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THE KING’S BUSINESS
be left upon another, and that for long periods of time to come Jerusalem would be trodden under foot of the Gentiles. History tells us that these strange and improbable predictions have come to pass to the letter. They are being fulfilled even in our day. Jesus furthermore foretold that the Jew, though crushed, scattered throughout the earth, subjected to unparal leled tyranny, would preserve his race- identity until Christ should come again. Centuries have rolled on; nations have risen, fallen, been obliterated and forgotten, the Jew has not had a foothold for cen turies, yet the Jew retains his race identity to this day as perfectly as he possessed it in the first century. It is the miracle of history, and the words of Christ stand. Jesus Christ predicted, furthermore, that the little church He had founded of obscure men in that obscure corner of the earth, would -spread throughout the earth until the nations of the earth took shelter under the branches thereof. This prediction seemed utterly wild and preposterous, but we all know that it has come true. The words of Christ have stood the test of history. He predicted, furthermore, that His church having spread thus outwardly, corruption would begin inwardly, and that this corruption would spread until “all was leavened.” It was a gassing strange pre diction to make about one’s own kingdom, but it has been fulfilled to the letter. The apparently preposterous and impossible words of Christ have stood the test of more than eighteen centuries of history. The words of prophecy that can stand the rigid test of eighteen centuries ,of history will stand forever. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but” Christ’s words shall not pass away. S. But the words of Christ have not only stood the test of bitterest opposition, and the test of time, and the test of rigid scrutiny, and the tést, of history confirming the accuracy of His phophecies, they have also stood the test of more than eighteen centuries of practical application. Through these more than eighteen centuries men and
words of Jesus. The words of Jesus stand out absolutely flawless. The words that have stood eighteen centuries of such scrutiny will stand forever. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but” the words of Jesus Christ shall not pass away. (2) But there is a second result in this scrutiny. The words of Christ have not only/proven themselves flawless, they have also proven themselves inexhaustible. These more than eighteen centuries have not only been centuries of scrutiny, they have also been centuries of profound, earn est, and honest study as well. Men have dug and dug for eighteen centuries into this mine of precious metal that they have found in the words of Christ; thousands and tens of thousands have dug, arid the mine' has proven absolutely inexhaustible. There is more for the new miner that comes today than there was for the first digger. Eighteen centuries of digging and discovery and no hint of touching the bot tom of the mine, the bottom further off than ever. The mine that has endured eighteen centuries of such digging and not given out never will give out. With the confidence born of eighteen centuries of experience we can shout, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the words of Jesus Christ shall not pass away.” 4. The words of Jesus Christ have not only stood the test of bitterest opposition, and the test of time, and the test of rigid Scrutiny, they have also stood another test, the test of history, measuring the accuracy of His prophecies. Jesus Christ was a Prophet who undertook to tell the things that were to be for centuries after Him. History is the touchstone of prophecy. The prophet who is not of God always falls before the test of history, but Jesus Christ stands. Jesus Christ, while Jerusalem and the temple were still standing in their pride, magnificent, and seeming security, foretold that the armies of Rome would come and besiege the city, that there would be a siege of such horror as was unparal leled in history, that not one stone should
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