The Testimony of Jesus the Spirit of Prophecy--The Declarations of
the Ancient Servants of God--Extracts from the Writings and
Testimonies of Moses, Job, David, Isaiah, Zechariah, Micah and
Hosea, to be found in the Old Testament, with remarks.
In the chapter of Luke's Gospel, to which we have already referred,
speaking of Jesus, it is written, "Beginning with Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning himself."
If this be taken in the fullest sense, and we know of no reason why it
should not thus be received, there is a great principle developed,
which is, that not only Moses, but all the Prophets, testified
concerning the coming Redeemer. As elsewhere stated, this must have
been the case, for we are told that "the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy;" and this being admitted, how could they have the
spirit of prophecy, or be Prophets without having the testimony of
Jesus? And we are told further that the Prophets sought "what manner
of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that
should follow."--1 Peter, i, 11.
These scriptures evidently show that the testimony of Jesus was the
very principle, essence and power of the spirit of prophecy whereby
they were inspired.
We find a great many statements corroborative of these facts in those
portions of the writings and prophecies of the ancient servants of
God, that have been handed down to us in the Old Testament, and from
these testimonies we select a few to show how various and how detailed
have been the inspired utterances regarding the life and death of the
Messiah.
"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of
thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, [Moses,] unto him ye shall
hearken. * * * And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that
which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among
their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth;
and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it
shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words
which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."--Deut.,
xviii, 15, 17-19.
"For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be
consumed within me."--Job, xix, 25-27.
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The
kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, Let us
break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in
derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in
his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of
Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art
my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give
thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;
thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now
therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve
the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he
be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a
little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."--Psalm ii,
1-12.
While the first portion of the above psalm refers to the Anointed of
the Lord, and matters that would take place at His first appearing,
still many of the things, therein mentioned, have not yet transpired.
The same may be said of the following passages from Zechariah, which
speak of His being pierced and of His rejection by the Jews as a thing
accomplished, when at that time these events had not taken place. But
it does prove that His people would reject and pierce Him, and that
afterwards when He should come as their deliverer (like Joseph, whom
his brethren sold, appeared as their deliverer in Egypt), they should
look upon Him whom they had pierced.
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall
look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as
one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as
one that is in bitterness for his first born."--Zech., xii, 10.
"And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thy hands? Then
he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my
friends."--Zech., xiii, 6.
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform
this."--Isaiah, ix, 6, 7.
"Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and beat a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel."--Isaiah, vii, 14.
"The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy
strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of
holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek."--Psalm cx, 1-4.
"Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows."--Psalm xlv, 7.
"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord."--Isaiah, lix, 20.
"Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul
delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him: he shall bring forth
judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his
voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth
judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he
have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens and stretched
them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of
it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them
that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and
will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to
bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness
out of the prison house. I am the Lord; that is my name: and my glory
will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I
declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them."--Isaiah, xlii,
1-9.
"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a
root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
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. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he
opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as
a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He
was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his
generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the
transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with
the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord
to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see
of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their
iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and
he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out
his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and
he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors."--Isaiah, liii, 1-12.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy king cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an
ass."--Zech., ix, 9.
"And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not,
forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver."
--Zech., xi, 12.
"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of
Egypt."--Hosea, xi, 1.
Regarding which prophecy Matthew writes, "When he arose he took the
young child [Jesus] and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have
I called my Son."--Matthew, ii, 14, 15.
"Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and
bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be
comforted for her children, because they were not."--Jeremiah, xxxi,
15.
The same evangelist refers also to the fulfilment of this prophecy:
"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was
exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were
in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and
under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the
wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the
prophet, saying, In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and
weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and
would not be comforted, because they are not."--Matthew, ii, 16-18.
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet 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 everlasting."--Micah, v, 2.
"Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also
shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."--Psalm xvi, 9, 10.
This expression of the Psalmist evidently refers to the resurrection
of the Son of God. It is so quoted by Paul in his sermon at Antioch:
"And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was
made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their
children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written
in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to
return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure
mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt
not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had
served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was
laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption. But he, whom God raised
again, saw no corruption."--Acts, xiii, 32-37.
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed
me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to
comfort all that' mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to
give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be
called Trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might
be glorified."--Isaiah, lxi, 1-3.
This prophecy is referred to in the following incident in the life of
Jesus, narrated by Luke:
"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his
custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood
up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the
prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place
where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the
book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes
of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he
began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your
ears."--Luke, iv, 16-21.
"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting
doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your
heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the
King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of
hosts, he is the King of glory, Selah."--Psalm xxiv, 7-10.
The above is made much more plain in the inspired version, where it
appears as follows:
"Lift up your heads, O ye generations of Jacob; and be ye lifted up;
and the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, who is the
King of glory, shall establish you for ever. And he will roll away the
heavens, and will come down to redeem his people, to make you an
everlasting name, to establish you upon his everlasting rock. Lift up
your heads, O ye generations of Jacob; lift up your heads, ye
everlasting generations, and the Lord of hosts, the King of kings,
even the King of glory, shall come unto you; and shall redeem his
people, and shall establish them in righteousness. Selah."