The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1911-12-25

VI SILVER, InlBnS OF brass, ana legs OF
iron. He saw a stone cut out of the
mountain, without human instrumental
ity, strike this image and crush 1t. He
saw the stone roll on until It occupied
the soil of all nations. The monarch re-
quests Gods prophet to unfold the dream.
Daniel informs him that the four parts
of the image represent four successive
governments, destined to succeed each
other. They are to be followed by a
kingdom, which is to have universal
dominion, and its origin is to be super
natural.
The Assyrian empire, symbolized by
the golden head persisted. The Media
Persian kingdom was then established,
represented by the two arms and
breasts of silver, and ruled by two
for two centuries. After its dissolu-
ton came the, Grecian-popularly
known as the ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 1t
persisted in ten years, and was gov
erned by the famous warrior-k king,
Alexander the Great. It was succeeded
by the strong Roman government, rep
resented by the legs of iron and ten
toes of clay, symbolizing the two con-
suls and the final ten districts. The
Roman republic went to ruin. On the
ruins of these governments Christ
from the mountainous country of Pal
estine-has been, for nineteen hundred
years, erecting His spiritual kingdom.
In old Rome, 300 Christian churches
have been erected. Christian hymns
are daily sung in the old Pantheon, in
which the pagans worshiped their
NEUROLOGICAL gods. An American car
dinal is the titular head OF the con-
gregations that daily hold services in
the old heather temple of Minerva.
The largest and costliest ecclesiastical
edifice on earth, st. Peters Church,
occupies the site of Nero's circus,
where Christian martyrs fell in blood.
l have seen a monk preaching Christ
on the arena of the Colosseum, where
audiences of 10000 pagans applauded
the massacre of Christian men and
women in the olden days. Five hun
dred million people live under Christian
flags.
That FOreshadOw Prominent Fea-
lures in the Life of Christ.
-Four hundred years before Christ was
born the last one of the Old Testament
prophets-MaIachi-pr that the
public ministry Of Jesus should be pre-
coded by that of an illustrious herald,
coming with the zeal of Elias-popularIy
known as Elijah. Malachi wrote: BE
hold, 1 will send my Messenger and He
shall prepare the way before me- John
the Evangelist represents John the Bap-
fist as eXclaiming: There cometh one
after me, the latchet of whose shoes I
am not worthy to unloose." Referring
10 the prophecy of Malachi. Jesus said of
John the Baptist: This is Elias which
vas to come
A number of Old Testament prophecies
state that Jesus would be eminent for
meekness, gentleress, Righteousness, and
fidelity. The four sacred biographies of
Him, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John, tell US how conspicuously these
statements were fulfilled.
Nearly eight hundred years before the
Virgin mother of Christ was born, Isaiah
represents Jesus as saying: THE Lord
hath anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind
up the broken hearted; to proclaim lib
erty to the captives, and the opening of
the prisons to them that are bound"
The four Gospels assure us that He
accomplished this work. They tell US
ing to the masses, healing the sick,
opening the eyes of the blind, cleansing
lepers, and raising the dead.
Numerous Old Testament prophecies
predicted His rejection by His own
people-His married visage-the hu-
miIity of his life-and the opposition
with which he would contend. The
New Testament writers eloquently de-
scribe His rejection by His nation-the
meanness of His surroundings at Beth
lehem-and the poverty of His parents,
who, at his circumcision, gave the
smallest legal offering-a pair of
pigeons. His appearance was so over
mature that representative men, when
He had not reached His thirty-third
birthday, said to Him: Thou art not
yet fifty years old"
Concerning the price of His BETRAYAL.
Zechariah wrote, five centuries before
Mary and Joseph fed with the divine
babe into Egypt: IF We think good.
give me my price; If not forbear; so
they weighed for my price thirty pieces
Of silver" Sacred history narrates
that this was the sum Judas Iscariot
received for betraying Jesus in Gethsem-
ane.
Seven hundred years before the birth
of TIE Virgin Mary, Isaiah predicted
the silence of Jesus when on trial for
His life. He wrote: LAS a sheep before
its shearers is dumb, so He openeth not
His mouth This prophecy was full
filled at the several trials of Christ
He was silent before nnas and Gaia
phas. He was brought before Pontius
PLATE, and the Roman procurator said,
'Answerest Thou nothing?" They
dragged Him to the bar of Herod. te-
trarch of Galilee, and Christ answered
none of his questions.
Zechariah also wrote a prophecy, reIat- |
ng to His desertion by His friends In
IN hour of severe trial. He formulated
his prediction: 'Smite the shepherd and
he sheep will be scattered" Five hun
1red years later Jesus quoted this !
language on the eve of his crucifxion. |
Describing the arrest of Christ, after the |
LAST Supper, Matthew says: "All of His |
disciples forsook Him and fed"
Seven centuries before His arrest Isaiah |
wrote Of Him: 81 gave Ny back to the |
;miters. ! hid not my face from shame |
Ind splitting" His appointed biographers |
ell US of His scourges and of the fact |
hat some spat on Him and others
'mote Him with the palms of their
lands"
More than a thousand years before the
planting of the three crosses at Calvary |
David predicted that His crucihers would |
Idninister to him a bitter drink, as an
plate or sedative, in His physical pain. |
lie wrote: They gave Me also gall for
ny meat and in my thirst they gave me /
'inegar to drink" Ten centuries swept |
'ast. Then Matthew, pIcturlng the phe-
lomena of the crucifxion, penned these
words: They gave Him vine
ar to drink. mingled with gall" Desir-
ng to die with His intellectual faculties
t their best. he pushed from Him the
tupefying mixture.
Nearly eighteen centuries before