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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 2
me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou
shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is
he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record,
that this is the Son of God. Again, the next day after, John stood, and
two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith,
behold the Lamb of God!” And the two disciples heard him speak, and
they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and
saith unto them, What seek ye? The disciples confessed that they were
seeking Christ, and that they desired to become acquainted with him,
and to be instructed by him at his home. These two disciples were
charmed with the deeply impressive, yet simple and practical, lessons
of Christ. Their hearts had never been so moved before. Andrew,
Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these disciples. He was interested
for his friends and relatives, and was anxious that they also should see
Christ, and hear for themselves his precious lessons. Andrew went
in search of his brother Simon, and with assurance claimed to have
found Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. He brought his
brother to Jesus, and as soon as Jesus looked upon him, he said, Thou
art Simon, the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by
interpretation a stone. The next day Christ selected another disciple,
Philip, and bade him follow him. Philip fully believed that Christ was
the Messiah, and began to search for others to bring them to listen
to the teachings of Christ, which had so charmed him. Then Philip
found Nathanael. He was one of the number who heard John proclaim,
“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
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He felt deeply convicted, and retired to a grove, concealed from every
human eye, and there meditated upon the announcement of John,
calling to his mind the prophecies relating to the coming of the Messiah
and his mission. He queried thus: Could this indeed be the Messiah
for whom they had so long waited, and were so desirous to see? Hope
sprang up in the heart of Nathanael that this might be the one that
would save Israel. He bowed before God and prayed that if the person
whom John had declared to be the Redeemer of the world was indeed
the promised deliverer, that it might be made known to him. The Spirit
of the Lord rested upon Nathanael in such a special manner that he
was convinced that Christ was the Messiah. While Nathanael was
praying, he heard the voice of Philip calling him, saying, “We have
found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write,