Therefore Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the children of Israel. Sermons
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. "Therefore will he give them up, until the time when a travailing woman hath brought forth: and the remnant of his brethren will return, together with the sons of Israel. And he will stand and feed in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the Name of Jehovah his God; and they will dwell: for now will he be great to the ends of the earth" (Delitzsch). The following quotation from Delitzsch on this passage we think the David, out of which it is to spring, will have lost the throne and have fallen into poverty. This could only arise from the giving up of Israel into the power of its enemies. Micah had already stated clearly enough, in what precedes, that this fate would fall upon the nation and the royal house of David, on account of its apostasy from the Lord; so that he could overlook this here, and give prominence to the other side alone, viz. to the fact that according to the counsel of God the future Deliverer and Ruler of Israel would also resemble his royal ancestor David in the fact that he was not to spring from Zion, the royal city built on high, but from the insignificant country town of Bethlehem, and that for this very reason Israel was to remain so long under the power of the nations of the world." These words may be regarded as presenting to us Christ as the great, Shepherd of mankind; and looking at them in this light the following points come up to notice. I. HIS INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD AS A SHEPHERD. "Therefore will he give them up [that is, leave them to suffer their calamities], until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth." Christ came into the world through sufferings that may be fairly represented as partarient. The whole Jewish nation groaned and travailed together until he came; and although the throes of his mother are perhaps specially referred to here, the Hebrew people through all preceding times had struggled in agony in order to give birth to the Messiah. Herein is a mystery - the world's Deliverer came into the world through suffering. And does not all the good we have come out of anguish? Every true enjoyment, like every birth, implies previous pain. "Through much tribulation" we enter into kingdoms. "Our light afflictions, which are but for a moment," etc. II. HIS QUALIFICATION FOR HIS WORK AS A SHEPHERD. "He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Name of the Lord his God." Observe: 1. His attitude. "He shall stand." The word "stand" here may mean one of two things - either a commanding position, by which he can observe and direct all, or stability, indicating his endurance and unswerving perseverance. He is settled and fixed in his work as a Shepherd. Both these ideas are true. It is true that Christ, as a Shepherd, has a commanding view of all, and a controlling power over all; and it is also true that he stands immovable as a Shepherd. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, until he hath set judgment in the earth" (Isaiah 42:4). 2. His Divinity. "In the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Name of the Lord his God." He is endowed with the strength of Omnipotence, he is invested with the majesty of God himself. He is "Almighty to save," he is the Image of the invisible God. Here is a competent Shepherd! III. HIS BENEFICENCE IN HIS WORK AS A SHEPHERD. He "shall feed in the strength of the Lord." The word "feed" means both "feed" and" rule;" indeed, feed implies rule, for human souls can scarcely be nourished without a wise and merciful control. "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young" (Isaiah 40:11); "They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat or the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them" (Isaiah 49:10). IV. THE EXTENSION OF HIS FAME ON THE EARTH AS A SHEPHERD. "For now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth." His authority on the earth as a spiritual Shepherd is limited today, but is wider than it has been; and it will widen and widen until it fills the earth. His Name will one day be above every name on the earth. All other names will be esteemed as mean and contemptible unless they reflect his. CONCLUSION. "All we like sheep have gone astray," etc. But a Shepherd from heaven has come to seek and restore us. Would that all heard and responded to his Voice! "Come unto me, all that are weary and heavy laden." "Good Shepherd, hasten thou that glorious day,
When we shall all in the one fold abide with thee for aye!" D.T. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah The Thinker. The Jews regarded this text as a prophecy of Messiah's birthplace. Micah, though a prophet of Divine wrath, is also a prophet of Divine promise. Next to Isaiah, he is richest in Messianic prediction.I. CONCERNING BETHLEHEM. Micah is noted for his "rapid transitions" from one topic to another — from threats to promises. The prophet addresses the village by both its names, Bethlehem Ephratah. The patriarchal name Ephratah means "fruitfulness." It was one of the most fertile parts of Palestine, and its natural fruitfulness was a prophecy of its spiritual fruitfulness. Bethlehem means the "house of bread," and points to its specific form of fertility, its rich corn land. The prophet marks with wonder its insignificance. It was too remote ever to become a place of importance. II. CONCERNING CHRIST. We cannot select our birthplace and circumstances, but Christ could. The Saviour came to teach humility, and to reverse the maxims of the world. Bethlehem was the city of David, and Christ was to be of the seed of David. We have also the description of Christ's office. "Ruler in Israel." He came to found a kingdom. The description of Christ's person, the eternity of God the Son, is also contained in the text. III. LESSONS. 1. We are taught the grace of lowliness. 2. The name "house of bread" reminds us of the great Sacrament. 3. The prophetic description helps us to realise the two natures in one Divine Person. 4. Obedience to our King is the way to reach up to the higher mystery of His timeless generation (John 7:17). () Bethlehem cannot account for Jesus. Do mangers bring forth Messiahs? Things bring forth after their kind. It is true that genius often arises from lowliest station, and the great human powers seem to make way for themselves through narrowest surroundings. 1. Consider the meaning of this fact, that from the lowliest of peasants sprang the soul that has swayed the mightiest intellects of the world. The moving powers of the eighteen centuries have been themselves moved by Jesus Christ. 2. That out of the most materialistic of religions came the most spiritual of teachers. Judaism clung with almost ferocious tenacity to external signs and symbols. 3. That out of the narrowest of races came the most universal of teachers. The characteristic of Judaism, ancient and modern, is its refusal to recognise the universal element in religion or in humanity. 4. That out of an age which exalted power as supreme, came One who exalted love as supreme in God and in man. The symbol of Rome was the rapacious, unwearied eagle. Military virtues were supreme. The Jews wanted a conquering general as Messiah. Out of such environment and atmosphere came One who exalted the feminine virtues, and proclaimed that the meek should inherit the earth. And as Bethlehem could not produce Christ, it could not confine Christ. () I. THE HUMAN BIRTH OF JESUS. It is a human birth that is foretold. The place where David was born was to be the birthplace of a second David, the Saviour of the world. Observe how singularly the prediction was fulfilled, without the least suspicion of human contrivance, merely by God's secret overruling providence. II. THE ETERNAL GODHEAD OF CHRIST. "Whose goings forth have been from everlasting." To those who first heard this language, how strange it would appear! Something more than human is here described. Words like these are never applied to any creature; but to God the Creator they are frequently applied. The language of Micah gives the twofold character of the Messiah. III. HIS MEDIATORIAL DIGNITY. He is — 1. Our Ruler. 2. Our Restorer. 3. Our Shepherd.His administration of all these offices shall one day be universal. () Homilist. I. HIS BIRTH AS THE SON OF MAN.1. He was born in obscurity. As a protest to the ages against the popular and influential opinion that human dignity consists in birth and ancestral distinctions. 2. He was born according to Divine plan. "Out of thee shall He come forth unto Me." Who? Jehovah. The fact of His birth, the scene of His birth, the object of His birth, were all according to a Divine plan. "He shall come forth unto Me." (1)According to My will.(2)To do My will.3. He was born to an empire. "To be Ruler in Israel." He is the Prince of Peace on whose shoulder the government is laid. He is a Ruler. Not a temporal ruler, temporal rule is but a shadow. He is to rule thought, intelligence, soul. He is the greatest king who governs mind; and no one has obtained such a government over mind as He who, eighteen centuries ago, "came forth out of Bethlehem Ephratah." His kingdom is increasing every day. II. HIS HISTORY AS THE SON OF GOD. "Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," or, as Delitzsch says, "Whose goings forth are from olden time, from the days of eternity." () There is no applying this verse to any but to Christ.I. THE PLACE OF HIS BIRTH. Bethlehem; spoken of as little, and Ephrata fruitful." There were two Bethlehems. One in the tribe of Zebulon. It was a sorry poor village. II. THE PERSON THAT COMETH FROM THIS PLACE. III. OF BOTH HIS NATURES. "As Man from Bethlehem; as God from everlasting. IV. HIS OFFICE. Go before us, and be our Guide. He not only leads, He feeds. () I. THE PROMISED MESSIAH IN HIS TRUE NATURE. A Man. Come out of Bethlehem. He was born there. More than man. The prophet speaks of a twofold going forth, of Bethlehem, and "from everlasting." True God as well as true Man.II. JESUS IN HIS CHARACTER AS RULER. What are regal acts? The exercise of legislative and judicial authority. The legislative consists in making and repealing laws. The judicial in executing or applying laws. III. JESUS IN HIS CHARACTER AS SHEPHERD. Who are His sheep? First the Jews, then the Gentiles. As a shepherd His care is constant — He changes not. It is tender and discriminating care. It is effectual. He gives us life. () This passage has always been regarded as one of the clearest and most striking of the ancient prophecies of the Messiah. The gradations in the revelations of Christ have always awakened the attention of Bible readers. First, we have the old word in Eden from the lips of the Lord God to the serpent about his seed and the seed of Eve: "It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Out of which dim Messianic germ grows the whole wonderful mediatorial history, its conflicts, its alterations, its reversals, and its eternal triumph in the endless overthrow of its great adversary. Then, about 1600 years later, the Shemitic division of the human race is indicated as the favoured one, rather than Japhet or Ham. By and by Abraham was selected from the sons of Shem to be the head of the Hebrew race, from whom the Redeemer should come. Two hundred years later Jacob, on his dying bed, points out the particular tribe of Israel from whom the Shiloh or Prince of Peace shall be born. No further revelation was then made for about seven hundred years, when the house of David, of the tribe of Judah, was declared to be the favoured family, and about three hundred years after that, in the days of Hezekiah, the prophet Micah reveals the place where Messiah shall be born. This was all that was known for the next seven hundred years, but every intelligent Jew knew that the coming Messiah was to be the Son of David, and was to be born in Bethlehem of Judah. "Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah." So unimportant was Bethlehem in the old times, that Joshua in his enumeration of the cities and villages of Judah gives it no mention: Rehoboam made it a sort of outlying fortress to Jerusalem, and the Philistines at one time had a garrison there, the place being a strong natural position. But it never grew to size, or became of any national importance, except for its associations. Although the birthplace of David, the great king, yet it never rose above the grade of an obscure Jewish village. In the list of Judean villages which Nehemiah gives after the Captivity it is not named, and in the New Testament, after the birth of Jesus and in that connection, its name never once occurs. So little was Bethlehem Ephratah. And it did not seem destined to any more commanding place in history when, in later times, a plain-looking couple drew near the village, a young wife and her husband, travelling on foot, because very poor, although both of the lineage of David. For not only was Bethlehem little, but the exceeding low condition to which the family of the great king had sunk appears from the fact that Joseph and Mary, who could trace their pedigree up to David through a long line of kings, were thus poor, and received no sort of recognition in the crowded village. But Bethlehem Ephratah was now to be immortalised indeed. Athens, Ephesus, Alexandria, Rome, all were extant, some of them at the very pinnacle of their glory, but the glory of Bethlehem was henceforth to surpass them all. You will mark here the words "unto Me. The birth of Christ was an event whose relations were chiefly Godward. Christ's coming to the earth is inconceivably the greatest of all events to us; but, after all, God the Father, and the eternal glory of the Godhead, are concerned in it in a way we cannot now fully understand, but of which the Scriptures give us distinct intimations. It would be quite in accordance with the choice of little Bethlehem as the birth place of the Divine Lord, and the passing by of the great places of the world, if God should have chosen our small earth, this little globe, to be the scene of the wondrous Incarnation, passing by those far mightier worlds in space whose magnitude dwarfs into insignificance this minute planet; here, in a world whose absence would hardly be missed from the vast system, to enact scenes of unparalleled importance to all worlds, illustrating all the principles of the Divine government and the most precious attributes of the Divine Nature. The word Ruler" is suggestive. The usual Old Testament idea of Christ is that of the head of a kingdom or dynasty. The representations of Isaiah, chapter 53, and of the prophet Zechariah, are exceptions to the general Old Testament thought of the Messiah. Elsewhere it, is the Shiloh or Prince, the King in Zion, the son of David enthroned — He upon whose shoulders has been laid the government, who is to reign over the house of Jacob forever, and to whose kingdom there is to be no end. The connection of these last words with the former words of the prophecy are wonderfully instructive; "He shall come forth out of thee, little Bethlehem," and the words, "He whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Have they not great suggestions of the nature of the coming Messiah? Does the Old Testament know nothing of the mystery and the miracle of the Saviour's birth, of the human and the divine, of the advent in time and the glory with the Father before the makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice." It is used to denote that which proceeds out from any one, as speech or language. Deuteronomy 8:3, "By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God doth man live." Thus it comes to have the meaning of origin, descent, an outgoing of existence, which is its import in our text The old divines declare it to be a proof text of the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Second Person of the Trinity. Without feeling called on to adopt that phrase, yet I fully agree with one of them who says, "We have here Christ's existence from eternity; the phrase, 'His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting,' is so signal a description of Christ's eternal generation, or His going forth as the Son of God begotten of the Father before all worlds, that this prophecy must belong only to Him, and could never, be verified of any other." We embrace the mysterious truth of Christ's humanity and divinity as herein declared; one of the clearest prophecies of this sublime foundation doctrine of the Scriptures which they anywhere contain. With what greatness does this invest the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem! If He had indeed come to little Bethlehem, whose goings forth were from everlasting, then all the miracles He performed were the simplest outstretching of His hand; the obedience to Him of demons, of nature, of death, were mere matters of course; the attendant angels, the awaiting legions ready at His call, were but the renewed services of cherubim and seraphim who had of old listened to His commands standing round His heavenly throne. There is not time even to glance at the triumphs which this birth in Bethlehem has already won. How it has given the era to all human history, guided the life of nations, subjected the intellects of the greatest of men, moulded the sentiments of civilised society, yea, made true society a possibility; rescued women and the family from degradation, uplifted the poor, guarded the rights of the weak; won the deep, unquenchable love of millions upon millions of true human hearts; stood by the martyr's rack, walked with him in the furnace; put the arms of support beneath dying pillows, and uplifted to the eternal hills the successive generations of the believing children of God. All these things have been done through that birth in Bethlehem Ephratah. There can be no greater things in kind, but there are yet to be greater in the extent of the victory.() The thought of the prophet is, that God is about to restore the monarchy in Israel by a return to its original starting point, the ancestral house and home of David, and to restore it in surpassing greatness and power. As in the days of Saul's apostasy and the kingdom's peril, He had taken from thence a man to sit upon the throne, so again when wickedness with its long train of miseries had brought the nation low, a Deliverer was to come forth from the place that had given David to Israel. The prophet had asked (Micah 4:9) as he beheld the desolation of his country, "Is there no king in thee?" And here the answer is given. Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries. The former was the prophet of the city, the latter of the country. The power and wealth of the kingdoms had become centralised in the two cities, Samaria and Jerusalem. The condition of the country was like France in the years before the Revolution, when Paris was France, and the provinces were despised and oppressed; pillaged to feed the luxuries and vices of the metropolis; It was joy to the rural prophet to know that God would pass by the pomp and pride of the city, and bring forth the king from a place that was little among the thousands of Judah." A parallel is plainly instituted between what God had once done in Israel's history and what He is about to do. Bethlehem, that had already furnished one king, the typical king, should furnish yet another. The scene of Christ's advent, its significance concerning Himself.1. It declared His advent to be the advent of a King. Bethlehem was identified in every mind With the throne of Israel, with the royal house of David. Insignificant in itself, it was famous through its association with Israel's great king. The kingly idea was enshrined in Bethlehem. It is a prediction of His royalty. 2. It declared His advent to be not according to human ideas and expectations. It was a surprise to Samuel when he was sent to Bethlehem to anoint the son of Jesse, and his surprise deepened as the stalwart elder brethren were rejected. The wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, naturally expecting to find the new king in the great city. But they found him not at Jerusalem, but at Bethlehem. He is to be a King after God's mind, and not according to human thought. His royalty is to be the royalty of His own nature, and not of earthly circumstance and rank. 3. It declared the character of His kingly rule. "He chose David also His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. He brought him to feed Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance." It intimated that his shepherd life was the preparation and the pattern of his kingly life, that as a shepherd with his flock so was the king over his people; ruling them for their good, defending them from their enemies, risking his life for them, carrying into the affairs of his kingdom the spirit of a shepherd with his sheep. In like manner when we hear that another King is to rise from Bethlehem we conclude that His rule will be of the same kind. He too will be a Shepherd King, ruling not by force but by gentleness, seeking not His own gain but the good of His people, caring for the weak, recovering the lost. 4. It declared that His advent was demanded by the condition of others, by the need, the misery of those to whom He came. Men have sought sovereignty at the bidding of their own ambition. The Bethlehem King was called to it by God Himself, called to it by the national crisis, by the misery of the people, the degradation of the land. The prophet sees everywhere anarchy and confusion, oppression and wrong, weakness and suffering. The advent of Christ is the advent of a King whose presence is demanded by the need and misery of men. He does not come to set up a kingdom for Himself, that is, for personal ends. He comes into the world because the world cannot do without Him. 5. The unprecedented greatness of the future King, "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Coming into the world centuries after David had fallen on sleep, He is yet before David. He is David's Lord as well as David's Son. His advent is the manifestation of One whose nature knows neither youth nor age, whose sovereignty has no beginning and no end. "From of old, from everlasting." The scene of His advent teaches chiefly the greatness of His condescension and humiliation. He "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," links Himself with time, enters into human history, associates Himself with earthly places. ()
People Ephratah, Israelites, Jacob, Micah, NimrodPlaces Assyria, Bethlehem, Nimrod, ZionTopics Abandon, Birth, Borne, Brethren, Bringeth, Brothers, Cause, Child, Forth, Gives, Israelites, Join, Labor, Remainder, Remnant, Residue, Rest, Return, Sons, Till, Travail, TravailethOutline 1. The birth of Christ.
4. His kingdom.
8. His conquest.
Dictionary of Bible Themes Micah 5:1-5 1443 revelation, OT Micah 5:2-5 5366 king
6704 peace, divine NT Library 'A Dew from the Lord'
'The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.'--MICAH v. 7. The simple natural science of the Hebrews saw a mystery in the production of the dew on a clear night, and their poetic imagination found in it a fit symbol for all silent and gentle influences from heaven that refreshed and quickened parched and dusty souls. Created by an inscrutable process in silence and darkness, the dewdrops lay innumerable …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureChrist is Glorious --Let us Make Him Known
I want to conduct you in such a frame of mind through the glories of my text. First, bidding you observe the perpetual reign of Christ: "He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God;" then I shall beg you to observe that flowing from this is the perpetual continuance of his church: "and they shall abide;" and then proceeding both from his continued reign and from the Church's consequent perpetual existence comes the greatness of our King: "for …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864 The Incarnation and Birth of Christ
"Who with more care keep holiday The wrong, than others the right way." The old Puritans made a parade of work on Christmas-day, just to show that they protested against the observance of it. But we believe they entered that protest so completely, that we are willing, as their descendants, to take the good accidentally conferred by the day, and leave its superstitions to the superstitious. To proceed at once to what we have to say to you: we notice, first, who it was that sent Christ forth. God the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856 Whether this is a Good Definition of Eternity, "The Simultaneously-Whole and Perfect Possession of Interminable Life"?
Objection 1: It seems that the definition of eternity given by Boethius (De Consol. v) is not a good one: "Eternity is the simultaneously-whole and perfect possession of interminable life." For the word "interminable" is a negative one. But negation only belongs to what is defective, and this does not belong to eternity. Therefore in the definition of eternity the word "interminable" ought not to be found. Objection 2: Further, eternity signifies a certain kind of duration. But duration regards existence …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica And Again the Prophet Micah Speaks of the Place Where Christ Should be Born...
And again the prophet Micah speaks of the place where Christ should be born, that it should be in Bethlehem of Judæa, saying thus: And thou, Bethlehem of Judæa, art thou the least among the princes of Judah? for out of, thee shall come a prince who shall feed my people Israel. [229] (Micah v. 2) But Bethlehem is the native place [230] of David: so that not only in respect of the Virgin who bore Him is He of David's race, but also in respect of His birth in Bethlehem the native place of …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching Balaam
He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me.'--NUM. xxii. 6. Give a general outline of the history. See Bishop Butler's great sermon. I. How much knowledge and love of good there may be in a bad man. Balaam was a prophet: (a) He knew something of the divine character, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The visit and Homage of the Magi, and the Flight into Egypt
With the Presentation of the Infant Saviour in the Temple, and His acknowledgment - not indeed by the leaders of Israel, but, characteristically, by the representatives of those earnest men and women who looked for His Advent - the Prologue, if such it may be called, to the third Gospel closes. From whatever source its information was derived - perhaps, as has been suggested, its earlier portion from the Virgin-Mother, the later from Anna; or else both alike from her, who with loving reverence and …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Signs of the Redeemer's Return
As we have shown in the last chapter, the apostles and their converts looked for Christ to return in their own lifetime. They did not affirm that He would but they believed that He might. But eighteen centuries have passed since then and yet He has not come. The question therefore arises, What evidence is there that the second advent of our Lord is now nigh at hand--that is, nigh as judged even by human measurement of time? May there not be another eighteen centuries which must yet run their weary …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return The Greatest Trial on Record
Brethren, as the Lord gave commandment concerning even the ashes and offal of the sacrifices, we ought to think no matter trivial which stands in connection with our great burnt offering. My admonition is, "Gather up the fragments which remain, that nothing be lost." As goldsmiths sweep their shops, to save even the filings of the gold, so every word of Jesus should be treasured up as very precious. But, indeed, the narrative to which I invite you is not unimportant. Things which were purposed of …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863 The Song of Solomon.
An important link in the chain of the Messianic hopes is formed by the Song of Solomon. It is intimately associated with Ps. lxxii., which was written by Solomon, and represents the Messiah as the Prince of Peace, imperfectly prefigured by Solomon as His type. As in this Psalm, so also in the Song of Solomon, the coming of the Messiah forms the subject throughout, and He is introduced there under the name of Solomon, the Peaceful One. His coming shall be preceded by severe afflictions, represented …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Covenanting Provided for in the Everlasting Covenant.
The duty of Covenanting is founded on the law of nature; but it also stands among the arrangements of Divine mercy made from everlasting. The promulgation of the law, enjoining it on man in innocence as a duty, was due to God's necessary dominion over the creatures of his power. The revelation of it as a service obligatory on men in a state of sin, arose from his unmerited grace. In the one display, we contemplate the authority of the righteous moral Governor of the universe; in the other, we see …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Millennium in Relation to Sin.
In spite of the fact that Satan will have been removed from the earth, and that Christ reigns in person over it, yet conditions here will not be perfect even in the Millennium. Unregenerate human nature will remain unchanged. Sin will still be present, though much of its outward manifestation will be restrained. Discontent and wickedness will not be eradicated from the hearts of men, but will be kept beneath the surface by means of the Iron Rod. Multitudes will yield to Christ nothing but a "feigned …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return The Birth of Jesus.
(at Bethlehem of Judæa, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke II. 1-7. ^c 1 Now it came to pass in those days [the days of the birth of John the Baptist], there went out a decree [a law] from Cæsar Augustus [Octavius, or Augustus, Cæsar was the nephew of and successor to Julius Cæsar. He took the name Augustus in compliment to his own greatness; and our month August is named for him; its old name being Sextilis], that all the world should be enrolled. [This enrollment or census was the first step …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Fulfilled Prophecies of the Bible Bespeak the Omniscience of Its Author
In Isaiah 41:21-23 we have what is probably the most remarkable challenge to be found in the Bible. "Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen; let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods." This Scripture has both a negative …
Arthur W. Pink—The Divine Inspiration of the Bible The Millennium in Relation to Israel.
"And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land" (Gen. 15:17, 18). Here the two great periods of Israel's history was made known to Abram in figure. The vision of the smoking furnace and the burning lamp intimated that the history of Abraham's descendants was to be a checkered one. It was a prophecy in …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return The Restoration of Israel is Only Made Possible by the Second Advent of Christ.
Under this head we shall seek to prove briefly three things--that Israel as a nation will be restored, that Israel's restoration occurs at the Return of Christ, that Israel's restoration will result in great blessing to the whole world. That Israel as a nation will be actually and literally restored is declared again and again in the Word of God. We quote now but two prophecies from among scores of similar ones:--"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return Balaam's Prophecy. (Numb. xxiv. 17-19. )
Carried by the Spirit into the far distant future, Balaam sees here how a star goeth out of Jacob and a sceptre riseth out of Israel, and how this sceptre smiteth Moab, by whose enmity the Seer had been brought from a distant region for the destruction of Israel. And not Moab only shall be smitten, but its southern neighbour, Edom, too shall be subdued, whose hatred against Israel had already been prefigured in its ancestor, and had now begun to display Itself; and In general, all the enemies of …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Paul's Departure and Crown;
OR, AN EXPOSITION UPON 2 TIM. IV. 6-8 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR How great and glorious is the Christian's ultimate destiny--a kingdom and a crown! Surely it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive what ear never heard, nor mortal eye ever saw? the mansions of the blest--the realms of glory--'a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.' For whom can so precious an inheritance be intended? How are those treated in this world who are entitled to so glorious, so exalted, so eternal, …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 The Sun Rising Upon a Dark World
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon then hath the light shined. C ontrasts are suited to illustrate and strengthen the impression of each other. The happiness of those, who by faith in MESSIAH, are brought into a state of peace, liberty, and comfort, is greatly enhanced and heightened by the consideration of that previous state of misery in which they once lived, and of the greater misery to which they were justly exposed. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 What Messiah did the Jews Expect?
1. The most important point here is to keep in mind the organic unity of the Old Testament. Its predictions are not isolated, but features of one grand prophetic picture; its ritual and institutions parts of one great system; its history, not loosely connected events, but an organic development tending towards a definite end. Viewed in its innermost substance, the history of the Old Testament is not different from its typical institutions, nor yet these two from its predictions. The idea, underlying …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Eastern Wise-Men, or Magi, visit Jesus, the New-Born King.
(Jerusalem and Bethlehem, b.c. 4.) ^A Matt. II. 1-12. ^a 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem [It lies five miles south by west of Jerusalem, a little to the east of the road to Hebron. It occupies part of the summit and sides of a narrow limestone ridge which shoots out eastward from the central chains of the Judæan mountains, and breaks down abruptly into deep valleys on the north, south, and east. Its old name, Ephrath, meant "the fruitful." Bethlehem means "house of bread." Its modern …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Links Micah 5:3 NIV
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