WHY I BELIE'VE THE BIBLE 19 regarding the coming .Messiah, and take only five of them by way of illustration. Isaiah liii. (the entire chapter) ; Micah v. 2; Daniel ix. 25-27; Jeremiah xxiii. 5, 6; Psalms xvi. 8-u. In the passages cited we have predictions of a coming King of Israel. We are told the exact time of His manifestation to His people, the exact place of His birth, the family of which He should be born, the condition of the family at the time of His birth (a condition entirely differ ent from that existing at the time the prophecy was written, and contrary to all the probabilities in the case), the manner of His reception by His people ( a reception entirely different from that which would naturally be expected), the fact, method, and details regarding His death, with the specific circumstances regarding His burial, His resurrection subsequent to His burial, and His victory subsequent to His resurrection. These predictions were fulfilled with the most minute precision in Jesus of Nazareth. An attempt has been made by the rationalists to show that Isaiah liii. does not refer to the coming Messiah. It is natural that they should attempt this, for if it does refer to the corning Messiah, the case of the rationalists is hopeless. That it does refer to the coming Messiah is evi dent from the fact that this chapter was taken to be Messianic by the Jews themselves until its fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth, and their un willingness to accept Him as the Messiah drove
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