Folks, I’ve been hunting residue again, and this time I’ve come across something I believe deserves a closer look.
How many of you remember reading in your King James Bible that “the lion shall lie down with the lamb”?
Well, get your Bible and turn to Isaiah 11:6. What does it say?
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid…”
Now, I’ve heard plenty of folks dismiss the lion and lamb wording as nothing more than a popular saying. But I’ve never been satisfied with that explanation. Not when we can go back into the old books and examine what earlier writers actually said.
And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing!
Three Witnesses From the 1800s
I’ve located three publications, dating from 1844, 1863, and 1865, that contain the familiar lion and lamb wording.
But here’s what makes these particular findings so interesting. These writers didn’t simply repeat a familiar expression. They connected it with biblical prophecy and divine authority!
Our first witness is The Scottish Pulpit, Volume 4, published in 1844.
On page 407, we find these words:
“The lion shall lie down with the lamb, and the infant of days shall lead them, for the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it.”
Now, pay particular attention to those last words, “for the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it.”
That’s a mighty interesting statement, wouldn’t you agree?
Our second witness is Abiel Silver, writing in 1863.
In his book, The Holy Word in Its Own Defence, page 143, Silver introduces the passage with these words:
“We shall also see why the Lord says, ‘The lion shall lie down with the lamb, and the leopard with the kid…’”
Did you catch that?
“The Lord says.”
Silver wasn’t merely using an expression about animals getting along together. He was discussing the Word of God and attributing those words to the Lord!
Our third witness is John Cumming, writing in 1865.
In The Great Preparation; Or, Redemption Draweth Nigh, page 158, Cumming speaks of the magnificent predictions in Isaiah being fulfilled. Among those predictions, he includes:
“…that the lion shall lie down with the lamb…”
Here again, we have a nineteenth-century writer connecting the familiar expression with biblical prophecy.
Now, What Does This Prove?
Folks, I want to be careful here.
These three publications don’t, by themselves, establish what was printed in every King James Bible of their day. But they do establish something worth investigating.
They show that nineteenth-century writers were connecting the lion and lamb wording with the authority of Scripture, the Lord, and the prophecies of Isaiah.
And that’s precisely the kind of historical residue I’ve been searching for!
I’ve maintained for years that the prophecies of Daniel 7:25 and Amos 8:11–12 deserve our serious attention concerning what I call the Supernatural, Prophesied Bible Changes.
You may agree with my conclusions, or you may not. But I would encourage you to examine the evidence before dismissing it.
Watch the Video and Examine the Evidence
I’ve put together a video presenting these three historical witnesses. The references are included below so you can read the original publications for yourself.
[EMBED THE YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE]
Historical Sources
1. The Scottish Pulpit, Volume 4 (1844), page 407
https://books.google.com/books?id=Jp5VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA407
2. Abiel Silver, The Holy Word in Its Own Defence (1863), page 143
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/The_Holy_word_in_its_own_defence.._%28IA_holywordinitsown00silv%29.pdf
3. John Cumming, The Great Preparation (1865), page 158
https://books.google.com/books?id=edlNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA158
Now, don’t just take my word for it. Follow those links, examine the old books, and see what these men actually wrote.
And if you come across another old publication that attributes the lion and lamb wording to Scripture, I’d surely like to hear about it.
After all, I’m a residue hunter, and there’s still plenty of hunting to be done!