These contain many predictions bearing directly on the last days, for
prophecy is a record of _future_ events, as history is a record of
_past_ events. But in reading ancient prophecy, one very common error
must be avoided, viz., to suppose that the prophets generally described
the events of the last days. This they evidently do not do. Their
prophecies _generally_ {355} concern such events as were immediately
future in their own time, and in which their own generation was, on
that account, mostly interested. Prophecies are often read as if they
all related to events which are still future, and which _we_ therefore
look at with anxious interest, whereas the truth is that events long
ago transpired, and which we have almost forgotten, but which once
were the great epochs of history, form the important theme of the bulk
of prophetical predictions. In some cases prophecy covers the ground
of events yet to transpire. But then, it is noticeable that the more
remote the events described are, the more vague and dim the visions
concerning them become, until we clearly perceive that, were it not for
the new additional light of continued revelations upon the last scenes
of the history of the world, we would never, from the first predictions
delivered, be able to form a clear and distinct idea of these scenes.
Notice, as an illustration of this, the first prediction of the "seed
of woman" who should crush the head of the serpent, and follow the
gradual development of this prophecy, until later prophets are able
by the Spirit of God to describe not only many minute details of the
birth, life and death of our Savior (Isaiah), but also the precise time
for his coming in the flesh (Daniel). And so it is with all predictions
given. They increase in clearness as the events draw near. They
indicate, therefore, by their very nature the necessity of continued
revelation, as the first rays of morning indicate the approach of the
coming daylight.
In reading the prophetical books, this must be kept in view.
JONAH is the most ancient of the prophets whose written records have
come down to us. He lived more than eight hundred years before Christ.
His book is a narrative of how the prophet was called on a mission to
the great city of Nineveh but in disobedience to the command of God, he
fled in an opposite direction, intending to go to Tarshish. On the way,
however, a great storm arose. Jonah, on his own suggestion, was thrown
into the sea, and by a great fish carried back to the land he had left.
After this miraculous deliverance, he goes to Nineveh and delivers his
message, which results in the repentance of the inhabitants and the
repeal of the announced judgment.
The spiritual lessons conveyed in the narrative are very important and
instructive. Yet the prediction delivered is one that chiefly concerned
the people of Nineveh for whom it was intended.
It has been observed that the prophet himself, in his {356} miraculous
deliverance from the deep, furnishes "the fullest and nearest shadow
of Christ's lying in the grave, which the scriptures afford," but
then it must also be remembered that this type would by no means have
been clear to us had not Christ himself pointed it out. It is only
through new revelation on the subject that we are enabled to see the
resemblance between the deliverance of Jonah and the resurrection of
Christ. This "fullest and nearest shadow" is therefore in itself a
proof of the necessity of continuous revelation.
JOEL was contemporary with Jonah. He lived B.C. 810-795, and addressed
himself to Judah. He first delineates an impending devastation under
the picture of successive armies of locusts, and of burning drought.
There are some differences of opinion as to the events to which these
opening visions refer. They most probably refer to the successive
subjugations of the country by Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans.
Then follows an exhortation to penitence, fasting and prayer, and
a promise of deliverance from the evils predicted. In the second
chapter, _v_. 18-31, the effusion of the Holy Spirit, previous to the
destruction of Jerusalem and subsequent calamities, "the great and
terrible day of the Lord," is clearly predicted. But here again a new
revelation, which was given through Peter (Acts ii, 16-21) was needed
to point out that the fulfilment of the prediction took place at the
day of Pentecost. The Jews were well conversant with the writings of
this prophet and held him in great reverence, but they could not see
the connection between the prophecy and its fulfilment, until pointed
out to them by an inspired servant of God. And this remark applies to
almost all prophecy.
The last clause of the last verse of the second chapter, as well as the
third chapter, refer to events yet future. The gathering of the nations
of the earth to the valley of Jehosaphat and their destruction, the
establishment of Jerusalem as the holy city and the glorious state of
the millennial kingdom are the themes treated on. But--let us repeat
the remark--when the fulfilment of these predictions comes, the world
will need inspired men to point that fulfilment out, just as the Jews
needed on the day of Pentecost. The book of Joel furnishes decisive
proof of the necessity of continuous revelation.
AMOS was another contemporary of Jonah and of Joel. He lived B.C.
810-785. His residence was Bethel, and he was sent as a messenger to
Israel. The first two chapters of his book contain predictions of the
judgments of God upon the {357} various states surrounding Judea.
"The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem,"
an indication of the anger of Jehovah against these states. The
punishment of Syria, of the Philistines, of Tyre, Edom and Ammon,
Moab, and, finally, also of Judah and Israel are foretold. The prophet
then devotes four chapters to exhorting the people to repentance,
reminds them of what God had done for them. But as he sees that his
exhortations have no effect, he sets forth in visions the approaching
destruction of the people, until the inhabitants of Bethel tried to
prohibit him from prophesying any more among them (chapter vii). The
prophet, however, continues in the name of the Lord, who had called
him to the office, to describe the near destruction of the nation. And
having done so he closes his book with a few verses (chapter ix, 11-15)
on a still future restoration, the glory of which shall be shared by
Edom and other Gentile nations, a prediction that is referred to by
Peter (Acts, xv, 17), as beginning to be fulfilled in the establishment
of the Church of Christ. And here, again, a new revelation was required
to make the precise meaning of the prediction clear.
HOSEA was a native of Israel, and lived B.C. 800-725. His ministry
lasted about sixty years, until the ten tribes were led captive by the
Assyrians, and his prophecies are almost exclusively directed against
Israel, the most prominent tribe of which was Ephraim, with the capital
of Samaria. At the time of this prophet the idolatry commenced by
Jeroboam in Dan and Bethel had continued for one hundred and fifty
years, and all classes of the people were sunk in vices of various
kinds.
The first three chapters of his book contain a symbolic representation
of the fallen people and God's statement that He had now rejected them.
In order to exemplify this, the prophet is commanded to wed a "wife of
whoredoms" and to give to the children names indicating the wrath of
God. The prophet having complied with this command is again directed to
love another adulteress "according to the love of the Lord toward the
children of Israel" (iii; 1), thus giving to the ten tribes remarkable
object lessons concerning their faithlessness towards Jehovah. The
severe denunciations in this part of the book close with promises of a
final restoration (chapter ii, 14-24; iii, 4, 5).
The following chapters reiterate more fully the subjects of the first
three. In chapters iv-x, the prophet brings up the charges against
the people: "There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in
the land. By swearing, lying, killing, {358} stealing and committing
adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood." "The priests
are like the people." For these sins the judgment of destruction is
pronounced, but the book closes with a prediction of God's blessings as
the final outcome.
Whether these last promises refer to the return of some Israelites
under Ezra or whether they remain to be fulfilled is not clear from the
book itself. Paul, directed by the Spirit of revelation, applies some
of these promises to the Gentiles (Romans ix, 25, 26), an application
that could not be made except by the light of continuous revelation.
ISAIAH lived B.C. 765-698 and was, consequently, part of the time
contemporary with Hosea. He prophesied among the Jews, as Hosea
prophesied among the Israelites.
The political aspect of the world at this time is important to notice.
Judea and Israel had not long been two kingdoms, and the latter was
fast approaching her destruction. With Moab, Edom and the Philistines,
Judah had repeated conflicts, each of these tributaries striving more
or less successfully to gain independence. Assyria was now growing
in strength and extending her conquests on all sides. Egypt had been
subdued by Ethiopia and the two countries were strengthened by a
union. A struggle between Egypt and Assyria, the two rival powers of
the world, was coming, and both of these powers endeavored to secure
the alliance of Judah as well as of Israel, wherefore the injunctions
of the prophets were for the people of God to keep a strictly neutral
position without any regard to flatteries or threatenings. Babylon had
just commenced her struggle for independence, and tried to form an
alliance with Judah, for which purpose a special ambassador, Merodach
Baladan, was sent to King Hezekiah. This pious king in an unguarded
moment, entertained the messengers and displayed to them his own
treasures and the treasures of the house of the Lord, which kindness
and courtesy drew forth from the more clear seeing prophet of God the
awful announcement that the time would come when all these treasures
would be carried away into Babylon, and that even the princes of Judah
should be made base slaves in the palace of Babel (chapter xxxix).
During the time of this prophet, the kingdom of Judah was invaded by
the combined forces of Syria and Israel. This unfortunate kingdom,
Israel, had fallen through idolatry and every sin, but she filled her
cup of iniquity by combining with an idolatrous nation in war upon her
brethren. This brought the long predicted destruction, and Israel was
captured {359} by the Assyrians. The event stands out more clearly as a
judgment of God when it is remembered that the same Assyrian power was
miraculously, defeated when attempting to invade Judah.
If we keep these facts in view, the writings of Isaiah become
intelligible and clear.
The first twelve chapters of this book contain reproofs, warnings and
promises, chiefly directed to Judah and Israel. In these promises,
predictions of the coming Messiah and his work are prominent. The next
chapters (xiii-xxiii) are directed against Assyria, Babylon, Moab,
Egypt, Philistia, Syria, Edom and Tyre. In chapters xxiv-xxxv the
sins and the misery of the people are rebuked. The Assyrian invasion
is predicted and the destruction of Samaria, while the deliverance
of Jerusalem is being promised. The following four chapters are
historical, describing the invasion of Senacherib and the defeat of
his army, and also the sickness of the King Hezekiah and his recovery.
The closing chapters (xl:lxvi) are again prophetic, embracing events
from the Babylonian captivity to the establishment of the millennial
Kingdom of Christ. The deliverance of the Jews from Babylon, the
character, sufferings, death and glory of Messiah; the gospel call of
the Gentile world; the wickedness of the Jews in rejecting Messiah and
their consequent scattering; their final return and the prevalence of
the Kingdom of God, all these are clearly predicted, but the subjects
are often blended together, and the transition from one to another is
sometimes so rapid as to render it difficult to follow the connection.
Indeed, in order to understand fully the passages that refer to events
yet future, some divine revelation seems to be necessary. For it is
only by the aid of the spirit of prophecy that prophecies can be fully
understood.
MICAH, B.C. 758-699, was a contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, and lived
in the southern part of the kingdom of Judah. He does little more than
reiterate the predictions of the two mentioned prophets, adding such
illustrations and exhortations as were suitable to the class among whom
he labored.
One of his most remarkable predictions states that the gift of prophecy
should be withdrawn from the ten tribes for a long time. "Therefore,
night shall be sent you, that ye shall not have a vision, and it shall
be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down
over the prophets and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall
the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall
all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God" (iii: 6, 7).
{360} Here it is predicted that the people should be left in spiritual
darkness because of the cessation of prophecy, but the darkness shall
not be an everlasting one, for it is a "night" caused by the "setting
of the sun," and consequently, as day follows night, so a time will
again come when the prophetic day shall dawn upon the people. This
is clearly implied in the language used, so that the very threat to
withdraw the Spirit of prophecy implies a promise of its renewal.
NAHUM, B.C. 720-690. This prophet was contemporary with Micah and
Isaiah. He commenced his ministry at the time of the captivity of
the ten tribes. And while the Assyrian power was boasting over this
success, he is called upon to announce the fall and destruction of
their great metropolis, Nineveh. This is the theme of the whole book.
Nahum wrote his predictions in poetical form, and its sublimity of
style is unsurpassed. The twelfth and thirteenth verses of the first
chapter are a parenthetic insertion, giving to the captives in Assyria
a promise of deliverance at some future time.