Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-18
Philip Preached Jesus.

The portion of the prophecy that was
the basis of Philips exposition has al
ways been considered to be the high
point of prophetic anticipation. There
were two different lines of interpreta-
ton of this wonderful passage of
Isaiah taught by leaders of the Jewish
thought of that day. One saw in the
story Of the suffering servant Of Isaiah
the personifcation of Israel. tho ma
/ ton which was 50 often ground be-
meath the harrow of war and so fro
quently in captivity. under con-
! querors." The other school interpreted
| IL in reference to the personality of the
expected Messiah.
because he preached from the passage
! the truth that it referred to Jesus. the
| Christ. through whose suffering and sub
stitutionary death salvation was Sc
cured for men. Christians. who are ac-
customed to the view preached that day
| for the first time to a Gentle, have diff
| fculty to believe that the vision Of the
suffering servant is prophecy. not his
| tory, for it is clear to them that the
words OF the prophet refer to the sacri-
! fetal sufferings Of Jesus. who died for
US. according to the Scriptures. and was
buried and raised again" The extent
I OF Philips discourse IS not given, but
I It's effectiveness is seen by the request
! OF the eunuch that he be received into
christian fellowship by an open confess
sion of his faith.
The admission OF the Gentle negro
into the Church of Christ marks the
/ opening OF the door of Christianity to
all nations. II shows how. under the
guidance Of the Holy Spirit. the mis-
| sionary evangelist was brought through
his test of the power OF the gospel upon
| the detested Samaritans to come to see
Gentle heather. While it is an idle
guess to claim that the Ethiopian
eunuch became the founder of the
Church in .Abyssinia. yet all will ac-
lesson there is the fulhllment OF the
psalmist prophecy, that Ethiopia shall
! stretch out her hands unto God :" The
! gospel OF tho Lord Jesus supplied the
| seeker after the truth and overcame the
racial prejudices OF the centuries unit
! ing the Jews Samaritans and the Gem
tiles IN the bonds OF spiritual unity
that is more vital that the bonds OF
| blood.
! While Europe is suffering the agony
! of war the evangelists OF the modern
missionary movement are seeking to
| stir up the Christian forces of America
/ TO obey with the same loyalty and
promptness that marked the activity
| of Philip, who after he had won the
| treasurer for Christ left Him for other
| fields. the commands Of our Lord Jesus
| to evangeliZe the world. Circumstances
in connection with the opening Of India
helped make the efforts OF William
Carey. the father OF foreign missions, a
success The. pressure OF world wide
problems is forcing America into the
leadership of humanity
The lesson points out that God is di-
recting history for His glory and that
Christianity is the only unifying power
that destroys all human alterations and
antagonisms. whether Of race and reli-
gion, of labor and capital, of rich and
poor by the supreme solvent Of the Cos
pei that proclaims the love of Christ
for all mankind. The one hope for a
permanent peace among the nations of
the earth is for America IN her home
missions task to evangelize the differ
ent races within her gates and send
them forth as Philip sent the eunuch.
with the message of the saving power
or the suffering servant of God, the
Lord Jesus Christ filing his heart with
JOY. while the evangelist went on to
other fields. II the spiritual influences
from America should no longer pour
toward Europe, Asia and Africa, espe-
. cially in these days Of conflicts and ma
, tional testings. how soon would the loss
, to the Christian ideals of the world be
) felt and what spiritual harvests would
/ never ripen."