The Kingdom of Promise and ProphecyWhiteside, Robertson L.
Religion
The Kingdom of Promise and Prophecy
Whiteside, Robertson L.
Bible -- Prophecies
THE PROPOSITION: The plan of Salvation preached by Christ and his
apostles is the scheme of redemption foretold in promise and prophecy.
This proposition needs no defining. I am aware of the fact that some
future-kingdom advocates do not go so far as to say that none of the
prophecies referred Christianity; but the ones from whom I quoted in the
preceding article, as well as many others, boldly teach that
Christianity is unknown to the prophets. In so arguing they commit
themselves to the fact that only one scheme of redemption was foretold
by the prophets. On this point we agree. Hence, to prove that
Christianity was foretold by the prophets is to eliminate any other
scheme yet to be. In establishing my proposition I shall rely solely on
what is said in the New Testament, for Jesus and his inspired
representatives are the infallible interpreters of the prophets.
They tell us that Jesus, in Matt. 13, began to set forth a new plan, the
plan of which the prophets said nothing; yet in his speech Jesus said:
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired
to see the things which ye see and saw them not; and to hear the things
which ye hear, and heard them not.” (Matt. 13:16, 17.) Now how could
these prophets and righteous men have desired to see and to hear what
these disciples were then seeing and hearing if it had never been
revealed to them that such things would be?
Late in the day on which Jesus arose from the dead two of his disciples
went out to Emmaus. They knew that the body of Jesus was missing, but it
seems that they did not know he had been seen alive. Along the way Jesus
joined them, but they did not recognize him. They related to him what
they knew of recent events, and added: “But we hoped that it was he who
should redeem Israel.” (Luke 24:21.) They had hoped for freedom from
Rome—redemption for the nation from Roman rule. These are the opening
words of a speech that Jesus made to them: “O foolish men, and slow of
heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (verse 25). Does
not that virtually say that they, in thinking the prophets spoke of
political deliverance, had not really believed what Moses and the
prophets had foretold? They had believed that Jesus would give them an
earthly kingdom; they had not believed what Moses and the prophets had
foretold. They needed a better understanding of Moses and the prophets.
“And beginning from Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them
in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” If we had that
speech!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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