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BIBLE PROPHECY
Prophecy a More Sure Word
Though the apostles had seen this glorious
sight on the mount of transfiguration, and had heard the voice of God's
approval, the apostle Peter
The Nature of Prophecy
The following testimonials from eminent Bible students on the
nature of prophecy are forcible:-
Thomas Newton makes the assertion that
"prophecy is history anticipated and contracted; history is prophecy
accomplished and dilated. Lying oracles have been in the world; but all
the wit and malice of men and devils cannot produce any such prophecies
as are recorded in the Scriptures."
Sir Isaac Newton testifies that "the giving ear to the prophets is
a fundamental character of the true church."
Dr. A. Keith says that "prophecy is equivalent to any miracle, and
is of itself miraculous. . . . The voice of Omnipotence alone could call
the dead from the tomb,-the voice of Omniscience alone could tell all
that lay hid in dark futurity, which to man is as impenetrable as the
mansions of the dead,-and both are alike the voice of God."
Matthew Henry said that "in God's time, which is the best time, and
in God's way, which is the best way, prophecy shall certainly be
fulfilled. Every word of Christ is very pure, and therefore very sure."
The Object of Prophecy
We may learn from the words of Christ to his apostles one object of
the Lord in giving prophecy. Speaking prophetically of the things that
would take place in the career of Judas, he said, "I tell you before it
come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he."
The Lord says also by the prophet Isaiah, "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."
Again, "I have declared the former things from the beginning, and
they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly,
and they came to pass. . . . I have even from the beginning declared it
to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest
say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image,
hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye
declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden
things, and thou didst not know them. They are created now, and not from
the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not, lest
thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them."
From this language the force of prophetic fulfillments as a proof
of the divine origin of prophecy is seen, as well as its being a
demonstration of the power of the Lord above all the gods of the
heathen. It is also observed from these words that prophecy occupies a
very important place in the Scriptures of truth. These facts being true,
it is surprisingly strange that so many people give little or no
attention to the study of the prophetic portions of the Sacred
Scriptures.
Prophecy not Sealed
The uninformed say they are unlearned, and therefore cannot
understand the prophecies. On the other hand, many of the educated, and
some of them among the ministry, say: "The prophecies are sealed, and
cannot be understood. We all know that the book of Revelation is a
sealed book."
In the Revelation, the beloved John was given a special command not
to seal the book. Also in this book a blessing is pronounced upon those
that "hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are
written therein." How could the things contained in a sealed book be
kept if they were not, and could not be, understood? The Lord said by
Moses, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things
which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we
may do all the words of this law."
That the Lord designed the prophecies of
Daniel to be understood is evident from his words to his disciples
respecting them. We read: "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him
understand)," that virtually says, Understand Daniel the prophet.
The Lord exposes the fallacy of the claim that prophecy cannot be
understood, in these words: "The vision of all is become unto you as the
words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is
learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it
is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying,
Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the
Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and
with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me,
and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: therefore,
behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a
marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall
perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." Had
the people to whom the prophet here refers followed the sure word of
prophecy, they need not have drifted away from God's law, and
substituted for his precepts the commandments of men.
Prophecy not of Private Interpretation
It is not that prophecy has some deep,
hidden, mysterious meaning that so many fail to understand it. The
apostle Peter has said of it, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of
the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost." It is plainly implied from this language
that what is essential to an understanding of prophecy is the reception
of that spirit which spake through the prophets. Of that spirit,
promised to all who seek it, it is written, "He will guide you into all
truth."
Prophecy Fulfilled
In the study of prophecy there are certain
facts that should ever be kept in mind: God, who is infallible, is the
author of prophecy, and when the time comes for the fulfillment of a
prediction, the very event predicted will occur. Again, as the Lord, who
has power to foresee just what men will do, specifies a time when a
thing will transpire, when that time comes, a true fulfillment of the
prophecy is met. In other words, a false fulfillment of prophecy in the
specified time for the true, is an impossibility. In harmony with this
axiom, we may say, when the Lord's time comes for his message
of truth to be given to the world, the message makes its appearance
every time.
At one time, when the writer had given a discourse on the
fulfillment of prophecy, an infidel who was present came forward and
said, "I must congratulate you interpreters of prophecy as being very
fortunate. In your study of history, you seem so readily to find that
which exactly fits the prophecy." "Yes," was our reply, "it fits because
it was made to fit. If you should go to a glove store to buy a pair of
gloves, would you not expect to find those that would fit your hand?" He
replied, "Of course I would, because they were made to fit." "So," said
the writer, "that God who knew just what men would do, made the
predictions concerning them, and when those men come upon the stage of
action, and do the very things he predicted, the true historian makes a
record of their actions, which, compared with the prediction, are an
exact fit."
Prophecy a Light in the Darkness
The apostle Peter says we should give heed to prophecy as unto a
light shining in a dark place. Without the lamp of prophecy the future
would be total darkness. The purpose of light is to dispel darkness-when
traveling in a dark place, to show the pathway, and to show the pathway
clearly, that the traveler may be enabled, step by step, to see and
choose the way. "Thy word," the psalmist says, "is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path." The wise man says, "The path of the just is
as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
Thus it is seen, as we pass down the stream of time, that the word of
God, especially in its prophetic fulfillments, will open more and yet
more, making it clearer and still clearer to the Bible student that he
is surely in the pathway leading to everlasting light and eternal day.
Three Prominent Events from Eden to the
End
In considering the pathway of the Lord's people from Eden down to
the end, in the light of the Scriptures, there are three events that
stand out in special prominence. The first is the first advent of
Christ, the incarnation, the coming of Emmanuel, God manifest in the
flesh; the second, the great Reformation after the Dark Ages-the 1260
years of oppression, in which the word of the Lord was almost wholly
kept from the common people-a coming of the church out of her wilderness
state, and the placing of the
Prophecy Gives Way-Marks to the End
In giving heed to the sure word of prophecy
as unto a light that is to guide our steps, discovering to us the
correct path through the darkness, it cannot be otherwise than that we
shall find the pathway clearly marked out in the prophetic word all the
way down the stream of time to the second advent of Christ. This being
the case, those who follow closely the light of prophecy will not only
recognize the signs and tokens that the great day is near, but will also
recognize the work of the Lord as it steadily moves on in messages of
truth which are to prepare a people to meet him in peace at his coming. While the Scriptures declare that the day of the Lord will come upon the masses as "a thief in the night," it also says of those standing in the counsel of the Lord, "Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day." |