October 3 – Which God are You Beholding? Isaiah 40:1-5, 9 ”Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. 3 ¶ The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 9 ¶ O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”
_____
This prophecy was given between 701-681 BC, and was fulfilled c. 26-32 AD in Matthew 3:1-2.
It’s truly amazing how we can look in the Bible and see how God has always been there, letting us know ahead of time what to look for. This serves at least 2 purposes in the life of a Christian.
1.The Bible can be trusted because what God has said really does come to pass.
2.It gives us comfort knowing He’s always on the lookout for us, and is our consummate provider!
Oh dear ones, do remember this for the times when imposters come along wanting you to follow them and try to steal your salvation from you! Joe Smith tricked far too many people and you’ll see today how he even convinced Mormons he was the fulfillment of our biblical verse today! As an FYI, this Mormon leader was reading from the diary of an early member of the Church who attended a sermon given by Smith so the spelling is in the original setting.
_____
Ensign, ‘Prophecies in the Bible about Joseph Smith,’ January 1989; “Another biblical prophecy may refer to the Prophet Joseph Smith—John 1:19–25, where we read of the priests’ and Levites’ asking John the Baptist, “Who art thou?
“And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
“And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. “Then said they unto him, Who art thou? … What sayest thou of thyself? “He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. … “And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?”
In the Joseph Smith Translation (John 1:22), John the Baptist’s response is somewhat different: “They asked him, saying; How then art thou Elias? And he said, I am not that Elias who was to restore all things. And they asked him, saying, Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.” (Italics added.)
The popular interpretation of this verse among Bible scholars is that the “prophet” referred to is Christ—the same “prophet” Moses prophesied of in Deuteronomy 18:15. (See The Bethany Parallel Commentary on the New Testament, Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany House Publishers, 1983, p. 502.)
However, in his answer, John makes it clear that neither he nor Christ is “that prophet.” We can understand these verses better if we keep in mind that Elias is a title that could refer to any number of “restorers” and that Christ, John the Baptist, and Joseph Smith all qualify. (See the Bible Dictionary, s.v., Elias.)”. – George Horton
[…] Which God are You Beholding? […]