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قراءة كتاب A Voice of Warning Or, an introduction to the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

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‏اللغة: English
A Voice of Warning
Or, an introduction to the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

A Voice of Warning Or, an introduction to the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

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دار النشر: Project Gutenberg
الصفحة رقم: 7

Lord had in view when he revealed such plainness. And Cyrus manifested that it had the desired effect.

I would here remark that when we come to treat of that part of prophecy which yet remains to be fulfilled, we shall bring proof positive that the heathen nations of the latter days are to be convinced in the same way that Cyrus was; that is, there are certain events plainly predicted in the Prophets, yet future, which, when fulfilled, will convince all the heathen nations of the true God, and they shall know that he hath spoken and performed it. And all the great and learned men of Christendom, and all societies, who put any other than a literal construction on the word of prophecy, shall stand confounded, and be constrained to acknowledge that all has come to pass even as it is written.

But to return to our research of prophecy and its fulfilment. The Prophets had not only predicted the reduction of Babylon by Cyrus, but they had denounced its fate through all ages, until reduced to entire desolation, never to be inhabited, not even as a temporary residence for the wandering Arab: "And the Arabian shall not pitch tent there." See Isaiah, xiii, 19-22.

Mr. Joseph Wolfe, the celebrated Jewish missionary, while traveling in Chaldea, inquired of the Arabs whether they pitched their tents among the ruins of Babylon, to which they replied in the negative, declaring their fears that, should they do so, Nimrod's ghost would haunt them. Thus all the predictions of the Prophets concerning that mighty city have been fulfilled.

Edom also presents a striking fulfilment of plain and pointed predictions in the Prophets. These predictions were pronounced upon Edom at a time when its soil was very productive and well cultivated, and everywhere abounding in flourishing towns and cities. But now its cities have become heaps of desolate ruins, only inhabited by the cormorant, bittern, and by wild beasts, serpents, etc., and its soil has become barren; the Lord has cast upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness, and it has been waste from generation to generation, in express fulfilment of the word of prophecy.

We will now give a passing notice of the vision of Daniel, recorded in the eighth chapter of his prophecies, concerning the ram and the goat. The reader would do well to turn and read the whole chapter; but we will more particularly notice the interpretation, as it was given him by Gabriel, recorded from the nineteenth to the twenty-fifth verses. And he said: "I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation, for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia: and the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn that is between the eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up; and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people; and through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." In this vision we have first presented the Medes and Persians, as they were to exist until they were conquered by Alexander the Great. Now, it is a fact well known that this empire waxed exceedingly great for some time after the death of Daniel, pushing its conquests westward, northward, and southward, so that none could stand before it; until Alexander, the king of Grecia, came from the west, with a small army of chosen men, and attacked the Persians upon the banks of the river, and plunging his horse in, and his army following, they crossed, and attacked the Persians, who stood to oppose them on the bank with many times their number; but, notwithstanding their number, and their advantage of the ground, they were totally routed, and the Grecians proceeded to overrun and subdue the country, beating the Persians in a number of pitched battles, until they were entirely subdued. It is also well known that Alexander, the king of Greece, went forth from nation to nation, subduing the world before him, until, having conquered the world, he died at Babylon, at the age of thirty-two years. And thus, when he had waxed strong, the great horn was broken, and for it came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven. His kingdom was divided among four of his generals, who never attained unto his power. Now, in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgression of the Jewish nation was come to the full, the Roman power destroyed the Jewish nation, took Jerusalem, caused the daily sacrifice to cease, and not only that, bat afterwards destroyed the mighty and holy people, that is, the Apostles and primitive Christians, who were slain by the authorities at Rome.

Now, let me inquire, Does the history of these United States give a plainer account of past events than Daniel's wisdom did of events which were then future, and some of them reaching down the stream of time for several hundred years, unfolding events which no human sagacity could possibly have foreseen? Man, by his own sagacity, may accomplish many things; he may plough the trackless ocean without wind or tide in his favor; he may soar aloft amid the clouds without the aid of wings; he may traverse the land with astonishing velocity without the aid of beasts; or he may convey his thoughts to his fellows by the aid of letters. But there is a principle which he can never attain to; no, not even by the wisdom of ages combined; money will not purchase it; it comes from God only, and is bestowed upon man as a free gift. Says the Prophet to the idols, "Tell us what shall be, thai we may know that ye are gods."

We will now proceed to show how exactly the prophecies were fulfilled literally in the person of Jesus Christ. "Behold," said the Prophet, "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son." Again, Bethlehem should be the place of his birth, and Egypt, where he sojourned with his parents, the place out of which he was to be called. He turned aside to Nazareth, for it was written, "He shall be called a Nazarene." He rode into Jerusalem upon a colt, the foal of an ass, because the Prophet had said, "Behold thy King cometh, meek and lowly, riding upon a colt," etc. And again, saith the Prophet: "He shall be afflicted and despised; he shall be a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; he shall be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and, like a sheep dumb before his shearers, so he opened not his mouth; in his humiliation his judgment was taken away; and who shall declare his generation, for his life is taken from the earth. He was wounded for our transgressions, and by his stripes we are healed; he was numbered with the transgressors; he made his grave with the rich." Not a bone of him is broken; they divide his raiment; cast lots for his vesture; give him gall and vinegar to drink; betray him for thirty pieces of silver; and finally, when it was finished, he rested in the tomb until the third day, and then rose triumphant, without seeing corruption. Now, kind reader, had you walked up and down with our dear Redeemer during his whole sojourn in the flesh, and had you taken pains to record the particular circumstances of his life and death, as they occurred from time to time, your history would not be a plainer one than the Prophets gave of him hundreds of years before he was born. There is one thing we would do well to notice concerning the manner in which the Apostles interpreted prophecy, and that is this—they simply quoted it, and recorded its literal fulfilment. By pursuing this

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