Miracles of Jesus: Healing Bartimaeus of blindness (Matthew 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43)

When Jesus and his disciples had gone to the town of Jericho, a blind beggar called out to Jesus. Jesus miraculously cured him of his blindness. As explained in the Gospel of Mark:

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means "son of Timaeus"), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."

So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."

"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

-Mark 10:46-52, NIV translation.

The phrase "Son of David" was a way to refer to the Messiah who had been promised by the prophets of the Old Testament. The Messiah was to be a descendant of King David who had lived about a thousand years before Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke say that Jesus was a descendant of King David, in addition to proclaiming that he is the promised Messiah.

Matthew mentions that there was a second blind man who also was healed with Bartimaeus.

Next: Miracles of Jesus: The withering fig tree that produced no fruit

Miracles of Jesus: Bringing Lazarus back to life (John 11:1-44)

n John 11:1-44, Jesus miraculously brings a dead man back to life. The man was named Lazarus and he was the brother to two women who were involved with Jesus' ministry. The women were named Martha and Mary. There are many people named Mary in the Bible; this Mary is not the same person as Jesus' mother.

Lazarus had been dead in a tomb for four days before Jesus arrived in the town of Bethany, which was about two miles or three kilometers from Jerusalem. When Jesus arrived, some of the people who were mourning with the sisters questioned whether Jesus, who was able to heal a blind man, could have done something to have prevented Lazarus from dying (John 11:37).

Jesus then went to the tomb that held Lazarus' body:

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said.

"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing 10 men suffering from leprosy (Luke 17:11-19)

While traveling along the border of Samaria, Jesus met a group of people suffering from leprosy and miraculously healed them. One of the men, a Samaritan, returned and thanked Jesus for healing him:

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him-and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a man with dropsy (Luke 14:1-6)

The Gospel of Luke describes a miracle that Jesus performed on the Sabbath, healing a man who suffered from a condition that caused an abnormal swelling of his body:

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

Then he asked them, "If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?" And they had nothing to say.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a blind and mute man who was possessed by a demon (Matthew 12:22-23, Luke 11:14)

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke describe a miracle in which a man who was blind and mute was taken to Jesus and Jesus healed him. As explained in the book of Matthew:

Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"

-Matthew 12:22-23, NIV translation.

The phrase "Son of David" was a way to refer to the Messiah who had been promised by the prophets of the Old Testament. The Messiah was to be a descendant of King David who had lived about a thousand years before Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke say that Jesus was a descendant of King David, in addition to proclaiming that he is the promised Messiah.

Miracles of Jesus: Catching a fish with a coin in its mouth (Matthew 17:24-27)

During a time when Jesus and Peter were in the town of Capernaum, which is in the region of Galilee in the northern part of the Biblical land of Israel, tax collectors approached Peter and asked for taxes for the Temple.

Jesus told Peter to catch a fish and that the first fish he would catch would have enough money in its mouth to pay the taxes for Peter and Jesus. The first fish that he caught had a four-drachma coin in its mouth, enough to pay the taxes.

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"As explained in the Gospel of Matthew:

"Yes, he does," he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes-from their own children or from others?"

"From others," Peter answered.

"Then the children are exempt," Jesus said to him. "But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a boy possessed by a demon (Matthew 17:14-20, Mark 9:17-29, Luke 9:37-43)

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke describe a miracle in which Jesus and some of his followers approach a crowd of people and Jesus miraculously heals a boy who was possessed by a demon. As described in the Gospel of Matthew:

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."

"You unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a man born blind (John 9:1-41)

The Gospel of John describes a miracle in which Jesus healed a beggar who had been born blind:

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means "Sent"). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was.

Others said, "No, he only looks like him."

But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

"How then were your eyes opened?" they asked.

He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."

"Where is this man?" they asked him.

"I don't know," he said.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26)

The New Testament of the Bible records more than one miracle in which Jesus healed people who were blind. In John 9:1-41, Jesus mixes saliva with dirt and spreads the mud on the blind person's eyes and he is miraculously able to see. The Gospel of Mark describes another miracle in which Jesus puts saliva on a man's eyes:

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"

He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't even go into the village."

Miracles of Jesus: Feeding the 4000 men and their families (Matthew 15:29-39, Mark 8:1-10)

During a time when Jesus was in the region of Galilee, large crowds of people gathered before him, bringing people who suffered from a variety of ailments, including being mute, invalid or blind. Jesus miraculously healed them. At one point, there was a large crowd of about 4000 men and their families who had nothing to eat. Jesus miraculously fed them. As explained in the Gospel of Matthew:

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"

"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked.

"Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a deaf man with a speech impediment (Mark 7:31-37)

After Jesus left the region of Tyre, some people brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking. Jesus miraculously healed the man of both ailments. As explained in the Gospel of Mark:

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means "Be opened!"). At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a boy possessed by a demon (Matthew 17:14-20, Mark 9:17-29, Luke 9:37-43)

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke describe a miracle in which Jesus and some of his followers approach a crowd of people and Jesus miraculously heals a boy who was possessed by a demon. As described in the Gospel of Matthew:

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."

"You unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26)

he New Testament of the Bible records more than one miracle in which Jesus healed people who were blind. In John 9:1-41, Jesus mixes saliva with dirt and spreads the mud on the blind person's eyes and he is miraculously able to see. The Gospel of Mark describes another miracle in which Jesus puts saliva on a man's eyes:

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"

He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't even go into the village."

Miracles of Jesus: Feeding the 4000 men and their families (Matthew 15:29-39, Mark 8:1-10)

During a time when Jesus was in the region of Galilee, large crowds of people gathered before him, bringing people who suffered from a variety of ailments, including being mute, invalid or blind. Jesus miraculously healed them. At one point, there was a large crowd of about 4000 men and their families who had nothing to eat. Jesus miraculously fed them. As explained in the Gospel of Matthew:

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"

"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked.

"Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a deaf man with a speech impediment (Mark 7:31-37

After Jesus left the region of Tyre, some people brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking. Jesus miraculously healed the man of both ailments. As explained in the Gospel of Mark:

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means "Be opened!"). At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a demon-possessed girl (Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30)

When Jesus was in the area of Tyre and Sidon, a Gentile woman approached Jesus and asked him to heal her daughter who was possessed by a demon. After speaking with the woman, he praised her for her faith and told her that her daughter was healed. As explained in the Gospel of Matthew:

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly."

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."

"Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."

Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment.

- Matthew 15:21-28, NIV translation.

Whereas Jesus died for the sins of all people, and while any person who has faith in Jesus as the Son of God (as explained in John 3:16-18) will have forgiveness and eternal salvation, Jesus' public ministry was directed primarily at the people of Israel.

The woman referred to Jesus as the "Son of David," perhaps because she realized he is the Messiah. The prophets of the Old Testament had previously revealed that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David, who lived about a thousand years before the time of Jesus. As explained in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was a descendant of King David.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing of many in Gennesaret (Matthew 14:34-36; Mark 6:53-56)

After Jesus performed the miracle of walking on water, on the Sea of Galilee, he and his disciples anchored their boat on the shore at the town of Gennesaret. The residents there recognized Jesus and went to him to be miraculously healed of various ailments. Even the people who touched Jesus' clothing were healed.

As explained in the Gospel of Mark:

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went-into villages, towns or countryside-they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Miracles of Jesus: Jesus walks on water (Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:16-21)

As explained in the Gospel of Matthew, which gives the most detailed account of the miracle in comparison to the Gospels of Mark and John:

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." 

Miracles of Jesus: Feeding 5000 men and their families (Matthew 14:16-21, Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:5-14)

Each of the four Gospels describe the miracle in which Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men and their families.

As explained in the Gospel of John:

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, "It would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a man who was crippled for 38 years (John 5:1-17)

The Gospel of John described a miracle in which Jesus healed a man who had been crippled for 38 years. As explained in John 5:1-4, Jesus met the man, after traveling to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals, at the pool of Bethesda, a place that people went to in the hopes of being healed of their ailments.

As explained in the Gospel of John

One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."

But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "

So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"

The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a mute man possessed by a demon (Matthew 9:32-33)

After Matthew described a miracle in which Jesus healed two men of blindness (Matthew 9:27-31), Matthew recorded a miracle in which Jesus healed a mute man possessed by a demon:

While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing two blind men (Matthew 9:27-31)

The Gospel of Matthew recorded a miracle in which Jesus miraculously healed two blind men who followed him, asking for mercy.

As described in the Gospel of Matthew:

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

"Yes, Lord," they replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith let it be done to you"; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

Miracles of Jesus: Raising Jairus' daughter (Matthew 9:18-19, 23-25; Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; Luke 8:41-42, 49-56)

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke describe a miracle in which Jesus restores to life Jairus' daughter. Jairus was a synagogue leader who pleaded with Jesus to come to his house because his daughter was dying. While Jesus was walking to Jairus' house, a woman suffering from internal bleeding touched Jesus and was healed (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48). Before Jesus arrived at Jairus' house, Jairus was told that his daughter was already dead. Jesus went to his home and brought his daughter back to life.

As described in the Gospel of Luke:

Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.

. . .

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher anymore."

Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed."

When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."

They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a woman with internal bleeding (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48)

A woman who had been suffering from internal bleeding for several years was miraculously healed after she touched Jesus.

As explained in the Gospel of Mark:

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing the Gerasene demon-possessed man (Matthew 8:28-32, Mark 5:1-13, Luke 8:26-33)

After Matthew, Mark and Luke described a miracle in which Jesus calmed a storm, they each described a miracle in which Jesus healed a man possessed by demons.

As explained in the Gospel of Mark:

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God's name don't torture me!" For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you impure spirit!"

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Miracles of Jesus: Calming the stormy sea (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25)

While Jesus and his disciples were in a boat crossing a lake (possibly the Sea of Galilee), a storm frightened his disciples while Jesus slept. They awoke Jesus, fearful that the storm would harm them. Jesus then miraculously calmed the storm.
As explained in the Gospel of Matthew:

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" 

Miracles of Jesus: Raising a widow's son (Luke 7:11-17)

Jesus traveled to the town of Nain with his disciples and a large crowd of followers. As they approached the town gate, the dead child of a widow was being carried out. After Jesus saw the widow, he miraculously brought the dead child back to life and gave him back to his mother.

As explained in the Gospel of Luke:

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a withered hand (Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-10)

While Jesus was in a Synagogue, he saw a man with a deformed hand and miraculously healed him. The event was witnessed by opponents of Jesus who plotted to have Jesus killed.

As explained in the Gospel of Mark:

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."

Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

- Mark 3:1-6, NIV translation.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a paralyzed man (Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:18-26)

While Jesus was staying at a house in Capernaum, a group of men tried to bring a paralyzed man to Jesus so that Jesus would heal him. But, there was a large crowd inside and outside of the house, so the men had to find a creative way to get the paralyzed man to Jesus. The men succeeded and Jesus miraculously healed the man.

As explained in the Gospel of Luke:

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10)

During one of Jesus' visits to the town of Capernaum, a centurion, through intermediaries, asked Jesus to heal the centurion's servant who was ill and near death. Jesus agreed to go to centurion's house and heal the centurion's servant. But the centurion, through his friends, told Jesus that the centurion felt unworthy to have Jesus come into his home. Jesus praised the centurion for his faith and the servant was healed.

As explained in the Gospel of Luke:

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing a leper (Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-15)

After preaching the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus came down the hillside followed by a large crowd. A leper approached Jesus and was miraculously healed of his skin disease.

As described in the book of Luke, which is in the New Testament of the Bible:

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.

Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

Miracles of Jesus: Catching a large number of fish (Luke 5:3-10)

The Bible describes more than one miracle of Jesus involving the catching of fish. In this incident, described in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is sitting in a boat, talking to people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Afterwards, he instructs Peter (also known as Simon) to take the boat further into the lake:

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people."

Miracles of Jesus: Healing the sick during the evening (Matt 8:16, Mark 1:32, Luke 4:40)

After describing how Jesus healed Peter the Apostle's mother-in-law in Capernaum, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke say that Jesus healed many people during the evening, of all kinds of illnesses. As explained in the Gospel of Luke:

At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

- Luke 4:40-41, NIV translation.

So why would Jesus want to prevent the evil spirits from proclaiming him as being the Messiah? A Bible scholar named Victor Prange wrote the following:

Jesus did not want the witness of these evil spirits. They witnessed from evil intent and with the purpose of undermining the true purpose of Christ's mission. Too easily people would come to think of the Messiah only as a miracle worker and not as the Servant of God come to redeem sinners from eternal death and hell.

Miracles of Jesus: Healing of Simon Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 4:38-39)

After Jesus healed the demon-possessed man in the synagogue in Capernaum, he and his disciples went to the home of Simon Peter and Andrew, where the mother-in-law of Peter (also known as Simon and as Simon Peter) was sick with a high fever. As described in the Gospel of Luke:

Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Healing of a man possessed by a demon in Capernaum (Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:33-37)

As Jesus was preaching in a synagogue in Capernaum, a man who was possessed by a demon began shouting at Jesus. Jesus healed the man and news of the miracle spread quickly throughout area of Galilee, which is in the northern part of the Biblical land of Israel.

As described in the Gospel of Mark:

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!"

"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching - and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him." News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Healing of the royal official's son (John 4:46-54)

A royal official went to Cana when he heard that Jesus was there and begged Jesus to heal his son, who was at the point of death in Capernaum. Jesus told the man that his son would live. The events are described in the Gospel of John:

Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

"Unless you people see signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

"Go," Jesus replied, "your son will live."

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him."

Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and his whole household believed.

This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Water made wine - John 2:1-11

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

6 And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

The Meaning of Anti-Christ

All the Reformers and all the Churches of the Reformation and the great body of Protestant interpreters hold that the Pope of Rome or the Papacy is the Anti-Christ, the word anti-christos being composed of kristos meaning anointed (Christ) and the prefix anti."Anti" means against also instead of or in the place of. "When prefixed to the name of an individual it indicates an agent who assumes that individual’s place, and at the same time acts in opposition to him. Thus Rome herself speaks of Anti-popes. Anti-Christ therefore means one who pretends to be a vicar of Christ, and assumes to act in His name, but who is at the same time His rival and greatest enemy." (The Roman Anti-Christ by Leahy).

In the Smalcald Articles Martin Luther singles out one particular statement of the Apostle Paul which beyond all doubt labels the Pope as the Anti-Christ "- - - the Pope raised his head above all. This teaching shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Anti-Christ, who has exalted himself above and opposed himself against Christ, because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power. This is properly speaking to exalt himself above all that is called God, as Paul said, (2 Thess. 2:4) (Smalcald Art 11, art. 4:9-10).

"No one else has ever and will never be able to exalt himself above all that is called God more than the Pope of Rome, who holds millions of people at his command and over four thousand priests as agents of his ambition. He dares to oppose and rejects even the central truth of the Scriptures. He condemns justification by faith, which is fundamental to all, the heart of the Gospel. He puts himself against Christ, he damns, curses this cardinal truth given by Christ." (Who is the Antichrist? by J. Zacehello, D.D.).

"To submit to the Roman Pontiff, we declare, say, define and pronounce to be absolutely necessary to every human creature to salvation." (Bull Unam Sanctam of Pope Boniface VIII).

"If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sin for Christ’s sake; or that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified, let him be accursed." (Council of Trent Can. 9.12).

The late Pope John XXIII was no sooner inaugurated in November 1958 than in his coronation address said: "Into this fold of Jesus Christ no one can enter it if not under the guidance of the Sovereign Pontiff; and men can securely reach salvation only when they are united with him, since the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of Christ and represents His person on earth."

Dispensationalism and the Anti-Christ

Dispensationalists hold that the appearance and reign of the Anti-Christ takes place during the seven year period after the Rapture. At the end of the seven years Christ returns with His saints, defeats and destroys the Anti-Christ and his armies in the battle of Armaggedon, and sets up an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem over which He rules in person for 1000 years. The reign of Christ on earth at that time according to Scofield, will be a sitting on the throne of David, as King of the Jews, literally, strictly andpolitically understood.

This Futuristic theory of the Anti-Christ propagated by Dr. Scofield is the Popish view. "Alarmed by the fact that the Reformers were pointing to the Pope as the Anti-Christ, the Jesuit Ribera at the end of the sixteenth century, invented or at least propagated futuristic views of the Anti-Christ, and pointed to a solitary Infidel Anti-Christ who would appear in the dim future. Ribera’s view soon infected the High Church party. J. N. Darby caught the contagion, and finally Dr. D. L. Scofield swallowed the Jesuit’s pill. Thus Ribera succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, for the attention of thousands of Protestants became deflected from the Papacy, a future Infidel Anti-Christ was looked for, and the historic Protestant view handed down by the Reformers was despised by many. These are the hard facts of history. A Protestantism saturated with Ribera’s Futurism is not the Protestantism of the Reformers, nor is it feared by the Papacy." (The Roman Anti-Christ by Rev. F. S. Leahy).

In the days of the Apostle John there were many antichrists, heretics who denied either the divinity of Christ or His actual incarnation. "Even now" he writes "are there many antichrists." He also says, "Little children, it is the last time: and ye have heard that Antichrist shall come." (1 John 2:18). According to Matthew Henry the generality of Christians had been informed of the coming of the Antichrist. Paul’s 2nd Epistle to the Thessalonians Ch. 2:8-10 made it clear to them. He is called the Antichrist as though there were none but he, because he was so eminently above all others. He is, therefore, called "the man of sin" and "the son of perdition" and the system of which he is the head "the mystery of iniquity."

Will the Temple be Rebuilt?

Dispensationalists insist that Chapters 40-48 of Ezekiel are to be taken literally, that their fulfilment will be in the millennial kingdom, that the temple will be rebuilt and animal sacrifices are again to be offered. "Doubtless these offerings," says Scofield, "will be memorial, looking back to the cross, as the offerings under the old covenant were anticipatory, looking forward to the cross." (p. 890).

In connection with the crass carnality of such views, the Rev. Harold Dekker writes, "It is one of the plainest universal teachings of the New Testament that the sacrifices of the Mosaic economy were fulfilled in Christ and were taken away as vanishing shadows that prefigured the substance.

Paul’s warnings against a return to them are cited: "How turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, where unto ye desire again to be in bondage." "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ bath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Gal. 4:9 & 5:1).

"The Epistle to the Hebrews" says Dr. J. H. Snowden is one long and conclusive argument that the old ordinances are fulfilled and done away in Christ, "who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s; for this he did once, when he offered up himself." (7:27) (The Coming of the Lord).

There will be no further "memorial looking back to the cross" but the memorial which the Lord Jesus instituted the night in which He was betrayed and which He commanded His disciples to observe "till He come."

The glorious temple detailed in Ezekiel, chapter 40, etc., is a symbolic representation of the New Testament Church in her millennial glory, described in Old Testament language. It is not a literal temple, any more than the words " this is my body" and "this is my blood" are to be taken literally. This is the view held by the godly and eminent divines of the past. Jonathan Edwards says, " A very great and clear evidence, that the city of Jerusalem, the holy city and the temple in all its parts and measures, and its various appendages and utensils, with all its officers, services, sacrifices and ceremonies, and so all things pertaining to the ceremonial law, were typical of things appertaining to the Messiah and His church and kingdom, is that these things are evidently made use of as such, in a very particular manner in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel: that we have an account of in the nine last chapters of his prophecy. These there mentioned which are the same which were in Israel under the law, are mentioned as resemblances, figures. or symbolical representations of spiritual things. So that God has in these chapters determined, that these things are figures, symbols, or types representing the things of the Messiah’s kingdom, because here he plainly makes use of them as such." (Vol. 2, p. 674).

Is it any wonder that Dispensationalism has been described as among the sorriest in the whole history of freak exegesis?

Philip Munro says, Dispensationalism may be fascinating as a work of art, but as a revelation it rests on a foundation of sand. The entire system of dispensational teaching is modernistic in the strictest sense; it is modernism, moreover of a very pernicious sort, such that it must have a Bible of its own (i.e., the Scofield Reference Bible) for the propaganda of its peculiar doctrines since they are not in the Word of God."

In connection with the Scofield Bible it has been said; "It is a matter of great concern to many Christians that a book should exist, and be offered for sale, wherein corrupt words of mortal men are printed and set as positive statements in the midst of the Holy Word of God Almighty. Is not this an affront before God Himself? ‘Let God be true and every man a liar’ (Rom. 3:4)"

THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS

"With the destiny of Israel has always been linked that of the universal race of man. The casting away of them hath been the reconciling of the world, and the receiving of them will be life from the dead." So said the saintly Rev. John Duncan, LL.D., in one of his addresses on the subject of the evangelisation of the Jews at the Free Church General Assembly in Edinburgh in May 1860. His profound knowledge of Hebrew and of oriental languages of which he was professor, and his love for the Jews, earned him the title of "Rabbi" Duncan.

The conversion of the Jews to Christ their Messiah is recorded and set forth in both the Old and New Testaments. "For I would not, brethren," writes the Apostle Paul in Romans 11, "that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved" etc. (v. 25, 26).

"By all Israel here we are not to understand the whole Church of God, all the elect consisting of Jews and Gentiles. It is true that in Gal. 6:16 and elsewhere, the word Israel is applied in that general sense to the Church of God. But in this chapter Israel means the nation and people of the Jews. ‘All’ is used as in many other instances in a general way and here indicates a very great number, and in a manner the whole Jewish nation in a full body." So writes the eminent Netherlands divine, Hermann Witsius D.D. (1636-1708), Professor of Divinity in the Universities of Utrecht and Leyden.

"They depart from the apostle’s meaning" he continues, "who by ‘all Israel’ understand the mystical Israel, or the people of God, consisting both of Jews and Gentiles, without admitting the conversion of the whole Jewish nation to Christ, in the sense we here mentioned. Notwithstanding this may be confirmed by the following arguments. First, the apostle speaks of the Israel, to whom he ascribes his own pedigree v.1. whom he calls his flesh, that is, his kindred, v.14, and the natural branches v.21, whom he constantly distinguishes from the Gentiles; to whom he testifies, blindness has happened. All this is applicable to Israel properly so called. Secondly, he lays before us a mystery, but it was no mystery, that a very few Jews were converted to Christ together with the Gentiles; for we have daily instances of that. Thirdly, he reminds the Gentiles not to exalt over, or despise the Jews, from this argument, that, as they themselves were now taken in among the people of God, so, in like manner, the Jews were in due time to be taken in again. But if the apostle meant that the body of the Jewish nation was to continue in their hardness; and but a few of them to be saved, who, joined to the Gentiles would form a mystical Israel, the whole of the discourse would be more adapted to the commendation of the Gentiles, than of the Israelites; and encourage rather than depress the pride of the Gentiles. Fourthly, as the fall and diminishing of Israel, v.12, and their casting away, v.15, are to be understood; so likewise the receiving and saving them, for here the rules of a just opposition must be observed. But the fall, diminishing and casting away of Israel are to be understood of the generality of the Jewish nation; therefore the receiving and saving of Israel in like manner.

"To this restoration of Israel shall be joined the riches of the whole church, and as it were, life from the dead (Rom. 11:12) "Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?" and v.15 "For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" The apostle intimates that much greater and more extensive benefits shall redound to the Christian Church from the fullness and restoration of the Jews, than did to the Gentiles from their fall and diminution; greater, I say intensely, or with respect to degrees, and larger with respect to extent.

As to in tenseness or degrees, it is supposed that about the time of the conversion of the Jews, the Gentile world will be like a dead person, in a manner almost as Christ describes the church of Sardis, Rev. 3:1,2, namely, both that light of saving knowledge, and that fervent piety, and that lively and vigorous simplicity of ancient Christianity, will in a course of years be very much impaired. Many nations, which had formerly embraced the gospel with much zeal afterwards almost to be extinguished by the venom of Mahommedanism, Popery, Libertinism and Atheism would verify this prophecy; but upon the restoration of the Jews these will suddenly arise, as out of the grave; a new light will shine upon them, a new zeal be kindled up; the life of Christ be again manifested in His mystical body, more lively, perhaps, and vigorous than ever. - - -

Agreeably to which James has said, Act 15:15-17 "And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, after this I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up; that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things." The reparation of the fallen tabernacle of David signifies the restoration of true and spiritual worship among the Israelites. And when that shall come to pass, the rest of mankind, who never gave up their names to Christ. and the nations, upon which His name was formerly called. but which by their falling away lost the benefit of the Gospel will then with emulation seek the Lord.

"And what is more evident than that prophecy in Isaiah? The prophet in Ch. 59:20, 21, having foretold the restoration of Israel, according to the apostle’s commentary, immediately, in Ch. 60:1 exclaims, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee," and in v.3 "And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" etc. (The Economy of the Covenants Book 4, ch. 15).