(Continued-Chapter V- The Reality Of Miracles)

In view of all the facts--both biblical and secular--I correctly use the terms, Jews and Israelites, in referring to the people scattered among the nations and known today as Jews.

The Jewish nation began in a miracle, it has been sustained by the miracle-working power of God, has been protected by His almighty hand, and will yet be used in the future in bringing world wide blessing to humanity. The history of this people can be accounted for upon no principle other than that of divine miraculous preservation and purpose. Israel's history is one of the outstanding miracles of all times.

Under section A we saw that the Bible is a miracle. Within the Bible are prophecies of various and sundry types. Those utterances constitute proof of inspiration. The prophets of God, hundreds of years before the events, often foretold with minute detail the misfortunes and calamities that would come upon nations and cities. A visit to Bible Lands, an examination of ancient sites and a careful study of archaeological investigations confirm this position. If the reader will only procure the volume by John Urquhart entitled, The Wonders of Prophecy, he will see that the prophets foretold the destiny of cities and people hundreds of years before. Their utterances were indeed miracles of the first order in that it took the omniscience of God to reveal to His servants what would come to pass in the distant future--viewed from their standpoint.

The prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah and His rejection. They spoke of this period of grace in which we are now living. Moreover, our Lord in Matthew, chapter 13--the Parables of the Kingdom--outlined church history as it has developed through these nineteen centuries. Each of these parables sets forth characteristics of the various periods into which church history naturally falls. Omniscience lies behind that marvelous forecast of the course of events through the centuries.

Daniel especially foretold the four types of world government from his day until the coming of the Messiah. History has followed the course that was foretold by that prophet. There were to be but four world empires. There have been but four. The fourth one is still in existence and will continue until the Ancient of Days takes His throne and passes judgment upon this last empire (Dan. chap. 7). (For a full discussion of this subject see my volume The World's Greatest Library Graphically Illustrated.)

The prophets of the Old Testament, and the apostles of the New especially, foretold the situation that will exist in the end of the present dispensation. An examination of present world conditions proves conclusively that their predictions have been fulfilled to the very letter.

There is but one sane, sound, reasonable explanation regarding these prophecies. When men looked across centuries, yea, even millenniums, and delineated with exactness the conditions that would exist, there is but one thing that we can say about them and that is that they spoke by the infallible inspiration of the Spirit of God. Prophecy therefore is a miracle-an outstanding, irrefutable miracle.

Moses and the prophets foretold His coming. They announced that He would be of the tribe of Judah, of the house of David, and of the city of Bethlehem. They also made known the very year when He would be executed. They foretold the reception which would be accorded Him and how eventually He would be executed by being crucified (Ps. 22:1-21). They forecast His death, burial, and resurrection. They foretold His return to heaven and His session at the right hand of the throne of God during the present age.

Every sacrifice offered upon Jewish altars was a prophecy of some phase of His life's work. An examination therefore of all these predictions and of the typical significance of Israel's worship points to one only--Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

We have four records of His life, given by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Whereas the prophets foretold His coming and His life, the evangelists record in detail His life and deeds. When He had accomplished His work upon earth, He returned to heaven. He launched, however the greatest movement known among men --Christianity which has changed the entire course of history. This fact every informed person must admit.

Notwithstanding the plain facts as they appear in prophecy and in the Gospel Records, there are those who are still disposed to discount Him and to reduce Him to the level of a mere man. With their critical apparatus they eliminate this section and that portion of the Sacred Records in order to remove all miraculous elements from the gospel and try to reduce the Lord Jesus to the stature of an ordinary man. Such a procedure, let me say, is thoroughly unscientific and only those who have some preconceptions or theories to support will attempt to eliminate any sections of the record. Even after those miraculous portions have been eliminated, Jesus of Nazareth stands out a unique character upon the historic scene. Someone has truly said that it would take a Jesus to produce the record of His life. After the rationalistic critics have done all that they can to delete the records of all miraculous elements, as we shall see in discussing the subject of the atonement, Jesus of Nazareth still stands there in His majesty and glory the sinless, perfect man, who was none other than God manifest in the flesh.

If one wishes to see the type of the record of the life of Christ which uninspired men would write, let one read the apocryphal gospels which are on a plane infinitely lower than that on which the four canonical Gospels have stood, are standing, and shall continue to stand.

In view of all the facts regarding Jesus of Nazareth, one is forced to bow before Him and acknowledge that He is Lord of lords, King of kings, and Saviour of the penitent believer.

As stated before, Jesus Christ launched a new movement in the world which is now called Christianity. The whole course of history has been turned in a different direction by it. Lives by the millions have been transformed. Myriad's today will testify to the saving power of Jesus Christ. It is true that there are many hypocrites among the believers as there are in other groups. But the lives and the testimonies of innumerable people prove absolutely that there is such a thing as a miracle. There are hundreds of volumes which present the testimony, unimpeachable and unquestionable, of myriad's of outstanding men who have influenced the world and who have testified that there was a miracle wrought in their souls when they accepted Jesus of Nazareth as their personal Saviour and Lord.

I wish to testify concerning my own experience with Him. When I came to Him and accepted Him as my personal Saviour, there was a joy that came into my heart and a satisfaction that I had never experienced. Up to the very day of my conversion I had a definite plan which I intended to pursue in life. But when the miracle of regeneration took place, this cherished hope faded into insignificance and there came into my heart an insatiable desire to go out and tell others about the miracle that had been wrought in my life and to teach the Word of God to others and thus live for my fellow-man.

The person who has had such an experience with Jesus Christ as I have had knows that miracles are possible, for one has been wrought in his own life.

The number of people who have and who would testify concerning the miracle of regeneration in their own hearts is legion. It is true that some might be deceived, but it is utterly impossible for the vast multitudes who have had this definite experience to be mistaken.

My friend, I earnestly appeal to you. If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, come to Him in faith, doubting nothing, forsaking your sins, and let Him work this miracle in your own heart and life. The Psalmist David pleaded with men, saying "Oh taste and see that Jehovah is good: Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him" (Ps. 34:8). This is an invitation to one and all to come. He who comes to Jesus will in nowise be cast out (John 6:37). Christ will regenerate the heart and will give a new life, a new hope, and a new joy such as a person prior to his acceptance of Christ has never experienced. Christian experience is a reality. It is a miracle.

In concluding this discussion, which has been very brief because of lack of space, I wish to show that miracles are not, as is often supposed, contrary to the laws of nature. To do this, let me call attention to the airplane. There are thousands of principles--natural laws--that have been utilized, combined, and manipulated in the manufacture of the various parts that enter into the construction of such a machine. By the utilization of these many laws, the manufacturer of a plane brings about results that nature unaided could not accomplish. When one reads about and listens over the radio to reports of those giant aircraft that carry the super-block buster bombs weighing eight tons great distances, one sees that there is something which nature cannot produce. Men with intelligence take advantage of the combination of the various laws governing the different materials entering into the construction of the plane and bring about such miraculous results.

The plane manufacturer, the pilots, and those operating the plane do not for one moment set aside any law of nature. Every one involved is operative in the whole process; and yet, that which is, from the standpoint of nature, impossible is accomplished. A miracle from the standpoint of nature has been wrought.

If men, by thus combining and utilizing the various laws, can produce this miracle of the air, cannot the omniscient, omnipotent God--the author of all the so-called laws of nature--combine and manipulate and bring into action laws of which we know nothing and bring about results for definite, specific, spiritual, and eternal purposes, if He chooses to do so? Every rational thinking person, if he is willing to face the issue must admit that miracles are possible. But I have called attention to the five outstanding miracles to the ages. May God open our eyes to see that the Eternal God, the Creator of the universe is interested in us, that He is working in our behalf and that He will continue to do so during time and eternity.