PARABLES ABOUT THE KINGDOM*
By ARLEN L.
CHITWOOD
[* Taken from the author’s book: “Mysteries of the Kingdom”.]
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AN INTRODUCTION
1. “The giving of these parables - [about the
kingdom - (four in Matthew 13 and one in Mark 4), were addressed primarily to the general public in
This remarkable passage, originally given in Isaiah 6: 9-10, is referred to five times in the New Testament,
always in connection with Israel’s rejection of her King (Matt. 13: 13-15; Mark 4: 11, 12; Luke 8: 10; John 12: 39, 40; Acts 28: 25-27). Arguments over the
meaning of the conjunctive particles hina and hoti, whether the parables were given to
produce blindness, or as the result of blindness, cannot change the judical
nature of our Lord’s words. The context of the passage, both in its original
Old Testament utterance and its quotation in the New Testament, should be
decisive on this point. And S. G. Green argues ably for the judical meaning on
grammatical grounds: ‘We believe that the former [purposive] interpretation is
the only one admissible. The blindness is represented as judical - a punishment
inflicted by God on disobedience and hardness of heart.’ On the contrary, Bruce
is so violently opposed to the judical meaning of this series of Kingdom
parables that he is willing to impute error to the New Testament writers rather
than to admit it, saying, ‘It is much better to impute a mistake to them than
an inhuman purpose to Christ.’ As if it were ‘inhuman’ for God to judge men for
their wicked unbelief!
... All this does not
deny that these mystery parables of the Kingdom had a beneficent purpose. As a matter of fact, for those
who had already accepted the simple facts about the Kingdom, these parables
would give further enlightenment. The principle of double purpose, both
beneficial and penal, was stated succinctly by our Lord while he was giving the
parables, (Matt. 13: 12).” - Alva J. Mc Clain.
2. “There are two places in the New Testament which set
forth a history of Christendom throughout the dispensation relative to the
proclamation of the Word of the Kingdom - the central message of the New
Testament. Both accounts were given by
Christ, on two occasions: Firstly Christ made the first known to His disciples
during His earthly ministry; and this account was given in parabolic form and
has been recorded in Matthew Chapter Thirteen.
Secondly, then, Christ made the second known to John at a time after His
ascension, following John being removed into His presence - removed from Man’s
Day into the Lord’s Day. And this second account was given via seven short
epistles to seven Churches in
These two accounts parallel one another and present two different pictures
of the same thing. And each is followed
by parallel accounts of events which also present two different pictures of the
same thing as well.”
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[1]
Parable of the Sower
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold,
a sower went
forth to sow;
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they
sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they
had no root, they withered away.
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up and choked them:
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth
fruit, some an hundredfold, some, sixtyfold, some thirty fold.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matt. 13: 3-9).
Thee
parable of the Sower, the first of four parables which Christ gave outside the
house, by the seaside, is comprised of four parts. Each part has to do with
exactly the same thing: fruit-bearing, with
the kingdom of the heavens in view - a kingdom about to be offered
(during the future time covered by this parable) to a people other than
Israel - the nation to whom the
kingdom of the heavens was still being offered at the time Christ gave the
parable of the Sower, outside “the house”
(referencing the house of Israel, left desolate in the previous chapter by “the
seaside” (referencing the Gentiles) is subsequently
represented in Matthew’s gospel by a barren fig tree (Matt. 21: 18, 19; cf. Joel 1: 7). The tree had leaves, but no fruit. And,
because of the fruitless condition of the tree (representing the fruitless
condition of
The parable of the Sower looks
out ahead to God’s activity during an entirely separate dispensation, following the removal of the kingdom
from
This is that “holy nation,” a “peculiar people” to which Peter referred, who “in time past were not a people, but are now the people ot God:
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1
Peter 2: 9, 10). This
is the new creation “in Christ,” taken from both of the former
two creations (both Jew and Gentile [but mainly Gentile, shown by “the
seaside”]), though neither of the former two creations (neither Jew
nor Gentile) exists within this new creation (Eph.
2: 12-15).
“In
Christ,” all distinctions of the human race seen in both of the former
two creations (in both Jew and Gentile) simply do not exist (Gal. 3: 26-29). The
new creation “in Christ” is
exactly what the name implies - an
entirely new creation in the human race (2 Cor.
5: 17). This is
why Scripture, following this time, divides the human race into three separate
and distinct segments:
“Give none offence, neither to the
Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the
The parable of the Sower was
given with a view to this new creation not only being brought into existence
but also being extended the opportunity to bring forth fruit for the kingdom.
The parable of the Sower looks out ahead to that time when the kingdom would be
taken from
In the first three parts of the
parable though, individuals comprising the one new man fail to bring forth fruit, as
those in
But in the last part of the parable,
that expected of the one new man during the present dispensation
is shown. Unlike barren
Thus, it is revealed at the
beginning, before God even brought this new creation into existence, that not
all those comprising the one new man - not all [regenerate] Christians - would bring
forth fruit. Fruit-bearing is seen in only one part of the parable, in the last part. In
the first three parts, individuals are shown to have been overcome through
various means, resulting in barrenness.
All of these things are set
forth in the parable itself. But, after responding to the disciples’ question
concerning why He was speaking the multitudes in parables (vv. 10-17; ref. Chapter 1 in this book), Christ provided
them with interpretative help to further explain the parable of the Sower (vv. 18-23). Christ went back over the four
parts, briefly explaining each part.
(The reason Christ provided
additional interpretative help for the parable of the Sower is obvious. This parable
is foundational to the other six which Christ then gave. Correctly
understanding the six parables which followed would be contingent on correctly
understanding the introductory parable.
A properly laid foundation will
allow one to properly build on the foundation. But lay the foundation
improperly, and the inverse of that will be equally true.)
Then, after giving both the
parable of the Sower and interpretative help, Christ gave the second, third,
and fourth parables, apart from any explanation (vv.
24-33). But,
after going back inside the house, Christ, responding to another question asked
by the disciples, concerning the second parable, provided additional
interpretative help for this parable as well (vv.
36-43). And,
once back inside the house, Christ then gave the fifth, sixth, and seventh
parables (vv. 44-48),
providing a very brief explanation concerning several things in the seventh and
closing parable (vv. 49, 50).
All seven parables have to do
with a people other than
Thus, all seven parables have to
do with a time following the rejection of the kingdom by
And further, though Christ
re-entered the house prior to giving the last three parables, there is no
change in the identity of those in view, those
being dealt with. The Church continues centre-stage.
The last three parables depict
God’s summary dealings with respect to two things:
1) His previozis
dealings with Christians (throughout the dispensation
and at the judgment seat).
2) His future redemptive action (redemption of the inheritance, resulting in the marriage of Christ to His
bride [a bride previously singled out and revealed at the judgment seat]) and
the subsequent separation of Christians (immediately preceding and leading into
the Messianic Era, based on previous decisions and determinations at the
judgment seat).
(Different facets of the
preceding are dealt with throughout this book, in material covering all seven
parables.)
Whether dealing with the parable
of the Sower, the parable of the wheat and tares, or any of the other parables,
the message of salvation by grace through faith is simply not in view. Rather, fruit-bearing,
with respect to the kingdom, is in view. These parables have to do with God’s complete dealings
with an entirely new creation, about to be called into existence to bear fruit
where
Since this is the case, there is
really nothing in the parables which has to do with the
unsaved, their eternal destiny, etc. Everything has to do solely with the saved, with a view to the Messianic Era, when Christ will sit on His
throne in the heavenly
Manner of Sowing
“The
Sower” in the parable (the Greek text has a definite article before “Sower” - a particular Sower) is identified in the
explanation to the second parable as the Son of Man, a Messianic title (v. 37; cf. Ps.
8: 4-6; Dan. 7: 13, 14; Matt. 16: 13-16). And also, in this explanation,
the pace where the sowing occurs is revealed to be in the field, in
the world (v. 38). In the parable itself, this
sowing occurs different places in the field, different places in the world.
And that which the Sower - the
Son of Man, Christ - sows out in the world is revealed to be individuals, not “seeds” per se
(note that the word “seeds” in the
text is in italics [v. 4],
indicating that it is not in the Greek text, but supplied by the translators).
In the second parable though,
there is a sowing of “seed.” “Good seed” (vv. 24, 27) are
sown by Christ in the field (which is really the same sowing seen in the first
parable), but these “good seed”
represents individuals. They are identified as “the
children [‘sons’] of the kingdom” in the explanation (v. 38).
Thus, there is no problem
retaining the word “seeds” in the English text of the
parable of the Sower as long as it is understood that these “seeds” represent individuals. This is not only in
line with the second parable but also in line with the correct rendering of
four different verses in the explanation to the four parts of the first parable
as well.
The latter part of verse nineteen, explaining the sowing in the first
of the four parts of the parable (v. 4), should read, “This is he which was sown by the wayside.” The
beginning of verse twenty, explaining the sowing in the second of the four
parts of the parable (vv. 5, 6), should
read, “But he that was sown into stony
places...” The beginning of verse twenty-two,
explaining the sowing in the third of the four parts of the parable (v. 7),
should read, “He also that was sown among the
thorns...” And the beginning of verse twenty-three, explaining the last
of the four parts of the parable (v. 8), should read, “But he that was sown into the good ground...”
The Sower (the Lord Jesus
Christ) has sown individuals ([regenerate] Christians) different places in the world,
with a view to one thing - fruit-bearing. And this fruit-bearing has to do
with one thing as well - the kingdom of the heavens.
(In Mark’s and Luke’s accounts
of the parable of the Sower [Mark 4: 13-20; Luke 8: 4-15], both the Word [the Word of the Kingdom,
as seen in Matthew’s account] and individuals [as also seen in Matthew’s account] are sown different places out
in the world, with a view to fruit-bearing [as seen in Matthew’s
account as well]. There is, of course,
no conflict in the Word being sown and individuals being sown, for the Word
cannot be sown apart from a saved individual [in Luke’s account, “seed” is sown (v. 5), but this “seed”
is identified as the Word (v. 11)]. The Word is actually sown within the
individual who has been sown. He hears, receives the Word [Matt. 13: 19-23; Mark 4: 14-20; Luke 8: 11-15].
The whole of the matter is
described different ways in the three different accounts, presenting one
complete, composite picture of that occurring within Christendom during the
present dispensation.)
Understanding this is foundational if one would properly understand
that which should be the central focus of all activity in the lives of
Christians in the world today. And, understanding this is foundational
as well if one would properly understand that which is the
central focus of all activity surrounding the ministry of the Holy Spirit in
the world today - the search for the bride (Gen. 24; cf. chs. 23-25). Activity in the lives of Christians and
activity in the ministry of the [Holy] Spirit go hand-in-hand in this respect.
They, of necessity, must.
The gospel of the grace of God
though, as it has to do with both those sown in the field and the present work
of the [Holy] Spirit,
is another matter entirely. An individual must pass “from death unto life” before he can be
extended the opportunity, find himself in a position, to bring forth fruit for
the kingdom. He must become a child of the Owner before he can possess any
association with the inheritance awaiting Christ and His co-heirs (John 5: 24; Rom. 8: 17; Eph. 2: 1-5).
Thus, unsaved man must first
hear the gospel of the grace of God (from those sown in the field). And the
work of the [Holy] Spirit must, correspondingly, begin at this point (as seen in
the foundational pattern in Gen. 1: 2b-5). Unsaved man must pass “from death unto life” before he can be dealt
with relative to the inheritance out ahead.
And the Spirit of God is in the
world today, first of all, to do a work in unsaved man in this respect. He is
present in the world to breath life into the one who is without life, effecting
spiritual life in that
individual (cf. Gen. 2: 7; Ezek. 37: 1-10; John 5: 24; Eph. 2: 1, 5, 8).
Only then can the Spirit deal
with man in relation to that which is seen in the parable of the Sower, or any
of the other six parables in this Chapter. And only then can the [Holy] Spirit,
as well, bring to completion the central purpose for His presence in the world
today - to search for, and find, and remove the bride for God’s Son (Gen. 24: 33, 36, 58-67).
Places Where Sown
The explanation to the parable
of the Sower begins with the statement, “When
anyone heareth the word of the kingdom...” (v.
19a). Then, in each of the four
parts to the explanation, the expression is shortened to simply, “the word” - referring to the previously
mentioned Word, “the word of the kingdom” (vv. 20-23).
This is a reference to a message
surrounding the same kingdom which was being offered to
The message in view is exactly what the text states, and it
could hardly be stated any plainer. The message has to do with the
kingdom, not with
salvation by grace through faith. And the response of different individuals
throughout the parable has to do with the kingdom as well, not with eternal
verities seen in the gospel of the grace of God.
Everything in the parable of the
Sower revolves around two things:
1) The Word
of the kingdom.
2) Fruit-bearing,
or barrenness, on the part of
those hearing this message.
To read
salvation by grace through faith into this passage, as so many individuals do,
both corrupts and destroys one
facet of the good news, the gospel of the grace of God, by bringing things over
into this gospel which do not belong there; and it destroys the other facet of
the good news, the gospel of the glory of Christ, by removing things having to
do with this gospel through misapplying them elsewhere.
1)
Ones Sown by the Wayside
Comparing the parable and the
explanation (vv. 4,
19), the ones sown by the wayside
represent individuals ([regenerate as well as
nominal] Christians)
who hear the Word of the Kingdom but fail to understand the message. And their
failure to understand the message allows the “fowls,”
representing “the wicked one [Satan],” to simply come along and do away with
the message, thus devouring the
person (cf. vv. 4, 19; 1 Peter 5: 6-9).
Those sown by the wayside,
having this type experience in relation to the Word of the Kingdom, would
probably represent the majority of [regenerate] Christians hearing this message today.
Though they have a capacity to understand the message (they possess spiritual
life), they show little to no interest, allowing Satan to perform his destroying and devouring
work.
In
“For
this people’s heart is waxed gross,
and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed...” (Matt. 13: 15a; cf Isa.
6: 9, 10).
The Jewish people were not only
in possession of the written Word of God but were also capable of spiritual
perception. They were perfectly capable of understanding this Word. But the
religious leaders in
Thus, the whole of the matter,
seen almost two millenniums ago in
The final state of Christendom
during the dispensation - seen in both the chronology of the first four
parables in Matt. 13 and the
seven Churches in Rev. 2,
3 - is complete
corruption and rejection in
relation to the Word of the Kingdom. That is, insofar as this message is
concerned (the message seen throughout the parable of the Sower), the
whole of Christendom (fundamental
and liberal segments alike) will be as the Church in
Those in the
“Because thou savest, I am rich, and increased with
goods, and need of nothing; and knowest not that thou
art wretched, and miserable,
and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3: 17).
2)
Ones Sown into Stony Places
Comparing the parable and the
explanation (vv. 5,
6, 20, 21), the ones sown into stony
places represent individuals who hear the Word, understand the Word, and
receive it joyfully. These are individuals who get excited about that which
they have heard and learned. There is new-found joy and excitement in their
lives, because
of “the word of the kingdom” (v. 20).
But, before, they can become
sufficiently grounded in this Word (they have no “deepness
of earth,” they have no “root”), “tribulation or persecution” takes
its toll. They endure “for awhile”; but,
in the symbolism of the parable, when “the sun
[‘tribulation or persecution’]” begins
to beat down in all its strength, because of their lack of root (maturity in
the faith), they wither away (vv. 5, 6, 21).
In the text, “tribulation or persecution” occurs “because of the word,” because of individuals
hearing and receiving the Word of the Kingdom. There is no message in existence
which Satan will marshal his forces against as he will against the message
surrounding the coming [millennial]
This message has to do,
centrally, with a change in the government of the earth. Satan and his angels presently
rule over the earth, within the existing kingdom of the heavens; but a new
order of Rulers is about to be brought forth - Christ and His co-heirs. Satan
and his angels are to be put down, with Christ and His co-heirs then taking the
kingdom.
The Word of the Kingdom is a
message which has this end in view. It is a message having to do with Christ
ruling the earth in that
coming day, ruling in the stead of Satan; and it is a message having to do with
Christians occupying positions as co-heirs with Christ in that day, ruling in the stead
of angels presently ruling with Satan.
And this is something which
Satan will do all within his power to prevent. Thus, one could only
expect a message dealing centrally with this subject to come under attack as no
other message, which is
exactly the way Scripture presents the matter.
In Eph. 3: 1-11 this
message is seen as something presently being made known “by [lit., ‘through’] the Church” to “the principalities and powers in heavenly places [Satan
and his angels]” (v. 10). The
message being made known has to do with the fact that Satan and his angels are
about to be replaced, and it has to do with individuals presently responding in
a positive manner to the invitation (being extended by the Holy Spirit in the
world) to have a part with Christ, in His administration, in
that coming day (cf. Gen. 24: 36, 58).
And in Eph. 6: 10ff a spiritual warfare is seen
raging because of that which is presently being made known through the Church
to Satan and his angels. Satan will, first of all, do everything within his
power to prevent Christians
from hearing this message; and, should Christians hear this message, he will
then do everything within his power to do away with,
destroy this
message, devouring Christians.
At this point, Satan brings
about “tribulation or persecution” in the
life of the one bearing and understanding the message. And note again the
wording of the text. Tribulation or persecution arises in the life of such an
individual “because of the word,” because of the Word of the Kingdom. He has heard and joyfully
received this Word.
And this tribulation or
persecution invariably comes from other [regenerate] Christians. Unsaved man out in the world can have
nothing to do with all of this. He is “dead in
trespasses and sins,” completely incapable of operating in the spiritual
realm. And not only does this tribulation or persecution come from other
Christians, but many times it comes more specifically from those in positions
of leadership, exactly as in
Israel when this offer was open to the nation almost two millenniums ago (e.g., John 9: 22).
The person, through this
tribulation or persecution, is “offended [Gk. skandalizo, ‘scandalized’]” (v. 21). That
which he has heard, understood, and accepted is associated with error, cultism,
etc. And, because of his lack of maturity in the faith, he is overcome. He
simply gives up; he quits; he falls away. And Satan wins the victory in his
life.
3) Ones
Sown Among Thorns
Comparing the parable and the
explanation (vv. 7,
22), the ones sown among thorns
represent individuals who hear the Word, but, because of worldly involvement,
they bear no fruit. They “go forth” (Luke 8: 14),
apparently enduring for awhile, but are then overcome by the enemy.
That used to bring about their
fall is revealed to be “the care of this world [‘age’], and the deceitfulness
of riches.” Then Luke, in his account of this parable, adds a third -
the “pleasures of this life” (Luke 8: 14).
These individuals - whether
through immaturity, neglect, letting their guard down, or any number of other
things (we’re simply not told) - allow various things within the present world
system, under Satan, to bring about their fall (cf. 1 John 2: 15-17). Satan uses these things against them in
the spiritual warfare.
They fail to heed the Lord’s
admonition and warning concerning where Christians are to fix their attention
and keep it fixed. Christians, in the race of the faith, are to look “unto
Jesus [lit., ‘from, unto Jesus’]” (Heb. 12: 1, 2). They
are to look “from” the
things of the present world system “unto” Jesus. They are
not to look back; they are not to look around; but they are to keep their eyes
fixed straight out ahead, on Christ, on the Author and Finisher of
their faith.
And Christians are not only to
fix their attention on Jesus, but also on exactly the same
thing Christ fixed His attention as He endured the sufferings and shame
surrounding Calvary. Christ fixed His attention on “the joy that was set before him” as He “endured the cross, despising
the shame [considering the sufferings and shame of little consequence compared to His coming glory and
exaltation]” (Heb. 12:
2; cf.
Matt. 25:
21, 23; 1 Peter 2: 21).
Christians
are to “escape to the mountain [‘the mountain,’ signifying the kingdom],” apart
from looking back, apart from remaining in the plain (“the plain,” signifying the
present world system). And
if they don’t, they will be consumed along with the things in the plain (Gen. 19: 17; cf. Gen. 19: 26; Luke 9: 62; 17: 32, 33).
[Regenerate] Christians are to fix
their attention on the King and His [Messianic and Millennial] Kingdom - not
looking back, not looking around - considering present sufferings (tribulation
or persecution), or the things of this world (care of this age, riches,
pleasures of life), of little consequence compared to the proffered [coming] glory and exaltation lying ahead. And if they
don’t, Satan will use one
or all of these things in his unceasing efforts to bring about their fall.
4) Ones
Sown into Good Ground
The fourth part of the parable
presents matters after an entirely different fashion. Those sown “into good ground” (vv.
8, 23)
represent individuals who hear the Word (first part of the parable); they
understand the Word and refuse to allow “tribulation or
persecution” to deter them as they progress toward maturity in the Word
(second part of the parable); and they keep their eyes fixed on the goal out
ahead, rather than on the things of this present world system (third part of
the parable).
They hear, understand, and grow
in the Word (cf,
Acts 20: 32; James 1: 21; 1 Peter 2: 2).
Tribulation or persecution doesn’t stop them; and they do not allow themselves
to become sidetracked by the “care of this age,” the “deceitfulness of riches,” or the “pleasures of life.” These are individuals who
refuse to become entangled “with the affairs of
this life,” knowing that a crown lies out ahead for those
who “strive lawfully” (2
Tim. 2: 4,
5).
Thus, these are individuals who
overcome and bring forth fruit. These are individuals who overcome the world (1 John 5: 4), the
flesh (Rom. 8: 13; Col. 3: 5), and the
Devil (James 4: 7; 1 Peter 5: 9), rather
than being overcome by one or all three. And, as a result, they bring forth fruit. They are
the only ones who do bring forth fruit among the four groups mentioned,
and they bring forth fruit in varying amounts - “some
an hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold.”
These - [obedient and faithful remaining] -
individuals, are the only ones who fulfil the purpose for their very
existence - bringing forth fruit where
Outcome of Sowing
Positions in the coming
(The word translated “reward” in the N.T. is from the Greek word misthos [misthapodosia, a cognate word, in
Hebrews], which has to do with “payment,” or “wages” for service rendered. And it will be exact. The
payment will be exactly commensurate with services rendered.)
Individuals bringing forth no
fruit will receive no payment. There will have been no fruitful labour, and,
consequently, wages will not be forthcoming. Instead, they will “suffer loss” (1 Cor. 3: 15).
On the other hand, individuals
bringing forth fruit will receive payment. There will have been fruitful
labour, and, consequently, wages will be forthcoming. Each will “receive a reward” (1 Cor. 3: 14). There will be “a just
recompense of reward” [‘a just payment, justly earned wages’]” (Heb. 2: 2; 11: 26).
Mention is made in the parable
of the Sower of individuals bringing forth fruit in varying amounts - “some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold” (vv. 8, 23). And payment for the varying
amounts, seen in another parable, the parable of the pounds in Luke 19: 11-27, would be exactly commensurate with
their individual fruitfulness.
In the parable of the pounds,
ten servants were each given one pound. Each was given a portion of his Lord’s
business to use during the time of his Lord’s absence, in order that he might
be accorded the opportunity to bring forth an increase.
One servant brought forth a
tenfold increase; and the Lord, upon His return, gave him authority over ten
cities. Another servant brought forth a fivefold increase; and the Lord, at
this time, gave him authority over five cities. But a third servant failed to
use that entrusted to him, and he was not only denied governmental
authority but he was also severely rebuked by his Lord.
This is not only the way
Scripture plainly presents the matter, but this is also what God’s perfect
justice and righteousness demands. If matters occurred any other way, God would
not be perfectly just and righteous in His judgmental dealings with His [regenerate]
servants to whom He entrusted His business during His time of absence.
(God’s future judgmental
dealings with His servants, providing exact payment for services rendered,
will be in complete keeping with the
unchangeable laws of the harvest, which He Himself established:
1. A person always reaps what
he sows. The one sowing “to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption,” and the one
sowing to his Spirit shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting [Gk., aionios
life, referring, in the text, to ‘life in the coming age’ (Gal.
6: 7, 8; cf., Gen. 1: 11)].”
2. A always reaps more than he sows. Sow “the wind” and one can only expect to reap “the whirlwind” [Hosea 8:
7], but remain faithful over “a few things,” and one will be made “ruler over many things” [Matt.
25: 21, 23].
3. And there is a period of time between the sowing and the reaping. One sows
during the present dispensation; but the reaping, whether good or bad,
dependent wholly on the sowing, awaits the coming dispensation.)
* * *
[2]
Parable of the Wheat, Tares
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying,
The kingdom of
the heavens is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat,
and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares also.
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow
good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said
unto him, Wilt thou gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the
wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of
harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn (Matt. 13: 24-30).
The
parable of the wheat and tares continues with the same subject matter
introduced in the previous parable, the parable of the Sower. The central focus
in the parable of the Sower was fruit-bearing; and
different things were presented which, on the one hand, prevented
fruit-bearing (vv. 4-7, 19-22), or, on the other hand, resulted
in fruit-bearing (vv. 8, 23).
And the
central focus in the parable of the wheat and tares, as well, centers around fruit-bearing (v.
26). But this parable does not cover fruit-bearing from the same broad
spectrum seen in the previous parable. Rather, continuing the thought from the
previous parable, the parable of the wheat and tares limits itself to one
realm. It
limits itself to that part of the parable of the Sower which deals with the
ones sown into the good ground, who brought forth fruit (cf. vv. 8,
23, 24, 26). Those
failing to bring forth fruit in the first three parts of the previous parable
cannot be viewed as “good seed” in this
parable.
That is to say, all of the “good seed” - “wheat,” “sons of the kingdom” - in the parable of the
wheat and tares are seen bringing forth fruit (cf. vv. 24,
26, 37, 38, 40-43). This is
simply a continuation and elaboration of the fourth and last part of the
previous parable. Then something new is introduced. The
parable of the wheat and tares centers around those bearing fruit from the
previous parable in order to reveal something additional, something not
revealed in the parable of the Sower.
Thus, the parable of the wheat
and tares moves a step beyond that revealed at the end of the previous parable,
the parable of the Sower. This second parable continues with the same thought
but then reveals a concentrated attack against those
individuals bearing fruit. It
reveals the exact method which
Satan uses as he goes about seeking to stop that which is occurring.
Satan seeks to
prevent fruit-bearing through
a number of means (revealed in the first three parts of the parable of the
Sower). And, throughout the dispensation he has been successful in his
confrontation with the vast majority of [regenerate] Christians. He has succeeded in preventing
most from bearing fruit.
But the preceding has not been
true of all Christians. Many have been victorious over Satan’s methods and
schemes. They have overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil. And, as a
result, they have brought forth and continue to bring forth fruit. And it is
these Christians, the ones bearing fruit, that Satan is seen directing his
attack against in the parable of the wheat and tares, seeking to stop
that which is occurring.
The Kingdom of the Heavens is Likened
unto...
The parable of the wheat and
tares and the subsequent five parables begin after a similar fashion: “The kingdom of the heavens is likened [or, ‘is like’] unto...” (cf vv. 24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47). This
though is in the English translation (KJV). The Greek text, in its wording,
reveals Christ sharply distinguishing between the way in which He began the
parable of the wheat and tares and the way in which He began each of the
remaining five parables.
1) Has Become Like, Is Like
The expression in question, in
the English text, reads, “is likened” in the
second parable and “is like” in the remaining
five. Thus, the English text does not show a distinction between the way in
which any of the six parables are introduced.
The word translated “likened” or “like” in the Greek text is the same in each
instance (homoioo [a verb] or homoios [a noun]). Introducing the
parable of the wheat and tares, the verb form of this word is used (homoioo);
and introducing the remaining five parables, the noun form of is word is used (homoios),
with a verb following. And the structure of the noun and verb in each of these
five remaining parables is identical.
Homoioo and homoios are used in the Greek New Testament to
a likeness between different things, or to compare one thing with another. For
example, “This is like...” Our English word, “homo” (like), prefixed to numerous English
words, comes from the Greek prefix forming these two words. Thus, the words “likened” or “like” in the English translation accurately convey the
meaning of homoioo or homoios.
But, moving from the second
parable to the remaining five parables, the English text does not properly
convey the manner in which these five parables are introduced. The problem
lies, not in the meaning of the words (homoioo or homoios), but in the
translator’s failure to show distinction which Christ made when He used these
words after entirely different fashions. That is, Christ used the verb form of
this word to convey one thing in the parable of the wheat and tares. But
continuing with the subsequent parables he used the noun form to convey
something quite different.
The verb, homoioo, is used
introducing the parable of the wheat and tares after a manner which should be
translated, “it has become like.”
Accordingly, this parable should begin with the statement, “The kingdom of the heavens has become like...”
But this same translation - “has become like” - should not be repeated in the
remaining five parables. Rather, using the noun homoios, with a verb
following, the translation, “the kingdom of the heavens
is like...” (introducing each of the remaining parables) is probably as
accurate as it can be rendered.
But this translation,
introducing the last five parables, must be understood in the light of the way
in which the whole matter is introduced in the parable of the wheat and tares.
That is, this parable opens by revealing, “The kingdom of the
heavens has become like...” Moving
from the parable of the Sower to the parable of the wheat and tares, the
kingdom of the heavens became like; then, the kingdom of the heavens continues
like... in the
remaining five parables.
Thus, in this respect, the
opening statement in each of these succeeding parables - “the kingdom of the
heavens is like...” - must, contextually, be understood in the sense, the
kingdom of the heavens continues like... There is a chronological continuity of thought after this
fashion as one moves through these parables, something which must be recognized
if the parables are to be properly understood.
2) The
Kingdom of the Heavens
“The
kingdom of the heavens” is a realm. And, in relation to this earth,
the expression would refer simply to “the
rule of the heavens over the earth.”
Satan and his angels presently
rule from a heavenly sphere over the earth. And this heavenly sphere is that
realm in which Christ and His co-heirs will reside during the coming age when
they rule from the heavens over the earth, following Satan and his angels being
cast out (Rev. 12:
4, 7-9; ref. the
author’s book, THE MOST HIGH RULETH).
Thus, the kingdom of the heavens
becoming as
described in the parable of the wheat and tares, or continuing as
described in the subsequent five parables, cannot be a reference to the
realm of the
kingdom per se. The realm itself doesn’t change. Only certain things about the
kingdom can change (e.g., the message
about the kingdom).
The complete parabolic section
in Matthew chapter
thirteen is introduced and concluded after a similar fashion. And seeing
how this is done, the thought inherent in the use of the expression, “the kingdom of the heavens,” in the
second through seventh parables can be easily ascertained.
In the parable of the Sower,
setting the stage for the remaining parables, “the
word of the kingdom” is in view (vv. 19-23). This is message
pertaining to Christian faithfulness during the present dispensation, with a
view to occupying positions as co-heirs with Christ in the kingdom of the
heavens during the coming age. That is say, the Word of the Kingdom is a
message about the realm presently
occupied by Satan and his angels, which Christ and His co-heirs will one day
occupy.
Then, concluding all seven
parables, Christ stated relative to these parables, “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom
of the heavens is like unto...” (v. 52). Again, the Word of the Kingdom
is in view. The instruction to which Christ referred is instruction in exactly
the same thing seen in the introductory parable, the parable of the Sower - i.e., instruction in the Word of the
Kingdom.
And exactly the same thing is in
view through the use of the expression, “the
kingdom of the heavens,” introducing the second through seventh
parables. It’s not the realm of the kingdom of the heavens which has
become like and continues like that described in these
parables. Such would be impossible. Rather, it is the proclamation,
offer, and reception or rejection of the kingdom of the heavens
(referred to both before and after these six parables) which has
become like and continues
like that
described in the parables.
(The
same thing can be seen in the offer of the kingdom to
Sons of the Kingdom, Sons of the Devil
Only two
types of individuals are seen in the parable of the wheat and tares. They are
referred to by the expressions - “wheat [or, ‘good seed’]” and “tares”
(vv. 24, 25). The wheat, the
good seed, are identified as “the children [‘sons’] of the kingdom,” and the tares are identified as “the children [‘sons’] of the wicked one” (v.
38).
The One sowing the good seed is identified as “the Son of man,” a
Messianic title (v. 37; cf. Ps. 8: 4; Dan. 7: 13, 14; Matt. 16: 13-16); and the one
sowing the tares is identified as “the enemy,” “the devil,” the
incumbent ruler in the kingdom (v. 39).
Everything about this parable
has to do with a particular work of God (relative to the
kingdom) and with a
particular countering work of Satan (also relative to the
kingdom). God has placed
individuals out in the world, with a view to their bringing forth fruit; and this fruit would, in turn, be in
relation to the proffered kingdom. And
Satan has placed contrary minded individuals (v. 41) in the midst of those who are bearing
fruit, seeking to counter that which is occurring. It is only through this means
that Satan would envision any hope, at all of retaining his present ruling
position.
(The word “tares” is a translation of the Greek word zizanion, which
refers to a troublesome sprout appearing in grainfields,
resembling wheat, though it is not wheat.)
Now, put all of this together
for the complete picture of something which has been occurring throughout the
dispensation, which has gone almost completely unrecognized. This parable has
to do, not with how Satan seeks to prevent fruit-bearing, (that was seen in the first three parts
of the previous parable, the parable of the Sower), but with how Satan seeks to stop
fruit-bearing - something not seen in the previous parable, or
really not seen in the same fashion in any of the subsequent parables.
This parable reveals Satan’s
attack against a select group of Christians. It reveals his attack against fruit-bearing
Christians. And it
is among these Christians that Satan goes about seeking to counter God’s plans
and purposes through sowing that which resembles wheat, though it is not wheat.
Satan knows that fruit-bearing
is that which God requires of those who are to ascend the throne with His Son
in that coming day (cf. Matt. 21: 18, 19, 43; Heb. 6: 7-9). And he will, first of all, do everything
within his power to prevent Christians from bearing fruit (seen in the first
three parts of the parable of the Sower). But, when Christians begin bearing
fruit (seen in the fourth part of the parable of the Sower), then he will do
everything within his power to stop them bearing fruit. And it
is among the latter group of [regenerate] Christians - those
bearing fruit - that Satan is seen sowing counterfeits (in relation to
fruit-bearing, individuals producing counterfeit fruit [Matt.
7: 15-20]).
1) The Wheat - Sons of the Kingdom
The “good seed” sown by the Lord out in the
world are specifically referred to by the expression, “the children [‘sons’] of the kingdom.” And, beyond that, the title
used to identify the Sower is “the Son of man,” a
Messianic title.
The significance of their
identification as “sons” lies in the fact that Christians are presently “sons of God” awaiting the
adoption in one
respect, but “children of God” with a
view to sonship in
another respect.
Note how Paul dealt with this
matter in Rom. 8:
14-23:
“For as
many as are led [lit., ‘are being led’] by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God.
For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye
have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself [‘Himself’]
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the
children of God.
And if children, then heirs: heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we maybe also glorified together ... even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to
wit, the redemption of our body” (vv. 14-17, 23b).
In this chapter in Romans, as also in Galatians chapters
three and in and in Hebrews chapter
twelve, reference is made to Christians being “sons” in a present sense, preceding the adoption (Rom. 8: 14, 15; 3: 26; 4: 5-7; Heb. 12: 5-8, 16, 17, 23). And these instances would correspond to
the way in which the matter is handled in Matthew chapter
thirteen.
“Sonship”
implies rulership. Only
sons can rule in God’s kingdom. But, as will be shown, only firstborn sons can
rule within the human realm in God’s kingdom.
All “angels” are sons of God because of their special,
individual creation. And angels occupy various positions of delegated power and
authority in God’s kingdom (cf. Job 1: 6; 2: 1; 38: 7),
“Adam” was a son of
God because of a special creative act of God. But Adam’s
descendants were not sons of God. Rather, they were sons of the one from whom
they descended. They were sons of Adam (Gen.
5: 3ff; Luke 3: 38).
Thus, Adam, before the fall,
being a son of God, was in a
position to rule the earth. But the fall resulted in his disqualification.
Though he was still a son of God, he, following the fall, was no longer in a
position to take the sceptre.
And Adam’s descendants were in
no position to take the sceptre, for two reasons. Not only were they fallen
creatures (a position inherited from Adam), but they were not sons of God.
Rather, they were sons of Adam, sons of a fallen creature.
Two thousand years later God
called Abraham out of
This special creation was
performed in the person of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob (Isa. 43:
1); and this special creation was
of a nature which would allow it to be passed on through the genes, through
Jacob’s twelve sons, resulting in a nation recognized as separate and distinct
from all the other nations (thus, the distinction between Jew and Gentile [Num. 23: 8-11]).
Then,
once God had a separate nation of this nature - which would be viewed as a son because of the special creation
in Jacob - he adopted this nation into a firstborn status (Ex.
4: 22, 23), redeemed those comprising this nation (Ex. 12: 1 ff), and called this nation out of Egypt
under Moses to rule at the head of the nations in a land previously covenanted
to their forefathers (cf. Ex. 2: 23-25; 17-12; 15: 17, 18; 19: 5, 6). That
is, a redeemed people, recognized as God’s firstborn son, was being called forth to rule in that
part of God’s kingdom which Adam had previously been created to rule.
But coming on down into modern
times,
Then the Church, a separate
creation from either Jew or Gentile, is likewise in no position to rule. Though
those comprising the Church are new creations (“in Christ” [2 Cor. 5: 17]), can
be viewed as sons, and are saved (unlike those comprising the nation of
Prior to ascending the throne
with Christ, Christians must first be adopted. And this is what Romans chapter eight, Galatians
chapters three and four, and Hebrews chapter
twelve are about.
[Regenerate] Christians are presently Sons, (because of
their standing as new creations),
awaiting the adoption (their present status); and consequently, although
Christians are presently “sons,” they are
in no position to rule. Only
adopted sons (the Christians’ future standing) can rule. Thus, sonship,
portending rulership, is seen in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews
in relation to adoption and inheritance (both
future).
The matter can be illustrated
quite easily from Romans. The verses leading into Rom. 8: 14 (the verse presenting Christians as “sons”) deal with Christians either living after
the flesh or putting to death the deeds of the flesh. Then verse fourteen deals with individuals being led by the Spirit of God
(contextually, individuals under the leadership the [Holy] Spirit
putting to death the previously mentioned deeds of the flesh), and these
individuals are said to be “the sons of God,” with
adoption mentioned in connection with sonship in the next verse (v. 15; cf. v. 23). But then the following verse (v. 16)
specifically states that [regenerate]
Christians are also presently “children of God.”
However, though [regenerate]
Christians are presently seen as both “children” and “sons,” no Christian is presently seen as a
firstborn son. That standing awaits a future time, a time following the
adoption.
Contextually, Rom. 8: 14-16 should
be understood in the light of Heb. 12: 5-8, where Christians are seen undergoing child-training, as sons (seen
as children
of God who are being child-trained as sons of God), with a view to
adoption into a firstborn status (vv. 16, 17, 23). Thus, Rom. 8: 14-16 would have to be understood in the sense of
Christians presently being led by the Spirit of God (undergoing child-training
as sons), who will be manifested as firstborn
sons in that coming day following the adoption occupying positions as joint-heirs with Christ in His kingdom. (vv. 17, 19).
That is the subject of the whole
passage. And exactly the same thing can be seen through the use of the
expression, “sons of the kingdom,” in Matt. 13: 38, for that is the subject of the whole
passage there as well.
(For additional information on
the preceding, refer to the author’s book, GOD’S
FIRSTBORN SONS, Chapter III, pp. 25-31)
“The
sons of the kingdom” in Matt. 13: 38 are the good
seed, the ones bringing forth fruit. They, as the ones in Rom. 8: 14 (actually, the “sons” both places are the same), are the ones who
will be manifested as “the sons of God,” in the
kingdom, in that coming day (Rom. 8: 19).
Though all Christians can
presently be viewed as sons because of creation, not
all Christians are being referred to in Matt. 13: 38 by the expression, “sons of the kingdom.” Nor are all Christians
being referred to in Rom. 8: 14 by the
expression “sons of God.” The
specific reference in Matthew is to those
Christians bringing forth fruit, and the specific reference in Romans is to those Christians following the leadership of the [Holy] Spirit.
And, again, the two are the
same. Fruit-bearing cannot be realized apart from following the leadership of
the [Holy] Spirit;
and following the leadership of the [Holy] Spirit will invariably
result in fruit-bearing.
It is the Son of Man who sows
Christians out in the world, with a view to fruit-bearing, which is with a view
to the kingdom. Everything points
ahead to the kingdom - the Son of Man (the
Sower, described through the use of a Messianic title), the sons
of the kingdom (those
sown, described through the use of an
expression portending rulership), and fruit-bearing (a bringing forth, with a view to the kingdom).
2) The
Tares - Sons of the Wicked One
The “tares” though present the other side of the
picture. As previously shown, the tares present Satan’s efforts to stop
fruit-bearing, to put a stop to that presently occurring, in the various places
where it is occurring.
And, as also previously shown,
Satan is seen carrying on his activities on two fronts:
1) He is seen seeking to prevent [regenerate] Christians* from bringing forth fruit
(described in the first three parts of the parable of the Sower).
[* See Acts 5: 32ff. cf.
1 John 3: 23,
24, R.V.)]
2) he is then seen seeking to stop [regenerate] Christians from bringing forth
fruit (described in the parable of the tares, forming a commentary
on the fourth part of the parable of the Sower).
If Satan can prevent
Christians from bringing forth fruit, the matter will be settled at that
point, and a continued work will be unnecessary. But, if he can’t prevent
Christians from bringing forth fruit, then he has to stop them.
It is here that he is revealed
sowing tares. He sows them right in the midst of Christians bearing fruit, and
this is done with one goal in mind. It is
done in an effort to stop, through any means possible,
Christians who are bearing fruit from continuing to bear fruit.
a) Identity
of the Tares
Exactly who are those whom Satan
sows among fruit-bearing Christians in an effort to stop them from bearing
fruit? The answer easy to ascertain.
These parables were given by
Christ at His first coming, at a time when the kingdom of the heavens was being
offered to the nation of Israel; but these parables had to do with events
beyond that time, occurring during a time when the kingdom of the heavens would
be ,offered to a separate and distinct entity, the one new man “in Christ.” And, whether during that time when
the kingdom was offered to Israel, or during that time when the kingdom would
be offered to the one new man “in Christ,” any realization of the offer
was contingent on one thing - fruit-bearing (Matt. 21: 18, 19, 43).
They were the ones who followed
Christ about the country seeking, at every turn, to speak out against the
Messenger and His message. They were the ones directly responsible for the
nation’s rejection of the King and kingdom. They had “shut up the kingdom of the heavens against men [‘in the presence of men’]” (Matt.
23: 13). And for
this reason they experienced a rebuke and condemnation at Christ’s hands unlike
that experienced by any other religious group in
Bringing this over into
Christendom, whom would Satan use during the present dispensation to either
prevent or stop fruit-bearing relative to the kingdom? In the light of the past
offer to
It was Jewish
religions leaders then,
and the counterpart would have to be Christian religions leaders today. Those outside the nation
- the unregenerate world - had nothing to do with the matter then; nor can
those outside the Church - the unregenerate world - have anything to do with
the matter today. It was those within which Satan used in
But how could [regenerate] Christians be identified by the expression, “sons of the wicked one” (Matt.
13: 38)? Note
several references in Scripture relative to Israelites acting in similar
capacities and the answer will become apparent.
In John chapter eight, Jews who had believed on Christ (v. 31), who
were acknowledged by Christ to be “Abraham’s
seed” (v. 37), were
also said, because of their works, to be of their “father the devil”
(vv. 39-44).
In Matthew chapter sixteen, Peter, because he stated relative to
Christ’s sufferings, death, and resurrection on the third day, “Lord: this shall not be unto
thee,” was associated directly with Satan. Jesus said to Peter - not
to Satan, but to Peter - “Get thee behind me, Satan” (vv. 21-23; cf. John 6:
70).
Then in Matt. 23: 15, the Scribes and Pharisees - those
having “shut up the kingdom of the heavens”
(v. 13) - were
said to have made a proselyte “twofold more the child of hell [lit., ‘twofold
more a son of Gehenna’]” than themselves. Their sonship, because of that which they had done, was
associated with Gehenna (the
place of refuse) rather than with the kingdom.
With all these things in mind -
seeing a counterpart in
Seeing the tares, the sons of
the wicked one, as those within the Church, not without,
is in complete accord with all facets of the matter. It is in complete accord
with the history of the offer to Israel, it is in complete accord with (and the
only thing which can possibly adequately explain) that which can easily be seen
occurring throughout Christendom today, and it is in complete accord with that
which can be seen when one moves on into the third and fourth parables in Matthew chapter thirteen.
Then there is one other thing
which will preclude viewing the matter after any other fashion. That which the
text reveals about God’s future dealings with the wheat and tares should
resolve all doubts which anyone might have concerning their identity.
b) Judgment of the Wheat and Tares
Both the wheat and tares are
seen being dealt with at the same time and place. And the Lord’s dealings with
both after the fashion seen in the parable is with a view to
entrance into or exclusion from the kingdom.
All those represented by the
wheat are
gathered into the barn. But the matter is quite different for those represented
by the tares. They are
seen being gathered and burned (vv. 30, 40-43).
But note
something, and note it well. Eternal verities are not being dealt with in
this parable. Rather, the subject is fruit-bearing, with
a view to the kingdom.
Everything
stated about the Lord’s dealings with those represented by the wheat and tares
is in perfect accord with Scripture elsewhere
relating to that which will emanate out of issues and determinations at the judgment
seat (cf. Matt. 24: 45-51; 25: 19ff; John 15: 1-6; 1 Cor. 3: 12; Heb. 6: 7-9). And
dealings by the Lord of this nature would be completely out of line with any thought that the tares
represent unregenerate individuals. Scripture never presents the Lord dealing
with the saved and unsaved at the same time and place after the fashion
seen here. The
saved and unsaved being dealt with together in this fashion would have the Lord
dealing with both in relation to
fruit-bearing, with a view to the kingdom -
an impossibility.
c)
Leave Them Alone
Then there is one other thing
which needs to be considered about those whom Satan has sown in the midst of
fruitful Christians, seeking to stop them from bearing fruit. And the
importance of following Christ’s instructions in this respect cannot
be overemphasized.
What is to be the fruitful
Christian’s attitude toward those whom Satan has placed in their midst, to stop
them from bearing fruit? What are fruitful Christians to do about antagonism
toward their fruitfulness and the reason why fruit is being borne? The question
is asked and answered in verses twenty-eight
through thirty of the parable.
“Wilt
thou then that we go out and gather them [the tares] up?
But he
[Christ] said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together
until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers [angels
(v. 41)],
Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Those standing in the way of
one’s interest in having a part with Christ in His kingdom are to be dealt with
after only one fashion.
They are to be left ALONE! “Leave
them ALONE” (Matt. 15: 14). Simply IGNORE them, CONTINUE
doing that which the Lord has called you to do, and let the Lord take care of the
matter in His own way and time.
* *
*
[3]
Parable of the Mustard
Seed
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of the
heavens is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his
field:
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is
grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in
the branches thereof (Matt. 13: 31, 32).
The
parable of the mustard seed continues with the same central thoughts set
forth in the previous parable, the parable of the wheat and tares.
Fruit-bearing remains at the forefront (v. 31), as well as Satan’s continuing activity as he
seeks to stop Christians from bearing fruit. And
the method which Satan uses as he seeks to stop Christians from bearing fruit,
revealed in the previous parable, is through sowing tares among the wheat.
Then the parable of the mustard
seed reveals that which would happen because of this activity of Satan. In this
respect, the parable of the mustard seed is simply a commentary on the previous
parable, providing additional explanatory help.
In the true sense of the
definition of a parable and why the Lord used parables - to provide additional
information pertaining to previously revealed truths (ref. Chapter 1 of this
book) - the parable of the mustard seed was given to help explain the parable
which had previously been given, the parable of the wheat and tares.
And the
same thing could be said concerning why the Lord gave the parable of the wheat
and tares. It was given to help explain a part of the parable given prior to
this one, the parable of the Sower.
Then, looking ahead to the
parable following the parable of the mustard seed - the parable of the leaven -
the same thing can be seen. This
parable was given to provide additional explanatory help for the parable of the
mustard seed.
That’s the evident Divinely
designed interrelationship which exists between the first four parables in Matthew chapter thirteen. The parable of the
Sower, the first parable spoken outside the house, by the seaside, introduces the
matter; and the succeeding three parables spoken outside the house,
by the seaside, simply built, after a successive fashion, on that introduced in the first parable.
Natural, Unnatural Growth
In the second parable - the
parable of the wheat and tares - Satan is seen sowing contrary-minded
individuals in the midst of Christians bringing forth fruit (seen in the latter
part of the first parable, the parable of the Sower), seeking to stop
fruit-bearing. This is how matters had become in
Christendom relative to fruit-bearing, with the kingdom of the heavens in view.
Then the third parable, the parable of the mustard seed, presents how matters
would continue in this respect.
This parable first depicts the
mustard seed germinating, with a natural growth occurring for a time. The
natural growth of this particular seed, “the
least of all seeds,” would result in an herb, referred to as “the greatest among herbs” when
grown. And, beyond that, a natural growth of this herb would result in
fruit-bearing (v. 32), as seen in the previous two
parables.
Thus, Satan’s success in
stopping fruit-bearing would be contingent on his success in preventing the
continuance of a natural growth of the mustard seed. One would go hand-in-hand
with the other.
The mustard seed in the parable
represents, not individuals per se, but an entity made up
of individuals - the good seed, the sons of the kingdom from the previous parable. And a
natural or unnatural growth of the mustard seed would
represent a natural or unnatural development of those comprising the good seed.
Should Satan be unsuccessful in his efforts to prevent a natural development of
those comprising the mustard seed, growth would eventually result in that which
God had intended; and fruit-bearing would
go hand-in-hand with their growth and development.
However, should Satan be successful in his
efforts to prevent the continuance of a natural development of those comprising
the mustard seed, growth would eventually result
in something other than that which God had intended; and barrenness would
ensue.
And the latter is exactly what
is seen in this parable. The mustard seed, following a period of normal growth
(which, if not interfered with, would result in “the
greatest among herbs”), is seen experiencing an abnormal growth
and becoming “a tree.” And not
only did this abnormal growth ensue, but the mustard seed is seen developing so
abnormally that it not only grew into a tree, but the nature of this tree
allowed “the birds of the air,”
individuals doing the work of Satan, to find a lodging place in its
branches (v. 32; cf. vv.
4, 19).
Thus, the third parable, continuing
the thought from the second parable, presents the tares being quite
effective. They
are seen deceiving fruit-bearing Christians to the degree that they bring about
an unnatural spiritual growth among these Christians, resulting in
unfruitfulness, baroness; and the matter is carried to the point that, in the
end, the tares are able to simply settle down in that which they had produced,
finding acceptance among those whom they had deceived.
False Teachers
This
work of Satan - producing an unnatural growth, resulting in barrenness - could
only have been accomplished through one means. It
could only have been accomplished through the promulgation of false doctrine.
It could only have been accomplished through Satan placing false teachers in
the midst of fruit-bearing Christians, leading them away from the truth of the Scriptures, leading them away from an
adherence to the faith. And this is exactly the way Scripture
elsewhere reveals that the matter occurred.
There are multiplied warnings
numerous places in Scripture concerning false teachers who would arise and
teach “perverse things,” particularly
relative to the faith, the Word of the kingdom. And these
false teachers would arise, not from the world, but from within Christendom itself. These false teachers would arise
from the ranks of [regenerate] Christians, from
the Churches (Acts 20: 29-32; cf. 1 Tim. 4: 1-3; 2Tim. 2: 8,18; 3: 7, 8; 4: 1-4; 2 Peter 2: 1ff; Jude 3ff).
As it was surrounding Christ’s
first coming and the offer of the kingdom of the heavens to
The religious leaders in Israel
followed Christ about the country and sought, at every turn, to speak against
that which was being seen and heard. Christ’s ministry centered around
supernatural signs, which pointed to that which
And the situation relative to
the proclamation of the Word of the Kingdom throughout the present dispensation
has been no different. Christians down through the years have been misled, not
by those in the world, but by their own religious leaders.
Scripture is very clear on this matter.
1) At the Beginning of the
Dispensation
The
message of the hour at the beginning of the dispensation - one proclaimed
throughout Christendom - centered around the faith, the
saving of the soul, the Word of the Kingdom. This was the message which Paul referred to as “my gospel” (Rom. 16: 25), “our gospel” (2 Cor. 4: 3), and “the glorious
gospel of Christ [lit., ‘the gospel of the glory
of Christ’]” (2 Cor.
4: 4); this
was the message which Paul had been called to proclaim to Christians throughout
the Gentile world (Acts 9: 15;
Gal. 1: 11, 12, 16; 17); and
this was the message which Paul and others, during the first few decades of the
existence of the Church, “preached to every creature which is
under heaven” (Col. 1: 5, 6, 23).
(The reference to “every creature which is under heaven” in Col. 1: 23 would, contextually, refer to the
saved alone, not to the
unsaved. This would be a reference to all of the saved having heard the message which saved individuals are to hear
following their salvation - the Word of the Kingdom.
The unsaved cannot be in view in this passage, for the
only message which they are to hear is the
good news that Christ has died for their sins. Only after they have heard this
message and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ are they in a position to hear
the message referenced in this verse in Colossians,
which has to do with the purpose for their salvation, the reason why they have
been saved.)
Thus, during the first century
of the Church’s existence, the message surrounding the proffered kingdom was
something universally proclaimed throughout Christendom. And this message could
only have been well-known and understood by Christians everywhere, resulting in
at least a segment of Christendom developing in a natural fashion and these
Christians, correspondingly, bearing fruit.
It was within a setting of this
nature that Satan sowed tares among the wheat, seeking to stop the natural
growth and development of the seed which had been sown; and success in stopping
this natural growth and development would, in turn, over time, ultimately
result in a barren condition of the plant.
Now,
note the problem which Satan faced at the beginning of the dispensation. He
faced the problem of countering a message which was being proclaimed and
received throughout Christendom. Christians who had received the true message
were developing after a natural fashion (growing from immaturity to maturity), with a
corresponding fruitfulness.
To
counter the true message, Satan simply placed individuals proclaiming a false
message in the midst of those Christians who had received the true message.
Then, over time, the false message progressively took root and did its damaging
work, accomplishing its purpose.
This false message, once
received, resulted in an improper development in Christendom (an improper
growth from immaturity to maturity). And, developing after an improper
fashion, a corresponding bareness ensued.
And Satan’s work in this manner
is how Scripture reveals that he stops fruit-bearing. He places individuals with
a false message relative to the kingdom among those bearing fruit for the
kingdom. The false message takes root, growth becomes progressively unnatural,
and fruit-bearing is stymied. Then, the false message continues to take hold
until the point is reached where growth becomes so unnatural that fruit-bearing
can no longer exist.
a) The Messengers
Both Peter in his second epistle
and Jude begin their epistles by exhorting Christians to strain every muscle of
their being in the present race of the faith (2 Peter 1: 2-11; Jude 3); and that which necessitates
this exhortation, in both epistles, is the presence of false teachers
in their midst (2 Peter 2: 1ff;
Jude 4ff).
These are the same false
teachers to which Christ had referred in the parables in Matthew chapter thirteen, who would produce an
unnatural growth among fruit-bearing Christians; and these are the same false
teachers to which Paul subsequently referred, who would arise among Christians,
take truths concerning the Word of the Kingdom, and distort and twist these
truths (Acts 20: 30,
31).
These are the apostates, dealt
with extensively in Scripture, - a type individual identified by the meaning of
the word itself. Our English word, “apostasy,” is
simply an Anglicized form of the Greek word apostasia. This
is a compound word comprised of apo (‘from’) and stasis (‘to
stand’). The word means “to stand away from”;
and the word refers to a person standing away from a place
which he had previously occupied.
The apostasy in view has to do
with “the faith” (cf. 2 Tim. 2: 18; 3: 8; Jude 3). Thus, true
apostates relative to the faith can only be individuals who
had, at one time, received the
message concerning the faith; but then, at a later time, they had departed from
an adherence to this message. These are individuals who had initially heard, [fully] understood, and
received the truth; but
then they had apostatized. They “stood away from” the truth. They turned from the
truth, began to speak out against the truth, and, in the process, taught that which
was untrue.
These are the type individuals
referred to in Paul’s warnings in both Acts and his
epistles, as well as Peter’s and Jude’s warnings in their epistles. These are
the type individuals - those quite familiar with the matter which they were speaking
against - whom Satan knew that he could use the most effectually, whom
Satan knew that he could use to do the most damage.
Thus, Satan simply began to
place individuals of this nature in the midst of those Christians bringing
forth fruit. And they began to “draw away
disciples” after themselves (Acts 20: 30). They began to reproduce after
their kind (cf. Gen. 1: 11), resulting in fruit also after
their kind, an “evil fruit” (Matt. 7: 15-20; cf. vv. 13, 14, 21-23).
Aside from Paul’s identification
of these individuals in Acts 20: 30
- “of your own
selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things…” - note
Peter’s identification of them in 2 Peter 2: 18-20:
“For
when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they
allure through the lusts of the flesh, through
much wantonness, those that were clean escaped
from them who live in error.
While they promise
them liberty, they themselves are the servants of
corruption: for of whom a man is overcome,
of the same is he brought in bondage.
For if after they have
escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”
Note particularly the word “knowledge” in verse twenty. These individuals had escaped the “pollutions of the world” through
the knowledge [Gk., epignosis, ‘mature knowledge’] of the Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.” They had come into a mature knowledge of the things in view - things
surrounding the Word of the Kingdom. And having come into a mature knowledge of
these things, they turned from these things and began to teach
perverse, contrary things.
That these were saved
individuals is evident, for an unsaved person cannot even come into a rudimentary
knowledge of these things (1 Cor. 2: 14 [gnosis, the regular Greek word for “knowledge,” appears
in this passage]), much less the mature knowledge seen in 2 Peter 2: 20. Thus,
the text can only have to do with saved individuals turning from the central
message of that day, distorting and twisting the truth as they
taught doctrine relative to the Word of the Kingdom.
Satan used this type individual
after this manner, during the opening decades of the Church’s existence - to do
his bidding, to stop Christians from bearing fruit. And though the ones whom
Satan used were also - [regenerate and well informed, knowledgeable] -
Christians, they were doing the works of Satan; and doing works of this nature, they were identified with Satan, referred as “tares,” “sons of the wicked
one” (ref. Chapter IV in
this book).
b)
Their Message
The teaching of the apostates is
spoken of as “damnable heresies [lit., ‘destructive
heresies’ or, ‘heresies that lead to destruction’]”
(2 Peter 2: 1). And
the destruction in view has nothing to do with salvation by grace through
faith, with the Christians’ presently possessed free gift of eternal life.
Eternal life - [i.e.. the Christian’s initial and eternal salvation] - is
not even in view. The destruction has to do solely with the Word
of the Kingdom, the
subject matter at hand. The apostates taught heresy of a nature which led
Christians to a destructive end relative to the proffered kingdom.
Numerous statements are given
concerning the teaching and action of the apostates (cf. 2 Peter 2: 1-3, 10ff; Jude 4, 8ff). But
one thing in Peter’s second epistle stands out above everything else. There is
a septenary structure to Peter’s second epistle, with a particular reference to
and emphasis upon Christ’s return within this structure (1: 16-18; 3: 4-8).
The apostates are seen “walking after their own lusts [‘desires’ - desires which would be
soulical (‘their own desires’), not spiritual (that which the Lord would desire)]” (3: 3; cf. 2:
18). And, within this type walk,
they are seen proclaiming a message which would strike at the
heart of all
sound Biblical teaching surrounding Christ’s return and the Messianic Kingdom:
“Where
is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation,” (3:
4).
Then the verses which follow (vv. 5-9) - answering the apostates false message through referring to
events beginning with the opening verses of Genesis - make
matters very clear that the heart of the apostates’ message had to do with denying
Christs return at the end of six thousand years, with attendant destruction on the one hand and attendant blessings on
the other. They had
willingly allowed the things
surrounding this entire panorama of teaching to escape their attention, and
they, are seen infiltrating the ranks of fruit-bearing Christians
everywhere, seeking - [with all their power, persuasion and
influence] - to promulgate their false - [prophetic]
doctrine.
The misleading, destructive
doctrine proclaimed by the apostates is seen taking numerous forms. But the
foundation upon
which all their false teaching rested is seen taking only one form. All their false teaching is seen
resting on a totally perverted form of the true foundation set forth in Gen. 1: 1 - 2: 3 - the God-established
foundation upon which all subsequent Scripture rests.
In all the various forms that
their false teaching took, they sought to do away with two things:
1) The septenary structure of
Scripture as set forth in the beginning, in Gen. 1: 1 - 2; 3.
2) Teachings surrounding Christ’s return within the framework of
this septenary structure (at the end of six days, at
the end of 6,000 years).
Then, building on a totally
perverted foundation of this nature, the apostates sought to spread all types
of destructive heresies relative to the
various facets of the Word of the Kingdom among fruit-bearing Christians. And,
over time, as seen in the parable of the mustard seed, they were quite successful.
The mustard seed germinated and
grew, normally for a time, but then an abnormal manner; and, over time, it
became something which it was not supposed to become at all. It became a tree. And not only did it become a
tree, but the false teachers took up residence in the branches of the tree,
continuing their destructive work from within.
Proper growth can come only from that which has not been
corrupted (1 Peter 2: 1, 2). And the
converse of that is equally true. Only improper growth can result when corruption has occurred.
Thus, to bring about improper
growth, the false teachers simply proclaimed a corrupted form of the only thing
which God had provided for the nourishment and well-being of the spiritual man.
And through so doing, they went back to and began with the very
heart of the matter - the foundation itself, in the opening two chapters of Genesis.
It was the work
of the apostates which
brought about the conditions seen in the parable of the mustard seed. A
corrupted and improper diet of spiritual food resulted in a corrupted and
improper growth; and a growth of this nature, over time, ultimately resulted in
barrenness. Then the false teachers simply took up residence within that which
they had produced, assuring that conditions would remain in a corrupted and
barren state.
2) At
the End of the Dispensation
Near the end of the dispensation
(today), relative to the Word of the Kingdom, conditions throughout Christendom
are seen to have become completely turned around from the way that they existed
at the beginning of the dispensation. After almost two millenniums, the Word of
the Kingdom - taught and understood throughout the Churches at the beginning of
the dispensation - is seldom even heard in Christian circles. And, with the
message not being proclaimed, Christians throughout the Churches of the land,
correspondingly, have little to no understanding of - [God’s accountability] - truths surrounding the coming kingdom.
Thus, during the present day and
time, Satan has little need for apostates to infiltrate and settle down within
the ranks of Christians. Christendom is too far gone for any type overall
change or recovery to occur. And, beyond that, though little infiltration of
apostates need exist on Satan’s part today, he would undoubtedly be
hard-pressed to find very many true apostates during the present time.
For a person to be a true
apostate, he would, first of all, have to come into an understanding of the
Word of the Kingdom before he could apostatize. And those having a
conversant knowledge of this
message today - the only ones in a position to apostatize - are far and few
between.
That which exists in Christendom
today is the aftermath, the end result, of
Satan sowing tares among the wheat, of Satan bringing about an abnormal growth
of the mustard seed. In general, in relation to the Word of the Kingdom,
because of that which has occurred in the past, a corrupted Christendom presently exists.
Those occupying the pulpit are
silent on the subject, and those occupying the pew, accordingly, know little to
nothing about the matter. And, should the subject ever emerge - as it sometimes
does - those occupying the pulpit are usually quick in their attempts to
squelch the message. This message encompasses things which are out of line with
the training which they received in the theology schools of the land; and they,
accordingly, view the message after an erroneous fashion.
In this respect, the
effectiveness of the false teachers at the beginning of the dispensation is
evidenced by two things near the end of the dispensation. It is evidenced by the
condition of Christian leadership in particular and the condition of
the Church in general.
Thus, a completely different
situation exists in Christendom during the present day and time than existed
during the first several centuries of the dispensation. There would be some
need for true apostates, for there are individuals - one here, and one there -
who believe the Word of the Kingdom and are bringing forth fruit. But such a
need would be minimal.
In this respect, with conditions
as such, Satan could concentrate his efforts on bringing to completion that
which he began almost two millenniums ago. He could concentrate on maintaining
the status quo as he
continues his efforts to produce total corruption. And, as will become evident in
the completion of the parables given outside the house, by the seaside (the
parable of the leaven), total corruption is exactly the picture, which these parables (and Scriptures
elsewhere) present of conditions in Christendom at the end of the dispensation.
A Tree
The particular type abnormal
spiritual growth seen resulting from the false message of the apostates is
something which can be seen in both Church history throughout the course of the
dispensation and in the Church of today near the end of the dispensation. The
abnormal growth of the mustard seed in history resulted in a tree, in which those who had brought
about its abnormal growth are, in the end, seen resting in its branches; and
the tree remains to this day, with its roots sinking ever deeper into the
earth, with Satan’s emissaries resting in its branches.
1) Symbolism of a Tree
To fully comprehend and
understand that which is in view, note the symbolism of a “tree” in Scripture. A “tree” is used
in Scripture to symbolize a national power.
In Judges 9: 8-15, which relates the oldest known parable in the world, “trees” are seen symbolizing nations which had sought to elect a king
to reign over them.
Daniel, in his prophecy, refers
to the vision of “a tree in the midst the earth,” which “reached unto heaven.” And this “tree” is said symbolize the
There can be no question
concerning Scripture using “trees” in a
symbolic sense to signify national powers. And, remaining within the
confines of the symbolism which Scripture itself provides, there can, as well,
be no question concerning that which is in view through the mustard seed
germinating and eventually becoming a tree.
The teaching, through the
symbolism given, is clear. That represented by the mustard seed germinated and
eventually became a national power - something which it was not supposed to become at all during the present
dispensation, something reserved for the coming dispensation. It became a
national power during the time Satan ruled within the kingdom of the heavens;
it became a national power within the present
And any Biblical thought of
Christians exercising power in the world was to be reserved for a future day, a
time after Satan had been put down and Christ had taken the sceptre; power of
this nature was to be exercised solely within the future
(In short, Satan, through his
action as seen in the parable of the mustard seed, caused Christendom, forming
the Church, to grow into a nationl power which would be under his control and
sway.
Satan, throughout Man’s Day,
following man’s fall, has ruled the earth through the nations [once national
powers had been brought into existence]. This though would exclude
This type rule by Satan is
revealed in Dan. 10:
12-21,
with Satan and his angels ruling through the nations, but with
Through Satan’s efforts -
producing an abnormal growth in Christendom, resulting in that symbolized by a
tree - he sought to make
Christendom a national power during the time when he rules
through national powers, with his emissaries
finding ready acceptance in this national power [the birds of the air lodging in the branches of the
tree]. Satan sought to make Christendom a national power as the nations, through
which he and his [fallen] angles
could exercise rulership and control.)
2) In
History, During the Present Day
During the early part of the
first century, when the apostates first infiltrated the ranks of fruit-bearing
Christians, Christianity was looked upon in the Roman world as an
illegal religion. And, in some quarters, Christians were looked upon by the
Romans as being guilty of treason.
It was these basic differences
which resulted in all of the Roman persecution, lasting several centuries. But
something else also happened during this time. The apostates progressively
broke down the barriers separating the
In the year 380 A.D., Theodosius
I issued an edict that made Christianity the exclusive state religion and, in
the year 395 A.D., Christianity was finally recognized as the
official and only religion of the
At this point, Christianity
found itself completely enmeshed within a world power in the sphere of
governmental authority over which Satan exercised control, completely out of
line with God’s plans and purposes for the new creation “in Christ.”
This condition of Christendom
though did not result from the previous Roman persecution. The previous
persecution had only resulted in Christian growth. As Tertullian, a Christian
living during the period of Roman persecution, said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
That which ultimately occurred
in Christendom was caused by the apostates. Their
attack was not centered upon the entity itself (as was
And the end result was exactly as
Christ had foretold. The mustard seed germinated, grew normally for awhile,
then took an abnormal growth, and eventually became a tree. The
abnormal growth, over time, ultimately resulted in barrenness; and
Christians found themselves occupying a position which they were not supposed
to occupy during the present dispensation at all. They found themselves associated
with Gentile world power within the present
And this is a position from
which Christianity has never recovered. Down to the present day, though
But this is simply not the
day when Christians are to rule and reign. That day lies in the
future, after Christ has taken the kingdom and [overcoming (Rev. 2: 25, R.V.)] Christians have been placed in positions of power and authority.
The entire present system is in
its death-throes and is to be destroyed by Christ when He returns. Christians
having works associated with the present system will one day see their works
suffer the same fate which the system is about to suffer. Such works will be destroyed, burned
“in fire” at the judgment seat; and even
though these Christians will be “saved;
yet so as by [‘through’]
fire” (1 Cor. 3: 1-15), they will be
left - [in ‘sheol’ /
‘Hades’ (See Psa. 16:
10; Acts 2:
34, 35; cf.
Rev. 20; 12-15, R.V.)] - with nothing of value in relation to the coming [messianic] kingdom of Christ. And they will consequently be
rejected for regal positions with Christ.
But for those, Christians who
will not have allowed the pseudo form of Christendom enmeshed within the
present world system to govern their lives, things will be different. Their
works will not suffer the same fate as those having works associated with the
present world system. They will possess works which will endure the fire, and
they will be left with something of value in relation to the coming [millennial]
* * *
[4]
Parable of the Leaven
Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of the
heavens is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was
leavened (Matt. 13: 33).
The parable of the leaven is the
last of the four parables which Christgave outside
the house, down by the seaside. This parable reveals the conclusion of matters
surrounding events covered by the first three parables; and this conclusion is
revealed prior to Christ going back inside the house, where He gave three
additional parables (with all seven together revealing an
entire sequence of events extending from the inception of the Church to the
beginning of the Messianic Kingdom). This parable contains the first mention of “leaven” in the New Testament, and
Christ used the word in a symbolic sense, in an unexplained manner, knowing
that it could be understood only one way. The
Old Testament symbolism surrounding “leaven” and the
flow of thought seen in the three parables preceding the first use of this word
in the New Testament left no room for those hearing these parables question how
the word was to be understood.
Leaven was a foreign substance added to dough, causing the
dough to rise. And the Old Testament, using leaven in a symbolic sense, always used
the word only one way. The Old
Testament always used the
word to symbolize that which caused corruption and
deterioration.
The Mosaic Law forbade the use
of leaven in offerings made by the priests in
However, there were two
exceptions in the Mosaic Economy to that stated in Lev. 2: 11, forbidding
the use of leaven in offerings. Both Lev. 7: 13 and Lev. 23: 17 mention offerings where leaven was to be
included; and Amos, centuries later, mentioned an offering which was to include
leaven as well (4: 5).
But in all three of these
instances where leaven was to be included, other offerings are also mentioned;
and, in two of these instances, the other offerings are specifically stated to
include blood sacrifices, to
atone for man’s sins. And, in the one offering where blood is not specifically
mentioned (Amos 4: 5), blood could only be inferred from the
other offerings where blood is mentioned (Lev.
7: 1-14; 23: 5, 27 [cf. Ex.
12: 1ff; Lev. 16: 1ff]; Amos 4: 4).
In the light of both the context
and corresponding Scripture elsewhere, leaven could only have been included in
these offerings to show man’s sin. Leaven was included to show
corruption within, as an offering
without leaven was used to show purity within.
This can be illustrated by referring
to God’s command surrounding the second of the festivals in Lev. 23 - the festival of unleavened
bread. Beginning with the day immediately following the death of the firstborn
and the application of the blood (the first festival), the Israelites were
commanded to refrain from eating anything containing leaven for “seven days,” for a complete period of time (Lev.
23: 5, 6).
This pointed to God’s truth
surrounding the fact that those who had appropriated the blood were then to
keep themselves pure for a complete period of time, for the entire duration of
their lives which followed. This was true for the Israelites at the time these
festivals were instituted, it was true for the Israelites down through the
centuries, and it remains true for Christians today. It has been and it remains
true for God’s people throughout all time (1 Cor. 5: 6-8).
And within the continuing
symbolism shown by these festivals, God instituted a day of atonement. This was
the sixth of the seven festivals, and it had to do with shed
blood to atone for man’s sins - the sins of those
who had previously applied the blood of the paschal lambs (which was
immediately followed by God’s command to not partake of that containing leaven). The day of atonement had to do
with a covering provided for failure - a failure to remain separated from sin -
for those having previously applied the blood of the paschal
lambs. This festival had to do
with their failure to continuously keep themselves separated from that
symbolized by leaven.
And exactly the same thing can
be seen today through viewing the Christians’ present state in the world and
Christ’s present high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. Christians
have applied the blood of the Paschal Lamb and have been commanded to keep themselves
pure. But Christians, possessing a body of death, as the Israelites in the past
dispensation, experience failure; and, as in the camp of
Cleansing though is not
automatic. Rather, it is conditional. C1eansing is dependent on the Christian
acknowledging his sins.
“If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1: 9; cf. Heb. 4: 13-16; 9: 23ff; 10: 19ff; 1 John 2: 1, 2).
In the light of the way in which
leaven is always used in the Old Testament, Christ could use the word in a
symbolic sense - as He did in Matt. 13: 33, and in Matt. 16: 6, 11 - and His
disciples would know exactly what was meant (Matt. 16: 12). Or,
also in this respect, Paul could use the word in this same symbolic sense in
his epistles - as he did in 1 Cor. 5: 6-8, and in Gal. 5: 9 - and
the recipients of these epistles would also know exactly what was meant.
But an added feature about the
way leaven is used in Matt. 13: 33 is seen in the context leading
into the use of this word. The context of the passage itself reveals how this
word is to be understood, which is the same way leaven is used and understood
elsewhere in the New Testament. Every place leaven appears in the New
Testament, the context always clearly shows the word
being used only one way - showing corruption and deterioration - in complete keeping
with its Old Testament usage.
In Matt. 13: 33, the context leading into the
use of leaven has to do with fruit-bearing and with the method Satan uses to
stop Christians from bearing fruit. The preceding two parables reveal Satan
introducing false doctrine, with a progressive corruption and
deterioration following. And the parable of the leaven simply reveals the
conclusion of the matter.
According to the parable of the
leaven, the message surrounding the proffered kingdom during the present
dispensation would, near the end of the dispensation, become
completely leavened. Corruption
introduced at the beginning of the dispensation would progressively permeate
the whole of Christendom until that having to do with the proffered kingdom would be
completely corrupted. This is
how, according to this parable, the dispensation would end.
Three Measures of Meal
“Three is the number of Divine
perfection. This
number shows three measures of Divine perfection within that which is in
view. “Three measures of meal” - three
measures of ground grain, used to make bread - are in view. The reference is to
the Word of God (Matt. 4: 4; cf. Isa. 55: 1, 2), though not the Word in a general sense.
Rather, the reference, contextually, is to the Word in a specific sense, a
specific part of the Word, a specific teaching in the Word.
The subject at hand has to do
with the Word of the Kingdom. It has
to do with how the message surrounding the coming
The reference to leaven placed
in the three measures of meal, as previously shown, is simply a reference to
that introduced in the preceding two parables. It is a reference to taking that
which is false and placing it within that which is Divinely perfect. It is a
reference to a corrupting agent being placed within the Divinely perfect
God-breathed Word.
And, again, it is that part of
this Divinely perfect revelation having to do with the Word of the Kingdom which
is in view. Satan simply began placing those proclaiming a false message about
the kingdom among those bearing fruit for the kingdom. The false message took
root and began to spread, resulting in corruption and deterioration.
Then, continuing the explanation
in the third parable, because of this false doctrine, a completely unnatural spiritual
growth in Christendom followed. The mustard seed in this parable is seen
germinating, growing normally for a time, then experiencing abnormal growth and
becoming a tree - something which it wasn’t supposed to become at all.
And not only did it grow and
develop after this fashion, but the end result was so unnatural that those responsible were able
to find a home within that which they, through corruption, had wrought.
And
that, contextually is what continues in view - the only thing which can continue
in view - by
Christ using the symbolism of a woman taking leaven and hiding it in three
measures of meal. In keeping with the definition of a parable, Christ simply
provided additional truth placed alongside of previous truth to help explain
the previous truth. This parable provides additional truth placed alongside the
preceding two parables to help explain these parables.
Understanding the parable of the
leaven is that simple. This parable has to do with the progressive,
continuing deterioration seen in
the preceding parable, the parable of the mustard seed; and this preceding
parable, in turn, has to do with how Satan went about curtailing and stopping
fruit-bearing in the parable which preceded it, the parable of the wheat and
tares. It has to do with a corrupting agent placed within that part of God’s
Divinely perfect revelation referred to as “the
word of the kingdom.” And it has to do with this corrupting agent
working “till the whole [the message surrounding the
coming
Till the Whole...
The reason for the state in which
Christendom presently finds itself is shown by the first four parables in Matthew chapter thirteen, with the fourth parable,
the parable of the leaven, depicting the end of the matter. This parable shows a
progressive deterioration until the point of total corruption has been reached.
Near the end of the
dispensation, when the Word of the Kingdom has been completely corrupted, that which Jesus foretold in
this parable would be fulfilled. In those days, at that time, the true message
surrounding the coming kingdom of Christ will not be - it cannot be - heard
throughout the Churches of the land.
The move in Christendom from
conditions depicted by the Church in
And one need only look around
today to see this exact state of affairs existing in Christendom - in
fundamental and liberal circles alike. In relation to the Word of the
Kingdom, one segment is
just as leavened as the other. In relation to the Word of the Kingdom, exactly the same conditions exist in
both. Neither proclaims this message, and neither will have anything to do with
it.
This is the one
thing which
both the fundamentalists and the liberals (as they are known and referred to)
have in common today. Neither will proclaim or have anything to do with the
central message which Christians are to hear.
When Christ was on earth the
first time, there were two main religious parties in
And exactly the same situation
exists in Christendom today, immediately preceding Christ’s return. There are
two main divisions among Christians - the fundamentalists and the liberals.
These two religious groups are worlds apart in their theology, but they, are
one in their
attitude toward the proffered kingdom. Neither will have anything to do with
it.
1) From
Revelation chapters two and three record seven
short epistles to seven Churches in
Reference is made in Col. 4: 16 to an epistle in connection with the Church
in
Paul had spent three years
ministering to the Christians in
It was during Paul’s second
visit to
And Paul began his ministry in
Paul had earlier been converted
and subsequently taken aside - apparently into Arabia, then evidently into the
Lord’s presence in heaven - where the Lord personally revealed to him what is
called in Scripture, “the mystery” (2 Cor. 12: 1-7; Gal. 1: 11, 12, 16, 17; Eph. 3: 1-11).
“The
mystery” had to do with the new entity, the new creation “in
Christ,” the Church; it
had to do with both Jews and Gentiles being joint-heirs together, in one body;
and it had to do with those comprising this new entity being the recipient of
the kingdom which Israel had rejected - the kingdom of the heavens (cf. Matt. 21: 33-43; 1 Peter 2: 9, 10). This
is the message which Paul had been taught by the Lord, and this is the message
which he was to carry throughout the Gentile world. This though was a message
for [regenerate] Christians, not a message for the unsaved; and there were very
few Christians in the Gentile world when Paul went out with this message. Thus,
Paul, in the process, carrying out his ministry, had to proclaim a dual
message.
Paul,
among the unsaved, had to proclaim the good news surrounding the
grace of God. Then,
once individuals had been saved, Paul could proclaim the good
news surrounding the coming glory of Christ. And that latter, rather than the former, is that which is seen
in Scripture forming the heart of Paul’s ministry.
This is why Scripture presents
Paul’s ministry - outlined in the latter half of the Book of Acts, and in his epistles - as dealing far more
extensively with
things surrounding “the mystery” than
with things surrounding the simple gospel of the grace of God.
It is plain from Paul’s last
meeting with the elders in the Church in Ephesus that “in every city” which he entered (which
included Ephesus) he proclaimed “the
gospel of the grace of God”; but it is also clear that
Paul, in these same cities, then went on to proclaim “the kingdom of God” to those who had been saved
under the simple preaching of the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20: 24, 25).
And the three years Paul spent
in Ephesus are specifically said to be the time which he spent instructing
Christians in the faith and warning them about false teachers who
would arise in their midst (Acts
20: 28-32).
Note the preceding sequence in
Paul’s ministry, seen in these verses in Acts 20: 24-32:
“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto
myself, so that I might finish my course with
joy, and the ministry, which I received of the Lord Jesus Christ, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
And now, behold, I know that ye all,
among whom I have gone preaching the
Wherefore I take you
to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all
men.
For I have not shunned
to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Take heed therefore
unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among
you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own
selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the
space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
And now, brethren, I commend you to
God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you in inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”
Then, the epistle which he later
wrote to those in Ephesus, shows the depth to which he had previously instructed the Christians in that
city. This epistle begins (apart from foundational teachings, and really, apart
from any introductory teachings) with a discussion of the things which would be
realized “in the dispensation of the fulness of
times” - adoption, redemption, and an inheritance (13-14). Thus,
this epistle begins and continues with the assumption that the Christians in
Paul
could begin and continue this way because of the apparent spiritual maturity of
these Christians, resulting from his previous lengthy ministry in their midst.
And Paul’s unceasing prayer for these Christians at the time he wrote this
epistle was that God would give them wisdom
and full knowledge (Gk., epignosis) concerning the things which he was
writing about (things which he had previously taught them), referred to as “the hope of his calling,” and “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”
(1: 16-18).
Then Paul continues in chapter
two, showing the reason for their salvation, the reason these Christians in
And Paul, calling attention to “the mystery,” continues with the thought of an inheritance set before Christians, for a future inheritance is what the
mystery has to do with. It has to do with Gentiles being “fellowheirs” with
Jews, “of the same body and partakers of his
promise in Christ by the gospel” (v. 6). And Paul refers to the whole of
the message surrounding the mystery as “the
unsearchable riches of Christ,” and “the
manifold wisdom of God” (vv. 8, 10) -
something which the Writer of Hebrews presented as realized in that which he
called “so great salvation” (Heb. 2: 3), or which Peter referred to as “the greatest of precious
promises,” connected with Christ’s “greatest
[regal] magnificence”
(2 Peter 1: 4,
16 [literal translation]).
In the first part of chapter
four, Paul dealt with the reason for gifted leaders and teachers in the Church.
Simply stated, God had placed gifted leaders and teachers in the Church in
Ephesus, and elsewhere, to guide Christians as they moved from immaturity to
maturity; and this was with a view to the future adoption, and
inheritance awaiting
Christians (cf. Eph. 4: 11-14, 30).
Then the Christians’ walk comes
into view as individuals move from immaturity to maturity. And this takes up
the remainder of the epistle, with a warning at the end to clothe oneself with “the whole armour of God” because of the ongoing
spiritual warfare against Satan and his angels (6: 10ff).
The Church in
And it was this Church which the
Lord chose to use in His revelation to John in order to show the state of
Christendom at the beginning of the dispensation. This was a time when the true
message surrounding the coming
During these early years, this
was the message of the hour when
Christians met. This was the central message proclaimed by Paul and other
ministers of that day, the central message of all the letters (epistles)
written to the different Churches and individuals during that time. And
Christians during these days gathered to talk about the things having to do
with the coming kingdom of Christ, encouraging and exhorting one another
relative to the hope set before them (Heb. 10: 23-25).
But something happened! A foreign substance was placed
in the three measures of meal. And it wasn’t long before things began to go awry,
even in the Church in
Note that which Scripture states
in this respect, as recorded in Rev. 2: 24:
“I know
thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how
thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou
hast tried them which say they are apostles, and
are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my
name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, thou hast
left thy first love.”
The corruption which Satan
introduced began and continued to cause deterioration in Christendom. It began
in the manner depicted in the first of the seven Churches in Rev. 2, 3, the Church in
2) To
From a
Biblical standpoint, one thing about Christendom is certain! And this
one, thing cannot be denied!
Christendom,
near the end of the dispensation, is going to appear the world in a
completely leavened state. This is
something which Christ revealed to His disciples before the Church - [containing
Jews and Gentiles] - was ever brought to existence, and this is something which
He revealed again to John a time after the Church had been brought into
existence.
The
record of Church history was given before the dispensation began, and the
record of Church history was given once again during the early years of the
dispensation. And man today, - living during the closing years of the
dispensation, viewing both the history and current state of Christendom - can know exactly why the whole
of Christendom exists in its present condition. According to the clear teaching
of the Word of God, relative to any proclamation of the Word of the kingdom
near the end of the dispensation, till Christendom will have become
completely saturated with leaven, with that which is false.
Relative to any proclamation of this message near the end of the dispensation, all
Christendom will have become completely corrupted.
It is not a pretty picture.
Corruption never is. This though is what the unchangeable Word of God has to say about the
final state of Christendom during
Man’s Day.
And, for those believing what
the Word of God has to say on the subject, this has to be the end
of the matter. This is not something open to discussion or
debate. This is a settled matter, clearly revealed by, Christ at
two different places in Scripture where a history of Christendom is given. And this
revealed history of Christendom is recorded these two times, in two different
ways, for
all to see.
In the second of these two times
- in Revelation chapters two and three
- as previously seen, the Lord revealed
this final state of Christendom through referring to conditions in the Church
in Laodicea, a Church which had become completely corrupted even before the end
of the first century. And, if one desires to study about the Church of today
(whether fundamental or liberal), he need only turn to Rev. 3: 14-21. This is a description given by Christ
Himself; and this description, in complete keeping with that seen in the
parable of the leaven in Matt. 13: 33, vividly
predicts the true nature of the Church in the end of the dispensation - “wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”
(v. 17b).
But, again, bear one thing in
mind. This does not picture Christendom at the end of the dispensation in a
general sense. Rather,
something specific is in view. This presents Christendom at
the end of the dispensation in relation to an outlook on a particular facet
of Biblical doctrine - the attitude of Christians throughout the
Churches toward that which very few of them seem to know anything whatsoever
about, the Word of the Kingdom, that upon which the leaven is seen to have centered its attack.
And this whole overall thought
of the leaven centering its attack at this point is something easily seen
throughout the seven epistles to the seven Churches in Rev. 2, 3. Note that each epistle is structured exactly the same. Each
centers around works, with a view to overcoming. Thus, the statement to each Church is twofold in this respect:
1) “I know thy works…” (2: 2, 9, 13, 19; 3: 1, 8, 15).
2) “To him that overcometh...”
(2: 7,
11, 17, 26-28; 3: 5, 12, 21).
These are the two inseparable
and interrelated things around which the Word of the Kingdom centers - works, with a
view to overcoming. And all of the overcomer’s promises project
matters out into the Messianic Era.
And when the Lord called
attention to the
“I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white
raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that
the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and
anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou
mayest see” (Rev. 3: 18).
Thus, the Church near the end of
the dispensation, in relation to teachings surrounding the Word of the Kingdom,
will be in the condition depicted by the
One will listen in vain, for the
message is simply, not being taught. The leaven has done its damaging work too
well.
If Any Man...
So, what is the Christian who
understands the Word of the Kingdom to do in surroundings of this nature today?
He finds himself in the midst of Christians who know little to nothing about
the subject; he finds himself in the midst of Christians who reject, or make
light of the Word of the Kingdom. And he can’t really leave and go elsewhere,
for the leaven, working for almost two millenniums, has brought the whole of
Christendom into this same state.
The answer concerning that which
he is to do is given at the end of the short epistle to the Church in
Note Christ’s closing words to
these Christians:
“As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh...” (vv. 19-21a).
In relation to the central
message which Christians are to hear throughout the dispensation, Christ, at
the end of the dispensation, is pictured outside the Church,
knocking, seeking admission to those inside. And the invitation which Christ extends at this time is to individual
Christians rather
than to the Church as a whole, for the Church will have been permeated through
and through with a leavening substance which can only continue its
deteriorating work.
The
invitation, seen in this passage, extends to any individual in the Church: “If any man
hear my voice, and
open the door...” The person is not told to leave the Church, for,
again, there is no place for him to go; the whole will have become
leavened. Rather,
the person is to remain where he is and heed the Lord’s message. Then, the Lord
will come inside the Church, to that individual, with
fellowship in the Word following.
There will be fellowship between
Christ and that individual (“... and will sup with him”), and
there will be fellowship between that individual and Christ (“...and he with me” [v. 20b; cf.
1 John 1: 3)].
But for the other [regenerate]
Christians in the Church, Christ will remain outside the door,
though the invitation will remain open.
And one need only look at Christianity
in the world today to see
the Church in the condition set forth by the end result of the progression of
that depicted in the first four parables in Matthew
chapter thirteen or in the seven Churches in Revelation
chapters two and three.
The Church today, in relation to
the proclamation of the Word of the Kingdom, finds itself in an
evident completely leavened state, with Christ outside the door,
exhorting individual Christians to heed the truth of that which Satan has
fought so hard to destroy.
* * *
[5]
Parable of the
Treasure
Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like unto treasure hid in a
field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof
goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth
that field (Matt. 13: 44).
The last three parables in Matthew chapter thirteen, unlike the
first four, were given only after Christ had re-entered the house. The first four were given outside
the house, by the seaside; and the
last three were given back inside the house (vv.
1-3, 36).
Beginning with the fifth
parable, an entirely different situation existed in the subject matter Christ
was covering in these parables.
The first four parables cover
the entirety of the present dispensation, as
matters relate to the proclamation of the Word of the Kingdom among Christians. The dispensation, insofar as the proclamation of this message
is concerned, will end, according to these parables, with Christendom in a
completely leavened state (v.
33).
Because of the working of the
leaven during the course of the dispensation, producing a continuing
deterioration throughout Christendom (as also seen in Rev. 2, 3), conditions at the end of the dispensation
will be as depicted by the Church in
This is simply a description of
the same conditions which Christ had called attention to several decades
earlier during His earthly ministry “...when
the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith [‘the faith’] on the earth?” (Luke 18: 8b). And the
manner in which this question is worded in the Greek text designates a
negative response. The Son
of Man will not find “the faith” (an expression peculiarly
related to the Word of the Kingdom) being taught throughout the Churches of the land at the time of
His return.
The Word of the Kingdom, taught universally throughout the first
century Church at the beginning of the dispensation, will be completely absent
in teachings throughout the Church at the end of the dispensation. Instead, in
some quarters (possibly “many”), that more
closely aligned with the “doctrines of demons” will be
taught (1 Tim. 4:
1-3; ref., Chapter V11 in this book). The
working of the leaven throughout the dispensation (fourth parable) will have
gradually wrought this change, bringing this change to a terminal point, leaving
Christendom completely leavened in relation to the Word of the Kingdom at the
end of the dispensation.
In this respect, the first four
parables carry an individual through the whole of the present dispensation.
And, moving on to parables five through seven, that being dealt with has to do
with events beyond the present dispensation.
These last three parables have
to do with events occurring after the - [“accounted worthy to escape” (Lk. 21: 36; cf. Rev.
3: 10)
members of the] -
Church has been removed from the earth (the [pre-tribulation] rapture) and after God has resumed his national
dealings with
Thus,
these parables could not have been given by the seaside, as the previous four.
At this point in time, relative to events depicted by these parables, God will
have completed his work of removing “a
people for his name” out from among the Gentiles (a work
symbolized by that which followed His previous departure from “the house” and going down by “the seaside” [depicted in the first four
parables]). And these last three parables had to be given back inside the
house, for God, at this
time, will have finished His dealing with the Church and will have resumed His
national dealings with Israel (Acts 15: 14-17).
But, though that dealt with in
these parables is intimately associated with Israel on the earth and cannot be
brought to pass apart from God’s resumption of His national dealings with His
covenant people, these parables, as well, have an inseparable connection with the
Church, which will be in the heavens at this time.
In the preceding respect, these
last three parables have to do with a continued sequence of events pertaining to
the Word of the Kingdom. Though
All seven of these parables have
to do with that taken from
(The. preceding will become
clear as the matter is further developed in this chapter.)
The Treasure, The Field
The first Parable which Christ
gave after He had re-entered the house had to do with a
treasure which a
Man found and hid in a field. And following this, the Man went out, sold all
that He had, and bought the field where He had hidden the treasure.
This Parable reaches back into
past events in order to establish a framework and foundational basis for
dealing with future events - the central issue of the parable, the purchase
of the field where
the treasure was hidden. The things leading into and allowing for the
purchase of the field have to do with past events, occurring at
Christ’s first coming; but the purchase of the field itself has to do with events yet
future, events which will occur during the coming [Great]
Tribulation and immediately following Christ’s return at the end of the
Tribulation.
The purchase of the field occurs
when
In the progression of that
revealed in the seven connected parables in Matthew
chapter thirteen, the “field” is
specifically stated to be the world (v. 38); and,
through comparing Scripture elsewhere, the “treasure” can
only be identified as Israel (Ex. 19: 5, 6; Ps. 135: 4).
When Christ came the first time,
He came only to “the lost sheep of the house of
The Man finding the treasure,
hiding the treasure, and selling all that He had can only be a reference to
three events occurring in the past:
1) Christ coming to and ministering to
2)
3) Christ’s
finished work at
But note that Christ, following
His finished work at Calvary, didn’t purchase the treasure (
And this purchase cannot be a
reference to the purchase of salvation for all those in the world through
Christ’s finished work at
These parables, rather than
dealing with salvation by grace through faith, are about the Word
of the Kingdom, the
Kingdom of the Heavens - something
stated in each of the seven parables, leaving no room for anyone to ever
misunderstand the subject matter of these parables. And an erroneous view of
Christ’s purchase of the field - making this purchase synonymous with His
finished work at Calvary - not only completely removes the parable from its
contextual setting but also from the clearly stated subject of the parable.
Comparing Scripture with
Scripture, that involved in the purchase of the field in this parable becomes
clear. This present earth will form
the - [promised (Ps. 2: 8)] - inheritance to be
possessed by Christ and His ‘wife’ - [or ‘bride’ (Gen.
2: 21-24; Ruth 3:
3;
4: 5, 10, 13 cf. Rev. 19: 7, R.V.)] -
during the coming [millennial]
‘age’ (cf. Ps. 2: 6-9; Rom. 8: 17-23; Rev. 2: 26, 27; 3: 21). And this is what must be purchased,
redeemed prior to
a new order of Sons being brought forth to rule from the heavens over the earth
(cf. Rom. 8: 18-21; Heb. 2: 5, 10).
The purchase of the field in the
parable of the treasure has to do with a redeemed inheritance - the
redemption of the earth. This is
a future work of Christ, made possible because of His past, completed work at
This will all become clear
through viewing a number of things from three different books, which will
comprise the material in tile remainder of this chapter.
Three Books
The Book of Revelation and the Book of Daniel are often looked upon as companion books in Scripture, with
one book shedding light upon and helping to explain the other. And this
association between these two books is correct. Daniel and Revelation form companion books, with Scripture from one helping to
explain Scripture from the other. One book cannot be properly understood apart
from the other.
However, Daniel is not the only
book in the Old Testament carrying this type relationship to the Book of
Revelation. Rather, it is one of many Old Testament books carrying a
relationship to the Book of Revelation of this nature.
Exodus, for example, could be looked upon as The
Apocalypse of the Old Testament. The Book of Exodus,
throughout - in a type - antitype framework - covers exactly the same period of
time covered in the first twenty chapters of the Book of Revelation. Both books cover that period of time beginning with the
present dispensation and ending with the establishment of the Messianic
Kingdom. And since both deal with the same thing, though from different
perspectives, one shed light upon and help explain the other.
But, for purposes of this
chapter, discussion along these lines be limited to two other books in the Old
Testament which also carry this same type relationship to the Book of Revelation. And those are the Books of Ruth and Esther.
The Book of Ruth deals with the Church and a
redeemed inheritance in exactly the same manner seen in the Book of Revelation. And the Book of Esther deals centrally with
Only through viewing that seen
in the Books of Ruth, Esther, and Revelation
together can the purchase of the field in the parable of the treasure in Matt. 13: 44 be
properly understood. And not only is the preceding the case for a proper
understanding of the fifth parable, but also for that seen in the sixth parable
as well - the purchase of the pearl
That seen in the Book of Ruth and that seen in the Book of Esther are both seen together in the Book of Revelation. Each of these books must be studied in
the light of the other two. Only through viewing the Books of Ruth, Esther,
and Revelation in this respect can the fifth
and sixth parables in Matthew chapter thirteen
be properly understood.
That would be to say, events
covered by the things in view in the fifth and sixth parables in Matthew chapter thirteen are seen in different
parts of the Books of Ruth, Esther, and Revelation.
In relation to that which is in these two parables, the Book of Ruth deal, with a wealthy Jew who redeems an
inheritance and, through this redemptive process, takes a Gentile as his wife;
the Book of Esther deals with the latter
days of Gentile world power and the restoration of Israel following the
overthrow of Gentile world power, which will be headed up under Antichrist and
his ten-kingdom confederacy in the end time; and the Book of Revelation puts these different things from both Ruth and Esther
together, providing additional details.
The Spirit of God used two books
in the Old Testament (Ruth and Esther) to show both sides of the matter. Then, in
the New Testament, the Spirit of God placed that which is in both Ruth and Esther together
in one book - the Book of Revelation. And
possibly the best way to understand this is to go to the Book of Revelation, present that which is in this book,
and then refer back to the Books of Ruth and
Esther, allowing these two books to form
commentary and tie matters together.
1) Revelation Chapters One through
Four
The first four chapters of the
Book of Revelation deal with the Church -
throughout the present dispensation (chs. 2, 3), at the judgment seat following the dispensation
(chs. 1b-3), and in
relation to regality immediately following decisions and determinations
rendered at the judgment seat but preceding the Tribulation (ch. 4).
In the first part of chapter
one, following introductory remarks concerning Christ (vv. 1-8), the Church is seen at a time yet future. The Church is seen
at the end of the dispensation, at the time of the rapture, removed from Man’s
Day on earth and placed in the Lord’s Day in heaven (v.
10). Then the remainder of chapter one
presents the [rapt] Church
in Christ’s presence, in heaven. Christ is seen as Judge (vv. 13-16), and the complete Church (all Christians - [i.e., all the ekclesia
(out-calling) of those ‘accounted worthy to escape’
(Lk. 21: 36; cf. Rev. 3: 10) the
Great Tribulation])] - all seven Churches from chapters two and three, with the
number, “seven” showing completeness - is seen
appearing in Christ’s presence - [in heaven]* - to be judged (vv. 12, 13, 20).
[* NOTE:
There are Divine judgments taking place at all times: - now upon a Christian’s works
(after receiving the “free gift” of eternal life
(Rom. 6: 23, R.V.); there will be a judgment which will
take place after the time of Death (Heb.
9: 27, 28), and before the time of Resurrection (Matt. 16: 18, 19; Luke 16: 26); and there is a subsequent judgment to take
place in heaven, after the time of Resurrection: and this Judgment will
determine the nature of a believer’s reward (Luke
22: 28-30),
during the millennial reign of Christ Jesus.
Now, all who believe contrary
to this sequence of scriptural events, appear to me to be in grace error! Look
and see the numerous Divine warnings and conditional promises,
made to regenerate believers against the ever present danger of them being disqualified
for the “prize”
(1 Cor. 9: 24; Phil. 3: 14);
the “Crown”
(Rev. 3: 11; ); the “recompense of
the
inheritance” (Col. 3: 24, R.V.);
and of not obtaining “the Resurrection out from the dead” (Phil.
3: 11; Lk.20: 35; Heb. 11: 35b, R.V.)
Then chapters two and three
continue that revealed in chapter one, depicting the actual judgment itself.
Note that each short epistle in two chapters is structured exactly the same way
- works, with a view to overcoming or being overcome. And each of the
overcomer’s promises is Messianic within
its scope of fulfilment.
Only saints ‘accounted worthy’ (Lk. 20: 35; Phil. 3: 11), will be found to have qualified to inherit
the promised millennial inheritance! See Gen.
13: 15, 17; Cf. Acts
7: 4b, 5;
1 Cor. 9-11; Gal. 5: 19-21; Eph. 5: 5-7; cf.
2 Thess. 4-8, R.V.]
And that seen in these opening
three chapters in the Book of Revelation
relative to the removal of Christians into the heaven, to appear before Christ
at His judgment seat at the end of the dispensation is exactly what Scripture
elsewhere reveals about the matter. Following the removal of Christians from
the earth, Christians will find themselves being judged on the basis of works,
with a view to overcoming or being overcome. And that which is in view relative
to overcoming or being overcome is seen as having to do with occupying or being
denied positions with Christ in His [millennial] kingdom (cf. Matt. 16: 24 - 17: 5; 24: 45-51; 25: 14-30; Luke 12: 42-46; 19: 11-27; 1 Cor. 3: 11-15; 2 Cor. 5: 9-11; 2 Thess. 1: 5-10; 4: 16 - 5: 9; 2 Thess. 1: 5-11).
Also, [in Revelation] chapters two and three,
viewed from another perspective, present a history of the Church throughout the
dispensation, synonymous with that seen in the first four parables in Matthew chapter thirteen. Both sections of
Scripture present a history of the Church relation to the Word
of the Kingdom. Both
sections of Scripture reveal the dispensation beginning with
Christians producing acceptable works (fruitfulness [Matt. 13: 8, 23; Rev. 2: 2, 3]) and ending with Christians seen in a
completely leavened state (Matt. 13: 33; Rev. 3: 15-17).
Then chapter four begins once again at the same point
as previously seen in chapter one - with the Church being removed
from the earth into the heavens (vv. 1, 2). But this
is only to reveal something subsequent to events at the judgment seat (chs. 1b-3). It is to reveal the twenty-four elders
relinquishing their crowns by casting them before God’s throne (vv. 4, 10, 11).
This event will occur immediately
following decisions and
determinations at the judgment seat, as shown by the rainbow encircling the throne of God (v. 3). The
rainbow in Scripture appears after judgment has occurred, after judgment is past. This is the
manner in which the rainbow is first seen in Scripture (Gen. 9: 11-17),
establishing an unchangeable first-mention principle which
governs its use at any subsequent point in Scripture.
The rainbow encircled throne in Rev. 4: 3 tells the reader that events at the judgment seat (chs. 1b-3) are past. Then, the remainder of the
chapter relates something intimately associated and connected with the
decisions and determinations which will have been rendered at the judgment seat
- the twenty-four elders casting their crowns before God’s throne.
Overcoming
Christians, ruling with Christ over the earth during the coming age, are to
wear crowns having to do with the domain over which they rule - crowns having
to do with the government of the earth. And these crowns have existed since
time immemorial, since God established the government of the earth in the
beginning.
These crowns were originally
worn by angels ruling under Satan in his unfallen state. However, since his
rebellion against God’s supreme power and authority, these crowns have been
worn by two classes of angels - those originally ruling with Satan, but
refusing to go along with him in his attempted coup; and those who did go along
with him, continuing to rule with him.
One group - the former, which
can only be identified with the twenty-four elders (two-thirds of the original
contingent of angels under Satan, represented by two sets of twelve crowned
rulers) - will relinquish their crowns willingly; but the other group - the
latter, seen in Rev. 12: 4 (the other one-third of the angels under
Satan, which would be represented by a third set of twelve crowned rulers) -
will not relinquish their crowns willingly, resulting in their crowns having to
be taken by force.
(Note
that “twelve” is the number of governmental
perfection, and “three” is the number of
Divine
perfection. Three sets of
twelve crowned rulers would show Divine perfection in God’s
original establishment of the government of the earth - something which has not existed since
Satan’s attempted coup [since those angels ruling under him (represented by the two
sets of twelves) separated themselves from the other
angels ruling under him (which could only be represented by a third set of
twelve)].
But a restored Divinely perfect
form of governmental rule over the earth will exist once again during the Messianic Era when crowns from all
three sets of twelve - crowns from the complete original contingent of angels
ruling with Satan over the earth - are brought together once again and given to
man.)
Those relinquishing their crowns
willingly will do so immediately following events at the judgment seat. For, at
this time, for the first time in man’s history, a
group from the human race will have
been shown qualified to wear these crowns. And, also for the
first time in man’s history, these angels can relinquish their crowns, with a view to
others wearing them during the Messianic Era (Heb. 2: 5).
Those angels continuing to reign
with Satan though will not relinquish their crowns until the time of Christ’s
return. Their crowns will be taken by force, for the time will be at hand. For the
first time in man’s history, a group from the human race will be on hand to ascend the
throne, having been shown qualified to wear these crowns.
(For a full discussion of the
twenty-four elders in Revelation chapter four,
in the preceding respect, refer to Chapter V11, “Crowns
Cast Before God’s Throne,” in the author's book, THE TIME OF THE END.)
2)
Revelation Chapters Five through Nineteen
Revelation chapter
five marks a major turning point in the closing book of Scripture.
Material preceding this has to do directly with the Church, covering the
complete dispensation (chs. 2, 3), but
centering on events at the end of the dispensation (chs. 1b-4). These first four chapters centre on
events which begin with the removal of the - [overcomers from the] - Church (Rev. 1: 10; 4: 1, 2), continue
with events surrounding the judgment seat (chs. 1b-3), and
end with the twenty-four elders casting their crowns before God’s
throne (4: 4, 10, 11).
The removal of the Church will
occur at the end of the dispensation preceding events at the judgment seat; and the twenty-four elders
casting their crowns before God’s throne will occur following events
at the judgment seat, before the beginning of the Tribulation.
Then, once all these events have
occurred and all matters pertaining to these events have been taken care of,
attention in the book is immediately, directed to the redemption of the forfeited
inheritance. Events in chapter five introduce the matter, and events in
chapters six through nineteen provide numerous details concerning this future
redemptive work (cf. Rom. 8: 20-22).
There, is an exact parallel
between the sequence of events seen in the first six parables in Matthew chapter thirteen and the sequence ot events seen in the first nineteen chapters of the Book
of Revelation.
In the parables in Matthew chapter thirteen, Christ’s dealing with
the Church in relation to the Word of the Kingdom, down by the seaside, are
seen in the first four parables. Then, as Christ re-enters the house, matters
in the last three parables turn back to
In the Book of Revelation,
Christ’s dealings with the Church in relation to the Word of the Kingdom are
seen in the first four chapters. Then, beginning in chapter five, matters turn
back to
Then, the same things are seen when
comparing the Books of Ruth and Esther with the Book of Revelation,
or with the first six parables in Matthew
chapter thirteen. The first three chapters of the Book of Ruth provide the background and foundational
material (paralleling Rev. 1-4, or the first four parables in Matt. 13), and
Boaz’s redemptive act in chapter four has to do with his purchase of the field,
his redemption of the inheritance (paralleling Rev.
5-19,
seen beginning with the fifth parable in Matt. 13). Then the Book of Esther points to the
fact that
And, as the first three chapters
of the Book of Ruth cannot be separated from
the fourth chapter, or as the first four parables in Matt.
13 cannot be separated from the last three,
or as that seen in the Book of Esther cannot
be separated from the whole of the matter, neither can the first four chapters
of the Book of Revelation be separate from
the chapters which follow. Revelation
chapter five simply continues from chapter four, and the Church (though absent)
remains just as much in view as Ruth (though
absent) remained in view while Boaz was performing his redemptive act in Ruth chapter four.
And matters must be viewed
exactly the same in the parables in Matthew chapter thirteen. Though Christ is
back inside the house beginning with the fifth parable, the Church must remain
in view relative to the redemption of the inheritance.
a) The Search for One Found Worthy
In the Book of Ruth, Boaz was a near kinsman who was able to
redeem. And he is the one seen performing the required redemptive act, paying
the required price, following a nearer kinsman relinquishing his right to
redeem.
Boaz
performed this redemptive act following
Ruth becoming a
member of the family (ch.
1), following Ruth
gleaning in Boaz’s field and beating out that which she had gleaned throughout
the time of the harvest (ch.
2), and following Ruth
preparing herself to meet Boaz, a meeting which occurred on his threshing floor
at midnight (ch. 3). These first three chapters of the Book of Ruth cover the entirety of the present
dispensation, paralleling the first four parables in Matthew
chapter thirteen and the first four chapters of the Book of Revelation (viewed from both vantage points - a
history of the Church during the present dispensation, and the Church in heaven
at the end of the dispensation, appearing on Christ’s threshing floor).
Then, Boaz’s redemptive act finds
its parallel with events beginning in Revelation
chapter five, event., which parallel the purchase of the field in the parable
of the treasure. The search in this chapter centers around One able to redeem, One worthy to break the seals of the seven-sealed
scroll seen in God’s right hand.
A “strong
angel” proclaims in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book [scroll], and to loose the
seals thereof?” And no one “in heaven, nor in earth,
neither - [in ‘Sheol’ / ‘Hades’] - under the earth” was found worthy until attention
was called to “the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David” (vv.
2-5).
One seen “in the midst” of God’s throne (an allusion to
the source of all power, the centre of all power, the place from which all
power emanates), now described as “a Lamb,” rather
than “the Lion of the tribe of Judah,” comes
and takes the scroll out of the right hand of His Father. He alone was found
worthy, and the reason He was found worthy is given in both His description and
that which is stated in the verses immediately following.
Specific attention is called to
His being “a Lamb,” which can only be a reference
to His past work at
Then the four living creatures
and the twenty-four elders sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy
art thou to take the book [‘scroll’], and to open the seals thereof: for thou
wast slain [as
the Lamb], and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of
every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,
And madest them to be
unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they shall reign upon [‘over’]
the earth” (vv.
9b, 10, ASV).
A great multitude of angels then
appeared “round about the throne and the beasts
[‘living creatures’] and
elders,” with their number described as “ten thousand times ten thousand,
and thousands of' thousands.” And this great multitude proclaimed, “with a loud voice”:
“Worthy is
the Lamb that was slain to
receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour,
and glory, and blessings”
(vv. 11, 12).
And, following this, attention
is called to “every creature which is in heaven,
and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and
all that are in them” making a similar proclamation, in unison:
“Blessing,
and honour, and glory,
and power, be unto him
that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb forever and ever”
(v. 13).”
Note the continued reference to “the Lamb,” rather than to “the Lion of the tribe of
And this is the reason that this
matter is dealt with in the parable of the treasure (He sold all that He had
[past]) prior to purchasing the field, prior to redeeming the inheritance
(future). It is all based on His past work as “the Lamb.” Apart
from this past work, there can be no future redeemed inheritance awaiting Christ and His co-heirs.
(Redemption is always seen being effected through the Lamb, not through the
Lion. Christ is referred to as the Lion only once in the Book of Revelation, but He is referred to as the
Lamb twenty-eight times throughout the course of this book.)
b) Redemption of the Purchased Possession
The actual redemptive work,
pertaining to the inheritance, begins with events in Revelation
chapter six and carries through to events at the end of chapter
nineteen. Events in chapter nineteen also have to do with another facet of this
redemptive work. They have to do with the bride
becoming Christ’s wife, portended by the marriage festivities (vv. 7-9) occurring immediately
preceding Christ’s return to
complete His work surrounding the
redemption of the inheritance (vv. 11-21). And,
exactly as seen in the type in the Book of Ruth - Ruth becoming Boaz’s wife through his
redemptive work (Ruth 4: 1-10) - not only will Christ redeem the
inheritance, but, through this redemptive work, the bride will
become the Lamb’s wife.
Judgments seen throughout the
time of the Son's redemption of the inheritance are presented in the Book of Revelation under three sets of sevens - seven
seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials. As previously shown, “three” is the number of Divine perfection; and “seven”
is a number showing the completeness of that which is in view. Thus, the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials show Divine
perfection within these judgments, which would be to say that
they show Divine perfection within the Son’s redemption of the - [promised (Ps. 2: 8)] - inheritance.
The search in chapter five was only for One found worthy to break the
seals. Nothing
is said in this chapter about a search for One worthy to sound the trumpets or
to pour out the vials, and the reason for this is evident. The judgments seen
through the sounding of the trumpets and the pouring out of the vials are
contained within the scope of the judgments under the seven seals.
The trumpet and vial judgments
emanate from the breaking of the seventh seal (8:
1, 2), with
the seven vial judgments seen as a further description of the seven trumpet
judgments, providing additional details (cf.
Rev. 10: 1-7; 11: 15-19; 15: 1ff). Thus, both the trumpet and
vial judgments lie under the seventh seal, placing all the judgments, within
the scope of the seven-sealed scroll.
Christ, loosing the seals, will
bring all things in this entire redemptive process to pass. The inheritance will be redeemed, through judgment (chs. 6-19); and
the bride - previously singled out and revealed at the judgment seat (chs. 1b-3) - will
then become Christ’s wife, all exactly in accord with the
type in Ruth chapter four.
(For more information on the redemption of the inheritance - as seen in the
Book of Ruth, the Book of Esther, the Matt 13
parables, and the Book of Revelation - refer
to the next chapter in this book, Chapter Xl.
For a more exhaustive treatment
of the subject, refer to Chapters VIII, IX of the author’s book, THE TIME OFTHE END.
Then, Chapters X-XlX in this book [covering Rev. 6-10, 11b, 15, 16] deal
with the judgments brought to pass through a breaking of the seals of the
seven-sealed scroll [from Rev. 5], providing specific information concerning
exactly how the inheritance is redeemed.)
* * *
[6]
Parable of the
Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly
pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all
that he had, and bought it (Matt.
13: 45, 46).
The parable of the pearl
continues the thought of redemption from the previous parable, the parable of the treasure. The “Man” in
both parables is the Lord Christ, and this Man selling all that He had in both
parables is also the same, pointing to Christ’s
past, finished work at
But the purchase which
the Man made - something different in each parable - is separated in time from
His work at
Thus, in the chronological
sequence of events in these two parables, Christ’s purchase of both the field and the
pearl is seen occurring following His
selling all that He had, i.e., following the events surrounding
Within the chronological
framework of all seven parables, this dual purchase is seen occurring at a time
following the present dispensation. In this respect, two millenniums
lie between Christ’s finished work at
Christ’s finished work at
(Christ,
following
His finished work, “sat down on the
right hand of God.” There was no chair in any part of the
earthly tabernacle, for the sacrificial work of the O.T. priests was never
finished. They could not sit down. But Christ, relative to His sacrificial work,
could sit down in the heavens, indicating that this work was finished.
“And
every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Heb. 10: 11, 12).
However, the blood of that
sacrifice, presently on the mercy scat of the heavenly sanctuary, is another
matter. There is a present work of the Son in connection with His blood having
been placed on the mercy seat. But this work is on behalf of those who have
already been [eternally] saved,
on the basis of His past, sacrificial work at
The present work of the Son is
that of High Priest [Heb. 9: 11, 12; 10: 19ff]. He is presently providing a cleansing for
Christians who sill, on the basis of His Own blood on the mercy seat in the
heavenly sanctuary [1 John 1: 7-2: 2]. And this cleansing has nothing to do with
one’s eternal salvation. It is a cleansing provided for those who are already
saved, with a view to the One doing the cleansing bringing “many sons
unto glory” at a future time [Heb.
2: 10])
There though, of necessity, is a
present work being carried on within the Godhead pertaining to man’s eternal
salvation. But this is not a work being
carried on by the Son after any fashion. This is a work performed by the [Holy] Spirit.
The [Holy] Spirit presently breathes life (spiritual life) into the one
who has no life, based on the Son’s past finished work. And through this
complete work - the past work of the
Son, and the present work of the [Holy] Spirit
- man, “dead in trespasses and sins,” not
only passes “from death unto life” (cf.
Gen. 1: 2; 2: 7; Ezek. 37: 1-10; John 5: 24; Eph. 2: 1), but he now finds himself in a position to
one day realize “that which is really life” (1 Tim. 6: 19b, literal translation).
The last words of Christ prior
to His death at
Everything necessary to effect
man’s eternal salvation had been finished at that point, and Christ used this
one Greek verb teleo (tetelestai), in a perfect tense (tetelestai) to call attention to this fact. Then He
simply “gave up the spirit” - [That is, His animating ‘spirit’:
it is the same ‘spirit’, from God, which now
gives life to the ‘body’ and ‘soul.’] - [lit., He ‘breathed out’] (Luke 23: 46), for
there was no need for Him to continue the sufferings which He was undergoing. Everything
had been completed, allowing
the [Holy] Spirit to now breathe life into the one having no life (man
dead in trespasses and sins) on the basis of the Son’s finished work.
But, as previously noted, the
two purchases seen in the parables of the treasure and the pearl in Matt. 13: 44-46 point to a work of the Son
beyond His work on
(In the
preceding respect, there is a past, finished work of the Son
at
In the first of these two
parables, in verse forty-four, the treasure points to
Pearls are found in oysters,
which come from the sea. And the oyster, a species found in the water which
lacks fins and scales, would be unclean to an orthodox Jew (Lev. 11: 9-12). The
fact that the pearl comes from a species considered unclean by the orthodox
Jew, as well as the fact that the oyster bearing the pearl is found in the sea
(which refers to the Gentiles), the pearl could not be another reference to
Israel (continuing, in this respect, from the parable of the treasure). Rather,
the pearl would have to refer to another entity within God’s dealings with man.
The identity of the pearl,
unlike the identity of the treasure in the previous parable, is not really
given anywhere in Scripture in so many words per se. But, nonetheless, the
intended symbolism through the use of the pearl can easily be determined.
Through comparing Scripture with Scripture, the “pearl” can
easily be seen as a reference to the Church (more specifically, the bride).
Christ gave these parables after
He had gone back inside the house, and the treasure (Israel) comes into view
because God will be dealing with Israel during this time, completing His
dealings with the nation during Daniel’s Seventieth Week. But Christ is not
seen purchasing the treasure in the first of these two parables, as He is seen
purchasing the pearl in the second. Rather, in the first parable, He is seen
purchasing the field where
the treasure was hidden.
Thus, Christ purchases the
field in the
first of these two parables; then He purchases the pearl in the second. And the fact that
these parables are about the kingdom of the heavens - necessitating [regenerate]
Christians (the present recipients of the offer of the kingdom) being in view
in relation to the redemption of the forfeited inheritance - will alone reveal
that “the pearl” has to
be identified with the Church.
The parable of the treasure
shows one facet of the purpose for man’s salvation, and the parable of the
pearl shows the other. The purchase of the field (the world) seen in the
parable of the treasure has to do with Christ’s future work of
redeeming the forfeited inheritance, (seen in Rev. 6-19); and
the purchase of the pearl is a reference to the bride (saved through His finished work at Calvary and revealed
through decisions and determinations at the judgment seat [Rev. 1-4]) becoming His wife (portended by the marriage
festivities in Rev. 19: 7-9), whom
He purchases through redeeming the inheritance. And all of this occurs on the
basis of Christ being found worthy to perform this redemptive work - found
worthy solely on the basis of His finished work as “the Lamb” (Rev. 5: 6ff).
These two parables, along with
most of the Book of Revelation, draw from a somewhat simple
type in the Old Testament - a type set forth in the fourth chapter of the Book
of Ruth. In this fourth chapter of Ruth, Boaz is seen
redeeming a forfeited inheritance, with Ruth becoming his wife through this redemptive act. And this chapter relates the
complete story of events seen relative to the purchases in the parables of the
treasure and the pearl, along with that seen in Revelation
chapters five through nineteen.
None of these things in
Matthew’s gospel or in the Book of Revelation can be
properly understood apart from understanding this one type in the Old
Testament. God provided the numerous types seen throughout the Old Testament
for a reason. These types have been placed there to help explain the antitypes. And these types are important
beyond degree, for they will,
numerous times, open up and cast a flood of light on the
various antitypes. And this
particular type in the Book of Ruth is one
case in point, which can only become increasingly evident to anyone who begins
to mine the treasures contained therein.
The Type - The Antitype
Events in the fourth chapter of
the Book of Ruth, where Boaz’s redemptive
act is seen, must be understood within context. These events occurred after Ruth had become a member of the
family (ch. 1), after Ruth had gleaned in Boaz’s field
and beat out that which she had gleaned throughout the time of harvest (ch. 2), after Ruth had prepared herself for
meeting Boaz (ch. 3a), and after Ruth had met Boaz on his
threshing floor at midnight (ch. 3b).
And moving these things over
into the antitype, Christ’s redemptive act, seen in this fourth chapter of Ruth (typified by Boaz’s redemptive act), will
occur at exactly the same time. It will occur after individuals have become members
of the family (have become [regenerate] Christians), after those in the family have gleaned
in the field (the world) and beat out that which they have gleaned throughout
the time of harvest, after those in the family have prepared themselves for meeting
Christ, and after they
have met Christ on His threshing floor at midnight (met Christ at His judgment
seat, at the termination of the present dispensation).
(The “threshing floor” and “midnight”
both refer to judgment - one to place, and the other to time. See Chapter VIII in this book.)
Thus, Christ’s finished work at
And Christians are members of
the family through exactly the same means - through death, the
death of Another. This is
why Paul, when first going to Corinth and finding a city filled with unsaved
Gentiles, limited himself to one simple message - “Jesus Christ, and him
crucified” (1 Cor.
2: 2). It was
Christ Who had died for their sins (1 Cor. 15: 3; 1 Thess. 5: 10), and
the only way they could become members of the family was through the
death of Another.
Thus, the message surrounding
that which occurred at
1) The Nearer Kinsman
Different kinds of legal matters
within the Jewish economy at the time events in the Book of Ruth occurred were
carried on at the gate of the various cities scattered throughout the land, at
the entrance way into these cities. Elders of a particular city would gather at
the gate of that city and await anyone in the city who might have a legal
matter to carry out or resolve.
This is
the reason chapter four begins with the statement, “Then went Boaz up to the gate...” (4: 1). And, as
seen in Gentile cities of that day as well, this is the apparent reason that
Lot was seen seated in the gate of
Boaz, at the gate, first stopped
a nearer kinsman who had come by, and he instructed the nearer kinsman to sit
in a certain place (v. 1). Boaz
then singled out ten elders who were at the gate, took them aside, and
instructed them to sit in the same proximity as the nearer kinsman (v. 2).
Boaz then explained the matter
at hand, directing his remarks to the nearer kinsman, but making sure that the
ten elders heard as well. He needed all of them to hear that which he had to
say, for they all had to act - the nearer kinsman first, then the ten elders.
The subject surrounded an
inheritance belonging to Naomi, which had been forfeited. Boaz wanted to pay
the required price and redeem this inheritance, but there was a nearer kinsman
who had first choice to act in this capacity. And the nearer kinsman, after
hearing about this forfeited inheritance as Boaz explained the matter, said
that he would redeem the inheritance (vv. 3, 4).
However, Boaz wasn’t through
explaining all that was involved. Boaz then said,
“What
day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi,
thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise
up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” (v.
5).
The one who redeemed the
inheritance, whether the nearer kinsman or Boaz, would also, at the same time,
be redeeming (purchasing) Ruth; and Ruth, through this redemptive process,
would become his wife. This was something which would automatically occur
within the process of redeeming the forfeited inheritance, redeeming the field.
Ruth, through this redemptive process, was also being redeemed (purchased), and
would automatically become the wife of the one performing this redemptive act.
Much controversy has surrounded
the identity (with respect to the antitype) of the nearer kinsman. However,
there should be no controversy, for the nearer kinsman was able to
redeem. And the
only One able to redeem in the antitype is the One, Who shed His
blood at
And though it was the Son Who
shed His blood and died at Calvary, this was, as well, the
blood of God (Acts 20: 28). This
was the day God died.
Thus, just as there were, two (only two [v. 4b]) who
were, able to redeem in the type (in so far as that shown by the account is
concerned), there are also Two (only Two) Who
are able to redeem in the antitype. And these Two in the antitype are the
Father and His Son, though the Father has placed all redemptive work in the
hands of His Son.
Seeing the type foreshadowing
God the Father in this respect will explain the apparent reason why the nearer
kinsman couldn’t redeem the inheritance and take Ruth as his wife. As seen in
the antitype, the nearer kinsman, though able to redeem, wasn’t free to take
Ruth as his wife.
Though a
divorce decree presently exists between God and
2) Boaz’s
Work
There was a law in
Thus, in keeping with this law,
when the nearer kinsman couldn’t redeem Naomi’s inheritance (though, through no
apparent fault of his own), he removed his shoe and handed it to Boaz (Ruth 4: 7, 8). This act showed to everyone present (in
this case, Boaz and the ten elders) that he had relinquished his redemptive
rights to the kinsman next in line. He had relinquished his rights to Boaz.
Thus, once this had been done,
Boaz was free to redeem the forfeited inheritance. And the ten elders were also
free to recognize Boaz as the one now able to act in this capacity, along with
recognizing the price which he was to pay as legal and binding.
And, not only was this the case,
but once the complete transaction had been carried out, it would also be
recognized that Ruth was Boaz’s wife. Ruth automatically became Boaz’s wife
through this legal transaction carried out at the gate of the city, witnessed
by ten elders, among others present.
“And
Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the
people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s and all that was
Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.
Moreover Ruth the
Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance,
that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his
brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day” (vv.
9, 10).
This was followed by all those
who were present recognizing that which had occurred, along with their
pronouncing a blessing on the union which had resulted from this transaction -
that of Boaz and Ruth. And the remainder of the chapter, bringing the account
to a close, records the genealogy of Boaz through this union (vv. 11ff).
“… Boaz begat Obed,
And Obed begat Jesse, and
Jesse begat David” (vv. 21b, 22).
Boaz and Ruth’s great grandson
was King David. And David, in his reign over
And, as David reigned over
Everything about Ruth chapter four is
Messianic within its scope of fulfilment. This chapter deals with the
redemption of a piece of land, which would be a field, pointing to the world in the antitype; this chapter
deals with Ruth becoming Boaz’s
wife, which, in the antitype, would point to the bride becoming Christ’s
wife; and this
chapter ends with the mention of David, pointing to the greater Son of David in the antitype.
The Book of Ruth ends exactly where the opening
section of Scripture in Genesis ends (Gen. 1: 1-2: 3) - detailing events having to do with the
seventh day, the Messianic Era out ahead. The inheritance (a field), once it
had been redeemed, then belonged to Boaz and Ruth, (now his wife) in the type;
and the inheritance (the world), once it has been redeemed, will then belong to
Christ and His Bride will then be His wife) in the antitype. And, in the
antitype, Christ as King (as the
greater Son of King David), with His wife as consort queen, will rule over the redeemed domain.
The Bride Becomes His Wife
The future marriage of Christ
and His bride will occur exactly in accord with the type set forth in Ruth chapter four, not in accord with the way things are done in the modern
world, whether in the East or in the West. As Boaz purchased Ruth through the
process of redeeming a forfeited inheritance, so will Christ purchase His bride through the process of
redeeming a forfeited inheritance (forfeited by the first Adam in Genesis chapter three [cf. Rom. 8: 20-22]). And,
as Ruth automatically became Boaz’s wife through this redemptive process, so
will it be with Christ and His bride.
The bride (having previously been revealed at the judgment seat) will
automatically become Christ’s wife through His redemption of the forfeited
inheritance.
1) Redemption Completed
The
redemption of the forfeited inheritance is seen occurring in Revelation chapters six through nineteen. The
seven-sealed scroll in Revelation chapter
five contains the redemptive terms for the forfeited inheritance (the earth),
and chapters six through nineteen reveal the seals being broken and these terms
being carried out (ref. Chapter X in
this book).
Once these redemptive terms have
been carried out, the bride will become Christ’s wife. Through a redemptive
work having occurred throughout the preceding seven years and completed with
events seen in Rev. 19:
11-21, Christ
will not only have purchased the field (the earth - fifth parable) but He will
have purchased the pearl as well (the bride, now His wife - sixth parable). He
will have purchased the bride, for whom the [Holy] Spirit had searched during the previous
dispensation (Gen. 24), as His wife.
In anticipation of the
Completion of this redemptive work, allowing the bride to become Christ’s wife,
note the wedding festivities in Revelation chapter nineteen immediately
preceding Christ’s return:
“Let us
be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for
the marriage [‘marriage
festivities’] of the lamb is come, and his wife
[‘bride’]
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 [‘righteous acts’]
of saints.
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which
are called unto the marriage supper [or, ‘marriage
banquet,’ ‘feast’] of the Lamb. And he saith unto
me, These are the true sayings of God” (vv. 7-9; cf. Rev. 21: 9).
And note the immediately
preceding reference to the reverential awe and excitement in heaven surrounding
the redemption of the forfeited inheritance at this
point in the redemptive process, which leads into the wedding festivities and
the completion of the redemption of the inheritance.
The
twenty-four elders, along with the four living creatures, “fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saving, Amen;
Alleluia”
(v. 4). Then “a voice came out of the throne, saving, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye
that fear him, both small and
great”(v. 5). Then a voice was heard,
described as that of “a great multitude ... many waters ... mighty
thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (v. 6). And even John, having seen all
this, could do little more than fall at the feet of the
one showing him these things (v. 10).
Thus, the Book of Revelation, up to this point in the book, deals with the Church more
extensively than is often realized. This book begins with the Church removed
into heaven and judged, followed by, the twenty-four elders casting their
crowns before God’s throne (chs. 1-4). Then
it continues with the search for One found worthy to loose the seals of the
seven-sealed scroll - containing the redemptive terms of the forfeited
inheritance (ch. 5). And, in succeeding chapters, covering
Daniel’s unfulfilled Seventieth Week, leading into events surrounding Christ’s
return, the book deals with the inheritance being redeemed (allowing the bride to become Christ’s wife).
The redemption of the
inheritance in chapters six through nineteen has to do with the domain which Christ and His wife, His
consort queen (ch. 19), will rule over during the succeeding
Messianic Era (Ch. 20). And it is in the preceding respect that
events in these chapters, dealing with
(For more information on the
redemption of the inheritance, refer to Chapters VIII, IX in the author’s book,
THE TIME OF THE END.)
2) The Marriage Festivities
When Scripture deals with the “marriage” of Christ and His bride, as in Rev. 19: 7-9, the
reference is always to festivities surrounding the marriage, not to a marriage itself. As
previously shown, there will be no marriage per se, as we think of marriage in
our modern-day culture. There wasn’t one in the type, and there won’t be one in
the antitype either. And this is an easy matter to see in both the type (Ruth 4) and the antitype (Rev. 5-19).
The wedding festivities
surrounding the marriage of God’s Son will occur in heaven immediately
before the
completion of the redemption of the forfeited inheritance. Though these
festivities immediately precede the completion of the redemption of the
inheritance, the entire redemptive process must be carried out before the bride
can become Christ’s wife. And this order of events can be clearly seen
beginning in Rev. 19:
7-9, where
these festivities are seen occurring immediately preceding Christ’s return to the earth to
complete His work surrounding the redemption of the inheritance (19: 11ff).
Near the end of Christ’s earthly
ministry, He gave a parable concerning a whole panorama of events surrounding
these marriage festivities, seen in Matt. 22: 2-14. And this
parable was given within the framework of the offer of the kingdom of the
heavens, first to
a) Anticipated in a Parable (Matt. 22: 2-14).
This parable begins with a King
arranging all the various festivities for the wedding of His Son, a royal
affair (v. 2). Then,
following these preparations, the King sent forth His servants to call those
who had been invited; but they wouldn’t come (v. 3).
Another call was issued, but
those who had been invited still wouldn’t come. And not only did they ignore
this second call, but they made light of the whole matter, even going so far as
to mistreat and kill those extending the offer (vv. 4-6).
And when the King heard what had
happened, His anger was such that He sent forth His armies to both destroy
those individuals and to burn their city (v. 7).
Then, the call was sent forth to
an entirely different group of individuals. Some from this group heeded the
invitation, but others paid little to no attention. And, in the end, two types
of individuals are seen - “both bad and good.” Those
spoken of as “bad” hadn’t prepared themselves to attend the
wedding festivities, and they, resultingly, didn’t possess wedding garments;
but those spoken of as “good” had prepared themselves, and they,
resultingly, did possess wedding garments (vv. 8-10).
And the
end result of this invitation is then presented. Those who had heeded the call
and had made proper preparations, possessing wedding garments, were allowed to
participate in the marriage festivities. But those who had disregarded or had
rejected the call, not having made proper preparations, not possessing wedding
garments, were not allowed to participate in the marriage festivities. They
were not even allowed within. Instead, they found themselves in the
darkness outside (vv. 11-14).
b) That to Which the Parable Refers
The parable of the marriage
festivities in Matt. 21:
2-14 covers
the whole panorama of that seen in the New Testament, from Matthew chapter one through the first part of Revelation chapter nineteen. This parable
covers God’s complete dealings, throughout the New Testament, with both
The kingdom of the heavens (with
a view to the wedding festivities, seen in the parable) was extended to
But, as in the parable, there
was a re-offer of the kingdom to
However, as in the parable,
rejection again occurred; and the
servants extending the offer - [of the ‘inheritance’ in
‘the Kingdom’] - were mistreated, and even killed (Acts 4: 17-21; 5: 40, 41; 7: 54-60). And, because of this, the same thing
again occurred as seen in the parable. Between 66 and 70 A.D.,Titus
and his Roman legions were allowed by the Lord to come against the Israelites
in
The call was then extended only
to those seen in the parable as other than the Jewish people, those out in “the highways,” [regenerate]
Christians. This part of the parable is covered in the New Testament by the
epistles, though some of the epistles were written during the Acts period when the offer was still open to
(The epistles - all of them -
centre around the offer of the kingdom of the heavens to Christians during the
present dispensation. And these epistles, consequently, provide various facets
of information surrounding this offer.)
And, as in the parable, the end
of the matter will witness some Christians prepared to attend these festivities
and others unprepared to attend. Proper or improper preparation is given in
both Matt. 22: 10-12 and Rev. 19: 7, 8. It has to do with the possession or
non-possession of a wedding garment.
Those properly dressed will be
allowed to participate in the festivities, looking forward to that which lies
ahead - the Son’s coming reign over the earth, with His consort queen. But those improperly dressed will be denied
entrance into these festivities and be left in the darkness outside, with nothing to look forward to during
the Son’s coming reign, for they will occupy no
place in His kingdom. They
will occupy no place
among those forming the Son’s wife, His
consort queen, at the completion of the redmption of the inheritance.
* * *
[7]
Parable of the Net
Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like unto a net, that was cast into
the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the
good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
So shall it be at the end of the world [age]: the angels shall come forth, and sever the
wicked from among the just,
And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt.
13: 47-50).
The last of the seven parables
in Matthew chapter thirteen, the parable of the net, begins by briefly
mentioning events occurring throughout the present dispensation (v. 47); then
the parable in the three succeeding verses (vv. 48-50)
immediately moves to and centers around events occurring at the end of the age,
after the dispensation has run its course (seen in the first four parables) and
after the inheritance has been redeemed and the bride has become Christ’s wife
(seen in the fifth and sixth parables).
The “net, that was cast into the
sea” (v. 47) is a
reference to God’s work among the Gentiles throughout the present dispensation. The “sea” refers
to the Gentiles, and the “net” cast into the sea,
drawing from the sea (cast out among the Gentiles, drawing from the Gentiles)
refers to God working among and removing from the Gentiles “a people
for His name” (Acts 15: 14).
After Israel had rejected the
proffered kingdom of the heavens, another nation, separate from Israel, was
called into existence to be the recipient of that which Israel had rejected (Matt. 21: 33-43; 1 Peter 2: 9-11). A nation, which was neither Jewish nor
Gentile, was called into existence to be accorded the opportunity to bring
forth fruit where
God set aside an entire
dispensation, lasting two days, 2,000 years, during which time He would remove from the
Gentiles “a people for his name,” though “a remnant according to the election of grace
[believing Jews]” was to be included as well (Rom. 11: 5). And,
according to the parable of the net,
the removal of these people had to do with the kingdom of the heavens.
This removal is likened to a net
which was cast out among the Gentile nations, and those removed from the
Gentiles via the net (becoming part of the new creation “in Christ”) are seen being removed for a
purpose. Their
removal has to do with the kingdom of the heavens. Their removal is with a view to their
occupying positions in the proffered kingdom, the
kingdom previously rejected by and taken from
Thus, the removal from the sea
itself is not the central subject of the parable. Rather, this information was
given in order to introduce the central subject - the purpose for their removal from
the sea.
All three of the parables which
Christ gave after He had re-entered the house drawn from previous events -
events occurring either before or during the present dispensation - but
these parables centre around events occurring after the dispensation has run its
course. These parables have to do centrally with events occurring at the very
end of the age, during and immediately following the time when God completes
His dealings with
Events in these parables occur
during the Tribulation and during the time immediately following Christ’s
return. In this respect, they occur during the last seven years of Man’s Day
and at the very first of the Lord’s Day, which immediately follows (during
Daniel’s unfulfilled Seventieth Week [9: 24-27] and during
the seventy-five, days immediately following, seen at the end of Daniel’s
prophecy [12: 11-13]).
Events in the last of the three
parables given back inside the house (parable of the net) chronologically
follow events in the preceding two parables (parables of the treasure and
pearl). As previously stated, events in all three of these closing parables are
seen in a chronology, of this nature. Each of these parables begins by
referring to events in past time. But the central subject of each parable is
not about these past events. Rather, the central subject of each parable rests
on these past events and has to do with future events, events occurring after the dispensation
has run its course.
All three of these parables have
to do with the kingdom of the heavens, and all three have to do with events which move toward the same
revealed goal - the end
of the age and the beginning of the next age, the
end of Man’s Day and the beginning of the Lord’s Day.
The Separation
Those removed from the sea during
the present dispensation (v. 47) are seen being dealt with at the end of
the age after a revealed fashion. They are seen being separated into two main
categories and then dealt with according to the category in which they bad
previously been placed (vv. 48ff).
Once those removed from the sea
via the net have been brought “to shore,” the
picture in the parable relates a separation of “the
good” from “the bad.” And
once separated, the good are gathered into vessels, but the bad are cast away (v. 48). Then
the next verse reveals how this will be accomplished - carried out by angels (v. 49).
Exactly the same picture was
presented earlier in this sequence of parables, at the end of the second
parable, the parable of the wheat and tares. There was a harvest, followed by a
separation of the wheat and the tares. The tares were bound in bundles to be
burned, but the wheat was gathered into the Master’s barn (v. 30).
And after the Lord had gone back
inside the house, prior to giving the last three parables, He gave the
explanation to that which had occurred at the close of the parable of the wheat
and fares, which would be the same as that occurring at the close of the three
parables which He was about to give:
“As
therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world [‘age’].
The Son of man shall
send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his
kingdom all things that offend, and them which
do iniquity” (Matt. 13: 40, 41).
The preceding two verses
parallel the two verses under discussion in the parable of the net (vv. 48, 49). These verses reveal a separation of “the wheat” from “the tares,” a separation of “the good” from “the bad.” And this separation will occur
at “the end of this age.”
(Events occurring at the end of the age, depicted in both the parable of
the wheat and tares and the parable of the
net, are the same. These two
parables simply present two different pictures of the same thing.
Note that the things depicted in
these two parables do not have to do with events at Christ’s judgment seat. The
things depicted in these parables have to do with subsequent events, occurring
at least seven years later, based on previous decisions and determinations
rendered at the judgment seat.)
1) Subject of the Parables
Bear in mind that the parables
in Matthew chapter thirteen - all seven of
them - have to do with the kingdom of the heavens. They have nothing to do with
salvation by grace through faith (though salvation, with respect to eternal
verities, would be alluded to several places in these parables [e.g., in the last parable through a
removal from the sea]).
Salvation by grace through faith
is simply not the central subject seen throughout these parables. And when
these parables deal with a separation (as seen in the second and seventh
parables), along with the results of this separation, everything stated must be
taken at face value and related to the subject at hand.
And whether or not this lines up
with man’s ideologies or his doctrinal statements in the realm of eschatology
(it usually doesn’t) is of no moment
whatsoever. An omniscient God, Who sees and knows the end as well as He sees
and knows the beginning, has spoken. He has established these parables,
structured them a certain way, and placed them in a particular order and place
in His Word. And that which God has established, along with the manner in which
He has established it, is the end of the matter.
In the closing parable, God
Himself has revealed to man the end of all that which had
been dealt with in the preceding six parables. There will first be a separation
of those taken from the sea. This separation will occur at the end of the age
(which will follow events surrounding the judgment seat and the subsequent
marriage festivities of the Lamb), it will be carried out by angels, and it
will occur in relation to entrance into or exclusion from the kingdom.
Thus, the subject of all seven
parables centers around the proffered kingdom of the heavens. This subject is given at the
beginning of each parable, something which cannot possibly be missed. And this
subject must be kept in
view throughout
these parables, else the parables cannot be properly understood.
2) Those Being Dealt with in the Parables
Those being dealt with throughout
the parables in Matthew chapter thirteen, as seen in
previous studies, are the saved alone. Scripture doesn’t deal with the
unsaved in relation to the message which pervades these parables - a message
pertaining to the kingdom of the heavens. The unsaved are always dealt with only in relation to
the message of salvation by grace through faith, never in relation to the
message of the kingdom. The message of the kingdom is for the saved
alone, something which
can be aptly illustrated from any of the seven parables.
But note the closing parable in
this respect. Those dealt with in this parable are seen being removed from the
sea via a net which had been cast out into the sea. That is, within the
symbolism used, the parable pictures individuals being removed from the
Gentiles; and their removal is for a revealed purpose - a purpose which, for part of them, would not be realized.
They were removed from the sea
strictly on the basis of their
having been in the net. And, once removed, they were no longer associated with
the sea. That would be to say, once removed, they were no longer associated
with the Gentiles.
Thus, their removal from the sea
is a metaphorical way of saying that they had been removed from the Gentiles.
And, if removed from the Gentiles, within the time-frame seen in the previous
six parables, there’s only one group with which they could possibly have then
been associated - the “one new
man” (Eph. 2: 15). They
had become part of the new creation “in
Christ” (2 Cor.
5: 17).
A person is either a Jew, a
Gentile, or a Christian. And any terminology which fails to clearly distinguish
between these three creations - e.g.,
“Jewish Christian,” “Gentile
Christian,” “professor” (as opposed to “possessor”) - emanates from man, not from the Scriptures. Scripture
sees the matter as completely black or white, never as a gray area lying
between any two of the three. A
person is either a new creation “in
Christ,” or he is not. And, if he is not, then he has to be either a Jew, or a Gentile.
The matter is that simple. And,
if this were understood, along with understanding that all of the parables in Matthew chapter thirteen are about the
kingdom of the heavens, there would be far less confusion when interpreting these parables.
(Though Scripture makes a clear
distinction between Jew, Gentile, and Christian, Scripture sometimes
refers to believing individuals removed from the Jews or the Gentiles through
reference to their national origin - “Jew” and “Gentile” Acts 28: 28; Rom. 1: 13, 16; 2: 9, 10; Gal. 1: 16; 2: 2; Eph. 3: 6, 8). This was something seen during the re-offer of
the kingdom to
But
Scripture never refers to such individuals as “Jewish
Christians” or “Gentile Christians,” for
Scripture never brings two of the three creations together in this manner. And when “Jew”
or “Gentile” is used after this fashion, the. context is always very clear that
those being referenced are individuals removed from the Jews or Gentiles per
se.
For additional information on
the preceding, refer to the author’s book, THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE, Chapter VI,
“Jew, Gentile, Christian.”)
And, in keeping with the
preceding, Scripture never pictures a mixture of saved and unsaved individuals
through the use, of a metaphor such as that seen in the parable of the net -
individuals removed from the sea, removed from the Gentiles. The picture
explains itself, if allowed to so do.
(A similar picture is presented
by the seven Churches in Rev. 2, 3.
Christians alone are being referenced and dealt with throughout the messages to
all seven Churches. Referring to a Church as comprised of the unsaved, or both
saved and unsaved individuals, would be an oxymoron.
The word “Church” is the translation of a Greek word which means
called
out [Greek, ekklesia, a compound word frorn
ek, “out”
and kelsis, “to call”]. Only the saved have been
called out; only the [eternally] saved
can comprise a Church.)
All in the net had been removed
from the sea, and all those who had been removed from the sea were no longer
associated with that which the sea represented. They were no longer associated
with the Gentiles. Rather, following their removal, they were associated with
an entirely separate and distinct creation - the new creation, “in
Christ.”
And their removal, along with
everything which followed, was with a view to the kingdom of the heavens. Eternal verities are not seen in
the matter at all. They can’t be seen. Such would be an impossibility. The
matter surrounding their eternal destiny was settled at the time they were
removed from the sea. And, had it not been settled, there could have been no
removal. They could only have remained in the sea.
The Furnace of Fire
Only one group of [saved]
individuals - though separated into two
classes - could possibly be in view through the use of the
expressions, “good” and “bad,” or “just” and “wicked” (vv. 48, 49). All had been removed from the
sea; all had been removed from the Gentiles. Thus, no room could
possibly exist for an inclusion of unsaved individuals in this parable.
By the very nature of the subject matter (the kingdom of the heavens) and those
being dealt with in this parable (those removed from the sea), only the [eternally] saved could possibly be in view.
And, viewing that to which this
parable refers, these saved individuals are seen being dealt with on the basis
of prior decisions and determinations - decisions and determinations having
previously been made at the Judgment Seat. And these decisions and
determinations, emanating from the [Lord’s] Judgment Seat, will have been based on prior
faithfulness - [or unfaithfulness] - to one’s calling (judgment will be on the
basis of “works,” - [after one’s initial
salvation] - but
the works being judged will have resulted from faithfulness, or unfaithfulness 2 Cor. 3: 12-15; cf. Heb.
11: 17-19, 31; James 2: 21-25]).
But
seeing the saved alone being
dealt with in this parable presents major problems for numerous Christians, for
some of those in the parable are cast into “the
furnace of fire.” And these same [regenerate] Christians, who would never consider
thinking along the lines of Christians being cast into such a place, are
invariably forced into an erroneous position, resulting in an erroneous
interpretation. They are forced into the position of seeing saved and unsaved
individuals (“good” and “bad”) being dealt with in the parable, along
with seeing these individuals being dealt with in relation to eternal life or
eternal damnation.
The preceding though is simply
not what Scripture has to say about the matter. Scripture is clear that the
parable deals with the saved alone, and these saved individuals are dealt
with in relation to the coming [millennial] kingdom. And the fact that those
described as “bad” and “wicked” are cast into “the furnace of fire” must be understood
within this framework. It must be understood within the framework of both those who are
being dealt with and that which is being dealt with
- [regenerate] Christians,
and the - [Messiah’s
coming millennial] - kingdom.
Thus, to deal with this parable
on the basis of eternal verities, with the unsaved being cast into the lake of
fire, is completely outside the scope of the subject matter seen in any of these seven
parables. Such a teaching derived from
these parables, is both textually and contextually wrong. Any thought of
dealing with any of these parables after this fashion, from a Scriptural
standpoint, could not even be open for discussion.
If the text is dealt with in a
literal sense, apart from metaphors only one possible conclusion can be reached. At the end of
the age a segment of the saved, a segment of [regenerate] Christians, are going to be cast into what
is called in this parable, “the furnace of fire.” And
that is exactly what Christ had previously stated within His explanation of the
parable of the wheat and tares:
“The Son
of man shall send forth his angels, and they
shall gather out of his
kingdom all things which offend, and them which do iniquity;
And shall cast them [i.e.,
the offensive and lawless ones, the tares in this parable, those doing the
works of Satan] into a [‘the’] furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth” (Matt. 13: 41, 42).
Or, note the same thing in the
parable of the net:
“So
shall it be at the end of the world [‘age’]:
the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
And shall cast them [the wicked] into
the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth” (vv. 49, 50).
So, exactly what is being dealt
with through these two references to “the
furnace of fire”? Should the expression be looked upon in a literal sense,
referring to an actual furnace of fire? Or, is this a continuation of the
metaphorical language seen earlier in the parables, describing something
related to but apart from a literal understanding of the reference?
When a person begins studying
related Scripture having to do with “Gehenna,”
“outer darkness [lit., ‘the outer darkness’]” and “the lake of fire” he will find exactly the same
teaching as seen in these two parables. That seen in Matt. 13: 42, 50 is not
something peculiar to the parable of the wheat and tares and the parable of the
net. Rather, it is merely part of the same teaching seen so many places
elsewhere in the New Testament (cf. John 15: 1-6; 2 Thess. 1: 5-10; Heb. 6: 7-9; 10: 26-31; Jude 20-23).
In this respect, note how
teachings concerning Gehenna, the outer darkness, and the lake of fire appear in Scripture.
1)
Gehenna, The outer Darkness
Gehenna is an Anglicized Greek word (Geenna in the Greek text) used twelve times in
the New Testament. The word appears eleven times in the three synoptic gospels
(Matt. 5: 22, 29, 30; 10: 28; 18: 9; 23: 15, 33; Mark 9: 43, 45, 47; Luke 12: 5) and
once in the Epistle of James (3: 6).
Christ alone used the word in
the gospel accounts. And He always used the word in contexts having to do with entrance
into, or exclusion from the kingdom of the heavens.
Then, in James, the word appears
in a text having to do with the tongue -“…it [the tongue] is set on fire of
hell [Gehenna’].” And though the word is used in a somewhat different sense in
James, it appears within a context having to do with the saving of the
soul and the coming [of the Messiah’s] kingdom (cf.
1: 12, 21; 2: 5, 14-26; 5: 7, 8, 19, 20).
Gehenna (Geenna) is the Greek word for Hinnom from the
Hebrew text of the Old Testament. Hinnom was the name given to a valley south
of Jerusalem during Joshua’s day, named for the son of a person whose name was
“Hinnom” (Joshua 15: 8; 18: 16). And, though this valley was
used at times as a place where human sacrifices were offered during Old
Testament days (2 Kings 23: 10; Jer. 7: 31), the valley was no more thin the place
where the refuse from
(The
word, Hinnom, has simply been
transliterated in the English text of the Old Testament; but the same thing has
not been done with Gehenna [Geenna] has been
translated “hell” each of the twelve times that it appears in the New
Testament, resulting in confusion)
Thus, Gehenna, at the time Christ and James
used the word, simply the name of the place where those in
In this respect, Christ was
doing no more than referencing a place where the refuse from the city of
Remaining within the gospel
accounts, being cast into Gehenna always carries an identical association and meaning.
Textually, in the gospels, being cast into Gehenna is always associated with separation from regality within Christ’s
kingdom. It
matters not which of the eleven references a person checks, he will find
exactly the same thing each time. Gehenna is never used in the gospel accounts in a
context dealing with the unsaved and eternal verities. Rather, the word always
appears in texts set within contexts having to do solely with the
saved in relation to the coming kingdom.
And “outer darkness” is used exactly the same way in
the three instances in which the expression appears, all in Matthew’s gospel (8: 12; 22: 13; 25: 30). The
use of outer darkness is simply another way in which the Lord dealt with the
same issue among the same group of people (the Jewish people, in relation to
the proffered kingdom).
Viewing the matter from one
perspective, those denied positions with Christ in His [millennial] kingdom
will find themselves in the place where, the refuse from the city was
discarded, outside the city. Viewing
the matter from the other perspective, those denied positions with Christ in
His [millennial] kingdom
will find themselves in a place
separated from the One Who said, “I am the light of the world” (John
8: 12). With respect to
occupying a position with Christ in His [promised
(Ps. 2: 8)]
kingdom, they will find themselves in a place outside, a
place associated with darkness instead of light - the darkness outside.
The use of Gehenna and outer darkness (the outer darkness) are simply
two metaphorical ways which Christ used to call attention to the same thing.
(These
expressions - Gehenna, the outer darkness - were used in
the gospel accounts during and immediately following that time when the kingdom
of the heavens was offered to
These
expressions are used in Scripture relative to the recipients of the proffered
kingdom [the kingdom of the heavens], whether
2) The
The description of “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone” in Rev. 21: 8 is another way in which Scripture deals
with the same thing again. “The lake of fire” in this
passage is described as not only the place where unsaved man from the previous
chapter (vv. 11-15) will spend eternity but also the place
where Christians who do not overcome (the world, the flesh, and the Devil)
during the present dispensation will find themselves during the coming
dispensation. And this, of course, would be the same as Christians being cast
into “the furnace of fire” in Matt. 13: 42, 50.
The same thing is seen in the
second of the seven overcomer’s promises in Revelation
chapters two and three. These two chapters record seven short epistles to seven
Churches, and there is an overcomer’s promise at the end of each epistle. “To him that overcometh...” “He
that overcometh...” (2: 7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3: 5, 12, 21).
These
epistles are addressed to saved individuals (those in a position to
overcome); and the Lord has set rewards, compensations, prizes before these
individuals as an incentive, encouragement for
them to run the present race of the faith in a manner which will allow them to
overcome rather than being overcome.
And each of the overcomer’s
promises is millennial in its
scope of fulfilment. That in view through overcoming, or not overcoming - as
the case may be - will be realized during the 1,000-year Messianic Era alone.
The fact that these are
millennial in their scope of fulfilment can be illustrated quite easily. Note
the promises to two of the seven Churches in Rev. 2: 26, 27; 3: 21. No such scene as presented in
these verses will exist beyond the Millennium.
Christ and His co-heirs, beyond
the Millennium, will no longer rule over the nations, as this rule is pictured
in Rev. 2: 26, 27.
Rather, the Gentiles comprising these nations will be brought into positions of
rulership themselves, with Christ and His co-heirs, as this rule extends beyond
the earth, out into the universe (Rev. 22: 2, 5). And the Son, beyond the Millennium, will
no longer sit on His Own throne, as seen in Rev. 3: 21. Rather,
He will sit on “the throne of God and of the Lamb,” from
whence universal rule will emanate (Rev. 22: 1, 3, 5).
It is the overcomer’s promise to
the Church in
Scripture deals with millennial
rewards and / or loss, never
with eternal rewards and /or loss. This should be easy enough for anyone to
understand, for if rewards are eternal, so is loss of rewards. And loss of
rewards involves an association with death (Rom. 8: 13), something which Scripture
clearly, reveals will be done away with at the beginning of the eternal ages
beyond the Millennium (1 Cor. 15: 26; Rev. 21: 4).
The overcomer’s promise to those
Christians comprising the Church in
“He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not
be hurt of the second death” (2: 11; cf. Rev.
20: 6).
There is a clear implication in
this promise that those who do not overcome will be hurt of the second death. And any
attempt to take this promise and make it mean something other than what it
clearly states serves only to destroy the promise, something which the Lord
sounded a solemn warning against (Rev. 22: 18, 19). The promise that those who do
overcome will not “be hurt of the second death” would
be meaningless unless this promise is taken at face value and allowed to mean exactly
what it says, clearly,
implying that those who do not overcome will “be
hurt of the second death.”
“The
second death” in the Book of Revelation is
associated with the lake of fire (Rev. 21: 8), And those who do not overcome (v. 7) are going to have their part in
this lake of fire (v. 8). That
is, they will be hurt of the second death by having a part in the lake of fire.
But exactly what is meant by a
saved person being hurt of the second death and having a part in the lake of
fire in Rev. 21:
8?
Revelation chapter
twenty-one moves beyond the Millennium into the eternal ages, and the first six
verses provide the complete story concerning conditions as these ages begin.
Note the words, “It is done,” in the
first part of verse six. This is the translation of a verb in the perfect tense
in the Greek text, indicating that the matter has been brought to completion
and presently exists in that finished state.
Then, beginning with the latter
part of verse six and continuing through verse eight, overcoming and /or being
overcome are again, for the last time, dealt with in this book. And this takes
a person back to the same place seen in chapters two and three.
Then, the remainder of the book
is simply a commentary for the eight verses which open and begin this section.
First, a commentary is provided for the first part of this opening section. Revelation 21: 9-22: 5 forms a commentary for this part of the
section (21: 1-6a), which has to do with conditions beyond the
Millennium. Note how this commentary, in chapter twenty-two closes: “...and they shall reign forever and ever
[throughout the endless ages]” (v. 5).
Then, the remainder of chapter
twenty-two (vv. 6ff) forms
a commentary for the second part of this opening section, which has to do with
conditions before and during the Millennium (21:
6b-8).
And this will explain why, outside
the gates of
To distinguish between
millennial and eternal conditions in this respect, note that those outside
the gates during
the eternal ages will be the Gentile nations, as the New Jerusalem rests on the
new earth (21: 24-27); but those outside the gates during the preceding Messianic
Era, with the New Jerusalem in the heavens above the earth, will be the
non-overcomers (22: 14, 15). And
the place which they will occupy is described at least four other ways in
Scripture - through the use of Gehenna, the
outer darkness, the furnace of fire, and the lake of fire.
The picture surrounding an
association between Gehenna and the lake of fire appears unmistakable. As Gehenna was the place of refuse for the
earthly city, of
(Why does Scripture associate
non-overcoming Christians with the lake of fire in relation to Christ’s
millennial reign, in this manner? The answer would be the same as the reason
why, Scripture associates the unsaved with the lake of fire throughout the
endless ages of eternity, following the Millennium.
The lake
of fire was not prepared for man. Rather, it was prepared “for the Devil and his angels” [Matt. 25: 41]. It was prepared for those who had rejected
God’s supreme power and authority, as Satan sought to acquire power and
authority, above that which had been delegated [Isa. 14: 13,14]. Thus,
in this respect, the lake of fire is
connected with regality.
And man, created to replace
Satan and his angels, finds his connection with the lake of fire on exactly the
same basis. Saved man, ignoring the very reason for his salvation [which is
regal],
will find himself associated with the lake of fire during the Millennium [an
association connected with all that the lake of fire implies]. And unsaved
man, ignoring salvation and the reason for man’s creation [which,
again, is regal], will find
himself associated with the lake of fire throughout the endless ages following
the Millennium [an association connected with all that the lake of fire
implies].)
But, relative to Christians and
the coming [millennial]
Note how Scripture uses
metaphors to deal with this same thing elsewhere.
In John 15: 6 and Heb. 6: 8, saved individuals are spoken of in a metaphorical sense,
where a burning with fire, is referenced.
And the context both places has to do with either bearing fruit or not bearing
fruit, which is exactly the same thing seen in the Matthew thirteen parables. Or, as the matter is expressed in Revelation chapters two and three, either
overcoming or being overcome.
And the negative side of the
matter is expressed at least two other ways in Scripture - being cast into Gehenna (a reference to the place of
refuse outside the city walls of Jerusalem at this time; Matt. 5: 22, 29, 30; 23: 15, 33) or
being cast into outer darkness (Matt. 8: 12; 22-13; 25: 30).
Overcoming or not overcoming and
being unhurt or being hurt of the second death in Rev. 2: 11 is expressed a
slightly different way in Rom. 8: 13:
“For if
ye [a reference to ‘brethren’ in v. 12] live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [put to death] the deeds of the
body, ye shall live.”
Whether Gehenna
or outer darkness in Matthew, a burning with fire in John and Hebrews,
being cast into a
furnace, or lake of fire in Matthew, and Revelation, or suffering death or being hurt of
the second death in Romans
and Revelation, different facets of exactly
the same thing are in view. All of these are used in contexts showing that they
have to do with saved people in relation to fruit bearing
and the kingdom.
Through comparing Scripture with
Scripture, it is plain that these are simply different ways of expressing the same
thing. And
since a literal casting into outer darkness, Gehenna, or a furnace or lake of
fire could not possibly be in view (for these different places could not
possibly be looked upon as referring to the same place in a literal sense), it
is evident that metaphors are
being used throughout.
But relative to the unsaved and
the lake of fire, this is simply not expressed other ways in Scripture as it is
with the saved, leaving no room for any thought other than understanding the
matter as literal not
metaphorical.
Aside from the preceding, it is
clear that all Christians, faithful and
unfaithful alike, will be in the [eternal]
kingdom.* This is seen in type in Genesis chapters eighteen and nineteen. Both
Abraham and
[* See Rev. 22: 1; cf. 2 Pet.
3: 10-13, R.V.)]
The Kingdom
For the overcomers though -
something not really dealt with in the parable of the net, though dealt with in
the previous explanation to the parable of the wheat and tares (v. 43) -
conditions during the Millennium will be entirely different. The promise to the
overcomers is that they will not be hurt of the second death, they
will be allowed to ascend - [after the time of their
Resurrection out from amongst the dead (Rev. 20: 4, 5; cf. Rev. 6: 9-11; Phil. 3: 11; Heb. 11: 35, R.V.)] - the throne with Christ, and
they will rule as co-heirs with Christ over the nations (Rev. 2: 11, 26-28; 3: 21),
Christ and His co-heirs (who
will form His wife, His
consort queen) will rule over the redeemed inheritance, and this rule will last
for l, 000 years. It will last until Christ and His co-heirs have put down “all rule and all authority and power.” It will
last until all enemies (which
includes death) have been put “under his feet” (1 Cor 15: 24-28).
It is at this time that Matt. 13: 43 will be fulfilled:
“Then
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Who hath ears to hear, let
him hear.”
* * *
* * *
*
AND MORE
…
[1]
AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE
T0 THE HEBREWS
By ROBERT
GOVETT, M.A.
HEBREWS 4: 6, 8, 9.
OR
GOD’S PROMISED REST DURING
“THE THOUSAND YEARS” (Rev. 20: 1-6.)
-------
Heb. 4: 6: “Since therefore it
remaineth that some should enter therein, and those
to whom the good news were first proclaimed entered not in because of
disobedience, He a second time defineth a day - saying by David - ‘To-day’
- after so long
a time, as has been before said - ‘To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your
hearts.’”
The rest of God, offered
to
The principle here is the same
as in the parables of the Great Supper, and the Wedding Garment. Those first
invited would not come to the King’s feast. “Go ye
therefore into the highways, and as many as ye
shall find, bid to the marriage” (Matt. 22: 8, 9). The
first invited were rejected through their disobedience; those who enter shall enter as the obedient men of faith.
God has now announced another
day of invitation “into the kingdom of the Christ and
God.” “His
rest shall be glory” (Isa.
11: 10). God
will see to it, that His Son shall have companions in His millennial kingdom.
He defines this period of the call as, “To-day”. To impress the present force of
the invitation, the time is named “TO-DAY.” And to
attract to it the more attention, and to show its present force, the word ‘TO-DAY’ is repeated,
after some words of introduction have been thrown in.
David is the writer, so long
after Moses and Joshua. David, though seated in the land of promise, and on the
throne of Jehovah’s kingdom over
“He
defineth a day.” The “day” of the
wilderness was “forty years”. This
new day has been greatly prolonged since David’s time; yet it shall have an
end. It is the day of God’s testing His [redeemed] people, whether they will
believe His testimony to the coming glory and obey Him, as the way to enter it. ‘Hear His
voice, and you shall enter.’ ‘Harden your
heart, and you shall be shut out.'
A period is now near, when the
day of grace and invitation shall close. It is called “the end of the age”. It is to be a day of
visitation of vengeance, and of judgment, cutting off the foes of God and His
Christ (Rom. 9: 28). If the
day of patience in the wilderness ended so sadly, this of the world’s sorer
trial will end worse still.
It is still “to-day”. It is
God’s part to define the “times and seasons”, and to
close them when He wills. Be it ours to labour on for God, looking for His
glory as our reward. The six thousand years of redemption-work are still
running on. ’Tis the day of good news, of mercy still, and the throne of grace.
For the believer the world is still the desert; and the fight with the
spiritual rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6.) still goes on.
David’s days, and Solomon’s,
though they brought the glory of the kingdom, and rest from foes in the land of promise, were
still not “the rest of God”. God
could not rest even in David; much less in Solomon, who turned to idolatry. Nor
did
Verse 8. “For if Joshua had given them rest, He [God] would not have spoken
of another day after these things.”
These words set aside an
objection of great plausibility against the argument. For it might be said by
Now this is partly true.
Joshua’s partial clearing of the land by the sword, and settling the children
of
But of
“If
Joshua had given them rest, he would not have
spoken of another day after these things.”
Joshua’s was an attempt, under
God’s hand, to see if there could be rest for (1) the fallen flesh under its best form, (2) in the old and blighted creation. But it could not be. “The Lord
gave them rest
round about according to all that He sware unto their fathers” (Josh.
21: 44). But
while they rejoiced. in the gifts of Jehovah, they did
not rejoice and rest in Jehovah. Much less could Jehovah rest in them. And here is the turning-point of
the matter, for the coming rest is God’s rest.
‘If, [argues Paul], as
you pleaded, both God’s call and His rest are long past, there would be
no new day of invitation to the
rest, or of warning against loss
of it, as now.’ But God is still “inviting
us to His own kingdom and glory” (1
Thess. 2: 12).
“Seek first the
“He would not have spoken of another day.” That
is, of another day of good news; of the listening to God’s invitation and
obeying it - in order that you may enter the joy of God’s rest. The days, both
of redemption-labour, and of redemption-rest are “limited” (Greek). The eternal day
comes after the seventh-day rest of millennial glory.
Verse 9. “There remaineth therefore the keeping of a sabbath-day’s rest
for the people of God.”
Thus we have reached the close
of the argument which began with the first verse of this chapter. The objection
was - that both the time of God’s call, and of His rest, had long ago been
completed, It was admitted by Paul that this was true of the works of creation.
But the ninety-fifth
psalm had spoken of a future rest of God, and had called all who heard the invitation to
seek that coming day of glory. To this it has been objected, that the rest of
God had been enjoyed by the tribes of
The Apostle here changes the
word for “rest”. He now
uses the uncommon word “sabbatism”. Why? On purpose to knit his
present argument with what is testified of God’s creation-rest in Genesis 2.
and with the feasts of the Law.
The
coming day of sabbath-keeping is a special form of rest, of which God hath from
the first given the type. Thus Moses is again constituted a witness to us, in
this Epistle.
The
coming rest is to be:-
1. A sabbath day of “holy
convocation”. The ransomed of the Lord shall
assemble, His approved ones of past generations. They shall come
together to keep the feast of resurrection. There shall no “servile work” then be done by
these anointed priests and kings. The Christ, the Creator, the better Joshua,
the Redeemer, shall institute the feast, shall bless and hallow it: it shall be
a time of rest after
toil; when disturbers shall be imprisoned - [in ‘Sheol’ / Gk. ‘Hades’ until the “books
were opened: and another book was opened,
which is the book
of life: and the dead were judged out of the
things which were written in the books, according
to their works … and death and Hades gave up the
dead which were in them” (Rev. 20: 11, 12, R.V. cf. 2
Tim. 2: 18ff.)] - and earth and heaven rest.
2. It shall be “the seventh day”, the “great
day” of God’s appointing; and upon the same scale of length as the
six previous redemption-days.
3. it shall be the day of God’s complacency in His Works, both of creation
and of redemption. For after the work was complete we read: “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1: 31). “In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested
and was refreshed” (Exod.
31: 17).
-------
RAPTURE
A friend
writes us:- “How well I remember dear Samuel H.
Wilkinson’s remark at Lansdowne Hall. He explained, with an honesty which is a
marked feature of his make-up, how during his father’s days he had not accepted
Selective Rapture teaching, and felt rather proud of himself that he was not
numbered amongst them. But now he had come to accept these views, and he felt
ashamed of his previous sneaking pride! Then he said something like this:
‘Whichever view is correct, I want to set my life in such a way that I shall be
ready when He comes.’ Any opposition to
doctrine because it is unpleasing to the flesh, is a most dangerous thing.”
* * *
[2]
THE SOLRIER, THE WRESTLER,
THE HUSBANDMAN.
By R.
GOVETT, M. A.
Timothy was called by
Christ to be his soldier. He needed then to
be courageous. He was to expect hardships, and was to endure them with patience, as a good soldier. He was the herald
of a coming King in the presence of those who owned Caesar alone, and were the
foes of Jesus. It was virtually a proclamation of war with Satan. And in war the soldier expects hardships.
He is exposed to the changes of the seasons, to heat, and cold, to rain and
storms. He experiences by turns hunger and thirst, fatigue, and want of rest.
Now he lies on the earth drenched with rain; now a night-alarm breaks his
sleep. The good soldier does not murmur at these trials; but makes light of
them. He does not flinch: does not desert.
But there is another aspect of
the soldier’s life.
War demands the whole man: not
his body merely, but his heart, his time, his powers. The soldier would not,
when about to start on a campaign, engage in a lawsuit, or open a shop, or
treat about the purchase of house or land; or begin to build himself a mansion.
Not that these things are unlawful in themselves; but only felt to be
unsuitable to one going to the field. Such things betoken one desirous of
settling: the other mode of life is one who knows no rest. The soldier’s
dwelling is the tent; soon pitched, soon struck. Herein behold an
illustration of that principle in the Parable of the Sower, that the cares of this life and seeking riches choke the good seed,
and cause it to bring no fruit to
perfection: Luke
8: 14.
“None going on a
campaign entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please
him who chose him to be a soldier.”
Thus the Christian’s life is one
of war. It is a life spent while Satan is at large, and full of desire to
destroy the saints of God. It hates the spirit and doctrine, and the life of
the - [obedient, repentant, and faithful] - Christian. But Christ has called him out of the
world and his previous pursuits, to be His soldier. And the scene in which
we find ourselves - [today, amongst so much apostasy within the Church] - is best fitted to exercise the
spiritual soldier. The greatest
general of modem times said - ‘Poverty, privations,
misery are the school for good soldiers!’
What is to sustain Christians,
then, in the perils, wounds and hardships of “the
evil day?” What upholds the
soldier of this world in his trials and privations? The desire of the favour of
his general. The expectation of his rewarding such ‘soldier-like
conduct.’ So the expected praise of Christ is to sustain the Christian.
When the war is over, our Captain and King will remember His faithful and
gallant warriors. He will account them worthy of - [an ‘inheritance’ in] - His Kingdom, on behalf of which they combat: 2 Thess.
1: 5. The
successful generals of Napoleon became dukes or kings. Death on the field of
this world indeed cuts off the soldier’s hopes. But it is not so in our
warfare. Life lost in Christ’s battle, is to be restored: to be
enjoyed in glory and honour during the thousand years of the
Courage, then, is necessary to
enter the [Messiah’s] kingdom. Those who desert the battle will
not be owned of Christ; and if not owned, cannot enter the kingdom of reward.
Those who confess Christ will be confessed: Matt. 10: 32, 33; 16: 25-27. Thus
Paul has been exhibiting two of the classes named in Jesus’ parable of the
Sower. Pressure from the fourth Gentile kingdom was now being exerted against
the soldiers of Christ, and many were giving way. The Asiatic Christians were
ashamed of Paul; the Roman Christians would not stand by his side in the day of
peril. They had heard “the word of the kingdom” and delighted in it at first;
but now that “tribulation and persecution had arisen because
of the word,” they were at
once stumbled: Matt. 13: 19-21.
THE WRESTLER
“Now even if a man wrestle, yet he is not
crowned, except he wrestle according to the laws of the games.”
There was no prize in the games, were
there was no contest, or where there
was no previous training. And the training was of long continuance
and severe. The rules of preparation regarded diet, exercise, anointing,
wrestling, running and so on. There were officers whose commands were to be
obeyed. The whole man was to be engaged in pursuit of the prize. But even if in
the day of the contest, he flung all opponents, he would not be crowned, if
disobedience to the laws of the games could be proved against him.
Now Christ is our Director and
His commands are to be obeyed. He is “the Righteous
Judge,” who in the day to come shall distribute the crowns [only] to the successful wrestlers.
But, then, the wrestlers must
have owned Him their Lord by their
obedience, or else there would be to them no prize. For Satan has his
wrestlers also; men of self-denial, equal, nay superior, to that of many
Christians. The Encratitae, a branch of the Gnostics, abstained from animal
food, marriage and wine. Some could give up wealth, some lacerate the flesh.
Now must these be crowned as men of self-denial and sturdy wrestlers - in the
coming day? No: for while we grant that they displayed this energy, they did
not own Christ as their Lord; did not believe in Him, or obey Him. As not
wrestling then according to the laws of the games, they would receive no crown.
So with monkish self-denial. The
codes of many of the orders of
“Not
every one (even) that saith unto me Lord,
Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matt.
7: 21.
Then this sentiment will exclude
even many Christians from the prize. The
gift of God
is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. The prize of God is the enjoyment of the
millennial kingdom. If there is no
faith in that, no
striving for that, there will be no entry into it: Luke
18: 17.
So Paul warns us.
He tells us, that he used self-denial lest he should be
adjudged at last unworthy to obtain this glory. 1 Cor. 9: 10.
He assures us, that he desired death itself for Christ’s sake, if he might but attain
to this, the first and blest
resurrection. Phil. 3. But at
last, in this his final epistle, he feels confident of the crown - He has
fought the fight as the good soldier; he has run the race according to the rules
of the Great Judge; the kingdom and the crown are his.
The [regenerate]
Christian, then, is taught of God to covet the honour of
the coming kingdom; and is shown how
to attain* it. The Christian should be ambitious of [the coming] glory, if only he be ambitious of that which comes from God,
and His Christ: Luke 14: 10,
14;
[* NOTE: The
word ‘attain’ is defined as: “to gain by effort.” It’s astonishing to
discover how many regenerate Christians are being deceived today by false
teachers, who assume and imply (i.e.,
‘suggest in a subtle or indirect way’) that the
‘the prize’ (1 Cor. 24ff, R.V.) and “the free
gift of God” (Rom. 6: 23, R.V.)
are synonymous!]
THE HUSBANDMAN
“The labouring husbandman must be the first to
partake of the fruits.”
There is some difficulty in
regard to the sense of the simple words of this verse. Three main
significations are given to it; according as we connect the word ‘first’ with ‘labour’
or with ‘partake.’ Some read it thus:-
1. ‘The husbandman must first
labour, before he partakes of the fruits.’
This is true; but is not the
translation recommended by the order of the Greek. The participle, too, would
not naturally be, as now it is, in the present; but in the aorist. The next
view is:-
2. ‘The husbandman must first
partake of the fruit before
he can labour.’
This is an inversion of the
previous statement. But it is still less in accordance with the order of the
Greek. ‘The fruits’ must mean those which are the result of his labour. The reference
is not to the sustenance by grace in the present day, but to reward in the one to come. The following, then, is the true
sense:-
3. ‘The labouring husbandman must be
the first to partake of the fruit.’ This is perhaps the sense which our
translators designed. It adheres to the order of the Greek. It gives its true
stress to the qualifying word “labouring.” Not
every husbandman has this title. The slothful shall beg in harvest and have
nothing: Prov. 20: 4. The
sheaves gathered in by the diligent are the fruit of his toil. In that day [of
reward], then, when justice rules,
the diligent ought to be the first to
partake. In the day to come, according to the promise of our Lord, “reward” or “wages”
shall be given to both the sowers and the reapers in
His field. In His great harvest-home they shall rejoice together. John 4: 36, 38. Diligence in
service that is, admits to the millennial kingdom. When the seventh trump sounds, the
time is come to give “the reward to thy
servants the prophets, and to the saints:”
Rev. 11: 18. “Each shall receive his
own reward according to his own labour:” 1 Cor. 3: 8, 14; 2 John 8; Rev. 22: 12.
Life, then, is regarded as the
time of labouring for Christ as the Master of the field. And herein is given by the apostle encouragement to Timothy, and
to all other workers for Christ. Labour in the flesh may fail of its reward. One sows
and dies; another steps in and reaps. But labour in the Lord shall not fail; the Great Master
of the harvest to come remembers His - [obedient and faithful] - labourers,
and will recall the sleepers from
- [‘Sheol’ / ‘Hades’ (Psa.
16:
10;
139:
8b;
cf.
Acts 2;
34;
Lk. 16: 23, 30, 31, R.V.) and] - the tomb to take
part in His joy; as we see in the
parables of the Talents and Pounds.
But there too we see, that it is only the diligent servants who receive reward, and enter on the joy and the kingdom. The slothful servant is shut out of the banquet; and can but lament, in the darkness outside, his sin and folly.
Thus the verse is connected with
that which follows. For some denied this
special resurrection and reward; and so took away the stimulus to exertion
which was thereby furnished, both to the apostle and to [regenerate] Christians
generally.
Timothy was to ponder these
three brief parables; as therein much of truth, warning, encouragement was
concealed. Many, satisfied with the first glance, have mistaken their meaning.
The general sense is, that reward in the
[millennial] kingdom to come is an incitement to present suffering, self-denial, obedience and diligence. Probably one of the reasons why the
apostle does not name the kingdom more frequently was, because his letters were
most likely overlooked; and knowing the jealousy of the Emperor and his
satellites upon this very point, he used prudence. But the Holy Ghost
would reveal the meaning, to Timothy and to us.
* * *
[3]
THE LORD’S SUPPER
AND THE KINGDOM
By F.
E.MARSH
As Christ handed the cup
to His disciples at the institution of the Lord’s Supper, He said: “This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many
for the remission of sins; but I say unto you,
I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine,
until that day when I drink it new with you in My
Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26: 28, 29). The two phrases, “This is My blood” and “This fruit of the vine” take us back to the Cross and on to the kingdom.
The first is a metaphor which signifies one thing represented or embodied in
another, so that “My blood” stands
for His atoning death. The words, “This
fruit of the vine,” come under the figure of speech “periphrasis,” which means a description is given of a
thing instead of naming it. So the “Fruit
of the vine” and “My blood” stand
for the death of Christ and the outcome. As a
bunch of grapes has to be cut off the vine, and the grapes crushed to obtain
the wine, so Christ had to be cut off in death, and crushed in the winepress of
God’s wrath before there could be any benefit to us. That blood was “shed
(poured out) for many.” The “for” (“peri”)
signifies action towards an object. and means “concerning
the many,” that is, He was acting for them, and the end He had in view
was “for the remission of sins.” The
other “for” is “eis,” and
embodies intention, and the intention is expressed, it was unto “remission of sins.” And remission signifies not
only the cancelling of guilt, but the removing of the sins which brought the guilt.
Will the Lord’s Supper be in or
after the Millennium? Christ points on to the time, in His Father’s
kingdom, when He will again observe the Supper which He had inaugurated, for as
Alford says: “These words carry on the meaning and continuance of this
sacrificial ordinance, even into the new heavens and the new earth.”
Alford also gives a quotation from Thiersch: “The Lord’s Supper points
not only to the past, but to the future also. It has not
only a commemorative, but a prophetic
meaning. In it we have not only to show forth the Lord’s death until He come, but we have also to think of the time when He shall come to celebrate His
Holy Supper with His own, new, in His kingdom of glory. Every celebration of the
Supper is a foretaste and prophetic anticipation of the great marriage supper
which is prepared for the Church at the
second appearing of Christ. This import of the sacrament is declared in the
words of the Lord: ‘I will not
drink henceforth the fruit of the vine until I drink it new in My Father’s
kingdom.’”
“We
therefore see that the Lord’s Supper not only shows forth His death until He
comes, but when He has come we shall still proclaim that death to which we owe
everything, even as in the Millennium there will be commemorative sacrifices to point
back to that death of deaths, that sacrifice of sacrifices, and that only atonement
for sin.”.
[4]
THE CROSS AND THE CROWN
By THOMAS a
KEMPIS
Christ has many lovers
of His Kingdom, but few carriers his
cross.
Many crowd the Saviour’s Kingdom,
Few receive His Cross;
Many seek His consolations,
Few will suffer loss,
For the
dear sake of the Master
Counting
all but dross.
Many sit at Jesus’ table,
Few will fast with Him
When the
sorrow-cup of anguish
Trembles
to the brim:
Few watch with Him in the garden
Who have
sung the hymn.
Many will confess His wisdom,
Few embrace His shame;
Many, while He smiles upon them,
Loud His
praise proclaim -
Then if
for a while He tries them
They
desert His Name.
But the
souls who love supremely,
Let woe
come or bliss,
These
will count their dearest heart’s blood
Not
their own, but His:
Saviour, Thou Who thus hast loved me,
Give me love like this.
* * *
[5]
THE TEN VIRGINS
OF MATTHEW 25:1-13
With the time rapidly
approaching for the fulfilment of this parable, it calls for more than a casual
reading or superficial interpretation.
The time when this parable will
have its fulfilment is at the resurrection and rapture of the Saints, called
the Overcomers and First-fruits, Rev. 3: [10], 21; 12: 5; 14: 1-5.
The lesson of the parable is
Watchfulness. It has enabled the Overcomers all through the centuries to keep
awake, while others slumbered and slept. It reveals the fact that only those regenerate believers who are spiritually awake will constitute
the Bride of Christ.
The generally accepted
interpretation, which makes the Wise Virgins the Bride of Christ, (Rev. 19:
7-9), and the Foolish Virgins the unregenerate, is not warranted in the light
of prophetic scripture concerning the Second Advent. It is too superficial,
requires no watchfulness, and nullifies the intention of the parable.
The Bride of Christ clearly differs from the foolish virgins in
the fact that she is spiritually awake, and “has made
herself ready” (19: 7), while
the latter are fast sleep, dreaming that all is secure on bare faith alone. The
Bride “lives
in a ‘running over’ experience all the day and all the way”; whereas the
Foolish Virgins have only sufficient oil for themselves, at the time when the
Bridegroom comes. Those who constitute the Bride
are as much awake at the time of her rapture as were Enoch and Elijah at their
rapture, Gen. 5: 25; 2 Kings: 2, 11.
The rapture of the Bride Company is the cause of
the midnight-cry: “Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!” Search will be made all
over the world for those whom Christ has rapt into heaven before the
Great Tribulation commences, (Rev. 3: 10); even
as the sons of the prophets searched for Elijah. When it is finally realised
that, in every case, the missing
individuals were those known to be wholly devoted and obedient to Christ and
His cause, the whole of Christendom
will awake to the fact that the Bride has been taken out of the mystical body of Christ, the Church, while that Body was spiritually asleep. Matt. 25: 5; Gen. 2: 21-22; Rev. 12: 5. A
First-fruits unto God and the Lamb,
Rev. 14: 1-5. An
Overcoming Company of Saints who shall reign with Him, Rev. 12: 5. A Bride
ready for her Beloved.
The Wise Virgins differ from the Foolish Virgins in that they “took oil in their jars along
with their lamps” (verse 4). That
is, they continually asked for more oil in order to keep their lamps alight during the dark days ahead, (2 Pet. 1: 19). The
Foolish Virgins are not wise enough to fully understand and obey
the word of their Lord to keep awake and make themselves ready, Matt. 24: 42; 25: 13; Mark 13: 35; Luke 21: 34-36; Rev. 19: 7. The
wisdom of the Wise Virgins only appears when compared with the Foolish Virgins,
whose lamps were going out, and who had no oil to replenish them.
After the Wise Virgins are
caught up - [alive and changed from mortality to
immortality]
- into heaven - [at a Pre-tribulation and select
rapture] - the Foolish Virgins will probably spend
time on their knees. For then it will be an anxious and heart-searching time.
They will know they have missed God’s best, and will have to endure the Great
Tribulation. Will they be present at
the Marriage of the Lamb?
The parable indicates that they
“who are still alive and are left ... will be
caught up” after the
departure of the Bride, (1 Thess. 4: 15, 17, R.V.). “In
embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her and are brought to you. They are led
in with joy and gladness; and they enter the
palace of the king,” (Psa.
45: 14-15).
If the reader disagrees, and
still maintains that these Foolish
Virgins represent the Bride, and
that all the
regenerate are part of that company, then logically he must also agree to go to sleep, and so be found when
the Bridegroom returns to establish His kingdom, for “they all became drowsy and fell asleep.” Matt.
25: 5.
The truth is they should not have been asleep. They should have
known and understood the prophetic word, and should have made
themselves ready; cleansed, sanctified, filled with the
Holy Spirit, fulfilling the purpose
of God, and thus found dressed in
“Fine Linen”
the Bridal attire: Rev.
19:
8.
The Foolish Virgins cannot be
classed as unregenerate; they are typified by the mixed multitude of
redeemed saints who left
The writer only desires to draw
your attention to the actual difference which exists for the unregenerate, nominal
Christians, who differ profoundly
from the Foolish Virgins. The latter have been “Born
Again” and have known real fellowship with Christ and His people, but they have grown careless and presumptuous and Laodicean in
character: “Neither hot nor
cold” (Rev. 3:
16). Then there are those who are commonly known as ‘Backsliders’' That is, those whose lamps are going
out. Then, within the same [redeemed] family, there are others known
as ‘apostates.’ They have divorced themselves
from Christ by their behaviour, false teachings and disbelief in Christ’s
coming kingdom. Apostates are determined to discredit those who are teaching
the whole truth; and are described as those who “love to be first ... gossiping
maliciously:” (3 John 10). Once they were possessed of
Grace, Salt and Oil - but now destitute of all, they seek only to silence God’s faithful witnesses. Num. 14:
10; Jude 5.*
[* NOTE: There
is a clear distinction made throughout the Holy Scriptures, between
Christians known as ‘backsliders,’
from Christians described as ‘apostates’!
Those who are ‘backsliders’ - when ‘repentance’ is given (Acts 5: 31; cf.
Acts 26: 20)
- will
be restored to fellowship with their Lord and Saviour. But, on the
other hand, those Christians who become ‘apostates,’
are those who were given a mature knowledge (Lit. ‘knowledge
upon knowledge’) of God and His unfulfilled prophecies.
At some time later in life, the
‘apostates’ (usually under severe trial and
persecution for their beliefs) stood away from “the faith” and the position they previously held! But,
unlike ‘backsliders’ the ‘apostates’ hold on to basic Scriptural
doctrines (i.e. Justification by
faith, Redemption by blood, etc.) and continue living in fellowship amongst
other Christians who are saved by grace and firmly rooted in the basic
doctrines of Christianity! However, unlike ‘backsliders’
- who may experience renewed fellowship and zeal for living to please God - the
‘apostates’ will set out to do all in their power to
persuade, confuse and discredit them from growing in knowledge into
what is described as ‘the deeper truths,’ -
truths which the ‘apostates’ fully understood, but at
some later stage in life rejected! (2
Pet. 2: 1-3, 13, 20-22; cf.
Heb. 6: 4-6; Jude 4, 5, 11ff. R.V.)]
The interpretation that places
the destination of all the virgins together in the
same place after the
Those who accept the teachings
of apostates
are being deceived; and, unless God will grant repentance unto life (Acts 11: 18), they
will continue to ignore His
responsibility truths and conditional promises; and forfeit reigning with Christ
in His millennial kingdom! Acts 5: 32; Matt. 5: 20; 7: 21; Gal. 5: 16-21; Eph. 5: 3-7; Col. 3: 23-25; 2 Thess. 1: 4-8; 2 Tim. 4: 14; Tit. 2: 12, 13; Heb. 4: 1, 11; 12: 14-17; Rev. 20: 4-6.
Awakened and somewhat encouraged
by the select rapture of the Wise Virgins, the Foolish Virgins, after deep
repentance, return and pray: “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and in your name drive out
demons and perform many miracles?” The note in the Scofield Bible which declares: “The Lord, could not say to a believer, however un-spiritual,
‘I know you not’
is, a strange, comment, seeing the Lord
knows the hearts of all men, whether
saint or sinner.” The LORD knew the Foolish Virgins so well, that
He had the door shut, for He knew they were not ready. Obviously
the plain meaning, of the above is: ‘I cannot recognise you now.’ In the light of
the prophetic word, they can bear no other interpretation.
The Foolish Virgins therefore
pass into the Great Tribulation there to buy oil, salt, eye-salve, gold tried
in the fire, and white raiment: for they will not be sleeping, or naked at the
close of the Great Tribulation, when, together with those who have been
converted through their testimony, they will be reaped at the harvest and
caught up by the Lord. Rev. 14: 14-16. They do buy oil, but too late to have entry
with the glorious company of the First-fruits, Rev. 14: 1-5: or
even the Wise Virgins.*
[* This
interpretation of the parable agrees
with the vast amount of scripture concerning the Lord’s Second Advent: it
fits in with the true state of the church as revealed by the Lord in Revelation
chapters 2 and 3. It is confirmed by our actual daily experience
to-day. In the various sections of the Church there
are Overcomers, Wise and Foolish
Virgins - they are a mixed multitude
of regenerate believers, in the midst of a world where others are unregenerate
and defiantly wicked.]
It is for each one of us within
the church, to judge in which group we stand. God’s best is obtainable
for all who desire it and are willing to
fulfil His terms, and to submit to
His teaching and wait for His time. None who are not “considered worthy” will enter “that age” (Luke 20: 35). Christ
alone upon His Judgment Seat will see to that. The responsibility of our
readiness rests entirely with us. Therefore, He says: “Be
careful, or your
hearts will be weighed down with dissipation,
drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that
day will close on you unexpectedly like
a trap. For it will come upon all those who
live on the face of the whole earth. Be
always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of
Man:” (Luke 21: 34-36).
Jesus said, if the blind lead
the blind, both will fall into the pit.
They - [i.e., false prophetic teachers and apostates] - say. What say they? Let them say.
It behoves us to believe the words of our Lord.
* *
*
[6]
OUR PRIZE
By D. M. PANTON
“LET NO MAN
ROB YOU OF YOUR PRIZE” (Col. 2: 18).
But what is our prize?
The Rapture
“There are some Bible scholars, and among them names that are held in
universal esteem, who say it is only the
Virgins whose lamps are burning that are qualified to go in; that there is a just suspicion in Luke 21: 36 that those Christians who do not watch will not escape all these things.* In view of this bare but awful possibility, there is but one position -
habitual expectation” (J. MacNell). “To those of God’s
saints in this Age who are counted
worthy a complete escape is to be granted: escape from the awful period of
earth-judgments is possible, but it is conditional” (Samuel H. Wilkinson). “Like Enoch, those
Christians with the traits of Philadelphian grace and fidelity are taken before the judgment of the
tribulation. Such as share the
Laodicean spirit will be left behind,
to awake, repent, and witness for their Lord through that awful
time of woe; and, whether by martyrdom or translation of the Harvest [at the end of the Great Tribulation], be among the saved at last” (C. D. Hooper). “The teaching of
first-fruits translation is said to be a legal doctrine, doing despite to
grace. How can this be, when apart from grace it is impossible to live such a life as alone can entitle to
the privilege set forth? Nothing can more show one his dependence on grace,
or more animate to believing prayer for grace, than a conviction that apart from its constant and abundant reception, we must
fail to be ready to meet our Lord with Joy” (Fuller Gooch). “The burden on my spirit day and night is the imminent
appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray God to make you ready and to keep you ready. May your portion be amongst this - [select] - number that shall be caught up to heaven” (Evan Roberts). “WATCH ye, and PRAY ALWAYS, that ye may be
ACCOUNTED WORTHY to escape all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand
before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:
36).*
*NOTE: “That rapture occurs before the
Great Tribulation (1 Thess. 4: 17), and
also during it (Rev. 11: 12) and at its close (Rev. 20: 4), reveals afresh that all the Scriptures
on a point must be co-ordinated before the full truth can be obtained.
It is curiously apt, therefore, that an esteemed correspondent emphasises this fact in criticism of
partial rapture. He writes:- ‘I for one deplore the taking of a verse here and building up
a doctrine, carefully keeping in the background other scriptures which militate
against what is advanced.’ Exactly so: successive raptures alone combine the Scriptures.”
“The
divergence of outstanding and devoted believers stresses this truth. When George Muller was asked how it happened
that he came to abandon the ‘at any moment’
expectation of the Lord’s Coming, and also the belief that [all within] the Church - [irrespective of their moral behaviour] - would escape the Great Tribulation, he said:- “My brother, I am a constant reader of my Bible, and I soon
found that what I was taught to believe did not always agree with what my Bible
said. I came to see that I must either part company from John Darby, or from my
precious Bible - and I chose to cling and part from Me. Darby” Who can
doubt that two such able and devout servants of God rested on apparently
contradictory Scriptures, without having
carefully co-ordinated them?” - D. M. Panton.
The First Resurrection
“When Paul says ‘resurrection’ [in Phil. 3: 11], it has the preposition ‘out’ before it, ‘the out-resurrection’ - the special resurrection,
the specific resurrection, the one
that is singled out from every other: ‘If by any means I might attain
unto the out-resurrection, the one from among the dead’. Paul is looking for a resurrection ‘out’ from among
Christians, else he would not have
to strive so strenuously: he is
striving to attain something that ordinary Christians will not attain. A ‘prize’ is something to win: there
is a special blessing and reward for those who will go the whole way
with God” (C. H. Pridgeon). “Of his resurrection at the end of the world, when all
without exception will surely be raised, he could have no possible doubt. What sense then can this passage have, if it represents him so labouring and
suffering merely in order to attain a resurrection, and as holding this up to view as unattainable unless he should arrive
at a high degree of Christian
perfection? On the other hand, let us suppose a first resurrection to be appointed as a
special reward of high attainments in Christian virtue, and all seems to be plain and easy. Of a resurrection in a figurative sense, i.e. of regeneration, Paul cannot be speaking; for he had
already attained to that on the plain of Damascus” (Dr. Moses Stuart). “It is most evident that Paul had some special resurrection in view, even the ‘first’: and to share in that he was straining every nerve” (J. MacNeil). “BLESSED and HOLY is he that hath part in the first resurrection” (Rev. 20: 4): “If by any means
I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have
already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on toward the goal unto the PRIZE” (Phil.
3: 11).
The Kingdom
“To those who believe on Him, but
go no further, the Lord does, indeed, give eternal life, but the fruition of it will not begin until the Last Day, until the thousand years of the millennial
reign are ended. Such persons will
not, therefore, be permitted to enter the Kingdom of the
Heavens” (G. H. Pember). “Into that glorious
company, of the First Resurrection it is probable that only those who have been partakers of Christ’s humiliation and suffering (either
personally or throughout the present aeon) shall be received - a select portion of the redeemed, including the martyrs” (Dr. E. R. Craven). “In this exclusion from the Kingdom, which is the
dominion of the good made visible at the return of our Lord, we are not to see the loss of eternal
salvation: an entrance into the [Millennial] Kingdom is rendered impossible [in certain cases], but not by any means does it follow that [our initial] salvation can be thereby prevented” (Olshausen). “There may be
positive and entire forfeiture of the Kingdom, and only the lowest position in
Eternal Life after it. The native
magnitude of this truth must speedily redeem it from all obscurity. Those who have the single eye will perceive
its amplitude of evidence, and
embrace it, in spite of the solemn
awe of God which it produces, and
the depth of our own responsibility which it discloses” (R. Govett). “Let us LABOUR therefore to enter into that rest” - the sabbatismos, the seventh
millennium (Heb. 4:
11): for “not every one that
saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that DOETH THE WILL of My
Father” (Matt. 7: 21).
“Know ye
not that they which run in a race all
run, but one receiveth the prize? EVEN SO RUN, THAT YE MAY ATTAIN”
- (1 Cor. 9: 24).
* * *
[7]
AT CROSS-PURPOSES
WITH GOD
By GEORGE EVANS, B.A., B.D.
What has
happened to our world? From much of its life one might infer that some devil is
abroad. Men everywhere said “Good-bye” to the
Old Year as to a nightmare. But what of the New Year? Disillusionment seems
written over everything. Despair has eaten deeply into the hearts of millions.
And the dread of some terrible imminent catastrophe lies heavily upon the mind
and heart of many. Have Christian people any message for a world sick, visibly
perishing? In the presence of
calamities and suffering on a world scale, what can be said concerning the
Divine Government of the world? Are
the evils being endured and impending the “signs” of
God’s presence within our humanity, though in wrath? Or are they the tokens
that “He hideth Himself”?
The
greatness of the prophets of
divided)
they will experience beatitude. But if
men, whether in ignorance, or wilfully against the light, violate the laws of the moral order, disasters will inevitably ensue. And
when standing forth in the nation. sensitive to all its life, they know their
innermost nature lacerated by what their eyes see, they declare that these things are the consequences of disobedience, the symptoms of a
disharmony with the nature of God. And at whatever cost to their own person they indict the
wrongdoers, and call to repentance. History has confirmed the greatness of the
prophets. And is it not just because of this vivid intuitive awareness of God’s
moral order and man’s life therein?
Has time in its passing modified
or swept away that moral order? There is widespread in the world, and even
within the Christian Church, an idea that the invincible sternness of that order has been somehow softened; that
the God we acknowledge is an amiable Deity who no longer exacts the penalties
of sinful transgression. The sentimental conception of God so prevalent in our
period does not derive from Jesus. “Holy
Father” is the recurring phrase on His lips; and “Hallowed be Thy name” the first saying in the disciples’ prayer. Jesus knew that
man lives and moves and has his being within a moral order. And He declared
also, with a depth of meaning hidden from the prophets, that the consequences of disobedience are in human affairs, and to the souls of men.
The consequences were inescapable. Jesus knows nothing of an amiable
God.
This not a time for the people
of God to be silent and to wait upon events. The nations are it a moment of
destiny. If because of fear or unbelief men persist in acting at cross-purposes
with God, in face of the light, and the scourge of experience, the consequences
will again ensue as surely as in the Great War. And it will be futile then to
pray to God to avert the doom. The air about us trembles with the weighty
issues of life and death. What shall the people of God do? Pray? Yes, and
without ceasing. What for? Surely, first, that we may realize afresh the
holiness of God and the sanctities of the moral order; then, that we may
realize that the Church is God’s prophet-voice to the nations; and finally,
that it may be given to those who speak to the world in the name of the
fellowship to sound
forth again with conviction and power the first solemn word of our Lord and the
prophets - “Repent!”
“Repent, for the
* * *
[8]
THE THOUSAND YEARS
By NATHANIEL WEST
A profound interest in the
word of divine prophecy has become general in our day, among a vast multitude
of God’s children, and is the necessary result not only of the great principle
of free investigation set in motion by the Reformation of the 16th
century, but of a special period that, “in the
time of the End,” it should be so. Dan. 12: 4. The
nearer the End of the present [evil and apostate] Age, the more are the eyes directed to
those facts of the Scripture where the “Last
Things” are the theme, and the more do their hearts begin to breathe
the prayer, “Come, Lord
Jesus!”
It is not to be denied that a
large part of the professing church, swayed by its - [false, Anti-millennial] -
teachers, is indifferent to these themes, and to this phenomenon, and regard
the word of prophecy as unprofitable, and its unfulfilled part as
unintelligible. This also is a “Sign of the Times,”
Isa. 29: 9-12. A false
spiritualizing, allegorizing, and idealizing, interpretation has contributed to
rob the predictions concerning Israel of their realistic value, failing to
discriminate between what is common to Jew and Gentile alike, in the
one spiritual salvation which comes to all, and where “there is no distinction,” Acts 15: 9; Rom. 3: 23. - in
the
These pages re-assert, upon the
ground of God’s word alone, - redundant with its justifying proof, - that
doctrine of the Pre-Millennial Coming of Christ, which, in the apostolic
and old-Catholic Church, was, for 300 years, “the test
of orthodoxy,” and formed a chief article of faith and hope. They
profess to demonstrate the revelation and the designation of “The 1000 years,” in the Old as well as in the
New Testaments, and more repeatedly in the former than in
the latter. Hence the title. It is a very
common opinion, widely spread throughout Christendom, and in most cases
believed to be true, that “the thousand years” of
which John speaks in his Apocalypse, Rev. 20: 1-7, are mentioned nowhere else in the sacred
Scriptures. The doctrine of a millennial kingdom on earth, introduced by the
advent of Christ in His glory, is a Jewish fable without support from the word
of God. A deeper study of the sacred volume dissipates this false prejudice and
reveals the fact that, not only are “the
thousand years” of which John speaks found everywhere in both Testaments, but
that next to the eternal state, the millennial blessedness of God’s people on
earth, and of the nations, is the one high point in all prophecy, from
Moses to John, the bright, broad tableland of all
eschatology.
What we find in the N.T. as its
outcome in respect to the ages and the kingdom, has already lain in the bosom
of the O.T. from the beginning. The closing part of the N.T. is but the full
flower of what the opening part of the O.T. was the precious seed, the kingdom
one and the same, in essence, all the way.
Joel’s prophecy as to the
outpouring of the [Holy] Spirit
in the last days, and of the great and notable day of the Lord, with all its
terrestrial and celestial phenomena, the final redemption of Israel, and the
transfiguration of the Holy Land, was only incipiently and partly fulfilled to
a few, an election out of Israel, at the first Coming of Christ, and awaits a
far larger fulfilment at His second appearing.
As to the kingdom, Israel had
it, under the O.T., in its outward form: the Gentiles have it under the N.T.,
in its inward form; in the “age to come,” Jews
and Gentiles together, shall have it,
both forms in one, one kingdom of Messiah, spiritual, visible and glorious,
with Israel still the central people, the prelude of the New Jerusalem and the
nations walking in its light forever.
When the Lord has come and
brought salvation with His own right arm, and Jacob’s tribulation is past,
everything puts on a new appearance. Under the New Covenant, sin is pardoned
through Messiah’s death, the gospel [‘of the kingdom’] is
preached, the Gentiles are gathered, the [Holy] Spirit is poured out from
on high, and streams of knowledge, holiness and life, perpetually overflow. The
City of
Just as in Daniel, the judgment
on Antichrist and
The 70th Week precedes the Second Advent, and the
destruction of Antichrist, the [first] resurrection, and
At the close of the 69th
week Messiah comes and is “cut off,” and
there is “nothing for Him,” no
Messianic kingdom as predicted, He is despised, and rejected, and crucified, as
the “King of the Jews.” For this the nation is
despised, rejected, slaughtered, and entombed by Gentile hands “until He come,” the histories of
It is impossible upon the ground
of O.T. prophecy, or of New, in their common distribution of the ages, to
locate the Millennium between the First and Second Advents, for the simple
reason that, between these Advents,
It remains now to speak
definitely of the different names given to the Millennial Age in the O.T., and point out the
passages where John found the “1,000 years.” In this
we shall admire still more the unity of both Testaments, and learn that John
understood the prophets better than do most of his expositors.
There is a text in what is known
among scholars as the “little Apocalypse of Isaiah,”
a section consisting of chapters 24-27. It is
found in Isaiah 24: 21-23.
Referring to the Day of the Lord, in which Messiah comes to hold judgment and
restore to kingdom to Israel, the prophet says, “It
shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord
shall visit upon (punish) the Host of the High
Ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the
earth. And they shall be gathered together as
prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be
shut up in prison. And after a multitude of days
they shall be visited” (released for final judgment). “Then shall the moon be confounded and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and glory shall be in presence of His ancient ones,”
The “Day of the Lord,” is that
which closes our present age, the day of the Second Coming of Christ. The
judgment predicted in the preceding context is that of the proud nations, and
If we ask what are these “Many Days” (in Hosea 3:
3-5) of
Israel’s loneliness and isolation, and strangely-pledged preservation for God,
we can only answer promptly, with Delitzch, the condition in which the Jewish people is, even
now; - “A people, but not a State with a King; - a
still worshiping congregation, but with no sacrifices, a people so radically
alienated from polytheism that it regards itself as the pillar of monotheism; -
a people who, at length, shall be seized with a repentant desire for Jehovah,
and David its king,” That is, as the Targum translates, ‘for Messiah the Son of David,’ the
King David of the final period. Jer. 30: 9; Ezek. 34: 23-31; 37: 24-28; and
then he adds: “The entire O.T. can exhibit no brighter
prophecy respecting the conversion of
But this is not all. There is
another aspect of this period. “After two days, He will re-quicken us. On the
third day, He will
raise us up, and we shall live in His sight,”
i.e., “before Him.” Hos. 6: 1, 2.
If we ask what these two
historic days are, we can only say again, with Delitzsch, “The prophecy refers to the people, after the second day of
whose death a resurrection day follows, Rom. 11: 15. The two days of their death are, in the history
of fulfilment, the Assyrian and Babylonian exile, and the Roman exile, in which
the Jewish people still are.” That is, the first day of Israel’s
national death is the O.T. period of Israel’s destruction as a nation, the
people carried captive, Jerusalem destroyed, the Temple gone, the land
depopulated, and the outward kingdom blotted out; the second day is the N.T.
period, with the like catastrophe repeated, the first day reaching to the First
Coming of Christ, beginning with a new dispensation, the Roman or second day
reaching to the Second Coming, the total period being the time of Israel, as a
nation, in the Valley of Dry Bones, the Monarchy-Colossus still standing
unstuck.
Then
comes the “third,” the
resurrection day, in whose “morning”
But Moses demands a hearing. The
Prophets have said nothing on this great matter that even Moses had not already
said before them. “If ye will not hearken unto me,
but will walk contrary to me, then I will add to smite you Seven Times (
Nor is the Psalter silent. Those
marvellous Psalms, 102, 97, 18, 96, 49, 110, 72, show
this at once. What is it they celebrate? The glorious - [promised (Ps. 2: 8) and soon
coming] - kingdom
of the Messiah, the kingdom restored to Israel, after the Second Coming, or
personal Self-Revelation of Jehovah, to judge the world. That the 37th Psalm refers to the Millennial Age, when “the meek shall inherit
the earth,” is our Lord’s own teaching. The 68th Psalm is the “Great War-Hymn of the
Conqueror of the World-Power.” The 50th
Psalm opens with the “Advent of Christ to
judgment.” The Hebrew Prophets, and the Psalter has to do with “the 1,000 years” as plainly as has the apostle
John.
And from Moses to John, the
Eschatology is one, because God’s plan is one, “the Thousand
Years” in John, following the Second Advent, and preceding the Last
Judgment, being the very Interval Paul himself has acknowledged in 1 Cor. 15: 24, and none other than that
period of time, called by Hosea, the
“Third Day,” by Isaiah a “Multitude of Days,” and by Ezekiel “Many
Days” - in every case, in both Old and New Testaments, associated
with the Glory of Israel in the [Millennial] Kingdom, and the Redemption of the Nations,
accomplished at the Second Coming of Christ. The holy penmen mutually
supplement each other. The Lord open the eyes of His
Church to see it, love it, and teach it, and to Him be
the glory forever.
* *
*
[9]
EXALTED
DELITZSCH,
ORELLI, AND LISTER,
ON EXALTED
-------
DELITZCH, ON ISAIAH ii [2]: 2.
The expression the “Last Days,” i.e. the “End of the Days,” Acharith
Hayyamim, which does not
occur anywhere else in Isaiah, is always used in an eschatological sense. It
never refers to the course of history immediately following the time being, but
invariably indicates the farthest point in the history of this life; -
the point that lies on the outermost limit of the speaker’s horizon. This
horizon was a very fluctuating one. The history of prophecy is just the history
of the gradual extension of this horizon, and of the filling up of the
intermediate spaces. In Jacob’s blessing (Gen.
xlix [49]) the Conquest of Canaan stood in the
foreground of the Acharith Hayyamim and
the perspective was regulated accordingly. But, here, in
Isaiah, the Acharith contained no
such mixing together of events belonging to the more immediate and most distant
future. It was, therefore, the Last Time, in its most literal and purest sense,
commencing with the beginning of the New Testament Age, and terminating at its
close. Compare Heb. 1: 1. 1 Pet. 1: 20. The
prophet here predicted that the “Mountain” which
bore the
* So Orelli, Drechsler, Cheyne, Van Oosterzee, Caspari,
Riehm, Hitzig, Nilgelsbach, etc., etc., “at the head.” -
N. West.
-------
ORELLI ON ISAIAH 2: 2.
The question whether Isa. ii [2]: 2 is to
be understood physically and topographically, so that the territory itself and
its relations shall undergo a mighty transformation, in order that Zion, now
encircled by mountains higher than itself, may tower above them all, - or,
whether it is meant only in a spiritual sense - is an idle one. The Seer actually saw
* Orelli Die aittest. Weisag. 287.
-------
LISTER ON ISAIAH 2: 2.
In this passage, as in others, -
Zech. xiv
[14]: 3-5, 10; Jer. xxxi [31]: 38-40; Joel iii [3]: I8-21; Ezek. xlviii [48]:1-12; Ps. xcvii [97]: 5; Isa Ixiv
[64]: 3; Judges v [5]: 5; Exod. xix [19]: 18; Ps. cxiv [114]: 7; Isa. lxiv [64]: 1; Hagg. ii [2]: 6; Heb. xii [12] 26, etc.,
there is nothing whatever to favour an allegorical interpretation, but
everything to support a literal one. The prophet looks forward to the Last Days
and points to great changes to be wrought in the
The passage in Isa. ii [2]: 2, is a
case of Elevation. In Zech. xiv [14]: 10 it
is a case of both Elevation and Depression. In Zech.
xiv [14]: 4,
5, it is a case of what is called ‘Disruption,’ ‘Fissure,’
or ‘Fault.’ Without pretending to indicate the
exact mode by which the
It is clear, from a comparison
of the Scripture passages, that the event predicted in Isa. ii [2]: 2, and Mic.
iv [4]: 1,
viz., the “Elevation” of Mount Zion, the
Temple-Mountain, is the same event as that predicted in Zech. xiv [14]: 10. viz., the Depressions
of the hills of Judah, and the “Elevation” of
Jerusalem; and which Ezekiel sees accomplished, Ezek.
xi [11]: 2; and
with which the transformations in Jer.
xxxi [31]: 38-40; Joel. iii [3]: 17, 18, Ezek. xlvii [47]: 1-12, are
associated, viz., the Temple-Waters streaming through the Acacia-Vale, and
emptying into the Mediterranean and
Against such liberties, we hold
to the text, as it reads. What we are told is that
Soli Deo Gloria.
* *
*
[10]
GEHENNA
By W. J.
ROWLANDS
WHILE Hades, the present abode of departed - [disembodied
saved (“Matt. 16: 18; Luke 16: 23,
R.V.) and] - lost
souls is mentioned by name ten times in the New Testament, the Lord uses “Gehenna” eleven times (and
the apostle James once) for the place of torment where after the resurrection,
both the bodies and souls of the lost will be consigned at the great white
throne judgment.*
[* See Rev. 20: 11-13, R.V.].
“Ye have
heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou
shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall
be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto
you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the
judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire:” (Matt.
5: 21-22, R.V.)
“Ye have
heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit
adultery: but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from
thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of
thy members should perish, and not thy whole
body be cast into hell [‘Gehenna’ R.V.]. And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble,
cut it off and cast it from thee: for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole
body go into hell:” (Matt. 5: 27-30, R.V.)
“And if thy hand
or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it
off, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the
eternal fire. And if thine eye causeth thee to
stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is
good for thee to enter into life with one eye rather than having two eyes to be
cast into the hell of fire:” (Matt. 18: 8, 9, R.V.)
In these passages our Lord calls
it twice “the hell of fire,” twice “hell” and once “the
eternal fire”; while in a somewhat similar setting in Mark he calls it “hell ... the unquenchable fire
... hell,” “hell,
where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched”
(Mark 9: 43, 45, 47, R.V.)
And so dreadful is that place
that self-inflicted loss of right eye, right hand and right foot, is profitable
if necessary to save from stumbling that leads to that doom.
While Hades has to do with the [disembodied] soul,
it is noteworthy that concerning Gehenna our Lord emphasizes the body as well as the soul - “thy whole body.” Fearful indeed must be the
condition of a man who can read such solemn words from the lips of the Lord and
Saviour and then deny the eternity of the woe of the wicked. Being unquenched
and unquenchable eternal fire, and having to do with the whole person of the
wicked, body and soul, it must be “the
lake of fire” into which “death and Hades” are to
be cast with all who are not found written in the Lamb’s book of life, when
they shall have been raised from the dead and judged at the great white throne.
The Lord in love to our souls,
attacks the secret springs of sin, and warns us of the thought of anger or the
look of lust, and it is worthy of note that both the first and last context in
the New Testament in which this word “Gehenna” is
used, warn us forcibly about the wrong use of the tongue, and of the fire which
may begin so small but grow to such awful magnitude. In James 3: 5, 6, the word “fire” occurs
four times, the defiling of “the whole body” is
emphasised, and the small beginnings are warned against, for our Lord waits not
till we fall but warns of that which “stumbles.”
“What I
tell you in the darkness, speak ye in the light: and what ye hear in the ear, proclaim
upon the housetops. And be not afraid of them
which kill the body, but are not able to kill
the soul: but rather fear him which is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell:” (Matt.
10: 27,
28, R.V.)
In this passage, and its
counterpart in Luke 12: 5, our
Lord exhorted His apostles to fearless proclamation of His truth, regardless of
present opposition. Persecutors can, at the most, kill the bodies of the
saints; their souls are beyond their power to kill. These verses specially
emphasize both body and soul, in connection with Gehenna. Inasmuch as
persecutors can kill the body of a saint but cannot kill his soul, it proves
that his soul does not die when it
leaves his body. We note too that neither clause of this verse affirms that
the soul is killed. For His own wise reasons our Lord, in the latter clause
used the word “destroy” not
kill.
This word “apollumi” occurs
in many such verses as “The Son of man is come to seek and to
save that which was lost”. It is
translated destroy (twenty-three
times), lost and lose (thirty-one
times), perish (thirty-three),
be destroyed (three),
marred (three).
It is used of the lost sheep, lost piece of silver and the lost son. Apollumi,
whether translated perish, lost, destroy, or mar, does not therefore mean to annihilate
or to deprive of conscious existence, for the “sheep
that is lost” whom the Shepherd seeks, has conscious existence, as did also
the prodigal son who was lost.
Persecutors of God’s witnesses
can at most kill the body, but God in His righteous judgments can destroy both
body and soul of such murderers in the Gehenna of fire. Destruction, in Scripture, is
not annihilation, or cessation of conscious existence. Life is not simply
existence: neither is death non-existence. To “enter
into life,” to “enter into the
“Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea
and land to make one proselyte; and when he is
become so, ye make him two-fold more a son of
hell than yourselves” (Matt. 23: 15).
“Fill ye
up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents,
ye offspring of vipers, how
shall ye escape the judgment of hell?” (verses
32-33, R.V.)
Terrible indeed is the Lord’s
indictment against the scribes and Pharisees! And these woes stand in awful
contrast with the beatitudes pronounced on His disciples in chapter five. Sons
of hell these Pharisees were: each convert being more steeped in wickedness
than his predecessors, yet they vainly protested that they were not persecutors
like their fathers who slew the prophets, while at that very hour they were
seeking to slay the Lord, and did the same to the apostles of the Church.
Who can read these words without
feeling their awfulness? “Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how
shall ye escape the judgment of Gehenna?” Who can be so blinded as
to think such words threatened nothing worse than annihilation? Are the
scourgings, persecutions, imprisonments, tortures, inquisitions, beheadings,
burning to death at the stake, together with innumerable other cruelties perpetrated
by men on God’s true people, throughout the centuries, and even the murder of
the Son of God Himself, to be answered by Jehovah with nothing more terrible
than to awake the criminals, judge them at the great white throne, and then
sentence them to a deep, peaceful eternal sleep or to annihilation in which
they feel nothing, know nothing, fear nothing? The punishment of these crimes
does not always come on the perpetrators in this life, but it comes, and that
in full measure as sure as “Jehovah hath set
his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom
ruleth over all.” “Shall not the Judge of all
the earth do right?” - The
Prophetic Digest.
* * *
[11]
PESTILENCE
THE twentieth century
began with exceptional judgments. Here is a summary, given after the First
World War, of the consequent pestilence. “There can be
no doubt” - so runs a startling assertion of The
Times (Oct. 28, 1918)
- “that the world is in the grip of a pandemic of
influenza, such as has not been known in our times, and possibly not since the Middle Ages.” For once again we are faced with the
ominous fact that this century is seeing a revival of pestilence. In 1907 Lord
Morley said in the House of Commons: “The plague
figures (for
Pestilence always follows
directly in the wake of war. The red horse - the black horse - the pale (or
greenish) horse - the corpse colour of putrescence (Rev. 6: 4): God’s four sore judgments - the sword,
the famine, the pestilence (Ezek. 14: 2l): or,
as our Lord puts it, “Kingdom shall rise against kingdom,
and there shall be famines and pestilences:” (Luke 21: 11). A
medical authority writes:- “The history of typhus is
written in those dark pages of the world’s story which tell of the grievous
visitations of mankind by war, famine, and misery.” It was typhus which
destroyed Napoleon’s army in its retreat from
But now we are face to face with
something far more mysterious and significant. Here is the first telegram
concerning the outbreak of Spanish influenza:- “A new
form of disease, of an epidemic character, the origin of which is unknown has
appeared in
* Beginning thus gently, in
the manner of God’s judgments, into what an appalling severity it has grown!
Here is the latest telegram from
In Bombay 774 people died in
twenty-four hours (Times, Oct. 17, 1918); over large tracts of Germany one-third of the
population are affected (Times, July 5, 1918); in Odessa, in Russia, there are seventy thousand cases, in
Buenos Aires a hundred thousand (Times, Oct. 21, 1918); and five thousand
deaths have occurred in a single fortnight in Cape Town (Times, Oct. 26, 1918). It rages in
And how just this is! In the day
of God’s warnings, why should the neutrals, and we civilians, be exempt from
facing death as the soldiers of nearly all nations have faced it for four
years? But this proves that the World
War itself is not a political catastrophe, but a Divine judgment.
* * *
[12]
WORLD GOVERNMENT
By D. M.
PANTON.
THE approach of a
Federation of the World has long been foreseen, following a Federation of
Europe. Napoleon said:-
“There
must be one Code, one Court of Appeal, and one coinage for
World Federation
Since the first World War the
advance has been rapid towards this ominous goal. The ‘League of Nations’,
which endeavoured to produce universal peace, has been succeeded by the
Organization of the ‘United Nations’, which has far greater power and
influence. It is now proposed to hold a Peoples’ World Constituent Assembly in
Geneva in the autumn of 1950, with representatives from every country in the
world- a representative for every million inhabitants; at a cost of £1,000,000;
and forming a world government which would have a monopoly of armed force, the
control of atomic development, the promotion of international banking and
currency, a world Food-Board, and world citizenship. One example of what has
been already achieved is sufficiently startling. For over a generation the
world has been talking about a world bank - and now it is a reality. “The other day,” says Eugene Meyer, first president of the world bank, “thousands of American investors took £60,000,000 of their
funds and eagerly purchased the first bond issue of the world bank - The
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to give it the official
title. The world bank is off to a good start.”
Peace and Safety
Now the object is profoundly
right, and the method completely impossible. The object is a gigantic effort to
be made by all nations to create a peace which will never be broken; a peace
which will be based, not on reconciliation with God - not a single official
document of the United Nations has once even named God - but on the political and economic organization of the world. “They are saying, PEACE
and SAFETY” (1 Thess. 5: 3) - that
is, security; a security established on a peace enforced by military - [and now by political] - power
over all nations. So much is this the language of to-day that the United
Nations names its chief agency as ‘the Security Council’; and so Mr.
Eden, when he was Foreign Secretary some years ago, said, “The Charter is to draft an international organization for
the maintenance of international PEACE
and SECURITY.”
The Church Entrapped
It is most remarkable how this
very scheme exercised the False Prophets of old. “Behold, the prophets’ say
unto them, Ye shall not see the sword; but I will give you assured peace in this
place” (Jer. 14: 13). And this, we are forewarned, is a deception that will entrap the people of God. “They have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace” (Ezek.
13: 10). President Wilson, who was a member of a League to Enforce Peace founded at a
cost of £80,000, said:- “It will be absolutely
necessary that a force be created as a guarantor of the permanency of the
settlement so much greater than the force of any nation now engaged or any
alliance hitherto formed or projected, that no nation, no probable combination
of nations, could face or withstand it. If the peace presently to be made is to
endure, it must be a peace made secure by the organized major force of mankind.”
The Church is being entrapped at this moment. Martin Luther’s words ought to be written in letters of gold across
the horizon:- “The idea that the world is to be converted before the coming of Christ comes from
Satan.”
Against God
The Second Psalm portrays the coming
storm. “The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord
and against his Anointed”
- that is, Christ - “saying,
Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Ps. 2: 1). The fundamental
laws of every State will be made anti-Christian and deliberately God-defiant.
Various Atheist organizations in American Colleges reveal, by the names they
have chosen for themselves, what is coming:--in Philadelphia, “God’s Black Sheep”; in Wisconsin, “The Circle of the Godless”; in Los Angeles, “The Devil’s Angels”; in Rochester, “The Damned
Souls”; and in North Dakota, “The Legion of the Damned,”
with a president entitled, “His Satanic Majesty.”
Antichrist
Lord Balfour foresaw wonderfully the inevitable World Empire. He says:- “It is only a military despotism of the German type that can,
through generations if need be, pursue steadily, remorselessly, unscrupulously,
and appallingly, the object of dominating civilisation and mankind. And, mark
you, this evil, this menace under which we are suffering, is not one which will
diminish with the growth of knowledge and the progress of material
civilisation, but, on the contrary, increase with it.” And the Kaiser remarkably foreshadowed the Antichrist. He says:- “The
German people has in the Lord of Creation an unconditional and avowed Ally: on
me, as German Emperor, the Spirit of God has descended. I am His weapon, His
sword, and His vicegerent.” But Julius
Caesar forecast the Man of Sin even more exactly. He had the picture of
himself stamped upon the globe of the world, with a sword in his hand, and this
motto - En utroque
Caesar. A master
genius, and a Hell-selected man, the Lawless One will win the world by his
accomplishment of its aim for peace and safety, bringing to rich fruition the
plans of the United Nations: the
United Nations will at last give birth to Antichrist. “He shall come peaceably” - in time of security (R.V.); “and
shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries” (Dan.
11: 21) - by
fulsome approval of the United Nations.
Coupons
One extraordinary detail in our
midst to-day is incredibly significant. It is coupons. Stamped rations now
alone make food procurable: never before in the history of the world, so far as
we are aware - certainly never before in the history of
Destruction
We now reach the crisis. “When they are saying, Peace
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh”: at the very moment they are
most concentrated on peace, and imagine themselves as
secure as never before, destruction
like lightning wipes them out. Even men of the world sense the
coming danger. In the words of Louis Kossuth:- “There is a cry of
alarm upon the ostensible approach of universal danger. The decisive struggle
is near. It will be the last in mankind’s history.” Or in the words of Professor Sohn:-
“The society of our day is like the earth on which we
live - a thin crust over a great volcanic, seething, revolutionary heart of
liquid fire.” “And they shall in no wise escape.” It is possible that even science
will yet be able to penetrate - by the death-ray - into earth’s deepest caves
where even the atomic bomb cannot reach; but a far more awful power will make
escape totally impossible. “Though they dig
into Sheol” - i.e., ‘Hades’, the under-world - [where disembodied souls of the dead presently are (Lk. 16: 23, 30; cf.,
Acts 7: 4,
5; Ps. 16: 10; Acts 2: 27, 34; 2 Tim. 2: 16-18, R.V.)] - in “the
heart of the earth” (Matt. 12: 40) - thence [from there] shall mine hand take them; though
they climb up to heaven” - in aeroplanes [and rockets] - “thence will I bring them down; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea” - in
submarines - “thence will I command the serpent,
and he shall bite them” (Amos. 9: 2).
The Age of Gold
But beyond it all lies an
infinitely golden vision. A re-born humanity will introduce a re‑boripworld. A great British statesman of the nineteenth
century, John Bright, expressed it
thus:- “It may be but a vision, but I will cherish it.
I see one vast federation stretching from the frozen north in unbroken line to
the glowing south. I see one people and one language, and one law and one
faith, and over all that white continent the home of freedom and a refuge for
the oppressed of every race and every clime.” In the exquisite words of
the hymn:-
“For lo, the time is hastening on
By prophet-bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Her ancient splendours fling,
And the whole earth send back the song
Which now the angels sing.”
“The kingdom
of this world” - the Greek is singular - “have
become the kingdom” - the Empire, a vast federated world under
one Monarch - “of our Lord and of his Christ,
and He shall
reign for ever and ever”
(Rev. 11:
15). “The Lord” - [i.e., ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ - God’s promised (Ps.
2: 8; Acts 1: 10,
R.V.) and only Divine ‘Messiah’
or world Ruler, who] - “shall be
king over
all the earth; and in that - [coming millennial
(Rev. 20: 4; cf. 2
Pet. 3: 8,
R.V.)] - day shall there be one Lord and his name one” (Zech. 14: 9).
* * *
[13]
REBUILDING THE CHURCH’S RUINS
By D. M.
PANTON, B.A.
WHETHER it is
designed as a type or not, Nehemiah’s task is ours, history for ever repeating
itself. The walls of Jerusalem - the Holy City’s fortifications against the
enemy - had crashed, exactly as the massive truths of Scripture, the Church’s
fortifications against the World and hell, have crumbled in millions of
Christian minds, and our task is Nehemiah’s - the rebuilding of the walls. And
the setting is exact. The rebuilding led to the Feast of Tabernacles, the
divine type of the gathering of the saints on high, a feast which Israel had neglected for a thousand years - a wonderful
forecast of an imminent - [pre-tribulation
Rapture (Lk. 21:34-36; Rev. 3: 10, R.V.), and
a consequent Second] - Advent, the truth of which the Church has lost for
some fifteen centuries, while we
labour to rebuild the crumbling walls. The
history of the ancient people of God closes with this book, as the history of the Church closes immediately
[seven years (Dan. 9: 27; cf., 2 Thess. 1: 11, 12, R.V.)] before the [promised (Acts 1: 11] Advent.
Prayer
NEHEMIAH embodies
for ever one practical truth of critical importance, namely, that all holy
activity which is not inspired by constant prayer dwindles and peters out at
last. Prayer is more vital than we dream. Only unfailing prayer can keep our
spiritual wealth un-destroyed. In one of the Continental palaces the royal
jewellery was not kept behind iron bars, as in the
Worship
NEHEMIAH opens
his campaign with one of the fullest prayers recorded in the Bible, in which he
reveals a soul deeply disturbed for the People of God, and passionately devoted
to their redemption. Passionate prayer - “I wept,
and fasted and prayed”:
worshipping prayer - “O Lord, the great and terrible God”;
adoring prayer - “that keepeth covenant and mercy with
them that love him”; incessant prayer - “the prayer of thy servant, which
I pray before thee day and night”; confessing prayer - “I and my father’s house have sinned”;
confident prayer - “these are thy servants and thy people,
whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power”; and
prayer committing all to God; “prosper, I pray thee,
thy servant this day.” As one
writer paraphrases Nehemiah’s prayer:- “It is a prayer
addressed to Him who is mightier than our mightiest foes; who has a perfect
knowledge of them, and of our weaknesses; whose eye is ever upon them and us;
who loves us and desires our safety; who has promised help and victory to those
who call upon Him” W. S. Lewis, M.A.
An Open
Door
NEHEMIAH’S first specific prayer is for our own first vital necessity as
servants of Christ - liberty for the work of God, an open door granted by the
Government. So Nehemiah, when questioned by the Persian Emperor, Artaxerxes, “For what dost thou make request?”
between the King’s question and his own answer sends a telegram to heaven:- “So I prayed unto the God of heaven; and I said unto the king, That
I may build
The
World
AT once
Nehemiah finds himself, as we shall, face to face with an angry world.
Sanballat brought down a horde of Samaritans and Arabians, in scorn and
contempt, and with military power to crush the workers on the walls. Nehemiah
responds with an immediate cry to Heaven:- “Hear,
O our God, for we are
despised, and turn back their reproach upon
their own head” (4: 4). Once again there is the
immediate intervention of God. “When our enemies
heard that it [their plot] was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned every one
unto his work” (verse 15). Taught
by the thundercloud, Nehemiah sets up a permanent guard. “We made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night” (verse 9).* George Muller gives a
confirming testimony. Asked how much time he spent in prayer, he replied:- “Hours every day.
But I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk, and when I lie down, and
when I rise. And the answers are always coming. Tens of thousands of times have
my prayers been answered. When once I am persuaded a thing is right, I go on
praying for it until it comes. The great point is never to give up until the
answer comes. The great fault of the children of God is that they do not continue in prayer.”
* Un-pausing, un-resting
toil and vigilance till the work is done. “Night and
day: none of us put off our clothes. Too
much of the Church’s work is
committed to the few willing labourers. All should be doing, and always doing,
and doing their all” (W. S. Lewis, M.A.). It has been said with much
truth:- “The shirking of the man who prays, and the
praying of the man who shirks, is equally an abomination unto the Lord.”
Calumny
THE next
attack is studied misrepresentation, the invented calumnies that always
accompany persecution. Sanballat and Tobiah charge Nehemiah with a plot to
rebel against Artaxerxes, and to establish himself as king. He retorts:- “There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart”; and
then he once more cries to heaven:- “But now,
O God, strengthen my hands”
(6: 8, 9). In
the words of David:- “In the day when I cried thou
answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with
strength in my soul” (Ps. 138: 3). So Paul:- “For
this cause I bow my knees, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Eph.
3: 16). Like Nehemiah, we shall also
need strength behind us.
Temptations
NEXT we have
the supernatural, sent to tempt Nehemiah. Shemiah, a false prophet, is hired to
work on Nehemiah’s fear; warning him of the peril to his life- that even the
next night he would be murdered - he suggests that together they take refuge in
the Temple. For Nehemiah, neither a priest nor a Levite, to enter the
Fornication
THE final
battle of Nehemiah is precisely the battle we are to expect. After the walls
had been rebuilt, and the people of God revived and restored, the High Priest
Eliashib establishes Tobias the Ammonite - spiritually, the world, the
unregenerate who are enemies of God - inside the
Continuing
So it is the ceaseless prayer
which brings the complete victory. “Pray without
ceasing” (1 Thess. 5: 17). Nor
must we allow ourselves to be discouraged by ‘dryness’
in prayer. Hear what two effectual prayers have to say. When Hudson Taylor was once asked if he ever
prayed without conscious joy, he replied:- “Often.
Sometimes I pray on with my heart feeling
like wood.” And then he added:- “Often, too,
the most wonderful answers have come when prayer has been a real effort of
faith, without any joy whatever.” Evan
Roberts says: “Some ask about dryness in prayer.
It matters not whether it is ‘dry’ or ‘dewy.’ The ‘dry’ prayer may be more
effective than the ‘flow.’ The thoroughness with which you
ask is the thoroughness with which God will work.” Nor
let us be discouraged by exhaustion. Charles
G. Finney so gave himself to prayer that sometimes he would pray all night.
In his latter days a friend said:- “Mr. Finney, do you
pray the way you used to?” He said, “I pray a
great deal, but I cannot pray the way I used to, I am not strong enough. My
nerves have been shattered, I am an old man now. I would like to pray the way I
used to but I cannot. Sometimes I would pray in an agony all night, but I
cannot do it now.” But he said, “When people
send a request for prayer I just quietly look up to God and I say, ‘Oh God, I
am not strong enough to pray the way I used to pray. Let the Holy Spirit be my
prayer and give me the words of prayer,’ and as I just look up to God and pray
what I believe God’s Spirit gives me, my friend, I want to tell you, God answers these prayers just as much as He did those old prayers of agony
I had in the olden time.”
Completion
THUS the
whole book, completing the history of
* * *
[14]
AN EXPOSITION OF THE
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
By ROBERT
GOVETT, M.A.
Hebrews 9: 4
“And the ark of the covenant overlaid on every side with gold.”
THE centre
of the Tabernacle and of its Holiest was the ark. All was arranged with
reference to it, and after its position was first fixed (Ex. 40: 2, 4, 21). It was a chest made of two materials of
very different values. (1) Of acacia wood, covered on all sides with gold (Ex. 25: 11). It typified Christ, the centre of God’s
counsels, Who is both God and man, yet but one Person. The ark was clothed inside as well as outside,
with gold. So the Godhead of the Lord Jesus is now conspicuous. But Christ
shall continue for ever of these two essential natures. “God and man is one Christ.” It was
crowned with gold; for Christ shall prove victorious (Ex. 25: 11). It
was “the ark of the testimony,” for it bore witness to the High
Priest and Mediator about to come. To but look into it of old, was death to
many of the men of Bethshemesh.* But in the day of mercy, sinners of
* Example
of the errors in numbers which have crept into the Hebrew text (1 Sam. 6: 19). Instead of 50,070 men, read 70 men.
“Wherein was the golden jar that had the manna.”
Three things are named as
contained in the ark. The first is the jar of manna. When
“And the rod of Aaron that blossomed.”
The rebellion of
(1) This, then, figures to us Christ
as “Resurrection and Life” (John
11). When
* I read the last two
words of the received text as one - The ‘out-resurrection.”
So also in Phil. 3:
11.
[* NOTE: Therefore, all disembodied
souls of the dead, must remain in ‘Sheol’
/ ‘Hades’ (Matt. 16:
18; cf., Acts 2: 27, 34, R.V.) until
the time of Christ’s return to resurrect the ‘holy’
dead (Rev. 20:
6; 2 Thess.
1: 7: or,
“when the thousand years are finished” … “and death and Hades give up the dead which were in them”
(Rev. 20:
13, R.V.). All who are deceived into believing
the time of Death is that of Resurrection - ascending into Heaven one
at a time! are in grave error, and false prophetic Bible-teachers, who
“overthrow the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2: 18; cf., John
3: 13; 14:
2, 3,
R.V.)]
God’s first demand of
man is righteousness; and the great principles of that are two; the
first table giving God’s four commands of obedience toward Himself; the second
table presenting man’s duty towards his neighbour.
“And the tables of the covenant.”
This is the third of the
contents of the ark. ‘Ah, but it is said, that when
the ark was brought into the Holiest of Solomon’s temple, there was nothing in
it but the two tables which Moses had placed there!’ (1 Kings 8: 9).
Very true! And what then? In the
four hundred and fifty sad years which lay between Moses’ day and Solomon’s,
was there not ample time for changes in the contents of the ark? Must we be
ever doubting God’s Word? Is He never to be trusted, but when He brings His
vouchers? Whence then did Paul get this piece of intelligence? From Jewish
tradition? No: but by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Cannot we credit the Holy
Spirit’s memory? and the truth of His statements?
The two tables first written and
engraven by the finger of God were broken by Moses: a token that there is no
righteousness in man before God. The two first of the Ten Commandments were
broken before the presence of God, on the Awful Mount. But God must have
righteousness in those who dwell for ever before Him. And, therefore, the
renewed tables, witnesses of God’s just claims on
If all men are sinners, in heart
foes toward God, and not subject to His Law, how could these tables - the very foundation
of the covenant - be fulfilled? That was in a figure left to God to bring to
pass. It was foretold, that He would furnish a righteousness which should be
salvation, by One Who should delight to do His will, and bear His law within
the heart.
And He should be a High Priest,
presenting a cloud of deeds of sweet odour, as well as bearing the blood that
atones for sin. It was because of this presentation of a perfect righteousness
for the sinner, that Paul declared he was not ashamed of the Gospel (Rom. 1: 16, 17).
The first great step towards it
under the old covenant, was the renewal of the covenant with the Mediator
alone, after the people had broken it by the idol.
* * *
[15]
THE CHRISTIAN AND POLITICS*
By ROBERT
GOVETT.
[* This is a selected portion of the author’s exposition of some,
but nor all, scriptural teachings relative to this topic.]
Is it right that a
believer should be a politician?
This is the question before us.
In order to treat the matter clearly, let me state some points which belong to
such a character, if they are not the very conception of it.
I understand then by a
politician, one who takes a considerable and constant interest in the civil
government of his own country, and of the world at large. He praises the
rulers, when he thinks they deserve it; and condemns them, when, as he
believes, they govern amiss. He lifts up his voice against injustice, fraud,
deception, corruption, restraints on liberty. He will resist what is evil, as
far as he may by law. He exercises every civil privilege to which he is
entitled, in order to influence the government of his country. If opportunity
were offered, he would take office and power in the world, and exercise it for
his citizens’ benefit.
I. How then can we tell whether this is right in a [regenerate]
believer or not? By looking to Jesus as our pattern. His
life is recorded to this end - “leaving us an
example, that we should follow in his steps” (1
Peter 2: 21). Every
thing He did was pleasing to His Father. “I do
always those things that please him” (John 8:
29; Matt.
17: 5). And,
since every perfection was found in Jesus, whatever He did not do, or sanction,
is not pleasing to God.
Was Jesus then a politician? Did
He take any interest in the political government of His country? Did He pass
judgment on the persons or measures of the civil rulers of
1. His conduct is the very
reverse of the politician’s. Had He been one, His political feelings must have
been peculiarly drawn out by the circumstances of the day. In His days the last
shadow of Jewish liberty departed, and His own country was oppressed beneath the
iron gauntlet of
2. When
occasions occur, on which, if politics be right for the Christian, the Saviour
must have declared Himself, He uniformly puts them aside. One of His hearers
beseeches Him to engage his brother to divide an inheritance with him (Luke 12: 13). Here the politician would have shown himself. Jesus refuses
to listen to the matter, or to exercise even the lowly power of an arbitrator.
“Man, who made me a judge, or a divider over you?” If the Christian’s duty is
to take the office of judge or divider, Jesus ought to have taken it, as our perfect
example of what is right. But He thrusts away with firm hand the political
element of the question, and only warns the disciples against covetousness.
3. John the Baptist, His own forerunner, the greatest of
woman-born, is slain through the arts of an adulterous princess, and by the
orders of an ungodly king. How does Jesus meet the event? Does He lift up His
voice against the oppressor and murderer? No. John is imprisoned, but Jesus
speaks not of the injustice; he is murdered, but He utters no cry against the
tyranny of Herod. John’s “disciples” came
and took up the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, “He departed thence by ship, into a desert place apart”
(Matt. 14:
10-13). The case
is solemnly announced to Him by John’s own followers. As pointedly
He is silent. The
Saviour was no politician!
4. Take another incident. “There
were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices”
(Luke 13: 1). A [good]
politician would have been on fire at this national outrage. Religious antipathies meet with
political. Here was a field whereon to inveigh against Roman cruelty! and to
rouse the Jews against a tyranny that trampled on the true religion. A pagan
profaning with bloody hands the worship of the true God! What would the
politicians of our day have said, had a party of the King’s troops fired into a
dissenting chapel while they were at worship, and shot some dead, while on
their knees? Would not the politician account it almost treason to be calm?
What is Jesus’ reply? “Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.” The
politics of the question are wholly passed by, the moral and spiritual view of the matter is alone regarded.
This is an especial, a most decisive case. Doubtless it made the blood of every
native Jew boil with rage. But Jesus drops no word of indignation against the
governor’s crime, nor applauds the Galileans as martyrs for their country.
Jesus then was no politician.
5. The [good] politician must maintain his civil rights, not only
(he would tell you), for his own sake, but to
teach authority not to overstep its just boundaries. An unjust demand upon his purse in the way of tax, he would esteem
himself bound to resist. But how does Jesus act in such a case? The demand of
the tribute-money is made upon him (Matt. 17: 24).
He proves His exemption, but He works a miracle to pay the demand.
6. A question is raised by His countrymen, and referred for His
decision - ‘Whether it was lawful to pay tribute to
the Roman emperor or not?’ This critical question must have drawn out
the politician. Involved in it lay the right of the Romans to rule
Jesus, then, was not a politician.
Am I a disciple - [i.e., a
follower] - of His? Neither, then, am I
to be one. “It is
enough for the disciple, that he be as his
master.” If Jesus did not intermeddle in civil
government, it is because such conduct would not be pleasing to God. Jesus
neither acted politically Himself, nor
sanctioned it in others. To be engaged in politics, therefore, either as an
actor or speaker, is no part of my duty
as a Christian; else the character of Jesus is not perfect. But His perfection is my
pattern; and, therefore, it becomes me
to refuse, as pointedly as He did,
to mingle in politics. For this is my calling, to be “not of the world, even as Jesus was not of the world” (John 16: 16).
II. ‘But did not Paul plead his Roman
citizenship when they were about to scourge him? Did he not, when his life was
in danger, appeal to Caesar?’ True: and the Christian is permitted,
therefore, by means of the law to save himself from death or injurious
treatment. But neither of these points form part of the character of the
politician, such as we have described him. …
-------
CHURCH AND STATE
(1) The Lord Jesus, their
Saviour, is also their Example (1 Pet. 2: 9-15). He took no part on earth’s government,
not even the comparatively small matter of a dispute over an inheritance (Luke 12: 13, 14). He pronounced no opinion on the then ruling
authority, but commanded, “Render to Caesar
the things that are Caesar’s” (Matt. 22: 15-32).
(2) Where in
Holy Scripture (our sole guide and court of appeal, particularly the New Testament)
is it commanded, or implied, that Christians are to assist in choosing the
government of the country in which they live? Are they not “strangers and pilgrims,” and should they not be “without the camp,” where Christ is, in relation to
this world (Heb. 13: 13)?
(3) “The Churches of God,” and “the world” are circles that touch but do
not cut. The Church is not commissioned to reform the world (note Tim. 3: 13), but to witness with a view to
saving men [and women] out from the
world (John 17: 14). Politics are of this world.
Voting, therefore, is a worldly act.
(4) “The powers that be,” even
when popularly elected, “are ordained of God” (Rom. 13: 1). If I vote for a particular Party, and it
is wholly defeated, may there not be a subconscious resentment, instead of the
appointed “subjection”?
(5) Can a candidate be found who will embrace the entire Christian
position, and press it in Parliament?
(6) Arising out of this, could a believer happily help another
into such an “atmosphere,” in which he would
constantly antagonize most of his fellow-Members of Parliament?
* * *
[16]
WITH CHRIST IN THE HEAVENLIES
OUR meeting the Lord “in the air,” where therefore the ‘parousia’ must be, is illustrated - perhaps no more than illustrated -
for the first time in history by air-flight: experiences of the aeroplane are
singularly suggestive that the physical facts correspond.
First, if the Parousia is in the
‘stratosphere’ - which would require clouds to
be broken before the Lord visibly descends - that rapt bodies must be “changed’
[from mortality to immortality] - is
instantly inevitable. Flight-Lieut. George
Reynolds, D.F.C., says (World Digest, Feb., 1944):- “Flying
in the stratosphere without a Pressure cabin provides one with peculiar sensations
that are not experienced in other forms of flying. There is, for instance, intense cold: so cold, in
fact, that boiling hot oil freezes in a few minutes. There is a fight to retain
consciousness, and a challenge to death, as it were, should one’s oxygen supply
become interrupted above 35,000 ft. There are sustained attacks of paralysis of
the legs and arms to overcome, the stomach becomes painfully distended through
the expansion of gases in the intestines, and there comes the unpleasant bogey,
commonly known as the ‘bends.’ It is difficult even for those who have gone
through the ‘bends’ adequately to describe the discomfort. There is
excruciating pain in the joints, shoulders, knees and ankles, which leaves one
almost verging on a state of collapse.”
Since, by the very nature of a
parable, no figure in it is to be taken literally, the ‘outer darkness’ in to which the ‘slothful
servant’ is cast (Matt. 25: 30) when
judged in the Parousia, simply implies banishment from the radiant Presence;
but the picture is singularly enforced by what the airman discovers above and
beyond the clouds. “There is the sensation,”
says Flight-Lieut. Reynolds, “of being in a different heaven, quite. different from the heaven one sees
from the ground, a sky black as pitch and a sun that seems like a gigantic
searchlight, glaring menacing on a background of black velvet.”
So also the sight of the earth
below completes the picture for all who are about to reign with the descending
Lord. “There is the most amazing experience of clearly
seeing the earth for hundreds of miles round, north, south, east and west, as
it lies below. That was just the greatest thing, and a sight that will live
long in my memory; of being able to see from the cabin of my plane in good
weather the outline of the Aegean Sea with Crete and Cyprus lying like tiny stones
in a great pool of water, then to the right being able to see far out along the
North African coast beyond Tobruk and Benghazi; to the left Palestine, Syria
and Iran, with the Dead Sea lying like a strip of silver paper on a brown
carpet; and before one, seemingly no more than a hand’s stretch away, yet
actually more than a hundred miles in the distance, Egypt and the Suez Canal
and the Red Sea stretching down to the Indian Ocean.”
Finally, there is a peculiar
consciousness of God. As one airman wrote home:- “It
seems a fellow just gets to realizing God is there - all around us - because
such beauty and vastness could not otherwise be understood. You can’t argue
with a sunset that is so immense and beautiful that it makes the whole Fortress
crew speechless. We get so we sort of understand God and feel He is real - because
there is such overwhelming evidence all around us.”
-------
Tennyson voiced
the heart-cry of thousands.
“Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me
And may there be no moaning of the bar
When I put out to sea.
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.”
Asked by a contemporary Bishop
if by ‘his Pilot’ he meant Christ, the poet
replied, ‘Yes’; and it is equally moving that
his doctor, describing his passing, said, - “Lord
Tennyson had a gloriously beautiful death.”
* * *
[17]
THE OVERMASTERING FACT
OF THE UNIVERSE*
By D. M.
PANTON, B.A.
[* From D. M. Panton’s “Dawn”
Evangelical Magazine, February, 1945.]
IT is of critical importance to the thoughtful unbeliever, who
wishes to know the truth - whatever the truth may be - that there is one
solitary fact which, if proved false, all Christianity sinks to the bottom of
the ocean; but which, if proved true, makes the Christian Faith the one
absolute, over-mastering fact of the universe.
The
Risen Christ
The miracle of miracles, the
fact beneath all saving faith, is the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We
observe first that it is quite certain that the Resurrection was proclaimed by
the first preachers, and that it formed the backbone of all they said. The
audience before whom they spoke made no difference: before the Jewish crowd,
the priestly Sanhedrim, Greek philosophers, Roman kings and governors - throughout
the Acts we find the first preachers
always preaching “Jesus and the resurrection.” To them
it was the foundation of all. Paul - who was peculiarly conscious of the
gravity of the doctrine, and the enormous consequences of preaching it - probably
within seven years, certainly within ten, of our Lord’s rising, tells the
Corinthian disciples that their pardon with God turns entirely on Christ being
raised [out from
the dead]: and he
says that what he affirms is identical with the testimony of the Twelve
Apostles - “whether then it be I or they, so we” - together - “preach,
and so ye believed.” For
they all proclaimed what they had all actually seen:- “He appeared to Cephas; then to
the twelve; then he appeared to above five
hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater
part remain until now, but some are fallen
asleep; then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; and
last of all, as unto one born out of due time, he appeared to me also” (1
Cor. 15: 5). Thus from within a few years of
our Lord’s death the [select] Resurrection
- [of our Lord Jesus] - was
presented as the bedrock of the Christian Faith: it
was no after-invention of later ages.
The
Death
Now we look at one or two of the
possibilities of the situation, and
first at the swoon theory. Could our Lord - as T. Huxley and Mrs. Eddy, the
founder of Christian Science, believed - have been in a faint or swoon, and
been afterwards nursed back to life by loving disciples? Look fairly and
squarely at what this would mean. First of all - passing by the evidence of the
centurion, who examined the Body on behalf of Pilate, Nicodemus and Joseph, who
took it down, and the women, who embalmed it - Jesus, observe, was fast sealed
within the tomb: therefore He must have recovered inside, and have escaped out
of the tomb alone. The piercing of His side with the spear, if it did not cause
death, would certainly have caused extreme exhaustion: yet He must, in that
exhausted state (supposing Him to have recovered from a faint) have rolled away
the stone alone - which three or four women could not manage - and that from
the inside, which is probably impossible: He must have walked twelve miles to
Emmaus and back, and this with pierced feet; and yet all the time must somehow
have succeeded in giving the disciples the impression, not of a half-dead man,
but of His being the Prince of Life. And if so, what has become of Him since?
Where did He live? where did He die? where is the tomb that would be so
venerated by millions? where is the rumour of His ultimate death, that would at
all events have destroyed the story of the Ascension?
False
Witnesses
But that is not all. If the
disciples nursed Jesus back to life, all their statements about the
Resurrection must have been conscious and deliberate falsehoods: then we have
got to face the difficulty of how the New Testament - the sweetest, purest,
loveliest [Divinely inspired] Book in
the world - came to be written by a pack of imposters, men who did not hesitate
to draw up elaborate documents consciously untrue. And we confront a far vaster
difficulty even than that:- Our Lord must have connived, in a guilty way, at
the deception; and the Man in whom His judge could find no sin, and in whom no
sin has been discovered for nineteen centuries, must have lived the rest of His
life a conscious fraud, who never opened His lips to tell the world the truth
on this momentous matter. That is a difficulty of impossible magnitude. But
even that is not all. An insurmountable difficulty remains. Why - if Jesus was
still alive, and lived for years after - did the Pharisees never hustle Him
back into the streets of
* This is
the attempt now being made in
The
Resurrection
Next, we look at the
Resurrection Body itself; and here we notice a most remarkable fact. The
accounts, to begin with, leave out the very things which, if a body of men had
sat down to write a fiction, would have been dilated upon. All the accounts give
the vitally important points - a grave without a corpse, and the disciples’
slowness of belief; and they all omit to say what imaginary accounts would
certainly have described - namely, the act of rising, which is nowhere
described; any news from the world of the dead - news which would have been
most eagerly welcomed; and any appearance of Christ to His enemies:- all the
details which would have been most eagerly welcomed are sternly withheld. But
something much more startlingly convincing is here. The apostles witness to a
kind of resurrection which had not been foretold in the Old Testament, and
which was so extremely puzzling that for long they themselves would not believe
it. The return of a spirit, like Samuel or the witch of Endor, they could
understand; the resurrection of a natural body, like Lazarus’s, they had
already seen: what the Old Testament had never foretold, and what no man could
have guessed, is exactly what they assert again and again - namely, a rising in
a body which was not a spirit, and not a natural body, but combining both
properties in a way that the human mind had never before conceived. This is
what they report. It was the same body, for it was scarred; it was the same
body, for there was no body in the tomb: yet it was another fashion of body, for at times they did not recognize Him
and it passed through locked doors, and ultimately into Heaven, without
difficulty - a ‘changed’ body, exactly as our bodies must be ‘changed’ (1 Cor. 15: 51) before they can pass
into the stratosphere. Now how did they get this conception - which has been testified
to for nineteen centuries - if it was not the experience of a fact? The Lord
Himself had never foretold it: the Old Testament had never foretold it: a
combination of the properties making up the resurrection body is so puzzling,
and so unique, that nothing but actual experience could have convinced men of
its being a fact.
The
Appearance
Lastly, were the appearances of
our Lord all imaginary, and due to subjective vision? Did the Apostles - quite
honestly - imagine our Saviour’s appearance? Persons do not embalm a body
unless they expect it to remain in its grave: the disciples did not expect Him
to arise, so they would hardly have imagined it. Again, on several occasions
the disciples did not recognise Jesus; whereas if He was a vision only, and
purely imaginary, conjured up by brooding upon His memory, they would have seen
Him exactly as they knew Him. Again, if the conversations with our Lord were
also purely imaginary - as in that case they must have been - how shall we
account for the fact of Jesus telling them to go and baptize all the nations - precisely
what the Jewish disciples were not prepared to do? Again, an imaginary vision
cannot appear at one and the same moment to a group of persons; a man’s dream
is always his own: and these people, whatever they were dreaming about, could
not honestly believe that they looked into an empty grave, if the body was
there all the time; nor that they touched the Lord, when, if it had been a
dream, the attempt to touch Him would at once have revealed the illusion. Nor
could they see Him eat food, if it was a dream, for the simple reason that the
food would remain. It is certain that the Body the disciples saw was an
objective reality.
Summary
So we sum it up. It was not one
person who saw Him, but many - five hundred at once: they saw Him, not only
separately, but together; not only for a moment, but extending over weeks; not
only by night, but by day; not only far off, but close at hand; not only once,
but often; and they not only saw Him, but touched Him, walked with Him,
listened to Him, talked to Him, ate with Him, and even handled Him to satisfy
their doubts. The Person most anxious to prove His bodily resurrection was our
Lord Himself, for without it there is no salvation for a single human soul. “If Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; YE ARE YET IN YOUR SINS” (1 Cor. 15: 17).
Christianity
Proved
So the overmastering fact of the
universe, revolutionizing all thought, is lodged in the fact of the risen and
ascended Christ. Two eminent lawyers who were Deists, believed in the existence
of God, but not in the Supernatural. They did not believe in the miracles of
Christ, nor in the resurrection. These two men, Ibbotson and West, met
together, and got into conversation, when one of them said to the other:- “We cannot maintain our case against Christianity unless we
discredit and disprove two things that Christians allege to be true. We must
disprove the alleged conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Ibbotson said to West:- “Well, I will sift the evidence for the conversion of Saul of
Tarsus; according to the rules of evidence I will prove that the whole story is a fabrication.” West replied:- “Well, I will take up the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
and prove by the rules of evidence that Jesus never rose from the dead,”
and these two eminent men of the law separated.
After
some months they met again, and West said
to Ibbotson: - “Well, have you written your book?” “Yes,” he said, “I have but
as I sifted the evidence for the conversion of Saul of Tarsus from a legal
standpoint, and With legal precision, I became satisfied that Saul of Tarsus
was really converted, as recorded in the Acts of the
Apostles, and I have
become a Christian and written my book on that side. Have you written your book?” “Yes,” he said. “I have
written my book also; but as I sifted the evidence for the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead, from a legal standpoint, I became satisfied that
there was no room for honest doubt that Jesus Christ really did rise as the
Gospels state, and I have become a Christian and written my book on that side.”
-------
AFTER AN
OPERATION
I know
that my Redeemer lives, for who but He could stay
The
anxious trembling in my heart before I went away?
Who else
but He could make me calm, and take away my dread
When
waiting, conscious, unafraid of all that lay ahead?
Who else
but He could give me rest so long, so still, so deep,
Renew my
life, and make my rest return to me in sleep?
Oh, my
Redeemer, oh, my Friend, I fail in thanks to Thee
For all
Thy goodness and Thy love, for all Thou art to me!
I know
that my Redeemer lives - oh, may I live in Thee
I
consecrate myself afresh for all the years to be:
I knew I
loved Thee long ere this, but now my love has grown,
For in
my deepest need Thou hast Thyself made fully known.
LUCY ALDEN
* * *
[18]
MARTYRS
By D. M.
PANTON
AS we approach nearer
every day to a fresh era of martyrdom, we do well to realise that within every
martyr dwells the almighty endurance of the Holy Ghost; that behind every
martyr is the figure of a living Christ; and over every martyr is an opened
Heaven and the Throne of God. “Behold,” says
the first Christian martyr, “I see the heavens
opened, and the Son of man” -
Himself the supreme martyr - “standing on the
right hand of God” (Acts 6: 56).
Martyrs
An extraordinary honour is put
by God upon the martyr band. Alone among the dead the veil over them is drawn,
and we see and hear them - the solitary class of the dead ever actually
revealed to living eyes. Also, alone among the dead, we behold them under the
Central Altar of the universe (Rev. 6: 9). Alone
among the dead they are given public recognition in Heaven, before Patriarchs or
Apostles, and the only class - as a class - named
as Millennial Kings (Rev. 20: 4). It is most extraordinary that
the very worst the world can do us, its acme of cruelty, is to put us into
the most unique and radiant class of God’s saints; for in
proportion as we suffer with Christ, we draw upon the heart of God. “Present my thanks
to the Emperor,” said the martyr, Phileas of Trunis, “for he has made me a joint heir with Christ.”
The
Altar
Now we see exactly where they
appear. “And when he opened the fifth seal,
I saw underneath the altar” - the
place of most joyous security in the whole universe - “the souls
of them that had been slain” - the word is ‘sacrificed’, and is also applied to the Lamb slain (Rev. 5: 6). That these had been ‘sacrificed’ fixes
this Altar as the Altar of Burnt Offering, made hollow beneath, for the
reception of the poured out blood (Lev. 9: 9) of the
sacrifices. “I have myself stood,” says Dr. Seiss “in
the opening under the rock, on which the altar had its place, and stamped my
foot upon the marble slab which closes the mouth of the vast receptacle, and
satisfied myself, from detonations, that the excavated space is very large and
deep. The Mohammedans, to this day, as I was told on the spot, regard it as the
place where spirits are detained until the day of judgment and call it ‘the
Well of Spirits’.”
A
Sacrifice
So here is the unveiling of the
vast martyr-host, the hecatomb of six thousand
years of bitter hate. For it would appear that the
phrasing is purposely indefinite so as to cover all martyrs of all
dispensations:- “slain for the word of God,
and for the testimony which they held”; slain for -
because of, on account of - the Word of God; adherence to Scripture at all
costs made them martyrs. A martyr is not merely an innocent man murdered, nor
even a man murdered for his convictions, but a man murdered for the Word
of God. He has
offered to God the supreme sacrifice. So Paul, on the brink of martyrdom, says:-
“I am already being poured out as a drink-offering,
and the time of my departure is come” (2 Tim. 4: 6): a sacrifice, not of atonement, but of
devotion. So again:- “Yea, if
I am offered upon the service and sacrifice of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you
all” (Phil. 2:
17). Ignatius, who has been called the Prince of Martyrs, compared the
martyr to the meal offering:- “God’s wheat, ground
fine by the teeth of wild beasts, that he may be found pure bread, a sacrifice
to God.”
Judgment
As judgment draws nearer, these
souls cry for justice - when intercessions for mercy change to imprecations for
doom. “And they cried with a great voice,
saying, How long,
O Master” - the cry is to Christ, as it is
He who opens the Seal; it is the appeal of the murdered to sovereign Power - “dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell
on the earth?” It is a parallel cry among the dead to a simultaneous cry
among the living:- “Avenge me of mine adversary. And shall not God avenge his elect, which cry to him day and night?” (Luke 18: 3, 7). “Be
assured,” said Cyprian to the
African Proconsul, “that, whatever we suffer, we will
not remain unavenged; and the greater the injury, the heavier the vengeance.”
“Mark well our faces,” said Saturus to a crowd who visited the
prison over-night, and broke in on the Lord’s Supper, “that
you may recognise us again on the day of judgment.” The moment
approaches when grace becomes impossible and vengeance inevitable.* “The
martyr’s hope,” says Horatius Bonar,
“is the hope of
the first resurrection, of reigning with Christ; of entry into the celestial
city; of the crown of life; of the inheritance of all things.”
* So long
as the Church is on the earth, our prayer must be our Lord’s - “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”; or Stephen’s - “Lord, lay not this sin to
their charge”.
A White
Robe
The first response to the cry is
an act. “And there was given them to each one
a white robe”; in sharp and glorious contrast to vestures torn by lions, or
rags foul with dungeon mire. Our Lord said to the Church in
Rest
Lastly, a remarkable reason is
given for the delay in the judgment. “And it
was said unto them that they should rest” - not simply to wait,
but enjoy repose - “yet until their fellow-servants also and their brethren” - the
Christian title of endearment (Moses
Stuart): unrapt Christians
- “which should be killed even as they were” - hecatombs
and holocausts yet to be - “should be fulfilled.” How
many are in the roll we have no conception. “There is
no day in the whole year,” wrote Jerome
of his own age, “to which the number of five thousand
martyrs cannot be ascribed”: “a vast multitude
in
Reward
One word of Christ explains the
martyr-heart. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give
thee the crown of life” (Rev. 2: 10). “Do you
suppose,” asked Junius Rusticus of
a little band of martyrs, “that you will ascend up to
Heaven to receive some recompense there?” “I do
not suppose it,” replied Justin,
“I know it.” “The tortured,” said Cyprian, himself a martyr, “stand more than the torturers: the torn limbs overcome the backs that tear them.” “As a rule,” said the Emperor Diocletian, who martyred many, “the
Christians are only too happy to die.” “Why are
you so bent upon death?” an official said to Pionius of Smyrna; “you are so bent upon death
that you make nothing of it.” “We are bent,”
the martyr replied, “not upon death, but upon life.”
* * *
[19]
THE REWARD OF THE
INHERITANCE
By JOHN H. GREENING
PERHAPS it is a
commonplace to say that salvation is by grace. Eternal life is a gift, the gift
of God. “By grace are ye saved through faith”, not by
any works of righteousness which you can do. “He
that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved.” God so
loved the world that He gave His Son, and to those who receive this precious
Saviour the right is accorded to become sons of God. We gladly worship and
adore the Author of this great and eternal salvation from the penalty and the
power of sin.
In his Epistle to the Colossians,
Paul writes, “Knowing that of the Lord ye shall
receive the reward of the inheritance” (3:
24), and placing our emphasis upon the word “reward”, we proceed to ask what Paul
means by this. Is it possible that this man, the foremost exponent of the
freeness of God’s salvation, who was himself an outstanding example of the
operation of sovereign grace, is here suggesting that this [eternal] salvation
comes to a man as a reward for his service rendered? No, by no means. He knew
full well and unalterably that he had begun in grace, and there can be no
falling away from that glorious position. Grace must lay the foundation, and one
day crown all with the topstone. He would be turning back again to weak and
beggarly elements if he weakened in any way, and yet he speaks of “the reward of the inheritance”.
Did he mean that after all, even
with all that he has said and has done, there is some sense in which eternal
life can be merited and salvation earned? Again we emphatically repeat - no,
not at all. He does indeed write of the inheritance as being a reward for
service rendered, but it is perfectly plain that he was addressing those who
already possessed eternal life, and he regards them as being already risen with
Christ (vs. 1).
The reward of the inheritance therefore is not a permit to enter into
Heaven at last; it is not the bestowal of the right and authority to become a
citizen of the New Jerusalem. These are already indisputably assured to all who
accept Christ, and place their confidence alone upon the finished work of the
Lord Jesus upon
[* Rom. 6: 23. ** John 3: 13; cf.
14: 2, 3; 1 Cor. 15: 23; Acts 24: 15, 16, ff.; 2 Tim. 2: 16-18; Rev. 6: 9-11, R.V.]
Elsewhere in his Epistles Paul
deals with these truths in a somewhat different fashion. To the Corinthians he
writes that there are some who will be saved at the last though “as by fire” - saved, yes, certainly, but
saved whilst seeing all their goods go up in smoke.
A friend, speaking to the writer
on one occasion, said that he would be glad to get into
Heaven even if he only just managed to get inside. There may be many who might be included in this class of Christians;
content with their own - [“free gift” (Rom. 6: 24, R.V.), because of the Blood of God’s bought] - salvation and with little knowledge of
sacrificial service; others again earnestly desire an abundant entrance. In which class
will you be?
Looking again at Paul’s words we
find that they constitute clear instructions on the matter of the [promised (Ps. 2: 8)] inheritance, as to how its value may be enhanced
to the believer. Because the inheritance into which he will one day enter and
enjoy, is a reward, therefore let him strive diligently to make it ever an increasingly magnificent
place and condition. … What a joy it will be to have something to
lay at His feet in that transcendent hour! How poor will those be who have
earned little for this glorious [millennial] day! Of course, even to
get into Heaven is far away beyond gaining even the whole world; to merit a
worthy inheritance there is better still, and infinitely more important than
the enjoyment of a pleasant house, wealth, position, comfort and the approval
of doubtful friends. Of the Lord ye shall
receive the reward of the
inheritance.
These being the facts then,
friend, why do you bend all your energies to get to yourself these rewards here
and now and give such scant attention to your eternal position? Can it be that
you are really more concerned about what men think about you in this present
evil day, and more interested in your appearance before them, than you are
about how you will look before redeemed sons of God in the world to which you
are soon to go? How strange is the earnest devotion which so many Christians give
to the pursuit of the material things of today, in comparison to the slight
attention given to securing for themselves a suitable reward hereafter! An
unsaved man foolishly rejects the offer of mercy and that to his everlasting
loss; and meanwhile his saved neighbour unwisely neglects the reward in Glory, which might be his, and
gives his best efforts to get hold of what he can enjoy but for a brief time.
How then can the Christian lay
up treasure and improve his inheritance? Paul gives the Holy Spirit’s formula
in verse 23. His instructions are plain and
complete: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord,
and not unto men; knowing
that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ” [Col. 3:
24, R.V.]. Here
is the secret made plain. You are saved - praise God for that. Now as to reward
- live only for Jesus. See Him as your Master, the One for whom you are
working. Hence do everything, the big things and the small matters, as unto Him
and not as to men. From morning till night walk as if His eyes were upon you.
Let nothing enter into your life which you know He would not altogether
approve. Thus you will be serving the Lord Christ who loves you dearly, and who
laid down His life to redeem you. And serving Him, assuredly He will pay you
and pay you well. The thought of the reward should
constrain you and be an impetus for the best work you can do. In a word,
consecrate your all to Him, yield yourself to God, live only for Him, serve
Christ and not men.
This is a high ideal, and yet it
is simply normal Christianity. It is our reasonable service. Give it
unrestrainedly, and the day is coming when you will rejoice that you did not
hold back. Refuse the appeal, do not respond and you will be saved, and it may
be “so as by fire”, and
have nothing to show for your life. Why seek an easeful estate now and miss
this rich inheritance which might be yours by serving the Lord on the mission
field or in some ministry of love which would cost you something for His sake?
Why spend so much of your powers for present, passing things, which breed
vanity and emptiness, when the highest service beckons you, and meanwhile will
fit you for an infinitely larger enjoyment of God in the life beyond. Serve the Lord and you will never regret it. How
sweet it will be to be greeted by our blessed Lord, with the words “Come, ye blessed of My Father,
inherit the
Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world”. There is no anticipation so glorious as this. - The Gospel Herald.
-------
REIGNING WITH CHRIST
THERE is not a single text of
Scripture which represents the new birth of itself as qualifying any one to
reign with Christ in His coming kingdom, but in every single
place where reigning with Christ is spoken of there are terms which indicate
something more than justification [by
faith], terms strongly
expressive of being dead to sin, of
following Christ to the death, of
being purified, made white, and tried.
Now Christ affirms that those who are the overcomers will share
His coming kingdom just as emphatically and as surely as He at the present time
as a glorified man is sharing the Father’s government in heaven. Jesus tells us
in this 21st verse that He has
overcome, and is now sitting down with the Father in the Father’s throne, and
just as much as that is a literal fact, so He affirms that His perfectly loyal
disciples shall sit in His government when He reigns on the earth.
In a vast empire there are a
great many departments of government. When we look into the structure of the
Kingdom of Great Britain or the United States we find a great many departments
of government and each of the heads of these various departments have under
them officers and assistants, divided and subdivided, extending into ramified
details, covering the whole territory of government in its legislative and
judicial and executive functions, at home and abroad, in its commercial,
educational, religious, agricultural, scientific, and social relations,
furnishing busy employment and a field for the exercise of innumerable gifts
and capabilities to many thousands of persons. Thus when the Lord Jesus, as a
glorified man and the crowned heir of David, shall sit on His throne as the
King of this World, He will institute the greatest and most glorious and most
diversified empire ever known to the human mind. All the kings that have ever
existed in this world in their most perfect state of glory will be in
comparison with the theocratic
- G. W. WATSON, D.D.
* * *
[20]
THE COMING KING
By GORDON
CHILVERS
THE world will soon be
dominated by a man who will plunge it into deeper sin than it has ever known before. He will be a world-emperor,
the superman, for whom the political
world is now waiting. He is known as the Antichrist. He will do everything in
his power to oppose the true Christ, and will as far as it is possible usurp
his position.
The first thing we are told of this
king is that he will be a law to himself: “And the
king shall do according to his will” (Dan.
11: 36). Being
a world-emperor and backed by the
power of Satan, as permitted by God, he will have such success that his head is
turned by the dizzy heights of fame which he has reached. Nothing must stand in
his way: everyone who seeks to oppose him is at once executed. Then he is to be
the essence of pride: “And he shall exalt himself”.
Convinced of his own greatness, he will have all men to know that he is the
greatest man on earth.
Yet even there he will not stop,
for he will endeavour to seduce men to transfer their worship from the God of
heaven to himself: “and magnify himself above every other
god”. Thus, he will try to show that he is not only the greatest
man on earth but that there is no
being in heaven who is greater than he is. As Antichrist, he will deny God and
Christ. So John says: “He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2: 22). In
order to prove his words he will resort to blasphemy, “and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods”. To
show his own importance he must try to show the unimportance of Jehovah. We are
amazed that God allows this, and apparently without rebuke. The silent heaven
in the face of the wickedness of man is the most amazing thing in the universe
at the time. He “shall prosper till the indignation be
accomplished”. God allows this wickedness then, not because He does not know what is happening, nor because He is powerless to interfere, but because of His anger against the
inhabitants of the earth. God is
greatly displeased with men, and
especially - [apostate and disobedient
Christians, as well as] -
the Jew, and so He allows wicked men to have sway that they may chastise their
fellow-men. “For that which is determined shall be
done”. Man has but the earthly view, and it seems to him that the
man does just as he likes. God has the heavenly view; He is watching and
planning, and the man is only doing what God already knew that He would do, and
had taken into account in His plan. Isaiah’s words are much to the point: “Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?
or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it ? as if the rod
should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. For the
Lord God of Hosts shall make a consumption, even
determined, in the midst of all the land.
For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction” (Is. 10: 15, 23 and 25).
So strong will be this man’s
determination to get worship to himself at all costs that, “neither shall he regard the God of his fathers”.
Jehovah will not be worshipped by the Antichrist, though He was acknowledged
supreme by all preceding generations. “Nor the
desire of woman” - a goddess. Many countries have a goddess who is worshipped
by large sections of the population; for example, the large section of Roman
Catholics who worship the Virgin Mary whom they regard as being “the Mother of God”. “Nor
regard any god!” He will not worship Jehovah, a female deity, or any other god;
he will not even be like the Greeks who worshipped The Unknown God.
Earlier in the book (ch. 7) we are told that this man will change times and seasons; here
we are told that he will change gods, for he will worship no known deity. Now
we get the reason for his hatred of all gods, “For
he shall magnify himself above all”. He craves for worship and
reckons himself to be God and so will not render allegiance to any other. He
will take up the attitude: “L'etat c'est moi”
- “The state, I am the state”. Yet man does not
wish to be without worship, and something, however foolish, will be that before
which he bows. “But in his estate he shall honour the
God of forces.” War will be his object; conquest and the lust of power will be
the only object of his life. In his view, might will be right, and he,
strengthened by diabolical power, will make war against every opposing nation
on the earth. His armies will know no rest, for war, war, war, will be his
all-absorbing interest. “And a god whom his fathers knew not
shall be honoured.” His god will not be one who is generally
known to the world as such, yet he will be the god who is worshipped by a few
people even in this country today - Satan himself.
The apostle John in the book of Revelation makes this abundantly clear. The people of that time, “worshipped the dragon (that is, Satan) which gave power unto the beast” (Rev.
13: 4). The
reason why Antichrist should worship Satan is not difficult to find; “The dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Rev. 13: 2). He is dependent upon Satan for
his power and in return he is the tool of Satan, and in response to Satan’s
love of worship he causes the world to worship the Devil. So great is the
Devil’s love of worship that he said, “I will
be like the most High” (Is. 14: 14), and as
a result he was cast out of heaven. Later he even asked the Son of God to fall
down and worship him, for which he would have given world-dominion without the
cross. Christ refused the offer; Antichrist accepts it and this is the result:
he shall “honour (him) with gold, and silver, and with precious
stones, and pleasant things”. No
doubt temples where Satan can be worshipped will abound and these will be
magnificently adorned. “Thus shall he do in the most strong
holds with a strange god.” In all places on earth he will
set up temples for the worship of Satan: even where Jehovah is worshipped -
probably by devout Jews - he will succeed in overcoming resistance so as to
bring in the god he desires that everyone
should worship. He shall “increase (Satan) with glory”. There
is nothing at which Antichrist will stop short to bring honour to his master.
In all probability he dare not even hesitate; Satan is a hard master and his
terms are the most rigorous.
“And he
shall cause them to rule over many.” Satan’s universal power is
given to Antichrist who will delegate it to those who serve him. The principle
behind the division will be corruption. “And
(he) shall divide the land for gain.” They
will not be the most suitable men who will rule, but those who will pay the
largest sum of money for the privilege. What a world this is to be! It will be
ruled by agents of hell who employ any man who is wealthy enough, and who is
willing to pay the price. “And at the time of
the end shall the king of the south push at him.” Here is
evidence that we are correct in applying these events to the last days. The
king of the south is a power in control of
This king will pass through many
countries whether the kings of the other nations wish it or not until he comes
to
Antichrist will gain far more by
his craft than he will by war: he will choose peaceful means whenever this is
possible, and only when that is not sufficient will he engage in expensive
wars. “But these shall escape out of his
hand,” - not because of their goodness but because of their
wickedness - “even
The wealth of this world will
belong to Satan’s man. He, as is promised, is given the kingdoms of the world
and the glory of them. “He shall have power over the treasures
of gold and of silver.” His wealth will be fabulous even when
compared with that of Solomon. The riches of
Yet, in spite of Antichrist’s
enormous power; not everything will go well for him. “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall
trouble him.” It is possible that the yellow peril will afflict
the world at that time. The nations of the East include
God hears the cry of the Jew and
so “he (Antichrist) shall come to his end, and
none shall help him”. When God arises in judgment He
will miss none and will sweep wickedness from the earth, and so Antichrist will have no helper. “And the beast was taken, and
with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the
beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning
with brimstone” (Rev. 19: 20). What
about Satan, surely he has not forsaken him in his hour of trial? No! But Satan
is powerless to help himself, let alone his poor dupes. “And he (the angel) laid hold on the dragon, that
old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him” (Rev. 20: 2, 3).
We know
that these events must happen, so we look the more earnestly for the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we may be [“watchful” and “accounted worthy to escape all these things being about to
occur, and” (Lk. 21: 36; cf. Rev.
3: 10)] caught away from earth before
these terrible events take place.
-------
THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH
There is a false belief abroad
that only gentle, tender, loving persuasion
are in harmony with the New Testament times. It is all a mistake! Never in
the world’s history were fearless, resolute Christians needed more than today.
Come forth, ye men of God, with brows of brass and nerves of iron and hearts
big with the love of Jesus, and the thunders of Jehovah’s wrath against all
unrighteousness. This age needs Jeremiahs, to tell the truth, the whole truth,
please or displease, dungeon or no dungeon, mire or no mire! To speak God’s
judgment prophecies and God’s unvarnished Truth in monarch’s court, and the
nobleman’s mansion, and the poor man’s cottage and to all it may concern!
Wanted Jeremiahs! - GENERAL WILLIAM
BOOTH
* * *
[20]
THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE
By GORDON
CHILVERS
WHEN our Lord first
planted His doctrine in the earth, it was the essence of purity. It is no less
obvious, that the doctrine held and taught by one section of the Church today,
is more corrupt than pure. Whence then is this great change? Was it sudden or
gradual? What was the cause of it?
“The
kingdom of heaven” - that is, the Church dispensation, our Lord says:- “is like unto leaven” (Matt.
13: 33).
Accuracy in the meaning here is vital, for the parable either teaches that the
Church will sanctify the world or that the world will corrupt the Church. While
scholars are agreed that the usual significance of leaven is evil, some would
change its meaning in this parable only. But “leaven being always in the Bible a symbol of what
is evil” (R. V. G. Tasker), it would be exceeding strange if Christ took
this simile and gave it an entirely fresh meaning without the slightest hint of
the change. To quote the words of Sir
Leon Levison: “In the
Bible leaven is employed as the type of
corruption. This type is an apt one, for fermentation, as science declares,
is a process of disintegration and decay;
it is itself corruption.”
Leaven, unlike yeast, is old dough that has become sour. The effect of leaven
is to corrupt.
Because of its evil character,
leaven was forbidden to the Israelites while they were keeping the Passover. “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your
houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread,
from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be
cut off from Israel” (Ex. 12: 15). We turn
to the Old Testament sacrifices and we find that leaven was not allowed in the
meal offering, for this spoke of the perfect life of Christ. It was significant
that leaven which belonged to
Leaven being a figure of false
doctrine, our Lord warns His disciples against it. “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of
the Sadducees.” “Then understood they how that
He bade not beware of the leaven of bread, but
of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matt. 16: 6 and 12). Paul
also warns:- “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”
(1 Cor. 5: 6). Then he
instructs, “Therefore let us keep the feast,
not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”
(1 Cor. 5: 8).
This leaven a “woman took”. When good is spoken of in the
parables it is a man who is said to do it, and in most cases it is Christ
Himself. This change from man to woman is very significant; the significance
being that the act this time is evil and not good. As the leaven is figurative
and not literal, the woman is also figurative. Three times in Revelation a woman is spoken of in a figurative
sense and in each case the woman is a city. There is the earthly
The first taking was by a literal woman and this had tremendous
consequences of evil, for man: lost innocence; lost eternity; and the loss of
Divine fellowship. The second taking was by a figurative woman and the consequences are almost as disastrous.
The Church - [through disobedience to God’s commands (Acts 5: 32; cf., 1
John 3: 24, R.V.)] - lost its supernatural
gifts of the [Holy] Spirit; it lost its power; it lost its humility; and it lost
its glory. The woman’s power is derived, and hers is a self-exaltation, and so
not of God. “And the woman which thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over
the kings of the earth” (Rev. 17: 18).
This leaven was hid. Very
significantly our Lord says:- “Beware, ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there
is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed;
neither hid that shall not be made known” (Luke 12: 1 and 2). The act of hiding leaven was wrong in itself. Speaking of the
incestuous brother who represents the leaven Paul says:- “Deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the
flesh, that
the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5: 5 [cf., Num. 14: 23, 24, R.V. -
when left
in ‘sheol’ at
the time of ‘the Fist Resurrection” (Rev. 20: 5)]. That
is, do not conceal the leaven but cast
it out from your midst. No! The [regenerate] believer must renounce “the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness ... but
by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in
the sight of God” (2 Cor.
4: 2).
The leaven was hidden in “three measures of meal”. Three was the appointed
number of measures of flour to be used. “And in
the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the Lord;
... three tenth deals of flour for a meat offering”
(Num. 28:
11). Three indicates completion and,
Mr. Govett says, there “seems to be a reference to the universal visible Church.”
There are three main divisions of the Church, Roman, Greek and Protestant.*
Meal is a symbol of good. It was the basis of a number of offerings. The good
nature of the meal is shown by the fact that it is used to counteract poison.
When some men were eating pottage they cried to Elisha:- “There is death in the pot.” “But
he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and
he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there
was no harm in the pot” (2 Kings 4: 40 and 41) - the
meal had been so pure as to neutralize the poison. Christians are expected to
be the exact opposite of leaven. Instead of producing corruption they are to
keep others from it. “Ye are the salt of the earth”
(Matt. 5:
13). The mixing of the leaven in
the meal was forbidden, and only evil comes when this command is broken.
Christians instead are to come out from the world, and to be separate and not
even to touch, let alone mix with,
the unclean thing. It is when this rule of
separation is disobeyed that the evil begins.
* Another
suggestion of the significance of three is the dividing of the earth into three
parts. Shem, Ham and Japheth were “the three sons of
Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread”
(Gen. 9: 19).
Contagious germs when active,
soon spread and corrupt the whole community: so at last “the whole was leavened.” Eventually
there is no pure meal at all - it is totally corrupt. The mystery revealed by
this parable, is that the professing Church should
become so corrupt, that finally its purity would be completely gone.
The parable of the tares indicated a bad seed, living side by side with the
good. This parable shows the good gradually becoming corrupt. What a sad
revelation the Master had to make!
The historic application of this
parable is not far to seek. As we have seen, the woman is Papal Rome. The
corruption received great impetus when the Roman Emperor,
Leaven is introduced into bread
to make it pleasant to the taste, for flour without the addition of leaven is
hard and unpalatable. So the Roman Church has put the leaven into the pure meal
to make it more pleasant to the taste of worldly men. Rome, “discovering that severe simplicity held small appeal for
pagans used to sumptuous pageantry, gradually took over the most attractive
parts of rival ceremonials. When its bare temples puzzled pagan visitors, it
expediently provided visible symbols of the divinity. When it found that the
pagan heart clung stubbornly to ancient myths, ancient beliefs; it pre-empted
them. When it discovered that the setting apart of the priesthood by such
devices as celibacy, colourful vestments, the shaven pate powerfully fortified
the priests’ claim to rule men’s consciences, it borrowed freely from the
heathen practice” (John P.
McKnight). Romanists do not dispute this. Cardinal Newman says:- “Temples, incense,
lamps and candles, votive offerings, holy water, vestments, tonsure, turning to
the East, images - all are the very instruments and appendages of demon-worship,
now sanctified by the adoption into the Church."
Pusey, one of the leaders in the last
century movement to Romanize
As the woman took the leaven and
hid it in the meal she is responsible for the harm that followed her action.
God states His indictment in the clearest terms: “Mystery,
It is the Word of God alone
which will keep the meal pure. Cardinal
Wiseman, a prominent Roman Catholic, speaking of decisions to give up Roman
Catholicism, admits:- “All converts to Protestantism,
without exception give me but one argument. The history in every case is simply
this - the individual became possessed of the Word of God.” We have a
responsibility to study Scripture and to live it. We shall then have done what
we can to keep the meal pure.
* * *
[21]
POTENTIAL HARVEST
By ROBERT
WITHERS
THE harvest is on its way!
Spring is the time for growth. The fields are green with new life, and as they
respond to the rain and sunshine of April days, the farmer is encouraged by the
first real indication of the reward he is to gain for months of hard work and
expensive cultivation.
Of all the word pictures Jesus
painted in His stories, it is the rugged countryside of the parable of the
sower which pulls most at the heart of the farmer. How sympathetic he is to the
man whose sowing was in the region of rocks and shallow soil!
The farmer will see, more
clearly perhaps than the rest of us, that the parable is not intended to
suggest an equal division of the sown seed upon the four types of land
mentioned in the story. It is more than likely that the sower succeeded in
directing most of his seed toward ground which was known to be productive - and
it is certain that he intended all his seed to drop on that promising soil!
Our farmer friend then, will
follow with the keenest interest the parable as it relates the story of the
seed which fell upon good ground. Two questions, which might present problems
to the uninitiated town-dweller, will be answerable out of his practical
knowledge and experience.
Why did
the seed vary in its fruitfulness? “some
thirty-fold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”
Seed normally shows variation in
its germinating power, and nowadays legislation guards the purchaser against
that of poor quality. But here is a situation where seed of equal quality,
falling into ground considered to be good, gives an unreliable return at the
harvest.
When the farmer finds bad
patches in his cornfields he needs to look carefully into possible reasons for
the fault. Research may show him that poor drainage, a blight of insect pests,
or chemical deficiencies in the soil, have caused the comparative failure of
some of the seed in a normally good field.
Can it
be that the parable is intended to point to the variation undoubtedly to be
found in the fruitfulness of Christian lives? The cause of that variation
cannot be attributed to faults in the seed; nor are we to judge ourselves or
each other in suggesting that lives receiving the seed are other than “good ground.”
If, however, we humbly admit
that we fail to illustrate a hundred-fold harvest, then we must learn a lesson
from the farmer and look for causes which may seem abstract and yet are of
vital importance where fruit-bearing is concerned.
Perhaps our life is poverty-stricken
in its devotional practice, or poisoned by doubts and jealousies? Perhaps it is
stagnant with old ideas, or constantly being influenced by the critical back-chat
of unsympathetic acquaintances? If we are dissatisfied with our fruitfulness - and
who would dare to claim satisfaction? - then honest self-analysis is called
for.
What is
the harvest of your life? “… some thirty-fold, some sixty,
and some an hundred.”
The other question, presenting
no difficulties to our farmer friend, is simply “What
happened to the harvest grain?”
Every grain has in it the life
of its kind. Dead though it may appear, dry and hard to handle, as near as may
be to a tiny pebble - yet possessing life! And that life is its only worth-while
possession.
In our enlightened land, the
very best corn is saved for seed the following year, but a recent UNESCO
booklet describing an agricultural education scheme in
Most of the grain would
experience quite a different fate, and be crushed and destroyed in the manufacture
of food for man and beast - a strange, apt picture of the conveyance of life by
sacrificial death.
Is it intended that we should
read into the parable something of this continuing story? It must be so, for
grain is never produced as an end in itself. When the sower gathered his
harvest it was for use, either as seed or life-giving food.
God sees the harvest of His
Word, and through the souls gathered in continues His great purpose of world-saving.
We who have formed part of some faithful Christian’s harvest, immediately
become directly responsible to the Sower for the passing on of the life which
has come to us.
Seed. ... What a mighty
privilege if we are to be used directly in the harvesting of souls! How
sensitive we should be to God’s voice. He may call us into an evangelistic
ministry resulting in many being added to His Kingdom.
Food. ... Enough if we can be
used in the building up of others with the life we possess! May the fruit of
the [Holy] Spirit be the normal expression of our Christian experience, so that
the world is richer through the love, joy and peace we have contributed to it! - The Life of Faith.
* * *
[22]
WATCHFUL VIRGINS
RADIO preachers have been
following the line of the false teaching that the Church goes through the
tribulation to the time of the seventh trumpet at which time they are raptured
into the sky above the earth. After that they will settle down to the earth for
the Millennial reign. This is a theory that cannot be backed by Scripture
without taking the Scripture out of its setting and the theory thus evolved is
refuted by other passages in the Word of God. When Christ comes, His bride will be resurrected and
translated to a place before the throne of God so clearly described in the
fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation, but the foolish virgins who have not
made full preparation will go into the tribulation and will be translated in
their own order during that period. Only the Bride
of Christ will escape the tribulation completely. The promise to
escape was given to the
There is every indication given
in the scenes described in the book of the Revelation that we will go to the centre of God’s
Universe where the Throne of Deity is located.*
Distance and time are no barriers to the glorified. After Jesus was resurrected
and was met by Mary, she was told when she attempted to hold Him by the feet,
not to touch Him for He was “not yet Ascended”
[John 20: 17, R.V.] to heaven, but within the hour, as
far as we know, another Mary met Him and
held Him by the feet and worshipped Him.
[* See Matt. 16: 18; Luke 16: 23; 20: 23; cf.,
Luke 20: 43;
John 3: 13; 14: 2, 3 with 20: 17, R.V.
Multitudes of the foolish virgins
will be martyred*shortly after the rapture of the Bride
of Christ, but it is very probable that many of them will escape that
fate for a while, and should they be living at the time the company in which no
man can number are caught up to the throne they will be raptured with them, for every Gentile believer not translated - [i.e., “regarded worthy to escape all the things being about to occur…”
(Luke 21: 36,
Lit Gk.)] - with the Bride will be found
in this company. The Scriptures dealing with the resurrection of the saints cannot
possibly be harmonized apart from taking into consideration the different
groups of [living] saints as translated at
different times during the tribulation period and so plainly described by John
the Revelator. Why cannot Church leaders see this?* It is simply because they are bound to one or more cherished theories to
which they would rather cling than to buy and use the “eye salve” that they might see. - The Midnight Cry.
-------
* MARTYRS
“Our hearts are awed by the number
of today’s martyrs. Dr. D. J. Fleming,
captured a mission school, blocked all gates but one, placed a cross in front
of it, and sent in word that anyone who trampled on the cross went free, but
that anyone who stepped around it would be immediately killed. The first seven
students trampled on the cross, and went free. The eighth, a girl, knelt before
the cross, rose, and went on to be shot.
All the rest in a line of a hundred students follower her example. Thirty
thousand Chinese converts chose death in
1900 rather than deny their Master. In these present days many another
Chinese has sealed his [or her] faith with his/her lifeblood. Can Christians deny
their Christ to folk who, when they find
Him dearer than life?”
**REPENTANCE
Here is a
profitable word from
PRAYER
“We are in a battle. Note
the intense words taken from the sayings of Paul:- ‘I strive.’ ‘I keep my body under.’ ‘I press.’
‘I fight.’ ‘I suffer.’
‘I exhort therefore, that,
first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made
for all men; for kings, for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty’
(1 Tim. 2:
1-2).
The words of Scripture here given, are
all in the plural form - supplications, prayers and intercessions. They
declare the many-sidedness, the endless diversity, and the necessity of going
beyond the formal simplicity of a single prayer, and the urgent need that we
press on and add prayer upon prayer, supplication upon supplication,
intercession over and over again, until the combined force of prayers in their
most superlative modes, unite their affrication and pressure with cumulative - [i.e., to be
ever ‘increasing with continuous additions,’ the
divine] - power to - [attain the end result of] - our praying.* The unlimited superlatives - [i.e., ‘of the highest
degree of quality’] - and the unlimited plural are the
only measures of prayer.” - E.
M. BOUNDS
[* NOTE: Prayer is NOT pleading continually with God and expecting Him to do our will
and change
world events in our time, and in our way! These prayers
are NOT in keeping with our Lord’s words,
- “THY will be done,
as in heaven,
so on earth”
(Matt. 6: 10, R.V.)! Some Christians usually begin in a contrary
fashion to our Lord’s by saying - “We pray against this
... and WE reject that … in the
name of Jesus”: and by a spirit of enthusiasm, they expect their
prayers and desires to be heard and acted upon in their time, and in their way!
The words “we demand” are frequently used
when addressing GOD: - giving others
the impression that God will do what they want and in their time!
Prayers of
this demanding
nature appear to me to be at times shocking to say the least; and when they
are not answered, they may cause discouragement and disappointment; and when no
mention is made concerning the Christians’ “HOPE”, “PRIZE”, “CROWN”, and a future “INHERITANCE” (which regenerate believers can lose through
disobedience, unrepentance, or neglect), they often sound contrary to what the Word of God
teaches and suggest that He is not in complete control of all
situations!
By maintaining
this demanding attitude in their prayers, Christians are on the verge of wilfully
rejecting Scriptural truths and influencing others to forgetful of His promises concerning
the “Land” (Gen. 15: 18; 17: 8; 26: 2-5; cf. Acts
7: 4, 5,
R.V.): and the conditions which He has made known to them for its future inheritance
(Num. 14:
24, 28-30; cf. Gal.
5: 1, 13, 16, 24; Col. 3: 23, 24; Rev. 3: 2, 3): and the time (still FUTURE) and therefore after RESURRECTION. See Matt. 16: 18; Luke 16: 23, 30, 31; Acts 2: 27, 24; John 14: 3; 2 Tim. 2: 18; Luke 20: 35; Phil. 3: 11, 12; Rev. 20: 4, 6, R.V.), when God’s promises will be
accomplished.
Such
prayers as these suggest to me that “the cheap
things have the high price labels on them, and
the really
precious things” - which all Christians should be praying and
asking God for - “are
priced
low”! But God has His
plans for the future; and, because all present and future events are in His total
control, they will come to fruition in His time, and in
His way, when our Lord Jesus RETURNS.
Only then will the results of
His accountability
truths
and conditional promises be seen to have
their effect. Divine judgment of the past (Heb. 9: 27and their importance
be fully seen and understood: and there will be an immense personal loss to all
those, of His redeemed people, who have neglected to act and
fashion their lives in obedience to them!
Yes,
these are strong words written by a saved sinner, but I believe they are urgently
needed and are of vital importance for Christians living today in a climate of neglect,
wilful sin and disbelief; being content to remain in ignorance of Bible truths,
and of presently unfulfilled Bible prophecies.
All of which illustrates today’s appalling apostasy within God’s Churches.]
[23]
THE PLOT BEHIND SPIRITUALISM
By G. H.
PEMBER, M.A.
THE very foundation of the
Spiritualist’s faith is laid in direct defiance of the law of God. For the
Scriptures emphatically forbid all inquiry of the spirits of the dead, and
every kind of intercourse with them. “But whereas,”
pleads Isaiah, “they will say unto you, Inquire of them that have familiar spirits and of the
wizards that chirp and mutter: should not a
people inquire of their God? For the living should
they inquire of the dead?” (Isa. 8: 19). And
had an Israelite asked what harm there could possibly be in the latter course,
the prophet would, perhaps, have replied in the terrible words of the law:- “The soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits,
and after wizards, to go
a whoring after them, I will even set My face
against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people” (Lev. 20: 6).* The great
abomination of Spiritualism, whether ancient or modern, is that it is based
upon an idolatrous substitution of spirits of the dead for the Everlasting God.
[* NOTE: It is
remarkable fact that untold multitudes of regenerate believers,
even those of long standing and profession, have come to the conclusion that
the animating
‘spirit,’ (which our Lord Jesus surrendered into
His Father’s hands at the time of His Death (Luke 23:
46) is now, in some mysterious way, the
time immediately after death, when the souls of believers went into God’s
presence Heaven - one at a time!
The
God’s chosen High Priest of
Israel, was strictly warned (upon peril of instant Death) NOT to ENTER the ‘holy of holies’ in His Temple at Jerusalem, WITHOUT having on the special
clothing provided!
I suppose this is why our Lord
Jesus, during His lifetime and ministry on earth, is never (as far as we know)
recorded in Scripture to have entered that area of the
“AND NO MAN HATH ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN,
BUT HE THAT
DESCENDED OUT OF HEAVEN, even THE SON OF MAN” (John
3: 13.). Now to suggest that these recorded
words, spoken by our Lord Jesus before His Death and Resurrection, have
mysteriously changed God’s ordained process (which Christ as our Forerunner had
previously went through (Matt. 12: 40; cf.. 1
Pet. 3: 18-20) BEFORE HE
ENTERED HIS FATHER’S THRONE HEAVEN, is to imply that regenerate believers
can NOW (in some mysterious way), get
into God’s presence by a different
route than the one tour Lord Jesus took Himself; and without an IMMORTAL body! They disregard Christ’s His
judgment of the dead in ‘Sheol’ / ‘Hades’ before the time of their RESURRECTION!
“IT IS
APPOINTED UNTO MEN ONCE TO DIE,
AND AFTER THIS
cometh
JUDGMENT”
(Heb. 9: 27, R.V.). This ‘judgment’
must take place BEFORE RESURRECTION;
and it will be the deciding factor in which of “the
disciples” will be resurrected at the time of “the first
Resurrection” (Matt 5: 20; 7: 21; cf., Rev.
20: 4-6, R.V.). See
also Luke 14: 14; 20: 35; Phil. 3: 11; Heb. 11: 35, R.V. and note the Divine conditions of
these texts and their context.
To disbelieve or disregard
the teachings of Christ’s chosen Apostles, relative to the time of the
future
“salvation of souls” (1 Pet. 1: 5, 9) when the
Lord Jesus will return (John 14: 2-3, R.V.), is
closing one’s eyes to scriptural truth: and anyone’s teaching contrary
to these truths, (2 Tim. 2: 18, R.V.) they
are teaching a grave error! The resurrection of the Dead will occur when
Christ returns (1 Cor.
15: 23) to
resurrect the “Holy” dead (Rev. 20: 6) and establish His millennial Reign. All who are
not
resurrected at this time, will
remain in ‘Sheol’ / ‘Hades’
until the time of the Great White Throne Judgment when “…the dead were judged out of the things which were written in
the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.
And if any was not found written in
the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire:” (Rev. 20: 12b-15, R.V.).
The various unfulfilled prophetical
truths, (emphasised and disclosed throughout Old and New Testaments) is that
there will be regenerate believers left in “Hades”
until
“the thousand years are finished” (Rev. 20: 7a)! They were previously judged (after their
death, Heb. 9: 27), as unworthy (Luke
20: 35; cf., Phil. 3: 11) of partaking in “the first resurrection” (Rev.
20: 6)!
They lost their “crown” at the time of the First-born’s
“inheritance” (Heb.
14-17; Rev. 2: 25-27; 3: 11; cf. 1 Cor. 6: 9ff; Eph. 5: 5)! But, when
“the thousand years is finished” (Rev. 20: 7a), they are found “standing
before” God’s Great White Throne, being judged “according
to their works” (20: 12b); and, at that time, their names will be “found written in the book of life” (Rev. 20: 15, R.V.)
Hence nothing could be
stronger than the Biblical repudiation of the whole system. The Old
Testament commands that wizards, witches, dealers with familiar spirits,
necromancers, and sorcerers, of every kind, should be inexorably destroyed. Nor
is a milder fate assigned to them in the New: for “the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have
their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev. 21: 8).
By what power were the spiritual
gifts in the apostolic Church produced? Not by spirits of the dead, but by the direct action of the Spirit of God. Paul is at great pains
to set forth this fact in his preliminary enumeration of spiritual gifts, and
not content with having six times mentioned it, he concludes with the emphatic
words, “But all these worketh that one and
the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man
severally as He will” (1 Cor. 12: 11). In
perfect accord, too, is the narrative of the day of Pentecost, which states that the disciples “were all filled with
the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2: 4).
Nor was the apostolic warning to
try the spirits superfluous: for, as might have been anticipated, Satan quickly began to, counterfeit the
manifestations of the Spirit by
introducing false and demon-inspired prophets among the true believers.
Unmistakable traces of this mischief may be detected in Paul’s affectionate
entreaty to the Thessalonians, “that ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter
as from us, as that the day of Christ is present”
(2 Thess. 2:
2). The demon-teachers were
already abroad; the Mystery of Lawlessness was even then working.
Therefore the duty inculcated by
John (1 John 4: 1) is that of testing the spirits
of prophets, to discover whether they are influenced by
the Spirit of God or by demons. And the Ephesians seem to have
obeyed the precept when they tried those who said they were apostles, but were
not, and found them liars (Rev. 2: 2). Had,
however, any one presented himself as an avowed dealer with spirits of the
dead, he would have been at once rejected without any trial: for the apostles
recognized only the influence of “that
one and the self-same Spirit” on the Lord’s side, and knew
that every necromancer was an abomination to Him.
Now even if we admit that
in Hebrews 12: 1 the
spirits of those who died in faith are represented as beholding our actions
upon earth, there is, nevertheless, no hint of either lawful or possible
communication with them, much less of any help to be obtained from them. To Jesus
alone are we directed to look; the dead can but testify by the record of their
past lives to His power and love.
The case of the wicked may be
different. Coming by death more completely under the sway of him that hath the
power of death, it may be that in certain circumstances they have the range of
his principality of the Air. And if so, it is by no means impossible that they
communicate at times with congenial spirits still in the flesh. But even this
cannot be proved, and indeed seems unlikely. For the rich man in Hades, when
troubled in regard to his brothers, speaks of them as far away, feels his own
inability to help them, and hoping that the condition of the blessed may be
different, entreats that Lazarus may be sent to them. What follows is startling,
and, again casts the dark shadow of God’s reprobation over the whole system of
Spiritualism. Abraham answers that they have Moses and the prophets, and should hear them. And when the rich man, with the
sentiment of a modern Spiritualist, urges that it one could but go to them from the dead they would repent, he is
finally told that the God of mercy has devised a message to fallen men
containing all that can be really effectual in turning them from their sins,
and that if they are hardened against His words, nothing will save them, not
even the return of one from the dead.*
[* See Luke 16: 22-31. Cf., 1
Sam. 28: 3-22; 31: 3-13; 2 Sam. 1-16, R.V.]
If, therefore, the spirits of
the lost who have lived in our world are able to communicate with their friends
at all, it can only be in exceptional cases: unless indeed the Powers of Darkness
are already hastening the end by breaking down the barriers within which God
would have them confined. Rather is it, however, that the beings who inspire
mediums, and work wonders to establish a lie, are the blasted relics of some
former world.
Thus the whole weight of
Biblical evidence pronounces against communication with the dead, even if it
admits its possibility.
But the demons retaliate: for
their teachings are openly and daringly subversive of all the doctrines of
revelation, and will, if they prevail, quickly obliterate the very names of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, substituting a worship of deified humanity. A
remarkable passage in Alfred Russell
Wallace’s essay aptly illustrates the destructive power which
Spiritualism is already exercising upon other creeds, and the method by which
it seems to be reducing the various religions to that dead level which must be
effected before the great apostasy can tower without a rival over Christendom
and the world.
“The
mediums have, almost all, been brought up in some of the usual orthodox
beliefs. How is it, then, that the usual orthodox notions of heaven are never
confirmed through them? In the scores of volumes and pamphlets of spiritual
literature I have read, I have found no statement of a spirit describing ‘winged
angels,’ or ‘golden harps,’ or ‘the throne of God’ - to which the humblest orthodox Christian thinks he will be introduced
if he goes to heaven at all. There is no more startling and radical opposition
to be found between the most diverse religious creeds, than that between the
beliefs in which the majority of mediums have been brought up and the doctrines
as to a future life that are delivered through them; there is nothing more
marvellous in the history of the human mind than the fact that whether in the
backwoods of America or in country towns in England, ignorant men and women
having been almost all brought up in the usual sectarian notions of heaven and hell, should, the moment
they become seized by the strange power of mediumship, give forth teachings on
the subject which are philosophical rather than religious, and which differ
wholly from what had been so deeply ingrained into their minds. Nothing is more
common than for religious people at séances to ask questions about God and
Christ. In reply they never get more than opinions, or more frequently the
statement that they, the spirits, have no more actual knowledge of these
subjects than they had while on earth.”
The army of demons has been sent
forth in advance to bring about a universal apostasy from God and denial of
Christ, and to establish a general communication between the Powers of Darkness
and the children of disobedience.*
*From Earth’s Earliest Ages and Their Connection
with Modem Spiritualism and Theosophy.
* * *
[24]
A JUDGE ON SPIRITUALISM
“It is
fearfully important that Christians of all groups and sects should realize
intensely that Spiritualism is no mere séance - fraud or even psychic humanism,
but a real, actual intercourse with the spirit-world, an intercourse which is
to be the foundation of a coming vast apostasy from the Christian Faith, The
Holy Spirit founded the Church at Pentecost: evil spirits will wreck the Church
at the Apostasy. Therefore, to bring home the facts, we quote here Judge J. W.
Edmonds, a convert to Spiritualism only three years after its birth in 1848. Judge
Edmonds was a judge of the Supreme Court of
IT was in January, 1851,
that my attention was first called to the subject of “Spiritual
Intercourse.” I was invited by a friend to witness the “Rochester Knockings.” I complied, more to oblige her
and to while away a tedious hour. I thought a good deal on what I witnessed,
and I determined to investigate the matter and find out what it was. If it was
a deception, or a delusion, I thought I could detect it.
For about four months, I devoted
at least two evenings in a week, and sometimes more, to witnessing the
phenomenon in all its phases. I kept careful records of all I witnessed, and
from time to time compared them with each other, to detect inconsistencies and
contradictions. I read all I could lay my hands on, on the subject, and
especially all the professed “exposures of the humbug.”
I went from place to place,
seeing different mediums, meeting with different parties of persons, often with
persons whom I had never seen before, and sometimes where I was myself entirely
unknown - sometimes in the dark and sometimes in the light - often with
inveterate unbelievers, and more frequently with zealous believers. I availed
myself of every opportunity that was afforded thoroughly to sift the matter to
the bottom. I was all this time an unbeliever, and tried the patience of
believers sorely by my scepticism, my captiousness, and my obdurate refusal to
yield my belief.
I saw around me some who yielded
a ready faith on one or two sittings only; others again, under the same
circumstances, avowed a determined unbelief; and some who refused to witness it
at all, and yet were confirmed unbelievers. I could not imitate either of these
parties, and refused to yield unless upon most irrefragable testimony. At
length the evidence came, and in such force that no sane man could withhold his
faith.
Thus far the question I
was investigating was whether what I saw was produced by mere mortal means, or
by some invisible, unknown agency; in other words, whether it was a deception,
an imposition, or what it professed to be, the product of some unknown, unseen
cause. I have very many witnesses whom I can invoke to establish the truth of
my statements; and if I have been deluded, and have not seen and heard what I
think I have, my delusion has been shared by many as shrewd, as intelligent, as
honest, and as enlightened people as are to be found anywhere among us.
After depending upon my senses,
as to these various phases of the phenomena, I invoked the aid of science, and
with the assistance of an accomplished electrician and his machinery, and of
eight or ten intelligent, educated, shrewd persons, examined the matter. We
pursued our inquiries many days, and established to our satisfaction two
things: first, that the sounds were not produced by the agency of any person
present or near us; and, second, that they were not forthcoming at our will and pleasure.
In the meantime, another feature
attracted my attention, and that was “physical
manifestations,” as they are termed. Thus, I have known a pine table
with four legs lifted bodily up from the floor, in the centre of a circle of
six or eight persons, turned upside down and laid upon its top at our feet,
then lifted over our beads, and put leaning against the back of a sofa on which
we sat. I have known that same table to be tilted up on two legs, its top at an
angle with the floor of 45 degrees, when it neither fell over of itself, nor
could any person present put it back on its four legs. I have seen a mahogany
table, having only a centre leg, and with a lamp burning upon it, lifted from
the floor at least a foot, in spite of the efforts of those present, and shaken
backward and forward as one would shake a goblet in his hand, and the lamp
retain its place, though its glass pendants rang again.
I have frequently known persons
pulled about with a force which it was impossible for them to resist, and once,
when all my own strength was added in vain to that of the one thus affected. I have known a mahogany
chair thrown on its side and moved
swiftly back and forth on the floor, no one touching it, through a room where
there were at least a dozen people sitting, yet no one was touched, and it was
repeatedly stopped within a few inches of me, when it was coming with a
violence which, if not arrested, must have broken my legs. This is not a tithe
- nay! not a hundredth part of what I have witnessed of the same character, but
it is enough to show the general nature of what was before me.
My next inquiry was, “Whence comes the intelligence there is behind it all, for
that intelligence was a remarkable feature of the phenomenon?” Preparatory
to meeting a circle, I have sat down alone in my room and carefully prepared a
series of questions to be propounded. I have been surprised to find my
questions answered, in the precise order in which I wrote them, without my even
taking my memorandum out of my pocket, and when I knew that not a person
present even knew that I had prepared questions, much less what they were.
My most secret thoughts, those
which I have never uttered to mortal man or woman, have been freely spoken to,
as if I had uttered them. Purposes which I have privily entertained have been
publicly revealed. I have again been admonished that my every thought was known
to, and could be disclosed by, the intelligence which was thus manifesting
itself.
I have heard the mediums use
Greek, Latin, Spanish, and French words, when I knew they had not knowledge of
any languages but their own. It is a fact that can be attested by many, that
often there has been speaking and writing in foreign languages and unknown
tongues by those who were unacquainted with either.
Still the question occurred, “May not all this have been, by some mysterious operation,
the mere reflex of the mind of someone present?” The answer was that
facts were communicated which were unknown then, but afterwards found to be
true. All this, and much, very much, more of a cognate nature, went to show me
that there was a higher order of intelligence involved in this new phenomenon -
an intelligence outside of, and beyond, mere mortal agency; for there was no
other hypothesis which I could devise or hear of that could at all explain
that, whose reality is established by the testimony of tens of thousands.
Then came this important
question, “Cui bono? To what end is it all? For
what purpose? With what object?”
To that inquiry I have directed
my earnest attention, devoting to the task for over two years all the leisure I
could command, and increasing that leisure as far as I could by withdrawing
myself from all my former recreations. I have gone from circle to circle, from
medium to medium, seeking knowledge on the subject wherever I could attain it,
either from books or from observation, and bringing to bear upon it whatever
intelligence I have been gifted with by nature, sharpened and improved by over
30 years’ practice at the bar, in the legislature, and on the, bench.
I was satisfied that something
more was intended than the gratification of an idle curiosity; something more
than pandering to a diseased appetite for the marvellous; something more than
the promulgation of oracular platitudes; something more than upsetting material
objects to the admiration of the wonder-lover; something more than telling the
age of the living or the dead.
* * *
[24]
PRAYER FOR
By DR.
JOHN GOLDSTEIN
IN Samuel’s
time the Jewish nation was faced with a national crisis. Theocracy was to be
replaced by monarchy; radical changes
were being contemplated. The future lay dark and sinister before them. Samuel’s
warning, “Ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king,” might
come to pass. No wonder then that the people pleaded with the prophet, “Pray
for thy servants unto the Lord thy God that we die not.”
An
equally grave crisis is confronting the Jewish nation today. Hell has opened
its floodgates. Waves of bitter hatred and persecutions threaten to overwhelm
it. Jewish blood has flowed in streams in prisons and concentration camps;
Jewish hearts have been broken in exile; Jewish property has been robbed and
destroyed; Jewish hopes have been shattered. “The time of
Jacob’s trouble” seems almost upon them. Should not all this move the
Some may say that the Jew amply
deserves what he is getting. This way possibly be true. Even Samuel told them, “Your wickedness is great.” They
themselves acknowledged, “We have added to all our sins.” But great sin has
never been a barrier to the great Saviour - “where sin abounded, grace did much
more abound.” The double transgression of the Jew ought to be a double
incentive to commit them to the Lord, who has concluded both Jew and Gentile
under sin, that He may have mercy upon them all.
Their very hopelessness calls
for our intercession. They live under the curse of the broken law, endeavouring
vainly to circumvent God’s judgments by self-righteousness. They have no
assurance of forgiveness; they live dissatisfied and die in uncertainty. Should
we not pray that, though “wrath has come upon them to the
uttermost,” they may also be brought into contact with the One “able to save to the
uttermost”?
Who, then, can effectually
pray for
Among God’s people those are the
best intercessors who have grasped the significance of the Lord’s
wonderful plan with the converted Jewish nation. Those that have
studied the “more sure word of prophecy” have
seen how intimately
God has commanded it, for
besides His general commands to pray He has issued those designed specially for
His ancient people, e.g., “Pray for the peace
of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee”
(Psalm 122: 6);” “Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give
Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth”
(Isa. 62: 6-7). God wishes His redeemed people
to be in line with His thoughts for His chosen people. Those who refuse to cooperate
with Him in this will be judged, even as I believe the nations will be rewarded
or punished according to the way they treated “one
of the least of these My brethren,” the Saviour’s brethren according
to the flesh (Matt. 25: 32-46). Even
when mere apathy was shown by those “at ease
in
A powerful reason for prayer for
SAMUEL, the man of prayer, was the greatest power in his day. Prayer - [for GOD’S will
to be done] - is a force greater than effort. Work may have some local
success; prayer performs miracles, for “it moves the
arm that moves the world.” The prayer-partner may wield a greater power
than the missionary, and both working together represent a very real force.
A trite, stereotyped petition
will, however, not be that dynamic. It must be “fervent,”
burning. How do we pray for the Jews? Do we do it as a matter of religious
custom, or as a passing whim? Unless our prayer is akin to sacrifice it will be
of little avail. It must be like that remarkable petition of Moses’, who
desired to be blotted out of the book which God had written, if his people
could not be forgiven. It must have the spirit of Paul, who said, “I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my
brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” It must
be like the swinging censor of Aaron’s, who stood between the living and the
dead, until God’s wrath had passed. Oh, that the Lord might pour upon His
believing children the spirit of grace and supplication, which will open the
very windows of heaven for poor suffering
Doubtless there will be many
obstacles to such unceasing intercession. The devil will prove to us that the
wickedness of the Jews is great. But we remember with adoring wonder the love
that says to them, “Thou hast made Me to serve with thy
sins, thou hast wearied Me with thy iniquity.
I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake,
and will not
remember thy sins” (Isa. 43: 24-25).
- Trusting and Toiling.
THE END