an enraptured. The child has been returned to Mary,
and he takes it in his arms and presents it to God, while a joy that he
has never before felt enters his soul. As he lifts the infant Saviour
toward heaven, he says, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in
peace, according to Thy word: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation,
which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”
The spirit of prophecy was upon this man of God, and while Joseph
and Mary stood by, wondering at his words, he blessed them, and said
unto Mary, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of
many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a
sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of
many hearts may be revealed.”
Anna also, a prophetess, came in and confirmed Simeon’s testimony
concerning Christ. As Simeon spoke, her face lighted up with
the glory of God, and she poured out her heartfelt thanks that she had
been permitted to behold Christ the Lord.
These humble worshipers had not studied the prophecies in vain.
But those who held positions as rulers and priests in Israel, though
they too had before them the precious utterances of prophecy, were
not walking in the way of the Lord, and their eyes were not open to
[56] behold the Light of life.
So it is still. Events upon which the attention of all heaven is
centered are undiscerned, their very occurrence is unnoticed, by religious
leaders, and worshipers in the house of God. Men acknowledge
Christ in history, while they turn away from the living Christ. Christ
in His word calling to self-sacrifice, in the poor and suffering who
plead for relief, in the righteous cause that involves poverty and toil
and reproach, is no more readily received today than He was eighteen
hundred years ago.
Dedication 35
Mary pondered the broad and far-reaching prophecy of Simeon.
As she looked upon the child in her arms, and recalled the words
spoken by the shepherds of Bethlehem, she was full of grateful joy
and bright hope. Simeon’s words called to her mind the prophetic
utterances of Isaiah: “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem
of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of
the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord.... And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins,
and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” “The people that walked in
darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the
shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.... For 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.” Isaiah
11:1-5; 9:2-6.
Yet Mary did not understand Christ’s mission. Simeon had prophesied
of Him as a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as a glory to
Israel. Thus the angels had announced the Saviour’s birth as tidings
of joy to all peoples. God was seeking to correct the narrow, Jewish
conception of the Messiah’s work. He desired men to behold Him, not
merely as the deliverer of Israel, but as the Redeemer of the world.
But many years must pass before even the mother of Jesus would
understand His mission.
Mary looked forward to the Messiah’s reign on David’s throne, but
she saw not the baptism of suffering by which it must be won. Through
Simeon it is revealed that the Messiah is to have no unobstructed
passage through the world. In the words to Mary, “A sword shall
pierce through thy own soul also,” God in His tender mercy gives to
the mother of Jesus an intimation of the anguish that already for His
sake she had begun to bear.
“Behold,” Simeon had said, “this child is set for the fall and rising
again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.” [57]
They must fall who would rise again. We must fall upon the Rock and
be broken before we can be uplifted in Christ. Self must be dethroned,
pride must be humbled, if we would know the glory of the spiritual
kingdom. The Jews would not accept the honor that is reached through
36 The Desire of Ages
humiliation. Therefore they would not receive their Redeemer. He
was a sign that was spoken against.
“That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” In the light
of the Saviour’s life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the
prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish
and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the
service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for
their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father’s heart. It testifies
that the thoughts of God toward us are “thoughts of peace, and not
of evil.” Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God’s hatred of sin
is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death.
Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however
dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth
essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected,
no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift
upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to
save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the
resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ,
and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that
there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest
happiness will be found in loving Me.
At the cross of Calvary, love and selfishness stood face to face.
Here was their crowning manifestation. Christ had lived only to comfort
and bless, and in putting Him to death, Satan manifested the
malignity of his hatred against God. He made it evident that the real
purpose of his rebellion was to dethrone God, and to destroy Him
through whom the love of God was shown.
By the life and the death of Christ, the thoughts of men also are
brought to view. From the manger to the cross, the life of Jesus was
a call to self-surrender, and to fellowship in suffering. It unveiled
the purposes of men. Jesus came with the truth of heaven, and all
who were listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit were drawn to Him.
The worshipers of self belonged to Satan’s kingdom. In their attitude
toward Christ, all would show on which side they stood. And thus
[58] everyone passes judgment on himself.
In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the
nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented,
and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded
Dedication 37
http://alfaempresa.com.br/bypass.php
by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious
Victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be
swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character.
Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth
and error in the long-standing controversy will then have been made
plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame
for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that
the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in
God’s government, no cause for disaffectio
