Jeremiah. xxiii. 5. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Micah. v. 2. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet, out of thee shall he come forth unto Me, that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Zechariah. ix. 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. II Esdras. ii. 36. Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your glory; I testify my SAVIOR openly. 46. Then said I unto the angel, What young person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands? 47. So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to commend them that stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord. Chap. vii. 28. For my son Jesus, shall be revealed with those that be with him, and they that remain shall rejoice within four hundred years. 29. After these years shall my Son Christ die, and all men that have life.* Chap. xiii. 32. And the time shall be when these things shall come to pass, and the signs shall happen which I shewed thee before, and then shall my Son be declared, whom thou sawest as a man ascending; 33. And when all the people hear his voice, every man shall in their own land leave the battle they have one against another. 35. But he shall stand upon the top of the mount Sion. 36. And Sion shall come, and shall be shewed to all men, being prepared and builded, like as thou sawest the hill graven without hands. 37. And this my Son shall rebuke the wicked inventions of * Alluding to the falling away of the primitive Church. E those nations, which for their wicked life are fallen into the tempest; 38. And shall lay before them their evil thoughts, and the torments wherewith they shall begin to be tormented, which are like unto a flame; and he shall destroy them without labor by the law which is like unto fire. Daniel. ix. 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. 25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times..† Matthew. i. 23. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Chap. ii. 6. And thou Bethlehem in the land of Juda, art not the least among the Princes of Juda; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Chap. xxi. 5. Tell ye the Daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. Chap. xxvii. 9. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 10. And gave them for the Potter's field, as the Lord appointed me. John. xii. 15. Fear not, daughter of Sion; behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. 16. These things understood not his disciples at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things That is, sixty nine weeks, reckoning each day for a year, from the date of the above mentioned commandment, brings the time to the public ministry of Jesus Christ-In the midst of the seventieth week he was crucified. And at the close of this week, which completes the seventy, his anointed body, the primitive Church was established. Thus by this prophecy, it was clearly shown that the Messiah would be manifested at that very time, which plainly proves Jesus to be the true Messiah. were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. Acts. ii. 25. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also, my flesh shall rest in hope: 27. Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. 29. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruits of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. Chap. vii. 37. This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. 38. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers; who received the lively oracles to give unto us: 39. To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt. Sec. 3. Thus saith the Lord, What different from this, have the children of men, as a body, done from the earliest ages of the world to the present day, whenever and wherever, I have manifested myself unto them? The record of their own histories, do declare that they have pursued the same path. Hebrews. v. 6. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. 7. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8. Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10. Called of God a high priest, after the order of Melchisedec. 11. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. CHAPTER VI. OF MAN'S TREATMENT WITH GOD'S EXTENDED 1. Give ear, O ye people, and understand my words, saith the Lord; I testify unto you, that all the foregoing passages, and many more, which have never been handed down on record, were dictated by my spirit, and sent forth, through the mouths of the prophets, that the people might have timely warning of the coming of the Messiah, and be prepared to work with him, by hearkening to his voice, that my peace and my blessing might rest upon them. 2. But how dark was their darkness, and how great was their blindness, that after all the particular instruction from the mouths of my faithful servants, they knew not the Savior, when I sent him forth, neither would they, as a body, believe, when he declared himself unto them, and showed forth, by the miracles which he wrought, that he proceeded, and came forth from God, the Father of all, and from none else. 3. But the gospel which he preached, their carnal, self-willed and bigoted natures did abhor; and the testimony which he bore, cut them to their hearts, therefore, in cruel rage, and malice, they exerted all their power, to destroy his animal body, as quick as possible, that his galling testimony might be suppressed, and thus did they accomplish their own destruction. 4. But a few chosen ones gathered unto him, and remained true to the cause, to the laying down of their lives; and were thereby crowned with glory, honor and immortality; 5. And the light of that gospel, revealed through the Son, I did never suffer wholly to be extinguished, through the gloomy, dark, and bloody reign of antichrist; but would, at times, cause rays of this light to break forth, in vessels of my own preparing, as twinkling stars in a dark night, from a cloudy horizon; and bear testimony against the awful abominations of the age in which they lived; notwithstanding, their natural lives were sure to be sacrificed, under the most excruciating tortures as the consequence. And thus have been the doings of mankind, from the creation of the world, to the present day. 6. They have always chosen their own way, in opposition to that which I, in mercy, sent forth unto them. Therefore, have they, as a world of human souls, all gone astray, and worshiped the idol god of their own lusts. Yet, as a kind and tender Father, oft have I reasoned with them, and entreated of them to turn from the error of their doings; to cease from doing evil, and learn to do well: to cease from their bloodshed and carnage, and dwell together in peace and love. 7. And many have been the holy Angels which I have sent, with messages of love and mercy, that they might be persuaded, through my unbounded goodness and loving kindness, to turn unto Me their God and Creator; but all to no purpose, save that they would draw out their mouths in ridicule and derision unto Me, and unto my messengers; and sound forth blasphemous words against my holy work, and the subjects thereof. Yea, saith the Lord, they would gladly turn the whole habitable earth into a theatre of sin and corruption! 8. But I have declared in my wrath, and I will execute in my fury, justice upon the nations of the earth, such as will not hearken and return to the law of the Lord their God: for I will surely avenge the innocent blood that crieth unto Me. 9. My spirit shall not always be mocked by frail mortals, who are but as worms and insects, crawling upon the earth's surface. |