament, we read of Messiah’s Incarnation:

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the
GLORY AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER), full of grace and truth" (John
1:14). The Deity of Christ taught in the New Testament

We have before shown from Hebrews 1, that the New Testament fully teaches the
Deity of Christ (Messiah). This teaching of the Deity of Christ pervades the
entire New Testa­ment, and can be seen in scores of direct statements and
hun­dreds of inferences. Some of the inferences of Christ’s Deity are drawn
from:

His power to forgive sin (see Mark 2:10).

His right to receive worship (Matthew 2:11; Matthew 8:2; Matthew 9:18; Matthew
14:33, etc.).

(3) His supernatural powers (see all His miracles, as recorded in the Gospels,
e.g. Mark 2:11; Mark 3:5, Mark 3:10-11; etc.

(4) His sinless character (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5; cf.

Luke 18:19, where our Lord taught, indirectly, that none should call Him good
unless they admit He is God, for there is "none good but God."

(5) His atoning death proves His deity-for none but GOD could atone for the race
(Hebrews 2:9).

(6) His bodily resurrection proves His deity (Romans 1:4).

(7) The many promises He gave that demand Deity to fulfill: such as Matthew
11:28-29; Matthew 28:19-20; John 14:23.

(8) Men are to trust Him even as they do the Father (John 14:1-3).

(9) He is the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe (John 1:1-3; Colossians
1:16-17).

(10) He has all the Characteristics of Deity: Omnipresence, Omniscience,
Omnipotence, etc. (See Matthew 28:20; John 14:23; John 3:13; John 16:30; Matthew
28:18; etc.

Some direct statements of Christ’s Deity:

John 1:1-3 : "the Word was God."

Note the striking testimony to Christ’s Deity in Luke 1:68; Luke 1:76.

See also Romans 9:5; John 20:28; Colossians 1:14, Colossians 1:17; 1 Corinthians
2:8; 1 Timothy 6:14-16 : Titus 2:13, Hebrews, chapter 1, etc. THE TRINITY That
Messiah should be both GOD and yet be sent by God, is a mystery unravelled in
the teaching of the Trinity. God is One God, existing in Three Persons: Father,
Son (Messiah) and Holy Spirit.

"The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14). It is
not our present purpose to expound the Scriptures on the teach­ing of the
Trinity, but we give here some references which directly teach, or intimate, the
Trinity. Note the following:

In Genesis 1:1 the word "God" (Elohim) is in the plural, and it is followed by a
verb (created) which is in the singular-thus intimating a plurality of Persons
in the Godhead who are as ONE.

In Deuteronomy 6:4 the word for "one" (God) is "achad" which is the word for a
compound unity, not an absolute unity. It (ached) is used in Genesis 2:24 : Adam
and Eve (a man and his wife) shall be one (achad) flesh-two persons as "one."
See also Genesis 11:5; Numbers 13:23; Jude 20:1-2.

There are many direct statements of the Trinity in the Old Testament, as Isaiah
48:16; Isaiah 48:17; Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 61:1; Isaiah 63:7-10;
Zechariah 2:10; Zechariah 2:11; Numbers 6:24-27 (note the singular "My name" in
verse Numbers 6:27 that follows the threefold use of the name LORD in vs.
Numbers 6:24-26).

(4) Many Scriptures intimate the Trinity, as in Genesis 1:26-27 where God says
"Let US" (implying more than one Person in the Godhead); see also Genesis
11:5-7; Isaiah 6:8; Genesis 3:22.

(5) The Trinity is clearly taught in the New Testament: see Matthew 28:19-20;
Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:16; Ephesians 4:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 9:14;
Revelation 1:4-5. See (in Tregelles’ Greek text) a most remarkable triple
reference to the Trinity in Revelation 1:8 :

"I - (1) I AM (2) the Alpha and the Omega, (3) the Beginning and the ending,
saith (1) the Lord (Kurios), (2) God (Theos) . . . (3) the Almighty
(Pantokrator), (1) the One being, (2) and the One who was, and (3) the One who
is coming.


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  CHAPTER 12: 01.07.     VII. TYPES AND INDIRECT FORECASTS OF...
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VII. TYPES AND INDIRECT FORECASTS OF MESSIAH The Bible is unique in its
TYPE-PICTURES of the coming Messiah as well as in its distinct and definite
prophecies.* A "type" may be defined as a divinely created illustration of
spiritual truth. A person, place, thing, event, or a series of events, by divine
foresight and planning, becomes an object lesson, a PICTURE-with correspondence
of details-of its anti-type (fulfillment). God and Christ, Satan and Antichrist,
believers and unbelievers, the yielded Christian life and the world, are the
subjects of Biblical types. "Even where no di­rect prediction is found,"
comments A. T. Pierson., "indirect forecasts (through types) referring to Christ
may be distinctly traced "all through the Bible." How true! Types of Christ-
prophetic pictures giving indirect forecasts-abound in the Old Testament. We
could write a book of several hundred pages and barely skirt the edges of the
vast field of Biblical types. In our limited space, we can but suggest some of
the marvels of this field of Biblical research and study. (*The Bible is unique,
without parallel-without even a serious competitor-in at least seven features:
(1) It alone, of all books in the world, has genuine prophecy. (2) The Bible
alone contains an intricate system of "types" in the Old Testament, fulfilled in
the New Testament, as shown in this chapter. (3) The Bible alone contains the
record of genuine, credible miracles, fully attested by adequate witnesses. (4)
Of all books in the world, the Bible alone presents the Perfect Character (the
Messiah). (5) The Bible alone, of all national history books, portrays its
characters without bias, and presents them as they are, their weaknesses and
failures as well as their strong points. (6) The Bible alone, of all ancient
books, is consonant with all the facts of nature and true scientific discoveries
that it refers to, even though it was written ages before the modern scientific
era. (7) Though written by nearly 40 human authors, the Bible has a phenomenal
UNITY that shows the superintendence of its Divine Author) The Cross of Christ
has perhaps more foreshadowings, more types that preview and prefigure the
sacrifice of the Son of God, than any other thing in the Bible. Every Passover
lamb slain (with its attendant ceremonies of the sprinkling of the blood of the
lamb on the door posts, the eating of the roasted lamb, etc.-see Exodus
12:1-13);* every Levitical offering brought to the altar and sacrificed (see
Leviticus, chapters 1-6); and every other blood offering presented, "from the
hour of Abel’s altar-fire down to the last Passover of the passion week, pointed
as with flaming finger to Calvary’s Cross!" . . . And there we see "the
convergence of a thousand lines of prophecy (indirect forecasts) ... as in one
burning focal point of dazzling glory" (A. T. Pierson). [*When the Passover lamb
was roasted "a spit was thrust lengthwise through its body, and another
transversely from shoulder to shoulder; every Passover lamb was thus transfixed
on a cross. In like manner, when Moses lifted up the brazen serpent (Num. 21) it
was not on a pole but on a banner staff-i.e., a cross" (A. T. Pierson, in "Many
Infallible Proofs," p. 204).] Turn where you will, you find pictures of CHRIST
in the Old Testament. In Genesis (especially rich in prophetic forecasts of
Christ) you find ADAM presented as the Head of God’s creation-a type of Christ
as Head of the new creation (see 1 Corinthians 15:45-49). The ARK was the only
means of saving people from the judgment of the Flood (Gen. 6-9); Christ is the
"Ark of Salvation"; all who by faith come to Him are saved from the coming flood
of God’s judgment against sin. The Offering of Isaac is an especially rich type
(Gen. 22) of the offering up of Jesus, by His Father. The life of Joseph beloved
of his father, but hated and rejected by his brethren (Gen. 37)-is an amazing
picture, with over 100 corresponding features, of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
likewise was beloved of His Father but hated and rejected by His brethren.
Joseph was sent to the Gentiles, where he obtained a bride, and was the means of
feeding multitudes and saving them from destruction (Gen. 39-47); so Christ,
rejected by His brethren (the Jews) has been preached to the Gentiles-and vast
multitudes have been preserved and fed the Bread of Life by Him. Joseph finally
reveals himself to his brethren-and becomes the means of preserving them too. So
Christ, in the latter days, will reveal Himself to Israel and save many of them
(see Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25-26). In Exodus, we see not only the PASSOVER
LAMB (already referred to, Exodus 12), but the life and ministry of MOSES, as an
outstanding type of Christ. Moses, a Shepherd in his youth, and at first
rejected by his brethren, flees to a Gentile country, where he gets a Gentile
bride; later, when he return to liberate Israel he is accepted as their leader,
and leads them out of the house of bondage (Egypt) with great victory. This type
of Christ is thrilling: for it speaks of Christ’s re-rejection at His first
coming to Israel and His eventual acceptance and leadership over Israel. (See
Acts 7:22-37, especially Acts 7:35). The life of DAVID in First and Second
Samuel is a similar picture of the Messiah. David was a shepherd in his youth;
at first he was rejected by Saul, who sought to kill him; later, David was
accepted by the nation, anointed, and crowned as their king. And so he becomes a
TYPE of the Greater David who was at first the "Good Shepherd" who gave His life
for His sheep; later on He will reign as KING.

Aaron and Melchisedeck picture Christ as HIGH PRIEST; Moses and Samuel (and the
rest of the prophets) adumbrate Christ as the great Prophet.

Christ explained the BRAZEN SERPENT, uplifted before the people as a means of
deliverance from the judgment of death that fell on them because of their sin
(see Numbers 21:5-9), as a TYPE OF HIS WORK OF REDEMPTION AND SALVATION THROUGH
HIS CROSS (see John 3:14-18). JONAH, swallowed by the whale, passing through an
experience of "death and resurrection" and then preaching to the Gentiles, is a
picture of the One who was "three days and three nights" in the heart of the
earth, and who came forth-as Jonah did-in resurrection. (See Matthew 12:40,
where Christ Himself makes Jonah’s experience a type of His own, in death and
resurrection). The TABERNACLE (Exod. 25-31; 35-40), is one of the most extensive
and meaningful of all the types. Its priesthood, its offerings, its furniture,
its arrangement-all are symbolic of CHRIST and the believer’s approach to God
through Christ.

(1) The brazen Altar stands for atonement by blood.

(2) The Laver of Cleansing stands for Sanctification through the "washing of
water by the Word."

The Table of Shew Bread, is a type of Christ the food and strength of His
people.

The Golden Candlestick, with its seven branches, is a type of Christ the Light
of the world.

(5) The Altar of Incense represents prayer and supplications that ascend to the
throne of God. (cf. Revelation 8:3.)

The Mercy Seat, in the holy of holies, represents Christ as the only means of
Justification and Access to the Presence of God. (See Luke 18:13, where the
publican’s prayer, "God be merciful to me a sinner," can be paraphrased, "God,
meet me at the Mercy Seat.")

The ark, in the holy of holies, speaks of Christ, as our Representative and
Mediator at the right hand of God. The ark was made of wood, covered with pure
gold (Exodus 25:10-11). This speaks to us of the humanity (wood) and the Deity
(pure gold) of Christ. In the ark were three things: "the golden pot that had
manna," "Aaron’s rod that budded," and "the tables of the law." These speak to
us in types and pictures, of Messiah as the Bread that came down from Heaven; of
His resurrection; and of His perfect keeping of the law. In HIS heart alone the
Law remains unbroken.

The Tabernacle itself speaks to us of the Incarnation: Christ dwelling among His
people (see John 1:14).

The boards, the sockets, the curtains, the coverings, EVERYTHING connected with
the tabernacle and its service, is a type of CHRIST in some way or another. The
FEASTS OF THE LORD, in Leviticus 23, are a beautiful and progressive revelation
of the work of Christ for His people and the unfolding of the plan of God,
through Christ, especially as related to Israel. And so the wondrous story of
the TYPES in the Old Testament unfolds, giving us vast and understandable
revelations of the coming Messiah, and of His Person and work.

Messianic typology in the Old Testament opens a door to the fuller comprehension
of Messiah, the Christ of God. The book of Hebrews shows clearly that these
amazing types in the Old Testament are NOT the result of mere chance, but were
divinely planned to give us pictures of Christ and His offering on the cross
(see Hebrews 5-10). Indeed, we are told that Moses, when about to construct the
Tabernacle, was "admonished of God ... to make all things according to the
pattern showed him" (Hebrews 8:5). In other words, GOD planned the types-lives
of men, institutions like the tabernacle and its worship, and events in the
history of Israel-to serve as illustrations and shadows "of heavenly things."


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  CHAPTER 13: 01.08.     CONCLUSION
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CONCLUSION

We believe we have conclusively shown that: (1) Not only is there genuine
prophecy in the Bible, and in the Bible alone, but that this prophecy (2) PROVES
beyond all doubt that Jesus of Nazareth, the central character of the New
Testament, is the predicted Messiah of the Old Testament; (3) that this Messiah
(Christ) is GOD manifested in the flesh; (4) that the Bible is the Word of God;
and (6) the God of the Bible is the only true God; and (6) that the salvation of
man’s soul depends entirely on trusting Christ and what He did on the cross as
the Redeemer, for one’s eternal salvation.

Moreover, since these great facts are not only true but PROVABLE, by the
evidence produced in this book, it is the duty of each individual not only to
trust Christ for salvation, but surrender to His Lordship and live for Him.
Since the Bible tells us that man’s eternal destiny depends on trusting
Christ-"he that believeth on the SON hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him"
(John 3:36)-it should be our greatest desire to tell others these facts, and let
them know that "there is none other Name under heaven given among men whereby we
must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

"THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YE MIGHT BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF
GOD: AND THAT BELIEVING YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE (ETERNAL LIFE) THROUGH HIS NAME"
(John 20:31). THIS BOOK IS FUNDAMENTALLY IMPORTANT! IN DAYS LIKE THESE, times of
widespread doubt, skepticism and unbelief, it is of vital importance that people
be given the FACTS that are in this book, giving them absolute proof of the
Deity of Christ, the Divine inspiration of the Bible, and the truth that
Christianity as found in the Bible is the only true, God-given revelation of the
will of God for mankind.

Help spread this vital message! We suggest:

That you loan this copy to several friends.

Start a Study Class and make this book the basis of your study.

Get a number of these books from the publishers to distribute to neighbors,
friends, college students, business men, and religious leaders.

Contact a qualified scholar who is a Christian, and secure written permission
from the publishers to have this book translated into other languages for
distribution.


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  CHAPTER 14: S.     57 REASONS WHY WE KNOW THAT THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
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57 REASONS WHY WE KNOW THAT THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD (Second edition; total
published, 15,000) By Fred John Meldau Little Bible Blue Books, No. 1 Published
and Copyrighted by The Christian Victory Publishing Co.

2909 Umatilla St., Denver, Colorado

"ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."— 2 Timothy 3:16.

INTRODUCTION The judge was much provoked that a certain man did not appear in
court at his summons. Finally, the man’s son came; and the judge thundered at
him, "What’s the reason your father isn’t here, young man? He should have been
here two weeks ago."

"There are seventeen reasons, your honor, why my father is not here."

"What are they?" roared the Judge.

"The first is, my father died a little over two weeks ago," said the youth.

"Well," said the judge after a moment’s hesitation, "that reason is sufficient,
we don’t need the other sixteen."

We are presenting herewith Fifty-seven Reasons Why WE know that the Bible is the
Word of God.

Any one of them, especially the first, or the last, is enough. But we present
"57" because some reasons appeal more to some individuals than others. If a man
is alive there are many proofs of it: the light in his eye, the smile on his
face, words which he speaks, and gestures with his hands. So the Bible is a
living Book, .and presents many infallible proofs that it is alive.

Atheism, abetted by Modernism and Evolution, is sweeping the world with its
faith-wrecking literature. The enemies of Christianity are pricking out the eye
of faith, leaving men in the Labyrinth of Darkness! We present the truth about
the Divine Inspiration of the Bible NOT to defend the Bible (for the Bible needs
no defense. It is, as Gladstone said, the Impregnable Rock of Scripture;) but to
defend men from infidelity and its lethal consequences. Men’s souls are at
stake: their eternal welfare depends on their attitude toward Christ as He is
revealed in God’s Word. At a time of wide-spread skepticism and Deism, Mr.
Finney, while in Eochester, removed the Bible from the sacred desk and declared,
"I will never replace it until I have proven by fair arguments in ’the eyes of
all the world that this is the Word of God." And the great man made good
abundantly. THE STUDENT’S QUESTION A senior in a certain university asked the
question, "Why is infidelity getting such a grip upon young people?" A
missionary answered by saying, "Young-people are NOT FURNISHED WITH AN ADEQUATE
ANSWER." The missionary bemoaned the fact that even Theological Seminaries do
not usually teach Evidences of Christianity. It is not that there is no answer
to rationalism, but often the PEOPLE ARE NOT GIVEN THE ANSWER. The call of A. T.
Pierson for men of faith to "grapple with the giants of rationalism" must be
repeated to our generation. He asks that a "new body of theses" be nailed on the
door of "Skeptics’ Synagogue," that will state "propositions so clear and
indisputable that no opponent will dare attack them or dare answer." Here are
such "theses" in these "57 Reasons."

ATHEISM OR THE BIBLE

"It is almost universally admitted," said Harold St. John, "that there is no
serious rival to the Bible in our days; scholars have examined the classics of
the ancients and the sacred books of the East, and by men inside and outside of
the Church they are confessed to be spiritually sterile," "The Koran of Mohamet
consists of a vast amount of chaff within which lies hidden a few grains of
wholesome wheat borrowed from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures." The Veda of
the Hindus (1000 B.C.), the Zendavesta of the Parsees (500 B.C.), the Jripitaka
of the Buddhists (500 B. C.), and the Confucian Classics of the Chinese (500 B.
C.) contain "Unreadable masses of lumber, a wearisome, confused jumble," and
excite no general interest whatever. So we are driven to this: The Bible or
Atheism, one of the two will eventually rule the world. We are presenting here
proof, SHOWING THAT THE BIBLE IS A REVELATION FROM GOD, THE ALMIGHTY.

We trust that God will use this testimony to strengthen the faith of many, so
that their confidence in the integrity and inspiration of His Word will become,
by intimate knowledge of FACTS, an over-powering conviction.

We trust that all true defenders of the faith will give a wide circulation to
"57 Reasons," putting it into the hands of students and youth especially that
they might be furnished with "an adequate answer" to the cavilings of
skepticism.

We trust that those who have not yet been convinced of the Divine, Infallible
Inspiration of the Scripture will read the evidence herewith presented with an
unprejudiced heart willing to know and follow God’s whole will, for He has
pledged to reveal Truth to all such. "If any man willeth to do His will he shall
know of the teaching." (John 7:17).

1. WE KNOW THAT THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD BECAUSE CHRIST SAID IT IS

Imagine a courtroom scene. You are one of the jurymen. The Bible is being tried.
On one side are the witnesses who speak against it. On the other side arises
Christ, the Incomparable, unique in His Person, sinless in character, matchless
in wisdom. He witnesses FOR the Bible. The value of testimony in court depends
on three things: the witness’ character (is he honest? can his testimony be
depended upon?), his intelligence, and his knowledge of the facts in the
particular case before the court.

Put on the stand the best representative of Atheism the world has to offer. Who
knows best whether the Bible is God’s Word, Christ or the Atheist? Who would you
rather believe? Remember, Christ the Son of God is the greatest "Specialist" of
all time on the question of religion. His sinless life, His miraculous power,
His resurrection from the dead, prove Him to be what He claimed to be, the
Second Person of the Trinity. Men are finite and earthy; Christ is the Eternal
One who came down from Heaven. He KNOWS whether the Bible is a God-given Book.
And Christ emphatically, repeatedly, unequivocally testified that the Bible is
God’s Word. He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled," Matthew 5:18. "The Scripture cannot be broken," John 10:35. And
there are scores of other utterances from the Son of God, revealing clearly that
the Bible is an infallible, inspired Book from God.

Reader, who will you believe? Will you depend for your eternal welfare on the
word of a fellow-creature, sinful, who knows no more about it than you do, or
will you depend on the testimony of Him who is the Image of the Invisible God?

2. WE KNOW THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD BECAUSE THE HUMAN AUTHORS OF IT
TESTIFIED THAT THEY RECEIVED IT FROM GOD The prophets and apostles who wrote the
Bible uniformly testify, in effect, that they were merely the stenographers,
that God gave them the words to write. They take their stand in the court next
to Christ and testify FOR the Bible. They were holy, intelligent men; many of
them sealed their testimony with their blood. If they had been false witnesses
they would have recanted under persecution.

John Wesley stated the argument in words something like this: The Bible was
written either by God, good men, or bad men. Bad men could not have written it,
for the Bible is a good Book, and fresh waters do not come from a salt fountain;
bad men would not have written it, for the Bible strongly condemns sin and
sinners, and wicked would not condemn themselves to hell. Good men could not
have written it, and then deliberately said God wrote it: they would no longer
have been good; good men would not have written it for the definite purpose of
deception, for good men do not deceive. Hence, the only One left who could have
written it is God. Dr. Haldeman aptly said, "Man could not have written the
Bible if he would, and would not have written it if he could."

Over 2500 times the Old Testament claims to be the Ford of God; and the New
Testament makes the sameclaim 500 times. Prophets and Apostles both witnessed to
the Divine inspiration of Scripture in such words as these, "The Word of the
Lord came unto me saying," "And the Lord said," etc. The testimony of Scripture
to itself is summed up in 2 Peter 1:21, "Holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost."

Reader, will you believe the testimony of such men as John who said, "That which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, .
. . declare we unto you." (1 John 1:1-3). Or will you believe the testimony of
an infidel, born centuries later, a creature of habits and sin, who lectured
against the Bible at $200 a night; or of another, an atheist who grovelled into
a drunkard’s grave?

3. THE BEST AND THE WISEST PEOPLE OF THE WORLD HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED IT To put
the proposition bluntly before our jurymen: the active criminal and gangster is
not known as a Christian; the best Citizen is. And so it has always been. It is
men with a blunted moral sense who reject the Bible. A pagan African was once
brought to England. After several months residence there, he asked of his own
accord if he might become a Christian, and this is the reason he gave: "I have
watched the white man, and I have seen that the good people believe the Bible
and the wicked ones don’t. I want to become a Christian."

Note, we say the "good" people and the "wise" people; not necessarily the
"intelligent" people, for intelligence is divided on both sides of the question,
for intelligence may be wicked. But the Bible is not lacking today, nor has it
in any past age, from testimony from top-notch intelligence. Lord Bacon was said
by competent judges to have had the greatest mind given man, with the possible
exception of Aristotle. Bacon said, "I believe the Bible is the Word of God
whereby His will is revealed." Gladstone, "possessor of one of the greatest
brains Europe ever produced" once said, "I have spent 70 years of my life
studying that Book to satisfy my heart; it is the Word of God. I bank my life on
the statement that I believe this Book to be the solid rock of Holy Scripture."
Locke, who has been termed "the most acute thinker and reasoner of the past two
centuries" spent the last fourteen years of his life in the constant study of
the Bible, and then gave this decision: "It has God for its Author, salvation
for its end, and truth without mixture of error for its matter." These
testimonies might be multiplied ad infinitum.

Jurymen, will you believe the people BEST acquainted with God or will you
believe the people LEAST acquainted with God?

4. THE BIBLE GIVES US A PRE-WRITTEN HISTORY OF A NATION—THE JEWS

Next, men of the jury, I want to call your attention to this phenomenon: the
Book tells accurately, BEFOREHAND, the hectic history of the children of Israel.
Their Egyptian bondage, their conquest of Canaan, the outcome of all their wars,
the division of the kingdom after the reign of Solomon, the Babylonian
captivity, the partial restoration to Palestine with the rebuilding of the
Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, the world-wide dispersion, ARE ALL
PREDICTED. (See Genesis 15:13-16; Exodus chapters 1-12; 1 Kings 11:30-33;
Jeremiah 25:1-14; Daniel 9:24-27; etc.) The strange thing about many of these
predictions is they speak of MISFORTUNE for the very nation that gave them, and
because of that the very nation to whom they were delivered REJECTED THE PROPHET
WHO GAVE THEM, AND HIS PROPHECIES. (One reading of the book of Jeremiah will
demonstrate this fact to the average reader.)

None but God could write an accurate history of a nation years, and in some
cases, hundreds of years, before the events happened. Men of the jury, the logic
is inescapable; we are FORCED to the conclusion THAT GOD WROTE THE BOOK.

5. THE BIBLE (written and completed over 1800 years ago, when the British Empire
was still unborn, and when the European races were still in the swaddling
clothes of savagery) DESCRIBES EXACTLY, PRECISELY, WITH UNCANNY EXACTITUDE, THE
JEWISH PEOPLE AS THEY ARE TODAY

Jurymen, let me ask you this question. How many times have you yourself used
this (or similar) expressions—"He tried to Jew me down." Each time you did so,
you were, wittingly or unwittingly, establishing the truthfulness of God’s Word
for the Bible said millenniums ago that, because of disobedience, Israel should
be cast out from their land of Palestine and be "a proverb and a byword among
the people." (1 Kings 9:7). And is it not an astonishing thing that the word
"Sheeny" comes from the Hebrew word translated "byword" in the passage in
Deuteronomy 28:37: "And thou (Israel) shalt be an astonishment, a proverb, and a
byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee." The Bible further
predicted that the Jews would be "scattered among all nations" (Deuteronomy
28:37, Deuteronomy 28:64)f and that they should be "wanderers among the nations"
(Hosea 9:17), to which fact the common proverb, "the wandering Jew" bears
abundant testimony.

Note the marvelous predictions in Hosea 3:4-5: "For the children of Israel shall
abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice,
and without a image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: AFTERWARD shall
the children of Israel RETURN, and seek the Lord their God ... IN THE LATTER
DAYS." This passage predicts these facts: the continuance of the Jewish people
as a race (1) WITHOUT a government of their own; (2) WITHOUT the central rite of
their religion (the daily "sacrifice" in the temple); (3) WITHOUT the house for
the public worship—their meeting place, the temple—("pillar," i.e. the temple
pillars); (4) and WITHOUT even idolatry, to which they invariably turned when
they departed from the living God ("teraphim," i.e., images); and (5) WITHOUT
the High Priesthood (ephod, a garment of the High Priest); and, mark you, that
persistence as a race should keep on despite the fact that they were to be
SCATTERED among all nations. So here we have the miracle of history: that a
scattered, persecuted peoples, deprived of their own government and the central
facts and customs of their religion should not be assimilated and lose their
national identity. That passage in Hosea reads like HISTORY, as though some one
were describing the past experience of the Jews for the last 2,000 years; but
the fact is, universally acknowledged, that it was written 2,500 years ago! We
challenge any one to produce a historic parallel to that: scattering, loss of
government, but AGE-LONG CONTINUANCE AS A SEPARATE RACE. Note also, that IN THE
LATTER DAYS the children of Israel are scheduled to RETURN to Palestine, and
eventually to return to God. And the marvelous fact is that this return (to be
accomplished gradually—in stages—according to Ezekiel 38:1-23 and 39) has
already begun, under the Zionist movement, organized in 1897.

Furthermore, men of the jury, the New Testament distinctly teaches that Israel
as a nation would be blinded (judicially, because they rejected Christ) and NOT
believe His gospel; but that there would be a believing-remnant (Romans
11:1-10). Today we witness that phenomenon too: the vast majority of Jews do NOT
accept the New Testament; but there are some—here a few and there a few—that DO.

Well might the late Lord Chancellor Erskine say: "The universal dispersion of
the Jews throughout the world, their unexampled sufferings, and their wondrous
preservation, would be sufficient to establish the truth of the Scriptures if
all other testimony were sunk to the bottom of the sea."

6. THE BIBLE GIVES A PRE-WRITTEN LIFE OF CHRIST

Gentlemen of the jury, this phenomenon is most amazing. It is a fact
unparalleled in the profane and other so-called "sacred" literature of the
world! Who could have written the principle facts of the life of George
Washington from 400 to 1500 years before he was born? BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT
THE OLD TESTAMENT DOES WITH THE LIFE OF CHRIST. Over 250 distinct, definite
prophecies tell WHERE, HOW and WHEN He was to be born; the visitors (shepherds
and wise men) He was to have at His birth; the tribe (Judah) and the family
(David) that He was to come from; the return from the flight into Egypt; His
public ministry; His forerunner (John the Baptist) and scores of other events.
(See Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14; Daniel 9:24; Psalms 72:10, Psalms 72:15; Psalms
89:4, Psalms 89:36; Genesis 49:10; Hosea 11:1; etc., etc.) His death is given in
great detail, in the Old Testament prophecies. Read the 22nd Psalm, written 1000
years before Christ came, as a description of His death by crucifixion. When it
is remembered that the Jewish method of capital punishment was by STONING, and
they knew nothing about death by crucifixion (which was a Roman institution)
until centuries after this prophecy was written, one is compelled to .admit that
the chapter HAD to be written by inspiration of God. As an illustration of the
MINUTE DETAIL that prophecy deals with, thus marking it genuine and fool-proof,
note Psalms 22:18. "They parted my garments among them and cast lots upon my
vesture." This was literally fulfilled, but unconsciously, by the Roman soldiers
who crucified Christ. Here is the New Testament record, "Then the soldiers, when
they had crucified Jesus, took His garments, and made four parts, to every
soldier a part; and also His coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the
top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but
cast lots for it, whose it shall be." (John 19:23-24). How amazing! There were
four soldiers, and each of them took one of His five garments; there remained
the fifth: Christ’s seamless robe. How should they divide that? They did not
care to spoil it by cutting it, so they threw dice for it! To think, that this
insignificant action of throwing dice should find its way to the prophetic page,
and be revealed 1000 years before ever it happened! Where is the possibility of
guess work in that? Even a moron would not accuse such detailed prophecies of
being "shrewd guesses." The above, as well as scores of other predictions, fully
demonstrate two things: That the God who knows all things is the God who
dictated the Bible, and that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah, for all the
predictions were fulfilled in Him. The Old Testament gives a PHOTOGRAPH of the
Coming Messiah; when the Messiah came He had to answer EXACTLY to that
photograph. Jesus did. None but God could write a Book, using a score of men,
during several centuries of time, containing a puzzle like that! None but God
could give the solution to the puzzle and present the Individual who perfectly
fulfilled ALL the predictions!

7. THE BIBLE PRESENTS THE ONLY PERFECT CHARACTER KNOWN TO HISTORY AND TO
LITERATURE

All the literature of the world, historical, biographical, dramatic, fictional,
or any other kind, has not been able to- portray a perfect man—real or
fictitious. But, gentlemen of the jury, the Bible contains that phenomenon too
—the depiction of THE PERFECT CHARACTER, Christ Jesus. Here is One. who is wiser
than Solomon, more patient than Job, meeker than Moses, more courageous than
David; here is One who never made a mistake in act or judgment, never
apologized, never changed His opinions or teachings, never retracted a
statement; here is One who was never late, was never in a hurry, never lost
control of Himself in argument so that His voice was heard in the street; here
is One who PRACTICED every teaching He ever gave, who could have had the highest
place among men but took the lowest; here is One who had the tenderness of a
mother, the love of a bride, the courage of a king, the sternness of a judge,
the dignity of an autocrat; and marvel of marvels—ALL OF THE SO-CALLED OPPOSING
VIRTUES BLENDED PERFECTLY IN HIM, He was not lopsided. The moral glory of Christ
is a most fascinating subject: we could easily fill this booklet with a treatise
on it.

Now here is the argument: No man, or combination of men could ever invent such a
Character. Rosseau states the case very well in these words, "It is more
inconceivable that a number of persons should agree to write such a history (the
Gospels), than that One should be the author of it, for the inventor would be a
more remarkable character than the Hero." In other words "It would take a Jesus
to forge a Jesus."

Mr. Simon Greenleaf, £he greatest authority in the world on "Evidence," whose
books on "Evidence" student lawyers study, has written a book on The Four
Gospels. In this book he examines the Gospels minutely, and concludes they are
absolutely authentic. He says in substance, "The character of Jesus was either
that of a person who actually lived, or the invention of the imaginations of the
writers of the Gospels. If such a character was the product of four men’s
imaginations, then you have the most marvelous display of genius ever struck
from the pen of men. For .four men, unknown as authors before or after, achieve
the portrayal of ,a character so perfect that it can claim to be Deity one
moment and the next stoop to wash dirty feet, one day raise the dead, next day
be hung on a gibbet, and these without loss of dignity. And in addition, these
men attain such heights of literary genius that they portray this character
without any description or explanation but simply by recounting His words and
actions. Words so matchless in wisdom as to mark their author as having wisdom
from God.

There is bat one conclusion to the matter. The Man, whom the Gospels present as
Jesus, is the promised Christ—"God manifest in the flesh."

8. THE BIBLE GIVES A PRE-WRITTEN HISTORY OF THE WORLD, in so far as the history
of the world is related to the plan and purpose of God as revealed in Scripture
This history is given, in broad outline, and in symbolic language, in the book
of Daniel. The chronological order, and the character, of the four great world
empires from Daniel’s time to the Roman Empire, and even up to our times and
beyond, are given under the figure of A Great Image in Daniel 2:31-45, and under
the figure of Four Beasts in Daniel 7:1-28. These four world Empires—Babylonia,
Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome have come and gone. The last phase of the Revived
Roman Empire is being developed right now in Europe.

Fifty years ago, critical students of Daniel tried to show that Daniel was
written AFTER the predicted events had happened. But recent archeological
findings have established the early date of Daniel, so that its predictions
stand as true prophecies: proof of the fact, dear friends, that GOD HAS SPOKEN!

9. THE BIBLE PERFECTLY WORLD DESCRIBES THE WORLD AS IT IS TODAY

Honored gentlemen of the jury, I wish to present this fact to you, which you
have, no doubt, already sensed: Any man of ordinary learning and intelligence
can prove or disprove the Bible without spending years of time in study and
research to do so. It isn’t even necessary for him to be able to read the Bible
in the original languages. All he must have, to perform the test, is two things:
(1) A statement of the prophecies of the Bible that deal with the world, or with
the Jews, or with the Church, as they exist today; and (2) a look around at the
world in which we live. For more than eighteen centuries the Bible has been in
the world in its completed form—so enough time has elapsed to absolutely
preclude guessing, and to reveal forgery if there is any. Our task then is this:
EXAMINE the predictions of the Book that claims to foreknow the future; EXAMINE
the world as it is today and SEE for ourselves whether or not the Bible
predictions are true; if they are we have all the proof we need that the Bible
is God’s Book. The apostle Paul presents a picture of the world of "the last
days" from the moral viewpoint in 2 Timothy 3:1-7. This passage presents the
non-Christian world, in essence, as (1) "lovers of themselves," i.e.,
selfishness; (2) "lovers of money," i.e., covetousness; (3) "lovers of pleasure
more than lovers of God," i.e. pleasure-seeking at the expense of spiritual
responsibility. I ask you, gentlemen, does this not describe our generation? The
Lord Jesus presents a picture of the world from the spiritual viewpoint in Luke
17:26-31, which clearly shows that the people will be worldly, commercial and
material, at the expense of spiritual interests. Is it not true to fact? The
Saviour presents another picture of the world "in the latter days" from the
international viewpoint, in Luke 21:1-38 and Matthew 24:1-51. He features the
five international terrors: "wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and
earthquakes in diverse places." The world today, viewed as a whole, certainly
verifies His predictions. "Wars and rumors of wars" are with us; the severity of
earthquakes, according to seismographic records, is steadily increasing. The
World War was followed by many famines and pestilences in many lands. All major
wars are. Our Lord’s prediction is scientifically accurate.

These predictions, coming from Christ and Paul, are all the more remarkable for
one would expect, had they been misguided zealots, that they would picture the
world soon to be conquered by their Gospel. Both teach that the world will get
"worse and worse" (morally and spiritually) and ripen for judgment; and that
Christ will come personally, at the end of the age, to set the world right and
reign as King of kings Himself. The prophet Daniel presents a picture of the
world, very compact, from the cultural viewpoint. Daniel 12:4, speaking of the
"time of the end," says: "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased." The widespread travel and popular education of our day certainly
place the mantle of truth over the shoulders of the prophet, and indicates we
are nearing that time.

10. THE BIBLE GIVES A PREWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST

Honored sirs, the Church of Christ is on earth today— the largest institution
known to man. It can be traced back, historically, to the first century. You
cannot account for the existence of the church save on the basis of the fact
that IT WAS STARTED BY CHRIST. The Bible has been the visible tie that has bound
it together, and the nursing bottle that has sustained it, through the
centuries. A little thought should convince the most skeptical, if his mind be
not closed to the truth, that it takes a SUPERNATURAL FORCE to originate and
keep going, without power of sword or gold, and in the face, frequently, of most
violent persecution, an institution like the church.

Christ foretold the birth of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the
day of Pentecost. (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-4). The fact that the church should be an
"assembly of called out ones"—a few saved from among the many, rather than the
conversion of whole nations—is revealed in Acts 15:13-15. This is true
historically and at the present time. The fact that the church should be made up
of both Jew’s and Gentiles, with their natural animosity dissolved in the
brotherhood of Christ, is true historically, and true today. (Ephesians
2:14-18). The endurance of the church, despite terrible persecutions, and
age-long conflicts, is foretold by Christ in John 16:2 and Matthew 16:20, "The
gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The eventual, worldwide preaching
of the gospel as a witness to all nations is declared in Matthew 24:14. And that
fact is being accomplished today. The various eras of church history can be
traced accurately in Revelation 2:1-29 and Revelation 3:1-22.

It is easy to be seen, gentlemen, that none but an all-wise God could foretell
the birth and future of such a cosmopolitan institution as the church.

11. THE BIBLE PERFECTLY DESCRIBES THE CHURCH AS IT IS TODAY And let me say, in
the very outset, honorable sirs, that the Bible description of the church of
Christ in the latter days is anything but complimentary. BUT IT IS ABSOLUTELY
TRUE TO FACT. The departure from orthodox doctrine, on the part of some, in the
latter days, is stated in 1 Timothy 4:1: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith." The prediction is
abundantly verified by the rise, during the last 75 years, of a host of sects,
cults and isms that have departed from "sound doctrine." The apathy, wealth, and
spiritual lukewarmness of the professing church as a whole, with the presence in
the church of a minority of earnest Christians, EXACTLY DESCRIBES CONDITIONS IN
PROTESTANTISM TODAY, and is clearly foretold in Revelation 3:14-17, Revelation
7:13. The prophesied rise, "in the last days" of scoffers saying, "Where is the
promise of His coming" (2 Peter 3:3-4) is being witnessed today.

12. THE HUNDREDS OF OTHER DEFINITE, DETAILED PROPHECIES THAT HAVE BEEN
FULFILLED, WITHOUT ONE FAILING, PROVE CONCLUSIVELY THAT THE BIBLE IS OF DIVINE
ORIGIN

Fellow citizens and honored jurymen, we are going to call on two
witnesses—HISTORY and THE WORLD TODAY—to testify as to the truthfulness or error
of ancient Bible prophecies. The amazing fact is this: Whenever careful
examination is made History and The World Today absolutely, invariably verify
Ancient Bible Prophecies. The prophet declared that Jerusalem should "be plowed
as a field and the mountain of the house (should be) as high places of a
forest." (Micah 3:12). Urquhart informs us that the "mountain of the house," the
place where the Temple was built, a limited space of about 350 feet in extent,
was for generations "covered with lofty cypresses and other trees." The other
half of the prediction also has a remarkable fulfillment. Much of the level
portion of what was ancient Zion, part of which is outside of the modern walls
of Jerusalem, HAS LITERALLY BECOME A PLOWED FIELD. "Prophecy" said that
Palestine was to be made "desolate" (Leviticus 26:32)—and it was; Palestine was
to become a mecca for pilgrims and travelers of all countries (Deuteronomy
29:22, Deuteronomy 29:24)—and it has been, and is; Egypt was to be humbled,
continue as a "base" kingdom, never again to be ruled over by a native prince
(Ezekiel 29:14; Ezekiel 30:13)—and these prophecies have all been literally
fulfilled; the Cherethites (Philistines) were to be destroyed as a nation
(Zephaniah 2:5)—and they have been; Askelon was scheduled to become a
"desolation" (Zephaniah 2:4)—and it is to this day; Tyre was to be destroyed and
become as bare as the top of a rock, a place for fishermen to spread their nets
(Ezekiel 26:12-15)—and all of these predictions have been most amazingly
fulfilled, as any visitor to the ancient site of Tyre can testify. And this list
of fulfilled prophecies, did space permit, could be lengthened into hundreds of
definite examples. And the remarkable fact is that NOT ONE BIBLE PROPHECY HAS
EVER FAILED. This marvelous fact has "stopped the mouths of scoffers and changed
the heart of infidels." The Bible of all books in the world is unique in this
respect. "Under the Christian religion," said Pascal, noted French
mathematician, "I find actual prophecy, and I find it in no other." (About 40
years ago Dr. A. T. Pier-son investigated the so-called "Mother Shipton’s
Prophecy," a prophetic hoax describing modern life, which claimed to have been
written in 1448. He found that it was written in 1862 by a Charles Hindley, and
palmed off on a credulous public!) We challenge the world to produce any other
book of true prophecies as the Bible, or to demonstrate a single failure in the
hundreds of Bible prophecies! It can’t be done.

13. THE FACT THAT THE BIBLE HAS A UNIFIED TESTIMONY DESPITE THE GREAT DIVERSITY
OF ITS HUMAN AUTHORSHIP PROVES THAT THERE IS ONE MASTER MIND—THE REAL AUTHOR OF
THE BOOK—BEHIND ALL THE HUMAN WRITERS The Bible is composed of 66 different
books, written during 16 centuries of time, by about 40 different authors who
were of different stations in life and who came from totally different
environments. Each one of these men added a few pieces to the Structure of God’s
building—the Bible—and when it was completed it was found to be symmetrical and
architectural—A UNIFIED WHOLE! Genesis and Daniel of the Old Testament dove tail
exactly into Revelation of the New Testament; and Leviticus into Hebrews. The 66
books of the Bible present a unified PROGRAM for the ages of the world’s
history; both Testaments are centered in the same PERSON Christ; and the
teachings are never contradictory, when rightly understood. To show the force of
this amazing fact—the unity of the Bible—let me ask what unity of thought would
there be in a symposium of medicine, written by 40 different authors, each
expressing his own ideas of the subject? You would have 40 different schools of
thought represented, giving a hodge-podge of "incongruous incompatibility!"

"Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:21).

14. THE BIBLE PROVES ITSELF TO BE THE WORD OF GOD BY ITS POWER IN THE LIVES OF
INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE THEM HOLY

Let us apply a Bible test to the Bible itself: "By then-fruits ye shall know
them." Gentlemen of the jury, I can take you to scores of Rescue Missions in our
country and show you reclaimed drunkards, libertines, and women of the street
that have been saved, and lifted from filth and sin, by the Gospel of the Bible!
I can take you into thousands of Protestant Churches of all denominations where
the true Gospel is preached and show you happy Christians who have been saved
and KEPT from ever falling into the grosser sins. I can take you to Africa and
other pagan countries and show you sober and humanized men who were formerly
bloodthirsty cannibals, WON TO A HOLY LIFE BY THE BOOK! And what victorious
testimonies they give! And we don’t need to go to a past generation either, for
our own age has multitudes of such living witnesses, won from a thousand and one
sins that fallen man is heir to, BY BELIEVING AND OBEYING THE BOOK!

Marcus Aurelius, Confucius and other philosophers wrote some good moral and
ethical maxims, but no one is won to a life of holiness by reading them. They
present an ideal, but lack the vital power that the Bible alone has to lift the
soul to that ideal. The Bible accomplishes this by leading us to direct contact
with GOD, by regeneration through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Biblical
answer to the needs of a fallen race is spiritual regeneration of the
individuals who repent and believe His gospel. Then, as the Christian yields his
life and heart and will to Christ, he grows in grace and becomes daily more like
his Redeemer. (See 2 Peter 3:18).

15. THE BIBLE DEMONSTRATES ITSELF TO BE THE WORD OF GOD BY ITS POWER TO MAKE MEN
HAPPY

Tens of thousands have found the promise true, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST." (Matthew 11:28). What the
pursuit of money, fame and pleasure FAILS to do, God’s Word does for those who
come humbly, sincerely, believing its promises.

Said a world traveler, "The happiest people I have met are the Christian
missionaries."

How often we read in the Gospels that those who came, believing, to Christ
during His earthly ministry, were blessed, and went on their way rejoicing. And
it has been so from that day to this. This writer, in common with thousands of
others, can testify, truly, that he has received from reading and believing
God’s Word the greatest blessing to be experienced in this life—inward peace of
heart and mind.

Gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you this fact that any Book that makes men
both righteous and happy MUST come from the Supreme Being of Love who wants His
creatures to be both holy and happy.

16. THE BIBLE NOT ONLY MAKES LIVING BETTER BUT IT MAKES DYING EASIER

"Christians die easy," remarked the executioner who had put to death a number of
Christian martyrs. Hundreds of testimonies, like the following, from dying
Christians, could be given:

"Eternity rolls up before me like a sea of glory," said Margaret Prior, while
dying. Lord Shaftesbury’s last words were, "I am touching the hem of His
garment!" Frances E. Willard cried, "How beautiful to die and be with God."
Multitudes have been sustained in the hour of death by such precious promises as
Psalms 23:4, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil: for Thou art with me."

Atheism and heathenism know nothing of victorious dying; rather, a Christless
death, leading to a Christless eternity, forecasts the shadow of coming doom.

17. THE BIBLE PRESENTS THE WAY OF VICTORY OVER EVERY KNOWN FOE OF MAN And the
solution that the Bible provides to all of man’s problems WORKS! What are man’s
foes? Is one the haunting ghost of past sins? Here is God’s solution and answer
to the one who will accept the gospel of the Bible: "The Blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’.’ (1 John 1:7). Is the foe the present power
of sin. and habit over one’s life? The apostle Paul found that, through Grace,
he could say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me." (Php
4:13). Is the enemy FEAR, casting a pall over life, keeping out both light and
song? The believer can say with David, "I will fear no evil, for THOU art with
me." (Psalms 23:1-6). The child of God, resting on the precious promises of the
Bible, is enabled to "GLORY" in tribulation (Romans 5:3); to "REJOICE" when
persecuted (Matthew 5:9-12) because he will be amply compensated for it; when
"tempted and tried" he can "COUNT IT ALL JOY" for the "trial of faith" leads to-
patience, discipline, and other precious virtues (James 1:2-4). Are his
circumstances apparently against the believer? Why, the God of the Bible is able
to arrange circumstances so that "all things work together for GOOD to-them that
love God" (Romans 8:28). And affliction, before whom so many wilt and faint?
Affliction actually becomes a SERVANT to the believer, WORKING for him: "Our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, WORKETH for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Is one harassed by
poverty? The Bible tells those who are poor in this world’s goods but rich in
faith: "All things are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s." (1
Corinthians 3:22-23). "My God shall supply ALL your needs." (Php 4:19).

18. THE BIBLE PROVES ITSELF TO BE THE WORD OF GOD BY ITS POWER IN SOCIETY Not
only individuals, but society as a whole is lifted and immeasurably blessed
whenever the Bible is read, believed and followed. Charles Darwin once visited
Patagonia; he was so impressed with the results of missionary labor among the
natives that he became a lifelong" contributor to the missionary society doing
work among them. Great Britain, as Queen Victoria admitted, owes her greatness
to the open Bible. Pagan Africa is pagan because they have not the Word of God;
as missionaries bring them the message of the Bible they are lifted out of their
miserable state in direct proportion to their acceptance of the Bible. European
nations were won from savagery by the Bible. And now, some of these nations are
turning back to savagery because they are rejecting; the Bible. Lack of Bible
reading in our own nation is producing an alarming harvest of crime and loose
living.

"The Holiest among the mighty and the Mightiest among the holy, lifted, with His
pierced hands, empires off their hinges, turned the stream of civilization out
of its channel, and still governs the ages."—Jean Richter.

19. THE BIBLE IS THE SOURCE AND INSPIRATION OF MAN’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS.

"It is inspiring because inspired; it is inspired because inspiring." It is
inseparably woven into the very warp and woof of our civilization. It is not a
book on legislation, and yet Daniel Webster said, "A great jurist must go to
school to the Book; lying back of Blackstone and the Habeas Corpus Act and the
Roman Institutes are the statutes of the Mosaic code."

"It has breathed inspiration into the heart of almost every genius." The world’s
greatest Art, Sculpture, Music, Literature, as well as Morality and Law, have
been inspired by the Bible. Milton’s "Paradise Lost;" Bunyan’s "Pilgrim’s
Progress;" Michaelangelo’s "David;" the masterpieces of Raphael, Rembrandt,
Mozart, and innumerable others of the world’s works of genius were inspired by
the Bible. To get rid of the Bible and its influence one would have to wipe out
practically all libraries, art galleries, music conservatories, as well as all
churches, and practically all humanitarian institutions.

Ruskin expressed what is true of thousands of earth’s great men when he said,
"All that I have thought of art, everything that I have written, whatever
greatness there has been in .any thought of mine, whatever I have done in my
life, has simply been due to the fact that, when I was a child, my mother daily
read with me a part of the Bible, and daily made me learn a part of it by
heart." And another has said, "The finest ideals of .art and the finest
inspirations of music are borrowed from the Book."

20. IT PRESENTS THE HIGHEST MORAL STANDARD KNOWN TO MAN

Here is a supernatural system of morality that tells us to "love our enemies,"
and do good to them that hate us and persecute us; it tells us that the lustful
look is adultery and that hatred is murder; it enjoins love to God and love to
man as the supreme duties; it exalts the virtues of faith, meekness, patience,
long-suffering—characteristics that many men despise. The Ten Commandments, the
Sermon on the Mount, Paul’s great Love Hymn in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, and the
practical precepts of the New Testament Epistles, as well as other sections of
the Bible dealing with moral precepts, never came from the heart of fallen,
sinful man!

All other ancient religious writings are immoral in the extreme. Prof. Max
Muller dared not translate the Hindoo books literally, lest he should be
arrested for circulating obscene literature. There is an impassable chasm
between the Bible and man-made religious books; the difference can be accounted
for only by recognizing the fact that God dictated the Bible. NO MAN YET EVER
LIVED UP TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE, EXCEPT THE CHRIST WHO GAVE IT. This one
fact alone offers a sufficient proof that God gave the Book with its
higher-than-man standard. The God of the Bible says to His people: "As He who
called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living" (1 Peter
1:15, R.V.). "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1).

21. MOREOVER, THE FRANK, UNASHAMED TESTIMONY OF THE BIBLE ON MORAL SUBJECTS, AND
AGAINST IMMORALITY, IS PROOF POSITIVE THAT THE SUPREME ONE WROTE THE BOOK The
tendency of man, when speaking or writing on sex subjects, is to be either
prudish or prurient. The Bible calls black black and white white; adultery is
labeled adultery. The sins of Sodom are recorded, but SO IS ITS PUNISHMENT. And
how could it be otherwise in God’s Book? God, who holds man accountable, and
punishes him for default, must clearly define what constitutes sin.

Some, with lamentable ignorance, have accused the Bible of being an immoral
book, because it speaks so frankly against sin, and records the exact sin of
many of its characters. The absurdity of this is seen by the fact that the Old
Testament DEMANDED STONING for sex sins, Deuteronomy 22:21, and the New
Testament is even more austere in its condemnation, when the sin is unrepented
of; Revelation 22:15. Being the Word of a holy God, the Bible is holy in its
teachings; being the Word of a God to whom "all things are naked and open," it
is a Book that unbares sin and reveals its awfulness, that all might shudder,
and fear, and flee from the loathsome sight.

22. IT HAS PASSED THE SUPREME TEST OF ENDURANCE. If the Bible had been built on
a corrupt foundation of fraud, it would have disintegrated long ago.

"It is the only Book in the world that has stood age after age of ferocious and
incessant persecution," Cannon Dyson Hague reminds us; and yet, "it is here
today stronger than ever. It stands, and it will stand." Innumerable times man
has lifted his sword against the granite Rock of God’s Word; he has hacked away
ferociously— and has managed to destroy his sword and himself, but the Rock
remains uninjured.

"The adversaries have done their worst. They have charged their heaviest charge.
Whatever unexpected adversaries appear in the future, no more destructive trios
than Julian, Celsus and Porphyry, than Voltaire, Strauss and Renan, than
Eichhorn, Wellhausen and Kuenen, will confederate against it."

Man has attacked it with fire, sword, pen, spade, test tube and microscope; he
has examined its claims, minutely, in the light of all positively ascertained
facts of science, archeology, history, morality and every other branch of human
learning, AND INSTEAD OF OVERTHROWING THE BIBLE HE HAS REVEALED HOW FIRMLY IT IS
ESTABLISHED IN THE COUNSELS OF INFINITE WISDOM.

Gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you this fact, THAT ONLY TRUTH can run the
gauntlet of the fiercest fires of persecution—venomous, hell-born hatred and
antagonism, satanic spleen, weapons of intellect, government, and wealth; fires
that have raged intensely for the past nineteen centuries and more—AND COME
FORTH UNSCATHED FROM THE FLAME, as did the Hebrew young men of old (Daniel
3:1-30). And the reason for the miraculous escape is the same in both cases: The
God of Heaven, who is ever on the side of righteousness and truth, has simply
protected His own.

MODERN scholarship (when true), MODERN criticism (when just), MODERN research
(when unbiased), have universally taken their stand as witnesses FOR the Bible.

23. NOT ONLY HAS THE BIBLE ENDURED, BUT IT IS A GROWING BOOK, showing that it is
not sterile, but alive with the very life from God.

More Bibles are published today than ever before in the history of the world. In
whole or in part, Scripture has been published in over 1,000 tongues and
dialects, and it reaches the fabulous world wide circulation of close to
30,000,000 copies (Bibles, Testaments and portions) a year! Consider what this
means, in view of the fact that very few "best sellers" ever reach a circulation
of 100,000 for their entire lifetime.

It is true the Bible tells us that just before the return of Christ professed
Christianity will be largely formal; there will be a departure from vital
godliness; but on the other hand the gospel is to be given to all nations as a
witness; and then, after the second coining of Christ, it is to be universally
accepted. The day is not far off when its dominion, in fact as well as in name,
will be "from the river to the ends of the earth."

Honored sirs, the only way you can account for the marvelous growth and spread
of the Bible, over the entire world, is THE BIBLE IS A LIVING BOOK. It throbs
with the message of the love of God for man; it is alive with regenerating and
lifting power; through its arteries, carrying life and peace to the world, is
the message of the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. God has
promised, "My Word shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah
55:11).

24. THE BIBLE IS A SUPERNATURAL BOOK, BECAUSE IT AND THE CHRIST OF THE BIBLE WIN
AND HOLD THE DEVOTED LOVE OF MEN AND WOMEN TODAY SUCH AS NO OTHER CAUSE CAN In
the latter part of his life, Napoleon said, "Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and
I myself, founded great empires . . . upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire
upon love. I tell you all these were men; none else is like Him. Jesus Christ
was more than man. He asks for the human heart; He demands it unconditionally,
and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! All who sincerely believe in Him
experience that remarkable supernatural love towards Him. Time, the great
destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame . . . This it is which
proves to me quite convincingly the divinity (deity) of Jesus Christ." This
supernatural love has impelled hundreds of thousands to "forsake all and follow
Him"—multitudes are willing to die for Him. I ask you, respected jurymen, for
what other Book would an intelligent American or European sacrifice all, even
life itself? Only a God-given Book can do that!

25. AND STRANGE PARADOX, IT IS NOT ONLY THE BEST LOVED BOOK IN THE WORLD, BUT
THE MOST HATED AS WELL

It is hated and fought by evil men. Now it is quite evident that evil men would
not hate an evil, fraudulent (hence harmless to them) book! They hate it for
.the same reason that the incorrigible criminal hates the righteous arm of the
law that punishes him. But, as was Christ, so is the Bible today, "hated without
a cause." (John 15:25).

26. THOUGH THE BIBLE IS AN ANCIENT ORIENTAL BOOK, YET IT IS WITHOUT MISTAKE,
CONTRADICTION, AND DEMONSTRABLE ERROR, and it is HISTORICALLY ACCURATE

We speak, not of the various translations of the Bible (for men may err in
translating), but of the Bible as. originally given; though both the Authorized
and the Revised translations are conceded to be remarkably accurate
translations, on the whole.

"Nor has the widest learning and acutest ingenuity of skepticism," said
Archdeacon Farrar, "ever pointed to one complete and demonstrable error of fact
or doctrine in the Old or New Testament." Thomas Newberry, a devout English
student, spent fifty years studying the Bible. He said, "I accept the . . .
plenary inspiration of the Scriptures. I have studied every ’jot and title’ of
the Word of God, and after these fifty years I see no reason for changing my
position." Hundreds of Bible scholars, of the highest rank intellectually, can
testify to the same conclusion.

We are well aware of the fact that infidels claim that "the Bible is full of
contradictions." But these so-called "contradictions" exist solely in the mind
of the infidel! Every supposed discrepancy has been fully and satisfactorily
explained by reverent scholarship. We would expect the perfect God to produce a
perfect Book, and SO IT IS. We challenge the world to point to a single,
demonstrable error or bona fide contradiction in the Bible in the original
languages. The Bible mentions thousands of historical incidents persons and
places; consider how staggering is the fact that there is NOT ONE demonstrable
historical inaccuracy in it. Surely, God wrote the Book!

27. Though the Bible was written by a nation not scientifically inclined and in
an age of gross ignorance of scientific subjects, THE BIBLE IS SCIENTIFICALLY
ACCURATE, and thousands of years ahead of its time When one considers that the
Jews were "without telescopes, microscopes, or the faintest interest in
experimental science" and then wrote a book that, whenever it touches the realm
of science, speaks with ABSOLUTE ACCURACY, we are confronted by a literary
miracle of the first magnitude.

"The Bible is not a book of science, but it is a scientific book. When the Bible
does speak on a question of science it speaks with the same absolute
infallibility it possesses when it speaks on history or faith." (Rimmer.) "I
have searched the Bible from beginning to end for scientific error and have
found none," says Mr. Harry Rimmer, President of the Science Research Bureau.
(Mr. Rimmer will give $100 to any person who can demonstrate one scientific
fallacy in the Bible.) The Bible taught, long before man discovered it, the
countless number of the stars (Genesis 22:17; Jeremiah 33:22), and this at a
time when man thought there were about 3,000 stars!; the immensity of space (Job
22:12; Isaiah 55:9); the universal law of motion (Job 38:7); the refraction of
light (Job 38:12-13); the weight of atmosphere (Job 28:25); the sphericity of
the earth (Isaiah 40:22); the circuits of the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:6); that
light is vocal (Psalms 65:8; Psalms 19:2) ; the heavens are built on
circuits—or, orbits—(Job 22:14); man’s body has the same chemical analysis as
the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7); and many, many more such facts. Where did
the authors of Scripture get their scientific information, and who protected
them from making the foolish mistakes that the other ancient writers made (like
teaching that the world was supported on the back of an elephant, etc.)? The
only possible answer is, GOD IS THE REAL AUTHOR OF THE BOOK!

28. THE BIBLE CONTAINS THE ONLY REASONABLE COSMOGONY KNOWN TO MAN

Most every truly great scientist alive today admits the FIRST CAUSE—A Supreme
Creative Intelligence—as the Originator of the Universe. That is exactly what
Moses said, "In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis
1:1.) Dr. I. W. Dawson, the distinguished scientist, said, "The order o-f
creation as stated in Genesis is faultless in the light of modern science."

Some misinformed people say the Bible teaches that God created the heavens and
the earth 6,000 years ago. It says no such thing. It does say, "IN THE BEGINNING
God created the heavens and the earth;" and that may have been millions of years
ago. The second verse of Genesis 1:1-31, "And the earth became without form and
void," etc., refers to a time long after the original creation spoken of in the
first verse. The rest of Genesis 1:1-31 teaches the steps in the process of
RE-CREATING THE WORLD AND MAKING IT HABITABLE FOR MAN. The Bible does teach that
MAN was created about 6 to 8 thousand years ago; and there is no historical
proof to the contrary. The only thing that conflicts with that teaching is man’s
unscientific, unprovable, absurd theory of Evolution. Man’s authentic dated
history (ascertained dates) does not go back further than 6,000 years,

29. THE BIBLE TEACHES THE ONLY RATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE: Man’s Origin and
Destiny and the Purpose of his Creation; the Origin and Destiny of Evil, and
Reason and Cure for Sin With majestic simplicity the Bible reveals to us that
•"God CREATED man in His own image" (Genesis 1:26). lit further reveals that man
was created to serve God, enjoy Him, and glorify Him forever. What higher
philosophy of life than that—the divine origin, and intended divine end, for
man? Man alone is able to frustrate the benevolent purposes of his Creator when
he deliberately chooses sin and refuses to submit to His plan of blessing. As to
the presence of evil in the world, man either denies it, tries to explain it
away, or worships it (to protect himself from it). The Bible teaches that evil
emanates originally from a created intelligence, a free moral agent, that once
was perfect but introduced evil into the Universe by starting a rebellion
against God—a rebellion inspired by pride and envy (See Isaiah 14:1-32; Ezekiel
28:1-26). The name of this being is Satan, or the Devil. In the end, all evil
will be subjugated and segregated, and God will create a NEW universe in which
dwelleth absolute righteousness (Revelation 21:1-27 and Revelation 22:1-20). The
universe is ruled by a faithful God who punishes sin and rewards faith and
obedience. The vicarious suffering of Christ on the cross is God’s remedy for
man’s sin. Those who repent and trust Christ are saved from sin and its
consequences. "Christ died for our sins . . . and rose again." (1 Corinthians
15:3-4).

All man’s philosophies are dismal failures. Frederick Nietzsche taught that
"might is right" and plunged civilization into the catastrophe of the World War;
the Epicurean philosophy of "eat, drink, and be merry" makes beasts of men; the
Stoic philosophy makes cruel, unfeeling monsters out of men; the Marxian
philosophy of socialism and "collectivism" rules God out, makes "religion the
opium of the people" and ends in a selfish, degrading materialism. But the
Bible, when accepted, lifts and ennobles man, and makes him altruistic and
Christ-like.

"The Bible is the one Book," says Ruskin, "to which anyone can go with life’s
great questions to find God’s answer."

ONLY GOD could have made the revelations, about man and evil and the origin and
destiny of things, found in the Bible!

30. ARCHEOLOGY BEARS FAITHFUL TESTIMONY TO THE INFINITESIMAL ACCURACY OF THE
BIBLE

Professor G. W. Wright has said, "All history is fragmentary. Each particular
fact is the center of an infinite complex of circumstances. No man has
intelligence enough to insert a suppositious fact into circumstances not
belonging to it, and make it fit exactly. This only Infinite Intelligence could
do. A successful forgery, therefore, is impossible if only we have a sufficient
number of the original circumstances with which to compare it." This principle
is what makes it possible to discover literary forgeries claiming to be history.
Very little cross examination is necessary to reveal the historical truthfulness
or falsity of a book.

Eager bloodhounds of truth have tested the Bible, on thousands of points, by the
findings of Archeology—recently unearthed monuments, tablets, tombs,
manuscripts, papyri and inscriptions and the Bible has been abundantly
vindicated! The late Dr. Melvin G. Kyle, one of the greatest archeologists,
said, "There has never been found anything that discredits statements of facts
in the Bible." And here is the amazing thing: almost the entire list of names,
places and events of the Bible have been corroborated by the findings of
archeology! (Kyle.)

Sir William Ramsay, famous Oxford scholar, was con-Averted from the critical
view to the conservative view of the Bible by his own archeological research
work. He says, "I set out to look for truth on the borderland where Greece and
Asia meet, and I found it there . . . the words of Luke stand the keenest
scrutiny and the hardest treatment." And again, he said, "The longer I study the
New Testament, the more convinced I become of its absolute trustworthiness . . .
Christianity is the religion of truth; it is founded on truth, absolute and
perfect truth."

Dear sirs, the very stones, unearthed by diligent archeologists, are crying out
in defense of God’s Word!

31. THE REMARKABLE, ACCURATE CHRONOLOGY OF THE BIBLE PROVES ITS INSPIRATION In
his scholarly book, "The Corning Prince," Sir Robert Anderson presents amazing
proof of the accuracy of the prophetic chronology in Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel
9:24-27. Here is a part of the passage: "Seventy weeks (sevens of years) are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city . . . Know therefore and
understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to build Jerusalem unto
Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks." Sir
Anderson says, commenting on this passage; In March, 445 B. C., the Persian
ruler Artaxerxes Longimanus issued the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. The prophecy
states that from this commandment (445 B.C.) to "Messiah the Prince" shall be 69
"weeks" ("seven weeks and threescore and two> weeks"). A "week" here means seven
years; the 69 "weeks" would make 483 prophetic years; (a prophetic-year, the
"year" used in the Bible, is 360 days—the-mean, between a lunar year of 355 days
and the solar-year of 365 days).

Appealing to the Astronomer Royal of Great Britain; Sir Robert Anderson found
the date of the Jewish New Year of that year to be March 14. Taking the
Triumphal" Entry of Christ into Jerusalem as the event that best sat satisfies
the words, "Messiah the Prince," which was on; Sunday, April 6, 32 A. D., he
found that the interval: between—from March 14, 445 B.C. to April 6, 32 A.D.
contained exactly, and to the very day, 173,880 days, or seven times 69
prophetic years of 360 days each, the first 69 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy of
"Seventy Weeks." The only possible explanation for this chronological and
prophetic wonder is GOD WROTE THE BOOK’!

32. ITS TEACHINGS ABOUT THE PERSON AND CHARACTER OF GOD PROVE IT TO BE GOD’S
REVELATION OF HIMSELF

Man, left to his own bent, turns to idolatry and polytheism, as may be seen in
every heathen land today. While all surrounding nations worshipped idols, and
gods many, Israel was taught the Unity and essential Spirit-Being of God. The
Bible further reveals God as being a Trinity in Unity: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit (Matthew 28:19); this is a conception of Deity entirely contrary to the
natural conclusions of man, as may be seen by the fact that today, the very
nation that, gave us the Bible, rejects that teaching. The Sovereignty of God
(Romans 9:1-33), His Omnipresence (Psalms 138:6-8), the fact that He is Spirit
and yet has a form (John 4:24; Php 2:6), are conceptions of Deity that did not
originate in the mind of man. He is presented in Scripture as All-powerful,
All-wise, absolutely Just, infinitely Loving, Eternal and Unchangeable —the only
true conception of God ever presented to the human race. All literature
everywhere fails to any where near approach the Bible revelation of the Person
and Character of God. Hence we are forced to this dual conclusion: God must have
written the Book; and if it be argued that the Bible is not God’s Word, then we
are forced to the conclusion that God is unknown and unknowable.

33. THE TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE ABOUT MAN PROVE IT TO BE OF DIVINE ORIGIN The
Bible, like Christ, "knows what is in man!" (John 2:25.) Many a man, in reading
the Bible, has come to the same conclusion that the Chinese did, as expressed in
his words, "He that made this Book made me!" If man had written the Bible, he
would have exalted himself more than Romans 3:10-23 does, and he would never
have told on himself, how easily he had been victimized by the devil (Genesis
3:1-6). Man would not care to condemn a portion of the race to hell because of
sin and unbelief (Matthew 25:41) and he would not dare to lift a portion of the
race, the repentant and believing, to eternal partnership in the very glory of
God Himself. (1 John 3:1-2) The doctrine of the creation of man in God’s image,
(Genesis 1:26), his fall, (Genesis 3:1-6), his present state of separation from
God (Luke 19:10), his insignificance in the sight of the Almighty and yet his
eternal importance (Psalms 8:1-9), .are teachings that COULD NOT HAVE COME FROM
UNINSPIRED MAN.

34. THE TEACHING OF SCRIPTURE ON SIN AND SALVATION PROVE IT TO BE A REVELATION
FROM GOD

Man’s tendency is to make light of sin: he calls it a mistake, or a habit, or a
fault; but God describes it as REBELLION against His righteous government, an
insult to Him, a heinous, loathsome disease.

Man always seeks salvation and favor from God as a reward for his "goodness."
His doctrine is "salvation by character." But this idea is entirely foreign to
the Bible, God reveals, in the Bible, that salvation is by GRACE; that man is a
hopelessly lost and condemned sinner and can do NOTHING to save himself, except
trust Christ, let Christ save him. (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:5.)

Furthermore, the Bible teaches that .most unusual doctrine THAT GOD HIMSELF, IN
THE PERSON OF HIS SON, SUFFERED THE JUST PUNISHMENT FOR SIN THAT .SHOULD HAVE
FALLEN ON SINFUL MAN. (See 2 Corinthians 5:20-21; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:24)
Therefore, because Christ died for our sins, and made full atonement for us on
the cross, God offers full pardon and everlasting life to all who will come to
Christ, in repentance and faith. (John 3:16; Acts 16:31.)

Gentlemen of the jury, the doctrines of the exceeding sinfulness of sin (Romans
7:13), the substitutionary work of Christ on the Cross, and salvation by grace,
DID NOT ORIGINATE IN THE DARKENED MIND OF MAN.

35. THE BIBLE TEACHING ON A HOST OF OTHER SUBJECTS PROVES IT TO BE FROM GOD Who
among men could or would invent the doctrine of the Holy Spirit? of the
Unpardonable Sin (Matthew 12:31-32)? or the Separation of Church and State
(Matthew 22:21) ? or the judgments described in the book of Revelation
(Revelation 16:1-10)? The Bible teaches men NOT to seek after money and material
gain (Matthew 6:25-34); NOT to seek revenge; NOT to take the highest place, but
the lowest (Matthew 20:26-27).

Such teachings are SUPERNATURAL, as far above man’s thoughts as the heavens are
above the earth.

36. VIEWED MERELY AS LITERATURE, WE MUST CONCLUDE THAT IT IS INSPIRED BY GOD

Gladstone said in awe, "All the wonders of Greek civilization were not as
wonderful as this single book of Psalms." And ,Sir Walter Scott said, when
dying, "Give me THE Book."

"It is the finest bit of literature ever written by the pen of man," was Thomas
Carlyle’s estimate of the Bible, and he should have been a good judge, for he
was no mean .master of the quill himself. Though not a Christian, Mr. Proude,
the eminent English historian, once said, "The Bible thoroughly known is a
literature of itself— "the rarest and the richest in all departments of
thought."

"All the great men I have met during the course of my thirty years’ world
wanderings," said Sir Harry Lauder, "have told me that they loved the Bible not
simply for its moral precepts, not solely as the spiritual foundation on which
they had tried to build their lives and guide their actions, but because it is
the greatest book that exists, containing within its pages all the romance, all
the poetry, all the literature, all the hopes and fears of mankind, now and
hereafter."

Sir William Jones, "one of the most accomplished linguists and oriental scholars
that England has ever produced" (Encyclopedia Britannica) expressed the
following opinion which he records on the last leaf of his Bible: "I have
regularly and attentively read these Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion that
this volume . . . contains more sublimity and beauty, more pure morality, more
important history, and finer strains of poetry and eloquence than can be found
in all other books, in whatever age or language that may have been written."

Though not a believer, the late Arthur Brisbane said, "Job and Isaiah could do
more to correct the deplorable weakness and carelessness of newspaper English
than all other teachers combined." The Bible contains "supreme examples of every
form of great literature: Lyric poetry—the Psalms; epic poetry—Genesis; dramatic
poetry—Job; historical narrative—the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles;
pastoral idyl— Ruth; patriotic appeal—Esther and Daniel; practical
wisdom—Proverbs; philosophical reflections—Ecclesiastes; impassioned
oratory—Isaiah; short stories—the Gospels; letters—the various epistles of the
New Testament; mystical exaltation—the Apocalypse."

"How certain it is that ’God spake all these Words’!" "Forever, 0 Lord, Thy Word
is settled in heaven" (Psalms 119:89).

37. THE FACT THAT THE BIBLE SUBJECTS ALL TO GOD AND HIS GLORY PROVES IT TO BE
HIS BOOK

If man had written the Bible, it would have sprung from man, be centered in man,
and ended in man; but the Bible is CHRIST-CENTERED. "The message of the Old
Testament is CHRIST; the message of the New Testament is JESUS; the message of
the entire Bible is JESUS CHRIST." He is presented in type, in symbol, in
prophecy, in history, as Savior and Lord of all.

God, in Christ, is presented as the Source of every blessing man can ever have,
the Source of Salvation from sin and every foe of man, the peace and happiness
of His people and their one Object of hope, praise and worship. (See Hebrews
12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 2:8-9; Psalms 16:8-11.) In Eternity God
will be "all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28), and Father and Son will be upon the
throne—the Center and Source of all things (Revelation 21:1-27 and Revelation
22:1-20).

Man, self-centered, haughty, bigoted, would never write a book so honoring to
the Creator.

38. THE RETICENCE OF THE BIBLE ON SOME SUBJECTS PROVES ITS DIVINE ORIGIN

"The secret, things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are
revealed belong unto us and to our children forever" (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Uninspired man attempts to write up the account of the early years of Christ, on
which subject the Bible is silent; the result is a most fantastic and impossible
narrative, describing odd "miracles" of His boyhood, etc. Many details about the
future life are left unrevealed, points on which man’s curiosity is very great
(for example, the question "will babies grow up in heaven?"). Had man written
the Book, he would have supplied all those details (from his imagination) and
would have produced a most absurd volume.

39. THE INCLUSION IN THE BIBLE OF MANY PARTS THAT MAN CONSIDERS "UNNECESSARY"
PROVE IT TO BE OF DIVINE ORIGIN For example, man would have left out "those
long, dry lists of genealogies" in the Old Testament. And yet, they are an
invaluable part of the Bible, for without them the Messiahship of Jesus could
never have been established. These lists of names also have proven invaluable in
establishing the historical accuracy of the Bible, through the findings of
archeologists.

Man, probably, would have left out the book of Leviticus, which many consider
"dry and uninteresting." But rightly studied this book is one of the most
interesting and instructive in the entire Bible, for it teaches spiritual’ truth
by TYPES. No doubt, man would have written only one life of Christ, instead of
the four Gospels as we’ now have them. But that would have been a calamity., for
as it is we have Christ presented from four viewpoints by four independent
witnesses, proving its genuineness and authenticity, as well as giving us a
rounded-out view of the Son of God who became the Son of man. The repetitions of
the Bible might be likened to the duplications in the body of man: man has TWO
feet^ TWO hands, TWO eyes, to make him more efficient as a man; the Bible is a
living organism—its repetitions make it more efficient, and are all necessary.

40. THE BIBLE SPEAKS WITH AUTHORITY— (Matthew 7:29)

"Scribes" and "scientists" do NOT speak with authority, but rather with such
expressions as, "We believe," "it might well be," "in all probability," "quite
likely," etc. But the Bible comes out flat-footedly with a "Thus saith the
Lord," and that is the end of all argument. The Bible is conclusive and definite
in its message. Christ did not say, "Come unto me . . . and I will do my best to
give you rest;" far be it from such. He said, "I WILL give you rest." His
promises are "yea and amen." He said He was "THE truth, THE way (not "a way"—
one among many), THE life." (John 14:6.) Christ claimed ALL power and ALL
authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18); and a little study of the
words "all," "everywhere," "whosoever" and "eternal" will convince anyone of the
finality and all-inclusiveness of the Bible. "The Bible is the eternal Book. It
is the Voice; all others are merely echoes."

Truth is the most dogmatic, uncompromising thing in the universe; light can
admit of no darkness, purified gold dare not be mixed with dross, truth cannot
endure error. The Bible, absolute and eternal truth, never compromises, never
changes, never apologizes. And its truths, "spoken with authority" HAVE NEVER
BEEN GAINSAID.

41. IT FEARLESSLY EXPOSES THE SINS, AS WELL AS PRAISES THE VIRTUES, OF ITS
WRITERS AND GREATEST HEROES

Hero-worship is an innate characteristic of man. The great men of every country
are presented to posterity in nigh flawless perfection by their compatriot
biographers. A magazine article reminds us that "George Washington’s
portrait-painters gave no hint that his face was deeply pitted by smallpox, and
his biographers—Parson Weems and the rest—made him so flawless that he ceased to
be human." An effectual antidote is to read his recently published diary, we are
told.

Contrast the Word of God which faithfully presents all the pockmarks of sin, the
evil as well as the good, in its greatest characters. The mighty David’s sin of
murder and adultery is laid bare (2 Samuel 11:1-27) Abraham’s subtle lying is
exposed, (Genesis 12:1-20), and Peter’s cowardly denial is recorded, (Matthew
26:69-75). Did uninfluenced man write this? Psychologically impossible! The
sheer truthfulness, and ultra-human exactitude of Scripture proves that the
Bible is God-given.

42. THE SINS, PUNISHMENT AND DEFEATS OF THE VERY NATION THAT GAVE US THE BIBLE
ARE GIVEN WITH UNBIASED TRUTHFULNESS The Bible presents the history of Israel as
"an almost continual and humiliating record of ingratitude, pride, unbelief,
rebellion, and willful departure from God."

Note the humiliating frankness of this, in Deuteronomy 9:6-8, "Thou art a
stiff-necked people. Remember and forget not how thou provokest the Lord thy God
to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land
of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the
Lord." Had the historical sections of Scripture that describe their experiences
sprung from the heart of the Jewish nation, instead of from the heart of God,
they never would have kept the uncensored record of absolute fact as it exists
today.

43. IN MANY INSTANCES, THE WRITERS DID NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN MESSAGE, NEITHER
DID THE PEOPLE OF THEIR AGE, BUT THE MEANING OF IT WAS REVEALED AT A FUTURE
DATE, TO OTHER GENERATIONS

Gentlemen of the jury, this is a most amazing fact. Men were constrained to
write things which they did not understand, but which were found, generations
later, to "bear a necessary and perfectly coherent and intelligible message.

Here is a definite example of what we mean: "And I (Daniel) heard, but I
understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: FOR THE WORDS ARE CLOSED UP AND SEALED TILL THE
TIME OF THE END" (Daniel 12:8-9). Habakkuk 2:3 states the same fact in these
words, "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall
speak, and not lie." Peter presents the same fact in 1 Peter 1:10-11. The
prophets of the Old Testament were puzzled by the messages which the Holy Spirit
moved them to give; now that those messages have been fulfilled, or partially
fulfilled (for some await a complete fulfillment at the second coming of Christ)
in Christ, we readily understand them. The 22nd Psalm and Isaiah 53:1-12
illustrate this. Neither chapter was clear till its fulfillment in the
crucifixion of Christ clarified it. This one fact, duly considered, will
persuade any thinking man who wants to know and obey the truth, THAT THE BIBLE
IS A DIVINELY GIVEN BOOK.

44. THE BIBLE IS WRITTEN IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT IS INTELLIGIBLE TO ONE GROUP AND
UNINTELLIGIBLE TO ANOTHER; that is to say, it reveals truth to willingness and
humility, and conceals truth from pride and stubbornness

Two men were looking at the same picture—a picture of a horse running. One
admired it, and the other laughed at it. The difference lay in the fact that one
man looked at the picture right side up, and it was a masterpiece; the other
looked at it upside down, and the horse seemed to be sprawling grotesquely. So
all men are divided into two groups, relative to the Bible: some see it as God’s
masterpiece, and others laugh at it as a ridiculous hodge podge. And that unique
characteristic lies inherent in the Bible: it was written largely in parabolic
and symbolic form, so that to some (willing searchers for truth) "it is given to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" and to others (unwilling ones) "it
is not given." And that explains why an uneducated, though sincere, person can
believe and rejoice in God’s Word, while a lettered University professor may
fail entirely to see the beauty and inspiration of it. That leads us to state
this vitally important proposition: The primary difficulties which stand in the
way of accepting the Bible as God’s Word are MORAL, not intellectual. The
battleground between faith and unbelief is the HEART and not the head. The Bible
is never unreasonable, it is ABOVE reason; it is discerned by the spirit and not
by the mind, though the mind is the gateway that allows convincing facts to
reach the heart. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Pascal said, "There is light enough for those who "WISH to see." The evidence,
in the final analysis has "been so ordained that only those who are "WILLING TO
DO GOD’S WILL" see it as convincing proof. And the reason for this is plain: The
Bible is not merely a collection of biographies and a history, IT IS GOD’S
GUIDEBOOK TO ETERNAL LIFE FOR LOST MANKIND.

None but God could write a Book like that!

45. A CAREFUL STUDY OF THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE PROVES IT TO BE INSPIRED

Bishop Wescott, than whom there has been no greater student of the Greek New
Testament, said, "The whole force of the revelation of the Bible is contained in
just two letters—the Greek preposition for ’in.’ The little Greek word en is
found in the New Testament 2,700 times, and without inspiration, it would have
been impossible for the writers, most of whom were ’unlearned and ignorant men’
(Acts 4:13) to use the word with the unanimous and accurate precision that they
did." — (Brookes). In Galatians 3:16 Paul propounds an important doctrine on a
quotation from the Old Testament, noting* especially that the Old Testament used
the SINGULAR and not the PLURAL, that is, "seed," not "seeds."

Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, one of the world’s greatest Hebrew scholars, (and master
and student of 44 other languages) after an exhaustive study of the words of the
Old Testament (in one case he examined 100,000 citations from extant literature
of the period to determine1 the accurate meaning of one word) was a devout
believer in the literal inspiration of the Bible. He said, "I have come to the
conviction that no man knows enough to assail the truthfulness of the Old
Testament."

46. THE SUPERNATURAL COMPACTNESS OF THE BIBLE PROVES IT TO BE GOD-GIVEN As an
illustration of this fact, consider the first verse-in the Bible, "In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth." That verse goes back to the
far reaches of" the dim past, to the very dawn of all physical creation,,. "In
the beginning." It reaches up to the very Throne room of the universe, to the
greatest Being of all, "God." It tells, simply, grandly, of the greatest display
of physical power ever expended, "God created." It includes the billions of
stars, "the heavens." And it settles down on our world, "the earth." With one
stroke of the pen, the false ideas of pantheism, atheism, polytheism, evolution,
and idolatry are swept aside, "God created." Without; difficulty we could fill
the remaining pages of this booklet with further EXPOSITION OF THAT ONE VERSE.

Hundreds of ministers have preached as high as 25 different sermons from ONE
TEXT, like John 3:16;. There is no other book in the world like that.

47. THE SIMPLICITY AND PROFUNDITY OF THE BIBLE PROVE IT TO BE OF DIVINE ORIGIN

God’s works are characterized by being both simple and profound. With the
simple, primary colors of the rainbow God can paint an exquisite sunset. God has
provided the race with ten simple numbers, yet how profound are the mathematical
problems that can be devised from them!

C. H. Spurgeon, "the prince of preachers," says in his preface to the fifth
volume of his "Treasury of David," "We can but express our sense of the
superficiality of the best and most laborious of comments, when compared with
the bottomless depths of the Sacred Word."

Several years ago a man in Toronto was entertaining’ Sir William Dawson,
foremost Canadian scholar and scientist. One morning he was studying and
enjoying the first chapters of Genesis; in another room, at the same time, the
nurse was reading the story of Joseph from this same book of Genesis to one of
the small children, and the child, excited, wanted her "to go on with it" when
an interruption came. Here is a phenomenon: a child and a scientist BOTH enjoy a
Book written 3,500 years ago.

Every book written by man can be fathomed by man; but no man yet has fathomed
the Bible in all its parts and completely mastered it! GOD WROTE THE BOOK!

48. THE BIBLE IS A BOOK THAT FITS THE NEEDS OF EVERY AGE—IT IS PERPETUALLY UP TO
DATE

Infinite Wisdom that dictated the Bible produced a Book that is adapted to every
age of the world’s history. Whether it be an age of war, or an age of peace;
whether it be the "dark ages" or our modern industrial age, the people of God
have fed. upon it, leaned upon it, been guided and comforted by it. The advance
of inventions, the accumulation of a vast scientific nomenclature, the
widespread education of our times have not banished the Word of God from the
stage of the world; contrariwise, it has become more precious, if anything,
because more needed. It is still the daily food to those who "hunger and thirst
after righteousness." For world news, the Bible (though it is the oldest book-in
the world) anticipates the newspapers. It is perpetually fresh and refreshing;
each reading brings out new-thoughts and blessing’. Daniel Webster was asked,
"What part of the Bible do you like the best?" and he answered, "The part that I
read last."

49. THE BIBLE IS THE UNIVERSAL BOOK THAT FITS THE NEEDS OF ALL PEOPLES

It is the one true international Book as may be seen by the fact that during the
World War the British government allowed the British and Foreign Bible Society
to send $1,000 a month to Berlin to maintain the supplies of German Scriptures.
It is a Book for the cultured Oxford’ scholar as well as for the newly converted
raw African cannibal. And it is TRANSLATABLE, for it has the universal appeal.
Americans, Chinese, Eskimos, Indians— believers of all nationalities the world
over—can claim the Book as their very own. Very, very few books overleap
national boundaries and become international.

It presents the only solution to the problems of patriotism, caste,
internationalism, and the dividing powers of wealth, sex, age, color, race,
birth and environment. In. its full New Testament development it establishes the
only real international brotherhood of man possible, "ali! one in Christ
Jesus,"—so wiping out all differences in an eternal union of love, "in Christ."

"Hidden, treasured, ineradicable and forever secure, the Bible and its
possession is ubiquitous. It has its place.’ on the judge’s bench, within the
soldier’s knapsack, the merchant’s desk, the salesman’s suitcase, the sailor’s
bunk, the schoolgirl’s satchel. It is the one Book for all. Oh, when I see there
is no spot, or condition, or circumstance, or individual for which the Bible is
not adapted, I am convinced that only God could have written a Book so marvelous
in its suitability."—(Evangeline Booth).

50. THE TYPES OF THE BIBLE PROVE IT TO BE A SUPERNATURAL BOOK The persons,
things and events of the Old Testament are all "types" (illustrations or
foreshadowing-s) of Spiritual Truth. For example, the Passover Lamb, described
in Exodus 12:1-51, is a "type" of Christ the "Lamb of God." (1 Corinthians 5:7.)
The lamb had to be "without blemish" (Exodus 12:5) representing the sinlessness
of Christ; it had to be killed (v. 6)—so Christ was put to death on the cross
for the sins of the people; the blood of the lamb had to be sprinkled (v.
7)—picturing the need of personal faith, the individual applying, by faith, the
merit’s of Calvary to his own need; those protected by the "sprinkled blood"
were "passed over" on that night of judgment, while death of ’the first born
passed upon every home where no blood was sprinkled—in like manner at the
judgment day those who have trusted in Christ for salvation will be spared, and
those who have not will be condemned (John 3:36).

Dr. A. J. Gordon said, "The types of the Old Testament are as accurate as
mathematics." THIS IS A LITERARY MIRACLE THAT FINDS NO PARALLEL IN ALL THE
LITERATURE OF THE WORLD. And the amazing fact is, the types are found inherent
in the regular narrative of the Old Testament, and are not written especially as
parables or types. EVERY step in Israel’s history, whether good or bad, is a
TYPE. The thousands of volumes that have been written on the subject of the
typical meaning of Scripture have not begun to exhaust it. This ONE FACT, duly
considered and carefully investigated is proof enough to any fair-minded
inquirer that ONLY GOD COULD WRITE A BOOK LIKE THAT.

51. THE MIRACLES OF THE BIBLE PROVE ITS DIVINE INSPIRATION

He who makes a watch can press on the stem and turn the watch BACKWARDS—contrary
to its normal law of going forward. This "miracle" is performed by the direct
intervention of a "higher power" than the regular operation of the watch
springs. So, the God who made nature can intervene and put in operation a HIGHER
POWER and produce a result superior to natural law. But, it is self-evident that
only One greater than nature can do that. The miracles of the Bible prove two
things: that the God who is superior to nature is the God of the Bible., and
that the Bible is His "Voice"—His medium of expression—to give His message to
the world. The miracles of the Bible are well-attested, being witnessed by
scores, and in some instances, by hundreds of individuals. The Miracles of the
Bible are never absurd (as are the "miracles" of .mythology) nor are they for
vain display, but always to ACCOMPLISH GOOD. And here is the marvelous fact:
every miracle of the Bible is PARABOLIC—it teaches a lesson. As we expect the
king to wear a crown, but ONLY the king; so we expect the Bible to contain the
record of true miracles, and it is the only Book in the world that does.

52. THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST PROVES THE BIBLE TRUE AND CHRISTIANITY THE
GOD-GIVEN RELIGION

Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby, the philosophical historian of England,
writes of the Resurrection of Christ as follows: "Thousands and tens of
thousands of persons have gone through it (the Bible) piece by piece •as
carefully as ever judge summed up a most important case. I have myself done it
many times over, not to per-.suade others, but to satisfy myself. I have been
used for many years to study the history of other times, and to •examine and
weight the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one
fact in the history •of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence
•of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign
which God hath given-us, that Christ died and rose again from the dead."

Greenleaf, of Harvard, authority on "evidence," said that according to the legal
evidence in the highest courts of Europe and America, the Gospels of Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John are genuine and authentic, that Christ’s claims are true,
and that He rose from the dead. He subjected the witnesses to the severest
cross-examination, and then published a book in which he announced that THE
EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST CANNOT BE OVERTHROWN. The fact that the
world faces ONLY ONE EMPTY TOMB greatly simplifies the problem of search for
religious truth. For the Resurrection of Christ is God’s approval on, and seal
to, His claims to be God the ,Son and Savior of the world; for, if His claims
had been false the righteous God of Heaven would have allowed Him to stay in the
grave, in common with all pretenders. But Christ was raised from the dead,
"declaring Him to be the Son of God with power." (Romans 1:4.) A RESURRECTED
CHRIST MEANS A VINDICATED BIBLE FOR THE BIBLE IS HIS MESSAGE.

53. THE TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE ABOUT WOMEN PROVE IT TO BE GOD’S WORD

Man’s tendency is either to degrade woman to the level of a beast, or (in some
few instances) glorify her into a useless ornament. The Bible does neither, but
presents her as man’s equal spiritually and morally, his inferior physically (1
Peter 3:7), his help meet socially (Genesis 2:18), the object (in married life)
of his solicitous love and care and protection (Ephesians 5:25-29). Man is
placed as the head of the home and of the church, with woman acting under his
direction as his lieutenant (1 Corinthians 11:3; Genesis 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:12),
and when man is prompted by love, as the Bible says he should be, the results of
her subjection to him are most happy. The husband is to "honor" his wife and
"praise her in the gates." In the Bible the rights of women are guarded with
respect to inheritance, to marriage, to divorce. The Bible teaches monogamy, and
so does away with the curse of polygamy and the harem. The Bible places the wife
and mother as queen of the home (she is to "guide the house"), thus giving her
one of the greatest responsibilities of life. "A virtuous woman?" Her price is
"far above rubies." (Proverbs 31:1-31.) In many heathen nations woman is a
soulless animal, to be bought and sold, used and abused, kicked and cuffed
about. It is quite evident, men of the jury, that the God of both men and women
wrote the Bible.

54, WHAT THE BIBLE HAS DONE FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN, AND WEAK AND DESPISED
GROUPS, PROVES IT TO BE GOD’S WORD

"In the history of humanity," says Herbert Spencer, "the saddest part concerns
the treatment of women, and had we before us its unwritten history we should
find this part still sadder." The Hindu woman echoed the heart cry of millions
of her sisters when she prayed, "Oh God, let no more women be born in India."

CHRIST IS THE GREATEST BENEFACTOR WOMANHOOD HAS EVER HAD; and the same might be
said about children whom He took in His arms and blessed. The influence of the
Bible has led to the building of innumerable hospitals, orphanages, charitable
institutions and asylums. Only in Christian lands are women, and their rights,
honored, respected and protected.

"By the study of no other book can children be so humanized." Surely, God gave
the Book!

55. THE BIBLE IS UNIMPROVEABLE; THIS SHOWS THAT IT MUST BE GOD’S WORK

Man’s work is never perfect. His automobiles of today will be improved on by the
next generation. The scientific textbooks of the past generation are the joke
books of the present. The Bible has no statement in it that has ever required
correction. There is as much difference between the Bible and other books as
there is between a rose and an artificial rose. One is nature—the work of
God—and the other is art—the work of man. To try to improve the Bible is
"gilding the lily." There is something about the style of the Bible which makes
it INIMITABLE. And who would be foolish enough to even attempt to improve on the
23rd Psalm? or the Sermon on the Mount? or the book of Eomans? (which some one
has termed "the greatest piece of logic ever penned by man"). A book that has
been in the world for a score of centuries—before, ages before, our modern era
of learning—and is unimprovable in any way MUST BE "THE WORK OF GOD!

56. THE BIBLE IS A CHRIST-CENTERED BOOK The types of the Old Testament point to
CHRIST; the prophecies of both Testaments point to CHRIST; the Gospels tell of
CHRIST in the flesh; the Acts tells of the ministry of the risen CHRIST; the
epistles unfold the Person and work of CHRIST; the Revelation is the "unveiling"
of CHRIST in His post-resurrection glory and majesty. Jesus is "the fullness,
the center and the fascination of the Bible." Other religions have ethics but
not a SAVIOR. The charm of the Bible lies in its tender, loving Redeemer, who
suffered for us, who cares for us, who is our Mediator, our Shepherd, our Great
High Priest, our Bread and Water of Life, our Bridegroom, our All and in All,
the One Altogether Lovely, the irresistible Son of God! Oh how you’ll love Him
when you know Him! A man gave a friend a woodland scene, telling him that in the
picture he would find the profile of Napoleon. The recipient of the gift looked
at the picture many, many times without finding the profile; but eventually it
dawned on him—THERE IT WAS, just as plain as day! Why hadn’t he seen it before!
Ever after, when he looked at that picture, he saw the profile of Napoleon, and
the woodland scene was secondary. SO IT IS WITH THE BIBLE: it contains the
picture of CHRIST, and when once the devout student finds HIM there he can see
but very little beside. Only a literary artist like God could write a Book like
that.

57. THE "SELF-AUTHENTICATINGNESS" OF THE BIBLE PROVES ITS INSPIRATION In a sense
(as Bettex pointed out) the Bible is not in need of proof, because it does not
treat of that which is relative, but establishes that which is absolute. The
relative must be proved, the absolute not. This is illustrated in Spurgeon’s
story of the woman who was confronted by an agnostic who asked her what she was
reading. She .replied, "The Word of God." "The Word of God. Who told you it was
the Word of God?" "He told me so Him-,self." "He told you so; how can you prove
that?" Looking skyward the trusting soul said, "Can you prove to me that there
is a sun up in the sky?" "Why of course; the best proof is it warms me and I can
see its light." "That’s it," she said joyously, "The best proof that this Book
is God’s Word is that it warms and enlightens my soul." It .is the light" of the
world, spiritually, just as much as the sun is the light of the world
physically. As mother love can be sensed, as beauty is engraved on the face of a
lovely maiden, so the Bible has that very real but indefinable something that
assures the heart it is God’s Voice. When a man steps up to us we know he is not
a robot; there is an apparent, difference between a glass and a real diamond; a
painted moon could never be hung up in the air and deceive the people of earth;
truth always .has inherent characteristics that are unmistakable, though (Often
they are difficult to describe and define; SO IT IS WITH THE BIBLE. IT POSSESSES
THE LIFE AND NATURALNESS THAT PERSUADE THE HEART THAT IT IS GOD’S WORD, and not
an imitation.

* * *

Let the reader not think that these "57 Reasons" have exhausted the subject.
Many more reasons could be given, but we must stop somewhere. Let us now return,
again, to our court room scene. We will line up the witnesses—57 of them—on the
stand, and ALL OF THEM GIVE THEIR UNIMPEACHABLE TESTIMONY THAT THE BIBLE IS THE
WORD OF GOD. We conclude, with Dean Burgon (famous Oxford scholar), "The Bible
none other but the WORD OF GOD, the utterance of Tim that sitteth upon the
Throne, absolute, faultless, un-ring, supreme—’the witness of God which He hath
testified of His Son.’ " The tragedy of modern life is, people do not READ the
Bible enough and give it a chance to speak for itself. While standing on the
front steps of his residence, the thought suddenly flashed into the mind of
Alexander Hamilton, "What, after all, if the Bible is true?" He had never
examined the Book with the attention he would have given an ordinary civil case,
in return for the most meager of retaining fees. The next morning he began the
study of the Holy Scriptures with the result stated by himself: "I believe the
religion of Christians to be the truth; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God;
that He made an atonement for our sins by His death; and that He rose for our
justification."

Read the Bible prayerfully, carefully, and with heart and mind open to know and
follow the Truth, for God reveals truth only to those who are willing to know
and do His will; "If any man willeth to do His will, HE SHALL KNOW OF THE
TEACHING." (John 7:17.) To those who have hitherto read the Bible but little, we
urge them to start now by reading FIRST, carefully and repeatedly, the Gospel of
John in the New Testament, (see John 20:31); .SECOND, start at the beginning of
the New Testament, and read it through repeatedly; THIRD, start at Genesis, the
first book of the Old Testament and read the whole Bible through.

Because the Bible is the Word of God we know that man’s eternal destiny depends
on what he does with the Christ of whom the Bible testifies. Reader, if you
haven’t already done so, will you right here and now accept the Lord Jesus
Christ as your personal Savior, and depend on Him for the salvation of your
eternal soul? Here is His promise, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life," John 3:16. "Christ died for our sins . . . and He rose again
the third day." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4.)

Because faith is the key to eternal blessing, we urge all Christians to
cooperate to the fullest extent in the dissemination of the vitally important
truths presented in "57 REASONS."

Let us take a renewed interest in the study and dissemination of God’s Word; let
there be much prayer for a revival of true and vital faith and godliness among
men.

______________________

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of
God, which liveth and abideth forever."—1 Peter 1:23. THE ANVIL OF GOD’S WORD I
paused one day beside the blacksmith’s door, And listened to the Anvil ring the
evening’s chime, And looking in, I saw upon the floor, Old hammers, worn with
beating years of time.

How many Anvils have you had, said I, To wear and batter out these hammers so?

Just one, he answered, with a twinkling eye, The Anvil wears the hammers out,
you know. And so, I thought, the Anvil of God’s Word, For ages skeptic blows,
have beat upon, Yet, though the noise of infidel was heard, The Anvil is
unworn—the hammers, gone.

_______________________ THE BIBLE

"It is in truth, the Word of God; nay, more, the living Word of the living God;
supernatural in origin, eternal in duration; inexpressible in value; infinite in
scope; divine in authorship; human in penmanship; regenerative in power;
infallible in authority; universal in interest; personal in application; and as
St. Paul declares, inspired in totality."—Canon Hague.


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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/writings-of-fred-j-meldau/
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