ONE DAY
One day they led Him Up Calvarys
mountain,
One day they nailed Him To die on the
tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and
rejected:
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is HE!
One day the grave could conceal Him no
longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the
door;
Then He arose, over death He had
conquered;
Now ascended, my Lord evermore!
- Wilbur Chapman.
But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but
is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance: (2 Pet.
3: 8, 9, R.V.).
-------
THE IMPORTANCE OF
STUDYING PROPHECY
[1] In relation to God. Christians should be interested in
prophecy because of what God is. Either
the world is out of Gods control and His plan is nothing more than a patchwork
quilt or He is absolutely sovereign and has a purpose and plan which He is
carrying out (Isa.
46: 11). Parts of that plan which have been fulfilled
serve to demonstrate that He is the Truth, and thus that faith in prophecy is
faith in God and His plan.
[2] In Relation to the Scriptures. Fulfilled prophecy is
one of the strongest proofs of the truth and accuracy of the Scriptures. That the prophecies which have been fulfilled
[at the Messiahs First Advent] would have been fulfilled by chance is outside the
realm of probability. In addition, there
is no escaping the responsibility of
knowing and expounding the prophetic Scriptures since the servant
of the Lord is appointed to declare the whole connsel of
God (Acts 20: 27). Sixteen books in the
Old Testament and one-twentieth of the New Testament are prophetic, and one
certainly cannot neglect such a large portion of the Word of God. Surely it is not Gods purpose that any of
His Word should be slighted it must not be ours.
[3] In relation to the believer. The study of prophecy
will do a number of things for the believer.
(1) It will keep him from
false doctrines and false hopes. (2) It will help to make the unseen real
and create within the believers life the very atmosphere of heaven. One cannot
do other than worship in reading the Revelation, for instance. (3)
It will give joy in the midst of tribulation and affliction (2 Cor. 4: 17). (4)
It will increase ones loyalty to Christ and produce true, self-sacrificing
service for Him. (5) When the believer fully realizes all the glory that is hid
future, it makes him satisfied to be nothing now. (6)
Prophetic truth is the only thing which can give true comfort in the time of
sorrow and bereavement (1 Thess.
4: 13-14). (7) All Scripture is profitable and
prophecy is no exception for it will produce and encourage holy living (1 John 3: 3).
May the Holy Spirit forbid anyone who looks at these pages to
be a hearer only of the prophetic Word, and boy He increase in each the love of
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Charles C. Ryrie, (The Basis of the Premillennial Faith,
pp. 15, 16).
-------
And we are witnesses in Him
of these things; and God gave the HOLY
SPIRIT to those who SUBMIT to him: (Acts 5: 32, lit. Gr.).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
151
POSSIBLE CROWNS
BY PAUL W. ROOD*
* President of the Worlds Christian
Fundamentals Association.
-------
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the
house of God: and if it first
begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the
sinner appear? (1 Pet. 4: 17-18).
WHAT
shall the end be? What a solemn
question! It concerns each of us. All of us are going to be judged. Acts 17: 31 - Because he
hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Christ is going to be the judge. Hebrews 9:
27 - And as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment.
There is no escape from the judgment of God. Men may possibly escape the consequences of
their sins in this life, but no one is going to be able to escape the
consequences of sin in eternity. Every
infidel, every atheist, every agnostic, everyone who rejects the Lord Jesus
Christ, is going to have to face the judgment of God.
There are two judgments mentioned in the Bible, just as there
are two resurrections. There is the
Resurrection of Life and the Resurrection of Damnation. There is a judgment for the believer at the
judgment Seat of Christ, and a judgment for the unbeliever at the Great White
Throne. John
5: 28-29
- Marvel not at this: for the
hour is coming, in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation. The Resurrection of
Life will take place when Christ returns, when the dead in Christ shall be raised
and the living changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and together
shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
Then we shall stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ. What will the end be as far as the Christian
is concerned? 2
Corinthians 5: 10 - For we must
appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
(The reference here is to believers.)
Every Christian must appear before the judgment Seat of Christ, that every
one may receive the things done in his body, according
to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
1 Corinthians 4: 5 - Therefore
judge nothing before the time, until the Lord
come, who both will bring to light the hidden
things of darkness, and will make manifest the
counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man
have praise of God. Some are going to receive praise of
God when we stand at the judgment Seat of Christ. Humble souls who never received much praise
here on earth, who never were written up in the press, whom the world knows
nothing about, folk who serve the Lord conscientiously and faithfully and
loyally in the hidden places - the hidden-away saints - are going to be
rewarded. We are going to be judged
according to our motives. Every mans
works shall be made manifest. Our works
are going to be tested by fire when Christ returns. If we build with gold, silver and precious
stones, then our works will stand the test of fire and we will be
rewarded. If we build with wood, hay and
stubble, then our works will be destroyed by fire and we will lose our reward. What does this all mean? What is gold?
What is silver? What is precious
stone? Gold refers to God the Father;
silver to redemption and Christ the Son; and precious stones to the Holy
Spirit. If we preach, sing, work, pray
and live in the energy of the Holy Ghost to the glory of God and the exaltation
of Christ, then our works are gold, silver and precious stones, and they will
stand the test of fire and we will be rewarded.
If, on the other hand, our works are results of motives that are mixed -
if we are selfish and if we are not living and working for the glory of God and
the exaltation of Christ - if we are preaching, singing and working in the
energy of the flesh - then our works are wood, hay and stubble. Wood is dead trees; hay is dead grass;
stubble is dead wheat. Many works are
dead works even if they are not wicked works.
It is the motive that determines the value of what you do.
Some are going to be saved by fire, and some are going to have
an abundant entrance into the kingdom. It
is Gods plan that you shall have an abundant entrance. Your life here on earth determines what will
happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Do not lose out spiritually!
There are spiritual Christians and there are carnal Christians. Carnal Christians are the ones that build
with wood, hay and stubble. Spiritual
Christians are the ones who build with gold, silver and precious stones. Revelation 22:
12 - Behold,
I come quickly, and my
reward is with me, to give every man according
as his work shall be.
Five crowns are mentioned in the New Testament. First of all, there is the Crown
of Life. Revelation 2: 10 - Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast
some of tou to prison, that ye may be tried;
and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and
I will give thee a crown of life.
That means that we should be faithful even to the point of martyrdom;
even if it means that we have to sacrifice our lives. If we are faithful to the point of martyrdom,
then we shall receive the Crown of Life.
James 1: 12
- Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall
receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.
do you have the martyrs spirit?
Do you love the Lord supremely?
Then you will receive the Crown of Life.
The Incorruptible Crown is described in 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 - Know ye not that they which run in a
race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
And every man that striveth for the mastery is
temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run,
not as uncertainly; so
fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
that by any means, when I have preached to
others, I myself should be a castaway.
We face the danger of being disapproved, of being a castaway! How important it is for us to be
temperate! How important it is for us to
concentrate: This one thing I do! How important
it is for us to put God first and to seek first the
The Crown of Glory is described in 1 Peter 5: 4 - And when the
chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a
crown of glory that fadeth not away. This crown is
for shepherds; for Sunday school teachers; for those who are concerned about
the sheep and the lambs; for those who minister on the radio, in the Sunday
school, in the church and in the home; for mothers and fathers who have the
shepherd heart.
The Crown of Rejoicing is mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 2: 10
- For what is our hope, or joy,
or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in
the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
This is the soul-winners crown. Daniel 12: 3 - And they that
be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for
ever and ever. Are you going to receive the soul-winners
crown when you stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ? Are you witnessing for the Lord? Are you seeking to win the lost?
We read about the Crown of Righteousness in 2
Timothy 4: 8 - Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto
all them also that love his appearing. Do you love the
appearing of Christ? Are you glad that
Jesus is coming back again? Do you
rejoice in the blessed hope? Then you are
going to receive the Crown of Righteousness because that crown is for all who
love the appearing of Christ.
Revelation 4: 10 - The four and
twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne.
We are going to cast our crowns at the feet of Jesus when we stand in
His presence in glory. Revelation 3: 11 - Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. There is a danger of losing your crown.
Five crowns are intended for you if you are a child of
God. You may lose one of them, or two of
them, or three of them, or four of them.
Oh, the tragedy of it! You may
even lose all five of them! You and I
ought to be candidates for all five of these crowns.
Remember that your house in eternity is built with the
material that you have sent up from earth in the form of sacrifice, in the form
of gifts - yes, in the form of service.
This is the most heart-searching truth that I know anything about: that
every believer is going to stand at last in the presence of the Lord and render
an account of his stewardship. What an
incentive for us to serve the Lord faithfully!
Oh, the surprises when we stand at the judgment Seat of Christ! The saints of the Lord who served faithfully
and conscientiously are going to be vindicated in that hour. Those who have been criticized and
misunderstood here on earth are going to receive praise from the Lord. Dont lose your crown; do not lose your
reward!
- The Christian Fundamentalist.
* * *
* * *
*
152
WORLD EMPIRES
BY D.M. PANTON, B.A.
JEHOVAH has given, through Daniel, a snapshot - a vivid
miniature photograph - of the history of the world. But first of all we need to
note two main, outstanding facts. The
first fact is that God, in whose hand alone is the power of the world, moulds
and controls the destinies of all nations.
He made of one [one blood or stock] every nation of men for to dwell on all the face of
the earth, having determined their appointed seasons - the rise and decay of empires - and the bounds of their habitation (Acts 17:
26) - their geographical and racial
limits. A nation, in Gods hand, blooms,
or wilts and falls, like a flower. God is always on the side of the big battalions, was
the cynical remark of Napoleon: that saying is true, in this measure, that it
is God who makes the battalions big, and can wither them at a touch. World-power God gives into the hands He
chooses.
Israels Empire
The second fact is that God gave the first great empire - not
over the whole world, but the main power in the world at the time - to the
Jew. God said to Solomon:- I will give thee
riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of
the kings have had that have been before thee, neither
shall there any after thee have the like: so King Solomon, exceeded all the kings of the earth
in riches and wisdom (2 Chron. 1: 12; 9: 22).*
* But we are not aware of any Scripture which states that
Gentile Empires
Now this kingdom the Jew forfeited; and in Nebuchadnezzars
dream (Dan. 2:
31) we get the great crisis of God handing
over world-power from Jew to Gentile.
The Jew, because of sin, was a captive in
The Head of Gold
First, a Head of Gold:- Thou, O
King Nebuchadnezzar, art the head of gold.
The Breast of Silver
Secondly, the Breast and Arms of Silver: after thee
shall arise another kingdom. We know this to be the
The Thighs of Brass
Thirdly, Belly and Thighs of Brass: A third kingdom
of brass, which shall bear rule over all the
earth.
Here we have
proof that de jure, though not de facto, these were world empires, which shall bear rule over ALL THE EARTH.
The parallel vision again puts us here on sure ground. The rough he-goat the King of
Legs of Iron
Fourthly, Legs of Iron: The fourth
kingdom shall be strong as iron. This kingdom is not named in Daniel; but
it is historically certain which it is, because it was to be a kingdom
inheriting the dominions of the first three.
One empire did so, and one only: the
Iron and Clay
But now notice a remarkable change in the last stage of the
figure: Iron and Clay. Power passes from the Head to the Feet. The Legs were of Iron alone; the Feet are
Iron - strength; mingled with Clay - brittleness: the kingdom
shall be partly strong, and partly brittle - that is, easily broken. It is startling to observe that one of the
earliest commentators, writing while the Legs were still iron only, foresaw the
true meaning. These
events, says Hippolytus, are in the future, when the
Ten Toes of the Image will have turned out to be so many democracies. Almost
every kingdom of the world is at this moment convulsed with this internal
conflict, Fascism and Communism: we are living in the last age of the great
Image. Whereas thou sawest the iron
mixed with miry clay - or earthenware - they - that is, the iron rulers - shall mingle themselves with the seed
of men - the word
signifies the people ; but the result is
foretold - they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth
not mingle with clay. It ends in constant friction and unceasing
revolution.
A Stone
So, then, for three thousand years the world-power - the crown
of the world - was to pass down these successive Gentile Empires, and so it
did. But lo, high over this colossal
figure hovers an impending Rock - a STONE that waxes into a Mountain, and fills
the whole earth: the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.
Stone, in
Finally, in a lovely and convincing picture, the manner of the
Second Coming, and establishment of the Kingdom, follows. It cannot refer to our Lords first coming
because that occurred when
the Legs were still iron only, and before
the twofold division. It is a Stone cut without
hands, out of the mountain: a Stone quarried out of an earthly
mountain, but quarried by no human hands.
This combination occurs in one Man only.
Behold I lay - God quarried the Stone - in Zion - the Kingdom
returns to the Jew,
and the Stone is a Jew - for a
foundation a stone, a tried stone - tried by the First Advent - a precious
corner stone of sure foundation (Is. 28: 16). The Stone is the Throne of David,* in
[*NOTE: The Stone
is a reference to Jesus Christ of Nazareth - the
crucified, rejected
- whom God raised out of dead ones. See Acts 4: 10,
lit. Gk.
**The word and
is a disjunction
in this context. It separates our Lords
millennial
kingdom from His everlasting kingdom in a new
heaven and new earth: FOR THE FIRST
HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH ARE PASSED AWAY; AND THE SEA IS NO MORE (Rev. 21: 1, R.V.).]
Collision
So it is a smashing collision: it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.
The Stone, smiting it on the Feet,
collapses the whole Image, which, like the chaff of the
threshing-floors, then vanishes in dust: exactly as we have seen in our own day, the two
most powerful men in the world - Hitler a suicide, and Mussolini hung by a
mob. God gives opportunity of righteous government to all
mankind: from absolute monarchy down to modern democracy, all proves unrighteous, and
therefore passes away like chaff. The gradual conversion of the kingdoms of the world by the Gospel was
declared a falsehood three thousand years ago:
Christ will come with smashing power on throned iniquity and democratic
unrighteousness:
for it is all Christless.
He that falleth on this stone - the individual who rejects Christ
- shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever it shall fall - the rejecting nations - it shall scatter him as dust (Matt. 21:
44). The last stage has arrived: the last
opportunities are passing: the last glory of earthly kingdoms we are beholding today.
* *
* * *
* *
153
THE JUDGMENT OF BELIEVERS
BY G. H. PEMBER, M.A.
THE Millennial Age will be a time, not only of reward for those
who will have overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, but also of chastisement for such
believers as will be found to have failed in their walk - through indolence, or
the minding of earthly things - and will, consequently, be sentenced to remain
in abodes of the dead until the Last Day.
For it will then appear, that, through their lack of earnestness and
prayer for the Spirits help, their sanctification was not perfected during
their earth-life; and it must be so before they can dwell for ever with the
Lord. They did evil in the body as well
as good, and did not judge themselves and repent with bitter crying before the
Lord: therefore, they must be judged by Him, and even as they did, so must they
also receive.
Hence the Judgment-seat of Christ will dispense temporary
chastisement for trespasses, as well as rewards. This is plainly indicated in
the verses under our consideration, as well as in other striking passages of
the First Gospel, which, as we study them in due course, will increase our knowledge of a solemn but disliked and
much neglected truth. We shall,
moreover, find it revealed, with equal clearness, in other parts of the New
Testament.
For instance, what does Paul mean in the subjoined
passage? In speaking exclusively of
those who have accepted the only true foundation, he tells its, that it is
possible to build upon it either with gold, silver and costly stones, or with
wood, hay and stubble, and then continues:-
Each mans work shall be made
manifest: for the Day shall declare it, because it
is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall
prove each mans work of what sort it is. If any mans work
shall abide which he built thereon, he shall
receive a reward. If any mans work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire (1 Cor.
3: 13).
And again:-
Wherefore, also, we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to
be well-pleasing unto Him. For we must all be made manifest before the
Judgment-seat of Christ, that each one may
receive the things done in the body, according
to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Knowing, therefore, the fear of the
Lord, we persuade men, but to God we have been made manifest; and I hope that we
have been made manifest also in your consciences (2 Cor. 5: 9).
And was not the sentiment expressed in
the last verse, the fear of the Lords terrible judgment of His Own House,
powerfully affecting the Apostle when he wrote:-
The Lord grant mercy unto the house
of Onesiphorus: for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but, when he was in Rome,
he sought me diligently, and found me - The Lord grant unto him to
find mercy of the Lord at That Day - and
in how many things he ministered at Ephesus, thou
knowest very wcl1.
Surely, if Paul was moved to interpose this fervent ejaculatory
prayer on behalf of one who was not only called, but had also shown himself
faithful by fearlessly ministering to the Lords servant while he was fighting
with wild beasts at Ephesus, and, subsequently, at Rome, when he was in the
clutches of the most unscrupulous and cruel of persecuting tyrants - surely, if
the Apostle was impelled to pray for such a one, that the Lord would grant him
mercy in the Day of his Judgment, there can be no believer who is not in need
of the same mercy.
Hence the decisions issued from the Judgment-seat of Christ
will have the following results:- Those servants of the Lord who
shall be found to have been faithful will be judged worthy of the First
Resurrection, and will immediately be made Priests of God and of His Christ,
and will reign with Him for a Thousand Years. They will thus enjoy the great Sabbath that
remains for the people of God, and
will themselves rest from their works, even as He did from His.
But the unfaithful servants will be banished into the darkness
without the pale of the Kingdom, where they will be detained, and dealt with according to the sentence of the Lord, until the
Last Day. Then, when the time of reward
has passed by, He will raise them up to everlasting life, even as He has
promised to do in the case of all who have believed on Him.
* * *
* * *
*
154
TWO KINDS OF GROUND
Two Kinds of Ground;
that which Receiveth Blessing from God,
and that which is Rejected.
FOR the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft
upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God;
but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned (Heb.
6: 7, 8).
The contrast between ground that produces herbage fit for the
use of those by whom it is tilled, and ground that brings forth thorns and
briers, is apparently given as an illustration of the two ages we have been
discussing, namely, the present evil age, which is like the ground that bears
thorns and briers, and the age to come, upon which the frequent rain of
Heaven, the blessing of God, descends, and which brings forth fruit to those
who till it.
The present age is rejected, being nigh unto a curse. The end of the things it produces is to be burned (literally for burning).
The coming age, on the other hand, receives blessing from God. The mountains of
This is entirely a Divine view and estimation of the present
age and its things. That this age is nigh to a
curse, and that
the boasted products of its scientific civilization are thorns and
briers, whose end
is for burning, is a fact which few Christians believe, and fewer still act upon. Yet this is a fact which the Word of God sets
forth with unusual fulness and clearness.
The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty
angels, in flaming fire (2 Thess. 1: 7, 8). The harvest is the end of the age;
and the reapers are the ,angels. As, therefore, the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be AT THE END OF THIS AGE (Matt.
13: 40). Whose fan is in His Hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matt.
3: 12).
In view of these clear warnings of what will surely take place
at
the end of this age, it is sad indeed to see the time, energies, and money of Christians expended
in raising a crop of thorns and briers to feed the flames of that day, when the fire shall try every mans work
of what sort it is. For the fire-test will be applied to the works
of those who are on the true Foundation, as it is written: For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which
is Jesus Christ. Now if any man
build upon THIS FOUNDATION, gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, stubble; every mans work shall be made manifest of what sort it is. If any mans work
abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall RECEIVE A REWARD. If any mans work SHALL BE BURNED, he shall SUFFER LOSS: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by (through) fire (1 Cor. 3: 11-15).
The case of
It should not be overlooked that Lot was given a special
warning and opportunity to get clear of
So
The bringing forth by the earth of thorns and briers, is not a
normal thing. It is wholly abnormal,
being the result or the curse which Adam, by his sin, brought upon the
ground. Indeed, it is the thing which specially bears witness to the fact that
a curse rests upon the ground.
Therefore, we are confronted at this point with truth that is
fundamental, truth that lies at the very bottom of the evil state of human
society. When God set the earth in order
for the occupation of mankind, He said, Let the earth BRING FORTH grass, the herb yielding
seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after
his kind. And God, after creating the man, put him in
the garden to dress it and keep it.
Thus, so long as creation was in its normal state, the earth brought
forth herbs, meet for them by whom it was dressed. But when, by Adam, sin entered
the world (Rom. 5: 12), God cursed the ground for his sake, and said,
Thorns
also and thistles shall it BRING FORTH
unto thee (Gen. 3: 17, 18).
The fact, therefore, that the ground brings forth thorns and
briers is a testimony that the man who dresses it is still under the dominion
of sin and death. Thorns also
and thistles shall it bring forth UNTO
THEE, that
is, unto Adam, the natural man, now indwelt by sin. So long as the earth is possessed and
occupied by the race of Adam, the natural man, it will bring forth thorns and
briers. But when, in the age to come, creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the GLORY of the children of God - [for] those [at the first
resurrection] born not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God - then it will no longer bring forth thorns and briers, but will yield herbs meet for
those by whom it is dressed.
The production of thorns and briers is, therefore, the
characteristic of the natural man, and of this present [evil] age.
Hence, when the Second Man, the Lord out of Heaven, came in the Body of
His Flesh prepared for Him, wherein He offered Himself a Sacrifice for SIN, He was crowned with THORNS, signifying that He Himself bore
the curse. Having borne the curse, He is
qualified to deliver the purchased possession from the effects of the
curse. In the age to come He will wear,
not the crown of thorns, but the many crowns which show Him to be the Blessed
and only Potentate, the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev. 19: 12, 16; 1 Tim. 6: 15). Therefore, the choice now offered to the saints
of God is between the age in which their Lord and Saviour was crowned with
thorns, and that in which He will wear the many diadems.
The
The song of the vineyard in Isaiah
5. shows that, even under the best possible conditions, the natural man
cannot bring forth fruit that is meet for God.
The reason for the failure of
Therefore, the Lord pronounced judgment, saying, And now,
go to; I will tell you
what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away
the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up;
and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And
I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned nor
digged: but there shall come up BRIERS and THORNS; I will also command the
clouds that they RAIN NO RAIN UPON IT (ver. 5, 6). This passage connects the song of the vineyard
with the sixth of Hebrews. Moreover, the Lord Himself applied the song
of the vineyard in Matt. 21: 33-45. That
Scripture contains the parable of the vineyard, and the Lord, in uttering that
parable, uses almost the identical words of Isaiah
5. in describing the vineyard.
The parable shows that the Lords judgment on His vineyard was put into
execution only after God had sent unto them His Son, saying, They will
reverence My Son;
but the husbandmen, when they saw Him, said, This is the Heir; come, let us kill Him, and seize on His inheritance.
And the parable also shows that the [Messiahs] inheritance is the Kingdom of God; for the Lord
said, Therefore say I unto you, The
Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and
given to a nation BRINGING FORTH THE
FRUITS THEREOF.
So
But deliverance from the
curse is promised to them through the Son of God, coming
to His vineyard, and submitting
Himself to the wicked will of the husbandmen, and being Himself made a curse.
In Isaiah 53., He is described as the
Lamb brought to the slaughter, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our
iniquities, and pouring out His Soul unto death. Then in Isaiah 55.,
is described the deliverance accomplished and through the Cross of the
Redeemer, when the mountains and the hills shall break forth ... into singing, and all the
trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of THE THORN shall come up the fir tree,
and instead of THE
BRIER shall come up the myrtle tree; and it
shall be to the Lord for a name, and for an
everlasting sign that shall not be cut off (ver. 12,
13).
That will be also a time of the rain coming down, as indicated by verse 10: As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to
the sower, and
bread to the eater. This speaks of a land that receives
blessing from God, drinking in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth
forth, in place of thorns and briers, herbs meet for them by whom it is
dressed.
* *
* * *
* *
155
OUT-RESURRECTION FROM
AMONG THE DEAD
BY D.M. PANTON
AN exceedingly
remarkable example of a single resurrection, consisting of selected saints
alone, has already occurred.* And the tombs were opened, and many of the bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep - not all - were raised;
and coming forth out of the tombs they entered into the
holy city and appeared unto many (Matt. 27: 52).
[* NOTE: There is
nothing in the text above to suggest that this resurrection was into
immortality: or that these souls, who appeared unto
many, did not return to Hades and
their bodies to the grave! God
had previously allowed a similar event to happen in the account of Sauls
request to the woman at En-dor! Bring me up
Samuel
and Saul perceived that it
was Samuel
and Samuel said to Saul,
Why hast thou disquieted me, to being me up? Sam. 28: 11, 14, 15, R.V. Cf.
John 3: 13;
Luke 16: 29,
30; Acts 2:
27, 34; 2 Tim. 2: 18, R.V.]
It is exactly such a resurrection of selected saints, yet to
come, of which Paul stresses the emphasis of his whole soul. All that once valued he says he cast
overboard as so much dead cargo:- I do count them but dung; and why? if by any means - if possible (Meyer);
if anyhow (Eadie) - I may attain - the word attain
here means to arrive at the end of a journey - unto THE OUT-RESURRECTION, OUT FROM AMONG THE DEAD (Phil.
3: 11) ;
that is, not the resurrection of the dead, but a resurrection out from the dead,
leaving the rest sleeping in their graves.
That Paul is speaking of bodily resurrection is clear from the closing
verse of this chapter:- We wait for a Saviour
who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory. As Professor T. Croskery puts it:- It is not a part in the general
resurrection; it is not spiritual resurrection, for that was already past (in
the experience of the Apostle): it is a part of the resurrection of the just,
the resurrection of life. It must be the First Resurrection,
for only that resurrection
leaves dead still in the tombs; the rest of the dead lived
not until the thousand years
were finished (Rev. 20: 5); and so it is the First Resurrection which here
rises before Paul as the mighty goal of a mighty effort.
Never was Paul so anxious to impress uncertainty on the Church
as he is here, touching the first resurrection: he piles phrase on phrase implying extreme difficulty of achievement. Not that I have already obtained - that is, attained to the standard qualifying for the prize
- the word means to win a prize (as in 1 Cor. 9: 24): but forgetting the things which are
behind - the
failures, the disappointments, the follies - I press on - toward the maturity required for
the reaping sickle of the First Resurrection: or am already made perfect - I am in hot pursuit - if so be that I may apprehend that for which also I was apprehended by Christ
Jesus. Brethren, I count
not myself yet to have apprehended.
It is a statement crammed with deliberate uncertainty: if
by any means is used when an end is proposed,
but failure is presumed to be possible (Alford). The Apostle states not a positive
assurance, but a modest hope (Lightfoot). So high was Pauls inspired conception of the
standard required by God, that most of
all in the Apostolic Church he
disowned all self-confidence, though more abundant in labours, in
sufferings, in confessions than they all; for the clearer our spiritual vision, the more sharply distinct is the distance of the goal. Let us ponder Bishop Lightfoots paraphrase:- Be not mistaken. I hold the language of hope, not of
assurance. I have not reached the goal:
I am not yet made perfect. But I press
forward in the race, eager to grasp the prize, for as much as Christ also has
grasped me. My brothers, let other men
count their security. Such is not my
language. I do not consider that I have
the prize already in my grasp. This, and
this only, is my rule. Forgetting the
landmarks already passed, and straining every nerve and muscle in the onward
race, I press forward ever towards the goal that I may win the prize.
Paul is now in prison; and the nearer he is to martyrdom, the keener is
his pursuit of the prize: and the closer to it, for all martyrs are crowned (Rev.
20: 4).
Now the Apostle reveals the profound yet simple truth
explaining the uncertainty: - namely, the out-resurrection is not a gift in grace, but a prize to be
won by devotion and sanctity.
Nothing could be
clearer than the Apostles words. First,
the renunciation - I count all things but dung: next, the aim - if by any
means I may attain unto the select resurrection from among the dead: finally, the reason - I press on
toward the goal for THE PRIZE of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus. Morally and practically, a gift and a prize are worlds
asunder: if a gift has to be won, it is not a gift, but a prize; and if a prize
is received without effort, it is not a prize, but a gift. Here is the solution of the whole problem,
and of words of Paul which have puzzled thousands. Unlike simple
salvation, the
select resurrection is a prize, not a gift: I press on for the prize, he says. For obtaining
simple salvation Paul has just stated that all works he had jettisoned for ever overboard, for Gods
salvation is a pure gift - the righteousness of Another given out of hand; but
so from this truth producing carelessness in Paul, or the conviction that works after faith are of little account either for time or for
eternity, by a counter-truth Pauls master-passion now is to attain to the
Select Resurrection as the prize.
I press on to
seize the prize, to attain which Christ seized me: it is Christs wish that I
should win the prize: it is our heavenward calling (Lightfoot), for
God is invoking us all so to run that we shall break up with the first through the shattered tombs. A prize is never won except at the goal: the
runner who, at any point of the track, calculates that he has out-distanced all
competitors; or gets out of the running tracks; or lingers to look back in
satisfaction at the ground covered; or runs with anything but intense
concentration - loses the race. Seest thou, says Chrysostom, that even here they crown the most honoured of the athletes,
not on the race-course below, but the king calls them up and crowns them there.
I press on, cries Paul, toward the prize of our high calling - the heavenward, upward, Godward
call - in Christ Jesus.
Paul finally presents us with a priceless cluster of truths
that shine out like stars. First, our
resolve: Let us therefore, as many as
be perfect
(full-grown, mature) be thus minded. That is of Pauls mind: not doubting or
denying that there is such a prize; not foolishly scorning the doctrine of
reward; not despairing of ourselves, or ruling ourselves out as competitors;
not absorbed in discussion as to who shall win the prize, or wondering how
near, or how far, we are ourselves; not reposing on past victories, or resting
on past laurels, or crushed and hopeless over past failures; but making the
supreme effort of our lives to attain. There is a
difference between the perfect and the perfected; the perfect are ready for the
race; the perfected are close upon the prize (Bengel). All the mightiest of mankind have been men of
one idea, for concentration is the secret of power , and they are the mightiest
saints who have no less an aim than a perfected holiness, the top-stone of
which is a bursting upward from the tomb.
Now follows a golden promise.
And if in anything - in any detail
of this truth - ye are otherwise minded - if you think that the prize is for
all believers without effort, or that there is no prize, or that the first
resurrection is not the prize, or
that it is not worth a lifes devotion, or that you have, by effort, already
secured it - even this - always assuming a single eye for Gods truth - shall God
reveal unto you: the verb
indicates an immediate disclosing to the human spirit by the Spirit of God (Lange).
To differ from Paul is, of
course, to confess oneself in error: nevertheless, Paul says, walk with me
so far as you can see your path; where you fail to agree with me, or with one
another, ask God. Paul teaches, but God enlightens (Chrysostom). This meets the inevitable challenge, foreseen
by Paul all down the ages:- Paul, your doctrine of
the Prize will plunge the Church into chaos, and sharply sunder the babes from
the adult. This is the answer. Seek the best you know,
and God will give you a still better
best: be perfect
in devotion, and a passionate runner, and God is pledged to show us what is the hope of your calling (Eph. 4: 4). Seek God about it, and even this - the most golden ideal that ever
hovered before human vision - shall God reveal unto you: only whereunto we have already attained, by that same rule let us walk.
For Paul himself the crowning fact remains:- This ONE THING I do it remains the master-passion of my
life.
-------
Overcomers
It is tragic how many evangelicals
abhor responsibility truth. A striking
example has just been given (Life of Faith, Dec. 15, 1948) by Dr. Basil Atkinson. He says, commenting on the fruit promised to
the overcomer (Rev. 2:
7):-
The idea has
sometimes been mooted that an overcomer is a special kind of Christian. This is not so. The New Testament knows of no special kind of
Christian, though we all know people who believe that such cliques exist today,
yet only if they suppose themselves to belong to them! An overcomer is another name for a
believer. He will be freely given the
fruit of the tree - that is to say, he will enjoy the gift of everlasting life.
* *
* * *
* *
156
THE 1,000 YEAR KINGDOM
IN GODS PLAN
BY THOMAS W FINLAY
Kingdom (basileia, Greek) means primarily Gods authority or rule, but its usage
includes not only the sovereign rule of God but also the people and realm over
which He rules.
Gods Kingdom runs throughout
all eternity, but it takes on different characteristics in successive stages or
phases throughout the course of time and eternity. Thy kingdom
is a kingdom of all ages, and thy dominion is throughout all generations. (Ps.
145: 13,
Darby)
The present stage of Gods Kingdom has a spiritual
realization among todays believers who have had Gods word and life sown into
their hearts (Mk. 4:
3-20),
and who have been transferred into the Kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1: 13) and enjoy the
Two future phases of Gods Kingdom are yet to come. The next phase will
be the millennial
The millennial Kingdom (1,000 years) has more prophetic
Scripture devoted to it than does any other prophetic topic. We must see its importance in Gods plan,
including His plan for believers. Below are
some of the names and meaning of this phase of Gods Kingdom:
* The Sabbath rest. (Heb. 4: 9). This rest is foreshadowed by Gods rest on the
7th day after His creative activity (Gen.
2: 2; Heb. 4: 4). This
rest follows Gods redemptive activity.
* The age to come. (Matt. 12: 32; Mk. 10: 30; Heb. 6: 5). This
will be the next age, brought in by Jesus second coming (Matt. 13: 39-40; 43).
* The regeneration. (Matt. 19: 28) Also called the the times of restoration (Acts 3:
21) as a fulfilment of prophecy (Is. 11: 1-10; 65: 18-25). This title indicates that this period is a
time when the earth is released from its bondage to corruption (Rom. 8: 20-21).
* The 1,000 year reign of Christ. (Rev. 20: 3-6).
Popularly termed the Millennium. Christ will rule over the earth from His
throne in
* The Kingdom (in certain verses). (Matt. 5: 20; 7: 21; 16: 28; 19: 23-24; 22: 2; Lk.
9: 62; 13: 28-30; 18: 24-25, 29; 19: 12, 15; 22: 29, 30; Acts 14: 22; 1 Cor. 6: 9-10; 15: 50; Gal. 5: 21; Eph. 5: 5; 1 Thess. 2: 12; 2 Thess. 1: 5; 2 Tim. 4: 1, 18; Jas. 2: 5; 2 Pet. 1: 10-11; Rev. 12: 10).
Blessings upon the earth during the 1,000 year Kingdom: The lifting of the curse. The curse brought in by Adams sin is
lifted to a great degree in the coming Kingdom age. The creation is released from its bondage to
corruption (Rom.
8: 21; Is. 11: 6-9; 35: 1; 55: 13). Satan
will be bound (Rev. 20: 1-3). He will not be able to tempt and
destroy. Health for the redeemed (Is. 33: 24; 35: 5-6). Christs earthly healing ministry
foreshadowed the Kingdom condition (Matt. 8: 16-17; Heb. 6: 5). Peace (Is.
2: 4). Righteousness and justice (Is. 11: 4; 32: 1). Joy (Is. 14: 7; 51: 11).
Comfort (Is. 49:13). Truth
will prevail (Jer. 33: 6; Zech. 8: 3). Material prosperity (Jer. 31:
12).
Holiness (Is. 11: 9). Fullness of the Holy Spirit (Is. 44: 3). Other blessings will also exist. The remnant of the Jews converted at the end
of this present age, and certain Gentiles will become subjects in this Kingdom
(Ps. 2: 7-9; Zech. 12: 9-10; Rom. 11: 26-27; Matt. 19: 27-28; 25: 32-34).
Significance of the millennial Kingdom. Since this coming age seems to the
natural mind to be only a brief prelude to eternity, with somewhat similar
conditions, we, may make the mistake of downplaying its importance. However, since God has paid so much attention
to this coming age in His Word, it seems to have great significance in His
overall plan. We can only suggest some
reasons why God has placed such importance upon this coming age:
* The Messiahs Kingdom. Firstly, this Kingdom is the Kingdom of the
Lord Jesus Christ, where He openly rules over all the earth. Here, He is at
last manifested as the true and worthy Sovereign. His roles as Prophet, Priest
and King are fully seen. His full supernatural power, His righteousness and His
full authority are displayed. Many names of the Messiah will find their
fulfilment in this age. Some of these names are: the Branch, the Lord of Hosts,
the Rod of Jesse, the King, the Judge, the Lawgiver, the Redeemer, the
Shepherd, the Stone, the Teacher, the Son of Man. In Gods plan, this age will be used to
uniquely display the glory of the Jesus Christ.
* Many promises to Gods people
* This Kingdom Age will be a display of Gods triumph over the damage
done to the earthly sphere by Satan and the fall of man. Gods authority and
Gods wisdom in creation were challenged by Satan and Adam and Eve. Yet, this
Kingdom age brings about the times of restoration (Acts 3:
21) showing Gods triumph over evil.
* In the age to come Gods plan for man is realized and
displayed through Christ and the overcomers, who are Christs joint-heirs (Rom. 8: 17; Heb. 1: 9; 3: 14). Gods purpose for man in creation was for man
to be in His image and for man to exercise dominion for God (Gen. 1: 26). Adam
lost the right to rule through disobedience and the earth was usurped by
Satan. Gods plan is finally realized in
the Millennium (Heb. 2: 5-9; Rev. 2: 26-27; 3: 21; 20: 4-6). The overcomers are those faithful believers who overcome the obstacles of this
life to faith and obedience. The overcomers are pictured by Joshua and Caleb,
who were the only adult men who fully followed the Lord in the exodus generation.
They were rewarded with entry into the good land (a picture of the
Kingdom reward). The overcomers are also
pictured by the overcomers of each of the seven churches of Rev. 2 and 3. The
various rewards to these overcomers portray some aspect of the Kingdom reward. In
this age (in our lifetimes) God is seeking to prepare believers to be fit to
reign in the next age. Those who learn
self-denial and obedience now will be prepared to reign then and also be
priests to God (Lk. 19: 16-17; Rom. 8: 17b, 2 Tim. 2: 12a; Rev. 20: 6). The reward to the overcomer also includes a magnified
enjoyment of Christ as eternal life, which is in accord with mans design of
being created in the image of God (Lk.
18: 30; Jn. 17: 3; Rev. 2: 7, 17; 3: 4, 12).
Although it is clear that the overcomers share in Christs rule over
peoples on the earth (Matt. 19: 28; Lk. 19: 11-19; 2 Tim. 2: 12; Rev. 2: 26-27; 3: 21; 5: 10), they
also seem to have some share in the New Jerusalem above the earth during this
time (Rev. 3: 12; 21: 2).
* A final
test and opportunity for sinful man. Children born to adults
who enter the Kingdom will have sinful natures. Such persons will have
opportunity for salvation. Yet, even
under the ideal conditions of Christs reign, many people will finally rebel
against God at the end of the Millennium when Satan is loosed, proving fallen
mans wickedness (Rev. 20: 7-10).
* The era of reward. Scripture seems to place the
focus on rewards for believers during this period (Matt.
19: 28; Lk. 18: 29-30; 1 Cor. 1: 8-10; Gal. 5: 19-21; Eph. 5: 3-7; Rev. 2: 26-27). All saints
reign in eternity (Rev. 22: 33).
The Kingdom prize (reward) is the goal of the Christian race and is given by God as a great
incentive for us to run with endurance (1 Cor. 9: 24-27; Heb. 10: 35-36; 11: 24-26).
* *
* * *
* *
157
GLORY OR SHAME
BY W. F. ROADHOUSE
The book from which these extracts are taken is a remarkable proof that
sections of the
-------
THE Bema
has been said, for a generation or longer, to be but for the adjudication of
Rewards. The usage cited, out of the eleven times the word is employed,
indicates otherwise - and for us, New Testament usage determines its meaning. For example, Pilate sat on the Bema - did he reward Christ, or condemn him? (Matt. 27: 19; John 19: 13). Herod
sat upon a Bema, trying both criminals and good men (Acts
12: 21). Gallio heard accusations
against the Apostle Paul (Acts 18: 12, 16, 17, used twice).
Festus sat on the Bema which Paul said was also Caesars
Bema (Acts 25: 4-19, used
twice). This Bema (translated Judgment seat) is
to dispense not only happy
rewardings but also the opposite.
The word itself means - a step, or foot-room; then a platform, or raised
place; then it became the word for tribune, or place where judgment was
administered. It is used but twice in its ordinary, secular way (as in Acts 7: 5), not so much
as to set his foot on. Thus we have what the New Testament
itself yields and settles for us its meaning.
By this we stand.
Paul is stretching forward to what (Phil.
3: 11)? IF BY ANY MEANS he may attain unto the out-resurrection (exanastasis,
Gr., found only here in the New Testament) from the dead. This expression, if by any
means (ei pos, Gr.) is used five times in the New
Testament, always with the possibility of failure in it and once positive
failure (Pauls shipwreck). Just this
uncertainty is what the expression means.
And assuredly his figure, that follows this, clearly indicates the same,
namely, Stretching forward (the intense Greek runner) to the things which are before, I press on
toward the goal unto THE PRIZE of
the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.
This is precisely his picture in 1 Cor. 9: 24-27 where
Paul says, Know ye not that they which run in a race run ALL, but
ONE receiveth the prize.
This is the prize of the crown, which too many, altogether too
many [regenerate Christians], will not receive!
IF BY ANY MEANS is absolute uncertainty. And the winner of the prize must be ever on the stretch like the self-disciplined athlete of both ancient
and modern times. Ever seeking to lay hold of that for which he had been laid hold of by Christ Jesus. There is no other life than this glorious
intense one, if we would share in this PRIZE OF THE UPWARD CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.
There will be non-successful runners aplenty. One receiveth the prize. Even so run that ye
may obtain. The
Lord help us all!
Hear the Divine pronouncement - 1 Cor. 6: 9, 10, the unjust, of God the
Christ refers to what the Lord bestows upon His servants of these days. He gave ten pounds to each of ten servants to trade with. Returning from the far country, having received the kingdom, he now requires an
accounting of their stewardship. One had
gained
by trading double
his bestowment; another had secured half that increase. To both he gave his commendation, Well done! But
the third had merely hid his entrusted gift, leaving it idle (even chiding his
lord for hardness); him the master (note it well) strips of all ministry,
designating him a wicked servant. He got no share, in
what is assumed here, in his coming kingdom-rule. The others are rewarded by authority over
ten, or five cities. Note that they were
ALL bondslaves (doulos,
Gr.) bought and owned by their master - the third class here, the citizens, outsiders, were not his stewards, and
were slain because they refused his right to reign over them.
How perfectly all this fits into the whole plan of Divinely - bestowed
stewardship. This ever-recurring going
to Rome to be invested there with the Imperial authority to rule a Roman
province with its vivid incidents so familiar to the Palestinians, Jesus used
to picture His disciples ministering for Him in His absence until His crowning
day had come, and then the time of bestowal of rulership - rewards in His
glorious reign. Hence the necessary
adjudication at His Bema (as that of the Roman governors) of the awards for
days ahead. We shall be excluded from
all reigning with Him because we left our gift only unused! Behold I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Rev.
3: 11).
In Matt. 25: 1-13 the Lord teaches again the possibility of
failure to those who, professing to watch, carelessly get into an unprepared
condition. Purity of life - virgins and the Spirits fullness - the oil - axe the essentials for preparedness
here. Let those deny who will what a
simple concordance study will show any seeker (Lev. 8: 10-12; 21: 12; 1 Sam. 10: 1, 6; Rev. 14: 1-5), that the oil is ever emblematic of the Holy Ghost
- both of these groups of five had the lamps and the oil.
ALL were virgins, ALL had oil.
ALL waited to go forth
to meet the Bridegroom. The wise while waiting professedly, slumbered and
slept, but were
safe-guarded by the oil in their lamps - the foolish were not ready, for they cry, Our lamps are
going out! Not that they were never lit. They were alight before. Manifestly their testimony had ebbed until it
faded out - and now the Bridegroom was at hand!
With going out lamps it was too late to be ready and none was there to help. How true to experience - from the first days
of this century many are to-day sadly failing; once full of joy of the Spirits
fullness they are to-day outwardly dead and fruitless. They could truly say Our lamps are
going out! We believe many prophecy
students have lapsed in holy living, in sacrifice, in giving, in prayer
life, and what not. And they will be
amongst those for whom the door was shut. For when the
Bridegroom came ... they that were ready went in
with Him to the wedding feast. And the foolish
shouted, Lord, Lord open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know (oida,
Gr.) you not. This last phrase
presents no difficulty, for this is not salvation truth, but refers strictly to the subject of SHARING IN THE KINGDOM JOYS.
It is absolutely different from the case of the false teachers of Matt.
7: 21-23 - deluded ones to whom Jesus says, I never knew
(egnon, Gr.) you: depart from Me, ye workers of
lawlessness. In Matt. 25: 1 the virgins are prospective, potential members of
the reigning personnel of the kingdom-reign.
No error nor departure from Gods truth is in sight - they fail because
of unguarded and ill-prepared watchfulness, and thus are the sorrowful subjects
of an exclusion judgment when the Lord returns.
Watch therefore, Christ concludes. And
He never says this to the unsaved world - why should He?
Far too greatly have we been taught that if but once in grace without further obedience, or loyalty,
or keen following of the way of the cross,
entitles us to literally everything that God has for His people. It is our conviction that so has this been
stressed that it lies at the back of the backslidden, dry
rot condition of the church - even within the ranks of much-professing
Fundamentalism to-day. Potentially, of
course, literally all is ours - it is not actually, possessively so, until by faith and deep renunciation we begin to
possess our
inheritance. No longer any folding of
hands, no longer any easy-living, fully-indulging our pampered selves - but
living after the pattern of the devoted followers of Christ in other days. No other kind or degree of Christian life
will see us through to Gods highest and best.
NOW UNTO HIM THAT IS ABLE TO KEEP US FROM FALLING, AND TO PRESENT US
FALTLESS BEFORE THE PRESENCE OF HIS GLORY WITH EXCEEDING JOY; TO THE ONLY WISE
GOD OUR SAVIOUR, BE GLORY AND MAJESTY, DOMINION AND POWER, BOTH NOW AND EVER!
-------
A. T. Pierson, D.D. - The greatest of all the revelations about the
future conditions of the saints is, that they
are to be identified with Jesus Christ in His reign - that is, those who overcome. Not
all saints are to be elevated to this position; this is for victorious saints.
Dr. J. Hudson Taylor of China, the outstanding missionary, said:- We
wish to place on record our solemn conviction that not all who are Christians,
or think themselves such, will attain to that resurrection of which St. Paul speaks in Philippians 3: 11, or will thus meet
the Lord in the air. Unto those who
by lives of consecration manifest that they are not of the world, but are
looking for Him, He will appear without sin
unto salvation. - From
R. Govett, M.A. -
It is a matter of sad observation that every species and degree of crime is
committed, and has been committed, by believers after their conversion: so that
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 personal responsibility which it discloses. Many such testimonies can be adduced from
those who have not been regarded as teachers of the foregoing message. - W.F.R.
* *
* * *
* *
158
SELECTIVE RAPTURE AND
NOT A HOOF LEFT BEHIND.
REPEATEDLY, when the subject of Selective Rapture has come up of late, the reply has
been There shall not a hoof be left behind.
The manner in which this Scripture is quoted is meant to leave us in no
doubt that this is the death-blow to Selective Rapture. We readily admit that there is a sound of
finality about the quotation, if indeed it can be made to refer to Selective
Rapture; but does it? The quotation is
taken from Ex. 10:
26 (context 24-27) and refers to Gods contest with Pharaoh. The latter is now willing to let the
Israelites leave
When our friends quote to us, There
shall not a hoof be left behind, they mean us to understand that not a single
believer will be left on earth after the Rapture of 1
Thess. 4: 15-17 has taken
place. So ignorant are
they of the teaching of the New Testament on this subject that they do not know
that all referred to in 1
Thess. 4: 15-17 had already
been left behind when the Firstfruits were raptured before the Great
Tribulation commenced, Rev. 12: 5, 14: 1-5.
Furthermore if they would only look at Ex.
10: 26
and its context (24-27)
they would quickly discover that Ex. 10: 26 can at
best only be made to apply to the New Birth of a believer, when he departs from
the World (
We wish to remind our friends that it was the purpose of God
that all the Israelites who left
It is our Lords desire
that all believers should have part in the First Resurrection.
He who knows the end from the beginning has made it perfectly clear that
the majority will repeat the grave blunder of the Israelites who were behind in the Wilderness.
Thus we find that Ex. 10: 26 instead of being a death-blow to Selective
Rapture proves it up to the hilt. It
further proves that those who use it in the above manner wrest this
Scripture to their own undoing, 2 Peter
3: 16, for it teaches the very opposite to what they intend it to teach. This
ignorance is unfortunately met with in regard to the whole subject of the
Lords Second Advent.
The Jews of old said within themselves, - We have
Abraham to our Father, therefore every blessing that God can bestow is sure to us regardless of
any condition. We know that through their vain conceit they missed Gods wonderful [promised]* Salvation. Even so, there is a large section of present day [regenerate] believers, who boast of their
standing in Christ assuming that sharing the Throne of Christ, and a part in
the First Resurrection, is a dead certainty as far as they are concerned, yet
being totally ignorant of the fact that these blessings will never be theirs unless
they fulfil the conditions that God has attached to them.
[* NOTE: The word Salvation in this context, has nothing whatsoever to
do with the salvation they presently had received: it has a
reference to that salvation which they could have had, if only they obeyed
and trusted their God! All too often,
the redeemed people of God, fail to see the importance of a future
salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time
the salvation of souls
and the glories that should follow (1 Peter 1: 5, 9, 11b, R.V.) -
at some Divinely appointed time in the near future!]
Eternal Life is the Free Gift of God to all believers, but
part in the First Resurrection and Reigning with Christ on His Throne is only promised to, and obtained by,
Overcomers. They are not a Free
Gift, but a Reward to whole-hearted devotion to Christ; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints, Rev.
19: 8 R.
V.
I am sewing, sewing day by day
A dress in time I shall display;
I want to make it fit and fair,
This dress my soul will have to wear;
And every day and passing minute,
Im putting common stitches in it.
If the reader desires to be a Caleb, he will have to be prepared to stand alone amidst the very
people of God. He will have to go
further and deeper into this subject than popular Periodicals and Preachers
will take him. If he desires to go more
fully into this matter, we recommend him to write for the undermentioned
free leaflets, written by aged and deeply taught Servants of God, who have no
other desire but to glorify their God and help their brethren. All it will cost you is a stamped-addressed
envelope, and you will receive.
-------
REIGNING
GOD
would have granted to all
In this age of grace God seeks rulers for His kingdom. The promises by means of which He encourages
us and strengthens us to allow Him fully to prepare us are many. Notice:- If we
suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will
deny us (2 Tim. 2: 12). And if children,
then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if
so be that we suffer with him, that we may be
also glorified together (Rom. 8: 17). Do ye not know that
the saints shall judge the world? and if the
world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to
judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Cor. 6: 2, 3).
The crowns which are offered to us, provided that we meet
specific conditions, distinctly point to positions of highest authority in the
The promise in 1 Corinthians 6:
2, 3
reveals the scope of the inheritance
which falls to the obedient in the
One of the most powerful incentives
which a Christian can know is the realization that God offers him surpassing
reward, even the honour of reigning with Christ, if he continues obedient to Him to the point of suffering while living now on earth. Christians have neglected this supremely
important truth, and so they lack its power to fortify them unto all obedience
for Christs sake.
When our Lord appears and establishes
His [millennial] kingdom by indisputable right, He
will have ready His full staff of administrators; princes, rulers, and
officials of all degrees of authority.
These will abolish all rule save His own. These will destroy the works of wickedness in
the earth. These will compel the nations
to submit to the Lord. These will
maintain perfect order and righteousness in all parts of the kingdom. The Lords staff of administrators will be
thoroughly trustworthy to perform His least command, for He tried them and proved them by the discipline of varied experiences
when they lived on earth. These He
will send forth throughout His kingdom to put all His enemies under His feet.
We may exclaim, How trifling this life appears in comparison with the
experiences we shall have in the
* *
* * *
* *
159
CONSTANT READINESS
BY SARAH FOULKES
THE
unannounced hour of our Lords return makes imperative constant readiness. As a prophet foretelling His own Advent, our Lord
gives to His disciples emphatic and pointed warnings to watchful readiness (Matt. 24 and 25).
WATCH ... lest coming suddenly He find YOU sleeping. And what I say unto YOU, I say
unto all, WATCH (Mark 13:
36-37).
Speaking as one with authority, our
Lord begins and ends this solemn Advent-warning with the single, explicit
command to WATCH!
Christians who are really preparing
for the Lords impending Advent are to-day living in the ever-vigilant attitude
of heart, life and conduct that springs from one constant and predominating aim
- that they may be accounted worthy to escape the Judgment Wrath that is now
coming swiftly upon the end of this Age.
Luke 21: 34-36 makes it startling and plain that translation is
an escape from judgment. Many are taking
for granted that they are ready to escape.
How presumptuous their assumption when contrasted to the example
Scripture sets before us in Paul! In
anticipation he writes to the Philippians:- Not that I have already attained,
either were already perfect: but I follow after ... I Press towards the mark for the prize.
Paul lived out his daily Christian experience as a man running
a race with the purpose in view of winning the prize. He stripped himself in his race for the crown
laid up for all them who overcome and live godly in Christ Jesus (Rev. 12: 11). Thus
Paul could say Thanks be unto God who always causeth us to triumph in Christ.
That he might be a victor and not a victim of his circumstances Paul put
heart and soul into his Christian experience.
He strained every nerve, bent every muscle to apprehend that for which
Christ apprehended him. Not long before
he departed he evidently attained to the high calling of God in Christ, for he
said, I am ready now ... I
have fought a good fight, I have finished the
course, I have kept the
faith ... henceforth there is laid up for me a crown ... which the Lord
... shall give
me in that day.
What a
rapturous assurance was Pauls! And it may
be ours, if we, like Paul, press into
the overcomings that make us more than conquerors over the world, the flesh and
Satan.
Enoch was translated because he had the testimony that he
pleased God. The carnal mind is enmity
against God. Can we, therefore, hope to
walk with God and please Him as long as we have any carnality, fleshliness,
earthliness in us? I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal ... for ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is
among you envying and strife,
and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men? (1 Cor. 3).
The words WATCH
and PRAY
are constantly on the lips of our Lord
when warning of His sudden thief-like
returning. All teaching, all preaching,
all activity which annuls the Lords
solemn warning to His own to take heed to themselves and watch and pray always
makes for dangerous unalertness.
This is the reason why many Christians to-day are walking carelessly, as
though going to a picnic, when as a
matter of fact, we are in the very hour of the Advent and judgment has already
begun at His Sanctuary. The [coming] rapture itself is a token of that judgment on those who are
left. Hence the whole strategy of Satan is to
prevent the vigilance and alertness the Lord has so solemnly counselled.
So shall also the coming of the Son of man be. There shall two be
in a field: one shall be taken
and the other left ... WATCH, therefore,
for ye know not
what hour your Lord doth come (Matt.
24: 39-42).
It has been said the only difference
between the one the Lord takes in translation and the one left to earths last
judgments is the difference of watchful readiness. In His last discourses our Lord sought to
rouse with exhortations to watchfulness the unwatchful disciple, the robbed good man of
the house, and the unfaithful steward (Matt.
24 and 25).
Watch therefore for ye know neither the day nor
the hour when the Son of Man cometh. Christ made ever-pressing the necessity of being ever ready. Let your loins be
girded about, and your lights
burning: and ye yourselves
like unto men that wait for their Lord ... Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find WATCHING (Luke 12: 35-37).
We stand on the threshold of Christs returning. Every tick of the clock draws us nearer. The darkness of earths midnight is
overspreading. The coming of the
Bridegroom is at hand. Hence His Bride is making herself ready. The Spirit of the Antichrist is abroad in the
world. The great tribulation is casting
its shadows before. Christians, look
up! Be instantly ready, vigilant,
watchful; Now is the time for you to wake out of sleep; for now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is far
spent, and the day is at
hand (Rom. 13: 11, 12).
An almost imperceptible spiritual movement is at work in the
hearts of all true believers, separating the gold from the dross, the real from
the unreal, the precious from the vile, the chaff from the wheat. It comes like a sacred hush upon the soul,
the overshadowing of the Presence drawing near.
Christ is coming! Be
ready when He comes. Separate yourself from the worlds
indulgence. Disentangle yourself from
your immersion in the affairs of this life.
Watch and pray always! A carnal Christian cannot be watchful. We can only watch as we keep spiritually
awake. The word Watch means to be spiritually aroused, to
be on the constant alert. I sleep, but my heart waketh; it is
the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me ... my dove, my undefiled, for my
head is filled with dew, and my locks with
the drops of the night (Song of
Songs 5: 2).
He is coming when we think not. There is to be no warning. As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt. 24: 27). One
quick, blinding flash and the [regenerate] watchful will be
with the Lord. The [regenerate] unwatchful according to our Lords own words will not escape
earths last judgments (Luke
21: 34-36).
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord (Prov. 20: 27). In His parable of the virgins our Lord
reveals there will be a lamp-trimming revival on the eve of His returning. How long does it take to trim a lamp? The wise have only time to trim their lamps,
not fill them, before the door is closed.
It is going to require constant, vigilant preparation of heart, life and
lip to make and keep us ready to meet and greet our souls Beloved when He, all
glorious, comes to receive those accepted in the Beloved.
One known sin un-dropped, one known
command disobeyed, one known truth unbelieved, one part of the life knowingly
unyielded, and we stand in jeopardy. The
last shadows are falling across the world, and therefore across your life. Yet you are not ready; but there is time to win the victory before the sun goes down. YOUR COMING JUDGE IS YOUR PRESENT SAVIOUR. - The Midnight Cry.
-------
FIRST CROWN - THE CROWN OF INCORRUPTION
1. Know ye not, that those who run in a race,
run indeed all of them, but one (only) receiveth the prize? So run that ye may attain. And every one that
enters the contest is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown
but we an incorruptible. I therefore
so run, not as uncertainly so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and
bring it into subjection; lest by any means,
after having acted the herald to others, I myself should be rejected 1
Cor. 9: 24-27. (Greek.)
The crown promised above appears to belong to those who use
self-denial in subduing the lusts of the flesh. He that sows to the flesh,
reaps of it corruption: he that sows to the spirit, reaps of
it incorruption,
and the crown of incorruption. For
the flesh is an enemy to be conquered, and to the victor is promised the crown.
* *
* * *
* *
160
ARE WE READY FOR THE COMING?
BY SARAH FOULKES
What I say
unto you I say unto all, WATCH.
-------
VERY soon the Lord is Coming. He is coming as a Bridegroom. He is coming for a Bride. He leaves Ivory Palaces to come for her
because He greatly desires her beauty.
The beauty of the Bride of Christ is portrayed in the Bridal Psalm (45) as all glorious within.
The glory of the Lord is mentioned many times in Scripture. One
translation of the word glory is beauty, meaning the beauty of the Lord.
Hence we worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness. So likewise His Bride for whom He comes from
Heaven to receive is portrayed in prophetic type and anti-type, as adorned in
the beauty of holiness. Her clothing is
of wrought gold (Psa.
45). Christ espouses to Himself a Bride who
is glorious within and without. By
revelation Paul sees Christ presenting to Himself this Bride, Glorious ...
not having spot or wrinkle.
John, the seer, envisions the Bride in Heaven. The one thing he emphasizes is the fact she had made herself ready.
The Church of the Firstborn is spoken of as a virgin, meaning
a people separated from the world unto God. Paul wrote to the Christians under
his ministry, I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11: 2).
Christian, are you all-glorious within?
Are your spiritual robes without spot or wrinkle? God abhors garments spotted by the flesh. He wants us to abhor them. Enoch is a type of the translation saints. He had the testimony that he pleased
God. Christian, is your life chaste and
pure? Is your walk with the Lord so
attractive that He will greatly desire your beauty? If you or I have one thing in us that is
contrary to His Word we cannot please Him -
He measures our Love to Him by the measure of our obedience to His Word
(Jn. 14: 15).
Now in this hour of His appearing the matter of making
ourselves ready is the most important thing that concerns us. Many are taking for granted they are
ready. Measured by Christs own words to
His disciples, readiness for translation does not consist, as many erroneously
suppose, in being saved or filled with the Spirit. We need to go to the Word of
God and see for ourselves what conditions He imposes for translation and
reigning with Him. In His Olivet
Discourse (Matt. 24
and 25) the Lord foretells the terrible
calamities coming upon the whole earth.
With pointed warnings and explicit commands He cautions His disciples to
escape judgments. And He tells them how. It is not without significance that His words
of prudence and caution are not spoken to the Church as a Body but to
individuals:- Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged. The original Greek renders yourselves and your with peculiar emphasis. Watch ye therefore and pray
always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
Because thou didst keep the word of my
patience I also will keep thee from the hour of trial which is to come upon the whole world.
Blessed is he that keepeth his garments. In the Lords
emphatic admonitions to His disciples to be wary and watchful, He does not
encourage them to rely on their born-again experience. Neither does He encourage them to rest in any
past blessing; nor does He tell them that, being filled with the Spirit, they
can drift along. The Lords
emphasis is laid on WATCHING, HEEDING, PRAYING. The escape according to Christs own words is made on condition of personal effort and is wholly a reward of the
effort to be ready.
What Christ says should mean everything to us. His oft-repeated command is to WATCH. To watch means, in the
original, to be alert; to be aroused;
to be awake. In this hour of
His coming He has shown us in pointed warnings that the only way to escape the
trouble coming upon the whole earth is to WATCH AND PRAY ALWAYS (Matt. 24: 42; 25: 13; Mk. 13: 35; Lu. 21: 34-36; 1 Thess. 5: 6; 1 Pet. 4: 7; Rev. 3: 2; Rev. 16: 15). Again
the Lord says, - Strive to enter in ... for
many will seek to enter in and shall not be able (Lu.
13: 24). The Greek rendering of strive is agonize - agonize to enter in. Paul, seeking to win Christ, as the
Bridegroom, said I press towards the mark (Phil. 3).
How great will be the disappointment of the careless,
lukewarm, unready ones in the hour of the escape (Lu.
21: 34-36). Now,
before it is too late, is the time for us to awake out of sleep and stir
ourselves to watching and prayer, for the signs of His appearing are everywhere
around us. The tares are ripening. So is the wheat. The ingathering is near.
The Lord rebuking the worldly Laodicean Christians said, - I know your works, that
thou
art neither hot nor cold ... so because thou art lukewarm, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Christian, is your
service for the master, your praying, your Bible reading, the testimony of your
life in private and public, cold, or hot, or lukewarm? Ask yourself this question, - Am I a wise
virgin trimming my life by the Word of God, or am I a foolish one, looking for
His Coming but not preparing for it? In contrast to the ease-loving, pleasure-loving Christian of
today, how different was Pauls pressing towards the goal. He put forth desperate effort to win Christ
as the Bridegroom. He stripped himself
of every weight; suffered the loss of all things that he might in the fervour
of his effort attain to the first resurrection out from among the dead
(marginal rend. Phil. 3: 11).
Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord (Lu.
12: 35-36). There
is a wall of worldly separation between most Christians and Christ today which
renders impossible watchfulness and prayerfulness. Our Churches are full of men and women living
in slothful ease and selfish indulgence, unwatchful gliding, drifting with the
world, careless of the rigid requirements imposed by the Lord upon all accounted worthy to escape the things
overtaking the world and to stand before the Son of Man.
When He shall
appear, we shall be like him: ... every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even
as he is pure (1 Jno. 3: 2-3). The imminent
return of our Lord, avers Dr. Torrey,
is
the great Bible argument for a pure, unselfish, devoted, unworldly, active
Christian life. According to John, the apostle, everyone who
hath the hope of Christs return, purifies himself.
Beloved, the
question of great moment is not, Is the Church Ready? But are You Ready? The Lord is preparing to take His place on
the Throne; and to those who will go all the way with Him to His standard of
perfection, by watching and praying always, He gives this glorious promise, - To Him that
overcometh I will grant to sit with Me in My Throne even as I also overcame,
and am sat down with My Father in His Throne (Rev.
3: 21).
-------
LET NO MAN TAKE THY
CROWN
I remember having read at the time of the pagan persecution,
about twelve men, Christians, who were under sentence of death, and the jailor
of the prison had a strange dream just before the execution was to take place.
He saw an extraordinarily fine-looking man coming into the prison, and he had
twelve crowns with him, and he went and tried the crowns on the head of the
first prisoner, and the second, and right on to the eleventh, and the crown
fitted the head of everyone. At last he
came to the twelfth and the crown did not fit him at all, and he told the jailor
to come over and he put the crown on his head and it fitted him perfectly and
he left it there in his dream. The next day the prisoners were taken away to be
burned but when it came to the twelfth man he recanted and cursed Christ and
when the jailor saw that he said, That is not what
Christ deserves. He was asked, And would you recant? No, he
said, and took that mans place at the stake and got the Crown which awaited
him. And so ought you, and so ought I to
see that we would not lose the crown.
- NEIL CAMERON.
* *
* *
* * *
161
THE HIDDEN KINGDOM
BY GORDON CHILVERS
THE
great hope of the Jews was the Messianic Kingdom. Yet when it was within their grasp they
refused it. This Kingdom and its glory were an important theme in the Old
Testament prophets, and the Jews earnestly looked for the great day when the
The kingdom of heaven - that is, the rule of God in this
world - is like unto treasure (Matthew 13: 44). In the
East rich people used to divide their goods into three parts. One they used in commerce or for their
necessary support; one they turned into jewels, which, should it prove needful
to fly, could easily be carried with them; and the third part of it they buried. The treasure of the parable is the promised Kingdom of the Messiah. It is the reign on earth of the Lord of
Glory. In the Old Testament, treasure is
said to be the glory of the Kingdom.
Over Davids treasures was Azmaveth, the
son of Adiel: and over the storehouses in the
fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in
the castles was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah (1
Chronicles 27: 25); and other men were employed as well. So great was Davids treasure that it was a
full time job for several men to look after it for him. So by this figure our Lord shows the
incomparable value of the
The treasure was hidden in a field by God for it is the
glory of God to conceal a thing (Proverbs 25: 2). This
was at the time of the creation of the world.
So Christ addresses those on His right hand at the judgment of the
living nations in these words: Come, ye blessed of
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25: 34). There
was no apparent evidence of the Kingdom, when Jesus came. The descendants of David in the early years
of this era were very poor and a foreigner ruled the land. One of the ruling Caesars tried to find the
heirs of David in order that he might prevent them opposing his reign. He found that the only survivors of the house
of David were far too poor and insignificant to cause the slightest
trouble. So the
It is hidden in a field; this, Christ tells us, is the world (v.
38).
So then the sphere of Christs
Kingdom will be this present world. Zechariah (14:
9) says: The Lord shall be king over all the earth. This is the coming [Millennial and Messianic] Kingdom. At present it is hidden in
the field. It is treasure which a man
found. There was only one Man Who could find such a treasure - the Man Christ
Jesus. When a man was spoken of in a
previous parable our Lord, expounding that part of the parable, referred the
words to Himself. This Man is spoken of
in the epistle of the Hebrews. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, i.e., millennial age. Thou hast put all things in
subjection under his
(Christs) feet (Hebrews 2: 5 and 8). He found it and therefore it was not a
treasure that was offered to Him. Very
soon after our Lords birth He received treasure as a gift from the Magi. And when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh (Matthew 2: 11). Just
as Jesus was starting on His ministry, the Devil came to Him, and brought the
treasure before Him, and offered it to Him.
The devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain,
and showeth him all the
kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.
But Jesus refused this help in finding the Kingdom for the payment
demanded was idolatry. All these things
will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and
worship me (Matthew 4: 8
and 9). Hebrews
(9: 12)
tells us that the treasure which He found was of inestimable worth - far
greater than all the treasures of the earth combined. He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained - found - eternal
redemption for us. How blessed it is to know that
such a great treasure was for us!
Having discovered where the treasure lay, the next thing the
man does is to hide it. Now it is at
first sight difficult to see how any man could hide great treasure and be
blameless. Christ hid the treasure
because circumstances made it necessary.
John the Baptist came to
Jesus used the past tense, hid, for He had done it when He
spoke. It was the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit
by the Jews (Matthew 12: 24 and 31),
which caused our Lord to hide the treasure.
The very method Christ used in teaching people by parables is the proof
that the Kingdom has been hidden again.
As our Lord approached Calvary He had to announce with tears that the
treasure was hidden from the eyes of the Jews. And when he was come near,
he beheld the city, and
wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou,
at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Instead of receiving the Kingdom they would be a subject people. And they shall lay thee even with the
ground, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave thee one stone upon another.
The reason for this awful calamity lay in the fact that they would not
believe that Christ had found the hid treasure.
Because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation (Luke 19:
41, 42, 44).
The hiding of the treasure brought sorrow to the finder of the
Kingdom but for joy thereof He goes back
realising the value of His treasure and is elated with the possibility of
ownership. When but a little treasure
was exhibited to view, we have the only recorded instance in the whole of the
Gospels of our Lords joy. He had sent
the 70 out to preach and to heal the sick.
They return to Him after exhibiting to the world something of the powers of
the age to come. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit,
and said, I thank Thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, that thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them
unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good
in Thy sight (Luke 10: 21). It was joy that spurred on our Lord as He
came to the dark days bearing the punishment of the worlds sin. Jesus for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross despising the shame, and is
set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews
12: 2). When the treasure is exhibited to all there
will be even greater joy (Matthew 25: 23).
After finding the treasure He goes back - a phrase which denotes that He was away from His home and went back to His
home again. It is the expression that is used almost without exception,
in describing the departure of our Lord from the earth (R. Govett). So our Lord says: I came forth
from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father (John 16: 28). Now
the Jews knew that the field belonged to Christ. Jesus pointed this out very clearly to them
in the parable. Last of all
he (God) sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my
son. But when
the husbandmen saw the son, they said among
themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us
seize on his inheritance (Matthew 21: 37 and 38). So Christ does not stay longer in the field,
but returns to the Father.
Then He selleth all that he hath.
He was the Son of David by birth but gives up the title of the
throne. The people would at one time
have taken Him by force and made Him King - but all they wanted was a leader to
conquer the Romans, but Christ would not have it. He had already given much but being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God: But made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil.
2: 6-8). It is
no wonder that Paul calls attention to the great sacrifice He made that He
might purchase the field. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that, though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (2 Cor. 8: 9). The
price to be paid was His very life. He
gave all and could give nothing more. The Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister
and to give his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20: 28). (It is
very interesting to observe that Christ by the price of His life bought a field
(Matthew 27: 7).) With the purchase price He buys the field,
which according to Christs own interpretation is the world. So the Samaritans say: This is
indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world (John 4
: 42).
He has paid the price and so received the title-deeds of the world. Christ gave everything for one field and at
last He will receive it as His own purchased possession.
The seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and
of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and
ever (Rev. 11: 15).
We see in our Lords parable something
of His love for the world. There the
parable leaves us, for at the present moment Christ has left the field, but it
is our great joy to know that this same Jesus shall come again to receive the
treasure which He has purchased. The
mystery of the parable is that Christ should have to buy the field although it
was His by creation. All things were
made for Him, and by Him, and to Him all belong, but yet He must redeem the
purchased possession. The treasure will
not be unearthed until He comes for it.
Christ now waits and longs for the time when He shall take the field and
reign for ever and ever and have His children with Him. We, too, who know something of the Kingdom in mystery, look for the Kingdom in
manifestation. What a time of blessing it will be, when our Lord is crowned
King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
* *
* * *
* *
162
THE REWARD OF THE INHERITANCE
Whatever ye
do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto
men; knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive
the recompense of the inheritance.
Colossians 3: 23-24, R.V.
-------
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 Gods 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 [eternal] 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 (verse 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
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 salvation and with
little knowledge of sacrificial service; others again earnestly desire an abundant
entrance. In which class will you be?
Looking again at Pauls words we find that they constitute
clear instructions on the matter of this 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 powerful incentive this should be to
all who are already in Christ, and who
presently enjoy His salvation! 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 day! Of
course, even to get into Heaven and this coming
inheritance is by far beyond and better than gaining even the whole world
today. To merit this worthy inheritance
is 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 millennial 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 during the age to come? How strange is the
earnest devotion which so many regenerate 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 Gods promised Glory which might be his, and gives his best
efforts to 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
Spirits 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. Here is the secret made plain. You are eternally saved - praise God for
that. Now as to this 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.
-------
Now it is granted at once, that no believer will be brought
into judgment before Christ, to try whether he is justified and reconciled to
God or no. He has become justified, and
is no longer an enemy, but a servant. He
shall certainly be finally saved. But
the Saviour and His Apostles both assert that all Christians are servants, and
shall give account to Him of their conduct since they believed, to be rewarded
or punished, according to their deeds, in the coming day of reward according to
works. This is the teaching of direct
statements, such as Rom. 2. and 14., and
of 2 Cor. 5. - to take no more passages. This is the doctrine of several of our Lords
parables; such as the Unmerciful Servant, the Steward, the Talents, and the
Pounds. What means that - The Son of man
is as a man taking a far journey, who left his
house, and gave authority to his servants,
and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore;
for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh,
at even, or at midnight,
or at the cock-crowing, or
in the morning; lest coming suddenly He
find you sleeping! And what say I
unto you, I say unto all - Watch (Mark 13: 34-37). And must we not say that the majority of
Christs servants are asleep? dreaming that the world is getting better, and is
about to be converted by the preaching of the Gospel of Gods grace?
* *
* * *
* *
163
THE PRIZE OF OUR CALLING
BY D. M. PANTON.
GOD is calling
sinners to the Cross: He is calling believers to the Crown. Paul presents this dual truth with crystal
clearness (Phil. 3:
4-15). He opens this little masterpiece of
revelation with a SUPREME HOPELESSNESS.
What is it? The one man who came nearest to
reaching God through his own goodness proved to be the chief of sinners. Ponder Pauls incomparable assets: no soul, before or
since, ever held up to the face of God a hand filled with such exquisite
pearls. Circumcised - stamped as Gods
from infancy; of the stock of Israel - with a blood-right to salvation; of the
tribe of Benjamin - a tribe which never broke away; a Hebrew of Hebrews - a
full-blooded Jew to the furthest generation back; a Pharisee - intensely
orthodox; persecuting the Church - on fire for Gods Law; in the Law blameless
- obedient in jot and tittle. No man ever came so near to winning
life through what he was and what he did. If any other man - of any age, or race, or clime - thinketh to
have confidence in the flesh, I yet more. Paul towers over all legalists for ever. But a sudden and awful discovery blasted his
prospects. I was alive (in my own eyes) apart from
law once: but when the commandment (thou shalt
not lust) came (home to my conscience), sin revived (sprang again into life), and I died (saw myself a dead man); and the
commandment, which was (in Gods design) unto life,
this I found to be (in fact) unto death (Rom.
7: 9, 10). If any man
thinketh to have confidence in the flesh, I yet
more: but what had inward vision revealed? - a corpse before God. With Pauls failure, the whole world lapses into hopeless
despair.
Next, A SUPREME
RIGHTEOUSNESS. Whose? Not Pauls; for he had discovered, with
Isaiah, that we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isa. 64: 6). He now discovers that what he could not do,
Christ did; that what he could not be, Christ was; and that Christ had done it,
and been it, in order to take his place (2 Cor. 5:
21). He instantly drops his own righteousness
and seizes Christs: he exchanges his own pearls for one priceless, flawless
gem. I do count them but dung, that I may gain Christ, and be
found in Him, not having a
righteousness of mine own ... but that (righteousness) which is through
faith in Christ.
Paul never
afterwards doubts his salvation (Rom. 8: 38): for
Christ has kept the Law, not with head, hands, and feet only, but with heart
also (Ps. 40:
8): and his righteousness is now Pauls (Rom. 5: 19). The
supreme hopelessness is replaced by a supreme salvation.
There yet remains A SUPREME UNCERTAINTY.
Here are startling words. Brethren, I count not myself yet to have apprehended: but I press on. Not apprehended what? If by any means I may attain unto the (select) resurrection
from (among) the dead.
Press on to what? Toward the goal
unto the
prize of the high calling.
Salvation [by Gods grace through faith in Christ Jesus] can never be insecure: the Prize can never be assumed until it is won.
Why? (1) Because it is a prize. If the prize be given on faith without works,
it is no more a prize. 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; 2 Tim. 2: 5). (2)
No splendour of past service can guarantee immunity from backsliding. None so renounced, so suffered, so served as
Paul: yet he assumes no prize. For backsliding forfeits the crown (Rev. 3: 11; 2 John 8). (3)
False doctrines which
rob God of His glory will rob us of ours: therefore let no man rob you of your prize (Col.
2: 18; 1 Cor. 3: 15). (4) Fleshly sins also disqualify
(Eph. 5: 5).
Therefore I buffet my body, and bring it
into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected (for the crown) (1 Cor. 9: 24-27). The insecurity of the chief of
apostles binds insecurity of reward for ever on the Church of God. Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but
I press on, if so be that I may apprehend.
All therefore culminates in A SUPREME EFFORT.
This one thing I do. Is this for
Paul only? Let us
therefore - for
he is our inspired example - as many as be perfect, be thus minded. How? (1)
Forgetting
the things which are behind. The immeasurable
value of the prize may be computed by the immense sacrifices necessary to
obtain it. Its
cost is a crucified world. Blessed is the man to whom the world, with all her rags
of honour, is crucified, and who holds her to be worth no more than
a thief on the gallows. Nothing makes the
other world more real, or more blessed, than the renunciation of this [evil
age] (Luke 14:
33).
(2) Stretching
forward to the things that are before. It is a racer,
as Professor Eadie says, in his
agony of struggle and hope: every muscle is strained, every vein starting; the
chest heaves, and the big drops gather on the brow; the body is bent forward,
as if the racer all but touched the goal (Luke 9:
23-26). (3)
This
one thing I do. All his missionary ardour, all his thirst for
souls, all his toil for the churches, are bent before this over-mastering
passion of his soul; because the running-tracks for the prize God has laid
through these channels of holy service; and todays toil is the measure of
tomorrows glory (1 Cor.
3: 8; Matt. 5: 11, 12 [1 Pet. 1: 9-11ff.]). (4) It is a calling upward, therefore it is God who is calling. Walk worthily of God,
who is calling you - [who are regenerate] - into His own kingdom and glory (1 Thess. 2: 12). God is
calling us from all earthly glories up to the Throne: brother, will you
come? The Cross is ours for ever: when we have been approved,
we receive the Crown (Jas.
1: 12). We honour God in proportion as we covet His
immeasurable rewards. The apostle not
only renounces, he forgets; he not only advances, he presses; he not only
gazes, he stretches; he not only does it, but he does it only.
Let us, as many as be perfect [mature], be thus minded.
-------
John 21: 15. When, therefore, they had
breakfasted, Jesus saith to Simon Peter,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea,
Lord, thou knowest that
I have a friendship for Thee. He saith unto him,
Feed My lambs.
Divine wisdom and grace shine forth in the Saviours treatment
of the penitent apostle. Most men would have felt that all further
intercourse was cut off between Jesus and him who had, after warning, denied
all knowledge of Him with oaths and curses.
The Lord would restore Him in grace. He does not then reproach him. He does not separate him from His company,
and from the company of his fellow-apostles, as is commanded in cases of
flagrant sin. With such an one no, not to eat. He seats him at the board which he has spread. He does not allude to the past, till the meal
was ended. The like would never occur
again in the apostles life. He would
die a martyr. But still it was not wise,
that no notice should be taken of so heavy a fall; a fall both personal and
official. The offence had been public,
and now Jesus touches the root of the matter; the apostles too high thoughts
of himself and his powers. How much of
trouble and mischief would have been spared to the ancient churches of Christ
in the days of the Roman heathenism, if they had taken this as their model of
dealing with a fallen brother! Many
refused ever to re-accept to communion one, who, under stress of persecution,
had sacrificed to heathen gods to save his life.
Our Lord addresses him now by his old
name of nature. Simon,
son of Jonas. He had shown himself not to be the Rock in his late encounter with
Satan. He is called, then, by the name
of his earthly father. And the Master
questions his love to Him. There is a
remarkable change and play of words in this narrative, which is difficult to
render into exactly equivalent English.
Jesus uses one word to express love.
Peter uses [a different word for love -] one implying a less degree; which might best, I think, be translated by, I have a
friendship for Thee.
* *
* * *
* *
164
BE YE ALSO READY
BY D. M. PANTON
OUR
Lords picture of the ideal servant of God can become the photograph of each
one of us if we respond to the Holy Spirit to the uttermost and
to the end.
First, the girt loin: let your loins be girded about (Luke 12:
35).
The flowing garments of the Oriental, if loose, impeded motion and
checked work: therefore let your loins be girt up for rapid motion and intense
activity. The Old Testament type
enriches the thought. Thus shall ye eat it; with your
loins girded, your shoes on your feet,
and your staff in your hand: and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lords passover. For I will go through
Next, there is the lit lamp: let your lamps be burning.
Lamps are kept burning only at night: and all night, unless we sleep. From evening to
morning, was the command to
at all costs, to keep it blazing. Darkness in us stumbles other souls. A blind beggar sat by the side-walk on a dark
night with a lantern by his side. What in the world
do you keep a lantern burning for? asked a passer-by; you cant see!
So that folks wont stumble over me,
was the reply. It is written of John the
Baptist - He was the lamp that burneth and shineth (John 5: 35) - burning with heat to God, and shining with
light to men. Burning without shining is
zeal without knowledge; shining without burning is light without love: God
expects both.
First, the girt loin - incessant service; next, the lit lamp -
radiant witness; now, the looking eyes - the expectant heart. Be ye
yourselves like unto men looking for their Lord. Since the command has held good for
nineteen centuries, it can only mean that Christ may come at any moment; and He
strikingly chooses the darkest hours:- if he shall come in the second watch, and
if in the third (Luke 12: 38). The
Let the door be on the latch in your
home,
For it may be through the midnight He will come.
The fourth point - watching: Blessed are those servants, whom
the Lord when he cometh shall find watching: not, blessed are all servants, but blessed are those servants found watching. What is meant by watching?
Look at the African explorer as he sits alone by his camp-fire, keeping
himself awake because he hears the roar of the lion in the forest close by: he
is watching. Look at that nurse, moving
swiftly and silently about the room of a dying man, neglecting her own
day-sleep as well as night-sleep, for she knows the crisis is at hand and she
must be utterly ready: she is watching.
It means,
every faculty attent the whole soul roused to meet a crisis; attention, alarm,
hope, all keeping the whole man intently alert!
Our Lord emphasizes exquisitely the
urgency of untiring vigilance. Had
the burglar notified his coming in the third watch, the householder could
safely sleep through the first and second watches; but the unknown hour of the
burglary means that he must sit up all night.
Whatever hour the burglar comes, the householder must be found watching: so the church is to be ready, not because it sees symptoms of the approach, but because it has never been unwatchful. For
yourselves know perfectly - and ought to have made arrangements accordingly - that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night (1 Thess.
5: 2). Watch therefore through the night, in
Finally, readiness: Be
ye also ready; that is, readiness is something other and more than either looking or watching.
It is all life squared to the Second Advent. Death can be sudden, but it nearly always
throws out warning symptoms: there will be no warning symptoms here: sudden as an
avalanche, swift as the lightning, irrevocable as death - one flash, and the watchful will be gone,* and
the Great Tribulation will be here. Are
we ready? A famous ruby was offered for sale
to the English government. The report of
the crown jeweller was that it was the finest he had ever seen or heard of; but
that one of the facets, one of the little
cuttings of the face, was slightly fractured.
The result was that that almost invisible flaw reduced its value by
thousands of pounds, and it was rejected from the regalia of
[* See
Luke 21: 34-36. cf. Rev. 3: 10, R.V. **Gal. 5: 21. See also Eph.
5: 5 and 1 Cor. 6: 10, R.V. -
and context.]
-------
THE REST THAT REMAINETH
By R. E. NEIGHBOUR, D.D.
THE
Spirit says (Heb. 4:
1), Let us fear lest any of you should seem
to come short of it (short of entering into His rest).
The Spirit did not tell saints to fear lest they fall short of Heaven,
for the simple reason that eternal life, everlasting life, is promised
unconditionally to all who believe on Christ.
What then meaneth this, Fear lest? Heaven is not
in the picture at all, neither is eternal life.
The Spirit is talking of the rest that remaineth, the promised Millennial Rest.
Third, the Spirit said, Let us labour therefore to enter into
that rest, lest any man fall after the
same example of unbelief. Of course we know what the example was - it was the unbelief
and consequent fall of the fathers in
Think you that God will allow Christians who mock Christs
Second Coming; who fail utterly to have their lamps trimmed and burning; who look
at the things which are seen, and not at the Blessed Hope of the Coming of
Christ; who even call belief in the Coming and the Reign of Christ as false and
fanatical: think you, we say, that God will allow such saints to luxuriate in
His Kingdom? to hold places of honour and trust in His [Messiahs] reign? Never, never, so long as there is a just God
in Heaven, who shall reward every man according to his works.
And who, think you, will reign with Christ? Will it be the saint who ridiculed Him,
denied His promises, who sought to be great with the present [evil] age, and world? Think you that the world-centred believer,
who like Demas forsakes the Lord, will reign?
Listen, my beloved brethren!
If we would reign, we must suffer, we must fight, we must go outside the
camp and bear the reproach of Christ. If
we confess Him, He will confess us. If
we deny Him, He will deny us. Again if we suffer we shall reign.
A beautiful crown we then shall wear,
If here on earth the cross we bear.
* *
* *
* * *
165
THE KINGDOM
OF THE THOUSAND YEARS
ALL of the problems that are raised by
the questions concerning the
First of all, let us mention, though with all too much
brevity, some of the characteristics of the 1,000 years, as Dr. West has
tabulated them.
(1) Satan, with his
evil angels, will be imprisoned in the Abyss for the 1,000 years. His power over man and the nations will be
broken (Isa. 24: 21, 22; 17: 1; Rev. 20: 1).
(2) Antichrists
kingdom, overthrown for ever, and the kingdoms of this world with it, shall
never be revived, nor antichrist and his confederates ever reappear to dwell
upon the earth (Isa.
24: 21, 22; Rev. 19: 20; 20: 10).
(3) There shall be
but one kingdom in that day, the
(4) There shall be
but one religion, that of Christ.
(5) All idols shall
be destroyed.
(6) All
(7) War shall exist
no more.
(8) Harmony shall
be restored in creation, between man and man, and a covenant of peace be made
between man and the lower animal world.
(9) The
(10) Patriarchal
years will return, in which a man 100 years old shall be esteemed a child (Isa. 65: 20-22). The
risen saints neither marry nor are given in marriage (Matt.
22: 30);
but the unglorified are a blessed seed and their offspring with them (Isa. 65: 23).
(11)
(12) Jerusalem and
Mount Zion, by means of physical convulsion and geological changes suddenly
effected through disruption, depression, fissure and elevation, at the Lords
appearing, shall be exalted, or lifted high, above the surrounding hills, and the
adjacent region be reduced to a plain, like the Arabah, or Ghor, that
runs from the slopes of Hermon to the Red Sea (Isa. 64:
14; Micah 1:
3, 4; Judges 5: 4, 5; Psalm 97: 4, 5; Ex. 19: 18, 24; Hab. 3: 6, 10; Nah. 1: 5, 6; Matt. 27: 51, 52; Isa. 40: 13; 2: 2; Mic. 4: 1; Zech. 14: 4, 5, 10, 11; Jer. 31: 38-40).
(13) The City
itself shall be built again, broadened, enlarged, and adorned with the wealth
of the nations, and the [New
millennial]
(14) The Outcast
of Israel and the Dispersed of Judah, gathered to enter the Kingdom, will return to their
fatherland from the East, the West, the North, the South, to sit down with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, conducted thither by Gentile hands, and presented as
a holy Offering to the Lord Himself, revealed in His glory.
(15) Ten men, of
all nations, that is, a large number - in token of their recognition of what
the Lord in His glory does for the Jew in the hour of his final deliverance -
will take hold of the skirt of a Jew, then honoured beyond all others, and,
detaining his step, beseech his favour, as he moves to the Holy City. The wiping away of the reproach of
(16) A perennial
stream of living water shall flow from the
(17) A
re-distribution and division of the Holy Land shall be made according to the 12
tribes of
(18) There will be
a cessation of sorrow, tears and death for Gods people in that age.
(19) There will be
a sevenfold fulness and increase of light, solar and lunar, in that day.
(20) There will be
a restoration of
(21) A yearly
concourse of people from all nations shall go to
(22)
(23) The Jewish People
and their Land, long divorced and desolate, shall be remarried with grand
solemnities, as a new bride to the Lord, over whom He will joy with singing,
and He will rest in His love.
(24) Around the
land of Israel thus glorious, and the Holy City, now the light of the world
because of the glory of Christ, within it and on it, the nations of earth shall
dwell in obedient and willing submission, and, blessed in Abrahams seed, and
free from Satanic domination, enjoy the Millennial age of righteousness, peace
and rest.
- Prophecy.
* *
* * *
* *
166
THE ADVENT
BY E. E. WORDSWORTH
SOMETHING
new, startling, supernatural, divine, strikes in upon the scenes of unbridled
lust, cruelty, and Reign of Terror; it is the blessed appearing of the Son of
Man, of God ‑ the Ancient of Days riding triumphantly upon the clouds in
great power, glory, and majesty. It is
the second manifestation of His second coming, the coming to the world to
reign. The effect of this advent is
described in the sixth seal: And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the
rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every
bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
and said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Rev.
6: 15‑17). The full power, meaning and purpose of
Christs return will not be fully known until He appears in the clouds
with great glory. This coming will not be
circumscribed by nations or continents nor the devices of wicked men. Let us examine more closely this wonderful
visible coming of our Christ.
First, He will come in like manner as He went away (Acts 1: 11).
This was personal, visible, bodily, certain, awe-inspiring, glorious. There
will be such consternation that kings will forget their sceptres and thrones,
generals and military leaders their rank and authority, rich men their vast
holdings and incalculable wealth, unscrupulous politicians their unprincipled
handling of the public, industrialists their filthy lucre, offices and
luxurious homes, and men of every rank and station in life will make a stampede
like a panic-stricken herd of cattle for the rocks, dens, caves and hiding
places of the hills and mountains to hide them from the face of Him they have
despised, rejected, hated, cursed, blasphemed and spurned.
Second, Christ will come in spectacular splendour and
revelation. It will be world-wide and
yet instantaneous. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt.
26: 24). Lightning travels around the world, which is
twenty-five thousand miles in its circumference, seven times in one
second. So we can appreciate how it will
strike terror to the hearts of men everywhere, regardless of rank or station.
It is the full revelation of the power, authority, righteousness, holiness and
regnant glory of the Son of Man whose right it is to reign in the earth. He now seizes the sceptre and ascends His
throne. His administration of the earth
for a thousand years is ushered in.
Third, He will come bringing His saints with Him and the holy
angels. When the Son of Man shall come
in his glory, and all His holy angels with him,
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations.
Christ will bring with Him millions of redeemed and resurrected saints,
and shining angels. What a glorious spectacle!
Dwell here a moment and ponder his glorious event: the Son of the Living
God blazing with heavenly glory like a noonday sun, flashing, glittering,
shining; the vast hosts of God shouting heavenly praises; the archangel and the
trump of God, echoing and reverberating to the very ends of the earth; Christ has come to reign.
But while it will be glorious to God, Christ, the angels, the saints,
it will be an awful time of consternation, fear and anguish to sinful men. All the nations will mourn because of
Him. When He appears in the skies, marshalling the
battalions of holy beings, the falling rocks and tumbling mountains will be
welcomed for the earth shall wail because of Him.
Satan will be dethroned, the Antichrist sent to the bottomless pit for a
thousand years, and the False Prophet sent likewise to the same place of
destiny and doom. The millennial reign
will begin and it will continue for a thousand years, and Christ will rule with
a rod of iron that wicked men may learn that He is the moral Ruler of the
universe. And the meek shall inherit the
earth. - The
Midnight Cry.
-------
NERO
BY A. G. TILNEY
HIS
number (Rev. 13:
18) is our means of identifying the Great
Wild Beast from all other boasted or fancied claimants; for several Divine
clues have been given.
Clue 1: The Beast is not a system, but a
man, one man.
Clue 2: He is a
king, one of seven contemporary emperors. [i.e., one who
lived in and belonged to the same period]
Clue 3: He dies by a violent death,
suicide or assassination, for such is the force of fallen.
Clue 4: He claims to be Divine, for he
bears the names of blasphemy. Out of all
the Roman emperors, only seven fulfil the conditions so far.
Clue 5: The numerics of his name total
666, without addition or subtraction.
Clue 6: Though the 8th
Emperor, he was one of the Seven, and was resurrected (Rev. 13: 18; 17: 8-11).
Wisdom consists in following the clues and totalling the
number of the Kings name; it also consists in identifying the
In the last, but not the latest, edition of Chambers 20th Century Dictionary, under the heading Apocalyptic Number,
we read (I quote from memory of my own blitzed
copy):- The best interpretation ever given of this
number is the name of Caesar Neron, with the
letter-values taken from the Hebrew alphabet; for it was apparently in
this hidden tongue that the Revelation was originally composed. A further confirmation is in the fact that in
some MSS 666 appears as 616, which is plainly accounted for by the fact that N,
with its numeric value of 50 being dropped (NERON appearing as NERO),
gives precisely that figure. Nero, of
course, hated Christians and was expected by the early believers to return to
fulfil this prophecy. He will be amazed
to find a nominally Christian religious organisation supporting and supported
by the imperial power. Hence he and his
satellites will unite to destroy her, as foretold in Rev.
17 - the Rome that is disclosed as old-time
Babylon, and that is now openly called Babylon once more (Rev. 18). God give us wisdom and willingness to be
warned ourselves, and to warn other people too, for the fateful time is at
hand; at hand, too, the conquering King of kings. - The
Prophecy Investigation Society.
-------
The Second Look
I have made a covenant with mine eyes,
was Jobs statement. And every believer
needs sorely to make such a covenant!
Sights we ought not to gaze upon may come under the range of our eyes
without any volition of our own. But it
is the second look that
counts. The first may be, and usually
is, accidental or incidental. But the second look has in it the sin of
choice. And it is there our guilt
begins. You know what I mean. And it is here that we are responsible, and
here that our defeat is born, if we have not learned the secret of victory at
this point. There is a clear border line
between things which thrust themselves upon our vision, and things which we choose to look upon. The one is innocence; the other is sin. So long as we are in the world we cannot
escape the first. But unless we keep doing to death the second we will find ourselves
daily skirting the edge of the precipice of sin and final downfall. Too many catastrophes, spiritual and moral,
have come to pass here to allow any man to trifle with the lust of the eyes. Through the open portal of the eyes the
destroyer has entered into the innermost lives of thousands and hurled them
from the place and path of purity into the slough of sensual sin and shameful
defeat. Make a covenant with your eyes,
and, by the grace of God, keep yourselves unspotted
from defilements that are waiting to enter by that easy route. The appeal to the eye is the deadliest and
easiest route to the souls undoing and the nation will some day, when it is
too late, awaken in the fact that the modern movies have wrought the moral wreck and ruin of its youth.
- JAMES H. Mc CONKEY.
* *
* * *
* *
167
THE IRON AND THE CLAY
BY D. M. PANTON, B.A.
THE
politics of the nations of the world to-day add a fresh, deeply-moving proof of
the close approach of the Advent. The first
fact is the prevalence of iron power.
The metals of Daniels Image - world-empire down the ages - remarkably
indicate growth in force: silver is harder than gold, and brass harder than
silver; and all close in iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth
all things; and as iron that crusheth all these,
shall it break in pieces and crush.
So the specific gravity of the metals is graded - of Gold, 19.3; Silver,
10.3l.; Brass, 8.5; Iron, 7.6; and the Clay, in the last stage, 1.9. Aeroplanes in their thousands, tanks with
enormous guns, bombs wiping out whole cities - all are force utterly unknown in
previous ages, iron power in days immediately preceding our Lords return.
Revolution
But the second fact is in sharp conflict with the first. The ten nations which compose the final
world-empire are seething with political unrest, and even revolution; and every
totalitarian State - iron power - is in constant danger of civil war, and of breaking
up in self-destruction.
Division
So now we see a lightning photograph of the closing days. Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes - the last stages of universal empire
- part of potters clay, and
part of iron, it shall be a
divided kingdom;* but there shall be
in it the strength of the iron - it will be mastered by military force and terrorism - forasmuch as
thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay (Dan. 2: 43). The clay in the iron will mean dangerous
internal movements jeopardizing the very existence of each of the ten kingdoms
- the ten toes. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the
kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken
- brittle (R.V., margin),
that is, always in danger of disintegrating.
* The Hebrew for divided always signifies
unnatural or violent division arising from inner disharmony or discord (Keil).
The Clay
For what is the clay? Whereas thou sawest
the iron mixed with miry clay - iron mingled with brittle earthenware, easily shivered - they - the iron powers - shall mingle themselves with
the
seed of men - the proletariat, the political
groupings of the working classes. The
Iron is a tank or machine-gun handled by trained gunners: the clay is the
unarmed populace, scattering in a moment from the public squares in their
thousands, as easily broken as brittle earthenware. Seventeen centuries ago a shrewd commentator
foresaw the fulfilment. These events, says Hippolytus, are in the
future, when the ten toes of the Image will have turned out to be so many
democracies.
Democracies
No more wonderfully has the appearance of the clay in the iron
been fulfilled than in the Orient. No axiom of
international politics, says Lord Curzon, would have been accepted with
less dispute than the belief that devotion to absolutism was so innate and
deeply-rooted an institution in the East that whatever change of government it
might set up, or desire, this would not take the form of representative
government or democratic institutions.
The change has been enormous. We
have seen the Turks in Europe and the Persians in Asia dethroning an absolute
monarch and setting up a parliamentary chamber; the Egyptians clamouring for a
similar institution; the Indian Nationalists adopting as their avowed programme
self-government on parliamentary lines; and above all - greatest of all wonders
- China committing herself to the summoning of a Parliament.
Civil War
But what is the consequence?
Two sovereignties, latently hostile, will rend every State: the
sovereignty of the Throne or the Army, and the sovereignty of the People: the
Iron, strength of empire, hard, destructive, autocratic; forcibly blended with
the Clay, seething political groups by which the Iron is constantly checked and
the State endangered. But they shall not
cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay: the cleavage is irreconcilable;
internal and incessant strife will demoralize the nations until the end.
Doubtless it will be so even in the Empire of the Antichrist. The Editor of The
Nineteenth Century (Nov.,
1944) stresses one phase of the Clay. National Socialism is an amalgam of
the two most powerful mass movements of modem mankind. Had it not have been nationalised, it would
not have commanded the pervert allegiance of men capable of leadership in a
mighty revolution, and in a revolutionary war of nations. Had it not been socialistic it would not have
commanded the equally fervent allegiance of a vast multitude of men and women,
boys and girls. It is ascendant
everywhere, except in the
The Stone
So now God acts at last.
Absolute power in the hands of incorruptible goodness, and informed by
adequate wisdom, is the perfection of government: God Himself assumes the
Throne of the World. A stone was
cut out without hands - no man-created government - which smote the image: then was the iron, the clay,
the brass, the silver,
and the gold broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the threshing-floors.
The final smashing of the Image reveals the invariable unrighteousness of
all governmental forms down the ages, all varieties of human rule. The Stone - equally a mineral, and so an
empire - descends on a sudden from Heaven; it collides with the Image in sharp
and smashing collision; and the entire fabric of human power disappears as
chaff. The world-powers were in title,
but never in fact, universal: the coming Empire will be absolute and universal:
the
stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth: the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which
shall never be destroyed.
Theocracy
So there appears at last a Theocracy - that is, government by
God. Most remarkably it was forecast two
to three thousand years ago. Jehovah
chose a single nation, over which He was to be the King, literally and in
personal (though invisible) government; but
Overcomers
Exactly such also is the destiny of
the Overcomers who will reign with Christ, the Man Child who is to
rule all the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12: 5). Grace
ceases when judgment descends, and justice replaces mercy. Our Lord makes it exceedingly clear to
Thyatira exactly what an overcomer is, and who will share His Throne. He that
overcometh, and HE THAT KEEPETH MY WORKS UNTO THE END - for only he is an overcomer who is
Christ-like in life and character to the very end, un-backsliding, undefeated -
to him
will I give authority over the nations (Rev. 2: 26). In the
words of Archbishop Trench:- That which will be crowned is the keeping of
Christs works unto the end; for
Christ promises here this reward, not to him who enters the list and endures
for a time, but to him who, having begun well, continues striving lawfully to
the last to him will I give power over the
nations.
Righteousness
And that power will be inflexible justice. And he shall rule them with a rod of
iron, AS
THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO SHIVERS; as I also have received of my Father.
But it will not be terrorism. The breaking
will be benevolent: it will be the power of holiness, destroying those who
would overthrow the worlds happiness.
Our patience is not to be for ever, nor is power for ever to be
dissevered from righteousness. When our
Lords attitude changes, so does ours (Govett).
* * *
* * *
*
168
THE ISSUES OF CHRISTIANITY
FOR TIME AND ETERNITY
BY THOS. DURRANT
Mr. Durrant, troubled by the Anvil Series of the B.B.C., would
give to doubting hearts the golden truth he himself has experienced. We deeply hope it will enter some harassed heart
- D. M. Panton.
-------
WRITE
with a view of blessing to any enquiring or anxious soul lost in the babel of confusion and voices around us. Have we any sure guide or standard upon which
everything can be tested?
The answer is in the Holy Scriptures,
inspired, God-breathed and which transcend all human reason. They are as high above ordinary literature as
the Sun above all artificial lights. For as the Heavens are, high above the earth, so are
my thoughts higher than your thoughts and my ways than your ways.
One is well aware of the criticism and scorn levelled at these
Holy writings for centuries. Would not
to presume such prove that man claimed to be the greater and competent to
judge? The Lord anticipates such an
attitude. You say you see, therefore your sin remains.
Again If any man will do His will he shall know. (John 7:
17).
To be intellectually instructed and yet ignore the moral state of sin,
unbelief and death of men generally, is a very serious position to be in, and
may be a grievous stumbling block to weaker minds. While recognising the part of the more wicked
and Godless nations, the present state of chaos has been greatly caused by sin
and departure from God, by love of money, pleasure, and material things, which
become idols. What gratitude or response is there to the Creator to whom we owe
everything?
When we come to redemption, the Lord Jesus Christ by His
sinless and perfect sacrifice, has paid the price for the whole world. However, to get the benefit, man being a
reasoning, intelligent and morally responsible creature, must come into line
with God by the obedience of faith and submission of his heart and will. Love
cannot be forced, and there is no regimenting or destruction of initiative by
God; but beautiful harmony, where one can go on to say with the Apostle Paul, The Son of
God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Moral issues have to be settled, and they have been settled at
Science, falsely so-called, cannot deal with such issues; it
only enables man to sin more, and cannot deliver from death while it is
hurrying thousands, yea millions, into the grave. Science is merely an abstraction under which
name man worships himself. We worship
really what we are supremely occupied with; so that in meeting together, true
Christians express their worship, which must be In spirit and truth. No other is of any
avail, and it is not a question of empty forms and ceremonies. The Son of God, declared so by resurrection
power, opens up the wonders of Eternity to every believing heart. Christianity proper is concerned with the
revelation of God and Eternal Life, and has not to do with the present evil
world, while there have been many incidental effects and blessings.
The millennial reign of Christ, which is but the doorway to
the New Heavens and the New Earth, appears on the horizon. Should not we expect a holy and mighty God to
have wonderful purposes of His. own? and therefore intervention is inevitable
sooner or later. Are sin and shame to
have their sway in His fair earth for ever?
We cannot suppose millions of worlds were created for nothing. There is a glorious and supreme place for the
true Church in Eternity; for Christ loved it, ministers now world-wide to it,
and will present it to Himself a glorious Church, having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing.
I am well aware of schools of religious thought, which, while
taking a little Christian morality or even partially preaching Christ as
Saviour, shut their eyes to, or explain away, the teaching and tremendous
implications of the Scriptures on the
coming Eternity with both its judgments and glories. They must either refuse to believe the Holy
Scriptures, or handle them deceitfully, in trying to connect or limit the glory
of God to this present world, or course of things. Hundreds of prophetic scriptures concern
Christs glory, and only a part have been fulfilled; the remainder await His
return in manifested power, the first step being the Rapture of the Saints and
their translation, death being swallowed up in victory (1. Thess. 4.
& 1 Cor. 15.)
May one earnestly appeal that the reader will not be guilty of
the sin of indifference to Christ and unbelief of the Holy One who cannot
lie. It is possible to live an outwardly
respectable life and yet leave God out; and such will be shut out
eternally. He that
believeth not shall not see life, but the wrath
of God abideth on him. In contrast, the Holy Scriptures do
not close till the invitation has been given: Whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely. What an offer of a part in the
-------
Prayer
Nevertheless, equally beautiful is
this invocation of the soul of England, privately printed in 1899 by Henry,
Earl Percy, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, under the title - Because the King putteth his trust in Thee.
The God of
battles give to thee
Hearts
whiter than the foam
On the tossing crest of the azure sea,
That rounds thine island home.
And, firm within, mayst
thou defy
The storms recurring shocks,
With faith more clear than summer sky
And stronger than thy rocks.
And it may
be that thou alone
Wilt one
day rise, and claim
That thou, on thine imperial throne,
Hast not denied His Name.
* *
* * *
* *
169
MIRACULOUS GIFTS
BY D. M. PANTON, B.A.
AS the
Age closes, few truths are more vitally important than all that God has said on
the coming open battle of miracle between Heaven and Hell, and our preparation
for this last conflict; and we do well to take a rapid, birds-eye view of all
the facts, as related in history and as perfected in prophecy. There is perhaps no subject on which
evangelical believers are more un-scriptural, though utterly unconsciously so;
and the great Conventions, with the admirable aim of a deeper sanctity, use
language on the baptism and the filling of the Spirit which gravely obscures the
original miraculous nature of the Church, and the coming miracles of God. The result is mental twilight. The miraculous design in the Church has been
ignored and dismissed; or else, discerning the error, a graver danger has been
fallen into demonic miracles have been welcomed in the belief that they are
Divine.* We need not remind our readers of the fact of unutterable gravity that an
official Commission of the Church of England has reported in favour of
Spiritualism, though the Report has not been published.
* The Montanists in the second
century, the Camisards in the eighteenth century, the Irvingites
in the nineteenth century, and the Petecostalists in
this century - all have had among them true and devoted Christians, and all
have had gifts of tongues; but none have miracles
greater than, or different in kind from, the supernatural in the great demon
movements of history - Witchcraft, Spiritualism, and Theosophy.
Pentecost
The bedrock underlying all is the
presence of a Person of the Godhead on the earth. Christ had foretold it. When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, he
shall bear witness of me (John 15: 26); if I go, I will send him unto you (16:
7).
The gathered Apostles witnessed the arrival. Suddenly there came from heaven a
sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it
filled the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat
upon each one of them (Acts 2: 2). The Holy Spirit, having thus arrived at
Pentecost, remains, carrying out the whole work of God on earth for two
thousand years, until, with the first rapt, He returns to Heaven.
The Baptism of the Spirit
This arrival of the Holy Ghost involved what is called the baptism
of the Spirit. Our Lord foretold it. He charged the assembled Apostles to wait for the
promise of the Father; for John indeed baptized
with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence (Acts 1: 4). This baptism is a filling:
so we read at Pentecost, They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance (Acts 2: 4). Totally distinct from the birth of the Spirit, or regeneration, which is internal
and invisible, this baptism or filling is an on-fall,
or immersion, of the Holy Ghost, falling upon the man, and always producing
miracles. The Holy Ghost fell on all
them which heard the word, because on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost; for they heard them speak with tongues - here was the
proof - and glorify God (Acts 10: 44). There
is no record of the baptism or filling of the Spirit which was not accompanied
by miracles: where there are no signs there is no proof that the Spirit has
fallen: the baptism is a manifestation of the Spirit (1 Cor. 15: 7) - that is, the Spirits presence made visible
and audible to the senses. This
miraculous working of the Holy Spirit was but a fulfilment of our Lords
words:- These signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast
out devils: they shall speak with new tongues: they shall take up serpents, and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them:- they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16: 17).
The Miracle-endowed Church
The consequence of the baptism in the Spirit was a
supernatural Church, endowed with miraculous orders and gifts.
God hath set some in the church - with no hint whatever that it would
be for only two hundred out of two thousand years - first
apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of
tongues (1 Cor. 12: 28). Miraculous gifts were distributed throughout
the assemblies. To each one
is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal. For to one is given
through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to
another the word of knowledge, according to the
same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings,
in the one Spirit; and
to another workings of miracles; and to another
prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; and to another divers kinds of tongues; and
to another the interpretation of tongues (1 Cor.
12: 8). Thus we face the inexplicable fact that for
at least eighteen centuries the Church has been devoid of all miracles; and
this can hardly have been the Divine plan for it is elsewhere explicitly
stated, - gifts and the calling of God
are without repentance (Rom. 11: 29); that
is, His gifts may cease to operate, but it is not that He withdraws them.
Tests
But just here is slipped, in a warning
that is critical and vital. Miracle is
not confined to God: our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the
principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places (Eph. 6: 12).
Spiritualism itself at first put forward a claim to be Pentecost.* Even Antichrist
will work all signs and wonders (2 Thess. 2: 9). Therefore, most strikingly, one of the nine
miraculous gifts is the discerning of spirits: that is, the power to detect, supernaturally, whether
a spirit communicating is good or evil. With
all the other miraculous gifts, this discerning power has disappeared; but by
the mercy of God two infallible tests are put into our uninspired hands - tests
which appear to be unknown to the modern Church. (1) There is a test for the spirit.
Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be of God. Every spirit that confesseth - in answer to the challenge - that JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE
FLESH is of God (1 John 4: 1). The reply to the challenge must be given by the
spirit, not by the person on whom he has fallen. (2) A second test is for the inspired. Now concerning the inspired,** brethren, I would not have you ignorant. No man speaking in
the Spirit of God - that is, no inspired man - saith, Jesus is anathema; and no man
[inspired] can say JESUS
is LORD, but in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.
12: 1). All untested spirits must be utterly
avoided. The great apostasy from the
Church itself, by millions of Christians, is to be based on direct intercourse
with seducing spirits (1 Tim. 4: 1).
* See R. D. Owens Debatable Land Between This World and the Next.
** The word that follows - no man speaking proves that pneumatikon
refers to inspired men, not inspired gifts: the speaker must say, Jesus is Lord, while provably under inspiration.
The Coming Outpour
The dispensation of the Church disappears, and the Holy
Spirit, having returned to Heaven with the watchful (2
Thess. 2: 6), is in a position to be out-poured once more, when the seven Spirits
of God [shall be] sent forth into all the
earth. (Rev.
6: 5) * Pentecost is to
be repeated, for the prophecy of the last outpour is quoted as having an
earlier fulfilment in Pentecost. This is that
which hath been spoken by the prophet Joel: And
it shall be in the last days saith God, I will pour forth
my Spirit upon all flesh - all without distinction, not all without exception; and your sons
and your daughters shall prophecy: before the
day of the Lord come (Acts 2: 16). The sending forth of
the seven Spirits of God into all the earth is a full restoration of the entire
ministry of the Holy Ghost. These seven
Spirits of God are to be sent forth into all the earth: from
this we see the coming of the great latter rain out-flowing of the Holy Spirit
which will restore the prophetic vision and bring about such a transformation
in the ways and means of preaching that thousands of people, filled with the
Spirit, will prophesy; that is, they will
preach by direct inspiration; not only forth telling by the power of the Holy
Spirit, but also fore-telling events to come.
Can we not see how this will be in the order of God as the last warning
and instruction just before His awful judgments are to fall on the world? Therefore we can surely look right ahead for
the greatest out-flowing of the Holy Ghost the world has ever known (W. C. Moore). In the words of Lange:- When the waves of the last agony of a submerging world
break, yet once more, and louder than ever, goes forth the call of a vast and
infinite compassion.
* The Holy Spirit could not now be sent
into all the earth, for He is there at this moment: this proves that His coming
temporary departure from earth (2 Thess. 2: 7) is a fact.
Millennial Gifts
All closes with a wonderful
revelation: namely, that the coming [Messianic] Kingdom of the Lord on earth will be one of miraculous
gifts lasting throughout the thousand years.
A single phrase proves it: THE POWERS OF THE AGE TO COME (Heb.
6:
5): so characteristic are miracles of
the coming Kingdom, so fully then in evidence, that they are the powers of the Age to Come. Their operation is not described; but the
works of the Two Witnesses, who have power to shut the heaven; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood,
and to smite the earth with every plague (Rev.
11: 6),
reveal them.
The Bible
One fact of enormous importance springs out of the original
nature of the Church as God planned and made it. The Bible was born in an inspired Church. In assemblies where men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Pet.
1: 21),
the exact, God-given books of the Old Testament were finally determined, and
all man-made apocrypha excluded; and the fresh inspirations that compose the
New Testament were added, and closed: that is, we were given, for these two
thousand years, the mind of God, revealed directly and infallibly and for ever.
-------
CROWNS OFFERED
TO THOSE WHO QUALIFY*
[* A suggested title for the following. -
Ed.]
What child of God would not desire to win a crown? But crowns are not for mere show but for
merit, as the King has been pleased to promise to those who are faithful in
service. Eternal life comes through
faith in Christ, but rewards are for faithfulness. The man in the parable who faithfully used
his ten talents was rewarded with rule over ten cities. Yet the talents were given him and the
opportunity was a gift from God. All
rewards will be by grace in the end, yet the measure of each reward, the glory
conferred on each of His redeemed, will be according to diligence and
faithfulness in the use of the talents bestowed. One there was who said, The Son of man hath not where to lay his head. He went about doing good and gave his life
for the lost, and later it was written of him, having
on his head a golden crown (Rev. 14: 14), and
later still, on his head were many crowns (Rev. 19: 12). He won
his Kingdom and his crowns by supreme merit, by obedience even unto death. He was born a king, yet had to win his
Kingdom by toil and sacrifice. Are we
better than he?
What a call Christ gives to men to be diligent and faithful in
such days as these! The world is
unspeakably needy. Hearts are weary and
worn and full of unutterable longing. Darkness
deepens over the face of the nations and men grow hopeless in their
helplessness. Philosophers and statesmen
know not how to relieve the gathering gloom.
One conference of the nations after another only stresses more grimly
the vanity of human counsel. Through the
darkness and across the ages comes a voice, Occupy
till I come. He who was diligent
unto the end and faithful in the very hour of death speaks in thunder tones to
his chosen, Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life (Rev. 2: 10).
- Anonymous.
* *
* * *
* *
170
THE OUTLOOK OF THE HOUR
INTRODUCTION
TWO BOOKLETS - His Personal Return and The Hour and the Man by T. M. Bamber.
Mr. Bamber puts
on record his keen and devoted testimony to the Lords return. His own experience of the refusal of the
Second Adv ent
by the Church as a whole is pathetic. One is truly
conscious of a deep heart-break. I was
brought up in a Baptist church, trained for the Baptist ministry, and amongst
those of the Baptist faith and order I find spiritual accord, yet everywhere I go I am conscious that in
the majority of Baptist churches Second Adventism is taboo. Any man who believes press it in
denominational circles. If our colleges
refer to the subject of His glorious appearing, it is to treat it as some treat
their poor relatives, or else to deny its truth altogether. For lack of this
teaching in our churches in the power of the Spirit our congregations are being
starved and our chapels are emptying.
-------
Threatenings. Be on your guard against the tendency of this
generation, to paste a bit of blank paper over all the threatenings of the
Bible. - ALEXANDER MACLAREN,
Advent. The Papacy has now committed
itself on the Second Advent. The Holy
Office has in recent years been pressed on the subject, and on July 21, 1944
the Pope issued a decree (Universe, July 28, 1944) forbidding our Lords
visible reign on earth before the Last judgment to be taught. Catholics, says The Catholic
Encyclopedia Dictionary, take the thousand years reign of Christ as His spiritual
reign in the Church on earth.
Early Church. The dawn, of the Church knew no other truth than a returning
Christ. Dr. Grattan Guinness writes:- It cannot be denied that for three centuries the Church held
the doctrine of the pre-millennial coming of Christ. I think I have gone through all the writings
of the Fathers for three centuries pretty carefully, and I do not know an
exception unless it be Origen, the
only early writer who was often heterodox.
Leaders. So later spiritual leaders of the
Church have held the torch aloft. Wickliffe, the
morning star of the Reformation, said:- I look
for no intervening period of millennial blessedness to occur prior to the
second advent of Christ, but instead regard the Redeemers appearing as an
Object of Hope, and the constant expectation of the Church. So Calvin:-
It must be held as a first principle that ever since
the appearing of Christ there is nothing left to the faithful but with wakeful
minds to be always ready intent on His Second Advent. So Latimer:-
I believe that the Lord Jesus may come in my day, old
as I am. So John Knox:- We know that He will return,
and that with expedition. And Luther:- I
ardently hope that amidst these internal dissensions on earth, Jesus Christ
will hasten the day of His coming.
Values. Lord Stamp, one of the greatest authorities on finance,
shortly before his death by a German bomb closed a wireless utterance on the
gold standard with these words:- Before I finish I
should like to say one other thing, and it is this: I have not the smallest
interest in what I have been talking about to-night, - not the slightest
interest whatever in this or any other scale of values, excepting that other
scale of values introduced into this planet by Jesus of Nazareth. That is the one and only scale of values which
ultimately matters and which no man now listening to my voice can ever afford
to ignore on peril of his soul.
Good-night everybody.
Wellhausen. It is little wonder that Wellhausen, the founder of the Higher Criticism, ultimately
abandoned his Christian professorship for
a professorship that involved no teaching of Christianity. Dr.
Robertson Nicoll (Life, p. 41) tells of an interview he had
with him. Wellhausen
said that, while he did not deny that miracles are possible, there was no
historical proof of them. I asked him
what he thought of the testimony of Christ.
He replied that no doubt Christ was mistaken about the Old Testament,
but that, as He did not understand about the earth and the sun, so He did not
about the Bible, and it mattered little.
I said that the natural effect of such views
was to shake the place of the Bible in peoples minds, to which he replied that
he was pressed by this difficulty - that he did not see any way out of it.
Criticism. A correspondent in The Guardian (July 28, l944) stresses the bankruptcy of the Higher Criticism. I am surprised to see a reviewer in The Guardian accepting the fable of a Second Isaiah. Does he equally accept the fable of a
Maccabean date for Daniel, admittedly impossible to the International Critical Commentary; to Sayce, who wrote to me in September,
1929, that the Higher Criticism was
now bankrupt; even to Driver, who
yielded to the new evidence? The
disproof of Isaiahs second portion is twofold: (1) T. K. Cheyne in 1880 published a Commentary on Isaiah for the first
time embodying contemporary Assyrian. Eager to prove a Second Isaiah, he
honourably admitted that the text was against him; so he re-wrote Isaiah in his
own Hebrew under the title of The
Mines of Isaiah Re-examined. This
book Driver pronounced great rubbish.
Spiritualism. The danger of Spiritualism is constantly admitted by the
ablest Spiritualists - a difficult fact to explain if it were merely
intercourse with the dead. Robert Dale Owen, the foremost early
British Spiritualist, says (Footfalls on the
Boundary of Another World, p. 177):- No one, though actuated by the purest
motives, can abandon himself to the influences from the next world, exclusively
and throughout a long term of years, without risk of serious injury.
Youth. The Juvenile judge of Nashville, U.S.A., records (Religious Digest, May, 1944) that from 1939 to 1943 he
tried approximately 4,000 cases under 17 years of age: of these only 17 were
regular Sunday School or Church attendants; and of the 17 nine were not
guilty. We
have never, Judge Gillian
says, had an active church boy in real trouble in the
juvenile Court.
Churches. Such is the enormous effect of churches on national life. A Prime Minister of
* *
* * *
* *
171
OPPOSITION
BY W. C. MOORE
E. E. Shelhamer says: Hard as it is on human
nature, yet I thank God for all the criticism and ostracism which has come my
way. Many times I have been so crushed
that for the time being hallelujahs were rather faint, but through grace I was
enabled to keep smiling. Though they
came from high and low, I did not receive one blow too many. True, some of them were uncalled for, some
were unkind, but God graciously turned them to my account and they have
broadened and enriched my soul.
When I was penniless and friendless,
I had to take everything. Later, when
God smiled upon and gave me more or less recognition then came the subtle
temptation that has ruined more than one man: You have suffered enough; you
have some rights and it is beneath your dignity to silently bear these unjust
misrepresentations. Thank God I did not
yield! Many a man has gone down, after
years of climbing to a place of influence and power, simply because he could
not take in a magnanimous and Christ-like manner toward everything that came
against him. Then he began to pull off
in spirit from his brethren, especially those who had the courage to tell him
his faults or inconsistencies. Next he
was like a ship on the high seas without compass or rudder. And lastly, he was either a shipwreck, or
worse, a floating derelict. God help us!
When we get to the judgment we may
find that misunderstandings and ill‑usages have played a greater part in
keeping us humble and getting us safely through to the skies, than anything
else except the Blood of Christ.
Instead of getting upset or riled by opposition and criticism;
we should thank God for it. In everything
give thanks (1 Thess. 5: 18). Jesus says, Blessed are they which are
persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye,
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for
My sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad; for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you (Matt. 5: 10-12).
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matt.
5: 44). Pray for them - not against them. On the cross Jesus said, Father,
forgive them; for they
know not what they do.
We often lose our testimony by defending ourselves. When we fight back
- our actions speak so loud that people cannot hear what we say. Love seeketh not her own - not her own
reputation, not her own way (1 Cor.
13: 5) Bless them
which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Avenge not yourselves
... Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom.
12: 14, 17, 19, 21). Take every
affront, every insult, every injustice done to you - as a God-given opportunity
for manifesting the love of Christ - thus following Jesus, thus representing
Him, Who, when He was reviled,
reviled not again; when
he suffered, He threatened not (1 Pet.
2: 23).
God blessed the evangelistic ministry of Chas. G. Finney in a very remarkable way for many years, - and, of
course, he met opposition. In the midst
of it God helped him, and he says:- I said nothing
publicly, or as I recollect privately, to anybody on the subject (of the
opposition); but gave myself to prayer.
I looked to God with great earnestness day after day, to be directed;
asking Him to show me the path of duty, and give me grace to ride out the storm.
After a season of great humiliation
before Him, there came a great lifting up.
God assured me that He would be with me and uphold me; that no
opposition should prevail against me; that I had nothing to do, in regard to
all this matter, but to keep about my work, and wait for the salvation of God.
The sense of Gods presence, and all
that passed between God and my soul at that time, I can never describe. It led
me to be perfectly trustful, perfectly calm, and to have nothing but the most
perfectly kind feeling toward all the brethren that were misled, and were
arraying themselves against me. I felt
assured that all would come out right; that my true course was to leave
everything to God, and to keep about my work; and as the storm gathered and the
opposition increased, I never for one moment doubted how it would result.
The Lord did not allow me to lay the
opposition to heart; and I can truly say, so far as I can recollect, I never
had an unkind feeling toward Mr. - or Dr. -, or any leading opposer of the
work, during the whole of their opposition. The Lord soon revived His
work. The revival soon took effect among
the people, and became powerful.
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for
your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well,
and suffer for it, ye
take it patiently, this is acceptable with God
(1 Peter 2: 19-20). God resisteth the proud, but
giveth grace unto the humble (Jas. 4: 6). May the Lord help me, and each hungry child
of God, in these closing, testing days - to humble ourselves as never before
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt us in due time (1 Peter 5: 6)
for His glory!
- Herald of His Coming.
--------
Golden Age
Few realize the dynamic tonic for the
world in the golden age of a Second Advent, and for the Church in a
* *
* * *
* *
172
THE OLIVE TREE
BY D. M. PANTON, B.A.
THE
hatred of the Jew, resulting in the bloodiest persecution of a race ever known in
the history of the world, is countered by a momentous utterance of our Lord:- Salvation is
from the Jews (John 4: 22). For two thousand years all salvation centred
in
The Olive
The Most High has pictured all salvation down the ages since
Abraham, the father of all the faithful, as an
Olive Tree. Oil is ever the symbol of
the Holy Ghost, and the saved of all generations are the embodiment of the Holy
Spirit; and so the olive tree stands for a man of God, I am like a
green olive tree in the house of God (Ps. 52: 8). No tree
is more closely connected with the history of mankind than the olive. The first foliage named in the Bible is the
olive-leaf taken by a dove into the Ark out of the whole world; it is an
ever-green, for Gods life-stock never dies;* and it is from the Mount of Olives,
at our Lords return, that salvation - God's olive-oil - covers the whole
earth. The Olive is Gods life-stock
into which, for four thousand years, every soul must be engrafted that is to be
saved.
* The longevity of the olive singularly illustrates the truth
for which Jehovah selects it. There are
olive trees now in the
Now we see the extraordinary function of the Jew. All salvation from Abraham to the return of
Christ God has concentrated into one life-stock - the House of Israel. To us saved Gentiles He says:- Thou wast cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive
tree, and wast grafted contrary to nature into a
good olive tree (Rom. 11: 24). The whole of the authors of the Bible were
Jews; the sole Root of salvation Himself, when He came, was a Jew; the Oil of
the Olive flowed out into all lands from an upper room in
Broken Branches
Now we see the terrible crisis of
Jew-Hate
So now the profound cure of Jew-hate emerges. If thou, being a wild-olive, didst
become partaker with them of the root of the fatness of the olive tree, glory not over the branches. Mr. Claude Monteflore, an outstanding Jew, has said:- If
Christendom abandons the folly and the wickedness of anti-Semitism, Jewry will
be willing to think more accurately and more wisely about the founders and
sacred books of Christianity. The marvel of the ages is not the
salvation of the Jew, but the salvation of the Gentile: a wild olive - a tree outside the
Faith
Next is revealed the crux in the
destiny of all nations. Faith alone is
the miracle which brings us into the life-stock of God. By their unbelief they were broken
off, and thou standest by thy faith. The Jew is our greatest object-lesson in the
world. Whenever we see a Jew, we see a
dead branch from the oldest stock of salvation in the world, a life-stock that
once throbbed close to the heart of God.
That a Jew, saturated with one half of the Bible, and with a knowledge
of Jehovah for thousands of years, should be saved is a far less wonderful
thing than that I should be saved - a Godless, hopeless alien of the
Gentiles. As touching the gospel,
they were enemies for your sake: but as touching the election, they
are beloved for the fathers sake. Israel Zangwill uttered these
inexpressibly solemn words:- Had Christians handled
us with Christliness, there would not be a single Jew
in
A Warning
So the situation carries one of the
most solemn warnings in the, Bible. Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell severity but toward thee, Gods goodness, if thou continue in his goodness otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. What the cutting off
is at this moment the Chief Rabbi, Dr.
Hertz, reveals: 75 per cent. of the Jews of Europe have been annihilated in
the ineffable horror of an appalling martyrdom. Whenever we see a Jew, we see a warning to
the Church of two thousand years: as Bishop
Moule says, - Let us put no pillow of theory
between the sharpness of that warning and our souls. The bankruptcy of faith will bring to the Church
the doom it brought to
Restoration
So we see the final crisis of the Olive Tree. The world is yet to see the grafting in again
of the whole of the severed branches. They also,
if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in; for God
is able to graft them in again: how much more
shall these, which are the natural branches,
be grafted into their own olive tree? And so all
Crisis
The final crisis will reveal its Messiah to
-------
HOW WILL
By the promises are insured to
1. A fertile land. Isaiah 55: 13,
Jeremiah 31: 5;
Joel 3: 18
and Amos 9: 13.
2. Seasonable rains. Ezekiel
34: 26 & Joel.
2: 23.
3. Well built cities. Isaiah 61:
4.
4. Fixity of land tenure and security of real
estate.
Isaiah 65: 21, 22.
5. A numerous population. Isaiah 49:
19, 20, Ezekiel 36: 37,
38 and Zechariah
2: 4.
6. Just magistrates. Isaiah 60:
17.
7. A charter of personal liberty. Jeremiah 30:
8.
8. Popular education. Isaiah 54: 13.
9. Wealth and plenty. Isaiah 54:
11, 12; 60: 5, 11; Jeremiah 33:
12, 13
and Joel 2: 26.
10. Absence of seditious elements. Ezekiel 20:
28.
11. Undisputed supremacy amongst the
nations. Micah
5: 8.
12. A glorious
theocracy. Isaiah
24: 23.
What an ideal state of national politics is here
described! And this is all involved in
the hope of the promises. Further, the fulfilment of the promises will bring to
FOR THEY WILL BE:
a. Verse 9: A
united people
b. Verse 1l:
A truly humble people.
c. Verse 12: A
consciously dependent people.
d. Verse 12:
A people confident in God.
e.
Verse 13: A truthful people.
f. Verse 13:
A fearless people.
g. Verse 14:
A joyful people.
h. Verse 15:
A people among whom God resides.
i. Verse 15: A people secure from calamity.
j. Verse 16:
A zealously active people.
k. Verse 17:
A people in whom God delights.
l. Verses 11
& 20:
An object-lesson to the whole world of the abounding grace of God.
These conditions, national, political and spiritual, will
result from the fulfilment of the promises.
They will be realized only in the land, after the full restoration of
the people and occupation of the land has come to pass. This restoration is
assured by definite promise.
THAT IT IS FUTURE AND
LITERAL,
IS PROVED BY SEVEN
CONSIDERATIONS:
I. There is to be a restoration a second time.
Isaiah 11: 11. There having been but one restoration in
history, the second restoration must be future.
II. There is to be a restoration from the four
corners of the earth. Isaiah 11: 11, 12. No such
restoration having taken place in history, it must be future.
III. The whole land of promise is to be
possessed. Genesis
15: 18 and Obadiah
5, 17. There having been no entire possession of the
whole of the promised land in history, there must be a literal and future
restoration.
IV. Restoration
is predicted which is to be associated with the formal reunion of
V. A restoration is predicted which is to be
associated with national conversion.
Ezekiel 36: 24-27. No such
restoration having taken place, it must be future.
VI. A distribution of the land and a location of
the tribes is predicted which has never been realized in history. It must
therefore be future. Ezekiel 48. (whole chapter).
VII. A resettlement upon the land is predicted,
after which there is to be no further scattering. Amos 9: 15. No such
resettlement having taken place in history, it must of necessity be future.
Together with this most certain and
most literal resettlement of the
The people will be cleansed and Gods anger turned away from
them. Isaiah
12: 1 and Jeremiah
33: 8, 9.
They will be brought into new covenant
relationship. Jeremiah
31: 33, 34.
They will be justified and made
righteous. Isaiah
45: 25; 60:
21.
* *
* * *
* *
173
AN EXPOSITION OF THE
EPISTLE
TO THE HEBREWS
BY ROBERT GOVETT, M.A.
HEBREWS 10: 25
Not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together.
IT is a
matter of notice, even to the worldly, how the assemblies of professed
Christians are falling off in numbers.
It denotes internal decay in faith.
And it leads onward to confirmed unbelief. In those days many, no doubt, were kept away
by fear. The enemy took note of those
who met to worship. And some of the
defaulters perhaps said: That they could edify
themselves with the Scriptures in private. And others: We know
all you can teach. But here is
the command of the Lord Jesus. In our
day, the danger is of lukewarmness, preferring worldly pleasure to this
duty. Finding, indeed, small pleasure in
the united worship of the saints, they seek it elsewhere. The assembly of the saints here below is a
preparation for the assembling on high (2 Thess. 2: 1).
The present is the time of the consecration of the better
priests. Aarons sons were not to leave
the court of the tabernacle nor their fellows, till the seven days of
consecration were completed (Lev. 8: 35). After that, the glory of the Lord would
appear (Lev. 9:
4).
We are to exhort one another to look for this return of
Christ, and the recompence He will give to the faithful; and, generally, to be
ready to meet Him at His appearing; and this more, the more we perceive the
close advent of the day.
What is the day here spoken of? It is the great and
terrible day of the Lord, of which prophecy is full. The Saviour, at
But if we can see the approaching
day of wrath, can we not foretell
also the day of the Lords coming for the rapture of His people?
No! The two stand quite
distinct. The coming of the Lord is the hope of His people. The day is the warning of woes to the world. Paul beseeches the saints by the presence of the Lord and
our gathering to Him, not to be troubled by tidings of the day, as though judgment had already begun,
and the hour of mercy was over (2 Thess. 2). The hope of the Lords waiting ones, who
credit prophecy, is, that they shall be caught away to Him out of earth, before
the artillery of Gods indignation opens upon an evil world.
Judgment and its day cannot come till the obedient and watchful ones of the Church have been caught away. The day of woe cannot descend on the earth,
till national rejections of Christs faith and name have come.
But we may see the continual advances of the world towards
its, final iniquity. And with every such
advance draws nearer the vengeance of God.
Jesus makes the setting up of the idol of Anti-christ the proof of
judgment fully come (Matt. 24: 15-22). The more Christs foes band together and
resist the truth, the nearer they are to be put under the feet of the Lord
Jesus.
26. For if we sin wilfully after receiving the full knowledge of
the truth, there remains no further sacrifice
for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that is about to devour the adversaries.
This warning is addressed to brethren; to those whose welcome entry to the
Holiest has been discovered to us. They
are in danger of letting go the faith and hope, on which present acceptance and
future glory depend.
How dark are the shades in this
Epistle, following hard upon its brightest lights! It is only six verses since the writer spoke
of our welcome entry into the Holiest above, through the Sons
High-priesthood. How awful the warning
here! Yet, to listen to some
commentators, one would suppose that this Epistle was the most comforting of
all. Such labour with all their might to
deaden and divert the solemnity and directness of the Holy Spirits
warning. It is
addressed to Professors only. Hence, if you know yourself sincere, it is
not meant for you. Pass on!
Was it for professors? Methinks, had there been originally any such Churches
of
It is the brethren that Paul is addressing, both concerning their
privileges and their perils. Who were
meant by brethren? Those who had openly
and by public profession passed out of the world into the
No! This addresses
itself to [regenerate] believers! If we sin.
Was not Pauls a sincere heart?
He himself takes his place under this warning. Or, if
Paul did not write this, then the Christian and inspired author of the Epistle
here classes himself with those warned.
There were indeed special perils then - persecution - pressing
believers in Christ to turn back to Moses and Law. But there is evermore during the evil day,
more or less danger of falling away.
Beware of the first step: irregular attendance on the meetings of the
saints if we sin wilfully.
Alike under the Old Testament and the New there are two
classes of sin. (1) Occasional, and (2) abiding Sins of (1) error, and sins of (2)
deliberation,
against light and knowledge. Law
admitted to pardon one guilty of sins of ignorance. But it had neither priest nor sacrifice for
the presumptuous offender. If any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall
bring a she-goat of the first year for a sin-offering. And the priest shall make atonement for the
soul that sinneth ignorantly and it shall be forgiven him. But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be
born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth [provoketh - 70] the
Lord and that soul shall be cut off from
among his people. His iniquity shall
be upon him (Num. 15: 27-31).
The sin here described is wilful, spontaneous,
as opposed to compulsory, and that of ignorance.
It is the abiding attitude of the soul, as the present tense
denotes. There is no repentance. He has drawn the
sword, and cast away the scabbard.
What makes it so awful is, its taking place after full
knowledge. It is steady sin after a
mans having taken the place of a Christian; after understanding the doctrines
of Christ; after baptism, and reception of the gifts of the Spirit.
After the
full knowledge of the truth, is an expression strong enough to imply the
faith of the person. But here it is
greatly strengthened by the added word: after the receiving of the full knowledge of the truth.
That implies the truths entry into the heart, as well as the
understanding. The Holy Spirit does not reckon
the truth received, till it has possession of the whole man, the first
knowledge is of the forgiveness of sins (Luke 1:
77).
The after-knowledge is the
instruction fitted for those who believe, and are received by God and the
Church (Col. 1:
9; Tit. 1: 1; 2 Pet. 1: 2, 3). It answers to the two teachings in Matt.
28: 19, 20. The
first precedes baptism, the second
follows it.
Compare this passage with the similar
one of Heb. 6:
1-8, and
the view is strongly confirmed. Of the
six articles there named, two, repentance and faith
- go before the next two, the baptisms of instruction and of laying on of hands; and two follow after the baptism,
and refer to the future day - the resurrection and
eternal judgment. And the description
of the apostate is given with respect to these. He was enlightened
by repentance and faith. Then he tasted of the heavenly
gift by the baptism of the Spirit, and was made partaker of the Holy Ghost
by the Spirits
indwelling. With these came the
knowledge of the better day to come; the glorious hope set before him. Of that day, the gifts of miracle were the
divine pledge; so was the land that had drunk in the rain of heaven, and had
been tilled by the instruction of the saints.
If, after that; he fell away, repentance was impossible.
If then any should so sin, let the man
understand, that his case is desperate.
If one sinned wilfully in Moses day, there was a better High Priest and
Sacrifice to come. But to one who
rejects the priesthood and, sacrifice of Christ, there is no further offering
to take away sin.
* *
* * *
* *
174
AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE TO
THE HEBREWS
By ROBERT GOVETT, M.A.
(Heb. 12: 1)
SIXTH DIVISION
SANCTIFICATION, AS PREPARATION FOR SEEING GOD.
CHAP. XII.
-------
1. Therefore let us also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
having laid aside every weight, and the sin which easily besets us, run with patience the race set before us, looking away to Jesus the Leader and Finisher of the faith; Who because of the joy set before Him, endured the cross. despising
the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God.
The subject of this division is chiefly the personal holiness
of the new calling, in view of the Lords coming and judgment.
The Old Testament saints have finished their race, and are
waiting -their reward. Our race is going on, but its end is fixed and near. The length of the course is settled by God,
as the prizes also are from Him.
The Old Testament saints had their sufferings to bear; but
they have conquered. We, too, are called
to suffer. The vast number of preceding sufferers and martyrs should encourage
us to run as they did, with like hope of the glory. The general idea gathered from the opening of
this chapter by an English reader would be, that the departed saints are spectators of the course of
believers now. That is not, I think, the
truth. The Greek word here used with
reference to them relates, I believe, to them as sufferers for the truth during their past life, and not to their
present vision of those militant on earth.
It is the reward attached to the race that is set before those that are
already saved. After the gift of God, - eternal life, - comes the prize of our calling,
which is, a calling out of earth and into heaven.
Now, they who run for a prize are careful not to carry any
superfluous weight, and do not wear any long and trailing garment that might
embarrass their free course, and even throw them down. Hence our Lord warns us, in the first of His
parables which refer to the kingdom, of the cares of this
age,
and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in which choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful (Mark
4: 19). These, then, are the weights which are to be
laid aside. He who is seeking the riches
of the present world is not running the race for the kingdom. The earthly blessings promised by Moses Law
to the obedient Jew would be hindrances in the way of one running the present
race. And Jesus bids the rich young man
to lay them aside, and follow Him, on His way to the millennial kingdom and its
glory (Matt. 19). What will the Lord Jesus say to those
believers, who are seeking, with all their might, to gain wealth? when He has
told us, that, into the millennial kingdom of glory it is impossible for the rich disciple
to enter (Luke 16: 20-26). No
warrior entangles himself with buying or selling, or like pursuits, that he may
please his general (2 Tim. 2: 4). Thou, O man of God, flee these
things (1 Tim. 6: 11). While
Abraham walked with God in freedom in a tent, Lot was hindered and entangled
by a house within
Things not positively evil in themselves become so, when
regarded as engaging the believers heart, money, time, and abilities. Science, and the study of Gods works in
nature, were quite right in Solomons day; but to any believers in pursuit of
Christs cause and the glory to come, they would be great hindrances. There are also some sins to which, by nature
and position, we are prone, against which we must watch, and seek to overcome.
The easily besetting sin of that day was, unbelief of Christs
return, and drawing back to Moses. In
this, as in all other points, Jesus is our perfect example.
Should we read it:- Author and finisher of (our) faith? I think not. The author of this Epistle is sparing in the use of the article
where it would naturally be employed.
And here we have it before faith. He is not then, I think, speaking of faith as
it is an internal principle; but of the faith, the Christian religion. Jesus began it, and His coming will close
it. It is a system of faith, dependent
on His absence, to be completed when He returns. There will then be an end of baptism and the
Lords Supper: it will be a walking by sight, and not, as now, by faith.
We are, in our Lords case, to behold the perfect example of
the life of faith. Great was His toil,
great the opposition and enmity He encountered; but He so perfectly glorified
His Father in the arduous course set before Him, that He is seated in the loftiest
post in heaven, as having accomplished the race to the full satisfaction of the
Most High. In His journey toward the
goal, through reproach and shame, He was cheered by the prize set before Him. He shall see of the travail of His
soul, and be satisfied: (Isa. 53:
11).
If that hope was of service to the Lord Jesus Himself, how unwise and
unscriptural are those who would exclude all regard to the coming rewards of
millennial glory. At the end of the
Saviours course stood the cross and its bitterness. But He looked beyond it, and its pains and
shame, and now the time of His visible exaltation is to come. The kingdom is His: as the Son of man, all
creation shall be at His feet; the angels shall worship.
Already, before that day, the Father, well pleased, has called
Him up on high, and seated the Great Victor, with Himself, on His throne.
3. For consider Him Who endured so great
contradiction by sinners against Himself, lest
ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
We [are] apt to faint at the special difficulties, indignities, and contradictions,
which assail us. We are ready to feel,
and to say, that our troubles are sorer and heavier than those of any others. The remedy for such a feeling, and the true
check of such a speech, is here supplied.
Consider the resistance, the gainsaying, by malice and falsehood, which
He, Who was the Wisdom of God, and the Power of God, was called to
undergo. The Sinless One was
contradicted by the sinful sons of men; the
Son of God by His creatures and subjects.
He could, by a word, have cut off the liars and rebels; but He was
patient throughout. If, then, He
suffered so much, marvel not that you, Christian, are called also to endure
hindrance and contradiction in the way of duty, and when you are sure you are
testifying to Gods truth. A view of
what the Divine Saviour suffered must check complaint in the saved. Indeed, every affliction that we have met for
Christs sake, will be to our glory.
4-6. Not yet have
ye resisted unto blood, wrestling against sin.
And ye have
forgotten the exhortation which talketh with you as with sons: My son, despise not thou the
chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art
rebuked by him for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, but scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.
Life itself is, at Gods demand to be
given up, as the Saviour taught us, both by precept and example. As yet that had not been called for from the
Hebrew Christians generally. They must
see mercy, then, in the limits set on the power of their persecutors.
But now the Apostle proceeds to open a new view of the
sufferings which, in various forms, the Hebrew Christians were bearing from
their neighbours and fellow-countrymen.
They must regard the afflictions of their journey through the wilderness
as the mode of education, by which their Heavenly Father was preparing them for
an eternal [and millennial] abode with Himself. Under the Law, the men of obedience were to
experience all the sunshine and the blessings of earth. But the dispensation has changed with the
coming of the Son of God; and now, rejection by earth is the way to the [promised
messianic] glory
-------
Psalm 47
By Norman R Perry
O clap your hands all people, shout
your triumphant songs;
Praise ye the Lord Almighty to whom
all power belongs.
He shall subdue the
nations, He shall control their rage;
And He,
the great disposer, will choose our
heritage.
God on high ascended, with triumphant
blast and shout,
While never-ending praises circle His
throne about,
Oer all the earth He ruleth, for He
alone is King;
To Him we bring all praises, to Him
with gladness sing.
God ruleth oer the heathen, and holy
is His throne;
Earths princes [will] meet together and own Him God alone.
His people round Him
gather, His foes before Him fall;
All power to Him
belongeth, He ruleth over all.
(This Psalm, like many others, is so obviously
millennial that it amazes us that there are people who profess to believe the Word
of God yet they say that they do not see it.
There is a repetition of the fact that Jehovah is King of all the earth,
and that He will subdue and reign over nations.
It is true that God controls the wickedness of this present evil age and
that nothing that comes to pass, is outside His Sovereign decree but the
Scriptures says more than this. With the
world in its present state, how can Christians believe that these words are
completely fulfilled now and that we are at this moment living in the millennium? Praise God that in spite of many unbelieving
believers, and / or professing believers, this Psalm will be fulfilled
literally.)
* *
* * *
* *
175
The Septenary Arrangement of Scripture
BY ARLEN L CHITWOOD
There remaineth therefore a
rest [Sabbath rest] to the people
of God: (Heb. 4: 9).
-------
Hebrews 4: 1-11 deals with a rest which will be realized by the people of
God during the seventh
millennium dating from the restoration of the earth and the creation of man in
the first chapter of Genesis. Teachings surrounding this rest, textually
and contextually, are based on three portions of Old Testament Scripture: (1) The experiences of the Israelites
under Moses, and later Joshua (Heb. 3: 2-19), (2)
Gods work and subsequent rest during the seven days of Gen. 1: 2 (Heb. 4: 4), and 3) the Sabbath given to Israel which the nation
was to keep week after week following six days of work (Heb. 4: 9).
The experiences of the Israelites
under Moses, and later Joshua, during a past dispensation form the type; and the experiences of Christians
under Christ during the present dispensation form the antitype.
Then teachings surrounding a rest lying
before both the Israelites in the type and Christians in the antitype are drawn
from the rest which God entered into following six days of work in Gen. 1: 2. And the
Sabbath was given to
Teachings drawn from the opening two chapters of Genesis form
the key to the entire matter, and a correct understanding and interpretation of
these opening chapters is not something which should be taken lightly.
Scripture is actually built upon a structure which is laid down in these two
chapters, and an individuals understanding and interpretation of numerous
things throughout the remainder of Scripture will be governed by his
understanding and interpretation of this opening section of Scripture.
If one understands these opening verses correctly, he will
understand how God has structured His revelation to man, allowing him to grasp
numerous things which he could not otherwise understand. However, if one fails to understand these
opening verses correctly, the opposite will be true. He will have gone wrong at the beginning, and
he will remain wrong the remainder of the way.
The preceding, for example, is the reason many individuals
fail to see the proper relationship of the Sabbath rest in Heb. 4: 9 to Gods rest following six days of work in Gen. 12: 3. They
attempt to relate this rest to something which Christians enter into during the
present day and time, which is a time prior to the seven day, a time not even
in view (except possibly by way of a secondary application). Or this is the reason many individuals
attempt to understand 2 Peter 3: 8 in the light of Psa. 90:
4, when, contextually, 2 Peter 3: 8
must be understood in the light of the opening two chapters of Genesis (cf.
2 Peter 1: 16-18; 3: 5-7).
With these things in mind, the remainder of the material in
this chapter will deal with the structure of the Hebrew text in parts of especially
the first chapter of Genesis - particularly verse two - and the testimony of the remainder of
Scripture insofar as the opening two chapters of Genesis are concerned.
One MUST understand
what is revealed at the beginning first.
This is the key. Only then can an
individual be in a position to move forward and properly understand the
remainder.
WAS OR BECAME
It would go without saying that there
has been a great deal of controversy over the years among theologians and Christians
in general concerning exactly how two chapters of Genesis should be
understood. And it would also go without
saying that, resultingly, confusion has reigned supreme in Christian circles
concerning not only these chapters but the general tenor of the remainder of
Scripture as well.
There are actually two major schools of thought surrounding
these two opening chapters, though there are a number of variations within that
held by those in each school. Those in
one school (probably the position held by the majority today) view the six days
in the first chapter as time revealing Gods creative activity from verse one, and those in the other school view
these six days as time revealing Gods restoration of a ruined creation seen in verse two.
Then there is a somewhat popular third school of thought which
views Gen. 1:
1 as other than an absolute beginning. Most of those holding this view see verse one
as an opening statement dealing with restoration, not creation. That is, they see the verse dealing, not with
Gods creation of the heavens and the earth in an absolute sense (as most view
the verse), but with the beginning of Gods restoration (reforming,
re-moulding, refashioning) of a previously perfect creation which had fallen
into a state of ruin.
Much of the controversy surrounding these different views is
centred in the linguistics of verse two. Grammarians go back to the Hebrew text
and deal with two areas: (1) the
relationship to verse one of the three circumstantial clauses making up this verse,
and (2) the meaning of the Hebrew
word hayah
(translated was). And good Hebrew grammarians
reach different conclusions in both realms.
1. THE
THREE CIRCUMSTANTIAL CLAUSES
The three circumstantial clauses in Gen.
1: 2 are simply
the clauses which form the verse: (a)
And
the earth was without form, and void, (b)
and
darkness was upon the face of the deep, (c) And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters.
In the Hebrew text there is what is
called a waw beginning verse two (a
conjunctive or disjunctive particle, translated And
in most English texts). Some grammarians view this particle in a conjunctive sense (showing a
connection between verse 1 and verse 2), and others view it in a disjunctive
sense (showing a separation between verse 1
and verse 2). Normally the context determines how the
particle is to be understood.
(The Hebrew text of the Old Testament uses the waw more
frequently in a conjunctive [and] rather than a disjunctive [but] sense. Of the approximately 28,000 usages of this
particle, some 25,000 appear to be conjunctive and some 3,000 disjunctive.)
Those viewing the waw beginning Gen.
1: 2 in a
conjunctive sense would see the three circumstantial clauses as inseparably connected
with verse one, and those viewing the waw in a disjunctive sense would,
instead, see a separation between these two verses.
If there is an inseparable connection of the clauses in verse
two with verse one, and verse one describes an absolute beginning in relation
to the heavens and the earth (Gods actual creation of the heavens and the
earth in the beginning), then verse two would have to describe how God created
the earth in the beginning (i.e., without form, and void). Understanding the structure
of the Hebrew text after this fashion would necessitate viewing that which is
described at the beginning of verse two as the condition of the earth at the
time of the action described in verse one.
Then the six subsequent days would have to be looked upon as time in
which God, step by step, performed and completed his work of creation
introduced in verse one.
The preceding view of the structure of the Hebrew text is the
reason for the position held by some that Gen.
1: 1 describes
the beginning of Gods restorative work rather than an absolute beginning. Those holding this view see the three
circumstantial clauses in verse two as inseparably connected with verse one,
but they also see that Scripture teaches a subsequent ruin of the creation following
Gods creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning (e.g., cf. Gen.
1: 2 and Isa. 45: 18 [the
Heb. word tohu, translated without form in Gen. 1: 2 is
translated in vain in Isa.
45: 18;
and this verse in Isaiah specifically states that God did not create the earth tohu, i.e., after the fashion in which it is
seen in Gen. 1: 2]).
Thus, those who see Gods perfect
creation undergoing a subsequent ruin but also view the three circumstantial
clauses in verse two as inseparably
connected with verse one are forced into a particular position concerning the
interpretation of the opening verses of Genesis. They are forced into the position of seeing
the actual creation of the heavens and the earth, and also the ruin of the heavens and the earth, as occurring at a time
prior to Gen. 1:
1, events which they would see as not being
dealt with per se in the opening verses of Scripture at all.
Then there are those grammarians who see the waw beginning
verse two as disjunctive (similar to the Greek de, which is used both ways in the New Testament [cf. Matt.
1: 2-16; 25: 31, ASV]; also the Septuagint [Gk. translation of
the O.T.] uses de in a disjunctive
sense beginning Gen. 1: 2). And, viewing the matter after this fashion,
there would be no connection between the first two verse of Genesis. Rather, a separation would exist
instead. Within this view, one would
normally see verse one revealing an absolute beginning, with verse two (along
with the verses following) revealing events occurring at later points in time.
(Most holding this linguistic view see verse two as a
description of Gods perfect creation [from verse one] being brought into a
ruined state, separated from verse one by an unrevealed period of time; and
they would, accordingly, see Gods activity during the six days as activity
surrounding the restoration of this ruined creation. Some holding this linguistic view though
still see the six days as time revealing Gods creative activity. They view verse one as describing a grand summary declaration that God created the universe in
the beginning. Then they view Gods activity during the six days as a
revelation concerning how God accomplished that which He had previously stated
in verse one.)
2. THE HEBREW WORD HAYAH
Hayah is the Hebrew word translated was in most English versions of Gen. 1: 2 (And the earth was
)
The word is found numerous times
throughout chapter one and about 3,570 times in the entire Old Testament.
The etymology of the word is somewhat
questionable (most look at the probable primary meaning of hayah as falling or to fall).
Hebrew scholars though see the word used over and over in the Old
Testament in the sense of to be, to become, or to come to
pass. And through attempts to
trace the etymology of the word, comparing the Hebrew with the Arabic (a
related Semitic language), and seeing how the word is used in the Old Testament, many scholars have come to look upon
the word in the sense of a verb of being (to be). But scholars also recognize that it is
not completely valid to equate the word with the English verb of being after
this fashion.
The word is translated different ways in English versions -
e.g., was or were
(Gen. 1: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, etc.), be (Gen. 1: 3, 6, 14, 29, etc.),
became [or, to become]
(Gen. 2: 7, 10; 3: 22,
etc.). But thats in English
versions. In the Latin Vulgate there are
thirteen instances where hayah has been translated in the sense of became
in Genesis, chapter one alone (the word appears twenty-seven times in this
chapter); and in the Septuagint there
are twenty-two such instances in this one chapter.
The first use of hayah in
Scripture is in Gen. 1: 2 - the verse under consideration
in this study. But going beyond this
verse for a moment, note how the word is used elsewhere in chapter one.
Hayah appears
twice in verse three, translated be and was. And
translating, Let light be [or become]:
and light became, would actually best convey the thought of that which
occurred.
Then note verses 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31. The
word hayah appears two times in the
latter part of each verse (both translated in the English text by the one word,
were). Translating literally from the
Hebrew, using was in the translation, the text would read, ... And there was evening and there was morning, [comprising] the first day
... the second day ... the
third day, etc.
Actually though, became would
really better convey the thought surrounding that which occurred, for evening
and morning came to pass, became, comprising
each of the six different days. Leupold appears to capture the overall thought
quite well in his commentary by translating, ...Then
came evening, then came morning - the first day ... the second
day ... the third day, etc.
Then note the words, ...and it was so, at the end of verses 7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30. Was in each reference is a translation of
the word hayah, and it is easy to see that became rather than was would really provide a better
description of that which occurred in each instance, translating, ...and it became so (cf.
Let there be [a translation of hayah]... [vv.
3, 6, 14]).
Though hayah has been translated was,
were, or be
throughout the first chapter of Genesis, the word is actually used mainly
throughout this chapter in the sense of be, became, or had become. Attention is called to this fact because
numerous individuals look at the translation became
[or had become] as so rare in the Old
Testament that serious consideration should not be given to the thought of
translating Gen. 1:
2, And [or But] the earth became [or
had become]... But the rarity is in
the English translations, not in a literal Hebrew rendering or in certain other
translations (e.g., in the KJV there are only 17 instances in all of Genesis
where hayah has been translated became [or, ...become]
[2: 7, 10; 3: 22; 9: 15; 18: 18; 19: 26; 20: 12; 21: 20; 24: 67; 32: 10; 34: 16; 37: 20; 47: 20, 26; 48: 19]; but in
the Septuagint there are at least 146 instances [and some 1,500 in the entire
O.T.]).
3. THE HEBREW TEXT ALONE
Can linguistic questions surrounding the first two verses of Genesis
be resolved from the Hebrew text alone? Can one determine from the Hebrew text
alone whether the waw beginning verse two is conjunctive or disjunctive? Or can one determine from the Hebrew text
alone how the word hayah should be
translated in verse two? Or can one
determine from the Hebrew structure of verse two alone how the remainder of the
first chapter should be understood in an overall sense?
Some Hebrew scholars would answer in the affirmative, but
because of the different ways a number of Hebrew scholars view the matter at
hand, the issue could only be resolved within their minds and possibly within
the minds of others who follow their same line of reasoning. And note that the issue would be resolved by
different scholars after entirely different fashions, all based on their
understanding of the grammatical structure of the Hebrew text.
However, there is another way to approach the matter; and that
other way is to see how the whole of Scripture deals with the issue at
hand. If the whole of Scripture can be
shown to support one view alone - which it can - then the correct linguistic
understanding of Gen. 1: 2 and the
corresponding correct interpretation of chapter one can easily and
unquestionably be demonstrated.
This is not to say that Gen.
1: 2 or
the first chapter of Genesis as a whole cannot be understood correctly apart
from first going to the remainder of Scripture, for that cannot be the
case. God would not have begun His
revelation to man after a fashion which man could not have understood a part
from subsequent revelation (requiring approx. 1,500 years to complete). But this is to say that the correct
linguistic position for Gen. 1: 2 and the
correct corresponding interpretation of the entire chapter - which can be shown
by going to the remainder of Scripture - is a position which God would have
expected man to see as evident when he began reading at this point in Genesis, though
man many times does not do so.
Thus, in this respect, a knowledge of the way in which the
Hebrew text is structured is really not going to resolve the issue at
hand. And time has been spent in the
Hebrew construction of Gen. 1: 2 and other
related passages, not in an attempt to resolve the issue, but to demonstrate
two basic things: (a) There are
good, reputable Hebrew scholars who hold varying views on the opening verses of
Genesis, which are many times based strictly on their understanding of the
structure of the Hebrew text, apart from contextual considerations; and (b) though the linguistics of the Hebrew
text (within the different ways scholars understand the text) will support any
one of these views, all but one are out of line with the remainder of Scripture and
are, consequently, wrong.
That is to say, though different views can be supported from the structure of the
Hebrew text alone, different views cannot be supported when the remainder of Scripture is taken
into consideration - with or without the
Hebrew text. Scripture will support only one view.
Scripture will support Creation (an absolute creation [v. 1]), a Ruin of the creation (which means that the waw
beginning v. 2
must be understood in a disjunctive
sense [But], and the Hebrew word hayah must be understood in the sense of
became [or had become]
[v. 2a]),
a Restoration of the ruined creation
(performed entirely through Divine intervention [vv.
2b-25]),
and Time (six days of restorative work, followed by one day of rest [1: 2b-2: 3]).
And to illustrate this is not difficult at all. In fact, the opposite is true. It is a very simple matter to illustrate,
from other Scripture, exactly how the opening verses of Genesis must be
understood.
DAYS IN SCRIPTURE
The structure of Gods revelation to man will be set forth briefly
under three headings, and material discussed under these three headings will
relate specifically to how particular sections of Scripture handle the matter
at hand. Then attention will be called
to other related Scriptures outside these sections to better present the
overall picture from the whole of Scripture.
1. THE
SIGN OF THE SABBATH
The Sabbath was a sign of a
perpetual covenant. God stated
concerning the Sabbath, It is a sign between
me and the children of
[* See The
Dualism of Eternal Life by S. S. Craig.]
That is, though the sign of the Sabbath concerned a present
work and future [millennial] rest, it
was based on a past work and rest. God
worked six days to restore a ruined creation in the opening chapter of Genesis;
and on the sixth day, along with the completion of His work of restoration, He
brought man into existence to rule over the restored material creation. Then
God rested on the seventh day. But a
ruin ensued once again. Man, an entirely
new creation in the universe, fell; and, as a result, the restored material
creation was brought under a curse, leaving God with two ruined creations: man,
and the
material creation.
With that in mind, how did God, in the Genesis account, set
about to restore these two ruined creations?
The answer is not only clearly revealed but it is also very simple. According to Scripture, God set about to
restore the subsequent ruined creations in exactly the same manner as He had restored the former ruined
creation in the opening chapter of Genesis.
He set about to restore the ruined creations over six days of time, and
He, in accord with Gen. 2: 2, 3, would then rest on the seventh [i.e., Millennial and Messianic (2 Pet. 3: 8,. Cf. Ps. 2: 8; 110: 1-3; Lk. 1: 32, R.V.] day.
The latter restoration must occur in complete keeping with the
former restoration. A pattern has been set
in the opening verses of Genesis which cannot change. The latter restoration must occur over a
six-day period. And also in accord with
this pattern there must be a day of rest following the six days of work.
The Sabbath was given to
Each day in the former restoration and rest was twenty-four
hours in length, but each day in the latter restoration and rest is revealed to
be one thousand years in length (2 Peter 1: 16-18; 3: 3-8; cf. Matt.
16: 28-17: 5). Based on the pattern set forth in Gen. 1, 2, God is going to work for six thousand years
during the present restoration and then rest the seventh one-thousand-year
period.
Scripture begins by laying the basis for this septenary
arrangement of time in the opening verses (Gen.
1, 2),
this is something seen throughout Scripture (Ex. 31: 13-17; Num. 19: 12; Hosea 5: 15- 6: 2; Jonah 1: 17; Matt. 17: 1; Luke 24: 21; John 1: 29, 35, 43; 2: 1; 5: 9; 9: 14; 11: 6, 7; Heb. 4: 1, 4, 9), and this is the way God concludes His revelation
surrounding time immediately prior to the eternal ages (Rev. 20: 4-6).
Scripture deals with 7,000 years of time - time extending from
the restoration of the earth and the creation of man to the end of the
Messianic Kingdom. Scripture has very little
to say about what occurred prior to these 7,000 years, and it also has very
little to say about what will occur following these 7,000 years. Scripture is built on this septenary
arrangement of time, which is based on the opening two chapters of Genesis; and this is an evident fact which must be
recognized if one would correctly understand Gods redemptive plans and
purposes which He has revealed in His Word.
2. THE
SIGNS IN JOHNS GOSPEL
The Gospel of John is built around seven signs; and, as in the
sign of the Sabbath, the signs in this gospel point to things beyond the signs
themselves.
It is the Jews who require a sign (1
Cor. 1: 22); and these signs, taken from numerous signs
which Jesus performed during His earthly ministry, are directed (as was His ministry in that day) to the Jewish
people. Jesus performed such signs for one central purpose: ...that ye [the Jews] might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name
(John 20: 30, 31; cf. John
2: 11; 5: 46, 47; 6: 14, 21; 11: 45).
Six of the seven signs in Johns gospel were performed in
connection with particular days, all in perfect keeping with one another, all
in perfect keeping with the sign of the Sabbath, and all in perfect keeping
with the septenary arrangement of Scripture.
And all of the signs refer, after different fashions, to the same thing.
They all refer to
The first sign, in 2: 1-11, has to do with Jesus turning the water in six waterpots to wine (six,
mans number; the waterpots made from the earth, as man; filled with water [the
Word]; and through Divine intervention a change ensues). This sign, pointing to the future salvation
of
The second sign, in 4: 40-54, has to do with the healing of a noblemans son. This sign occurred after Jesus had spent two days with the
Samaritans, on the third day (vv. 40, 43). It
will be after two days visiting the Gentiles, to take out of
them a people for his name, on the third day, that Jesus will return to the
Jewish people and the nation will be healed (cf. Hosea 5: 15 - 6: 2; Acts 15: 14-8).
The third sign, in 5: 1-9, has to do with a man being healed. This occurred after thirty-eight years, on the Sabbath (vv. 5, 9). The reference (in the type) would be to the
healing of the nation through the second generation of Israelites being allowed
to enter the land under Joshua after thirty-eight years (dating from [their apostasy and] the overthrow at Kadesh-Barnea), referring to that time (in the antitype)
when the nation will be healed and be allowed to enter the land under Christ,
an event which will occur on the seventh day,
the Sabbath.
The fourth sign, in 6: 1-14, has to do with bread being provided for the multitudes; and
the sign occurred in connection with the Passover (v. 4). Jesus
is that bread of life which will be provided for the nation yet future (v. 35), and the Passover is the festival in Lev. 23 which has to do with
the future salvation of
The fifth sign, in 6: 15-21, has to do with Christs departure, a storm, His return, the disciples attitude
toward Him at this time, and the geographical location in which they
subsequently found themselves. It points
to Christs departure from
The sixth sign, in 9:
1-41, has to do with the healing of a blind
man, on the Seventh day (v.
14).
This points to
The seventh sign, in 11: 1-44, has to do with the resurrection of
Lazarus. This [select]*
resurrection occurred after Jesus had been out of the
[* See Phil. 3: 11. cf.
Rev. 20: 4-6 with Acts 7: 4, 5; Heb. 10: 40; 11: 35b, R.V. etc.]
3. THE STRUCTURE OF 2 PETER
2 Peter parallels Jude in the
sense that both deal with the Word of the Kingdom and apostasy
after a similar fashion.
Both epistles begin the same way. The first chapter of 2
Peter is taken up with that which is stated in one verse in Jude (v.
3).
Then the matter of apostasy is dealt with throughout most of the
remainder of both epistles. However,
there are things dealt with in the first and third chapters of 2 Peter, showing the septenary structure of the
epistle, which are not dealt with at all in Jude.
Peter exhorts his readers to make their calling [pertaining to the kingdom] and election [selection
for a position of power and authority in the kingdom] sure (1: 1-15); and Jude
states the same thing in Jude 3 when he
exhorts his readers to earnestly contend for [strive with respect to]
the faith (cf. 1 Tim. 6: 12; 2 Tim. 4: 7, 8). Then the thought of apostasy relative to the faith comes into view in both epistles.
However, Peter does something which Jude does not do. Before beginning his dissertation on apostasy
he calls attention to that which occurred on the Mount in Matt. 17: 1-8 (2 Peter 1: 16-18), which has to do with the Son of Man coming in
His kingdom, after six days,
on the seventh day (cf.
Matt. 16:
28 - 17: 1).
Then toward the end of his epistle, Peter, unlike Jude, moves
from thoughts surrounding apostasy to thoughts surrounding the existence and
subsequent destruction of the heavens and the earth at two different times - (a)
at a time following the creation of the heavens and the earth the heavens
... of old and the world that then was [the world existing at the time of the heavens
... of old] [vv. 5, 6]), and (b) at a time following the restoration
of the heavens and the earth (the heavens and the earth which are now [v.
7]).
The destruction of the former is seen in Gen. 1: 2a (But the earth had become without form, and void;
and darkness [the sun had ceased
to give its light] was upon the face of the deep [the raging waters] and the
destruction of the latter - a destruction by fire - is seen in succeeding
verses in 2 Peter 3: 10ff).
Peter then draws the entire matter to a climax by stating that
one
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day (3: 8).
Understood contextually, the verse is self-explanatory. The heavens and the earth, which are
now (v. 7) must cover the entire septenary period
from chapter one (vv. 16-18), else 2 Peter 3: 8
would be meaningless. And each day in
this period is revealed to be one thousand years in length - six millenniums of
work, followed by one millennium of rest, based on the opening verses of
Genesis.
CONCLUDING REMARKS:
Viewing the whole of Scripture, the correct interpretation of
the opening verses of Genesis can be clearly and unquestionably presented
through the typical nature of Old Testament history (1
Cor. 10: 6, 11), as it
is set forth in the very evident Divinely established septenary arrangement of
Scripture. And these opening verses,
providing the Divinely established basis for that which follows, must be
understood accordingly.
The Bible is a book of redemption; and only a correct view of the
opening verses of Genesis can reflect positively, at the very outset, on Gods
redemptive message as a whole (the restoration of a ruined creation, performed
in its entirety through Divine intervention, for a revealed purpose).
An incorrect view can, on the other hand, only have negative
ramifications. Creation alone, apart from a ruin and restoration of
the creation, fails to convey the complete message; and Restoration alome (viewing the opening verse as other than an absolute
beginning), apart from a record of the preceding creation and ruin, likewise
fails to convey the complete message.
It is as F. W. Grant
stated years ago: The thought of a ruined condition of
the earth succeeding its original creation ... is ... required by the typical
view [mans creation, ruin, and subsequent restoration paralleling the
earths creation, ruin, and subsequent restoration].
Accordingly, the opening verses of
Genesis cannot deal strictly with Creation; nor
can these verses deal strictly with Restoration. Either view would be out of line with the
whole of Scripture, beginning with the central theme of Scripture, the message of redemption.
The only interpretative view which will fit - at all points - within the Divinely
established septenary arrangement of Scripture (which has it basis in these
opening verses) is...
Creation (an absolute creation [v. 1])
A Ruin of the Greation (v.
2a).
A Restoration of the Ruined Creation (vv.
2b-25).
Time (in the type - six
days of restorative work, followed by a day of rest; in the antitype - six
thousand years of restorative work, followed by one thousand years of rest [1: 2b - 2: 3]).
* *
* * *
* *
176
The Septenary Arrangement of Scripture
BY ARLEN L CHITWOOD
There remaineth therefore a
rest [Sabbath rest] to the people
of God: (Heb. 4: 9).
-------
Hebrews 4: 1-11 deals with a rest which will be realized by the people of
God during the
seventh millennium dating from the restoration of the earth and the creation of
man in the first chapter of Genesis. Teachings surrounding this rest, textually
and contextually, are based on three portions of Old Testament Scripture: (1) The experiences of the Israelites
under Moses, and later Joshua (Heb. 3: 2-19), (2)
Gods work and subsequent rest during the seven days of Gen. 1: 2 (Heb. 4: 4), and 3) the Sabbath given to Israel which the nation
was to keep week after week following six days of work (Heb. 4: 9).
The experiences of the Israelites
under Moses, and later Joshua, during a past dispensation form the type; and the experiences of Christians
under Christ during the present dispensation form the antitype.
Then teachings surrounding a rest lying
before both the Israelites in the type and Christians in the antitype are drawn
from the rest which God entered into following six days of work in Gen. 1: 2. And the
Sabbath was given to
Teachings drawn from the opening two chapters of Genesis form the
key to the entire matter, and a correct understanding and interpretation of
these opening chapters is not something which should be taken lightly.
Scripture is actually built upon a structure which is laid down in these two
chapters, and an individuals understanding and interpretation of numerous
things throughout the remainder of Scripture will be governed by his
understanding and interpretation of this opening section of Scripture.
If one understands these opening verses correctly, he will
understand how God has structured His revelation to man, allowing him to grasp
numerous things which he could not otherwise understand. However, if one fails to understand these
opening verses correctly, the opposite will be true. He will have gone wrong at the beginning, and
he will remain wrong the remainder of the way.
The preceding, for example, is the reason many individuals
fail to see the proper relationship of the Sabbath rest in Heb. 4: 9 to Gods rest following six days of work in Gen. 12: 3. They attempt
to relate this rest to something which Christians enter into during the present
day and time, which is a time prior to the seven day, a time not even in view
(except possibly by way of a secondary application). Or this is the reason many individuals
attempt to understand 2 Peter 3: 8 in the light of Psa. 90:
4, when, contextually, 2 Peter 3: 8
must be understood in the light of the opening two chapters of Genesis (cf.
2 Peter 1: 16-18; 3: 5-7).
With these things in mind, the remainder of the material in
this chapter will deal with the structure of the Hebrew text in parts of
especially the first chapter of Genesis -
particularly verse two - and the testimony
of the remainder of Scripture insofar as the opening two chapters of Genesis
are concerned.
One MUST understand
what is revealed at the beginning first.
This is the key. Only then can an
individual be in a position to move forward and properly understand the
remainder.
WAS OR BECAME
It would go without saying that there has
been a great deal of controversy over the years among theologians and
Christians in general concerning exactly how two chapters of Genesis should be
understood. And it would also go without
saying that, resultingly, confusion has reigned supreme in Christian circles
concerning not only these chapters but the general tenor of the remainder of
Scripture as well.
There are actually two major schools of thought surrounding
these two opening chapters, though there are a number of variations within that
held by those in each school. Those in
one school (probably the position held by the majority today) view the six days
in the first chapter as time revealing Gods creative activity from verse one,
and those in the other school view these six days as time revealing Gods restoration of a ruined creation seen
in verse two.
Then there is a somewhat popular third school of thought which
views Gen. 1:
1 as other than an absolute beginning. Most of those holding this view see verse one
as an opening statement dealing with restoration, not creation. That is, they see the verse dealing, not with
Gods creation of the heavens and the earth in an absolute sense (as most view
the verse), but with the beginning of Gods restoration (reforming,
re-moulding, refashioning) of a previously perfect creation which had fallen
into a state of ruin.
Much of the controversy surrounding these different views is
centred in the linguistics of verse two. Grammarians go back to the Hebrew text
and deal with two areas: (1) the relationship
to verse one of the three circumstantial clauses making up this verse, and (2) the meaning of the Hebrew word hayah
(translated was). And good Hebrew grammarians
reach different conclusions in both realms.
1. THE
THREE CIRCUMSTANTIAL CLAUSES
The three circumstantial clauses in Gen.
1: 2 are
simply the clauses which form the verse: (a)
And
the earth was without form, and void, (b)
and
darkness was upon the face of the deep, (c) And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters.
In the Hebrew text there is what is
called a waw beginning verse two (a conjunctive or disjunctive particle,
translated And in most English texts). Some
grammarians view this particle in a conjunctive sense (showing a connection between verse 1 and verse 2),
and others view it in a disjunctive sense (showing a
separation between verse 1 and verse 2).
Normally the context determines how the particle is to be understood.
(The Hebrew text of the Old Testament uses the waw more frequently
in a conjunctive [and] rather than a disjunctive [but] sense. Of the approximately 28,000 usages of this
particle, some 25,000 appear to be conjunctive and some 3,000 disjunctive.)
Those viewing the waw beginning Gen.
1: 2 in a
conjunctive sense would see the three circumstantial clauses as inseparably
connected with verse one, and those viewing the waw in a disjunctive sense
would, instead, see a separation between these two verses.
If there is an inseparable connection of the clauses in verse
two with verse one, and verse one describes an absolute beginning in relation
to the heavens and the earth (Gods actual creation of the heavens and the
earth in the beginning), then verse two would have to describe how God created
the earth in the beginning (i.e., without form, and void). Understanding the
structure of the Hebrew text after this fashion would necessitate viewing that
which is described at the beginning of verse two as the condition of the earth
at the time of the action described in verse one. Then the six subsequent days would have to be
looked upon as time in which God, step by step, performed and completed his
work of creation introduced in verse one.
The preceding view of the structure of the Hebrew text is the
reason for the position held by some that Gen.
1: 1 describes
the beginning of Gods restorative work rather than an absolute beginning. Those holding this view see the three
circumstantial clauses in verse two as inseparably connected with verse one,
but they also see that Scripture teaches a subsequent ruin of the creation
following Gods creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning (e.g., cf. Gen.
1: 2 and Isa. 45: 18 [the
Heb. word tohu, translated without form in Gen.
1: 2 is
translated in vain in Isa.
45: 18;
and this verse in Isaiah specifically states that God did not create the earth tohu, i.e., after the fashion in which it is
seen in Gen. 1: 2]).
Thus, those who see Gods perfect creation
undergoing a subsequent ruin but also view the three circumstantial clauses in
verse two as inseparably connected with
verse one are forced into a particular position concerning the interpretation
of the opening verses of Genesis. They
are forced into the position of seeing the actual creation of the heavens and
the earth, and also the ruin of the
heavens and the earth, as occurring at a time prior to Gen.
1: 1,
events which they would see as not being dealt with per se in the opening
verses of Scripture at all.
Then there are those grammarians who see the waw beginning
verse two as disjunctive (similar to the Greek de, which is used both ways in the New Testament [cf. Matt.
1: 2-16; 25: 31, ASV]; also the Septuagint [Gk. translation of the O.T.] uses de in a disjunctive sense beginning Gen. 1: 2). And,
viewing the matter after this fashion, there would be no connection between the
first two verse of Genesis. Rather, a
separation would exist instead. Within
this view, one would normally see verse one revealing an absolute beginning,
with verse two (along with the verses following) revealing events occurring at
later points in time.
(Most holding this linguistic view see verse two as a
description of Gods perfect creation [from verse
one] being brought into a ruined state, separated from verse one by an
unrevealed period of time; and they would, accordingly, see Gods activity
during the six days as activity surrounding the restoration of this ruined
creation. Some holding this linguistic
view though still see the six days as time revealing Gods creative
activity. They view verse one as
describing a grand summary declaration that God
created the universe in the beginning. Then they view Gods activity
during the six days as a revelation concerning how God accomplished that which
He had previously stated in verse one.)
2. THE HEBREW WORD HAYAH
Hayah is the Hebrew word translated was in most English versions of Gen. 1: 2 (And the earth was
) The word is found numerous times throughout chapter one and about
3,570 times in the entire Old Testament.
The etymology of the word is somewhat
questionable (most look at the probable primary meaning of hayah as falling or to fall). Hebrew
scholars though see the word used over and over in the Old Testament in the
sense of to be, to
become, or to come to pass. And through attempts to trace the etymology
of the word, comparing the Hebrew with the Arabic (a related Semitic language),
and seeing how the word is used in the
Old Testament, many scholars have come to look upon the word in the sense of a verb of being (to be). But scholars also recognize that it is
not completely valid to equate the word with the English verb of being after
this fashion.
The word is translated different ways in English versions -
e.g., was or were
(Gen. 1: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, etc.), be (Gen. 1: 3, 6, 14, 29, etc.),
became [or, to
become] (Gen. 2: 7, 10; 3: 22, etc.).
But thats in English
versions. In the Latin Vulgate there are thirteen instances where hayah has been translated in the sense
of became in Genesis, chapter one alone (the word appears twenty-seven
times in this chapter); and in the Septuagint
there are twenty-two such instances in this one chapter.
The first use of hayah in
Scripture is in Gen. 1: 2 - the verse under
consideration in this study. But going
beyond this verse for a moment, note how the word is used elsewhere in chapter
one.
Hayah appears
twice in verse three, translated be and was. And
translating, Let light be [or become]:
and light became, would actually best convey the thought of that which
occurred.
Then note verses 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31. The
word hayah appears two times in the latter part of
each verse (both translated in the English text by the one word, were).
Translating literally from the Hebrew, using was in the translation, the text would
read, ... And there was evening and there was morning, [comprising] the first day ... the second day ... the third
day, etc.
Actually though, became would really better convey the
thought surrounding that which occurred, for evening and morning came to pass, became, comprising each of the six different
days. Leupold appears to capture the overall thought quite well in his
commentary by translating, ...Then came evening, then came morning - the first
day ... the second day ... the third day, etc.
Then note the words, ...and it was so, at the end of verses 7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30. Was in each reference is a translation of
the word hayah, and it is easy to see that became rather than was would really provide a better
description of that which occurred in each instance, translating, ...and it became so (cf.
Let there be [a translation of hayah]... [vv.
3, 6, 14]).
Though hayah has been translated was, were, or be throughout the first chapter of Genesis, the word is actually used mainly
throughout this chapter in the sense of be, became, or had
become. Attention is called to
this fact because numerous individuals look at the translation became [or had become]
as so rare in the Old Testament that serious consideration should not be given
to the thought of translating Gen. 1: 2, And [or But]
the earth
became [or had become]...
But the rarity is in the English translations, not in a literal Hebrew
rendering or in certain other translations (e.g., in the KJV there are only 17
instances in all of Genesis where hayah has been translated became [or, ...become] [2: 7, 10; 3: 22; 9: 15; 18: 18; 19: 26; 20: 12; 21: 20; 24: 67; 32: 10; 34: 16; 37: 20; 47: 20, 26; 48: 19]; but in the Septuagint there are at least 146 instances [and some 1,500 in the
entire O.T.]).
3. THE HEBREW TEXT ALONE
Can linguistic questions surrounding the first two verses of
Genesis be resolved from the Hebrew text alone? Can one determine from the
Hebrew text alone whether the waw
beginning verse two is conjunctive or disjunctive? Or can one determine from the Hebrew text
alone how the word hayah should be translated in verse two? Or can one determine from the Hebrew
structure of verse two alone how the remainder of the first chapter should be
understood in an overall sense?
Some Hebrew scholars would answer in the affirmative, but
because of the different ways a number of Hebrew scholars view the matter at
hand, the issue could only be resolved within their minds and possibly within
the minds of others who follow their same line of reasoning. And note that the issue would be resolved by
different scholars after entirely different fashions, all based on their
understanding of the grammatical structure of the Hebrew text.
However, there is another way to approach the matter; and that
other way is to see how the whole of Scripture deals with the issue at
hand. If the whole of Scripture can be
shown to support one view alone - which it can - then the correct linguistic
understanding of Gen. 1: 2 and the
corresponding correct interpretation of chapter one can easily and
unquestionably be demonstrated.
This is not to say that Gen.
1: 2 or
the first chapter of Genesis as a whole cannot be understood correctly apart
from first going to the remainder of Scripture, for that cannot be the
case. God would not have begun His
revelation to man after a fashion which man could not have understood a part
from subsequent revelation (requiring approx. 1,500 years to complete). But this is to say that the correct
linguistic position for Gen. 1: 2 and the
correct corresponding interpretation of the entire chapter - which can be shown
by going to the remainder of Scripture - is a position which God would have
expected man to see as evident when he began reading at this point in Genesis, though man
many times does not do so.
Thus, in this respect, a knowledge of the way in which the
Hebrew text is structured is really not going to resolve the issue at
hand. And time has been spent in the
Hebrew construction of Gen. 1: 2 and other
related passages, not in an attempt to resolve the issue, but to demonstrate
two basic things: (a) There are
good, reputable Hebrew scholars who hold varying views on the opening verses of
Genesis, which are many times based strictly on their understanding of the structure
of the Hebrew text, apart from contextual considerations; and (b) though the linguistics of the Hebrew
text (within the different ways scholars understand the text) will support any
one of these views, all but one are out of line with the remainder of Scripture and
are, consequently, wrong.
That is to say, though different views can be supported from the structure of the
Hebrew text alone, different views cannot be supported when the remainder of Scripture is taken
into consideration - with or without the
Hebrew text. Scripture will support only one view.
Scripture will support Creation (an absolute creation [v. 1]), a Ruin of the creation (which means that the waw
beginning v. 2
must be understood in a disjunctive
sense [But], and the Hebrew word hayah must be understood in the sense of
became [or had become]
[v. 2a]),
a Restoration of the ruined creation
(performed entirely through Divine intervention [vv.
2b-25]),
and Time (six days of restorative work, followed by one day of rest [1: 2b-2: 3]).
And to illustrate this is not difficult at all. In fact, the opposite is true. It is a very simple matter to illustrate,
from other Scripture, exactly how the opening verses of Genesis must be
understood.
DAYS IN SCRIPTURE
The structure of Gods revelation to man will be set forth
briefly under three headings, and material discussed under these three headings
will relate specifically to how particular sections of Scripture handle the
matter at hand. Then attention will be
called to other related Scriptures outside these sections to better present the
overall picture from the whole of Scripture.
1. THE
SIGN OF THE SABBATH
The Sabbath was a sign of a
perpetual covenant. God stated
concerning the Sabbath, It is a sign between
me and the children of
[* See The
Dualism of Eternal Life by S. S. Craig.]
That is, though the sign of the Sabbath concerned a present
work and future [millennial] rest,
it was based on a past work and rest.
God worked six days to restore a ruined creation in the opening chapter
of Genesis; and on the sixth day, along with the completion of His work of
restoration, He brought man into existence to rule over the restored material
creation. Then God rested on the seventh day.
But a ruin ensued once again.
Man, an entirely new creation in the universe, fell; and, as a result,
the restored material creation was brought under a curse, leaving God with two
ruined creations: man, and the material creation.
With that in mind, how did God, in the Genesis account, set
about to restore these two ruined creations?
The answer is not only clearly revealed but it is also very simple. According to Scripture, God set about to
restore the subsequent ruined creations in exactly the same manner as He had restored the former ruined
creation in the opening chapter of Genesis.
He set about to restore the ruined creations over six days of time, and
He, in accord with Gen. 2: 2, 3, would then rest on the seventh [Millennial and Messianic (2 Pet. 3: 8,. Cf. Ps. 2: 8; 110: 1-3; Lk. 1: 32, R.V.] day.
The latter restoration must occur in complete keeping with the
former restoration. A pattern has been
set in the opening verses of Genesis which cannot change. The latter restoration must occur over a
six-day period. And also in accord with
this pattern there must be a day of rest following the six days of work.
The Sabbath was given to
Each day in the former restoration and rest was twenty-four
hours in length, but each day in the latter restoration and rest is revealed to
be one thousand years in length (2 Peter 1: 16-18; 3: 3-8; cf. Matt.
16: 28-17: 5). Based on the pattern set forth in Gen. 1, 2, God is going to work for six thousand years
during the present restoration and then rest the seventh one-thousand-year
period.
Scripture begins by laying the basis for this septenary arrangement
of time in the opening verses (Gen. 1, 2), this is
something seen throughout Scripture (Ex. 31: 13-17; Num. 19: 12; Hosea 5: 15- 6: 2; Jonah 1: 17; Matt. 17: 1; Luke 24: 21; John 1: 29, 35, 43; 2: 1; 5: 9; 9: 14; 11: 6, 7; Heb. 4: 1, 4, 9), and this is the way God concludes His
revelation surrounding time immediately prior to the eternal ages (Rev. 20: 4-6).
Scripture deals with 7,000 years of time - time extending from
the restoration of the earth and the creation of man to the end of the Messianic
Kingdom. Scripture has very little to
say about what occurred prior to these 7,000 years, and it also has very little
to say about what will occur following these 7,000 years. Scripture is built on this septenary
arrangement of time, which is based on the opening two chapters of Genesis; and this is an evident fact which must be
recognized if one would correctly understand Gods redemptive plans and
purposes which He has revealed in His Word.
2. THE
SIGNS IN JOHNS GOSPEL
The Gospel of John is built around seven signs; and, as in the
sign of the Sabbath, the signs in this gospel point to things beyond the signs
themselves.
It is the Jews who require a sign (1
Cor. 1: 22); and these signs, taken from numerous signs
which Jesus performed during His earthly ministry, are directed (as was His ministry in that day) to the Jewish
people. Jesus performed such signs for one central purpose: ...that ye [the Jews] might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name
(John 20: 30, 31; cf. John
2: 11; 5: 46, 47; 6: 14, 21; 11: 45).
Six of the seven signs in Johns gospel were performed in
connection with particular days, all in perfect keeping with one another, all
in perfect keeping with the sign of the Sabbath, and all in perfect keeping
with the septenary arrangement of Scripture.
And all of the signs refer, after different fashions, to the same thing.
They all refer to
The first sign, in 2: 1-11, has to do with Jesus turning the water in six waterpots to wine (six,
mans number; the waterpots made from the earth, as man; filled with water [the
Word]; and through Divine intervention a change ensues). This sign, pointing to the future salvation
of
The second sign, in 4: 40-54, has to do with the healing of a noblemans son. This sign occurred after Jesus had spent two days with the
Samaritans, on the third day (vv. 40, 43). It
will be after two days visiting the Gentiles,
to take out of them a people for his name, on the third day, that Jesus will return
to the Jewish people and the nation will be healed (cf. Hosea 5: 15 - 6: 2; Acts 15: 14-8).
The third sign, in 5: 1-9, has to do with a man being healed. This occurred after thirty-eight years, on the Sabbath (vv. 5, 9). The reference (in the type) would be to the
healing of the nation through the second generation of Israelites being allowed
to enter the land under Joshua after thirty-eight years (dating from [their apostasy and] the overthrow at Kadesh-Barnea), referring to that time (in the antitype)
when the nation will be healed and be allowed to enter the land under Christ,
an event which will occur on the seventh day,
the Sabbath.
The fourth sign, in 6: 1-14, has to do with bread being provided for the multitudes; and
the sign occurred in connection with the Passover (v. 4). Jesus
is that bread of life which will be provided for the nation yet future (v. 35), and the Passover is the festival in Lev. 23 which has to do with
the future salvation of
The fifth sign, in 6: 15-21, has to do with Christs departure, a storm, His return, the disciples
attitude toward Him at this time, and the geographical location in which they
subsequently found themselves. It points
to Christs departure from
The sixth sign, in 9:
1-41, has to do with the healing of a blind
man, on the Seventh day (v.
14).
This points to
The seventh sign, in 11: 1-44, has to do with the resurrection of
Lazarus. This [select]*
resurrection occurred after Jesus had been out of the
[* See Phil. 3: 11. cf.
Rev. 20: 4-6 with Acts 7: 4, 5; Heb. 10: 40; 11: 35b, R.V.
etc.]
3. THE STRUCTURE OF 2 PETER
2 Peter parallels Jude in the sense
that both deal with the Word of the Kingdom and apostasy
after a similar fashion.
Both epistles begin the same way. The first chapter of 2
Peter is taken up with that which is stated in one verse in Jude (v.
3). Then
the matter of apostasy is dealt with throughout most of the remainder of both epistles. However, there are things
dealt with in the first and third chapters of 2
Peter, showing the septenary structure of the epistle, which are not
dealt with at all in Jude.
Peter exhorts his readers to make their calling [pertaining to the kingdom] and election [selection
for a position of power and authority in the kingdom] sure (1: 1-15); and Jude
states the same thing in Jude 3 when he
exhorts his readers to earnestly contend for [strive with respect to]
the faith (cf. 1 Tim. 6: 12; 2 Tim. 4: 7, 8). Then the thought of apostasy relative to the faith comes into view in both epistles.
However, Peter does something which Jude does not do. Before beginning his dissertation on apostasy
he calls attention to that which occurred on the Mount in Matt. 17: 1-8 (2 Peter 1: 16-18), which has to do with the Son of Man coming in
His kingdom, after six days,
on the seventh day (cf.
Matt. 16:
28 - 17: 1).
Then toward the end of his epistle, Peter, unlike Jude, moves
from thoughts surrounding apostasy to thoughts surrounding the existence and
subsequent destruction of the heavens and the earth at two different times - (a)
at a time following the creation of the heavens and the earth the heavens
... of old and the world that then was [the world existing at the time of the heavens
... of old] [vv. 5, 6]), and (b) at a time following the restoration
of the heavens and the earth (the heavens and the earth which are now [v.
7]).
The destruction of the former is seen in Gen. 1: 2a (But the earth had become without form, and void;
and darkness [the sun had ceased
to give its light] was upon the face of the deep [the raging waters] and the
destruction of the latter - a destruction by fire - is seen in succeeding
verses in 2 Peter 3: 10ff).
Peter then draws the entire matter to a climax by stating that
one
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day
(3: 8). Understood contextually, the verse is
self-explanatory. The heavens
and the earth, which are now (v. 7) must cover the entire septenary period from chapter one (vv. 16-18), else 2 Peter 3:
8 would be meaningless. And each day in this period is revealed to be
one thousand years in length - six millenniums of work, followed by one
millennium of rest, based on the opening verses of Genesis.
CONCLUDING REMARKS:
Viewing the whole of Scripture, the correct interpretation of
the opening verses of Genesis can be clearly and unquestionably presented
through the typical nature of Old Testament history (1
Cor. 10: 6, 11), as it
is set forth in the very evident Divinely established septenary arrangement of
Scripture. And these opening verses,
providing the Divinely established basis for that which follows, must be
understood accordingly.
The Bible is a book of redemption; and only a correct view of the
opening verses of Genesis can reflect positively, at the very outset, on Gods
redemptive message as a whole (the restoration of a ruined creation, performed
in its entirety through Divine intervention, for a revealed purpose).
An incorrect view can, on the other hand, only have negative
ramifications. Creation alone, apart from a ruin and restoration of
the creation, fails to convey the complete message; and Restoration alone
(viewing the opening verse as other than an absolute beginning), apart from a
record of the preceding creation and ruin, likewise fails to convey the complete
message.
It is as F. W. Grant
stated years ago: The thought of a ruined condition
of the earth succeeding its original creation
is
required by the typical
view [mans creation, ruin, and subsequent restoration paralleling the
earths creation, ruin, and subsequent restoration].
Accordingly, the opening verses of
Genesis cannot deal strictly with Creation; nor
can these verses deal strictly with Restoration. Either view would be out of line with the
whole of Scripture, beginning with the central theme of Scripture, the message of redemption.
The only interpretative view which will fit - at all points - within the Divinely
established septenary arrangement of Scripture (which has it basis in these
opening verses) is
Creation (an absolute creation [v. 1])
A Ruin of the Greation (v.
2a).
A Restoration of the Ruined Creation (vv.
2b-25).
Time (in the type - six
days of restorative work, followed by a day of rest; in the antitype - six
thousand years of restorative work, followed by one thousand years of rest [1: 2b - 2: 3]).
* *
* * *
* *
177
Let Us Labour Therefore...
BY ARLEN L CHITWOOD
Let us labour therefore to
enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief.
The rest
lying before Christians is spoken of different ways in Scripture. It is a rest typified by the rest which lay
before the Israelites under Moses, and later under Joshua (Heb. 3: 7-19; 4: 6-8; cf. Deut.
12: 9; Joshua 1: 13);
it is a rest referred to by the sign of the Sabbath (Heb.
4: 9; cf. Ex. 31: 13-17), and a
rest which has its basis in the opening two chapters of Genesis (Heb. 4: 4; cf. Gen. 2: 1-3; Ex. 20: 11; 31: 17).
This is a rest into which one can enter only after he has entered
the land to which he has been called (that heavenly [and
millennial] land for Christians, typified by the earthly land for
Thus, the rest which Christians are to labour to enter into
has to do with a future rest which can be realized only during the earths coming Sabbath (the seventh millennium); and this rest
can be realized only in that
heavenly land to which Christians have been called, after the enemy presently
inhabiting the land has been overthrown.
We are to labour to enter into rest in that heavenly land, lest any man
fall after the same example of unbelief (Heb. 4: 11; cf.
v. 1). The allusion, of course, is to the
experiences of the Israelites under Moses. They failed to enter into the rest
set before them because of unbelief [unfaithfulness] (Heb.
3: 18). And the warning to [regenerate] Christians under Christ is that
exactly the same fate can likewise befall them.
They too, through unfaithfulness, can fail to enter into the rest set
before them.
In the type, those comprising the house of Moses had been
called out of the
Caleb and Joshua alone, of that generation, were singled out
as exercising faith relative to their calling.
And Caleb and Joshua alone were singled out as being allowed to later
enter the land, conquer the inhabitants, and realize an inheritance in the land
(Num. 13: 30; 14: 30; Joshua 14:
13, 14; 19: 49, 50).
And in the antitype, the purpose for and end result of
activity in the house of Christ can only be the same as the purpose for and end
result of activity in the house of Moses.
The antitype demands this, for the antitype must follow the type in exact detail.
Christians have been saved for a purpose, and that purpose has to do
with the land set before them. All
activity in which household servants have been called to engage themselves
during the present time, after some fashion, has to do with this purpose. There is a goal in view, and that goal has to
do with the heavenly [millennial] land to which Christians have been
called.
A servant in the house of Christ can exhibit either faithfulness or unfaithfulness, as clearly set
forth by the actions of those comprising the house of Moses. And also, as clearly set forth by the actions
of those comprising the house of Moses, faithful servants will one day realize the goal of their calling, but not so
with unfaithful servants.
Faithful servants will pass through the same experiences
in the antitype as did Caleb and Joshua in the type. They will be allowed to
enter the land, victoriously combat the inhabitants (Eph.
6: 12ff),
and one day realize an inheritance therein (Eph.
1: 11-23).
Christians exhibiting faithfulness after this fashion will one day
realize the rights of the firstborn, inheriting as joint-heirs and ruling as
co-heirs with Gods Son (Rom. 8: 17, 18; 2 Tim. 2: 10-12; Rev. 3: 21).
Unfaithful servants though will be cut off from the house of
Christ, as unfaithful Israelites were cut off from the house of Moses (Heb. 4: 1). They,
as the unfaithful Israelites in relation to their earthly calling, will not be
allowed to enter that heavenly land and realize an inheritance therein. They, as the unfaithful Israelites, will be
overthrown on the right side of the blood but on the wrong side of the goal of
their calling (Matt. 24: 48-51; 2 Tim. 2: 5, 12b).
If the preceding is not what is meant by the exhortation and
warning in Heb. 4:
11, then, from a Scriptural framework, no
meaning can really be derived from this verse.
The verse must be understood within a type-antitype framework in the
light of its immediate context, which begins with chapter
three. And this section of
Scripture leading into Heb. 4: 11 has to
do with the Israelites under Moses, Christians under Christ, and a [millennial] rest lying before both.
Let us [Christians] labour therefore to enter
into that rest [seventh-day
rest, Sabbath rest], lest any man [Christian] fall after the same example
of unbelief [unfaithfulness exhibited by the Israelites under
Moses, which can also be exhibited by Christians under Christ].
* *
* * *
* *
178
AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE
TO THE HEBREWS
BY ROBERT GOVETT, M.A.
Heb. 10:
30
The Lord shall judge His People. Then the offenders here I described were of His
people. And believers in Christ are one
day to be judged. But many now refuse
this doctrine. It is not .pleasant. How then do they get rid of this
passage? They say, or hint, that in
Deuteronomy it means, that God would avenge
But the truth taught does not rest on the citation from
Deuteronomy alone. It is found also in Psa. 135: 14, and in
Psa. 50. God is
in this latter place described as coming, and citing earth to appear before
Himself the judge. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the
earth, that He may judge
His People. Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have
made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.
And the heavens shall declare His righteousness:
for God
is judge Himself (Psa.
50: 4-6). We
shall come again on the same subject in chap.
12: 24.
How - should we understand - David
executed judgment and justice to
all his people? (2 Sam.
8: 15; 1 Chron. 18: 14). Dan shall judge his
people as one of the tribes of
To whom did God address His commandments of Sinai? To Egyptians?
Nay, but to His redeemed people.
To whom then did the penalties on disobedience apply? The history, no less than the drift of the argument
here, shows, that Gods judging His people does not mean His avenging Himself
on the disobedient ones of the tribes who tempted Him. God, and His Christ, are
Lords of the saved. And here we learn, that they are to give account to Him,
not as lost sinners, but as saved, and as servants.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God.
This is a reference to Jehovahs judgment on Dathan and his
party. Paul has touched on the vengeance
that fell upon Korah and his princes, because of their refusal of Gods high
priest. Fire came forth from the Lord the judge, and devoured those
adversaries.*
But another form of death awaited the refusers of the Apostle and Leader of
Israel. Moses warns the congregation to leave
the neighbourhood of Dathan, lest they should be overtaken in the same
punishment. The majority listened, and
came away, and there was an awful pause. Jehovah Himself would plead the cause
of His mediator, whom these sinners had falsely accused. If the Lord
make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and
swallow them up, with all that appertain to them,
and they go down quick [alive]
into the pit [Hadees];
then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the
Lord.
Then the ground clave asunder
that was under them: and the earth opened her
mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the
men that appertained to Korah, and all their
goods. They,
and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished
from among the congregation (Num. 16). That
was to fall into the hands of God, provoked at their sin. And it was fearful, not merely to the actual
criminals but to all
That was the closing of the prison-door on these
evil-doers. But God lives for ever; a
terror to His [apostate] foes,
as well as bliss to His friends. It is a
joyful thing to serve the living God, and to be admitted at last to dwell with Him
in His city of life (chap. 12: 24). But how fearful to [all unregenerate souls] be
sentenced to His lake that burns with fire and brimstone; whose flames He
suffers not to be quenched, long as Himself shall live! For the living
God has the keys
of Hadees and of Death. The
offender here first provokes God, and then falls into His hands of indignation.
32. But remember the former days,
in which, after ye were enlightened, ye endured a great wrestling of sufferings; partly, while ye were made a gazing-stock
both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly,
while ye became partakers of those that were so treated. For, moreover, ye sympathised with
my chains, and took joyfully the plundering of
your goods, knowing that ye have for yourselves
a better and abiding substance in heaven. Cast not away therefore your confidence,
which hath great reward.
Here is a sudden change of person, from we and us, to you and ye. Wherefore?
Because, in the preceding verses the writer, occupied the same ground
with those he was addressing. But now he
severs himself from them. Why? If Paul be the writer, this is at once
explained; for, at the beginning of the Church at
The warnings and the encouragements are addressed to the same
parties. Paul does not say: The warnings do not apply to the true-hearted among you; but
to [unregenerate] professors who have crept
in among you. A likely
time, indeed, for professors to seek to creep
in! or to stay there, if they were in already!
The same [regenerate] believers
are addressed; and now they are encouraged to look on the other side, and to
hold to the path which they chose so many years ago. It was then between thirty and forty years
since the Gospel began to be published at
Notice here the remarkable contrast between the men of the
earthly calling, and of the heavenly.
When
Against these troubles they were to be upheld by confidence in
the promises of God concerning the day of reward. Your trials are only those to which men of
God in previous dispensations were exposed; and out of which, rightly met, they gained Gods approval; and for them
glory is laid up.
Ye sympathized with my chains. Some read: Ye sympathized with the
Prisoners.
Which is the
true reading? The ordinary one, I
believe. My chains proved too forcibly the Epistle to be
Pauls to suit the tastes of some. Hence
it is omitted from the Vulgate,
Here, then, is strong evidence that the writer is Paul. He often names the bonds he suffered for
Christ (Eph. 3:
1; 4: 1; 2 Tim. 1: 8; 2: 9; Philem. 9-13; Phil. 1: 7, 13, 14, 16, [17]). Remember my bonds. Grace be with you (Col. 4: 18).
This, then, takes us back to Pauls two years imprisonment at
Caesara. And
here we find notices which confirm the view.
After Felix had heard Paul, he commanded the centurion that Paul should
he kept a prisoner, but that he should have relaxation, and that none of his friends should be
hindered from waiting on him, or coming to him. He had several interviews with his prisoner, hoping
that money would be given by Paul, that he might be set free (Acts 24: 23-27).
-------
* All evangelical Christians (probably
all Christians) are agreed that our conduct after conversion - our stewardship
- will, to some measure, evoke approval or disapproval in our Lord on His
return, and will therefore modify any tangible evidences of His pleasure (or
displeasure) which He may be pleased to bestow: the degree of that approval
or disapproval, with its consequent measure of reward or loss, is the only
point in debate. Far more overwhelming
than most [regenerate believers] realize are the
cumulate Scripture proofs that, while eternal life, irrevocable and a free gift, is dependant on
simple, saving faith alone, accompanied by such conduct as proves the reality
of the faith, - the Millennial Kingdom (or its synonym, the First Resurrection) is
one of the numerous rewards contingent on sanctification, in which our Lord
will delight to compensate the spotless robe and the martyred life. In view of the vast possibilities latent in
the subject hitherto never adequately threshed out in the
** How many things one learns - and how many are unlearned!
- in 15 years. In 1925 we bid you mark,
with us, that if so be that (we) may lay hold, that if by any means (we) may attain. Mark it well:
something to gain - or lose; an inheritance to enjoy - or forfeit; a goal to be reached - or missed; a
prize to be
won or lost. That IF is spilled over all the pages of Scripture, and the
Saviour has been pressing on, so hard, yet so tenderly, the implication of this
IF in all its bearings.
Almost the tiniest word - IF; involving almost the
mightiest issues.
What a precious thing it is
that some things are inviolable! Our life is hid with CHRIST IN GOD, and is inviolable,
depending not upon us, but upon HIM. To be born from above is to pass from death unto life and to come into
possession of the life of the ages, which shall never perish.
But we are called of The LORD
unto His own
Kingdom and Glory, and this reign with CHRIST
is clearly forfeitable. This privileged
service of the coming Age is something for which He seeks to discipline and
train us here, and He shows clearly that some of His own redeemed ones shall inherit and enter the Kingdom, while others shall not inherit, being not fit for the Kingdom, in a day which seems to
be coming on apace. Of resurrection to
meet and live with the LORD
he was certain (1 Thess 4.), but if the out-resurrection unto a priestly-reign with the LORD he said not already attained, not yet laid hold (Phil 3.). This goal of the upward calling of GOD in CHRIST JESUS was the purpose for which he had been laid hold of by CHRIST, and so urgent was it that he press on - unto the prize, the out-resurrection and
the [Millennial] Kingdom and glory,
that he counted but offal what is everything to most, and held his body in
utter subjection and control, lest having preached to others he should himself
be rejected.
It would serve to much
spiritual enlightenment and quickening if the LORDS people underlined in their Bibles, the IF and IF NOT addressed so often to
believers, and sought the Spirits
unveiling of a full import of what they mark. There is an increase of travail in the
Church, to-day, for a company to be found worthy in the day of His coming, and
those whose spirits cry to GOD for
manifestation, and who wait for the birth, are keenest in their longing to be
found ready, and among the profitable servants.
Child of God, will you seek to know your relation to these things? - GEORGE BANKS.
* *
* * *
* *
179
A QUESTION AND ANSWER
BY G. H. LANG
QUESTION - Are not all true Christians caught
up when Jesus comes? If
not, who will be left behind?
Jesus said, Pray that you might be counted worthy to escape... What does that mean?
ANSWER - Watch ye therefore, 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.
The two
preceding verses (Luke 21: 4, 35) clarify
this admonition. The people of God are
cautioned against being careless in their Christian experience. The inference is that conditions will be such
that many will grow careless and drift along with the spirit of the times.
Money is plentiful.
Drink, drug abuse, gambling, gluttony and smoking by both sexes make
these evils popular. Self-indulgence of
every description is practised.
Thousands of Christians have been swept from their moorings during the
past few years. Prayer is neglected,
consequently there is a general decline in spirituality. We are told to pray that we may be fully
strengthened to escape all these evil things and be able to take our place in
the presence of the Son of Man.
The foolish virgins, and all those who have grown careless in
their Christian experience, are in a declining spiritual condition and will be
left behind. Moffatt states that those who fail to keep awake and pray, that day will catch
them suddenly as a trap. How contrary is
this teaching of our Lord to his disciples, from that of those who expect all
will to be caught up before the end days; and from those who expect all will
have to endure them!
There are two principal views on the Rapture and the
Tribulation: one, that the Parousia will commence prior to the Times of the
End, and that at its inception all believers of the heavenly calling, dead and
living, will be taken to the presence of the Lord in the air; the other, that the
Parousia will occur at the close of the Great Tribulation, until when no
believers will be raised or changed. The
one view says that no believers will go into the End Times the other that none
then living will escape them.
The one involves that the utmost measure of unfaithfulness or
carnality in a believer puts him in no peril of forfeiting the supreme honour
of rapture or of having to endure the dread End Days: the other view involves
that no degree of faithfulness or of holiness will enable a saint to escape
those Days. As regards this matter,
godliness and unfaithfulness seem immaterial on either view; which raises a
doubt of both views.
1. Our Lord Jesus Christ has declared distinctly that escape is possible. In Luke 21
is a record of instruction given by Him to four apostles on the
These things are to be preceded by a general persecution of
His followers (verse 12), which will be the
first indication that the End Days are at hand.
Then
Then He mentions the disturbances in nature and the fears of
mankind that are grouped under seal 6 in Revelation 6: 12-17, and adds explicitly that then shall they
see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory, and that when these things begin His
disciples may know that their redemption draweth nigh (ver. 27,
28).
In concluding this outline of the period of the Beast the Lord
then uttered this exhortation and promise: But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and
drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare: for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of
all the earth. But watch ye at every season, making
supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all
these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of Man.
This declares distinctly:
1. That escape is possible from all those things of
which Christ had been speaking, that is, from the whole End-times.
2. That, that day
of testing will be universal, and unavoidable by any then on the earth, which involves the removal from the earth
of any who are to escape it.
3. That there is a fearful peril of disciples
becoming worldly of heart and so being, enmeshed in that last period.
4. That hence it is needful to watch and to pray
ceaselessly, that so we may prevail over all obstacles and dangers and thus
escape that era.
This most important and unequivocal statement by our Lord sets
aside the opinion that all Christians will escape irrespective of their moral
state, and also negatives the notion that no escape is possible. There is a door of escape; but as with all doors, only those who are
awake will see it, and only those who are in earnest will reach it ere the
storm bursts. In every place in the New Testament the word escape has its natural force - to flee out
of a place of trouble and be quite clear thereof. It never means to endure the trial
successfully. In this very discourse of
the Lord it is in contrast with the statement, He that endureth to the end (of these things) the same shall be saved (Matthew 24: 13). One
escapes, another endures.
The attempt to evade the application of this passage to
Christians on the plea that it refers to Jewish
disciples of Christ is baseless:
a. No Jewish
disciples of Christ are known to the Scriptures (Galatians 3: 28; Ephesians. 2: 14-18).
b. The God-fearing remnant of
c. Nor will they believe on Jesus as their Messiah until they see Him
coming in glory (Zechariah 12: 9, 10; 13: 6; Matthew 23: 29).
d. The assertion that the title Son of
Man is Jewish is equally unwarranted, for
the term man is necessarily universal to the
race, and does not belong peculiarly to any one nation. (Compare John 3: 14, 15; 5: 25-29: whosoever and all)
2. In harmony
with this utterance of our lord is His further statement to the church at Philadelphia (Revelation
3: 10): Because thou didst keep the word of My patience [patient endurance or perseverance], I also will
keep thee from (ek) [i.e., out of
or out from] the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the
whole inhabited earth, to try them that dwell
upon the earth! Here also are declared:
a. The universality of that hour of trial,
so that any escape from it must involve removal;
b. the promise of being kept from it;
c. the intimation that such
preservation is the consequence
of a certain moral
condition: Because thou didst keep... I
also will keep.
As this is addressed to a church, no question of a Jewish application can arise. Nor do known facts or the Scriptures allow of
the supposition that every Christian
keeps the word of Christs patience (Matthew 24:
12; Revelation 2:
5; Galatians 6:
12; Colossians
4: 14
with 2 Timothy 4: 10
concerning Demas); so that this promise cannot be stretched to mean all believers.
In The Bible Treasury 1865, p. 380, there is an instructive
note by J. N. Darby (see also Coll. Writings, vol. 13, Critical 1, 581) on the
difference between (apo) and (ek). The former regards hostile persons and being
delivered from them; the latter refers to a state and being kept from getting
into it. On Revelation
3: 10 he wrote: So Revelation 3 the faithful are kept from getting into this state,
preserved from getting into it, or, as we say, kept out of it. For the words here answer fully to the
English out of or from. That the thought is not being kept
from being injured in soul by the trials is implied in the expression Keep thee out
of that hour; it
is from the period of time itself
that the faithful are to be kept, not merely from its spiritual perils.
* *
* * *
* *
180
FAITH TO THE SAVING OF THE SOUL*
BY PHILIP MAURO
[* From a chapter
in the book: Gods
Pilgrims.]
-------
We come
to the important words which bring the tenth chapter of Hebrews to a close, and introduce the greatest theme of chapter 11: Now my righteous one by faith shall
live, but if he, my
righteous one draw back MY SOUL
shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them that draw back unto destruction,
but (of them that are)
of FAITH TO
SAVING THE SOUL. (10: 38,
39).
The foregoing is a literal rendering of the original text; and
we would at the outset call attention to several corrections that need to be
made in the A.V.
1. The words any man are introduced by the translators as
the subject of the verb draw back; but they are wholly without warrant in the original. The antecedent subject is the righteous one, who is to live by faith. The expression is the same that Paul used of
himself in Gal. 2: 20, the life I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith which is in the Son of God.
Jesus Christ is not only the Author, but also the Finisher of
faith. As already seen it is only the
believer, the man who has been justified by faith, that can draw back.
The unbeliever has not come to anything from which he could draw back.
There is no question at all as to the correctness of the reading, if he draw
back. R.V. The drawing back to destruction
is put in direct contrast with the living by faith, and going on to the saving of the soul.* It
is true that the believer cannot draw back from his standing in Christ. He cannot draw back from eternal life. But he
can draw back from the pilgrims place, and return to the world.
[* Here is the first indication that the
words salvation of souls (1 Pet. 1: 9, R.V.), has nothing whatsoever to do with ones
initial and eternal salvation, but is a future salvation to occur
after resurrection! a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
yet believing, ye
rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of
your faith, even the salvation of your souls (Pet. 1: 5, 9.
R.V.). Compare with Acts 2: 27, 31, 34 with 2 Tim. 2: 18, R.V.]
2. The word perdition should be destruction. The difference is important. 1 Cor. 3: 17 R.V. 1 Cor. 8. 11;
3. The words of them that
believe, should
read of faith. The original has not
a verb that believe, but a noun of faith and that word faith is a most important one because it
leads into the theme of chap. 11., which is given to the people of God
for the very purpose of instructing them as to the character or nature of that faith that is effectual to saving the soul. The next words are Now faith, (that is, the faith by which the
soul is saved), is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Then follow examples of those who lived, to the end of their days,
according to that faith which is the substance (that which stands under and thus
supports) things hoped for, and the conviction as to the reality of things
heard of, but not seen.
So far as the present writer is aware, the subject of the salvation
of the soul has not been satisfactorily treated in any of the books of teaching
now in the hands of the people of God. The manner in which this expression is
commonly used indicates that saving the soul is regarded as meaning the saving of
the individual man from condemnation, that is to say as equivalent to the
justification of the sinner, and the impartation of eternal life upon believing
the Gospel of God. In other words, being
born
again, and saving the
soul, are
generally taken to be identical. But
according to the Scripture the two are very different. In every case where the
salvation of the soul is mentioned it is distinctly
referred to as something future; and
as something conditional upon the behaviour of
the individual himself.
Eternal life is the gift of God, freely bestowed on every believer in
Christ. But the saving of the soul is distinctly set forth in many Scriptures, particularly in the words of the Lord Himself, not as a gift, but as a reward to be earned by diligence, steadfastness, and obedience to His commands. Matt.
10: 37-39; 16: 24-27; Mark 8: 34-36; Luke 9: 23-26: Luke 17: 32-33; John 12:
24-25.
The chief reason for the misconception that exists on this
point is the failure to distinguish between soul and spirit, a distinction
which is carefully made in the Scriptures, as we shall take pains to show. The matter is of such surpassing importance,
and so great consequences hinge upon it, that I strongly urge our readers to
pay the closest attention to the sayings of the Lord Jesus, and to the other
Scriptures cited in this chapter.
As an instance of the mention by our Lord of the saving and
losing of the soul, we quote Matt. 26: 25-27, calling attention to the fact that the word
rendered life in ver. 25, is the same word rendered soul in ver. 26:
If
any one of you are willing, that is, has finally resolved, to come
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whosoever is willing
to save his life (soul) shall lose it; and whosoever
is willing to lose his life (soul) for My sake shall find it. For what is a man
profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? Or, what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man
shall come in the glory of His Father, with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.
We see clearly from this Scripture
that the saving or losing of the soul is
a matter of the will or choice of the man himself, and this is the teaching
also of every Scripture that deals with this subject. We see furthermore also that the time when
those who choose to lose their souls now for Christs sake will gain their reward,
that is, will find their souls again, is to be when the Son of Man shall come
in the GLORY OF HIS FATHER, with HIS ANGELS. From this Scripture alone
it is clear that by the salvation of the soul is not meant salvation from
eternal condemnation. The salvation of
the sinner from the wages of sin is not dependent upon denial of self, taking
up his cross and following the Lord Jesus; but is the gift of Gods grace,
instantly and eternally granted the moment the sinner believes in the Crucified
and Risen Saviour. It is only a [regenerate] believer who can make the choice to
deny himself, take up his cross, and steadfastly follow his Lord in the way He
went. To them who thus
followed unto the end, a reward is promised.
That reward is the finding, [after the
first resurrection] in the age
to come, of the soul they purposely lost in this age.
It concerns us, therefore, to ascertain, as may be done by diligent and
prayerful inquiry, what the Lord meant by a mans losing and saving his own
soul. That is the salvation of which the
Lord began to speak, and which has been confirmed to us by those who heard
Him, that is, by
His apostles. Whatever may be embraced
in the meaning of the words saving the soul, it is at least clear that they
do not refer to the justification of the sinner by Gods grace through faith in
Christ, but to something in the nature of a reward
set before those who have been already justified. The salvation
of the soul is not something received at the beginning of the Christian life on earth; but something to be gained at the
end thereof. 1 Peter 1: 9.
That the saving of the soul is not the salvation of the sinner
from eternal doom in the
Another cause of the misconception referred to is (as it
appears to us) the relatively little heed that is given in many quarters to the
words spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself.
There is no room for dispute or doubt as to the value of the words of
the Lord according to His own estimate thereof.
They are spirit and life (John 6: 63); 1 Tim. 6: 3. They are the very words His Father commanded
Him to speak, and are what will judge those who receive them not (John 12: 47-50). His
Sayings are HIMSELF (John 8:
25).
The giving of His Fathers words was the fulfilment of the purpose for
which His Father sent Him into the world (John 17:
8, 14). His disciples recognised Him as the One Who
had words of eternal life (John 6: 68). Keeping his words is the test of
love for Himself, and has the promise of a great reward. If anyone loves Me, he will KEEP MY WORDS. Because thou hast KEPT MY WORD. Because thou hast KEPT
THE WORD OF MY PATIENCE. (John 14: 23; Rev. 3: 8, 10).
Whereas, being ashamed of His word will be visited with disastrous
consequences (Mark 8: 38).
Notwithstanding these weighty and unmistakably plain
utterances from the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself, it must be admitted that,
in the teaching of to-day, the words of the Lord, recorded for us in the
Gospels, are assigned to a place of distinct inferiority.
In order to
maintain certain dispensational views, it is necessary to relegate the ministry
of Christ in the days of His Flesh to the Jewish
remnant, and to treat His utterances as having but a remote or indirect
reference and application to the members of His own Body, the Church.
One
consequence of this teaching has been to foster a neglect of His words, and to
render the hearts and consciences of many saints insensitive to the wholesome
exhortations and warnings uttered by Him, which they are taught to regard as
applicable only to an insignificant remnant of
What, then, is the soul of a man, concerning the salvation
of which the Lord Himself made a BEGINNING
of speaking? It is clear from the
Scriptures that the soul is quite distinct
from the [animating] spirit; and by attention to the teaching
of the Word we may learn that the soul
signifies the natural life of the man. This
embraces all his own exclusive personal experiences, sensations, and emotions;
and these in turn arise from his relations and associations with the created things about him, especially from
his relations with his fellow human beings.
It is distinctly the self-life, that is to say, the sum of every
experience which pertains to the man himself, to his own separate personality, as distinguished from every other
man. It embraces all his own distinct
and personal desires, ambitions, gratifications, honours, and pleasures. It takes in all the plans and arrangements he devises to secure his own
satisfaction, entertainment, enjoyment, and so forth. The instinctive longings of the soul are what
impel men to pursue riches so ardently.
For it is by means of money that the desires of the soul may be
gratified, so far as it is possible to procure gratification for them in this
world. Wealth commands distinction,
attention, worldly pleasures, and high social position, and by means of it may
be procured nearly everything that this world can supply for the satisfaction of the soul of
man. Hence, the Lord says, Beware of
covetousness and
His Apostle says, Covetousness is idolatry.
Important instruction on this point is given by the Lord in Luke 12., in the parable of the rich man. He spoke this parable for the express purpose
of enforcing the warning:- Take heed, and
beware of covetousness, for a mans SOUL consisteth not in the abundance of
the things which he possesseth (ver.
15).
Then He tells of the rich man, whose ground brought forth plentifully,
insomuch that he had not room enough to store his fruits. Therefore, the man
laid his plans for his own advantage, that is for his SOUL. He said, I will pull down my barns and build
greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits
and all my goods. And I will say to MY
SOUL, SOUL, thou hast much goods, laid up for many years; take THINE EASE, EAT, DRINK, and BE MERRY. But GOD said unto him, Thou, foolish one this night they* demand
thy soul of thee, then - [when
in Hades - the underworld of the dead (Matt. 12: 40.) cf. Matt.
16: 16; Acts 2: 27; Rev. 6: 9, R.V.] - whose shall those things be, which thou hast prepared. R.V.
[* That is, the angels, (Luke 16: 22,
R.V.).]
This parable gives a clear idea of what the soul of man is;
and it teaches plainly that the loss of the soul is the separation thereof from the things capable of affording
satisfaction to it.
In examining this important subject of the SALVATION OF THE SOUL, we would begin with the first reference to the soul in Hebrews, which is in chap.
4: 12. We find there the important statement that
the Word of God sharply divides between the soul and the spirit; a distinction, however, which teachers
and commentators generally fail to observe. The Word of God speaks of the
salvation of the spirit, John 3: 6-8, of the
salvation of the soul, and of
the salvation of the body; and there is a great difference between
them. In 1 Cor. 5: 5,
Paul speaks of delivering one of the members of the assembly of
[* This salvation of the spirit is, I believe, a reference to Num. 14: 24, when those who apostatized at Kadesh-Barnea
will later receive another spirit in Hades contrary to the one they had before their
Death! See Heb.
12: 17. cf.
Gal. 5: 5, R.V.]
The distinction between the spirit of man and
the soul of man is recognized throughout Scripture. Thus in 1 Thess. 5: 23, the Apostle prays for the sanctification of
the whole man, and that your whole
spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Of the Lord Jesus it is
written that just before His death He
commended His [animating (life-giving)] SPIRIT to His Father. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice He said, Father, into Thy Hands I commend My spirit. And having said thus
He gave up the spirit [he breathed out (lit. Greek)] (Luke 23: 46). Of His SOUL and BODY it is written in Psa. 16.,
quoted in Acts 2: 31,
that His SOUL was not left in Hades,
neither did His FLESH
see corruption.
It thus appears that His body
went into the tomb, but saw no
corruption there, while His soul
went to Hades, or
[* Here is the scriptural
proof, of what takes place for every living soul, immediately after
the time of Death: and the scriptural proof, (taught by our Lord Himself in Luke 16.), that His disembodied soul remained
in Hades,
for three days
and three nights (Matt. 12: 40), before
being reunited to His body at the time of His
Resurrection.]
The word soul signifies, as we have said, the natural, or personal life of
the individual man, in the broadest sense, including all the experiences,
sensations, and emotions pertaining thereto.
In fact, the Greek word psuche is sometimes in our
versions translated life, sometimes soul. When the word life in our versions stands for psuche it never means eternal life,
possessed by Christ, and imparted as the gift of God to those who believe on
Him. For that life the Greek word is zoe. It is sometimes of much importance to know what the
original word is. Thus, in John 10, one of these words occurs in verse 10, the other in verse
11. When Christ said I am come
that they might have LIFE, He used the word zoe, eternal life. When,
however, He added the good shepherd giveth his LIFE for the sheep, He used the word psuche, soul or natural life;
and the same word occurs in verses 15 and 17. In verse 17 we read, Therefore doth My Father love
Me, because I lay down My life (soul) that I might take it
again. The Lord Jesus has a true human soul, an individual,
personal life, like each one of us, only without sin. He laid it down; but He has taken it
again. Thus the Lord speaks of laying
down His own sinless Soul, and in this we have further and conclusive proof
that losing ones soul does not mean damnation. It means, as we have said, the cutting off of the soul from the things
created for its satisfaction and enjoyment.
In verse 28, however, and I give
unto them eternal life, the word is zoe. That life can never be lost; for they who receive it shall never
perish. Thus the life (soul) which Christ gave for us
is not the same as the life He gives to
us. The difference is great.
Again, in John 12., both
words occur in verse 25: He that
loveth his life (psuche) shall lose it; and he that hateth his life (psuche) in this world,
shall keep IT
(his soul, psuche) unto life (zoe) eternal.
This is one of the instructive passages in which the Lord
began to speak of the salvation of the soul.
The statement is brief, but comprehensive. The man who loves his soul (psuche)
shall lose it; and he that hates his soul
IN THIS WORLD shall keep it
unto life eternal. The Lord here declares clearly that the salvation of the
soul is a thing future, and
that it is dependent upon the faith, obedience, and stedfast
endurance of the man himself.
In verse 27 He speaks of His own soul
(psuche) saying, Now is My SOUL
troubled. In the Garden of
From the above passage (John 12:
25) and from other Scriptures, it clearly
appears, as we have already said, that the soul of man is that part of his
being which is capable of experiencing sensations arising from relations with created things - the world.
The actual functions of seeing, hearing, tasting, etc are performed by
the organs of the body; but the experiences and emotions resulting therefrom
are of the soul. The seeing of pictures,
statues, buildings, processions, carnivals, ornate religious ceremonials, etc.,
etc.; the pleasures of music, literature, especially fiction, banquetting, dancing,
sports, and the like; all amusements, entertainments, social functions, etc.,
form part of the life (or soul) of a man in this world.
It is by hating his soul, or self-life in this world, that a man may KEEP IT for the [millennial] age that is coming.
The passage last above quoted does not teach that the
pleasures of the natural or personal life are necessarily evil; quite the
contrary. Neither does the passage teach
that it is wrong for the people of God to experience gratification when some
pleasing sight - as a beautiful landscape or gorgeous sunset - meets their
eyes, though they should exercise care as to the liberty they allow themselves
in this direction. It is because these
things are lawful and good in themselves, and are appointed for mans
enjoyment, that the Lord would have His disciples keep their souls unto eternal
life [after the First Resurrection (Rev.
20: 5)], for then the pleasures of the
created [and restored (Rom. 8: 19-21)] universe may be enjoyed to the full, without any taint of sin, and without
any alloy of sorrow or pain. To that end
the disciple must hate his self-life (soul) in this world. To love ones life in this world is much the
same as to love the world and the things that are in the world. BUT
CHRIST IS NOT IN THE WORLD. He
laid down His Personal Life (psuche) in the world, and has now no part or
pleasure in it. Nor could He have pleasure in the world as it is now. His portion here was always sorrow.
Therefore, it behoves the disciple of Christ to set his mind on things above
where Christ is at the Right Hand of God (Col.
3: 1, 2). And the consequence of not doing so is that he may indeed enjoy his soul
here, but will lose it hereafter. That judgment is just, and is so plainly declared
in the Scripture that there is no excuse for ignorance in regard to it. Thus it is that the Word of God divides
between the soul and the spirit of man.
The above-cited passage in Colossians states that YE DIED and your life
(zoe) is hid with Christ in
God. But
when Christ Who is our life (zoe) shall be manifested, then ye
also shall be manifested with Him IN
GLORY. Those
who are to be manifested with Him in glory are those who died with Him. It is needful on the believers part to
reckon this to be true, and to act accordingly, taking the place of one
crucified to the world, and therefore having no portion in it. All that the believer has in the world is a
path through it;
the same path that the Master trod.
The view we have presented as to the soul of man is confirmed
by the passage in Matthew 10: 37-39: He that
loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy
of Me. And
he that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me.
It is quite common for a person to refer to some trial or
burden he is compelled to bear, as his cross; but that is not at all what the Lord
means by this saying. A disciples cross is never something he must bear.
In order to fulfil this saying of the Lords the bearing must be
voluntary. The disciple must, as the act
of his own will, take up the cross, and follow Christ; that is, follow Him unto
crucifixion to the world; for the sole use made of the cross is to crucify
thereupon the one who bears it. The
saying, therefore, is the strongest possible expression for the act of
deliberately choosing to be with Christ in the place of death to the world, and
to all the world has to offer those who seek their self-life there.
And the next words of the Lord are: He that
findeth his soul shall lose it, and he that
loses his soul for My sake, shall find it.
The literal rendering, which is preferable to the A.V. is: He that hath found his soul shall lose it; and he that hath lost his soul, for My sake, shall find it.
This saying needs no explanation. It contains a clear promise that the man who
has lost his soul for Christs sake shall find it; and as clear a warning that
he who has found his soul shall lose it.
The words has found, has lost, point to the making of a settled and
abiding choice. One man has found his
soul in this world as it now is, and has settled down to the spending of
it. He will learn in the end [of this life] that he has indeed spent it.
Another, for Christs sake, has
parted with his soul, in this world. He
shall surely find it. Instead of losing it, he is really
keeping it for the
coming [Millennial and Messianic] age. These sayings of the Lord show
that the losing of the soul in this world is the parting with all that
ministers gratification to the soul. It
consists in taking such a position that the man is cut off from all the things
the soul desires. If such be indeed the
meaning of losing the soul in this world, it will assist us to understand what
is meant by the loss of the soul in the world to come.
Turning to Marks Gospel we find in chap.
8: 31-38, a passage in which the Lord began to
teach His disciples certain things; and there we observe an important amplification of this
doctrine of the Lord. We read: Whosoever WILL (that is, purposes or chooses to) come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross and follow me (ver. 34). In this saying the action of the mans own will is made conspicuous. Also the words are added, let him deny
himself,
signifying the putting of self, and all personal inclinations aside, in order
that he may be free to act according to the will of Another. This denying of self is the giving up of all
that constitutes the self-life or soul in this world.
In the next verse we find another addition. In it the words and the
gospels are
added to the words for My sake. The literal reading
is, on account of Me and of the good news.
We take it that the good news in this connection is the good news
of the so-great salvation that awaits the sons whom God shall
bring unto glory. The opening words of
this gospel of Mark are A beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, SON OF GOD. The Epistle to the Hebrews calls special attention to the
things spoken BY THE SON; and
defines the so-great salvation as that of which A BEGINNING was received to be spoken by the Lord.
The correspondence is suggestive, at least, and may have more
significance than appears at first glance.
Continuing to read in Mark, we come to the question: For what
shall it profit a man, [a disciple] if he shall
gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or
what shall [a disciple] give in exchange for his
soul? In this passage the word psuche
is correctly rendered soul instead of life, as in the preceding verses. It is the same word in the original. Verses 35-37
read as follows, giving the word psuche the same rendering throughout: For whosoever
will save his soul shall lose it; but whosoever
shall lose his soul for My sake and the gospels, the same shall SAVE IT. For what shall it
profit a man if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?
The Lord then adds this significant utterance: Whosoever
therefore shall be ashamed of Me and OF
MY WORDS in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER with
the holy angels. This points very clearly to the Coming of the son of Man with the
angels of His power, as the time when the saving
or losing of the soul, as to the
next age, will take place. It also
admonishes us not to be ashamed of His words. We
should take heed therefore lest we slight the words of the Lord Jesus, which He spake concerning the age to come wherein He will reign over the
earth. We greatly fear the consequences of the
tendency observable in certain quarters to treat the millennial kingdom of
the Son as a thing of little interest to the saints of God.
A passage almost identical with the one last quoted is found
in Matt. 16:
24-28,
quoted in an earlier part of this volume.
We call attention again to the fact that this teaching was introduced by
the Lord in connection with Peters confession of Him as the Christ, the SON OF THE LIVING GOD, and in connection with His own disclosure to His disciples of His
approaching sufferings and death. And
the Lord stated that then, namely, at this moment when those who have lost their souls for His sake shall
find them would be the time when He
would reward every man
according to his works.
Luke 9: 20-26 also contains a passage so closely resembling
the above that no further comment thereon is required. This fact however, should be noted, namely,
that the teaching we are now considering is given six times in the four
Gospels, which shows the great importance attached to it by the Spirit of
God. Yet this surpassingly important
doctrine has practically no place at all in the teaching received by many of
the Lords people at the present time.
Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. In the
original, the words give rest are a verb, which may be rendered will
refresh you. This refreshing He
gives to all who come to Him. It is the
washing of regeneration, the renewing of the Holy Ghost, the making of a new
creature in Christ. Then come the
important words: Take My Yoke upon you, and
learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart,
and ye shall FIND REST unto your SOULS. For My Yoke is easy,
and My burden is light.
There is, then, a [future] rest that is to be earned through submission to the yoke of Christ, and through
learning from Him meekness and lowliness of heart; and this doubtless is the rest referred to in Heb. 3. and 4., that
remaineth for the people of God.
None need fear to submit to His yoke, for it is easy, nor to His burden, for it is light. His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:
3).
But the point of chief importance for our present purposes is
the doctrine that the [future and millennial] rest by which the disciple of Christ is to be
rewarded for his obedience, is rest
to his SOUL. Let us give
diligence therefore to enter into that rest (Heb. 4:
11).
In another passage of great interest and importance the Lord
speaks to His disciples of saving their souls.
The passage is found in Luke 21. The Lord is there foretelling the time of
false christs, wars and commotions, earthquakes,
famines and pestilences, and of persecutions, betrayal and death for His
followers (verses 8-16). For their comfort He says: And ye shall
be hated of all men for My Names sake; but
there shall not an hair of your head perish (17,
18).
Then He adds the exhortation, as rendered in the A.V., In patience [perseverance] possess ye your SOULS. This rendering, however,
does not at all give the sense of the original.
The word translated possess means to gain, as the reader can readily ascertain for himself by
consulting any critical version or Greek concordance. In Bagsters Englishmans Greek New Testament the verse
is thus literally rendered; By your patient endurance gain or win your souls.
The only question among the competent authorities seems to be whether
the form of the verb be imperative - gain ye - or future - ye shall
gain. For the purpose of our study it is immaterial
what may be the tense of the verb. In
either view it signifies that the
disciple of Christ may gain his own soul as a reward for the endurance of trials and persecutions.
This is the word of Christs patience (2 Thess. 3: 5., R.V.; Rev. 3: 10).
It is at the close of this passage that the Lord warns His
disciples against allowing their hearts to be overcharged with surfeiting and
drunkenness, and cares of this life, (bios), lest that
Day come upon them suddenly; and admonishes them to watch and pray always, that they may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand before the Son of
Man. It thus appears that watchfulness
and prayer are needed in order to gain the promised reward (compare 1 Thess. 5: 6, 17).
The foregoing are the recorded instances in which the Lord
made a beginning of speaking of
the salvation of the soul. Among those that
heard Him, and
that have confirmed the teaching to us, and amplified it, was the Apostle
James. This Apostle addresses believers
as my beloved brethren, and admonishes them to be swift to hear, slow to
speak, slow to wrath, and he exhorts them to receive in meekness the
engrafted Word which is able to SAVE
YOUR SOULS (1: 19-22).
In this important passage the Apostle clearly distinguishes
between the gift of the new birth and the reward of saving the soul. He first speaks of the gift, saying, Every good
and perfect GIFT is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning (ver. 17). The
next verse indicates of special gift from above, namely, the new birth, which
is of the Will of God, and therefore not subject to be withdrawn, for in Him is
no variableness. Note the words, Of His own
Will begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we
should be a kind of first fruits of
His creatures
(comp. John 1: 12,
13).
Let it then be carefully noted that those who have been already begotten
again with the Word of Truth (having believed on Christ, Who is the Truth), are
exhorted to receive with submission the implanted Word, which is able to save their souls.
This clearly
distinguishes the new birth from the saving of the soul. It shows that a man may have been begotten
again, and yet not save his soul. The reason is that the new birth is a work
done in a mans spirit. That which is
BORN of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:
6).
If we assume that the exhortation of James 1:
21 is addressed to those who have been already
born again, as we must do since they are addressed as brethren, it necessarily follows that the saving of the soul is something distinct from the new birth.
The new birth, then is a past event, for every [regenerate] believer in Christ, and can never be undone. But the saving of the soul is a thing yet to be accomplished [at the time of Resurrection (Acts
2: 27, 34.
cf. Luke
16: 22, 23,
R.V.)]. Receiving the implanted Word is an exhortation
having practically the same force as giving earnest heed to things we have
heard, or letting
the
Word of Christ abide in us.
This much neglected Epistle of James, which by many is
practically set aside as Jewish contains much
valuable instruction and comfort for Gods pilgrims. The very first words are strikingly
appropriate:- My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations (or trials).
Why? Because the
trials of your faith worketh PATIENCE [i.e., patience endurance or
perseverance]; and this is the very thing declared by the Lord
in Luke 21: 19, and by the Apostle in Heb. 10: 36 to
be needed for attaining the promise,
namely, the salvation of the soul.
The next words are very important: But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be PERFECT [mature] and entire wanting (i.e. lacking) nothing. The words of the Lord recorded in Luke
21: 19 show that the perfect work of patience or endurance is gaining the soul.
This Epistle belongs to a portion of the New Testament
(including also Hebrews, and the Epistles of
Peter, John
and Jude) which closely corresponds to the
Book of Numbers, the Book of the pilgrimage
of Gods people in the wilderness. This
correspondence has been often pointed out, and much helpful instruction has
been based thereon. But the
correspondence teaches more than is generally supposed.
The Epistles of Peter are also full of valuable instruction
for those children of God who would be true Hebrews. Here again the Word of God cuts sharply and
cleanly between the new birth and the [future]
salvation of the soul. The message of
Peter is addressed to those who have been already begotten again unto a living hope by the Resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead [Lit.
out of dead ones] (1 Pet. 1: 3). These are now being kept by the
power of God THROUGH FAITH unto salvation ready to be revealed at the last time (comp. 1
John 2: 18). This future salvation is the salvation of the
soul, spoken of in Heb. 10.; and the faith mentioned is the faith to the
saving of the soul. This is perfectly clear from verses 6-9. Those born-again ones who are in manifold
temptations are
called upon (as in James) to rejoice, and for
the reason that the outcome of the trial of faith, is to be rewarded by praise,
and honour, and glory,
at the Appearing of Jesus Christ.
Through believing on Him Whom they have not seen, they may rejoice with joy
unspeakable and glorified, receiving
(as they shall if they hold fast to the end the hope to which they have been begotten) THE END of their faith, namely, THE SALVATION OF their SOULS. Verse 9,
R.V. We would call special attention to
the fact here stated that this salvation of the soul is the end of our faith, not the beginning.
Then we are informed that this salvation is that concerning
which the prophets inquired and searched diligently, desiring to know what or
what manner of time the Spirit of Christ Who was in them did signify, in
testifying beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. Unto those prophets it was revealed that, not to
themselves, but to us, they did minister the things which are now reported unto you (these
being the things which we have heard) by those who preached the gospel
unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent
down from heaven.
All this is
manifestly in close correspondence with Heb.
2., where the so great salvation is mentioned. And, to make the correspondence still closer,
it is stated that this is a matter in which the angles are directly interested;
for the Apostle Peter adds: which things the angels desire to look into (ver. 10-12).
The next verse shows that the message is for pilgrims: Wherefore, that is to say, in order to gain the
end proposed (the salvation of the soul), grid up the loins of your mind,
be sober,
and hope to the end, for the grace
that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Grace provides this great salvation, and faith attains it, through
hoping to the end. As OBEDIENT CHILDREN, not fashioning
yourselves according to the former desires in your ignorance; but as He who hath CALLED
YOU is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
behaviour. And if ye call on Him as Father, Who, without respect of
persons judgeth according to every mans work, pass the time
of your sojourning here in fear (13-17).
Here we have express mention of obedience, of the children who call upon
God as Father, of the heavenly calling, of the judgment of believers works, of the sojourning, and of fear
as to the consequences of disobedience.
These are the very topics to which prominence is given in Hebrews.
In chapter 2. we find the holy
priesthood, who
are to offer spiritual sacrifices (worshipping God in spirit) acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ (ver.
5) and the royal priesthood who are to show forth the
excellencies of Him Who called them out of darkness into His marvellous
light. This exercise of the functions of
the royal priesthood belongs, we take it, to the
[millennial] age to come, when the sons of the priestly house
will show forth (which they certainly cannot do now) the excellencies of the
Son, Who has called them into His marvellous light, which will then be
displayed.
Again, at [1 Pet. 2:] verse 11 is a strong exhortation
addressed expressly to Gods pilgrims: Dearly beloved, I BESEECH you, AS STRANGERS and PILGRIMS, abstain from fleshy lusts (desires) which war AGAINST THE
SOUL. Surely, the meaning of this is
unmistakable. The cravings of
the flesh [sinful nature], whether coarse or refined, war
against THE SOUL, and if indulged will, as the Lord declared, cause the loss of
the soul in the age to come. It is
the [regenerate] pilgrims that are warned against enemies [i.e., evil spirits and
doctrines of demons] which make war against the soul.
All the exhortations and encouragements of this Epistle are advantageous
for Gods pilgrims; but we must leave our readers to study them in detail for
themselves, asking them to observe that the practical object of all is that when HIS (CHRISTS) GLORY
shall be revealed, ye may be glad also,
with exceeding joy (4:
13).
We call special attention also to the reference to Christ as the
Shepherd and Overseer of OUR souls (2: 25); and to
the exhortation to those who suffer according to the Will of God, that is,
according to Gods appointment instead of for wrong-doings as in 4: 15, to commit the KEEPING OF THEIR SOULS unto Him in well doing, as unto a
faithful Creator.
[See 1 Pet. 4: 19, R.V.].
Peters second Epistle is also full of pertinent instruction; but
we would only call attention to the things which they who have obtained
like precious faith are to add to their faith (i. 1: 5-8, in order that they be not barren or unfruitful
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (chap.
1: 5-8). Also to
the words that follow: Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for
if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (comp. Heb.
4: 11); for so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the EVERLASTING KINGDOM OF OUR LORD AND
SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST* (10, 11).
[* NOTE: Scripture makes it perfectly clear (for those given eyes to
see), that our Lord Jesus Christ has two kingdoms. Christ will sit on two
separate thrones; and He has been promised two separate inheritances,
(Rev. 3: 21; Psa.
2: 8; 110: 1-3, R.V.)!
The first resurrection
(Rev. 20:
5) will transfer the souls of the holy
dead - (presently in Hades [see Acts 2:
27, 34; Luke 16: 23, 30-31, and compare with Matt.
16: 16; John 3: 13; 14: 3; 2 Tim. 2: 17b, 18; Rev. 6: 9-11, etc.]) -
accounted worthy (Lk. 20: 35) to enter Messiahs millennial reign upon
and over
this earth. All others, not
judged worthy to partake of that
resurrection, (when Christ returns [1 Cor. 15: 23; 1 Thess. 4: 16]), must remain in Hades,
until the last resurrection and the commencement of the Great White Throne
Judgment.
When the thousand years have
expired, all the regenerate will enjoy the free
gift and eternal
life promised (Rom. 6: 23), - in
the EVERLASTING kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ: but that eternal Kingdom
- of
both Father and Son - will be in a new
heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21: 1, R.V.); after
this present creation will be restored (Rom.
8: 19-21), destroyed, (2
Pet. 3: 10-13,
R.V.) and ultimately replaced!]
This connects the passage directly with the Kingdom of the Son, which is the theme
of Hebrews.
Therefore, the instructions given are of the utmost importance to those
who would gain an entrance into that [messianic and millennial] Kingdom, and especially to those who
seek, as every saint should seek, an abundant entrance thereinto.
Returning now to Hebrews,
we would note that the hope there
set before us, and which enters into that within the veil, is as an anchor OF THE SOUL (6:
19).
The occurrence of the word soul in this passage is very significant,
but the significance thereof is rarely, if ever, noticed in the commentaries on
Hebrews. It is not said or implied, here
or elsewhere, that a man may, by holding fast to a promise of God, save himself
from perdition; but it is clearly implied in this Scripture that the heir of
promise, by holding fast to
the hope set before him, may save his soul for the [millennial] age when joy will be complete and unalloyed. The only
security for the soul is that afforded by the Anchor within the veil.
We fervently pray and trust that the foregoing comments may be
blessed of God, to the end that His saints may through study of the Scriptures cited, and by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, receive an understanding of that
salvation so-great, the salvation of souls [(1 Pet. 1: 9, lit Gk.)], whereof a beginning was spoken by
the Lord, and which has been confirmed to us by them that heard Him.
In the light of the Scriptures we have examined, the meaning
of the words faith to the saving the soul (Heb.
10: 30),
is plain; and whereby also, the lesson of chap.
11. may be clearly perceived. We refrain from commenting upon the details of
that chapter. It must suffice for our
purpose to point out that the saints of former ages who are mentioned there had
not only repentance and faith towards God for redemption from sin and death,
but also had faith to the end of their days, waiting for something whereof they
had heard from God and therefore hoped for, but had not seen.
They all became strangers and pilgrims on earth (ver. 13),
and declared plainly that they sought a
country. They were free to return
to the country from whence they came out; but they set their hearts on a better country, that is, an heavenly,* and
for that reason, God is not ashamed to be
called their God
(14-16). And such as these also are they of whom it is
written that Christ is not ashamed to call them brethren (Heb.
2: 11).
[* NOTE: This is not a reference to a country
in
Heaven, but a heavenly country. That
is, a country where Christ is bodily present; and his glory will then
manifest for all on earth to see! Isa. 6: 3; 35: 2; 66: 18; Ezek. 39: 21; Hab. 2: 14. cf.
Matt. 25: 31; Mk. 8: 38; Lk. 9: 26;
These Hebrews
were tested in various ways. No two were
tried in exactly the same way. On this
point see especially verses 31-38. But,
whatever may have been the test appointed by God, it served to show that the
man or woman was at heart a true Hebrew - that the HEART was right towards Him; and that is the essential thing.
-------
1. 1 Peter 1: 9 Obtaining the End: Perfection of Life
- in moral consummation.
2. 1 Peter 1: 22 Obedience: Promotion of Life - in
moral conformity.
3. 1 Peter 2: 11 Hindrance: Prohibitation of Life - in
moral conflict.
4. 1 Peter 2: 25
Overseer: Provision of Life - in moral care and concern.
5. 1 Peter 3: 20
Salvation: Preservation of Life - in moral conscience.
6. 1 Peter 4: 19
By doing good: Presentation of Life - in moral conduct.
7. 2 Peter 2: 8 Tormented: Perils of Life - in moral calamity.
* *
* * *
* *
181
THE THOUSAND YEARS REIGN
BY D. M. PANTON, B.A.
One
extraordinary characteristic proves that the Kingdom of the Thousand Years belongs
neither to our present Age, nor yet to Eternity, but is the hinge, the
junction, between earth as it has existed for six thousand years and the vast
Eternal Ages of which we know so little.
The characteristic is this:- the signal of its birth is the arrest and
imprisonment of Satan; and its death-symptom is Satans release: these are the
two events between which the Holy Spirit sets it. That Satan is paralysed throughout it proves
that the Millennium is not our Age of Grace; and that Satan is liberated after
it for full activity proves that the Millennium is not the sinless Eternity
beyond. Thus Christs Kingdom on earth
is the bridge between time and eternity, partaking of the nature of both. It is Gods triumph on the old battlefield
where He had seemed most defeated; and it is a last trial granted to the old
earth before, on a fresh ruin, the present universe is swept out of existence
for a new heaven and a new earth [Rev. 21: 1] wherein
dwelleth righteousness.
THRONES
An immense change of dispensation bursts at once upon our
gaze. And I saw THRONES;
but not empty thrones; and [men] sat on them (Rev. 20: 4). The thrones, as Lange says, constitute the foreground of the picture: they are the beginning
of the Church Triumphant in this world - the visible appearance of the
* What disaster has been wrought by the
JUDGMENT
Still move explicit and decisive is the function allotted
them, making the new royalties no mere spectators in a royal pageant, but
monarchs in full responsibility and power.
And JUDGMENT - full authorization to act as judges
in a final court of appeal - was given unto them.
This stamps as false all attempts to find fulfilment for the Millennium
now; for both the throne and the judiciary are forbidden to the disciples of
Christ throughout our age of grace: whereas the moment the monarchs and judges
of earth are dispossessed by the descending Christ, necessity compels
reappointments, and the establishment of officers qualified to act. Know ye not, Paul asks, that the
saints shall JUDGE the world? (1 Cor. 6: 2). This
granted judgment is the characteristic word of the Age to Come. For all judgment falls in the Millennial
epoch; its triple tribunal - the Bema, the Throne of the Living Nations, and the
Great White Throne - exhausts all judgment; and judgment, or justice, reigns
from end to end of the Kingdom on earth.
Our Lord revealed this explicitly to the Thyatiran Church:- He that overcometh and he that keepeth my works unto the end,
to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father (Rev. 2: 26).
REWARD
The Spirit next strikes the fundamental chord of millennial music. The whole body of martyrs suddenly rises
before us:- and I saw the souls of them that had been BEHEADED, that is, the
martyrs of all ages. Why is it that a
single class of Gods servants so fills the foreground that many in the
A THOUSAND YEARS
So now the Kingdom opens on our vision. And they lived - came to life, rose from the dead;
attained to life before my eyes (Hengstenberg)
- and reigned with Christ - whose is the central throne - A THOUSAND YEARS. John either saw the souls rise, or else saw that they rose;
but the rest of the dead lived not - they remained dead - until the
thousand years should be finished. An ineradicable defect
in all attempts to erect the Kingdom without the King, a devastating fact which
forever wrecks all man-made millenniums, is that it perforce excludes all the
dead, including those who most deserve it - the martyrs: only the Master of
resurrection can be the Creator of the Kingdom, and even He can do it only by
raising the dead. So therefore what the Kingdom of God is, - in all literal passages, the
Spirit has put beyond all doubt:- Flesh and blood
[the unchanged living] cannot inherit the kingdom of
God; neither doth corruption [the unrisen
[bodies of the] dead] inherit
incorruption (1 Cor.
15: 50).*
The Kingdoms exact limit, a thousand years, is named six times, so as to put
its literality and duration beyond all question for ever.** It is not said
where John saw the
thrones located: probably in the Holy City, hovering over the earth (Rev. 19: 7, 8): even as
King George, though Emperor of India, and occasionally holding a Durbar in
Delhi, resides, habitually, in London, the Empires central city, so earths
new Monarchs, visiting earth, nevertheless actually dwell in their Metropolis.
[* Keep in mind this divine truth:- Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
but flesh and bones can; and will after the time of the salvation of souls (1 Pet. 1: 9, R.V.) at their Resurrection. See my hands and my feet, that
it is I myself: handle me, and see;
for a spirit
has not flesh and bones as you see that I have: (Luke 24:
39, R.S.V.). - Ed.]
** Thus it is the Sabbath-rest - the seventh of seven millenniums since the Creation. And it is covered by an unchanging
exhortation:- Let us therefore labour to enter into that rest, lest any [of us: see ver. 1] fall after the same example
of disobedience (Heb. 4: 11).
THE FIRST RESURRECTION
So now the glory of it all is counter-signed by God
Himself. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he - for it is all sharpened
down to a personal recompense - that hath part in THE FIRST RESURRECTION.* Here is the culmination of all the golden promises that centre in an
earlier breaking of the tombs. The last
great orthodox German said:- Paul spoke of a resurrection to which he strove
to attain (Phil. 3: 8, 11), and to which he was with all his might pressing forward,
as the high prize to gain which he was agonizing, and for which he counted all
else loss (Lange). So our Saviour indicates
the peculiar capacities of these Priestly Kings. They that are accounted worthy
of that age, and the resurrection from among the
dead, are as the angels (Luke 20: 36):
as angels appear among men, on behalf of God, or disappear, or as the risen in
* Blessed
and holy must be emphatic here, for they can
hardly bear the simple and ordinary meaning. All saints of every age are
blessed and holy in reality and to a certain extent, let them live or die where
or when they may. The phrase in our
text, therefore, must be employed in an emphatic sense, in a sense which drew
the writers special attention, and which he intended should also he specially
noted by the reader (Moses
Stuart).
A FINAL MILLENNIUM
Once again, and for the last time, the crowning reward of all
the servants of God of all ages is emphasized ere it vanishes. Over these
the second death hath no power.*
but they shall be PRIESTS
OF GOD AND OF CHRIST, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Godward they represent man, and manward
they represent God: they rule for God, they intercede for man. It is the intermediate Age between time and
eternity. The Curse is controlled, but not lifted; death is rare, but not
unknown; war is banished, yet whole nations are broken or even consumed;** the Devil is
in chains, but not in the
* This needs to be stated, because the Millennial epoch is the
period of the exact recoil of a believers works, the worst as well as the
best: in the
** It is hardly necessary to say that the subjects ruled over
are, at the start the Sheep of the Parable - regenerate (Matt. 25: 34) men in the flesh who, unhampered by disease or
death (Isa. 33: 24), will restock the earth after the judgments
with enormous rapidity. But all fresh
births are unregenerate (Isa.
65: 20),
and on these Satan ultimately works.
There can be no uncrowned saints in the Millennium, for all who lived, reigned:
coronation is an essential of kingship.
-------
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
Their names are names of kings
Of heavenly line;
The bliss of earthly things
They did resign.
Chieftains they were, who warrd
With sword and shield:
Victors for God the Lord
On foughten field.
A city of great name
Is built for them,
Of glorious golden fame,
So doth the life of pain
In glory close:
Lord God, may we attain
Their grand repose.
*
* * *
* * *
182
JACOB AND ESAU
The Epistle
to the Hebrews gives the names of a number of persons who were true pilgrims,
holding fast their confession to the end.
In contrast with these, but one person is named. That unenviable prominence is given to
Esau. His case, therefore, calls for special
consideration. What is related of Esau
in Hebrews is that he so lightly esteemed
his birthright as to sell it for one morsel of food; and that afterwards, when
he would have inherited THE BLESSING,
he was REJECTED:
for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears (12:
16, 17).
Esau, therefore, is the Divinely chosen type of those who
prefer the immediate gratification of the natural appetite to the blessing for which the heir must wait.
Hence, he became like the ground that receives no blessing from God; but is rejected.
On the other hand, we read in Gen.
27. that Isaac, in blessing Jacob, supposing
him to be Esau, said, See, the smell of my son is as
the smell of a field which the Lord hath BLESSED:
therefore, God give thee of the DEW
OF HEAVEN, and the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of corn and wine (ver. 27,
28).
Believers are children of God, being born of God (John 1:
12).
They have therefore a birthright, as Esau had; but like Esau, they may
hold their birthright in such light esteem as to forfeit it; and the way in
which this great loss may be incurred - a loss which, when it takes place, is
absolutely irretrievable - is by choosing in their hearts the things which the
present age offers them for their immediate enjoyment, instead of the things of
the age to come, of which they have heard through the Word of God, but have not
seen as yet, and for which they must wait.
Upon reading the incidents recorded in the Book of Genesis
concerning Esau and Jacob, we should infer that, in respect of natural
disposition or character, Esau was much to be preferred to his brother
Jacob. But Jacob was the true sojourner
and pilgrim. We see him journeying alone
in the land promised to his fathers and to himself for an inheritance, and
lying down to sleep with a stone for a pillow (Gen.
28: 10-15). And
there he sees the vision of a ladder set up on the earth, its top reaching to
heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending. Thus is he marked as the heir of salvation,
to whom the angels are sent forth to minister; and the Lord God of Abraham and
of Isaac appears to him, and gives to him the land on which he lies, a lonely pilgrim.
Moreover, God adds this gracious word: And behold, I am with thee, and will keep
thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land;
for I will not leave thee until I HAVE DONE that which I have spoken to thee of.
Jacobs infirmities of character did not defeat the purpose of
God; for the God of Jacob is the God of all grace.
So may the God of peace work in us that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to Whom be
glory for ever.
We may follow Jacob in his pilgrimage and see the Hand of God
dealing with him, often by means of sore affliction, but surely accomplishing
thereby that which He had purposed. And
so when Jacob, many years after, stands before Pharaoh, the ruler of the world,
it is as a confessed pilgrim and the descendant of pilgrims; for this is his
confession, The days of the years of my PILGRIMAGE, are an hundred and
thirty years: few and evil have the days of the
years of my life been, and have not attained
unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their
pilgrimage (Gen. 47: 9).
Nevertheless, Jacob, though a confessed pilgrim on earth, took no
blessing from Pharaoh. On the contrary, Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh (ver. 10);
And
without all contradiction, the less is blessed
of the better (Heb. 7: 7).
And finally, it is recorded of Jacob, that he, by faith,
when he was a dying, blessed
both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff (Heb.
11: 21).
Thus Jacob was, at the very end, a worshipping pilgrim, for, even, when he was
dying, he still leaned upon the pilgrims staff, worshipping God, and speaking of things not seen as yet.
The forty-ninth chapter of Genesis contains the last words of Jacob to his
twelve sons. In one of the most
beautiful, powerful, and sublime passages in all the Bible, he tells that which
shall befall them in the last days. In it he speaks of the Shepherd and the
Stone of Israel, of Shiloh, of the Sceptre, and of the Lion of the tribe of
Surely, there is great encouragement here for the Lords
pilgrims.
-------
EXPECTATIONS
Only the man who hourly awaits his
Lord lives in the constant searchlight of God.
Shortly before the War, a high-born German lady, Sister Eva, who had
founded a hospital with her own money, told the Kaiser, to his marked interest,
of the preaching of Christ to the patients, and of the Keswick and Wandsbek Conventions; but when she spoke of the Lords return, the Kaiser abruptly interjected:- That will
never do; it would upset all my plans! Each life is shaped by its dominant
expectation. I
do not think, said the late Lord
Shaftesbury, that in
the last forty years I have lived one conscious hour that was not influenced by
the though of the Lords return.
PRAYER THAT COUNTS
If we are simply to pray to the
extent of a simple and pleasant and enjoyable exercise, and know nothing of
watching in prayer and of weariness in prayer, we shall not draw down the
blessing that we may. We shall not
sustain our missionaries, who are overwhelmed with the appalling darkness of
heathenism. We must serve God even to
the point of suffering, and each one ask himself: In what degree, in what point
am I extending, by personal suffering, by personal self-denial, to the point of
pain, the kingdom of Christ, [and the possible loss, through
disobedience, of Gods promised
inheritance (Psa.
2: 8. cf.
Eph. 5: 5; Gal. 5: 19-20; Heb. 12: 17, R.V.])? It is ever true that
what costs little is worth little. -
* *
* * *
* *
183
CHRISTADELPHIANISM
BY D. M. PANTON
Information reaches us that
the Christadelphians are issuing a magazine under the title of The Dawn. We
hope that they are doing so because they are unaware of the existence of our
magazine; but in any case it is well to put perfectly clear our attitude to
their creed. We are grateful to The Life
Of Faith (Nov. 14, 1945) for
also making the distinction between the two magazines perfectly clear. - ED., [D. M. Panton of] DAWN.
-------
IT is exceedingly striking that an
elaborate system has arisen around us camouflaging the Second Advent in all its
main details, each Satanic sect presenting a counterfeit feature of the Advent,
while all, combined, present a complete camouflage. Thus Christadelphianism pushes into the
foreground watchfulness for the Coming of our Lord. It says:- Jesus
Christ, Who is the glorified manifestation of God, the fulness of the Godhead
bodily incorporated, and Who came bodily forth alive from the grave (Bible Finger posts, pp. 7, 105), a glorious bodily Person
of Spirit, flesh and bones (Is it Blasphemy? p. 17). will return from Heaven, and visibly
appear and take up His residence on earth a second time, for the purpose of
bringing about the accomplishment of all these things. The second coming of Christ is therefore the
true hope of the believer (Declaration of the
Truth, p. 15).* We believe
that at the return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, to establish His Kingdom on
earth, He will, first of all, summon before Him for judgment the whole of those
who are responsible to His judgment.
Those that are dead He will cause to
come forth from the dust, and assemble them with the living to His presence
(Ibid, p. 49). Those who are to be honoured with this
unspeakable honour of reigning with Christ are first to be qualified for it by
the transformation of their bodies into the likeness of the Lords own glorious
body (R. Roberts Sect Everywhere Spoken Against, p. 11). So here we have a perfectly orthodox
statement exactly calculated to captivate a young mind steeped in Second Advent
truth, and unversed in Satans wiles.
* These references are taken throughout
from publications officially issued at Christadelphian Headquarters.
Now let us pierce past this fair husk and discover the kernel
remembering that superb structure is not only vain, but of all structures the
most dangerous because of its beauty, if it rests on a rotten foundation. We are now startled to learn that the Gospel
to which we are accustomed is an entire delusion. The idea that
Christ has borne our punishment and paid our debts, and that His righteousness
is placed to our credit, and that all we have to do is to believe it, is demoralising. Blighting results are to be witnessed in all
communities where the doctrine of a substitutionary sacrifice and an imputed
righteousness holds sway (R.
Roberts Blood of Christ, p. 29). Christ has given no satisfaction, paid no
debt (R. Roberts Slain Lamb, p. 21): If the
blood of Christ could be found, it would not be of any spiritual value
(Blood of Christ, p. 7). In what, then, does
salvation consist? Solely in belief in
the coming
But the supreme test, critically and for ever decisive, turns
upon the nature and person of the Son of God. Jesus, we are told, had no
existence prior to his birth by Mary: Jesus is the name of the virgins Son, and
not that of an externally pre-existent God Who came down from Heaven, and in
some mysterious way became incarnate in the flesh (Is it
Blasphemy ? p. 19). The Father
was manifested in the flesh, not a pre-existent, co-eternal Son, which is
impossible (C. C. Walkers Truth about the
Trinity, p. 13). But
it is worse than that: Jesus was a sinful Christ. Among the doctrines to be rejected is this: That Christs nature was immaculate (Constitution of the Christadelphian Ecclesia,
p. 13). What
the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God (has done)
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin
in the flesh. It was the same flesh,
full of the same propensities, and the same desires, in Christ as in us
(R. Roberts Slain Lamb, p. 21) for sinful flesh
and the likeness of sinful flesh mean the same thing (R. Roberts Blood of Christ, p. 26). Deriving from his mother both the
propensities that lead to sin and the sentence of death that was passed because
of sin, He was absolutely sinless as to disobedience, whilst subject to the
impulses and the consequences of sin.
For it was necessary that He should appear in the nature of Abraham and
David, which was sinful nature.
So it is baldy stated that our Lord had to die for His own sins as well
as ours. Christ Himself is exhibited to us as coming
under the beneficial operation of His own death (R. Roberts Blood of Christ,
pp. 10, 25). Therefore, inevitably, Christadelphians do not worship the Lord Jesus Christ in the
same way that they worship the Father (Is it
Blasphemy? p. 19).
Now it all sharpens down into a point that pierces us
all. Even apart from the bankruptcy of a
sinful Christ, John the Baptist bore the clearest possible testimony to our
Lords pre-existence. Of Jesus he says:-
He
that cometh
from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: He
that cometh
from heaven is above all (John 3:
31). Our
Lord Himself bore the same explicit testimony.
He says:- No man hath ascended up into heaven, but He that descended out of heaven, even the Son of
Man, which is in heaven (John 3: 13). The Jews stumbled nineteen hundred years ago
exactly where the Christadelphians stumble to-day. And they said,
Is not this Jesus, the
son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How doth he now say,
I am come down out of Heaven? (John 6:
42).
Awful and eternal is the answer of the Lord. And He said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from
above ye are of this world: I am not of this
world. I
said therefore unto you - in consequence of this denial of His pre-existence - that ye shall
die
in your sins: for except ye believe that I am He, YE SHALL DIE IN YOUR SINS (John 8:
24). The pre-existence of the Eternal Son of God is a matter of life and death: no one who denies our Lords
Deity can be forgiven; for it is the Fathers decree that all should
honour the Son EVEN AS THEY HONOUR THE FATHER (John 5:
23).
-------
Salvation
Now we see the extraordinary simplicity with which our Lord
thus invests salvation. It is not, If any will do Gods will - a vast
obedience before saving knowledge
can ever come; but, If any man wills to do - simply longs to know the truth in
order to live it - he shall know - in a flash, as he sits - whether it be of God: he will see God, instantly, in the
Gospel. The simplest, the youngest, the
most ignorant, the most wicked, willing, will know. Just WILL; and saving truth floods the
soul. It is true of all truths, and of all stages of truth -
therefore it is for us Christians too.
The cured blind man exactly expresses it. Jesus said to him, Dost
thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is
he, Lord, that I
may believe on him? Jesus said unto him, He it is that speaketh with thee. And he said, Lord,
I believe
(John 9: 35). He had but to know Gods incarnate will to
accept it instantly.
* *
* * *
* *
184
AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE
TO THE HEBREWS
BY ROBERT GOVETT, M.A.
Summary
II.
THE SECOND POLE (CHAP.
4:
12-16)
1. The Apostles rebuke turns on
Christians unbelief of the typical character of the Old Testament, and especially
of the history of Abraham the father of the faithful.
2. Great, in the way of light and gift,
are the privileges of this
dispensation. Answerably great are the responsibilities attaching thereto. Now, from these privileges there may be a partial,
or an entire, turning away. For a
partial turning away there is loss of the reward of the millennial kingdom. For a total falling away there is no hope; but only the eternal [Gk. aionios
age-lasting] curse and wrath of God.
3. The chief promises to Abraham have never yet been fulfilled, although
they are yet in force, resting on the oath of God. They were made before the Law of Moses, and
were not set aside by it. Seek then to
have a part in these, as Abraham did, by patience and faith.
III. THE THIRD POLE (CHAP.
10:
19-39)
As the first pole respects Christ as our (1) Apostle (or Leader), this belongs to His present maintenance of our
standing as our (2) High Priest (3:
1). Our title is, to be in Gods presence in the
Holiest, by virtue of this being the Day of Grace, and the throne whereto we draw near being the
Throne of Grace. We are
worshippers, cleansed by the blood of the True Sacrifice, and our High Priest
beckons us to draw near. The veil is
rent! As the unrent veil betokened (1)
concealment on Gods
part, and (2) distance on mans, so the rent veil discovers to us, (1) a God revealed, and (2) fellowship extended to us.
Let us then draw near! Seven points in relation to this are
noted. The first three give us Gods
preparations for this blessing: the last four, the preparations on our
side. The preparations made by God are:
(1) the blood of Christ; (2) the rent veil; (3) the High Priest in the Holiest.
The preparations on our part are: (4) a true heart; (5)
full faith; (6) a heart sprinkled; (7) the body bathed.
Three exhortations are given in this context: (1) Let us draw near. (2) Let us hold fast. (3) Let us consider one
another.
But many [regenerate] believers are offending against all
these points. They are wanting in a true
heart, in fulness of faith, in a good conscience, and in
baptism. Some deny the hope,
and some do not confess it. Some
provoke their brethren to bitterness; some forsake the assemblies of the Lords
people, and do not exhort one another.
The reason given to enforce these commands is, that the day of judgment,
to take effect on all, is at hand. While the meeting with Christ will be
joyful to His obedient ones, it will be terrible to His foes. Instead of - Fear not all ye who
believe! it is - Beware of the
falling away from the grace of Christ and the Holy Ghost! For that would set you among the foes of God; producing
(1) trouble of heart and terror of
suspense now; and (2) the fall into the
fury of fire prepared for the enemies of Christ, in the coming day.
1. Thus we have present access to God,
and acceptance as priests in the Holiest above, through the work of Christ.
2. But this is only for a while. There is another day to come. We hope for Christs coming and kingdom. Hold fast the hope, and confess it. For those who fall away from faith and hope
become foes of Christ, and lost in the deepest woe. Those alone who maintain faith and hope, will
receive from Christ the promised rewards.
IV. THE FOURTH POLE (CHAP. 12)
This is its tenor.
1. Believers! Yu are like
2. But the design of your life, and of
God chastisement, is to produce holiness as the preparation for seeing, and dwelling with
Him. He is educating you for it; not
under the principle of fear, as in the case of His ancient people; but under
grace, as the better one. You, then,
resemble
We are already (to faiths eye) in the presence of the better and
eternal things; and may in a moment be called up the mount, and set in the
presence of God and Christ.
Understand, then, that holiness is proportionate to obedience - and that reward is proportionate to both. By disobedience and unholiness we may lose the pre-eminent
place now accorded to us as the firstborn, even while we retain the standing of
grace. But if grace be rejected, and
justice chosen, there is no escaping the terrors of God, as the consuming fire. And God, in the day to come, is the judge of
the obedience of His people, and of the offences of His foes, and will render
to each as his work shall be.
Let me give, in conclusion, a brief summary of the proofs
derivable from this Epistle, that a dispensation of reward and glory on earth is implied in several of its
arguments and statements.
1. Promises made to the
Lord Jesus have not yet been fulfilled.
He is the second time to be introduced
to the habitable earth, when angels are to worship Him, and His foes to be put
under His feet. At present, during the
day of mercy, He is waiting, on the Fathers right hand, till the kingdom of
righteousness is given to Him as the reward of His merits, while He is to have with Him companions in the
kingdom and glory (1).
The eighth psalm has been in part fulfilled in the Saviours
humiliation. But the exaltation of man, and of the Son of man, over all the works of Gods hands,
can only take place by the Saviours coming again in person; and the glory
can be only during the habitable
earths future state (2).
2. Jesus, as Leader of the heavenly
calling, is inviting us to enjoy
with Him the redemption-rest of God. As yet, it is only the unsettledness and trials of the
wilderness. It is also the time of Gods
trial of His people, whether they will obey Christ or no, and hold fast the
hope of their calling. This
redemption-rest is to resemble the rest of God in creation, and the rest which
Israel, under Joshua, experienced in the land, after the troubles of the desert
were over (3, 4).
3. The miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost then enjoyed were
witnesses to the coming better day on earth,
when
4. To Abraham God promised
the
5. The Promises of the new
covenant made to the House of
6. Our Lords present place of intercession on high marks out the
day of grace,
which is due to His invisible High-priesthood after the manner of Aaron. But He is coming in power, to save His faithful ones of
the earth who are waiting for Him (9: 28), and to make His enemies His footstool.
7. Some nine or ten times the word which
speaks of the future occurs in the Epistle.
Salvation is future; the
angels are helping the heirs of the coming day (1: 14). The fire that shall enwrap the enemies of the Lord has yet to be
(10: 27). Earth has yet to present itself with new features in the
blest millennial day (2: 5). But
signs of its blessing
were bestowed in the miraculous gifts (6: 5). Jesus is the High Priest of the better things
to come (9: 11). Of its blessings, Law could only give the
shadows (10: 1). He shall bring the city and
May the Lord hasten His coming, and His peoples readiness to
meet Him with joy!
* * *
* * *
*
185
AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE
TO THE HEBREWS
BY ROBERT GOVETT, M.A.
(Heb. 9: 26)
-------
He hath been manifested.
JESUS, from all eternity, was in the bosom
of the Father (John 1: 18). He
came forth thence to manifest Himself on earth by His life and
death. Thus John the Baptist says:- I knew Him
not, but that He should be made manifest to
Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and
the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold
the man (John 19: 5).
Two different words in the Greek are employed to distinguish (1) the Saviours manifestation in the
flesh to us on earth (phaneroo), and (2) His presentation of Himself in resurrection to the Father on
high (emphanizo). This last word is very little used by
the Septuagint. There it occurs in
Moses petition that God would show him His
way, that he might know Him (Ex. 23: 13).
This self-presentation was typified, I believe, on the Day of
Atonement. The high priest was to take the two
goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation (Lev. 16: 7). Thus Christ was led by the high priest and by
Unto the putting away of sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
The entire removal of sin has yet to be accomplished in the new
heavens and earth. Sin will only be
finally put away by judgment, which will sever the saved from the lost.
Christs death was His voluntary sacrifice of Himself.
What, according to Unitarians, are the reasons of the
Saviours first coming? To give us
perfect instruction, and a perfect example of life. What says God?
He came to put away sin from man, the lost sinner; and in the only
possible way - by His death.
27, 28.
And as it is reserved unto men once to die, but after that
judgment; so the Christ
also having
been once offered to bear the sins of many, the second time -
without sin
shall be seen by those who are
expecting Him
to save them.*
* This is the order of the Greek, and where two or more constructions
are possible, there the order of the Greek [1st. death 2nd. judgment 3rd. manifestation] -is decisive.
Death is reserved for men. It is
something in Gods mind, though not visible yet. So Pauls crown was reserved for him. Some would distinguish here, and say, that
death does not apply to the saints, who, as in Christ, are beyond death and
judgment. The distinction is valid in
those epistles which view the saved as in union with Christ. But the expression in Christ does not appear in Hebrews.
Believers are here regarded as individuals set on earth, and drawing
near to God on high. In this Epistle,
Christ Himself is regarded as man, and as treated like men. The argument is built on it.
1. For the living, death is reserved.
2. For the dead, judgment is reserved. Many understand, after death
the judgment, as
though it taught, that at each ones decease the final sentence was
passed. The article inserted before judgment
has led to this. Now the final sentence does not take place at death, although,
as our Lord has shown, there is a placing of each in Hades, suitable to his
standing on earth, as already condemned, or as forgiven. Thus Dives and Lazarus, at once on their
departure, are set, one in
In this verse is found the answer to a difficulty strongly
rested on by anti-millenarians -Christ is entered once
for all as High Priest and
Intercessor into the Holiest above. How
can He ever come out? His intercession
must take place there alone. It is necessary
for the salvation of His Church. What
can avail to take Him thence?
I answer: What brought Moses down from his forty days
converse with God? Sin and judgment! (Ex.
32).
Judgment! Most seem unable
to believe in any dispensation but the one that is running on. What is this present day? That of grace; the accepted time proceeding
from the throne of grace. But all the
prophets are full of the day of wrath and of judgment soon about to come. While our Lord is in the Holiest it is the
time of Gods patience, and of the ingathering of the elect of the Church. But the coming
This future judgment will take effect on all. There will be a judgment of Christs
friends. My
brethren, be not many masters [teachers], knowing that we
shall receive greater condemnation [judgment]
(Jas. 3: 1; 2: 12; Luke 19: 11-27; Gal. 5: 10). He that judgeth
me is the Lord. Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come (1 Cor. 4: 4, 5; Matt. 5: 21, 22; 1 John 4: 17; 2 Tim. 4: 8; Heb. 10: 30; 12: 23; 13: 4; Rev. 11: 17, 18).
The coming judgment is one of the foundations of the faith,
and is eternal (Heb. 6: 1, 2). It is
also once for all, like death. It is necessary, in order permanently to sever
the evil from the good, and to adjust the stations of the saved.
This verse tells us, that mans trial ends with the present
life. Now tis mercy, and the call to
salvation. But after death there is no
further opening for deliverance. Judgment
comes in, which fixes the destiny of men.
Thus our Lord, as being man, and made in all things like His
brethren, was to die but once, and therefore He can atone but once; so that that requires a
perfect and infinite sacrifice. It is the Christ Who was offered. This presents Him as
the
anointed High Priest.
He is both High Priest and Sacrifice (Lev.
16: 32).
And, as Jesus was Son of God, and offered an infinite
sacrifice, so it can be offered but once.
He was offered. His passivity as the
sacrifice is now set before us. He offered Himself, as He was High Priest. But as man,
and as the victim, He was under obedience, and suffered Himself to be disposed
of by His Father. He was offered, and once for
all. For as man He can die but once. Such is Gods arrangement.
To bear the sins of many.
The sense of this phrase is very important. To bear sin
is often said of a transgressor. The
priests were not to eat any meat torn by beasts, lest they bear sin and die (Lev.
22: 9).
Again: Whosoever curseth his God, shall bear his sin (Lev.
24: 15). This means that the guilt of it would be on him, and made him
obnoxious to its just punishment. Hence we have often the added phrase: and die.
To this attaches also the remarkable phrase, his blood
upon his own head, to signify the mans liability to destruction, as a criminal worthy of
death. It shall be, say the spies to Rahab, that
whosoever shall go out of the door of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will
be guiltless: and whosoever
shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be
upon our head, if any hand be upon
him (Josh. 2: 19; Lev. 20: 9, 27; 2 Sam. 1: 16). This
gives the more significance to the sinners laying his hand upon the head of
his sacrifice (Lev. 4:
4).
The sin, and guilt, and penalty of the offender were to pass thereby to
the victim, and its blood was taken and presented to God as substitute, in
place of the guilty.
After the laying on of the hand of the offerer, the sacrifice
was considered as laden with the sin and its penalty. Thus: And Aaron shall lay his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over
him all the iniquities of the
children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of
the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man [a man ready
for the purpose LXX] into the wilderness. And the
goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited (Lev. 16: 21, 22). The disappearance of the goat, then, was the
token of the removal of sins.
But that was only one phase of atonement. The other was that which was endured by the
goat slain as a sin-offering. It was not
only slain, and its blood taken into the Holiest, but it suffered the curse of
fire, exhausting the penalty of law as here set forth (1) death, and (2) after death the judgment of fire.
Thus it was with our Lord. My righteous Servant shall justify
many, for He shall bear their iniquities. He poured out His soul to death; and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors (Isa. 53: 12). Who His own self
bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness, by Whose stripes ye were healed (1 Pet.
2: 24).
Thus, too, the high priest was considered as bearing sins, and
putting them away. The plate of gold shall be upon
Aarons forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of
the holy things which the
children of Israel shall hallow in all their gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord (Ex.
28: 38). Thou [Aaron] and thy sons and thy fathers
house with thee, shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your
priesthood (Num. 18: 1, 22, 23). Moses
was angry with Aarons sons, because they had not eaten the sin-offering in the
holy place, seeing it is most holy, and
the Lord hath given it to you to bear the iniquity
of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord (Lev. 10: 17).
The iniquity when borne by the substitute was put away. To bear the sins of many. Atonement was made generally for
all. But Christ was the Substitute
specially for those who in result shall be saved, whether those of the Old
Testament or of the New. For them the
Saviour bore the full penalty, and the curse they had deserved has given place
to the blessing merited by our Lord.
The second
time without sin shall He be seen by those waiting.
Sin being put away by His death, Jesus, like the dead in
general, is withdrawn from view. And His
presence above before God, as the High Priest, makes this day the day of mercy.
He has appeared once on earth. And the Father's counsel is to
present Him again the second time on the habitable earth (1: 16). Here
then, I again observe, is the answer to the difficulty proposed by the
anti-millenarians: How can Christ, having once
entered into the Holiest above to intercede, ever leave it? The answer is: That judgment is
in reserve. And that will take Christ out of His present place of
service on high to earth. A change is
coming over Gods plan. After so long
mercy, wrath is at hand. The living and
the dead, foes and friends, are to be judged.
The Saviour, then, when He appears the second time, shall come
without
sin. He bore the sins of many at His first
coming. He shall bear none any more, nor
make atonement again for the guilty. It
is not as Mr. Darby says, that He shall have nothing
to do with sin in any shape,
when He returns. On the contrary, He
comes to avenge sin, by judgment, wherever it is found (1 Thess. 4:
4-6; 2 Thess. 1: 8; Matt. 24; 25; Heb. 12; 13: 4; Rom. 2). The
Saviour came at first, like the high priest on the Day of Atonement, in His
robes of humiliation. But He returns as the Priest after the order of
Melchizedec, in the robes of glory and majesty- as Aaron, after the atonement
of the great day was completed, was invested with his attire of beauty and
glory.
* *
* * *
* *
186
OUR ADVERSARY - THE DEVIL
BY LANCE B. LATHAM
Be sober,
be vigilant; because
your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh
about, seeking whom
he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith ... 1 Peter 5 : 8, 9.
MANY Christians are conscious of failure in their lives, of
hindrances in the work they are called to do, in their testimony, of times of
depression and unusual temptations.
We are often conscious that we have been completely fooled in
some decision we have made, and at such times we wonder why we have failed; why
the way seemed blocked when we were sure God was in the thing we felt led to
do. We wonder often why we are depressed
in heart, when there is no usual explanation for our feelings. We have not been
able to explain how, usually wise in some decisions, we have apparently missed
the mark. We have asked at times why prayer has been so difficult when we have
our access to God in Christ.
We are prone to blame ourselves. Sometimes we should. But again, sometimes we must accept what the
Word of God tells us about one - Gods malignant enemy and ours - who is ever
alert, looking for the weak places in our armour, eager to take advantage of
any opening we give him through sin, unbelief, lack of perseverance. We are apt
to underrate the battle which is ours against this powerful enemy.
There is a great body of truth in Scripture that concerns our adversary, the Devil.
He is presumptuous (Matt. 4: 5, 6), proud (1 Tim.
3: 6),
powerful (Eph. 2:
2; 6: 12), wicked (1 John 2:
13), malignant (Job
1: 9; 2:
4), subtle (Gen.
3: 1; 2 Cor. 11: 3),
deceitful (2 Cor. 11: 14),
fierce, cruel (Luke 4: 29, 39, 42). The
scope and power of his work are beyond comprehension, for he deceiveth the
whole world (1 John 5: 19; 2 Tim. 3: 13; Rev. 20: 3, 9; 12: 9; 2 Cor. 4: 4). He has
endless energy (Job 1: 7; 1 Pet. 5: 8).
A vast host of demons, who may be the fallen angels, are under
Satans authority. Many are the
instances in the Word of God and in the lives of men when demons have possessed
men and women to their utter ruin - a condition from which they are delivered
only by prevailing prayer and the power of God.
The Invasion of Human Hearts
And there have evidently been times when the Devil himself would
concentrate on one person, rather than entrust this to a demon. Witness the fact that the Devil filled Judas
Iscariot - a fact which shows his estimate of the importance of that awful
mission. He also filled Ananias in Acts 5 - Why hath Satan filled thine heart to
lie to the Holy Ghost?
We do not find any sure scriptural witness to the Devil or a
demon ever entering the life of a
believer.* He may harass,
afflict, buffet, sift, oppose the work of the Lord, discourage in prayer - but not
enter the body of one truly the Lords.
Many of Gods dear saints have been driven to distraction by
unscriptural teaching in this direction.
He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not (1 John 5:
18).
[* This
statement assumes Judas Iscariot was unregenerate.]
Some reject the sure evidence of demon possession brought to
us by many missionaries who have laboured in the lands where Satan has had no
opposition for years.
We who live in
And this is all part of the Devils vast program, blinding not
only the eyes of those that believe not, but bringing a measure of that
darkness into our lives.
For, if we
were in real touch with God, we would be increasingly dissatisfied and longing
for the redemption of our bodies and our deliverance from this present world
system, all of which is under the direct domination of Satan.
-------
OUR
BY F. J. PERRYMAN
These extracts are taken from Mr.
Perrymans He
Must Reign Till -, a strong
tonic word on prayer in the present
crisis. - Ed., [D. M. Panton] DAWN.
-------
THE things
which stagger and baffle, depress and challenge most people are the persistent
alternating and overlapping manifestations of evil in political, social and
economic upheavals. Hatred, revenge,
wars, revolutions, strikes, persecutions and all the subtle and terrifying
technique of Godless policies follow hard on the heels of each other, and it is
not surprising that without God and
the Lamp of His Word, people grope in darkness - even gross darkness, with a
corresponding apprehension and dread of what will come next.
But the believer is made so one with Christ by consenting to
be immersed into Him and ensphered with Him
that he is in a position to wrestle
against, not in
order to get victory, but in
order to register against these fallen world
rulers the Victory of Christ over them. So that the Cross and all that Christ meant
when He cried, It is finished, is behind the believer and with him and in him. Christ in you. Ye in Me, and I in you. Jesus had said a day
would come when that would be known.
Here it is. The believer, the
Church in Christ and with Christ, far above all
principalities and powers, and every name that
is named, not only in this age but also in that [age (Lk. 20: 35; cf.
Heb. 6: 5, R.V.)] which is to
come.
You see how sweeping it is - how full - how complete! Far above all - a superlative term used only three
times in scripture: once of the cherubim of glory shadowing the Mercy-Seat (Heb.
9: 5);
once of Christ having ascended up far above all heavens that He might fill all
things (Eph. 4: 10); and in 1: 21 of Christ having been raised to Gods own right
hand in the heavenly places, with all under His feet, as Head of the Church united to Him
in that position. We, far above all, in Him and with Him. I do not know that any summary of this
stupendous thing can do justice to it.
-------
REPENTANCE
Only by a national repentance can the
* *
* * *
* *
187
IRVINGISM
BY CECIL CLARK
An extraordinarily pregnant warning on the return of the
supernatural - good or evil - is embodied in Irvingism. Originating in a band of' earnest
Presbyterians, among whom unknown tongues
suddenly burst out in a public assembly, it ended after decades - led by the
supernatural utterance - in applying for admission to the Church of Rome, but
was rejected on refusing to accept the Creed of the Council of Trent. Its prophecy
was that our Lord would return before their last apostle
died; but the last apostle died in 1901.
This sympathetic summary by (probably) an Anglo-Catholic in The Guardian (May 17, 1946) fails to grapple with the problem, nor warns of the
perils of the untested supernatural. - ED., [D.M. Panton] DAWN.
-------
A FEW weeks ago there died in
It all began with Edward Irving, popular Scots Minister first at
Next, the prophet
had begun to designate apostles, and
At the forefront of Catholic Apostolic
belief was the conviction that the end
of all * things was at hand. Though the Christian Church at large paid no
heed, the witness must be continued through the body
of those who did accept the work. But now time was passing on. One by one the Apostles died, and although
coadjutors were appointed, the last survivor, in 1901, died also. The expectation of our Lords return was not
realized, but the witness of the Catholic Apostolic body had to be
continued. No more ordinations could
take place, for none but an Apostle could ordain. From then onwards the days of the Church were
numbered. But so, believed the faithful,
were the days of the world. Gradually,
however, the ministers have passed away.
Church after church has been closed, the members then going to their
parish church when attendance at another Catholic Apostolic church become
impracticable. At
[* See three additional quotations.]
It is difficult for outsiders to share the belief in the supposed
Divine origin of the
-------
1.
This latter aspect it is that is
mainly that such as never enter the Land never will enjoy its delights and
glory. The redeemed but earth-bound
heart to-day, neither knowing nor seeing the things that are above, content to
believe his soul to be safe from Hell - [i.e., the lake of fire (Rev.
20: 15).] - will take no part in the conflicts
under Joshua and David, and will have no share in the glories of Solomons
household and government. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he
fall.
- G.
H. Lang.
2. Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and
worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the
things which he hath seen, vainly puffed up by
his fleshly mind, and not holding fast the Head, from whom the body, being
supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increaseth with the increase of God.
This does not, indeed, help to the
deciding what is the prize, but it does most
strongly accentuate the WARNING that
the PRIZE may be lost, and further
and plainly shows that there are FOES
[even from amongst the regenerate!] who will bring about the LOSS if possible, and this by inducing
any state of heart, or any line of worship or of conduct, which may suffice to
cause the christian to relax his [or her] hold on Christ, not necessarily as Redeemer, but as Head of the body, the church.
- G.
H. Lang.
3. Whoever neglects the Second Coming
has only a mutilated Gospel, for the Bible teaches us not only the death and
sufferings of Christ, but also HIS RETURN
TO REIGN IN HONOUR AND GLORY. His
Second coming is mentioned and referred to three hundred times, yet I was in
the church fifteen or sixteen years before I ever heard a sermon on it.
- D.
L. Moody.
* *
* * *
* *
188
AN APPEAL TO PENTECOSTALISTS
BY A. G. TILNEY, B.A.*
[* Albert G. Tinley, B.A. Hons.
(
Tinley himself has written: Merit (or
worthiness) it must be maintained in
the teeth of all denial, as a condition and qualification for the First
Resurrection
(Luke 20: 35).
Priests of God and of Christ,
they shall reign with him a thousand
years
not instead of eternally, but Millennially before eternity
proper begins. Others
- proud, indulgent, cowardly - are judged unworthy of Christ and of aeonian
life. Now we know from several
epistles that SOME BELIEVERS WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THIS KINGDOM of heaven and
of God (Eph.
5: 5-8).
We are warned
the rest of the dead
(saved and unsaved) lived not again until the 1000 years were ended (Rev. 20: 5)
]
-------
FIRST of
all let me say that we do not depreciate you dear good People. You are at times described as the cream of Christians, and we are prepared to agree,
though preferring, instead, the Scriptural epithet of very elect (Mtt. 24:
24), whom Satan is after deceiving. Poor
dull Christians who are already listless, if not lifeless, the devil can afford
to neglect. But as an angel of light he aims at the orthodox, keen and devoted; and you, as we,
need the whole armour of God, with the piercing, discerning Sword. What we emphasise is that in this matter of
Tongues we are not assured and satisfied that you are not deceived, and assured
that you are not we can never really be so long as the Divinely appointed tests
are not applied and passed.
As to your Tongues, there seems to be a contradiction; for
while on the one hand they are emphasised and insisted upon as the test and
touchstone of our having received the Holy Spirit, they are, on the other hand,
pushed or put into the background as something less secret and esoteric than
questionable. Apostolic speaking in
Tongues was the means of converting multitudes of unsaved foreigners (for which
outsiders Tongues were intended, 1 Cor. 14: 22), and, negatively, the 3,000 converts were not
made to talk in Tongues; but these tests you Pentecostalists have simply
inverted. For Tongues are useless to
your missionaries, yet you encourage them in your proselytes. Tongues (though not, if true, to be
forbidden) are the least and lowest of the miraculous Gifts - 1/20 of 1% of
words with the understanding, says the inspired Apostle; and, especially if no
interpreter be present, the easiest to counterfeit and be deceived by.
Satan sends out ministers of righteousness - not unrighteousness, but
righteousness, we are told. They can
talk about God, quote Scripture, recommend the Lords servants and the way of
salvation - as they must be able to, if they are to deceive - take in and be
taken in by the very elect, the cream of Christians. Blasphemy would not do, obscenity still
less. They must be orthodox, earnest,
zealous, able to cast out demons, to heal, to inspire, to prophesy in Christs
name, to do many wonderful works. They
disarm and attract rather than alarm and repel.
Who then can tell them, detect them, expose them? How unmask those who wear no mask? How analyse their poisoned sweets, how fight
their dope? How probe the unorthodoxy of
the apparently quite orthodox? It just
cannot be done, the disguise is too complete; so the unsuspecting are taken
unawares, while the convinced and satisfied - the overcome - will heed no
warning.
The God who has given us the tests and commanded their
application will surely be more affronted if we refuse than if we use
them. It is neither presumption nor
blasphemy to use Gods own recommended safeguard, to make honest and reverent
inquiry. Rank disobedience and wilful
pride it is to refuse to test as God ordains. Otherwise you dear good people have an
unprotected and vulnerable heel of Achilles.
For you have steadily, and studiedly failed and refused in this one
vital thing. You have rejected a counsel
of God against yourselves. This test
alone is the key, proof and guarantee.
Prayer to-day is quite inadequate, we have no oracle to give
reply; hence asking God is not His present way; nor is inventing our own
questions and testings. By Johns day
many deceivers and false prophets had gone out into the world, and the result
was uncertainty, confusion with - to-day - a clear and clamant call for these
critical tests (put not to the medium but to the speaking spirit):- Is Jesus
Christ come (and coming) in the flesh? Silence, here, is
denial.
And on these
points all untested spirits are allowed to be silent and therefore denying.
Every spirit that confesseth NOT that Jesus Christ is come (1 John 4: 3) - and coming (2 John 7)
- in the flesh is NOT
OF GOD. Believe not every spirit. Have you tested your spirit, my brother, my sister? Have you given it (or him) the chance of the
positive confirmatory reply? (1 John 4: 2). God
gladly responds to His own gracious passwords, His friendly shibboleths; for these
are the incarnation and bodily resurrection and return of the Lord Jesus
Christ, His Son, our Saviour: passwords hateful however, and impossible, to
the enemy. You believe these, of course;
but does your spirit?
Even in 1 Cor.
12: 1-4 (where it concerns less spiritual
gifts than inspired people) there are tests not of the man, but
of the spirit speaking through him under inspiration from above or from
below. Of course, a good Christian (like
yourself) would call Jesus Lord, but, a deceitful spirit speaking through him
(and only a deceiving spirit could get into him, with its forged papers and
false passports, so to speak), a deceiving spirit would refuse - and make his
medium refuse - to reply when so addressed, refusing to call Jesus Lord,
freezing into sullen silence.
Let your spirit confess Jesus as God manifest in the flesh in His own
appointed way, and I am for you, and with you.
Will you? Dare you? Dare you not?
TRY THE SPIRITS,
WHETHER THEY ARE
OF GOD.
-------
EVIL SPIRITS
JESUS
has warned us that as the [present, evil] age comes to its end there will be many false prophets
and false teachers who will come in His name, and they will do great signs and
wonders.
Healings are imitated and produced by the devil. Why not, if it serves his purpose? If he
can deceive people through miraculous healings, of course he will do
it. There are religious movements which
are strongly organised in all the world that have their phenomena. They have their miraculous healings, they
have their deliverances. And some dear
folks seem to be so credulous that they would accept healing even from the
devil himself if they might be relieved of their physical pains. It would be better for us to endure the most
excruciating pain rather than to accept deliverance at the hand of Satan!
The gift of tongues also is imitated by the devil. You can find this manifestation in spiritist meetings and you can find it among the heathen
who have never heard of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the
most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. Now I have been
in meetings that were a veritable babble of confusion, and there have been
dozens, it seemed, who were all babbling at the same time, and nobody in the
world could understand what was being said and no interpreter was present to
tell anybody. Ive seen that
happen! That is directly against the
Scriptures and God is not in it. - DR. L.
H. ZIEMER
* *
* * *
* *
189
AN EXPOSITION OF THE
GOSPEL OF JOHN
BY ROBERT GOVETT, M.A.
(John 15:
4 [and continued a little further on from
the authors commentary.])
Here is
the secret of a Christian life. It is
not effort to be good. It is not the earnest
attempt to scourge the flesh into goodness.
It is the abiding in Christ.
It is (1) negatively, the
seeing that in us, as children of Adam, dwells no good thing. And no amount of restraint or pressure, no
abundant task-work, can produce in it what is good. The old man is wholly evil. It is not renewed by grace, but put off. We are by the Holy Spirits energy grafted
into Christ, as the branch is in the vine.
We retain that place by faith (Eph. 3: 17). It is - You are in
Christ, and in Him is treasured for you whatever you lack. He of God is made unto us wisdom and
righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
We need only to ask of Him strength and wisdom, to meet every duty. We have no independent power. We are not encouraged to strive to attain
it. The branch cannot bear fruit from
itself. It does not produce the life or the sap which
it needs, in order to fruit. Severed
from the tree, it dies. Thus, then, from
Christ, the life and sap which dwell in Him are to flow into us. The finger can only grow and move by the
blood sent into it from the head and heart.
The branch
cannot bear fruit from itself. That was the question
upon which God was giving evidence for 4000 years. Man was being tested under Gods hand to see
if, as a subject under the moral government of God, he could be made to be
obedient. Law tested man, and found him
wanting. And now the cross of the Son of
God has closed that question. Man is
evil; and if left to himself, neither promise nor threat will make him
obedient.
But each one who is in Christ can bear
fruit. God accepts a life of obedience
to Him and His Son, in every sphere of society.
Let no one imagine that only those employed in preaching, or giving
tracts, or in work directly religious, are serving God.
The vine can live without the
branch: the branch cannot live without the vine. If you would bear fruit, fear to refuse any of Christs words.
Abide in Me, is the one law of life to the
branch. Obey, and you will be
fruitful! Disobey, and be barren! Even when
renewed, we may not trust our own feelings and strength. Of this Peter is an eminent witness.
Abide in
Abide.
Great is the danger in our day of imagining that the subtle wit of man, so
earnest and successful in the things of time, has advanced beyond Christ and
His Gospel. Abide! Progress is mens word. Abide is Gods, He
that progresseth (true
reading) and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God (2
John 9).
This is not like the Law. Such words would be blasphemy in Moses
mouth. It was not by strength derived
from Moses that each Israelite was to serve and to please God. Any such saying would have exposed Moses to
stoning, as a blasphemer. Law deals with
each as a son of Adam, bound to furnish to God a complete obedience of heart
and hand. It sets every one singly before God, to
stand or fall by his own particular merits.
As knowing what was right, as bound by promises attached to obedience,
and by threats and penalties on sin, he was to keep the path of right. But on such grounds the fallen cannot
stand. Conscience, while it points out
the right, is overborne by the passions which lead it captive. It is like Jeremiah the prophet testifying to
the remnant in the land, from Gods lips, that if they would abide there, they
should be spared and blest. But they
would not hear, and would go down into
How are we to abide in Christ? (1)
Practically by obeying Christs commands.
The disobedient to Christ is not abiding in Him. (2) Theoretically, by holding all Christs doctrines. We are to grow also in the after-knowledge of
God. And God is known only in His
Son. We are to hold fast what we have of
the knowledge of the Son of God. We are
to go onwards in it. Grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Whatever interrupts communion with Christ
interrupts growth and fruit. Shake
faith, and you stop growth and obedience.
5. I am the Vine, ye are the branches.
He that abideth in Me,
and I in him,
beareth much
fruit; for apart from Me ye can do nothing.
Jesus is the Lord of supply, of life,
and sap. This is true of all His saved
ones. But here is an union not contemplated by the Law of Moses - the union of
Messiah and believers. Law had no idea
of Gods Anointed save as an individual man, like other men. It was part of the untraceable
riches of the Christ, that, while Law was in abeyance and Israel in unbelief, there should be a new man gathered out of Jew and Gentile; so
knit to the Son of God, and so enjoying life in Him, that it should do His
works and suffer His suffering in a world of unbelief; to shine with Him in His
glory, and to abide in unity with Him [in His coming Kingdom and] throughout eternity. Jesus here begins to proclaim this truth,
which is more fully detailed to us by Paul, the commissioned teacher of this
great and central truth of Christianity.
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? contained the germs of that which is his chief testimony, and appears in
essence here. Only Pauls view was Jesus on high,
and we in Him.
Here it is Jesus in us, while
we are on trial here below.
The Lord Jesus takes the supreme
place. He is the Head of all supply;
such a place as could belong to no mere man, and so it is due to His
Godhead. On our side there is to be acceptance of Christs testimony and
obedience to His commands. Then the fruit of the Spirit and its good
works will be found in us.
Without Christ we can do nought. (1)
Nothing, even of natural action. Even
Christs foes call only lift their voice or their arm, through strength derived
from Him. (2) Still more, nought spiritually good can be done without Him.
The old man
is corrupting according to the lusts of deceit.
Here is the New Man, the accepted before God; and they who are justified
in Him, are by Him to be supplied, and to bear fruit to God. Law was the trial of the old man, and it
brought forth fruit unto death.
With the abiding in Christ, the standing apart from Him is
contrasted. Such defaulters are evil in
will, blind in under standing. No work of such
an one is good before God, however much praised by men. Such actions are only splendid sins (Matt. 7: 18).
6. If any abide not in Me, he is
cast out as a branch and is withered; and they
gather them, and cast into the fire, and they burn.
In ver.
2 we had the not bearing fruit, though the
abiding in Christ was not gone. Here
there is the not abiding in Christ with its results. As abiding in Christ produces fruit, so the
man who does not abide, not only does not furnish fruit, and please God, but so
displeases, as to draw down punishment the most severe.
This is a very difficult verse, as all know. I think I have the key to it. But I do not think that the true
interpretation will be pleasing. I will
only endeavour, as the Lord shall aid, to give its real sense. If you, reader, are displeased with the
messenger, because you do not like the message, I must nevertheless give the
message, because I have not to please myself, but to please the Lord by
faithfulness to Him and His truth.
(1) How shall we
interpret the passage? Is this spoken of
a believer? or of an unbeliever?
Difficulties attend both views. (1)
Say it is an unbeliever. Interpret it
thus - that union with Christ can only be eternal. The
man belongs to Christ sacramentally. He professes
to be His; he was united to Christ by Baptism, and the Supper. Is there in a living vine any outward union alone? Would a dead twig tied to a vine-stem be said
to be in the vine? Impossible! The person here was once in Christ. But he
did not abide in the position given him.
He who was in, is cast out. He once was a green branch. He then withers, or more strongly, is dried
up. There can be no withering in a branch already dead. The withered branch is one that has
passed from life to death. These words,
then, cannot be spoken of any but one
who once had living union with Christ.
They must be spoken then of a [regenerate] believer.
(2)
But so interpret it, and another difficulty confronts you. Is the believer, then, finally to lose
spiritual life, and to perish? Is this not
contrary to the grace of God, which assures eternal life to those once in
Christ? Is not this the testimony of
many Scriptures? And of our Lord Himself in this very Gospel? Chapter 10: 28,
My
sheep shall not perish for ever, neither shall
any pluck them out of My hand.
There is a remarkable change of tenses
in this verse. The two first verbs are
in the past, the three last in the present; and yet the two first relate to an
earlier time than the three last. The
only way, I suppose, to understand the matter, is to regard our Lord as viewing
things from the point of the day of judgment.
Then the not abiding, and being cast out, and withering, will be past;
and the three other steps will then be taken.
It appears, then, that here we have
depicted for us the results, moral and governmental, of not abiding in Christ. Not
abiding in the Vine, the man is cast out
of the Vine: as the branch broken off from the stem.
The issue is drying
up. All believers derive some
grace from Christ. That grace is to then
life and sap. But as soon as union is broken between the stem and the branch, the supply of sap is cut off. The sap which was within begins to pass
out. The leaf flags and withers, the
wood grows dry. So with any who do not
abide in Christ. The grace which
was once in them departs.* They become more and more like the failing sons
of Adam. It may be, they become worse
than they ever were. This deterioration
takes effect continually.
[* NOTE: See also Acts
5: 32: And we
are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Compare the above with Ps. 51: 11, (Septuagint,
LXX. translation), where the word spirit,
in most English translations, is rendered Spirit in 1 Sam. 16: 13:
and the Spirit of the Lord came upon
David from that day forward:
(14) And the Spirit of the Lord departed
from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord
tormented him. (Septuagint (LXX).
And gain, in the life of Samson, Gods Nazarite, we read:
and the Spirit
of the Lord came powerfully upon him
(Judges
14: 6, LXX): but after a period of
disobedience, and his loss of Divine power:
he knew not that the Lord,
- i.e., the Holy Spirit - was departed from
him. (16: 20,
Septuagint.)]
Then comes the gathering such together.
There are two periods in which this may take place. (1)
Now. The fallen Christian associates
himself with his fellows: men in spirit like himself. Each
encourages the other in unbelief,
and enmity to the [accountability and prophetic] truth. Satan has his synagogue, as well as Christ
His Church. [i.e., His out-calling.]
(2)
But the chief force of the words, as the next clause seems to prove, relates to the day of judgment.
This runs quite parallel with the parable of the wheat and the
tares. Shall we go and gather
together the tares? say the servants to the Master. And the answer is - No! Not
you, and not now. In the
day of judgment at My coming I will command My reaping angels, and they
shall first gather together the tares, then bind them in bundles to burn them. As therefore the darnel are gathered
together, and burnt in the fire, so shall it be in the
end of the age. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather together out of His Kingdom
all stumbling blocks, and those which do
iniquity, and shall cast them into the
furnace of fire; there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. These, remember, were Jesus words to
His disciples, enquiring of Him in the house the sense of
the parable.
What conclusion, then, must we reach? (1) The man is a [regenerate] believer; (2) the offending one is to be punished; (3) the believer shall not
perish utterly, and forever; for Gods promise to the effect encircles
His elect. Then this casting into the
fire of the dried up branch cannot be forever. And we know that there is a period of a thousand
years which precedes eternity: a thousand years during which the righteous and the wicked shall be
recompensed in the earth; as Scripture says (Prov. 11: 31). And
this is confirmed by other passages,
as Matt. 5: 22, 29, 30; 18: 34, 35; Luke 12: 46-48.
What, then, is this not abiding in
Christ? It is twofold. (1)
Practical: backsliding, turning to the flesh
and the world. And how great an extant
this may be done by [regenerate] believers, many know, or may easily perceive, on looking around. Some who once knew Christ, are now suffering
the felons punishment for offences committed against the law of the land. Some are overcome in the snare of the
drunkard, and, while at times struggling, and always unhappy, yet go on [unrepentant] riveting their chains.
(2)
But the worst form of it is doctrinal departure from Christ and His
truth.
We do not, in our day, understand the
awful results of entire doctrinal departure from the true views concerning God
and His Christ. Out of that intellectual departure springs the grossest evil in spirit
and conduct. In Johns day this was
seen, and his epistles are a warning to us [Christians (Acts
11: 26)] how
far [disobedient and deceived] men may wander from fundamental truth,
while yet retaining the name of Christ.
In Johns Epistles, we see that there
are those who imagined that a man might perfectly know God, and yet walk in all
the wickedness of the world. That, while
there was light in God, there was darkness also. If so, it was no wonder if there was a
mixture of the two in His [redeemed
and regenerate] children. That Christ
left no commandments, and it was only legal to observe
them. They divided Jesus from Christ,
denying the Godhead of Jesus, who was a mere man, born as others of
Joseph and Mary. They denied on the
other hand, the manhood of Christ. He
was never born; He was a being more than angel, but less than God; who came on
the man Jesus at the
In the last words there is a word of
warning to the true Christians to look onward to Christs coming judgment, and
to seek His approval (2: 14). Also to
beware, lest they should be swept into the current of false doctrine, with its
issues of iniquity (17).
7. If ye abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, whatever ye wish ye may ask,
and it shall be done unto you.
Here is the contrast to the case supposed
in the previous verse. This is one of
the conditions of the fulfilment of our prayers. (1) We are to abide in Christ: practically
and doctrinally. He says not here, as in
verse 4, And if I abide in you.
For the failure is not on His side.
The abiding of Christs words in us, is now given as the other
side. For the words of Christ proceeding
from the Son and the Father, He in whom the words of God abide, abides in the
Son.
Often the prayers of Christians, by
reason of their non-obedience to this word, are not fulfilled. Often it would be harmful to us, if just what
we ask were given. The Christian arrived
at this point of attainment, would not ask in the flesh, and seek to turn Gods
mind concerning the subject of His prayer; but would be so in harmony with Him,
as to ask just what God desires and intends, and so would assuredly obtain it.
If My words
abide in you.
Some are teaching now, as the fruit of advanced knowledge of
dispensational truth, that the Gospels, even that of John, are not for the
Church. Do you, on the contrary, hold
and teach, that Christs words are our God-given guide. If we would have our prayers heard, His words
are not only to be regarded, but to dwell in us. His commands are to be our rule, His promises
our hope. His words and a sense of our need will stir us
up to prayer; and to our prayer He will send answers of blessing. Our prayers are not restricted. They may relate to things temporal, [e.g., Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be
done, as in heaven, so on earth:
(Matthew 6: 10,
R.V.).] or to things eternal. [e.g., And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away;
and the sea is no more: Rev. 21: 1. cf. 2 Pet. 3: 10-13, R.V.).]
* *
* * *
* *
190
THE TARES
BY ARLEN L. CHITWOOD
Matthew 13: 24-30
The
first two parables in Matthew, chapter thirteen are explained by the Lord
Himself and form the basic framework for a proper understanding of all the
parables. The sowing of individuals in various places throughout the world in
the first parable is the same as the sowing of the good seed in the field in
the second parable. In our Lords own
explanation we are told, The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the
world, and the good seed stands for the sons of
the kingdom ... (vv. 37, 38a). This
sowing has to do with the Lord Jesus Christ placing sons of the kingdom
(Christians) in various localities throughout the world, with a view to their bringing forth
fruit for the kingdom.
The first parable concerns itself exclusively with sons of the
kingdom being sown in various places throughout the world. Although the sowing of sons of the kingdom is
mentioned again in the second parable, this parable concerns itself mainly with
another type of sowing - an enemy sowing weeds among the wheat (tares among the
sons of the kingdom). As soon as the
servants realized that tares had been sown in the field among the wheat they
asked, Do you want us to go and pull them up (v.
28)?
But he replied, No, ... because while you
are pulling the weeds (tares), you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow
together until the harvest ... (vv. 29, 30a). The tares are to remain in the field among
the wheat until the harvest and are to be gathered by the harvesters. Once again we have our Lords own explanation
concerning this part of the parable: The weeds (tares) are the sons of the
evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the
devil. The
harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels (vv.
38b, 39).
The first and second parables are bound together
chronologically. The wheat - good seed -
is sown in the field first. Once a true
testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ has been established in the world,
Satan appears on the scene and sows tares among the wheat - sons of the devil
among sons of the kingdom. The
sons of the devil bear false testimony concerning the message of the kingdom. The sowing of the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the devil
continue uninterrupted throughout the present age.
One very important thing to keep in mind is the fact that the
tares are sown among the wheat. Satan
does not sow tares where there is no wheat.
The chief characteristic of the tare, or darnel as some call it, is that
it is many times indistinguishable to the eye (especially an untrained eye)
from wheat until the time of
harvest.
At the time of
harvest (the end of this [evil] age) the wheat is shown to produce golden grain, but the grain of the tare
is shown to be black.
Any good counterfeit will closely approximate the
genuine. When an individual today
produces counterfeit money, he first studies the genuine. A good counterfeiter will then produce notes
which will closely approximate the genuine that only a trained eye can
distinguish the difference. How does one
detect a counterfeit? Study the genuine,
not the counterfeit. Men in charge of
banks and businesses around the country take this approach. They require their employees to study the
genuine notes, and when bogus notes are presented they will recognize them to
be different and know immediately that something is wrong. We are never told to study the tares or study
error. We are always told to study the
genuine, study the truth: IF THEY SPEAK NOT ACCORDING TO THIS WORD, THEY HAVE NO LIGHT
OF DAWN (Isa. 8: 20). One
distinguishes truth from error by knowing the truth, not by knowing error.
Tares are to be found in the mainstream of
Many times the tares conduct their lives in the eyes of the
world in a manner which is more above reproach than the way others conduct
their affairs. Some regenerate believers
are so presently caught up in the things of this present age (not having ever
heard the message of the kingdom that they appear to resemble what
many believe tares should resemble more so than do some of the tares
themselves. But the idea that tares appear
in their true form and not as sons of the kingdom is a false concept. We read in 2 Cor. 11: 13-15 of deceitful
workmen, and of
Satan himself masquerading as an angel of light.
It is not surprising then, if his servants - [those deceived by him, and blinded to the gospel of the glory of Christ] - masquerade as servants of righteousness. The wolf, to deceive
the flock, does not appear in his true form.
He appears in sheeps clothing. (Matt.
7: 15; Acts 20: 29-32).
LEAVE THE TARES ALONE
A common fallacy among the regenerate is that one can
distinguish whether or not a person is a son of the kingdom by the way he acts,
talks, etc. But this is not true. For example: David didnt look like a son of
the kingdom when he was committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah
the Hittite, but he was; nor did Peter look like a son of the kingdom when he
was cursing and denying that he even knew the Lord, but he was. Some Christians use Matt.
7: 20, Thus by their fruit you will recognize them, in an effort to determine whether or
not a person is regenerate.
But Matt. 7: 20 cannot be used in this manner. The context of this verse has to do with false prophets (vv. 15-19), not
regenerate believers. Others use 1 John 2: 3, 4 in trying to show how one can determine whether
or not a person is saved: Ye can be sure we know him if we obey his commands. The man who says,
I know him, but does
not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth
is not in him. However these verses have to do with two
categories of regenerate individuals, not with the regenerate and the
unregenerate. The Greek word for know in this passage refers to an experiential knowledge, and
one comes into possession of this knowledge through the experience of keeping
His commands. No one is even in a
position to enter into this knowledge through keeping His commands until after he has been
eternally saved.
The very purpose of a Christians eternal salvation is to enter
into this knowledge and bring forth fruit, but the sad part is that innumerable
Christians will enter into eternity barren.
Four classes of [regenerate] Christians appear in the parable of the Sower. They are sown out in the world with a view to
their bringing forth fruit for the kingdom, but the end result is that three of
the four produce no fruit at all. 1 Cor. 3: 11-15 relates the same tragic outcome for many
regenerate believers barrenness, accompanied by shame, when judged by the
Lord. Thus, fruitfulness or
unfruitfulness cannot be criteria for determining whether or not a person is
regenerate.
Any Christian attempting to root up the tares may root up some
of the wheat in the process. The Lord
Himself so stated. The Lord commanded
His disciples to leave the tares alone, and He personally would supervise the
separation of the tares from the wheat at the end of this evil age.
SUBSERSIVE MINISTRY OF
THE TARES
In Matt. 28: 19, 20 a dual command is given concerning the business
of the Lord which Christians are to carry on during the present age: Disciple, and then Teach. God has, in turn, placed evangelists
and pastor-teachers in the Church to facilitate and carry out these tasks (Eph. 4: 11). The task
of the evangelist is to reach the unsaved with the gospel of the grace of
God. He calls the lost sheep, and those who respond
become saved sheep. The saved sheep are
then to be placed under the care of a pastor-teacher. They are babes in Christ and in need of
spiritual nourishment. They are to grow
under the ministry of the pastor-teacher from immature babes in Christ to
mature adults in Christ. The
pastor-teacher is to be instrumental in the sheep being called out - called under the ministry of the evangelist,
and called out under the ministry of the pastor-teacher (cf. Matt. 22: 14).
The moment a person is saved (i.e., becomes regenerate, born again.) born from above, he finds himself among
the called, among the group consisting the body of
Christ. There is then a further
selection which Christians are to fix their attention upon - a removal from the
body to form the bride of
Christ, i.e., a calling out from [amongst] the called.
Basic teachings surrounding the Brides removal from the Body
are set forth in the original type in the first three chapters of Genesis. Gods past work in bringing Eve into
existence and His present work in bringing His Sons Bride into existence must
be studied in the light of one another.
The First Adam possessed a bride who had been removed from his body to rule as consort queen with him. ALL of Eve was OF
the body, but she was not ALL the
body. She was built into a bride from
only a small part of the body. Thus it
will be in the experiences of the Last Adam and His Bride. The bride will be removed from the body - a
selection out of a selection, a
calling out from the called. The type has been set, and the antitype MUST follow the type.
The tares sown among the wheat have progressively produced a
breakdown of the dual command in Matt. 28: 19-20. The
evangelistic part of this command is to go into all the world and make
disciples out of all nations. Christians, rather than going into all the world,
have turned this command around by inviting the world into the Church to hear
the evangelistic message - something unheard of in the New Testament
evangelism.
Inviting the world into the Church to hear the gospel of Grace
has, in turn, produced a breakdown of the teaching ministry of the Church. The pastor-teacher is to provide instruction
and guidance for those who have already been saved. He is to be instrumental in leading the
regenerate into a mature knowledge of the Word of God. His basic responsibilities revolve around the
calling out of saints from the called, not a
calling from the world. When the unregenerate are invited in among the regenerate and the
pastor-teacher begins doing the work of an evangelist,
Christians placed under his ministry
always suffer the consequences: a
lack of spiritual growth and understanding.
When finite man in his wisdom emanating from a fallen,
depraved nature begins carrying out Gods orders in a manner contrary to His
revealed will, results may be achieved, but they will never approach the
heights which could have been attained by conforming to Gods Word. A prolonged approach which ignores Gods way and follows mans way will
always lead into some form of apostasy. And
this is the revealed state of the Church as it will be at the end of the
present [evil] age.
The Biblical illiteracy of Christians in Churches throughout
the land is not only astounding, but it is also a sad commentary on how the
ministries of pastor-teachers have been conducted over the past several
decades. They have been led away from
fulfilling their true calling, i.e., teaching
Christians the whole will (counsel)
of God (Acts 20: 24-27):- testifying to
the gospel of Gods grace, and also preaching the kingdom.
Satan spends his time blinding the minds of Christians relative to the gospel of the
glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4: 3, 4), and the
tares sown among the wheat are quite instrumental in doing his bidding. The sons of the devil (tares) have been sown
among the sons of the kingdom (wheat) with a view to their subverting the message of the kingdom (Matt.
13: 19).
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
1. A solemn
warning is given concerning unwatchfulness. The tares are sown under cover of darkness, while
everyone was sleeping (v. 25). Our
Lord commands His disciples to Watch (Mark 13: 37). Paul,
writing to the Church in
2. Reform movements on the
part of Christians in the world are worthless.
It is an idle dream to think that we can improve conditions in the world
by cleaning up the world, removing the tares, banishing immorality, etc. a comparable
task would be to purify the waters of the
The day is coming and is near at hand when the present
existing conditions on this earth will be changed, but that day awaits the
return of the Lord Jesus as King of Kings, and Lord of lords. Even the waters of the Dead Sea will be
purified in that DAY, and living
waters will go out from
3. The doom of the tares is
given in this parable. The tares are to
be burned (v. 30). Christ
interpreted every figure in the parable, but He did not interpret the fire. I
wonder why? [We will not go beyond what is written!]
4. Christ and His Apostles taught every man and warned every man concerning what lay out
ahead. They didnt want a single
individual to appear at the judgment-seat of Christ ignorant of these things.
* *
* * *
* *
191
CAST OUTSIDE INTO THE
OUTER DARKNESS
BY ARLEN L. CHITWOOD
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth:
(Matt. 25:
30).
-------
The
nature of the treatment awaiting the unfaithful servant at the hands of his
Lord in the parable of the talents has been completely misunderstood by
numerous Christians, leading them to conclude that the Lord was dealing with an
unsaved person at this point in the parable.
The Lord sharply rebuked the unfaithful servant, commanded that the
talent be removed from his possession, and then commanded that he be cast into
outer darkness.
The main problem which most Christians have with this part of
the parable is the ultimate outcome of the Lords dealings with His unfaithful
servant - the fact that he was cast into outer darkness. Outer darkness, within their way of thinking, is to
be equated with Hell (i.e, the final abode [after resurrection, (Rev. 20: 13, R.V.] of the unsaved in the lake of fire), and knowing that a Christian can not be cast into Hell - for no
condemnation [a rendering of judgment against] can await the ones
who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8: 1) - those
equating outer darkness with Hell are left with no recourse other
than to look upon the Lords dealings with the unfaithful servant and the Lords
dealings with the unsaved as synonymous.
It probably goes without saying that had the Lord treated the
unfaithful servant in a somewhat different fashion, very few Christians reading
this passage would even think about questioning his salvation, for the response
of the unfaithful servant would be perfectly in line with such verses as 1 Cor. 3: 13, 15 and present no indication of an unsaved
condition. But the Lords sharp rebuke,
the removal of the talent from his possession and his being cast into outer
darkness constitute what many view as a sequence of events which could not
possibly befall a Christian.
Such an outlook on this passage though completely ignores the
context, resulting in an interpretation which is not taught in the text at
all. And by forcing a non-contextual
interpretation of this nature, one is left, after some
fashion, with (1) an erroneous view
of salvation by grace through faith, (2)
an erroneous view of the purpose for the present dispensation, (3) an erroneous
view of the coming judgment of Christians, and (4) an erroneous view of the perfect justice and righteousness of
God.
Then, if introducing the preceding erroneous views in areas of
Biblical doctrine through a forced, non-contextual interpretation is not enough
in and of itself, it should also be noted that such an outlook on this passage
also closes the door to the correct interpretation, the one which the Lord had
in mind when He related this parable in the presence of His disciples. Error will have fostered error and closed a
door, leaving the student of Scripture, adhering to this erroneous system of
thought, in a position where he cannot possibly understand aright the Lords
present and future dealings with His
household servants.
A DARKNESS ON THE OUTSIDE
The expression outer darkness only appears three times in
Scripture, and all three are found in Matthews gospel (8: 12; 22: 131 25: 30).
Luke in his gospel alludes to outer darkness in a parallel reference to Matt. 8: 11, 12; Luke 13: 28, 29) but does not use the words. He simply reduces the expression to without (ASV). ...
The place from which individuals are cast out is one of light. This can possibly be illustrated best in Matthew, chapter
twenty-two. In this chapter, outer
darkness is used
to describe conditions in an area immediately outside the festivities attendant
a royal wedding. Such festivities in the
East would normally be held at night inside a lighted courtyard or banqueting
hall. On the outside there would be a
darkened courtyard, and the proximity of this darkened courtyard to the lighted
banqueting hall would correspond perfectly to the expression, the outer
darkness or the darkness
on the outside. A person cast therein would be cast out of
the light into the darkness. And it is
the same in relation to [Messianic] Kingdom itself and positions of rulership therein as set forth in 8: 11, 12; 25: 14-30. ...
Following events of the judgment seat of Christ, servants
having been shown faithful and
servants having been show unfaithful will find themselves in two entirely
different realms. Servants having been
shown faithful will find themselves being privileged to participate
in activities surrounding the marriage supper of the Lamb and will subsequently
be positioned on the throne as co-heirs with Christ. Servants having been shown unfaithful though will not
only be denied the privilege of attending the marriage festivities and
participating in the subsequent reign of Christ but they will be consigned (a
place outside the realm where these activities occur. They will be cast on the outside, from the inner light to a place
associated with events surrounding the marriage supper of the Lamb and the
reign of Christ) into the outer darkness (a place separated from events surrounding the marriage
supper of the Lamb and the reign of Christ).
This is the way outer darkness is used in Scripture; and this is the
only way the expression
is used. Any teaching concerning outer
darkness,
remaining true to the text, must approach the subject only from a contextual fashion of this
nature, recognizing the subject matter at hand.
CONTEXTUAL CONSIDERATIONS
Matthew presents Gods dealings with the house of Israel in
relation to the kingdom of the heavens, with the house ultimately being left desolate because of the nations rejection (Matt. 23: 2, 13, 38); and Matthew also anticipates Gods dealings
with a house separate and distinct from Israel in relation to the kingdom of
the heavens (Matt.
16: 18,
19; 24:
40; 25:
30). It is within this framework,
along with individual contextual settings, that Christs three references to outer
darkness are to
be understood in Matthews gospel.
The first appearance of outer darkness in Matthews gospel is in Matt. 8: 11, 12, and
the text and context both have to do with the message of the kingdom. Jesus
had just finished a lengthy discourse to His disciples, commonly called the Sermon on
the Mount (chs. 5-7), which is
a connected discourse dealing with entrance into or exclusion from the kingdom
of the heavens. Then in chapter eight the subject matter continues with
the message concerning the kingdom, as the subject matter immediately prior to
the Sermon on the Mount. The message at
this point actually picks up where chapter four left off - with physical
healings. These physical healings appear before, in conjunction with, and after
the text concerning the kingdom of the heavens and outer darkness in chapter eight.
These miraculous works of Christ among the Jewish people were signs having to do with the kingdom (cf.
Isa. 35: 1ff., Matt. 4: 23-25; 10: 5-8; 11: 2-5). They constituted the credentials of the
messengers of the gospel of the kingdom.
It is within a contextual setting such as this that outer
darkness first
appears in Matthews gospel. Actually,
the subject arose after a Roman centurion expressed faith that Christ could
heal his servant (who was sick at home) by just speaking the word. Christ used the faith exhibited by this
Gentile to illustrate a contrasting lack of faith exhibited by those in
The entire scene anticipated Matt.
21: 43
where the heavenly portion of the kingdom was taken from
The second appearance of outer darkness in Matthews gospel is in the parable
of the marriage festival in chapter twenty-two.
The contextual usage in this passage is in association with the kingdom of the heavens and the
activities attendant a royal wedding. Contextually, the King and His Son (v.
2) can only be identified as God the Father and God the Son. The servants and other servants (vv.
3, 4) sent to call them that were bidden [
The parable of the Householder and His servant follows the
parable of the fig tree and comments concerning the days of Noah and a house being broken up. The main
thoughts throughout this section (vv. 32-44) centre around the due season,
watchfulness, and readiness for the Lords
return. Then in the parable of the
Householder and His servant, the thought drawn from what has preceded centers
around faithfulness in dispensing meat in due season.
If the servant remains faithful, he will be made ruler over all
the Lords goods; but if the servant becomes unfaithful, he will be cut asunder and appointed his portion
with the hypocrites. (Note that by comparing Matt. 24: 45-51 with the parallel section in Luke 12: 42-46 it is
clear that only one servant
is in view throughout. The servant either remains faithful or becomes unfaithful.)
In the parable of the Householder and His servant,
unfaithfulness resulted in an apportion with the hypocrites; in the parable of
the ten virgins, the unfaithful servants (foolish virgins) were excluded from
the marriage festivities; and in the parable of the talents, the unfaithful
servant was cast into outer darkness.
Understanding the interrelationship between these parables, and
comparing them with the parable of the marriage festival in chapter twenty-two,
it becomes clear that outer darkness is associated with all three.
This is the place where the unfaithful servants found themselves in all
of the parables, even though the expression is used only in the parable of the
talents. One parable describes the place,
and all three describe conditions in this place.
Comparing the parable of the Householder and His servant with
the parable of the talents, note that positions of rulership are in view in
both parables. Only the faithful will be
apportioned these positions. The
unfaithful will not only be denied positions in the kingdom but will be
apportioned their place with the hypocrites where there be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth [an Oriental expression of deep
grief.] (Matt. 24:
51; 25: 30, ASV), called
outer
darkness in the
latter parable. Note the same expression
in Matt. 22: 13
in connection with outer darkness (cf. also Matt. 8: 12). Also note
that the unfaithful among the ten virgins were excluded from the marriage
festivities (25: 10-12), as
the man without a wedding garment (who was bound and cast into outer
darkness
HE WENT OUT
But Peter followed him afar off in the high priests palace
Now Peter sat
without in the palace: and a damsel came unto
him, saying, Thou
also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou
sayest ... And again he denied with an oath,
I do not know the man. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the
cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus,
which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly (Matt.
26: 58, 69-75).
And if a man also strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully ... If
we suffer [patiently endure], we shall also reign with him: if
we deny him, he also will deny us (2 Tim.
2: 5, 12).
Possibly the best illustration given in Scripture showing the
downward path, which it is possible for a Christian to take, ultimately leading
into the place of darkness outside the light, is the recorded actions of the
Apostle Peter immediately preceding Christs crucifixion. Christ had informed His disciples that they
would all be offended during the next few hours because of Him; and from that time
until the time Peter is seen weeping bitterly because of his offence, ...(The
word offended [Gk. skandalizo] has to do with something causing opposition which can
result in a fall.
This is the
same word used in Matt 13: 21, which,
according to Luke 8: 13, can result in a falling away, apostasy. ...
Step One: Peter would not accept Christs statement concerning
what the disciples were about to do, as he had not previously accepted Christs
statement on another occasion and had to be rebuked by the Lord (Matt. 16: 21-23). Peter then made his boast that he would never
allow opposition to bring about a falling away (cf. James 4: 13-15), and in response to Christs subsequent
statement that he would deny Him three times that very night. Peter responded, Though I
should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee; and the other disciples responded
likewise. But during the next few hours,
all
the disciples would forsake him and flee (Matt. 26: 33-35, 56).
Step Two: Following the disciples
boast that they would never allow opposition to bring about a failing away or
never deny Him, Christ took Peter, James, and John into the
Step three: Judas had betrayed
Christ to the religious leaders of
Step Four: The previous
actions of Peter and the other disciples boasting of that which they would do
(though the Lord had told them otherwise), sleeping when they should have been
watching and praying. and Peter resorting to the arm of flesh as he sought to
carry out his previous boast - led the disciples into doing exactly what they
had previously stated would not occur.
When Jesus was taken by the multitude, Then all the disciples forsook
him, and fled (Matt.
26: 56).
Step Five: Peter then began to follow Christ afar
off (Matt. 26:
58).
He had taken the sword, and it was about to result in his ruin. He had resorted to the man of flesh and was
in the process of reaping what he had sown (cf. Matt. 26: 52; Gal. 6: 7, 8).
Because of his previous actions, the closeness which had been his in the
inner circle with James and John was now gone (cf. Matt. 17: 1; 26: 37).
Step Six: When Jesus was
taken into the high priests palace for questioning
by the religious leaders, Peter, following Him afar off, remained outside in the
courtyard. Rather than himself with
Christ on the inside, he sat down with the enemy on the outside (Matt. 26: 69; Luke 22: 54).
Step Seven: Peters past actions
had now led him to the final point in his fall.
When accused of being one of Christs disciples, Peter denied his Lord
on three separate occasions, followed by the cock crowing a second time just as
Christ had foretold. And the Lord, being
led at that moment past Peter unto the hall of judgment (John 18:
28), turned and looked upon Peter, awakening him to the stark reality of what
he had done (Matt.
26: 34,
69-74;
Mark 14: 72; Luke
22: 61).
The Lords look in this passage was far more than a brief glance. The word used in the Greek text (emblepo) points to Christ fixing His eyes upon
Peter in an intently searching sense.
Peter came under scrutiny for his actions, causing him to remember that which had
previously occurred. Peter then went out,
and wept bitterly (Luke 22: 62).
Peter, because of his past actions, found himself outside in the place
where there is Weeping and gnashing of teeth. He was in outer darkness (cf.
Matt. 8: 12; 22: 13; 24: 51; 25: 30).
* *
* * *
* *
192
THE ABODE OF THE HOLY DEAD
BY D. M. PANTON
The
statement will probably come as a great surprise to the vast majority of modern
Christians, even including the bulk of prophetical students, that for the first
five centuries after Christ the mediaeval and modern doctrine that dead saints
are in heaven was unknown. But such is
the fact. The most ancient of all the
Fathers, says Dr. Pearson in his classic work on the
Creed, Were so far from believing that the end of
Christs descent into Hades* was to translate the
saints of old into heaven, that they thought them not to be in heaven yet, nor
ever to be removed from that place until
the general resurrection: very few (if any) for above five hundred years
after Christ did believe that Christ delivered the saints out of Hades.
* It is (we hope) unnecessary to say
that Hades in
the underworld and the
While this antagonism of the first five centuries to the
modern view is not by itself a sufficient disproof of the doctrine, it frees us
at once from any obligation to defend it as a sacred deposit reaching us from
the Apostles, and puts us instantly on our guard lest, in accepting it, we are
accepting an error of the later fathers. The denial of the modern belief
of the first five centuries after Christ is a fact of the first magnitude.*
* That disembodied spirits, dead men, are now reigning in heaven
is a Roman dogma, and a dogma required by the papal doctrine of the
Intercession of the Saints with God on high. The
saints who reign together with Christ, says the Decrees of the Council
of Trent (Session XXV.), offer up their prayers to
God for men; and they think impiously who deny
that the saints, who enjoy eternal happiness in
heaven, are to be invoked. So the
Council of Florence:- The spirits of believers are
instantly received into heaven, and clearly
behold the Triune God.]
Now there is no question, our Lord Himself being our
Instructor, that in His lifetime, as throughout all preceding ages, the saved
dead were in Hades; for all - as Solomon had said (Eccles.
3: 20) - go unto one place.
It is obvious that the Hades to which his angelic escort carry Lazarus
is not heaven, since within its confines is this place of torment (Luke 16:
28).*
The two compartments of the abode of the dead our Lord unveils more
clearly than has ever been done before or since: Sheol, and Abaddon (or Death);
two places, so that our Lord says - I hold the keys [in the plural] of Death and of Hades (Rev. 1: 18); and,
ultimately, Death and Hades, as outworn prisons, are cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev.
20: 14),
which in its turn is named Death, the eternal abode
of the wicked. Thus we are on sure
ground in stating, on Christs authority, that within His lifetime all the
saved dead were in Hades. No MAN, He says, at least up to the moment He spoke the words, HATH ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN (John 3: 13).
* Here Hades is taken for the whole abode of the dead: for Dives is said to have lifted up his eyes in Hades; so also Korahs
company went down alive into Sheol (Num.
16: 30). But Hades is
sometimes confined to the holy compartment: e.g., Prov. 27:
20, Rev. 1: 18, etc.
Next, we find that our Lord Himself descended into Hades in
His compassing all human experience.
Paul says: He also descended into the
lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4: 10):* who shall
descend into THE ABYSS - that is, to bring Christ up
from the dead? (Rom. 10: 7). So
therefore Peter at Pentecost says:- David saith concerning him, Thou wilt not
leave my soul IN HADES: David spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither
was he left in Hades, nor
did his flesh see corruption (Acts 2: 27, 31). The Representative Mans descent into Hades
to fulfil all human experience proves that up to that moment the descent was
all human experience still.
* This many of the ancient fathers understood
of the descent into Hades as placed in the lowest parts of the earth; and this
exposition must be expressed so probable, that
there can be no argument to disprove it.
That the soul of Christ was in Hades, says Augustine, no
Christian can deny... (J.
Pearson, D.D.).
But this establishes a point crucial to the revelation of the intermediate state [of
the disembodied souls of the dead, (Psa.
16: 10. cf.
Acts 2: 27,
R.V.)].
The Saviour said on the cross to the dying malefactor, - This day shalt thou be with me IN PARADISE (Luke 23:
43): the Paradise of which He speaks must
therefore be a section of Hades, for into Hades He went immediately on dying:
and this is put beyond all challenge or doubt by our Lord Himself saying to
Mary in the garden, three days later, I have not yet ascended unto the Father.
He had been below, in the
* The Greek (carry off, ravish away) does not indicate any
particular direction which only can be inferred from the known location of the
spot to which the removal is made. The
English translators have inserted the word up,
apparently on the assumption that the third heaven and
So therefore in our Lords lifetime, and in our Lords own
experience, the holy dead are in Hades; and next, at a later stage, on the
other side of the Ascension - and this is critical - we have once again the
solid utterance of inspiration that the saved dead are in Hades still. For speaking ten days after the Ascension,
and so ten days after the current view supposes that our Lord had taken all the
saved dead to heaven with Him, the Apostle says:- David is not
ascended into the heavens (Acts 2:
34). His tomb, Peter says - his unbroken tomb - is with us, a proof positive (argues the Apostle)
of a spirit - [i.e., as a disembodied
soul, - Ed.]
- unascended into heaven, unrisen left in Hades. Therefore the conception that since the
Ascension [of Christ] redeemed souls in dying wing their way up to the Throne
of God is quite untrue. Thus the comfort Jesus gives to John
thirty to forty years after the Ascension, when the Apostle falls at His feet as one dead, is - I hold the keys of Death and of Hades (Rev.
1: 18),
Hades thus being no more emptied than Abaddon, but both being now in the
direct, personal custody and control of Christ.
For our Lord has led captivity captive (Eph. 4:
8) - He has enslaved the underworld, dying that he might
become Lord of both the dead and the living (Rom.
14: 9);
and the captives that graced His train (if there were any) were the Powers of
Darkness that sought to arrest the ascending Lord (Col.
2: 15).
Now therefore we are prepared for a word of Christ which
covers the whole Church throughout the centuries until His return. Upon this rock,
He says, I will build my church; and the
gates of Hades shall not
prevail against it (Matt. 16:
18) - shall not overpower, shall not master,
the holy dead. Thus towards the close of
His ministry our Lord said: I will build
my church, which was
then, therefore, non-existent; and shortly after Pentecost we read - great fear
came upon the whole church (Acts 5:
11), thus mentioned as existing for the
first time:* therefore between these two dates - doubtless (as
almost universally believed) at Pentecost, the Church was born. Now this is
decisive. For if our Saviour had emptied
Paradise at His Ascension ten days before Pentecost, it could not have been the
Church that was removed, for the Church was then non-existent; and it follows
that either the Church has never been in Hades at all - which would exactly
negative our Lords words - or else,
if the saints are in heaven, a later emptying has taken place of which
Scripture knows nothing. The truth is
obvious - the whole Church (with the slender exception of the living rapt at
the close of the Age) experiences Hades down twenty centuries until, the moral
fetters of sin having been broken, in due time the massive gates roll back to
let forth the rising saints.
* The word church is not in the Greek of Acts 2:
47.
A crucial fact finally crowns the evidence. Ten centuries after the First Resurrection,
and in the moment of the final muster of the dead for judgement, from both departments of the underworld ‑
and not from one only ‑ stream up the dual dead. Death and
Hades give up the dead which are
in THEM (Rev.
20: 13). The dead issuing from Hades as distinct from
Death, or Abaddon, cannot have died later than the First Resurrection, for no righteous die in the [coming Messianic and Millennial] Kingdom (Isa.
65: 20),
and the unrighteous, dying, go to Abaddon.* Exactly in accord with our Lords
words:- All that are in the graves shall come forth: they that have done good, unto
the resurrection of life; and they that have
done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:
28).
Thus what the entire Church held for the first five centuries after
Christ is the truth; namely, that HADES
HOLDS ALL THE DEAD UNTIL RESURRECTION - the
FIRST, and then the final - has done its work, when Death
and Hades themselves - the old prison-houses now useless in a deathless
eternity - were cast - literal localities, for ever ceremonially unclean - into the lake
of fire (Rev. 20: 14).
* The assumption that the souls issuing
from Death and Hades embrace only such as incur the punishment of the Lake of
Fire is based upon a false hypothesis that all believers rose from the dead at
the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom (Lange).
Scanty but precious light is cast on our intermediate home -
when we shall be at home with the Lord (2 Cor.
5: 8). To me to live is Christ and to die is
gain: to depart and be with Christ;* for it is
very far better (Phil. 1: 22): far, far better, even than a life
which is Christ (Bishop Moule). Dying is hard, once said an old saint, but death
is delightful. The revelation comes
with great force, for Paul alone of mankind had been in
* Not necessarily where Christ is
bodily. It was a spiritual presence of
Christ the dying malefactor experienced in
** The falling into oblivion of the
truth of Hades not only dislodged the doctrine of the millennium - for who would wish to descend from
the supernal Glory even to a millennial earth, after (in some cases) thousands
of years in the immediate presence of Deity? - but even more disastrously
dislocated the truth of the resurrection, which, for spirits already in the
full glory of God, becomes as fantastic as it is unnecessary. (Govett.)]
-------
Mr. Robert Chapman, about the year 1896, sent out to leading
teachers in the assemblies of Open Brethren, a series of Suggestive Questions. Number 10 includes the following: Are not the redeemed in Revelation
4. and 5. the same with those of Chapter
20: 4, Thrones and they say upon
them? Verse 5, This is the first
resurrection.
Is it not a resurrection of first-fruits?
Now in the
essential nature of the case of first-fruits, writes Mr. G. H. Lang, are but a portion of the whole harvest, and so the
question proceeds: And the rest of the dead in the
same verse, do they not include all the family
of God? not the wicked only. Hence in verse 12, Another book was opened, which
is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their
works. Verse 15, And whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
It is clear, says Mr. G. H. Lang, that all who rise in the first resurrection do reign, from which it
certainly follows that such as are not accounted worthy
to reign do not rise at that time. *
[* Therefore, there must be a future judgment of our works in Hades after death, (Heb.
9: 27,
R.V.) - to reward those which shall be accounted
worthy to obtain that age - [the millennium] and
the resurrection out of dead ones (Luke 20:
35, lit. Greek). - Ed.]
* * *
* * *
*
193
TO ATTAIN TO THE RESURRECTION OUT FROM THE DEAD
IS THE CHRISTIANS HOPE (Phil 3:
11)
Edited from writings by
ROBERT GOVETT
-------
To the
apostles the resurrection was the great foundation of the Christian faith. It was proved by the actual resurrection of
Jesus. It was the great and startling piece
of news which they were sent to proclaim, with all its consequences, to an
unbelieving world.
But soon this truth fell out of view. In the middle ages, the intermediate state
and deliverance from it, usurped the place of resurrection. At the Reformation the doctrine of the
intermediate state fell through, together with the false doctrine of
Purgatory. The idea which Justin Martyr stigmatizes as false -
that at once on death, the soul enters on heaven and glory - took its
place. If that be true, resurrection is an impertinence. Hence resurrection almost ceased to form a
subject of Protestant discourses, and the case is not very different now.
In most instances it is evidenced by the hymns usually sung -
death is the object set before the believers view. The topic of funeral
sermons is the victory achieved at death, when anyone departs in faith. The departed faithful have entered the land
of promise; may we go to them! The body
is a clog, a burden, a
prison. Death is emancipation from the flesh, a sudden entry on
glory. This, I suppose, is not Scripture doctrine, but contrary to it.
To unbelievers, resurrection has always been one of the chief
stumbling-blocks of Christianity. 1. Of old it was declared, that the
rising of the dead and decomposed body was a something beyond the power of God
Himself. 2. The philosophers added, that even if it were possible, it was
undesirable in the highest degree. Matter was in itself evil. To be delivered from the appetites and
importunities of the body was the great object of the philosopher. And should he allow, that the body that had
wrought so much mischief to the soul, and was at length laid away out of sight
- a putrid mass - was anew and forever to be associated with the purified
spirit? It was mans glory to leave it
for evermore.
Celsus said of resurrection, that it was a hope to be
cherished by worms.
This erroneous view will materially affect our comprehension
of the Saviours reply to the Sadducees.
Jesus argues from the expression
used by Jehovah, I am the God of Abraham, of
Isaac and Jacob,
that the dead were to be raised. In what
condition then, did Jesus assume these patriarchs to be? Dead? Or alive? Christians
ordinarily suppose that He assumes them to be alive. So
says Wesley, Therefore Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, are not dead, but living. Therefore the soul does not die with the body. So says Barnes. God spake, then, as being their God. They must, therefore, be still somewhere living. He is the
God only of those who have an existence.
But then there is in that passage no proof of a resurrection; but only of the separate existence of the soul, after the body is laid aside.
Now resurrection never means the immortality of the soul, never means a future
state. Then, too, Jesus reply does not refute the
Sadducees. Their alleged difficulty did
not relate to the intermediate state, but to the coming forth of the dead from their tombs, and the restoration of
their bodies. To whom the woman was
as wife to belong, was a question applying only to the day when the body was reunited to the soul. Neither
Pharisee nor Sadducee believed in marriage among spirits.
This answer, then, makes Jesus evade the question, and prove the separate existence of the soul, instead of the resurrection of the body. It
is, in fact, a wrong way of stating the matter.
The patriarchs were not alive, but dead.
The dead, are those human beings whose body and soul are severed. Then Jesus admits to the Sadducees, that
Abraham is dead, as much as the woman and her seven husbands. Abraham is dead for his body is still in the
It is, indeed, quite true that this passage proves the
separate existence of the souls of the patriarchs. But that was not the point. Jesus does not cite it to prove that, but
Abrahams return to his body. The
separate existence of Abrahams body and soul is a proof of his being then and
now among the dead [in Hades]. He will not be alive till his body and soul are reunited.
In the same state in which Abraham was when God spoke to Moses at the
bush, Abraham is still. Barnes and
others call him dead then.
He is, then, dead now. Jesus
therefore is referring, not to time present, but to the future day of resurrection, of which the
Sadducees were speaking.
Abraham is dead.
Jehovah is his God. But Jehovah
is not God of the dead. Therefore God is not now showing
Himself the God of Abraham, for the resurrection [of the holy dead] is not yet come. That the resurrection was to be at a future day, the Pharisees
held; and on that, allowed as a basis, the Sadducees plead.
God, then, by these words, engages to restore by His Almighty power Abraham to become Abraham again in
resurrection. Abraham when the Lord promised him the
possession of
[* See Gen.
13: 14-17; 15: 7. cf. Acts
7: 5, R.V.)]
A new and better age* is coming, in which
they neither die nor marry, nor are given in marriage.
[* See Luke
20: 35. cf. Heb. 6: 5, R.V.]
As long, then, as marriage and death last among believers, so
long have we clear proof that the better age and this [select and out-] resurrection from
the dead are not come.*
[* See Phil.
3: 11. cf. Heb.
11: 35b,
R.V.]
But if death be resurrection, and the spirit-state be the eternal one, Abraham had
already risen ages before, and was either then enjoying the land of promise, or
Gods pledged word was broken. Then,
too, the Sadducees should not have said, Whose wife in the resurrection shall
she be?
For already in the spirit-state she was the wife of one or more of them. If they were wrong in their supposition about
this, Jesus would have corrected their error.
But while He affirms the reality of resurrection, which they falsely
denied, He confirms them in regard to the futurity of the resurrection.
But when they shall rise from the
dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage: (Greek) Luke
20: 34, 35.
This then is Gods meaning, where Scripture uses the word resurrection.
Death is not a rising up but a lying down of the body, in which posture
it abides. Death is not the mounting up of the soul,
but its going down into
the under world of Hades.
On this example of Christ Paul rests the whole Gospel. This alone is Gods news. The departure of the soul from the body at
death was, and is, the ordinary course of things. God raised Jesus not from death alone, but
from among the dead, to whom He descended when He died; and
from whom He came up, when He returned
to life. How was the Saviour known
to be dead? By the aspect and touch of
His body. How was He known to be buried? By His friends bearing His body to the place
of dead bodies. How was He proved to be
risen? By His body being no longer to be
found in the tomb to which He was committed, but by its being seen and felt
alive by credible witnesses. The whole man had risen. His [spirit (Jas.
2: 26,
R.V.) and] soul [were
reunited and] dwelt anew in His body.
He was the same Son of Man after His death that He was before it. As His Father at His baptism, and
transfiguration saluted Him as His Son, so does He after His birth from the
tomb. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee: Acts 13:
33. Raised
from the dead, He is still the Son of David, and is to return as such: 2 Timothy 2: 8;
Revelation 22: 16. As He rose, so after this manner are
we to rise.
AN ILLUSTRATION
Shall I refer to that illustration of the
future existence which has always struck men? when they made the butterfly an
emblem of resurrection? Observe, then,
it is not a resurrection
at the time of death which is therein set forth: (
The grub comes forth from the egg of the caterpillar, to feed
on leaves. When it has attained its full
size, and finished its earthly life, it prepares its coffin, and rolls itself
up in its winter cerements. But when the
spring opens into summer, it comes forth from its buried existence to live its
new and ethereal life. All the winter it
remains in suspended animation; its new life is entered on by bursting forth of
its coffin to enjoy its airy heritage and pasture. So with man.
Death is his entry on the state of the chrysalis. It is not till he has burst the tomb that he
comes forth to his heavenly heritage and life.
The doctrine, then, of the Old Testament and the New is that at death the soul goes to the place
which is called Hades.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the
which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they
that have done good, unto the resurrection of
life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation: John 5:
28, 29.
That this is no mere word of theory, devoid of reality and
power, God has given us proof in the coming forth of Lazarus from the cave of
death; and in the opened graves, out of which the companions of Jesus
resurrection came, and exhibited themselves as alive in soul and body. Still more satisfactorily. Jesus has come forth in body, soul, and
spirit, as the risen man, the pattern and the proof of ours.
If the disembodied souls distant vision of the Lord be glad,
how much greater shall be the joy of the presence of the risen beside the Risen
Son of Man! It is not the death of the
believer that gives him the victory. It
is when the mortal has been clothed upon with immortality, and the corruptible with incorruption,
that then shall the saying be brought to pass, Death is
swallowed up in victory! O Death,
where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory? This is the cry
of the rescued, as for ever they leave the souls place of custody, and the
elements of the tomb.
The Lord speed that day!
To the Spiritists [who
believe death is resurrection] the resurrection is past already as it regards the dead, who are far the largest
portion of the human family. But the Holy Spirit tells us, that such a
statement is an overthrow of the
faith: 2 Timothy 2: 18. You have destroyed the very sense of
resurrection. Resurrection is an act of
God the Son, (1 Corinthians 15: 22) not
experienced now, but to be put forth at the last day, at a time unknown; but,
then, signalled by the trump of God.
Jesus is Resurrection and Life. On the living
He will work the change which shall make them immortal. On the dead saints - [when
He returns (1 Thess.
4: 16. cf.
John 14: 3,
R.V.)] - He will put forth His power in
resurrection.
The error here combated sets aside both sin and
redemption. According to Scripture,
death, and the decomposition of the body which follows it, were the effects of
Adams trespass. Life and the
recomposition of the body is the consequence of Jesus work of obedience and
atoning. But the Spiritists make death to be resurrection, and the penalty of sin to be our
deliverance!
But resurrection has been foretold by God in His grace. Death, the penalty of sin, is not to be the
end of man. Resurrection is possible, for He who promises has Almighty
power. It will be no harder to Him to
reunite the separated parts of man, than it was to mould him at first. Resurrection is certain, for He has determined on it, and His truth binds Him to
perform it. Nay, He has already effected
this His counsel, in the case of His Son Christ Jesus.
The time of resurrection, as stated by the apostle, is quite
different from that contemplated by the Spiritist theory. The righteous are to rise before the wicked in a
future day. The dead saints have to rise
in order to set them on a level with the living saints, who are expecting
Christs return. The resurrection is to
take place on large numbers at once, not on men one by one. Their mouldering relics are to be restored to
life in an instant - at the last day, at the last trump - the worthy signal of
the Great Congregation assembly. Such a
change is absolutely necessary; for, as Paul says, believers, whether they be
alive or dead, are in neither condition fitted for the kingdom of glory: 15: 50.
* *
* * *
* *
194
HADES REVERSES ALL
BY G. H. LANG
Hades is
a known, locality. It is mentioned in
other passages in the New Testament: Matt. 11: 23; 16: 18; Luke 10: 15; Acts 2: 27, 31; Rev. 1: 18; 6: 8; 20: 13, 14. It is
the place to which our Lord went at death:
Because you will not abandon me [Gk. My soul] to the grave [Gk. to hades]
(Acts 2: 27). Hades and the grave are not synonymous; the
former is in the heart of the earth, and is the place of disembodied souls; the latter is the burial place of
their bodies. According to scripture, the soul is the
person; the body, is the tent or tabernacle in which the soul resides when alive. There it is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew
word Sheol as used in Psalm 16: 10: Because you will not abandon me to the grave [Gk. Sheol]
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
This word comes some sixty-five times in the Old Testament, from which
passages much can be learned. Its
location is shown. Ephesians 4:
9 tells us that it was from, the lower
earthly regions
that Christ ascended by resurrection. It
includes the
2. Hades is a dual region, a place of agony as well as of bliss, and the two regions are separated by a
chasm that is impassable. After death the soul is restricted (to some
extent) in movement, as well as the body.
It has its Divinely imposed limits.
Yet its faculties persist: He looked up and saw Abraham far
away, with Lazarus by his side (v.
23).
His tongue can cry put, his ears can hear, his memory is active (Son, remember), his
feelings are acute. He is the same
person, simply disembodied.
3. As shown above, the rich man in that
region and condition has eyes, ears, tongue, and sensations. Similarly, when Samuel was permitted to
return (from Sheol) to warn Saul, his robe and
appearance, as described by the medium, were readily recognizable by Saul, and
the prophet could speak words audible to the king and hear what the latter
said:- Then the woman asked, Whom
shall I bring up for you? Bring up Samuel, he said.
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice. ... What does he look like? he
asked. An
old man wearing a robe is coming up, she said. Then Saul knew it was
Samuel ... Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bring me up? [1 Samuel
28.]
Thus in that dread place there is a fire; its victim is in torment; Lazarus has a finger, and there is water that could alleviate the torment,
were this permitted, but (in the rich mans case) it is not. The terms are strong: basanos, torture, anguish; odunao, agony as of child pangs.
However fiercely the modern sinner may resent: and reject such
conceptions they are neither unphilosophical nor were they new when the Lord
spoke of them. The soul after death
being still an entity goes to Hades, and not into heaven as so many Christians
erroneously suppose; and being conscious must be susceptible of sensations
appropriate to its condition and surroundings.
4. Though
co-operation between the two regions within Hades is denied, intercourse is
not. The rich man (Dives) and Abraham can
converse. The former makes two appeals: (a) For Personal
alleviation.
But this is
declared impossible. Lazarus cannot
reach Dives. This denies the basic
allegation of spiritism that the pious of the higher realms of that world live
to help forward and upward the less fortunate, and that existence there is a
progressive ascent. Dives entertained no
such fallacy. He does, not ask for a
release, for transference to Abrahams side, but only for temporary mitigation
of his misery.
(b) He then pleads that his five
brothers be warned, so that they
will not also come to this place of torment (verse 28). It has been suggested that this request arose
only lest his own wretchedness be aggravated by their company and
reproachers. The narrative does not suggest
this, and a basic motive ought not to be imputed. The love that thinks no evil
would rather hope that genuine pity stirred the once hard heart and he who
would not himself escape desired that others should do so.
Abraham replies to each request.
(c) Dives must
remember the relationship between the past and the present. In his life on earth he received in full his good
things. He gained what he sought and
misused it. He lived for the approbation
of men, and men praise you when you prosper.
Thus while he lived he counted himself blessed (Psalm 49:
18); he received his good things, and he
exhausted them. Now he has nothing, not
even, a friend to welcome him into that tabernacle of misery. It was with him as it is to be with that
richer and more majestic being than he, Who is yet to reach that dread region,
at whom those already there shall be astonished and shall have no words of
grateful welcome (Isaiah 14: 3-15).
In like manner Lazarus on earth had endured and suffered much
evil; but now he is comforted here and you are in agony (verse 25). Up to the time of death one condition; after
the time of death an entirely reversed condition.
(d) As to his brothers, they must use
their existing opportunities and advantages. More they do not need, nor will more be granted. They have Moses and the Prophets;
let them listen to them.
The Spirit of truth speaks in them; the voice of a spook cannot be so
impressive or authoritative: If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets,
they will not be convinced even if someone rises from
the dead (verse 31).
In due time One who is the greatest of the sons of men rose
from the dead, but in conformity with the principle He had there stated, He did
not in that form present Himself to men of the world,
but continues to speak by His convicting Spirit in the Scriptures. Jesus warned against the love of money (Matt. 6: 24; 13: 22; Luke 16: 13); the later apostles and prophets have
continued and emphasized the warning (1 Tim.
6: 10):
therefore how much heavier is the guilt, and how much darker the prospects, of
those who now turn away, not only from Moses and the Prophets, but from Him Who by His Spirit warns us from heaven.
This solemn warning is addressed to the regenerate, and not
only to those who have never professed the faith.
For people who
want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and
harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money
is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many griefs.
A Christian, as yet trustful toward God and tender towards
men, may become
self-dependent and callous. So, if you think you are standing firm,
be careful that you dont fall! (1 Cor. 10: 12); for if we fall into the temptation and snare
of loving money we must reap the full harvest of our sowing as certainly as must the open worldling.
It is on [regenerate] Christians that this certainly is pressed, in order that we may not be weary in communicating
of our substance, in
doing well, by working that which is good toward all. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to
please his sinful nature, from that nature will
reap destruction: the one who sows to please the
Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal* life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Gal.
6; 7-9). A Dives
may be a regenerate believer, Scripture and fact assert it. Who
dare deny it? Christ had already applied to
His own followers His exhortation, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed: a mans life (soul) does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:
15, with verse
22 therefore).
[* Note:
The Greek adjective aionios is here translated eternal; but this Greek word should be translated age-lasting
in various the contexts, and this is one of the many! For other examples, in the
Epistles, see Gal.
6: 8; 1
Tim. 6:
12; Heb.
5: 9; Titus
1: 3; 3:
7. These passages
have to do with running the present race of the faith with a view of one day
realizing an inheritance in the [coming
millennial] kingdom, which is the hope set before
Christians (A. L.
Chitwood.)]
5. The state of death, and the place
called Hades are not the lake of fire, for ultimately the two former are to
be cast into the latter (Rev.
20: 13, 14). The
scene described is immediately after death, for the five brothers are still
alive in the family home on earth.
Incidentally, that their number is given implies the literality of the
circumstances. Therefore Hades is not eternal; and
the eternal destiny of its inmates ought not to be assumed. There will be
eternal death and eternal torment (Matt. 25: 41, 46; Rev. 14: 9-11; 20: 10, 14, 15), but what persons are to suffer that doom
cannot be declared save by the Righteous Judge alone (Matt.
25: 41),
and so to the more part of the lost it appears that He will not declare it
until the last judgment at the great white throne. It is
not warranted to preach eternal destiny from what Scripture here says of Hades.
Dives may
be an utterly lost soul, but no one can rightly assert this. If his concern for his brothers was sincere,
he was not yet utterly hardened. Nor
does he make complaint as to his sufferings, like those who blaspheme God
because of their pains (Rev. 16: 9, 11). And
Abraham acknowledges relationship with Dives by answering his appeal Father with the term Son
[Gk. child].
6. The Lord leaves untouched, some deep
and interesting matters. What
constituted the fitness of Lazarus for
Various common assumptions are here rebuked. That death introduces a complete break in
moral state and~ experience is refuted.
On the contrary, moral condition persists and governs experience. The law of sowing and reaping operates rigidly and fully. Eternal
consequences have indeed been cancelled for the repentant by the sufferings of
Christ on the cross; but temporal consequences prevail in the period between death and resurrection.
It is also denied that at death the saved go to heaven and the
lost to hell. They all alike go to the realm of the
dead,
where Christ went,
but some to the portion called of old, Abrahams bosom and now given the nobler description with Christ (Phil.
1: 23),
for now He fills, or occupies, all things (Eph.
4: 9, 10).
When the A.V. was made, hell meant what the Greek Hades means, a vast covered region out of ken of our
bodily senses, reached after death.
To-day hell has come to mean the place of final judgment, the lake of fire, which misleads the present reader of the
Authorized King James Version.
A result has been that the great [scriptural] facts revealed as to the state
intermediate between death and resurrection have, been deleted from most
Christian thought and preaching, so that both the solace and the solemnity of
such knowledge have been lost. Believers have been buoyed up with the fictitious notion that they go from
their death-bed to the glory
of heaven, and the salutary warning has been lost that their unrepented
misdeeds must
be faced directly after death. In particular, how lamentable has been
the growth in [regenerate] Christians
of covetousness, riches, and self-indulgence. Let us rather take to our hearts the facts
presented by our Lord and order our ways accordingly. Then shall we be able honestly and forcefully
to press them upon the carnal.
The Invigorating inspiring effort of this view is shown in IV
Maccabees 13: 16. As mentioned before, in
the second century B.C., pious Jews being cruelly tortured to death by
Antiochus Epiphanes, encouraged one another to endure unto the end by the
words, Thus suffering, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will welcome us
and all the fathers will commend us. In this wise they
rejoiced at the prospect of being welcomed into the eternal tabernacles.
O GOD, TO US MAY GRACE BE GIVEN
TO FOLLOW IN THEIR TRAIN.
-------
HADES occurs 11 times in the Greek
Testament, and is improperly translated in the common version 10 times by the
word hell. It is the word used in the Septuagint as a
translation of the Hebrew word sheol, denoting the abode or world
of the dead, and means literally that which is in darkness, hidden, invisible,
or obscure. As the word hades did not come to the
Hebrews from any classical source, or with any classical meaning, but through
the Septuagint, as a translation of their own word sheol, therefore in order
to properly define its meaning recourse must be had to the various passages
where it is found. The Hebrew word sheol
is translated by hades, in the Septuagint, 60 times out of 63; and though sheol
in many places, (such as Gen. 35: 35; 13: 38; 1 Sam. 2: 7; 1 Kings 2: 6; Job. 14: 13; 17: 13, 16, &c.), may signify keber, the grave,
as the common receptacle of the dead [body], yet it has the more general meaning of death;
a
state of death; the dominion of death. To translate hades by the word hell,
as is done 10 times out of 11 in the New Testament [A.V.], is very
improper, unless it has the Saxon meaning of helan, to cover, attached
to it. The primitive signification of hell
only denoting what was SECRET or CONCEALED, perfectly corresponds to the
Greek sheol, but the theological definition to it at the present day
by no means expresses it.
- Taken from The Emphatic Diaglott. p.p.
892.
-------
The
passion for souls; the compassion of the
Lord Jesus, burning in the hearts and lives are present day evidence that
Christ loves. A whole Bible for a whole world,
with its searching implications, calls us to a renewed consecration to Him Who
loved us with an undying love. The time
is short; the coming of the Lord to estanlish His
Can we, whose souls are lighted
With the wisdom from on high,
Can we, to men benighted
The Lamp of life deny?
Kark! Those cursts of accamalation;
Kark! Those loud triumphant chords;
Jesus takes the highest station,
Crown Him, Crown Him
King of kings, and Lord of lords.
*
* * *
* *
*
195
APPROVAL, GOAL OF YOUR FAITH
BY ARLEN L
CHITWOOD
-------
[THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF FOREWORD FROM A PREVIOUS PAGE - Ed.]
The key words in Heb. 3: 6 pertaining to hope are confidence and rejoicing. The
Greek word translated confidence (parresia)
has to do with being bold, or courageous; and the Greek word translated rejoicing (kauchema) has to do with the object of boasting, a thing of
pride. Christians are to be bold, courageous
as they journey toward their heavenly [and
millennial] inheritance; and they are to
exult in the hope set before them. They are to display this hope as the very
object of the salvation which they possess in such a manner that the One Who
secured this hope for them will receive the praise, honour, and glory.
A FUTURE INHERITANCE
The future inheritance of the saints (1
Peter 1: 4), mentioned numerous times
in Scripture, must be understood from the standpoint of the inheritance
surrounding the birthright, having to do with firstborn sons. The word translated birthright
in the New Testament is from the Greek word prototokia, a plural noun which should be properly
rendered, the rights of the firstborn. And the rights of firstborn sons consists of a plurality
of rights, which are inherited rights.
The rights of firstborn sons in the Jewish economy in the Old
Testament consisted of three things: (1)
ruler
of the household under and for the father, (2) priest of the family,
and (3) the reception of a double portion of the fathers estate.
Every Jewish firstborn son was in line to receive this twofold
inheritance; but, according to that which God has revealed in His Word, this
inheritance was forfeitable. The positional standing as a firstborn
son did not itself guarantee that the inheritance would be received. A firstborn son, through rebellious actions, could
forfeit the rights of primogeniture.
Two classic examples of the forfeiture of the rights belonging to
firstborn sons are given in the Book of Genesis, the book wherein the
roots of all Biblical doctrine lie. One
is the account of Esau, and the other is the account of Reuben.
-------
That the trial [approval] of your faith, being much more
precious than of gold that perisheth, though it
be tried with fire [but being approved through
fire], might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him
not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end [goal] of your faith, even the
salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1: 7-9).
In the Greek text of verse seven the word translated trial is dokimion, and the word translated tried is dokimazo. These are, respectively, noun and verb
forms of the same word. In either form,
this word means to be tried with a view to approval,
if found worthy; or, if the text so indicates,
the word can refer to approval itself at the termination of testing.
James 1: 3, where dokimion is
used, provides a good example of testing during present time with a view to
future approval. But 1 Peter 1: 7,
contextually, moves beyond the point of a present-day testing. Approval at a future date is in view, and the
translation of both dokimion and dokimazo should reflect this fact.
This verse should correctly be translated,
That the approval of your faith ... but being
approved through fire...
Verse nine, continuing this same thought, refers to obtaining something
because of the outcome of ones faith - Receiving the
end of your faith... The word
translated end is telos
in the Greek text, which literally means goal
consummation, full
development of that which is in view.
Faith, the subject matter at hand in verses seven through nine, is
that which is in view. In verse seven, faith must be approved in order to realize praise and
honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, and in verse nine, faith must be brought to full
development, reach its goal, in
order to realize the salvation of your souls.
AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT
The approval and goal of ones faith
await the coming issues of the judgment seat of Christ. The evaluations and determinations of this
judgment will be based on works which emanate
out of faithfulness to ones calling.
The Book of James teaches that faithfulness to ones calling will result
in works of a particular nature, and these works alone (works which God has
outlined for each individual Christian to accomplish) will result in faith
being brought to the place where it can be approved, realizing its proper goal
(ref. Chapter V).
The trial of every mans work
in fire at the judgment seat of Christ will be with a view to approval, if
found worthy. The Greek word translated
try in 1 Cor. 3: 13 is dokimazo, the same
word used In 1 Peter 1: 7. Works are approved
through fire in 1 Cor.
3: 13,
and faith is approved through fire in 1 Peter 1: 7. Both Scriptures refer to that future time
when the approval of works at the judgment seat will reveal an approved faith
as well.
Works of a nature which can be approved
will have emanated out of faithfulness to ones calling, resulting in a faith which can also be approved. During the present time,
faith is being brought to its goal (into the place where it can be approved)
through works; and at the judgment seat, the approval of faith will be based
upon the approval of works. The former
cannot be realized apart from the latter, and the relationship between faith
and works after this fashion is such that Scripture reveals both being approved
through
fire.
However, there is another side to the judgment seat of Christ,
for Scripture reveals that a Christians works may be found unworthy of approval. The trial will be with a view to approval,
but such will not be the case if the fire reveals works which are not
worthy of approval - works emanating from other than a faithfulness to ones
calling.
And disapproved works can only result in a disapproved faith.
A faith of this nature will not have been brought to its proper goal,
and individuals possessing works unworthy of approval will suffer loss.
Then, using the inverse of that which is taught in 1 Peter 1: 7-9 about approved faith brought to its goal (shown
through approved works), an individual possessing a disapproved faith (shown
through disapproved works) will not only be denied praise and honour and glory at
the appearing of Jesus Christ (v.
7), but his suffering loss will have to do
with the loss of his soul (v.
9).
James 1: 12 refers to Christians
being approved prior to receiving a crown:
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for
when he is tried [approved], he shall receive the
crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.
The word translated tried is dokimos in the Greek text. This word, from the same root form as dokimios in 1 Peter
1: 7, refers specifically to being approved at the end of testing. In 1 Cor. 3: 13, it is the approval of an individuals works; in 1
Peter 1: 7, it is the
approval of an individuals faith; but in James 1: 12, it
is
the approval of the
individual himself.
The approval of works, as has been shown, will result in and
reveal the approval of faith. This will,
in turn, result in the approval of the individual, for it is a physical flesh
and bone entity who will realize the goal of his faith, the salvation of his soul.
In 1 Cor. 9: 24-27 Paul states that the Christian is in a race with a crown in view,
which will be acquired only after the runner has been approved at the
conclusion of the race:
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain [the prize].
SALVATION OF THE SOUL
And every man that striveth for the mastery is
temperate in all things. Now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown, but we an
incorruptible (crown).
I therefore so run, not as uncertainly: so fight I, not as one that
beateth the air:
But I keep under my body, and bring it
into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway [lit. be disapproved].
The word translated castaway
(v. 27) is adokimos
in the Greek text. This is the same
word translated tried [lit. approved] in James 1: 12, but with the prefix a, which negates the
word. Adokimos, thus, means disapproved.
Studying 1 Cor.
9: 24-27; James 1: 12; 1 Peter 1: 7-9 in the
light of one another will produce one clear, uniform teaching: Christians are enrolled in a race, with crowns to be won or lost at the
termination of this race. And how well Christians run
the race depends upon their faithfulness. Faithfulness to ones calling is the key, for only through faithfulness
can works ensue; and works are necessary to produce a living faith, resulting in
fruit-bearing, which can, in that coming day (at the judgment seat), be
approved (cf. James 2: 14-26).
Only in this manner will individuals be approved for crowns, allowing the recipients of crowns the
privilege of occupying positions as joint-heirs with Christ in His coming
kingdom.
THE PRIMARY, FUNDAMENTAL TYPE
A Christians disapproval for the crown referred to in 1 Cor. 9: 24-27 has its contextual parallel in the verses
immediately following (1 Cor.
10: 1-11), which record
The verses outlining these experiences are divided into two
sections (vv. 1-6 and vv. 7-11). The
first section outlines in general terms the experiences of the Israelites under
Moses, and this section is concluded in verse six with the statement:
Now these things were our examples [lit. these things happened as types
for us], to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also
lusted.
Then, the second section outlines in more specific terms four
sins of the people which characterized the wilderness journey, and this section
is concluded in verse eleven with the statement:
Now all these things happened unto
them for ensamples [lit. for types]: and they are written for our
admonition upon whom the ends of the world [ages] are come.
Thus, there is a type-antitype treatment of Israelites under the leadership of
Moses with Christians under the leadership of Christ. This same type-antitype treatment of Israelites with
Christians also forms the basis for the first four of the five major warnings
in the Book of Hebrews (1: 14 - 2: 5; 3: 1 - 4: 16; 6: 1-12; 10: 19-39), apart from which these warnings cannot
be properly understood.
Just as a proper understanding of the first four of the five
major warnings in Hebrews is built around a type-antitype treatment of the Israelites under Moses with Christians under Christ,
a proper understanding of 1 Cor.
9: 24-27 is built
around this same type-antitype treatment.
These verses logically lead into the tenth chapter, and this chapter
forms the basis for explaining what is meant by being approved or disapproved at the conclusion of the race.
Scripture is to be interpreted in the light of Scripture, and the approval or disapproval of an individual
at the judgment seat of Christ must be understood in the light of Old Testament typology - namely the
experiences of the Israelites under the leadership of Moses following the death
of the paschal lambs in
TYPE -
On the night of the Passover in the
Not only was the Feast of the Passover instituted at this time but the Feast of
Unleavened Bread
was also instituted at the very beginning of
Leaven, in Scripture, always, without
exception, portrays that which is evil, corrupt. Seven is the number of perfection,
indicating the completeness of that which is in view. And regardless of the time or place - in
... for whosoever eateth leavened
bread from the first day until the seventh day, that
soul shall be cut off from
Thus, Gods dual truth concerning blood and leaven was established at the very beginning
of
What though did
The answer of course, according to Scripture, is No.
Had
However, instead of exhibiting faithfulness, the Israelites
exhibited unfaithfulness. The entire
accountable generation (save Caleb and Joshua, who possessed a
different spirit) was overthrown in the wilderness. Of the 600,000 fighting men who came out of
In this respect, according to the account of the wilderness
journey of the Israelites in Hebrews chapter three, because of unbelief [unfaithfulness],
the nation failed to enter into the land at Kadesh-Barnea (v. 19). The Israelites under Moses rejected that
which God had to say concerning entrance into the land set before them. They believed the false report of the ten
spies rather than the true report of Caleb and Joshua. At this point they fell away; and, as set
forth in the antitype of Heb. 6: 4-6, it was then impossible to renew them again unto repentance.
(In the type, it was impossible for God to change His mind concerning
that which He had previously stated would occur if the Israelites did not obey
His voice; and, in the antitype, in like manner, it will be impossible for God to change His mind concerning
that which He has previously stated will occur if Christians do not obey His
voice.)
Why did the Israelites fall away?
What brought about such unbelief, unfaithfulness, on their part? The answer can be found by comparing their
attitude in two realms: (1) their
attitude toward both the food (the manna) which God had provided and the land (the land of Canaan) which lay before them
with (2) their attitude toward
both the food (fish, etc.) which they had
previously enjoyed in Egypt and the land (the land of Egypt) which they had
left.
According to Numbers chapter eleven, they had rejected the manna and had longingly looked back to the
food which they remembered in
In each instance, their look was away from the things of God and the land set before them back to the things of the world and the god
of this present world system (cf Luke 9: 62) -
back to the things associated with the leavening process which had been working for almost eighteen months in
the camp (Egypt in Scripture is always a type of the world,
with its fleshly allures; and Satan is the god of this present world system).
ANTITYPE - CHRISMNS IN THE WILDERNESS
As a distinction was established between the
Egyptians and
As
As Israel was commanded to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days immediately
following the Passover, so have Christians been commanded to keep this feast for the same length
of time.
Immediately
following that to which events of the Passover point (the birth from above, a
passing from death unto life):
Know ye not that a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump?
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may
be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our
Passover is sacrificed for us:
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and
wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth (1 Cor. 5: 6b-8).
The feast is to be kept for a period of seven days, Indicating the completeness of that which is in view. The entire Christian life from the point of salvation forward is in view. During the present dispensation Christians
reside in bodies of death, possessing the old sin nature; but during the coming
dispensation (the Messianic Era) Christians will reside in sinless, deathless
bodies like unto the body of Christ (cf. Rom.
7: 24; 1 John 1: 8; 3: 2).
During the coming dispensation the removal of leaven from the
house will no longer be an issue, for it will have been put out once and for
all. Thus, the issue of Christians
keeping the feast (in accordance with 1 Cor. 5: 6ff) and the dangers inherent in not keeping the
feast are for the present dispensation alone, as it was for the Israelites
during the past dispensation.
Israelites who failed to keep the feast were cut off from the
house of Moses; and Christians who fall to keep the feast will fare no better,
for they will be cut off from the house of Christ (Heb.
3: 1ff.
Thus, Gods dual truth concerning blood and leaven, established at the very beginning of
This, however, as in
Keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread, outlined for Christians
in 1 Corinthians chapter five, is not synonymous with Christians living sinless
lives, living above sin. Nor was this
the case for those in
The fact that the Israelites could and did sin following events
surrounding the death of the firstborn was the reason for Aarons past high
priestly ministry in the earthly tabernacle.
And the fact that Christians can and do sin is the reason for Christs
present high priestly ministry in the heavenly tabernacle.
Christ is ministering today in the antitype of Aaron, on the
basis of His shed blood on the mercy seat, on behalf of Christians who
sin. The sins committed by Christians
are forgiven through confession of these sins on the basis of the shed blood of
Christ which cleanseth [keeps on cleansing] us from all sin.
In this respect, Christians keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread
today in a twofold manner; abstention from every appearance of evil on the one
hand, and confession of sins when overtaken by evil on the other hand (1 Thess. 5: 22; 1 John
1: 7-10). All leaven is to either be put out or kept
out of ones life in this twofold manner; and Christians conducting their lives
in this fashion, correspondingly, keep the feast.
However, as
The Israelites committed trespass after trespass against the
Lord, disregarding that which God had commanded; and they climaxed their sins
by rejecting the manna and rejecting the
And Christians are doing exactly the same thing. The Church has become so enmeshed in the
things of the world that it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell where
the world ends and the Church begins.
The sins of Christians, as the sins of
The manna was that bread from heaven which God had
provided to sustain the Israelites while on their pilgrim journey. This bread contained everything necessary for
the sustenance and health of the physical body throughout the wilderness
journey, as the Israelites looked ahead to an inheritance in the land set
before them (an earthly inheritance and land).
And the counterpart for Christians today is the Bread from heaven, the Word of God. This Word contains
everything necessary for the sustenance and health of the spiritual man
throughout the pilgrim journey (cf. John 6: 30-58; Luke 4: 4), as
Christians look ahead to an inheritance in the land set before them (a [millennial and] heavenly inheritance and land).
The Israelites, remembering the food which they had while in
Christians today have done exactly the same thing with the
Word of God; and, according to the type, it is because of their carnal desires
for the food served in
God revealed Himself, His plans, and His purposes to man in pure words:
as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times; and God has magnified his word above his name (Psa. 12:
6; 138: 2). Beyond
that, God has made this revelation known after a certain fashion (history,
prophecy, types interwoven within history, antitypes, metaphors, parables,
etc.). And for finite man to make
changes after any fashion, which would include refusing to recognize the manner
in which God has made this revelation known, can result in only one thing, seen
in the type: Changing the manna
during Moses day ruined that which God had provided for the people, and changing the Manna today serves only to
accomplish this same destructive end.
The importance of recognizing this whole thing for what it really
is, no matter what form it may take - a Satanic attack upon the Word of God -
becomes evident when one understands the proper place which the Word occupies
in the life of a Christian. God has
breathed life (the Neshamah [initial
work of the Spirit]) into man, effecting the birth from above (cf. Gen. 1: 1-3; 2: 7; John 3: 3). He then continues this life through the
indwelling presence of His Breath (the Neshamah [indwelling of the Spirit; 1 Cor. 6: 19]), and
nourishes and sustains this life through a continued breathing in (the Neshamah / Theoneustos [the God-Breathed, Living Word; 2 Tim. 3: 16; James 1:
21]). The indwelling Holy Spirit (the Neshamah), in this manner, takes the Word of God
(the Neshamah) received into mans saved human spirit
and effects spiritual growth unto maturity.
That which God delivered to man through Moses and the prophets
constitutes the Neshamah - the God-Breathed Oracles - not that which
carnal man has changed by seeking to make it palatable to himself and the
world. And the Holy Spirit (the Neshamah) uses the God-Breathed Oracles (the Neshamah)
alone to effect a Christians spiritual
growth unto maturity. That which is not
the Word of God (not the Neshamah) substituted for the Word
of God (the Neshamah) can only produce
spiritually anaemic, sick Christians, for the Holy Spirit cannot use that which
is not the Breath of God to effect spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit cannot use that which is
lifeless to nourish and sustain life, which He (through the Neshamah) brought into existence.
In this respect, that which man has changed today approximates
the Living Word of God to the same degree that the manna which the Israelites
changed approximated the manna which God delivered to them from heaven. The Israelites, through changes, ruined the
manna; and Christians (also the unsaved in certain instances, for monetary
gain), through changes, have ruined the Word of God.
Thus, it is easy to understand why the Israelites under Moses
preferred the things of Egypt to the things of the land set before them (their
earthly inheritance [cf. Num.
14: 12; Heb. 11: 8]), and why innumerable Christians today prefer
the things of the world to the things of the land set before them (their
[millennial and] heavenly Inheritance [cf. Heb.
1: 14; 3: 1; 1 Peter 1: 4]). The Israelites desired to feast on the things
of Egypt rather than the manna which God had provided, and Christians today are
exhibiting exactly the same attitude and are doing exactly the same thing
relative to the things of the world and the Word of God.
The spirituality of the Israelites, brought about through
their association with
The spirituality of many Christians today, brought about
through their association with the world, is at such a low ebb that they, in
like manner, refuse to believe it is possible for them to go in and conquer the
inhabitants of the land (cf. Eph. 6: 10-17). Thus,
they, as the Israelites under Moses, seek their place in the world, under the
sun - completely overcome by the enemy before ever engaging the enemy in
battle.
CONCLUDING THOUGHS
The importance of feasting on the Manna from heaven cannot be
overemphasized. A Christian must receive
the
implanted word [the Neshamah] or he cannot
realize the [future] salvation of his soul.
The reason is very simple: Apart from the reception of this Word there
can be no spiritual growth unto maturity.
And without spiritual growth, wrought through a continued inbreathing of
life into man, there can be no movement of
the spiritual man, producing works emanating from a living faith.
The race will have been run in no certain manner, with no
fixed goal, as one beating the air. And,
as revealed in 1 Cor.
9: 24 - 10: 11, a race
run in this manner will result in the individual being disapproved, for he will
have been overcome and thus overthrown in the wilderness.
Accordingly, such an individual at the
judgment seat of Christ will have his works tried, with a view to approval; but
these works will be shown to be dead [barren]
works, emanating from unfaithfulness, producing nothing but wood, hay, stubble. These
will all be burned in the fire, leaving the individual in the position, saved [salvation of his spirit]; yet so as by [through]
fire (1 Cor.
3: 12-15).
His works will be disapproved,
and works of this nature will have failed to bring faith to its proper
goal. Consequently, the individuals faith will also be disapproved,
and he will suffer loss - the loss of his soul.
*
* * * *
* *
196
THY KINGDOM COME*
BY DAVID
W. DYER
* Edited from Chapter Two of the authors book
Thy Kingdom Come.
Before
we get very far in this book, one thing must be made very clear if the readers are
to properly understand this message, and that is that the
Perhaps the confusing element in the phrase the
It is interesting to note that of all the New Testament
writers, only the Apostle Matthew uses the phrase the
[* NOTE: The same principle can be shown by the use
the words a heavenly land. It is not a land
in
Heaven, as so many Christians believe, but a land on this earth during in the age to come (Heb.
6: 5,
R.V.): the LAND is described by the
adjective heavenly. In other words, the land
of Israel, and all other lands on this
earth (2 Pet. 3: 8, R.V.),
will one DAY
be blessed by the King of heaven and earth - (our LORD and SAVIOUR Jesus,
the
Christ/Messiah) after His Second Advent:
Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places
of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he
hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God;
(Isa. 52: 9. 10, R.V.)
Again, - Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto
David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute
judgment and justice in the land. In his days
[Page 19]
The Jewish people who were listening to Jesus teach did not
have a problem understanding that He was referring to an earthly Kingdom. On the
contrary, many of them had difficulty realizing the spiritual aspects of it.
For centuries they had been waiting for Messiah- the King who would lead
them out of bondage. They well knew the
scriptures prophesying that One would come to
sit on the throne of David and rule over them (Is.
9: 7). When Herod questioned the scribes regarding
the place of the Messiahs birth, they knew the exact location. The coming of a King to set up an earthly
Kingdom was no secret to them. What they
failed to realize was that the prophesied coming of Jesus consisted of two events. There was a first coming and there will be a
second one - one to which all true [pre-millennial] believers are looking forward. And it
is at the second one that He will establish His earthly, physical Kingdom.
What the Jews did not realize then, but what we know now, is
that these two comings of Christ correspond to two aspects of the Kingdom. First, there is a present spiritual
experience of the Kingdom into which Christians can enter and second, there is
the coming outward manifestation of the Kingdom on this earth. Today we can experience the Kingdom
spiritually, and someday soon it is coming to the earth physically. On the one hand, referring to the first,
Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18: 36). But on the other hand, the scriptures read,
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his
Christ, (Rev 11: 15). Although the spiritual aspect of the Kingdom,
ushered in with the first advent of Christ, and the outward manifestation of
it, which begins [Page 20] with the second coming, are separated
by 2,000 years, they have very much in common.
In fact they are inseparable and completely interrelated.
In order to have a good comprehension of these two facets of
the
[* See Ps. 2:
8; 110: 1-3. cf.
Eph. 5: 5; Col. 3: 25; Heb 12: 16, 17, R.V.).]
In most of the free world today people have a lot of trouble
understanding the concept of king. There are very few
rulers today who claim to be kings, and those that do (except perhaps in the
Perhaps a word which could be used to better [Page 21] describe what the Biblical word king should mean to us is the word dictator.
Here is a word to which our world can relate. It holds for us the idea of a man who wields absolute
power. His word is law and no one dares
to disobey. This is really what the
Bible means when it uses the word king. (The word Lord, by the way, has a very similar
meaning.) Although dictator may convey to us the idea of harshness or
cruelty while our King, Jesus, is not that way, still the concept of absolute
power and authority is exactly correct.
God has made this same Jesus who was crucified both King and Lord. In
fact, He is King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:
16).
It is to Him we must submit
ourselves and Him we must obey.
Now, with this in mind, we can talk a
little about the
As mentioned previously, the first
place that He is starting to rule and the area in which He is working today is
the hearts and lives of men and women.
Through the events of His first advent, Jesus Christ [Page 22] gained the authority to transfer people out of this worlds kingdom of
darkness into His own Kingdom of light.
He has redeemed mankind with His own precious blood and purchased us for
His own possession. Now we are
rightfully His! Whereas once we were
obedient to the evil ruler of this age, now we need be subjected to him no
longer. Jesus has set us free. Although we were Gods because He made us,
Satan usurped this authority in the garden of Eden through his temptation of
Adam and Eve. Now, Jesus Christ is in
the process of recovering us from this fall and re-establishing His Kingship
over His people. Hallelujah!
There is, however, a very interesting aspect of Christs
Kingdom to which we must pay very careful attention. Jesus will reign over only
those who are willing. He will be a King
over only those who want Him to be. When He came in person to the Jews in
These days in evangelical circles, a person can hear many
people preaching such things as receive Jesus,
trust Jesus, or ask
Jesus into your life. These
things are true and right and good.
However, this is not the whole story.
What seems to be missing [Page 23] from this kind of preaching is that
when we receive Jesus, we receive Him for what He is - King and Lord. When the first disciples preached, they
preached the Lord Jesus Christ. They proclaimed a Christ
who wanted full allegiance, who asked for a total commitment of the rest of
their lives and who required a complete separation from what was not in His
Kingdom. This is why they saw such
marvellous results. Those preachers did
not overemphasize what Christ could do for the people but they announced what
the peoples responsibility was
toward God. They knew who Jesus
was. He was the King promised long ago
and they were wise enough to submit themselves totally to Him. How we [Christians (Acts 11:
26, R.V.)] could stand a good dose of this kind of preaching
today! How we need
to follow their example!
This is one explanation of why we have so many lukewarm,
insincere converts to Christianity today.
We tell them something like: If only you will
receive Jesus He will make you happy and make you feel good and help you, with
your life. On the other hand
Jesus preached: Repent (totally change your way of thinking
and living) for the Kingdom (the rulership)
of Heaven is at
hand. This then is the problem. When we lead someone to receive Christ
without making it very plain to them the total commitment which is required, at
first things. may go along just fine.
But sooner or later Jesus will begin to assert His rightful Lordship
over their lives. Since these converts
have not been prepared for anything like that, many times they turn away and
walk with Him no more. Or sometimes
there begins a long and painful struggle with God about who is to run their
lives. We could easily spare people this
problem by [Page 24] telling them the [whole] truth* from the beginning. Let us tell them plainly that they
should not even begin to build a tower until they sit down and thoroughly count
the cost. I am afraid that we water down
the gospel to get numbers saved when in reality we are doing service neither
to God nor to them. It is all too easy
to immunize converts with easy Christianity, making it all the harder for them
to later realize the truth.
[* Acts 20: 25-27, R.V.]
This then is the gospel of the Kingdom. It is the gospel that Jesus preached. We are to repent because there is a spiritual
Kingdom which has been announced in which God is to have complete control over
every aspect of our lives. And there is
an outward, earthly manifestation of this Kingdom coming soon to this earth of
which we can be a part if we are willing.
Actually, there is no other gospel.
Although we usually hear only other aspects of it, this is really what
the Bible teaches.
The
[Page 25]
Once we enter the sphere of Gods reigning over us, it is
essential that we continue submitting
ourselves to Him if we are to keep on experiencing the present [and future millennial]
I would like to emphasize here that
this is a choice which we have to make every day if not every minute of every
day. There is a constant battle going
on. Satan wants to retain his control over
our lives and keep us subjected to himself.
Unfortunately there is still an old nature within us, a product of our
first natural birth, which sides with the devil against God. But Jesus Christ has overcome all that is
within us and all that is within the world.
The new life with [the
Holy Spirits leading, and] the new nature which has been born
into us has the power to overcome all opposition. Within us we have the supernatural power to
overcome Satan and his kingdom. The
pivotal point however is that we must be completely willing to
submit ourselves to God. If we are, He will give us the power to overcome. If not
we will only end up serving the devil.
How many [regenerate] Christians are
in this boat! They belong to God, but in their daily lives they submit themselves to
this world and the ruler of it. Oh how we believers need to submit
ourselves totally, without reservation, to our rightful Lord and Creator! What a
shame it is [Page 26] when we go our own way, but what a glory to God when we willingly live in
His Kingdom and allow Him to be the Lord of our lives!
So we see that there are two aspects of the
* *
* * *
* *
197
HADES: SOME OBJECTIONS
BY J. C. HULL (
Doubtless
many will take exception to some of the views offered in the foregoing pages;
and, while we regret this, yet we must make it clear that we write not of what
we have been taught by our fellowmen, but from a close personal study of Gods
Word. We are convinced that we have set
forth nothing other than the Scriptural doctrine of Hades and allied themes,
brief, concise, and to the point: this we are prepared to offer to God, to His
glory, knowing that there is no duplicity, in our heart.
Probably, the chief objection will be
that the saints do not go to Hades at death, but direct to heaven and we shall
be asked: Have you never read 2 Corinthians 5: 8 where Paul says that to be absent from the body and
to be present with the Lord or Philippians
1: 23 - having a desire to depart
and be with Christ which is far better ....? To
this we answer that we are aware of the many Scriptures used to support the
view that the departed saints are now
in heaven, but - we cannot accept these as they are texts in isolation and as
such they may support that particular view, they do not harmonise with the rest of the Scriptures on this
teaching, and in fact
even contradict it,
this we hope to show in this section.
Let us now look at these mainstays of
this view and examine them a little closer and see if they say what they are
supposed to say.
If we were to read 2 Corinthians 5: 8
in the R.V. or a good literal translation, we will note that there is a singularly different rendering, but
never-the-less an important one. There
it reads:- absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. To he present with the Lord DEMANDS that the person should always
be before the Lords presence. To be at
home demands only that the person be required to dwell in the abode supplied by
the Lord - let it he it will. Take an
example from daily life: one can be living at home with ones father yet the
father be seldom there because he is a travelling man. On the other hand, to he present with ones
father demands that he should he accompanied on his travels.
Pauls yearning to be at home with the Lord requires nothing
more than what was the desire of the Old Testament saints when they spoke in a
similar strain.
Job speaks thus: I know that
Thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house (BAYITH
- HOME)
appointed for ALL living (Job. 30: 23). The
word BAYITH is rendered some
25 times in the Old Testament as home. The word used in the New Testament is ENDEMEO and the translators render it as home in verse 6:- whilst we are
at HOME in the body, we are absent from the Lord. As we have seen in our study, the saints of the old
economy looked forward to going to this abode of the Lord at death - it was our equivalent
to going home to be with the Lord, although nowadays WE have changed
its sense to going to heaven. To the saint that is that little bit older in
the Lord than others, we ask, Does it not seem a pleasant prospect at times to be
finished with this sinful world and to
depart to be at home with the Lord? Before we leave
this, let it be recalled that in the 23rd
Psalm, it speaks of the Old Testament saint going through the
valley of the shadow of death ... FOR THOU ART WITH ME. Now the destination of the saint in this passage will not be
doubted - it was Sheol,
yet he was assured of the presence of the Lord. In Psalm 116:
15 we read, Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of His saints. Is the saints death
any more precious today than it was 3000 years ago when this was written? Christ the Lord confirmed in every instance
the customs of death as laid down by the Father, who are we that we should set
these aside and MAKE OUR OWN WAY THROUGH DEATHS DARK
VALE?
Ephesians 4: 8: Wherefore he
saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and
gave gifts unto men.
It is held that this verse teaches that when Christ ascended to
the Father, He led captivity captive - meaning the captive saints of Sheol were
loosed from their bondage, and ever since have (and do) dwell in heaven with
the Lord. There is no doubt that in
isolation this text can be made to say this; but if it is to read harmoniously
with the rest of the scriptures then it cannot mean what has been stated
above. The expression led captivity
captive is used twice in the Old
Testament. The first occurs in Judges 5: 11
and is the cry of Deborah to Barak who had returned victorious from a battle
with Sisera. She was instructing him as
the victorious commander to lead forth in a victory parade in which he would go
in front of his chained ENEMY CAPTIVES. Deborah
certainly did not mean that he was to gather his own soldiers who may have been
prisoners of Sisera and whom had been released at victory.
The second mention is found in Psalm
68: 18,
and it has the same thought. The Psalm
records a military operation - when God arises His enemies are dispersed and
those that hate Him flee. Then after a
mighty victory, we read in verse 18, which Norlie
translates as, You have emerged victorious carrying off captives and
receiving tribute from men, EVEN FROM REBELS. The same translator renders Ephesians
4: 8 as, When he went
on high, He took many captives with Him, and He gave gifts to men.
We ask a simple straightforward question at this point: did
Paul when he quoted this verse from Psalm 68,
mean to reverse the interpretation from the original? His reversal of the meaning seems to us more
like the work of man - especially in the light of Colossians
2: 15
where Paul distinctly tells us that Christ, having spoiled (gained the victory)
over principalities and powers, He Made a show of them openly (a public
spectacle) in which He triumphed over them in it. These then are the captives which the Lord
led forth in triumph, and this harmonises with the tenor of Scripture rather
than clashing even to the point of contradiction.
Further, if the general interpretation of Ephesians 4: 8
is correct, can it be explained why, when these captive saints were led out of
Sheol and into heaven, was king David left behind? Peter, speaking under inspiration of the Holy
Spirit in Acts 2: 29,
34, concerning David says, Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he
is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is
with us unto this day. ... For David is not ascended into heaven. The time factor is very important here, for Peter
speaks on the Day of Pentecost which was ten days AFTER the Lord ascended into heaven. We are told by those who
see in Ephesians 4: 8
the saints being feel led aloft, that Sheol - or at least that part of
Abrahams bosom and Paradise - is now empty; but how can this be if even one
saint were left behind and most certainly David is still there? We have shown by quoting the early church
writers that none of them believed that saints to be anywhere other than that
place called Abrahams bosom.
Then, it is objected, Paul in Philippians
1: 23 had a desire to depart and be
with Christ which is far better - does
not this carry the import that the saint goes to heaven at death? To isolate
this verse on its own, it could be made to say so: but we do not believe that
it does - this is reading into it what one WANTS
to see there. We have shown that it
is GAIN for the saint to die, and he
who is living in the fullness of the Lord actually looks forward to being with Christ but whether he wants to believe it or not, he will go to that home spoken of
by Job (30: 23)
and Paul (2
Corinthians 5: 8). These saints are not tucked away in a corner
and forgotten about until the [first] resurrection - no, far from it for they are alive unto
God (Luke
20: 38)
and can commune with the Lord (Revelation 6:
9-11.) They - being unhindered by the body of sin
and being in nature, spirit - can
appreciate the presence of the Lord to a degree far beyond that which we can
comprehend. This is the thought behind
the words of Philippians 1: 6,
where the good work of Christ CONTINUES in
the [obedient]*
believer until the [millennial] day of Christ, which will be the day,
of his perfection. Let us acknowledge that even in this body of sin, we can
still appreciate to some degree the presence of the Lord - for has He not promised this to His [obedient and repentant] people (Matthew 18: 20)?
If we had read further in Ephesians
4 and had gone to verse 10, we would have had the answer concerning the
presence of the Lord. There we read, He that descended is the same that
ascended far above all heavens THAT HE
MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS. That is, that He might fill the universe
with His presence, and must not this be so for the fulfilment of Matthew I8: 20? The Psalmist had this thought in mind when he
wrote, Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend into
heaven, thou [art]
there: if I make my bed in hell
[sheol],
behold,
thou
[art there]. No matter where the saint goes in life or death, he is assured
of the presence of the Lord.
Let us not forget the circumstances in which Paul wrote the
words of Philippians 1: 23. He was languishing in prison, chained night
and day to a Roman soldier, and the treatment of prisoners in those days left a
lot to be desired. Remember also that he
was now an old man with a hard physical life behind him (2 Corinthians 11:
23-29). Under such circumstances can we be surprised
that he yearned to be with Christ which is far better? But, If we say heaven then we
are reading into the Scriptures something that we ASSUME to be there, and this can be a dangerous course in
the study of the Word of God.
We say then that there is insufficient evidence in these words of Paul
to substantiate a premise that his departure would mean his going to heaven.
Our answer is that there is nothing in these Scriptures that are not satisfied
in our remarks of Philippians 1: 23: but, however, we are of the opinion that these
scriptures refer to a yet future
event when the resurrected saint shall be caught up to be with the Lord (1
Thessalonians 4: 17).
What is probably the final and most important objection is
found in Pauls words of 2 Corinthians 12: 1-14. He
speaks of an experience which doubtless he had himself, although, whether it
was himself or someone else is immaterial.
The fact of the matter was that he was caught away to the third heaven (verse 2)
and caught away to
If we read the text aright, we see that Paul speaks of visions
and revelations (plural), so we must expect him to speak of more than one
experience, and when we continue to read we see that he does. It says in our
version that he was caught up to the third heaven - it does not say so in the Greek. The
rendered Caught up is HARPAZO and
literally means to catch away BUT DOES NOT CONVEY
THE SENSE OF DIRECTION. This can only be gained by adding the
appropriate word and thus indicating direction.
The translators in this case have added up and, no doubt, rightly. There are far too many, references in
scripture as to the direction of heaven to cause doubt on this point.
When we come to the second experience,
we see that they assume it was the same one he had already spoken of, and again
they add the word up. This however, is quite wrong, for
nowhere in scripture do we get the impression that paradise is up in heaven. (The word is
mentioned three times in the New Testament: Luke 23:
43; Revelation 2:
7; and in our text).
There can be no doubt at all as to the
meaning of paradise in Luke 23: 43,
or its location - for the thief received the promise that he would be there
that same day with the Lord Jesus. If we
read in the scripture that three days later the Lord had not yet ascended into
heaven, and also that when He died He descended into the lower parts of the
earth, we must conclude with the Jewish belief that paradise was part of Sheol,
which, by the way, the Lord condoned in Luke 16. (Compare Luke 23:
43; John 20:
17; Matthew 12:
40; Romans 12:
7; Ephesians 4:
9).
The mention of paradise in Revelation 2:
7 on its own is incomplete, for then it
is only part of a term which in its fulness is the paradise of God: and this we believe to be part of the
future (Revelation 22: 2). Whereas
the paradise of Luke and 2 Corinthians has to do with the believer in the
spirit or unclothed state (2 Corinthians 5: 14) BEFORE
resurrection. The paradise of
God will be enjoyed by the [resurrected] believer in his clothed state i.e. in the spiritual - [and restored earth (Rom. 8: 19-21. cf.
Acts 7: 5,
R.V.), with an immortal body of flesh and bones
(Luke 24: 39ff)] - AFTER the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15: 51-54).
These, we would hazard, are the chief
objections that could be raised to what has been written and they are not really
objections, except of course if they are read with a view to supporting a
theory.
In our study, we have dealt with the theme of Hades and have
tried to keep within the limits of what the scriptures reveal concerning
it. We have not brought in any other
topics other than the lake of fire which we touched on lightly because it
is the ultimate of Hades (Revelation 20: 14) and therefore closely connected. We trust that this short treatise will be used
of the Lord to exercise His people to a more diligent study of His own precious
Word, wherein alone is to be found truth.
Oh, that we are more like the Bereans of old. Who searched the Scriptures daily whether
these things were so (Acts 17: 10-11). Unfortunately we are not; for if a thing is
said from the pulpit or something is read in a book of a sound author, these are accepted without question or
investigation. In closing, let the Word
of God as spoken through David have the last word: It is better
to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in
man (Psalm 118: 8).
* *
* * *
* *
198
ANTI-SEMITISM
Scripture
And an angel
of the Lord called Abraam the second time out of heaven, saying, I have sworn by
myself, says the Lord, because thou hast
done this thing, and on my account hast
not spared thy beloved son, surely blessing I
will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply
thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand
which is by the shore of the sea, and thy seed shall inherit the cities of their enemies. And in thy seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast hearkened to my voice:
(Gen.
22: 15-18, Septuagint,).
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went: All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised: (Heb.
11: 8, 13, NIV)
So he [Abraham] left
the land of the Chaldeans and settled in
-------
1. Many circumstances have conspired to produce the
outburst of hatred of the Jew. Some of
the emancipated Jews have, through their great ability and energy, risen to high
and influential positions in literature, commerce and finance. This has provoked the envy and jealousy of
the peoples amongst whom they dwell, who complain of the supplanting of the
children of the soil, and the predominance of an alien race. Wealth and influence, too, have paid the
usual penalty attached to greatness when it refuses to render itself amenable
to the designs of others; and the Jew has become obnoxious to those to whom he
would not become subservient. The
difficulties, also, of the industrial classes in their struggle for existence,
intensified by competition from without, has caused them to regard with little
favour the immigrant Jew, who, flying from persecution elsewhere, has come to
seek a share in that employment which is already too scarce, and which is
regarded as being too scantily rewarded.
Anarchists too, and socialists, ignorant of the general level of
indigence which characterizes the Jews as a people, regard with special enmity
a race which numbers amongst its members some very wealthy and conspicuous
money-lenders, bankers, financiers and merchant princes; and the war against
property in general is directed specially against the Jew. Besides all this, deep-rooted animosity
against the Jew, regarded as the destroyer of the Founder of Christianity, and
the enemy of His creed and adherents, ever latent amongst ill-instructed
Christians, seems ready to exhibit itself as an active force. - N.
2. An encyclopaedia of anti-Semitism in
six volumes was published in
3. Pharaoh tried to annihilate the
Hebrews, and all the firstborn of
Anti-Semitism proves the supernatural character of the
Bible. In Deuteronomy
28. - 32. is the most appalling
description of human suffering ever written.
Though written more than three thousand years ago, it predicts in detail
the history of the Jews of three thousand years. It has been fulfilled continuously, century
after century... [down to the present
time.] Thou shalt become
an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word, among all the
nations whither the Lord shall send thee: (Dent. 38: 37). So
also in Jeremiah 24: 9: And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms
of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach
and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
Also, Jeremiah 29: 18, And I will persecute them with the
sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and
will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an
astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the
nations.
That the Jew has survived at all for the last twenty-five
hundred years is a supernatural fact. No
other nation ever has or could endure similar treatment. This fact is also the supernatural fulfilment
of supernatural prophecies written twenty-five hundred years ago. Thus saith
the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by
day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the
stars for a light by night, which divideth the
sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of
hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart
from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of
Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the Lord: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all
that they have done, saith the Lord (Jer. 31:
35-37).
- FREDERICK ERDMAN.
4. John
Cournos well observes in his book that the Christless acts of Christians have shaped
the Jewish policy toward Christ and that a truly practising Christianity
might have at almost any time caused Judaism to melt as the snow melts away
under the warm sun.* Indeed whenever
thoughtful Jews, eager to find the truth, come in contact with consecrated
Christians, the impact of the Christ-centred life produces a revolutionary
change in their thinking. By far the
greater number of Hebrew Christians were drawn to Christ through the silent witness of the
lives of earnest Christians.
Professor Kohnstamm, of the
He said:- At this early stage in my philosophical thinking
there appeared a person, who, in his quiet way, exercised a profound influence
upon me. He presented a rather
extraordinary riddle in my matter-of-fact and rather superficial mental world. My classmates related that this man, who was
our chemistry teacher, strange as it seemed, went regularly to church on
Sunday. We could not interpret this
behaviour as due to a lack of modem scientific knowledge, for his clear-cut
objective and splendid instruction in chemistry were evidence of his sound
scientific knowledge. The only
alternative explanation of this strange behaviour was that it emanated from
some inexplicable external motive, and this explanation just did not fit. None of us could deny the fact that
everything he did was prompted by the greatest sincerity and earnestness ...
Just as my teacher in chemistry in the high school had become a problem to me,
so it was now the case with my university professor, Dr. van de Waals, one of the greatest scientists in the world, who was
later a Nobel prize winner. I came into
close personal touch with him. He was a
man whose objectivity and deep humility were only surpassed by the great sincerity of his whole being. This
man, too - how could I explain it? - was a witness, even if usually a silent
one, for that same Christianity which I had believed I could ignore as a
message long since outgrown.
5. The ritual murder calumny - the
alleged Jewish sacrifice of children - is a relic of the days of witchcraft and
black magic, a cruel and utterly
baseless libel on Judaism. Religious minorities other than
the Jews, such as the early Christians, the Quakers, and Christian missionaries
in
They come
out of the night of years, with
Out of the mystery of time
that was before the Flood.
They saw the sculptured,
scarlet East shrink under the grey sands.
They saw the star of
They saw the world of
And go with ravenous eyes
ablaze and jaws that would not spare,
Snarling across the earth,
then toothless die upon the lair.
-------
For I would
not, brethren, have
you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in
your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath
befallen Israel, until the fulness of the
Gentiles be come in; and so ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED: even as
it is written:
There shall come out of
He shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob:
And this is my covenant unto them,
When I shall take away their sins.
As touching the gospel, they are
enemies for your sakes: but as touching the
election, they are beloved for the fathers
sake. For the gifts and calling of God
are without repentance. For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, even so have these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shewn to you they also may now obtain mercy. For God hath shut up
all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy
upon all: (Rom. 11: 25-32, R.V.).
* *
* * *
* *
199
THE MUCH NEEDED INCENTIVE
THAT IS SO RARELY TAUGHT
BY ALBERT G. TINLEY
Our Lord
(it is generally agreed) is the Nobleman going into a far country, to receive
for Himself a Kingdom - and to return (Luke 19:
12-28),
with the command to His ten servants: Occupy till I come (erchomai). Left
on their own - on probation, to test alike their loyalty and fidelity, their
devotion and industry, in making the most, by trading, of the ten pounds entrusted to them,
they were to be rewarded on His Return with positions of authority - ruling
with Him - in His Kingdom. When He was
returned, having received the Kingdom, then He commanded these servants to be called unto Him,
to whom He had given the money, that He might know how much every man had gained by trading. This is the adjudication Parable, a Pre-view
of the Bema (or Judgement Seat) of Christ.
This parable of the pounds in Luke is parallel in Matthew by the very similar parable of the talents
in chapter 25: 13-30. Here we
have the introduction of the investigation and adjudication with a reference to
the Lords long absence, now very close on 2,000 years (or two thousand year
days by the parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10,
where the penny or denarius,
represented in the wherewithal of life for the morrow, for the reward or wage
of the Labourers in the Vineyard was a denarius, the livelihood of the coming
day: Matt. 20:
2 - earned by the determined and energetic
11th hour workmen in the little time left at their disposal). In Luke 19:
16 we hear the industrious servant
confessing: Lord, Thy pound hath gained
ten pounds - and
his reward was authority over ten cities (cf. Decapolis); in Matthew 25: 20
we hear the corresponding enterprising servant saying - without boasting, for
the reward is not of grace, but [also] of [the regenerate believers] works: Behold, I have gained ...
five talents more.
The Lords Well of Luke 19: 17 is rightly rendered in Matthew
25: 21, 23
by well done! Rule over many things, and entrance into the
joy of the Lord (for which He put up with the terrible Cross and the Agony in
the Garden: Hebrews 12: 2) - the joy of enthronement at the Right Hand of
the Father in Heaven: Revelation 3: 21- 22. The Race of endurance is set before us, and
The Good Agony (Greek) with its love of His appearing, and the Crown of
Righteousness, awarded by the Righteous Judge, the Umpire and Adjudicator, Who
has Himself already been awarded Crown and Throne and Sceptre: Hebrews 1: 8, 9; Psalms. 2: 6-9; Revelation 2:
26-27; 3: 21-22. He has
also been anointed (in Messiahship) with the oil of gladness (Joy) above His
Fellows.
Here, then, is the much needed Incentive that is so rarely
taught, to spur [regenerate] believers on; it is a Prize indeed, a Heavenly Calling - inspiring the
Apostle Paul: Philippians 3: 10-14, to
intense and all absorbing concentration of devotion. So very many Christians drop out of the race
(and even get off course) because they fancy
all is of grace, and that they will be alright, though mere babes, born again,
indeed, yet as being saved without works, and without hope - or knowledge - of
this special Joy of the Lord - His Joy, set before Him, as the Incorruptible
Crown - that [the Apostle] Paul strove for - is set before us: 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 (where castaway -
rendered rejected in Hebrews
12: 17 - means disqualified for the Crown
as Israel our danger-signal in the following chapter: 1
Corinthians 10: 1-12 - forfeited the Kingdom).
Here, then, also, is the much needed Caution, Warning, Threat
- the possibility of positive Loss at the Judgement Seat of Christ, His Bema of
adjudication, that most evangelists and Bible teachers avoid.
In the two parables quoted from, more space is given to the
fearful and unprofitable, the wicked and slothful servant (whom most Expositors
declare was no Servant at all!) who, again perhaps relying on all of grace, hid his Lords money, fancying it
would be acceptable, when it represented to Him serious loss. The Lord Who gives the increase of harvest, is
Hard - upon the lazy, presumptuous, cowardly, profitless servants: but very few
Christian Teachers will agree with this, or with me (who do not matter, except
that I have to be faithful as a steward, and not a mere man [or woman] - pleaser. So I repeat, disagreement with me will not
prove you are right!! The coming Kingdom
is a
1 John 2: 28, tells us of the
possibility of our being ashamed away from Him at His Appearing, if we do not
abide in Him, with His words abiding in us.
Now the Lord Jesus Christ - the Messiah, and Jehovah - informs
us as to those of whom He Himself will be ashamed at His Return. He Who is the Word of God identifies Himself
with His words concerning the historicity and Creation (not Evolution!) of Adam
and Eve (Mark 10: 16),
concerning His Lordship, and the everlastingness of His utterances.
Do we make the Word of God of none effect through our
(evangelical) traditions, and our denominational slogans? (all of grace; by faith
alone). What does hiding in a
napkin mean? or Light under a
bushel? or under a bed?
Could it mean that we have kept the sacred deposit of
salvation to ourselves, never using our testimony to win others to the Lordship
of the Messiah? or that we allowed business interests and advantages to seal
our lips, and stop our witness? We ought
to be proud of God, and of His Word; we ought, too, to qualify ourselves to
defend it, make it known as error-free - even free of alleged scientific mistakes, declaring it to be worthy of
fullest acceptance, in view of the erroneous theories, and changing opinions of
men, in these dark days of despair, uncertainty, apathy and fear.
It is very clear that not all believers will win Christs
Kingdom of Reward, and earn His approval at His Judgement Seat: there are
repeated catalogues of excluding sins: sexual impurity, anger, sectarianism and
erroneous separatism that will shut [the guilty and unrepentant] believers out of the Kingdom of
Reward for suffering and good works: 1 Corinthians
6: 9-10;
Galatians 5: 19-21; Ephesians 5:
3-7; 1 Timothy 1: 9-10. The teacher who asserts that these are
impossible to [regenerate] Christians
is, consciously or no, a deceiver, or even worse. Once a [regenerate] believer gets out of touch with God, he/she can become guilty
of almost anything. Be not partakers implies that we can partake of sins,
and of judgment. Where are the informed
and fearless teachers who dare proclaim these warnings? The watchmen who are afraid to declare the whole
counsel of God [(Acts 20: 27,
R.V.)] may
suffer loss because of their lukewarmness, timidity, and disloyalty.
Will any one - any regenerate
believer - presume when about to be beaten with many, or with few stripes,
to oppose all of grace, boast of his/her
freedom, by new birth, or at a great price, and his/her citizenship of the
Heavenly Jerusalem? But if so, will
his/her threatened beating be averted? (Luke 12:
45-48). We mostly use a little Bible within a Bible -
full of promises, devoid of warnings, whether specifically to believers, or
awful examples given in Old Testament; therefore, unhappy surprises - as well
as happy ones - are in store for us. But
how little do we know the full revelation of God! Why did I have to leave typewriter for
concordance to get the reference to degrees of stripes? Thank God for the exceeding great and precious
promises - but do let us note any
conditions attached, and make sure
we qualify to inherit the blessing!
And why is all this indisputable Scriptural teaching
unpopular, and unpalatable?
Why do we call the righteousness filthy rags, when they are nothing of the kind? These words were spoken on behalf of Jewish
religious hypocrites two or three thousand years ago (Isaiah
54); in contrast the good deeds of the people of God are called fine white
linen; Revelation 19: 7-9. Did the
Lord call Marys deed a good Work - or a filthy rag? Surely
that would hardly be an incentive or an encouragement to doing good - which we
can do, and many Christians actually do, some occasionally, some all the time,
as the Word of God repeatedly affirms. (As
empowered by the Holy Spirit, when
we seek to walk in obedience to our Lord.) Teachers have no right - in fact
they are quite wrong, to declare, stretching Romans
3: 12 unwarrantably and limitlessly,
that no one ever did, does, or will do - indeed cannot ever do good.
The other way round, the broad way - easy, crowded, popular, pleasant -
is removed from Christian possibility, together with stripes and darkness, and
every threat and warning that even a blind outsider can clearly see are needed
for regenerate believers. The broad way is made non-applicable to the Church [of God], so that she is robbed of challenging
sanctions, as well as of stimulating incentives, and so that every
encouragement is given to harmless backsliding
and unattractive drop-outs, yes, spiritual drop-outs, who once ran well! The Pharisees will be offended at that saying; yes, but what was the
Lords reply? What was Pauls example?
I for one, I hope, am taking no risks. Paul was not sure of his Crown or Sceptre, or
Throne - when the angelic heads abdicate (Revelation
4: 10; Hebrews
2: 5), in favour of Christs Fellows
and Joint-Heirs, I shall certainty not cast that Crown down; so I have tried to
encourage our people to sing: Till we TAKE our crowns before Thee.
My Incentive or Prize is thus approval at Christs Judgement
Seat, it is being accounted worthy to live and reign with Him for The Thousand
Years BEFORE Eternity proper begins: Hebrews 4: 11; 2 Thessalonians 1: 5-7; 1 Corinthians 9:
24 to end; Philippians
3: 13-14;
Revelation 2: 25-27; Revelation 3:
21. My
Sanction of Deterrent is that no man take thy Crown. The rest of the dead
lived not again tilt The Thousand Years were finished: Revelation
3: 11; 20:
5.
The First Advent of our Lord has been called a Reconnaissance
visit, brief, but searching and revealing, in preparation for the Adjudication
of the
This world-wide but temporary Kingdom, which the prophets [of God] foresaw and described, and which was
heralded by John Baptist, by our Lord Himself, and by His Twelve Apostles, is
itself but a foretaste - and sample in the Age to Come
[(Heb. 6: 5, R.V.)], of the Everlasting Kingdom of God:
in the Ages of the Ages, or, for ever and ever,
on the New Earth [(Rev.
21: 1,
R.V.)], in contrast to the reigning for ever, [i.e., for an Age to come, upon this restored, (Rom. 8: 19-21, R.V.)
earth].*
[* See The Dualism
of Eternal Life by S. S.
CRAIG.]
As in the Millennial Kingdom of Reward for good works, for
devotion and suffering, faithfulness unto death by all the martyrs (chronic and acute), there will be both Rulers and
subjects, and a three-fold division of mankind as Jews, and Gentiles, and the Church
of God, so
apparently will it be in the Everlasting Kingdom of Grace on the New Earth, with its Metropolis, the New
Jerusalem, descending from [Gods new] Heaven.
So must we reconcile any seeming discrepancy between Free Gift
and Reward, which are taught so clearly, so emphatically, and so repeatedly, in
the Gospels and Epistles, though so rarely distinguished by Christian teachers
and evangelists.
The latter, often out of quick decisions often secure
superficial and temporary results, unable to prove either incentive or
sanction, since they make sweeping promises without conditions, warnings or threats,
and ignore the cautionary tale and awful example of Israels history, and their failure
to enter (or retain) their inheritance in the Promised Land.
Where is the challenge (taken up by the Apostles, especially
Paul) to forsake all, and follow the Christ, the King?
Where is the distinction, indeed, the contrast, between faith
and works, between gift and reward, between the shaken and the unshakable Kingdoms: Hebrews 12: 28,
in our evangelical campaigns?
-------
INFORMATION ON THE AUTHOR
Albert George Tilney (1891 - 1976.)
Some of the works of A. G. Tinley include The Glories Of The Messiah and The Kingdom is the Gospel.
Albert G. Tinley, B.A. Hons. (London) was senior modern languages master at
Portsmouth Southern Secondary School and Pastor of Elm Grove Free Church, Hayling Island, Hants. ... his contribution to the [British
Evolution Protest] Movement exceeded that of other secretaries in years of
office, travel and literary output. In
addition to his pastoral duties and being the Secretary of the Prophecy
Investigation Society, he was the author of a number of booklets and articles
on prophecy.
Then as well as his voluminous correspondence as
Secretary and Treasurer, he wrote over 100 of our pamphlets and booklets, and
edited the Newsletter or Journal. He
travelled widely, lecturing and debating on evolution and the Scriptures,
visiting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in 1972, the United States.
On his world tour in 1968 he addressed large meetings arranged for him in schools.
colleges and churches... - (A Jubilee of Witness for Creation Against Evolution.)
The following quotation is from one of his many faithful, informative,
and challenging prophetic writings:-
Merit (or worthiness)
it must be maintained in the teeth of all denial, as a condition and
qualification for the First Resurrection... (Luke 20: 35). ... Priests of God and Christ, they shall reign with him a thousand years ... not instead of eternally, but Millennially before eternity
proper begins. Others - proud, indulgent, cowardly - are judged unworthy of
Christ and of aeonian life. Now we know from several epistles that SOME
BELIEVERS WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THIS
* *
* * *
* *
200
CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY
BY D. M. PANTON
Our Lord
devotes His fullest parable (Luke 19: 11-27) to
covering the entire field of Christian responsibility for two thousand years. For between the going away of the Nobleman to
obtain a Kingdom (the Ascension) and his return (the Second Advent) stretches
the exact period of the history of the Church, during which beside Christian believers
there are on earth no servants of God - a
title by which the Apostles loved to describe themselves (Rom. 1: 1; 2 Pet. 1: 1; Jas. 1: 1; Jude 1). As
child or son is the title of privilege, so servant is the title of responsibility, in
one and the same man, who is both a member of the Family of God and a servant
in the Household of Faith.
Now our Lord casts the main emphasis
on the third servant - seven verses
are devoted to the servant who was a failure, and only three each to the successful servants: therefore, on this
servants identity depends Christs main teaching in the parable; and unless we
understand that he may be ourselves, ours will be a concealed peril, like a man-trap hidden under forest-leaves. For every [accountability] truth, appropriated, falls on the
soul like an electric shock; whereas it is obvious that the [deceived] believer who denies the application
of the passage
to himself, while he may be committing
every offence of which the third servant can be guilty, so encases himself in a
coat of steel that Gods sword falls on him blunted and harmless. It is of vital import to know the spiritual
standing of the third servant.
Now this servant is proved a [regenerate] child of God by the following facts. (1) Equally with the other servants he
is entrusted with our Lords goods
on His ascension; but Christ has never entrusted, and never does entrust, His
work on earth to the unsaved: therefore this is a saved soul equally with the
rest. Jesus calls them all His own
servants;
literally, slaves, bought with their Masters money, and owned by Him. The servants differ greatly in capacity - in
the extremes, as five to one; but they differ not at all in the possession of a
common trust. (2) The three servants are judged together, at one spot and at one
time; but the wicked dead - [regenerate and unregenerate alike, (Num. 16: 26. cf. 1 Cor. 5: 13; 6: 9; Gal. 5: 21ff.) etc.] - are not
judged until the Great White Throne (Rev. 20: 5, 12), a thousand years after the judgment of the redeemed - [and accounted
worthy (Lk.
20: 35. cf.
Heb. 9: 27, R.V.)]. So also the slothful servant is
judged last of the three, as last risen and last rapt; for he is the servant
which knew his Lords will, and made not ready,
nor did according to His will (Luke 12:
47). Moreover,
as this judgment is in the Parousia, the only access to which is by rapture,
all the unsaved are of necessity physically excluded. None can reach the [i.e., this prior] Judgment Seat except the
saved. (3) All three are judged, like the Seven
Churches, solely on the ground of their works: their faith
in, and love for, the absent King are implied and assumed: their standing is never
challenged. If the third servant were an
unsaved soul, his works could in no way, and on no ground, be accepted: between
the two Advents, it is the redeemed alone who are judged according to their
works; for only those who have received from Christ can work for Him. (4) Overwhelming is the final proof. In the twin parable of the Pounds, the unsaved
are placed in careful contrast with the saved, as Citizens and as Servants, the
only two classes in the world, sharply sundering mankind: the Servants our Lord
entrusts with His all on earth, the Citizens send the Message after the
ascended Christ:- We will not have this Man to reign over us. Whilst the one
Servant represents an inactive member of the body of Christ, the Church, who
failed to perform his duty, these Citizens are open rebels, and hence their
Lord orders them to be killed: it is evident that this penal proceeding is
essentially distinguished from the reproof administered to the one Servant
(Olshausen).
So we arrive at the investigation itself. Christ gives to each servant what He sees he
can wisely use; as much as he can handle and profit by; no servant can say, Lord, Thou
gavest me nothing: no servant is expected by
Christ to produce results greater than his abilities or his opportunities; the
poorest, the most unlettered, the most obscure have the very little which yet can coin enormous future [blessings and millennial] wealth. But the third servant so
undervalues his opportunity as to bury his talent in the earth - in earthliness;
his carnality is his shame because he is a child of God, and as such betrays his trust: the
circumstance rendering him guilty is, that he to whom the money belonged was no
stranger to him, but his master, to whom he was bound as a servant (Goebel).
For it is not the possession of the talents
that determines our reward, but solely our use of them. So Jesus describes the third servant as the exact
opposite of the first two: instead of good and faithful, He says he is wicked and slothful: not good in the general sense, but a good servant and so not bad
(or wicked) in a general sense, but a bad servant: the goodness of the one consisted in
his faithfulness, the badness of the other in his sloth. This distinctive name comprehends
all his guilt, Thou slothful servant (Stier); unprofitable (Matt. 25: 30), but
not unregenerate, or apostate he did not misemploy, nor embezzle, nor squander,
but simply hid his money. So what exactly does our Lord charge him with?
Unbelief, un-regeneration, rebellion, apostasy, adultery, theft, murder? Nay: it is simply a servant of God who has made nothing of his life; all he has done wrong is merely to withhold his powers from serving
God; he hoarded, when he ought to have expended; he had no sacred
sense of [accountability or personal] responsibility.
The parable is not for gross sinners: the warning is for
those who, being equipped of God for a
sphere of activity in His kingdom, hide their talent (Trench).
He says, As I cannot be so holy as God
requires, I give up the attempt to satisfy such strictness: I object profoundly
to the doctrine of reward according to works, and deny all responsibility in a
servant of Christ beyond his responsibility to maintain the gift of grace with
which he was entrusted at his conversion. But his answer (as his Lord says) implies that he knew the truth. The judge answers - Your very consciousness of the
severity of the principle ought to have made you more careful, not less so,
to meet its requirements. Thereby must the evil servant bear testimony with his own mouth to the innermost truth, and the most
perfect right, according to which the Lord requires fruit from what He sows
or gives - that God demands fruits and
works (Stier). For the believer to have at his judgment only what he had at his conversion (the
one talent) will be his condemnation. As his life
had been negative, so is his punishment: he is cast into the darkness outside
the brilliantly lit festal hall: nothing is said here of any further
punishment of the servant; enough that he has no part in the [coming
millennial reign and] kingdom of the Lord (Goebel).* Over lost opportunities, wasted
graces, slighted privileges, a sold birthright, there is weeping and
gnashing of teeth. **
* Since the Parousia is a place of thick
darkness (Ps. 18:
9), indwelt by the Shekinah Glory (Matt. 16: 27), to he cast forth from the inner ring of light
on that threshold of the kingdom is to be expelled into the external dark of the
Pavilion of Cloud (Ps. 18: 11).
** If the servant is not a
believer, but a mere professor, then we have in the parable nothing to
represent the Christian who fails in faithfulness (C. C.
Trumbull). We have waited forty years
for an answer to the question - If the third servant
is an unregenerate man, how comes he to he judged with the true servants of
Christ when the wicked are not judged till a thousand years later, and how is
he rapt into the Parousia? - and we are waiting still.
Both the faithful servants come joyfully forward, for they
have facts in their hands -
the talents doubled; and both are invited at once into the joy of their Lord -
our Lords joy in His Kingdom, for which He endured the cross, despising the
shame, the authority God will confer on Him on His second coming
from heaven in kingly power and glory to establish the Messianic Kingdom (Goebel).* So also would the third servant had he been found
faithful. He has no share in the kingdom of
his lord, and therefore he who is like him will have no share in the
*It
must he the Millennial Kingdom, for our Lords everlasting Kingdom as the Son
of God - as distinct from the kingdom the Nobleman goes away to obtain (Luke 19: 12) - is
inherently His, without beginning or end, never conferred. Of the Son He saith,
Thy throne, O God,
is FOR EVER AND
EVER (Heb. 1: 8).
Thus we confront our crisis. Officers are required for the administration
of a kingdom: so God has deliberately interposed a prolonged period between the
two advents, that our Lord might be enabled so to test His servants, in His
absence, as to discover which are fitted for positions of responsibility and
trust at His return. The Nobleman,
before He departed, laid plans for the selection of officers to aid Him in the
administration of the Kingdom; He devised a plan for bringing to light who those
officers are on His return; this plan is in operation at the present moment,
purposely so contrived as to reveal individual capacity for office, and personal
fitness for trust; and - most impressive of all - the Long Journey is now
nearly over, and at any moment the investigation may begin. Make haste about cultivating a
Christ-like character. The harvest is
great; the toil is heavy; the sun is drawing to the west; the reckoning is at
hand. There is no time to lose; set
about it as you have never done before, and say, This one thing I do (A. Maclaren).
* *
* * *
* *
[Photograph above by Derek Hawthorne (Portstewart).]
To be continued, D.V.