“E B” suggests that there are eight conversions in John, the unnamed companion of Andrew being the eighth (John 1:40). This is generally supposed to be the apostle John himself, the writer of the gospel. And hence we suppose was not included with the others. At the same time we find that many of the so-called “sevens” are really manufactured out of a far greater number. We think such a practice is useless unless the seven chosen can clearly be shown to be grouped to illustrate some special truth, and would ask our contributors to see when they do send “sevens” that they are not “eights,” or even higher numbers in reality.
The following note on the accuracy of Scripture may interest our readers.
In Jeremiah 32:2-5; 34:2, 3, we find it was prophesied of Zedekiah, king of Judah, that after escaping from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar he should be captured, that his eyes should behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and that they should speak mouth to mouth, and that he should go to Babylon, and in Ezekiel 12:10-13 we find it further prophesied that though he should die in Babylon, yet he should not see it.
In Jeremiah 39:5-7 and 52:8-11 There is recorded the exact fulfillment of these apparently contradictory prophecies, Nebuchadnezzar first putting out Zedekiah’s eyes, and then leading him captive to Babylon, where he remained in prison till his death.
We are told by Josephus, the Jewish historian, that Zedekiah ridiculed the two contradictory prophecies. Was he not like many now who ridicule what seem to them to be contradictions in Scripture, and who will find out when it is too late that they are terrible truths? M. T.
We find that many consider that they cannot take in this Magazine without joining the Bible Student’s Class. We need hardly say that this is not the case.