The Washington herald., 1922-07-15
By WILLIAM J. BRYAN.

their home land after an exile of
seventy years in Babylon, whittier
they had been carried captives of
war by Nebuchadnezzar-th give
us the theme of today's Bible Talk.
What was this famous prophecy?
For thus saith the Lord" wrote
the prophet jeremiah from the
ruins of Jerusalem to them that
had been carried away captives,
that after seventy years be ac-
complished at Babylon l will visit
you, and perform my good word
toward you, in causing you to re-
turn to this place"
How did God cause this prophecy
by one of His servants to be full
filled? 1t is told plainly and
simply in the first chapter of the
book of Ezra:
Now in the first year Of Cyrus
king OF Persia, that the word of
the Lord by the mouth of jeremiah
might be fulfilled. the Lord stirred
up the spirit of Cyrus king of
Persia. that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and put
it also in writing. saying, Thus saith
Cyrus king OF Persia. The Lord
God of heaven hath given me all
the Kingdoms of the earth; and he
hath charged me to build Him a
house at Jerusalem, which is in
Judah"
Fulhllment of Prophecy.
First, let US consider the phrase.
That the word of the Lord by the
mouth of jeremiah might be full
filled" A similar phrase. That the
prophecy might be fulfilled" which
appears often in both the Old and
New Testament. is sometimes nee
essary to an understanding of the
passage in which II occurs.
For instance, take the seth, 37th
and 3sth verses of the 22d chapter
of Luke: the phrase And he that
hath no sword. let him sell his gar
ment and buy one" has often been
quoted in support of war, but the
following verse explains it and
gives to it an entirely different
meaning. Immediately following
the words above quoted we read:
For I say unto you. that this
that Is written must yet be accom-
plished in me. And he was reck-
oned among the transgressors: for
the things concerning me have an
end"
Why did Christ advise His dis
ciples that they sell their garments
and buy a sword? That this that
is written must yet be accomplished
in me-" And what was il that
must yet be accomplished? What
prophecy must yet be fulfilled?
And he was reckoned among the
transgressors." The sword was the
symbol of resistance to the law; it
put the bearer of the sword among
the transgressors.
The disciples answered. Lord. be-
hold, here are two swords. And He
said unto them, 1t Is enough" Two
swords were not sufficient for the
protection of Christ on the night
of His betrayal or for the protec-
tion of the disciples. but they were
enough to bring them within the
definition of transgressors and
Christ was "reckoned among them"
Argument Against War.
The above is the construction
that Rev. Herbert Booth, son of
Gen. Booth. places upon the passage
and this Interpretation is strength
anu DV the leHlH
and eleventh verses of the eighteenth
chapter of John: Then said Jesus
unto Peter. Put up they sword into
the sheath" See, also, the fifty
first and ffty-second verses of the
twenty-sixth chapter of Matthew.
Both John and Matthew describe
the incident in which one of the dis
ciples John says that it was i'm
nTIlaiUa pafarN a.
defense of Christ and cut off the
ear of the servant of the high
priest. Christ rebuked him for this
resort to force.
In John. He is reported as saying,
The cup which my Father hath
given me, shall l not drink itr' In
Matthew. Christ uses a terrific con-
domination of force which is a con-
tinuing prophecy. continuously full
filled: For all they that take the
sword shall perish with the sword"
Christ adds: 'Thinkest thou that I
cannot now pray to my Father, and
He shall presently give me more
than twelve legions of angels?"
These passages would seem to
prove conclusively that he pur-
chase of swords, advised by the
SdNlOuT' was not Win view TO
use, but rather for the fulfillment
of prophesy. Instead of giving
comfort to militarists. the incident
brings out the strongest practical
argument ever advanced against
war.
How God Uses Human Beings.
Next We come to that statement
of Ezra that The Lord stirred up
the spirit of Cyrus" The king was
not a worshiper of Jehovah and
yet he Received a communication
from the Almighty.
We are not told the form in
which this communication came. In
other cases we have read that an
angel appeared or that the voice of
the Lord was heard. but here the
medium through which the COM
munication came is not given, but
the message was understood and
acted upon. God uses human beings
to accomplish His purposes: some
times they are conscious of the
call, and sometimes they act with
out knowledge of the hand that