A Threefold Cord: Creation, Revelation, Inspiration, and the Purpose of the Ages
Robert B. Wallace
Table of Contents
Preface
The value of the ministry of our late brother, Mr. R. B. Wallace, of Pasadena, California, was recognized a generation ago by those who read his book, The Purpose of the Ages, and his smaller pamphlet, A Threefold Cord. The latter, though published separately, was, nevertheless, written as an introduction to the third edition of his larger book.
Since both of these writings have been out of print for some years, it was suggested that if reprinted they would be helpful to Christians in this day. Accordingly it was decided to republish both in one volume for the sake of cost and convenience, A Threefold Cord, being placed in the front of the book. The original chart has been redrawn and will be found on pages 44 and 45.
In conclusion, we quote from the author’s own prefatory remarks: “The work essays merely to gather up and collate precious ministry which has long nourished Christians. More deeply conscious than ever of its imperfection, the work is committed to the gracious care of Him who searches the heart.”
Note
R. V. refers to the Revised Version of 1885. N. Tr. refers to the New Translation by Mr. J. N. Darby.
Revelation
“God . . . hath . . . spoken” (Heb. 1:1-2).
Whence? Whither tending? What our origin and destiny? Can we know? We can. Has the Creator revealed Himself? Emphatically, He has. Thus every reflecting mind interrogates itself.
When wealth palls upon the rich; when pleasures satiate the voluptuary; when ambition has o’erleaped itself and failed to satisfy the immortal spirit, then these questions clamor for answer. Law, liberty, culture, intellectualism, science, philosophy, metaphysics, art, all pursued ad libitum, have not satisfied the soul’s hunger, but have plunged the strongest into deeper despair. All these have proved illusive. The ruling rich awaken to find themselves enslaved by the grossest material masters; awaken alas, often too late disillusioned to their sense of weakness, emptiness and absence of peace.
Groping Unbelief, Agnosticism
As the serious mind seeks for the solution, it is met by the Agnostic, who says, ‘we know nothing: we have no revelation.’ He assumes not only that man is incapable, but also that God is incompetent to make Himself known.
Rationalism
Next, the Rationalist, with the boasted hegemony of the eighteenth century, now with dying taper, says, ‘I cannot find Him.’ Truly he cannot, because his intellectual pretensions are void of moral judgment, and blind to the infinite fullness of Godhead glory.
Higher Criticism
Later, comes the Higher Critic, most to be pitied because of loudest pretensions. He offers us a document mutilated beyond recognition, yet which he tacitly admits to be a fragmentary revelation.
Modernism
Last, and boldest of all we have the Modernist. He would pull out of the scrap-heap of unproved hypotheses a derelict evolution discarded as the explanation of the physical universe and would apply it to the explanation of religion and all moral phenomena. He speaks of One, Jesus, the carpenter’s son, the Man of Nazareth, but he knows not the Lord Jesus Christ in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity. Poor purblind man, enslaved by the flattery of those who pay him tribute!
The autocracy of learning is on a par with the ignorance of the rude swain in this inquiry. The theme is serious; momentously serious. Is there no path in the fog of human verbiage and pretensions? Yes, there is. We are not left as the darkened heathen groping, “if haply they might feel after him, and find him” (Acts 17:27). Honest historians of both sacred and secular history have acknowledged that “prophecy is history pre-written”; or, as another has put it, “miracle stereotyped.”
A Priori
Equally certain it is, that revelation is the a priori of science. Science can predicate nothing except upon ascertained facts; all else is mere hypothesis. The creature is here. Whence and how did he come? Can science tell us? It cannot. Science can neither tell us the beginning nor the end of things. Revelation which has its source outside of creation, alone can tell us.
Lord Kelvin
Lord Kelvin says that “science positively affirms creative power.” It is a postulate without which science cannot proceed.
Tyndall, Huxley
Tyndall affirms that “every attempt to generate life independent of antecedent life has utterly broken down.” But biogenesis is thought moribund. Life produced by chemical action upon protoplasm is the vogue. Alas! No proof is forthcoming.
Alfred Russel Wallace—Naturalist
Alfred Russel Wallace says: “I submit that in view of actual facts of growth and organization, as here briefly outlined, and that living protoplasm has never been chemically produced, the assertion that life is due to chemical processes alone is quite unjustified. Neither the probability of such an origin, nor its possibility, has been supported by anything which can be termed scientific facts or logical reasoning.”
Alfred Watterson Mccann
Alfred Watterson McCann in “God or Gorilla,” says: “Science can assemble every element known to exist in the grain of wheat—proteins, nucleo-proteins, lecithins, phosphotides, carbo-hydrates, fats, colloids, sulphur, phosphorus, iodine, chlorine and fluorine salts of iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, sodium, silicon, including the extraordinary substances known as vitamins, but science can’t make the combination sprout in the ground. The influence of evolution on nutrition, by reason of its syntheticchemic standards, rejecting plan, purpose and providence, has already been disastrous in its effects upon civilization.” Without the parent stem we have nothing.
Biogenesis
The law of biogenesis has sealed the inorganic kingdom so that there can be no breaking through into the organic. These modern savants are not as honest as the wise magicians of Egypt who, when they could not produce life, frankly owned: “This is the finger of God” (Ex. 8:19). Huxley admits that we have no knowledge of any “link between the living and the not living.” What then? GOD. This is the very threshold whence we pass into the universe of thought and action.
Revelation, then, is the first step that meets us. To assert this is not gratuitous, inasmuch as the very nature of things demands it. What can we know, except the Creator illuminate the mind He has created? Knowledge is rooted in revelation.
Revelation: The Source of Knowledge
Faith, trust, belief, the offspring of revelation, are the transmission wires of knowledge. Would I know God? “He that cometh to God must believe that he is” (Heb. 11:6). Is it a question of the cosmos? Science has not and cannot explain whence the mechanism came, why it is there and whither it is going, nor yet what may be beyond it in the infinite vasts of space. It must be “through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Heb. 11:3). Philosophy is a proud, yet vain attempt to reach the idea of God, and shamelessly failing, has settled down complaisantly to do without Him. A little child is nearer to the path of knowledge than the philosopher. The child knows not how its eye sees or its ear hears, but it trusts sensations received. Thus all knowledge of the phenomena projected in the universe is preceded by faith in the senses. A philosopher, because he observes these phenomena, may tell us that he believes there is a God, a supreme intelligent being, but this is not to believe in Him. “I may see,” says one, “the beautiful pictures and sculptures of a great artist, but I am a stranger to him. The little child that plays with him knows his person, knows his countenance, knows his love.” This is faith passing beyond belief in a fact, to the principle of trust in a person. “Canst thou by searching find out God?” (Job 11:7). Alas, no! Unless God reveal Himself, His person remains an inscrutable mystery. But, unspeakable fact, God has broken through the darkness, “God hath spoken” (Ps. 60:6). But the god of philosophy is silent. As with the prophets of Baal, “there was no voice, nor any that answered” (1 Kings 18:26).
Innate Thirst
God has created man with a thirst insatiable at nature’s spring. Let the creature spurn, if he will, the fountain of living water, yet he cannot rid himself of this thirst. “He cannot,” says one, “divest himself of the nature with which God has endowed him; so there is still within man the same absolute and utter necessity for a revelation of God from on high. It is impossible for him to find in nature, history, or within himself that authoritative, living, and clear revelation and unfolding of the mind of God in which alone light and life can be brought to him.”
The World the Place for Issue of Moral Principles
Revelation is not measurable by the standards of science, nor is philosophy able to guess its secrets. We can interpret nothing in time, except in the light of eternity. There is not, nor can there be, in the moral universe a single question without relation to revelation, and any philosophy which ignores this is essentially worthless. “Philosophy—senseless, narrow-minded, and even essentially stupid in its arguments—would have it that the world is too small for God thus to expend Himself on an impotent being like man, on that which is but a mere point in an immense universe. Contemptible folly! As if the material extent of the theatre were the measure of the moral manifestations wrought upon it, and the war of principles which is there brought to an issue. That which takes place in this world is the spectacle that unfolds to all the intelligences of the universe the ways, and the character and the will of God.” I cannot even measure who or what in His moral being God ought to be, nor how He may make Himself known; all this is from Himself. Innate in me is that which yearns to know Him. When He created me He put it there.
Alfred Russel Wallace
“To call the spiritual nature of man a by-product is a jest too big for this little world,” says Alfred Russel Wallace.
“I Am”
I am dependent upon a divine revelation, and such must stream into my soul. This is my starting point. Yes! There is a God. One of His names is “I AM” (Ex. 3:14). He must be omnipotent, otherwise something exterior must dominate Him. He must be omniscient, and so He is, for “the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed” (1 Sam. 2:3). Is the reader’s interest aroused to know such a God? Listen! “In order that I may know God—the God who has condescended to interpose in the affairs of this world—mere light is not enough.
God Must Be Known in His Ways
“He must be known, not only as He is in His nature, although that is the essential and principal thing, but as He has revealed Himself in the totality of His ways; in those details in which our little narrow hearts can learn His faithful, patient, condescending love; in those dealings which develop the abstract idea of His wisdom, so as to render it accessible to our limited intelligence, which can trace in it things which have been realized amongst men — although entirely above and beyond all their provision, but which have been declared by God, so that we know them to be of Him. Above all, God has been pleased to connect Himself in a special way with men in all these things; marvelous privilege of His feeble creature!”
Revealed Relationships of God
Nor is it sufficient that God should reveal Himself to us as our Creator. He has entered into relationship with man under a fourfold aspect, viz.:
1. El Shaddai: God Almighty, abstractedly as such — with the patriarchs, (Gen. 17).
2. JEHOVAH: LORD, or better in the French, l’Eternel; the covenant God — with Israel, (Ex. 6:3).
3. Father: A New Testament name; Abba, Father — with Christians, (John 17; Gal. 4:6).
4. El Elyon: Most High; God’s millennial name, (Gen. 14:18).
In Exodus 6:2-3, we read: “And Elohim (God primary — the Trinity) spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am JEHOVAH (LORD): And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of El Shaddai (Almighty, Able One), but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” These names with their various combinations are brought in suitably throughout Scripture in accordance with the moral relationship and responsibility contemplated.
Let us not be robbed by this arid, soul-shriveling, materialistic age of the initial postulate of all knowledge, viz.: that the Creator has revealed Himself to man, man made after His own “likeness” and “in his own image” (Gen. 1:26-27).
Pitiful Unbelief
Apropos to this subject of revelation, we quote from a highly spiritually illuminated mind: “The unbeliever is consoled by flattering himself that there is nothing beyond his reach, because he reduces everything to the limits of his own mind. Nothing appears to me more pitiful than this unbelief, which pretends that there is nothing in the moral and intellectual spheres beyond the thoughts of man, and which denies man’s capacity to receive light from a more exalted mind — the only thing that raises man above himself, while at the same time rendering him morally excellent, by making him humble through the sense of superiority in another. Blessed be God, that some are to be found who have profited by the grace which has communicated to man of His perfect wisdom!”
Inspiration
We assert then boldly, that we have a divine revelation from God; that it is complete and perfect. Knowledge demands it; reason approves it; universal experience corroborates it. The medium of this revelation is His written Word, the Bible (He Biblos — The Book), infallibly inspired, God-breathed, verbatim et punctatim et literatim.
The Inerrant Word
Any omissions or interpolations on the part of copyists have long since been discovered and corrected, so that with this we can confidently say that in our good King James version, supplemented by four or five later good translations, supported by valuable biblical research, we have in our hands the inerrant Word, the revealed mind of God. But aside from this, whatever may be the status of translations committed to the responsibility of man, the criteria, the grand originals, remain the same. They are unchanged in the slightest jot. We believe that God has given us not only this immutable standard of knowledge and moral judgment, but that He has also “kept by the power of God” the human vessels, the translators. Plenary inspiration is insufficient to meet the case, the Lord Himself affirms the Scriptures to be the ipissima verba (the very words themselves) of the Deity, the Godhead. Our Lord quoted freely from the Septuagint version without criticism or hesitation. This version is still extant.
Modernism
I am bound, therefore, to believe the whole Bible as a unit, and not, as the arrogant, presumptuous Modernist, select what I shall believe and what I shall not. A most audacious statement has recently appeared from the pen of perhaps the oldest active college professor in America to the effect that Modernists use the Old Testament merely in a sort of selective way and that it was just this way that Jesus used it.
Adolph Saphir
In contrast to this Adolph Saphir, that mighty man of God, remarks: “I do not dread pagans, I do not dread infidels, I do not dread sceptics. I dread the false, compromising and conciliatory modern teaching in our churches.” If I essay to criticize the Bible, I flatter myself that I am wiser than the matter it contains. I must believe it in toto.
No Reasonable Miracle
I must believe every miracle, however unreasonable, for as one has well remarked: “there are no reasonable miracles.” “I affirm that a man cannot honor Christ without acknowledging His deity. To do otherwise is to make God a liar. The Scriptures are the permanent expression of the mind and will of God, furnished as such with His authority. They are the expression of His own thoughts. It is not only that the truth is given in them by inspiration, they are inspired.”
The Word Immutable
The canon of Scripture is absolutely closed with the sixty-six books as we have them. There is no other writing bearing the divine imprimatur. Human writings change, are revised, enlarged and made adaptable to changing thought with the march of time. Conspicuously in evidence is the “revised” Key, and the ever-changing vade mecum of modern cults. Not so the Bible! It is our only and unvarying standard of moral judgment. Truth is eternal. It is not subject to development. We are constantly recalled to it. It is, per se, that which meets the need of every human heart, of every age. I may not judge it. It judges me. It is a “discerner (kritikos—i.e.: a critic, able to judge) of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Audacious, that men should essay to debate with the Truth; that intellectual pretensions should discuss Him, weighing Him in their own balances! “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
Unity of Design
The Spirit-taught mind finds one grand unity of plan and purpose throughout the Book. This is as clear as “evident design” in creation. Whose plan? Whose purpose? The believer can say, ‘my Father’s plan.’ “There are two great scenes — heaven and earth; and as to them two great objects of revelation under Christ — the Church and glorified saints in heavenly places, and the Jews in earthly; the one reigning with Christ, the others reigned over, as is all the world, by Him as Son of man, raised and glorified; with the Father’s house, where He is gone, as our home; one being the expression of the sovereign grace which has put us into the same glory as the Son of God; the other, the government of this world.”
Internal Evidence
Such expressions as: “God said” — “JEHOVAH spake” “Thus saith JEHOVAH” — “The Holy Ghost thus signifying”; whence the origin of such language if not a heavenly oracle? Christ and His apostles vouched for the very same Scripture that we have. The Lord says (John 10:35): “the Scripture cannot be broken.” He affirms of Moses: “He wrote of me” (John 5:46). “Moses and all the prophets” formed the basis of exposition concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). In Matthew 24:15, “Daniel the prophet” is accredited. Isaiah is quoted: “Well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying” (Matt. 15:7). Elijah and Elisha, and therefore the books of Kings, are accepted, being cited in Luke 4:25-27. The references are too numerous to record, suffice it to add concerning Jonah, that the Lord puts him at the very forefront of His testimony (cf. Matt. 12:39-41; Luke 11:32). The Apostles, by their constant reference to the Old Testament, own its authority. Note how unequivocally Peter accepts the account of the flood (2 Pet. 2:5).
Scripture Complete and Entire
The Apostle Paul, while not the last writer, was nevertheless used to complete (plerosai, to fill up) as to doctrine, the Word of God (cf. Colossians 1:25, N. Tr.). This is an important statement with regard to the “exclusive authority of the written Word, which shows that its totality already exists, demonstrated by the subjects which are entirely completed, to the exclusion of others which people may seek to introduce. The circle of truths which God has to treat, in order to reveal to us the glory of Christ, and to give us complete instruction according to His wisdom, is entire.”
The proofs of verbal inspiration are internal, self-authenticating and positive, and are as numerous as the verba composing them. Why light a candle to see if the sun is shining? It is not our purpose here to write a lengthy treatise upon inspiration. Permit us, however, to allude to one or two lines of proof. First, that which is known as the “numerical miracle.”
The Number “Seven”
All students of Scripture know the significance of the complete and perfect number “seven”, as constantly used throughout the Bible. We excerpt the following from a well-known scholar writing in the “New York World.” Note! Text cited — Greek edition of the New Testament, Westcott and Hort.
“The first seventeen verses of the New Testament contain the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The genealogy consists of two parts. Verses 1-11 Contain the genealogy of Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, to the captivity, when the Jews ceased to be an independent people. Verses 12-17 contain the genealogy from the captivity to Christ. Let us examine the first part of this genealogy.
“Its vocabulary has 49 words, or 7 sevens, of which 42, or 6 sevens, are nouns; and 7 are not nouns. Of the 42 nouns, 35, or 5 sevens, are proper names, and 7 are common nouns. Of the 35 proper names, 28, or 4 sevens, are male ancestors of Jesus, and 7 are not.
“The 49 words of the vocabulary are distributed alphabetically thus: Words under the first five letters of the Greek alphabet are 21 in number, or 3 sevens; under the second five letters, 14, or 2 sevens; under the next eleven letters, also 14, or 2 sevens. Again: These words have 266 letters, or 38 sevens, and these also are distributed alphabetically, not at random, but by sevens; thus words under the first three letters have 84 letters, 12 sevens; under the fourth letter, 7; under the fifth and sixth, 21, or 3 sevens; under the eighth, 70, or 10 sevens; under the tenth, eleventh and twelfth, 21, or 3 sevens; under the thirteenth, 7; under the fifteenth to the twenty-first, 49, or 7 sevens: under the twenty-second, 7. It is thus clear that this part of the genealogy is constructed on an elaborate design of sevens.
The Numerical Miracle
“Let us now turn to the genealogy as a whole. I will not weary your readers with recounting all the numerical phenomena displayed therein. Pages alone would exhaust them. I will point out only one feature. The Greeks had no figures, but used instead the letters of their alphabet. Their first letter stood for 1; their second for 2, etc. Every Greek word is thus an arithmetical sum obtained by adding the value of its letters. The vocabulary of the entire genealogy contains 72 words. If we write its numerical value against each of these 72 words, and add them, we obtain for their sum 42,364, or 6,052 sevens; and these 6,052 sevens are distributed alphabetically, not at random, but by sevens.
“It is thus clear that not only are the first eleven verses of this genealogy constructed on an elaborate design of sevens, but the entire genealogy is also thus constructed. One other feature: The 72 vocabulary words of this genealogy occur in 90 forms. If we add the numerical values of these 90 forms we get 54,075, or 7,725 sevens, with corresponding distribution into 7 alphabetical groups of sevens.
“There is not however a single paragraph out of the hundreds in Matthew that is constructed on exactly the same plan, only with each additional paragraph the difficulty of constructing it increases, not in arithmetical, but in geometrical progression. For he contrives to write his paragraphs so as to develop constantly fixed numeric relations to what has gone before and what follows.
Fixed Numeric Relations
“It happens, however, to be an additional fact that Luke’s gospel contains exactly the same phenomena as those of Matthew and Mark; and so does John, and so does James, and Peter and Jude and Paul.
Literal Verbal Inspiration
“The phenomena are there, and there is no human way of explaining them. But this means literal verbal inspiration of every jot and tittle of the New Testament. There remains only to be added that by precisely the same kind of evidence the Hebrew Old Testament is proved to be equally inspired.”
The writer has proved to his entire satisfaction the first thirteen steps in the above “numerical” test. As one proceeds the process becomes more and more involved and more difficult to follow, but we doubt not the facts are all as stated.
Tested by Scholars
Before passing from this strange phenomenon, the “numerical miracle”, it may be of interest to know that nine noted rationalists were invited to disprove the above unique facts. Among those chosen were three university presidents, two theological professors of the liberal school, three so-called divines representing three different denominations, and the editor of a secular magazine. These men all retired abashed and bewildered, owning the phenomena were present and acknowledging their inability to refute such strange facts.
Apocrypha Spurious
These miraculous phenomena applied to test the Apocrypha, prove it to be a hopeless jumble. No other writings can be produced to show any such design. Incidentally, also, we would mention that the Apocryphal Gospels, less frequently heard of, are utter nonsense. A brief incident cited should establish this: “One tells us that Jesus was, as a child, the death of so many who meddled with Him, that His mother kept Him in the house at last. He was making mud birds and ponds one Sabbath, and a big boy came and broke His ponds. The birds took life and flew away, and the Child said, ‘As you have dried my ponds, you will be dried up’; and so he dried up and died.” Such twaddle provokes disgust.
Dr. Kitto
Let us now note a remarkable instance confirming inspiration as to two fundamental doctrines of Scripture, viz.; the fall, and the atonement. The following peculiar combination is pointed out by the famous biblical encyclopedist Dr. Kitto: “In speaking of the meaning of prophetic names, however, the most extraordinary example, perhaps, that can be produced from any book, either ancient or modern, is the following, which is to be found in the fifth chapter of Genesis:
Doctrines in Relation to Inspiration
The names of the ten antediluvian patriarchs, from Adam to Noah inclusive, are there given; and when these ten names are literally translated and placed in the order in which they occur, they form altogether the following very remarkable sentence in English: Man, appointed, miserable, lamenting, the God of glory, shall descend, to instruct, His death sends, to the afflicted, consolation.”
What shall we answer to the prophetic evidence? Let us cite a few instances of such evidence.
Babylon
Babylon: This was the first postdiluvian city, older even than Nineveh, “the glory of kingdoms” (Isa. 13:19), “the praise of the whole earth” (Jer. 51:41), but it has lain in oblivion for more than two millenniums. How could a city with walls thirty-five feet high, so wide that six chariots could go abreast on the top, and with approaches closed by an hundred gates of solid brass, as told us by Herodotus, be so utterly destroyed? Even “their very ruins have been ruined,” says the great Newton. Jehovah declared her doom. Isaiah writing one hundred years before Jeremiah, and the latter less than sixty years before Babylon fell, name the nations, their very commander’s name, the time and the manner of its utter destruction, in passages too numerous to quote. The heathen historians, Herodotus and Xenophon, living two hundred and fifty and three hundred and fifty years, respectively, later, than Isaiah, confirm in detail these facts as history.
Nineveh, Diodorus
Nineveh: Founded shortly after Babylon by the ancient son of Shem, Asshur (cf. Gen. 10:11). This city, as Diodorus Siculus informs us, was sixty miles around, with walls a hundred feet high. The prophet Nahum, and one hundred years later, the prophet Zechariah, both foretold its utter overthrow. Diodorus confirms the facts as history, utterly ignorant of the prophecy.
Egypt and Tyre
The same can be said of ancient Tyre and of Egypt. The extirpation of the Edomites, and the miraculous preservation of the Jews minutely detailed in prophecy, are other proofs unanswerable. Foreknowledge belongs only to the Creator. He has projected into the future through prophets, such of His mind as infinite wisdom has seen fit. “ . . . who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord?” (Isa. 45:21).
Family of Judah
The history of the tribe of Judah and of the family of David, with its introduction of Ruth, the Moabitess, into the line, all with reference to the Messiah, is so completely written centuries in advance as to preclude any chance of fraud.
Josiah
So it is with regard to Josiah. The prediction was delivered about three hundred years before Josiah was born, yet during all these years no one gave his son the name, or assumed it himself, or attempted to fulfill the prophecy. In the appointed time the fulfillment arrived.
Unbroken Record of Israel’s History
Speaking of the miracle of the preservation of Israel and the history of this remarkable nation, — here we have a record preserved with almost modern accuracy down to date, while but a few fragments rescued from the common decay and oblivion, record a shadowy past of other ancients. We yet find pictures on the lore-covered walls of the Pharaohs, showing the taskmasters directing the brick-making by the Israelites, as recorded by Moses in the book of Exodus.
Prof. Goldwin Smith
The Word is unique. It needs no defense. “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn” (Isa. 54:17).
Professor Goldwin Smith, the noted Canadian historian, tells us how the Reformation was an upheaval which shook down the whole fabric of medieval religion, but, he adds, “it left the Bible unshaken, and men might feel that adamant was still under their feet.” The prophet says: “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?” (Jer. 8:9).
Bible the Only Book Universally Attacked
Will the Higher Critics explain why it is that the Bible is the only book in the world universally attacked by them? Other books have escaped this destructive criticism, yet the books have utterly perished. The Bible has not. It is still with us. The solution of the inexplicable fact lies in the “antagonist will” that would eliminate God in order to leave a place for human glory. This holy Book does not lend itself to the vanity and pride of man, nor to the carnality of the human heart. The persistence of the Book should be fact sufficient to cover such critics with chagrin and shame, and drive them into perpetual hiding. They are angry waves, but God has set the bounds and their foaming shame can but return upon their own heads.
Soldiers and Sailors Supplied in Nineteen Languages With Scripture
Will these men also tell us how and why it was that the sailors and soldiers during the Great War were supplied with copies of the New Testament and other portions of Scripture in nineteen different languages? Why not Shakespeare? In these days when men are drifting out of the old roadstead we need strong witnesses to bring them back to the old anchorage, the infallible Word of God, the only sure mooring for the soul. Do you trust this sacred Word? Do you believe that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21); that they wrote not out of the depths of their own prescience or knowledge, but out of the depths of God as unfolded to them by the Holy Ghost?
Union of Motive and Inspiration
“The union of motive and inspiration, which infidels have endeavored to set in opposition to each other, is found in every page of the Word. Moreover, the two things are only incompatible to the narrow mind of those who are unacquainted with the ways of God. Cannot God impart motives, and through these motives engage a man to undertake some task, and then direct him, perfectly and absolutely, in all that he does?” Truly He can! “Moved by the Holy Ghost” is the divine testimony. It is well to notice that the apostle Paul had spiritual thoughts as a man, but he carefully distinguishes such thoughts from inspiration.
Age of the Book
This matchless Book has already measured about six millenniums. Its writings required about sixteen hundred years. Some Assyriologists consider Hammurabi the same person as Amraphel of Genesis 14:1. Hammurabi’s code of righteousness is given date of about 2700 B.C. If the stele upon which these cuneiform petroglyphs appear was written in his reign, the writing would seem to antedate the Mosaic record. However, it is too hazy both as to identity of the person, and the date, to invalidate the claim that the Bible is the oldest of all human records. Its earliest book was written about thirty-five hundred years ago. It thus antedates by nearly one thousand years any other historical records.
Herodotus, Thucydides, Ezra and Nehemiah
Herodotus and Thucydides, the oldest of profane historians whose writings have come down to our times, were contemporary with Ezra and Nehemiah, the last of the Old Testament writers. From Moses to Ezra is about one thousand years, but even the very ancient poems of Homer and Hesiod were written six hundred years later than the times of Moses.
Text Unaltered Throughout the Centuries
It is the one Book whose original text no ruthless hand throughout the centuries has dared to alter. The Jews, who were the custodians of the holy records, the Old Testament, have never dared to add a line of historical narrative since the death of Malachi, their last prophet. Race, language, provincialism and time limits are all unknown to it. There are over eleven hundred and fifty manuscripts extant, all written in the original language and are uncorrupted and unchanged. A copy of the Pentateuch was made by the Samaritans after the Babylonian captivity about five hundred years before Christ.
Septuagint or Alexandrian Version
The Septuagint version (Greek translation of the Old Testament) was written nearly three hundred years before Christ. Jezebel, Ahab’s wicked queen, attempted utter destruction of the prophets of the LORD and with them necessarily the sacred writings. Antiochus Epiphanes in the days of the Maccabees slew forty thousand of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, enslaving as many more and ordered the death penalty for anyone found with the Book of the Law. The French Revolution tried to destroy the Word. Today, Russian Bolshevism seeks to obliterate, not only the Word, but also to efface the name of Almighty God from written record and from memory.
Tacitus and Pliny
As early as the second century we have the heathen writers, Tacitus and Pliny, noting that there were already multitudes of Christians in the world, thus evidencing the rapid dissemination of the Truth. Many millions of copies of the Holy Scriptures are in circulation today, while with the exception of a few clay tablets, some of which are only partially deciphered, not a single writing of the most flourishing nations of the world has come down to us. The ark may fall into the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines, but they, cannot harm it. They can do nothing with it, “for we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (2 Cor. 13:8). Sooner or later they must return it to its own people.
Bible First Real Book Form Printed
Remember that the Bible, aside, perhaps from some primitive Chinese records, was the first book ever printed. Records of the three great Bible Societies at the close of 1923 show in round numbers 500,000,000 volumes, whole or portions of the Scriptures printed.
More Than 600,000,000 Volumes
It is therefore evident that considerably more than 600,000,000 volumes of the Word of God have been printed and circulated since the art of printing was invented. During the period of the Great War, 1914-1919, the average annual issue of the American Bible Society alone, was 5,870,000; a production of eleven volumes every minute, day and night, for the entire period. For the past ten years there has appeared in some new language, a complete book of the Bible every six weeks. The Word of God, entire or in portions, is now (1926), printed in more than 835 languages and dialects, some of which are no longer spoken. There are also in circulation six different embossed forms for the blind.
“Pilgrim’s Progress”
“Pilgrim’s Progress”, written by the devout Bunyan, has been printed in at least 107 languages, but where is there any other human production which as a complete work has reached even 25 languages? These in their turn will be forgotten, “but the word of the Lord endureth forever” (1 Peter 1:25). Tyranny, tradition, or heresy, however unrelenting, binding or malicious, have all been unable to choke the stream of Truth. “That the Book”, as one observes, “should stand until this day, amid the wreck of all that is human, without the alteration of one sentence so as to change the doctrine taught therein, surely is a singular providence claiming our attention.”
The “Logos”
The living exponent of the Book is the Lord Jesus Christ: “The Word” (the Logos) “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14, N. Tr.). We say reverently, that His inscrutable Person stands or falls with the Book. “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). What a life this heavenly stranger lived among us!
The Infidel Rousseau
Even the infidel Rousseau said: “It would have been a greater miracle for man to invent such a life as Christ’s, than to be it.” This is true, but of greater import to us is His death. His matchless Person has been described by a great teacher in most reverent language, as follows: “Jesus had no sin. Although perfectly man, every thought and feeling and inward motion was holy in Jesus: Not only not a flaw in His ways was ever seen, but not a stain in His nature:
Orthodoxy as to the Person of the Christ
“Whatever men reason or dream, He was as pure humanly as divinely; and this may serve to show us the all-importance of holding fast what men call orthodoxy as to His Person. I shall yield to none in jealousy for it, and loyally maintain that it is of the substance and essence of the faith of God’s elect that we should confess the immaculate purity of His humanity, just as much as the reality of His assumption of our nature. Assuredly He did take the proper manhood of His mother, but He never took manhood in the state of His mother, but as the body prepared for Him, by the Holy Ghost, who expelled every taint of otherwise transmitted evil. In His mother that nature was under the taint of sin: She was fallen, as well as others naturally begotten and born in Adam’s line. In Him, it was not so; and in order that it might not be so, we learn in God’s Word that He was not begotten in a merely natural generation, which would have perpetuated the corruption of the nature and have linked Jesus with the fall; but by the power of the Holy Ghost He and He alone was born of a woman without a human father. Consequently, as the Son was necessarily pure, as pure as the Father in His own proper divine nature, so also in the human nature which He received from His mother: Both the divine and the human were found forever afterward joined in the one and the same Person — The Word made flesh.”
Belief in a Person
It is well to pause and ask ourselves — How do we understand this transcendent mystery of Godliness; the union of deity and humanity: “God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16)? It will not avail me anything to say that I believe there is a God; “the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). I must believe in Him; own Him; obey Him. All creation — demons, bodies and souls of men, the grave, winds and waves, have yielded enforced homage. I may yield in His grace, but if not, let me remember that as they cried before Joseph, “Bow the knee,” so at the name of Jesus every knee must shortly bow (cf. Gen. 41:43; Phil. 2:10).
The God of Philosophy Not the God of Revelation and Inspiration
The philosopher tells us of a god who at one time created forces, enacted laws and set in motion the machine which we call nature, and now as one imminent and resident in nature, complacently views the machine running itself; which indeed regards Him merely as the spring of the universal machine. This is not the God of revelation nor of inspiration. It is merely veiled pantheism. God is more than merely the great cause of things, or a being contemplating with satisfaction his handiwork: He is One who can, and does, interrupt the course of nature at His will. Thus it is we say that “prophecy is God’s interference by His word; miracle, by the acts of His power.” Inspiration is the greatest miracle aside from Creation.
Fall of Jerusalem Predicted 600 Years in Advance
As to prophecy: Daniel foretold the destruction of Jerusalem more than six hundred years in advance (cf. Dan. 9:26). Our Lord Jesus Christ adds particulars to the facts concerning the fall of the city, thus: “Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another” (Luke 19:43-44).
Josephus
Josephus, the famous Jewish historian, born at Jerusalem about A. D. 37, and an eye-witness of the siege of Jerusalem, relates that Titus did dig a trench and throw up a rampart of nearly five miles in circuit, with thirteen castles and forts, in order to prevent the escape of the inhabitants.
Miracles—Return of the Ark
As to miracle: The Philistines in returning the ark, “took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: and they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, . . . and the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went” (1 Sam. 6:10-12). How contrary to the instincts of nature!
Ravens Feed Elijah
Again: “He who stills the raven’s clamorous nest”, as the poet says, restrained the appetites of these carniverous birds while they carried flesh to Elijah the prophet. This also, against the laws of nature. Rather let us state the truth that it was not the abrogation of any natural law, but plainly Omnipotence superseding these laws. Miracles in no way alter the principles upon which God acts, they merely accentuate them.
“The Sun Stood Still”
Once at the voice of a man, “the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, . . . and hasted not to go down about a whole day” (Joshua 10:13). Infidelity scoffs. Faith adores. The point is not so much that God interrupted the course of nature, as that He interfered on behalf of His people, and it is especially emphasized that “the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man” (Joshua 10:14). Man, His highest creature, holds a place in the loving, gracious attention of the Creator, not accorded the mere works of His physical creation. As easy for Him to stay these heavenly bodies as to create them! All His mighty acts and counsels proceed in view of the “second man” (1 Cor. 15:47). “All things were created by him, and for him” (Col. 1:16). “For thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11).
Dial of Ahaz
Again: At the request of a man the shadow was turned back ten steps on the dial of Ahaz. “He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down” (2 Kings 20:11).
Funeral Halted
Again: God, manifest in the flesh, halted the procession at the gate of Nain, full well knowing the yearning of a widow’s heart, though unexpressed, and with that word— “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise” (Luke 7:14-15), gave back the son to a poor sorrowing mother. Matchless, unspeakable, transcendent sympathy!
Peter Walks on the Sea
Or, as He traversed the raging sea to meet a poor fisherman as “he walked on the water, to go to Jesus” (Matt. 14:29)! The same One who in an untimely hour of day at Calvary, enshrouded the earth in three hours of darkness!
“I AM”
Yes, He is a Person, communicating His gracious mind and purpose to His own, and interrupting, superseding or suspending by His own will the laws of nature on behalf of His own. In Exodus 3:14, He announces Himself as “I AM.” John 4:24, says of Him, “God is a Spirit”: i.e., God, a Spirit, is—exists; but there is far more than this implied in this passage, there is divine action in grace spoken of, and so the Father is brought in as the One who demands worship, which can only be rendered in the spirit of known and owned sonship, the true relationship of every believer. “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6).
Fallacy of Immanence of God in Nature
The “immanence of God in nature”, which views Him as divorced from His own will; from His own sovereign choice; that takes Him out of His dwelling in the light unapproachable, separated from the works of His hand by an unbridged chasm, is only exceeded in effrontery by that modern sophistry, the “immanence of God in man.” No! He is not some all-pervasive, pantheistic essence. He is the Eternal Self-existing One, “sustaining in Himself, and creating all else.” In the sense that: “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28) is given Him His true place as Creator and Sustainer apart from the works of creation. How bold the creature to essay to judge God Himself!
Human Reason
That self-exaltation which dethrones God in the soul and exalts human reason, which would deify the mind! It is just this self-exaltation of man to the status of deity that has reduced modern Christianity to the dead-level of weakness.
Athens
Athens in the palmy days of Grecian culture was above all other cities steeped in polytheism. Even Socrates, the greatest of ancient philosophers, failed to produce the slightest change in her manners and customs.
Socrates and Paul
How different in this city when, five hundred years later, the grace of God wrought through the apostle Paul so mightily that the Areopagite Dionysius, one of the judges of the city, turned to Christ from paganism (cf. Acts 17:34).
Corinth
The same free mighty grace wrought at Corinth, a city sunk in the deepest moral dereliction. “Philosophy and vain deceit” cannot elevate the soul.
Is there a real honest desire for evidence of the divine authority of the holy Scriptures, the written Word? The absolute and sine qua non condition is to have a subject mind. “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17). “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the LORD” (Ps. 107:43).
Creation
General Laws
The God of revelation and inspiration is also the God of creation. Creation is the greatest miracle; inspiration the next. It is “the intervention of God’s will and power to produce that which would not have been without it.” There are general laws which express the constant operation of God’s will, but which cannot preclude its action. “Denial of action independent of general laws, denies Christianity altogether; for resurrection is not a general law nor natural sequence.”
Fixed Law
What is the evidence of fixed law in creation? One evidence is the constant reproduction and reappearance of species. The genus is fixed, and so within certain limitations is the species, its progeny. How then reconcile “fixed law” with evolution?
Faith the Unvarying Method
The unvarying method by which the Creator communicates His mind to His creature, is the principle of faith. “Reason cannot ascend from nature to nature’s God. The most comprehensive observation of things seen, that is, phenomena, of which we can take cognizance, and the most minute analysis of things, to the most remote and simple elements, leave the question of creation, or the origin of things, perfectly untouched and unapproached. The step from matter to mind, and from things which appear to that which is the cause, spring, origin of all, is one which reason cannot take. God reveals it; we believe it; science cannot rise to the contemplation of the original, free and infinite cause of all things.”
Faith excludes the hypothesis that things visible were developed out of things phenomenal, and so divine revelation bursts upon us in a majestic manner, thus: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). This asserts the creative authorship of God—nothing more. Whatever happened in between this creation and the present cosmos, forms no part of revelation. The Eternal Spirit who indited the Word states the fact without apology. Why should the Sovereign of the universe do otherwise?
Error of Eternity of Matter
The statement “God created”, in the briefest sentence dissolves the philosophic error of the “eternity of matter” and the “forces of nature.” These are mere phrases to get rid of God. Such hypotheses are not only untrue and impossible, but the fact of “eternity” cannot be grasped by the finite mind. What sort of explanation then could science offer? Science enunciates a law that there is no method known to mankind whereby matter can either be created or destroyed. It is possible to control it within limits and to transmute it into many and varied forms. What does this mean? It simply means that at a point designated in the Bible as “in the beginning”, original creation was effected by means and processes wholly unknown and not now in operation. “The works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Heb. 4:3).
Universe Not Born of Necessity
The vast universe about us was not born of necessity, but called into being by the voice of God. “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Ps. 33:6). Man can assemble materials; God alone can create. “So that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Heb. 11:3).
Causa Causans
Science says: “There must be a universal cause”, and reason confirms it, but science too often ignores the great Causa Causans, substituting some fortuitous phantom, self-created microscopic spherule, original spore or protoplasm, for the living, omnipotent, beneficent being, the ETERNAL GOD. Fixed law evidences causation. Existence exclusive of Deity was caused. Causes had a cause.
Antecedent
What is the antecedent? “In the beginning WAS the WORD” (John 1:1) en — expressive of absolute, eternal uncreated existence. “Existence cannot be said to be a consequent from an antecedent, nor even from fixed laws.” His uncreated Person is expressed by esti, or ho — on, not a creature who begins, as ginetai, but exists in Himself. When speaking of His works we read, “All things were made by him” (John 1:3); then we get egeneto — to become, to be made. While the work of creation is attributed to the Son, yet the three Persons in the Godhead were present in council. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26).
Trinity
How the truth of the trinity pervades Scripture! “The man is become as one of us” (Gen. 3:22). “Let us go down” (Gen. 11:7). “Who will go for us?” (Isa. 6:8). “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Isa. 6:3), Trisagion—of the trinity.
The Dateless Past
This creation “in the beginning” was anterior to the advent of man. Hebrew scholars affirm that the expression signifies a time so remote that the finite mind can form no time conception of it. The dateless past leaves room for an explanation of all the geological ages, if we accept the categories of geology. Geology claims a beginning to man, and farther back a beginning to animals. It asserts a beginning to the universe. In this, science is in accordance with the Word of God. Ascending from this beginning postulated by science, we may range through the ages, viewing forms of life from the eozoon of the Laurentian rocks, to mammalia, the fauna of the earth as it is now.
“In the Beginning”
Scripture nowhere asserts that this marvelous, ordered system, was created or brought into being in six days, but it does say that “in the beginning” God created it.
Creation Precipitated Into a State of Chaos
The infinite course of eternity is interrupted, so to speak, at the close of Genesis 1:1, and we view the earth, that part of the limitless universe with which we are immediately connected, lying in a state of chaos—formless and void, swept by the darkness of impenetrable night. This early divine handiwork was created “not a waste” (Isa. 45:18, R. V.), but it became such. The original words of Genesis 1:2, “without form and void” are to-hu—wasteness, and bo-hu—emptiness. The creation fresh from the divine hand was doubtless beautiful and orderly, for “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Cor. 14:33). The Hebrew verb “was”, in Gen. 1:2, is hoyssah, and is translated “became” in many other passages of Scripture (e.g., Lam. 1:1). Why, then, did the earth become waste and void? It occurred to fulfill some inscrutable divine purpose. Just why it was precipitated into this chaotic condition we are not told; faith owns the fact.
Revelation and Geology in Harmony
Geology may traverse aeons upon aeons of stratified rocks, the graves of once living organisms over which death has asserted its relentless sway, and all her carefully ascertained findings of fact will be seen to be in perfect accord with Holy Scripture. The one is His work; the other is His Word, and He “cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). We may not here, however, admit deductions and hypotheses.
Gladstone and Prof. Dana
Mr. Gladstone and Professor Dana both assert that the first chapter of Genesis is in perfect accord with science, while Professor Huxley admits no dictum of higher authority than that of Professor Dana. It is hopelessly puerile when the truly great men of science have not only acknowledged “evident design”, but have bowed reverently to such beneficence, to hear traffickers and sophists dilate upon protoplasmic theories of creation.
Great Cataclysm Prior to Man
According to Genesis 1:2, and prior to the advent of man, the earth experienced an unexplained cataclysm. We know that subsequent to the appearance of man, the flood supervened and swept the world of the ungodly, God preserving the eight righteous souls in the ark to form the nucleus of the renewed earth. From a mere physical standpoint, the results of this catastrophe, monumental as they were, are insignificant when compared with what happened before man was put upon the scene.
Many Organisms Perished
The facts of geology clearly point to “rocks igneous, stratified and metamorphosed; and of organized natures, vegetable and animal from the lower order to higher, short of man, and those animals which accompany his appearance on the earth; to whole groups of those organisms in vast abundance coming to an end, and others quite distinct succeeding, and extinguished in their turn.” Verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1, are merely preparatory and have to do with the original cosmos, and are quite apart from what follows in Verse 3 et seq., the age of man. These vast creatorial works may have antedated Adam’s world by millions of years, but we have their history preserved to us in stone.
Geology Shifting From the a Priori Reasoning
Just here we would call attention to a growing tendency on the part of modern science to throw into the discard much of the old a priori meta-physical reasoning with regard to geology. In support of this we quote the following as to the “successive ages” theory: “Many genera, often whole tribes of animals, are found as fossils only in the oldest rocks and have skipped all the others, though found in comparative abundance in our modern world. Thousands of modern living kinds of plants and animals are found in the fossil state, man included, and no one of them can be proved to have lived for a period of time alone and before others. The theory of definite successive ages, with the forms of life appearing on earth in a precise and invariable order, is dead for all coming time for every man who has had a chance to examine the evidence; for instance, fossil horses to illustrate some peculiar theory of just how organic development has occurred. One might just as well arrange the modern dogs from the little spaniel to the St. Bernard, for the geological series is just as artificial as would be this of the dogs.” The above shows clearly how artificial the geological categories are relating to the gradual and successive development of organic nature. Science can pursue the series and trace it, existing, but cannot tell us the “how” or “why.”
Man’s Interference—Reversion to Primitive Types
Viewing, then, the animated scene of six thousand years ago, with which we have to do, we find God creating life in diversified forms, sustaining and perpetuating it; nor will He allow it to be touched with impunity. Odd varieties of like species, crossed, breed mongrels which are fertile, but when man’s will ceases to act according to the divine plan, in varied and well understood circumstances, the result is that plant and animal life revert to primitive types, dominant features becoming recessive; as, on the other hand, whenever man attempts to force the divine plan out of its proper channel, as in the crossing of hybrids, sterility ensues. Thus, mules exist, but a mule-producing race has never been found. Poignant rebuke this, indeed, to the shameless and presumptuous will of man!
How inspiring to lend the ear to the words of God Himself, as He says: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26).
Age of Man
This divine fiat places man six thousand years ago, according to the divine record, in a scene brought out of chaos and prepared for him. Rarely, yet occasionally, one meets a modern savant who endeavors to foist upon an intelligent public the supposititious statement that—nobody any longer believes that merely a few thousand years have passed since man originally appeared upon the earth. Such a statement at once classifies its author outside the ranks of true, honest science. Nobody! bold statement as it is false: Such men may claim the pithecoid group for their ancestral line, but the “LORD GOD” of Genesis has still a few faithful, devoted, intelligent witnesses who have not bowed the knee to this Baal of pseudo-science. “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). “Science,” one remarks, “is not knowledge in spite of Latin. Science is the deduction of general results and principles from facts and axioms within the certain knowledge of man.”
What man has wrought, not “What hath God wrought?”, is emblazoned on almost everything today as if creation and all creature activities began and ended with man. Man’s greatness is dilated upon, forgetting that all his glory is but “the flower of grass”, and is more ephemeral than the habitations built by insects of scarcely nascent life.
Human Plaudits
How it palls upon one to read the plaudits of human achievement, while there is utter silence as to man’s responsibility and answer to his Maker! One would not for a moment withhold gratitude from those who have spent their best in the service of humanity—let us give them their full portion of honor—but mere philanthropy and humanitarianism will not accredit any soul for the presence of the Creator who is Lord of the creature.
“Men of the World”
Hear David’s prayer: “Deliver my soul . . . from men of the world, which have their portion in this life” (Ps. 17:13-14). That is, they have received it now, all they will get as reward. Time and the earth form their boundaries. A man may be a magnificent cedar like King Saul, “from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people” (1 Sam. 9:2), but the man who has left God out of his reckoning, that man must perish. “In the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be” (Eccl. 11:3). “The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth” (Isa. 23.9). It is well in this restless age and devotion to the modern god “business”, for men to pause and take an inventory of their spiritual resources.
Trinity College, Dublin
A great classical scholar of the past century, one who “stood in the highest honors” as a linguist and etymologist, was urged to fill the chair in classics in Trinity College, Dublin. He refused, electing to pursue his chosen work of expounding the Scriptures. The urge was, “You will make your fortune”. The answer was, “For which world?” How far does our measuring line reach? Could we renounce with complacency such a bait? Time and the praise of men, or eternity and divine favor; which is the goal? Let it search us through and through.
Gratuitous Statements of Anthropologists
Of late there have appeared from sources ostensibly of high authority, statements in substance as follows: that the testimony of geology and anthropology would seem to indicate that man must have lived upon the earth between 50,000 and 125,000 years ago; that his primitive culture may be determined from the stone implements recovered from the glacial drift; that the third stone age, which still continues, began some 8,000 or 10,000 years ago, and in this latter, actual historical records were first made.
Inspired Record of the Cosmos
Great stress has been used to emphasize these suppositions, because stress is needed to give them admission, if at all, to the consideration of men who know they hold in their hands a divinely inspired record of the cosmogony to the contrary. In the light of the 5th chapter of Genesis we can but pity one who tells us that: “Man must have lived upon the earth between 50,000 and 125,000 years ago.” The statement impeaches the Word of the Creator. Nay! “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4). Would our reader admit at the bar of science one whose guess upon this subject claims a leeway of 75,000 years? If for no other reason than this, such an one is discredited. This is not science, it is bombast.
Stratified Rocks
But one tells us that it is a question of the history written in stratified rocks. We may accept this, giving unlimited time for certain primitive forms of life, but not for man. No great geologist who has regard for the truth ever has or ever will positively assert that man lived upon the earth prior to the Genesis account.
Age of Man Only 6,000 Years
One of Germany’s greatest living scholars, who has escaped her dreary rationalism, wrote in 1901, as follows: “From the time when Adam, with astonishment and rapture, opened his eyes upon the wonders of Paradise, at most six thousand years ago (for there exists no trace of man which can be proved to be older than that) . . .”
Professor Kyle
The writer has personally heard from the lips of Professor Kyle, one of the best known and accredited of modern archaeologists, words in effect that: when one states that man existed 100,000 years prior to the divine records, we can shrug the shoulders and pass on; that not a single honest geologist will make any such assertion; that whether it be 5,000 or 100,000 years makes no difference, it is only a guess.
The Ice Caps
But further, they tell us that the diluvial drift in which remnants of the Stone Age are found showing traces of man, had its three periods, viz.: first, second and third ice caps, and that during the third, some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago (again a guess with a leeway of 2,000 years), man’s history may begin to be reckoned.
Elie De Beaumont
As to the indeterminate age of these stone relics, the eminent geologist, Elie de Beaumont, shares the stated opinion of others, that the most celebrated flints of the Stone Age, so called, are remnants of a factory of musket flints of the past century.
Oldest Exhibits of Human Remains
In further answer to this we would remark that the Mentone and Cro-Magnon skulls, the oldest exhibits of human remains, indicate powerful men, just as are described in Genesis, the fifth and sixth chapters.
White Indians
A few months ago the “Darian expedition” reported finding a strange race of so-called “white Indians” in the jungles of southeastern Panama. These Indians of San Blas, it is claimed, are of the Cro-Magnon type, whose progenitors were of the Paleolithic Age. However, as we write, two gentlemen who have lived in the vicinity for years state that it is a “myth”; that these Indians, although Albinos are sometimes found among them, are not white Indians and in effect are no different from many other tribes. All stone implements, whether of the Paleolithic, the Neolithic or the Bronze Ages, readily fall within the age of man; i.e., from the time that Adam was created full-grown in stature and placed upon the earth 6,000 years ago.
The Great Birds and Mammals
The Diluvial Drift
Man was contemporary with the great mammals for 15 centuries, a period amply covering the Stone and Bronze Ages. Evidence points to the fact that great birds and beasts, such as the moa, the dodo, the mastodon and the mammoth, co-existed with man for a long period, but that the diluvial drift, the result, doubtless, of a glacial ocean, which carried away these enormous creatures, belongs to the post-tertiary formation. In support of this we would quote the following: “It seems the fashion just now to exaggerate as to time, placing the glacial season or seasons, at an incredibly remote distance, and thus the gigantic creatures that perished in them, and man also, judging from remains which indicate his hand. There is, on the contrary, strong and varied evidence, in the estimate of sober geologists, not committed to hypothesis, (note the italics), to show the recent date of the sudden close of what is called the drift, and the extinction of mammoths, etc.”
Inspired Chronology
Genesis tells us that “all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.” A divine statement! With this the inspired historian proceeds to set up subsequent genealogies, passing them on to inspired writers like himself, those “Holy men of God” who “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:21). Thus we arrive at our focal date, B. C., a date unquestioned by the greatest chronologists as presenting any variant exceeding four years, to say nothing of a yawning gap variously stated from 1,000 to 100,000 years. If archaeologists tell us that man lived fifty thousand years ago, our retort is, that we have behind us some three thousand years of profane history, which records take us back to the Stone Age.
Sir William Dawson—Age of Flints
The Delaware River flints are seen in the exposé of Sir William Dawson to be but unfinished pieces of flints processed by modern Indians. If then, the rude relics of man’s hand are met with in historic times, it is not commensurate with the hypothesis to think that man lived fifty thousand years void of development beyond what these crude stone and bronze relics indicate. Ranke says: “We have not yet found traces of Tertiary man”, and further, that, “the oldest traces of humanity do not reach farther back than the Deluge.” Prof. Fraas points out that the “diverse views of men of science afford the best proof that we know next to nothing of these primitive men.” No proof can be deduced—to attempt it is to leave the path of revelation—that man lived earlier than the date assigned him in Biblical chronology.
Human Time Measures
Coming to human time measures—for time is essentially a law of human thought—we observe “the six days connected with Adam and his world express rapidly succeeding fiats culminating in him, and in their combination, of respective goodness characterizing that period in which the human race was called, not only into being, but into responsibility before God.
“Image,” Not “Likeness”
“Man, (cf. 1 Cor. 11:7) is distinctly called God’s image and glory, as publicly representing Him; and Christ, the Incarnate Son, is styled ‘image of the invisible God’ (Col. 1:15). His not being called ‘likeness’ only confirms the truth. If so entitled, it would deny His deity. For He is God, instead of being only like God, (cf. Col. 3:10; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49).”
The Antagonist Will
Man with an “antagonist will”, making his own mind the measure of his knowledge, leaving God out of His universe, and ignoring His beneficent revelation, essays to solve for us by science, the origin and destiny of the race.
Genera, Species, Varieties
In a proper classification of organic beings, we have first, genra, then subordinate to this a group which we call species, which in turn, when very fertile, produce what we term varieties. All genera produce after their kind. Men and women have human children.
Professor Price
Professor Geo. McCready Price, from a careful survey of Mendel’s Law as applied to de Vries’ theories of mutation, remarks as follows: “Vanished at last are the old theories of gradual changes in species perpetuated and accumulated by natural selection, until at last wholly new forms have in this way been produced. True variations are now seen to be confined within well marked and rather narrow limits . . . these variations cannot be transmitted.” In both animal and vegetable kingdoms, similar materials and analogous processes produce specific results. Acorns do not produce brambles, nor horses men.
Evolution at Variance With Fixed Law
We quote from one of the first scholars writing at the close of the nineteenth century, the following: “Species are, and the fixed law is that they remain species, and always have; change into other species, arbitrarily, from circumstantial influence, is not a fixed law of nature. At first it is an accident, if it has a natural effect; i.e., the consequence of an antecedent, but this is individual, and goes no further than will and need; there is no change in race in it. All apes did not shorten their arms, and turn hands into feet together, and, if one did, we should have as many races as circumstances; i.e., there would be no fixed laws at all; but the truth is, the thing as far as known phenomena go, is disproved really.”
Duplicate Character of All Cells
If, as modern science now claims, all cells traced back through microscopic and laboratory examinations and tests, are found to be exact duplicates of one another in kind, with segmental divisions separated into higher and lower, then evolution has an insurmountable task to prove its uniformitarian hypothesis. That is to say: How can a combination of merely duplicate cells form in one case an oak of the vegetable kingdom, and in another case an intelligent being, a man, of the animal kingdom?
Evident Design
The only answer is “evident design”, the response of inert matter to the expressed will of the Creator God. “God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him” (1 Cor. 15:38). By reason of the largesse of nature, varieties from existing circumstances are common. Moreover, we find to the contrary that the union of certain kindred species produce none. Permanent change in species, however, has not been found; “after its kind” still remains nature’s formula.
A celebrated Christian scholar remarks; “How utterly false in presence of the Bible are the speculations of evolution, an hypothesis logically at issue with those fixed laws of nature which the same philosophers cry up to the exclusion of God! For how reconcile invariable law with changes in species? Fixed laws are learned from the constant course of things—whose course goes on—has gone on long enough to call it a fixed law.”
Science Admits an Adequate Cause
Science if honest admits a cause, an adequate one. Of all reveries, none viler than the ignorance which refuses to learn, and dares to defy revelation by conceiving man a developed ape, fish, seaweed, or aught else.
Primordial Causes Beyond Science
The truth is that primordial causes are beyond science. God alone can create; He declares He has done so, and in what order. If man be evolved from a fish, nevertheless he does not reproduce a fish, nor do fishes produce men. Nature cannot surmount the persistent and determined law, “after his kind.” The advance of organic nature from lower to higher meets an impasse in the law of the conservation of energy, for energy can neither be increased nor diminished, although it is transmutable into many forms.
Professor Owen
Again, as to species, Prof. Owen says: “Man is the sole species of his genus, and the sole representative of his species.”
Natural Selection; Struggle for Existence; Survival of the Fittest
“Natural selection”; “the struggle for existence”; “survival of the fittest”; these are not laws, they are mere hypothetical measuring lines found to be too short to span the gamut of nature’s secrets. There are variations in the species such as tall men and short men; white men and black men; the male and the female, but all are of the genus homo.
Darwin— “Origin of Species”
As to natural selection, Darwin himself says: “To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree. In looking for the gradations by which an organ in any species has been perfected, we ought to look exclusively to its lineal ancestors.”
The geologist Phillips, after extensive research found no facts supporting the evolutionary hypothesis. Historical times certainly are void of evidence.
Dr. Etheridge of the British Museum
Dr. Etheridge, the noted expert of the British Museum, was asked by Professor Post to show him some proofs of the doctrine of evolution. He replied: “Nine-tenths of the talk of evolution is sheer nonsense, not founded on observation, and wholly unsupported by fact. In all this great museum there is not a particle of evidence of the transmutation of species. The museum is full of the utter falsity of their views.”
Lord Kelvin
Lord Kelvin says: “Evolution remains an unproved theory in the laboratories of science.”
Sir William Dawson
Sir William Dawson affirms: “It is utterly destitute of proof”, and he adds, moreover, to the contrary that “all things left to themselves tend to degenerate.”
Max. Muller
Barrier of Language
Max. Muller states: “There is one barrier which no one has ventured to touch—the barrier of language.” “This gulf,” says Professor Huxley, “is almost infinite between the lowest form of man and the highest form of animals; it has never been crossed.” We can speak freely of variety in species, but any proof of the transmutation of species is admitted by Charles Darwin to be absent from the records of geology.
Absurdity of Evolution of Higher From a Lower
Think of any lower order of life evolving some higher, intelligent, thinking, speaking, moral being, in order to “subdue” and to “have dominion over” it; i.e., over everything below itself (Gen. 1:28). Absurd nonsense!
Dr. Trass
The paleontologist, Dr. Trass, points out that the hypothesis of a simian ancestry for man is void of proof and utterly fantastic.
Professor Virchow
The noted Professor Virchow of Berlin also affirms that for the past five thousand years there has been no perceptible change in mankind and that the middle link will never be found.
The Statement of Deity as to Creation of Man
In order to clear the air let us read once more the simple but awe-inspiring words of the hallowed triune council of Deity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, held in eternity, the counsels of which were effectuated in time, as to man, thus: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them . . . and God blessed them” (Gen. 1:26-28). Let a man pass this statement willfully, ignoring it in his search for some different origin of the genus homo, and he has cast in his lot with the presumptuous, who “professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:22).
Man Lost in Reasonings
“With regard to creation,” says one, “lost in reasonings, and not knowing God, the human mind sought out endless solutions of existence. Those who have read the cosmogonies of the ancients know how many different systems, each more absurd than the other, have been invented for that which the introduction of God, by faith, renders perfectly simple. Modern science, with a less active and more practical mind, stops at second causes, and is but little occupied with God.
Geology Replaces the Ancient Cosmogonies
Geology has taken the place of the cosmogony of the Hindus, Egyptians, Orientals, and philosophers. To the believer the thought is clear and simple; his mind is assured and intelligent by faith: God by His word, called all things into existence. The universe is not a producing cause; it is itself a creature acting by a law imposed upon it. It is One having authority who has spoken; His word has divine efficiency. He speaks, and the thing is.”
Cells Mere Automata
Pursuing this thought a little further we cannot do better than quote again from Professor Price: “Cells instead of behaving in a way to indicate that their life processes are due to properties inherent in the atoms and molecules composing them, show every appearance of being mere automata under the direct control of an intelligent, purposeful Mind—a Mind external to themselves.”
To summarize:
1. Original creation.
2. Earth precipitated into a state formless and void.
3. Renovation, or conditioning the earth for man.
The Earth Conditioned for Man in Six Days of Twenty-Four Hours Each
Thus we arrive in Genesis 1:3, to Adam’s world, so to speak; the human era; the world brought out of chaos and prepared for man. God, then, in six days of twenty-four hours each, creates the flora and fauna (vide Ex. 20:9-11), preparing and conditioning the earth (previously created) for man. Man’s creation is quite a distinct act of God (Elohim). This creation has preeminently in view His counsels concerning the “second man.” “The evening and the morning” (Gen. 1:5), just as we still know these measures of time, represented the day; the geologic ages had long since closed their history in the stratified rocks.
Thus the Scriptures speak, and thus we believe. If science in contemplating original creation confines itself to Scripture, well for science, but be assured divine revelation needs no human finprimatur. Overweening confidence often betrays the scientist to say, “There is not”, when he is only warranted in saying, “I know not.” Convincing data from the highest scientific sources disproving the “evolutionary hypothesis,” nevertheless, are many and varied.
The words of a strong nineteenth century writer may fittingly complete this section.
Progress and Regress
“The plain fact is that human history is a very strange blend of progress and regress; it is the story of the rhythmic rise and fall of civilization and empires, of gains made only to be lost, and lost only to be fought for once again. Even when advance has come, it has come by mingled progress and cataclysm. Our nineteenth century ideas of evolution tended to create in us the impression that humanity had made a smooth and even ascent. We artificially graded the ascending track of human history, leveled and macadamized it, and talked of inevitable progress. Such sentimental optimism has ceased even to be comforting, so utterly untenable has it become to every well-instructed mind.”
“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth” (Isa. 40:26).
“Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee” (Neh. 9:5-6).
Chart: "The Purpose of the Ages"
“According to the eternal purpose (purpose of the ages) which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:11; cf. R. V. and N. Tr.).
Dispensations
Definition
A dispensation may be defined as a period in time in which God manifests Himself in some particular relationship to man, having reference in all cases to the trial of the human race. These trial periods of the creature, wherein are seen all the apparent failures of God, form but the background, the means and occasion for the display of His power and wisdom.
Seven Dispensations
1. Innocence
Innocence will serve as a name to designate the first of the seven dispensations or economies in time, into which scripture, broadly speaking, is divided.
What Is Innocence?
What is a state of innocence? It is not a condition of ignorance, because Adam had knowledge; and what knowledge it was, to be able to name all of God’s creatures: “Whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof” (Gen. 2:19). One sometimes hears the thoughtless query: Why could not God have created man incapable of sinning? Had He done so man would have been a mere automaton, incapable of responding to the divine mind, incapable of virtue, incapable of holiness; in a word, he would not have been a moral being at all, but a mere creature void of personality. Innocence therefore is not a state of virtue, but a state unfallen. It is not a goal of attainment; but virtue, purity, righteousness, holiness, are objects which the Christian in his practical life seeks to exhibit. “Not as though I had already attained,” says the apostle, “but . . . I press toward the mark” (Phil. 3:12-14). Adam was created innocent but not holy.
Stupendous Breach; the Fall
By that stupendous breach therefore, between the creature and the Creator, man attained the knowledge of good and evil, with neither power nor desire to espouse the good, nor yet reject the evil. To know evil and to overcome it is a far different and a far higher thing than to continue in a state of innocence.
God More Glorified by the Fall
It is manifest therefore, that God has been infinitely more glorified through the fall of Adam, than had he remained innocent.
Milton in his great epic, sings:
“Of man’s first disobedience and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till One Greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat . . .”
Revelation strikes a far higher note than this. It is not Paradise regained, for man is not restored to his pristine condition in creation. God does something better.
“New Creation” —Not Restoration
Through faith in the finished work of Christ upon the cross, man becomes a new creation: “If any one be in Christ, there is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17, N. Tr.). God never remodels an old thing; He creates anew. It is into a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1) “wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13), that the believer shall be brought. Righteousness is a term inapplicable to a state of creature innocence.
Virtue
Except in God and in the eternal state of the blessed, we cannot even conceive of virtue apart from successful conflict with evil solicitation. This indubitable principle alone is sufficient to disprove the inane statement of all modern religio-ethical systems which assert that there is no sin.
Systems That Negate Sin, Are Void of Virtue
This self-evident truth granted, proves all such systems to be void of virtue, of holiness, of righteousness. If moreover, we look at the perfectionist, we see one who attenuates holiness on the one hand and sin on the other, making man satisfied with himself. Indeed, to deny the fall, is to justify transgression of the law and to deny the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer is called “to glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3), and is thus exhorted: “add to your faith virtue”—moral courage (2 Pet. 1:5).
Fight of Faith
It is just because “the flesh,” that degenerate principle in the first man, fallen, “lusteth against the Spirit” (Gal. 5:17), that we are exhorted to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12), but in the assurance that “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Men speak of an innocent child dying and going to heaven, and it is perfectly understood what is meant, but doctrinally this statement is inadequate.
Infants Saved but Not on the Ground of Innocence
All children dying before the age of accountability assuredly go to glory, but not on the ground of innocence. Adam was not born into this world by natural generation, as we are, but was created in full manhood and innocent. From this original state he soon fell. “I was shapen in iniquity,” says David (Ps. 51:5). “The wicked are estranged from the womb” (Ps. 58:3). Our Lord asserts: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6), and moreover, that to have eternal life, we must be “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
The Evil Nature and the Evil Will
The little child has not “gone astray,” as the man, in the sense of the activity of his own will. Such is saved by the work of Christ according to Matthew 18:11: “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost”: whereas, the man who has deliberately turned to his own way, is saved through faith in Christ according to Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Responsibility Imposed on the Creature
This period of innocence in the garden of Eden seems to have been brief, yet in it was brought out a momentous test in relation to the responsibility of the creature man to his Creator. The test was based upon one prohibition, viz.: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Two great principles running throughout the Word are seen here, viz.: responsibility and life. Satan insinuated that God had withheld some choice gift. Confidence in God is lost. Adam believes the lie. Next he sets in motion his own will as a means to secure his own happiness.
The Fall, Independence
While dependent, he looks up; asserting his independence, he must look down. Degradation follows. Man must either be subject to God or to Satan. None is independent, save he who can secure himself from death.
Unrest
Man’s will substituted for God’s will is still the secret of the world’s unrest.
Nakedness
The link of conscious happy relationship with the Creator is snapped and the nakedness of the creature is discovered. Death, physical and moral (“dead in trespasses and sins,” Eph. 2:1) is the fruit. The fig leaves of nature resorted to for a covering are found inadequate and the guilty pair seek deeper seclusion from the Creator’s presence.
The Remedy
But, matchless grace! a remedy is at hand! The voice of the Lord God calls them from their hiding place and clothes them with a covering suited to His presence. A beast is slain. Blood is shed. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11).
Substitution
The life of another is surrendered for my forfeited life. This is substitution.
Beautiful Covering
After this the skin, that which belonged to another, the beautiful covering of the animal, is put upon Adam and his wife and they stand without fear before God. This is all typical of the righteousness of God which is in Christ, in whom the believer stands with none to fault his claim before God. Christ is God. The Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, comes to win back the confidence of man’s heart.
The Woman’s Seed—Eminent and Profound Mystery
Adam now calls his wife “Eve”: i.e., the mother of all “living,” and to her the promise is made that “her seed” —eminent mystery—shall bruise the serpent’s head. Thus God in sovereign love immediately steps into the breach and begins to unfold His limitless resources.
Sentence Not Reversed
He does not cancel nor even alter the judgment, nor yet reverse the sentence of death pronounced.
Adequate Answer
He acknowledges no mistake nor infirmity as to His counsels, but He provides an adequate answer. The seed of the woman, which is Christ, meets all the claims of a holy and righteous God.
Headship
Adam, the first man, the last and highest work of God’s creative week, is a type of headship. He was created in full stature and set as lord of creation in the Edenic scene. The six days, of twenty-four hours each (cf. Ex. 20:10-11), closed God’s creative or formative labors upon the earth as we know it, and on the seventh, in which neither evening nor morning is mentioned, He rests, having complaisance in His work.
Making or Renovating Period
The six days refer plainly to the making, or renovating so to speak of the earth as immediately connected with Adam and the creation which surrounded him.
Days of 24 Hours
The twentieth chapter of Exodus, (verses 8, 9, 10 and 11) gives unequivocal testimony to this making period being of six days of twenty-four hours each. “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it” (Ex. 20:11). This “sabbath day” alluded to we positively know to be a day of twenty-four hours, and that it is the seventh day of the week, co-ordinating the seven days of Genesis 2:3.
Resources of Godhead
God’s creation rest being immediately interrupted, He falls back upon the illimitable resources of Godhead and at once begins a work in sovereign grace to recall man to Himself. Thus we have the Lord Jesus saying: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5-17). In Genesis 3:8, God comes down to visit man; in John 17.24, we see man called up to dwell with God. Now God introduces a new thing, not as an after-thought, for it is not said He found His work faulty in any respect; it is the Infinite beginning to unfold Himself. He communicates His thoughts to man, the highest of His creatures. Thus we read: “God said”—not discovered as an afterthought— “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18).
The Woman, the Bride
The woman, the bride, is brought into the scene through the sleep of the first man (in type the death of Christ) and is given to the man as the complement, the one necessary to round out the circle of his being. Eve was in no way a part of the creation in the sense that Adam was, nor was she lord over it. She shared his joys, his sorrows also after the fall, and the glories attendant upon his lordship over creation.
Helpmeet Brought to Adam
In all the vast handiwork of God there was not an helpmeet for Adam, but when Eve was brought to him then he could say: “This is now (literally, ‘Now, this time’—for this is the force of the original) bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Gen. 2:23).
A Bride, the Cherished Thought
An helpmeet for man, a bride for the second Man, this was the cherished thought of the divine mind in eternity. This purpose unfolds and develops throughout scripture until all types culminate in heavenly glory at the marriage of the Lamb (cf. Rev. 19:7).
Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Rebecca, Eliezer, Isaac
In Eve we have fitness, “an helpmeet for him”; complement of the first man. Later we have other typical women in scripture, e.g., Sarah, a mystic person, the “freewoman” in contrast to Hager, the “bondwoman.” These two contrast the principles of grace and law (cf. Gal. 4:22-31). Rebecca is the father’s choice. Under safe convoy of Eliezer, the servant, she is conducted into the presence of Isaac, the risen man in figure. This is a picture of the Holy Ghost now gathering and preparing the church, the bride, for the nuptial day. At that happy moment the bride, having finished her pilgrimage and clothed in garments of salvation—redemption and righteousness—shall be presented to Himself “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Eph. 5:27).
Rachael, Asenath
Next, we have Rachel, the one for whom Jacob toiled and labored and suffered untold wrongs for the love he had toward her. Asenath, the Gentile, loses herself in Joseph, the man who was lifted up out of the pit and who in his displayed glories as lord over Egypt, dispenses blessing to the whole world.
Ruth, Boaz
Ruth, a destitute stranger and under the stigma of Moab, is chosen and redeemed to be the companion of the mighty kinsman-redeemer Boaz.
Man, endowed with capabilities of responding to what the Infinite was about to unfold of His character and purpose to His creature, is placed in surroundings which angelic beings might covet. What use does man make of this perfect environment, this heavenly endowment?
Arch-Enemy
The Arch-enemy, a being fallen through pride (cf. Isa. 14:9-17; Ezek. 28:1-17), assails man with a most subtle and insinuating question: “Yea, hath God said?” (Gen. 3:1). Doubt is germinated. Adam succumbs.
The Fall, Innocence Lost
He forfeits all committed to him. Innocence is lost. This state is forever gone. The knowledge of good and evil comes in its place.
Conscience Gained
The voice of conscience now speaks in tones that cannot be silenced. The sequel is that man may no longer continue in the garden in this fallen state, lest taking of the tree of life he should eat and live forever a fallen being like his tempter. Grace comes in and clothes man’s nakedness, but government drives him from Paradise.
Cherubim Guard the Tree of Life
Infinite mercy places the cherubim with flaming sword to guard the tree of life. The fall, instead of hindering the divine purpose to bless the creature, only opens up a larger field for the display of God’s grace and glory. The last Adam, “the Lord from heaven,” must in due time bruise the serpent’s head at Calvary, in order to introduce the redeemed into the heavenly scene.
The “River” and the “Tree of Life” Reappear
Thus, the work of the Cross finished, we see “the river,” and “the tree of life” bearing “her fruit,” reappearing when the marriage of the Lamb has been consummated in the Father’s house.
Expulsion, Age Closed in Judgment
Expulsion from Eden marks the close by judgment of the first dispensation. In like manner it will be seen that all other ages close in judgment, either governmental or judicial.
Now, a fallen world as we know it, begins outside of Eden.
2. Conscience
Responsibility
Man tried under conscience is the subject of the next age. The sense of responsibility coupled with the knowledge of good and evil, man got by the fall. Responsibility is not a mode of thought, but the very basis of all morality.
Accusing or Excusing Monitor
We have no prohibition now as in the former age, but instead a living monitor, conscience, “accusing” or else “excusing,” but never acquitting.
Liberty of Conscience
Men exult in what they speak of as the “liberty of conscience.” The period now under review was the age when man had it to the full. Did it bring him back to God? It did not. “Liberty of conscience,” in its widest sense, means that a man can do as he pleases within the limits of safety to society. He is a law unto himself, but the presence of the fallen nature soon betrays him to interpret liberty as license. This natural trend is accentuated by the condition of Russia—sad aftermath of the Great War. So it is that conscience left to itself is capricious and leads to anarchy.
Adam Innocent, Adam Fallen
Adam innocent, was ignorant of good and evil; Adam fallen, was ignorant of and a stranger to the life of God, although now in possession of the moral distinction between good and evil.
The Moral Sense
But what is conscience? It is the moral sense in every rational being which always says, “do the right,” but never tells what is right or good. “Conscience pronounces from instinctive and uninfluenced persuasion that such an act is right or wrong. So far as its owning a law, it ceases whenever there is one which has authority because it has not to judge for itself.” It is not a guide.
Hindu Mother
Apropos to this statement is the fact that the Hindoo mother, with an honest conscience, throws her babe into the sacred Ganges, to be devoured by the crocodile. Saul of Tarsus was equally dark (cf. Acts 26:9).
Conscience No Guide
Conscience is no pathfinder. It does not direct my steps, but is a judge over them. It discriminates but does not discover. Its interpretation is according to the evidence placed before it. Its instinctive judgment is according to some inscrutable law.
Conscience Enlightened by the Word of God
Let none deny that what God has said binds my conscience without vindication from any human source. It acts upon my soul, and moral conduct—good or evil—flows. Conscience is the light in every man. I need not be told that I have a conscience; I am alive to the fact, but I need an adequate answer to it. By divine revelation man gets the answer, and now by reason of that permanent medium, the written Word, I am left without excuse. From no other source can I get it. A natural conscience; i.e., the moral sense unenlightened by divine revelation, will do no more for me than for a pagan; it will only oppress my heart with the gloomy shades of Pluto. Instead of conscience being the result of education, it may positively be misled by education, the result of which will be conventional right and wrong founded upon varying circumstances.
Conscription of Conscience
There is no evading this conscription of conscience; no sane person is devoid of it. To have it and yet stifle it makes me worse off than the idiot, who is without it.
Seared Conscience
Such an attitude produces in me a conscience “seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:2). Nothing acts upon it. It is like magnetism applied to lead; there is no affinity. It is past feeling.
“Light obeyed increaseth light; Light rejected bringeth night: Who will give me will to choose, If the love of light I lose?”
Conscience therefore, and not the intellect is the doorway through which I enter into intelligence in the things of God. Through the fall, therefore, having become as “one of us” (Gen. 3:22) and acquired the divine prerogative of judging what is right and wrong, I must act in obedience and own authority suited to the new relationship; i.e., that it is right to obey God, wrong to disobey.
Free Agency
It is not true that God created man a free moral agent in the absolute sense. He created him in responsibility subject to the one provision of obedience.
Sovereignty
This is clearly taught by the presence of the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil” in the midst of the garden, walled about by the sovereign will of the Creator, a sovereignty operative always in the direction of that which is good. This will is expressed in Genesis 2:16-17 thus, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.” The truth here taught is that the Creator is greater than the creature and that the creature must take his place in happy subjection and obedience to a beneficent and sovereign Creator. This truth permeates scripture.
Man Not a Being Determined
Neither is the converse true, viz.: that man is a victim of environment and relentless determinism. This would at once vitiate responsibility. Will acts. But it has already been determined by an object. How then speak of freedom? But you ask “where is responsibility?” It is to live in accordance with the relationship in which I am. Thus duties flow.
Creator Distance From the Creature
Whatever grace may have wrought, there still remains infinite distance between the inscrutable Person of the Creator and the creature. In Joshua 3:4, speaking of the Ark which represented Jehovah’s throne in the midst of Israel, we read: “Yet there shall be a space between you and it.” In John 20:17 the Lord Jesus says: “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God;” but He never says as one of them—our God, our Father; we may say this, not He. When He says: “Our Father which art in heaven,” it is quite another thing wherein He is instructing them as to what is suited to their case. Again we are made “partakers of the divine nature;” this is through grace, but in Him is deity, not in us. The Lord also may speak of us as His brethren, but we may not say to Him—my Brother.
Man Unrenewed Satan’s Captive
There is another serious phase of this subject of the “freedom of the will” unsolved by philosophy; it is this: that a man unrenewed by the power of the Holy Ghost flatters himself that he is doing his own will. Alas! he is not. He is one of those in the snare of the devil, “taken captive by him at his will” (2 Tim. 2:26).
The history of this antediluvian age is written between Genesis 3:7 and Genesis 7:24. It extends from the expulsion to the flood and covers a period of some 1,655 years. Although there was no human restraint in this age and no institutional way of worship, yet there was the unfailing divine testimony. Every dispensation has its bright spots. God never leaves Himself without witness.
Abel’s Sacrifice
Abel’s “more excellent sacrifice” in that early age, teaches the doctrine of access to God. The firstlings and the fat speak of the excellencies of Christ.
Line of Seth
Seth presents a new line, the line of faith. Enoch gives us the type of a separated walk.
Enoch, Noah
Enoch as Jude 14 tells us, prophesied of coming judgment; while 2 Peter 2:5 shows us Noah a “preacher of righteousness.” These are bright spots in this dark age.
Cain
Four men born outside of Eden come prominently before us during this period. These present typical histories. (1) Cain: He was the first man born of natural generation and the place of his birth was outside of Eden. His occupation was to till the ground. Here we have human effort cultivating the fruits of Nature, just as later we have Egypt and her children (the world without God) watering her land with the foot, in contrast to the land of Canaan that “drinketh water of the rain of heaven” (Deut. 11:10-11). Man would worship according to his own thoughts, but God rejects both the person and the sacrifice of Cain. Cain was of “that wicked one,” and is a type of Israel as a nation guilty in slaying the “Holy One and the Just.” After nearly six thousand years we are still warned as to the “way of Cain” (Jude 11). Jehovah did not say to Israel:—when I see an altar festooned with fruits and flowers of nature—but: “when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Ex. 12:13).
The “Way of Cain”
In a word, the “way of Cain” denies the fall. What streams of Cain worshippers there are today, hastening along the “broad way” to judgment, “condemned already” (John 3:18). “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain” (Jude 11).
Cain Built the First City
This first man born into the world, born under the curse, “went out from the presence of the LORD” and built a city. Thus the architect of the first proud city was a murderer who sought to drown the cry of blood by introducing music and human artifice. Man at the very outset of his career bent upon his own will and the pursuit of the carnal mind, “corrupted his way” and brought swift destruction upon himself.
Abel
(2) Abel: The first martyr presents to us a type of one who held dear the rights of heavenly citizenship. He stand out in contrast to the earth-dwellers of the line of Cain. Abel was a shepherd. As a worshipper he was accepted because he offered “by faith” a sacrifice in which a life was surrendered. Thus the ground is at once laid which teaches us that the sinner can be accepted only through the work of Christ, his substitute. The doctrine of the “new birth” consequent upon the setting aside of nature, was owned by Abel as the only ground upon which man can approach God acceptably.
Seth
Seth replaces Abel. He thus continues the righteous line. In his line is the highway of the “Seed.” In Seth, we have those who began to “call themselves by the name of the LORD” (Gen. 4:26, margin). This was the line of faith and it would appear that the breaking down of the testimony through intermingling with the corrupt line of Cain, precipitated the flood upon the world of the ungodly. We know that some hold that Genesis 6:1-4, speaks of an irruption of angelic beings into the Adamic earth. Our research reveals that expositors of the highest repute are non-committal as to this. We can with the same wisdom afford to await more light.
Enoch
(3) Enoch: “Enoch walked with God” at the close of a dark, dark age. It was an age foreshadowing just such a time as will close the present course of things. In such evil days, observe, Enoch maintained his walk of separation for “three hundred years.”
Translation
His translation from the earth typifies the rapture of the church, the believer’s ever present hope. He was a saint kept, in his walk here, and then taken to glory just prior to judgment; “translated that he should not see death” (Heb. 11:5). He knew that he was to be translated for it is said that it was “by faith.” In like manner the living saints will be changed in a moment and be caught up together with the saints “which sleep in (through) Jesus,” and together with them shall “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). Judgment will then supervene just as it followed the rapture of Enoch.
Enoch the “Seventh”
Enoch is called the “seventh” from Adam; complete testimony that God has broken the power of death. He was the bright witness in a dispensation soon to close in a dark night of judgment.
Was Conscious That “He Pleased God”
A precious thing is said about Enoch in Heb. 11:5, that “before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Observe, it is not said that he did not fail. This encourages the believer to know that he may also have the divine approval of his walk as Enoch had. Methuselah is another in the line of faith. In 2 Pet. 3:8, we read: “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years.”
Methuselah 969
Methuselah, the oldest man, attained the age of nine hundred and sixty-nine years. This saint, old and full of years, would remind us of the promised blessing of long life as in Ephesians 6:1-3.
Longevity in the Millennium
The longevity of those upon the earth during the millennium will exceed the years of Methuselah, as Isaiah 65:20, and other passages clearly teach us.
Noah
(4) Noah: Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5). He, with seven other souls, shut in by the hand of Jehovah within the ark, passed safely through the flood. Not only was he shut in by Jehovah, but he was shut in with Jehovah, who had said: “Come thou and all thy house into the ark” (Gen. 7:1).
Carried Through the Tribulation
In this we have a type of the remnant of Israel in coming days, who, passing through the “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21), but kept through it, will emerge into the long promised age, “the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory” (Matt. 19:28). Only eight souls were preserved in the ark through the flood, which swept away the ungodly; so also a remnant will be preserved when “the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity” (Isa. 26:21). The window in the ark was above; thus the eye was ever directed to the One who was controlling and guiding those within.
Number Eight
Noah is called in 2 Pet. 2:5, “the eighth person.” This is significant. The number eight in scripture sets forth a new beginning; regeneration, new heavens, new earth. This number will come before us later for fuller consideration. Noah by his faithful testimony in preparing an ark as commanded, to meet the impending storm, while as yet there was not even a cloud above, “condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Heb. 11:7). Then it was by the “foolishness of preaching”; so it is now. “We are fools,” says the apostle, “for Christ’s sake” (1 Cor. 4:10).
Conscience Evidence of the Fall
Conscience therefore, during the age of freedom, instead of leading men back to God, was the ever present witness of their fallen condition and unfitness for God’s presence.
Age Closed by Catastrophe
Thus the second age closes as the first, with a catastrophe. God sweeps the scene with a flood. The crescendo lines in the chart at the beginning of the book indicate the increase of population up to this point when summarily cut off by judgment. God then begins again with the eight souls saved through the judgment.
3. Government
Added to conscience, which ever remains, we now have government. The transition is marked by the establishment of God’s covenant with creation: “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth” (Gen. 9:13).
The Rainbow, God’s Covenant Sign With Nature
Reader, pause a moment! As you look at that beautiful rainbow in the sky today, do you know why it was put there? Do you reflect that the coloring is that of the divine Artist? When the heavens are again preparing for judgment, as seen in Revelation 4:3, God is at once reminded of His covenant with nature and the bow is seen encircling the throne. God said: “I will remember”; thus it is that this witness in the heavens will continue right up to the eternal state.
Inflexible Principle of Government
Government, or magistracy, is now introduced, the inflexible principles of which are laid down in Exodus 34:7. Let man hear this divine pronouncement: “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” The sword of justice as a means of restraint upon fallen humanity, is put into the hands of Noah. This principle soon develops into what we know as civil government.
The Most High Ruleth
While mean are the instruments, let us never forget that “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Dan. 4:17). Mark it well, that no matter what light may be shed by prophecy upon the various governing principles of nations, it is nevertheless incumbent upon all Christians to remember that they are called upon to be “subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: ...Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing” (Rom. 13:1, 2, 5, 6).
Subjection to Authorities
In the days of great national stress, believers need this admonition of the Spirit through the apostle: “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work” (Tit. 3:1). Nero ruled when this was written. These are most wholesome words.
In addition to His outward government, if we may so speak of it, there is His moral government, which He never abrogates.
Chastening and Judgment
This, in the believer, takes the form of chastening, producing godly sorrows which worketh repentance; in the unbeliever, it is a voluntary process of hardening preparatory to judgment. This is seen in the case of Pharaoh. The hardening ripens into the sorrow of the world that worketh death. As to Christians it is said: “God dealeth with you as with sons”: but not so with the world. It knows nothing of sonship, and cannot say “Abba Father.” We merely refer here to God’s moral government, that the reader may see it is a thing quite distinct from His government of the world by men. Chastening: “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth”; this is for correction. Judgment: “neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed”—the fruit of which is death; this is judgment.
The race as such, after the flood, is set in responsibility before God with respect to government. After the captivity of the ten tribes, and later that of the two tribes, we see supremacy passing over exclusively into the hands of the Gentiles. This supremacy will end with the close of the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy, which synchronizes with the setting up of the millennial kingdom (cf. Matt. 25:31-46).
Providence
While speaking of the government of the world, now in the hands of the Gentiles, let it never be forgotten that behind the scenes God holds the reins and acts in that secret way which we speak of as providence. What is providence? One writer speaks thus: “All things are indeed ordained and controlled by divine power; human wickedness is thus checked and the violence of man’s passions restrained; all things are caused to work together for good to God’s people; and generally speaking, iniquity becomes in the long run its own punishment: but all this is by a mysterious combination and superintendence of events of which natural men know nothing. Faith recognizes it, discovering the hand of God in many things, and confessing it in all; but the world at large neither discerns nor owns anything but the actual course of events, and the human agencies to which these are attributed. Such is providence.”
Special Trial Under Government—About 428 Years
The period we are now considering covers Genesis 8:13 to Genesis 12:1. It runs about 428 years. This period is sufficient to show that the principle of government, although not set aside, but on the contrary still running on, nevertheless fails in the hand of man. We have seen that the awful catastrophe of the flood swept the earth, leaving a remnant of but eight souls, but there was no change in men: it was the same fallen nature that came into the renewed earth. Creation did not yet rejoice in deliverance from the bondage of corruption.
The Raven, the Dove
The raven, the unclean bird; when liberated from the ark, found its sustenance in that which strewed the scene of death, type of the carnal mind; while the dove, the clean bird, returned to the ark, finding no resting place for the sole of her foot, type of the spiritual mind. Noah comes forth into the renewed earth and immediately builds an altar and offers burnt offerings unto the Lord. This was a “sweet savour” unto the Lord and He promised He would not again smite “every living thing.” All this doubtless was in view of the Cross. God now bears with the world on the ground that Christ is the “propitiation for our sins; but not for ours alone, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2, N. Tr.). A propitiatory or mercy seat has been established, but in order that my soul may be cleared of guilt, I must avail myself by faith of the work of Christ upon the Cross.
Noah the First Magistrate
Prior to Noah, every man was a law unto himself, a condition which produced anarchy and ruin; but the principle of human government is introduced, and Noah becomes the first magistrate, constituted such by God. But Noah, incapable of governing himself, is drunken. His son mocks. Shameless condition! Noah acts no better than the citizens of the world he was commissioned to govern. Adam held sway over the lower creation; Noah, over man, as well as over the animal creation. Genesis 9:6 now becomes the penal code for the punishment of human violence: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.”
Original Code and Modern Jurisprudence
Modern jurisprudence in its fancied advance on divine procedure, has substituted life-sentence for this original code in too many cases, and we need seek no further for the reason to account for the increasing lawlessness and human violence. Truth never changes and its fruits are unaltered by time or by man’s will.
Shem, Ham, Japheth
Of Noah’s sons, Ham displays the carnal mind. Ham’s son is Canaan. “Cursed be Canaan; ... Blessed be the LORD God of Shem;...God shall enlarge Japheth.” Thus begins again the dark line of unbelief and the bright line of faith. A confederacy of men is launched with the confessed object— “let us build us a city and a tower, ... let us make us a name” (Gen. 11:4).
Tower of Babel
God’s wrath overtakes man and he is rebuked at the tower of Babel. Here is where that mysterious and persistent principle of “Babylon” begins. Babylon means confusion. We get now the first organized system that acts in independence of God.
Mystic Babylon
We shall see later these principles developed to full maturity and manifesting themselves in a dual aspect when ecclesiastical and political Babylon fall under the awful judgment of God (cf. 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation). Man’s ambitions—God not in all his thoughts—suffer a check, and his pride is humbled. All this points forward to a day when “the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low” (Isa. 2:17). God’s principle is never amalgamation: “Say ye not, A confederacy” (Isa. 8:12). He sifts and winnows the grain. He reduces the host. “The people that are with thee are too many” (Judges 7:2).
Nations Begin
Here the nations, as such, begin. Apostasy again sets in and the worship of demons replaces the worship of God. Idolatry in its varied forms shows its head and the age closes in judgment which confounds man’s speech and his schemes.
4. Calling and Promise
The first rays of a new light, viz.: sovereign election, unconditional grace, are the next unfoldings of the heart of God to man. God begins another character of trial of the race.
Abraham
Abraham comes before us as the first heir of promise. “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out, ... obeyed” (Heb. 11:8). But very soon we see these promised blessings lost to Abraham’s children for over four hundred years while they groan under the taskmasters of Egypt. This, however, did not abrogate the divine covenant, although so far as testing was concerned, the age ended when the people surrendered grace for law at Sinai (cf. Ex. 19:8). A dispensation has to do with testing; a covenant, with the unchangeable eternal purposes.
Election, Calling
Election set Abraham apart as a vessel for God’s sovereign purposes: calling removed him far from that new form of iniquity, which seems to have been unknown until after the flood; i.e., the worship of idols.
Foreknowledge, Predestination, Election
Calling takes place in time; but this is antedated in the divine order by foreknowledge, predestination and election. Our path as believers, unlike that of Abraham, is a heavenly calling: “For our conversation (politeuma — commonwealth, citizenship, political rights) is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). In Abraham we meet one who rises far above the path of mere earthly citizenship. He is a stranger and pilgrim, one unknown and yet well-known, desiring a “better country, that is, an heavenly” (Heb. 11:16).
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph
This dispensation, with these added unfoldings of God’s ways, extends from Genesis 12:1 to Exodus 19:8, a period of 430 years, more or less. In this period we get the history of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, whose lives furnish us with many beautiful types.
No sooner is Abraham (Abram) called, than the activities of nature manifest themselves. He seeks to be screened from the carnal and covetous eye of Pharaoh by Sarah’s lie: “Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister.” Later, he is promised a seed. Delay tests the heart, as it always does, and nature seeks to effectuate the promise which through long years of waiting seemed like denial.
Hagar the Bondwoman
Thus Hagar, the bondwoman, is brought into the house. Confusion ensues as soon as Ishmael is born. Abraham might have spared himself those fourteen years of sorrow which followed, had he but quietly rested in the promise. In due time the fulfillment arrives and Isaac is born. Faith now acts in energy and replaces nature: “Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac” (Gen. 21:10). Faith must ever be in exercise, without which there can be no growth, so Abraham is tested again.
Isaac Born
“Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering” (Gen. 22:2). The patriarch’s faith triumphs and he receives his son back again in a figure, as alive from the dead.
“Thy Seed, Which Is Christ”
Isaac is a foreshadowing of Christ, the true “Seed.” Thus Galatians 3:16 instructs us: “He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
Lot
We cannot omit from the biography of Abraham the incidental life of Lot, without missing many spiritual lessons. In a word, Lot’s career furnishes us with a striking type of a worldly Christian, as we speak, although the term is strictly incongruous. Lot could not travel on Abraham’s faith. Abraham waives his right of choice in favor of Lot, whose covetous eyes, lighting upon the well-watered plains of Jordan, lead him to pitch his tent toward Sodom. Like Abraham, he began with the tent, which the former never left; but Lot soon changed his habitat from the discomforts and roughness of the plain and tent life, for a dwelling in the city of Sodom. Lot went into wicked Sodom with his eyes wide open. He had full knowledge of the fact that “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Gen. 13:13). His fatal choice involved his children and his household in awful results: like poor Achan also, who perished with “all that he had” (Josh. 7:24), the inspired historian closing the latter’s life history with the solemn warning, “and that man perished not alone in his iniquity” (Josh. 22:20).
Bit and Bridle of Circumstances
If we will not hear His still small voice in grace, then God is obliged to use the world, the bit and bridle of circumstances, to exercise us. Thus we see, at the first, it took four kings to dislodge Lot from wicked Sodom, and Abraham with his three hundred and eighteen trained men, to recover the persons and goods. From this first entanglement with the world God used a kinsman of Lot to effect a deliverance of His child, but when again he lapses into the same circumstances, it required direct heavenly intervention to separate him.
Lot, a Judge in Sodom
Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: i.e., he was one of Sodom’s judges. His purpose, doubtless right in itself, was to improve Sodom. He thought to put new cloth into the old garment, to put new wine into old wineskins, to daub the wall with untempered mortar. The angels were obliged to lay hold of him and his household in order to rescue them from imminent destruction. Forced out, at last! Lot’s wife, disobeying the command of God, succumbs to summary judgment, while his two daughters betray their degraded thoughts and to them are born sons who are enemies of God’s people. Small salvage indeed, from the wreck! Life-savings, as we speak, gone in a moment! He was like the men of Haggai’s day: “he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes” (Hag. 1:6). Laboring for the fire!
Lot’s Soul Daily Vexed
Yet Lot was a righteous man; of him it is said, he “vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds” (2 Pet. 2:8); and the wicked were not slow to note the incongruity of his position. His words even to his own sons-in-law were received as mockery. Endeavoring to improve the world and its government by accepting a seat as judge in its affairs, he with his household sinks to its level. Faced with destruction he says: “I cannot escape to the mountain ... Behold now, this city ... Oh, let me escape thither” (Gen. 19:19-20). It has been well remarked: “The mountains on which God communed with Abraham and Abraham with God, were a terror to Lot.” Alas, how many real Christians failing to realize their new standing in Christ, the last Adam, are trying to improve the “old man,” the old corrupt nature. But God, unable to do anything with the flesh, has condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3). The truth is also stated: “ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man” (Col. 3:9-10). The words of Christ are: “No man putteth new wine into old bottles ... but new wine must be put into new bottles” (Luke 5:37-38). That is, Christianity is a new thing and a Christian is “a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17, N. Tr.); it is not the patching up of an old thing. In its full scope it is the out-working of that new nature born within; not the imitation of something from without.
Trying to Improve What Is Condemned
If I am trying to improve the world, I am spending my energies for nought, in fixing up what God has condemned outright, utterly, root and branch, setting it aside at the Cross. “Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth” (Isa. 45:9). The believer’s position is outside of it all. He is a witness to the “whole world” which “lieth in the evil one” (1 John 5:19, R. V.) that it is still in rebellion against the authority and lordship of Christ. Let us never forget that faith has a world of its own. Are we daily moving in such a world? Lot was a brand plucked from the burning, one saved “so as by fire.” Do you want to be saved from the wreckage of a willful course like that? Are you drifting as the flotsam and jetsam of life? Must His grace recall you as a rudderless derelict that has been blown about by every wind of doctrine? Such was Lot! He did not enter harbor in full sail. The Lord Jesus desires that our hearts be established and that there may be much fruit for Him. As to Lot we may say that God watched over him and would not leave him in the city of destruction; but we cannot say that Lot walked with God.
The Path of Faith
Abraham’s path was a walk with God, beyond the sight, and superior to the strength and intelligence, of nature. He could thus be used for the blessing and deliverance of others. His was the path of which Job speaks: “There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it” (Job 28:7-8).
“I see the crowds of earth go by,
I hear the world’s loud trumpet call;
Though through its midst my path should lie,
Yet I must live above it all.
The sorrows of the daily life,
The shadows o’er my path which fall,
Too oft obscure the glory’s light,
Until I rise above them all;
Until upon the mountain height,
I stand, my God! with Thee alone,
Bathed in the fullest, clearest light—
The glory which surrounds the Throne.
Here hushed are all the sounds of earth—
The laugh of pleasure, moan of pain;
The vain deluding shouts of mirth,
Here fall upon my ear in vain.
Alone with Thee, O Master! where
The light of earthly glory dies;
Misunderstood by all, I dare
To do what Thine own heart will prize.
Such be my path through life down here—
One long, close, lonely walk with Thee;
Until, past every doubt and fear,
Thy face in light above I see.”
Blessed path! May our feet press on in it!
Isaac
Isaac presents to us the doctrine of sonship, as Abraham that of election. The “covenants of promise” given to Abraham are confirmed in Isaac and later ratified in Jacob. Three things characterize Isaac’s life, viz.: the altar (worship and communion); the tent (a stranger and pilgrim); the well (spiritual refreshment).
Sonship
Isaac is the son looked at as the only begotten, the one who was the heir of all that the father had: “unto him hath he given all that he hath” (Gen. 24-36). In the histories of Ishmael and Isaac we are reminded of a principle running throughout scripture, viz.: the setting aside of the “first,” and the bringing in of the “second.” Cain is set aside and Abel is brought in; Ishmael is set aside and Isaac is brought in; Esau is set aside and Jacob is brought in; Adam is set aside and Christ, the First Begotten, the second Man, the last Adam, is brought in.
Setting Aside of the First, Bringing in of the Second
“He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb. 10-9). “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Cor. 15:46).
The Servant
Eliezer, the servant, is sent to Mesopotamia with the enchanting story concerning Isaac the heir. Rebecca hears. She is attracted.
The Bride
After safe convoy across the desert wastes by the servant, she is presented as a bride to the one who in type was the risen Man. Although the church as such is not mentioned in the Old Testament, there are nevertheless many and beautiful types which, now that the church has been called, are seen to be wonderful foregleams. Eliezer brought the bride to Isaac, engaging her thoughts through the desert journey with the greatness of his master’s son, just as now the Holy Ghost is forming the church, the bride, and is occupying her with His glories.
“The Holy Ghost is leading
Home to the Lamb, His Bride.”
Discipline
In Jacob, the thought of discipline is prominent. Jehovah goes on in patience and watches while Jacob plies all the ingenuity and foresight, coupled with the prudence of the human mind, only at last to hear him cry out: “in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes” (Gen. 31:40).
Wrestling Jacob
When at last nature was brought down to the silence of death, by one touch in the place of strength— “he touched the hollow of his thigh” in “the sinew which shrank” (Gen. 32:25-32), then it was that “worm Jacob” became “prince” Israel, and so prevailed. Blessed place to reach, the silence of the flesh, the end of my own will! In such a place Paul heard the words: “my strength is made perfect in weakness,” enabling him to say, “when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).
The Place of Power
It may be through deep conflict that one reaches this place, but “He maketh the storm a calm” (Ps. 107:29).
Body racked?
Spirit rocked.
Nature resisting?
Spirit resting.
Billows breaking?
Tides making.
Flesh stilling?
SPIRIT filling.
“A vessel ... sanctified, and meet for the master’s use” (2 Tim. 2:21).
Joseph, the object in whom the heart by nature is wrapped up, is removed out of Jacob’s sight, and Egypt instead of Canaan becomes for four hundred years the sheltering place of God’s people.
Joseph
Joseph, put into the pit, the place of death; hated of his brethren and sold for twenty pieces of silver into the hands of strangers, becomes the channel of blessing to his own people. But more than this, Joseph becomes the source of blessing to Egypt.
Joseph’s Failure
Joseph, that beautiful character, untouched by the fires of passion, has perhaps but one fault recorded against him, viz.: his failure to discern Jehovah’s mind in the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. Gen. 48:8-20). Failure stamps the choicest in nature. Joseph stood among the richest in nature— “Joseph is a fruitful bough ... whose branches run over the wall” (Gen. 49:22).
Blessing to the Gentiles
In this he is a fit type of Him whose grace could not be circumscribed by the pale of Israel, but has reached us Gentiles. The pit, the prison, and the throne, characterize Joseph. All this speaks of “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Pet. 1:11).
After years of hard bondage in the iron furnace of Egypt—type of the moral bondage of the sinner to the prince of this world—Moses is sent to deliver. Jehovah’s wrath is visited upon Egypt and her gods.
Protected by the Blood
The angel of destruction goes through the land, but passes over the blood-sprinkled houses of Israel.
Delivered by Power
Delivered by a high and mighty hand, Israel is brought to the Red Sea, where they are freed forever from Egypt’s power.
Red Sea, Jordan
The Red Sea is a type of the death of Christ for the believer; while the Jordan typifies the believer’s death, morally speaking, with Christ; as Paul could say: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20).
“Jesus died and I died with Him,
Buried in His grave I lay.”
These truths are beautifully put in the following lines:
“For me, Lord Jesus, Thou hast died,
And I have died in Thee.
Thou’rt risen; my bands are all untied;
And now Thou liv’st in me.”
“The Lord is risen, the Red Sea’s judgment flood
Is passed in Him, who bought us with His blood.”
Not only is the believer delivered from the guilt and consequences of sin, but he is also delivered from the practical results and power of it here and now. Although sin dwells in a believer, the flesh still being in him, it reigns in an unbeliever. “Sin shall not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14). This is not the phantom, sinless perfection, relating to our state, preached by some, but it is the real joyous result of the death of Christ.
God then, as in former dispensations, comes in and closes His dealings under promise, but “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,” and so these promises await their fulfillment in a future day. The age that closed in judgment upon Egypt and her gods opened a path of deliverance to Jehovah’s people.
5. Law
Seven Typical Men
We have glanced at the history of seven men born outside of Eden, whose typical lives may be summed up as follows:
Grace Surrendered for Law
At Sinai, Israel voluntarily accepted the law and surrendered unconditional favor, divine grace. But God does not fail His failing people. He ever has a resource at hand. The law did not abrogate the Abrahamic covenant and so Israel is still “beloved for the fathers’ sakes.” The law came in as a disciplinary measure, until the “Seed” should come. It was our “schoolmaster” until Christ. “It was added because of transgressions” (Gal. 3:19).
This dispensation now under review is a very long one, covering a period of approximately 1491 years. It extends from Exodus the 19th chapter to the end of Malachi.
From Law at Sinai to the Incarnation
There are some 1091 years of the inspired record, added to which we have the 400 silent years and this brings us right up to the incarnation. It is an account of God’s dealings with His people Israel, the then depositaries of His counsels. Trial in a new relationship is now begun with an especially favored nation in view. In Exodus 19:5 we have the first “if” in God’s relationship with His people. Pure grace, without the admixture of law, was now over. Conscience and government still go on but with man under added responsibility. Israel (not the heathen), a favored nation, comes under law.
Redemption and walk come first before us. Moses is raised up.
The Burning Bush
He gets a vision of the burning bush at Horeb. The burning yet unconsumed bush typifies a tried and persecuted people, yet a remnant preserved through it all. It is also a picture of God’s entering into the afflictions of His people in Egypt and coming down to deliver them. God never strikes without warning.
God Always Warns of Judgment
Pending the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, Pharaoh gets repeated warnings before judgment overtakes his people and his land. For Israel, the blood of an unblemished lamb is shed and sprinkled. The people are first sheltered by blood, then at the Red Sea they are delivered by power from the dominion of Pharaoh. This produces a song as they enter the wilderness. It was surely a great deliverance from the “taskmasters” and from the “iron furnace” of Egypt, but the people were soon to be under a bondage of a far worse character.
Pure Grace, Pure Law — Mixed Law and Grace
A new form of testing under new conditions is now seen in Israel’s wilderness history: first, by pure grace (cf. Ex. chapters 12-18); second, by pure law (i.e., in prospect, for the tables never came into the camp; they were broken at the foot of the mountain; cf. Ex. chapters 19-24; cf. also 2 Cor. chapter 3); third, by mixed law and grace (cf. Ex. chapters 32, 33, 34). It is all grace in Exodus 12 to 18, but in Exodus 19, the people, not realizing the weakness and worthlessness of nature, essay to keep the fiery law from Sinai. Their answer to the voice which thundered from the thick cloud was: “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do” (Ex. 19:8). Israel’s murmurings under grace passed unpunished but not so under law.
Israel Essays to Keep the Law
By their own choice they placed themselves where “every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward” (Heb. 2:2). Morally, the passage from Egypt to Canaan need not have been a wilderness to Israel. Jehovah tenderly asks: “Have I been a wilderness unto Israel?” (Jer. 2:31). They clamored for flesh: the palate craved again to taste the leeks, the onions and the garlic of Egypt.
Nature’s Resources
They clung to nature’s resources. They said of the manna: “our soul loatheth this light bread,” although the taste of it was as of “wafers made with honey,” and it was spread fresh for them every morning upon the dew.
“Fed in the wilderness of old,
The camp of God nor bought nor sold.
But stores of heaven were oped each morn
And angel’s food, or heaven’s corn,
Conveyed on dew, supplied the place—
Grand, gorgeous miracle of grace!
And Thou, Lord Jesus, in Thy day,
Again didst food in deserts lay;
Yet not in grandeur of the past,
But dearer—what shall ever last—
~~~
These were Thy sympathies with us,
And we shall ever know Thee thus.”
But they tempted the Holy One and desired to re-cross the Red Sea to Egypt. This they could not do. The Cross stands between the believer and the world, an insuperable barrier to such as would return to the world’s bondage.
State and Standing
As to his standing, he cannot, for he is accepted in the perfections of his Substitute; as to his state, he may not, for that would belie his profession.
In this long period we find Jehovah treating with His people in five different ways, viz.:
Through Moses as a mediator.
Through the Aaronic order.
The first three kings reigning each forty years, with typical histories:
God through chosen vessels pre-writing the history of His people, and foretelling the doom of the Gentiles.
We will now consider these five broad outlines a little more in detail.
Jehovahism
Theocracy: Note, it is not merely monotheism, but emphatically Jehovahism, that describes the worship of Israel.
Israel Demands a King
Jehovah was Israel’s King until the days of Samuel, when in the pride of their hearts Israel demanded a king: “Nay, but we will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:19-20). Divine relations had been maintained with the people through Moses, who was “king in Jeshurun” —Israel—(Deut. 33:5; Isa. 44:2); then by the priesthood; afterward by means of judges raised up from among the people. “The LORD your God was your king” (1 Sam. 12:12), said Samuel unto them, and they very soon had to own: “we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king” (1 Sam. 12:19).
Priesthood: This relationship was exercised through the Aaronic order, established in the wilderness. By means of this mediatorial service the people might approach to God, but only on the ground of the shed blood.
Aaron, Levites
Aaron with his sons attended upon the priestly office. The Levites were appointed to serve about the tabernacle. The sinner needs a mediator; the saint, a priest and advocate. Believers in the present time are both priests to worship and Levites to serve.
The Cloud
A cloud accompanied the camp. Before the Red Sea it became darkness and confusion to the Egyptians, but illuminated Israel’s path. As a shelter, it protected them from the heat of the day, while it was a light upon their pathway by night. As it moved, Israel journeyed; when it rested, Israel encamped (cf. Num. 9:15-23).
The Tabernacle
The tabernacle, with its appointments and priestly service, forms the most interesting and instructive study in types presented in all the Word of God. Everything speaks of the glories and perfections of Christ and of the eternal efficacy of His work. It is a lifetime study and here only the briefest outline can be given.
It will be noted that the Spirit of God in unfolding these glories, begins from the inside; from within the most holy, the sanctom sanctorum, and works out through the holy (place) the sanctum, to the brazen altar at the gate of the court, the atrium.
(a) Vessels of display: First of all, then, we get the vessels, or ordinances, of display.
Ark of the Covenant
Within the thick darkness of the most holy, stood the ark of the covenant. The gold typified Christ in His divine nature, while the wood underneath told of His humanity; nor could the gold be separated from the wood without marring the ark. Jehovah dwelt between the cherubim, (cf. Ps. 80:1).
The Mercy Seat
The mercy seat with these overshadowing cherubim, crowned the ark, and it was here that Jehovah, through Moses the mediator, met His people. Christ is the antitype of the blood-sprinkled mercy seat, for God has set forth Jesus to be a “propitiation”; i.e., a mercy seat (Rom. 3:25), and here alone it is that God can meet man in grace. We are not told that there was any light within the most holy, or holy of holies.
Shekinah
Psalm 80:1 is doubtless an allusion to the light of the divine presence known to the Jews as the shekinah. The table of shewbread within the holy (place)—(note, the word “place,” when used in connection with this part of the tabernacle, is in italics; cf. also Heb. 9:2, margin; also N. Tr.)—had spread upon it the twelve loaves, a witness to the completeness in God’s thoughts of His people.
Twelve Loaves
Even later when Israel was rent asunder, there were still the twelve loaves upon the table in the temple. Twelve is the administrative number. It will be through Israel’s restored twelve tribes, as “head” of the nations and no longer the “tail”, that God’s earthly government will be administered in the approaching age. The seven-branched candlestick shed its light in the holy (place), but needed to be continually replenished.
Curtains of the Tabernacle
Viewing the curtains which were placed over the boards, and thus formed the tabernacle proper, we have, first, the beautiful inner coverings of fine twined linen, blue, purple and scarlet, with inwrought figures of the cherubim; next, the goats’ hair coverings; then, the rams’ skins dyed red; and last of all, the badgers’ skins, forming the rough exterior. The priests within could tell of glory and beauty, while the stranger without, beholding the rough badgers’ skins as the camp journeyed, saw no beauty. So to us, once there was in Jesus “no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa. 53:2), but being brought nigh, He has become the “altogether lovely” One.
The Boards
The boards, hewn from the forests, their place in nature, and fitted by appointed workmen, were overlaid with gold; they rested upon sockets of silver made from redemption money, showing redemption as the basis of everything: thus they set forth the believer’s standing before God.
The Five Bars
These board were held together by five bars, the middle bar running from end to end. These five bars may prefigure the five different gifts imparted by the Head for the “perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying (upbuilding) of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).
The holy (place), or sanctuary, was divided from the most holy, by the veil, thus making two compartments.
The Veil
The veil was of the same material as the gate and the door; i.e., of blue, purple and scarlet and fine twined linen, but it had the added feature of the cunning work of the cherubim wrought in it. The veil was supported by four pillars of acacia wood (humanity), resting upon sockets of silver (redemption), and formed the entrance into the most holy. We get the antitype in (Heb. 10:19-20); “through the veil, that is to say his flesh.” The door, supported by five pillars set upon sockets of brass, formed the entrance into the large compartment called the holy (place). Observe: The veil is not mentioned either in the books of Samuel or the Kings, but when the temple is referred to, “doors” are mentioned. However, in 2 Chron. 3:14, the “veil” is mentioned. All this shows us that in the coming age Israel will not know the special nearness of approach which is even now the believer’s portion by faith.
Brazen Altar
The brazen altar was the first thing to meet the eye inside the gate. It was constructed of brass and made hollow with boards. The brass is that which could withstand the fire, and typifies Christ, as the only One able to sustain the judgment of God against sin.
Hollow With Boards
The expression “hollow with boards”, may speak of the One who first emptied Himself, then humbled Himself (cf. Phil. 2:7-8).
Burnt Offering
The victims for the burnt offerings were brought to this altar within the court (the atrium), where they were slain and then burnt.
Sin Offering
In the case of the sin offering, which was offered on the great day of atonement, where the blood of the victim was carried within the holiest of all to be sprinkled (once) upon, and “seven times” before, the mercy seat, the body of the victim was burnt without the camp. It is to this impressive solemnity the Holy Ghost refers in Heb. 13:11-13 : “Jesus also ... suffered without the gate ... let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.”
Outside the Camp—Inside the Veil
Would that we understood better that principle of reproach which gives us now a place with Himself “outside the camp”, but withal, brings us near to Himself “within the veil”! The fire upon the brazen altar was never to go out.
The Fat Burnt
It was here that the fat was burnt. The energies and the emotions of Christ are seen in this, and all show us God’s satisfaction and delight in His Son. The service was typical, and as such, continuous.
Wall of Fine Linen
The hangings of the court were of fine linen of equal dimensions everywhere. These curtains enclosed a space one hundred cubits in length and fifty cubits in breadth. They were supported by pillars resting upon brazen sockets (cf. Ex. 27: ). The pillars were filleted with silver; i.e., were united one to the other. The pillars were likely set on the inside, so that the fine linen, that which ever sets forth the spotless and inherent purity of Christ, could alone be seen without.
The Pillars
The pillars would represent our responsibility as to testimony in the world. The gate constituted the only way of entrance into the court, thus emphasizing the truth of approach to God through Christ alone (John 10:9).
The Gate, the Door and the Veil
The gate, the door and the veil, all set forth various degrees of nearness and approach to the presence of Jehovah, who dwelt in their midst. The hangings of the gate were supported by four pillars upon sockets of brass.
Blue—Purple—Scarlet—And Fine Linen
They were of blue, purple and scarlet and fine twined linen.
The blue pointed to the distinctive heavenly glory of Christ (cf. John’s Gospel); the purple to Gentile royalty (cf. Mark 15:17). We speak of the royal purple worn by rulers. The scarlet is Jewish royalty. King Saul’s maidens were adorned with scarlet. It is the color of the world and in it Babylon and the beast flount themselves (cf. Num. 19:6; Rev. 17:3-4). The fine twined linen is the clothing of the spotless Servant; it is the righteousness of saints (cf. Rev. 19:8).
(b) Priestly office: After the vessels of display are set forth, we next have the priesthood introduced. Aaron and his sons formed the priestly household in the wilderness and as seen together they foreshadow Christ and the church, in the aspect of the house, not the body (cf. Heb. 3:6).
Garments of Glory and Beauty
Aaron the high priest, was clothed in garments for glory and beauty. These were: the breast-plate, ephod, robe of blue, broidered coat, girdle and mitre. The names of the tribes of Israel were graven like the engravings of a signet upon the stones of memorial and grouped, six upon one shoulder and six upon the other. The six and six, making twelve, set forth the administration of divine government from the place of strength. One has remarked: “He can carry the government of the world upon one shoulder— ‘the government shall be upon his shoulder’ (Isa. 9:6)—but He places the lost sheep that He finds upon both shoulders— ‘he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing’” (Luke 15,:5). What a place of security!
Names in the Breastplate
The names of the twelve tribes were also deeply graven, not merely written, upon the precious stones and were distributed individually in the breastplate over the ephod. Thus, each had his own special place over the heart. Collectively, He carries us upon His shoulders; individually, He has us in the place of affection upon His heart.
“Our names from the palms of His hands Eternity will not erase;
Impressed on His heart they remain In marks of indelible grace.”
“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” (Isa. 49:16).
The Anointing Oil
The anointing oil with which. Aaron the high priest was anointed, was a precious redolent compound of myrrh, calamus, cassia and cinnamon. This fragrance speaks of the perfections of the Lord Jesus Christ in His person and work; “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia” (Ps. 45:8); “because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth” (Song of Solomon 1:3).
The varied and beautiful priestly vestments set forth the glories of God’s great High Priest, now in the heavenly sanctuary for us.
Aaronic Priesthood
In its present exercise toward us as tried and needy ones, the priesthood of Christ is Aaronic in character (cf. Heb. 2:17-18); as to its order, it is that of Melchisedec: i.e., it does no descend, but is always the same: “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood” (cf. Heb. 7:17-24).
Melchisedec Priesthood
The Melchisedec order has to do with blessing, refreshment and communion. It was in this character that Melchisedec met Abraham with bread and wine (cf. Gen. 14:18); as a priest, not within the veil for intercession, but one come out to bless. Christ will thus act when a priest upon His throne during the millennial age. Christ now appearing in the presence of God for the believer is there in priestly grace to dispense mercy, and seasonable help. It is not a question of my calling or standing; the blood perfected that.
Priesthood and Advocacy
Advocacy, is quite another thing. As Advocate, He is there not to obtain righteousness nor put away guilt; but because I am now a child. He would maintain me in communion with the Father and with Himself. In the first epistle of John, however, this truth is presented rather as the fruit of redemption, while in Ephesians it is communion. Defilement in the way interrupts communion. My Advocate applies to me down here “the washing of water by the word” through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:26); and repels the accuser on high (cf. Rev. 12:10); thus restoring communion and power for service (cf. 1 John 2:1). The darkened Romanist is taught to substitute purgatory for this.
Men of War
In the wilderness there were men of war to fight; a picture of believers, who are to contend earnestly for the faith, and to fight the good fight of faith.
Priests to Worship
It was the privilege of the priests to draw near and worship.
Christians a Spiritual Priesthood
All believers now are priests: “an holy priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:5); “a royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9). The holy priest goes in to worship; the royal priest comes out to serve. We are to offer “spiritual sacrifices”; to offer the “calves of our lips.” “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me” (Ps. 50:23). Israel had a priesthood: believers are priests and have a ministry (cf. Eph. 4:11-12). The Levites were to carry the various parts of the tabernacle, every cord and every pin of which spoke of Christ. So it should be in our service; nothing should be seen but that which speaks of our Saviour and Lord.
Altar of Incense
(c) Vessels of approach: Coming now to the vessels of approach, we have the golden altar of incense which stood before the veil. Upon this altar sweet incense was continually burning, kindled morning and evening by coals from the brazen altar of judgment. These sweet odors were in shadow a fragrance of Christ, ever ascending to the Father. The last vessel mentioned is the brazen laver.
Brazen Laver
This stood in the outer court, between the brazen altar and the holy (place). Here the priests, once bathed by Moses, must daily cleanse their own hands and feet as they passed to and fro in the performance of their priestly duties. We are reminded of what the Lord Jesus said to Peter in John 13:10: “He that is washed (bathed, R. V.; or, “washed all over”, N. Tr.) needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” We are “perfected forever”, so far as our standing goes (Heb. 10:14); but we are very imperfect as to our state, and consequently we need daily the application of the Word to our consciences for cleansing of our ways. The priests of old might freely enter the holy (place). “They were never removed from their service—why? Because their persons had been washed and arrayed to prepare them for it. No need to repeat this, no renewal of their title to their sacred office. But their hands and feet were continually defiled by the blood of the sacrifices.
Need of Daily Cleansing
Then what must they do? Not depart from their place and office; provision was made for cleansing them” (cf. Ex. 29:4; 30:17-21). This practical daily cleansing “by the washing of water by the word” is now going on in every believer (cf. Eph. 5:26).
The Golden Censer
There was one vessel in the holy of holies which is not mentioned in Exodus, viz.: the “golden censer” (Heb. 9:4). The use of this is found in Leviticus 16:12. We are nowhere told that the censer was made.
The Uncreated Son of God
In this respect it typifies Him, the uncreated One, in, and from, all eternity. We should perhaps say “in” eternity, as eternity has no time measure. Eternity cannot be comprehended by the finite mind. We might speak of the eternity of the past and of the eternity of the future, interrupted by the infinitesimal segment called time. There is also a most striking allusion to the uncreated and eternal existence of the Son in what is said of Melchisedec in Hebrews 7:3; “having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God.”
Dwelling Place of the Son
That is, there is no reckoning of the genealogy of Melchisedec, and of the eternal Son of God as dwelling in the Father’s bosom, there could be none; while as the Son become man, God incarnate, His genealogy is most scrupulously guarded and reckoned by the evangelists.
The Eternity of the Son
Furthermore, in order to express the transcendental character of the Melchisedec priesthood of Christ, even the type itself must find its prototype in the eternal uncreated Son, hence the marvelous expression is used, “made like unto (assimilated to, N. Tr.) the Son of God” (Heb. 7:3); and this figuratively is transferred to the creature, even to Melchisedec. What clearer allusion could we have to the eternal sonship of Christ, independent of any reference to time, than Ephesians 1:3-6!
Chosen in the Son, in Eternity
In plain language this scripture tells us that the Father chose us “in him”, the Son, before the foundation of the world or the reckoning of time. We were chosen to stand before the Father on the principle of adoption, being first redeemed by the precious blood of Christ; “accepted (literally— “taken us into favor”, N. Tr.) in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6); in the Son, of course; in the divine counsels in eternity. Our position then is that of sons; our relationship that of children. Again: Who was it the Father loved “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24) if not the Son? “Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Heb. 1:8). When did the Godhead utter this—before, or after incarnation? The query itself proves the eternity of the Son.
Sonship of Christ Not a Mere Time Relationship
Be assured the sonship of our blessed Redeemer is not a mere time relationship.
Offerings
(d) Offerings: Passing on from the tabernacle, let us now notice the offerings.
The burnt offering (Lev. 1).
The meat offering (Lev. 2).
The peace offering (Lev. 3).
The sin offering (Lev. 4).
The trespass offering (Lev. 5).
These Set forth various aspects of Christ as the spotless and perfect victim and the all-sufficiency of His atoning work. The first three were sweet savor offerings; the last two, expiatory. Exodus presents redemption, while in Leviticus we have an advance on this, where we get access to God.
The Burnt Offering
(1) The burnt offering was, as we say, God-ward; that is, it presents the work of the Cross as under God’s eye; Christ offering Himself without spot to God. He could say: “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Ps. 40:8). Even in Gethsemane’s agony, His cry was the same: “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). It speaks of the Father’s joy, while it also sets forth the voluntary aspect of the Cross: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:17-18). So it was when the moment arrived, He cried out: “It is finished”, and of His own volition “bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30). The burnt offering went up wholly as a sweet savor to God.
The Meat Offering
(2) The meat offering presents Christ in His perfect humanity. The aspect of this offering is man-ward. God sent forth His Son, “made of a woman.” There was perfect evenness (fine flour) in Him. They wondered at “the gracious words” that proceeded out of His mouth. All was attempered by the Spirit (the oil). This ordinance required “a memorial” to be burnt upon the altar. We are then told: “the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons” (Lev. 2:2-3).
(3) The peace offering presents communion. Varied measures of capacity are seen here. The offerer and the priestly family, all that were clean, had each his respective portion. The breast (affections) and the shoulder (strength), were the portions waved upon the hands of the priests before the Lord.
The Peace Offering
The action of waving which was performed in the peace offering (cf. Lev. 7:30), speaks of a risen and ascended Christ, ministering of the divine affections and strength to His people. Both portions were given to Aaron, and the daughters as well as the sons had their share.
The Sin Offering
The sin offering in the type dealt with sins; but in Christianity, the sacrifice of Christ deals with both sin (the root) and with sins (the fruit). In the sin offering the penalty is prominent. The two goats brought on the Day of Atonement teach us the doctrines of propitiation and substitution. The sinner who believes in the work of Christ upon the Cross receives by new birth a new nature which fits him for communion; and the efficacy of the blood provides an unlimited and irrefragable title to be in the presence of God, for it has first secured the throne of God as to holiness, righteousness and justice.
Justified by Faith
Thus it is that God can be “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).
Necessity — Voluntary Aspect
It is this aspect of necessity, which has its root in God’s nature, that the sin offering brings out; the burnt offering sets forth the voluntary character of the Lord’s work upon the Cross, the spring of which is infinite love (cf. Ps. 40:6-8).
Trespass Offering
(5) The trespass offering was a provision for the sins of ignorance, as well as for trespass against one’s neighbor. It has in it the thought of reparation for wrong doing. Ransom is prominent here.
All of these sacrifices but foreshadowed the infinitely glorious substance, the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
“‘A better sacrifice’ than these
It needs, the conscience to appease
Or satisfy the Lord:
No blood hath virtue to atone
For man’s offence, but His alone
Whose title is, ‘the Word.’
Jesus the Christ, on earth His name,
He came—in love to sinners came—
And bowed His head and died;
A full atonement now is made,
The ransom, by His death, is paid,
And Justice satisfied.”
The Feasts
(e) Feasts: It will be observed that typically the feasts span the whole period from creation to the eternal state. Some classify them as beginning with a Sabbath and ending with a Sabbath. Let us not stereotype the form, but lay hold of the spiritual teaching. If we include the Sabbath and separate the Passover from the feast of Unleavened Bread (although the Passover and Unleavened Bread are practically one feast—(cf. Ex. 12:8, 18; Luke 22:1, 7), then we have seven feasts of Jehovah as recorded in Leviticus 23, as follows:
1. The Sabbath. (Lev. 23; Heb. 4:1).
2. The Passover. (Lev. 23:5; Num. 28:16; 1 Cor. 5:7).
3. The Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Lev. 23:6; Num. 28: 17; 1 Cor. 5:8).
4. The Feast of Weeks. (Lev. 23:16; Deut. 16:10; Acts 2:1).
5. The Feast of Trumpets. (Lev. 23:24; Ps. 81:3).
6. The Day of Atonement. (Lev. 23:27; Zech. 12: 10-14).
7. The Feast of Tabernacles. (Lev. 23:34; Zech. 14:16).
1. The Sabbath: God’s eternal rest:
God’s physical creation labors closed with a Sabbath; He will also thus close His new creation work when He rests in the fruits of His love and grace.
The Holy Sabbath, the Land Sabbath, the Jubilee Sabbath
The first mentioned in Lev. 23:3, is the Holy Sabbath. This is past. Lev. 26:34 gives us the Land Sabbath: i.e., the land shall lie desolate and enjoy her sabbaths during Israel’s dispersion. This continues at present. Then we have the Jubilee Sabbath, when all Israel shall dwell at rest in their own land. This is future: Lev. 25:8-22 gives us a picture of it.
The Passover
(2) The Passover: Redemption: Here we have redemption by blood; type prefigurative of the death of Christ, in which the believer by faith finds shelter from avenging wrath. “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7). He was the true paschal Lamb of whom not a bone might be broken (cf. Ex. 12:8-10, 46; Ps. 34:20; John 19:36). On the very day of the Passover, He, the Antitype, “the Lamb of God”, was sacrificed.
Unleavened Bread
(3) The Feast of Unleavened Bread: Holiness in walk: It began immediately following the Passover (cf. Ex. 12:8, 18). It speaks of communion and necessarily is connected with holiness in walk. There might be no leaven (always a type of evil) in this feast. It must continue throughout the whole cycle of the seven days.
Feast of Weeks or Pentecost
(4) The Feast of Weeks: Pentecost: This feast was preceded by the offering of the sheaf of firstfruits which was waved by the priest on the morrow after the Sabbath (cf. Lev. 23:10-11). This sheaf speaks of the resurrection of Christ: “Christ the first-fruits” (1 Cor. 15:23). The Feast of Weeks, or Harvest, followed just fifty days later and was also celebrated upon the morrow after the Sabbath; i.e., the first day of the week. Its antitype in complete and final fulfillment was Pentecost. Pentecost means the fiftieth. It was fifty days after the resurrection that the Holy Spirit was poured out (cf. Acts 2), and the church was formed. The two loaves mentioned in the type speak of testimony.
Leaven, “Baken”
Observe the presence of leaven in the two loaves; but the leaven is said to be “baken”: i.e., the active principle of leaven (a type of sin) has been subjected to fire. There is no sin “on” the believer as to his standing before God, but there is still sin “in” him; hence on account of the mixture of leaven, there is provision made for a sin offering.
Believers Not “in the Flesh”
The believer is not “in the flesh” as an active ruling principle, a motive, the spring of which is his own will (Rom. 8:9). This relates to the standing of the Christian.
The “Flesh”, in Believers
The “flesh”, however, is still in him as to his state (Rom. 7:23, 25). Observe: nothing answers to the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), in the millennium. In the coming age, this feast is never rehearsed. The reason doubtless for this is the fact that it has been realized in the highest sense in the heavenly glory, when the earthly glory dawns.
Feast of Trumpets
(5) The Feast of Trumpets: Israel regathered: This follows the Feast of Weeks after a very long interval. This lengthened period is somewhat like the long parenthetical present day of grace, at the close of which will be the harvest of redemption, the resurrection of the saints out “from among the dead” (Phil. 3:11, N. Tr.). The harvest foreshadows the gathering of all the redeemed from Adam down, including the rapture of the church, to meet the Lord in the air (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16-17). The gleanings, found in the corners of the field afterward (cf. Lev. 23:22), complete the first resurrection, the last sheaves of which are seen in Rev. 20:4-6.
Parousia, Epiphaneia
The harvest is connected with the first phase of the Lord’s return and is designated by the word parousia, or presence: the second phrase is the epiphaneia or manifestation. Quickly following this outshining or manifestation, comes the “harvest of the earth”; i.e., judgment (Rev. 14:15). The Feast of Tabernacles is closely connected with the Great Day of Atonement, and shows to us the re-gathering of the remnant of the earthly people from Ephraim and Judah, when the angels “shall gather together his elect” (Matt. 24:31). Before this, however, the trumpet awakens and stirs up all Israel, preparatory to reestablishment in their own land (cf. Isa. 18:3). “Blow up the trumpet in the new moon” (Ps. 81:3), is a symbol of Israel’s reappearance. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power” (Ps. 110:3).
Israel Awakened
“In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten” (Jer. 50:4-5).
Day of Atonement
(6) The Day of Atonement: Remnant redeemed: This was a most significant and solemn feast. It came ten days after the Feast of Trumpets. In the antitype it will be marked by deep mourning among the tribes. A national repentance and reception of their long rejected Messiah will be the fulfillment according to Zech. 12:10-14, after which, its celebration appears to cease.
Feast of Tabernacles
(7) The Feast of Tabernacles: The Kingdom: This closes these solemn memorials. This feast next occurs after the harvest and the vintage, (cf. Rev. 14:15-20); meanwhile, God has sequestrated His own; i.e., the remnant, on the earth during the outpouring of His wrath (cf. Rev. 12:14-17).
Earthly and Heavenly Rest
This feast typifies the millennial rest for the earthly people, and celebrates their return to the land. Believers have a higher portion in the heavenly aspect of this rest (cf. Heb. 4:9). As yet, it has no antitype. The spared nations will join Israel in the celebration of this feast in the millennium (cf. Zech. 14:16). It would also appear that “the people of the land” will keep other feasts to Jehovah (cf. Ezek. 46:9).
The “Eighth Day”
Observe: In the type this feast reaches beyond the full seven days of the world’s week into the “eighth day” (Lev. 23:36, 39). This speaks of the commencement of a new period. The eighth day and great day: “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37); this was the “eighth day.”
Moses Type of the Law—Joshua, Type of Grace
As the wilderness ends, Moses, the representative of the law dies outside of Canaan and Joshua, the representative of grace and type of Christ, brings the people into the land of blessing. But Canaan is not heaven: it is the place of conflict, and corresponds to the “heavenly places” of Ephesians. Jehovah commands Joshua thus: “Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man.”
Twelve Stones
These men took up “twelve stones” out of the midst of Jordan and placed them on the bank of the Canaan side. Besides these, Joshua set up “twelve stones” in the midst of Jordan (cf. Josh. 4: ). This double act was a memorial witnessing that as a risen people their old life was buried out of sight, covered forever by the waters of death, and that Egypt, the place of nature, and the wilderness were left behind.
The “Old Man” — The “New Man”
In type, it was the “old” and the “new” man; the standing in Adam gone forever from view, and the new standing in Christ, the “last Adam,” ever in full view. “If any one be in Christ, there is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17, N. Tr.). The believer is now “a man in Christ”; he is in Him who is risen. Gilgal is the place where the persistent reappearance of the flesh, the workings of nature, must be brought down under the knife to the silence of death.
Gilgal
Whenever a fresh victory was gained, Israel’s only safety from self-confidence was to return to Gilgal. It was here that they ate the first passover in the land.
Manna Ceases — The Old Corn
They ate also of the manna and of the old corn, but the manna ceased, after they had eaten of the old corn of the land. They fed no longer upon that which spoke of a humbled Christ, but upon the fruit of the land of Canaan, and upon the old corn, parched with fire. This new food speaks of Christ beyond the sufferings of the Cross now risen and glorified. Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, was to be a land of blessing; but the enjoyment of it depended upon the energy of faith. Every foot of ground was contested by the adversary. In due time Israel will be brought back in grace and will be established in the land according to the divine purpose. Harvest time will come, when the strength of the enemy, typified by the swollen waters of Jordan, will again overflow its banks; but the Christian will be safe above the scene.
Conflict in Heavenly Places
Now, in this world, the Christian, risen and seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, finds the conflict begun. A Babylonish garment may be found in the tent and the camp is corrupted. The Christian is exhorted to put on the whole armor of God to meet the foe, in order to stand in an evil day. Ephesians 6:10-20 teaches us this truth. The Christian has been sheltered by the blood and redeemed by power from the dominion of Satan. He is then brought into the wilderness, where he must encounter Amalek. Here it is, that, Satan stirring up the flesh in us, our state comes before us as a humbling and painful experience, but His grace is sufficient for the severest trial.
“In the desert God shall teach thee
What the God that thou has found,
Patient, gracious, powerful, holy,
All His grace shall there abound.
On to Canaan’s rest still wending,
E’en thy wants and woes shall bring
Suited grace from high descending,
Thou shalt taste of mercy’s spring.”
Judges
(3) Judges: As soon as Joshua passed off the scene, we read: “there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD” (Judges 2:10). Think of it! One generation, and they had turned from Jehovah! How rapidly apostasy spreads!
Bochim
As a result of this declension, the people are found at Bochim, the place of weeping. This is what Israel got in exchange for Gilgal. Gilgal means a circle. It was the place where consequent upon unsparing judgment upon the flesh, Jehovah could take His place in the midst of His people.
After the days of Joshua, there were fifteen judges raised up in Israel.
Seven Deliverers
Seven of these are prominent, viz.: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson. These seven were deliverers in Israel.
Apostasy
Under the judges, we have a record of seven apostasies, seven servitudes and seven deliverances. Baal-worship at this period greatly corrupted the people, but was in a measure suppressed by the mighty Gideon. Declension was rapid; there was weakness on every hand. One of the judges, Deborah, a woman, attests this weakness. Recognition of authority was gone, and the period closed, just as the present is shaping its end: “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).
(4) Kings: Not satisfied with Judges, Israel desired to imitate the nations around them, and so they demanded of Samuel a king. God gave them a king suited to nature’s ambitions.
Saul — Nature’s Choice
Saul, nature’s choice, was a splendid specimen of a man. He appealed to the sight of the eyes, but exhibited the utter inability of nature to be subject to God. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-8).
David — Jehovah’s Choice
Saul being soon rejected, David, a man after God’s own heart, is anointed. David was truly a man of blood, a mighty conqueror, and yet, he was a man whose heart was full of grace. His kindness to the house of Saul, his enemy, is evidence of this. He was the sweet singer of Israel, and we have the depths of the human heart told out by him in Psalms. Wherever David gained a victory, he placed a garrison, in order that the gains which his sword had made might not slip away from him.
Prepares for Solomon’s Reign
His great service was to collect materials for the building of the Temple—although not permitted himself to build it—and to prepare the land for the peaceful reign of Solomon. It is in the Davidic character that the Lord will first act in the day of His manifestation, when He dashes in pieces all enemies, “like a potter’s vessel” (Ps. 2:9). It is important to note the Davidic covenant recorded in 2 Samuel 7:16. This is spoken of as “the sure mercies of David” (Isa. 55:3), and is a promise that his house shall be established forever.
Solomon
Solomon is the third king. His reign, as his name implies, was a reign of peace. It furnishes us with the type of the reign of the Prince of Peace in the coming age. “A king shall reign in righteousness” (Isa. 32:1). Solomon’s great work was the building of the Temple. The six books, viz.: Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles (two books each), develop the history of the kingdom period in Israel. In the first, the ministry of Samuel, the seeds of moral breakdown are brought to light, and the ark is taken by the Philistines. In the next, we get the stirring ministry of Elijah and Elisha, the prophets of the days of apostasy and idolatry.
Veil Rent for Believers
In 1 Kings we get neither the veil nor the altar, which probably sets forth typically the position of nearness of the heavenly saints. In the last; i.e., in Chronicles, we see the “veil” set up in the Temple as well as the “inner doors” for the “most holy,” which corresponds more to Israel’s millennial relationship (cf. 2 Chron. 3:14; 4:22). For us who believe in Christ the veil is now rent, but not so for Israel nationally.
Doors in the Millennial Temple — Not the Nearness of the Church
We have here a picture of what will obtain in millennial days. When we say the veil is unrent in the Kingdom period, we speak merely of the principle of approach and relative nearness of the nation of Israel, as compared with that of the church. As to the ground of Israel’s acceptance it is of course the same, viz.: the death of Christ.
Prophetic Office
(5) Prophecy: Prophecy, as one has said, “implies failure.” It is God’s intervention in sovereign grace in testimony to maintain His people in relationship with Himself in a time of failure. The prophetic office now introduced is for a time coincident with the royal power; i.e., the message of Jehovah reached the king through the prophets and thence the people; but failure setting in, the message is afterward addressed to the whole house of Israel.
Samuel — Greatest of the Prophets
If we exclude John the Baptist, who had the unique place of forerunner to the Messiah, and Moses, who was prophet, priest and king, then we can say that Samuel, the last of the judges, was the first and greatest of the prophets. Priesthood had broken down in Eli’s house, and now God acts in sovereign interference, preparing Samuel, just as earlier He had prepared Moses. for Himself.
Isaiah
Among those spoken of as the major prophets, we have Isaiah predicting the Babylonian captivity. In graphic language he portrays the coming glories of the millennial kingdom for Israel, with Jerusalem restored as the metropolis of blessing for the renewed earth.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah prophesies with the few left in the land. His prophetic ministry is intimately connected with the closing up of the kingdom of Judah. The book of Lamentations is the prophet’s intense anguish of spirit over the awful desolation of Judah.
Ezekiel
Ezekiel prophesies in Chaldea beside the river Chebar which lay to the northwest of Mesopotamia. In wonderful language he describes the glory departing from the Temple and from the City. He also depicts the greater glory returning to the House of the Lord in the day of restoration and settlement again in the land, of the twelve tribes.
Daniel
Among the “dispersed of Judah,” Daniel “the prophet,” as the Lord Himself styles him, is found with the little remnant in Babylon. He is the prophet of the time of the end. Here we get historical exactness. He gives us the remarkable prophecy concerning the “times of the Gentiles.”
Minor Prophets
Besides these four major prophets, we have many minor prophets (merely in the sense of their messages being more brief), who spoke direct to the nation in its divided state. An occasional warning is directed to the various nations surrounding Canaan. We may epitomize these messages as follows:
Hosea: 810-725 B.C.
Marriage (symbolical); unfaithfulness; divorcement— “Loammi,” not my people; guilt; punishment; remonstrance; restoration — “Ammi”, my people.
Joel: 810-760 B.C.
Desolation; day of the Lord; Spirit poured out upon all flesh.
Amos: 810-785 B.C.
Burden against neighboring nations; Israel exhorted to seek Jehovah; tabernacle of David raised up; glory of the Davidic kingdom.
Obadiah: 588-583 B.C.
Edom’s curse and doom; her crowning sin and visitation in the “day of the LORD”; her land added to the kingdom territory.
Jonah: 856-784 B.C.
Nineveh threatened, but repents; the “sign” of death and resurrection (cf. Matt. 12:39).
Micah: 758-699 B.C.
Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem (i.e., Israel and Judah); predicts Messiah’s birth; regathering of the people.
Nahum: 720-698 B.C.
Holiness of Jehovah, who must visit judgment upon sin; death-knell of Nineveh announced about 100 years before it fell, the time of which is verified by the Greek historian Diodorus.
Habakkuk: 612-599 B.C.
The people perplexed by the silence of God; God’s answer to it; Judah’s overthrow by the Chaldeans; Chaldeans in turn overthrown; moral reflections; closes with a beautiful psalm.
Zephaniah: 640-609 B.C.
The superficial revival under Josiah insufficient to divert invasion; approaching overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar, referred to as a foreshadowing of the “day of the LORD.”
Haggai: 520-518 B.C.
We have first the Redeemer, then the redeemed, of the earthly people. God’s judgment; its cause; Solomon’s temple, the restoration temple and the kingdom temple; encouragement and returning glory.
Zechariah: 520-518 B.C.
Both advents of Christ; Gentile world powers surrounding the remnant; telesmatic (i.e., having to do with scenes of the “last days”); Jerusalem the center; fulfillment of the Messianic hope.
Malachi: 436-420 B.C.
First and second advents; two forerunners; final pleadings of Jehovah; manifestation of the Sun of Righteousness.
Note: The time of prophesying of the three latter prophets, viz.: Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, is subsequent to the seventy years’ captivity, and with the returned remnant.
Ezra the Scribe
In this review of the prophetic books it might be profitable to make a passing reference to certain other books of the Bible which are more of an historical, moral and devotional character. Thus, Ezra and Nehemiah go together and are of an historical setting. Zerubbabel is the leader in restoring the temple. Ezra, the scribe, the spiritual leader of the returning remnant, protected by the command of Cyrus the Persian, re-establishes the authority of the law but alas! there was no shekinah glory in the temple, nor was there any Urim and Thummim.
Nehemiah the Cupbearer — The Tirshatha
Nehemiah, the cupbearer and vicegerent of Artaxerxes, the civil leader of the people, carries to a conclusion the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. These were bright revival days, and yet, Israel was without the throne of Jehovah, or the throne of David.
Esther
Esther is the book in which there is no mention of the name of God, and yet the book wherein His secret providence shines most brightly from beginning to end. God in His sovereignty watches over His own while the Gentiles rule.
Last Inspired History of the Old Testament
The book of Esther, supplemented by the book of Nehemiah, written about seventy-five years later, gives us the very last inspired history of the children of Israel. The subsequent history of this people is not inspired, while most interesting.
Hagiographa
The Hagiographa; i.e., holy writings, is the term used to signify the collection known as: Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Job probably lived before Abraham. He was a righteous man and in him we see the dealings of God with men for good, in the midst of a world of evil.
The Psalms
The Psalms recount prophetically the sorrows and sufferings of the Messiah. They bring before us the sufferings of the remnant, followed by deliverance in power and the enjoyment of the kingdom glories.
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes
Proverbs gives us guidance through the maze of this world, but there is no relationship with God, who is known as Elohim only. Ecclesiastes measures the world under God’s government, and it is always Elohim here, never Jehovah.
Song of Solomon
The Song of Solomon gives us relationship with the Messiah as the Son of David. These deep affections are suited to the relation between Christ and the church.
Rehoboam, Jeroboam
Let us now go back and gather up a little more of this sacred history and prophecy. Immediately after Solomon’s peaceful reign, the kingdom was rent asunder, the ten tribes under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, revolting and choosing Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, for their head. Judah and Benjamin alone remained with Rehoboam. Both kingdoms lapsed into idolatry, and failing to heed the repeated divine warnings through the prophets, and forgetful of Jehovah’s solemn words in the twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus and the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, they were cast out among the nations.
Israel, or Ephraim, the Ten Tribes Taken Captive to Assyria 721 B.C.
Israel, the ten tribes, are now called by Jehovah “Lo-ammi”— not my people, and “Lo-ruhamah”—no mercy. After about two hundred and fifty years as a separate kingdom, a portion of the ten tribes, viz.: Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, was removed to Assyria by Tiglath-pileser in 740 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chron. 5:26), and the remaining seven and one-half tribes were taken captive by Shalmaneser, king of. Assyria, in 721 B.C. and carried to Nineveh (cf. .2 Kings 17:3-6).
Two Tribes — The “Jews”, or Judah and Benjamin
Taken Captive to Babylon 588 B.C.
Judah and Benjamin, who came to be known especially as the “Jews,” and are so first mentioned in 2 Kings 16:6, and perhaps next alluded to as such in Ezra 4:12, were carried captive to Babylon about 588 B.C. This was one hundred and thirty-three years later than Ephraim (the ten tribes) was taken, after the kingdom had lasted three hundred and eighty-eight years from the death of Solomon.
The Ten Tribes Lost
The ten tribes were thus lost among the nations, and all attempts to identify them are utterly futile. They will never be manifested until the day when Jehovah, according to His own word, sets His hand “the second time” to gather them back into their own land. They appear to come into view, after the beast with the ten vassal kings and the Antichrist have been judged. Isaiah constantly affirms that a remnant shall return of both Ephraim and Judah.
Shear-Jashub
He names one of his sons “Shear-jashub,” which means—the remnant shall return (Isa. 7:3). Nothing could be more clearly delineated than the history, whether of the “outcasts of Israel” or of the “dispersed of Judah,” past, present and future, as set forth in the holy scriptures, and yet it is not understood by that people themselves.
Hegel, the Philosopher
Hegel, who well understood the history of nations, said of the history of the Jews: “It is a dark and troublesome enigma to me; I am not able to understand it; it does not fit in with any of our categories; it is a riddle.”
Israel’s History a Dark Enigma to Infidel Philosophers
Israel cannot account for it, because Israel is without Jesus, their Jehovah and Messiah.
We must now turn to the captives in Babylon, for it is through this little remnant that the divine counsels are preserved and passed on to us. The grant of kingly power, forfeited by Israel, is transferred to a Gentile head, and Nebuchadnezzar is constituted the first Gentile king. God thus sets aside the order which He had previously established in the world when Israel was the center, about whom the nations should have gathered, as outlined in the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy.
“Times of the Gentiles” Begin With Nebuchadnezzar
Here then, with Nebuchadnezzar, the “times of the Gentiles” begin, about 606 B.C. This period ends with the setting up of Messiah’s kingdom. It may be that in the divine reckoning, we should count the “times of the Gentiles” from the captivity of Jehoiachin, 599 B.C.; or later, from the departing glory, 594 B.C.; or even still later when the temple was destroyed and Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, was taken captive, at which time all semblance of authority had vanished from Israel, 588 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 25:7-10).
“Riches of the Gentiles”
The 11Th chapter of Romans speaks of “the riches of the Gentiles” (vs. 12).
Christendom
Note: this has to do with Christian profession and privilege, in the place of moral responsibility which we call Christendom; the sphere where ostensibly the name of Christ is owned. This chapter sounds a warning note. thus: “otherwise thou also shalt be cut off” (vs. 22). Christendom has not continued in His goodness and therefore awaits excision.
“Times of the Gentiles”
“Fullness of the Gentiles”
Do not let the reader confuse the expression “times of the Gentiles” in Luke 21:24—government—, with the “fullness of the Gentiles” in Romans 11:25—grace—: The latter refers exclusively to the completion of the church, the body of Christ.
Course of Gentile History
The beginning, the course and destiny of the Gentiles, in the place of supremacy, is clearly outlined in the prophecy of Daniel in a dual aspect:
Nebuchadnezzar’s Vision
First, the vision which Nebuchadnezzar had of the colossal image (cf. Dan. 2);
Daniel’s Vision
Second, in the vision which Daniel himself had of the four great beasts which came up out of the sea (cf. Dan. 7). The intervening chapters depict the moral characteristics of the course of the Gentiles, viz.:— idolatry, pride, hardness, obduracy, mockery, blasphemy, defiance. Mark well how the “times of the Gentiles” begin, viz.: by an image set up before which all, without exception, must bow. Those who refused faced the fiery furnace. Just so will present Gentile rule end. There will be demand for abject prostration of all before the image of the beast.
Church Kept “Out of” — Israel Kept “Through” the Trial
Daniel was kept out of the furnace; so the church will be kept “out of the hour of trial” (Rev. 3:10, N. Tr.), by being “caught up.” His three companions were kept through it; so also a little earthly remnant in faithful testimony at the close of this age will be preserved. O, for the faith of Daniel! It rested upon intelligent communion with the Most High God. He goes at once to the king and assures him that he will tell the interpretation of the dream. Mark well: this was before ever he had the answer from God!
The Faith of Daniel
This is unqualified confidence, resting upon knowledge of the character of God. Have I it? Have you it? Have we any measure of it? Such is our privilege! Although Daniel escaped the furnace, he was with the wild beasts in the den of lions. It is said of the Lord Jesus that He was “with the wild beasts” (Mark 1:13), but no angel was needed to shut their mouths, for they could not harm Him. Paul, a witness among the Gentiles testifies “I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion”—Nero—(2 Tim. 4:17).
The Gentile Colossus
Referring to the image of the king’s dream, we have: the head of fine gold; the breast and arms of silver: the belly and thighs of brass; the legs of iron, with the feet and toes part of potter’s clay and part of iron. In the four heads of empire we see:
1. Idolatry;
2. Beasts, losing consciousness of relationship with God;
3. Impiety;
4. Self-exaltation.
This rule of magnificence beginning with Nebuchadnezzar, the head of fine gold, deteriorates until it becomes a worthless, incoherent power, “partly strong, and partly broken” (brittle), represented by the iron mingled with miry clay. So we see the whole range of human government, from monarchial power concentrated in a head and set up as a divine institution, superseded finally by pure democracy, a condition which becomes the most corrupt of all forms of human rule.
Deterioration — Not Human Progress
Deterioration and not modern progress is here delineated. It is the verdict of history, as illustrated by Greece and Rome, that the most cultured nations fell by reason of their very culture. Righteousness, justice, morality, family sanctity were pushed to the background.
“Divine Right of Kings”
But democracy is not the last form of rule. Divine order recognizes headship, authority, vested in a king. The right and title to kingly power granted to Nebuchadnezzar, the first ruler of the Gentiles, was in no sense of human origin. It was directly by God’s appointment: “the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom” (Dan. 2:37). All peoples and nations and languages were to render allegiance to him. Thus it is that we have the idea, true enough in its origin, of “the divine right of kings.”
The Gamut of Human Government
The whole gamut of human government set forth in the gold, the silver, the brass, the iron and miry clay, must be thoroughly tried. The iron of imperialism is superseded by the fragile clay of democracy, weakened as the “iron” commingles “with the seed of men” (Dan. 2:43). Possibly Latin and Teutonic elements are seen here. As every form of monarchy has failed, so also the present restless tide of popular government will have its day and will subside into the quiescence of utter collapse. The world will then witness for the brief space of seven years (i.e., during the seventieth prophetic week of Daniel) the rule of that satanic trinity, the “beast” (Rev. 13:1), the false prophet— “another beast”—(Rev. 13:11), and “the dragon” (Rev. 13:4).
Tri-Unity of Godhead Counterfeited
This concerted trinity will be a counterfeit of the unity of the Godhead. The age will then have passed the point when “the powers that be” are any longer “ordained of God.” The “times of the Gentiles,” now speedily running out, must very shortly give place to the unchallenged supremacy of Christ. Then, Israel as the human vessel for the display of earthly government shall be “the head, and not the tail” (Deut. 28:13).
Collapse of the Gentile Powers
The Stone “cut out without hands,” the reign of Christ in the approaching millennium, will ere long smite the Gentile image upon the “feet,” when it will immediately become “like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors” (Dan. 2:34-35). Such is the denouement of the Gentile colossus! The beast and the false prophet will then be cast alive into the lake of fire, and Satan will be found in the bottomless pit. Then—and not by the preaching of the gospel as in this age of grace, zealously as we should obey this commission—and not until then, does the Stone, after smiting the image, grow until it fills “the whole earth” (Dan. 2:35).
Babylon — Nebuchadnezzar
The reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the head of gold, in Babylon, commenced about 606 B.C. and was followed by the joint kingdom of Media and Persia, represented by the breast and arms of silver.
Darius, Cyrus, Medo-Persia
“Darius the Median took the kingdom” (Dan. 5:31): Cyrus the Persian, who in 539 B.C. reduced the whole province, succeeded his uncle Darius as the head of the joint kingdom in 538 B.C.
Alexander the Great — Greece
The third kingdom, represented by the belly and thighs of brass, was the Grecian empire, established in 333 B.C. by Alexander the Great. His kingdom was divided among four of his generals at his death. Lastly, we have the legs of iron, with the toes of iron and part of miry clay, representing the Roman empire. Greece became a Roman province in 146 B.C., and Judea in 66 B.C.
The Caesars — Rome
Caius Julius Caesar was born 100 B.C., slain 44 B.C. Caesar Augustus, born in 66 B.C., ruled from 30 B.C., to A.D. 14, being succeeded by Tiberias Caesar, who ruled from A.D. 14 to A.D. 37,
Fall of Rome — A.D. 476
Iron Rome, with the imperial Caesars at its head, was soon divided into the two legs of the image. The first division was in A.D. 364, with Valentinian, at Rome, emperor over the western kingdom, and Valens, at Constantinople, emperor over the eastern kingdom. The empire was finally divided between the two sons of Theodocius in A.D. 395, and a little later, the western kingdom was broken up by barbarian inroads in A.D. 476.
The New Roman Empire
The first three empires have passed away, but not the last. Imperial Rome, like an adder scotched in the path, is about to lift its hydra head again, but for the last time. Then, all the world will wonder at the superhuman powers of its leader, as he consolidates empires at will. This super-human source is recorded in Revelation 13:2. Since the Great War, politicians and diplomats have spoken freely, although perhaps little comprehending the meaning of their words, of the “new Roman empire.” The world will yet see more of Rome’s iron teeth, when the empire is resuscitated in the days of the beast, that super-man sponsored by his prime minister and coadjutor, the Antichrist (cf. Rev. 13: ).
Vision of the Four Beasts
To Nebuchadnezzar, the vision was one of magnificence, for man “looketh on the outward appearance”; but the same course of Gentile supremacy, when revealed to Daniel, the man “greatly beloved,” was couched in language and pictures far different, with intent to represent the moral aspect of this divine revelation. Thus Daniel sees the whole future of the world under the figure of four great beasts.
Historical Sequence
This presentation gives us the historical sequence. Man’s heart by nature, by easy stages, descends to the bestial. Will any enter the arena to contest this statement in the light of the awful cataclysm of the Great War and its aftermath, just past in Europe? What a nightmare still haunts the continent! Man’s heart just needs the occasion and it will display its deep seated depravity.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately (incurably) wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). The first and third chapters of Romans with many other scriptures recite the rebellious and murderous character of the natural heart.
New Creation
Nothing but the sovereign grace of God can effect any change and that change is not moral improvement, but an entirely new thing; i.e., the new birth. “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7); i.e., born anew, born from above.
The Lion; the Bear; the Leopard; the Strange Beast With Iron Teeth
Looking then at the vision as Daniel saw it, we have the first beast which came up “from the sea” (Dan. 7:3) in appearance like a lion with eagle’s wings: this was Babylon. The second was a bear, raised up on one side, with three ribs between his teeth: this was the ferocious, devouring character of Medo-Persia. The third was like a leopard with four wings on its back: this was Alexander the Great, at the head of the Grecian world, swooping down with keenest strategy upon the prey. The fourth was exceeding strong with teeth of iron, devouring and stamping out nations. It had ten horns upon its head: this was the well-known empire of the Caesars; imperial Rome, with its far reaching conquests. The famous Caesarian phrase, veni, vidi, vici,— “I came, I saw, I conquered,” characterized the irresistible march of the Roman legions. It is in the days of these kings; i.e., the ten horns (powers) yet to come into view, that the God of heaven sets up a kingdom “which shall never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:44).
Fifth Kingdom, or Rule of the Lord Jesus Christ
This, which we might speak of as the fifth kingdom, will be the personal reign of the Lord Jesus Christ over all the world kingdoms, when He comes forth manifested in His character as Son of man. It will be the millennial age. It will be the finality of all human rule and creature authority, which has so signally failed.
Delegated Authority
It is true there will be during the kingdom age delegated authority, but it will be from a recognized divine source. Then all nations shall be subject to the Son of man.
Historian Gibbon
The great historian Gibbon has said: “The four empires are clearly delineated; and the invincible armies of the Romans described with as much clearness in the prophecies of Daniel, as in the histories of Justin and Diodorus.” Just here let it be remarked that the former part of the eleventh chapter of Daniel gives us the history of Syria, and the latter part, that of Egypt. These were the two principal surviving nations of the four divisions of Alexander’s empire.
King of the North, King of the South
They are styled here, the “king of the north” and the “king of the south.” Daniel’s prophetic forecast of their histories has been so minutely fulfilled, that infidels think the narrative must have been written subsequent to the events. Poor infidelity! It is a dreary waste. All the above is cited to the confusion of Daniel’s critics.
Moses Foretold the Coming of the Romans
In this connection also let it not be forgotten that even the prophet Moses, fully eight hundred years before its foundation, foretold the rise of the Roman empire, “a nation of fierce countenance” (cf. Deut. 28:49-50).
The 70 Weeks
The seventy weeks: It is most important to notice some of the features of Daniel’s prophecy as to the “seventy weeks” (Dan. 9:24). A prophetic week is 7 years (cf. Gen. 29:20, 27, 28). A prophetic year is 360 days (lunar), Jewish; not 365 ¼ days (solar), according to our chronology: therefore, 360 days equals a prophetic year in this marvelous prophecy. Proof of the 360-day Biblical calendar year is found in Gen. 7:11-24, and Gen. 8:3-4. That is, 150 days divided by a 30-day month, makes exactly 5 months, as indicated in the text.
7 Weeks, 62 Weeks, 1 Week
The period of 70 weeks is divided into 7 weeks and 62 weeks (cf. Dan. 9:25), and 1 week (cf. Dan. 9:27). The phrase “seven times”; i.e., the expression of God’s governmental ways passing over Israel, is to be found in the twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus and is the same period as 7 years; therefore, “a time and times and the dividing of time” (Dan. 7:25), is 3 ½ years. During the 7 weeks of this prophetic period, the street and the wall of Jerusalem were to be rebuilt by the returning remnant, in “troublous times” (cf. Dan. 9:25). The succeeding 62 weeks, it would appear, continue until the time when Jesus as the Messiah entered Jerusalem “meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass” (Matt. 21:5).
Messiah Cut off
Messiah shall “be cut off and shall have nothing” (Dan. 9:26, see margin), is fulfilled at the crucifixion which occurred on our April 2d, A.D. 30. The last week, the 70th, is yet in suspense and will be fulfilled subsequent to the rapture of the saints (cf. 1 Thess. 4:17). This week with its awful portent will come before us again in reviewing the tribulation period.
Prophecy of Zechariah Fulfilled
The starting point from which to count the 70 weeks would seem to be the 1St of Nisan 445 B.C. (March 14th), which is the 20th of Artaxerxes (cf. Neh. 2:1). Now, 7 weeks plus 62 weeks equals 69 weeks; which multiplied by 7 (i.e., 7 years to a week),— 69x7—, equals 483 years; and 483 years of 360 days, equals 173,880 days from the 1St Nisan, which end on the 10th day of Nisan in the 18th year of Tiberias Caesar, being the very day when the prophecy of Zechariah was fulfilled (cf. Zech. 9:9), and our Lord made His first and only public entry into Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 21:5-16; 23:37-39).
Fall of Jerusalem
Four days later He was crucified, “cut off” and “had nothing” (Dan. 9:26 margin). A little later, A.D. 70, Jerusalem fell under Titus Vespasianus.
50,000 Return From Babylon
After seventy years captivity in Babylon, during which time the land enjoyed its sabbaths (cf. Lev. 25; Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10), a remnant of about fifty thousand Jews returned to Jerusalem under Ezra the ecclesiastical leader. This return of the people was made possible by the decree of Cyrus (cf. Ezra 1:1-2). Nehemiah the Tirshatha, or civil ruler returned a few years later and built the wall.
Cyrus and Josiah Prophetically Named
For the express purpose of showing favor to the Jews was Cyrus raised up. Observe: he was prophetically named “Cyrus” by the Lord more than a century before his birth, and his career with respect to the Jews was divinely marked out (cf. Isa. 44:28). “Josiah” also was another who was prophesied of by name almost three and a half centuries before his birth (cf. 1. Kings 13:2, 2 Kings 22:1).
Prophecy History Pre-Written
Thus, the statement, “prophecy is history pre-written,” is absolutely incontrovertible.
A Feeble Revival
This returning remnant of “feeble Jews,” as they were called, evidenced a little reviving of faith. The energy displayed in the leaders, Ezra and Nehemiah, is truly refreshing to witness. At best, however, it was but a flickering light compared with the palmy days of Solomon. It was this little remnant that built the temple of Zerubbabel as we speak of it (cf. Ezra 3 and 4), but the “fathers,” those who had seen the glory of the former temple which Solomon had built, wept, as they recalled the glory that had departed. Well might they week, for there was no ark of the covenant within the holy of holies. The little handful dwindled down later to the Simeons, Annas and Elizabeths, who with Zacharias, were waiting for the consolation of Israel, and who waited not in vain. Thus the Old Testament closes with the feeble band of whom it was said: “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name” (Malachi 3:16). This brings us to the close of the Old Testament.
The 400 Silent Years
The four hundred silent years: Between the close of the Old Testament and the opening of the New, we have what is commonly called the four hundred silent years during which there are no prophets nor are there any canonical writings.
Apocrypha Not Inspired
The apocryphal writings during this period are of meager interest, and furnish no inspired chronology. The church of Rome resorts to this spurious collection, which is not even good history, in an attempt to establish her doctrine of purgatory. As proof of this record being uninspired, see introductory chapter on “Inspiration,” in writer’s paper “A Threefold Cord.”
Age Closes in Judgment
Coming then to the incarnation, the public ministry and rejection of Messiah the Son of God, we find that God closes the long period of “Law,” in judgment. “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate . . . Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matt. 23: 38-39). From that moment, desolations, wars and pogroms, still continue. What a relief for the souls who can sing:
“Jesus is coming His saints to release,
Coming to give to this warring earth peace;
Sinning and sighing and sorrow shall cease;
Jesus is coming again.”
6. Grace
Incarnation
The New Testament begins with that inscrutable mystery, the Incarnation. “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). “The Word was made (became) flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)” (1 John 1:1-2).
The Eternal Son, Born in Time
The Son of God, begotten in time, is a fact and a truth aside from, or rather let us say, additional to, His eternal relationship with the Father before any work of creation was wrought. “This is my beloved Son,”—the eternal Son, owned and sealed also as Son of man (cf. Matt. 3:16-17).
No Object for His Faith; He Is Faith’s Object
In the passage referred to observe, there is no object set before Him, upon which His faith is to rest. He was Himself, heaven’s object. How unlike us in this! “Last of all he sent unto them his son” (Matt. 21:37); thus the parable runs.
Isaac Offered — In Type
This was the dawning of that day which Abraham saw by faith when in figure he offered up his only son, even Isaac: “Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56); but Abraham’s faith no doubt carried him right on to that yet future day, the “morning without clouds.” Then all the families of the earth shall be blessed in his “seed”; i.e., in Christ (cf. Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16). “Though he was rich,” (2 Cor. 8:9)—When was it that He was rich? In eternity! We do not speak of a principle as being rich. No! The eternal Son; a Person; in eternity, was rich.
The Son in Eternity
Let us for a moment, with unshod foot, trace the Son backward as well as forward. For Him, it is but one eternity: He is the “high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity” (Isa. 57:15), but in order that you and I may comprehend Him in some measure, the Holy Spirit presents Him as in the past, in the present, and in the future, thus: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). His “yesterday,” lies in the immeasurable, unspeakable distance of eternity; it has no beginning. There it is, that John by the Spirit beholds Him in unapproachable light, “in the bosom of the Father,” and thus declares His eternal Sonship. Hebrews 1:2 reads literally “in Son”; i.e., One who is Son; not One who was Son; not One who became Son. “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). This, is His eternal relationship. He who is Son became man.
Mystery of His Eternal Sonship
We cannot measure this mystery, but let us fear, as one has said, lest “we dim the light of that love in which our souls are invited to walk on their way to heaven.” What an habitation, the Father’s bosom!
“Son of God, Thy Father’s bosom
Ever was Thy dwelling place;
His delight, in Him rejoicing,
One with Him in power and grace.”
Past
It is the Father whom the Son reveals and declares to us. Reason fails us, but on the principle of faith, revelation makes it good to the soul. Let us guard the mystery of the eternal sonship of Christ, although we feebly comprehend it. “How,” asks one, “would our souls answer the man who would tell us it was not His own Son whom God ‘spared not’? How would it wither the heart to hear that such an One was only His Son as born of the virgin! Was it with his servant, or with a stranger, or with one born in his house merely, that Abraham walked to Moriah?” His “yesterday” ended at the cross:
Present
His today began with His resurrection. We know Him now seated at the “right hand of the Majesty on high,” inviting us to a throne of grace, moment by moment for seasonable help.
Priest
He is there a Priest before God, touched with the feeling of our infirmities; One suited to our needs, able to dispense mercy and grace.
Advocate
He is also there as our Advocate before the Father to answer for us in face of all the accusations of the Devil (cf. Rev. 12:10); and by the Spirit, down here to restore us to communion when we have stepped aside out of the path. He is there to carry on our affairs for us, that we may walk suited to the divine mind. Today He offers abounding grace: “To-day if ye will hear his voice”; but shortly it will be judgment, at His second advent.
Future
Of His future ( if we might use such an expression), His “forever,” what shall we say! Who can cross over and view the unknown? The waves and billows of time will cease to roll but He is the same. “His dominion is an everlasting dominion”; i.e., He rules as long as there remains anything to be subjected. Even when the Son delivers up the kingdom, a delegated thing, He is still in that eternity where the finite mind is lost; “the same, and thy years shall not fail” (Heb. 1:12).
“We change—He changes not;
The Christ can never die;
His love, not ours the resting place,
We on His truth rely.”
Fullness of the Godhead Dwells in Him
“In him all the fullness (of the Godhead) was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:19, N. Tr.). What a Person! What can exceed all fullness of the Godhead?
New Testament — Display of Grace
The New Testament then is the opening of that period which we speak of as the dispensation of the grace of God: His clemency toward sinners; indeed, more than this, for the history of man’s responsibility was closed at the Cross, and we now come in on the ground of sovereign grace. “God allowed ages to pass (the different distinct periods in which man has in divers ways been put to the test, and in which he has had time to show what he is) without yet accomplishing His work of grace.
Trial of Man
“This trial of man has served to show that he is bad in nature and in will. The multiplication of means only made it more evident that he was essentially bad at heart, for he availed himself of none of them to draw near to God. On the contrary, his enmity against God was fully manifested.”
Do I Know That I Am Saved?
Some reader of these pages may pause to ask himself the question: “I wonder after all, whether I am really saved or not?” Another deeply exercised may frankly own: “I am not saved, but I desire to be.” Just a word to such:
(1) Condemnation:
“There is no difference . . . for all have sinned” (Rom. 3:22-23).
“All the world . . . guilty before God” (Rom 3:19). Have you accepted this as God’s verdict against all your opinions and the self-righteousness in which you are intrenched? This conclusion is an initial work of the Spirit of God in the soul.
(2) Justification:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (i.e., mercy seat) through faith in his blood . . . that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:25-26).
The blood: “It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11).
Substitution: the death, not the life, of Christ, is the ground of justification: faith is the principle upon which alone God treats with the sinner as to its appropriation.
(3) New creation:
“Ye must be born again” (anew) (John 3:7).
“Except a man be born of water (i.e., the Word of God, cf. 1 Pet. 1:23), and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This work of the Spirit of God is a divine operation wrought from without, implanting a new life.
(4) Assurance:
“He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (out of death into life, R. V.)” (John 5:24). “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself” (I John 5:10).
Unchangeable Nature of God
“Eternal life is connected with the unchangeable nature of God; with His counsels which are as abiding as His nature.” “Hath”! Present possession! This is the word our adorable Redeemer uses to assure our souls.
Security
The believer stands unafraid before the accuser, for in Eph. 4:8-10 and Col. 2:15, he reads of One who has broken through the stronghold of the enemy. Man became Satan’s captive through the fall and thus was separated from God. But the Lord Jesus Christ has been in death and as victor over death and hades has led captivity captive, or a multitude of captives, Satan and his train. The believer is now linked with this mighty Captain of our salvation and is safe. What riches of His grace that reached down to where we were! Now we are associated with the One who was not only “carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51) or the One who “passed through the heavens” (Heb. 4:14, N. Tr.), but One who has “ascended up far above all heavens” (Eph. 4:10).
Jesus Sustains the Glory
The whole weight of the glory of God was brought to bear upon the Son. Thus He was put to the proof to see whether He could sustain it, or not. Jesus sustains it and thus vindicates God’s justice, majesty, truth and love. Christ is risen; Satan is judged, shortly to be consigned to the pit, and finally to meet his doom in the lake of fire (cf. Rev. 20:10). One has traced these ways of God in the following language: “God, the God of all grace and of glory, has sent Him who was the eternal object of His delight, His own Son, to go down to the depth of the position in which we were, even to death, emptying Himself of His glory to be a man, ‘in the likeness of flesh’, and being a man humbling Himself unto death in order that the whole question of sin with God should be decided in the Person of Christ, He being considered as in our position. Jesus could take this position to be made sin precisely because He was Himself absolutely exempt in every way from it.” Many have erroneous thoughts concerning the sufferings of Christ upon the cross. God is thought to be austere and unwilling to pardon, without inflicting dire punishment either upon man or upon Christ. This is not the truth. The Son came into the world to assure us of God’s love, and His readiness to pardon. “God is love” (1 John 4:16). It was not necessary that Christ should prevail upon God to love the creature, on the contrary: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Cor. 5:19). He desired to display His love, but sin was an impassable barrier. It must be removed, before the love pent up in the divine bosom could flow, out.
Propitiation — Expiation
God must be propitiated as to the question of sin. Guilt must be expiated. Jesus became a “propitiation” (Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:2; cf. type Lev. 16:6-9).
Character of Christ’s Sufferings
The Lord Jesus Christ suffered, the just for the unjust. This toward man was vicarious, substitutionary. He took the sinner’s place. He shed His precious blood to vindicate the holiness of God and to remove the penalty of guilt, which attached to the sinner. It was not a martyr’s death. He suffered for righteousness’ sake at the hand of man, but the great truth is, He suffered for sin at the hand of God. “For the transgression of my people was he stricken . . . yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin” (Isa. 53:8-10). “Through faith in his blood” (Rom. 3:25) could never be said in respect of the blood of any martyr. There was not only the question of the dignity of His person involved, but also the necessity of removing the sin barrier in a righteous way (cf. Rom. 3:26).
“See ‘sprinkled with the blood
The mercy-seat’ above;
For Justice had withstood
The purposes of Love;
But Justice now withstands no more,
And Mercy yields her boundless store.”
The question of good and evil reached its final issue in the Cross, but the finality of results will not be seen until the new heavens and the new earth.
“The Father sent the Son
A ruined world to save;
Man meted to the Sinless One
The cross; the grave.
Blest Substitute from God,
Wrath’s awful cup He drained;
Laid down His life, and e’en the tomb’s
Reproach sustained.
Earth shuddered as He died:—
God’s well beloved Son;
The darkness sought His woes to hide:
His work is done.
He lives! to die no more:
Joy dwells upon His brow:
His agonies untold are o’er;
He triumphs now!
The new and living way
Stands open now to heaven;
Thence, where the Blood is seen alway
God’s gift is given.
The river of His grace,
Through righteousness supplied,
Is flowing o’er the barren place
Where Jesus died!
The Lord shall come again!
The conqueror must reign!
No tongue but shall confess Him then,
The Lamb once slain.
Jesus is worthy now
All homage to receive:
O! sinner, to the Saviour bow,
The truth believe.”
The Gospels introduce us preeminently to the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Messiah, the Anointed One
Matthew: Jesus the Messiah, the anointed One, is presented to a little remnant of His own still found in the land, four centuries subsequent to the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. In this gospel He is announced as the King: “Behold thy King cometh.” He is Immanuel; Jehovah the Saviour. As Messiah, His genealogy is here traced in an ascending scale. The line of Joseph should have been reigning; but alas, Herod an Edomite, was upon the throne. This tells us a sad story of decline.
Prophet Like Unto Moses
Moses had said: “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken” (Deut. 18:15). But they would not hearken. The pride of the chief priests, rulers and elders, would not be insulted by His intrusion, and so they crucified Him.
“The pride of careless greatness
Could wash its hands of Thee:
Priests, that should plead for weakness,
Must Thine accusers be!”
Following His rejection we get the broad prophetic outlines clearly set forth in Matthew under three aspects, viz.:
Matt. 13. The kingdom in mystery—parables.
Matt. 16: The church announced—verse 18.
Matt. 17: The kingdom in glory—transfiguration.
In this gospel we have Him as the perfect victim for propitiation. The 22nd Psalm tells it out prophetically, from which that solemn cry is quoted: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
The Perfect Servant
Mark: In Mark’s gospel the Lord Jesus is presented as the perfect Prophet-Servant. Thus it is we find no genealogy here. In keeping with this it has been remarked that one does not record the genealogy of a servant. His beneficent ways and perfect service as Man amongst men is especially reflected in this gospel. He who was a man and yet very God, could say: “I am among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27). “The form of God” (Phil. 2:6): “The form of a servant” (Phil 2:7). He first emptied Himself, (ekenose) then He humbled Himself.
Doctrine of “The Kenosis” Inadequate and False
This is not a doctrine spoken of by theologians as the “Kenosis”, by which they would rob Him of His deity; it was that profound stoop to the bond-servant form, the badger skin covering under which the glorious coverings were concealed. Moses in the triumph of faith refused proffered glories, yet earthly glories; but Jesus, to whom all glory belongs by right of inheritance as well as by conquest, hides all. Is He “the carpenter’s son”? He is indeed, and yet, the One in whom dwells “all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).
David Awaits Jehovah’s Time for the Kingdom
David being tested again and again, refused to take the kingdom by his own might. He would await Jehovah’s time. So the greater than David, David’s Son and David’s Lord not only “glorified not himself to be made an high priest” (Heb. 5:5), but also refused the kingdom until the day when Jehovah will exercise His power according to Psalm 2:8-9; and Psalm 110:1.
The Girded One
Mark shows Him as the girded One, not as the King arrayed. He who has a seat on high stooped to wash the disciples’ feet when here.
Title — Son of Man
Luke: The Spirit of God marks out His path here as the Son of man; that title which witnessed to a new order of things and a wider range of the exercise of His power. This title brings Him near to us. It is the moral setting, the human biography, if we may reverently so speak, that is especially seen here. Unlike the first Adam, created and set in the earth fresh from the hand of God, Christ was born of a women, of “the virgin” (Matt. 1:23, N. Tr.). He grew up as a child, but He was the Son of God. “His relationship to His Father was as well-known to Him, as His obedience to Joseph and to His mother was beautiful, becoming and perfect.”
Luke Alone Tells of His Departure in the Cloud
It is in Luke that we get the depth of that unspeakable conflict in Gethsemane. Having gone through it all as man, with the Father, He quietly on the cross commends His spirit to His Father. Luke, alone, mentions His departure in the cloud, as he also records it in the first chapter of Acts. Jesus was as untainted amidst the pollutions of the world as when the Father’s delight before the world began.
Perfect Humanity of His Person
One has remarked: “I avow with my whole soul the true humanity of His Person; but it was not an imperfect humanity, in the condition, or under the results of sin, in any wise.” Israel was instructed to look for a divine sign: “Therefore will the Lord himself give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and shall bring forth a son, and call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14, N. Tr.). “How?” asks Mary.
Incarnation
The heavenly answer is: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Son of God in humanity! Incarnation! Wondrous stoop! Here then it is that we have the line of Mary of whom He is born, but as distinctively the women’s seed, “her seed” (Gen. 3:15). This is the unique, the divine, the supernatural distinguishing mark.
Mary the Daughter of Heli
Comparing Matthew 1:16, with Luke 3:23, there can be no doubt that Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli; i.e., Mary was a descendant of the house of David. The Talmudists, as well as Tertullian, call Mary the daughter of Heli. For Joseph’s lineage, we have to turn to Matthew.
His Personal Glories
John: This gospel unfolds to us the Son of God in all His wondrous personal glories, just as Matthew points out in a very special way His official glories. That glory which for a brief space tabernacled amongst men, was the Eternal Word become flesh, and then it returned to its own proper home.
Creator — Reconciler — Heir
The Son is introduced as the Creator of all things, as in Hebrews, the Sustainer of all things. “He was the Creator of all things in their first order and beauty; afterward, in their state of mischief and ruin, the Reconciler of all things; and by-and-by, in their re-gathering He will be the Heir of all things.” There is nothing from the throne of God to the “dust of death” and back to the highest glory of the One who has passed through the heavens, that is not filled with the redemption power of Christ. The first chapter of John antedates the first chapter of Genesis as to subject matter. It treats of what was, not of something that was done. As one has pointed out, He is— “In His existence eternal; in His nature divine; in His Person distinct.” The “Word” existed eternally.
Who the Son Is
Jesus is God. He cannot otherwise reveal the Father. It is this that John constantly brings before us. We have the full manifestation of the Father and of the Father’s love in the Son; and this manifestation for our joy and comfort.
Our Nearness to Him and to the Father Through Grace
Thus, before John closes the narrative, he gives us by the Spirit the words of Jesus after the resurrection: “My Father, and your Father . . . my God, and your God” (John 20:17). So also it is after the cross He says: “my brethren”; i.e., union, after His death, not before. Observer: He never says “our Father”, except as directing the disciples how to address the Father.
Our Distance as to His Person
Let us beware lest we pry into the inscrutable relationship which He sustains with the Father; a nearness which excludes us while we draw near with unshod foot in contemplation of His Person. In John’s gospel the Jews are treated as rejected and reprobate from the first chapter. This gospel gives us the divine side of things and for this reason neither the sorrows of Gethsemane nor of the Cross are mentioned. We have no ascension scene in John’s gospel, and yet he is the only one who gives us the “Father’s house.” The coming and the work of the promised Comforter are developed in chapters 14 and 16. As in the gospel, so also in John’s first two epistles, it is the “Father” who is constantly brought before us. The epistle to the Hebrews and that to the Colossians, develop the doctrine of the eternal relationship of the Son with the Father.
Observe the striking themes especially dwelt upon toward the close of the four gospel narratives, viz.:
Matt. — The great theme of His death.
Mark — His resurrection.
Luke — His ascension.
John — Allusion to His coming.
The Acts: This book is historical. In it we have the display of the mighty power of the Holy Ghost in the formation of the church. More properly this book might be termed the acts of the Holy Ghost.
Assembly Now Takes the Place of Testimony
The assembly was now to take the place of the Jews as a testimony amongst men. In some respects the Acts is a continuation of the gospel of Luke, and this same evangelist is the writer. It opens with the unique testimony in answer to the Lord’s promise of the descent of the Holy Ghost, and His fullness operating through the human vessel.
Energy of the Holy Spirit
By the Spirit’s energy, a most powerful witness was borne to the truth of the resurrection and ascension glory of the One who now was at the right hand of God, whom God had made “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
Ministry of Angels
In addition to the special working of the Holy Ghost, we see also the special providence of God through the ministry of angels watching over His work, delivering apostles from chains and from prison.
Transition
The record shows us the transition from Judaism to Christianity; from the synagogue to the assembly. Let us remember that at the beginning, Jews exclusively formed the nucleus of Christianity. From this point on, the Spirit of God recognizes but three divisions, viz.: “the Jews . . . the Gentiles . . . the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32). Thus in the Acts we see the Holy Ghost beginning to build the church, concerning which the Lord had said: “the gates of hell (hades; i.e., Satan’s kingdom) shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). “Redemption is so perfect, that, before we get into glory, God by His Spirit can come and dwell with us here in the midst of our weakness, and because of our need.”
The Epistles: These writings of the inspired apostles follow and are doctrinal, practical and prophetical.
Apostolic Authority Ends With Death of John
Apostolic authority is present here in all its gracious, firm and regulating power, but comes to a close with the aged apostle John, about A. D. 99. All pretension to apostolic succession is but the
Judaizing of Gentilism. The epistles seek to exercise the heart and conscience as they unfold for the obedience of faith, the purposes of God concerning His Son.
The Church — The Body — The Bride
In the epistles of Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, we have the doctrine of the church, the body of Christ, the bride, especially brought out. In fact, the Pauline epistles contain this doctrine—the church, the body of Christ—which is not unfolded as such by any other New Testament writer.
Paul Completes the Word
It was a special dispensation committed to Paul, besides the gospel, to “fill up”, or complete, “the word of God”, as to subjects of doctrine (Col. 1:25; cf. also R. V. and N. Tr.), Peter, on the other hand, the apostle to the circumcision, dwells particularly upon two things: first, new birth, by the “incorruptible” seed of the Word; second, the government of God—in the first epistle toward saints, in the second toward the ungodly. He dwells also upon growth in the divine nature.
The Apocalypse: The uncovering; the unfolding; the “Revelation of Jesus Christ.” This book closes the canon of scripture. The following divisions of the book will be found helpful. The arrangement is that of a well-known scholar, now with the Lord. A series of seven sevens:
1. Church period—seven phases. Ch. 2-3.
2. Seven seals. Ch. 4:1 to 8:1.
3. Seven trumpets. Ch. 8:2 to 11:19.
4. Seven personages. Ch. 12:1 to 14:20.
5. Seven vials. Ch. 15:1 to 16:21.
6. Seven dooms. Ch. 17:1 to 20:15.
7. Seven new things. Ch. 21:1 to 22:21.
Parenthetical passages:
1. Jewish remnant and tribulation saints. Ch. 7:1-17.
2. Angel; little book; two witnesses. Ch. 10:1 to 11:14.
3. The Lamb; remnant; everlasting gospel. Ch. 14:1-13.
4. Assemblage of kings at Armageddon. Ch. 16:13-16.
5. Four alleluias in heaven. Ch. 19:1-6.
Moral Principles Come to Maturity
It is in this highly symbolical book that we see all the moral principles by which the world is governed ripening into their ultimate issues. Would that we had vision now to see their workings! “I see”, says one, “in the events which take place around me, the unfolding of the purpose of the Most High, and not a field abandoned to the struggle of human passions.” At the end we shall see the culmination of two principles, viz.: Babylon, corruption; the beast, self-will. It is no longer the kingdom of heaven in mystery; no longer the divine purpose veiled; it is the day of manifestation when the Son of man keeps His appointment with judgment (cf. Acts 17:31).
Title Deeds Delivered
The Son, the Heir of all things receives the title deeds to earth’s dominion, and the throne addresses itself to judgment.
Universal Homage
All hastens toward the display of the lordship of Christ as Son of man, and as Son of God. Human considerations cannot delay it. Human hands cannot stay it. History will shortly record it. Every eye shall see Him; every knee shall bow; the powers of darkness shall submit themselves; death and hell shall own Him. “The LORD alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isa. 2:11). “Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth” (Isa. 46:1).
Let us now review in a little more detail this sixth dispensation; the day of God’s long-suffering, mercy and grace. It opens with the birth of Christ. Incarnation. Mystery of mysteries!
Dark Calvary
For thirty-three years that divine Light shone amongst men, until God hid His face in the blackness of darkness of Calvary during those three hours while Jesus was there as the sin-bearer. Wondrous sight transcending human thought! The heart lingers here. Redemption is measured only by the value of the work, and the value of the work rests upon the dignity of the Person. He must be the Person that He is or my salvation is a delusion and is worthless. Who but God Himself can set a value upon the precious blood? God has no other way to save sinners. “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Ex. 12:13).
“None can without the blood
Of Jesus be forgiven;
‘Tis resting on the blood alone
That fits the soul for heaven.”
The Persons in the Godhead Not Separated in Their Manifestation
As to the glory of His Person He is the Creator as Son, and that necessarily before worlds were formed. “The Persons are not separated in their manifestation. If the Son wrought miracles on earth, He cast out devils by the Spirit; and the Father who dwelt in Him (Christ) did the works.” The evangelists present this heavenly stranger come down to us as God manifest in the flesh, but He is the same Person whom we see in Acts as man, glorified in heaven. Joel establishes for us that it is the God of Israel who is working wonders at Pentecost, and yet according to Peter it is the Man now glorified in heaven who does all. In John 10:17, 18, the Lord Jesus says: “I lay down my life, that I might take it again . . . no man taketh if from me, but I lay it down of myself”; and yet He also says: “This commandment have I received of my Father.” Solomon by inspiration has said of all of Adam’s race: “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death” (Eccl. 8:8). Impotence! But here is One not of the race of Adam, in whom there was no exposure to that which bears upon a fallen condition.
Free, yet Under Commandment
Free, yet under commandment! Divine paradox! All four gospels carefully note the voluntary character of the work of the Cross by emphasizing that “he gave up the ghost” (literally, dismissed His Spirit) (Luke 23:46). Omnipotence! Yes, more than that, it is infinite love and grace. He did not die of exhaustion as the creature dies, but cried with a “loud voice” as of His own volition He surrendered His Spirit. “Obedient unto death!”
Divine Necessity of the Cross
We must, however, note here another truth, and that is, the divine necessity of the Cross: “even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” In Him alone was there the capability of meeting the divine necessity and purpose. He, the spotless Substitute; “separate from sinners”; “in him is no sin.” In the Father’s bosom, in the human vessel, in His ways with man, in His answer to the claims of holiness and justice demanded by the eternal throne, He was all the same. God “manifest in the flesh,” and yet God “who is over all, God blessed forever.” This is beyond mere humanity.
Work of the Cross Could Not Be Repeated
In commenting upon His sufferings upon the cross as portrayed by the Spirit in the twenty-second Psalm one remarks: “It was a new scene, which none had been ever like, nor ever will be, in the history of eternity; which stands alone. The Righteous One forsaken of God. It cannot be repeated, if so, it would have lost its character and the repetition would destroy or deny the witness of the first—God perfectly glorified, morally glorified, about evil; He has not been, if it has to be repeated. It is once for all, complete and perfect. The nature of God has been made good in testimony, morally, in the universe. How should that be repeated? I say again, if it had to be, neither had done it; but it is done. The divine glory is perfectly, eternally made good.” So there can be no second application of the blood.
Ordinance of the Red Heifer
The ordinance of the red heifer in the 19th chapter of Numbers teaches this. There is remembrance in the ashes of the once-offered victim. On the other hand there are oft repeated washings of water by the Word on account of defilement by the way.
“In the Cross,” says one, “I see God humbling Himself—the only One of all greatness making nothing of Himself for my soul —the only One who commands all, becoming a servant of the very vilest. A person cannot receive the truth of the Cross without in measure having his walk in accordance with the spirit of it. Yet saints of God have regarded the Cross, not so much as that power by which the world is crucified unto them and they unto the world, but rather as the remedy by which they are set free from all anxiety, in order to make themselves a comfortable place in the world.”
Modern Theology
Modernist theology would rob our blessed Lord of the full glory of His Person by the doctrine of the “Kenosis” (emptying).
The Kenosis
They tell us He was cramped by limitations and that His relation to the Trinity was temporarily suspended. This is blighting philosophy. Although in the form of the perfect Servant He ever demeaned Himself according to the expression of the Father’s will. Never did His function cease as the sustainer of His Works, else what had become of the cosmos? He ever was; He still is the One “upholding all things by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3).
The world and the rejected nation never saw Him after those three hours of darkness. Doubtless Matthew 23:39, was uttered in view of this fact: “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” So also we read in Hosea 5:15: “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.” The nation is viewed as offering “swine’s blood” (Isa. 66:3). Utter departure!
Ephraim’s Sin — Judah’s Sin
Ephraim’s offence was idolatry; Judah’s, the rejection of the Messiah. After the Lord arose from the dead He showed Himself alive during forty days, the complete period for manifestation, to establish by means of many infallible proofs the truth of His resurrection (cf. Acts 1:3). All of these appearances were confined strictly to His own.
The Resurrection
What a holy theme for contemplation—His resurrection! Matthew tells us, they “made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch” (Matt. 27:66). It was the utmost of man’s power to bind Him, but He could not be “holden” by death, much less by Rome’s puny arm. The enemy exceeded himself, as in earlier days in Babylon: “a stone was brought . . . the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel” (Dan. 6:17).
Empty Tomb
In this, the angel answered by shutting the lions’ mouths; in that, by rolling away the stone and sitting upon it. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh” (Ps. 2:4). Resurrection has removed the marker. It has already called forth the dead (cf. Matt. 27:52; John 11:44). It has drawn from death its sting and robbed the grave of its victory.
“Vainly they watch His bed
Jesus my Saviour;
Vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus my Lord.”
This is the earnest that all loved ones who have fallen asleep in Jesus will join us as we ascend to meet Him in the glory cloud.
“The resurrection morn will break,
And every sleeping saint awake,
Brought forth in light again;
O morn, too bright for mortal eyes
When all the ransomed Church shall rise
And wing their way to yonder skies—
Called up with Christ to reign.”
Testimony of the Holy Ghost Rejected
As if to crown the transcendent infamy of the Jews and of the world of that day in crucifying Jesus, after the blessed One had ascended and was yet “standing” at the right hand of God, in patient grace, the added testimony of the Holy Ghost as to His resurrection and ascension glory is rejected and Stephen becomes the target upon whom their rage is spent.
Stephen the First Christian Martyr
They stoned him and sent him back to his Master. Thus, the first martyr of the church fell asleep.
This added testimony being rejected, the Holy Ghost now takes charge of the divine counsels respecting the church. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus had said: “I will build my church.” The foundation could not be laid until after the Cross. The superstructure began to rise on the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost, as we have already seen, occurred on “the morrow” after the Sabbath; i.e., fifty days after the offering of the first fruits, and on the eighth day or first day of the week, to us the Lord’s day, a new beginning.
First Day of the Week, the “Lord’s Day.”
Our warrant for speaking of the “Lord’s day” as the first day of the week is Rev. 1:10. Here, John is not projected in the Spirit into the millennium as some would teach, for the Greek word does not bear out any such sense; moreover, the very word used (kyriakos) is the same word used of the Lord’s supper in 1 Cor. 11:20.
Ecclesia — The Church — The Called-Out-Ones
The church (ecclesia; i.e., the called-out-ones), the body of Christ, is formed by the Holy Ghost baptizing all believers into one body (cf. Acts 1:5; 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:13).
Baptism of the Holy Ghost
All such become worshippers of the Father in Spirit and in truth, on the ground of known and owned relationship as sons. None but such can worship Him. “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, father” (Gal. 4:6). If all men were sons, or children of God by nature, it were folly for the Holy Ghost to speak of adoption as a privilege accorded through grace. Heb. 12:22-23 shows the church to be a distinct thing. First, we have an innumerable company of angels, the general assembly (panegyris); next, the church of the firstborn (ecclesia); then, the spirits of just men made perfect; all different companies.
“Thus the ‘mystery’ kept secret from the beginning of the world has now become revealed by the formation of the assembly, the church, on earth. Through it the manifold and all-varied wisdom of God is made known. Exalted beings such as angels had seen the creation arise and expand before their eyes; they had seen the government of God, his providence, his judgment, his intervention in loving-kindness on the earth in Christ.
The “Mystery” of the Church, Hid in Ages Past, Now Revealed
“Here was a kind of wisdom altogether new; a thing outside the world, hitherto shut up in the mind of God, hid in Himself so that there was no promise or prophecy of it, but the special object of his eternal purpose; connected in a peculiar way with the One who is the center and the fullness of the mystery of Godliness, which had its own place in union with him; which, although it was manifested on earth and set with Christ at the head of creation, formed properly no part of it. It was a new part of it. It was a new creation, a distinct manifestation of the wisdom of God; a part of his thoughts which until then had been reserved in the secret of his counsels; the actual administration of which on the earth in time by the apostle’s work made known the wisdom of God according to his eternal purpose in Christ Jesus” (cf. Eph. 3:1-11).
The church’s history upon earth extends from Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1-4; 41-47) to the parousia (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-18); i.e., our gathering together unto His presence at the rapture.
Vessel of Display of His Grace
In the “ages to come” the church is to be the vessel for the display of the “exceeding (surpassing) riches of his grace” (Eph. 2:7).
The Church Is an Organism, Not an Organization
It is most important to emphasize the truth that the church is an organism, not an organization: “we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Eph. 5:30). Moreover, we are “members one of another”: He Himself is the living Head in heaven with whom all Christians, the members, are united by the Spirit (cf. Eph. 1:22-23). So intimate and vital is this union, that the Spirit of God, in speaking of it, says: “so also is Christ” (1 Cor. 12-12). Adam and Eve are together called “Adam” in Gen. 5:2. The body is said to be the “fullness (i.e., the complement) of him that filleth all in all” (Eph. 1:23). The only sense in which the church of God as seen in scripture can be called an organization is in the sense of Matthew 18:20: “Where two or three are gathered together in (unto—N. Tr.) my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Souls Gathered by the Spirit Form the Assembly
It does not read—gather themselves together; or—come together of their own voluntary action; this was the synagogue (synago—to assemble, to collect); on the contrary, the emphatic statement is “are gathered,” which implies action from without — that “he should gather together in one” (John 11:52). “Synagoge” is collective; “ecclesia” is selective. The Holy Ghost is the gathering power. This gathering is the church, as Christ the Head sees it, the assembly made up of living members, and stands in contrast to human systems and organizations which solicit “members.”
Christ the Center
Christ alone is the center of gathering; this is the ground, and the principle is that of the “unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3). God has no other ground and no other center. All this is far removed from human ritual, as Heb. 13:10-13 shows: “We have an altar (eucharistic), whereof they have no right (competence) to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Separation Unto Him, Outside the Camp of Profession
“Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.” To the very last the Lord owns these principles as being present in the Philadelphian condition of the church. There can be no vital connection with this organism except through a divine work. “The Lord added (to the assembly) daily those that were to be saved” (Acts 2:47, N. Tr.). John 3:5, confirms it as an absolute work of the Spirit. There is however another aspect in which the Lord’s people of their own choice gather together because they love the Lord and His saints, and that is in the sense of Heb. 10:25: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . . and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” We cannot insist too strongly upon this in a day of increasing apostasy; but this is not a question of the “body of Christ.” Who is this external power gathering? None other than the Holy Ghost. He, true to His own office, ever exalting the Person and work of Christ, gathers believers to one, and only one center. That center is Christ.
Name — The Authority of Christ Owned
That is to say: upon the ground which owns the name which carries with it the unqualified authority of Christ in the midst. There can be no other possible true center of Christian fellowship and worship. The Lord’s people thus gathered are manifestly not a sect, inasmuch as the ground is common to all the beloved children of God. Not only is it common ground, but it affords also common privileges for the enjoyment of every saint in rendering worship and praise unto the Father.
Communion and Memorial
Two things characterize it, viz.: communion and memorial. 1 Cor. 10:15-21 treats of the “Lord’s table”—communion; 1 Cor. 11:20-34 gives us the Lord’s supper—memorial.
The Lord’s Supper
Gathered about the Lord’s table to partake of the Lord’s supper at His request, and that His last request, “this do in (for) remembrance of me,” we announce His death until He comes again. What privilege could exceed this? It is something from the renewed heart for Himself, which the believer lays hold of and rejoices in; if otherwise, it degenerates into a dead formality, a mere ritual and lifeless ceremony.
“To Calv’ry, Lord, in spirit now,
Our waiting souls repair,
To dwell upon Thy dying love,
And taste its sweetness there.”
Note how Luke brings the Passover and the Lord’s supper closely together. The former represents the deliverance of a people sheltered by the blood of the paschal lamb, and is a feast which will be resumed as a retrospective service during the millennium. It was an earthly deliverance for an earthly people. But the shadow was vanishing that the thing itself might take place. “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7). Thus the Lord’s supper connects us, a heavenly people, with a heavenly portion in our ascended glorified Head above.
“Till He Come”
We continue the remembrance here just “till he come,” and the bread and the wine are memorials of His death, telling us that the blood will never be shed again. Now we have only the photograph, the picture, but then we shall have the great Original before our wondering eyes.
The Marks in His Hands
Yonder we shall see the marks of the nails which will bear their silent witness throughout eternity. We know they are there: Zechariah, long before those holy hands were pierced tells us so: “What are these wounds in thine hands?” (Zech. 13:6). Precious, far-reaching theme, touching the responsibility of every child of God!
The Church — Stranger and Pilgrim
Thus the church formed at Pentecost began her journey through a great and terrible moral wilderness: “the whole world lieth in wickedness” (“the evil one,” R. V.) (1 John 5:19). She increases in practical holiness and takes on the stranger and pilgrim character in the measure in which she is true to her absent Lord. While she finds the world a place where there are no springs abounding with water, she knows where her resource is, and can say: “All my springs are in Thee.”
“The Sun that shines upon me,
Is Jesus and His love;
The fountain of my singing,
Is deep in heaven above.”
The church is an exotic plant; her roots are in heaven. She is seen as such in Ephesians 1:3 and in John 17:16. Nature’s resources avail nothing for faith. The valley of Baca, the place of weeping and bitterness, must be supplied with heaven’s refreshing rain. Whether entering the wilderness, as in Exodus 15, or leaving it, as in Numbers 21, faith produces a song.
“Now the journey almost over;
Trial, well nigh past;
He would have them as when starting,
Raise a song, at last.”
Yes, beloved fellow pilgrim, this is the way home to the Father’s house. It is through the enemy’s land, but Jesus gave Himself for our sins “that he might deliver us from this present evil world” (age) (Gal. 1:4).
Israel Walked by the Cloud; Church Walks by Faith
In an earlier day, Israel walked by the light of the cloud; the church walks exclusively by faith (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7). This principle of faith is far above nature, and opposed to that of the human will, and is entirely unintelligible to the flesh. We welcome the wilderness experiences, knowing that all “happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition” (1 Cor. 10:11).
God’s Dealings With Israel in Suspense
God’s external dealings with His ancient people are yet in suspense, while Israel, according to the prophecy of Amos, is still sifted as corn among the nations (cf. Amos 9:9). Jerusalem, the royal city of the nation, was destroyed by Titus Vespasianus in A. D. 70. They saw their temple in flames and were scattered like its ashes.
British Mandate
Although freed from the cruel Moslem rule and now under the British Mandate as a result of the Great War, Jerusalem and the land are still subject to Gentile suzerainty.
This condition will not permanently change “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). Why do I believe that Jerusalem was sacked and that the temple was destroyed by the Romans? Is it because I read it in history? Is it because I may yet see the triumphal arch of Titus at Rome? No! I may never have visited Rome, nor have read of it in history, yet I believe it perfectly because God has recorded it.
Destruction of Jerusalem Told by Daniel Centuries in Advance
“Daniel the prophet,” as our Lord calls him, tells me of it. Daniel 9:26 predicts the exact time of Messiah’s death, subsequent to which the city would fall; and this about six hundred years before Titus was born.
Titus Took the City in A.D. 70
“The people,” says the prophet; i.e., the Romans, “shall destroy the city” (Jerusalem), which they did in A. D. 70. “The prince,” mentioned in the same verse, refers not to Titus, but to the first “beast” of the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, the coming head of the revived Roman empire. The prince could not refer to Messiah, as it is distinctly told us in the same verse that Messiah would be “cut off.” For the same reason and upon the announcement of the Almighty, I believe that Israel shall be gathered back to their own land, and that great and universal trek will not be one moment behind the divine schedule.
Excision of Christendom
Just as of old Jehovah held back the tide of judgment until the “iniquity of the Amorites” was full, so now the Gentiles, the wild olive tree which through grace was graft in to partake of the root and fatness, has become boastful and high-minded, and that portion of it which we speak of as Christendom awaits cutting off, according to Romans 11:22. The first chapter of Romans shows us clearly that mankind as a whole once had the knowledge of God, but man glorified Him not and so his foolish heart was “darkened.” Thus it was that God gave him over to a reprobate mind. Christendom with accelerated speed in reverting to the abandon of Romans 1:18-32. Let not the reader think that the race is under probation. The Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, has passed the verdict, “condemned already” (John 3:18). Execution proceedings are stayed for the moment. His mercy still lingers if happily any may yet avail themselves of His wondrous grace.
“Yet there is room! The Lamb’s bright hall of song
With its fair glory beckons thee along;
Room, room, still room!
O, enter, enter now!”
The Seven Churches
The whole history of the church militant, from her beginning at Pentecost, is written in symbolic language in the second and third chapters of Revelation under various characteristics as seen in seven assemblies. The first chapter of Revelation shows us seven golden lampstands or lightbearers, giving complete testimony throughout the long dark night of His absence. It is a night scene. “The light of the world” (John 9:5) is now on high. Believers, in contrast to the world are said to be “not of the night,” but “children of the day” (1 Thess. 5:5). Everything in this book of symbols speaks of completeness, and closing testimony.
Note the following sevens:
In chapters two and three we have the first three churches delineated in successive stages, while the last four are seen concurrently to the end (cf. Rev. 2:25). Let us look briefly at these seven churches.
Ephesus
(1) Ephesus: The word probably means “desirable.” It was here in the early days of the church that affection of heart was at white heat; but alas! here also at the close of this Ephesian character of things, while scarcely as yet the close of the second century had been reached, that affection failed.
First Love Cooling off
The love of many had waxed cold. It was not that the measure had become shrunken, but far worse, the picture was fading. Other objects were claiming the heart. Zeal abounded, but affection waned. Works with labor and patience were in evidence, but not the “work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope” (1 Thess. 1:3). “I have (somewhat) against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Rev. 2:4). The sense of the bridal relationship lost!
Deeds Become Doctrine
Love, losing its jealous character, soon allows “deeds” of the Nicolaitanes (probably—nikao, I conquer; laos, the people), to become “doctrine” in Pergamos.
Rise of Clerisy
While church history apparently gives no clue to the character of this class, yet it would seem to be the commencement of clerical domination, an attitude of lording it over the people. Beloved saints, beware! Be warned of waning affection. Paul knew the subtlety of the world’s charms, and by the Spirit exclaims: “I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). Divided affection is the seed of spiritual decline and its secret spring is worldliness. It moves rapidly from compromise to countenance of worldly principles. Declension, the first step in Ephesus, widens into ruin, its last step in Laodicea.
Smyrna
(2) Symrna: Myrrh; bitter, but fragrant: Smarting under the lash of the persecutor while suffering for the risen Christ, is the lot of Smyrna.
Persecution
This period runs nearly one hundred and fifty years and closes probably about A. D. 313. The reader will understand that phases of church history overlap and that all that is intended by dates given here is to accentuate the period in which certain prominent characteristics were seen. The Smyrnean stage of the church’s history is characterized by “tribulation and poverty,” but He says: “thou are rich.” Persecution which impoverishes the saints here, enriches them for eternity. “As poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (2 Cor. 6:10). Faithful suffering unto death here is rewarded by “a crown of life” there.
Blood of the Martyrs
How the truth stands out in its crimson relief, that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Just so it was in the beginning; the persecution which arose about Stephen sent the disciples everywhere preaching the Word (cf. Acts 11:19).
Period of Great Persecution
The “ten days” (probably ten distinct periods from Nero to Diocletian) of pagan persecution which Smyrna passed through was likely a season more severe than any in the earlier apostolic days. Persecution is needed to hinder the constant tendency to decay.
Pergamos
(3) Pergamos: (pergamos, a completed or consummated marriage): Here we have those professing to be a heavenly people; but, alas! a people mingling and allying themselves with an idolatrous world.
Alliance With the World
The church, escaped from the persecutions of pagan Rome, goes over to the patronage of imperial Rome. That which was allowed as “deeds” in Ephesus became “doctrine” in Pergamos, and thus we have priestly assumption in all its bold and unscriptural pretensions; in other words “clergy”, a human arrangement, the very thing condemned by the Spirit in 1 Peter 5:3. The word is cleroy; i.e., clergy; but it is the flock of God who are said to be His clergy, and not a set of men assuming to be it and lording it over the saints. Here also the doctrine of “Balaam”; i.e., spiritual fornication or idolatry, is held. This bore the fruit of corruption in Thyatira. The church, no longer a stranger and pilgrim in the world, succumbs to the wooings of popular favor.
Christianity Popularized by Constantine A.D. 313
Thus Constantine, about A. D. 313, professed Christianity, making it popular throughout his realm. It is the old story of Balaam and Israel; failing to curse the people, he accomplished his purpose by corrupting them. The “error of Balaam” (Jude 11) also presents to us a compromising and a hireling ministry; not to discredit for a moment the truth that “The labourer is worthy of his reward” (1 Tim. 5:18), but here we see degeneracy as in the priesthood of Eli’s days, where covetousness supersedes calling.
Thyatira
(4) Thyatira: Probably meaning, “wearing by sacrifice”: she who is never weary of sacrificing. Works, works, works, characterize this church.
The Papacy
This is the Papacy. It dates from the close of the sixth century and just a little prior to the darkest days of the Dark Ages. This state of the church, arrogating to herself authority to teach, assuming to delegate infallibility to fallible man, with her persistent dogma “hear the church,” setting up her claims to interfere in the affairs of state, needs little comment.
The Holy Roman Empire
Her dream of world supremacy is well known to historians as the doctrine of the “Holy Roman Empire.” The Thyatirean state is so low it is only fit to be represented by that infamous woman Jezebel, who introduced the heathen rites of Baal into the worship of Jehovah (cf. Rev. 2:20).
Bloody Records of the Middle Ages
The dark days of the Middle Ages are bloody records of Thyatira’s fearful deeds of iniquity and cruelty. It was a long night whose darkness was illuminated by the glare of its martyrs’ fires. But, amazing grace! even in such a state as this the Lord addresses
some in the midst of her as “my servants.” The Papacy goes on concurrently with the succeeding three stages to the end, but here for the first time we have mention of a little remnant amidst the corruption. Mercy ever precedes judgment, and so of Thyatira He says: “I gave her space to repent . . . and she repented not” (willeth not to repent) (Rev. 2:21). Rome never repents. Her doom has been pronounced: “I will kill her children with death” (Rev. 2:23). The execution without mercy is carried out in Revelation, chapter seventeen. Thyatira in her presumptive pride seeks even now to exercise authority and power over the nations. This authority and power, the Lord promises to the little remnant, His servants, the overcomers (cf. Rev. 2:26-27). Just here the Lord adds something new and something very sweet in its prospect for His overcoming saints. He says; “I will give him the morning star” (Rev. 2:28). Bright harbinger: Jesus Himself, while the world lies buried in sleep!
The Morning Star
Yes, before the Sun of righteousness arises “with healing in his wings” (Mal. 4:2), ushered in by judgment upon Israel’s enemies, there will be that earlier light for us, the Morning Star.
“The days and months are gliding past,
Soon shall be heard the trumpet’s blast
Which wakes the sleeping saints.
The dead in Christ in glory rise,
When we with them shall reach the skies
Where Jesus for us waits.”
Sardis
(5) Sardis: Things remaining:
Reformers About A. D. 1529
Here is described the state of Protestantism which grew up after the Middle Ages, through the untiring zeal of the reformers, about A. D. 1529; but it took the form of the established church, not the simple assembly of apostolic days. Luther and Calvin failed to lay hold of such truths as the coming of the Lord and the restoration of the Jews.
Protestantism
It has been said: “In Popery, we see the church assuming to govern the world; in Protestantism, we see the world governing the church.” Sardis is addressed thus: “thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (Rev. 3:1). We are exhorted to turn away from a form of godliness (cf. 2 Tim. 3:5) where the power is denied. Power is what is absent. The system has become lifeless. It is a worn-out thing. We have allowed knowledge and human arrangements to supersede the Holy Spirit.
No Power in the Church Except That of the Holy Spirit
There can be no other power in the church. Great enthusiasm wrought up by perfect human organization is not power; it is not the spontaneity of the Spirit. There was outward reformation in Sardis, but she stopped short: “I have not found thy works perfect” (complete). We need to be more like one who said: “I had rather know the power of a little truth, than to be increasing the stock of truths.”
Shameless Work of Higher Critics
Protestantism began well by defending the Bible; now it is tearing the leaves out of the Bible by the unhallowed hands of pseudo-Higher Criticism; a criticism born of pride, in the atrophied and palsied minds of spiritual derelicts. We welcome all true Biblical research, but not the modern so-called “Higher Criticism.” These critics, be they never so well cultured or prescient, may read their dies ire in Hebrews 6:4-8, Jude 10, 16, and in Revelation 22:18-19. They have been in the place of outward profession, and have enjoyed the benefits of Christianity; but as base cowards they have mutilated the Book and maligned the Benefactor, trampling under foot the Son of God, scouting the claims of His precious blood over the soul.
Observe the threat to Sardis. The Judge will come upon her without warning just as He comes to the world “as a thief” (Rev. 3:3).
Philadelphia
(6) Philadelphia: (philia, love; adelphos, a brother):
Beginning of the 19th century
In this state which grew out of Protestantism in the early part of the nineteenth century, about A. D. 1827, we find a feeble testimony but also the promise of “a door opened” (R. V.) which “no man can shut.”
The Key of David
Mark well who it is that holds the key to this opened door: “he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth” (Rev. 3:7). The allusion is to Eliakim, the master or steward of Hezekiah’s house (cf. Isa. 22:20-25). This man, robed and girded and carrying the key of authority with the responsibility of government upon his shoulder, is a typical person. He was “the nail that is fastened in the sure place” upon whom was to hang the glory, but the nail was removed and the burden cut off. Christ as Israel’s King will be the antitype of all this. Possessing the key of David He will open that new dispensation in which His glory and investiture as David’s Son and Heir will be displayed.
Great Movement of the Spirit of God
In contrast to the religious apathy of dead Protestantism, there arose men of spiritual fervor on every hand. This new movement wrought by the Spirit of God and not confined to place or creed, produced men who went forth preaching free grace in fullness and simplicity never since surpassed. Their separation from the world was a real thing and they held with almost apostolic freshness to the personal, literal and imminent coming of Christ as the hope of the church.
Authority but Not Infallibility
They owned the Lord’s gracious authority in their midst and acted in discipline upon this principle, but never presumed to entertain for a moment such a thought as infallibility. These gave their testimony against formalism, rationalism and sect divisions. They sought to rightly divide the word of truth and to preach a pure gospel of present salvation. Dispensational distinctions—the church, the one body as the bride of Christ, being called out during this present age, were clearly set forth. Pointing out the closing characteristics of the age, they warned of coming judgment upon Christendom and the nations.
Great Ones Attracted, Lay Down Their Titles
This movement attracted to itself many of the great men and women of the nineteenth century. These laid down their titles, their positions of state, their wealth, somewhat after the manner of apostolic days, at the feet of their Saviour and Lord. Apropos of this new testimony, we cannot refrain from quoting the words of one of these saintly men. It well illustrates how the Spirit of God wrought in many hearts.
Renouncing Egypt, Not Idleness
He writes thus: “Renouncing Egypt is not idleness, nor is the breaking of a box of ointment on the head of Christ waste; though we thus see, that a certain kind of reckoning among the children of men, and even at times—and that too frequent—among the saints of God, would charge these things as such. Advantages in life are surrendered, opportunities of worldly promise are not used, because the heart has understood the path of companionship with a rejected Lord. But of this ‘idleness’ and ‘waste’ many will say: The advantage might have been retained by the possessor, or the opportunities might have been sought and reached, and then used for the Lord . . . But, a rejected Christ . . . if known spiritually by the soul, would teach another lesson. This station in life, these worldly advantages, these opportunities so commended, are the very Egypt which Moses renounced. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. The treasures of Egypt were not riches in his esteem, because he could not use them for the Lord; and he went outside of them, and the Lord met him there, and used him afterward not to accredit Egypt and its, treasures, but to deliver His people out of it. All this renunciation, however, must be made in the understanding of faith in a rejected Lord, or it will otherwise lack all its fine, and genuine, and proper character.”
Moses Renounces Egypt
Of Moses it has been said, that he was forty years in the court of Egypt learning to be somebody; forty years in the desert of Midian learning to be nobody; forty years in the wilderness an example of what God could do with a vessel surrendered to divine power.
Observe, it was not when the favorite project and the cherished ambition had proved elusive, but at a moment when Moses stood in proximity to a throne, that he forsook Egypt. Do not be deceived by the boasted progress of the age.
Modern Gods — Business, Politics, Pleasure
Men are inebriated by worship of the modern gods—Business, Politics and Pleasure. All such activities conducted without God will but add to the rubbish pile of nations in the day that God touches the match to it (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10-13). Let Christians weigh well their pathway through the world. Let them also beware lest they be swept into the great maelstrom of boastful profession which says: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (Rev. 3:17).
Back to the Beginning
Let Christians awaken like the faithful prophets and kings of old who destroyed the “high places,” and let there be exercise to bring the Lord’s people back again to the divine order of things as at the beginning. The church is “the epistle of Christ” (2 Cor. 3:3); should be a transcript of Christ; a visible witness to her invisible Head. Have we forgotten what the church is? Have we forgotten her mission? In Matthew 18:20 we read: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Church Member
No such thing as a “church member” is known to scripture; on the contrary, believers are said to be “members of his body.”
Church an Organism — Development
This is an organism, and not an organization. It is living, because indwelt by the Spirit of God. Nor is there further development in God’s revelation as to the church. “The thought of development in the church of the living God is perfect infidelity. There is nothing in God to be developed. God has called us to a perfect revelation of Himself in Christ. The notion of development is rejection of the true object, or blasphemy.” John calls our attention to “That which was from the beginning” (1 John 1:1). The individual is admonished to “grow in grace” (2 Pet. 3:18). Ephesians 4:12 speaks of the “edifying of the body of Christ” and Ephesians 4:16 of the “increase of the body.” These are different thoughts from development.
Public Worship
Moreover, as to public worship: how can there be such a thing? “Neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem” (John 4:21). No! “The Father (not in the public eye) seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).
Acceptable Worship
Acceptable worship can only be rendered “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). We do well to meditate afresh upon this scripture. It has been said that worship is “thinking God’s thoughts after Him concerning His beloved Son.” If we look at the tabernacle in the midst of Israel we see that it had no windows in it. Even the tribes of Israel saw not what was going on within. There in the secret of that hallowed place worship was ascending to Jehovah.
The Twelve Loaves — All Israel
His eyes looked down upon the shewbread, the twelve loaves of which represented the unity of His people. Some of the tribes were few in number, some were many, but the loaves were all of the same size. It was from within, shut up from the public gaze, that true worship was ascending.
“Much incense is ascending
Before the eternal throne;
God graciously is bending
To hear each feeble groan;
To all our prayers and praises
Christ adds His sweet perfume,
And love the censer raises,
These odors to consume.”
A Double System
Too many Christians are like king Solomon, a man who truly loved Jehovah, but yet one who “sacrificed and burnt incense in high places” (1 Kings 3:3). Israel was in confusion, just as the church is today. God in His grace bore with Solomon as he approached the brazen altar in Gibeon to worship, but all the while the ark of the covenant was in the tent that was pitched for it in the city of David.
The Outward — The Real
The outward order had completely failed; the system was judged. Ostensibly, worship was still offered to Jehovah at the altar which was in Gibeon; but David worshipped before the ark. He even made himself vile and little esteemed in the eyes of those who despised God’s center, but David understood the mind of Jehovah. Nehemiah later on owned that the people were in great distress, but he did not make an ark, because Moses did, neither did he affect to produce the shekinah glory, nor the Urim and Thummim. He obeyed. Better to draw near to the true Ark, Christ rejected but now on high within the veil, than to worship at the altar in high places. We might speak of public preaching (cf. Acts 17:22-34), but preaching is not worship.
Deuteronomy Twelve
Deuteronomy twelve is wholesome meditation for us in these days of utterly loose principles as to church position. If we look at Philadelphia as a state, we cannot say that it is visible to us as such. Whatever there may be of suitable corporate testimony there, God sees it; we cannot.
The three things which characterize Philadelphia are stated thus:
“Thou hast a little strength,
And hast kept my word,
And hast not denied my name” (Rev. 3:8).
Strength Not in Numbers
“Strength” consists not in numbers, a lesson which David had to learn at awful cost to his people. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zech. 4:6). His “word” kept: This does not mean that Christendom has preserved the Bible from the attacks of infidels.
The Word Is Indestructible
No! the Word of God is indestructible; it is the Word of God which “liveth and abideth forever.” What the Spirit contemplates here is obedience and subjection to the Word, and the owning of the authority and lordship of Christ, aside from which there is but the will of man. It is this that is so precious to Him. “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15:22). Lastly, “my name” not denied: to be linked with His name is to walk in holiness and truth. It is to repudiate all human names however eminent in learning or piety. “Thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee” (Song of Solomon 1:3). He has been given a name which “is above every name.” It is only here and now, associated with Him in the path of rejection, that we can emulate those early saints who rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41). They were content to be called idiotai (Acts 4:13). Are we? He promises: “I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial which is about to come upon the whole habitable world” (Rev. 3:10, N. Tr.). How will He keep the saints out of it? By taking them up to meet Himself in the air. O, that He alone might be the all-absorbing object of our souls!
“To learn and yet to learn
As life goes by —
So pass the student’s days;
And thus be great and do great things and die
And lie embalmed with praise.
My work is but to lose and to forget,
Thus small, despised to be;
All to unlearn—This task before me set,
Unlearn all else but Thee.”
O, to have a purpose like that great apostle who could say: “this one thing I do” (Phil. 3:13)!
“Morn, noon and night
Through days o’er cast and bright
My purpose still is one;
One end I have in view,
Daily one thing I do
Until my object’s won.
Behind myself I fling
As an unvalued thing,
My former self and ways;
And reaching forward far,
I seek the things which are
Beyond time’s lagging days.
O may I follow still,
Faith’s pilgrimage fulfill
With steps both sure and fleet.
The longed-for goal I see
Jesus waits there for me —
Haste! Haste! my pilgrim feet.”
Laodicea
(7) Laodicea: (loas, the people; dikaio, to judge or to justify): This is the last phase of the professing church’s history upon earth. The state of things seen here began to be prominent about the middle of the nineteenth century. Laodicea is not merely an outgrowth of Sardis; i.e., born of Protestantism, but is a condition which has lapsed from Philadelphia. Those precious truths recovered in the early part of the nineteenth century and for a time enjoyed in all their freshness, soon began to lose their power and authority over the soul. This should cause serious reflection and produce the deepest humiliation in us all. “How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed!” (Lam. 4:1).
Profession Justifying Itself
In Laodicea the people are pronouncing themselves righteous; justifying themselves. They have set aside the Holy Spirit, the only and all-sufficient guide and power for ministry and are themselves deciding as to what is right and wrong, fixing the standard according to individual whim. All is infringement of divine order. The tender conscience is gone. Dependence upon the Spirit is not a felt need any longer.
Asleep in the Lap of a Luxurious World
Settled down into a sleeping sickness of death! Spiritual atrophy! Church-going, indeed, but rocked in the lap of a luxurious world! Samson lulled to sleep by Delilah thought to go out and shake himself as at other times, but “he wist not that the LORD was departed from him” (Judges 16:20). Nazariteship lost! Laodicea’s history is far worse. Religiousness, settled in ordinances! She boasts: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (Rev. 3:17). She does not need teachers, but worse than this, she does not feel the need of Himself. Proof of this is that He is outside and must knock for admittance (cf. Rev. 3:20). How like the rich fool who soliloquizes thus: “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19). She is hushing her conscience with soft words of “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14). She is saying like Israel: “I have loved strangers, and after them will I go” (Jer. 2:25). Moral abandon! Appalling state! And yet even here are some who will form a part of the bride of Christ, and will be caught up to meet him.
Laodicea Merges Into Babylon the Great
Laodicea, as a mass, merges into Babylon the great; a state in which no saints by heavenly calling are found. Laodicea is inflated with pride, but her boasting is loathsome to Christ. Her nauseating lukewarmness and independence invites His judgment. Observe the threat is unconditional: “I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:16). All is pre-emptory.
Spiritual Nakedness
“Rich,” in all that makes for man-made religion, but in His sight “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). Our first parents dared not stand before Him naked, but Laodicea shocks the moral sense in that she knows no shame.
The Testimony of the Church Has Failed
Alas! the church as a corporate testimony has utterly failed, yet God has preserved a remnant just as He did in the days of Israel. “Set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done . . .” (Ezek. 9:4).
A Remnant in Days of Mere Profession
There were such also in the days of Malachi: “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name” (Mal. 3:16). Philadelphia, surveyed only by the eye of Him who is holy and true, presents a faithful but feeble company. Sardis had “a few names.” Laodicea is down to the individual — “if any man”—no longer any corporate testimony for Him in such a state.
Closing Phase of the Church’s History
We are doubtless now in the very closing days of this abhorrent and insipid nausea of profession. The spiritual mind readily discerns this. It is high time for the saints of God to awaken out of sleep. “The night is far spent.” We are already far past the gloaming of this present evil age and are about to enter the gray dawn of the fourth watch; a dawn shortly to be ushered in for us by the rays of the “bright and morning star.” While it will be brightness for the church as she rises to meet her Lord, it will be a morning of trouble for the remnant below. They will be found toiling and rowing by reason of the contrary winds beginning to blow; but as of old— “about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea” (Mark 6:48), He will again appear for their relief, rising as the “Sun of righteousness” with “healing in his wings” (Mal. 4:2). God is about to send strong delusion (cf. 2 Thess. 2:11). The lie supplants the truth. We have reached the time which has been well described thus: “Another day we find an obstacle in our way when accompanying the holy ark, when conducting a Christian work, when laboring in whatever manner for the advancement of the kingdom of God. As it is in acting with uprightness and simplicity that we have been foiled by the malice of men, we almost reproach ourselves for this uprightness and simplicity, and this time we wish to try adroitness and cunning. Under the pretext of making ourselves all things to all men, so as to gain some, we make ourselves all things to all men in such a way as to ruin ourselves with others. Nor is this enough. To gain worldly people, we employ worldly people themselves to draw the gospel chariot. Because such an one is rich, we place him in the front; because such another is clever, we make him a charioteer. We employ the crowd to push behind, and end by being lost in the herd of unbelievers whom we purposed to direct. In the midst of such a retinue, we ourselves lose faith, and we copy those who ought to imitate us. Can we then be astonished, if God allows our work to perish? Is it not more wonderful, that we are still spared by Him who punished Uzzah for bringing an unbelieving arm to the help of the holy ark?” (cf. 2 Sam. 6:1-12).
Christendom Has Lost Its Way
Christendom has already lost its way as to God’s thoughts; the sense of holiness, grace and glory in Christ Jesus, is to it an unknown tongue. It has set its altars beside the altar of God. Are we in darkness and doubt? Is all this mere supposition? No! Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, Simeon, Zacharias, Anna, Elizabeth and many others knew. It is particularly said of those in the time of the end that “the wise shall understand” (Dan. 12:10). While this refers to those who will be passing through the tribulation scene, an earthly people, yet believers even now are not in darkness; they are “not of the night.”
The Secrets of the Lord Known to His Own
“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). “The morning cometh”, but alas! for a sleeping world in moral darkness, “also the night.” Thus closes the history of the church militant, variously exhibited in the seven-fold aspect which we have been briefly viewing.
The following appears to be the order of events subsequent to the close of the church’s history:
1. The rapture,
2. The judgment seat of Christ,
3. Presentation of the church,
4. Marriage of the Lamb,
5. KING OF KINGS comes forth,
6. The holy Jerusalem descending,
7. Millennium,
8. Eternal state.
The Rapture of the Saints
( 1 ) The rapture: (rapio, I. seize; i.e., to catch up (cf. 1 Thess. 4:17). It is important at this point to remark that 2 Thess. 2:1: “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”—parousias, and 2 Thess. 2:2, N. Tr.; “the day of the Lord”—hemera, are two different and very distinct events. The former word meaning “presence” does not necessarily mean manifestation; whereas the latter word “day”, is constantly used in the Old Testament in connection with judgment. At the coming of Christ for His church (parousia, or presence) not one believer will be left behind. This wonderful undated moment — save that it comes before all ulterior events and the war in heaven (cf. Rev. 12) — is in connection with our privileges. Moreover, all the Old Testament saints will be raised with those of the present dispensation, and all will be changed in a moment (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51-52). Both companies will together be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16-18).
No Resurrection of O.T. Saints
For the Purpose of Reinstatement in the Land
There will be no such thing as a physical resurrection of Old Testament saints to be reinstated in the land of Palestine, as some have erroneously supposed. Hebrews 11:14-16 is clear as to this. The transfiguration is also proof in type of the same thing. Other scriptures could be cited.
Dry Bones — Israel
Daniel 12: 2 is a national resurrection, not a physical. It is the dry bones of the thirty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel coming together again, but nationally.
The translation of the saints to glory will be instantaneous. It will be “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52).
The Order of Resurrection
The order of resurrection in three great events is important to note (cf. 1 Cor. 15:23-24), thus: “Christ the firstfruits”; this is already past: “afterward (epeita, after that, the next great event drawing near) they that are Christ’s at his coming” (parousia): “Then (eita, furthermore) cometh the end”, at the close of the millennium when the kingdom will be delivered up. The action will involve “his mighty power”; i.e., the “surpassing greatness of his power” (Eph. 1:19, N. Tr.). It will be a transcendent moment. None like it. It will in no way depend upon our drowsy vigil.
Ten Virgins
Of the ten virgins, five had no oil (type of the Holy Spirit), but merely the lamp of profession. Such are left behind. The Lord says of them: “I know you not.” He could never say that of any one of His own.
Ground of Rapture Not Our Faithfulness, but His
It is not contingent upon our faithfulness; if it were, we should all be left behind. It rests wholly upon His faithfulness. “They that were ready went in” (Matt. 25:10). What accredits a believer and makes him ready? Is it his walk, or is it the blood of Christ? All rests upon the blood.
He Will Recognize His Own Work in Us
If He sees any spiritual growth in us, it is all from Himself. When Isaac saw Rebecca he no doubt recognized the jewels and the raiment which Abraham had sent by the hand of the servant for her adornment; so the heavenly Bridegroom will see that in the bride which has been wrought by the Spirit.
Most Horrible the Thought of the Bride Reserved to Suffer
In the Days of the Tribulation
How repellent to the spiritual nature the base suggestion that the Bridegroom would prepare His beloved bride to meet Him by first passing her through a “tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21)! Moreover it is specifically the tribulation of Daniel’s people (“thy people,” cf. Dan. 12:1) having no reference whatever to the church. Had Rebecca any such experience? Perish the thought! It is more repulsive and terror-striking than the purgatory of the Papist. The Holy Spirit will accompany the bride into the Bridegroom’s presence, and then the lawless one will be manifested, not before.
Antichrist Now Restrained
Now, the Spirit hinders the manifestation of Antichrist, but the moment that the Holy Spirit is “taken out of the way” (2 Thess. 2:7), or more literally, “taken out of the midst” (ek mesou), the levee breaks, the lair of the lawless is opened, and Antichrist unleashed. We shall be associated with the Lord Jesus Christ when He leaves the throne of grace to sit upon the throne of His glory, and the reigning time comes.
Asenath at Joseph’s Side
Asenath was at Joseph’s side when he ruled Egypt. Note: she was united to him before the famine came. To keep us “out of the hour of trial” (Rev. 3:10, N. Tr.) certainly does not mean to pass us through it; nor yet does it mean to keep us during it. Indeed the definite triumph of the heavenly saints is celebrated in their place on high as Satan is cast down to the earth, at which moment his rage begins (cf. Rev. 12:10-12). “To wait for his Son from heaven” (1 Thess. 1:10) is not to wait for the millennium, much less for the tribulation.
“He Who Letteth”
Pre-millenarians all interpret 2 Thess. 2:7, “he who letteth” (hindreth), as the Holy Spirit’s presence here now in the believer individually and in the church collectively. John 14:16 tells us that the Spirit is given “that he may abide with you forever.” “He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17). Should He be “taken out of the way” in order that the “Wicked” (or lawless one) “be revealed” (2 Thess. 2:7-8), He must be accompanied by believers, as His subsequent work upon earth will be a far different thing from His present indwelling.
The rapture as we speak of it, meaning as already pointed out, to catch up or catch away, may take place any moment. It will occur in an unexpected moment; i.e., so far as the world is concerned.
Imminence of the Rapture
The rapture of the prophet Elijah was preceded by a mysterious solemnity betokening some event to happen quite outside the natural course of things. Instantly the sleeping (dead) saints, both of Old and New Testament periods, awakened by the “shout”, will be raised to participate in the “first resurrection.” This will be eclectic and premillennial; i.e., the resurrection “from among the dead”: this is the more literal meaning of Phil. 3:11 and Mark 9:10 (cf. N. Tr.), and many like passages.
The “Out-Resurrection”
The Greek phrase is ek nekron, out from (among) the dead. It is a distinctive expression and intimates the projection of divine power into the realm of death. But to be even more explicit, Paul in Philippians 3:11, actually coins a new and unique Greek word, viz.: ex-anastasin—to express the resurrection of some from among others. The word translated shout (keleusma) expresses that a certain relationship exists between the commander who gives the shout and the commanded who awaken.
The World Will Not See the Rapture
What can this mean but that the world will not see this heavenly phenomenon, not being in any way related to the “Lord himself”, who gives the shout? The words of our Lord in John 5:29 indicate two distinct classes of resurrection, viz.: the “resurrection of life” (anastasis zoes), also called the first resurrection — Rev. 20:5; and the “resurrection of damnation” — judgment (kriseos).
A Present Hope
The living saints (observe the word “we”, not they; i.e., it is a present hope), exclusively the church still militant, are then “with them” (the saved who have died) caught up “together” to meet the Lord in the air. This is what the apostle had before him when he spoke of “the prize of the high calling” (ano, calling above, up out of the earth, on high, Phil. 3:14). Think of it! Side by side with our loved ones who have fallen asleep in Jesus! He who knows the heart does not keep us waiting until the Father’s house is reached to meet our loved ones, the redeemed trophies of His grace. Hold it, fellow saint, as a living and ever present hope! “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord” (Luke 12:35, 36). Do not think that it will produce feverish excitement or arrest your service; on the contrary it will sustain you. It is given for this very purpose. It is true the church has had a protracted history, but all the assemblies mentioned in the second and third chapters of Revelation were existing contemporary churches. There was nothing in prospect then. The scenes were before their eyes. The revelation was made. The twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew teaches us in parable that although the Bridegroom tarried, yet the affair was of one night; the same virgins. So if we look at the parable of the servants (Luke 19:12-15) all was looked at as in the lifetime of the man and of the servants. Let us not say with the evil servant: “My lord delayeth his coming” (Luke 12:45). We are to occupy “till he come.” His last word to us in scripture is “Surely I come quickly” (Rev. 22:20).
Church’s Earthly History Closes
Synchronizing with the close of Revelation, chapter three closes the history of the church on earth. She will then be in the place where history is no more recorded although she is not seen distinctively as the church above until the nineteenth chapter of Revelation and then it is as the Lamb’s wife.
The “Elders”
Chapter four opens with the “elders” in heaven. They are seen in the place of utmost intimacy. This is their first appearance there. Who can they be? None other than those “caught up”, including all the saints from the beginning, according to 1 Thess. 4:17.
Place of Nearness
(2) The judgment seat of Christ: (bema, judgment seat in contrast to thronon, throne, cf. Rev. 20:11): This will follow the rapture (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). Note well that the saints will be glorified before this moment. This arraignment before Him bears no relation whatever to the question of guilt. It will be a survey which will remove everything offensive that the bride may be presented to Himself “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing”, or as we sometimes speak of it, it will be a time when rewards will be given for what has suited Himself, and all else will be consumed. We shall then be in the full light of His presence. As one has remarked: “Thus the majesty of God will have been maintained by His judgment at the same time that the perfection and tenderness of His dealings will be the eternal recollection of our souls.
Brought Into the Light of God’s Presence
“Light without cloud or darkness will be understood in its own perfection. To understand it is to be in it; and Light is God Himself. How wonderful!
Man Become “One of Us”
“What love is that which in its perfect wisdom, in its marvelous ways overruling all evil, could bring such beings as we are to enjoy this unclouded light— beings knowing good and evil (the natural prerogative of those only of whom God can say ‘one of us’), under the yoke of evil which they knew, and driven out by a bad conscience from the presence of God, to whom the knowledge belonged, having testimony enough in their conscience as to the judgment of God, to make them avoid Him and be miserable, but nothing to draw them to Him who alone could find a remedy! What love and holy wisdom which could bring such to the source of good, of pure happiness, in whom the power of good repels absolutely the evil which it judges.”
(3) Presentation of the church: Next comes the presentation, “not having spot, or wrinkle” (Eph. 5:27): Where is it that the bride is presented to the Bridegroom? Naturally it would be in the Father’s house.
(4) Marriage of the lamb: The “marriage of the Lamb” follows (Rev. 19:7). The “marriage supper” of the Lamb is then referred to, which seems to be rather the manifestation of His companions in glory (Rev. 19:9).
(5) KING OF KINGS comes forth: Now the Lamb, as “The Word of God” (Rev. 19:13), is seen coming forth accompanied by the saints, executing judgment upon the great confederacy gathered at Armageddon (cf. Rev. 19:11-21).
(6) The holy Jerusalem descending: In the progress of these heavenly wonders we now see the bride under the figure of a city, descending to take her place over the millennial scene (cf. Rev. 21:10). We know this city is the bride; verse nine clearly tells us this— “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
(7) Millennium: The thousand years of peace intervenes; Satan is bound; Christ reigns (cf. Rev. 20:6).
(8) Eternal state: Here we see the “new Jerusalem”, still the bride in all her freshness after one thousand years (cf. Rev. 21:2). The sun which measures our little day sets forever; the new heaven and new earth, wherein God dwells with men, come into view (cf. Rev. 21:1-8).
Retrospect From the Rapture on
Having presented the foregoing outline let us now go back and follow the course of things from the moment that the church leaves the earthly scene. The redeemed safely housed in the glory; the Holy Spirit no longer left here to restrain the rising tide of evil; judgment supervenes, breaking out first upon Christendom. It will be unparalleled and excruciating.
The Morning Without Clouds
This ushers in the kingdom age; the “morning without clouds.”
Elijah
The unsaved left behind, frenzied with fear and terror, vainly seeking their loved ones who were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ the Saviour, will be like the children of the prophets in the days of Elisha searching for the translated prophet Elijah, but in a vain and forlorn hope: “they sought three days, but found him not” (2 Kings 2:17).
Enoch
Of Enoch also it is said he “was not found, because God had translated him” (Heb. 11:5), implying the fruitless search for the raptured saint who walked with God. Christendom will utter a loud cry then: “Lord, Lord, open to us” (Matt. 25-11), when it is too late.
“Late, late, so late! and dark the night and chill!
Late, late, so late! but we can enter still.
Too late, too late! Ye cannot enter now.
Have we not heard the Bridegroom is so sweet;
Oh let us in ‘though late, to kiss His feet!
Too late, too late! Ye cannot enter now.”
Scene Closes in Judgment
The day of grace then closes in judgment as seen in the following transitional period, spoken of as the great tribulation.
Transitional Period
The great tribulation: “The harvest” terminates this present age and introduces the millennium, a thousand years of righteous rule of the Son of man over the earth, which has its heavenly as well as its earthly aspects. Much however of what we are about to consider covers more especially the seven years (the last week of Daniel’s prophecy) of rapidly moving events which introduce us to the kingdom age.
Gospel of the Kingdom Goes Out to All Nations
Following the rapture there will go forth a testimony concerning the “gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 24:14), the character of which will be like the message of John the Baptist. This will reach all nations.
Ubiquity of the Jew
This will be readily accomplished when we realize that the Jews are in every country, and are masters of probably five hundred languages.
Silence of God Broken
The silence of God is broken. The inexplicable mystery of God’s toleration of evil through centuries of brutality and lust, now begins to unfold. The church having been removed to glory during the interval between the third and fourth chapters of Revelation, God is now free to deal with the earth. While Lot, a righteous man, was still in Sodom, God had to say; “I cannot do anything till thou be come thither” (Gen. 19:22). It was ever the thought of God in the good pleasure of His own infinite counsels, to set a man over His creation. He will first “judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained” (Acts 17:31); next, He will rule the scene by One addressed as “the man of thy right hand . . . the son of man, whom thou madest strong for thyself” (Ps. 80:17). All rule and authority in the world will be concentrated and unified in the hands of one Man.
Last Adam Fills and Sustains All
The place of lordship accorded to the first Adam in which he completely broke down, will be filled and sustained by the last Adam, who became, after His resurrection, the head of a spiritual race.
The heavenly scene proceeds in the fifth chapter of Revelation by investing the Son of man with the title deeds of the earth. He then begins the work of subjugating the whole earth to the Father’s will. “Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen (i.e., the nations) for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Ps. 2:8). It is God’s revealed intention that the whole lower creation shall be under the dominion of man (cf. Gen. 1:28, Ps. 8:6-8).
Power Wrested From the Usurper
The Son of man takes the dominion from the Father’s hand and wrests the course of rule from the usurper (cf. Eph. 1:22, Heb. 2:5-9). By Adam’s sin, supremacy passed into the hands of Satan. How then will all that which the Son of man now holds in title, be made good? The key is redemption. It must be bought back by blood, and taken back by power.
Joseph in Egypt
When Joseph, the prime minister, rode in the first chariot of Egypt, they cried before him
Every Knee Shall Bow
“Bow the knee”; thus according to Phil. 2:10-11, it will be true, and the decree enforced, that: “every knee should bow” and that “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The Christian bows and owns the gracious lordship of Christ now; the unbeliever will bow then when brought low in His wrath.
Providential Dealings First
Christendom (lands where the name of Christ has been professed) will be the first to feel the weight of the preliminary dealings. These will be of a providential character.
A Remnant of Israel Saved
There is no cure for the apostasy of Christendom, but with Israel—while as a nation they have rejected their Messiah—there will be a remnant still believing in the Old Testament scriptures;
Unconditional Covenant
These, God will bring into blessing according to the unconditional covenant with Abraham (cf. Gen. 13:15-17; 15:17-18; 17:2-14). The Son of man, the Judge, who erstwhile proffered salvation without money and without price, now begins His work by providential intervention through human circumstances.
Seals Begin to Be Broken
Thus begins the breaking of the seven seals. We say providential dealings because He employs angelic agencies. Following upon this, His ways are more closely recognized and men are filled with terror, until at last, He Himself intervenes in direct judgment— “His strange work.” The most excruciating sufferings are visited upon the infuriated nations and upon all who have rejected Christ. “Men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them” (Rev. 9:6).
Infidel “Modernists” Scoff
This will be God’s answer to the doctrine of the uplift and the evolutionary program of “Modernist” infidels who scoff at a “cataclysmic intrusion” or “divine invasion” into human affairs, as they go glibly term it.
Prophetic Weeks — Jewish Time
The last week of Daniel’s seventy weeks begins to run its course at a point closely following the rapture of the saints. These prophetic weeks are purely Jewish time.
History of Judah and Ephraim Resumed
The history of Judah; i.e., the two tribes, begins to be reckoned again, and a little later, that of Ephraim, the ten tribes.
Reappearance of the Roman Empire
The Roman empire, revived, will fill the eyes of the whole world with wonder. There is much today that points to the speedy reappearance of the beast that was “wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed” (Rev. 13:3); the beast that “was,” “is not,” and is “about to come up out of the abyss” (Rev. 17:8, N. Tr.). The Great War and its terrible aftermath, are dark shadows presaging the appearance of awful horrors, soon to loom up on the ever darkening horizon of Christendom. Men, weary of turmoil, confusion and fear, will readily hail the beast and worship him. The new condition which will immediately obtain upon the removal of the church will be headed up in a person.
The Eighth, or Satanic Head
This man will be a Gentile; “the prince that shall come” (Dan. 9:26; the “eighth,” or satanic head, the little horn, the one whom the false prophet will honor. He will be the head of the imperial form of the resuscitated Roman empire (cf. Dan. 7:7-8; 11:38-39— “the God of forces”); a sort of resurrection beast. Regarding the “eighth” head we would quote the following: “After the seventh head, which continues but a short space, has passed away, there is to be yet another head or form, or mode of government. It is to be of the ‘seven’ as being the reappearance of one of those which had previously existed, and yet it has this fearful distinction from the seven, that it is from beneath. This will be the resuscitated Roman empire with a head of government politically resembling one of the previous seven, but really deriving his power and seat, and great authority, from the dragon, as ascending thus out of the bottomless pit.”
The First Napoleon May Have Been the Seventh Head
The first Napoleon may have been the “seventh” head.
The Furious Jehu
One has aptly remarked that: “the Roman empire is the chariot, so to speak, in which this furious rider is driving.” To his sleepless malice he will add at that time perfect craft, to deceive if possible the “very elect” (earthly remnant).
First Beast Out of the Sea
There are two beasts. The first (cf. Rev. 13:1-10; 17:8-13), comes up out of the “sea”; i.e., the seething restless multitude of nations (cf. Isa. 17:12-13; Ps. 65:7; Ezek. 26:3). Beasts represent empires.
Forms of Governments
Heads signify governments (kings, emperors, dictators, triumvirates, et cetera). Mountains are symbols of authority. Topographically, the beast is identified as seven mountains; personally, as seven kings (cf. Rev. 17:9-10). As a person he is the head of the civil power and makes a covenant with “many” (literally, the many); i.e., the mass of unbelieving Jews, at the commencement of the week (cf. Dan. 9:27), but he breaks it after three and a half years.
“Time of Jacob’s Trouble”
This is the middle of the week at which time the “great tribulation” begins, a period which synchronizes with the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7). Of this time we read: “And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goes forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night; and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report” (Isa. 28:18-19). Doubtless this is a preview of Rev. 9:6: “and in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.” There will not be then even a Hague Tribunal, a League of Nations, an Allied Council, nor any Permanent Court of International Justice.
Perplexity of Nations
According to Luke 21:25, “there shall be . . . distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring” (civil and social upheaval). The Greek word for “perplexity” is aporia, which means — having no passage out. Christendom will be hemmed in on every side by the wrath of God.
Again, let it be emphasized that the passages which speak of the tribulation, are:—Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21:25-36, and Daniel 12, where the scene is exclusively in Judea. The crisis is in the land. By what reasoning could the church be seen to be concentrated in and around Jerusalem where the wrath of the beast and of the Antichrist will be raging? The temple will by this time have been re-built and the sacrifices restored, but as yet the heart unchanged (cf. Isa. 66:3). The priests are said to weep “between the porch and the altar” (Joel 2:17).
Antichrist’s Temple
It will be Antichrist’s temple. He will enthrone himself in it and announce that “he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4); self-exaltation, not supremacy. This will not be that wonderful and beautiful temple described so fully in Ezekiel, chapters 40-46. The following scriptures with many others refer to the tribulation period, viz.:— Ps. 2:4, 5, 9; Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12; Matt. 24:15-28; Rev. 3:10.
Second Beast Out of the Earth, or Land
Just at this time a second beast is seen as coming up out of “the earth,” or the land; i.e., the more settled condition and more local (Rev. 13:11-18; 2 Thess. 2:8-10; Dan. 11:36-37). This man will be a Jew, according to Daniel 11:37, and is identified by the phrase, “the God of his fathers.” To whom could such a reference be applicable except to one of the seed of Abraham? Moreover, the expression— “the desire of women,” surely refers to the Messiah (cf. Luke 1:42-43).
Antichrist Denies Christianity and Also Judaism
Note also the dual character of Antichrist in relation to Christianity and to Judaism. He denies the Father and the Son—Christianity; he denies that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah)—Judaism. The wonders will be no pretended miracles of oriental fakery or modern automata, but real prodigies that the beast will effect before the eyes of those upon whom the “strong delusion” has settled (cf. Matt. 24:24). Every sinew of the “strong man” will then be strained to its utmost.
Trinity of Evil
These two persons will be energized by a third, the “dragon,” that “old serpent called the Devil and Satan” (Rev. 12:9). Thus there will be in full display the trinity of evil upon the earth. The sphere of the second beast, the false prophet, the Antichrist, the wilful king, coming in his own name and usurping the authority and role of the King of the Jews, will be confined to the land. Daniel 11:36-39 shows us that “the king”—the Antichrist, a kind of suzerain, makes head in the land in the interest of the western emperor; thus he honors the first beast; i.e., “the God of forces” (munitions—margin), with all manner of gold and silver, and precious stones and pleasant things, causing all to worship an image made to him.
Antichrist in the Role of Prime Minister to the First Beast
He, the Antichrist, will be the coadjutor and sponsor of the first beast, and acting in the capacity of his prime minister; will cause all, “both small and great , rich and poor, free and bond,” to be branded with the mark of the beast, or his name, or his number. The alternative is to suffer the most heartless and relentless boycott with persecution and death. Producer and consumer, borrower and lender, servant and master alike will fall under his ban.
The Mark of the Beast
Worse than this, universal prostration in worship to the first beast and the image made to him, is enjoined. This image is called, in Matthew 24:15, the “abomination (idol) of desolation” and it is set up in the temple at Jerusalem, right within the holy place.
Jews Again Allied With the Romans
The Jews once joined the Romans in the crucifixion of Christ; they will be allied with them in the great apostasy. In many features Antiochus Epiphanes of the Greco-Macedonian empire foreshadows this apostate spiritual monster. Apostate Judaism and apostate Christendom will alike worship this democratized god.
Idolatry Returns
The unclean spirit of idolatry which left Israel and Judah after their captivity (cf. Matt. 12:43), and dispersion among the nations, now returns (cf. Matt. 12:44-45) in a more desperate form. The Lord, referring to their condition at this time says: “The last state of that man (Israel) is worse than the first.”
There will also be another awful defection running parallel with this Jewish apostasy, to which we have just alluded, viz.: the apostasy of Christendom.
Vortex About Jerusalem
Both will be caught in the current of the “great tribulation,” the vortex of which will be raging in Judea and about Jerusalem.
“Strong Delusion”
It would seem from what the apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonians (cf. 2 Thess. 2:) that all Christendom, as well as the great mass of the Jews, will believe “a lie,” the “strong delusion.”
Martyr Company
The second beast, who acts in relation to Judah only (for the ten tribes are brought in later), makes war with the saints (a witnessing earthly Jewish company) and overcomes a part who seal their testimony with their blood. These, forming a part of the first resurrection, are seen again in Revelation 20:4-5.
Preserved Remnant
The other portion of this remnant is preserved and nourished in the wilderness for 1290 days; i.e., for a period of one month more than the three and a half years. This company is “beloved for the fathers’ sakes” (Rom. 11:28).
The epiphany of Christ’s presence destroys the man of sin (cf. 2 Thess. 2-8). Christendom, alas! has no place to which it can flee, but having reverted to a condition such as heathendom was (cf. first chapter of Romans), with the apostate portion of Israel is “cut off.”
Double Aspect of Babylon
The organized system at the close of the age seems to present a double aspect of apostasy, viz.: the ecclesiastical, especially styled “BABYLON THE GREAT,” and the agency contributary to its rise, the civil and commercial power looked at as “the beast.”
The Idolatrous Woman
The corrupt residuum of Christian profession, left behind at the rapture, will be headed up by the Papacy, the scarlet woman, “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17:5). She is the mother and her children are the offshoots of mere nominal profession. A heathen is not in Babylon. He cannot be. A Christian may be found there. A pagan is in Egypt, morally speaking, the world, of which Satan is the prince. Israel was called out of Egypt, never to return, but was captive in Babylon. The sin of this mystic woman is not described as infidelity to a husband, but unchastity; she has not kept herself as a “chaste virgin” for Christ. Israel is an adulteress. Babylon is an harlot; the marriage of the Lamb still being in prospect. These figures stand for idolatry. Babylon is the paramour of the world, and at first she rides the beast; i.e., she is supported by and at the same time controls the civil power by her bold assumption of authority. She allures kings by her meretricious splendor.
Satan’s Counterfeit Woman
She is Satan’s counterfeit; the harlot in contrast to the pure virgin bride of the Lamb.
Civil System Throws off the Religious Spell
The doom of ecclesiastical Babylon is written in Revelation, the seventeenth chapter, when the civil system, a commercial and political confederacy, grown up in Christendom, recoils and throws off this religious spell, and makes the woman desolate. In the eighteenth chapter the civil power (the kings of the earth), aided by the commercial combines (the merchants and every shipmaster), which ministered to the brazen, colossal system, “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS,” goes down at one fell stroke.
French Revolution a Sample
Profane history lends us a miniature of this in the French Revolution, the outcome of the dissemination of papal influence. The nineteenth chapter gives us the doom of the beast and the false prophet; i.e., the leaders themselves.
“Everlasting Gospel”
Subsequent to the going forth of the gospel of the kingdom by the remnant (cf. Rev. 6:9), there will be published the last offer of mercy in the proclamation of the “everlasting gospel” (cf. Rev. 14:6-7); a general public announcement declaring judgment upon subsisting things and calling for recognition of God as supreme, sovereign and source of all things—the Creator. Doubtless this message will reach those referred to in Isaiah 66:18-19— “all nations and tongues . . . that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory.”
Restoration of Babylon Idle Fiction
Babylon’s restoration is an idle fiction. There was a literal Babylon once and, there is a mystical one in Revelation. There is a literal Jerusalem and also a mystical Jerusalem. In the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, holy prophets and apostles rejoice over Babylon’s downfall. What have such to do with commerce? Whatever other nations survive, the ancient, powerful Babylonian civilization with its proud cities will never be rebuilt, as some erroneously think. Her literal history has long since closed (cf. Isa. 13:19-22; Jer. 51:24-25, 37). The hundred and thirty-seventh Psalm alludes to a mystical fulfillment in the last days, but her literal downfall was so complete and final, it could only be compared with that of Sodom and Gomorrah (cf. Jer. 50:39-40). The best expositors hold that Zechariah 6:8 indicates Babylon’s doom forever sealed. The spirit is quieted as to any more stir from this quarter.
Death of Belshazzar the Knell of Literal Babylon
The mighty nation fell on the night that Belshazzar was slain, while Persia, Greece and Rome persist in weakened forms.
Marriage of the Lamb
The scene being thus cleared by judgment upon the false woman, and the heavens no longer defiled by the presence of Satan (cf. Rev. 12:7-9), the Spirit of God is now free to introduce us to a sight of ineffable bliss, viz.: the “marriage of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:7). It was the cherished thought of the divine bosom in eternity that the Father should have a bride for His Son. The nuptials cannot be celebrated until after “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS,” the false system, is judged.
“O hour for which in patience
Thou’st waited through the night,
Whilst we Thy saints were gathered,
And brought into the Light!
Then, then, the Church completed,
God makes no more delay;
O Lord, with shouts of triumph,
We pass into the day.”
What a moment, teeming with eternal joys and glories! How it mellows and chastens the heart!
“Lord, we’re waiting for that moment,
The brightest and the best;
When Thou wilt stoop to lift us
From Thy footstool, to Thy breast.”
After considering this nuptial ceremony which takes place in heaven, we return to view the order of events which would seem to occur somewhat as follows:
Day of the Lord Begins
A. Epiphany: (epiphaneia, outshining): The personal manifestation of Christ. This is in connection with responsibility. It will be the beginning of the “day of the Lord” (2 Pet. 3:10), which will have its morning, its mid-day and its nightfall. Its dawn will be judgment; its meridian, the millennial rest; its sunset, the final overthrow of Satan and the swallowing up of death and hades in victory. The first beast holds in his relentless grasp all earthly authority and abolishes every vestige of Jewish ordinances and feasts. He will have nothing to do with heaven; destroying every trace or link with anything divine. All rival claims to supremacy having been thus set aside on earth, the great confederacy, inflated with pride and goaded on by the ambition of a deified humanity and satanic energy, reaches its zenith of blasphemy when the second beast claims divine homage. He sits in the temple of God. All rivals are trampled as the filth and dust of the street, while he is “showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4). The Omnipotent will not brook this crowning insult. Christ comes forth out of heaven accompanied by His saints.
King of Kings
A name which is unknowable is seen upon His vesture— “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:16).
Upon His head are seen many crowns—various and universal dominion.
Vesture Dipped in Blood
The beast and the false prophet, those efficient agents of Satan, are taken redhanded by Him whose vesture is “dipped in blood” and who “treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:15). They are dropped alive into the lake of fire (cf. Rev. 19:13-20). “Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints . . . to execute judgment” (Jude 1:4-15).
Enoch and Elijah
Two men, Enoch and Elijah, were taken alive to heaven; two men, the beast and the false prophet, are cast alive into the lake of fire.
The 1260 Days
Here we reach the final and utter destruction of the revived Roman empire, and it would appear that this point marks off the 1260 days.
Enoch and Elijah Types of the Rapture
Enoch, as already noted, was taken out of the earth before the flood came; so also, Elijah was translated just before apostasy in Israel reached its apex. These are shadows of the rapture. Noah, however, was carried through the flood; but Abraham was aloof from all such. He is seen in the nineteenth chapter of Genesis, viewing from the heights, the penal fires consuming the cities of the plain, the judgment of which he had been told in the preceding chapter would fall. So the church in the Apocalypse (cf. Rev. 4: et seq.) looks down upon the earthly scene and sees His “strange work,” judgment, in progress. This is the point reached in the epiphany.
Remnant Miraculously Preserved
B. Preservation of the Jewish remnant in the land, followed by restoration of the ten tribes from without:
Two Tribes Dealt With in the Land
We have seen that a remnant of the Jews; i.e., the two tribes (Judah and Benjamin), the descendants of those who were in the land and were especially charged with the crucifixion of their Messiah (it will be remembered that the ten tribes were dispersed before ever the four monarchies were introduced in the world), will be preserved in the land in a miraculous manner. By flight they will be sequestrated in the wilderness and in the mountains during the wrath of the beast, in the time of the great tribulation. Figuratively, the furnace will be heated “seven times more than it was wont to be heated.” Two thirds of Judah will be cut off in the land, and one third will be brought through the fire and refined (cf. Zech. 13:8-9).
The Ten Tribes Outside the Land
The ten tribes are dealt with outside of the land. The rebels do not reach it. They fall in the wilderness as in the days of leaving Egypt (cf. Ezek. 20:34-38). A part of the remnant is addressed thus: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast” (Isa. 26:20).
Judah First — Ten Tribes Next
The order, given in Zechariah 12:7, is stated thus: “The LORD shall save the tents of Judah first.” Next, we read: “I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced” (Zech. 12:10). Then follows the surprising interrogation which doubtless comes from Ephraim (the ten tribes):
The Marks in His Hands
“And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zech. 13:6). Once Jehovah had said: “Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone” (Hos. 4:17); but now “Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?” (Hos. 14:8). Then comes the fulfillment of that marvelous forty-fifth chapter of Genesis, when Joseph, unable to refrain himself longer in the presence of his brethren, weeps aloud.
Breakdown of Joseph’s Brethren
This is a touching foregleam of all Israel’s repentance and complete breakdown in the presence of the infinite grace of their true Joseph, their Jehovah and Messiah. “Father forgive them” is the grace that makes all possible. The sign of the Son of man is seen in heaven. By the spirit of His mouth the lawless one meets his doom. What a rush of glories and awful events crowd this moment of His appearing, the epiphany of His presence!
The elect from the four winds of heaven are now gathered (cf. Matt. 24:30-31). Nothing, not even Israel’s sin and apostasy, can frustrate the divine purposes to restore the remnant of Israel to the land.
Abrahamic Covenant Unconditional
The covenant made with Abraham is unconditional; it is rooted in eternal election, and Jesus, the Messiah, of the seed of David, is the channel. While it is true that “every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him” (Rev. 1:7), it would appear that the passage in Zech. 12:10, already quoted, “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,” applies in the first instance to Judah, the first to be restored. Then, as Zech. 13.6 states: “one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands?” Judah put them there; Ephraim needs to be instructed as to their meaning. Judah is the first to receive His grace, just as there was special grace for Simon Peter who denied His Master.
Grace Abounding
“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). There was rich grace also for Thomas, who had said: “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails . . . I will not believe” (John 20:25). This is exactly the case with Ephraim. The ten tribes, we see, thus join the remnant a little later. The “little sister” (Song of Solomon 8:8) very likely refers to Ephraim who, as one remarks, “has never had the same development that Judah received through the manifestation of Christ, and through all that took place after the captivity of the ten tribes. Ephraim has gone through none of the experiences recorded in Isaiah, chapters 50-53. It is interesting to notice that Ephraim is also spoken of under the name of Joseph (cf. Ezek. 37:16). Isaiah shows us in affecting language how the Lord will plead with His people.
Cup of Trembling Given to Their Enemies
“I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over” (Isa. 51:22-23). Another passage from the same prophet is so full and so remarkable, we will quote it at length: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam (Persia), and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt” (Isa. 11:11-16).
Observe the following:
1. “That day”: Period of the overthrow of Antichrist.
2. “The second time”: Not the restoration under Cyrus, Artaxerxes, Ezra and Nehemiah.
3. “Four corners of the earth”: Universal restoration.
4. “Outcasts of Israel” and “dispersed of Judah”.
5. “Ephraim shall not envy Judah”: Rivalry gone.
6. “Adversaries cut off”: Enemies judged.
7. “From Assyria and Egypt”: Descendants of ancient nations involved.
8. “The LORD shall destroy”: Divine interference, in nature, on behalf of His people.
9. “An highway”: as when they first left Egypt.
Land Ample to Accommodate All
The answer to such as claim that the land will not be able to hold the returning remnant, is:
Extent of the Land
The Abrahamic covenant assigns them that vast territory extending “from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18). Ezek. 47:15-21 describes the far-reaching borders, a territory over which Solomon held sway. Added to this, note the quotation above showing the divine interference in nature destroying the tongue of the Egyptian sea, thus removing any barrier to the spreading out of population toward Egypt. His smiting of the Nile in its seven streams and beating off of its channel, will be acts of power connected with their deliverance and re-establishment as a great nation (cf. Isa. 11:15; 27:12).
Great Fertility
Great fertility will no doubt be the result of the living waters that “shall go out from Jerusalem,” according to physical changes recorded in Zech. 14:8. Why should men discredit the miracle? Let us recall what took place at the Red Sea; the forty years subsequent sustainment of probably three to four million souls with food from day to day; and also the crossing of the Jordan. Israel’s coming restoration will eclipse all former deliverances. In earlier days as recorded in Deuteronomy 32:8, we see the nations ranged around Israel as a center, so it will doubtless be again in the millennial age. “Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once?” (Isa. 66:8) asks the prophet. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus may be cited as a type of this. Israel, the ten tribes, not guilty in the same measure as Judah in crucifying the Messiah, will not suffer in those troubles which are concentrated within the land.
Ephraim’s Sin Idolatry
Ephraim’s (i.e., Israel’s) sin was that of idolatry. They will be dealt with outside of and on their way back to the land. “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her” (Hos. 2:14). Then, He says: “I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face” (cf. Ezek. 20:34-38). The whole house of Israel will return in unbelief (cf. Ezek. 22:18-22). Israel, who erstwhile had been the vessel of promise and testimony, now becomes the object of mercy.
Spirit of God Poured Out on the Whole Nation
As already pointed out, Judah will be restored first, and it will be upon Judah that the Spirit of God will be poured out, and then upon the whole nation (cf. Zech. 12:6-14; Isa. 11 and 12; Isa. 66: 18-24). Israel’s complete repentance comes after their deliverance. The nation will no longer be scattered and peeled. “I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all” (Ezek. 37:22). All Israel will be gathered to Him. The rod of His strength will go forth from Zion. He will rule in the midst of His enemies (cf. Ps. 110). Consequent upon all this there will come the fulfillment of Psalm 72, and of Zechariah 6:12-13.
Geographical Marks
Zechariah 14:4 gives us some geographical points which are unmistakable. By what sort of reasoning can any other spot than Jerusalem in Palestine be meant? “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
The Mount of Olives
The “mount of Olives”, the place where the blessed One had His couch by night, the witness to His agony and to His ascension, will shortly at the epiphany be witness to His manifested glory. This supernatural and stupendous miracle will doubtless be an act occurring at the very close of the tribulation; in fact, may be the very event which closes it (cf. Matt. 24:29-30).
Physical Changes
There will be great physical changes round-about Jerusalem.
Dead Sea Healed
The waters of the Dead Sea will be healed and the nets of fisherman will be spread upon its shores. Abundant fruitfulness will characterize the soil on every side. The people of the tired foot and weary breast will be at rest.
Dwelling Safely
They will be found dwelling safely “without walls, and having neither bars nor gates” (Ezek. 38:11). The government will then be immediate; no longer bridled by providential restraint. Not any wonder then that they will be at rest! Israel shall know and own the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah.
Florence Nightingale
They might well sing as Florence Nightingale sang to the Crimean soldiers:
“In vain I seek for rest
In all created good;
It leaves me still unblest
And makes me cry to God:
Ah! Sure, at rest I cannot be,
Until my soul finds rest in Thee.”
Close of the 1290 Days
This brings us not only to the full status of Judah, but covers the period of the regathering of the ten tribes, the whole house of David. This then, it would appear, brings us to the close of the 1290 days.
The Assyrian
C. Destruction of the Assyrian: God now breaks that “rod” which He had once used to chasten His own Israel. The outline of prophecy is difficult to follow from this point, but the following we trust will be found helpful.
Kings of the Rising Sun
Masses of the people from “the uttermost parts of the north” (Ezek. 38:15, R.V. and N. Tr.), often mentioned in the Old Testament and especially in Ezekiel, chapters 38-39; together with the “kings from the rising of the sun” (Rev. 16:12, N. Tr., cf. also Rev. 9:14-16), are the last to come up. This final invasion is against the whole house of Israel now restored to the divine favor, dwelling in peace and graciously owned by Jehovah.
Gog
The king of the north or Assyria is supported by Gog, who at this time is represented as saying: “I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil and to take a prey” (Ezek. 38:11-12).
The Assyrian Falls in the Land of Israel
The Assyrian interferes with Jerusalem after it has been accepted by Jehovah. The beast and the false prophet were on the scene while it was still in the hands of the Gentiles and apostate profession. This man, the Assyrian, is the “desolater” who will have the great northern and eastern hordes at his steps. Inflated by success of his first attack when half of the city is taken, he now overflows and passes over (cf. Dan. 11:40), until his stroke is felt even to Egypt: but “tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him” (Dan. 11:44). Scripture does not state what this alarm is. Stirring events are happening. The king of the north hastens his return to the “glorious holy mountain.” The beast being destroyed he thinks to possess all, but he finds that the place which he had destined for a prey, God has marked out for his sepulcher (cf. Dan. 11:44-45). Thus the last enemy of Israel meets his doom. Should any Jew perchance be reading these lines, we would urge him at this point to read carefully Micah 5:1-9.
Tophet
It would further appear that, while Gog (the supporting power of the Assyrian) falls upon Israel’s mountains (cf. Ezek. 39:4), the Assyrian himself (the king of the north) is cast into “Tophet,” the fire of Jehovah which was of old ordained for him.
The King
This doom is also said to be “prepared” for “the king”; i.e., the Antichrist. The passage literally reads: “for the king also it is prepared” (Isa. 30:33). The language employed strikingly indicates that the Assyrian and the Antichrist share a like doom thus in the lake of fire.
Satan Also Cast Into the Lake of Fire
Here also, after his thousand years detention in the bottomless pit, Satan will be cast. It is the place “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).
Armageddon
The great assemblage graphically delineated in the eighty-third Psalm, including the kings of the east, is Armageddon. Revelation 16:16 alludes to it, and it is detailed in Rev. 19:11-21. The awful cataclysm synchronizes with Daniel 2:34-35, also Isa. 24: 17-22).
Mountain of Man’s Pride Leveled
Armageddon, or Har-mageddon, means the hill or mountain of Megiddo. It was here that once the proud nations fell before Israel (cf. Jud. 5:19). We doubt not that there is a moral symbol latent in this word, as also in the expression “valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:2). Jehoshaphat means judgment of Jehovah. It is the place where the mountain of man’s pride shall be humbled; the moment of ripened judgment on such. “And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low” (Isa. 2:17): “The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth” (Isa. 23:9).
Assyrian Punished
The Assyrian’s doom is described in Isaiah 10:12 Thus: “Wherefore it shall come to pass that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.” The Assyrian was Israel’s first enemy; he will also be his last.
The 1335 Days
It would appear then that the destruction of the Assyrian or king of the north, brings us down to the close of the 1335 days.
Four Quarters of the Earth
The spared nations (cf. Isa. 66:18-24) from the four quarters of the earth are now brought to bow to the sway of Christ.
Egypt, Assyria and Israel
Egypt, Assyria (its proud leader having been first cast into Tophet) and Israel will be the three great nations in that day, after the storm has subsided (cf. Isa. 19:23-25). “The fig tree (Israel) and all the trees” (other nations) are among those to be restored in the last days, such as Egypt, Elam (Persia), Moab and Ammon: on the other hand, certain ones entirely disappear, such as Edom (Esau’s descendants), Damascus, Philistia and Hazor. Because of Edom’s implacable hatred toward Israel, that nation will be totally destroyed by Israel’s own hand (cf. Obadiah 18, also Ezek. 25:14). Israel will be used as the instrument to execute judgment without (cf. Jer. 51:20). Mount Seir, condemned and judged, suffers a like doom already meted out to Babylon, viz.: a perpetual desolation.
Nations and Cities Exhibit Moral Principles
Certain great moral principles are seen in various cities and nations mentioned in scripture, such as:
Babylon: Power of organized corruption.
Nineveh: Haughty glory of the world in self-importance.
Assyria: Public enemy of God and His people.
Philistine: Inward enemy of the people. Moab: The pride of man.
Damascus: Alliance of apostates against the faithful.
Egypt: The world in a state of nature.
Duma: Independence of man.
Tyre: The commercial glory of the world.
Jerusalem: The professing people.
The thoughts of God’s heart with respect to blessing of His creature are too great to be circumscribed within the pale of Israel. “Joseph (Jesus is the true Joseph) is a fruitful bough . . . whose branches run over the wall” (Gen. 49:22) and it will shortly be fulfilled that “the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Isa. 60:3), “and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called” (Acts 15:17).
“It is an awful thing,” says one, “that these lands, where we enjoy such privileges, are to be then overspread with the deepest darkness. The covenant with death and with hell will be because of an alliance made with the highly civilized western world. What a humbling thing for the pride of man! Civilization in a day that is past did not keep the mightiest minds from degrading idolatry and filthiness. Alas! we shall have a still worse scene at the close.”
“Earth, what a sorrow lies before thee,
None like it in the shadowy past;
The sharpest throe that ever tore thee,
Fen though the briefest and the last!
I see the fair moon veil her luster
I see the sackcloth of the sun;
The shrouding of each starry cluster,
The three-fold woe of earth begun.
I see the shadows of its sunset
And wrapt in these the Avenger’s form;
I see the Armageddon onset
But I shall be above the storm.
There comes the moaning and the sighing,
There comes the hot tear’s heavy fall,
The thousand agonies of dying
But I shall be beyond them all.”
D. Binding of Satan and sessional judgment: Christ in His Davidic character, having by the sword which “proceeded out of his mouth” (Rev. 19:21) cleared the earthly scene, next introduces the first acts of the millennial kingdom, viz.: the binding of Satan (cf. Rev. 20:1-3) and the sessional judgment (cf. Matt. 25:31-46).
Discriminating Judgment
After the nations have played their part in the tribulation drama, they have to come up before the Son of man for discriminating judgment based upon the manner in which they have treated the twelve tribes, His “brethren”. (Matt. 25:40). The occasion of this judgment is the testimony just previously sent out to the nations, relative to the coming kingdom. All this indicates clearly that the full peace and blessedness of the millennium will not begin immediately upon the manifestation of Christ. All foes must first be subjugated. The quick (or living) are judged at the beginning of the millennium and during its course; the sleeping dead at its close. When the Davidic character of things is finished, then follows a reign of peace, glory and blessing, typified in some measure by the reign of Solomon.
7. Kingdom
The fifth kingdom: The millennium begins. It supersedes the four Gentile dominions. It is the kingdom age, when righteousness reigns. “Thy people also shall be all righteous” (Isa. 60:21). Undoubtedly the nucleus with which this period begins, by reason of the outpoured Spirit, will be characterized by genuine conversion (cf. Isa. 4:3; Ezek. 36:24-27). The long looked for age in which the “God of heaven” sets up a kingdom, at last arrives.
Creation Delivered
Creation “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption” (Rom. 8:21). It will be the rest that remaineth for the people of God (cf. Heb. 4:9), the fullness of which will be enjoyed in eternity. The seventy-second Psalm forecasts this peaceful time. Satan lies bound in the bottomless pit.
Reign of Righteousness
A King, David’s Son and David’s Lord, reigns over the scene in righteousness. The kingdom shall never be moved nor given to another people, but shall endure so long as kingdoms exist. The land will be so fruitful when watered by “the rain of heaven”, that it will need no irrigating systems whether modern, or ancient, when as slaves the people watered Egypt with “the foot.” In Joel 2:23, we read:
The Latter Rain
“He hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.” Jeremiah 5:24 tells us He will give them the former and the latter rain in his season.
Longevity Restored
Longevity will be restored to the antediluvian condition; at least this will be so among the chosen people: “for as the days of a tree are the days of my people” (Isa. 65:22). “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed” (Isa. 65:20). Apparently only such as are cut off in summary judgment will die during the millennium. It will be a condition of things entirely new in this earth.
Kingdom of the Father and the Kingdom of the Son of Man
Above, will be the kingdom of the Father: “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43): below, will be the kingdom of the Son of man. “The Son of man shall . . . gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend” (Matt. 13:41). Both spheres pass before us in panoramic view in Matthew 17:1-8; the earthly is gazing upward to the heavenly. Former things will be forgotten.
Entirely New Moral Order
There will be a new moral order of things with respect to the heavens and the earth, whilst the physical “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1) will still be future. Satan being cast out of the heavenlies (cf. Rev. 12:7-12) and bound (cf. Rev. 20:1-2), the power of evil will not spoil the moral order as in former days. The spared nations will bring their glory and honor into (unto) the light of the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Rev. 21:24). The passage in Revelation 5:10 is clearly not “shall reign on the earth”, but “over the earth” (epi, upon or over; see N. Tr.). While these words will be fulfilled to the letter, we know of no scripture to indicate that the Lord will remain upon the earth in person after His appearance and the taking possession of the kingdom, as is no doubt referred to in Zechariah 14:4 thus:
His Feet Stand on the Mount of Olives
“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.” The planting of the foot upon the soil symbolizes the taking of possession (cf. Josh. 1:3; Rev. 10:2).
Saints Rule Over World to Come
The whole earthly administration will be carried on by Christ and His saints reigning “over” the scene, not actually dwelling on it. Instead of the prince of the power of the air working in the children of disobedience, he will be cast out, and Christ and the church will take his place ruling over the earth. Satan must be cast out in order that the seat of government may be purged. Satan has access to the created heavens, where his throne is placed, but he has not entrance into the unapproachable light of God’s presence. Heavenly beneficence will constantly descend from on high in ministry to those enjoying the earthly portion. The church, not angels, will rule over “the world (or age) to come” (cf. Heb. 2:5; 1 Cor. 6:2-3; Rev. 2:26; 5:10; Dan. 7:22). Angelic ministry has sometimes been visible, sometimes otherwise. It may be that the ministry of Christ through the redeemed from on high will be of a similar character. Welcome contrast to the corrupting influence of Babylon! The heavens shall then hear the earth (i.e., respond to its needs, cf. Hosea 2:21). “The glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another” (1 Cor. 15:40). The heavenly aspect of the millennium will be the brighter. Christ will always be in heaven. Where He is, His own are. The transfiguration scene, Matthew 17:1-4, gives us both, with the distinctive subjects of each.
The Heavenly Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb
Above, blest in, and with Christ, will be displayed the heavenly Jerusalem, the bride herself. She will be a radiance of glory
in her reflection of the varied beauties of creation; a reflection of His glory seen in the creature. How beautiful is the description in Rev. 21: 9-27; 22:1-5! The passage is too long to quote here, but let the reader not fail to mark carefully this marvelous description of the heavenly Jerusalem, the bride, the companion of the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, reigning with Him over the earth, which is spoken of in Isaiah 66:1 as His footstool (cf. also 2 Tim. 2:11-12; Rev. 2:26-27). What a prospect! Below, blessed by, and under Christ, will be the earthly Jerusalem, the restored wife of JEHOVAH.
Jerusalem Has Two Names
The city will be known by two new names, viz.: Jehovahtsidkenu— “the LORD our righteousness” (Jer. 33:16), and Jehovah-shammah— “The LORD is there” (Ezek. 48:35). In Israel’s heart there will be a return of the love of the first espousals.
“Ishi”
“And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi” (i.e., my husband, Hos. 2:16). It will be the anti-type of the year of jubilee, Israel restored to their ancient patrimony, every one under his own vine and fig tree, and every heart full of joy for a thousand years. “Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken” (Ezek. 39:8). The Gentiles (i.e., heathen) will come into blessing, but Israel will be a special and separated people. The Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah will, as one has said, “maintain the authority of His kingdom as a new order of things for a long period and judgment will be exercised, if the occasion of it arises throughout its full course, for ‘a King shall reign in righteousness’; judgment and righteousness will be united. Before giving back this kingdom to God the Father, He judges the dead, for all judgment is committed to the Son. So that the kingdom is a new order of things founded on His appearing, in which judgment is executed. The kingdom is founded by the exclusion of Satan from heaven.”
“His pow’r can never fail,
He’ll rule o’er earth, in heaven;
The keys of death and hell
To Him alone are given.”
Referring again to the earthly government: May not the reference in Ezekiel 34:23-24, indicate a sort of vice-regency? Unquestionably the Messiah Himself is alluded to but we think rather as to administration over the scene, than as being actually in person in Jerusalem. The passage reads: “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.” The passage conveys a little different thought as rendered in the New Translation, viz.:
David a Prince in the Midst
“And I JEHOVAH will be their God and my servant David a prince in their midst.” We readily understand Matthew 18:20— “there am I in the midst”—to be not His corporeal presence as when here, but the blessed holy sense of that presence vouchsafed to such as are gathered unto His name, owning His lordship and full authority. This is a different expression from “I am among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27). Ezekiel 37:24-25 reads: “And David my servant shall be King over them; and they all shall have one shepherd . . . and my servant David shall be their prince forever” (cf. also Ezek. 44:3; 45:7, 16, 17, 22; 46:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 16, 17, 18; 48:21, 22).
Vice-Regent of David’s Line
These later scriptures would seem to indicate that there will be a vice-regent, a human representative of the house of David at the head of affairs upon the earth. Another strong analogous passage is the following: “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as King” (1 Chron. 29:23). Heaven, the Father’s house, “where I am,” as He said to them, will be the abode of Christ and His glorified saints; the earth, the dwelling of Israel and the nations. What is said of “the prince” in Ezekiel, chapters 45-46, might be similar to what Samuel said to Israel: “The LORD your God was your king” (1 Sam. 12:12), and yet in a representative way “Moses . . . was king in Jeshurun” (Deut. 33:4-5).
God Dwells With Man in the Eternal State
When however, the eternal state arrives, then “the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, (and be) their God” (Rev. 21:3).
Righteous Government
The millennium is the last dispensation. It is the final trial of man in responsibility, under the rule of perfect righteousness, for then “a King shall reign in righteousness” (Isa. 32:1).
Immediate Judgment of Evil
Oppression gone, justice is no longer fallen in the streets. Judgment returns. Government has its true character: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever” (Isa. 32:17). It will be a perfect government although its subjects will by nature be the same fallen race of Adam. Government implies that there is something to be kept in subjection. Submission will be immediate whether real or feigned. Whenever sin dares to lift its head it will be dealt with in summary judgment: “Every morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land, to cut off all workers of iniquity from the city of JEHOVAH” (Ps. 101:8, N. Tr.). Death during the millennium is only spoken of as judicial.
Israel His “Battle Axe”
In that day will Israel be His “battle axe” (Jer. 51:20; also cf. Ezek. 25:14).
King and Priest
Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, would seem to be a picture of Israel returning from the conquest of the nations, in the day that Christ is a King and a Priest upon His throne (cf. Zech. 6:12-13). That for which nations and kingdoms have struggled for centuries is now ushered in by the Prince of Peace. It will, however, not be a condition of undisturbed peace for it is not yet the eternal rest. It will be a holy calm after a brief storm-swept scene, but will close after a thousand years in one final, irrevocable, fixed night of doom upon Gog and Magog (cf. Rev. 20:7-10). The literal Russian prince and his host historically met judgment at the commencement of the thousand years. The phrase “Gog and Magog” at the close is symbolically used of the wicked upon earth in their last stand.
(1). Rebellion.
Satan Loosed
Just for “a little season” Satan is released from his prison where erstwhile he served a millennium in chains. He is allowed to deceive the nations for a brief moment. Remember that man, as a race, has still the fallen nature in him unchanged, although under the beneficent rule of the Son of man for a thousand years. Satan finding traces of the old nature still works upon it as successfully as ever. All who have rendered merely feigned obedience must now be dragged into the light.
Satan Put Into Lake of Fire
The rebels encompass the camp of the saints but are consumed with fire from heaven, and Satan is cast into the lake of fire.
(2). The second death:
The trysting day for the wicked dead has arrived. It takes place on the threshold of eternity; i.e., when the earth and the heaven have fled away and time has ceased (cf. Rev. 20: 11).
The Great White Throne
The dead small and great stand before the great white throne. Repudiating the blood, they embraced the religion of Cain and as a substitute offered their own vain works.
“Vain is the thought of man
To merit heaven by prayer;
‘Tis only Jesus’ precious blood
Can give admission there.”
Books Opened
The books are opened, and in order to prove that the defendants have no case, the book of life is produced in which the search to find even one name is fruitless. Their portion is the “eternal fire” unto the ages of the ages. As long as God exists, so long their punishment and separation continues, for the expressions used in both cases as to eternal existence are identical; “tormented day and night forever and ever” are words spoken on the threshold of eternity whose vasts no measuring line nor days can span.
“For Ever and Ever”
In an eternity commensurate with the life of God Himself, the torments of the lost—woeful to relate!—are said to endure “for ever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). There is not a hint in scripture for any such forlorn hope as annihilation.
Immortality of the Soul
The Spirit speaks of such as are “dead in trespasses and sins”, yet the man, the ego, the soul, exists. Luke 16:23 tells us of the rich man who died, “And in hell (hades) he lift up his eyes being in torments;” the poignant words addressed to him, show how alert the mind was. Away from the presence of Him who surrounds Himself with morally intelligent and united hosts! Banished as rebels from His presence into hopelessness of “uncentered and selfish individual misery and hatred!”
Lost, for the “Ages of the Ages”
When all ages have run their course as to this present order of things, then torments for the lost begin. The course of this fixed condition is described as for the “ages of the ages”: the strongest language denoting continued immutable existence with no limitations, is employed.
“Day of Eternity”
(3) The day of God: Eternity: The finite cannot grasp the infinite. It is the “day of eternity” (2 Pet. 3:18, N. Tr.). We have now reached the moment for the dissolution of all things. The earth, (the world and its works) is burnt up. The eternal state begins. Scripture makes the briefest reference to this (1 Cor. 15:28; 2 Pet. 3:12-13; Rev. 21:1-8).
We are set down for a moment on the shoreless sea of eternity to gaze down the long measureless vista of the “age of ages.”
The Second Death
The “second death” claims all apostates. The light of the glory of God irradiates the abode of the blest. No more restlessness, sorrow nor separation for the redeemed, for the sea is gone; “there was no more sea” (Rev. 21:1).
Eternal State Begins
It will be a deep, boundless, unruffled calm of eternal joy. The “holy city”, the bride, in her pristine freshness and beauty as she appeared a thousand years before, at the marriage of the Lamb, now descends, still, “as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2). Nations, as such, disappear. The kingdom, which was a delegated thing, is now delivered up by Him who is the “Alpha and Omega”, and God is “all in all.” Note well that “the divine dominion of the Son in the unity of the Godhead is unaffected by this economic change, mighty and all comprehensive as this change may be.”
Eighth Day
This new condition corresponds to the “eighth day” of scripture. After the closing up of the seventh feast; i.e., the feast of tabernacles which ran for seven days, typifying the millennial rest (cf. Lev. 23:34), there was the solemn assembly of “the eighth day” (Lev. 23:36, 39). The number eight in scripture, as already noticed, signifies a new beginning.
The Lord’s Day
The Lord’s day is the first day of the week, “the morrow after the sabbath.” It is the eighth day of scripture and speaks of resurrection. Again, we have the eight souls preserved in the ark and brought into the renewed earth, when God begins again in a new way with man.
Eighth Day Likely Replaces Seventh
It seems quite likely from Ezekiel 43:26-27, that even in the millennium the seventh day will be changed to the eighth day: “upon the eighth day, and so forward.” The priestly consecration lasted for seven days, then on the eighth day their work of presenting the offerings began. Circumcision also was performed on the eighth day; it spoke of death to nature and a new standing before God, in new creation, “circumcision . . . of the heart” (Rom. 2:29). It is to be remarked also that it is in the eighth Psalm we have Christ presented as the Head of the new order of things in the earth. The transfiguration scene, when they “saw his glory”, was a shadow of the kingdom, while it also carries us on to the eternal state which no millennium can circumscribe. The scene occurred on the eighth day (cf. Matt. 17:1-8).
“The heart is satisfied; can ask no more;
All thought of self is now forever o’er:
Christ, its unmingled Object, fills the heart
In blest adoring love—its endless part.”
The acme of perfection reached by man is attained in the display of the trinity of evil during the great tribulation.
666
Notice the number of the beast, viz.: “for it is a man’s number; and its number (is) six hundred (and) sixty-six” (Rev. 13:18, N. Tr.). This is the number of man’s man, the superman, the overman with his stupendous powers and brilliant abilities, derived from his all but superhuman origin, and empowered by Satan. All this is evidenced by his capacity for organization and consolidation of empire.
How refreshing to turn from this haughty presumptuous display of the creature and behold God’s Man!
888
The number of God’s Man is eight hundred and eighty-eight. In this mystic number is contained the divine trinity in the name Jesus, for the letters forming this name in the language in which the New Testament was written produce this wonderful combination
JESUS, the Saviour, is the new Man; God’s Man; God’s new beginning: “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14).
The “World to Come”
We have thus briefly sketched the kingdom which the God of heaven sets up (cf. Dan. 2:44); the “world to come”, the millennium. It is “the regeneration”; the administration of “the fullness of times”, the result of God’s ways in government. In it, righteousness “reigns.” Holiness will characterize every detail of the everyday life. When this age in turn closes and the eternal state supervenes, then righteousness “dwells.” It is the perfection of God’s nature. The day of manifestation closes. The mystery of iniquity is finished. Satan’s overthrow is accomplished and all merges into the eternal state.
God’s ways in time have been likened to a great business which through deceit and corrupt practice becomes insolvent and the courts are obliged to appoint a receiver to wind up its affairs. When the business is closed, the receivership comes to an end. So it is, Christ the Receiver, having subdued all things unto Himself (cf. Phil. 2:10), now as Son of man, delivers up the kingdom to God, even the Father (cf. 1 Cor. 15:24).
“Oh bright and blessed scenes,
Where sin can never come,
Whose sight our longing spirit weans
From earth where yet we roam!
And can we call our home
Our Father’s house on high,
The rest of God, our rest to come,
Our place of liberty?
Yes! In that light unstained,
Our stainless souls shall live,
Our heart’s deep longings more than gained,
When God His rest shall give.”
We shall then be able to gratify our nature, the new nature, without restraint. Sin gone, the Holy Spirit will be no longer engaged in checking the lusts of the flesh in us, and will be free to produce eternal joy in our souls. Then these desert ways of our earthly pilgrimage will be “rehearsed in glory”, but even now in joyful expectation we can say that:
“Brightening hope brings near the day
To meet and see the Lord.”
To Him be all the praise and glory!
“God over all, we bow the knee,
And own all fullness dwells in Thee.”
Synopsis of the Revelation
~
Church on Earth
1:1-9. Commission. The interest of the church in the whole.
1:10-20. Vision of Christ judging the churches.
2: 3: Moral account of the churches then in existence owned
for the last time, but judged, involving the prophetic progress of the church. She is judged in her hierarchical character in Thyatira on the one hand, spewed out of Christ’s mouth in her coldness and death on the other.
Church in Heaven
4: 5: Prophet caught up to heaven. The throne and glory there. Creation, providence, the Priesthood-Elders on thrones. The book of the inheritance received by the Lamb, but He still on the throne.
Dealings of God Upon the Earth in Providence
6:1-8. The trials or beginning of sorrows on earth, subsequent to the removal of the elect church.
6:9-11. Pleading of martyrs to be avenged of the dwellers upon earth. Respite till others are killed as they.
6:12-17. The heavens shaken. Upsetting of the secular order of all arranged and apparently stable greatness.
7: Saints owned: Jews on earth and Gentiles before the throne.
8: Silence in heaven. Preparatory judgments by providence, consequent on cry of saints below.
9: The last three woes are on the dwellers on the earth. Providential judgments of woe by the power of Satan specially let loose in earthly or providential dealings of the king of the locusts of the bottomless pit, and by the inroads of the Euphratean or northern horsemen. This is the east specifically: Anti-christ, and the northeastern or Assyrian powers acting on the land.
Half week of vengeance on the Jews. Apostate willfulness of Gentiles. Wrath of God. Destruction of beast by the Lamb. — 31/2 years
10: The three and a half years of the last week of Daniel,
11:1-3. in which Jerusalem is dealt with in testimony, the witnesses being preserved, whose worship is secured also. At the close they are killed by the beast in his last satanic form. They are taken to heaven after lying dead three days and a half.
11:14-18. Third woe; coming of the kingdom announced from heaven.
11:19. The prophecy recommences here to give the details of the
12: last days. These chapters refer to the source and character of the great parties in the conflict and therefore flow down, in principle, from the beginning. Chapter 12, had its first accomplishment in Christ Himself, but the church is to rule with Him, and this is its full application here. For this there is no date. So for the war in heaven there is none positively. Its result closes in the commencement of the three years and a half. The earthly date commences then.
Daniels last half week. The dragon’s dealings on the earth, when cast down, persecuting the woman.
13: The beast, or Roman empire.
The beast in its last apostate form, with the second beast. This last is changed into a false prophet.
14: Death, as regards the saints, is ended before the harvest and vintage begin. The redeemed from the earth, after the catching up of the church. The testimony to the nations and judgment of God on the earth or land. The harvest and vintage of the land.
15-16: The contrasted portion of those who did not, and those who did worship the beast. The wrath of God filled up on the earth.
17: Babylon and her connection with the beast. The ten horns make her desolate.
18: Her fall.
People of God summoned out of her.
Her destruction.
19: The marriage of the Lamb. He comes forth as King
20:1-3. of kings and Lord of lords.
Beast and false prophet cast into the lake of fire. Satan bound.
Millennium or 1000 Years
20:4-6. Thrones Millennium.
21:9. Heaven and earth during mil-
22:1-5. lennium.
20:7-15. Gog and Magog. Great white throne.
Apostasy on Earth at Close of 1000 Years.
Judgment of Dead. Eternal State.
21:1-8. The eternal state.