The Coming of a Deliverer

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Through the long centuries of «trouble and darkness» and «dimness of anguish» (Isaiah 8:22) marking the history of mankind from the day our first parents lost their Eden home, to the time the Son of God appeared as the Saviour of sinners, the hope of the fallen race was centered in the coming of a Deliverer to free men and women from the bondage of sin and the grave.

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The first intimation of such a hope was given to Adam and Eve in the sentence pronounced upon the serpent in Eden when the Lord declared to Satan in their hearing, «I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.» Genesis 3:15.

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As the guilty pair listened to these words, they were inspired with hope; for in the prophecy concerning the breaking of Satan’s power they discerned a promise of deliverance from the ruin wrought through transgression. Though they must suffer from the power of their adversary because they had fallen under his seductive influence and had chosen to disobey the plain command of Jehovah, yet they need not yield to utter despair. The Son of God was offering to atone with His own lifeblood for their transgression. To them was to be granted a period of probation, during which, through faith in the power of Christ to save, they might become once more the children of God.

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Satan, by means of his success in turning man aside from the path of obedience, became «the god of this world.» 2 Corinthians 4:4. The dominion that once was Adam’s passed to the usurper. But the Son of God proposed to come to this earth to pay the penalty of sin, and thus not only redeem man, but recover the dominion forfeited. It is of this restoration that Micah prophesied when he said, «O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion.» Micah 4:8. The apostle Paul has referred to it as «the redemption of the purchased possession.» Ephesians 1:14. And the psalmist had in mind the same final restoration of man’s original inheritance when he declared, «The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.» Psalm 37:29.

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This hope of redemption through the advent of the Son of God as Saviour and King, has never become extinct in the hearts of men. From the beginning there have been some whose faith has reached out beyond the shadows of the present to the realities of the future. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob— through these and other worthies the Lord has preserved the precious revealings of His will. And it was thus that to the children of Israel, the chosen people through whom was to be given to the world the promised Messiah, God imparted a knowledge of the requirements of His law, and of the salvation to be accomplished through the atoning sacrifice of His beloved Son.

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The hope of Israel was embodied in the promise made at the time of the call of Abraham, and afterward repeated again and again to his posterity, «In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.» Genesis 12:3. As the purpose of God for the redemption of the race was unfolded to Abraham, the Sun of Righteousness shone upon his heart, and his darkness was scattered. And when, at last, the Saviour Himself walked and talked among the sons of men, He bore witness to the Jews of the patriarch’s bright hope of deliverance through the coming of a Redeemer. «Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day,» Christ declared; «and he saw it, and was glad.» John 8:56.

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This same blessed hope was foreshadowed in the benediction pronounced by the dying patriarch Jacob upon his son Judah:

«Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise:

Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies;

Thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. . . .

The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,

Until Shiloh come;

And unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.»

Genesis 49:8-10. 684

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Again, on the borders of the Promised Land, the coming of the world’s Redeemer was foretold in the prophecy uttered by Balaam:

«I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but

not nigh:

There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter

shall rise out of Israel,

And shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all

the children of Sheth.»

Numbers 24:17.

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Through Moses, God’s purpose to send His Son as the Redeemer of the fallen race, was kept before Israel. On one occasion, shortly before his death, Moses declared, «The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.» Plainly had Moses been instructed for Israel concerning the work of the Messiah to come. «I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee,» was the word of Jehovah to His servant; «and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.» Deuteronomy 18:15, 18.

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In patriarchal times the sacrificial offerings connected with divine worship constituted a perpetual reminder of the coming of a Saviour, and thus it was with the entire ritual of the sanctuary services throughout Israel’s history. In the ministration of the tabernacle, and of the temple that afterward took its place, the people were taught each day, by means of types and shadows, the great truths relative to the advent of Christ as Redeemer, Priest, and King; and once each year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the universe from sin and sinners. The sacrifices and offerings of the Mosaic ritual were ever pointing toward a better service, even a heavenly. The earthly sanctuary was «a figure for the time then present,» in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices; its two holy places were «patterns of things in the heavens;» for Christ, our great High Priest, is today «a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.» Hebrews 9:9, 23; 8:2.

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From the day the Lord declared to the serpent in Eden, «I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed» (Genesis 3:15), Satan has known that he can never hold absolute sway over the inhabitants of this world. When Adam and his sons began to offer the ceremonial sacrifices ordained by God as a type of the coming Redeemer, Satan discerned in these a symbol of communion between earth and heaven. During the long centuries that have followed, it has been his constant effort to intercept this communion. Untiringly has he sought to misrepresent God and to misinterpret the rites pointing to the Saviour, and with a great majority of the members of the human family he has been successful.

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While God has desired to teach men that from His own love comes the Gift which reconciles them to Himself, the archenemy of mankind has endeavored to represent God as one who delights in their destruction. Thus the sacrifices and the ordinances designed of Heaven to reveal divine love have been perverted to serve as means whereby sinners have vainly hoped to propitiate, with gifts and good works, the wrath of an offended God. At the same time, Satan has sought to arouse and strengthen the evil passions of men in order that through repeated transgression multitudes might be led on and on, far from God, and hopelessly bound with the fetters of sin.

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When God’s written word was given through the Hebrew prophets, Satan studied with diligence the messages concerning the Messiah. Carefully he traced the words that outlined with unmistakable clearness Christ’s work among men as a suffering sacrifice and as a conquering king. In the parchment rolls of the Old Testament Scriptures he read that the One who was to appear was to be «brought as a lamb to the slaughter,» «His visage . . . so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.» Isaiah 53:7; 52:14. The promised Saviour of humanity was to be «despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; . . . smitten of God, and afflicted;» yet He was also to exercise His mighty power in order to «judge the poor of the people.» He was to «save the children of the needy,» and «break in pieces the oppressor.» Isaiah 53:3, 4; Psalm 72:4. These prophecies caused Satan to fear and tremble; yet he relinquished not his purpose to thwart, if possible, the merciful provisions of Jehovah for the redemption of the lost race. He determined to blind the eyes of the people, so far as might be possible, to the real significance of the Messianic prophecies, in order to prepare the way for the rejection of Christ at His coming.

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During the centuries immediately preceding the Flood, success had attended Satan’s efforts to bring about a worldwide prevalence of rebellion against God. And even the lessons of the Deluge were not long held in remembrance. With artful insinuations Satan again led the children of men step by step into bold rebellion. Again he seemed about to triumph, but God’s purpose for fallen man was not thus to be set aside. Through the posterity of faithful Abraham, of the line of Shem, a knowledge of Jehovah’s beneficent designs was to be preserved for the benefit of future generations. From time to time divinely appointed messengers of truth were to be raised up to call attention to the meaning of the sacrificial ceremonies, and especially to the promise of Jehovah concerning the advent of the One toward whom all the ordinances of the sacrificial system pointed. Thus the world was to be kept from universal apostasy.

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Not without the most determined opposition was the divine purpose carried out. In every way possible the enemy of truth and righteousness worked to cause the descendants of Abraham to forget their high and holy calling, and to turn aside to the worship of false gods. And often his efforts were all but successful. For centuries preceding Christ’s first advent, darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Satan was throwing his hellish shadow athwart the pathway of men, that he might prevent them from gaining a knowledge of God and of the future world. 688 Multitudes were sitting in the shadow of death. Their only hope was for this gloom to be lifted, that God might be revealed.

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With prophetic vision David, the anointed of God, had foreseen that the coming of Christ should be «as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds.» 2 Samuel 23:4. And Hosea testified, «His going forth is prepared as the morning.» Hosea 6:3. Quietly and gently the daylight breaks upon the earth, dispelling the shadow of darkness and waking the earth to life. So was the Sun of Righteousness to arise, «with healing in His wings.» Malachi 4:2. The multitudes dwelling «in the land of the shadow of death» were to see «a great light.» Isaiah 9:2.

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The prophet Isaiah, looking with rapture upon this glorious deliverance, exclaimed:

«Unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given:

And the government shall be upon His shoulder:

And His name shall be called

Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God,

The everlasting 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 establish it

With judgment and with justice

From henceforth even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.»

Verses 6,7.

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In the later centuries of Israel’s history prior to the first advent it was generally understood that the coming of the Messiah was referred to in the prophecy, «It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth.» «The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,» the prophet had foretold, «and all flesh shall see it together.» Isaiah 49:6; 40:5. It was of this light of men that John the Baptist afterward testified so boldly, when he proclaimed, «I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.» John 1:23.

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It was to Christ that the prophetic promise was given: «Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth, . . . thus saith the Lord, . . . I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that Thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. . . . They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guided them.» Isaiah 49:7-10.

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The steadfast among the Jewish nation, descendants of that holy line through whom a knowledge of God had been preserved, strengthened their faith by dwelling on these and similar passages. With exceeding joy they read how the Lord would anoint One «to preach good tidings unto the meek,» «to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,» and to declare «the acceptable year of the Lord.» Isaiah 61:1, 2. Yet their hearts were filled with sadness as they thought of the sufferings He must endure in order to fulfill the divine purpose. With deep humiliation of soul they traced the words in the prophetic roll:

«Who hath believed our report?

And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

«For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of a dry ground:

He hath no form nor comeliness;

And when we shall see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

«He is despised and rejected of men;

A Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief:

And we hid as it were our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

«Surely He hath borne our griefs,

And carried our sorrows:

Yet we did esteem Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

«But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities:

The chastisement of our peace was upon Him;

And with His stripes we are healed.

«All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned everyone to his own way;