WHY STUDY PROPHECY?
A PENNY A DAY ! (Not such a large sum to invest for eternity) Will Give Spirituel sight to the Blind H O W ? For information write to THE C H R IS T IA N ASSOCIATION FOR THE BUND, INC. 43« East 141st Street, Mew York 54, N. Y. C. E. Gremmels, Pres. J. E. Bennet, Treae Dr. Harlin J. Roper, Pastor Scofield Memorial Church For Sunday Schools, Bible Classes, Young People's and Missionary Societies, Vaca tion Bible Schools, Prayer Meetings and Home Study. Samples 20c; 4 grades 73c Complete set $3.60 THROUGH THE BIBLE STUDY 4112 Gaston Avenue Dallas 4, Texas Evangelizing Rural America M illion« w ithout Christ. W rite for free booklet: "B ehold, W h a t God H ath W ro u gh t.” HOME M ISSIONARY SOCIETY, INC. INTERDENOMINATIONAL Box 123, K B . Pasadena 18, Calif. Am os S. Hedge, M a n agin g Director THROUGH THE BIBLE STUDY Genesis to Revelation, Chapter by Chapter
By Rev. W ill H. Muston
I N SECOND Peter 1:19, it is stat ed: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." Here Peter U9es the figure of a lamp shining- out into the darkness. We know that the world is in spiritual darkness, that it always has been, but that does not mean that there is no light available to those who de sire it. Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12). Christians are also the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). God’s Word as well is the light of thé world (Psa. 119:105). Other appropri ate Scriptures bearing this out are John 1:4,5; 3:19-21; Luke 16:8; Eph. 5:8; Luke 2:32. In Matthew 16:1-12, we find Jesus upbraiding the Pharisees and Sad- ducees, who were very proficient in discerning signs of the weather, but could not discern the “signs of the times.” They did not know the Scrip tures, or they would not have called for a sign. Luke 24:13-27 relates the incident of Jesus’ walking to Emmaus with two of His disciples whose faith con cerning the resurrection of their Lord needed reviving. Jesus began with prophecies concerning Himself, and explained to the two how that all “these things” had to come to pass, even His resurrection from the grave. The trouble with these disci ples was that they were ignorant concerning prophecy; therefore they were sorely puzzled about what had become of Christ. God’s Word is composed largely of prophecy, so why not study prophecy, since it is a portion of the inspired Word of Almighty God? Many Chris tians—some of them preachers—say that some things in the Bible w ill not be understood this side of eter nity, so why bother? Why bother? That is just the reason so many do not understand much of the Bible. They are too lazy mentally to get down to real study. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a work man that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The average student of the Word can understand and handle well most subjects if he is willing to work at it. There Are Many Things the Study of Prophecy Will Do for Us First, it w ill convince us that the JULY, 1947
Bible is indeed the inspired Word of God. This is done as we study the prophecies which have already been fulfilled. Let us notice three respects in which there have been such ful fillments. 1. T h e prophecies concerning Christ. No less than 333 predictions regarding the Messiah have come to pass. Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye w ill not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:39,40). If the Jews had really believed the Scriptures regarding the Messiah, they would have accepted Him, for He was in their midst. The fu lfill ment of these predictions proved that they were inspired of God. 2. Concerning ancient cities. Isa iah prophesied 150 years before the birth of Cyrus, that this king would subdue cities (Isa. 45:1-6). Jeremiah described in advance the fall of Babylon (Jer. 51). As to how Cyrus took Babylon is a matter of history; Daniel 5 tells us about the fall dur ing a night of revelry by king Bel shazzar and his court. Ezekiel prophesied the destruction of Tyre twenty years beforehand (Ezek. 26:1-14). According to the prophets, this city was never to be rebuilt. This was fulfilled literally. Daniel tells about the rise and fall of four world empires (Dan. 2:31-43). Daniel not only told the king what his dream was, but interpreted it for him. He stated that this image with a head of gold represented Babylon, the greatest power in the world at that time. Its breast and arms were of silver, which stood for Media-Per- sia, a kingdom inferior to Babylon, while the belly and thighs of brass symbolized Greece. The fourth king dom was typified by the legs of iron and clay, indicating the divided kingdom of Rome, which split into the western kingdom at Rome, and the eastern at Constantinople. These would-be world empires failed then, and similar powers have continued to this day, to fail. The fulfillments of these things but prove the inspi ration of the Scriptures. 3. The Hebrews, God’s chosen people, also prove the inspiration of the Scriptures. So many predictions concerning the Jews have come to pass. Many things are yet to be ful-
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