(Continued-Chapter II-The Revelation of God)

A careful study of these passages and a comparison of them with the history of Israel from Moses' day to the present will show to the candid investigator that things have turned out exactly as foretold by Moses. In looking at these chapters, we must remember that this prediction was given, in round numbers, thirty-five hundred years ago. By what power was he able to forecast the future for his brethren? There is but one answer: He was given this information by the Spirit of God.

It is said of Frederick the Great that he once asked the Bishop of Milan for proof of the inspiration of the Scriptures expressed in one word. The reply was, "The Jew." The Jew is the monument upon which God has written in indelible words of history--past and present--the accuracy and inerrancy of His Word.

To Daniel the prophet God revealed that there would be four world empires which would be succeeded by a fifth one, the Kingdom of Messiah. These predictions are found in Daniel, chapters 2 and 7. They are most important for the honest investigator and should be studied with great care. An examination of these passages and a careful study of history from Daniel's day to the present time reveal the fact that there have been four, and only four, world empires. The fourth has continued since its rise to the present time and will remain until one "like unto a son of man" comes before the Ancient of Days and there is given to him a kingdom which shall never pass away. (For proof of this fact, see studies in Daniel, chapters 2 and 7, in my volume, The World's Greatest Library Graphically Illustrated.) At that time Messiah will return to earth, put down all opposition, mount the throne of David, and reign for a thousand years. In round numbers something like twenty-five hundred years of the future was outlined by Daniel in these two predictions that have already been fulfilled. Of course, these forecasts have not all been accomplished in their entirety because they reach out into the millennial reign of Christ.

Moreover, predictions that were uttered by the various men of God regarding nations surrounding Israel have been fulfilled literally. I have visited various lands concerning which the prophets spoke and have studied, on the ground, those predictions that were given by the men of God of olden times; and I am bold to say that their predictions have been fulfilled literally and exactly to date. How did these men forecast the future? It was simply by the Spirit of God and by no other means. (For an extended study of this subject, see Wonders of Prophecy by John Urquhart.)

To even the casual student of the Scriptures there immediately appears a profound unity binding the sixty-six books into one majestic whole. There is but one plan that runs throughout these various "little books" which constitute the Scriptures. In round numbers there were some fifty authors who wrote during forty centuries and who have given us this matchless volume. These men were different temperamentally, intellectually, lived in different ages of the world, and moved in different environments. It is utterly impossible--apart from the biblical writers--to gather together so many men of such different times, living under varying circumstances, and find them speaking the one and the same message.

For the sake of emphasizing the great diversity and at the same time the marvelous unity in the Scriptures, may I call attention to this homely illustration? There is a jigsaw puzzle on the table. It consists of many parts, every one of which is shaped differently from the others. Each piece has its location in the pattern and will fit exactly into its place, but cannot be forced into the wrong position. When each part is put in its own place, one finds that a single picture has been formed. So it is with the sixty-six books of the Bible. Each sacred writer contributed his part, speaking, as he was moved or borne along by the Spirit of God, independently of all the others. Since these sixty-six books have been brought together into one volume, they can now be studied as an entity. For thirty-eight years I have studied the Scriptures, honestly and conscientiously, with one sole object in view; namely, to ascertain the message of the Bible. I have never wanted to prove any theory nor to support any man-made doctrine, but simply to find out what the Scriptures teach in order that I might pass on to others that which I believe to be the will of God Almighty. Moreover, I have studied the Word of God in the original languages in my quest of an accurate understanding of the Word and can lay claim to the fact that I have endeavored to the best of my ability to study the Scriptures in a scientific manner being guided by what I call the "Golden Rule of Interpretation," which is "When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise." After these thirty-eight years of conscientious, diligent quest for the truth, I wish to testify that the unity of the Scriptures is nothing short of a miracle and is absolute proof, to my mind, that the men who wrote this volume were men of God who spoke as they were borne along by the Spirit of God.

Millions of people now living can testify to the fact that the longings of their souls have been thoroughly satisfied by the message of salvation of which the Scriptures speak and of the Redeemer presented therein. One can go back into the libraries of the world and can discover the testimony of multiplied thousands upon thousands who have borne witness to this same thing.

Many of them sought peace and joy in one way and another, but never enjoyed complete satisfaction until they accepted, by faith, the message of the Word of God. These testify that the message of the Scriptures and the Lord Jesus Christ alone can satisfy the yearnings of the human heart. They know that this message has not only satisfied them for time but has also prepared them for eternity.

Proof that the Bible is the Word of God and not of human origin is also found in the fact of its inexhaustible riches of knowledge and wisdom in every field. As has been pointed out above, whenever the biblical writers touched upon any matter that is a subject of human investigation, it has been found that their utterances are consonant with assured discoveries and facts of scientific knowledge--even though they do not use the modern terminology of the scientists which changes from one generation to another. Moreover, the greatest minds throughout the past have concentrated their intellectual powers upon an effort to ascertain the message of the Scriptures. The more they have studied, the more profound the Bible has become to them. The deeper men go in their search for the nuggets of truth, the deeper are the strata of underlying truth yet to be reached. The farther they go a field in the Scriptures, the wider becomes their vision of the horizon to truth. The higher they ascend in spiritual perception, the more vast becomes the great vault of truth above their wondering vision.

Some of the greatest scholars of the entire world have concentrated their powers upon an effort to master the contents of the Scriptures. They have studied them reverently, with one object in view, namely, to understand the messages of the biblical writers. At the end of long, studious lives, they have confessed that they have simply touched the fringe of the knowledge contained in the Scriptures. To this fact I wish to add my testimony. After thirty-eight years of the most diligent study of which I am capable, I wish to state that the fields of knowledge which are presented in the Scriptures are boundless to me. The more I learn and see in them, the more vast seem the unexplored fields of thought, possibilities, and powers, and the more I realize there is yet to be discovered in the Sacred Volume.

Of Columbus it was said that when he sailed into the mouth of the Orinoco River he said in substance, "Gentlemen, this is not an island! This land is a continent, for there is no such river in an island." The great volume of water rolling down that river was absolute proof of the vastness of the extent of land drained by it. Thus, as I stand before the Holy Scriptures, I behold such rivers and floods of marvelous, wonderful truth regarding every phase of life--surpassing all the works written by uninspired men--that I am led to exclaim, The Scriptures are a fathomless river that flows from the boundless source of the infinite wisdom and knowledge of the Eternal God! With Paul I exclaim, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen."