Jerusalem
"JERUSALEM, WHERE THE END BEGINS AND THE WORLD ENDS”
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem: “If thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong
unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the
days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench
about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every
side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children
within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon
another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”
Luke 19:42-44.
From the crest of Olivet, Jesus looked over Jerusalem. Fair and peaceful was the scene spread out before Him. It was the Passover season, and from all lands the children of Jacob had gathered there to celebrate the great national festival. In the midst of gardens and vineyards rose the terraced hills, the stately palaces, and massive bulwarks of Israel’s capital. The daughter of Zion seemed in her pride to say, “I sit a queen, and shall see no sorrow;” as lovely then, and considering herself as secure in Heaven’s favor, as when, ages before, the royal minstrel sang,“Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion,” “the city of the great King.” Psalm 48:2.
In full view were the magnificent buildings of the temple.“The perfection of beauty” it stood, the pride of the Jewish nation. Psalm 50:2. What child of Israel could gaze upon the scene without a thrill of joy and admiration! But other thoughts stirred the mind of Jesus. “When He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it.” Luke 19:41. Amid the universal rejoicing of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, while palm branches waved, while glad hosannas and happy voices declared Him king, the world’s Redeemer was erwhelmed with a sudden and mysterious sorrow.
He, the Son of God, the Promised One of Israel, whose power had conquered death, and called its captives from the grave, was in tears, not of ordinary grief, but of intense, irrepressible agony. His tears were not for Himself, though He knew the path He must take. Before Him lay Gethsemane, the scene of His approaching agony. Not far distant was Calvary, the place of crucifixion.
Yet it was not the contemplation of these scenes that cast the shadow upon Him. He wept for the doomed thousands of Jerusalem—because of the blindness and impenitence of those favored people whom He came to bless and to save. The history of more than a thousand years of God’s special favor and guardian care, manifested to the chosen people, was open to the eye of Jesus. There was Mount Moriah, where Isaac, the son of promise, an unresisting victim, had been bound to the altar—emblem of the offering of the Son of God. Genesis 22:9.
“OLD LIES, MODERN DECEPTION"
All should understand that
Satan was once an exalted angel.
His rebellion shut him out of heaven,
but did not destroy his powers. He is
now preparing for a final struggle
against Christ and His followers.
The
last great delusion is soon to open
before us. Antichrist is to perform his
marvelous works in our sight. So
closely will his counterfeit miracles
resemble the true that it will be
impossible to distinguish between
them except by the test of Scripture.
The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that the spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism.
Beyond expression is the blindness of this generation. Millions reject the Word of God, while they eagerly receive the deceptions of Satan.
A THREEFOLD WARNING...
The fact that an angel is said to
be the herald of this warning,
and his flight “in the midst of heaven,” the “loud voice” with which
the warning is uttered, and its
proclamation to all “that dwell on the
earth”—“to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people”—
gives evidence of the rapidity
and worldwide extent of the
movement.
The first of these
warnings announces the
approaching judgment.
This prophecy, pointing
forward to the time for Christ
to return, brings to view a
class that, as the result of
the threefold message, will
be found keeping the
commandments of God.
Revelation 14:12.
The
announcement, “The hour of His judgment is come,” points to the closing work of Christ’s highpriestly
ministry for the
salvation of men. It heralds a
vital message which must be
proclaimed to “every nation,
kindred, tongue and people,” until
the Saviour’s intercession shall
cease and He shall return to earth
as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Revelation 14:6; 19:11-16.
“GOD’S LAW—THE FOCUS OF CONTROVERSY”
“The temple of God was opened
in heaven, and there was seen in His
temple the ark of His testament.”
Revelation 11:19. In the sanctuary in
heaven, within the holy of holies, the
great original of the divine law is
sacredly enshrined—the law that was
spoken by God Himself amid the
thunders of Sinai, written with His
own finger on tables of stone and
recorded by Moses in the Pentateuch.
Those who arrive at an
understanding of this important point, will be led to see the sacred,
unchanging character of the divine
law. They will see, as never before,
the force of the Saviour’s words,“Till heaven and earth pass, one jot
or one tittle shall in no wise pass from
the law.
” Matthew 5:18. The law of God, being a revelation of His will and a transcript of His character, endures forever, “as a faithful witness in heaven.” Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or tittle has been changed. Says the psalmist: “Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.” “All His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever.” Psalms 119:89; 111:7, 8.
