The Testimony of Jesus by George W. Reaser

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, Cal. · Feb 6, 1912

The Testimony of Jesus

By George W. Reaser

V—Infallible Proof that God’s Word Is True

The Bible Has Rivals

THE true people of God in the earth are decidedly in the minority. The multitudes are on the opposite side—on the side of unbelief in God and in divine revelation.

There is one Book, above all others in the world, which rightly claims the reverent attention of mankind. That Book is the Bible. But the Bible, dealing in part with the supernatural and with “things unseen as yet,” as does no other book, needs the strongest possible witnessing in its behalf, to convince reasoning beings of its truthfulness; or better, it must itself supply the basis for intelligent faith in its claims. It assumes to be the Word of God, a miraculous production; as it is written, “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

It has rivals, but it alone has the proper credentials to entitle it to the supreme respect of mankind. Among its rivals are the following so-called sacred volumes: the Koran of Mohammed, which has, in round numbers, 177,000,000 believers; the teachings of Buddha, with perhaps 148,000,000 followers; the oracles of Confucius, whose disciples reach approximately 256,000,000 souls; the self-styled sacred writings of Brahma, whose devotees may reach the total of 190,000,000. Then the followers of Krishna, the Parsees, the Tibetans, and lastly the Mormons, have each their “inspired” writings.

All or nearly all of the leaders of these cults have given good moral codes to mankind, and from this fact the skeptic often challenges the faith of the Christian in the Bible.

Not all men recognize the moral codes and rules of life set forth in the Bible, as superior to those contained in rival volumes.

In fact, all men in all times have had the witness of conscience that it was wrong to lie, to steal, to commit adultery, and to kill; and these and other moral duties have been embodied in the so-called sacred volumes, many of them hoary with age, which are rivals to the Bible.

Miracles Alone Not Sufficient Basis for Faith

Doubtless every false system of religion which has been developed in the history of the world has undertaken to establish by miracles its claims to being the true. The Tibetans assert the most astounding miracles that ever startled the mind of man. It is written in the Bible that before time closes, some great deceptive system will work the crowning miracle of apparently bringing down fire from heaven, in order to prove its claims to being approved of God; but the real intent of this climax of Satan’s miracles will be to deceive. Rev. 13:13.

Then, too, there is a rising tide of infidelity, seething and boiling in the colleges and universities of civilization, and overflowing into the lives of professional men, graduates of these seats of learning.

Confronting all of this, how shall the Bible and Christianity lift their heads, confidently, fearlessly, intelligently, and not only meet their rivals, but also stem the tide of skepticism so destructive to faith in God and in the Christ? Shall we undertake to work counter miracles which will overshadow all others? No. There is an efficient weapon provided to meet all opposition to God and His truth.

Jehovah’s Challenge

There is one way in which the Bible gives undeniable proof that it is the Word of the living God, and that is by “the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy.” This manner of witnessing is an attribute of divinity that Satan and his agents can not steal. It belongs alone to the eye of the Godhead to penetrate the future, and put

its events on record in the Bible for the benefit of mankind, for the corroboration of God's Word, and for bringing to utter confusion all who oppose God's eternal truth. Notice the Lord's challenge to His opponents. He says: "Produce your cause." "Bring forth your strong reasons." "Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen;" let them "declare us things for to come." "Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." Isa. 41:21, 22; 42:9. Considering the importance of this gift in the church, it is no marvel that Peter placed its value as confirming God's truth, even above the faculties of eyesight and hearing. He recognized that Satan can perform certain miracles, and even counterfeit the miracles of Heaven, in order to deceive. Therefore, to provide evidence which, if heeded, would place the individual members of the church of God beyond the possibility of deception, the apostle first assures us that it was the "Spirit of Christ" that spoke through the prophets (1 Peter 1:11), and then that, more certain than any human faculty, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:16-21.

Fulfilled Prophecy a Sufficient Basis for Faith

The mightiest recourse, the most effective weapon, which Heaven has placed in the hands of Christians to meet and to overthrow effectually all error, whether it be in the form of false religion or infidelity, is "the testimony of Jesus," "the spirit of prophecy." No false religion, much less skepticism, has dared to hazard its claims, its very existence, upon prophecy. Prophecy fulfilled without collusion of the parties thereto, is an unanswerable argument. That all-seeing eye that can, undimmed by time and distance, penetrate the future, and outline events centuries in advance, write history before its events occur, is a sure indication of divine power and wisdom; and the fulfilling of the events foretold is a sure vindication of the claims of the Bible and of Christianity. Such is "the testimony of Jesus," "the spirit of prophecy."

It is this "gift," this witnessing, therefore, that places the religion of Jesus Christ upon a foundation of Gibraltar strength, so that it can not be successfully besieged or overthrown by the assaults of any rival religion or of the allied forces of skepticism.

If the Bible were false, we could afford to dispense with it; but if true, we can ill afford to ignore it, for it deals with such tremendous issues as eternal life, the second death; life, despair; a home with an atmosphere of perfect love, or to be cast out into outer darkness. It deals with the existence of God, the Messiahship of Christ, the origin of all things, the destiny of all, the plan of salvation, the history of our race, the love of God. It is the one beacon light, flashing from the shores of eternity to guide the way-worn traveler to an eternal haven of rest; and prophecy or prophetic promise spans the gulf between time and eternity, between this present life and the life beyond, and gives us a sure hope of a better, happier world than this.

The one thing above all others that is obscure to mankind, and the one thing above all others that men desire to penetrate, is the future. The foreknowledge that can penetrate the future, and fashion "all things after the counsel of His own will," surely is divine; and how impressive it is that Jesus has chosen His attribute of penetrating the future, as the overwhelming method of convincing the world of the fact that there is a God who rules over all, and whose word is verity and truth! This marvelous gift of penetrating the future is denominated by inspiration "the spirit of prophecy."

There is no other than infinite wisdom that can foretell future events as to time, place, and manner of fulfilment, and in the matter of naming characters in advance that are to take part in their fulfilment.

That all-seeing eye, undimmed by the distant view of future ages, no matter how remote, that can penetrate the future and outline events centuries in advance of their fulfilment, surely is divine and omniscient.

What, then, is the magnetic pole that is to hold the magnetized needle of faith true to the promises of God's Word? Nothing is so effectual in this as "the testimony of Jesus," "the spirit of prophecy."

The Cumulative Weight of Prophecy

If the Bible dealt simply in historical data and moral discourse, there might be some excuse for doubting its inspiration. But the characteristic of the Bible that places it upon an unquestionable basis of inspiration is its multitude of fulfilled prophecies. If one person only had outlined future events, and these events had been fulfilled in due order according to the specifications of the predictions made, even this would command respect; but when numerous men, widely separated from each other by time and distance, have foretold the same events, and their writings have been gathered together in one book and their predictions accurately fulfilled, then we have the cumulative weight of prophecy—the prophecies of various writers reaching their focal point in one and the same event.

"The testimony of Jesus," "the spirit of prophecy," being Heaven's own medium for proving God's Word true, and for proving the very existence of God, it is also able to undermine every error that sets itself against God's truth. And this is the paramount reason why the Bible rightly claims the attention and the respect of mankind, above all its rivals.

It is worth our while to note that the testimony of Jesus can not fail. He possesses "all power in heaven and in earth" to make it effectual. Therefore we may know, at the time appointed for its fulfilment, if a given prophecy is not "the testimony of Jesus." The very failure of the prophecy proves this.

To demonstrate the efficacy and the utility of fulfilled prophecy, in the plan of salvation, and as a mighty agency to convince men of the truthfulness of God's Word, I will say that it is a matter of authentic church history that with the fulfilment of a definite time prophecy upon the exact day and year set forth by inspiration, approximately one thousand infidels were convinced and converted to God.

John William Draper, in his famous work entitled "Intellectual Development of Europe," page 491, in discoursing upon the scathing criticism of all classes of literature, which followed as a natural result of the unchaining of thought in connection with the Reformation under Luther and his associates, pays glowing tribute to the Bible in these words: "Contradictions were pointed out, errors exposed, weakness detected, and new views offered of almost everything within the range of literature. From this burning ordeal one book alone came out unscathed. It was the Bible. It spontaneously vindicated for itself what Wyclif in the former times, and Luther more lately, had claimed for it. And not only did it hold its ground, but it truly became incalculably more powerful than ever it had been before."