>#' ^ f jm BANCROFT LIBRARY -o THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Gift of Mrs. Esther C. Thomson : ^^w&^rg^M .3 C. THOMSON JESUS THE CHRIST A Study of the Messiah and His Mission according to Holy Scriptures both Ancient and Modern By JAMES E. TALMAGE One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints PUBLISHED BY THE CHURCH SECOND EDITION SIXTH TO FIFTEENTH THOUSAND INCLUSIVE Salt Lake City, Utah The Deseret News 1915 Copyright September 1915 and December 1915 By JOSEPH F. SMITH Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints PREFACE. The scope of the subject presented in this work is ex- pressed on the title page. It will be readily seen that the author has departed from the course usually followed by writers on the Life of Jesus Christ, which course, as a rule, begins with the birth of Mary's Babe and ends with the ascension of the slain and risen Lord from Olivet. The treatment embodied in these pages, in addition to the narra- tive of the Lord's life in the flesh comprizes the antemortal existence and activities of the world's Redeemer, the revela- tions and personal manifestations of the glorified and exalted Son of God during the apostolic period of old and in modern times, the assured nearness of the Lord's second advent, and predicted events beyond all so far as the Holy Scriptures make plain. It is particularly congruous and appropriate that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the only Church that affirms authority based on specific revelation and commission to use the Lord's Holy Name as a distinc- tive designation should set forth her doctrines concerning the Messiah and His mission. The author of this volume entered upon his welcome service under request and appointment from the presiding authorities of the Church ; and the completed work, has been read to and is approved by the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. It presents, however, the writer's personal belief and profoundest conviction as to the truth of iv what he has written. The book is published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A characteristic feature of the work is the guidance afforded by modern scriptures and the explication of the Holy Writ of olden times in the light of present day revela- tion, which, as a powerful and well directed beam, illumines many dark passages of ancient construction. The spirit of the sacredness inherent in the subject has been a constant companion of the writer throughout his pleasing labor, and he reverently invokes the same as a min- ister to the readers of the volume. JAMES E. TARMACS. Salt Lake City, Utah, September, 1915. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. A second edition of this work was called for within a month after the publication of the first. The later issue presents some minor changes in expression and a few addi- tional references ; but in the main it is a reprint. To fa- cilitate the use of both editions together in classes, care has been taken to make the pagination practically uniform. JAMES E. TARMACS. Salt Lake City, Utah. December, 1915. CONTENTS. Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION. Historicity of Jesus the Christ. Scope and purpose of the present treatise 1-5 Chapter 2. PREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION OF THE CHRIST. Antemortal existence of spirits. Primeval council in heaven. Rebellion of Lucifer. His defeat and expulsion. Free agency of man insured. The Beloved Son chosen to be the Savior and Redeemer of mankind 6-16 Chapter 3. THE NEED OF A REDEEMER. Spirits of diverse capacities. Entrance of sin into the world foreseen. God's foreknowledge not a determining cause. Creation of man in the flesh. Fall of man. Atonement necessary. Jesus Christ the only Being eligible as Redeemer and Savior. Universal resurrection provided 17-31 Chapter 4. THE ANTEMORTAL GODSHIP OF CHRIST. The Godhead. Jesus Christ the Word of power. Jesus Christ the Creator. Jehovah. The Eternal I AM. Proclamations of Jesus Christ by the Father 32-41 Chapter 5. EARTHLY ADVENT OF THE CHRIST PREDICTED. Biblical prophecies. Revelation to Enoch. The Prophet predicted by Moses. Sacrifices as prototypes. Book of Mormon predictions . . 42-56 Chapter 6. THE MERIDIAN OF TIME. Significance of the designation. Epitome of Israel's history. Jews in vassal- age to Rome. Scribes and rabbis. Pharisees and Sadducees. Other sects and parties 57-74 Chapter 7. GABRIEL'S ANNUNCIATION OF JOHN AND OF JESUS. Angelic visitation to Zacharias. Birth of John the forerunner. Annuncia- tion to Mary the Virgin. Mary and Joseph. Their genealogies. Jesus Christ heir to the throne of David 75-90 v i CONTENTS. Chapter 8. THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. Birth of Jesus Christ. His presentation in the temple. Visit of the magi. Herod's evil designs. The Child taken into Egypt. Birth of Christ made known to Nephites. Time of the birth 91-109 Chapter 9. THE BOY OF NAZARETH. Jesus to be called a Nazarene. At the temple when twelve years of age. Jesus and the doctors of the law. Jesus of Nazareth . . . 110-120 Chapter 10. IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA. John the Baptist. The voice in the wilderness. Baptism of Jesus. The Father's proclamation. Descent of the Holy Ghost. Sign of the dove. Temptations of Christ 121-137 Chapter 11. FROM JUDEA TO GALILEE. John Baptist's testimony of Christ. First disciples. The Son of Man, sig- nificance of title. Miracle of transmuting water into wine. Miracles in general 138-152 Chapter 12. EARLY INCIDENTS IN OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY. First clearing of the temple. Jesus and Nicodemus. John Baptist's disciples in disputation. John's tribute to and repeated testimony of the Christ 153-171 Chapter 13. HONORED BY STRANGERS, REJECTED BY HIS OWN. Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Among the Samaritans. While at Cana Christ heals a nobleman's son in Capernaum. At Nazareth Christ preaches in synagog. Nazarenes attempt to kill him. Demons sub- dued in Capernaum. Demoniacal possession 172-187 Chapter 14. CONTINUATION OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN GALILEE. A leper healed. Leprosy. Palsied man healed and forgiven. Imputation of blasphemy. Publicans and sinners. Old cloth, old bottles, and the new. Preliminary call of disciples. Fishers of men .... 188-202 Chapter 15. LORD OF THE SABBATH. Sabbath distinctively sacred to Israel. Cripple healed on Sabbath day. Accusations by the Jews and the Lord's reply thereto. Disciples charged with Sabbath-breaking. Man with a withered hand healed on Sabbath day 203-216 CONTENTS. VJi Chapter 16. THE CHOSEN TWELVE. Their call and ordination. The Twelve considered individually. Their char- acteristics in general. Disciples and apostles .... 217-229 Chapter 17. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. The Beatitudes. Dignity and responsibility in tht ministry. The Mosaic law superseded by the gospel of Christ. Sincerity of purpose. The Lord's Prayer. True wealth. Promise and re-assurance. Hearing and doing ' 230-248 Chapter 18. AS ONE HAVING AUTHORITY. Healing of centurion's servant. Young man of Nain raised from the dead. John Baptist's message to Jesus. The Lord's commentary thereon. Death of John Baptist. Jesus in house of Simon the Pharisee. Penitent woman forgiven. Christ's authority ascribed to Beelzebub. The sin against the Holy Ghost. Sign-seekers 249-280 Chapter 19. "HE SPAKE MANY THINGS UNTO THEM IN PARABLES." The Sower. Wheat and Tares. Seed growing secretly. Mustard Seed. Leaven. Hidden Treasure. Pearl of Great Price. Gospel Net. The Lord's purpose in parabolic teaching. Parables in general . 281-304 Chapter 20. "PEACE, BE STILL." Candidates for discipleship. Stilling the storm. Quieting the demons in region of Gadara. Raising of daughter of Jairus. Restoration to life and resurrection. A woman healed amidst the throng. Blind see and dumb speak . r 305-326 Chapter 21. THE APOSTOLIC MISSION, AND EVENTS RELATED THERETO. Jesus again in Nazareth. The Twelve charged and sent out. Their return. Five thousand people miraculously fed. Miracle of walking upon the water. People seek Christ for more loaves and fishes. Christ the bread of life. Many disciples turn away 327-348 Chapter 22. A PERIOD OF DARKENING OPPOSITION. Ceremonial washings. Pharisees rebuked. Jesus in borders of Tyre and Sidon. Daughter of Syro-Phenici.an woman healed. Miracles wrought in coasts of Decapolis. Four thousand people miraculously fed. More seekers after signs. Leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod- ians. Peter's great confession, "Thou art the Christ" . . 349-369 iriii CONTENTS. Chapter 23. THE TRANSFIGURATION. Visitation of Moses and Elijah. The Father again proclaims the Son. The apostles temporarily restrained from testifying concerning the trans- figuration. Elias and Elijah. The Lesser and the Higher Priest- hood 370-377 Chapter 24. FROM SUNSHINE TO SHADOW. Youthful demoniac healed. Further prediction of Christ's death and resur- rection. The tribute money; supplied by a miracle. Humility illustrated by a little child. Parable of the Lost Sheep. In Christ's name. My brother and I. Parable of the Unmerciful Servant . . . 378-397 Chapter 25. JESUS AGAIN IN JERUSALEM. Departure from Galilee. At the Feast of Tabernacles. Another charge of Sabbath desecration. Living water for the spiritually thirsty. Plans to arrest Tesus. Nicodemus protests. Woman taken in adultery. Christ the light of the world. The truth shall make men free, Christ's seniority over Abraham. Sight restored on Sabbath day. Physical and spiritual blindness. Shepherd and sheep-herder. Christ the Good Shepherd. His inherent power over life and death. Sheep of another fold . 398-422 Chapter 26. OUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN PEREA AND JUDEA. Jesus rejected in Samaria. James and John reproved for revengeful desire. The Seventy charged and sent. Their return. A lawyer's question. Parable of Good Samaritan. Martha and Mary. Ask and receive. Parable of Friend at Midnight. Criticism on Pharisees and lawyers. Parable of Foolish Rich Man. The unrepentant to perish. Parable of Barren Fig Tree. A woman healed on the Sabbath. Many or few to be saved? Jesus warned of Herod's design 423-448 Chapter 27. CONTINUATION OF THE PEREAN AND JUDEAN MINISTRY. In the house of one of the chief Pharisees. Parable of the Great Supper. Counting the cost. Salvation even for publicans and sinners. Parable of the Lost Sheep repeated. Of the Lost Coin. Of the Prodigal Son. Of the Unrighteous Steward. Of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Of the Unprofitable Servants. Ten lepers healed. Parable of the Pharisee and Publican. On marriage and divorce. Jesus and the little ones. The rich young ruler. First may be last and last first. Parable of the Laborers 449-486 Chapter 28. THE LAST WINTER. At the Feast of Dedication. Sheep know the Shepherd's Voice. The Lord's retirement in Perea. Lazarus raised from the dead. Jewish hierarchy agitated over the miracle. Prophecy by Caiaphas, the high priest. Jesus in retirement at Ephraim, . 487-501 CONTENTS. i x Chapter 29. ON TO JERUSALEM. Jesus again foretells His death and resurrection. Aspiring request of James and John. Sight restored near Jericho. Zaccheus the chief publican. Parable of the Pounds. The supper in the house of Simon the leper. __ Mary's tribute in anointing Jesus. Iscariot's protest. Christ's triumphal * entry into Jerusalem. Certain Greeks seek interview with Jesus. The Voice from heaven 502-523 Chapter 30. JESUS RETURNS TO THE TEMPLE DAILY. A leafy but fruitless fig tree cursed. Second clearing of the temple. Chil- dren shout Hosanna. Christ's authority challenged by the rulers. Parable of the two sons. Of the Wicked Husbandmen. The rejected Stone to be head of the corner. Parable of the Royal Marriage Feast. The wedding garment lacking 524-543 Chapter 31. THE CLOSE OF OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY. Pharisees and Herodians in conspiracy. Caesar to have his due. The image on the coin. Sadducees and the resurrection. Levirate marriages. The great commandment. Jesus turns questioner. Scathing denunciation of scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Lamentation over Jerusalem. The widow's mites. Christ's final withdrawal from temple. Destruction of temple predicted . * . 544-568 Chapter 32. FURTHER INSTRUCTION TO THE APOSTLES. Prophecies relating to destruction of Jerusalem and the Lord's future ad- vent. Watch! Parable of Ten Virgins. Of the Entrusted Talents. The inevitable judgment. Another and specific prediction of the Lord's impending death 569-590 Chapter 33. THE LAST SUPPER AND THE BETRAYAL. Judas Iscariot in conspiracy with the Jews. Preparations for the Lord's last Passover. The last supper of Jesus with the Twelve. The traitor designated. Ordinance of washing of feet. Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The betrayer goes out into the night. Discourse following the supper. The High-Priestly Prayer. The Lord's agony in Gethsemane. The betrayal and the arrest 591-620 Chapter 34. THE TRIAL AND CONDEMNATION. The Jewish trial. Christ before Annas and Caiaphas. The illegal night court. The morning session. False witnesses and unrighteous con- viction. Peter's denial of his Lord. Christ's first arraignment before Pilate. Before Herod. Second appearance before Pilate. Pilate's sur- render to Jewish clamor. The sentence of crucifixion. Suicide of Judas Iscariot 621-651 x CONTENTS Chapter 35. DEATH AND BURIAL. On the way to Calvary. The Lord's address to the daughters of Jerusalem. The crucifixion. Occurrences between the Lord's death and burial. The burial. The sepulchre guarded 652-669 Chapter 36. IN THE REALM OF DISEMBODIED SPIRITS. Actuality of the Lord's death. Condition of spirits between death and resur- rection. The Savior among the dead. The gospel preached to the spirits in prison 670-677 Chapter 37. THE RESURRECTION AND THE ASCENSION. Christ is risen. The women at the sepulchre. Angelic communications. The risen Lord seen by Mary Magdalene. And by other women. A priestly conspiracy of falsehood. The Lord and two disciples on the Emmaus road. He appears to disciples in Jerusalem and eats in their presence. Doubting Thomas. The Lord appears to the apostles at the sea of Tiberias. Other manifestations in Galilee. Final commission to the apostles. The ascension 678-699 Chapter 38. THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY. Matthias ordained to the apostleship. Bestowal of the Holy Ghost at Pente- cost. The apostles' preaching. Imprisoned and delivered. Gamaliel's advice to the council. Stephen the martyr. Saul of Tarsus, his con- version. Becomes Paul the apostle. The record by John the Revelator. Close of the apostolic ministry 700-720 Chapter 39. MINISTRY OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. The Lord's death signalized by great calamities on western continent. The Voice of the Lord Jesus Christ heard. His visitations to the Nephites. The Nephite Twelve. Baptism among Nephites. The Mosaic law ful- filled. Address to Nephites compared with Sermon on the Mount. Sacrament of bread and wine instituted among Nephites. Name of Christ's Church. The Three Nephites. Growth of the Church. Final apostasy of Nephite nation 721-744 Chapter 40. THE LONG NIGHT OF APOSTASY. The g^eat falling away as predicted. Individual apostasy from the Church. Apostasy of the Church. Constantine makes Christianity the religion of state. Papal claims to secular authority. Churc*hly tyranny. The Dark Ages. The inevitable revolt. The Reformation. Rise of Church of England. Catholicism and Protestantism. The apostasy affirmed. Mission of Columbus and the Pilgrim Fathers predicted in ancient scripture. Fulfilment of the prophecies. Establishment of American nation provided for 745-757 CONTENTS. x i Chapter 41. PERSONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER AND OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST IN MODERN TIMES. A new dispensation. Joseph Smith's perplexity over sectarian strife. The Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ appear to and personally in- struct Joseph Smith. Visitation of Moroni. The Book of Mormon. Aaronic Priesthood restored by John the Baptist. Melchizedek Priest- hood restored by Peter, James, and John. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Divine manifestations in Kirtland Temple. The Lord Jesus Christ appears. Specific authority of olden dispensations conferred by Moses, Elias, and Elijah. The Holy Priesthood now oper- ative on earth 758-779 Chapter 42. JESUS THE CHRIST TO RETURN. * Ancient predictions of the Lord's second advent. Modern revelation affirms the same. Today and tomorrow. The great and dreadful day near at hand. Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven. The Millennium. The celestial consummation 780-793 Index 794-804 JESUS THE CHRIST CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION. It is a matter of history that, at or near the beginning of what has since come to be known as the Christian era, the Man Jesus, surnamed the Christ, was born in Bethlehem of Judea. a The principal data as to His birth, life, and death are so well attested as to be reasonably indisputable; they are facts of record, and are accepted as essentially authentic by the civilized world at large. True, there are diversities of deduction based on alleged discrepancies in the records of the past as to circumstantial details ; but such differences are of strictly minor importance, for none of them nor all taken together cast a shadow of rational doubt upon the historicity of the earthly existence of the Man known in literature as Jesus of Nazareth. As to who and what He was there are dissensions of grave moment dividing the opinions of men ; and this diver- gence of conception and belief is most pronounced upon those matters to which the greatest importance attaches. The solemn testimonies of millions dead and of millions living unite in proclaiming Him as divine, the Son of the Living God, the Redeemer and Savior of the human race, the Eternal Judge of the souls of men, the Chosen and Anointed o As to the year of Christ's birth, see chapter 8, I 2 JESUS THE CHRIST. . [CHAP. 1. of the Father in short, the Christ. Others there are who deny His Godhood while extolling the transcendent qualities of His unparalleled and unapproachable Manhood. To the student of history this Man among men stands first, foremost, and alone, as a directing personality in the world's progression. Mankind has never produced a leader to rank with Him. Regarded solely as a historic personage He is unique. Judged by the standard of human estimation, Jesus of Nazareth is supreme among men by reason of the excellence of His personal character, the simplicity, beauty, and genuine worth of His precepts, and the influence of His example and doctrines in the advancement of the race. To these distinguishing characteristics of surpassing greatness the devout Christian soul adds an attribute that far exceeds the sum of all the others the divinity of Christ's origin -and the eternal reality of His status as Lord and God. Christian and unbeliever alike acknowledge His suprem- acy as a Man, and respect the epoch-making significance of His birth. Christ was born in the meridian of time; & and His life on earth marked at once the culmination of the past and the inauguration of an era distinctive in human hope, endeavor, and achievement. His advent determined a new order in the reckoning of the years ; and by common consent the centuries antedating His birth have been counted back- ward from the pivotal event and are designated accordingly. The rise and fall of dynasties, the birth and dissolution of na- tions, all the cycles of history as to war and peace, as to prosperity and adversity, as to health and pestilence, seasons of plenty and of famine, the awful happenings of earthquake and storm, the triumphs of invention and discovery, the epochs of man's development in godliness and the long periods of his dwindling in unbelief all the occurrences that make history are chronicled throughout Christendom by reference to the year before or after the birth of Jesus Christ. b See chapter <}. INTRODUCTION. 3, His earthly life covered a period of thirty-three years; and of these but three were spent by Him as an acknowl- edged Teacher openly engaged in the activities of public ministry. He was brought to a violent death before He had attained what we now regard as the age of manhood's prime. As an individual He was personally known to but few ; and His fame as a world character became general only after His death. Brief account of some of His words and works has been preserved to us; and this record, fragmentary and incom- plete though it be, is rightly esteemed as the world's greatest treasure. The earliest and most extended history of His mortal existence is embodied within the compilation of scriptures known as the New Testament ; indeed but little is said of Him by secular historians of His time. Few and short as are the allusions to Him made by non-scriptural writers in the period immediately following that of His min- istry, enough is found to corroborate the sacred record as to the actuality and period of Christ's earthly existence. No adequate biography of Jesus as Boy and Man has been or can be written, for the sufficing reason that a fulness of data is lacking. Nevertheless, man never lived of whom more has been said and sung, none to whom is devoted a greater proportion of the world's literature. He is extolled by Christian, Mohammedan and Jew, by skeptic and infidel, by the world's greatest poets, philosophers, statesmen, scien- tists, and historian?. Even the profane sinner in the foul sacrilege of his oath acclaims the divine supremacy of Him whose name he desecrates. The purpose of the present treatise is that of considering the life and mission of Jesus as the Christ. In this under- taking we are to be guided by the light of both ancient and modern scriptures ; and, thus led, we shall discover, even in the early stages of our course, that the word of God as re- vealed in latter days is effective in illuming and making plain 4 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 1. the Holy Writ of ancient times, and this, in many matters of the profoundest import/ Instead of beginning our study with the earthly birth of the Holy Babe of Bethlehem, we shall consider the part taken by the Firstborn Son of God in the primeval councils of heaven, at the time when He was chosen and ordained to be the Savior of the unborn race of mortals, the Redeemer of a world then in its formative stages of development. We are to study Him as the Creator of the world, as the Word of Power, through whom the purposes of the Eternal Father were realized in the preparation of the earth for the abode of His myriad spirit-children during the appointed period of their mortal probation. Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the God of Adam and of Noah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, the God at whose instance the prophets of the ages have spoken, the God of all nations, and He who shall yet reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. His wondrous yet natural birth, His immaculate life in the flesh, and His voluntary death as a consecrated sacrifice for the sins of mankind, shall claim our reverent attention ; as shall also His redeeming service in the world of disem- bodied spirits ; His literal resurrection from bodily death to immortality; His several appearings to men and His con- tinued ministry as the Resurrected Lord on both continents ; the reestablishment of His Church through His personal presence and that of the Eternal Father in the latter days ; and His coming to His temple in the current dispensation. All these developments in the ministration of the Christ are already of the past. Our proposed course of investigation will lead yet onward, into the future concerning which the word of divine revelation is of record. We shall consider c The Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price constitute the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These will be cited alike as Scrip- tures in the following pages, for such they are. INTRODUCTION. 5 the conditions incident to the Lord's return in power and glory to inaugurate the dominion of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and to usher in the predicted Millennium of peace and righteousness. And yet beyond we shall follow Him, through the post-Millennial conflict between the powers of heaven and the forces of hell, to the completion of His vic- tory over Satan, sin, and death, when He shall present the glorified earth and its sanctified hosts, spotless and celestial- ized, unto the Father. JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 2. CHAPTER 2. PREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION OF THE CHRIST. We affirm, on the authority of Holy Scripture, that the Being who is known among men as Jesus of Nazareth, and by all who acknowledge His Godhood as Jesus the Christ, existed with the Father prior to birth in the flesh ; and that in the preexistent state He was chosen and ordained to be the one and only Savior and Redeemer of the human race. Foreordination implies and comprizes preexistence as an essential condition ; therefore scriptures bearing upon the one are germane to the other ; and consequently in this presenta- tion no segregation of evidence as applying specifically to the preexistence of Christ or to His foreordination will be attempted. John the Revelator beheld in vision some of the scenes that had been enacted in the spirit-world before the begin- ning of human history. He witnessed strife and contention between loyalty and rebellion, with the hosts defending the former led by Michael the archangel, and the rebellious forces captained by Satan, who is also called the devil, the serpent, and the dragon. We read : "And there was war in heaven : Michael and his angels fought against the dragon ; and the dragon fought and his angels." In this struggle between unembodietf hosts the forces were unequally divided ; Satan drew to his standard only a third part of the children of God, who are symbolized as the "stars of heaven" f the other two thirds remained true to their allegiance and battled for the cause of righteousness, a Rev. 12:7; see also verses 8 and 9. b Rev. 12:4; see also Doc. and Cov. 29:36-38; and 76:25-27. HIS PREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION. 7 thus accomplishing the purpose of their "first estate" ; while the angels who arrayed themselves on the side of Satan "kept not their first estate",* 7 and therefore rendered them- selves ineligible for the glorious possibilities of an advanced condition or "second estate"/ The victory was with Michael and his angels ; and Satan or Lucifer, theretofore a "son of the morning", was cast out of heaven, yea "he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him".* The prophet Isaiah, to whom these momentous occurrences had been revealed about eight centuries prior to the time of John's writings, laments with inspired pathos the fall of so great a one ; and specifies selfish ambition as the occasion : "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning ! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations ! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God : I will sit also upon the mount of the congre- gation, in the sides of the north ; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds ; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."^ Justification for citing these scriptures in connection with our present consideration will be found in the cause of the great contention the conditions that led to this war in heaven. It is plain from the words of Isaiah that Lucifer, already of exalted rank, sought to aggrandize himself with- out regard to the rights and agency of others. The matter is set forth, in words that none may misapprehend, in a reve- lation given to Moses and repeated through the first prophet of the present dispensation : ."And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast com- manded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, say- c Tude 6. d'P. of G. P., Abraham 3:26. *Rev. 12:9. flsa. 14:12-15; compare Doc. and Cov. 29:30-38; and 76:23-27. 8 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 2. ing Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it ; wherefore give me thine honor. But, be- hold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power ; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; and he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice."* 7 i Thus it is shown that prior to the placing of man upon the earth, how long before we do not know, Christ and Satan, together with the hosts of the spirit-children of God, existed as intelligent individuals/ 1 possessing power and op- portunity to choose the course they would pursue and the leaders whom they would follow and obey. 1 ' In that great concourse of spirit-intelligences, the Father's plan, whereby His children would be advanced to their second estate, was submitted and doubtless discussed. The opportunity so placed within the reach of the spirits who were to be priv- ileged to take bodies upon the earth was so transcendently glorious that those heavenly multitudes burst forth into song and shouted for joy.' Satan's plan of compulsion, whereby all would be safely conducted through the career of mortality, bereft of free- dom to act and agency to choose, so circumscribed that they would be compelled to do right that one soul would not be lost was rejected ; and the humble offer of Jesus the First- born to assume mortality and live among men as their Ex- gP. of G. P., Moses 4:1-4; see also Abraham 3:27, 28. h For a further treatment of the preexistence of spirits see the author's "Articles of Faith" x:21-30. f Note 1, end of chapter, ; Job 38:7, HIS PREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION. emplar and Teacher, observing the sanctity of man's agency but teaching men to use aright that divine heritage was accepted. The decision brought war, which resulted in the vanquishment of Satan and his angels, who were cast out and deprived of the boundless privileges incident to the mor- tal or second estate. In that august council of the angels and the Gods, the Being who later was born in flesh as Mary's Son, Jesus, took prominent part, and there was He ordained of the Father to be the Savior of mankind. As to time, the term being used in the sense of all duration past, this is our earliest record of the Firstborn among the sons of God ; to us who read, it marks the beginning of the written history of Jesus the Christ.* Old Testament scriptures, while abounding in promises relating to the actuality of Christ's advent in the flesh, are less specific in information concerning His antemortal exist- ence. By the children of Israel, while living under the law and still unprepared to receive the gospel, the Messiah was looked for as one to be born in the lineage of Abraham and David, empowered to deliver them from personal and na- tional burdens, and to vanquish their enemies. The actuality of the Messiah's status as the chosen Son of God, who was with the Father from the beginning, a Being of preexistent power and glory, was but dimly perceived, if conceived at all, by the people in general ; and although to prophets specially commissioned in the authorities and privileges of the Holy Priesthood, revelation of the great truth was given/ they transmitted it to the people rather in the language of imag- ery and parable than in words of direct plainness. Never- theless the testimony of the evangelists and the apostles, the attestation of the Christ Himself while in the flesh, and the revelation given in the present dispensation leave us without dearth of scriptural proof. k Note 2, end of chapter. I Psalm 25:14; Amos 8:7, 10 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 2. Iii the opening lines of the Gospel book written by John the apostle, we read : "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him ; and without him was not anything made that was made. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. " m The passage is simple, precise and unambiguous. We may reasonably give to the phrase "In the beginning" the same meaning as attaches thereto in the first line of Genesis ; and such signification must indicate a time antecedent to the earliest stages of human existence upon the earth. That the Word is Jesus Christ, who was with the Father in that be- ginning and who was Himself invested with the powers and rank of Godship, and that He came into the world and dwelt among men, are definitely affirmed. These statements are cor- roborated through a revelation given to Moses, in which he was permitted to see many of the creations of God, and to hear the voice of the Father with respect to the things that had been made: "And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth."" John the apostle repeatedly affirms the preexistence of the Christ and the fact of His authority and power in the antemortal state. To the same effect is the testimony of Paul^ and of Peter. Instructing the saints concerning the basis of their faith, the last-named apostle impressed upon them that their redemption was not to be secured through corruptible things nor by the outward observance of tradi- tional requirements, "But with the precious blood of Christ, m John 1:1-3, 14; see also 1 John 1:1; 5:7; Rev. 19:13; compare Doc. and Cov. 93:1-17, 21. nP. of G. P., Moses 1:32, 33; see also 2:5. 01 John 1:1-3; 2:13, 14; 4:9; Rev. 3:14. p2 Tim. 1:9, 10; Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:4; 3:9, 11; Titus 1:2. See especially Rom. 3:25; and note the marginal rendering "foreordained" making the passage read: ^Whom God hath foreordained to be a propitiation." HIS PREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION. 11 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot : who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." 3 Even more impressive and yet more truly conclusive are the personal testimonies of the Savior as to His own pre- existent life and the mission among men to which He had been appointed. No one who accepts Jesus as the Messiah can consistently reject these evidences of His eternal nature. When, on a certain occasion, the Jews in the synagog dis- puted among themselves and murmured because of their failure to understand aright His doctrine concerning Him- self, especially as touching His relationship with the Father, Jesus said unto them : "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." And then, continuing the lesson based upon the contrast between the manna with which their fathers had been fed in the wil- derness and the bread of life which He had to offer, He added : "I am the living bread which came down from heaven," and again declared "the living Father hath sent me." Not a few of the disciples failed to comprehend His teachings; and their complaints drew from Him these words : "Doth this offend you ? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?"*" To certain wicked Jews, wrapped in the mantle of racial pride, boastful of their descent through the lineage of Abra- ham, and seeking to excuse their sins through an unwar- ranted use of the great patriarch's name, our Lord thus pro- claimed His own preeminence : "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."-* The fuller significance of this remark will be treated later ; suffice it in the present con- nection to consider this scripture as a plain avowal of our Lord's seniority and supremacy over Abraham. But as Abraham's birth had preceded that of Christ by more than q\ Peter 1:19, 20. rjohn 6:38, 51, 57, 61, 62. j John 8:58; see also 17:5, 24; and compare Exo. 3:14. Page 37. 12 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 2. nineteen centuries, such seniority must have reference to a state of existence antedating that of mortality. When the hour of His betrayal was near, in the last inter- view with the apostles prior to His agonizing experience in Gethsemane, Jesus comforted them saying : "For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have be- lieved that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world : again, I leave the world, and go to the Father."' Furthermore, in the course of up- welling prayer for those who had been true to their testimony of His Messiahship, He addressed the Father with this sol- emn invocation : "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth : I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."" Book of Mormon scriptures are likewise explicit in proof of the preexistence of the Christ and of His foreappointed mission. A few only of the many evidences therein found will be cited here. An ancient prophet, designated in the record as the brother of Jared, v once pleaded with the Lord in special supplication : "And the Lord said unto him, Be- lievest thou the words which I shall speak? And he an- swered, Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie. And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord shewed himself unto him, and said, Because thou knowest these things, ye are re- deemed from the fall ; therefore ye are brought back into my presence ; therefore I shew myself unto you. Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the fjohn 16:27, 28; see also 13:3. ttjohn 17:3-5; see also verses 24, 25. v Note 3, end of chapter. HIS FREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDI NATION. 13 Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name ; and they shall become my sons and my daughters. And never have I shewed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning, after mine own image. Be- hold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit ; and man have I created after the body of my spirit ; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit, will I appear unto my people in the flesh. " w The main facts at- tested by this scripture as having a direct bearing upon our present subject are those of the Christ manifesting Himself while yet in His antemortal state, and of His declaration that He had been chosen from the foundation of the world as the Redeemer. Revelation given through the prophets of God in the present dispensation is replete with evidence of Christ's ap- pointment and ordination in the primeval world ; and the whole tenor of the scriptures contained in the Doctrine and Covenants may be called in witness. The following in- stances are particularly in point. In a communication to Joseph Smith the prophet, in May, 1833, the Lord declared Himself as the One who had previously come into the world from the Father, and of whom John had borne testimony as the Word ; and the solemn truth is reiterated that He, Jesus Christ, "was in the beginning, before the world was", and further, that He was the Redeemer who "came into the world because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of man and the light of men." Again, He is referred to as "the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh." In the course of the same revelation the Lord said : "And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with wB. of M., Ether 3:11-16. 14 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 2. the Father and am the firstborn."* On an earlier occasion, as the modern prophet testifies, he and an associate in the priesthood were enlightened by the Spirit so that they were able to see and understand the things of God "Even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begot- ten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision."^ The testimony of scriptures written on both hemispheres, that of records both ancient and modern, the inspired utter- ances of prophets and apostles, and the words of the Lord Himself, are of one voice in proclaiming the preexistence of the Christ and His ordination as the chosen Savior and Re- deemer of mankind in the beginning, yea, even before the foundation of the world. NOTES TO CHAPTER 2. i. Graded Intelligences in the Antemortal State. That the spirits of men existed as individual intelligences, of varying de- grees of ability and power, prior to the inauguration of the mor- tal state upon this earth and even prior to the creation of the world as a suitable abode for human beings, is shown in great plainness through a divine revelation to Abraham : "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was;-Vind among all these there were many of the noble and great ones ; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born." (P. of G. P., Abraham 3:22, 23.) That both Christ and Satan were among those exalted intel- ligences, and that Christ was chosen while Satan was rejected as the future Savior of mankind, are shown by the portions of the revelation immediately following that above quoted: "And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him : We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we wi^ make an *Doc. and Cov. 93:1-17, 21. y Doc. and Cov. 76:13, 14. NOTES. 15 earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate ; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man : Here am I, send me. And another answered and said : Here am I, send me. And the Lord said : I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, rriany followed after him" (verses 24-28). 2. The Primeval Council in the Heavens. "It is definitely stated in the Book of Genesis that God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ;' and again, after Adam had taken of the forbidden fruit the Lord said, 'Behold, the man has be- come as one of us ;' and the inference is direct that in all that re- lated to the work of the creation of the world there was a con- sultation ; and though God spake as it is recorded in the Bible, yet it is evident He counseled with others. The scriptures tell us there are 'Gods many and Lords many. But to us there is but one God, the Father' (i Cor. 8:5). And for this reason, though there were others engaged in the creation of the worlds, it is given to us in the Bible in the shape that it is ; for the fulness of these truths is only revealed to highly favored persons for certain reasons known to God ; as we are told in the scriptures : 'The secret 'of the Lord is with thqm that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.' Psalms 25:14. "It is consistent to believe that at this Council in the heavens the plan that should be adopted in relation to the sons of God who were then spirits, and had not yet obtained tabernacles, was duly considered. For, in view of the creation of the world and the placing of men upon it, whereby it would be possible for them to obtain tabernacles, and in those tabernacles obey laws of life, and with them again be exalted among the Gods, we are told that at that time, 'the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.' The ^estion then arose, how, and upon what principle, should the salvation, exaltation and eternal glory of God's sons be brought about? It is evident that at that Council certain plans had been proposed and discussed, and that after a full discussion of those principles, and the declaration of the Father's will pertaining to His design, Lucifer came before the Father with a plan of his own, saying, 'Behold [here am] I ; send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor.' But Jesus, on hearing this statement made by Lucifer, said, 'Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.' From these remarks made by the well beloved Son, we should naturally infer that in the discussion of this subject the Father had made known His will and developed His plan and design pertaining to these matters, and all that His well beloved Son wanted to do was to carry out the will of His Father, as it would appear had been before expressed. He also wished the 16 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 2. glory to be given to His Father, who, as God the Father, and the originator and designer of the plan, had a right to all the honor and glory. But Lucifer wanted to introduce a plan con- trary to the will of his Father, and then wanted His honor, and said : 'I will save every soul of man, wherefore give me thine honor.' He wanted to go contrary to the will of his Father, and presumptuously sought to deprive man of his free agency, thus making him a serf, and placing him in a position in which it was impossible for him to obtain that exaltation which God designed should be man's, through obedience to the law which He had suggested ; and again, Lucifer wanted the honor and power of his Father, to enable him to carry out principles' which were con- trary to the Father's wish.' John Taylor Mediation and Atone- ment, pp. 93, 94. 3. The Jaredites. "Of the two nations whose histories con- stitute the Book of Mormon, the first in order of time consisted of the people of Jared, who followed their leader from the Tower of Babel at the time of the confusion of tongues. Their history was written on twenty-four plates of gold by Ether, the last of their prophets, who, foreseeing the destruction of his people be- cause of their wickedness, hid away the historical plates. They were afterward found, B. C. 123, by an expedition sent out by King Limhi, a Nephite ruler. The record engraved on these plates was subsequently abridged by Moroni, and the condensed account was attached by him to the Book of Mormon record ; it appears in the modern translation under the name of the Book of Ether. "The first and chief prophet of the Jaredites is not men- tioned by name in the record as we have it ; he is known only as the brother of Jared. Of the people, we learn that, amid the con- fusion of Babel, Jared and his brother importuned the Lord that He would spare them and their associates from the impending disruption. Their prayer was heard, and the Lord led them with a considerable company, who, like themselves, were ^ free from the taint of idolatry, away from their homes, promising to con- duct them to a land choice abo^ all other lands. Their course of travel is not given with exa^iess ; we learn only that they reached the ocean, and there constructed eight vessels, called barges, in which they set out upon the waters. These vessels were small and dark within; but the Lord made luminous certain stones, which gave light to the imprisoned voyagers. After a passage of three hundred and forty-four days, the colony landed on the western shore of North America, probably at a place south of the Gulf of California, and north of the Isthmus of Panama. "Here they became a flourishing nation ; but, giving way in time to internal dissensions, they divided into factions, which warred with one another until the people were totally destroyed. This destruction, which occurred near the hill Raman, afterward known among the Nephites as Cumorah, probably took place at about the time of Lehi's landing in South America 590 B. C."' The author, Articles of Faith, xiv: 10-12. THE NEED OF A REDEEMER. 17 CHAPTER 3. THE NEED OF A REDEEMER. We have heretofore shown that the entire human race existed as spirit-beings in the primeval world, and that for the purpose of making possible to them the experiences of mortality this earth was created. They were endowed with the powers of agency or choice while yet but spirits ; and the divine plan provided that they be free-born in the flesh, heirs to the inalienable birthright of liberty to choose and to act for themselves in mortality. It is undeniably essential to the eternal progression of God's children that they be sub- jected to the influences of both good and evil, that they be tried and tested and proved withal, "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." a Free agency is an indispensable element of such a test. The Eternal Father well understood the diverse natures and varied capacities of His spirit-offspring ; and His infinite foreknowledge made plain to Him, even in the beginning, that in the school of life some of His children would succeed and others would fail ; some would be faithful, others false ; some would choose the g6wl, others the evil ; some would seek the way of life while others would elect to follow the road to destruction. He further foresaw that death would enter the world, and that the possession of bodies by His children would be of but brief individual duration. He saw that His commandments would be disobeyed and His law violated ; and that men, shut out from His presence and left to themselves, would sink rather than rise, would retrograde rather than advance, and would be lost to the heavens. It a P. of G. P., Abraham 3:25. For a fuller treatment of man's Free Agency, see the author's "Articles of Faith," iii:l-10, and the numerous references there given. 18 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 3. was necessary that a means of redemption be provided, whereby erring man might make amends, and by compliance with established law achieve salvation and eventual exalta- tion in the eternal worlds. The power of death was to be overcome, so that, though men would of necessity die, they would live anew, their spirits clothed with immortalized bodies over which death could not again prevail. Let not ignorance and thoughtlessness lead us into the error of assuming that the Father's foreknowledge as to what would be, under given conditions, determined that such must be. It was not His design that the souls of mankind be lost ; on the contrary it was and is His work and glory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." & Neverthe- less He saw the evil into which His children would assuredly fall ; and with infinite love and mercy did He ordain means of averting the dire effect, provided the transgressor would elect to avail himself thereof . c The offer of the firstborn Son to establish through His own ministry among men the gospel of salvation, and to sacrifice Himself, through labor, humilia- tion and suffering even unto death, was accepted and made the foreordained plan of man's redemption from death, of his eventual salvation from the effects of sin, and of his possible exaltation through righteous achievement. In accordance with the plan adopted in the council of the Gods, man was created as an errftbdied spirit ; his tabernacle of flesh was composed of the elements of earth.** He was given commandment and law, and was free to obey or dis- obey with the just and inevitable condition that he should enjoy or suffer the natural results of his choice/ Adam, the first man^ placed upon the earth in pursuance of the & P. of G. P., Moses 1:39; compare 6:59. Note 1, end of chapter. c Note 2, end of chapter. rfGen. 1:26, 27; 2:7; compare P. of G. P., Moses 2:26, 27; 3:7; Abraham 4:26-28; 5:7. Lev. 22:20; Deut. 15:21: 17:1: Mai. 1:8, 14; compare Heb. 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19. 22 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 3. the atoning sacrifice whereby propitiation could be made for the sins of all men. What other man has lived with power to withstand death, over whom death could not prevail except through his own submission? Yet Jesus Christ could not be slain until His "hour had come", and that, the hour in which He voluntarily surrendered His life, and permitted His own decease through an act of will. Born of a mortal mother He inherited the capacity to die; begotten by an immortal Sire He possessed as a heritage the power to withstand death indefinitely. He literally gave up His life; to this effect is His own affirmation: "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. " And further : "For as the Father hath life in himself ; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself " r Only such a One could conquer death ; in none but Jesus the Christ was realized this requisite condition of a Redeemer of the world. What other man has come to earth with such appoint- ment, clothed with the authority of such f oreordination ? The atoning mission of Jesus Christ was no self-assumption. True, He had offered Himself when the call was made in the heavens ; true, He had been accepted, and in due time came to earth to carry into effect the terms of that acceptance; but He was chosen by One greater than Himself. The burden of His confession of authority was ever to the effect that He operated under the direction of the Father, as witness these words : "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." J "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."' "I can of mine own self do nothing : as I hear, I judge : and my q John 10:17-18. fjohn 5:26. f John 6:38. *John 4:34, THE NEED OF A REDEEMER. 23 judgment is just ; because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hath sent me." w Through the atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ a redeeming service, vicariously rendered in behalf of man- kind, all of whom have become estranged from God by the effects of sin both inherited and individually incurred the way is opened for a reconciliation whereby man may come again into communion with God, and be made fit to dwell anew and forever in the presence of his Eternal Father. This basal thought is admirably implied in our English word, "atonement," which, as its syllables attest, is at-one-ment, "denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into agreement of those who have been estranged. ' v The effect of the atone- ment may be conveniently considered as twofold : i The universal redemption of the human race from death invoked by the fall of our first parents ; and, 2 Salvation, whereby means of relief from the results of individual sin are provided. The victory over death was made manifest in the resur- rection of the crucified Christ ; He was the first to pass from death to immortality and so is justly known as "the first fruits of them that slept. " w That the resurrection of the dead so inaugurated is to be extended to every one who has or shall have lived is proved by an abundance of scriptural evidence. Following our Lord's resurrection, others who had slept in the tomb arose and were seen of many, not as spirit-apparitions but as resurrected beings possessing im- mortalized bodies : "And the graves were opened ; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."* Those who thus early came forth are spoken of as "the u John 5:30; see also verse 19; also Matt. 26:42; compare Doc. and Cov. 19:2; 20:24. v New Standard Dictionary under "propitiation." w\ Cor. 15:20; see also Acts 26:23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5. *Matt. 27:52, 53. 24 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 3. saints" ; and other scriptures confirm the fact that only the righteous shall be brought forth in the earlier stages of the resurrection yet to be consummated; but that all the dead shall in turn resume bodies of flesh and bones is placed be- yond doubt by the revealed word. The Savior's direct affir- mation ought to be conclusive : "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live. . . . . Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resur- rection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resur- rection of damnation."^ The doctrine of a universal resur- rection was taught by the apostles of old,* as also by the Nephite prophets ; and the same is confirmed by revelation incident to the present dispensation. b Even the heathen who have not known God shall be brought forth from their graves ; and, inasmuch as they have lived and died in ignor- ance of the saving law, a means of making the plan of salva- tion known unto them is provided. "And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection. " c Jacob, a Nephite prophet, taught the universality of the resurrection, and set forth the absolute need of a Redeemer, without whom the purposes of God in the creation of man would be rendered futile. His words constitute a concise and forceful summary of revealed truth directly bearing upon our present subject : "For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a y John 5:25, 28, 29. A modern scripture attesting the same truth reads: "They who have done good in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust." Doc. and Cov. 76:17. s For instances see Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:12, 13. a For instances see B. of M., 2 Nephi 9:6, 12, 13, 21, 22; Helaman 14:15-17; Mosiah 15:20-24; Alma 40:2-16; Mormon 9:13, 14. fcFor instances see Doc. and Cov. 18:11, 12; 45:44, 45; 88:95-98. cDoc. and Cov. 45:54. THE NEED OF A REDEEMER. 25 power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall ; and the fall came by reason of transgression ; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord ; wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement ; save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God ! his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself ; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents ; who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder, and all manner of secret works of darkness. O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead ; which death is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead ; which spiritual death is hell ; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other ; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver. up the spirits of the right- eous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous ; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh ; save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect. " d d B. of M., 2 Nephi 9:6-13; read the entire chapter. 26 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 3. The application of the atonement to individual trangres- sion, whereby the sinner may obtain absolution through com- pliance with the laws and ordinances embodied in the gospel of Jesus Christ, is conclusively attested by scripture. Since forgiveness of sins can be secured in none other way, there being either in heaven or earth no name save that of Jesus Christ whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men/ every soul stands in need of the Savior's mediation, since all are sinners. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God", said Paul of old/ and John the apostle added his testimony in these words : "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."* 7 Who shall question the justice of God, which denies sal- vation to all who will not comply with the prescribed condi- tions on which alone it is declared obtainable ? Christ is "the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him",* 1 and God "will render to every man according to his deeds : to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life ; but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey un- righteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and an- guish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil." 1 Such then is the need of a Redeemer, for without Him mankind would forever remain in a fallen state, and as to hope of eternal progression would be inevitably lost.' The mortal probation is provided as an opportunity for advance- ment; but so great are the difficulties and the dangers, so strong is the influence of evil in the world, and so weak is man in resistance thereto, that without the aid of a power above that of humanity no soul would find its way back to e P. of G. P., Moses 6:52; compare B. of M., 2 Nephi 25:20; Mosiah 3:17; 5:8; Doc. and Cov. 76:1. /Rom. 3:23; see also verse 9; Gal. 3:22. g 1 John 1 :8. fcHeb. 5:9. t'Rom. 2:6-9. j No special treatment relating to the Fall, the Atonement, or the Resurrection has been either attempted or intended in this chapter. For such the student is referred to doctrinal works dealing with these subjects. See the author's "Articles of Faith," lectures iii, iv, and xxi. THE NEED OF A REDEEMER. 27 God from whom it came. The need of a Redeemer lies in the inability of man to raise himself from the temporal to the spiritual plane, from the lower kingdom to the higher. In this conception we are not without analogies in the natural world. We recognize a fundamental distinction between inanimate and living matter, between the inorganic and the organic, between the lifeless mineral on the one hand and the living plant or animal on the other. Within the limita- tions of its order the dead mineral grows by accretion of substance, and may attain a relatively perfect condition of structure and form as is seen in the crystal. But mineral matter, though acted upon favorably by the forces of nature light, heat, electric energy and others can never become a living organism; nor can the dead elements, through any process of chemical combination dissociated from life, enter into the tissues of the plant as essential parts thereof. But the plant, which is of a higher order, sends its rootlets into the earth, spreads its leaves in the atmosphere, and through these organs absorbs the solutions of the soil, inspires the gases of the air, and from such lifeless materials weaves the tissue of its wondrous structure. No mineral particle, no dead chemical substance has ever been made a constituent of organic tissue except through the. agency of life. We may, perhaps with profit, carry the analogy a step farther. The plant is unable to advance its own tissue to the animal plane. Though it be the recognized order of nature that the "animal kingdom" is dependent upon the "vegetable kingdom" for its sustenance, the substance of the plant may become part of the animal organism only as the latter reaches down from its higher plane and by its own vital action incorporates the vegetable compounds with itself. In turn, animal matter can never become, even transitorily, part of a human body, except as the living man assimilates it, and by the vital processes of his own existence lifts, for the time being, the substance of the animal that supplied him 28 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 3. food to the higher plane of his own existence. The com- parison herein employed is admittedly defective if carried beyond reasonable limits of application; for the raising of mineral matter to the plane of the plant, vegetable tissue to the level of the animal, and the elevation of either to the human plane, is but a temporary change; with the dissolu- tion of the higher tissues the material thereof falls again to the level of the inanimate and the dead. But, "as a means of illustration the analogy may not be wholly without value. So, for the advancement of man from his present fallen and relatively degenerate state to the higher condition of spiritual life, a power above his own must cooperate. Through the operation of the laws obtaining in the higher kingdom man may be reached and lifted ; himself he cannot save by his own unaided effort.^ A Redeemer and Savior of mankind is beyond all question essential to the realization of the plan of the Eternal Father, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" ; l and that Redeemer and' Savior is Jesus the Christ, beside whom there is and can be none other. NOTES TO CHAPTER 3. i. God's Foreknowledge Not a Determining Cause. "Re- specting the foreknowledge of God, let it not be said that divine omniscience is of itself a determining cause whereby events are inevitably brought to pass. A mortal father, who knows the weak- nesses and frailties of his son, may by reason of that knowledge sorrowfully predict the calamities and sufferings awaiting his wayward boy. He may foresee in that son's future a forfeiture of blessings that could have been won, loss of position, self- respect, reputation and honor ; even the dark shadows of a felon's cell and the night of a drunkard's grave may appear in the sad- dening visions of that fond father's soul ; yet, convinced by ex- perience of the impossibility of bringing about that son's reform, he foresees the dread developments of the future, and he finds but sorrow and anguish in his knowledge. Can it be said that the father's foreknowledge is a cause of the son's sinful life? k A comparison related to that given in the text is treated at length by Henry Drummond in his essay, "Biogenesis," which the reader may study with profit. IP. of G. P., Moses 1:39. NOTES. 29 The son, perchance, has reached his maturity; he is the master of his own destiny; a free agent unto himself. The father is power- less to control by force or to direct by arbitrary command ; and, while he would gladly make any effort or sacrifice to save his son from the fate impending, he fears for what seems to be an awful certainty. But surely that thoughtful, prayerful, loving parent does not, because of his knowledge, contribute to the soil's^ way- wardness. To reason otherwise would be to say that a neglect- ful father, who takes not the trouble to study the nature and character of his son, who shuts his eyes to sinful tendencies, and rests in careless indifference as to the probable future, will by his very heartlessness be benefitting his child, because his lack of forethought cannot operate as a contributory cause to dere- liction. "Our Heavenly Father has a full knowledge of the nature and disposition of each of His children, a knowledge gained by long observation and experience in the past eternity of our pri- meval childhood; a knowledge compared with which that gained by earthly parents through mortal experience with their children is infinitesimally small. By reason of that surpassing knowledge, God reads the future of child and children, of men individually and of men collectively as communities and nations; He knows what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end from the beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. He foresees the future as a state which naturally and surely will be; not as one which must be because He has arbitrarily willed that it shall be." From the author's Great Apostasy, pp. 19, 20. 2. Man Free to Choose for Himself. "The Father of souls has endowed His children with the divine birthright of free agency; He does not and will not control them by arbitrary force; He impels no man toward sin; He compels none to right- eousness. Unto man has been given freedom to act for himself; and, associated with this independence, is the fact of strict re- sponsibility and the assurance of individual accountability. In the judgment with which we shall be judged, all the conditions and circumstances of our lives shall be considered. The inborn tendencies due to heredity, the effect of environment whether conducive to good or evil, the wholesome teachings of youth, or the absence of good instruction these and all other con- tributory elements must be taken into account ' in the rendering of a just verdict as to the soul's guilt or innocence. Neverthe- less, the divine wisdom makes plain what will .be the result with given conditions operating on known natures and dispositions of men, while every individual is free to choose good or evil within the limits of the many conditions existing and operative." Great Apostasy, p. 21 ; see also Articles of Faith, Hi :i, 2. 3. The Fall a Process of Physical Degeneracy. A modern revelation given to the Church in 1833 (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 89), prescribes rules for right living, particularly as regards the uses of stimulants, narcotics, and foods unsuited to the body. Con- cerning the physical causes by which the fall was brought about, 30 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 3. and the close relation between those causes and current viola- tions of the Word of Wisdom embodied in the revelation referred to above, the following is in point. "This, [the Word of Wis- dom] like other revelations that have come in the present dis- pensation, is not wholly new. It is as old as the human race. The principle of the Word of Wisdom was revealed unto Adam. All the essentials of the Word of Wisdom were made known unto him in his immortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that made of it a thing of earth. He was warned against that very practise. He was not told to treat his body as something to be tortured. He was not told to look upon it as the fakir of India has come to look upon his body, or professes to look upon it, as a thing to be utterly contemned ; but he was told that he must not take into that body certain things which were there at hand. He was warned that, if he did, his body would lose the power which it then held of living for ever, and that he would become subject to death. It was pointed out to him, as it has been pointed out to you, that there are many good fruits to be plucked, to be eaten, to be enjoyed. We believe in enjoying good food. We think that these good things are given us of God. We believe in getting all the enjoyment out of eat- ing that we can ; and, therefore, we should avoid gluttony, and we should avoid extremes in all our habits of eating; and as was told unto Adam, so is it told unto us : Touch not these things ; for in the day that thou doest it thy life shall be shortened and thou shalt die. "Here let me say that therein consisted the fall the eating of things unfit, the taking into the body of the things that made of that body a thing of earth : and I take this occasion to raise my voice against the false interpretation of scripture, which has been adopted by certain people, and is current in their minds, and is referred to in a hushed and half-secret way, that the fall of man consisted in some offense against the laws of chastity and of virtue. Such a doctrine is an abomination. What right have we to turn the scriptures from their proper sense and mean- ing? What right have we to declare that God meant not what He said? The fall was a natural process, resulting through the incorporation into the bodies of our first parents of the things that came from food unfit, through the violation of the command of God regarding what they should eat. Don't go around whis- pering that the fall consisted in the mother of the race losing her chastity and her virtue. It is not true; the human race is not born of fornication. These bodies that are given unto us are given in the way that God has provided. Let it not be said that the patriarch of the race, who stood with the gods before he came here upon the earth, and his equally royal consort, were guilty of any such foul offense. The adoption of that belief has led many to excuse departures from the path of chastity and the path of virtue, by saying that it is the sin of the race, that it is as old as Adam. It was not introduced by Adam. It was not committed by Eve. It was the introduction of the devil and came in order that he might sow the seeds of early death in the bodies of men and women, that the race should degenerate as it NOTES. 31 has degenerated whenever the laws of virtue and of chastity have been transgressed. "Our first parents were pure and noble, and when we pass behind the veil we shall perhaps learn something of their high estate, more than we know now. But be it known that they were pure; they were noble. It is true that they disobeyed the law of God, in eating things they were told not to eat ; but who amongst you can rise up and condemn?" From an address by the author at the Eighty-fourth Semiannual Conference of the Church, Oct. 6, 1913 ; published in the Proceedings of the Con- ference, pp. 118, 119. 4. Christ Wrought Redemption from the Fall. 'The Savior thus becomes master of the situation the debt is paid, the re- demption made, the covenant fulfilled, justice satisfied, the will of God done, and all power is now given into the hands of the Son of God the power of the resurrection, the power of the redemption, the power of salvation, the power to enact laws for the carrying out and accomplishment of this design. Hence life and immortality are brought to light, the gospel is introduced, and He becomes the author of eternal life and exaltation. He is the Redeemer, the Resurrector, the vSavior of man and the world; and He has appointed the law of the gospel as the medium which must be complied with in this world or the next, as He complied with His Father's law; hence 'he that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.' The plan, the arrangement, the agreement, the covenant was made, entered into and accepted before the founda- tion of the world; it was prefigured by sacrifices, and was car- ried out and consummated on the cross. Hence being the me- diator between God and man, He becomes by right the dictator and director on earth and in heaven for the living and for the dead, for the past, the present and the future, pertaining to man as associated with this earth or the heavens, in time or eternity, the Captain of our salvation, the Apostle and High-Priest of our profession, the Lord and Giver of life." John Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, p. 171. 5. Redemption from the Effect of the Fall. " 'Mormonism' accepts the doctrine of the fall, and the account of the transgres- sion in Eden, as set forth in Genesis ; but it affirms that none but Adam is or shall be answerable for Adam's disobedience ; that mankind in general are absolutely absolved from responsibility for that 'original sin/ and that each shall account for his own transgressions alone; that the fall was foreknown of God, that it was turned to good effect by which the necessary condition of mortality should be inaugurated; and that a Redeemer was pro- vided before the world was ; that general salvation, in the sense of redemption from the effects of the fall, comes to all without their seeking it; but that individual salvation or rescue from the effects of personal sins is to be acquired by each for himself by faith and good works through the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ." From the author's Story and Philosophy of 'Mormonism/ 4>. III. JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 4. CHAPTER 4. THE ANTEMORTAL GODSHIP OF CHRIST. It now becomes our purpose to inquire as to the position and status of Jesus the Christ in the antemortal world, from the period of the solemn council in heaven, in which He was chosen to be the future Savior and Redeemer of man- kind, to the time at which He was born in the flesh. We claim scriptural authority for the assertion that Jesus Christ was and is God the Creator, the God who revealed Himself to Adam, Enoch, and all the antediluvial patriarchs and prophets down to Noah ; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ; the God of Israel as a united people, and the God of Ephraim and Judah after the disruption of the Hebrew nation ; the God who made Himself known to the prophets from Moses to Malachi; the God of the Old Testament record ; and the God of the Nephites. We affirm that Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One. The scriptures specify three personages in the Godhead; (i) God the Eternal Father, (2) His Son Jesus Christ, and (3) the Holy Ghost. These constitute the Holy Trinity, comprizing three physically separate and distinct individuals, who together constitute the presiding council of the heavens. At least two of these appear as directing participants in the work of creation ; this fact is instanced by the plurality ex- pressed in Genesis : "And God said, L,et us make man in our image, after our likeness"; and later, in the course of con- sultation concerning Adam's act of transgression, "the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us." & From the words of Moses, as revealed anew in the present dis- a See "God and the Godhead/' in the author's "Articles of Faith," lec- ture ii. 6 Gen. 1:26; and 3:22. JESUS CHRIST THE CREATOR. 33 pensation, we learn more fully of the Gods who were actively engaged in the creation of this earth: "And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the be- ginning : Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Then, further, with regard to the condition of Adam after the fall: "I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us." c In the account of the creation recorded by Abraham, "the Gods" are repeat- edly mentioned.** As heretofore shown in another connection, the Father operated in the work of creation through the Son, who thus became the executive through whom the will, command- ment, or word of the Father was put into effect. It is with incisive appropriateness therefore, that the Son, Jesus Christ, is designated by the apostle John as the Word ; or as de- clared by the Father "the word of my power"/ The part taken by Jesus Christ in this creation, a part so prominent as to justify our calling Him the Creator, is set forth in many scriptures. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews refers in this wise distinctively to the Father and the Son as separate though associated Beings : "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. "/ Paul is even more explicit in his letter to the Colossians, wherein, speaking of Jesus the Son, he says : "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him : and he is be- fore all things, and by him all things consist."* 7 And here let be repeated the testimony of John, that by the Word, cP. of G. P., Moses 2:26; and 4:28. d P. of G. P., Abraham, chaps. 4 and 5. *See page 10; John 1:1; and P. of G. P., Moses 1:32. /Heb. 1:1, 2; see also 1 Cor. 8:6. ?Colos. 1:16, 17. 34 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 4. who was with God, and who was God even in the beginning, all things were made; "and without him was not anything made that was made."'* That the Christ who was to come was in reality God the Creator was revealed in plainness to the prophets on the western hemisphere. Samuel, the converted Lamanite, in preaching to the unbelieving Nephites justified his testimony as follows : "And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things, from the beginning ; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name." 1 ' To these citations of ancient scripture may most properly be added the personal testimony of the Lord Jesus after He had become a resurrected Being. In His visitation to the Nephites He thus proclaimed Himself : "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me ; and in me hath the Father glorified his name."'' To the Nephites, who failed to comprehend the relation between the gospel declared unto them by the Resurrected Lord, and the Mosaic law which they held traditionally to be in force, and who marveled at His saying that old things had passed away, He explained in this wise : "Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel : therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law ; therefore it hath an end."* Through revelation in the present or last dispensation the voice of Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, has been heard anew : "Hearken, O ye people of my church /tjohn 1:1-3. t'B. of M., Helaman 14:12; see also Mosiah 3:8; 4:2; Alma 11:39. /B. of M., 3 Nephi 9:15. ftB. of M., 3 Nephi 15:4, 5. DIVINE TITLES OF JESUS CHRIST. 35 to whom the kingdom has been given hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation- of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being."' And again, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, who created the heavens and the earth ; a light which cannot be hid in darkness.""* The divinity of Jesus Christ is indicated by the specific names and titles authoritatively applied to Him. According to man's judgment there may be but little importance at- tached to names ; but in the nomenclature of the Gods every name is a title of power or station. God is righteously zealous of the sanctity of His own name" and of names given by His appointment. In the case of children of promise names have been prescribed before birth ; this is true of our Lord Jesus and of the Baptist, John, who was sent to pre- pare the way for the Christ. Names of persons have been changed by divine direction, when not sufficiently definite as titles denoting the particular service to which the bearers were called, or the special blessings conferred upon them. Jesus is the individual name of the Savior, and as thus spelled is of Greek derivation ; its Hebrew equivalent was Yehoshua or Yeshua, or, as we render it in English, Joshua. In the original the name was well understood as meaning "Help of Jehovah", or "Savior". Though as common an appellation as John or Henry or Charles today, the name was nevertheless divinely prescribed, as already stated. Thus, unto Joseph, the espoused husband of the Virgin, the angel said, "And thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."*' Christ is a sacred title, and not an ordinary appellation or common name ; it is of Greek derivation, and in meaning /Doc. and Cov. 45:1. mDoc. and Cov. 14:9; see also 29:1. 31; 76:24. n Exo. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Deut. 5:11. o Note 1, end of chapter. />Matt. 1:21; see also verses 23, 25; Luke 1:31. 36 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 4. is identical with its Hebrew equivalent Messiah or Messias, signifying the Anointed One.v Other titles, each possessing a definite meaning, such as Emmanuel, Savior, Redeemer, Only Begotten Son, Lord, Son of God, Son of Man, and many more, are of scriptural occurrence ; the fact of main present importance to us is that these several titles are ex- pressive of our Lord's divine origin and Godship. As seen, the essential names or titles of Jesus the Christ were made known before His birth, and were revealed to prophets who preceded Him in the mortal state/ Jehovah is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew, Yahveh or Jahveh, signifying the Self-existent One, or The Eternal. This name is generally rendered in our English version of the Old Testament as LORD, printed in cap- itals.* The Hebrew, Ehyeh, signifying / Am, is related in meaning and through derivation with the term Yahveh or Jehovah; and herein lies the significance of this name by which the Lord revealed Himself to Moses when the latter received the commission to go into Egypt and deliver the children of Israel from bondage : "Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you ; and they shall say to me, What is his name ? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."' In the succeeding verse the Lord declares Himself to be "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." While Moses was in Egypt, the Lord further revealed Himself, saying "I am the LORD: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto gjohn 1:41; 4:25. rLuke 1:31; 2:21; Matt. 1:21, 25; see also verse 23 and compare Isa. 7:14; Luke 2:11. See further P. of G. P., Moses 6:51, 57; 7:20; 8:24. B. of M., 1 Nephi 10:4; 2 Nephi 10:3; Mosiah 3:8. s The name appears thus in Gen. 2:5; see also Exo. 6:2-4; and read for comparison Gen. 17:1; 35:11. t Exo. 3:13, 14; compare with respect to the fact of eternal duration ex- pressed in this name, Isa. 44:6; John 8:58; Colos. 1:17; Heb. 13:8; Rev. 1:4; see also P. of G. P., Moses 1:3 and the references there given. JESUS CHRIST IS JEHOVAH. 37 Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."" The central fact connoted by this name, / Am, or Jehovah, the two having essentially the same meaning, is that of existence or duration that shall have no end, and which, judged by all human standards of reckoning, could have had no beginning ; the name is related to such other titles as Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.* Jesus, when once assailed with question and criticism from certain Jews who regarded their Abrahamic lineage as an assurance of divine preferment, met their abusive words with the declaration : "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am". w The true significance of this saying would be more plainly expressed were the sentence punctu- ated and pointed as follows : "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham, was I AM ;" which means the same as had He said Before Abraham, was I, Jehovah. The captious Jews were so offended at hearing Him use a name which, through an erroneous rendering of an earlier scripture,* they held was not to be uttered on pain of death, that they immediately took up stones with the intent of killing Him. The Jews regarded Jehovah as an ineffable name, not to be spoken ; they substituted for it the sacred, though to them the not-forbidden name, Adonal, signifying Lord. The original of the terms Lord and God as they appear in the Old Testament, was either Yahveh or Adonal; and the divine Being designated by these sacred names was, as shown by the scriptures cited, Jesus the Christ. John, evangelist and apostle, positively identifies Jesus Christ with Adonai, or the Lord who spoke through the voice of Isaiah,^ and with Jehovah who spoke through Zechariah/ Exo. 6:2, 3. Note 2, end of chapter. vRev. 1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13; compare Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12. a/John 8:58. x Lev. 24:16. Note 3, end of chapter. ylsa. 6:8-11; and compare John 12:40, 41. jgZech. 12:10; compare John 19:37. 38 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 4. The name Elohim is of frequent occurrence in the He- brew texts of the Old Testament, though it is not found in our English versions. In form the word is a Hebrew plural noun ; but it connotes the plurality of excellence or in- tensity, rather than distinctively of number. It is expressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and power. Elohim, as understood and used in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, s the name-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the spirit is Jehovah the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth, who in solemn testimony to the Jews declared Himself the / Am or Jehovah, who was God before Abraham lived on earth, was the same Being who is repeat- edly proclaimed as the God who made covenant with Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who led Israel from the bondage of Egypt to the freedom of the promised land, the one and only God known by direct and personal revelation to the Hebrew prophets in general. The identity of Jesus Christ with the Jehovah of the Israelites was well understood by the Nephite prophets, and the truth of their teachings was confirmed by the risen Lord who manifested Himself unto them shortly after His ascen- sion from the midst of the apostles at Jerusalem. This is the record : "And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying, Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world." 6 It would appear unnecessary to cite at greater length in substantiating our affirmation that Jesus Christ was God even before He assumed a body of flesh. During that ante- oThe singular, "Eloah," appears only in poetic usage. &B. of M., 3 Nephi 11:13, 14; also 1 Nephi 17:40 and observe from verse 30 that the Redeemer is here spoken of as the God who delivered Israel. See further Mosiah 7:19. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF JESUS CHRIST BY THE FATHER. 39 mortal period there was essential difference between the Father and the Son, in that the former had already passed through the experiences of mortal life, including death and resurrection, and was therefore a Being possessed of a per- fect, immortalized body of flesh and bones, while the Son was yet unembodied. Through His death and subsequent resurrection Jesus the Christ is today a Being like unto the Father in all essential characteristics. A general consideration of scriptural evidence leads to the conclusion that God the Eternal Father has manifested Himself to earthly prophets or revelators on very few occa- sions, and then principally to attest the divine authority of His Son, Jesus Christ. As before shown, the Son was the active executive in the work of creation ; throughout the creative scenes the Father appears mostly in a directing or consulting capacity. Unto Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Moses the Father revealed Himself, attesting the God- ship of the Christ, and the fact that the Son was the chosen Savior of mankinds On the occasion of the baptism of Jesus, the Father's voice was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" \ d and at the trans- figuration a similar testimony was given by the Father/ On an occasion yet later, while Jesus prayed in anguish of soul, submitting Himself that the Father's purposes be fulfilled and the Father's name glorified, "Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."/ The resurrected and glorified Christ was an- nounced by the Father to the Nephites on the western hemisphere, in these words : "Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name : hear ye him."^ From the time of the occurrence last noted, cP. of G. P., Moses 1:6, 31-33; 2:1; 4:2, 3; 6:57; compare 7:35, 39, 47, 53-59; 8:16, 19, 23, 24; Abraham 3:22-28. See chapter 5 herein. JMatt. 3:17; also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22. its stead one or other of the words with whose proper vowel-points it may hap- pen to be written [Adonai, Lord, or Elohim, God] According to Jewish tradition it was pronounced but once a year by the high priest on the day of atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies ; but on this point there is some doubt." 42 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 5. CHAPTER 5. EARTHLY ADVENT OF THE CHRIST PREDICTED. The coming of Christ to earth to tabernacle in the flesh was no unexpected or unheralded event. For centuries prior to the great occurrence the Jews had professed to be looking for the advent of their King ; and, in the appointed ceremonials of worship as in private devotions, the coming ot the promised Messiah was prominent as a matter of the supplication of Israel to Jehovah. True, there was much diversity in lay opinion and in rabbinical exposition as to the time and manner of His appearing ; but the certainty thereof was fundamentally established in the beliefs and hopes of the Hebrew nation. The records known to us as the books of the Old Testa- ment together with other inspired writings once regarded as authentic but excluded from later compilations as not strictly canonical, were current among the Hebrews at and long before the time of Christ's birth. These scriptures had their beginning in the proclamation of the law through Moses, a who wrote the same, and delivered the writing into the official custody of the priests with an express command that it be read in the assemblies of the people at stated times. To these earlier writings were added the utterances of di- vinely commissioned prophets, the records of appointed his- torians, and the songs of inspired poets, as the centuries passed ; so that at the time of our Lord's ministry the Jews possessed a great accumulation of writings accepted and revered by them as authoritative. b These records are rich oDeut. 31:9, 24-26; compare 17:18-20. & "Articles of Faith," xiii:7-10. CHRIST'S ADVENT REVEALED TO ADAM. 43 in prediction and promise respecting the earthly advent of the Messiah, as are other scriptures to which the Israel of old had not access. Adam, the patriarch of the race, rejoiced in the assur- ance of the Savior's appointed ministry, through the accept- ance of which, he, the transgressor, might gain redemption. Brief mention of the plan of salvation, the author of which is Jesus Christ, appears in the promise given of God follow- ing the fall that though the devil, represented by the ser- pent in Eden, should have power to bruise the heel of Adam's posterity, through the seed of the woman should come the power to bruise the adversary's head. c It is sig- nificant that this assurance of eventual victory over sin and its inevitable effect, death, both of which were introduced to earth through Satan the arch-enemy of mankind, was to be realized through the offspring of woman ; the promise was not made specifically to the man, nor to the pair. The only instance of offspring from woman dissociated from mortal fatherhood is the birth of Jesus the Christ, who was the earthly Son of a mortal mother, begotten by an immortal Father. He is the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father in the flesh, and was born of woman. Through scriptures other than those embodied in the Old Testament we learn with greater fulness of the revela- tions of God to Adam respecting the coming of the Re- deemer. As a natural and inevitable result of his diso- bedience, Adam had forfeited the high privilege he once enjoyed that of holding direct and personal association with his God ; nevertheless in his fallen state he was visited by an angel of the Lord, who revealed unto him the plan of redemption : "And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord ? And Adam said unto him : I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the cGen. 3:15; compare Heb. 2:14; Rev. 12:9; 20:3. 44 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 5. angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sac- rifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son for evermore. And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and for ever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will." d The Lord's revelation to Adam making known the or- dained plan whereby the Son of God was to take upon Himself flesh in the meridian of time, and become the Re- deemer of the world, was attested by Enoch, son of Jared and father of Methuselah. From the words of Enoch we learn that to him as to his great progenitor, Adam, the very name by which the Savior would be known among men was revealed "which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men."* The recorded covenant of God with Abraham, and the reiteration and confirmation thereof with Isaac and in turn with Jacob that through their posterity should all nations of the earth be blessed presaged the birth of the Redeemer through that chosen lineage/ Its fulfilment is the blessed heritage of the ages. In pronouncing his patriarchal blessing upon the head of Judah, Jacob prophesied! "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the peo- ple be."* 7 That by Shiloh is meant the Christ is evidenced by the fulfilment of the conditions set forth in the predic- dP. of G. P., Moses 5:6-9. Note 1, ena of chapter. e, P. of G. P., Moses 6:52; study paragraphs 50-56; see also Gen. 5-18, 21- 24; Jude 14. /Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8. <7Gen. 49:10. CHRIST'S ADVENT PREFIGURED BY SACRIFICE. 45 tion, in the state of the Jewish nation at the time of our Lord's birth.* 1 Moses proclaimed the coming of a great Prophet in Israel, whose ministry was to be of such importance that all men who would not accept Him would be under condemna- tion ; and that this prediction had sole reference to Jesus Christ is conclusively shown by later scriptures. Thus spake the L,ord unto Moses: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that who- soever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." 1 ' The system of sac- rifice expressly enjoined in the Mosaic code was essentially a prototype of the sacrificial death to be accomplished by the Savior on Calvary. The blood of countless altar victims, slain by Israel's priests in the course of prescribed ritual, ran throughout the centuries from Moses to Christ as a prophetic flood in similitude of the blood of the Son of God appointed to be shed as an expiatory sacrifice for the redemp- tion of the race. But, as already shown, the institution of bloody sacrifice as a type of the future death of Jesus Christ dates from the beginning of human history ; since the offer- ing of animal sacrifices through the shedding of blood was required of Adam, to whom the significance of the ordi- nance, as "a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father", was expressly defined.' The paschal lamb, slain for every Israelitish household at the annually recurring feast of the Passover, was a particular type of the Lamb of God who in due time would be slain for the sins of the world. The crucifixion of Christ was effected at the Passover season ; and the consummation of the su- h Note 2, end of chapter. Deut. 18:15-19; compare John 1:45; Acts 3:22; 7:37; see also a specific confirmation by our Lord after His resurrection, 3 Nephi 20:23. /Note 1, end of chapter. 46 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 5. preme Sacrifice, of which the paschal lambs had been but lesser prototypes, led Paul the apostle to affirm in later times : "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." Job in the day of dire affliction rejoiced in his testimony of the coming Messiah, and declared with prophetic convic- tion: "I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."*' The songs of David the psalmist abound in oft-recurring allusion to the earthly life of Christ, many circumstances of which are de- scribed in detail, and, as to these, corroboration of the utter- ances is found in New Testament scriptures. 7 Isaiah, whose prophetic office was honored by the per- sonal testimony of Christ and the apostles, manifested in numerous passages the burden of his conviction relating to the great event of the Savior's advent and ministry on earth. With the forcefulness of direct revelation he told of the Virgin's divine maternity, whereof Immanuel should be born, and his prediction was reiterated by the angel of the Lord, over seven centuries later." 1 Looking down through the ages the prophet saw the accomplishment of the divine purposes as if already achieved, and sang in triumph : "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given : and the gov- ernment shall be upon his shoulder : and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The ever- lasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to a I Cor. 5:7. For references to Christ as the Lamb of God, see John 1:29, 36; 1 Peter 1:19; Rev. chaps. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22; also B. of M., 1 Nephi 10:10, and chaps. 11, 12, 13, 14; 2 Nephi 31:4, 5, 6; 33:14; Alma 7:14; Mormon 9:2, 3; Doc. and Cov. 58:11; 132:19. k Job. 19:25; see also verses 26-27. /Instances: Psalm 2:7; compare Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5. Psa. 16:10; compare Acts 13:34-37; Psa. 22:18; compare Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 15:24. Psa. 41:9; compare John 13:18. Psa. 69:9 and 21; com- pare Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23; Tohn 19:29; and John 2:17. Psa. 110:1 and 4; compare Matt. 22:44; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; and Heb. 5:6. Psa. 118:22, 23; compare Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4; 7. The following are known specifically as Messianic Psalms: 2, 21, 22, 45, 67, 69, 89, 96, 110, 132; in them the psalmist extols in poetic measure the excellencies of the Messiah, and the certainty o{ His coming. mlsa. 7:14; compare Matt. l;2J-2,3., OLD TESTAMENT PREDICTIONS OF CHRIST. 47 establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. " n Immediately prior to its fulfilment, the blessed promise was repeated by Gabriel, sent from the presence of God to the chosen Virgin of Nazareth. As made known to the prophet and by him proclaimed, the coming Lord was the living Branch. that should spring from the undying root typified in the family ot Jesse f the foundation Stone insur- ing the stability of Zion;s the Shepherd of the house of Israel; the Light of the world, to Gentile as well as Jew; the Leader and Commander of His people/ The same in- spired voice predicted the forerunner who should cry in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." w Isaiah was permitted to read the scroll of futurity as to many distinguishing conditions to attend the Messiah's lowly life and atoning death. In Him the prophet saw One who would be despized and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, One to be wounded and bruised for the transgressions of the race, on whom would be laid the iniquity of us all a patient and willing Sacrifice, silent under afBiction, as a lamb brought to the slaughter. The Lord's dying with sinners, and His burial in the tomb of the wealthy were likewise declared with prophetic certainty. b Unto Jeremiah came the word of the Lord in terms of plainness, declaring the sure advent of the King by whom the safety of both Judah and Israel should be assured ? the nlsa. 9:6, 7. oLuke 1:26-33. p Isa. 11:1 and 10; compare Rom. 15:12; Rev. 5:5; 22:16; see also Jer. 23 :5, 6. qlsa. 28:16; compare Psa. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6-8. rlsa. 40:9-11; compare John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:4; see also Ezek. 34:23. .ylsa. 42:1; see also 9:2; 49:6; 60:3; compare Matt. 4:14-16; Luke 2:32; Acts 13:47; 26:18; Eph. 5:8, 14. t Isa. 55:4; compare John 18:37. ttlsa. 40:3; compare Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23. & Isa. 53; study the entire chapter; compare Acts 8:32-35. z/Jer. 23:5, 6; see also 33:14-16. 48 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 5. Prince of the House of David, through whom the divine promise to the son of Jesse should be realized. Under the same spirit prophesied Ezekiel/ Hosea, y and Micah. 2 Zec- hariah broke off in the midst of fateful prediction to voice the glad song of thanksgiving and praise as he beheld in vision the simple pageantry of the King's triumphal entry into the city of David. Then the prophet bewailed the grief of the conscience-smitten nation, by whom, as was foreseen, the Savior of humankind would be pierced, even unto death ; b and showed that, when subdued by contrition His own people would ask, "What are these wounds in thy hands ?", the Lord would answer : "Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. " c The very price to be paid for the betrayal of the Christ to His death was foretold as in parable.** The fact, that these predictions of the Old Testament prophets had reference to Jesus Christ and to Him only, is put beyond question by the attestation of the resurrected Lord. To the assembled apostles He said : "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, con- cerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.' v John the Baptist, whose ministry immediately preceded that of the Christ, proclaimed the coming of One mightier than himself, One who should baptize with the Holy Ghost, and specifically identified Jesus of Nazareth as that One, w Jer. 30-9 *Ezek. 34:23; 37:24, 25. y Hos. 11:11; compare Matt. 2:15. s Mic. 5:2; compare Matt. 2:6; John 7:42. a Zech. 9:9; compare Matt. 21:4-9. &Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37. cZech. 13:6. d Zech. 11:12, 13; compare Matt. 26:15; 27:3-10. Luke 1:30-33. THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD. 81 she would conceive and in time bring forth a Son, of whom no mortal man would be the father : "And the angel an- swered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."? Then the angel told her of the blessed condition of her cousin Elisabeth, who had been barren ; and by way of suf- ficient and final explanation added : "For with God nothing shall be impossible." With gentle submissiveness and hum- ble acceptance, the pure young virgin replied : "Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it unto me according to thy word." His message delivered, Gabriel departed, leaving the chosen Virgin of Nazareth to ponder over her wondrous experience. Mary's promised Son was to be "The Only Begotten" of the Father in the flesh ; so it had been both positively and abundantly predicted. True, the event was unprecedented; true also it has never been paralleled; but that the virgin birth- would be unique was as truly essential to the fulfilment of prophecy as that it should occur at all. That Child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof ; and, the offspring from that association of supreme sanctity, celes- tial Sireship, and pure though mortal maternity, was of right to be called the "Son of the Highest." In His nature would be combined the powers of Godhood with the capacity and possibilities of mortality ; and this through the ordinary oper- ation of the fundamental law of heredity, declared of God, demonstrated by science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beings shall propagate after their kind. The Child Jesus was to inherit the physical, mental, and spiritual traits, tendencies, and powers that characterized His parents one immortal and glorified God, the other human woman. q Luke 1:35; see also preceding verses, 31-33. 82 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 7. Jesus Christ was to be born of mortal woman, but was not directly the offspring of mortal man, except so far as His mother was the daughter of both man and woman. In our I^ord alone has been fulfilled the word of God spoken in relation to the fall of Adam, that the seed of the woman should have power to overcome Satan by bruising the ser- pent's head/ In respect to place, condition, and general environment, Gabriel's annunciation to Zacharias offers strong contrast to the delivery of his message to Mary. The prospective forerunner of the Lord was announced to his father within the magnificent temple, and in a place the most exclusively sacred save one other in the Holy House, under the light shed from the golden candlestick, and further illumined by the glow of living coals on the altar of gold ; the Messiah was announced to His mother in a small town far from the capital and the temple, most probably within the walls of a simple Galilean cottage. MARY'S VISIT TO HER COUSIN EUSABETH. It was natural that Mary, left now to herself with a secret in her soul, holier, greater, and more thrilling than any ever borne before or since, should seek companionship, and that of some one of her own sex, in whom she could con- fide, from whom she might hope to derive comfort and sup- port, and to whom it would be not wrong to tell what at that time was probably known to no mortal save herself. Her heavenly visitant had indeed suggested all this in his mention of Elisabeth, Mary's cousin, herself a subject of unusual blessing, and a woman through whom another miracle of God had been wrought. Mary set out with haste from Naz- areth for the hill country of Judea, on a journey of about a hundred miles if the traditional account be true that the little town of Juttah was the home of Zacharias. There was rPage 43; and Gen. 3:15. THE MAGNIFICAT. 83 / mutual joy in the meeting between Mary the youthful virgin, and Elisabeth, already well advanced in life. From what of Gabriel's words her husband had communicated, Elisabeth must have known that the approaching birth of her son would soon be followed by that of the Messiah, and that therefore the day for which Israel had waited and prayed through the long dark centuries was about to dawn. When Mary's salutation fell upon her ears, the Holy Ghost bore witness that the chosen mother of the I Y ord stood before her in the person of her cousin ; and as she experienced the physical thrill incident to the quickening spirit of her own blessed conception, she returned the greeting of her visitor with reverence : "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my IvOrd should come to me?"* Mary responded with that glorious hymn of praise, since adopted in the mu- sical ritual of churches as the Magnificat : "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath re- joiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden : for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things ; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to gen- eration. He hath shewed strength with his arm ; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things ; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy ; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever."* MARY AND JOSEPH. The visit lasted about three months, after which time Mary returned to Nazareth. The real embarrassment of her position she had now to meet. At the home of her cousin s Luke 1:42; read verses 39-56. fLuke 1:46-55. 84 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 7. she had been understood ; her condition had served to con- firm the testimony of Zacharias and Elisabeth ; but how would her word be received at her own home? And espe- cially, how would she be regarded by her espoused hus- band?" Betrothal, or espousal, in that time was in some respects as binding as the marriage vow, and could only be set aside by a ceremonial separation akin to divorce ; yet an espousal was but an engagement to marry, not a marriage. When Joseph greeted his promised bride after her three months' absence, he was greatly distressed over the indica- tions of her prospective maternity. Now the Jewish law provided for the annulment of a betrothal in either of two ways by public trial and judgment, or by private agreement attested by a written document signed in the presence of witnesses. Joseph was a just man, a strict observer of the law, yet no harsh extremist ; moreover he loved Mary and would save her all unnecessary humiliation, whatever might be his own sorrow and suffering. For Mary's sake he dreaded the thought of publicity ; and therefore determined to have the espousal annulled with such privacy as the law allowed. He was troubled and thought much of his duty in the matter, when, "behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife : for that which is con- ceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS : for he shall save his people from their sins."*' Great was Joseph's relief of mind ; and great his joy in the realization that the long predicted coming of the Messiah was at hand; the words of the prophets would be fulfilled; a virgin, and she the one in the world most dear to him, had conceived, and in due time would bring forth that blessed Son, Emmanuel, which name by interpretation means "God Note 4, end of chapter. z>Matt. 1:20, 21; read 18-25. THE ROYAL LINEAGE OF JESUS. 85 with us." w The angel's salutation was significant; "Joseph, thou son of David," was the form of address ; and the use of that royal title must have meant to Joseph that, though he was of kingly lineage, marriage with Mary would cast no shadow upon his family status. Joseph waited not; to in- sure Mary all possible protection and establish his full legal right as her lawful guardian he hastened the solemnization of the marriage, and "did as the angel of the L/ord had bid- den him, and took unto him his wife : and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son : and he called his name JESUS/'* The national hope of a Messiah based on promise and prophecy had become confused in the Jewish mind, through the influence of rabbinism with its many vagaries, and its "private interpretation"^ made to appear authoritative by the artificially sustained prestige of the expositors ; yet certain conditions had been emphasized as essential, even by the rabbis, and by these essentials would be judged the claim of any Jew who might declare himself to be the long expected One. It was beyond question that the Messiah was to be born within the tribe of Judah and through the line of de- scent from David, and, being of David He must of necessity be of the lineage of Abraham, through whose posterity, ac- cording to the covenant, all nations of the earth were to be blessed/ Two genealogical records purporting to give the lineage of Jesus are found in the New Testament, one in the first chapter of Matthew, the other in the third chapter of L,uke. These records present several apparent discrepancies, but such have been satisfactorily reconciled by the research of specialists in Jewish genealogy. No detailed analysis of the matter will be attempted here ; but it should be borne in mind w Matt. 1:22-23; compare Isa. 7:14; see also 9:6. *Matt. 1:24, 25. y 2 Peter 1:20. s Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8. 86 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 7. that the consensus of judgment on the part of investigators is that Matthew's account is that of the royal lineage, estab- lishing the order of sequence among the legal successors to the throne of David, while the account given by Luke is a personal pedigree, demonstrating descent from David with- out adherence to the line of legal succession to the throne through primogeniture or nearness of kin. a Luke's record is regarded by many, however, as the pedigree of Mary, while Matthew's is accepted as that of Joseph. The all im- portant fact to be remembered is that the Child promised by Gabriel to Mary, the virginal bride of Joseph, would be born in the royal line. A personal genealogy of Joseph was essentially that of Mary also, for they were cousins. Joseph is named as son of Jacob by Matthew, and as son of Heli by Luke ; but Jacob and Heli were brothers, and it appears that one of the two was the father of Joseph and the other the father of Mary and therefore father-in-law to Joseph. That Mary was of Davidic descent is plainly set forth in many scriptures ; for since Jesus was to be born of Mary, yet was not begotten by Joseph, who was the reputed, and, according to the law of the Jews, the legal, father, the blood of David's posterity was given to the body of Jesus through Mary alone. Our Lord, though repeatedly addressed as Son of David, never repudiated the title but accepted it as rightly applied to Himself. b Apostolic testimony stands in positive asser- tion of the royal heirship of Christ through earthly lineage, as witness the affirmation of Paul, the scholarly Pharisee: "Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;" and again : "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead." c In all persecutions waged by His implacable haters, a Note 5, end of chapter. &For instances see Matt. 9:27; 15:22; 21:9; 20:30, 31, with which coia- pare Luke 18-38, 39. c Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; see also Acts 2;30; 13:23; compare Psa. 132:11; see also Luke 1:32. THE RIGHTFUL HEIR TO DAVH/S THRONE. 8? in all the false accusations brought against Him, in the specific charges of sacrilege and blasphemy based on His acknowledgment of the Messiahship as His own, no mention is found of even an insinuation that He could not be the Christ through any ineligibility based on lineage. Genealogy was assiduously cared for by the Jews before, during, and after the time of Christ ; indeed their national history was largely genealogical record ; and any possibility of denying the Christ because of unattested descent would have been used to the fullest extent by insistent Pharisee, learned scribe, haughty rabbi, and aristocratic Sadducee. At the time of the Savior's birth, Israel was ruled by alien monarchs. The rights of the royal Davidic family were unrecognized; and the ruler of the Jews was an appointee of Rome. Had Judah been a free and independent nation, ruled by her rightful sovereign, Joseph the carpenter would have been her crowned king; and his lawful successor to the throne would have been Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Gabriel's annunciation to Mary was that of the Son of David, on whose coming the hope of Israel rested as on a sure foundation. The One, thus announced, was Emmanuel, even God who was to dwell in flesh with His people,** the Redeemer of the world, Jesus the Christ. NOTES TO CHAPTER 7. i. John the Baptist Regarded as a Nazarite. The instruc- tion of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias, that the promised son, John, was to "drink neither wine nor strong drink," and the adult life of John as a dweller in the desert, together with his habit of wearing rough garb, have led commentators and Biblical spe- cialists to assume that he was a "Nazarite for life." It is to be remembered, however, that nowhere ' in scripture extant is John the Baptist definitely called a Nazarite. A Nazarite, the name signifying consecrated or separated, was one, who by personal vow or by that made for him by his parents, was set apart to some special labor or course of life involving self denial. (See page 67). Smith's Comp. Diet, of the Bible says: "There is no dMatt. 1.23. 88 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 7. i notice in the Pentateuch of Nazarites for life; but the regula- tions for the vow of a Nazarite of days are given (Numb. 6:1-2). The Nazarite, during the term of his consecration, was bound to abstain from wine, grapes, and every production of the vine, and from every kind of intoxicating drink. He was forbidden to cut the hair of his head, or to approach any dead body, even that of his nearest relation." The sole instance of a Nazarite for life named in the scriptures is that of Samson, whose mother was required to put herself under Nazarite observances prior to his birth, and the child was to be a Nazarite to God from his birth (Judges 13:3-7, 14). In the strictness of his life, John the Baptist is to be credited with all the personal discipline required of Nazarites whether he was under voluntary or parental vows or was not so bound. 2. Circumcision, while not exclusively a Hebrew or an Israelitish practise, was made a definite requirement through the revelations of God to Abraham, as the sign of the covenant be- tween Jehovah and the patriarch. (Gen. 17:9-14.) This cove- nant was made to include the establishment of Abraham's pos- terity as a great nation, and provided that through his descend- ants should all nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 22:18) a promise which has been proved to mean that through that lineage should the Messiah be born. Circumcision was a bind- ing condition; and its practise therefore became a national char- acteristic. Every male was to be circumcized eight days after birth (Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3). This requirement as to age came to be so rigidly enforced, that even if the eighth day fell on a Sabbath the rite had to be performed on that day (John 7:22, 23). All male slaves had to be circumcized (Gen. 17:12, 13) and even strangers who sojourned with the Hebrews and desired to par- take of the Passover with them had to submit to the require- ment (Exo. 12:48). From the Standard Bible Dictionary we take the following: "The ceremony indicated the casting off of un- cleanness as a preparation for entrance into the privileges of membership in Israel. In the New Testament, with its transfer of emphasis from the external and formal to the inner and spiritual side of things, it was first declared unnecessary for Gentile converts to the gospel to be circumcized (Acts 15:28), and afterward the rite was set aside even by Jewish Christians." It became customary to name a child at the time it was circum- cized, as is instanced in the case of John, son of Zacharias (Luke i:59). 3. Zacharias' Affliction. The sign for which Zacharias asked was thus given by the angel: "Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." (Luke 1:20.) From the account of the circumcision and naming of the boy, John, it is held by some that the afflicted father was also deaf, as the company "made signs" to him as to how he would have his son named (verse 62). 4. Jewish Betrothal. The vow of espousal, or betrothal, has always been regarded as sacred and binding in Jewish law. In a manner it was as binding as a marriage ceremony, though NOTES. 89 it carried none of the particular rights of marriage. The follow- ing succinct statements are taken from Geikie's Life and Words of Christ, vol. I. p. 99: "Among the Jews of Mary's day it was even more of an actual engagement [than it later came to be]. The betrothal was formally made with rejoicings in the house of the bride under a tent or slight canopy raised for the purpose. It was called the 'making sacred' as the bride thenceforth was sacred to her husband in the strictest sense. To make it legal, the bridegroom gave his betrothed a piece of money, or the worth of it, before witnesses, with the words, 'Lo, thou art be- trothed unto me/ or by a formal writing in which similar words and the maiden's name were given, and this in the same way was handed to her before witnesses." 5. Genealogies of Joseph and Mary. "It is now almost cer- tain that the genealogies in both Gospels are genealogies of Joseph, which if we may rely on early traditions of their con- sanguinity involve genealogies of Mary also. The Davidic de- scent of Mary is implied in Acts 2 130 ; 13 123 ; Rom. i 13 ; Luke 1 132, etc. St. Matthew gives the legal descent of Joseph through the elder and regal line, as heir to the throne of David ; St. Luke gives the natural descent. Thus, the real father of Salathiel was heir of the house of Nathan, but the childless Jeconiah (Jer. 22:30) was the last lineal representative of the elder kingly line. The omission of some obscure names and the symmetrical ar- rangement into tesseradecads were common Jewish customs. It is not too much to say that after the labors of Mill (On the Mythical Interpretation of the Gospels, pp. 147-217) and Lord A. C. Hervey (On the Genealogies of Our Lord, 1853) scarcely a single difficulty remains in reconciling the apparent divergencies. And thus in this as in so many other instances, the very discrepancies which appear to be most irreconcilable, and most fatal to the historic accuracy of the four evangelists, turn out, on closer and more patient investigation, to be fresh proofs that they are not only entirely independent, but also entirely trustworthy." Farrar, Life of Christ, p. 27, note. The writer of the article "Genealogy of Jesus Christ" in Smith's Bible Diet, says : "The New Testament gives us the genealogy of but one person, pur Savior (Matt, i; Luke 3). . . . . . The following propositions will explain the true con- struction of these genealogies (so Lord A. C. Hervey) : i. They are both the genealogies of Joseph, i.e. of Jesus Christ, as the reputed and legal son of Joseph and Mary. 2. The genealogy of Matthew is, as Grotius asserted, Joseph's genealogy as legal successor to the throne of David. That of Luke is Joseph's pri- vate genealogy, exhibiting his real birth, as David's son, and thus showing why he was heir to Solomon's crown. The simple principle that one evangelist exhibits that genealogy which con- tained the successive heirs to David's and Solomon's throne, while the other exhibits the paternal stem of him who was 'the heir, explains all the anomalies of the two pedigrees, their agree- ments as well as their discrepancies, and the circumstance of their being two at all. 3. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was prob- 90 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 7. ably the daughter of Jacob and first cousin to Joseph her hus- band." A valuable contribution to the literature of this subject ap- pears in the Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, 1912, vol. 44, pp. 9-36, as an article, "The Genealogies of our Lord," by Mrs. A. S. Lewis, and discussion thereof by many scholars of acknowledged ability. The author, Mrs. Lewis, is an authority on Syriac manuscripts, and is one of the two women who, in 1892, discovered in the library of St. Catherine's monastery on Mount Sinai, the Syriac palimpsest MS. of the four Gospels. The gifted author holds that Matthew's account attests the royal pedigree of Joseph, and that Luke's genealogical table proves the equally royal descent of Mary. Mrs. Lewis says : "The Sinai Palimpsest also tells us that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, to be en- rolled there, because they were both of the house and lineage of David." Canon Girdlestone, in discussing the article, says in pertinent emphasis of Mary's status as a princess of royal blood through descent from David: "When the angel was foretelling to Mary the birth of the Holy Child, he said, 'The Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.' Now if Joseph, her be- trothed, had alone been descended from David, Mary would have answered, 'I am not yet married to Joseph,' whereas she did answer simply, 'I am an unmarried woman,' which plainly im- plies if I were married, since I am descended from David, I could infuse my royal blood into a son, but how can I have a royal son while I am a virgin?'" After brief mention of the Jewish law relating to adoption, wherein it is provided (according to Hammurabi's Code, section 188), that if a man teach his adopted son a handicraft, the son is thereby confirmed in all the rights of heirship, Canon Girdle- stone adds : "If the crown of David had been assigned to his successor in the days of Herod it would have been placed on the head of Joseph. And who would have been the legal successor to Joseph? Jesus of Nazareth would have been then the King of the Jews, and the title on the cross spoke the truth. God had raised Him up to the house of David." THE TAXING OR ENROLMENT. 91 CHAPTER 8. THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. THE BIRTH OF JESUS. Equally definite with the prophecies declaring that the Messiah would be born in the lineage of David are the pre- dictions that fix the place of His birth at Bethlehem, a small town in Judea. There seems to have been no difference of opinion among priests, scribes, or rabbis on the matter, either before or since the great event. Bethlehem, though small and of little importance in trade or commerce, was doubly endeared to the Jewish heart as the birthplace of David and as that of the prospective Messiah. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth of Galilee, far removed from Bethlehem of Judea ; and, at the time of which we speak, the maternity of the Virgin was fast approaching. At that time a decree went out from Rome ordering a taxing of the people in all kingdoms and provinces tributary to the empire ; the call was of general scope, it provided "that all the world should be taxed." The taxing herein referred to may properly be understood as an enrolment,** or a registration, whereby a census of Roman subjects would be secured, upon which as a basis the taxation of the differ- ent peoples would be determined. This particular census was the second of three such general registrations recorded by historians as occurring at intervals of about twenty years. Had the census been taken by the usual Roman method, each person would have been enrolled at the town of his resi- dence ; but the Jewish custom, for which the Roman law had a Luke 2:1; see also verses 2-4. Note 1, end of chapter. Note marginal reading, Oxford and Bagster Bibles. 9 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 8. respect, necessitated registration at the cities or towns claimed by the respective families as their ancestral homes. As to whether the requirement was strictly mandatory that every family should thus register at the city of its ancestors, we need not be specially concerned ; certain it is that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, the city of David, to be in- scribed under the imperial decree/ The little town was crowded at the time, most likely by the multitude that had come in obedience to the same sum- mons ; and, in consequence, Joseph and Mary failed to find the most desirable accommodations and had to be content with the conditions of an improvised camp, as travelers un- numbered had done before, and as uncounted others have done since, in that region and elsewhere. We cannot rea- sonably regard this circumstance as evidence of extreme destitution ; doubtless it entailed inconvenience, but it gives us no assurance of great distress or suffering.** It was while she was in this situation that Mary the Virgin gave birth to her firstborn, the Son of the Highest, the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father, Jesus the Christ. But few details of attendant circumstances are furnished us. We are not told how soon the birth occurred after the arrival of Mary and her husband at Bethlehem. It may have been the purpose of the evangelist who made the record to touch upon matters of purely human interest as lightly as was consistent with the narration of fact, in order that the central truth might neither be hidden nor overshadowed by unimportant incident. We read in Holy Writ this only of the actual birth: "And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be de- livered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger ; because there was no room for them in the inn."* c Note 1, end of chapter. d Note 2, end of chapter. See "The Great Apostasy" 7:5. a; Luke 5::M1; compare Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20. 198 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 14. work; this boat Jesus entered, and then asked Simon to thrust out a little from the land. Seating Himself, as teachers of that time usually did in delivering discourses, the Lord preached from this floating pulpit to the multitude on shore. The subject of the address is not given us. When the sermon was ended, Jesus directed Simon to launch out into deep water and then let down the nets for a draught. Presumably Andrew was with his brother and possibly other assistants were in the boat. Simon replied to Jesus : "Master, we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing : nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net." It was soon filled with fishes ; so great was the haul that the net began to break, and the busy fishermen signalled to those in the other boat to come to their assistance. The catch filled both boats so that they appeared to be in danger of sinking. Simon Peter was overcome with this new evi- dence of the Master's power, and, falling at the feet of Jesus, he exclaimed : "Depart from me ; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Jesus answered graciously and with promise : "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men."- r The occu- pants of the second boat were Zebedee and his two sons James and John, the last named being he who with Andrew had left the Baptist to follow Jesus at the Jordan.^ Zebedee and his sons were partners with Simon in the fishing busi- ness. When the two boats were brought to land*, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and Zebedee's two sons James and John, left their boats and accompanied Jesus. The foregoing treatment is based on Luke's record ; the briefer and less circumstantial accounts given by Matthew and Mark omit the incident of the miraculous draught of fishes, and emphasize the calling of the fishermen. To Simon and Andrew Jesus said: "Come ve after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." The contrast thus x Note 4, end of chapter. y Page 140. NOTES. 199 presented between their former vocation and their new call- ing is strikingly forceful. Theretofore they had caught fish, 'and the fate of the fish was death; thereafter they were to draw men to a life eternal. To James and John the call was no less definite ; and they too left their all to follow the Master. NOTES TO CHAPTER 14. x. Leprosy. In Biblical usage this name is applied to sev- eral diseases, all, however having some symptoms in common, at least in the earlier stages of the malady. The real leprosy is a scourge and a plague in many oriental lands to-day. Zenos, in Standard Bible Diet., says : 'True leprosy, as known in modern times, is an affection characterized by the appearance of nodules in the eye-brows, the cheeks, the nose, and the lobes of the ears, also in the hands and feet, where the disease eats into the joints, causing the falling off of fingers and toes. If nodules do not appear, their place is taken by spots of blanched or discolored skin (Mascular leprosy). Both forms are based upon a func- tional degeneration of the nerves of the skin. Its cause was dis- covered by Hansen in 1871 to be a specific bacillus. Defective diet, however, seems to serve as a favorable condition for the culture of the bacillus. Leprosy was one of the few abnormal conditions of the body which the Levitical law declared unclean. Elaborate provision was therefore made for testing its existence and for the purification of those who were cured of it." Deems, Light of the Nations, p. 185, summing up the condi- tions incident to the advanced stages of the dread disease, writes : "The symptoms and the effects of this disease are very loath- some. There comes a white swelling or scab, with a change of the color of the hair on the part from its natural hue to yellow ; then the appearance of a taint going deeper than the skin, or raw flesh appearing in the swelling. Then it spreads and attacks the cartilaginous portions of the body. The nails loosen and drop off v the gums are absorbed, and the teeth decay and fall out ; the breath is a stench, the nose decays ; fingers, hands, feet, may be lost, or the eyes eaten out. The human beauty has gone into corruption, and the patient feels that he is being eaten as by a fiend, who consumes him slowly in a long remorseless meal that will not end until he be destroyed. He is shut out from his fel- lows. As they approach he must cry, 'Unclean ! unclean !' that all humanity may be warned from his precincts. He must aban- don wife and child. He must go to live with other lepers, in disheartening view of miseries similar to his own. He must dwell in dismantled houses or in the tombs. He is, as Trench says, a dreadful parable of death. By the laws of Moses (Lev. 13:45; Numb. 6:9; Ezek. 24:17) he was compelled, as if he were mourn- 200 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 14. ing for his own decease, to bear about him the emblems of death, the rent garments ; he was to keep his head bare and his lip cov- ered, as was the custom with those who were in communion with the dead. When the Crusaders brought the leprosy from the East, it was usual to clothe the leper in a shroud, and to say for him the masses for the dead In all ages this in- describably horrible malady has been considered incurable. The Jews believed that it was inflicted by Jehovah directly, as a punr ishment for some extraordinary perversity or some transcendent act of sinfulness, and that only God could heal it. When Naaman was cured, and his flesh came back like that of a little child, he said, 'Now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.' (2 Kings 5:14, 15.)" The fact that leprosy is not ordinarily communicable by mere outward contact is accentuated by Trench, Notes on the Miracles, pp. 165-168, and the isolation of lepers required by the Mosaic law is regarded by him as an intended object lesson and figure to illustrate spiritual uncleanness. He says : "I refer to the mis- taken assumption that leprosy was catching from one person to another; and that the lepers were so carefully secluded from their fellowmen lest they might communicate the disease to others, as in like manner that the torn garment, the covered lip, the cry, 'Unclean, unclean' (Lev. 13:45) were warnings to all that they should keep aloof, lest unawares touching a leper, or drawing unto too great a nearness, they should become partakers of this disease. So far from any danger of the kind existing, nearly all who have looked closest into the matter agree that the sickness was incommunicable by ordinary contact from one person to an- other. A leper might transmit it to his children, or the mother of a leper's children might take it from him ; but it was by no ordinary contact communicable from one person to another. All the notices in the Old Testament, as well as in other Jewish books, confirm the statement that we have here something very much higher than a mere sanitary regulation. Thus, when the law of Moses was not observed, no such exclusion necessarily found place ; Naaman the leper commanded the armies of Syria (2 Kings 5:1); Gehazi, with his leprosy that never should be cleansed, (2 Kings 5 '.27) talked familiarly with the king of apos- tate Israel (2 Kings 8:5) How, moreover, should the Levitical priests, had the disease been this creeping infection, have ever themselves escaped it, obliged as they were by their very office to submit the leper to actual handling and closest examination? .... Leprosy was nothing short of a living death, a corrupting of all the humors, a poisoning of the very springs, of life; a dissolution, little by little, of the whole body, so that one limb after another actually decayed and fell away. Aaron exactly describes the appearance which the leper presented to the eyes of the beholders, when, pleading for Miriam, he says, 'Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.' (Numb. 12:12.) The disease, moreover, was incurable by the art and skill of man; not that the leper might not return to health; for, however rare, NOTES. 201 such cases are contemplated in the Levitical law The leper, thus fearfully bearing about the body the outward and visible tokens of sin in the soul, was treated throughout as a sinner, as one in whom sin had reached its climax, as one dead in trespasses and sins. He was himself a dreadful parable of death. He bore about him the emblems of death (Lev. 13:45); the rent garments, mourning for himself as one dead; the head bare as they were wont to have it who were defiled by com- munion with the dead (Numb. 6:9; Ezek. 24:27) ; and the lip cov- ered (Ezek. 24:17). ..... But the leper was as one dead, and as such was shut out of the camp (Lev. 13:46; Numb. 5:2-4), and the city (2 Kings 7:3), this law being so strictly enforced that even the sister of Moses might not be exempted, from it (Numb. 12^:14, 15) ; and kings themselves, as Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:21; 2 Kings 15:5) must submit to it; men being by this exclu- sion taught that what here took place in a figure, should take place in the reality with every one who was found in the death of sin." For the elaborate ceremonies incident to the cleansing of a recovered leper see Lev. chap. 14. 2. Blasphemy. The essence of the deep sin of blasphemy lies not, as many suppose, in profanity alone, but as Dr. Kelso, Stand. Bible Diet., summarizes: 'Every improper use of the di- vine name (Lev. 24:11), speech derogatory to the Majesty of God (Matt. 26:65), arid sins with a high hand i. e. premeditated trans- gressions of the basal principles of the theocracy (Numb. 9:13; 15:30; Exo. 31:14) were regarded as blasphemy; the penalty was death by stoning (Lev. 24:16)." Smith's Bible Diet, states: "Blasphemy, in its technical English sense, signifies the speaking evil of God, and in this sense it is found in Psalm 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24 etc On this charge both our Lord and Stephen were condemned to death by the Jews. When a person heard blasphemy he laid his hand on the head of the offender, to symbolize his sole responsibility for the guilt, and rising on his feet, tore his robe, which might never again be mended." (See Matt. 26:65.) 3. Publican. "A word originally meaning a contractor for public works or supplies, or a farmer of public lands, but later applied to Romans who bought from the government the right to collect taxes in a given territory. These buyers, always knights (senators were excluded by their rank), became capitalists and formed powerful stock companies, whose members received a percentage on the capital invested. Provincial capitalists could not buy taxes, which were sold in Rome to the highest bidders, who to recoup themselves sublet their territory (at a great ad- vance on the price paid the government) to the native (local) publicans, who in their turn had to make a profit on their pur- chase money, and being assessors of property as well as collectors of taxes, had abundant opportunities for oppressing the people, who hated them both for that reason and also because the tax itself was the mark of their subjection to foreigners." J. R. Ster- rett in Stand. Bible Diet. 202 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 14. 4. Fishers of Men. "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," said Jesus to fishermen who afterward became His apostles (Matt. 4:19). Mark's version is nearly the same (1:17), while that of Luke (5:10) reads: "From henceforth thou shalt catch men." The correct translation is, as commentators practically agree, "From henceforth thou shalt take men alive." This read- ing emphasizes the contrast given in the text that between cap- turing fish to kill them and winning men to save them. Consider in this connection the Lord's prediction through Jeremiah (16: 16), that in reaching scattered Israel, "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them;" etc. ANTIQUITY OF SABBATH OBSERVANCE. 203 CHAPTER 15. LORD OF THE SABBATH. THE SABBATH DISTINCTIVELY SACRED TO ISRAEX. The observance of the Sabbath as a holy day was prom- inent among the Lord's requirements of His people, Israel, from a very early period in their history as a nation. In- deed, the keeping of the Sabbath as a day of surcease from ordinary toil was a national characteristic, by which the Israelites were distinguished from pagan peoples, and rightly so, for the holiness of the Sabbath was made a mark of the covenant between the chosen people and their God. The sanctity of the Sabbath had been prefigured in the account of the creation, antedating the placing of man upon the earth, as shown by the fact that God rested after six periods or days of creative work, and blessed the seventh day and hal- lowed it. a In the course of Israel's exodus, the seventh day was set apart as one o.f rest, upon which it was not allowed to bake, seethe, or otherwise cook food. A double supply of manna had to be gathered on the sixth day, while on other days the laying-by of a surplus of this daily bread sent from heaven was expressly forbidden. The Lord observed the sacredness of the holy day by giving no manna thereon.^ The commandment to celebrate the Sabbath in strictness was made definite and explicit in the decalog, written by the hand of God amidst the awful glory of Sinai ; and the in- junction was kept before the people through frequent procla- mation. It was unlawful to kindle a fire on that day ; and record is made of a man who was put to death for gathering a Gen. 2:3. &Exo. 16:16-31. 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:13-15; 34:21; Lev. 19:3; 23:3; Deut. 5:12-14. 204 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 15. sticks on the seventh day. d Under the administration of later prophets, the holiness of the Sabbath, the blessings promised to those who sanctified the day unto themselves, and the sin of Sabbath desecration were reiterated in words of inspired forcefulness/ Nehemiah admonished and re- proved in the matter, and attributed the affliction of the na- tion to the forfeiture of Jehovah's favor through Sabbath violation/ By the mouth of Ezekiel the Lord affirmed that the institution of the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between Himself and the people of Israel ; and with stern severity He upbraided those who heeded not the day.* 7 To the separate branch of the Israelitish nation that had been colonized on the western hemisphere, regard for the sanctity of the Sabbath was no less an imperative requirement/ 1 The observance demanded, however, was the very oppo- site of affliction and burden ; the Sabbath was consecrated to rest and righteous enjoyment, and was to be a day of spir- itual feasting before the Lord. It was not established as a day of abstinence ; all might eat, but both mistress and maid were to be relieved from the work of preparing food ; neither master nor man was to plow, dig or otherwise toil ; and the weekly day of rest was as much the boon of the cattle as of their owners. In addition to the weekly Sabbath, the Lord in mercy prescribed also a sabbatic year ; in every seventh year the land was to rest, and thereby its fertility was enhanced.* After seven times seven years had passed, the fiftieth was to be celebrated throughout as a year of jubilee, during which the people should live on the accumulated increase of the preceding seasons of plenty, and rejoice in liberality by dExo. 35:3; Numb. 15:32-36. Acts 15:13-22. gActs 21:18. rl Cor. 15:7. s Gal. 2:9, 12. Observe that the James mentioned by Paul was James II, son of Alpheus, as appears from the fact that the other James, the brother of John, had been put to death by Herod, prior to the incidents in the ministry of Paul and Barnabas to which, Paul refers^ See Acts 12:2; compare 13:1, 2. iNote 1, end of chapter. THE APOSTLES INDIVIDUALLY CONSIDERED, 225 question shows that the really distinguishing character of the apostleship was not fully comprehended by him at that time. Simon Zelotes, so designated in Acts," and as Simon called Zelotes in Luke's Gospel, is distinguished by both Matthew and Mark as the Canaanite. The last designation has no reference to the town of Cana, nor to the land of Canaan, neither is it in any sense of geographical significa- tion; it is the Syro-Chaldaic equivalent of the Greek word which is rendered in the English translation "Zelotes." The two names, therefore, have the same fundamental meaning, and each refers to the Zealots, a Jewish sect or faction, known for its zeal in maintaining the Mosaic ritual. Doubt- less Simon had learned moderation and toleration from the teachings of Christ ; otherwise he would scarcely have been suited to the apostolic ministry. His zealous earnestness, properly directed, may have developed into a most service- able trait of character. This apostle is nowhere in the scrip- tures named apart from his colleagues. Judas Iscariot is the only Judean named among the Twelve ; all the others were Galileans. He is generally un- derstood to have been a resident of Kerioth, a small town in the southerly part of Judea, but a few miles west from the Dead Sea, though for this tradition, as also for the sig- nification of his surname, we lack direct authority. So too we are uninformed as to his lineage, except that his father's name was Simon. r He served as treasurer or agent of the apostolic company, receiving and disbursing such of- ferings as were made by disciples and friends, and purchas- ing supplies as required. 1 " That he was unprincipled and dishonest in the discharge of this trust is attested by John. His avaricious and complaining nature revealed itself in his murmuring against what he called a waste of costly spike- u Acts 1:13; compare Luke 6:15. vjohn 6:71; 12:4; 13:26. wjohn 12:6; 13:29. 8 226 JESUS THE CHRIST. [CHAP. 16. nard, in the anointing of the Lord by Mary but a few days before the crucifixion ; he hypocritically suggested that the precious ointment could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor.* The crowning deed of perfidy in the career of Iscariot was his deliberate betrayal of his Master to death ; and this the infamous creature did for a price, and accomplished the foul deed with a kiss. He brought his guilty life to a close by a revolting suicide and his spirit went to the awful fate reserved for the sons of perdition.? GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TWELVE. A survey of the general characteristics and qualifications of this body of twelve men reveals some interesting facts. Before their selection as apostles they h