The Sure Word of Prophecy.
By Jos. Clarke
People often deride the idea of making so much of the prophecies; they aver that the prophecies are too obscure to be understood, and that they are of no practical value until fulfilled. We take the position that they are important, and are to be understood previous to their fulfillment: that this is their object and aim. If there are any who doubt their literal fulfillment, let us go back a little, and investigate the Old Testament prophecies, of the fall of cities, and nations, and the literal fulfillment of each prophecy. The prophecies of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon it must be borne in mind, were written while that people were abounding in wealth, and had an independent national government. Nothing could be more improbable, from a human stand-point, than such a disastrous occurrence; and the men who uttered the denunciations were hunted and persecuted. But the captivity occurred, as the prophet had said it would; and with the prophecy of a captivity, came also a term of seventy years, which limited the time, and told of a return which should take place by means of one, Cyrus, who, when spoken of by said prophet, was yet unborn. That all this took place, is patent to all. The fall of the proud cities of Egypt, the fall of Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre; the fall of Edom and Moab, and Assyria, was all foretold while these nations and kingdoms were in the pride of life, and the height of worldly power, and they scorned the idea of any possible chance of such a contingency as the prophets foretold. To them it was all fallacious reasoning, and groundless assumptions; but God had spoken and it came to pass. Where is the prophecy of Christ’s first coming, which has not been fulfilled to the letter? Where is the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the scattering of the Jews, which has not been fulfilled with fearful exactness? In the New Testament, a few prophecies yet remain unfulfilled; also a few in the Old Testament yet wait their time, but shall we for this, doubt the word of God? Shall the words of Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and other prophets, be fulfilled with precision, and the words that Christ and his apostles spoke, fall to the ground? Nay, verily. But are the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments to be understood, previous to their fulfillment? We say that they are; that it was the object of prophecy, not only to stamp the word of God with the impress of divinity, but to test those to whom the prophecies were opened in their fulfillment. What was it which condemned the Jews in our Saviour’s time? Was it not the prophecies relating to Christ?393Did not the Jews tell cruel Herod that Christ should be born in Bethlehem of Judea? Were they not aware of the proximity of Jesus’ advent? No caviler will doubt this. But in the twenty-fourth of Matthew, and all along in the gospels, and in the epistles, and in the Revelation given to John, we find a series of prophecies of great importance, all of them purporting to come through Christ to his chosen penmen. We all see the folly of the Jews, in stubbornly refusing to bow to the words of Isaiah, and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and the best of prophets who spoke of Jesus’ humiliation and sufferings. They were demented we say, in refusing such evidences; they cast aside these prophetic words, and clung with idiotic pertinacity to those prophecies which alluded to his second coming. Oh! how sad and unaccountable is their stupidity, and how just their doom! But are we sure they were so stupid? Look through the New Testament, and find if you can, any opportunity of such a mistake in the prophecies of Christ, or any of the New-Testament writers upon the subject of his second advent? There is a wonderful clearness in the New-Testament prophecies. It is as if Jesus knew of the sad fall our race would receive in the latter day, and therefore made all clear and plain as if they were a class of children who could not understand, unless all was made unmistakably clear. We blame the Jew for his stupidity. What was his stupidity compared with his who rejects the light the nineteenth century throws upon passing events? We blame the Jew for his stubbornness in rejecting Christ. What was his stubbornness, compared with his who rejects the evidence now produced in connection with the cleansing of the sanctuary, and the twenty-three hundred days? The man who ridicules the commandments of God, and who treats with scorn the recent movements of God’s people toward an understanding of the prophecies, and a realization of promises of the restoration of the gift of prophecy, is as much without excuse as the stubborn Jew of the age of the apostles, and far more; as much more is he the victim of Satanic malice, as the evidence is clearer, and more distinct. In view of all that is done for us at the present time, how great are our obligations to do the whole will of God. If much was required of the church in the apostolic age, how much more now. Does not the church need help? Can we get along now without the aid of the gifts of the Spirit, better than the apostles could? Is this an age of light? Does such light shine upon the different denominations now, that they can afford to get along independent of the gifts? If such extraordinary light now shines upon the churches, that they need no such aid from Heaven, if they can well shift with the light already made known, and reject the offer made in the word of God, of the restoration of the gifts, why is it that they almost unanimously refuse to yield to the moral law, and persistently shut their eyes to the opening word of prophecy? All nature testifies to the truth of prophecy, and unerringly ratifies the word of God, as to coming events. The earth heaves, and cities are destroyed. Volcanoes pour out liquid fire, while the solid earth trembles as if in terror. The sun and moon refuse to shine, and the stars seem to fall, in obedience to Jesus’ word. But men still doubt and cavil, and make “rigid investigations” of all this phenomena, and account for it most scientifically; but they forget that the word of God has something to say on this point. In all their rigid, scientific investigations, they omit the word of prophecy, which alone can untie this Gordian knot. But those who do have the light at this time upon passing events, may not rest upon their knowledge. As a theory, it is eminently practical; he who receives this theory, does well; he who makes it a practical matter, does far better. As the host of Gideon was tested, so the people of God are passing a close test. Who is sufficient for these things? Who shall be able to stand? Great light beams from the heavenly sanctuary upon the people of God. A thick cloud of darkness covers the unbelieving world. The nominal churches know not the night which has already closed around them,— the night of error and unbelief, a dearth of the heavenly graces, an abandonment of principle, and a setting in of a night of bigotry and intolerance. To us, of all others, this is a practical truth; all our lives bear testimony for or against us, as individuals. A fearful responsibility rests upon us. How have we discharged, and how are we now discharging, this responsibility?