THE first earth and the first heavens, having been overflowed by the waters of a Deluge, perished under the judgment of God. They yielded their place to the heavens and the earth which are now (2 Peter 3:6,7). In the Holy Scripture the beginning and the end of both these worlds is given to us, together with the details which belonged to each.
The history of the first world ends before the end of the eighth chapter of Genesis; that of the world which now is begins then, and continues, with the exception of a few verses, nearly to the end of the Revelation. This first history seems indeed short,_ when it is considered that it contains the account of what passed: during 1650 years. But the ways of God are not as our- ways,, nor God's thoughts as our thoughts; and it becomes us to receive with humility, what He has given to us, and to study it with attention. If God has written a book, He has done it with the object of presenting Himself, of revealing Himself to us. This is the explanation of most of the difficulties which we find in the Bible, namely, the end which God had before Him in writing the book.
Let us examine first the beginning of Genesis. The first chapter (including the first three verses of the second annexed to it) gives to us the history of the Creation, and makes known to us the glory of the Creator under His name of GOD; the majesty of His being, His creative and eternal power, and His goodness. In the fourth verse of the second chapter we find, for the first time, the name of Jehovah; but this name is here joined with another, viz., with that of God (Elohim). It is the same under which He manifests Himself in the work of creation.
He calls Himself by the name of Jehovah-Elohim in His relationship with man set in the Garden of Eden. The happiness of Adam, as a creature blessed and in relationship with his Creator, is the subject of this chapter. Jehovah-Elohim confides to his creature (Adam) the care of the creation in the garden. Man is lord and center of a system. In the third chapter we have, first, the Serpent and the fall of man; and then the first rays of the light of divine grace in the declaration to the Serpent: "The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head;" lastly, man sent (in grace) forth from the Garden of Eden, lest he should eat of another tree, and abide forever a sinner. It ought to be remarked, that directly the human family is outside of Eden-the place of their blessedness as creatures-the name of Jehovah is found alone, without the addition of that of Elohim. In the fourth chapter, we have two great divisions of the human race, of which one part is for God, the other declares itself for the world. The fifth chapter is little more than a genealogy-all important as it is, and precious as are the details of it. The three following chapters (that is to say, the sixth, seventh, and eighth) give us the judgment of this first world, and its destruction on account of sin. The goodness and the power of God created this present world. His patience (based upon the excellency of One who was to come) was manifested towards it after its fall; but the evil having been fully developed, the just judgment of God came down, and the world perished. It may be remarked, that this mixture of evil with good, which took place at the close of this first world, was its capital sin. Sin having been brought into Eden, and having received a sanction from Eve and from Adam) God drove them out from the garden, and pronounced upon the creation a curse, in order to testify His displeasure. After that, He separated into two distinct classes the posterity of Adam; but when this divine separation had been despised, and that these two distinct races had thoroughly confounded themselves together, then was the world judged by its Creator. Sin and the determination on man's part that all should be mixed together, ought (it would seem to me) to be considered, above everything, insupportable, in a world which had been created in order to show forth the attributes of its Creator.
Noah, the first man of the world that now is, was also the last Man of the first world. Born in sin, he found grace in the eyes of God, who showed forth His compassion and His mercy by him, and in saving him and his family. If the first world was in the beginning created by God for the manifestation of His own glory as Creator, as we read in the first chapter of the epistle to the Romans, and then given to man as innocent; the existence of the present world has to do rather with the showing forth of the patience and long-suffering of God [chap. 8:21, and chap. 9:11-17]; and it was put into the hands of a sinful man (as we shall soon see) in order to try if he was capable of governing in the name of God, and restraining evil.
There appears to me a contrast, in the first place, between the power committed to Adam and that entrusted to Noah; and, in the second place, between the normal state of the earth under Adam driven out of Eden, and that of the earth under Noah, come out (according to God's own invitation to him-chap. 8:6) of the Ark.
As to Adam, we find (chap. 1:26): -
As to Noah, it is written (chap. 9:1):-
"And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth ... And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them: Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air; upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hands are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And, surely, your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man. And you, be ye fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein." Remark particularly these expressions:—"And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon all creatures;" and, "Surely your blood, the blood of your lives will I require;" and, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed."
The animals, the birds, the fishes, were placed,
An exception being made of their life, In the hands and under the power of Adam and of his family. The food of man was the green herb, seeds, and fruits; that of the other living creatures on the earth, the green herb. Adam's employment was to dress and to keep the garden.
Without an exception of their life, Under the fear and the dread of Noah, and of his family. To the food of man in the time of Adam, flesh without blood was added.
The responsibility of putting to death the man who should kill another was given to Noah.
It cannot fail to be perceived, that in the case of Noah there was a beginning afresh: there was a new relationship between man, as head, and the creatures, with new privileges and a new responsibility. The charter of it was new likewise. And the strength of this power—this responsibility to watch over the life of man, and of all creatures in this respect—was the bringing in of a principle which is explained to us in the thirteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, namely:—the principle of magistracy; for the sword is the ensign of government: and the sword was put into the hands of a man in the good providence of God, for the government of sinful men. It is of the utmost importance to understand well the truth which is here presented to us. God, according to His counsel and wisdom, willed the maintaining of good order here below; and, in order thereunto, He placed the sword in the hands of Noah. The thought was as of God Himself, the Creator and Sustainer of all things (present in Spirit, though hidden from human sight) to place in the hands of a man the responsibility of governing amongst men, though sinners, and in a world not renewed. It is the basis of all government: and, notwithstanding that Noah failed in his duty (as we read at the close of the same chapter), the truth that man upon earth ought to be governed by a man is of divine appointment, and is likewise (as we shall soon see) a testimony to One who is to come.
As to Providence, I have another remark to make, which is connected with the expression of the two judgments which God pronounced upon the two earths:-
Chapter 3:17-19.
Chapter 8:21.
"Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it (the fruits) all the days of they life. (18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. (19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat (thy) bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
"And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done. (But) while the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease."
It ought to be observed that Noah, as also his children, belonged to both worlds: their persons had been saved out of the ruin of the first world, and grace had given them entrance into the second. Dust they were indeed, and unto dust they were to return; but, notwithstanding the state of their bodies being the same, there was, nevertheless, a difference in the sentence of God upon the two different earths.
Because of thy sin—"Cursed is the ground."Though there is only sin in man, I will not again any more curse the ground.
"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee."
" Seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."
On one hand, it is a judgment, on account of sin, passed against the earth.
On the other, it is a declaration in favor of man, notwithstanding his sin.
And what throws still more light upon this is the Covenant-the charter of this present world's privileges (chap. 9:8):-
" God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying: And I, behold I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the Ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said: This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you, and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah: This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."
What a contrast between the charter of the privileges belonging to Eden and the charter of the privileges of this present world! Human obedience to the command not to touch of a tree; the goodness of God in providence towards a sinful world-these are the two principles.
The Rainbow continues to this day, and is the ensign of this world, and proclaims it to be the world of the providence of God's goodness, notwithstanding the sin of which the rainbow is in itself the memorial.
When I consider these things, I cannot help seeing in the first world the manifestation of God as Creator, and in the second, the manifestation of God as the Preserver of men as sinners upon the earth-the God of Providence. As to both worlds, the testimony is restricted to the earth with the physical heavens which belong to it, and does in no way affect the heavenly places which belong to another subject:-that is to say, to the heavenly glory, concerning which there is no instruction in the Old Testament.
In the case of Cain, we find the ordinary error of the unconverted with regard to the protection of God. The heart estranged from God does not recognize that God has an object of His own in His providence and long-suffering patience:- that is to say, redemption; and that He alone can explain His views correctly. Their own ease and enjoyment being the object and end of men, they cannot suppose that God is not of the same mind as themselves;-nothing blinds the mind so much as selfishness.
It is beyond a doubt that the Lord Jesus is called the second Adam, and that He is to be the One that comes in in His place as Antitype, and that likewise (though He is not called the second Noah) He will nevertheless have to fulfill the duties connected with governing amongst men in a time to come.
Section 2. Adam the Type of Christ.
1. The Lord Jesus as the second Adam.
1 Cor. 15:44-47. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening [life-giving] spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."
As such He is the Head of a race:
Ver. 48. " As is the earthy such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."
What a precious gift of the love of our heavenly Father is the written word, which gives us all the details of this blessed subject which. we may well desire to know. In the first place there is a remark to make as to the description which God gives us of the creation in the first chapter. of Genesis.
When describing the origin of the heavens and the earth, we read, -" God created the heavens and the earth" (ver. 1), but when describing the particulars of what took place in the first five days, it is always "and God said"; (ver. 3), [the first day] Let there be light; (ver. 6) [the second day] Let there be a firmament; (ver. 11) [the third day] Let the earth bring forth grass; (ver. 14) the fourth day] Let there be lights; (and ver. 20) [the fifth day] Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life: (ver. 24) the sixth day begins in the same way, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,"-but the description of the creation of man which follows is not thus given. (Ver. 26), "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, etc. 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, and God said unto them, 'Be fruitful... and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl (see also chap. 2:7). And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils of the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
After this the distribution of food is related: one kind for the human race and another' kind for the remainder of the creatures. In reading the first and second chapters of Genesis it is 'to be remarked, that in the first place, in the beginning, man was made lord over all that was in existence, to govern it in blessing, and his dominion was to be exercised over the creatures who belonged to the creation here below.
2nd. That in his primitive state he was a living soul. 3rd. That there was an inheritance prepared on purpose for him-the garden of Eden.
4th. That his duty there was to dress and to keep the garden (15).
5th. That the possession of' all was given to him, and was to remain his on condition of his not eating of one single tree (17).
6th. That his authority over the creatures is recognized by God, because that God brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them, " and whatsoever Adam called every living creature that was the name thereof."
7th. That having no companion, the Lord God said, " It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for him" (Ver. 18). (Ver. 21) " And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
Christ is the Antitype of Adam.
The fulfillment of each of these seven particulars is found in the antitype.
The fifth chapter of the epistle to the Romans tells us that Adam was "the figure of Him that was to come."
And it indeed is not difficult (with the Word of God open before us, and our hearts open to what is contained in it) to trace points of resemblance between Jesus the Son of Man and Adam who is called Son of God (Luke 3:38).
We shall see that it is Jesus as Son of Man who is the antitype of Adam the Son of God.
The force of the figure is most evident in its application to Jesus as Lord, and as to the Lordship of Jesus.
Phil. 2:5-11. " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."
How this explanation of the connection which there is between the humiliation and the glory of Jesus comes home to the hearts of the children of God!
Acts 2:36. "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
Eph. 1:18. " I pray that God would open the eyes of your understanding... that ye may know... what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet" (ver. 19-22).
Rev. 19:16. "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh these words written-'King of kings, and Lord of lords.'"
All that we can say, with regard to the extent of His dominion of whom we now speak, is, that it is over the whole universe.. According to these verses, everything both in heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
As Adam was a living soul, so also Jesus is, as second Adam, a life-giving spirit. That which was perhaps the distinctive feature of the first Adam was that lie was a living soul; but it was not thus with Jesus, for to Him belongs a glory infinitely higher and distinctive, even that of being the life-giving Spirit. He is the only begotten Son of the Father and Son of God from before the foundation of the world. But in grace He has taken this glory also-a glory which supposes not only that He has eternal life in Himself, but also that He has the power of communicating it to whom He will. And this He could not do, to such sinners as we are, unless He had borne upon the cross the judgment of the wrath of God against our sins. For He did not become the resurrection in order to raise the dead (that is all that have died) out of their graves, without being also "the life" in order to give eternal life to all those who believe on Him.
John 5:19-29. " Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He
will show Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, 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. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, until the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
2 Cor. 4:3-6. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
Parallels according to 1 Cor. 15; between
The First Adam
And
The Second Adam
Death ...
Ver. 21
The resurrection of the dead.
In him all die ...
22
In Him shall all be made alive.
Sown in corruption ...
42
Raised in incorruption.
Sown in dishonor ...
43
Raised in glory.
Sown in weakness ...
43
Raised in power.
Sown in a natural body
44
Sown in a spiritual body.
The first man, Adam, was made a living soul ...
45
The last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Of the earth, earthy ...
47
The Second Man, the Lord from heaven.
As is the earthy, such are they also which are earthy ...
48
And as is the heavenly, such are they also which are heavenly.
As we have borne the image of the earthy ...
49
We shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Flesh and blood ...
50
The inheritance of the kingdom of God.
The sleep ...
51
The change.
Death or desert ...
52
Raised incorruptible or changed.
Corruptible ...
53
Incorruptible.
Mortal ...
53
Immortality.
Death ...
54
Swallowed up in victory.
Death and its sting
54
Death without sting ...
The grave and its victory ...
54
... and the grave without victory to the believer.
For the sting of death is sin ...
55
But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the strength of sin is the law ...
55
But how in every way does-the second. Adam surpass in excellency the first!
Let us briefly examine the contrast which is found in the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans:-
"By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned—for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come" (ver. 12-14).
"But not as the offense, so also is the free gift; for if through the offense of one [the mass] many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by the offense of one, death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ. As then by the offense of one judgment came upon [rather 'toward' than 'upon'] all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, even so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offenses might abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
Let us now consider who will be His associates in glory—the joint heirs, through grace divine, of His blessed position. For this subject of the joint inheritance is that which has been most studied; and in all difficult subjects the door which is best known is always the one to go in at.
Perhaps the consideration of the double marriage of the Lord will help most minds to lay hold of that which is distinctive to "the Church."
Thus we are taught in the Word that Jehovah is to be known as the Bridegroom, the Husband of the Holy Land, and that the Church is the espoused of the Lamb.
The Earth married to Jehovah (Isa. 62:2-5.):-The Lamb as the bridegroom of the Church (2 Cor. 11:2):-
" And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness [O Jerusalem], and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken: neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah (my good pleasure is in thee), and thy land Beulah (married);* for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For, as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." Jehovah had over the rebellious children the right of a (master) Baal (Jer. 3:14, 31-32.) " I was a master [bahal] unto them, saith Jehovah" [rather master than husband-lord]: but in Hos. 2:16, He says "And it shall be at that day, saith Jehovah, that thou shalt call me, My husband [Ishi]; and shalt call me no more, My baali [master]:" and (verse 19) "And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know Jehovah. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, that I will hear; I will hear the heavens, and the heavens shall hear the earth. And the earth shall hear the corn, the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon Lo-Ruhamah [her that had not obtained mercy]; and I will say to Lo-ammi [not my people], Thou art my people." Moreover, we find in Jeremiah that the Holy Land will lose the name of her virginity by taking that of her husband (chap. 23:5, 6):-" Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth. (In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely): and this is His name whereby He shall be called [this king]: THE LORD [Jehovah] OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Chapter 33:14-16.) And we find the same name used in speaking of the wife as (in the 23 chap.) is applied to her husband:-" Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, THE LORD [Jehovah] OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." In the 45th Psalm, the King is Elohim. It is by this name, rather than by that of Jehovah, that He is there presented to us; but here it is Jesus as the Son; and the bride is the earth. For, like Solomon (the. prince of peace for the earth), Jesus will be manifested according to His glory, as Jehovah and as Elohim; and the Holy Land will be under the protection of His powerful arm.
"I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin unto Christ; but I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ." (Eph. 5:23.) "The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ also is the Head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body: as then the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish..So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church: for we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." (Compare this portion with that which is found in Gen. 2:21-24). (Rev. 19:16). "Alleluiah: For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb! And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Chapter 21:2.) "The Holy City [this is after the millennium], New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Ver. 9, 22) " Come hither, I will chew thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,* and he showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God... And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God '.Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it." (Chap. 22:1.) " And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out -.of the throne of God and 'of the Lamb... And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads. (Ver. 16.) I, Jesus, have sent mine Angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star. And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely... He which testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." These verses which I have just cited recall to mind another portion—that of John 17:20-26:-" Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."
(** This is during the millennium; and perhaps at the foot of this mountain is the Holy City upon earth, which is called (Ezek. 48:35) Jehovah Shammah—Jehovah is there.)
Here then, in detail, is the evidence upon which is based the assertion, that there are two marriages yet to come:—first, of Jesus the Son of man—God-man—the Man of sorrows, who was dead, but who is risen again and glorified: the Lamb and the heavenly church, as in the Epistle to the Ephesians—in one word, of Jesus with the body which (between the moment of His rejection by men and His return to reign) has been formed. And secondly, of Jehovah (Jesus in His divine glory for the earth) and the Holy Land.
The contrast between the two is most clearly established by comparing Duet. 28 and the first and second chapters of the Ephesians.
In Deut. 27:15-26, there is a succession of curses pronounced against the nation—terrible curses which are called down upon the disobedient Israelites—and
In the 28th chap. we are given the providential, national blessings (but still only what is earthly) which belong to Israel as obedient. "On high, above all the nations of the earth.. thou shalt be blessed; ... in the city ... in the field ... in the fruit of thy body, of thy ground ... of thy kine ... of thy cattle ... of thy flock. Blessed shalt thou be in thy basket and in thy store.. and thou shalt be blessed in thy going in and in thy coming out," &c., &c. Everything is of the earth, earthly, and they are all temporal blessings. But read further, verses 1-14:-"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy store- houses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and He shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in His ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: and thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them." Everything is of a nature suited to an earthly people.But in the Epistle to the Ephesians, that which is there taught us is: "Blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places." " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." Everything is in the heavenly places, and they are all spiritual blessings: all well adapted for the body of Christ: all suitably arranged for those in whom it was God's good pleasure to show forth his name of God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; in like manner that the earthly blessings will be the glorious witness to the name of Jehovah.
To this brief sketch of the two different kinds of blessings (viz:-blessings on earth and blessings in the heavenly places), we may add that we are never spoken to about the church in the Old Testament; but rather, about the people of God upon the earth. The church, which is heavenly, was kept as a secret by God: a mystery which did not belong to the province of Israel: -a secret which God has revealed by means of his Son when rejected. After the rejection of the Son, Paul was the chosen instrument for the revelation of this mystery. The Apostle Paul assures us that the truth of this divine, this heavenly church, had been kept by God as a deep secret until his (that is to say, Paul's) time.
" Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith" (Rom. 16:25,26.)
(Eph. 2:20-iii. 12.) " And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner. stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy, temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of. the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body [i.e., with Christ] and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel; whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ: and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him."
These passages are too plain and simple to need to be explained for those whose faith is simple; howbeit, it may be well to make some general remarks, taken from the Old Testament, which may help to meet the objections most generally met with.
The promises made to Moses have not made of none effect those which God gave to the patriarchs; and the promises given to the patriarchs have not made of none effect those given to their forefathers. This is self-evident; for, to say the contrary is to make the promise of God of not so much worth as the promise of a good man, inasmuch as difficulties cannot hinder God from performing His will and fulfilling His promise if He wills it: whereas, a man of worth (though as being nothing more than a mortal man, he may lose the power of being faithful to his word) would cease to be a man of worth if he were not true to his word. But God cannot lie. It is impossible. What he has said he will fulfill. This is the reasoning of Paul in the 3rd chap. (ver. 15-18) of his Epistle to the Galatians. Though a narrow heart, and the thought that God had no respect to the Gentiles, as such, was the effect which the law produced upon Israel;* nevertheless, this thought was neither according to the prophets, nor Moses, nor the patriarchs. The Israelites were, as a nation, the witnesses for God. The nations were without God in the world. To Israel be- longed the light which flowed from the possession of the promises and of the ordinances of worship of the true God—the responsibility consequent on these things. "What advantage, then, hath the Jew, or what profit is there in circumcision? Much every way; chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God." (Rom. 3:1, 2.)
(* It seems strange that such a thought should be entertained at a time when Israel was under the judgment of God, and the government of this world was in the hands of the Gentiles.)
If it be forgotten that the distinctive privilege of the Jewish nation was, to be the channel of God's testimony, the thread is lost by which God intended we should form a judgment concerning this people; but, because they were-the channel of testimony and of blessing too, this does in no way prevent others being likewise blessed. The unbelief of Israel, and its unfaithfulness to its distinctive privileges, has in no manner made void the blessing. The unfaithful witness and the unfaithful steward has been set aside and judged (Rom. 11); but the blessing to which Israel ought to have borne witness remains untouched.
But that which I desire in particular to call attention to is, that the testimony which God has given from the beginning presents not only a blessing for the Gentiles (when the Jews will be blessed upon the earth), but also a blessing through the means of the Jews. They are even to be joined with them. But that of which the prophecies of the Old Testament have never foretold, is of a body taken out from among the Jews and Gentiles, and formed for the Son, during the interval which passed between the rejection and the death of the Messiah, of which both the Jews and the Gentiles were guilty, and the Lord's return. And this body is for the heavens, and not for the earth. Here is the testimony of the prophets with regard to the blessing of the nations when joined with Israel:-
Mal. 4:2-6, & 1:11
Zech. 14:12, 16-21
Hag. 2:5-9
Isa. 2:1-5, & ch. 52
Mic. 4:1-3, & ch. 5
Psa. 148:11, 14
Dan. 7:14-27
Psa. 2:1-12
Psa. 18:49; 22:23-28
Psa. 67:4-5
And Moses has said: " Rejoice ye nations with his people." (Deut. 32:43.)
It would be true to say that Israel had been blessed more than all nations, since God has declared Himself their king; but, on this account, to say that God has despised the nations, and has had no thoughts of blessing for them, is quite another thing, and is not true.
The rebellion of Egypt and the hardness of Pharaoh's heart was the cause of the judgment that came down upon them: the conduct of Ammon, Moab, and Edom brought down on each one of them its judgment in particular. But when we consider that Israel will be the blessing for all the earth, and that the nations will be blessed through its means (when Israel will have found wisdom to prize that presence of God which was with it even from the time of its coming out of the land of Egypt), we see then that the blessing of Israel is not incompatible with that of the nations. And we may go still further; for if God takes a central place in Israel, in order to become the blesser of all the earth, Israel itself cannot have the blessing without the nations being blessed with it. There will be, without doubt, degrees of glory and of blessing; and that of Israel will be the highest. In these three passages (Hab. 2:14, Isa. 19:24,25, and Ezek. 48:35) there are three concentric circles of blessing that of the nations generally; that of those nations who are most intimately related with Israel, and that of Israel itself, which is the highest of all. And there is not a single passage in the Word of God which supposes it can be otherwise when the blessing spoken of is one to be enjoyed upon earth. For there the Jew must always have the pre-eminence; since Jesus Himself, as a man upon the earth, was a Jew; and if, in the heavenly places, the sinner from among the Gentiles is on the same level with the sinner from among the Jews, it is not so upon the earth.
It is very important to see that Jesus, as the seed promised to the patriarchs, ought necessarily to be of their race a Jew; and that, as to things here below, all has always rolled around the Jewish people. If the blessings for the heavenly places are the most excellent, and if in heaven there will be no distinction, nevertheless, for the earth, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob looked for a seed which, according to the verses quoted by Paul in the 4th chapter of the Romans, was to be the means of blessing, first, for the circumcision, then for the uncircumcision.
It seems to me that, admitting this scripture, it is impossible-first, to lower the position of preeminence which God has given to Israel upon earth, and which is even to be the means of blessing for the Gentiles; or, secondly, to bring the Gentiles into the blessing which belonged to the Jewish nation before the day of Pentecost: or, thirdly, to deny that the nations will be blessed through the means of Israel, when the time of blessing shall have come in.
Upon such a subject it is difficult to stop; but, perhaps, sufficient has been said to show not only the contrast there is. between Adam and Noah, but, likewise, that it is in the heavenly character of His glory-not the earthly -that the Lord Jesus is the antitype of Adam.
The first man, earthy, is given as a type of the heavenly man. In the same way, Eve is the type of the Church which is to be revealed in the heavens, and we shall be glorified with Him in the heavenly places, as we see in the two last chapters of the Revelation.
Noah and Christ.
It remains for us to examine under what character Noah pre-figures Christ: on what principle, and in what way, Christ is, according to the Word, pre-figured by Noah.
Though there is no doctrine the authority of which rests upon nothing but a type, nevertheless, it is well to remark that a symbol recognized by God, in the Word, as a type, has more authority than a symbol which, though in itself a description of things to come, has not had the name of "a type" given to it by the Spirit of God. As a child of God, I dare not deny that Adam is a type of Christ, because the Spirit of God says so positively (Rom. 5:14). I can then say, on the authority of
God's word, there is instruction for me about Christ in the history of Adam. But i dare not say it with the same boldness as to Noah; because the Spirit of God has not (that I know) said that Noah is the type of Christ. Nevertheless, by examining both the histories (viz., that of Noah and that of Christ), such a resemblance is found between them, as to leave a full persuasion that the Spirit of God has so arranged as to give details of Noah after the pattern of what He saw was to come in certain details as to Christ.
For example.-The destruction of the world where Noah was, is given to us by the Holy Spirit as bearing witness to the state of the world that now is (2 Peter 3:5-7).
Noah and his family being saved out of the deluge, are given to us as a symbol of salvation through faith in Christ. 1 Peter 3:18-21.-" Christ has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God; put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the 'Spirit: by which [Spirit] also He went, and preached to the spirits [now] in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing wherein few, that is, eight persons were saved by water. The like figure* whereunto baptism Both also now save us: not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ; who is gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God.
(The word translated "figure" is αντιτυπος (in Greek) and not the word (tupos) type. But we see that in the mind of Peter there was a correspondence, which he would have us to observe, between the salvation of which Noah and his family were the objects and the salvation which is ours. The expression, a like figure whereunto, may have been used to show, that there is a correspondence in the salvation by grace.)
Noah and his family were hidden in the ark as we are in Christ. The danger and the fear of judgment cause us to hide in Christ, as the very same kept Noah and his family in the ark until the judgment was passed. The same judgment which destroyed the wicked saved this blessed family, and so it is with us.
The ark was of God; it was He who commanded it to be built; He protected it, and He caused it to rest upon Mount Ararat before the door was opened. In like manner, Christ came forth from God: we believe on Christ because God has commanded us to do so. It is He who is our Savior, and it is He who has revealed to us Christ upon His throne, and we dare not come out from our place of refuge before he tells us. It would be easy to multiply points of resemblance.*
(* The judgment upon Israel, as a nation, in the end, presents in full development, and that in connection with Christ, what the present redemption, according to Peter, does in moral principle. See Isa. 54:9.)
When Noah came out of the ark, the sword of judgment was placed in his hands, for the restraining of evil in a world where God had declared His intention of manifesting His gracious providence.
During the millennium, Christ is, as to the earth, the Prince who will reign in justice; but the extent of His power is wide indeed. When He leaves the Father's throne He will take possession of the heavenly places, and He will drive Satan and his angels out of them (Rev. 12) How long will be his stay in the heavenly places we are not told, but there He will receive His bride and there the nuptials will take place (Rev. 19:1-10). From thence He will come down to the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords, always in the same thought of putting down the enemies of God and establishing righteousness. The Beast and the false prophet, the chiefs in rebellion, will be judged. He will remember Israel, and His heart will not be satisfied without blessing also the nations. He, who is, at one and the same time, called the Dragon (that is to say, he who has the power of the usurper amongst the nations) the Old Serpent (that is, the deceiver by means of subtleties and wiles), the Devil (or accuser), and Satan (the adversary), is taken and thrown into prison for a thousand years. There is an attempt also made by some of the nations before His power is acknowledged (according to Ezek. 38), and perhaps also by treacherous ones (as in Psa. 18:44, the strangers have yielded me feigned obedience or lied to me), but His reign is established notwithstanding over all the earth. This is the last of the dispensations, and will include, both in the heavens and on the earth, the principles of all those that have preceded it.
It is a subject for consideration, under what name Jesus will execute the judgments that are coming; whether it is the same as He will bear when Head over the whole earth during the millennium, or not.
The description of the conqueror sent forth by God, in Rev. 19:11-17, does not give us the glory of Jesus in His character of second Adam, nor, as it seems to me, of Noah, nor of Melchizedek. It rather recalls to us the position of Abram (Gen. 14).
The millennium is but a dispensation. It is not the eternal state. It is certainly the most important of all the dispensations; but still it is but a dispensation. It consists of two parts—of which one is in the heavenly places, the other in the earthlies. The two portions; though closely united together, are still each of them distinct.
Above, there will be the Father's house, and the glorious courts of the divine government. In the Father's house, the Father and His only-begotten Son, with the adopted family (full in that day of the Spirit of God), will have their rest and enjoyment in affections perfectly heavenly, because they are perfectly divine* In the glorious courts where God will be revealed with the Lamb in the midst of the Church, which (filled with the Holy Ghost) will become the Tabernacle prepared by God for His habitation, and will be also the seat of His government, and of the glory which belongs to the presence of the Divine Majesty. There Jesus, the Son of Man will appear as the Lamb, and likewise as the Son of God, now Heir of all things, on account of His Service to God in His work of redemption.
(* The presence of the person of Jesus, the God-Man, and that presence alone-can give us any just idea of the blessedness which awaits us. In Eden, man was set at a distance from God infinitely great; because the Creator is infinite, and His creature is finite. In Jesus, while, on one hand, we see in Him all the glory both of His Father and God; on the other, we see in Him, as Son of Man, a perfect enjoyment of all that which is in God and His Father. The new and divine nature which He communicates to us through means of His Spirit, is capable of tasting all that of which He tastes, and of enjoying all that which is to Him a subject of enjoyment.)
On earth below will Jesus likewise be manifested and glorified; but it will not be exactly with the same glories as those displayed on High.
On the earth He will be manifested-As Jehovah (Psa. 110:1 and 5, etc.); As God (Psa. 45:7, etc.);
As Jehovah, the God of Israel (Ezek. 44:2, Psa. 118:26, Matt. 23:39, etc.).
He will exercise all His offices likewise-
As Son of Man (Dan. 7.13-18, 27, etc.);
As Son of Abraham, or Head over the Household of Faith (Gal. 3:16-18, Rom. 11:26,32);
As Son of David or King of Israel (Psa. 132:11, 1 Kings, 8:25).
Jesus will exercise likewise all the offices* which are necessary, whether for the bringing in of that dispensation, or for the regulating and sustaining it; or for the deliverance, at its close, of the vast body of believers which will be found in the midst of an unreal profession. In Him, likewise, will be manifested, and fully sustained by Him, all the responsibilities which God has entrusted to the hands of man from the creation up tp the moment of the commencement of the millennium. From the beginning man has lost everything, and up to the end man will lose everything, by reason of his spirit of independence. Christ regains everything, and keeps all in his hands, because of His spirit of obedience and dependence.
(* God, the Creator, has put man, His creature, to the proof in the most gracious way, by bestowing on him free gifts. He has bestowed on him a series of them; but man has shown himself incapable of profiting by them, for by a want of obedience, most criminal on the part of a creature, to the wise and good prohibition of his Creator, sin entered in at almost the first. First, God put into the hands of Man the garden of Eden; a scene filled with blessedness for man in a state of innocency; then, when sin had entered, God held forth a promise of One that was to come. He drove out from His presence the family of Cain, who became the founder of a world morally at enmity with God; but sin continued to increase on the earth. A little further on in the history, having saved Noah and his family by the deluge, He gave them a new earth in possession, even that which now is. A covenant was made with them in Providence, and the sword of judgment was put into their hands. The fall of Noah as an individual in these, his privileges, is found in the same chapter. He was drunk in his tent. Very soon after, the impious attempt to build the Tower of Babel showed the state of ruin in principle of this earth.
Then God gave the call to Abraham-a call which brings in the principles of the heavens; but if Abraham at the call of God left his country and idolatry, he did not leave behind him his kindred; he took with him Terah and Lot, and, alas! he failed in obedience, for, doing his own will-he went down into Egypt. Terah died, and Lot, ceasing to walk like a believer, is left behind; and Abraham alone becomes the depositary of the promises both of the heaven and the earth by means of the promised seed. Father of the household of faith, both Jew and Gentile, and the nations outside, are to be blessed upon -earth through this seed, and the heavens also are to be filled with blessing by means of the same. The promises and the covenants given to Abraham, are renewed to Isaac and Jacob; but in the case of each we see that the creature is utterly incapable of retaining the blessing. After this, God essayed to bless Egypt as well as the countries around it, through its means, by introducing there the Jewish people, who have been (since He divided the nations) the central object of His providential care upon earth. The result we only know too well.
In the case of each of the three patriarchs, it is the call of the individual as such, and the individuality is always kept up, because the hope of the promise is of one only seed. Nevertheless, the family of the individual is likewise always found-that is to say, the husband and his wife. In the case of Israel in Egypt, it is a company of families. Joseph went down into Egypt alone; he found there a family-a wife and children; and the families of his brethren were joined to him there. When they left Egypt, they were a great nation. And this nation God set in Canaan head over all the people of the earth; because God was to be their king. In giving them ordinances for their own blessing, God gave them a mediator,* priests and prophets, a most suitable manner of worship for God as God of an earthly people-the Law, etc. But the nation was rebellious, and preferred the golden calf to God, and despised His ordinances. God, after having shown forth His long-suffering towards Israel, removed them from their place in judgment, and the supreme power in the earth was given into the hands of the image in Daniel. The heart of the Beast was given to this image, and it lent its power to the Jews for the murder of the Messiah-the Desire of nations. God made use of this image, and of Satan, who is the spirit working in it, for the chastening and the punishing of Israel; but whilst the sin of Israel and of the nations was coming to perfection, God gave a new thing to another witness, even to all who believe.
(* The thought of a mediator, of a high-priest, of a prophet, etc., is not received from Moses; though these truths may be for the first time clearly presented to us under that dispensation. The need in man, which called for the offices, the services of such an one, existed from the very first. The first filaments of these truths are found when man is first found as a sinner in the presence of God.
If the revelations given by God are examined in the order in which they follow one another, it would seem to me, that in each succeeding stop, there is more of God and less of what is human, in the place in which God would set man. Adam, after his fall, is left much more to himself, and with much less light than Noah; and under Moses, the details of the relationship of man towards God are much more multiplied and various. As now, it is evident that all is of pure grace, by means of pure grace, as the end is characterized by being pure grace.
The good word of the grace of God, the Father of Jesus, in the heavenly places-having for its foundation His resurrection and taking up into heaven; who on earth was put to death on the cross-this has been given to all who believe. For it is in the cross-the perfect expression of man's hatred against God-that God has found the victim of propitiation for sin-the Lamb, who has been slain, risen, glorified; and from Him flows to all who believe, the gift of His Holy Spirit, But where is this witness? What has become of this Church? The heart of man has not known how to divide between things which differ; it has not judged the flesh and the world which have crept in secretly into the house of the living God: Satan has entered in, and has taken possession of it; and the Church, which calls herself such, has willingly sheltered itself under the skirts of the image of Daniel, or under the protection of the four beasts. It is also her desire that the Law should be the root of all blessing. The kingdom established in mystery has failed in the hands of man; and all, as we see in the Revelation, is very soon to be judged; must be judged, in order to give place to Him, who alone has been faithful to God. And Jesus will very soon bring in that which will be the perfect antitype of ail that has gone before it. The paradise 'of God will be safe in His blessed keeping. The distinction between the family of God upon the earth and those who are driven out from his presence will be sustained. He will maintain the rights of God upon the earth. He will bless the heathen through the means of Israel; will be king, mediator, and high-priest for Israel upon earth, while at the same time He will appear in the heavenly places with a heavenly church.
And since all is of grace-all in order to show forth the grace of God, and the glory which belongs to Him as Redeemer, so He will not be alone in whatsoever way He is pleased to manifest Himself. Having saved by faith and His Spirit a remnant out of each dispensation, He will cause them to appear with Him in His glory—blessed happy witnesses of grace towards a lost race.))
The audacity and the folly of independence of God, and the beauty and value of dependence are thus manifested.
As to these two principles, it must be added to the creature's shame (in his spirit of independence) that obedience was but duty on his part to his Creator, and it is even, the creature's own glory: but to the praise of Jesus can it be said, He was voluntarily obedient in the position of the humbled servant, and even took it of His own free will, in order to glorify God and His Father, and to show how blessed a thing dependance is, by the salvation of poor sinners.
Two other important truths remain to be noticed:-first, that all that He will do on earth during the millennium He will do not only as being of one mind with God in his counsels, but also in His character of servant of a God not seen to be present. Secondly, that the millennium brings before us (on this same earth where sin has abounded) not only the contrast between His conduct as God's faithful servant, and the conduct of man, faithless to all the trusts which God has committed to Him, but also (alas! to our shame) that dispensation will give us another specimen of what man is.
The sin of man will be shown in its true light, and the root of sin will also be shown, and man as a sinner will be without excuse. When Christ was upon earth the world had nothing by which to take hold of Him, and Satan had no power against Him. And why? Because He was God's perfect servant. His will was, to be always in subjection to God's, and God's only. The answer will be made to me, Yes: and because His flesh was not wicked as ours is. True! but how is it that our flesh has become wicked? Ah! it is because Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (whose flesh was innocent and pure) renounced their position of dependance. They thought and chose for themselves. But this is not all. God in His grace has presented us with a testimony as to the work of His Son as the Savior. God does not now demand from me obedience as He once exacted it in the garden of Eden, but He addresses Himself to me as a poor sinner. What He desires is, that we, poor sinners, just as we are, should take the position of dependance. He desires that Jesus should be honored as the Savior. What can we do for the glory of God? We are only poor ruined sinners. This is true. But if it is God's good pleasure that His Son should be glorified by the salvation of poor sinners, to refuse to believe is not only to refuse to be blessed, but it is refusing to glorify the Son of God in that which I can glorify Him (for I am a poor sinner), it is persisting (to my own proper ruin) in the spirit of independence of God. God be praised that we have found to our own blessedness the value of dependance! For, by believing in Jesus, and in the grace of God through Him, we have found that neither Satan, nor the world, nor the flesh, can do anything against us. The strength which faith in Jesus gives to a poor sinner, is beyond the strength of the flesh, of the world, and of? Satan. It is the will which holds fast man in his enmity against God. Man would in everything be God, but God will not give His glory to another. That which now passes every day upon this earth in its state of estrangement from God, will likewise take place on this same earth in the very light of the Divine presence in the millennium, and thus the real root of sin will then be uncovered.
In the dispensation to come-all that which now acts upon the flesh to strengthen it against God will be removed, and everything that could teach it the value of obedience will be present. A fresh trial will be given to man; and it will be seen that nothing is wanting but the opportunity to spew it, that, if left to himself, he would prefer to be the companion of Satan (if only he can do his own will) rather than be blessed by renouncing his own will for that of God. After terrible judgments, Satan will be bound (Rev. 20:1, 2). The world whose god he is (2 Cor. 4:4), and prince (John 14:30), will be delivered from his tyranny. All creation will rejoice, instead of being, as it is now, subject to vanity (Rom. 8:19-21); but not only is the absence of evil promised, but also the presence of all that is good. Jesus will have it in possession, and what must be the state of this world when made ready for Him, and when ordered and ruled by Him! The earth will be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14); Israel, and Egypt, and Assyria, will in a special manner be blessed (Isa. 19:24,25).* But Israel, nevertheless, will have a glory distinguished from all the rest, and Jerusalem will be the center of all its blessings (Ezek. 42:48). This is where the glory of the heavens and the glory of the earth will be united (John 1:51; Isa. 4:4-6).
(* This is the extent of the land promised to Abraham.)
In that day man will see what are the fruits of the obedience of Jesus shed abroad (to the joy of the Savior's heart) amongst the poor. Man will rejoice in it; he will feel the blessedness of it; but all this experience cannot alter his flesh, nor make a lasting impression on him. Satan comes out of his prison, and all the ends of the earth follow in his train in open rebellion against God and His Christ. This is what the flesh is, yours and mine, dear reader, in itself.
1. Noah, as has been already remarked, was, so to speak, the man belonging to both worlds. Thus, in the millennium, we see that Christ will be both in the heavenly and the earthly places, and in each of these, his spheres of glory, there will be that which belongs to both the old and the new system. In the heavens, the new things, in themselves perfect, will be manifested in the old heavens still unchanged. On the other hand, on earth the old things will be set directly under the order and power of the new things. Though upon the earth men will not be in glorified bodies, and man there will not necessarily be renewed in soul and in spirit. But the general state will not be as up to that time-viz., a state of darkness with some rays of light, brilliant in themselves, but in appearance weak by reason of the contrast with the thick darkness which reigns. Light will be shed abroad everywhere, and the darkness will be hidden. Christ will be there, and the fullness which is in Him will shed itself abroad through everything in blessing, in holy blessing, and blessing all around it, but in a world which is, not changed. This must be particularly observed. Within the city in the heavens all will be perfect. There will be no sin there; God himself will be there and the Lamb. For those who shall be found in this city, there will be no fall at the end of the dispensation. All within the city will be perfect. But it is not the same with that which is without the city, though it be found in the heavenly places. All that is there is not perfect. The heavens have not been changed; and if righteousness which remaineth forever will be manifested within the holy city, it is not necessarily the same throughout the heavenly places. Glory can in itself be perfect without the circumstances of its manifestation being so likewise, as was perfectly the case with the Lord Jesus in the transfiguration. On earth redemption will display itself during the millennium as being still in development. There its manifestation will be not only displayed in connection with a dispensation, for sin will be still upon earth, and redemption will be there seen still developing itself. In heaven another thing is seen as to its blessedness. God does not come into the earth except in His relationship with Jesus the Savior. Sin is found there. Even at Jerusalem (Isa. 65:20) and perhaps close to the temple (Ezek. 44:22,25) there will be judgments which will show this; but where sin is, there redemption is not fully accomplished.
2. If the dispensations be examined in succession, it will be seen that there are intervals between them; intervals in which the one just passed is judged, and the one to come is in principle established. It is very difficult to understand these intervals. In the first place, in appearance they partake of the principles, the nature, and the character, both of that which precedes and of that which follows them; but they are not exactly either of one or of the other; a certain action of God is displayed in them, and God is beyond all dispensation. Who can comprehend what passed in the time that Jesus was upon earth? One of these intervals is found between the dispensation that we are in and that which- is to come. And if the retrospect of the last of these intervals makes us feel our ignorance, the difficulty is not less when we look at that which is to come. On the contrary it is increased; first, because it is the future with which we have to do; and secondly, because the ripening of sin in the present dispensation, and the glory of the dispensation to come, are both much greater than the sin of the past dispensation and the glory of the present one; and thirdly, because the manifestation of the Divine presence will be greater, for in the last interval Christ, contrariwise, rather sought to hide His glory.
The heavenly places are now in the possession of wicked spirits (Eph. 6:11,12), and the earth is under a power not of God. Evil is coming to perfection in the Jewish nation, among the Gentiles, and in that which the Church boasts itself to be, and is so called. Very soon the cup of their iniquity will be full. Deliverance and judgment are at the door. When and how will the next of these intervals commence? Between the moment that the Lord leaves the throne of God, His Father, and the establishment of His kingdom down here upon earth, all that passes is within, it seems to me, the coming interval -the overlapping of the two economies. The forming of a new witness to the Jews and to the Gentiles—the manifestation of grace for a remnant out of both of these -the judgment of Babylon, of the Beast, and of the false prophet-the judgments upon the earth-Satan bound, etc.-would all seem to me to be during the interval; and I do not otherwise understand the purifying of the earth (Rev. 19:11 to 20:3, and Dan. 7:9-12). But the purifying of the heavenly places (Rev. 22) and the rapture of the saints, are these within the coming interval or not?* Perhaps the fifteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, as evidently containing in principle all that takes place between the first corning of Jesus and the establishment of the new heavens and the new earth (for ver. 28 is after the Millennium), might aid us.
(* The question is of interest, because, as it seems to me, it involves two important matters, viz., 1st. Are these two things wrought by God for Christ, He being still hidden in God on the throne, or are they the first expressions of the service of the Son of man coming out in service from the throne 1 and 2ndly, Are these two things connected primarily with the mystery, or with the kingdom? I add that what seems to me to constitute the great difficulty in connection with the subject is our want of light upon the kingdom set up in mystery.)
The difference in the experience of Enoch and Noah, both believers, has been well remarked upon. The first was taken at once into the glory of God in heaven, without having either seen the judgments or tasted of death; and this is the calling of the Church. The second was saved out of the midst of the divine judgments pronounced against His evil generation, and against an earth which had corrupted itself, and at length is found upon earth. This is what awaits Israel. The first was the man for the heavens; the second the man for the earth.
I would add, that the second, namely he who was saved out of the midst of the judgments, took no part in the execution of the judgments. His history as to the earth, which was given into his hand, begins at the conclusion of the judgments.
It is a subject for consideration, under what name Jesus will execute the judgments that are coming, whether it is the same as He will bear when King over the whole earth during the Millennium.
The description of the conqueror sent forth by God in Rev. 19:11-17 does not give us the glory of Jesus in His character of second Adam, or of Noah, or of Melchizedek. It rather recalls to us the position of Abram (Gen. 14).
Even before Noah came forth from the ark grace in God had shown itself, for God remembered him, and made a wind to pass over the earth. The waters were assuaged; they decreased and were abated; the ark rested as soon as possible on Mount Ararat. God sent to him, in the mouth of the dove which he had sent forth, an olive leaf plucked off. God invites him to come out of the ark, and gives him the earth in possession.
" Bring forth with thee every living thing,.... that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth."
" And Noah builded an altar, and offered burnt offerings upon the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more" (Gen. 8:21,22).
" And God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Gen. 9:1).
If Christ begins to manifest Himself in the character of Noah, before the judgments are poured out, and that the bringing in of grace is before His entering into possession of the earth, then the connection that there is between the name of Noah* (Rest) and Jesus as the Peace will easily be seen (Isa. 42:1-8, Mal. 1:11).
(* it was Lamech who called his son Noah, saying, " This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.")
3. Sin was not in the place where God set Adam, so there will be no sin in the place which is the antitype of Eden-the paradise not on earth, but the paradise of God Himself in the heavens. There was sin in the place into which God brought Noah, as there will be in like manner on the earth during the Millennium.
4. The appearing of Christ upon earth the same as in the case of Noah, is followed by a declaration of judgment to be exercised. The sword, or the right of putting to death, which God placed in the hands of Noah, recognized that sin was there. It was the order of God's government for the restraining of evil, but still ever for the good of man. Government there will be, in one sense, in heaven, where there will be no sin; for God is the Author of order. But the sword supposes sin, and that the power of God is there in order to restrain it.
This is what Christ will do. He will maintain (even through the means of judgments) peace and righteousness. He will reign in God's name for the sake of man, as He once suffered, because He would glorify God and save man.
Instead of becoming drunk like Noah in his tent, where he discovered to his own children his nakedness and shame, the joy of Christ, the true Nazarene, will be divine; and the more this joy will be disclosed, the more, at the same time, will Christ be revealed as the only refuge, the only robe of righteousness, the only One that is worthy.
5. Neither will the sign of the rainbow, that token of the covenant and of Divine Providence, be wanting to Him. But instead of being an accidental thing, which the light of the sun and the memorial of judgment produces from time to time, it will be the ornament of the person of Him who sustains all, and will sustain all in His reign in blessing, ever turning away the wrath of God by the righteousness of His reign.
He will reign amongst the nations-the despised Nazarene will reign; and He will bless, according to the desire of His own heart, all those who seek the glory of' God. He will not allow of the tower of Babel, that expression of the confederacy of the flesh against the judgments of God. He will have the extent of the conquests of Nimrod under His scepter, and all the habitable world will acknowledge Him.*
(* In a Jewish map which I have seen, the kingdom of Nimrod is traced out as containing all that which God promised to Abraham; and this kingdom will be under Jesus, as Son of Abraham. But that which will be His right, according to what God gave to Noah, will be the whole habitable earth.)
The wife of Adam had a name proper to herself, that is to say, "Eve," (The Mother of) All Living. In the counsels of the grace of God, Jerusalem from above is recognized as such, and we shall reign with Him; but the wife of Noah is not recognized as such, she has no name.
The closing scene will be according to the Divine purpose beforehand. For, after having shown that this expression of His divine grace and condescension, in a way quite new both in heaven and earth, has not had the effect it ought to have had upon man, the Lord will close up the whole by allowing Satan to come out from his prison, in order that His own power to keep His own, and the true character of man when left to himself may be fully recognized.
To sum up all in few words. It would seem to me, that the contrast between Adam and Noah will be again found in Christ, in the two spheres of His glory during the millennium. In the heavens He will be in principle the second Adam during the millennium, I say in principle, because I acknowledge that that which is shown forth to us in the heavens during the millennium is to have its full unfolding after the millennium. Upon earth Christ will be ruler for God.
That which follows the millennium is of all interest, but it is not my subject now. The character of Christ's reign, and the manifestation of His grace in a way quite new within it, are also of more than interest, but 1 dare not touch upon it now. I shall be thankful if these feeble remarks should be the means of directing the attention of any one more competent than myself, to skew the connection that there is between the first position in which the different members of Noah's family were set and their position at the end. Their position at the time of the Lord's appearing it is easy to trace up to a-certain point, and is of the highest interest in studying the word of prophecy.