The Divine Inspiration of the Bible
Typed by Kathy Sewell, ksewell@gate.net
February 7, 1997
BIBLE TRUTH DEPOT
PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSELLERS
SWENGEL, PA.
COPYRIGHT 1917
I affectionately inscribe this book to my dear
father and mother, in grateful appreciation of the
fact that from a child I was taught to revere
the Holy Scriptures.
Christianity is the religion
of a Book. Christianity is based upon the impregnable rock of
Holy Scripture. The starting point of all doctrinal
discussion must be the Bible. Upon the foundation of the
Divine inspiration of the Bible stands or falls the entire
edifice of Christian truth. - "If the foundations be
destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Ps. 11:3).
Surrender the dogma of verbal inspiration and you are left
like a rudderless ship on a stormy sea-at the mercy of every
wind that blows. Deny that the Bible is, without any
qualifications, the very Word of God, and you are left
without any ultimate standard of measurement and without any
supreme authority. It is useless to discuss any doctrine
taught by the Bible until you are prepared to acknowledge,
unreservedly, that the Bible is the final court of appeal.
Grant that the Bible is a Divine revelation and communication
of God's own mind and will to men, and you have a fixed
starting point from which advance can be made into the domain
of truth. Grant that the Bible is (in its original
manuscripts) inerrant and infallible and you reach the place
where study of its contents is both practicable and
profitable.
It is impossible to
over-estimate the importance of the doctrine of the Divine
inspiration of Scripture. This is the strategic center of
Christian theology, and must be defended at all costs. It is
the point at which our satanic enemy is constantly hurling
his hellish battalions. Here it was he made his first attack.
In Eden he asked, "Yea, hath God said?" and
today he is pursuing the same tactics. Throughout the ages
the Bible has been the central object of his assaults. Every
available weapon in the devil's arsenal has been employed
in his determined and ceaseless efforts to destroy the temple
of God's truth. In the first days of the Christian era
the attack of the enemy was made openly - the bonfire being
the chief instrument of destruction - but, in these
"last days" the assault is made in a more subtle
manner and comes from a more unexpected quarter. The Divine
origin of the Scriptures is now disputed in the name of
"Scholarship" and "Science," and that,
too, by those who profess to be friends and champions of the
Bible. Much of the learning and theological activity of the
hour, are concentrated in the attempt to discredit and
destroy the authenticity and authority of God's Word, the
result being that thousands of nominal Christians are plunged
into a sea of doubt. Many of those who are paid to stand in
our pulpits and defend the Truth of God are now the very ones
who are engaged in sowing the seeds of unbelief and
destroying the faith of those to whom they minister. But
these modern methods will prove no more successful in their
efforts to destroy the Bible than did those employed in the
opening centuries of the Christian era. As well might the
birds attempt to demolish the granite rock of Gibraltar by
pecking at it with their beaks - "For ever, O Lord, Thy
Word is settled in heaven" (Ps. 119:89).
Now the Bible does not fear
investigation. Instead of fearing it, the Bible courts and
challenges consideration and examination. The more widely it
is known, the more closely it is read, the more carefully it
is studied, the more unreservedly will it be received as the
Word of God. Christians are not a company of enthusiastic
fanatics. They are not lovers of myths. They are not anxious
to believe a delusion. They do not desire their lives to be
molded by an empty superstition. They do not wish to mistake
hallucination for inspiration. If they are wrong, they wish
to be set right. If they are deceived, they want to be
disillusioned. If they are mistaken, they desire to be
corrected.
The first question which the
thoughtful reader of the Bible has to answer is, What
importance and value am I to attach to the contents of the
Scriptures? Were the writers of the Bible so many fanatics
moved by oracular frenzy? Were they merely poetically
inspired and intellectually elevated? or, were they, as they
claimed to be, and as the Scriptures affirm they were, moved
by the Holy Spirit to act as the voice of God to a sinful
world? Were the writers of the Bible inspired by God in a
manner no other men were in any other age of the world? Were
they invested and endowed with the power to disclose
mysteries and point men upward and onward to that which
otherwise would have been an impenetrable future? One can
readily appreciate the fact that the answer to these
questions is of supreme importance. If the Bible is not
inspired in the strictest sense of the word then it is
worthless, for it claims to be God's Word, and if its
claims are spurious then its statements are unreliable and
its contents are untrustworthy. If, on the other hand, it can
be shown to the satisfaction of every impartial inquirer that
the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and infallible, then
we have a starting point from which we can advance to the
conquest of all truth.
A book that claims to be a
Divine revelation - a claim which, as we shall see, is
substantiated by the most convincing credentials - cannot be
rejected or even neglected without grave peril to the soul.
True wisdom cannot refuse to examine it with care and
impartiality. If the claims of the Bible be well founded then
the prayerful and diligent study of the Scriptures becomes of
paramount importance: they have a claim upon our notice and
time which nothing else has, and beside them everything in
this world loses its luster and sinks into utter
insignificance. If the Bible be the Word of God then
it infinitely transcends in value all the writings of men,
and in exact ratio to its immeasurable superiority to human
productions such is our responsibility and duty to give it
the most reverent and serious consideration. As a Divine
revelation the Bible ought to be studied, yet, this is the
only subject on which human curiosity does not desire
information. Into every other sphere man pushes his
investigations, but the Book of books is neglected, and this,
not only by the ignorant, and illiterate, but by the wise of
this world as well. The cultured dilettante will boast of his
acquaintance with the sages of Greece and Rome, yet, will
know little or nothing of Moses and the prophets, Christ and
His Apostles. But the general neglect of the Bible verifies
the Scriptures and affords additional proof of their
authenticity. The contempt with which the Bible is treated
demonstrates that human nature is exactly what God's Word
represents it to be - fallen and depraved - and is
unmistakable evidence that the carnal mind is enmity against
God.
If the Bible is the Word of
God; if it stands on an infinitely exalted plane, all alone;
if it immeasurable transcends all the greatest productions of
human genius; then, we should naturally expect to find that
it has unique credentials, that there are internal marks
which prove it to be the handiwork of God, that there is
conclusive evidence to show that its Author is superhuman,
Divine. That these expectations are realized we shall now
endeavor to show; that there is no reason whatever for any
one to doubt the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures is the
purpose of this book to demonstrate. As we examine the
natural world we find innumerable proofs of the existence of
a Personal Creator, and the same God who has manifested
Himself thro' His works has also revealed His wisdom and
will thro' His Word. The God of creation and the God of
written revelation are One, and there are irrefutable
arguments to show that the Almighty who made the heavens and
the earth is also the Author of the Bible.
We shall now submit to the
critical attention of the reader a few of the lines of
demonstration which argue for the Divine inspiration of the
Bible.
This argument may be simply
and tersely stated thus - Man needed a Divine revelation
couched in human language. God had previously given man a
revelation of Himself in His created works - which men please
to term "nature" - but bears unmistakable testimony
to the existence of its Creator, and though sufficient is
revealed of God thro' it to render all men "without
excuse," yet creation does not present a complete
unveiling of God's character. Creation reveals God's
wisdom and power, but it gives us a very imperfect
presentation of His mercy and love. Creation is now under the
curse; it is imperfect, because it has been marred by sin;
therefore, an imperfect creation cannot be a perfect medium
for revealing God; and hence, also, the testimony of creation
is contradictory.
In the spring of the year,
when nature puts on her loveliest robes and we see the
beautiful foliage of the countryside and listen to the happy
songs of the birds, we have no difficulty in inferring that a
gracious God is ruling over our world. But what of the
winter-time, when the countryside is desolate and the trees
are leafless and forlorn, when a pall of death seems to be
resting on everything? When we stood by the seashore and
watched the setting sun crimsoning the placid waters on a
quiet eve, we had no hesitation in ascribing the picture to
the hand of the Divine Artist. But when we stand upon the
same seashore on a stormy night, hear the roaring of the
breakers and the howling wind, see the boats battling with
the angry waves and listen to the heart-rending cries of the
seamen as they go down into a watery grave, then, we are
tempted to wonder if, after all, a merciful God is at the
helm. As one walks thro' the Grand Canyon or stands
before the Niagara Falls, the hand and power of God seem very
evident; but, as one witnesses the desolations of the San
Francisco earthquake or the death-dealing effects of the
volcanic eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, he is again perplexed
and puzzled. In a word then, the testimony of nature is
conflicting, and, as we have said, this is due to the fact
that sin has come in and marred God's handiwork. Creation
displays God's natural attributes but it tells us
little or nothing of His moral perfections. Nature
knows no forgiveness and shows no mercy, and if we had no
other source of information we should never discover the fact
that God pardons sinners. Man then needs a written
revelation from God.
Our limitations and our
ignorance reveal our need. Man is in darkness concerning
God. Blot the Bible out of existence and what should we
know about His character, His moral attributes, His attitude
toward us, or His demands upon us? As we have seen, nature is
but an imperfect medium for revealing God. The ancients had
the same nature before them as we have, but what did they
discover of His character? Unto what knowledge of the one
true God did they attain? The seventeenth chapter of the Acts
answers that question. When the Apostle Paul was in the
famous city of Athens, famous for its learning and
philosophical culture, he discovered an altar, on which were
inscribed the words, "To the unknown God".
The same condition prevails today. Visit those lands which
have not been illumined by the light of the Holy Scriptures
and it will be found that their peoples know no more about
the character of the living God than did the ancient
Egyptians and Babylonians.
Man is in darkness concerning
himself. From whence am I? What am I? Am I anything
more than a reasoning animal? Have I an immortal soul, or, am
I nothing more than a sentient being? What is the purpose of
my existence? Why am I here in this world at all? What is the
end and aim of life? How shall I employ my time and talents?
Shall I live only for today, eat, drink, and be merry? What
after death? Do I perish like the beasts of the field, or is
the grave the portal into another world? If so, whither am I
bound? Do these questions appear senseless and irrelevant?
Annihilate the Scriptures, eliminate all the light they have
shed upon these problems, and whither shall we turn for a
solution? If the Bible had never been written how many of
these questions could have been satisfactorily answered? A
very striking testimony to man's need of a Divine
revelation was given by the celebrated but skeptical
historian Gibbon. He remarked - "Since, therefore, the
most sublime efforts of philosophy can extend no farther than
feebly to point out the desire, the hope, or, at most, the
probability, of a future state, there is nothing
except a Divine revelation that can ascertain the
existence and describe the condition of the invisible country
which is destine to receive the souls of men after their
separation from the body."
Our experiences reveal
our need. There are problems to be faced which our wisdom is
incapable of solving; there are obstacles in our path which
we have no means of surmounting; there are enemies to be met
which we are unable to vanquish. We are in dire need of
counsel, strength, and courage. There are trials and
tribulations which come to us, testing the hearts of the
bravest and stoutest, and we need comfort and cheer. There
are sorrows and bereavements which crush our spirits and we
need the hope of immortality and resurrection.
Our corporate life
reveals our need. What is to govern and regulate our dealings
one with the other? Shall each do that which is right in his
own eyes? That would destroy all law and order. Shall we draw
up some moral code, some ethical standard? But who shall fix
it? Opinions vary. We need some final court of appeal: if we
had no Bible, where should we find it?
Man then needs a Divine
revelation; God is able to supply that need;
therefore, is it not reasonable to suppose He will do
so? Surely God will not mock our ignorance and leave us to
grope in the dark! If it is harder to believe that the
universe had no creator, than it is to believe that "in
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth;" if
it is a greater tax upon our faith to suppose that
Christianity with all its glorious triumphs is without a
Divine Founder, than it is to believe that it rests upon the
Person of the Lord Jesus Christ; then, does it not also make
a greater demand upon human credulity to imagine that God
would leave mankind without an intelligible communication
from Himself, than it does to believe that the Bible is a
revelation from the Creator to His fallen and erring
creatures?
If there is a personal God
(and none but a "fool" will deny His existence),
and if we are the works of His hands He surely would not
leave us in doubt concerning the great problems which have to
do with our temporal, spiritual, and eternal welfare. If an
earthly parent advises his sons and daughters in their
problems and perplexities, warns them of the perils and
pitfalls of life which menace their well-being; counsels them
with regard to their daily welfare and makes known to them
his plans and purposes concerning their future, surely it is
incredible to suppose that our Heavenly Father would do less
for His children!
We are often uncertain as to
which is the right course to pursue; we are frequently in
doubt as to the real path of duty; we are constantly
surrounded by the hosts of wickedness which seek to
accomplish our downfall; and, we are daily confronted with
experiences which make us sad and sorrowful. The wisest among
us need guidance which our own wisdom fails to supply; the
best of humanity need grace which the human heart is
powerless to bestow; the most refined among the sons of men
need deliverance from temptations which they cannot overcome.
Will God mock us then in our need? Will God leave us alone in
the hour of our weakness? Will God refuse to provide for us a
Refuge from our enemies? Man needs a Counselor, a Comforter,
a Deliverer. The very fact that God has a Father's regard
for His children necessitates that He should give them a
written revelation which communicates His mind and will
concerning them and which points them to the One who is
willing and able to supply all their need.
To sum up this argument. Man
needs a Divine revelation; God is able to
supply one; is it not, therefore, reasonable to
suppose He will do so? There is then, a presumption in favor
of the Bible. Is it not more reasonable to believe that He
whose name and nature is Love shall provide us with a lamp
unto our feet and a light unto our path, than to leave us to
grope our way amid the darkness of a fallen and ruined
world?
The full force of the present
argument will appeal only to those who are intimately
acquainted with the Bible, and the more familiar the reader
is with the Sacred Canon the more heartily will he endorse
the following statements. Just as a knowledge of Latin is
necessary in order to understand the technique of a treatise
on pathology or physiology, or just as a certain amount of
culture and academic learning is an indispensable adjunct to
intelligently follow the arguments and apprehend the
illustrations in a dissertation on philosophy or psychology,
so a first-hand acquaintance with the Bible is necessary to
appreciate the fact that its contents never become
commonplace.
One of the first facts which
arrests the attention of the student of God's Word is
that, like the widow's oil and meal which nourished
Elijah, the contents of the Bible are never exhausted. Unlike
all other books, the Bible never acquires a sameness, and
never diminishes in its power of response to the needy soul
which comes to it. Just as a fresh supply of manna was given
each day to the Israelites in the wilderness, so the Spirit
of God ever breaks anew the Bread of Life to them who hunger
after righteousness; or, just as the loaves and fishes in the
hands of our Lord were more than enough to feed the famished
multitude - a surplus still remaining - so the honey and milk
of the Word are more than sufficient to satisfy the hunger of
every human soul - the supply still remaining undiminished
for new generations.
Although one may know, word
for word, the entire contents of some chapter of Scripture,
and although he may have taken the time to ponder
thoughtfully every sentence therein, yet, on every subsequent
occasion, provided one comes to it again in the spirit of
humble inquiry, each fresh reading will reveal new gems never
seen there before and new delights will be experienced never
met with previously. The most familiar passages will yield as
much refreshment at the thousandth perusal as they did at the
first. The Bible has been likened to a fountain of living
water: the fountain is ever the same, but the water is always
fresh.
Herein the Bible differs from
all other books, sacred or secular. What man has to say can
be gathered from his writings at the first reading: failure
to do so indicates that the writer has not succeeded in
expressing himself clearly, or else the reader has failed to
apprehend his meaning. Man is only able to deal with surface
things, hence he cares only about surface appearances;
consequently, whatever man has to say lies upon the surface
of his writings, and the capable reader can exhaust them by a
single perusal. Not so with the Bible. Although the Bible has
been studied more microscopically than any other book (even
its very letters have been counted and registered) by many of
the keenest intellects for the past two thousand years,
although whole libraries of works have been written as
commentaries upon its teachings, and although literally
millions of sermons have been preached and printed in the
attempt to expound every part of Holy Writ, yet its contents
have not been exhausted, and in this twentieth century new
discoveries are being made in it every day!
The Bible is an inexhaustible
mine of wealth: it is the El Dorado of heavenly treasure. It
has veins of ore which never "give out" and pockets
of gold which no pick can empty; yet, like earthly treasures,
the gems of God must be diligently sought if they are to be
found. Potatoes lie near the surface of the ground, but
diamonds require much laborious digging, so also the precious
things of the Word are only revealed to the prayerful,
patient and diligent student.
The Bible is like a spring of
water which never runs dry. No matter how many may drink from
its life-giving stream, and no matter how often they may
quench their thirst at its refreshing waters, its flow
continues and never fails to satisfy the needs of all who
come and take of its perennial springs. The Bible has a whole
continent of Truth yet to be explored. A learned scholar who
died during the present year of grace had read through the
Bible no fewer than five hundred times! What other book,
ancient or modern, Oriental or Occidental, would repay even a
fiftieth reading?
How can we account for this
marvelous characteristic of the Bible? What explanation can
we offer for this startling phenomenon? It is only stating a
commonplace axiom when we affirm that what is finite is
fathomable. What the mind of man has produced the mind of man
can exhaust. If human mortals had written the Bible its
contents would have been "mastered" ages ago. In
view of the fact that the contents of the Scriptures cannot
be exhausted, that they never acquire sameness or staleness
to the devout student, and that they always speak with fresh
force to the quickened soul that comes to them, is it not
apparent that none other than the infinite mind of God could
have created such a wonderful Book as the Bible?
The title of this chapter
suggests a wide field of study the limits of which we can now
only skirt here and there. To begin with the writers of the
Old Testament.
Had the historical parts of
the Old Testament been a forgery, or the production of
uninspired men, their contents would have been very different
to what they are. Each of its Books was written by a
descendant of Abraham, yet nowhere do we find the bravery of
the Israelites extolled and never once are their victories
regarded as the outcome of their courage or military genius;
on the contrary, success is attributed to the presence of
Jehovah the God of Israel. To this it might be replied,
Heathen writers have often ascribed the victories of their
peoples to the intervention of their gods. This is true, yet
there is no parallel at all between the two cases. Comparison
is impossible. Heathen writers invariably represent their
gods as being blindly partial to their friends and whenever
their favorites failed to come out victorious their defeat is
attributed to the opposition of other gods or to a blind and
unyielding fate. In contradistinction to this, the
defeats of Israel, as much as their victories, are
regarded as coming from Jehovah. Their successes were not due
to mere partiality in God, but are uniformly viewed as
connected with a careful observance of His commands; and, in
like manner, their defeats are portrayed as the outcome of
their disobedience and waywardness. If they transgressed His
laws they were defeated and put to shame, even though their
God was the Almighty. But we have digressed somewhat. That to
which we desire to direct attention is the fact that men who
were their own countrymen have chronicled the history
of the Israelites, and therein have faithfully recorded their
defeats not to an inexorable fate, nor to bad generalship and
military failures, but to the sins of the people and their
wickedness against God. Such a God is not the creation of the
human mind, and such historians were not actuated by the
common principles of human nature.
Not only have the Jewish
historians recounted the military defeats of their people,
but they have also faithfully recorded their many moral
backslidings and spiritual declinations. One of the
outstanding truths of the Old Testament is that the Unity of
God, that God is One, that beside Him there is none else,
that all other gods are false gods and that to pay them
homage is to be guilty of the sin of idolatry. Against the
sin of idolatry these Jewish writers cry out repeatedly. They
uniformly declare that it is a sin most abhorrent in the
sight of heaven. Yet, these same Jewish writers record how
again and again their ancestors (contrary to the universal
leaning towards ancestral adoration and worship), and their
contemporaries, were guilty of this great wickedness. Not
only so, but they have pointed out how some of their most
famous heroes sinned in this very particular. Aaron and the
golden calf, Solomon and the later kings being notable
examples - "Then did Solomon build a high place for
Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before
Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of
Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which
burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods" (Kings
11:7,8). Moreover, there is no attempt made to excuse their
wrongdoing; instead, their acts are openly censured and
uncompromisingly condemned. As is well known, human
historians are inclined to conceal or extenuate the faults of
their favorites. A forged history would have clothed friends
with every virtue, and would not have ventured to mar the
effect designed to be produced by uncovering the vices of its
most distinguished personages. Here then, is displayed the
uniqueness of Scripture history. Its characters are
painted in the colors of truth and nature. But such
characters were never sketched by a human pencil. Moses and
the other writers must have written by Divine
inspiration.
The sin of idolatry, while it
is the worst of which Israel was guilty, is not the only evil
recorded against them - their whole history is one long story
of repeated apostasy from Jehovah their God. After they had
been emancipated from the bondage of Egypt and had been
miraculously delivered from their cruel masters at the Red
Sea, they commenced their journey towards the Promised Land.
Between them and their goal lay a march across the
wilderness, and here the depravity of their hearts was fully
manifested. In spite of the fact that Jehovah, by
overthrowing their enemies, had plainly demonstrated that He
was their God, yet no sooner was the faith of the Israelites
put to the test than their hearts failed them. First, their
stores of food began to give out and they feared they would
perish from hunger. Trying circumstances had banished the
Living God from their thoughts. They complained of their lot
and murmured against Moses. Yet God did not deal with them
after their sins nor reward them according to their
iniquities: in mercy, He gave them bread from heaven and
furnished them a daily supply of manna. But they soon became
dissatisfied with the manna and lusted after the flesh pots
of Egypt. Still God dealt with them in grace.
Shortly after God's
intervention in giving the Israelites food to eat, which
ought for ever to have closed their murmuring mouths, they
pitched in Rephidim where "there was no water for the
people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses,
and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said
unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the
Lord? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people
murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this
that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our
children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the
Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be
almost ready to stone me." What was God's
response? Did His anger consume them? Did He refuse to bear
longer with such a stiff-necked people? No: "The Lord
said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee
of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest
the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand
before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt
smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that
the people may drink" (Exod. 17).
The above incidents were but
sadly typical and illustrative of Israel's general
conduct. When the spies were sent out to view the Promised
Land and returned and reported, ten of them magnified the
difficulties which confronted them and advised the people not
to attempt an occupation of Canaan; and though the remaining
two faithfully reminded the Israelites that the mighty
Jehovah could easily overcome all their difficulties,
nevertheless, the nation listened not but heeded the word of
their skeptical advisers. Time after time they provoked
Jehovah, and in consequence the whole of that generation
perished in the wilderness. When the succeeding generation
was grown, under the leadership of Joshua they entered the
Promised Land and by the aid of God overthrew many of their
enemies and occupied much of their territory. But after the
death of Joshua we read, "There arose another generation
after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which
He had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil
in the sight of the Lord God of their fathers, which brought
them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of
the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed
themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And
they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth"
(Judge. 2:10-13). There is no need for us to follow further
the fluctuating fortunes of Israel: as is well known, under
the period of the judges their history was a series of
returns to the Lord and subsequent departures from Him;
repeated deliverances from the hands of their enemies, and
then returning unfaithfulness on their part, followed by
being again delivered unto their foes. Under the kings it was
no better. The very first of their kings perished thro'
his willful disobedience and apostasy; the third king,
Solomon, violated God's law and married heathen women who
turned his heart unto false gods. Solomon, in turn, was
followed by a number of idolatrous rulers, and the path of
Israel ran farther and farther away from the Lord, until He
delivered them over unto Nebuchadnezzar who captured their
beloved Jerusalem, destroyed their Temple, and carried away
the people into captivity.
In the repeated mention which
we have in the Old Testament of Israel's sins, we
discover, in light as clear as day, the absolute honesty and
candor of those who recorded Israel's history. No attempt
whatever is made to conceal their folly, their unbelief, and
their wickedness; instead, the corrupt condition of their
hearts is made fully manifest, and this, by writers who
belonged to, and were born of the same nation. In the whole
realm of literature there is no parallel. The record of
Israel's history is absolutely unique. The careful reader
would at first conclude that Israel as a nation was more
depraved than any other, yet further reflection will show
that the inference is a false one and that the real fact is
that the history of Israel has been more faithfully
transmitted than that of any other nation. We mean the
history of Israel as it is recorded in the Holy Scriptures,
for in striking contrast thereto and in exemplification of
all that we have written above, it is noteworthy that
Josephus passes over in silence whatever appeared
unfavorable to his nation!!
Coming now to the New
Testament we begin with the character of John the Baptist and
the position that he occupied. John the Baptist is presented
as a most eminent personage. We are told that his birth was
due to the miraculous intervention of God. We learn that he
was "filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his
mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). John the Baptist was
himself the subject of Old Testament prediction. The office
that he filled was the most honorable which ever fell to the
lot of any member of Adam's race. He was the harbinger of
the Messiah. He was the one who went before our Lord to
prepare His way. He had the honor of baptizing the blessed
Redeemer. Now where would human wisdom have placed him among
the attendants of the Lord Jesus? What position would it have
ascribed to him? Surely he would have been set forth as the
most distinguished among our Lord's followers; surely,
human wisdom would have set him at the right hand of the
Saviour! Yet what do we find? Instead of this, we discover
that he had no familiar discourse with the Saviour; instead,
we find he was treated with apparent neglect; instead, we
find him represented as occupying the position of a doubter
who, as the result of his imprisonment, was constrained to
send a message to his Master to enquire whether or not He
were the promised Messiah. Had his character been the
invention of forgery, nothing would have been heard of his
lapse of faith. Indeed, this is so opposed to the dictates of
human wisdom, that many have been shocked at the thought of
ascribing doubts to the eminent forerunner of Christ, and
have taxed their ingenuity to the utmost to force from the
obvious meaning of the record some other and some different
signification. But all these ingenuities of human sophistry
are dissipated by the reply which our Lord made on the
occasion of John's inquiry (Matt. 11), a reply which
shows very plainly that the question was asked not for the
benefit of his disciples, but because the Baptist's own
heart was harassed with doubts. Again, we say that no human
mind could have invented the character of John the Baptist,
and the faithfulness of his biographers is another proof that
the writers of the Bible were actuated by something more and
something higher than the principles of human nature.
Another striking illustration
of our chapter heading - one which many writers have pointed
out - is the treatment the Son of God received while He
tabernacled among men. For two thousand years Israel's
hopes had all centered in the advent of their Messiah. The
height of every Jewish woman's ambition was that she
might be selected of God to have the honor of being the
mother of the promised Seed. For centuries, every pious
Hebrew had looked and longed for the day when He should
appear who was to occupy David's throne and rule and
reign in righteousness. Yet, when He did appear how was the
Promised One received? "He was despised and rejected of
men." "He came unto His own and His own received
Him not." Those who were His brethren according to the
flesh "hated" Him "without a cause." The
very nation which gave Him birth and to which He ministered
in infinite grace and blessing demanded that He should be
crucified. The startling thing which we desire to
particularly emphasize is, that the narrators of this awful
tragedy are fellow countrymen of those upon whose heads
rested the guilt of its perpetration. It was Jewish writers
who recorded the fearful crime of the Jewish nation against
their Messiah! And, we say again, that in the recording of
that crime no attempt whatever is made to palliate or
extenuate their wickedness; instead, it is denounced and
condemned in the most uncompromising terms. Israel is openly
charged with having taken and with "wicked hands"
slain the "Lord of Glory." Such an honest and
impartial recital of Israel's crowning sin can only be
explained on the ground that what these men wrote was
inspired of God.
One more illustration must
suffice. After our Lord's death and resurrection, He
commissioned His disciples to go forth carrying from Him a
message first to His own nation and later to "every
creature." This message, be it noted, was not a
malediction called down upon the heads of His heartless
murderers, but a proclamation of grace. It was a message of
good news, of glad tidings - forgiveness was to be
preached in His name to all men. How then would human wisdom
suppose such a message will be received? It is further to be
observed that those who were thus commissioned to carry the
Gospel to the lost, were vested with power to heal the sick
and to cast out demons. Surely such a beneficent ministry
will meet with a universal welcome! Yet, incredible as it may
appear, the Apostles of Christ met with no more appreciation
than did their Master. They, too, were despised and rejected.
They, too, were hated and persecuted. They, too, were ill
treated, imprisoned, and put to a shameful death. And this,
not merely from the hands of the bigoted Jews, but from the
cultured Greeks and from the democratic and freedom loving
Romans as well. Though these Apostles brought blessing, they
themselves were cursed; though they sought to emancipate men
from the thraldom of sin and Satan, yet they were themselves
captured and thrown into prison; though they healed the sick
and raised the dead, they suffered martyrdom. Surely it is
apparent to every impartial mind that the New Testament is no
mere human invention; and surely it is evident from the
honesty of its writers in so faithfully portraying the enmity
of the carnal mind against God, that their productions can
only be accounted for on the ground that they spake and wrote
"not of themselves," but "as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit" (II Peter 1:21).
Take its teachings about
God Himself. What does the Bible teach us about God? It
declares that He is Eternal: "Before the
mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the
earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting,
Thou are God" (Ps. 90:2). It reveals the fact that He is
Infinite: "But will God indeed dwell on the
earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot
contain Thee" (I Kings 8:27). Vast as we know the
universe to be, it has its bounds; but we must go beyond them
to conceive of God - "Canst thou by searching find out
God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is
as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what
canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the
earth, and broader than the sea" (Job 11:7-9). It makes
mention of His Sovereignty: "Remember the former
things of old: for 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" (Is. 46: 9-10). It affirms that He is
Omnipotent: "Behold I am the Lord, the God of all
flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?" (Jer. 32:27).
It intimates that He is Omniscient: "Great is our
Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite"
(Ps. 147:5). It teaches that He is Omnipresent:
"Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not
see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?
saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:24). It declares that He is
Immutable: "The same yesterday, and today, and
forever" (Heb. 13:8). Yea, that with Him "is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17).
It reveals that He is "The Judge of all the
earth" (Gen. 18:25) and that every one shall yet have to
"give an account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12).
It announces that He is inflexibly just in all His
dealings so that He can by "no means clear the
guilty" (Num. 14:18); that all will be judged
"according to their works" (Rev. 20:12), and that
they shall reap whatsoever they have sown (Gal 6:7). It
reveals the fact that He is absolutely holy, dwelling
in light inaccessible. So holy that even the seraphim have to
veil their faces in His presence (Is. 6:2). So holy that the
heavens are not clean in His sight (Job 15:15). So holy that
the best of men when face to face with their Maker, have to
cry, "I abhor myself" (Job 42:6); "Woe is me!
For I am undone" (Is. 6:5). Such a delineation of Deity
is as far beyond man's conception as the heavens are
above the earth. No man, and no number of men, ever invented
such a God as this. Ransack the libraries of the ancient,
examine the musings of the mystics, study the religions of
the heathen and nothing will be found which can for a moment
be compared with the sublime and exalted description of
God's character which is furnished by the Bible.
The teachings of the Bible
about man are unique. Unlike all other books in the world,
the Bible condemns man and all his doings. It never eulogizes
his wisdom, nor praises his achievements. On the contrary, it
declares that "every man at his best state is altogether
vanity" (Ps 39:5). Instead of teaching that man is a
noble character, evolving heavenwards, it tells him that all
his righteousnesses (his best works) are as "filthy
rags," that he is a lost sinner, incapable of bettering
his condition; that he is deserving only of Hell.
The picture which the
Scriptures give of man is deeply humiliating and entirely
different from all which are drawn by human pencils. The Word
of God describes the state of the natural man in the
following language: - "There is none righteous, no, not
one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that
seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are
together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their
tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under
their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery
are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom.
3:10-18).
Instead of making Satan the
source of all the black crimes of which we are guilty, the
Bible declares, "For from within, out of the heart of
man proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride,
foolishness: all these evil things come from within
and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23). Such a conception of
man - so different from man's own ideas, and so
humilitating to his proud heart - never could have emanated
from man himself. "The heart is deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9) is a concept
that never originated in any human mind.
The teachings of the Bible
about the world are unique. In nothing perhaps are the
teachings of Scripture and the writings of man at such
variance as they are at this point. Using the term as meaning
the world-system in contradistinction to the earth, what is
the direction of man's thoughts concerning the same? Man
thinks highly of the world, for he regards it as his world.
It is that which his labors have produced and he looks upon
it with satisfaction and pride. He boasts that "the
world is growing better." He declares that the world is
becoming more civilized and more humanized. Man's
thoughts upon this subject have been well summarized by the
poet in the familiar language - "God is in heaven:
All's well with the world." But what saith the
Scriptures? Upon this subject, too, we discover that
God's thoughts are very different from ours. The Bible
uniformly condemns the world and speaks of it as a
thing of evil. We shall not attempt to quote every passage
which does this, but shall merely single out a few specimen
Scriptures.
"If the world hate you,
ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of
the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:18-19). This
passage teaches that the world hates both Christ and
His followers. "The wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God" (I Cor 3:19). Certainly no uninspired pen
wrote these words. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know
ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the
enemy of God" (James 4:4). Here again we learn that the
world is an evil thing, condemned by God, and to be shunned
by His children. "Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (I John
2:15-16). Here we have a definition of the world: it
is all that is opposed to the Father - opposed in its
principles and philosophy, its maxims and methods, its aims
and ambitions, its trend and its end "And the
whole world lieth in the Evil One" (I John
5:19, R.V.). Here we learn why it is that the world hates
Christ and His followers; why its wisdom is foolishness with
God; why it is condemned by God and must be shunned by His
children - it is under the dominion of that old serpent, the
devil, whom Scripture specifically denominates "The
prince of this world."
The teachings of the Bible
about sin is unique. Man regards sin as a misfortune and ever
seeks to minimize its enormity. In these days, sin is
referred to as ignorance, as a necessary stage in man's
development. By others, sin is looked upon as a mere
negation, the opposite of good; while Mrs. Eddy and her
followers went so far as to deny its existence altogether.
But the Bible, unlike every other book, strips man of all
excuse and emphasizes his culpability. In the Bible sin is
never palliated or extenuated, but from first to last the
Holy Scriptures insist upon its enormity and heinousness. The
Word of God declares that "sin is very grievous"
(Gen 18:20) and that our sins provoke God to anger (I Kings
16:2). It speaks of the "deceitfulness of sin"
(Heb. 3:13) and insists that sin is "exceedingly
sinful" (Rom 7:13). It declares that all sin is sin
against God (Ps. 51:4) and against His Christ (I Cor. 8:12).
It regards our sins as being "as scarlet" and
"red like crimson" (Is. 1:18). It declares that sin
is more than an act, it is an attitude. It affirms that sin
is more than a non-compliance with God's law - it is
rebellion against the One who gave the law . It teaches that
"sin is lawlessness" (I John 3:4, R.V.),
which means that sin is spiritual anarchy, open defiance
against the Almighty. Moreover, it singles out no particular
class; it condemns all alike. It announces that "all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God," that
"there is none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3).
Did man ever write such an indictment against himself? What
human mind ever invented such a description of sin as that
discovered in the Bible? Whoever would have imagined that sin
was such a vile and dreadful thing in the sight of God that
nothing but the precious blood of His own beloved Son could
make an atonement for it!
The teaching of the Bible
about the punishment of sin is unique. A defective
view of sin necessarily leads to an inadequate conception of
what is due sin. Minimize the gravity and enormity of sin and
you must proportion- ately reduce the sentence which it
deserves. Many are crying out today against the justice of
the eternal punishment of sin. They complain that the penalty
does not fit the crime. They argue that it is unrighteous for
a sinner to suffer eternally in consequence of a short life
span of wrong-doing. But even in this world it is not the
length of time which it takes to commit the crime which
determines the severity of the sentence. Many a man has
suffered a life term of imprisonment for a crime which
required only a few minutes for its perpetration. Apart,
however, from this consideration, eternal punishment
is just if sin be looked at from God's viewpoint.
But this is just what the majority of men refuse to do. They
look at sin and its deserts solely from the human side. One
reason why the Bible was written was to correct our ideas and
views about sin, to teach us what an unspeakably awful and
vile thing it is, to show us sin as God sees it. For one
single sin Adam and Eve were banished from Eden. For one
single sin Canaan and all his posterity were cursed. For a
single sin Korah and his company went down alive into the
pit. For one single sin Moses was debarred from entering the
Promised Land. For a single sin Achan and his family were
stoned to death. For a single sin Elisha's servant was
smitten with leprosy. For a single sin Ananias and Sapphira
were cut off out of the land of the living. Why? To teach us
what an infinite evil it is to revolt against the thrice holy
God. We repeat, that did men but see the terribleness of sin
- did they but see that it was sin that put to a shameful
death the Lord of Glory - then they would realize that
nothing short of eternal punishment would meet the
demands which justice has upon sinners.
But the great majority of men
do not see the meetness or justice of eternal punishment; on
the contrary, they cry out against it. In lands which were
not illumined by the Old Testament Scriptures, where there
existed any belief in a future life, it was held that at
death the wicked either passed thro' some temporary
suffering for remedial and purifying purposes or else they
were annihilated. Even in Christendom, where the Word of God
has held a prominent and public place for centuries, the
great bulk of the people do not believe in eternal
punishment. They argue that God is too merciful and kind to
ban one of His own creatures to endless misery. Yea, not a
few of the Lord's own people are afraid to take the
solemn teachings of the Scriptures on this subject at their
face value. It is therefore evident that had the Bible been
written by uninspired men; had it been a mere human
composition, it certainly would not have taught the
eternal and conscious torment of all who die out of Christ.
The fact that the Bible does so teach is conclusive
proof that it was written by men who spake not of themselves,
but as they were "moved by the Holy Spirit."
The teachings of God's
Word upon eternal punishment are as clear and explicit as
they are solemn and awful. They declare that the doom of the
Christ rejector is a conscious, never-ending, indescribable
torment. The Bible depicts the place of punishment as a realm
where the "worm dieth not" and "the fire is
not quenched" (Mark 9:48). It speaks of it as a lake of
fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:10), where even a drop of water
is denied the agonized sufferer (Luke 16:24). It declares
that "the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever
and ever: and they have no rest day nor night" (Rev.
14:11). It represents the world of the lost as a scene into
which penetrates no light - "the blackness of darkness
for ever" (Jude 1: 13) - a doom alleviated by no ray of
hope. In short, the portion of the lost will be unbearable,
yet it will have to be borne, and borne for ever. What mortal
mind conceived of such a fate? Such a conception is too
repugnant and repulsive to the human heart to have had its
birth on the earth.
The teachings of the Bible
about Salvation from Sin is unique. Man's thoughts
about salvation, like every other subject which engages his
mind are defective and deficient. Hence the force of the
admonition - "Let the wicked forsake his way and the
unrighteous man his thoughts" (Is. 55:7). In the
first place, left to himself, man fails to realize his need
of salvation. In the pride of his heart he imagines that he
is sufficient in himself, and thro' the darkening of his
understanding by sin he fails to comprehend his ruined and
lost condition. Like the self-righteous Pharisee, he thanks
God that he is not as other men, that he is morally the
superior of the savage or the criminal, and refuses to
believe that so far as his standing before God is concerned
there is "no difference." It is not until the Holy
Spirit deals with him that man is constrained to cry,
"God be merciful to me a sinner."
In the second place man is
ignorant of the way of salvation. Even when man has
been brought to the place where he recognizes that he is not
prepared to meet God, and that if he died in his present
state he would be eternally lost; even then he has no right
conception of the remedy. Being ignorant of God's
righteousness he goes about to establish his own
righteousness. He supposes that he must make some personal
reparation for his past wrong-doings, that he must work for
his salvation, do something to merit the esteem of God, and
thus win heaven as a reward. The highest concept of man's
mind is that of merit. To him salvation is a wage to
be earned, a crown to be coveted, a prize to be won. The
proof of this is to be seen in the fact that even when pardon
and life are presented as a free gift, the universal
tendency, at first, is to regard it as being "too good
to be true." Yet, such is the plain teaching of
God's Word - "For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not
of works; lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). And
again - "Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus
3:5).
If it is true that man left to
himself would never have fully realized his need of
salvation, and would never have discovered that it was by
grace thro' faith and not of works, how much less would
the human mind have been capable of rising to the level of
what God's Word teaches about the nature of
salvation and the glorious and marvelous destiny of the
saved! Who would have thought that the Maker and Ruler of
the universe should lay hold of poor, fallen, depraved men
and women and lifting them out of the miry clay should make
them His own sons and daughters, and should seat them at His
own table! Who would ever have suggested that those who
deserve naught but everlasting shame and contempt, should be
made "heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ"!
Who would have dreamed that beggars should be lifted from the
dunghill of sin and made to sit together with Christ in
heavenly places! Who would have imagined that the corrupted
offspring of disobedient Adam should be exalted to a position
higher than that occupied by the unfallen angels! Who would
have dared to affirm that one day we shall be "made like
Christ" and "be for ever with the Lord"! Such
concepts were as far beyond the reach of the highest human
intellect as they were of the rudest savage. "But as it
is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed
them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God" (I Cor.
2:9-10).
Again we ask, what human
intellect could have devised a means whereby God could be
just and yet merciful, merciful and yet just? What mortal
mind would ever have dreamed of a free and full salvation,
bestowed on hell-deserving sinners, "without money and
without price"! And what flight of carnal imagination
would ever have conceived of the Son of God Himself being
"made sin" for us and dying the Just for the
unjust?
The teaching of the Bible
concerning the Saviour of sinners is unique. The
description which the Scriptures furnish of the Person, the
Character, and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ is without
anything that approaches a parallel in the whole realm of
literature. It is easier to suppose that man could create a
world than to believe he invented the character of our
adorable Redeemer. Given a piece of machinery that is
delicate, complex, exact in all its movements, and we know it
must be the product of a competent mechanic. Given a work of
art that is beautiful, symmetrical, original, and we know it
must be the product of a master artist. None but an Angelo
could have designed Saint Peter's; none but a Raphael
could have painted the "transfiguration;" none but
a Milton could have written a "Paradise Lost." And,
none but the Holy Spirit could have produced the peerless
portrait of the Lord Jesus which we find in the Gospels. In
Christ all excellencies combine. Here is one of the
many respects in which He differs from all other Bible
characters. In each of the great heroes of Scripture some
trait stands out with peculiar distinctness - Noah, faithful
testimony; Abraham, faith in God; Isaac, submission to his
father; Joseph, love for his brethren; Moses, unselfishness
and meekness; Joshua, courage and leadership; Job, fortitude
and patience; Daniel, fidelity to God; Paul, zeal in service;
John, spiritual discernment - but in the Lord Jesus every
grace is found. Moreover, in Him all these perfections
were properly poised and balanced. He was meek yet regal; He
was gentle yet fearless; He was compassionate yet just; He
was submissive yet authoritative; He was Divine yet human;
add to these, the fact that He was absolutely "without
sin" and His uniqueness becomes apparent. Nowhere in all
the writings of antiquity is there to be found the
presentation of such a peerless and wondrous character.
Not only is the portrayal of
Christ's character without any rival, but the
teaching of the Bible concerning His Person and Work is also
utterly incredible on any other basis save that they are part
of a Divine revelation. Who would have dared to
imagine the Creator and Upholder of the universe taking upon
Himself the form of a servant and being made in the likeness
of men? Who would have conceived the idea of the Lord of
Glory being born in a manger? Who would have dreamed of the
Object of angelic worship becoming so poor that he had not
where to lay His head? Who would have declared that the One
before whom the seraphim veil their faces should be led as a
lamb to the slaughter, should have suffered His own blessed
face to be defiled with the vile spittle of man, and should
permit the creatures of His hand to scourge and buffet Him?
Whoever would have conceived of Emmanuel becoming obedient
unto death, even the death of the Cross!
Here then is an argument which
the simplest can grasp. The Scriptures contain their own
evidence that they are Divinely inspired. Every page
of Holy Writ is stamped with Jehovah's autograph. The
uniqueness of its teachings demonstrates the uniqueness of
its Source. The teachings of the Scriptures about God
Himself, about man, about the world, about sin, about eternal
punishment, about salvation, about the Lord Jesus Christ, are
proof that the Bible is not the product of any man or any
number of men, but is in truth a revelation from God.
In Isaiah 41:21-23 we have
what is probably the most remarkable challenge to be found in
the Bible. "Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring
forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them
bring them forth, and show us what shall happen; let them
show the former things, what they be, that we may consider
them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us
things for to come. Show the things that are to
come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods." This
Scripture has both a negative and a positive value:
negatively it suggests an infallible criterion by which we
may test the claims of religious impostors; positively, it
calls attention to an unanswerable argument for the
truthfulness of God's Word. Jehovah bids the prophets of
false faiths to successfully predict events lying in the far
distant future and their success or failure will show whether
or not they are gods or merely pretenders and deceivers. On
the other hand, the demonstrated fact that God alone grasps
the ages and in His Word declares the end from the beginning,
shows that he is God and that Scriptures are His
Inspired Revelation to mankind.
Again and again men have
attempted to predict future events but always with the most
disastrous failure, the anticipations of the most far-seeing
and the precautions of the wisest are mocked repeatedly by
the bitter irony of events. Man stands before an impenetrable
wall of darkness, he is unable to foresee the events of even
the next hour. None knows what a day may bring forth. To the
finite mind the future is filled with unknown possibilities.
How then can we explain the hundreds of detailed prophecies
in the Scriptures which have been literally fulfilled to the
letter, hundreds of years after they were uttered? How can we
account for the fact that the Bible successfully foretold
hundreds, and in some instances thousands of years
beforehand, the History of the Jews, the Course of the
Gentiles, and the Experiences of the Church? The most
conservative of critics, and the most daring assailants of
God's Word are compelled to acknowledge that all the
Books of the Old Testament were written hundreds of years
before the incarnation of our Lord, hence, the actual and
accurate fulfillment of these prophecies can only be
explained on the hypothesis that "Prophecy came not at
any time by the will of men: but holy men of God, spake,
moved by the Holy Ghost."
The Inspirer of the Scriptures
has told us that "We have also a more sure word of
prophecy; where unto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a
light that shineth in a dark place" (II Peter 1:19). In
the limited space at our command we shall appeal to but a few
from among the many fulfilled prophecies of God's Word,
and shall limit ourselves to those which have reference to
the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The cumulative force of these will be sufficient, we trust,
to convince any impartial inquirer that none other but the
mind of God could have disclosed the future and unveiled
beforehand far distant events.
"The testimony of Jesus
is the Spirit of Prophecy." The Lamb of God is the one
great object and subject of the Prophetic Word. In Genesis
3:15 we have the first word about the Coming of Christ.
Speaking to the serpent, Jehovah said, "And I will put
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and
her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise His
heel." Note that the Coming One was to be the
"woman's seed," the Miraculous Character
of our Lord's Birth being thus foretold four thousand
years before He was born at Bethlehem!
In Genesis 22:18 we have the
second distinct Messianic prophecy. Unto Abraham, the angel
of the Lord declared, "And in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed." Not only was the
Saviour of sinners to be human as well as Divine, not only
was He to be the "woman's" seed, but in the
above Scripture it was declared that He should be a
descendant of Abraham - an Israelite. How this was fulfilled
we may see by a reference to the first verse in the New
Testament, where we are told (Matt. 1: 1) that Jesus Christ
was "The Son of David, the son of
Abraham."
But still further was the
compass narrowed down, for we have intimated in the Old
Testament Scriptures the very tribe from which the
Messiah was to issue - our Lord was to come of the tribe of
Judah (the "kingly" tribe). He was to be a
descendant of David. Nathan the prophet was commanded by God
to go and say to David, "I will set up thy seed
after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will
stablish His kingdom. He shall build an house for My name,
and I will stablish the throne of His kingdom for ever"
(II Sam. 7:12-13). And again, in Psalm 132:11 David declares
concerning the promised Messiah, "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.
Not only was our Lord's
nationality defined hundreds of years before His
incarnation, but the very place of His birth was also
given. In Micah 5:2 we are informed, "But thou,
Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands
of Judah, but 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 the days of eternity." Christ was to be born
in Bethlehem, and not only in one of the several
villages which bore that name in Palestine, but Bethlehem of
Judea was to be the birth-place of the world's
Redeemer; and though Mary was a native of Nazareth (far
distant from Bethlehem) yet through the providence of God,
His Word was literally fulfilled by His Son being born in
Bethlehem of Judea.
Further, the very time
of Messiah's appearing was given through both Jacob and
Daniel (see Gen. 49:10 and Daniel 9:24-26). Now in order to
appreciate the force of these marvelous, super-natural
prophecies, let the reader seek to foretell the nationality,
place and time of the birth of some one who shall be born in
the twenty-fifth century A. D., and then he will realize that
none but a man inspired and informed by God Himself could
perform such an otherwise impossible feat.
So definite and distinct were
the Old Testament prophecies respecting the Birth of Christ,
that the hope of Israel became the Messianic Hope; all their
expectations were centered in the coming of the Messiah. It
is therefore the more remarkable that their sacred Scriptures
should contain another set of prophecies which predicted that
He should be despised by His own nation and rejected by His
own kinsmen. We can only now call attention to one of the
prophecies which declared that the Messiah of Israel should
be slighted and scorned by His brethren according to the
flesh.
In Isaiah 53:2-3 we read,
"And when we (Israel) shall see Him, there is no beauty
that we should desire Him. 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!" We pause here
for a moment to enlarge upon this strange and striking
phenomenon.
For more than fifteen
centuries the Coming of the Messiah had been the one great
national Hope of Israel. From the cradle the sons of Abraham
were taught to pray and long for His advent. The eagerness
with which they awaited the appearing of the Star of Jacob is
absolutely without parallel in the history of any other
nation. How then can we account for the fact that when He did
come He was despised and rejected? How can we explain the
fact that side by side with the intense longing for the
manifestation of their King, one of their own prophets
foretold that when He did appear men would hide their faces
from Him and esteem Him not? Finally, what explanation have
we to offer for the fact that such things were
predicted centuries before He came to this earth and that
they were literally fulfilled to the very letter? As
another has said, "No prediction could have seemed more
improbable, and yet none ever received a sadder and more
complete fulfillment."
We pass on now to those
predictions which have reference to the death of
our Lord. If it was wonderful that an Israelitish prophet
should foretell the rejection of the Messiah by His own
nation, what shall we say to the fact that the Old Testament
Scriptures prophesied in detail concerning the manner
or form of His death? Yet again and again we find
this to be the case! Let us examine a few typical
instances.
First, it was intimated that
our Lord should be betrayed and sold for the price of a
common slave. In Zechariah 11:12 we read, "So they
weighed for My price thirty pieces of silver."
Who was it that was able to declare, centuries before the
event came to pass, the exact amount that Judas should
receive for his dastardly deed? In Isaiah 53:7 we have
another line in this marvelous picture which human wisdom
could not possibly have supplied - "He is brought as a
lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is
dumb, so He opened not His mouth." Who could have
foreseen this most unusual sight, of a prisoner standing
before his judges with his life at stake, yet attempting and
offering no defense? Yet this is precisely what did happen in
connection with our Lord, for we are told in Mark 15:5,
"But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate
marveled." Again; who was it that knew seven hundred
years before the greatest tragedy of human history was
enacted that the Son of God, the King of the Jews, the
gentlest and meekest Man who ever trod our earth, should be
scourged and spat upon? Yet such an experience was
foretold: "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" (Is. 50:6).
Further; the form of capital
punishment reserved for Jewish criminals was
"stoning to death," and in David's time
the experience of "crucifixion" was entirely
unknown, yet we find in Psalm 22:16 that Israel's king
was inspired to write, "They pierced My hands and My
feet!" Again; what human foresight could have seen that
in His thirst-agonies upon the cross our Lord should be given
gall and vinegar to drink? Yet it was declared a thousand
years before the Lord of Glory was nailed to the tree that,
"They gave Me also gall for My meat; and in My thirst
they gave Me vinegar to drink." (Ps. 69:21). Finally; we
ask, how could David foretell, unless he was inspired by the
Holy Spirit, that our Lord should be taunted by His enemies
and challenged to come down from the Cross? Yet in Psalm
22:7-8 we read, "All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn:
they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He
trusted on the Lord that He would deliver Him: let Him
deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him." Such examples
as the above might be multiplied indefinitely, but sufficient
illustrations have already been given to warrant us in saying
that the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible bespeak the
omniscience of its Author.
Were it necessary, and had we
the space at our command, scores of additional fulfilled
prophecies relating to the History of Israel, the Course of
the Gentiles, and the Experiences of the Church - prophecies
just as definite, accurate, and remarkable as those relating
to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ - could be given, but
our present limits and purpose forbid us so doing.
Having examined a few of the
startling prophecies which treat of the Birth and Death of
our Saviour, it now only remains for us to apply in a word
the significance of this argument. Many have read over these
Scriptures before and perhaps have regarded them as being
wonderfully descriptive of the Advent and Passion of Jesus
Christ, but how many have carefully weighed the fact that
each of these Scriptures were in indisputable existence more
than five hundred years before our Lord came to this
earth?
Man is unable to accurately
predict events which are but twenty-four hours distant; only
the Divine Mind could have foretold the future, centuries
before it came to be. Hence, we affirm with the utmost
confidence, that the hundreds of fulfilled prophecies in the
Bible attest and demonstrate the truth that the Scriptures
are the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God.
"In the volume of the
Book it is written of Me" (Heb. 10:7). Christ is the Key
to the Scriptures. Said He, "Search the Scriptures..they
are they which testify of Me." (John 5:39), and
the "Scriptures" to which He had reference, were
not the four Gospels for they were not then written, but the
writings of Moses and the prophets. The Old Testament
Scriptures then are something more than a compilation of
historical records, something more than a system of social
and religious legislation, something more than a code of
ethics. The Old Testament Scriptures are fundamentally a
stage on which is shown forth in vivid symbolism and
ritualism the whole plan of redemption. The events recorded
in the Old Testament were actual occurrences, yet they were
also typical prefigurations. Throughout the Old Testament
dispensations God caused to be shadowed forth in parabolic
representation the whole work of redemption by means of a
constant and vivid appeal to the senses. This was in full
accord with a fundamental law in the economy of God. Nothing
is brought to maturity at once. As it is in the natural
world, so it is in the spiritual: there is first the blade,
then the ear, and then the full corn in the ear. Concerning
the Person and work of the Lord Jesus, God first gave a
series of pictorial representations, later a large number of
specific prophecies, and last of all, when the fullness of
time was come, God sent forth His own Son.
It is failure to discern the
typical import of the Old Testament Scriptures which has
caused so great a part of them to be slighted by so many
readers of the Bible. To multitudes of people the Pentateuch
is little more than a compilation of effete and meaningless
ceremonial rites, and if there is nothing in them more
excellent than their outward semblance, then, surely, it is
passing strange that they should find a place in the Word
of God. Take Christ out of Old Testament ritual and you
are left with nothing but the dry and empty shell of a nut.
It is therefore a matter of small surprise that those who see
so little of Christ in the Old Testament Scriptures should
undervalue the instruction and edification to be derived from
every part of them, and that they entertain such degrading
ideas of their inspiration. Deny that there is a
spiritual meaning in all the laws and customs of the
Israelites and what food for the soul can be gathered from a
study of them? Deny that they are so many typical
representations of Christ and His Sacrifice for sin and you
cast reproach on the name and wisdom of God by suggesting
that He instituted the carnal ordinances, the cumbrous
ceremonies, the propitiations by sacrifice of animals, which
are recorded in the opening Books of the Bible.
The typical import and the
spiritual value of the Jewish economy, both as a whole and in
its many parts, is expressly affirmed in the New
Testament. The Apostle Paul, when referring to the
narratives and events recorded in the Old Testament, declares
that, "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning" (Rom. 15:4). Later, when
making mention of Israel's exodus from Egypt and their
journey through the wilderness, he affirms, "Now these
things were our examples" and "Now all these things
happened unto them for ensamples: (marg.
"types") and they are written for our
admonition" (I Cor. 10:6-11). Again; when commenting
upon, and while expounding the spiritual significance of the
Tabernacle, he declares that it was "the example and
shadow of heavenly things" (Heb. 8:5). In the next
chapter he declares, "The Tabernacle...was a
figure for the time then present" (Heb. 9:8-9) and
in Hebrews 10 he states, "The law" had "a
shadow of good things to come" (10:1). From these
declarations it is evident that God Himself caused the
Tabernacle to be erected exactly according to the pattern
which He had showed Moses, for the express purpose that it
should be a type for symbolizing heavenly things. Hence it
becomes our privilege and bounden duty to seek by the help of
the Holy Spirit to ascertain the meaning of the types of the
Old Testament.
In addition to the express
declarations of the New Testament quoted above, there are a
number of additional passages which also teach the same
thing. John the Baptist hailed our Saviour as "The Lamb
of God which taketh away the sin of the world," that is,
as the great Antitype of the sacrificial lambs of Old
Testament ritual. In His discourse with Nicodemus our Lord
alluded to the lifting up of the Brazen Serpent in the
wilderness as a type of His own lifting up on the Cross.
Writing to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul said,
"Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us"
(I Cor. 5:7), thus signifying that Exodus 12 pointed forward
to the Lord Jesus. Writing to the Galatians the same Apostle
makes mention of the history of Abraham, his wives and his
children, and then states "which things are an
allegory" (Gal. 4:24). Now there are many brethren
who will own the typical significance of these things,
but who refuse to acknowledge that anything else in the Old
Testament has a typical meaning save those which are
expressly interpreted in the New. But this we conceive to be
a mistake and to place a limit upon the scope and value of
the Word of God. Rather let us regard those Old Testament
types which are expounded in the New Testament as
samples of others which are not explained. Are there no
more prophecies in the Old Testament than those which, in the
New Testament, are said to be "fulfilled"?
Assuredly. Then let us admit the same concerning the
types.
Several volumes would be
filled were we to dwell upon everything in the Old Testament
which has a typical meaning and spiritual application. All we
can now attempt is to single out a few illustrations as
samples, leaving our readers to pursue further this
entrancing study for themselves.
The very first chapter of
Genesis is rich in its spiritual contents. Not only does it
give us the only reliable and authentic account of the
creation of this world, but it also reveals God's order
in the work of the new creation. In Genesis 1:1 we have the
original or primitive creation - "in the
beginning". From the next verse we infer that some
dreadful calamity followed. The handiwork of God was marred,
"the earth became (not "was") without form and
void" - a desolate waste and empty ruin. The earth was
submerged. A scene of dreariness and death is introduced -
"and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Not
only was this the history of the earth, but it was also the
history of man. In the beginning he was created by God -
created in the image and likeness of his Maker. But a
terrible calamity followed. An enemy appeared on the scene.
The heart of the creature was seduced, unbelief and
disobedience being the consequence. Man fell, and awful was
his fall. God's image was broken: human nature was ruined
by sin: desolation and death took the place of God's
likeness and life. In consequence of his sin, man's mind
was blinded and darkness rested upon the face of his
understanding.
Next, we read in Genesis 1, of
the work reconstruction. The order followed is profoundly
significant - "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of
the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was
light" (vs. 3-4). The parallel holds good in
regeneration. In the work of the new birth which is performed
within the darkened and spiritually dead sinner, the Spirit
of God is the prime mover, convicting the soul of its lost
and ruined condition and revealing the need of the appointed
Saviour. The instrument that He employs is the written Word,
the Word of God, and in every genuine conversion God says,
"Let there be light," and there is light. "For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath
shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor.
4:6). The parallel might be followed much further, but
sufficient has been said to show that beneath the actual
history of Genesis 1 may be discerned by the anointed eye the
spiritual history of the believer's new creation, and as
such it bears the stamp of its Divine Author and evidences
the fact that the opening chapter of the Bible is no mere
human compilation.
In the coats of skin with
which the Lord God clothed our first parents we have an
incident that is full of spiritual instruction and which
could never have been invented by man. To obtain these skins
life had to be taken, blood had to be shed, the innocent
(animals) must die in the place of Adam and Eve who were
guilty, so as to provide a covering for them. Thus, the
Gospel truths of redemption by blood-shedding and salvation
thro' a substitutionary sacrifice, were preached in Eden.
Be it noted that man did not have to provide a covering for
himself any more than the "prodigal son" did, nor
were they asked to clothe themselves any more than was he: in
the one case we read, "The Lord God made coats of skins
and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21), and in the other
the command was, "Bring forth the best robe, and put
it on him" (Luke 15:22), and both speak of "the
robe of righteousness" (Is. 61:10) which is furnished in
Christ.
In the offerings which Cain
and Abel presented to the Lord, and in the response which
they met with, we discover a foreshadowing of New testament
truths. Abel brought of the firstlings of the flock with
their fat. He recognized that he was alienated from God and
could not draw nigh to Him without a suitable offering. He
saw that his own life was forfeited thro' sin, that
justice clamored for his death, and that his only hope lay in
another (a lamb) dying in his stead. By faith Abel
presented his bloody offering to God and it was accepted. On
the other hand, Cain refused to take the place of a lost
sinner before God. He refused to acknowledge that death was
his due. He refused to place his confidence in a sacrificial
substitute. He brought as an offering to God the fruits of
the ground - the product of his own labors and in
consequence, his offering was rejected. Thus, at the
commencement of human history we have shown forth the fact
that salvation is by grace thro' faith and altogether
apart from works (Eph. 2: 8-9).
In the great Deluge and the
ark in which Noah and his house found shelter, we have a
typification of great spiritual verities. From them we learn
that God takes cognizance of the doings of His creatures;
that He is holy and sin is abhorrent to Him; that His
righteousness requires Him to punish sin and destroy sinners.
Yet, here also we learn that in judgment God remembers mercy,
that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; that His
grace provides a refuge if only His sinful creatures will
avail themselves of His provision. Yet only in one place can
deliverance from the Divine wrath be found. In the ark alone
is safety and security. And, in like manner, today, there is
only one Saviour for sinners, and that is the Lord Jesus
Christ, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved" (Act 4:12).
In the deliverance of Israel
from Egypt and their wilderness journey we see portrayed the
history of God's people in the present dispensation. We,
too, were living in a world "without God and without
hope." We, too, were in bondage to the cruel taskmasters
of sin and Satan. We, too, were in imminent danger of falling
beneath the sword of the avenging Angel of Justice. But, for
us, too, a way of escape was provided. For us, too, a Lamb
was slain. Unto us, too, was given the precious promise,
"When I see the blood I will pass over you"
(Exod. 12:13). And we, too, were redeemed by Almighty power
and were "delivered from the power of darkness and
translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son" (Col.
1:13)
After our exodus from Egypt
there lies before us a pilgrim journey thro' a barren and
hostile wilderness as we journey toward the Promised Land. We
have to pass thro' a strange country and meet with enemy
forces, that we are unable to overcome in our own strength.
For these tasks our own resources - the things we brought
with us out of Egypt - are altogether inadequate, and thus
we, too, are cast upon the sufficiency of Israel's God.
And blessed be His name, ample provision is made for us and
grace is furnished for every need. For us there is heavenly
manna in the exceeding great and precious promises of God.
For us there comes water out of the Smitten Rock in the
person of the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39) who refreshes our
souls by taking of the things of Christ and showing them unto
us and who strengthens us with might in the inner man. For us
too, there is a pillar of cloud and fire to guide us by day
and by night in the Holy Scriptures which are a lamp unto our
feet and a light unto our path. For us, too, there is One to
counsel and direct us, to intercede for us and help us
overcome our Amalekites in the Captain of our salvation who
has said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end." And, at the close of our pilgrimage we shall enter
a fairer land than that which flowed with milk and honey for
we have been begotten "to an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled, and that faded not away, reserved in
heaven" for us.
Let the careful and impartial
reader weigh thoroughly what has been said above, and surely
it is evident that the numerous resemblances between the
story of Israel and the spiritual history of God's
children in this dispensation cannot be so many coincidences,
and can only be accounted for on the ground that the writings
of Moses were inspired by the Living God.
The history of Israel in
Canaan as the professed people of God corresponds with the
history of the professing church in the New Testament
dispensation. After Moses, the one who led Israel out from
their Egyptian bondage, came Joshua who led Israel in their
conquest of Canaan. So after our Lord left this earth, He
sent the Holy Spirit who through the Apostles caused the
Jericho's and Ai's of Paganism to be overthrown and
the greater part of the world to be evangelized. But after
their occupancy of Canaan Israel's history was a sad one,
being characterized by spiritual declination and departure
from God. So it was with the professing church. Very quickly
after the death of the Apostles heresy corrupted the
Christian profession, and just as Israel of old grew tired of
a theocracy and demanded a human head and king, like the
nations which surrounded them, so the professing church
became dissatisfied with the New Testament form of church
government and submitted to the domination of a pope. And
just as Israel's kings became more and more corrupt until
God would bear with them no longer and sold His people into
captivity, so after the setting up of the Papal See there
followed the long period of the Dark Ages when Europe was
subjected to a spiritual bondage and when the Word of God was
bound in chains. Then, just as God raised up Ezra and
Nehemiah to recover the living oracle and to lead out of
their captivity a remnant of His people, so in the sixteenth
century, A. D., God raised up Luther and honored
contemporaries to bring about the great Reformation of
Protestantism. Finally: just as after the days of Ezra and
Hehemiah the Jews in Palestine witnessed a marked spiritual
declination, ultimately lapsing into the ritualism of the
Pharisees and the rationalism of the Sadducees from which
God's elect were delivered only by the appearing of His
own Son, so has history repeated itself. Since Reformation
and the last of the Puritans, Christendom has moved swiftly
in the direction of the predicted apostasy, and today we have
reproduced the ancient Phariseeism in the rapid spread of
Roman Catholicism, and the ancient Sadduceeism in the
far-reaching effects of the infidelistic Higher Criticism:
and as it was before, so it will be again - God's elect
will be delivered only by the reappearing of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.
Thus we see how wonderfully
and accurately the Old testament history runs parallel with
and anticipated the history of the professing church in the
New Testament dispensation. It has been truly said that
"Coming events cast their shadows before them," and
who but He who knows the end from the beginning and who
upholds all things by the word of His power, could have
caused the shadow of the Old Testament to have taken the
shape they did, and thus give a true and comprehensive
parabolic setting forth of that which has taken place
thousands of years later!
But not only do the broad
outlines of Old Testament history possess a typical meaning,
everything in the Old Testament Scriptures has a spiritual
value.
Every battle fought by the
Israelites, every change in the administration of their
government, every detail in their elaborate ceremonialism,
and every personal biography narrated in the Bible, is
designed for our instruction and edification. The Bible
contains nothing that is superfluous. From beginning to end
the Scriptures testify of Christ. Inanimate objects like the
ark, which tells of security in Christ from the storms of
Divine wrath; like the manna, which speaks of Him as the
Bread of Life; like the brazen Serpent uplifted on the pole,
of the Tabernacle, which presents Him as the meeting place of
God and men - all foreshadowed the Redeemer. Living creatures
like the Passover Lamb, the sacrificial bullocks, goats and
rams, all pointed forward in general and in detail to the
great Sacrifice for sins. Institutions like the Passover
which prefigured His death; like the waving of the
first-fruits, which forecast His resurrection; like the fast
of Pentecost with its two loaves baken with leaven, telling
of the uniting into one Body of the Jew and the Gentile; like
the Burnt, the Meal and the Peace "sweet savor"
offerings, which proclaimed the excellency of Christ's
person in the esteem of God - all emblemized our blessed
Saviour. And, many of the leading personages of Old Testament
biography gave a remarkable delineation of our Lord's
character and earthly ministry.
Abel was a type of Christ. His
name signifies vanity and emptiness which foreshadowed the
Lord Jesus who "made Himself of no reputation,"
literally "emptied Himself" (Phil. 2:7),
when He assumed the nature of man who is "like unto
vanity" (Ps. 72:9). By calling, Abel, was a shepherd,
and it was in his shepherd character he brought an offering
to God, namely, the firstlings of his flock - speaking of the
Good Shepherd who offered Himself to God. The offering which
Abel brought to God is termed an "excellent" one
(Heb. 11:4) and as such it pointed forward to the precious
blood of Christ, the value of which cannot be estimated
in silver and gold. Abel's offering was accepted by God,
God "testifying" His approval of it; and, in like
manner, God publicly witnessed to His acceptance of
Christ's sacrifice when He raised Him from the Dead (Acts
2:32). Abel's offering still speaks to God -
"by it he being dead, yet speaketh;" so, too,
Christ's offering "speaks" to God (Heb. 12:24).
Though guilty of no offense, Abel was hated by his brother
and cruelly slain at his hand, foreshadowing the treatment
which the Lord Jesus received at the hands of the Jews - His
brethren according to the flesh.
Isaac was a type of Christ. he
was the child of promise. His nativity was announced by an
angel. He was supernaturally begotten. He was born at an
appointed time. He was named by God (Gen. 1: 18-19). He was
the "seed" to whom the promises were made and
thro' whom they were secured. He became obedient unto
death. He carried on his own shoulder the wood on which he
was to be offered. He was securely fastened to the alter. He
was presented as a sacrifice to God. He was offered on Mount
Moriah - the same on which,two thousand years later, Jesus
Christ was offered. And, it was on the "third day"
that Abraham received him back "in a figure" from
the dead (Heb. 11:19).
Joseph is a type of Christ. He
was Jacob's well-beloved son. He readily responded to his
father's will when asked to go on a mission to his
brethren. While seeking his brethren he became a
"wanderer in the field" (Gen. 37:15) - the
"field" figuring the world (see Matt. 13:38). He
found his brethren in Dothan which signifies the law - so the
Lord Jesus found His brethren under the bondage of the law.
His brethren mocked and refused to receive him. His brethren
took counsel together against him that they might put him to
death. Judah (Judas is the Greek form of the same word)
advised his brethren to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. After
he had been rejected by his brethren, Joseph was taken down
into Egypt in order that he might become a Saviour to the
world. While in Egypt, Joseph was tempted, not without any
compromise he put from him the evil solicitation. He was
falsely accused and thro' no fault of his own was cast
into prison. There he was the interpreter of dreams - the one
who threw light on what was mysterious. In prison he became
the savor of life to the butler, and the savor of death to
the baker. After a period of humiliation and shame, he was
exalted to the throne of Egypt. From that throne he
administered bread to a hungering and perishing humanity.
Subsequently Joseph became known to his brethren, and in
fulfillment of what he had previously announced to them, they
bowed down before him and owned his sovereignty.
Moses was a type of Christ.
Moses became the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter - so
that legally he had a mother but no father, thus
typifying our Lord's miraculous birth of a virgin. During
infancy his life was endangered by the evil designs of the
... ruler. Like Christ's, his early life was spent in
Egypt. Later, he renounced the position of royalty, refusing
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; and he who
was rich, for the sake of his people, became poor. Before he
commenced His life's work, a long period was spent in
Midian in obscurity. Here he received a call and commission
from God to go to deliver his brethren out of their terrible
bondage. The credentials of his mission were seen in the
miracles which he performed. Though despised and rejected by
the rulers in Egypt, he, nevertheless, succeeded in
delivering his own people. Subsequently, he became the leader
and head of all Israel. In character he was the meekest man
in all the earth. In all God's house he was faithful as a
servant. In the wilderness he sent twelve men to spy out
Canaan as our Lord sent out the twelve Apostles to preach the
Gospel. He fasted for forty days. On the mount he was
transfigured so that the skin of his face shone. He acted as
God's prophet to the people, as as the people's
intercessor before God. He was the only man mentioned in the
Old Testament that was prophet, priest and king. He was the
giver of a Law, the builder of a Tabernacle, and the
organizer of a Priesthood. His last act was to "bless
the people (Deut. 33:29), as our Lord's last act was to
"bless" His disciples (Luke 24:50).
Samson was a type of Christ -
see the Book on Judges. An angel announced his birth (13:3).
From birth he was a Nazarite (13:5) - separated to God.
Before he was born it was promised that he should be a
saviour to Israel (13:5). He was treated unkindly by his own
nation (15:11-13). He was delivered up to the Gentiles by his
own countrymen (15:12). He was mocked and cruelly treated by
the Gentiles (16:19-21, 25) yet he was a mighty deliverer of
Israel. His miracles were performed under the power of the
Holy Spirit (14:19). He accomplished more in his death than
he did in his life (16:30). He was imprisoned in the
enemy's stronghold; the gates were barred, and a watch
was set; yet, rising up at midnight, in the early hours of
the morning - "a great while before day" - he burst
the bars, broke open the gate, and issued forth triumphant -
a remarkable type of our Lord's resurrection. He occupied
the position of "judge," as our Lord will in the
last great day.
David was a type of Christ. He
was born in Bethlehem. He is described as "of a
beautiful countenance and goodly to look upon." His name
means "the beloved." By occupation he was a
shepherd. During his shepherd life he entered into conflict
with wild beasts. He slew Goliath - the opposer of God's
people and a type of Satan. From the obscurity of
shepherdhood he was exalted to Israel's throne. He was
anointed as king before he was coronated. He was
preeminently a man of prayer (see the Psalms) and is the only
one in Scripture termed "The man after God's own
heart." He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief, suffering chiefly from those of his own household.
Repeated attempts were made upon his life by Israel's
ruler. When his enemy (Saul) was in his power he refused to
slay him, instead, he dealt with him in mercy and grace. He
delivered Israel from all their enemies and vanquished all
their foes.
Solomon was a type of Christ.
He was Israel's king. His name signifies
"Peaceable," and he foreshadows the
millennial reign of the Lord Jesus when He shall rule as
Prince of Peace. He was chosen and ordained of God before he
was crowned. He rode upon another's mule, not as a
warrior, but as the king of peace in lowly guise (I Kings
1:33). Gentiles took part in the coronation of Solomon (I
Kings 1:38) typifying the universal homage which
Christ shall receive during the millennium. The Cherethites
and Pelethites were soldiers, so that Solomon was followed by
an army at the time of his coronation (I Kings 1:33; cp. Rev.
19:11). Solomon began his reign by showing mercy to and yet
demanding righteousness from Adonijah (I Kings 1:51) - such
will be the leading characteristics of Christ's
millennial government. Solomon was the builder of
Israel's Temple (cp. Acts 15:16). At the dedication of
the Temple, Solomon was the one who offered sacrifices unto
the Lord: thus the king fulfilled the office of priest (I
Kings 8:63), which typifies the Lord Jesus who "shall be
a Priest upon His throne" (Zech. 6:13). Solomon's
"fame" went abroad far and wide and "all the
earth sought to Solomon" (I Kings 10:24). The queen of
Sheba, representing the Gentiles, came up to Jerusalem
to pay him homage (I Kings 10) as all the nations will to
Christ during the millennium (see Zech. 14:16). All
Israel's land enjoyed rest and peace. The glory and
magnificence of Solomon's reign has never been equaled
before or since - "And the Lord magnified Solomon
exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him
such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in
Israel" (I Chron. 29:25).
In the above types we have not
sought to be exhaustive but suggestive by singling out only
the leading lines in each typical picture. There are many
other Old Testament characters who were types of Christ which
we cannot now consider at length: - Adam typified His
Headship; Enoch His Ascension; Noah as the provider of a
Refuge; Jacob as the one who served for a Wife; Aaron as the
great High Priest; Joshua as the Captain of our salvation;
Samuel as the Faithful Prophet; Elijah as the Miracle worker;
Jeremiah as the despised and rejected Servant of God; Daniel
as the Faithful Witness for God; Jonah as the One raised from
the dead on the third day.
In closing this chapter let us
apply the argument. Of the many typical persons in the Old
Testament who prefigure the Lord Jesus Christ, the striking,
the accurate, and the manifold lights, in which each exhibits
Him is truly remarkable. No two of them represent Him from
exactly the same viewpoint. Each one contributes a line or
two to the picture, but all are needed to give a complete
delineation. That an authentic history should supply a
series of personages in different ages, whose characters,
offices, and histories, should exactly correspond with those
of Another who did not appear upon earth until centuries
later, can only be accounted for on the supposition of Divine
appointment. When we consider the utter dissimilarity of
these typical persons to one another; when we note that they
had little or nothing in common with each other; when we
remember that each of them represents some peculiar feature
in a composite Anti type; we discover that we have a literary
phenomenon which is truly remarkable. Abel, Isaac, Joseph,
Moses, Samson, David, Solomon (and all the others) are each
deficient when viewed separately; but when looked at in
conjunction they form an harmonious whole, and give us a
complete representation of our Lord's miraculous birth,
His peerless character, His life's mission, His
sacrificial death, His triumphant resurrection, His ascension
to heaven, and His millennial reign. Who could have invented
such character? How remarkable that the earliest history in
the world, extending from the creation and reaching to the
last of the prophets - written by various hands thro' a
period of fifteen centuries - should from start to finish
concentrate in a single point, and that point the person and
work of the blessed Redeemer! Verily, such a Book must
have been written by God - no other conclusion is
possible. Beneath the historical we discern the spiritual:
behind the incidental we behold the typical: underneath the
human biographies we see the form of Christ, and in these
things we discover on every page of the Old Testament the
"watermark" of heaven.
The manner in which the Bible
has been produced argues against its unity. The Bible was
penned on two continents, written in three languages, and its
composition and compilation extended through the slow
progress of sixteen centuries. The various parts of the Bible
were written at different times and under the most varying
circumstances. Parts of it were written in tents, deserts,
cities, palaces and dungeons; in times of imminent danger and
in seasons of ecstatic joy. Among its writers were judges,
kings, priests, prophets, patriarchs, prime ministers,
herdsmen, scribes, soldiers, physicians and fishermen. Yet
despite these varying circumstances, conditions and workmen,
the Bible is one Book, behind its many parts there is
an unmistakable organic unity. It contains one system
of doctrine, one code of ethics, one plan of
salvation and one rule of faith.
Now if forty different men
were selected today from such varying stations and callings
of life as to include clerks, rulers, politicians, judges,
clergy, doctors, farm laborers and fishermen, and each was
asked to contribute a chapter for some book on theology or
church government, when their several contributions were
collected and bound together, would there be any unity about
them, could that book truly be said to be one book; or
would not their different productions vary so much in
literary value, diction and matter as to be merely a
heterogeneous mass, a miscellaneous collection? Yet we do not
find this to be the case in connection with God's Book.
Although the Bible is a volume of sixty-six Books, written by
forty different men, treating of such a large variety of
themes as to cover nearly the whole range of human inquiry,
we find it is one Book, the Book (not the
books), the Bible.
Further; if we were to select
specimens of literature from the third, fifth, tenth,
fifteenth and twentieth centuries of the Christian era and
were to bind them together, what unity and harmony should we
find in such a collection? Human writers reflect the spirit
of their own day and generation and the compositions of men
living amid widely differing influences and separated by
centuries of time have little or nothing in common with each
other. Yet although the earliest portions of the Sacred Canon
date back to at least the fifteenth century, B. C., while the
writings of John were not completed till the close of the
first century, A. D., nevertheless, we find a perfect harmony
throughout the Scriptures from the first verse in Genesis to
the last verse in Revelation. The great ethical and spiritual
lessons presented in the Bible, by whoever taught,
agree.
The more one really studies
the Bible the more one is convinced that behind the many
human mouths there is One overruling, controlling Mind.
Imagine forty persons of different nationalities, possessing
various degrees of musical culture visiting the organ of some
cathedral and at long intervals of time, and without any
collusion whatever, striking sixty-six different notes, which
when combined yielded the theme of the grandest oratorio ever
heard: would it not show that behind these forty different
men there was one presiding mind, one great Tone master? As
we listen to some great orchestra, with an immense variety of
instruments playing their different parts, but producing
melody and harmony, we realize that at the back of these many
musicians there is the personality and genius of the
composer. And when we enter the halls of the Divine Academy
and listen to the heavenly choirs singing the Song of
Redemption, all in perfect accord and unison, we know that it
is God Himself who has written the music and put this song
into their mouths.
We now submit two
illustrations which demonstrate the unity of the Holy
Scriptures. Certain grand conceptions run through the entire
Bible like a cord on which are strung so many precious
pearls. First and foremost among them is the Divine Plan of
Redemption. Just as the scarlet thread runs through all the
cordage of the British Navy, so a crimson aura surrounds
every page of God's Word.
In the Scriptures the Plan of
Redemption is central and fundamental. In Genesis we have
recorded the Creation and Fall of man to show that he has the
capacity for and is in need of redemption. Next we find the
Promise of the Redeemer, for man requires to have before him
the hope and expectation of a Saviour. Then follows an
elaborate system of sacrifices and offerings and these
represent pictorially the nature of redemption and the
condition under which salvation is realized. At the
commencement of the New Testament we have the four Gospels
and they set forth the Basis of Redemption, namely, the
Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of the
Redeemer. Next comes the Book of the Acts which illustrates
again and again the Power of Redemption, showing that it is
adequate to work its great results in the salvation of both
Jew and Gentile. Finally, in the Revelation, we are shown the
ultimate triumphs of redemption, the Goal of Salvation - the
redeemed dwelling with God in perfect union and communion.
Thus we see that though a large number of human media were
employed in the writing of the Bible, yet their productions
are not independent of each other, but are complementary and
supplementary parts of one great whole; that one sublime
truth is common to them all, namely, man's need of
redemption and God's provision of a Redeemer. And the
only explanation of this fact is, that "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God."
Secondly; among all the many
personalities presented in the Bible, we find that one stands
out above all others, not merely prominent but preeminent.
Just as in the scene unveiled in the fifth chapter of the
Revelation we find the Lamb in the center of the heavenly
throngs, so we find that in the Scriptures also, the Lord
Jesus Christ is accorded the place which alone befits His
unique Person. Considered from one standpoint the Scriptures
are really the biography of the Son of God.
In the Old Testament we have
the Promise of our Lord's Incarnation and
Mediatorial work. In the Gospels we have the
Proclamation of His Mission and the Proofs of His
Messianic claims and authorit