Judah had been reduced under the government of Ahaz.

Pekah, king of Israel, had killed 120,O00 persons in one day and had carried away captive 200,000, which included women and children, "and very much spoil."

Rezin, king of Syria, was confederate with Pekah and had captured Elath, a fortified city of Judah. He carried the people away to Damascus.

Ahaz was afraid his enemies would unite, march against Jerusalem, destroy the kingdom of Judah and annihilate the family of David.

In his sorrow and unbelief, Ahaz is visited by God’s prophet. Isaiah tells him his enemies will not stand but will be utterly destroyed. To encourage the king, the prophet commands him to ask for a sign (a miracle) that should be a pledge God would fulfill His Word.

But Ahaz humbly refuses. To this Isaiah replies, "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

"A virgin"--literally, "the virgin." The only one that ever was or shall be a mother in this way. The Hebrew word "almah" comes from the verb "Alain" which means "to lie hid, concealed, covered from the eyes of man" until lawful marriage. She had not been uncovered by man.

The meaning of the prophet was that both Rezin and Pekah should be unsuccessful against Jerusalem at that time. Also, it meant Jerusalem, Judea, and the house of David should be preserved until that time when the virgin should bear a son. The house of David could not fail until that time, nor did it; but when that miraculous event took place, the kingdom and the house of David did become extinct.

Here is the refutation of every argument a Jew can muster for not accepting Christ as their Messiah-- either Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled or the house of David is still standing. But we know it is destroyed, and not a Jew on the face of the earth can show himself a descendant of David. The Messiah has come!

"God whose circumference is nowhere, whose center is everywhere is wrapped up in the womb for 9 months."--John Trapp.

"Only two out of God knew the truth about Mary: an angel in Heaven, and her own heart on earth."--Alexander Whyte.

DID YOU KNOW?

1. Did you know the Wisemen are found only in Matthew’s Gospel--chapter two?

2. Did you know the Shepherds are found only in Luke’s Gospel-- chapter two?

3. Did you know that "swaddling clothes" were used to wrap up the dead?

4. Did your know the "manger" was a feed trough for cattle?

5. Did you know the name "Jesus" is the same name as the Old Testament name "Joshua" and that it means "He saves, He delivers, He puts in a place of safety" and that He had this name given Him when He was

circumcised the eighth day so had the name of Saviour when He first began to shed His blood?

6. Did you know the name "Saviour" means "To make safe, to deliver, to make alive, to preserve" and that the Septuagint uses this word to mean "to cause to escape, to confide in, to hope"? The word properly denotes a Saviour who perfectly frees us from all evil and danger, and is the  author of perpetual salvation.

7. Did you know the name "Lord" is the usual rendering for the name "Jehovah" when it appears in the Septuagint and that the Greek scholar Hesychius declares the word "kurios" to be a Greek contraction of "kuro" and "tugkano" which together "I am, I exist" which is the same meaning as the Hebrew Jehovah? This knifes the Jehovah’s Witness argument that nowhere in the New Testament do we find the Jehovah of the Old Testament revealed in the Jesus of the New Testament.

Part VIII

Text: "Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read...."--Isaiah 34:16.

William Tyndale and his friends had crept quite unnoticed aboard a cargo ship. It is at night. What are they up to? What are they doing meddling with those bales of cotton, and those sacks of wheat? They seem to be stuffing something in them. But what are they doing that for? They are smugglers!

And what are they smuggling? Freshly printed copies of the Word of God!

The next day as the ship sailed out the harbor a far more valuable cargo was on board than the merchants dreamed, and before the plan is discovered, the Bible will be circulated throughout England.

When he was made aware of what had been done, the English king ordered the Bibles be confiscated! The English people, however, set a high Value upon the Book of the Lord for now they could "Seek out the book of the Lord and read...." The few copies that were retrieved were surrendered generally because of an imperfect reverence for the Word of God, but nearly all the 2nd edition of Tyndale’s Bible found their way by God’s providence into the homes and hearts of God-fearing people.

Realizing Tyndale’s work was as active as if he were present in England, the king connived with the German monarch to imprison this troublemaker. He was arrested in Belgium where he was imprisoned.

"What’s the use?" Tyndale might have said. "I only do that which is right, and I must flee my homeland and suffer the loss of years of work, and now I stand accused as a common criminal." Tyndale might have said, "I quit!" But this day and time witnessed a breed of men quite unlike men today. Tyndale was made of sterner stuff. But what can he do in prison?

Read about it in the next edition of THE ANGELUS.