The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1911-12-25
The Portrait of Christ in
The Frame of Prophecy
By S. v. LEEcH, D. D.

At Milan I saw artists sitting betor
the famous painting Of Leonardo d.
Vinci. known as THE Last Supper
They were making copies for the ar
rooms of the wealthy.
During many centuries, divinely ap
pointed prophets worked on the pic
ture of the promised Messiah. Eacl
added his contribution. When Jesu;
began His public ministry the pro
phetical portrait had been completed
by these inspired men. Great scholars
have looked upon it and said wha
Thorwaldsen's little daughter said wher
she first saw her fathers famous sculp
ture Of the Christ of history, "Thi!
must be the Saviour of the World"
An accurate knowledge OF future
events is hidden in the mind of God
In inspired prophecy the agreement
between the prediction and its fulfill
ment must be substantially exact
When Malachi, the last Old Testament
prophet, died, four centuries before the
birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, a line Of
inspired prophets had assisted eacf
other, under divine direction, in fully
outlining the character and career OF
Jesus Christ. This remarkable CORE
spondence between the Old Testament
prophecies concerning Him and the
New Testament history of Him at
tests the divinity of Christianity.
The Christmas time is an appropriate
period to compare these two lines OF
investigation. Jesus Himself said, i'm.
msdiately after His resurrection, "Al
things must be fulfilled which were
written IN the law of Moses. and in
the Prophets, and in the Psalms con-
concerning Me" Look at
Tho F9rouhacfer nsIatfn- IN fbo CIrcuur,
stances, Locality, and Period
OF His Birth.
More than six centuries before the new
star glittered over Bethlehem the prophet
jeremiah predicted that Jesus would
have for an ancestor David, and fifteen
hundred Years before the incarnation
Moses had prophesied that lie should be
p descendant Of Abraham. The rolls of
Hebrew genealogy tell US how literally
these statements became incidents OF
history.
More than seven hundred years before
the angels serenaded the shepherds, the
prophet Isaiah wrote that Christ's mother
was to be a Virgin. He penned these
words: Behold, a Virgin shall conceive
and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Emmanuel" Matthew tells us that Christ
was born of a Virgin mother. An angel
Abiu Joseph, the eSpOuSeQ nuSDdnQ OF
Mary, that the Holy Ghost, in a manner
the actual father of Jesus. and that he,
Joseph, was to call him Emmanuel, sig
nifyIng God with u.s.
Seven centuries before the magi knelt
n the manager, the prophet Micah named
the city OF Messiahs birth. He said: But
thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou
lie 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 Time rolled on. Herod asked
the three Oriental sages where Christ
was to be born. They answered by re-
peating this prophecy of Micah. Bethle-
hem was not the residence of either
Joseph or Mary. How did Jesus come to
be born there? Augustus Caesar desired
an accurate registration of the inhabi-
tants of every territory conquered by the
Roman armies. Joseph and Mary had to
20 seventy-six miles from Nazareth to
Bethlehem to register. On their arrival
Jesus was born. God so overruled the
imperial vanity of the Emperor that he
had to rock the cradle of Christ and
contribute to the fulfIlment of Old Tesla
ment prophecy.
Seventeen hundred years before the
birth of Jesus, Jacob indicated the
period OF this wonderful event. He
was facing death. He called his sons
TO his bedside to receive prophecies as
to their future history. He said: The
scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall
the gathering of the people be-" The
scepter was the symbol of govern
mental authority. The lawgiver was
a Judge. The Shiloh was the supreme
and desired Peacemaker.
Ten of the twelve tribes were carried
away from Palestine into captivity. No
authoritative historian has been able
to trace the fate Of those captive Jews.
eleventh tribe-the Benjaminites-be-
came incorporated into the tribe of
Judah. But this great people survived
wars, prosecutions, and captivity. I'm
der the administrations of such cruel
conquerors as Antiochus, Cyrus, and
Alexander the tribe of Judah was per-
mitted to administer ecclesiastical law.
But at the advent of Christ, Judah
held the scepter with a failing grip.
Iudea had become a conquered Roman
province, ruled by a Roman procurator.
Shortly after the death of Jesus, the
Roman army under Titus destroyed
Jerusalem: the scepter fell from the
hand of Judah. The Hebrews were
dispersed among the nations. Thanks
be unto God that President Taft and
the national Congress are bravely in
terpreting the civic rights of the Ameri-
can representatives of these magnificent
and patriotic people, who have given
the world a long line OF splendid men
the greatest of whom has been Jesus of
The prophet Daniel lived six cen
turtles before Christian history began.
In an elaborate and marvellous predic-
ton he foretold the date Of the incar-
nation of Jesus Christ. The ancient
Jews reckoned long periods of time by
what is termed 'Sabbatic years" Each
day was q year. Each week embraced
seven years. Writing of the birth of
Christ, he formulated the following pre-
diction3 And after threescore and
two weeks, shall Messiah be cut of;
but not for Himself. And the people
of the prince that shall come shall de-
stroy the city and the sanctuary. And
the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end OF the war desola-
lions are determined. And He shall
confirm the covenant with many for
one week, and in the midst of the
week He shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease. 80 Seventy weeks
are determined. upon thy people, and
upon thy holy city, TO finish the trans
gression, and TO make an end OF sips,
and to make reconciliation for iniquity, I
and to bring In everlasting righteous
Iess. and TO seal up the vision Of proph-