birth, His life on earth, His death on the cross, His bodily resurrec tion, His ascension into heaven, His present ministry of intercession for His own, and His return to earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of j Y lords. That the prophecies of His first coming into the world as the only Saviour of sinners have been literally fulfilled, none can deny. Then, by the same logical reason ing, are we not convinced that the yet unfulfilled prophecies concerning His second coming to reign will also be literally fulfilled? The miraculous nature of these prophecies is graphically illustrated in David’s description of the cruci- > fixion, written a thousand years be- a tP fore Jesus’ hands and feet were 8 K pierced, written at a time when capi- g tal punishment, by means of cruci- ■ ■ fixion, was unknown. In David’s day WW men were put to death by stoning. It was not until the Roman Empire § came to power, sixty-eight years be- t! fore Christ was crucified, that death I K by crucifixion was instituted. Yet, in -j, Psalms 22 and 69, one thousand ** years before the Roman Empire was ¡3 conceived in the minds of men, > David wrote that the Messiah would 1IBB be crucified, that His hands and feet 1/1 would be pierced. That the Old Testament was com plete four hundred years before T 1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem, no honest critic can deny. The ancient manuscripts of the Bible, the ancient versions or translations, the dis- 2* coveries of archaeology—these alone bear witness to the fact that the Old x Testament which the Lord used in Palestine, when He walked among |||| men, was complete when Malachi wrote his prophecy some four hun- <§ dred years before Christ. And they H | bear witness also to the inspiration of the New Testament by the Holy Spirit o f God. MM Now no one knows the future but MHj the Lord alone. Any book, therefore, ■ ■ which is able to present accurate K | prophecies concerning future events, must have as its Author the only One who knows the future. That is B H God. We say again: The only thing that is needed to convince the doubt er and the skeptic is to give the prophecies of the Old Testament a fair chance. I challenge any man to go through the Old Testament Scriptures, honestly seeking for light concerning the Messiah. He will go away, not only believing that Christ was the sinless Son of God, / ' “ ' but also that the Bible is a divine revelation written by the finger of the eternal God. Next month: Prophecies concerning Israel prove accuracy of the Bible. { ’ j in
The Bible is the most up-to-date Book in all the world. The steady stream of history reveals its accuracy.
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foresaw the ascension of Christ into heaven. We have already quoted one of the many references to His ministry of intercession at the right hand of the Father, (c/. Psalm 110:1 with Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; Mark 16;19; Col. 3:1.) Zech. 12:10; 13:1—Literally hun dreds of Old Testament prophecies foretell our Lord’s second coming to reign as the righteous King over all the earth. Take, for exam ple, the fourteenth chapter of Zechariah, and read it, together with such passages as Rev: 1:7, 8. Israel’s coming King is none other than the Lord she crucified nearly two thousand years ago. But the sins of us who are Gentiles also sent Him to Calvary; and over the whole earth He shall reign in righteousness and in peace. My friends, as I have read Old Testament prophecy concerning the first coming of Christ into the world, as I look back and see that it was literally fulfilled; then I know that the prophecies of His second coming will also be definitely, literally ful filled, even as He said. As I think of these facts of pre-written history— and of yet future events— I have an overwhelming sense of the eternal deity of the Man, Christ Jesus, and an overwhelming sense of the super natural, God-inspired character of the Holy Scriptures. Such testimony makes me realize, as never before, that the Bible has not had a chance to do in the average life what God intended it to accomplish. Surely the only thing in the world that a skeptic or doubter needs to do is to give the Scriptures a chance! The only thing that is needed to open the eyes of the unbelieving world to salvation in Christ Jesus is to give God’s Word a simple, honest chance to tell about Him. As we have seen, these Old Testa ment prophecies concerning our Lord’s Person and work date back to the Garden of Eden, and point on to His second coming in power and great glory. We might have quoted many others which also deal with the most minute details of His virgin
bling stone” to Israel, became the “head of the corner,” even the foundation Stone of the church; cf. Matt. 21:42. Psalm 118:26—Christ foretold Is rael’s desolation, until the day when she will hail her Messiah and King; cf. Matt. 23:29. Psalm 41:9—In John 13:18 our Lord Himself quoted David as having prophesied His betrayal by Judas. Zech. 11:12—The prophet looked down the ages and saw the Lord sold for thirty pieces of silver; cf. Matt. 26:15. Zech. 11:13—Again the prophet saw that money cast to the potter; cf. Matt. 27:3-10. Isa. 53; Psalm 22—Space does not permit the reading of all the de tailed prophecies of the cross; but these two chapters give graphic pictures of the suffering of the “Man o f sorrows” — p is atoning work for sinners, His hands and feet pierced; the casting of lots for His vesture; His forsaken cry on the cross; His burial with the rich; His being crucified between thieves, “ numbered with the trans gressors” ; His bones out of joint —not broken! His making inter cession for the transgressors, in His prayer for those who crucified Him. These and many other mi nute prophecies foretold His suf fering, centuries before crucifixion was ever known! Psalm 69:21—A prophecy of the enemies of Christ, as they were to give Him gall and vinegar to drink on the cross. Exod. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psalm 34:20—These passages are quoted in John 19:36, where we read that “ not a bone” of our Lord was broken. Zech. 12:10—Again, He was to be pierced; cf. John 19:37. Psalm 16:8-11—Both P eter and Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tell us that, when David wrote the sixteenth Psalm, he was prophesy ing concerning the resurrection of our Lord. (See Acts 2:25-31; 13:35-37.) Psalm 68:18—Paul, in Eph. 4:8-10, explains that the Psalmist also
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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