The second prophecy we wish to bring before your notice, fell from the lips of none less than our Lord Himself. It was uttered during the last week of His earthly life, when with His disciples He was in the near vicinity of the Temple. Remarks were made about " how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts," when to the utter amazement of His disciples our Lord prophesied that the day would come; when not one stone should be left upon another, and that the wonderful Temple should be utterly destroyed. This striking prophecy was uttered A.D. 33, a date, the correctness of which not all the ingenuity of Modernists and Higher Critics can possibly dispute. Read Luke 21:20-24,20And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:20‑24) and you will see in plain, unmistakable language our Lord prophesied that,
(1) Jerusalem would stand a terrible siege, accompanied by immense slaughter;
(2) The magnificent Temple would be completely destroyed;
(3) The Jews would be driven from their land, and scattered among the nations;
(4) Jerusalem would be trodden of the Gentiles until "the times of the Gentiles" be fulfilled.
In the year A.D. 70, only some short 37 years since our Lord uttered this prophecy, it was fulfilled to the very letter. It is very striking that Josephus, an eye-witness of the siege of Jerusalem, has written a history of these terrible times, entitled, The Wars of the Jews. Surely this points to the providence of God in a very remarkable way. Modernists will boldly question the statements of the Bible, but are ready to accept without question a secular account as to the fulfillment of our Lord's prophecy. Does this not show bias? Scripture warns us of men who " willingly are ignorant " (2 Peter 3:55For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: (2 Peter 3:5)); and of those, who do not " like to retain God in their knowledge " (Rom. 1:2828And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; (Romans 1:28)).
And who was Josephus, the eye-witness of the siege of Jerusalem? He belonged to a high priestly family of great antiquity. On his mother's side he had royal blood in his veins. He was Governor of Galilee under the Romans, and when rebellion broke out he took the side of his nation against the Romans, and became a distinguished military leader on their side, a man of remarkable character and ability.
A little more than a generation had passed by since the Jews, in their fanatical hatred of our Lord, had rent the air with the cry, "His blood be on us, and on our children." (Matt. 27:2525Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. (Matthew 27:25)), when the blow fell. Vespasian, the Roman General, laid siege to Jerusalem at the head of a well-trained army of 100,000 seasoned troops. During the siege Josephus was taken prisoner. He managed to ingratiate himself in Vespasian's favor by telling him he would soon be proclaimed Emperor. Probably Josephus had ascertained this was the mind of the army, for the soldiers shortly after elected Vespasian to be their Emperor, whereupon he returned to Rome, leaving his son, Titus, to carry on the siege.
Josephus tells us the siege was one of the bloodiest in history. At that time the Feast of the Passover was held, drawing multitudes to Jerusalem, accounting for the large number of Jews being present at that time. Over 1,000,000 were slain, and only 18,000 taken prisoner. Very many were crucified round the walls of Jerusalem, till the forests in the neighborhood for miles around failed to supply the wood whereby to furnish crosses for the multitudes awaiting their terrible fate. What a striking answer to the cry when our Lord was crucified, that His blood should be on them and on their children, a literal and awful nemesis overtaking the nation.
The magnificent Temple, in spite of the strenuous exertions of Titus to preserve the sacred' building, was totally destroyed by fire. Literally not one stone was left upon another. Our Lord also prophesied that the Jews would be scattered among the nations. That waited however, for a later date to be fulfilled, as we shall see.
In A.D. 131 a fanatical deceiver, Bar-chobab, arose, giving himself out to be the promised Messiah. Well did our Lord give warning, "Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them." (Luke 21:88And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. (Luke 21:8)).
This deceiver headed an insurrection against the Romans. This time the Romans decided to end for all time the constantly recurring risings of the Jews. A relentless purge took place. More than 580,000 Jews were slain. The remainder were driven out of the land (A.D. 131/132), and scattered among the nations. Thus did the mills of God grind slowly but surely, and our Lord's prophecy was fulfilled That the Jews have been scattered among the nations from that day to this is a matter of common knowledge. At this present time we see our Lord's prophecy being fulfilled under our very eyes. Who can deny that?
That the Jews have not been absorbed among the nations among whom they were scattered is an astounding miracle. In every case where alien groups find themselves strangers in another land, they become in course of time tracelessly absorbed, with the one solitary exception, that of the Jews, a miracle many times repeated, for many are the nations among whom they are scattered. Take the one case known to ourselves, that of the Norman conquest of the Anglo-Saxons. Where are the Normans, where the Anglo-Saxons to-day? Tracelessly disappeared, their descendants composing one compact nation. Blind indeed must the man be, who cannot see the finger of God in the separate condition of the Jews to this day.
Jerusalem has indeed been trodden down of the Gentiles. It was dominated in turn by the Romans, Egyptians, Caliphs, Mamelukes, Turks, the domination of this last covering 100 years. Palestine was wrested from the Turks during the first great world war, when a mandate was given to Britain. At this moment the Jewish Republic has been set up, dependent on the goodwill of the leading Gentile powers. Before these lines will have reached the reader's eye, what may not have happened? Things are in the melting pot. One thing is certain, Scripture will be fulfilled to the very letter.
We have chosen these two striking prophecies and their fulfillments out of many in Scripture, surely sufficient to convince any, who are prepared to give full weight to facts, that the Bible is inspired of God with an authoritative message to all mankind.
It is no wonder that a Book with such a vital message should have been translated in whole or in part into over 1,000 languages, a truly tremendous accomplishment, the only book in the world of which this can be said. With this Book in hand the missionary has ever been a civilizing agent.
There is a story told of two sailor lads, who were shipwrecked on an unknown island in that part of the world where cannibalism was rife. Filled with anxiety as to what might befall them, one of them climbed a lofty tree to view the surrounding country. He soon rejoined his mate with a broad and relieved smile on his face, saying: " We are all right here, mate; I saw a mission station." It was the power and influence of the Bible, penetrating to that far-off island in the southern seas, that set their minds at rest. Could this be said of any other book in the world? -
We read, " The word of God is quick [living] and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4:1212For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)).
Here we come to the grand secret of the Book. It is LIVING. It has within it perennial vitality. It never grows old. " The word of God... liveth and abideth forever." (1 Peter 1:2323Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (1 Peter 1:23)). A preacher was anxious to secure an audience in the open air, and hit upon an original device to secure one. He placed his Bible on the ground, covering it with his hat. He then walked round and round, warning the passers-by not to touch his hat, for there was something alive under it. He soon collected a curious crowd. He then uncovered the Bible, and holding it aloft, proclaimed it to be the word of God living and powerful, and forthwith began to preach the Gospel to those standing by.
Even the late Professor T. H. Huxley, the notorious infidel and evolutionist, was constrained to write,
" I have always been strongly in favor of secular education without theology, but I must confess that I have been no less seriously perplexed, to know by what practical measures the religious feeling, which is the basis of moral conduct, is to be kept up in the present chaotic state of opinion on these matters WITHOUT THE USE OF THE BIBLE."
When a prejudiced infidel can find no book in the wide world, calculated to stem the tide of evil, and to bring in an influence that makes for good " moral conduct " save the Scriptures, he renders to the Bible a most striking and powerful testimony. The Bible is indeed without doubt the most wonderful book in the world, and it comes from the little land of Palestine.
And best of all it contains God's offer of free salvation, of the forgiveness of sins, of the gift of eternal life to sinful men through the efficacy of the atoning death of our Lord on the cross of Calvary. But to receive these wondrous blessings there must be on our side " repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:2121Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)). There is such a thing as being intellectually convinced of the truths of Christianity, and yet knowing nothing of a link by faith with the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal Savior.
We conclude this section of this pamphlet with one sentence from God's word. It deserves to be written in letters of gold across the skies. It deserves to be written in your heart of hearts,
" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and THOU SHALT BE SAVED." (Acts r6: 31).
What a blessing! What an offer! Millions have received it in faith. The offer is to all. Why not you, if you have not already accepted it?