WAS HE A PROPHET OF GOD? AN INVESTIGATION AND TESTIMONY, BY J. M. SJODAHL. 1891.
The controversy between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the various churches of the world turns upon one great question, viz.: Has God again revealed His will to mankind through Joseph Smith, the Prophet? If He has, and this can be proven, then the controversy is at an end, and it is the duty of all to accept the message of that prophet as from God. Then to accept the gospel which Joseph Smith preached is to accept God, who sent him, and to reject it is to reject God. This question is, therefore, one of the greatest importance and should be carefully considered by everyone who is concerned about the salvation of his own soul and the souls of those who are dear to him.
The question is a twofold one, and each part of it demands a separate consideration.
1. Are the books of the Bible all that is necessary for the guidance of men to eternal life and exhaltation, or, is continuous revelation necessary?
2. Is there any evidence, supposing continuous revelation to be necessary, that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God?
The question: Are the books of the Bible all that is necessary to guide us to the attainment of eternal salvation? has been variously answered.
The Romanists claim that they are not. They give to genuine tradition the same authority as to the written word and submit both to the interpretation of their infallible Pope.
Most of the Protestants deny the authority of the tradition and the infallibility of any one representative of the church. They claim that the written word, as contained in the Bible, is the only necessary and authoritative guide in matters of religion. An eminent Baptist divine, Dr. Angus, says: "Asthe Holy Scriptures claim to be regarded as the book of God, a divine authority, so they claim to be the only authority. It is notarule, it istherule both of practice and faith. To ascertain its meaning, we employ reason and the opinions of good men, and the experience of a devout heart; but no one of these helps, nor all combined, can be regarded as of coordinate authority." (Bible Handbook, page 69.)
Bishop Grundtvig was aware of the weakness of this Protestantic position, taken and vigorously defended by the reformers. For the guidance of the "church" he claimed in the first place a "living word," a continuous tradition, expounding the "written word," which, he insisted, is nothing but a dead letter until quickened by the Holy Spirit, present in the "church;" and in his view, curiously enough, not the books of the Bible but the Apostolic Symbol wasthewritten word,par excellence, composed, probably, by our Savior himself and transmitted from the Apostles to the posterity in all ages. The worthy bishop gave to the Apostolic Symbol the place that is otherwise generally accorded to the books of the Bible, and agreed with the Romanists in holding the necessity of a living interpreter, directed by the Spirit, while, with the Protestants, he denied the claims of the Pope, or any pope, as to the monopoly of this office.
The Latter-day Saints hold that the books of the Bible were sufficient for the people to whom they were addressed and for the purpose for which they were written. As records of God's dealings with mankind in ages past, and as prophecies of things yet future, they contain instructions for all ages and all nations; but as circumstances change, as new emergencies arise, and the plans of God develop, continued revelations are just as necessary for the guidance of the church as revelation ever was. "A religion that excludes new revelation from its principles, is just the very religion that suits the devil * * * for he knows well that God has nothing to do, nor ever had, with any religion that did not acknowledge prophets and revelators, through whom He could speak and reveal His will to His sons and daughters." (Orson Pratt.The Seer, vol. ii, No. 5, May, 1854.)
Thus the various views on the question may be briefly stated.
The word of God, the Bible itself, amply justifies, I think, the position of the Latter-day Saints on this important question. The purposes for which the various books were written; the difficulties that present themselves when the exact meaning of many passages is investigated; the usual dealings of Godwith His people, as explained in the Bible, and many predictions of new revelations, all these facts give evidence of the correctness of the position taken by the Church of Christ in this last dispensation. What man needs, is not only a Bible and a genuine tradition, expounded by an interpreter, even if this should have, in some degree, the Holy Spirit, but he needs first of all and above all a direct communication with God, his heavenly Father. He may study the written word humbly and carefully, and thereby he will certainly, through the aid of the Holy Spirit, acquire much useful knowledge concerning religion and eternal truths; he will, if following the precepts laid down, be led onward and forward and attain a certain degree of eternal happiness. But the knowledge necessary for the work to be done in connection with the establishment of the dispensation of the fulness of times or for the obtaining of the glory emanating from the ordinances of this dispensation, he will never acquire by his own study of any amount of sacred literature.
The truth of this statement becomes self-evident, when we mark the purpose for which the sacred books were written. If there were any book of the Bible by God designated to be a complete code of laws, all-sufficient for all times and all conditions, such a fact might reasonably be expected to be either expressly stated, or implied somewhere within the covers of the sacred volume. But no such statement is to be found, nor can it be shown to be implied, when the scope of each book is clearly understood.
The Pentateuch, for instance, contains the principles on which the Jewish theocracy was founded, a dispensation that was, according to prophetic declarations, only to last for a certain time. In the first eleven chapters of Genesis we find a few outlines of the Patriarchal dispensation, and some of the ordinances of that dispensation are referred to without any detailed account. The last chapters of Genesis contain merely a brief historical sketch of the transition from the patriarchal dispensation to the Mosaic dispensation. The remaining books of Moses (as indeed all of the Old Testament) are chiefly an incomplete history of the dealings of God with that one nation which He had chosen for the purpose of communicating His will to mankind, until the appearance of the promised "Seed." But the dispensation itself was a transient one. The principles upon which it was founded must necessarilyalso be subject to such modifications as a new dispensation would require. Paul, the greatest Jewish scholar of his age, is very emphatic on this point. "It (the Mosaic law) was added because of transgression,tillthe Seed should come to whom the promise was made." "Before faith came we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the lawwasour schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come we are no longer under a schoolmaster." (Galatians iii, 23-25.) "(God) also has made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death (the Mosaic law), written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? * * For if thatwhich is done away(the law) was glorious, much more that which remaineth." (II Cor. iii, 6-11.)
The laws of the Mosaic dispensation have, according to the same apostle, no more claim or binding force, relative to the members of the Christian dispensation, than a dead husband has to a living wife: "For the woman which has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband; * * wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ." (Rom. vii, 2-4.)
Of the remaining historical books of the Old Testament much need not be said. The book of Joshua describes the settlement of the Israelites in the Holy Land. In the Judges we read of repeated apostasy, its punishment and God's mercy in delivering the penitent. The books of Samuel show the establishment of the ancient prophetic office and also the rejection of this divine appointment and of God astheruler, and how God, yielding to the demands of His blinded people, allows them to have a king. In the Books of the Kings, to which the Chronicles seem to be a supplement, we can trace the awful consequences of the revolt of the people against the prophetic office, until the nation, after a short time of prosperity under David and Solomon, falls to pieces and are carried away captives.
The poetical books are effusions of devout hearts contemplating the past mercies of God, His present goodness and faithfulness, and containing more or less distinct predictions of the future events in the Kingdom of God. The Psalms, many of which were composed by David, were intended for the edification of the people when gathered to their national festivities in Jerusalem. The singing of them formed, no doubt, an important part of the service. The book of Job and the Song of Songs are specimens of early dramatic compositions. The hero of the book of Job was an inhabitant of Uz, in the northeast part of the Arabian desert, and a contemporary, perhaps, of Terah, the father of Abraham. There are some grand lessons laid down in the book. The question is discussed whether great suffering is not an evidence of great guilt. The friends of Job affirm this, while he himself, under the greatest afflictions, denies it, appealing to God's righteousness and faithfulness. The Song of Songs, the best one of the one thousand and five which Solomon composed (I Kings iv, 32), is a description of wedded love, one of the noblest affections which man is capable of enjoying, and was probably composed when Solomon introduced into his family an Egyptian princess (I Kings iii, 1; vii, 8; ix, 24) as a plural wife. The Proverbs, and the Ecclesiastes contain many sentiments showing both the wisdom and the vanity of the world, pointing to Him who is the Wisdom, the Truth, and the Light of the World.
In all these books we find truths scattered as numerous and as beautifully as the stars in a clear November evening sky; but the very scope of each book is such that it cannot be accepted as a closed and finished code of revelations, sufficient for all contingencies that can ever arise in the history of the human race, any more than the beautifully sparkling light of the stars is all that is necessary for the illumination of the earth.
These contain many predictions bearing directly on the last days, for prophecy is a record offutureevents, as history is a record ofpastevents. 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 propheciesgenerallyconcern 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 whichwetherefore 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 hismiraculous 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 thevarious 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,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 capturedby 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).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.
For a space of one hundred and fifty years the voice of prophecy had now been heard among the people. Sometimes two or more inspired men had been raised up at the same time, in different parts of the country. But with the death of Isaiah, Micah, and Nahum, an interval of fifty years comes, during which period no prophecies were delivered, as far as we know. During this time the ten tribes toil in their captivity, and Judah, still in possession of his inheritance in Palestine, is growing in sin and hastening on to destruction. But as this fatal moment approaches, God again sends inspired messengers to warn the people, and to declare His decrees. He never overthrows nations without due warning. He never said that further revelations were superfluous.
ZEPHANIAH, B.C. 640-609, revives the prophetic office again after fifty years' interval. It seems that God left the people to themselves during the reign of the wicked King Manasseh, and first whey Josiah had ascended the throne the voice of God was again heard. This prophet announces the approaching judgment upon Judah on account of their idolatry and other sins. Baal, with his black-robed priests (chemarin), and Moloch are to be cut off, men and beasts, fowlsand fishes to be consumed (chapter i). In the second chapter he predicts the overthrow of the Philistines, the Moabites, Ammonites and Ethiopians, as well as the desolation of the great Assyrian capital, Nineveh. The book closes with promises of a restoration yet future.
JEREMIAH, B.C. 628-585, was called to the prophetic office some years before the death of Zephaniah. His prophecies are delivered in various places. He commences in his native place, Anathoth, but he was soon compelled to flee from here on account of his persecutions; wherefore he took up his residence in Jerusalem. During the reign of Josiah and Jehoahaz he continued his ministry uninterrupted, but when Jehojachim ascended the throne, Jeremiah was incarcerated and sentenced to death, although the sentence was never carried out. In prison the prophet committed his message to writing and commissioned one Baruch to read it in the temple on a fast-day. The reckless monarch, after having heard a few pages, had the roll cut to pieces and burned. During the reign of the next king, Jehojachin, the prophet again utters a voice of warning, but without effect. Zedekiah became king. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem, but withdrew on hearing that the Egyptians were coming to rescue. On this occasion the prophet delivered the prediction that the Chaldeans should come again and take the city and burn it with fire. Having delivered this message he left Jerusalem, as did, according to the Book of Mormon, at the same time another righteous man with his family, Lehi. But Jeremiah was apprehended and thrown into prison, where he remained until the city was taken by Nebuchadnezzar.
The incarceration of the prophet of God was the sin that filled the cup of iniquity of the Jews at this time, and it brought speedy judgment.
The Babylonian king gave the prophet the choice of following the captives to Babylon or to remain with the remnant. He chose the latter; and from this time all his endeavors are to turn the people to God, promising them that if they would do so, God would yet build them up in their desolate country. But they did not listen to his advice. They left the country and emigrated to Egypt, bringing the prophet with them (chapter xliii). Here he once more lifts up his voice, trying to induce the people to turn to the Lord. After this we hear no more of him. Tradition says he was put to death in Egypt by his own people.
Among the predictions of this remarkable prophet, we note the following: The fate of Zedekiah (xxxiv, 2, 3); theprecise duration of the Babylonian captivity, viz., seventy years (xxv, 11, 12); the downfall of Babylon and the return of the Jews (xxix, 10-14). There are also many predictions concerning Messiah, whom he calls "Jehovah our righteousness." The final salvation of Israel is set forth in many passages: iii, 15-18; xxxi, 31-34; 1, 4, 5.
As the predictions of Jeremiah are not chronologically arranged, and no clue is left as to their true chronological order, it is sometimes very difficult to decide which predictions have already been fulfilled and which refer to events yet future. Only through the Spirit of revelation can this be determined.
HABAKKUK, B.C. 612-598, is thought to have lived in Judea shortly before the captivity. If this supposition is correct, he was contemporary with Jeremiah. The prophet commences his book with a lamentation over the sins of Judah, foretelling the judgment that was to be poured out over the people through the invasion of the Chaldeans. Then the destruction of the Chaldeans is shown unto him in a vision (chapter ii), and the book closes with a song, composed probably for the use of the people in public worship, and designed to comfort them under the coming afflictions.
DANIEL, B.C. 606-534, was born shortly before the Babylonian captivity and carried to Babylon in his eighteenth year. Here, through his faithfulness to his God, he soon rose to an eminent position, and retained his power during both the Babylonian and the Persian dynasties. He prophesied during the whole of the captivity, his last two prophecies being delivered two years after the return of the captives. He did not return to Palestine, but died in Babylon, at least ninety years old.
The first six chapters are a historic record, setting forth the events which led to the recognition of Daniel as a prophet of God, also the conversion of Nebuchadnezzar, the fall of Belshazzar and the promotion of Daniel to the office of a president over one hundred and twenty princes "who should be over the whole kingdom." This historic record is interwoven with predictions relating to the various kingdoms of the world. Thus in the second chapter we see before us, as in a beautiful panorama, a succession of kingdoms until the kingdom of God is being established, "never to be destroyed," "but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."
This prediction is distinct and clear, yet the remark made repeatedly before is applicable here: Revelation is necessaryin order to understand the details of its fulfilment. That God in the last days will establish an everlasting kingdom, is foretold plainly enough. But "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom," so that the prediction given does not exclude the necessity of continuous revelation. Through revelation Daniel was enabled to predict the establishment of this kingdom; through revelation only can we perceive the establishment thereof and recognize its existence.
The second part of the book is prophetic and comprises in its wonderful views events from the time of Daniel to the final resurrection of the dead. It is an epitomized history of the world, written in advance of the events.
In chapter vii, the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman empires are represented by the four beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard and a fourth beast "dreadful and terrible, and strong, exceedingly." This, the Roman beast (or kingdom) has ten horns, among which a "little horn" came up, having "eyes like a man and a mouth speaking great things." The prophet follows the proceedings of this beast and particularly the little horn until "the ancient of days" sits in judgment. Note that the whole of this vision has reference to the four empires in their religious connection with each other, as the dream of Nebuchadnezzar (chapter ii) represents them in their political connection. The "little horn" is therefore to be understood to represent the papal power, which afterward is said to have a time of twelve hundred and sixty years allotted to its blasphemous rule, after which time comes the triumph of the "Saints of the Most High."
In the eighth chapter the prophet has a vision concerning the Medo-Persian and the Grecian empires, the second and the third "beasts" of the previous vision. The Medo-Persian empire is represented by a ram with two horns, and the Grecian by a goat having a "notable horn," Alexander the Great, between its eyes. The conquests of Alexander are described, and also the divisions of his kingdom into four parts. Then rises "a little horn" as in the previous vision, a false, crafty tyrant, probably Antiochus Epiphanes, whose character is outlined, and whose oppressions of the people of God causes Daniel to faint and feel sick for many days. That this little horn represents Antiochus Epiphanes is a view entertained by the most ancient writers, but this does not exclude the probability that the papal power is also referred to as the complete fulfilment of this part of the prophecy. What Antiochus was to the Jews during the time of the Maccabees, the papal power has been to the Church of Christ in all ages.
The ninth chapter contains a prayer offered by the prophet in behalf of himself and his people. He particularly supplicates God to again restore the sanctuary in Jerusalem. As an answer to this prayer, Gabriel appears and informs him of the precise time for the coming of Messiah, "to finish the transgression, and to make an end to sin, and to make a reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy:" In seven weeks, or in forty-nine years, reckoning from the decree of Artaxerxes, 457 B.C., the walls of Jerusalem were to be rebuilt, though in times of great trouble. In sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and thirty-four years, Christ was to appear, and in the midst of one week, that is after three years and a half, to be slain.
In the tenth chapter we are allowed to cast a glance behind the veil, and contemplate the wonderful fact that heavenly messengers are employed to convey intelligence to holy men, and that they, while so doing, have to overcome opposing powers, much as mortal men have in the performance of their duties. A divine messenger has been sent to instruct Daniel concerning some records in "the Scripture of Truth," a heavenly record, but this messenger is met and opposed by "the prince of the kingdom of Persia," whereupon a struggle that lasts for twenty days follows. The victory would apparently have been dubious had not Michael himself come to the assistance of the messenger.
In the eleventh chapter, the things noted in "the Scripture of Truth" are detailed. These things commence with the history of Persia. Four kings are foretold: Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius and Xerxes (v. 2). Then follows a prediction of Alexander the Great, his history and his successors in "the South" (Egypt) and the North (Syria) down to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (v. 3-29). Then follows the conquest of Syria by the Romans "Chittim," (v. 30), with the rise of the papal power (v. 31-89). The character of this power and many of its corrupt doctrines are here predicted with minuteness. Then come the invasions of the Saracens (the king of the South) and of the Turks (the king of the North). The countries to be conquered by the Turks are enumerated (v. 41-43), as are also those that were to escape. The chapter closes with a prediction concerning the end of the Turkish empire, yet to be fulfilled: "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."
The first verse of the twelfth chapter predicts the full deliveranceof the Jewish nation through the interposition of "the great prince," Michael, an event to be looked for after the fall of "the king of the North," or the Turkish empire, and the next verses refer to the resurrection of mankind. The book closes with some chronological statements, unintelligible even to the prophet, himself (v. 8), but the promise is given that at the end of time many shall receive knowledge concerning these predictions (v. 4), a promise which evidently implies renewed revelations. For how could these things in the last days be known without such revelation, any more than Daniel could know them without revelation?
One thing is noticeable all through this prophetic record. Each new vision requires a new revelation from God. Daniel is constantly seeking knowledge from God concerning the right understanding of the visions given, and it is only through this means that he receives his knowledge. Continuous revelation was necessary to this the most remarkable prophet of the ancient world. So it is to us, if we want to understand the plans and purposes of the Almighty. Where there is no revelation spiritual darkness prevails, notwithstanding the plainest writings of God. A Belshazzar and the whole collegium of learned priests may see on the wall the "Mene, mene, thekel, upharsin," but a Daniel, a man in constant communication with God, is required to interpret it according to its right meaning.
EZEKIEL, B.C. 595-574, was carried captive to Babylon at the first invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem. He was contemporary with Jeremiah and Daniel, but lived some two hundred miles north of Babylon on the banks of the river Chebar. Tradition has it that he was put to death by a fellow-exile whom he had rebuked for idolatry.
The predictions of this prophet were delivered, some before and some after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Before this event he calls upon the people to repent and warns them against seeking aid of the Egyptians. He assures them that the fall of their beloved city was now unavoidable. When the Chaldean king commenced his siege of the city, God revealed this to the prophet in his exile: "Son of man," God says to him, "write thee the name of the day, even of this day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day" (xxiv, 2). This was in the ninth year of his captivity. Three years later he received the intelligence that the city had fallen (xxxiii, 21). During this period all the predictions of the prophet are directed againstforeign nations. After he had heard of the fall of Jerusalem, his principal object in view is to comfort the people with promises of restoration and future blessings.
The closing chapters (xl-xlviii) of the book of Ezekiel undoubtedly refer to events yet future. The descriptions of the glorious building there given will no doubt once be recognized in a structure hereafter to be reared by the people of God. But as yet, like all unfulfilled predictions, much of it is obscure and cannot be understood until the light of revelation removes all obscurity therefrom.
OBADIAH, B.C. 588-583, is supposed to have prophesied during the period between the fall of Jerusalem and the conquest of Edom, five years later. On this supposition, he was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
His predictions are directed against the Edomites. And he especially points out that there was a great difference between the judgments executed upon Judah and upon Edom. For Judah should again be raised from her present fall and finally possess not only Judea, but also the land of the Philistines and that of the Edomites, while Edom should be "as though they had not been" (v. 16), a prediction that has been remarkably fulfilled to our own day. And while Edom is thus utterly swallowed up, "saviors shall come upon Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's" (v.21).
Three nations were foremost in afflicting the ancient people of God, viz.: the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, and the Edomites. Three prophets were commissioned by the Lord to announce the judgment upon these three nations: "Nahum foretells the destruction of the Assyrians, Habakkuk of the Chaldeans, and Obadiah of the Edomites."
As had been foretold by the prophets, and particularly by Isaiah, the exiled Jews were permitted to return home during the reign of Cyrus. As soon as they reached the Holy Land, we find them uniting their efforts to re-establish the religious rites of their fathers, aided by the noble leaders, Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra and Nehemiah. They erect an altar of burnt offering and rebuild the destroyed temple. Then the city wall is built, and various officers appointed as circumstances required. For further particulars the reader is referred to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
It may be well to state here—although the remark may, tosome extent, deviate from the subject under consideration—that the restoration of the Jewish nation at this time was very far from being that complete restoration to more than former privileges, liberty and glory, of which all the prophets had spoken in such glorious terms. The promise was that the whole remnant should be delivered, even if they were as numerous as the sand on the sea shore. But from Babylon only comparatively few ever returned. The company of Zernbbabel consisted of fifty thousand persons, and Ezra led six thousand more home. The great bulk of people that had been born in the foreign land never returned. (See Book of Esther).
Again, the promise was that a kingdom should be established, with the Holy City as the capital, an everlasting kingdom governed by God himself through Messiah. This promise has never yet been fulfilled. In fact, the Jews have never since their overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar been an independent nation, governed by rulers of their own, except during the very short rule of the Maccabees. After their return they continued to be tributary to the Persian king for about one hundred years, as a province of Syria. When Alexander had conquered Persia (Syria and Palestine with it), they fell into his hands. When the Grecian empire was divided, Palestine fell into the hands of Ptolemy Lagus as a part of the Egyptian monarchy, and it remained so for about one hundred years, when it was transferred to the kings of Syria, in which situation it greatly suffered during the frequent wars between Egypt and Syria. Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the Syrian kings, plundered the city and the temple and enslaved the people. For about three years and a half they were reduced to worse than Egyptian thraldom. Their sacred manuscripts were burnt, and the people were compelled to sacrifice to idols. The temple itself was dedicated to Jupiter, a statue of which was erected on the altar of God. Compare Daniel's prediction of "the little horn" (chapter viii, 9-12). Through the noble enthusiasm and patriotism of Mattathias and his sons, a struggle against the oppressor now took place which secured to the Jews a few years of dearly bought liberty and independence, but they were soon conquered by the Romans. Pompey marched his army into Judea, conquered Jerusalem and made the country tributary to Rome. Herod the Great deposed the last of the Maccabean family from his office, and Palestine has never since been an independent state. Ever since the Babylonian captivity the great bulk of the Jewish nation has been scattered abroad, without home, without temple,without an altar, and strangers have been masters in the land of promise. It is therefore clear that all the prophecies that relate to the glorious restoration of the Jews must be understood of a great restoration yet future, a very important fact for the right understanding of those prophecies.
But to return to our subject. It has been already stated that the first care of the returned exiles was to re-establish their religion. To do this, they were under the necessity of having new revelations. True, they had the writings of Moses and of the prophets, and they had inspired interpreters, like Ezra and Nehemiah. True, their aim was not to construct a new economy, but simply to re-establish the old one. And yet even this they could not do acceptably to God without the aid of revelation. Hence God raised up three prophets—Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the last three of the old covenant. What an overwhelming proof of the necessity of continuous revelation!
HAGGAI, B.C. 520-518, is thought to have been born in Babylon, and to have emigrated with Zerubbabel.
His book contains four prophetic messages. In the first the people are reproved for neglecting to build the temple, while they were adorning their own houses, and a command is given to begin the construction immediately (chapter i, 1-11), to which command the people, led by Zerubbabel and Joshua, willingly responded (i, 12-15). But in a month the zeal of the people seems to have cooled off and the second message is delivered, declaring that the Spirit of God was still with the people. "A little while," God says, "and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land" (which according to Paul, Hebrews xii, 22-28, was fulfilled when the old dispensation was superseded by the gospel dispensation), "and the desire of all nations (Messiah) shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts," (chapter ii, 1-9), which "glory" is thought to refer to the presence of Christ in this second temple instead of the Shekinah that had illuminated the first temple. In the third message, delivered two months afterwards, the people are being rebuked for polluting themselves while working in the holy building and offering sacrifices. God reminds them that He had blessed them abundantly, from the time they had laid the corner-stone of the temple (chapter ii, 10-19). The fourth message is delivered the same day. It contains a general predictionof the overthrow of the kingdoms of the world and the promise of a special blessing to Zerubbabel at that time. It is clear enough that the right interpretation of this promise can be comprehended by no man, until divine revelation shall make it known.
ZECHARIAH was, like Haggai, born in Babylonia and went to Palestine with Zerubbabel. The general object of his ministry is identical with that of Haggai, and through the encouragement and wise counsels of these prophets the people prospered, and the temple was completed in six years. But besides this general object, Zachariah describes through direct predictions and symbolic acts, the history of the Jews until the end of time. Daniel deals with the history of the world; Zechariah with the history of the covenant people. Among the predictions of this prophet we will here notice some of the last. According to the ninth chapter, the surrounding heathen nations are to be destroyed. Messiah shall come as a king (v. 9) and establish His reign upon the earth. "His dominion shall be from sea even to sea and from the rivers to the ends of the earth" (verse 10). Scenes of destruction are to intervene, however, but the Lord will deliver His people, both Judah and Ephraim (chapter x, 1-12). "I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; and they shall be as though I had not cast them off; for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man," a glorious prediction of the restorative work, commenced in our own day by God, through His servant Joseph, the prophet. We are further told that Jerusalem shall be besieged by many nations and the result thereof (chapter xii, 1-14); Christ shall finally appear and all the world will become "Holiness to the Lord" (chapter xiv).
Thus prophecy, so far from leading us to expect that revelation finally will cease, being superfluous, expressly states that Christ Himself in person will appear and communicate His will to men. "Why?" it may be asked; and the answer is clear: "Because revelation is essential to true religion."
MALACHI, B.C. 420-397, was the successor of Haggai and the last prophet of the old covenant. The temple had now been finished and the service of the altar established. But a spirit of worldliness and insincerity is getting hold of both the priesthood and the people, and this prophet is especially commissioned to warn them against their sins.
But his warnings are not heeded. The people prepare themselves for calamities. The Spirit of prophecy is withdrawnfor a period of four hundred years. The temple and the people are given into the hands of Antiochus Epiphanes. The old dispensation is virtually closed.
The conclusions arrived at now are clear and need only to be briefly stated. We have seen that no book of the Old Testament, although all are written and preserved for the instruction of the human race in all ages, contains anything that is of such a nature as to exclude further revelation. Not one single passage, nor all the passages combined, are so written as to exclude the necessity of the revelations contained in the New Testament, for instance. On the contrary, one revelation leads to another, God always giving "line upon line, precept upon precept," imparting knowledge as men are willing and able to receive it. For it is through revelation that God educates His servants and His people; and as in any branch of study we are led on from the fundamental principles and find that each new truth suggests others, so here, each new truth revealed leads us to others, until—were such a case possible—we have been permitted to exhaust the entire fulness of divine knowledge.
We have also seen that the servants of God in the old covenant declare the continuation of revelation. They do not consider the prophetic gift or the gift of receiving revelations as peculiar to their own dispensation. They point to "the last days" as a time in which the Spirit of the Lord is to be poured out more abundantly than in any former period. And His presence is to be manifested through "dreams and visions." The withdrawal of these they designate as a calamity. They speak of the time in which such heavenly gifts are withdrawn, as "night" and "darkness" while consequently, the presence of them indicate day and light. Now, are day and light necessary for the physical welfare of man? If so, revelations are also necessary for his spiritual advancement.
We have further seen that the establishment of new economies requires new revelations. Moses was familiar with the revelations given to the patriarchs before him. But when he was called upon to usher in the dispensation of the law, he could not do this without new revelations. Nor could Zerubbabel re-establish this dispensation after the return from Babylon without the aid of revelation. Through the revelations given to the Prophet Haggai the people "prospered" and were able to complete their work as commanded by the Lord (Ezra vi, 14).Without this, they would not have been able to prosper.
Sometimes we see that revelations are given to faithful servants of God as a special favor to them. In such cases, what is seen or heard must not be recorded—as was the case with some visions of Paul in the New Testament—or, if recorded, is sealed up in mystical expressions, unintelligible to the common reader, until the Spirit of revelation gives the true interpretation thereof. This was the case with some of Daniel's visions, and with at least one of the visions of John (Rev. x, 4, 5).
Are revelations, then, given in order to establish new economies, to preserve the children of God from falling into darkness, to instruct them about things known to God alone, in one word to lead men unto salvation? Surely, there never can be a time when revelation is not necessary.
But it will be said, no one (except the Jews perhaps) contend that the Old Testament alone contains all that is necessary to know. The New Testament is a supplement to the Old Testament, and the two together contain the fulness of God's revelations. The prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New, and to the volume thus completed nothing must be added.
Is there anything in the New Testament to verify this statement so universally accepted as true among the "Christian" Protestantic world? Or does the New Testament confirm the conclusions we have arrived at in the perusal of the Old?
The New Testament contains five historic books, viz.: the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; fourteen letters written by Paul; three by John, and two by Peter, one letter by James, and one by Jude, to which collection comes one prophetic book by John.
The four Gospels are brief, biographical sketches, records of a few of the works and teachings of our Lord.
It may be supposed that those disciples of Christ that were able to write, like Matthew and John, would keep journals while they followed their master, witnessing his works and listening to his teachings. These journals would, after thecrucifixion and ascension, naturally be read in private and in public. They would be copied and distributed in the various branches of the church and form texts for discourses, and thus be augmented with such incidents or sayings which were still retained in the memories of those who had been eye witnesses. In this way several versions of the doings and sayings of our Lord began to circulate, some, no doubt, contradicting others, until the necessity became universally felt to have some authentic record, showing exactly what was reliable of the many circulating reports, and what was not reliable. And the result is the four gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
At what precise time these gospels were completed in their present form is a question not yet settled between the various critics. That they, in their present form, were issued by the apostles, whose names they bear, seems irreconcilable with some facts. There are, for instance, words and phrases found, which could hardly have had any significance until some time after the time of the apostles. The word "kephas" (John i, 43) does not occur in classical Hebrew, but is used by later Talmudistic writers signifying something hard, a rock. "Petra" (Matt. xvi, 18) meaning a "rock," has a strong Latin color, while the Hebrew for "rock" is "zur." And the expression "to take up the cross," or "to bear the cross," is all the more remarkable, as in the Hebrew there was at that time no word equivalent to "cross," which is of Latin origin. Even later Jewish writers found it difficult to adequately express the idea of a cross, and hence used the wordzelem, which, however, signifies an image, and the translations of the New Testament, both into Hebrew and Arabic, have found no better way out of the difficulty than to adopt the Chaldaiczeliba, gallows. Of this a modern form,zelab, is made to represent the idea "cross." From these and many other circumstances, we seem justified in the conclusion that the four gospels have been subjected to foreign influences, which have modified their form in various ways. But that they are based upon and contain the "memoirs" of our Lord, as published by the apostles, by mouth and pen, need not be doubted. The testimony of antiquity is conclusive on this point.
According to general tradition in the early church, the annotations of Matthew were written in the vernacular tongue of Palestine, Syro-Chaldaic, a tradition very probable indeed.But as Greek at this time was the literary language, the original was soon translated into this tongue, under the supervision of Matthew himself, about thirty years after the crucifixion. It may be safely assumed that our "Gospel According to St. Matthew" is in the main identical with this original document of the Apostle.
The aim of this gospel is dearly to prove to the Jews that Jesus is the promised Messiah. It frequently refers to the prophets, refutes the various Jewish sects, and tries to prepare the Jewish nation for the acceptance of the Gentiles into the Kingdom of God.
While Matthew was penning his gospel for the Jews, Mark was preparing his, chiefly for the converts among the Gentiles. This Mark was not an apostle and had not been an eye-witness to the life and deeds of our Lord. But he was a native of Jerusalem and an intimate friend of the apostles. He accompanied Paul on some of his journeys and attended Peter for a considerable period, and during this time he no doubt wrote the gospel that bears his name, according to the dictates of Peter. Some have called this the "Gospel According to St. Peter," and Peter himself, in his second epistle, refers, perhaps, to this gospel when he says: "We make known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The gospel according to Luke was written in Rome by Luke, the physician, one of Paul's most faithful companions and friends. The author states that many had undertaken to collect the facts preached concerning Christ and believed among the Christians, according to the traditions handed down from eye-witnesses, and consequently, in order to secure a collection that would be reliable, he himself had diligently searched out everything that at the time of the writing was available. These data, the result of diligent research, Luke endeavors to put before the readers in chronological order, while the two previous evangelists pay but little attention to chronology. The gospel was written under the supervision of Paul.
The latest of the gospels is that of John. It is said to have been written at Ephesus, where John resided, presiding overthe branches originated by Paul. John, having before him copies of the three previous gospels, naturally omits many data there recorded, introducing others which he had preserved from oblivion. The chief aim of John is to set forth the divine nature of our Lord. The previous evangelists dwell mostly on the works of our Savior in Galilee. John omits most of that, recording his works in Judea.
Let it be remembered that this book is the last written of all the books of the Bible, about ninety-seven years after Christ, and that its aim is to correct the errors of doctrine, then becoming common among the churches, concerning the true character of Christ.
We may now ask: When these books were written, were they intended to contain all that would ever be necessary for men to know concerning God's plans and purposes, thus making all further revelation superfluous? What do the gospels teach concerning this question?
The first pages of the gospel confirm the lesson we have drawn from the Old Testament, that revelation is necessary for the establishment of a new dispensation. For the gospel dispensation is ushered in and established through revelation. Zacharias is visited by an angel (Luke i, 11-20). Gabriel appears to Mary (Luke i, 26-38). John the Baptist is commissioned by God to preach and baptize (John i, 6, 33). That Jesus was Messiah is manifest to John through revelation. The Spirit descends and a voice from heaven is heard (John i, 32, 34; Matt. iii, 16, 17). And this point is particularly noteworthy. All the ancient prophets had predicted the coming of the Messiah. Some of them had given details about where He would be born, His parentage, and the precise time of His coming, and yet it was necessary, when He came, to give new revelations, pointing Him out to the most devout servant of God then living. Previous revelations are here clearly seennotto render new revelations useless. And as the gospels thus begin with revelations, so they close with declarations that revelation should continue. For in His farewell address to His disciples, Christ says: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:and he will show you things to come"(John xvi, 12, 13). Christ here expressly states thatHis ministry did not complete God's revelations. There weremanyother things to learn than those which he had communicated, and among these were also "things to come," all of which the Spirit should communicate to the Twelve. Revelation, then, was not to be done away with at the departure of our Lord. The last verse of the fourth gospel, the last verse ever written in our New Testament states, moreover, that the things recorded in the gospels are only a small fragment of all that could be written concerning the works of Christ. These works and the lessons to be conveyed were no doubt necessary, and yet we have no record of them. The gospels, therefore, openly admit that they are not intended to be a complete record of all that is necessary for man to know. They claim to be written for the purpose of directing men's hearts to Jesus (John xx, 31), and point out His promise to continue the revelation of truth through the Spirit. This is the important testimony of the gospels. All the works and the teachings of Christ were not enough for the guidance of the first Christians. They needed and were promised further revelation. To us has come a record not of all of Christ's teachings, but only of a very few, merely a fragment. If all the teachings of Christ given during His ministry upon the earth were not sufficient for the guidance of the apostles, how much less can the gospels, which contain only a small part of these teachings, be sufficient for other men? The thought is as irrational as it is without foundation in the Word of God.
The only question now remains: Do the Acts of the Apostles and their Epistles supply us with all the teachings that the Spirit of Truth, according to our Savior's promise, was to reveal to the Apostles, and which were necessary for their guidance? If not, continuous revelation will be just as necessary after the New Testament dispensation as it was after the Mosaic economy.
The book called the Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, and may be considered as a continuation of his Gospel. In this book we can trace the growth of Christian churches during the greater part of the first century after Christ. It covers the period from the time of the crucifixion to the second year of the first imprisonment of Paul in Rome, A. D. 63, and there it breaks off even without recording the issue of the trial. The book may be divided in two parts. The first twelve chapters describe the growth of the Church of Christamong the Jews in Palestine, chiefly through the labors of Peter. The last sixteen chapters treat of the spread of the Gospel among other nations, chiefly through the labors of Paul. Of the works of the rest of the Apostles we have no account.
Tradition has it, that Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia; Philip in Phrygia; Thomas in India, and so on. But of their work for the promulgating the gospel in the different parts of the world we have no record. What they taught, what difficulties they encountered, how they preached, suffered and endured may be conjectured. But it has not reached us in any historic record.
Nor is the Acts of the Apostles a complete record of the works of the two servants of God, whose ardent labors are noticed. It is as fragmentary as are the gospels. Many important transactions, referred to elsewhere, are omitted. There is no account whatever of the branch in Jerusalem after the imprisonment and deliverance of Peter. Nothing is told of the introduction of the Gospel in Rome, the capital of the world at that time. Nor does it say anything of Paul's many voyages, which he incidentally mentions (II Cor. xi, 25).
Considering all this, it seems as if the Spirit of Truth had been anxious to guard against the impression that this book was intended to conclude God's revelations to mankind.
Let us consider the facts. Christ had promised to send the Spirit of Truth to His chosen Twelve. What this Spirit was to reveal was, of course, as essential and necessary to salvation as anything that our Savior had revealed Himself. But of all this that the Spirit, according to the promise, has revealed to the Twelve, only a small part has been recorded. How can this small part be sufficient to us, since it was not sufficient to the first Christians?
But, besides this, the book of the Acts shows plainly the necessity of continuous revelation; for wherever the gospel is being accepted, the gift of receiving revelation is being imparted through faith. Peter, in his first sermon, declares that the time has now come when the Spirit shall be poured out upon all flesh. Prophecy, visions, dreams were to attend the believers (Acts ii, 17, 18); and, accordingly, whenever the gospel is preached and believed, these manifestations follow. The heavens are opened to Stephen, and he is permitted to see the Son of God on the right hand of the Father (Acts vi, 55, 56); an angel of the Lord appears and directs Philip (Acts viii, 26); Christ appears to Saul (Acts ix, 3-6); through the vision of an angel Cornelius is led to send for Peter, andhe receives supernatural gifts (Acts x, 148); an angel delivers Peter from prison (Acts xii, 7, 8); the Holy Ghost reveals to the brethren in Antioch that they should send Paul and Barnabas on a mission (Acts xiii, 1-4); through the Spirit the apostles and elders are able to settle the dispute about the doctrine of circumcision (Acts xv, 1-31); twelve men in Ephesus receive the Holy Ghost through the administration of Paul, and prophesy and speak in tongues (Acts xix, 1-7). Wherever the gospel message is delivered and believed, in Palestine, in Greece, in Asia Minor, the results are the same. The Holy Ghost is given, and His presence is manifested through these gifts.
The Acts of the Apostles has taught us this important lesson—that the gift of receiving revelations was not confined to the Twelve nor was the gift to cease with them. The gift itself was inseparable from the gospel. Where there is no gospel there are no revelations, but where the true gospel of Jesus Christ is, there is revelation also. The promise of receiving the Holy Ghost, the promised Spirit of truth that was to lead into all truth and to reveal things to come, is a universal promise: "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts ii, 39).
The epistles of the apostles confirm most emphatically the necessity of constant revelations from God. The apostolic churches could not do without such revelations. Hence the necessity of the churches communicating with the apostles and the apostles writing their epistles, embodying the will of God.
For instance, an error arises, as was the case in Colossae. Paul was at the time in Rome, but the church in Colossae sent a special messenger to Paul, viz.: Epaphras, who explained the situation to the apostle and caused the letter to the Colossians to be written as a refutation of that peculiar error. The Scriptures were not sufficient for the guidance of the Colossians. The new emergency required a new communication from God, a new revelation, and God gave it through Paul, his servant.
So with all the epistles. Each has a particular object. None is a treatise on theology, putting forth all that is necessary to know for all ages and all men. There is not one written for that purpose.
The first epistles of Paul, I and II Thessalonians, 52 and53 A. D., express the joy and satisfaction of the apostle on account of the manner in which the people of Thessalonica had received the gospel. He cautions them against the sins prevalent in that great city, and comforts those who mourned over the loss of dear relatives. The "dead in the Lord" will be resurrected at the coming of the Lord, and this event is more fully explained, in accordance with the prophecy of Daniel concerning the "little horn" (Dan. viii).
The next epistle, that to the Galatians, A. D. 53 or 57, is a warning to the churches in that district not to mix up the rites of the Mosaic law with the ordinances of the gospel, as the two were so different from each other as Ishmael and Isaac, Sinai and Zion. And to give this admonition force, the writer proves that his knowledge of Christian truth was derived not from human teaching, but from God through immediate revelation, wherefore the apostles of the Lord had recognized him as their equal (chap. i, 2).
The epistles to the Corinthians were written A. D. 57 in reply to a letter received by Paul from the branch in Corinth, requesting his advice on certain points (ch. vii, 1); also to correct some errors of which he had heard by report (i, 11; v, 1; xi, 18). The state of the branch was, however, such that the Apostle deemed it necessary to send Timothy there also, thus imparting both by letter and by verbal preaching communications from God. Mark how special emergencies require special revelations!
The epistle to the Romans (A. D. 58) is the most systematic of all the writings of Paul, and one that by Protestants is considered the basis of gospel theology. The scope of this epistle is to reconcile the Jews and the Gentiles in the church of Christ, by placing all on one level in the sight of God. "All have sinned; all must be saved by the same means." This is the whole epistle in one sentence. Now, it is instructive to notice how the apostle in this important letter to the Romans illustrates the question under consideration. In the very first chapter he says he is constantly praying that God may give him an opportunity of visiting Rome, not indeed as a tourist and sightseer, but "that I might impart unto you some spiritual gift" (ch. i, 11). What "spiritual gifts" are, we learn in I Cor. xii, viz.: "Word of wisdom," or "knowledge," "faith," "healing," "miracles," "prophecy," etc. So that it was not enough, according to Paul, for the Christians in Rome to have all the sacred Scriptures, including this letter, but they needed something more. They needed "spiritual gifts" continued among them. It has been reserved for later"Christians" to discover that Paul was wrong, and that "spiritual gifts" were of no account as long as the Scriptures were to be had at a cheap price.
To have the Spirit of God is, further, put forth as the necessary condition of a "child" of God. "If Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (chap. viii). Such is the importance given to the possession of the Spirit of God. But we have already seen that the very office of the Spirit is to "lead into all truth, and to reveal things to come." He who has the Spirit has, therefore, the Spirit of revelation, and the apostle contends that man without the Spirit of revelation is a stranger and an enemy to God (chap. viii, 5-9). The apostle further states that at the time when the fulness of the Gentiles has been gathered in, direct communication from God will still continue. "For there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (chap. xi, 26). How could this be possible if all communication with God had ceased with the close of the New Testament? But they have not ceased, "for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (chap. xi, 29).