The Ohio Independent Baptist, October 1972

a,i by Dr. Robert T. Ketcham /11 l,,,,ki11t: c>\ c•1 l>ac /.. t\\tte, <>/ <>ttr 111aJ-!c1zine. i-ve ca111e c1cr<JS.\ t/1is 111t1.\\'(1!,!e / y /)r R e>! crt I l\. etcl1c1111. It first appe(1retl in t/1e "0/1i<> R eR1,lar ll<11>11,1" (· ,,<>H' 7'H/· C)HJC) I DEPcNDE 1' BAP'fJ , T) in t/1e Sep– te111/,er. 1929 t\·,·,,e. r <>I I. <>. 11. Altl1<>11g/1 H'ritter1 43 )'ears ago, its tr111/1 ,, /11!.!!1/.r per1111e11t /<> r t/1is preset1f l1<>t1r. Dr. R. T. Ketcham The \\Or" t)f ot1r l~oru seem naturally to fall into three d1\ i ion. . nan1el). Prophet, Prie t and King . The office of a pr<>pl,et i to declare God' n1cs age to n1an. The office of a priest i. to enter God' pre ence for n1an. The office of :i kin.~ i to rule. In connection with our , ubject we a k, Wa there any l1terali. n1 in connection with Hi . first advent on Hi mis– ion a Prophet? PROPHET Did He con1e literally in accordance with prophecy or ~ere the prophetical utterance concerning thi event to be interpreted piritually? Let u examine the Scriptures. I aiah 7: 14: HBehold, a virgin hall conceive and bear a on, and hall call his name Immanuel ." Here is a sta te– ment far more usceptible to "spi ritualizing' ' than any other pa age referring to Hi s second advent could ever be. This i a tatement that every Jaw of nature, every law of man, and every law of cience would at once declare untrue and impo ible. There was positively no way under heaven ~ hereby a virgin could give birth to a chi ld. Therefore, they could well have said, "This is to be interpreted as a piritual birth. ' ' Yet some seven hundred years later, that very event occurred - a woman gave birth to a child and was still a virgin. Micah 5: 2 declares that He was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea, which was literally fulfilled. Zechariah 9: 9 declared that Zion's king hou]d come unto them riding upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Witne s its literal fulfillment in the so-ca11ed triumphal entry into Jerusalem ome five hundred years later. In this connection it might be interesting to note its New Testament fulfill– ment. It will be recalled that Jes L1s told His disciples to go into a certain village where they would find a colt tied at the parting of the ways. They were to loose him and bring him to Jesus . If anyone interfered, they were to be told "The Lord hath need of [ him] ' (Matt. 21:3). We might ask, Why did the Lord have need of him? Surely He did not need him as an absolute necessity· to go into Jerusalem. He cotlld have walked, or He could have ridden in conveyances of many kinds . Why , then this pe– culiar in istence upon the colt whereon never man sat? The logical reason is that the Lord had need of this colt with \\ hich to literallv fulfill Zechariah 9: 9. ., P a lm 41 :9 declares that His own familiar friend, with v.,hom He had eaten bread, would betray Him. Witness its literal fulfillment in John 13: 18, ' ... BLlt that tlz e scripti1re 111a) 1 he /L1lfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel aga inst me. · 8 OCTOBER, 1972 Psa lm 22 is a shining example of prophetic literalism. Verse l , 4'My od, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" is the very dictation of Calvary's cry of rejection. Verse 16 i the picture of pierced hands and feet and was cruelly litera l in its fulfillment. Verse 17 was fulfilled in Luke 23: 35. Practically thi s entire Psalm is a word picture of the crucifixion of our Lord, and this before even the empire that inaugurated crucifixion as the method of inflicting the death penalty upon criminals was in existence. No man ever lived who fill s this picture but Christ. ; Psa lm 69: 21 is specific as to what should be given Him to drink on the cross. As to literal di sturbances in the heavens, we read in Amos 8: 9, "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I wi ll darken the earth in the clear day." For its fulfillment see Matthew 27:45: ' 'Now from the ixth hour there was darkness over al l the land unto the ninth hour.' ' In the Book of Matthew alone we have enough state– ment to convince anyone of prophetic 1iterali sm. Matthew I :22, 23: "Now a ll this was done, that it 1nigl1t be /ltlfiilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Be– hold a virgin shall be with 9hild, and shall bring forth a on, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us." Matthew 2: 14, 15: "When he arose, he took the young chi ld and his mother by night , and departed into Egypt. And was there until the death of Herod: t/1at it 111igh t be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying Out of Egypt have I called my son." Matthew 2: 17, 18: "Therz }vas fi,lfilled that which was poken by J eremy the prophet, say ing, In Rama was there a voice heard lamentation, and weeping, and great mourn– ing, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." Matthew 2: 23: "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it 111igh t be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, H e shall be called a Nazarene." Matthew 8: 16, 17 " ... And [He J healed all that were s ick: That it n1ight be /L1lfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet , saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sickness." Matthew 12: 17: "That it 111igh t be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my se rvant. whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, a nd he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles." Matthew 13:34, 35: "AJ I these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fi,lfi1led which was spoken THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST