times, and sending, because he had com-
passion on his people, and on his dwell-
ing place; but they mocked the mes-
sengers of God, and despised his words,
and misused his prophets, until the wrath
of the Lord rose against his people till
there was no remedy.” Then the king
of the Chaldeans “burnt the house of
God, and brake down the wall of Jerusa-
lem, and burnt all the palaces thereof
with fire, and destroyed all the goodly
Da a ae Ne WV We
THE WATCHMAN
vessels thereof, . . . to fulfil the word
of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah.”
2 Chron. 36: 14-21. The prophecy of
Jeremiah was that of a captivity of sev-
enty years,
Of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the
temporary restoration of the government
of Judah in the days of Ezra and Ne-
hemiah, and of the chronology of the
promises, we will speak in our next ar-
ticle.
TT
“MOSES WROTE OF ME”
PHILIP GIDDINGS
O many people talk of this
man as though he wrote of
himself. Jesus says, “ He
wrote of me.” John 5:46.
And our faith in Christ de-
pends measurably on our ac-
ceptance of Moses’ writings.
“If ye believe not his writ-
ing, how shall ye believe my words?”
asks Jesus. John 5:47.
The case made out in Jewish days
stood thus: Moses versus Jesus. To-day
it reverses: Jesus versus Moses. Thus
they have made an arraignment between
two that are at perfect arrangement with
each other.
There is no difference whether we
make Moses contradict Jesus or Jesus
contradict Moses. It is an absurdity.
It is self-contradiction, “for he wrote
of me.”
The Jews gloried in this fact — fact
did I sav? Rather fancy — they revelled
in the fancy that they were Moses’ dis-
ciples, and reviled the blind man who
was restored to sight as Jesus’ disciple.
John 9:28, 29. There are some to-day
who revile others, saying, “ You are
Moses’ disciples,” but we are Jesus’ dis-
ciples. Do you see the dodge, the un-
scriptural shuffling? “But if ye be-
lieve not his writings, how shall ye be-
lieve my words? — For he wrote of me.”
John 5:46, 47. So those who say they
believe in Christ, but revile Moses, ought
to be told, if they had really believed in
Christ, they would have believed Moses,
for Christ confirmed his testimony.
“If there be a prophet among you, I
the Lord will make myself known unto
him in a vision, and will speak unto him
in a dream. My servant Moses is not
so, who 1s {faithful in all mine house.
With him will I speak mouth to mouth,
even apparently, and not in dark
speeches.” Num. 12:6-8,
Peter testifies: “ For Moses truly said
unto the Fathers, a prophet shall the
Lord your God raise up unto you of
your brethren, like unto me; him shall
ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall
say unto you.” Acts 3:22.
Paul couples Moses with the Messiah
as a faithful servant to his Master con-
cerning things to be afterwards spoken.
We know a faithful servant carries out
the master’s order with that master’s in-
dorsement and authority. Wherefore,
‘holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly
calling, consider the Apostle and High
Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
who was faithful to him that appointed
him, as also Moses was faithful in all
his house, . . . And Moses verily was
faithful in all his house, as a servant, for
a testimony of those things which were to
be spoken after.” Heb. 3: 1-6.
There are men who spurn the Old
Testament. We have nothing more to
do with it, they say. Do they know
the understanding of the New Testa-
ment depends on their knowledge of the
Old? Can they build a New Testament
upper structure without an Old Testa-
ment foundation? :
As it was in the days of Noah, as it
was in the days of Lot, so also when the
Son of man comes. The New Testa-
ment so is the transcript of the Old Tes-
tament as. They are co-relatives. We
know the one only as we learn the other.
Take your reference Bible, and notice
the parallelism of Old and New Testa-
ment Scriptures. The Old Testament
I01
are the letters C-H-R-I-S-T of which
the New Testament is the word Christ.
The Old Testament is the Problem, the
New Testament is the answer worked
out.
And as to you who say you have noth-
ing to do with Moses, your theme is
resurrection; permit me to sav, You
start wrong unless vou begin at Moses:
“And he [Christ] said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you
while I was yet with you, that all things
must be fulfilled which were written in
the law of Moses and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me. Then
opened he their understanding, that they
might understand the Scriptures, and
said unto them, Thus it is written, and
thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to
rise from the dead the third day.” Luke
24:44 - 40.
O Lord, open thou understandings
again, that men may know that ‘Moses
wrote of thee who art the Resurrection,
and the Way in harmony therewith.
Open eyes that they may see wondrous
things out of thy law. Resurrection
avails them nothing who do not hear
Moses and the prophets. Luke 16:31.
But notice: He opens the understand-
ing of only those who are his disciples.
The rest were left in their blindness.
Their pretended love for Moses [John
7:19] was only an excuse to avoid the
plain teachings of Christ, that exposed
their pretensions, humbling their pride
and prestige, and showing them duty
which they knew should be done. They
thought more of the church, of the opin-
ion of Caiaphas, Annas, and each other,
than they did of Christ. “ How can ye
believe which receive honor one of an-
other, and seek not the honor that cometh
from God only?” Christ asked. John
5:44. With that, read John 12:42, 43,
and you have the honest reason of many
who would avoid Moses.
Read Acts 26:22, 23. Ah! Gentile,
Moses mentioned you.
“ Remember ye the law of Moses my
servant which I commanded unto him
in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes
and judgments” (Mal. 4:4), in view of
“the great and dreadful day of the
Lord.”
HSE
TELL me with whom thou art found,
and I will tell thee who thou art.—-
Goethe.