They longed for a religion that could satisfy the heart. DA 32.2Īt this time the systems of heathenism were losing their hold upon the people.
As these returned to the places of their sojourn, they could spread throughout the world the tidings of the Messiah's coming. From all lands the Jews of the dispersion gathered to Jerusalem to the annual feasts. One language was widely spoken, and was everywhere recognized as the language of literature. The nations were united under one government. “When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son.” Providence had directed the movements of nations, and the tide of human impulse and influence, until the world was ripe for the coming of the Deliverer. When the great clock of time pointed to that hour, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. So in heaven's council the hour for the coming of Christ had been determined. On “the self-same day” appointed in the divine promise, “it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:41. Against that word, all the power of Pharaoh's proud empire battled in vain. “Afterward,” He said, “shall they come out with great substance.” Genesis 15:14.
Through the symbols of the great darkness and the smoking furnace, God had revealed to Abraham the bondage of Israel in Egypt, and had declared that the time of their sojourning should be four hundred years. DA 31.2īut like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God's purposes know no haste and no delay. The hand of the oppressor was heavy upon Israel, and many were ready to exclaim, “The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth.” Ezekiel 12:22. Century after century passed away the voices of the prophets ceased. The prophecy of Daniel revealed the time of His advent, but not all rightly interpreted the message. From the days of Enoch the promise was repeated through patriarchs and prophets, keeping alive the hope of His appearing, and yet He came not. Those who first received it died without the sight. But the fulfillment of the promise tarried. They joyfully welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he might be the Deliverer. When Adam and Eve first heard the promise, they looked for its speedy fulfillment. The Saviour's coming was foretold in Eden. to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Galatians 4:4, 5. “When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son.
0 kommentar(er)
