THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS
By F. E.
GAEBELEIN
[PART
1]
[* From chapter 9 of the author’s book “Exploring the Bible,” (pp. 141-172).]
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In the case of a book like the Bible, unique in quality
and of admittedly divine inspiration, as to assign diverse values to its parts
is a task of insuperable difficulty. Yet
while the thoughtful scholar shrinks from preferring one portion of God’s Word
above another, the superficial reader sometimes does what the learned hesitates
to attempt. How many professing
Christians confine their all-too-desultory Bible reading to familiar chapters
of the Gospels and certain of the Psalms. To how many are the great reaches of the
historical books, the close-knit logic of the doctrinal epistles, and the
vibrant testimony of the prophets a terra
incognita! No one would dispute the value of the
universally known Psalms and Gospel
passages. Their appeal is unquestioned,
and it is fortunate that in their cases God has chosen to place the nuggets of
His truth on the surface. Yet it would
be folly to infer that all Bible study is a mere literary placer mining with
the gold on surface view. Quite the
contrary, some of the most precious of God’s truths lie incrusted with the soil
of ancient custom and the rock of Oriental symbolism. For these treasures the earnest reader of
Scripture must search. With the sharp
pick of the keen intellect and the penetrating drill of the devout spirit he
must sink his shaft beneath the outer crust of a bygone literary form, until,
like the indefatigable miner, he is rewarded by [the Holy Spirit’s
help and enlightenment] finding pure gold and precious gems, by revelations
of divine truth and glimpses into the eternal counsels of the Almighty,
inestimable in value and unfading in beauty.
Such, figuratively expressed, is prophetic study. Never
popular among the rank and file of church members, its difficulties are arduous
and its rewards great.
No
book on Bible study would lay claim, however modestly, to adequacy and
comprehensiveness can neglect the unique field of prophecy. The mere extent of this portion of divine
revelation is impressive evidence of its importance. Out of sixty-six books, seventeen are
throughout prophetic in theme covering about two hundred and twenty of the ten
or eleven hundred pages of Scripture, as commonly printed. This, however, is but the surface extent of
prophecy. Many other books, generally
accounted non-prophetic, are, to revert to our former figure, richly veined
with prophetic truth. Almost the
majority of the Psalms, sections of the epistles and of the historic books, many sayings of
our Lord Himself, bear heave lodes of prophecy.
Surely the all-wise Author has
written these things for our instruction, not for our bewilderment or neglect. Indeed, one may well infer from the fact that
so much of Scripture is run in the prophetic mould, a challenge to the
spiritual faculties of humanity.
But
just what is this prophecy that bulks so large in God’s Word? The answer depends upon understanding a group
of men who, with the exception of a few of the apostles of Christ, their
greatest Exemplar, lived more that two thousand years ago. Like all great literature, prophecy is the
outgrowth of life, the undying expression of kindling feeling and heroic
action. While the outward form often
bears the marks of human genius, it owes
its qualities of spiritual grandeur and unerring foresight entirely to contact
with the Spirit of God. As Peter
says, “Prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man: but
holy men of God spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost.”1 This accords
well with the original Hebrew term for prophet.
The word is “nabi,”
and it is derived from the verb which, according to competent etymologists,
connotes “bubbling forth like a fountain.” A key to the meaning of “nabi” is found in Exodus 4: 16. Moses, called of God to lead
out His people from Egyptian bondage, pleads his inability to appear before
Pharaoh because of lack of natural eloquence.
To this God replies that Aaron will be the “nabi,” or “spokesman,”
of Moses. “And he [Aaron] shall be thy
spokesman [“nabi”] unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.” This early use
of the term clearly defines its meaning; the prophet is one who announces and
pours forth the counsels of God. In the
words of Augustine, the prophet is nothing else less the enunciator of the
words of God to men. And notice the
relation of the prophet to his master.
He is but the mouthpiece, the spokesman.
It is through the Spirit
of God that he is moved and borne along. Let those who will cavil at
the verbal inspiration of Scripture. The
fact is incontrovertible that the prophetic writings are inspired
in actual detail. Scores and
even hundreds of times the prophets cry out “Thus saith the Lord,”
“The Word of the
Lord came unto me.”
1 2
Pet. 1:
21.
Two
other words, less commonly used, designate in Hebrew the prophet. Both “roeh” and “chozeh” are rendered “seer.” The meaning
illuminates the mission of the prophet.
For, in the process of enunciating the declarations of God, he saw the
future, glimpsing through the divine words or direct visions vouchsafed him the
course of distant ages. Thus he was
rightly called a seer. Inspiration
strengthened his vision, so that his gaze transcended the bounds of time. The world has known other prophets. Other religions have had their seers. The Greeks and Romans had their oracles. But at best their forecasts were
ambiguous. Indeed it can safely be
asserted that only in the Bible is
prophecy reduced to a certainty rather than a shrewd guess. Only the Biblical prophets actually foretold
the future with definite detail. Later
we shall find occasion to treat more directly of this phase of prophecy. Suffice it to say now that the fulfilled
prophecy of Scripture is unique and constitutes an unanswerable evidence of the
supernatural inspiration of the Bible.
And it may be that God’s plan of authorship prophecy was for this reason
accorded such a large place. For through
it the Bible contains within itself the accredited evidence of its own authenticity.
It
is in relation to this wonderful faculty of foretelling the future, however,
that prophecy is commonly misunderstood.
The misconception lies in a popular tendency to consider the prediction
as the whole of the prophetic office.
Prophecy, to be sure, is pre-written history, but it is also much
more. To the people of his own time the
prophet exercised a distinctive office.
He was sent not alone to make known the future. He
came as the zealous agent of reform, reproof, and instruction. With
current abuses and besetting iniquities he was vitally concerned. His mission, then, was first of all local,
contemporary, directed toward the alleviation of the present-day evil or the
warning forecast of future retribution.
This
moral and deeply practical aspect of prophecy is important, although sometimes
overlooked by earnest students of prediction. Nevertheless, according to such an accepted
definition as that in the Scofield Reference Bible, “Prophets
were men raised up of God in times of declension and apostasy in
2 Introduction to
the Prophetical books.
[* See for example
1 Pet. 1:
10-11,
R.V.]
Were
one to emphasize one single principle as essential to the understanding of
prophecy, it would be this principle of twofold application - the local and
universal aspects of the message. To
lack of comprehension of this principle most of the misunderstanding of
prophecy is traceable. The local and universal messages, often
woven together in the prophet’s words, are entangled by the interpreter, and
the result is confusion.
Let
us, in order to clarify the important generality, analyze a concrete
illustration. The first nine verses if
the seventh chapter of Isaiah’s prophecy put before the reader a certain bit of
international intreague, ominous of the future Royal
House of David, the dynasty which, according to the Davidic Covenant, was to be
established forever. The time is about
742 B.C. Ahaz, a weak king cursed with
tendency to compromise with the abominations of the heathen, sits upon the
throne of David and reigns over
3 This prophecy
was fulfilled when the ten tribes of
But
note the immediate sequel, recorded in the text without a break. Isaiah goes
on to record the words of the Lord to Ahaz.
“Ask,” says God to the King, “a sign. Ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.”* But Ahaz, lacking
faith, demurs. “I will not ask,” he replies, “neither will I
tempt the Lord.” Consequently,
Ahaz loses the high privilege of personally receiving from the Lord a sign or
confirmation of the promise of deliverance.
Yet, because the safety of the Davidic
house was linked forever to the integrity of God’s covenant, the Lord does
proclaim a sign, not to Ahaz merely, but to the entire house of David. Then comes the glorious promise of the
Virgin-born Redeemer, Immanuel. “Therefore the Lord Himself shall
give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey
shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the
evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall
be forsaken of both her kings.” 4
[* Is there not
here a reference to Messiah’s Death
at Calvary, His sojourn in “Hades”
for “three days and three nights;” and, after His Resurrection, His Ascension into heaven to sit at His Father’s right hand in heaven,
until His enemies be made His footstool? See Psalm 110.]
4 Isaiah
7: 14-16.
As
there can be no doubt of the local immediate character of Isaiah’s divinely
commanded message to Ahaz, so there can
be no question to the universal quality if its sequel as recorded by the same
great prophet. The faithless King is
submerged in the entire house of David. The suggested sign of reassurance becomes
the magnificent promise of Immanuel, the Virgin’s Son, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ [and their allegiance to David their King during the “age.” Yet to come!]*
[*“And I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of
This
then, is one example of the juxtaposition in which we fine the local and the universal or predictive elements of prophecy. Let us now turn to another illustration of
this frequent puzzling feature of [divine] prophecy.
A
generation or so before Isaiah, Joel brought to
But
suddenly the emphasis of Joel’s message shifts.
In the destruction wrought by the insect plague, Joel discerns the still vaster destruction of the Day of the Lord, the future
time of the Lord’s appearance in might and great glory when the rebellious world
powers will be smitten with a “rod of iron”
in the final crossing of swords at Armageddon. The
locusts themselves become symbols of a greater plague, the hosts of evil who in
the last days will invade
Then,
pausing to make practical application of the future truth, Joel calls upon all
the dwellers in the land that is so sorely smitten with the locust plague and
that is to suffer many more grievous burdens and be the scene of momentous
events - upon these inhabitants he calls for repentance. For the Lord, he reminds the people, will be
merciful. He will give them food and
drink. He will drive the invaders away
and will overthrow their forces. The desolated corps and pastures will again
be fruitful. That which the locust has eaten will be restored. Deliverance will come not only immediately but also in the time of future persecution.
In
fact, so great will be the blessing that in the last days there will be a
notable bestowal of God’s Spirit upon His children. “And it shall come to
pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those
days will I pour out my Spirit.” 5 It was these significant words that Peter quoted at
Pentecost, that day of supernatural power when God poured out His Spirit, and
the church was founded. 6 Although Peter rightly saw in the events transpiring
before him a fulfilment of this great promise, it is clear from Joel’s context
that there is yet to come a fulfilment
of his words as they relate to
5 Joel 2: 28, 29.
6 Acts
2: 17-21.
In
a brief flash of insight into the future, Joel
next sees the miraculous signs accompanying the Day of the Lord. Then, again heralding deliverance for [the
nation of]
Israel, he predicts the judgment of the Gentile nations and describes the Day
of the Lord afresh and at length, closing his prophecy with an eloquent preview of the coming [messianic] kingdom when Israel will be restored to blessed
relationship with her God.
Such,
in brief outline, is the prophecy of Joel.
In its intermingling of present and [yet] future, in its
practical exhortations based on coming events, it is typical of the prophetic manner of speaking. Other examples could be multiplied - Daniel,
Jeremiah, Zechariah, Haggai, John’s great apocalypse, the Lord’s remarkable
predictive discourses; all prophets and prophecy, in fact, exhibit the same
admixture of messages of local with messages of universal import. Indeed, the unity of prophetic Scripture is
one of its most apparent features and a strong proof of its divine inspiration.
It
is but natural that questions should now arise regarding the prophetic message
in general. What is the great theme of
themes? What is the purpose? Like most important questions having to do
with the Bible, these are answered by
Scripture itself. We find the reply
in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation. John, lifted out of himself by the
overshadowing Spirit of God, beholds the consummation of the mystery of the
ages - the marriage of the Church, the redeemed Bride, to the Lamb, the
redeeming Christ. Overcome by the vision
of glory, John falls down to worship his heavenly guide, but is deterred from
his mistaken homage by the words of the angel: “See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and
of thy brethren that have the testimony
of Jesus; worship God: for the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
7 In this last clause of the angel’s warning to John is the key of the
prophetic message. In other words, the vitalizing factor of prophecy, its
underlying spirit, is to testify of Jesus.
It is well in considering this truth to look back to the original
meaning of the name of our Lord. Jesus
means “Saviour.” The
testimony of the Saviour, the story of salvation [past, present and future], then is the central theme of prophecy. How well this accords with the words of our
Lord himself! Following His healing of
the paralytic at the pool of
7 Rev.
19: 10.
8 John 5: 39.
This
“search” is the most rewarding and interesting phase of Bible
study. Indeed, it may safely be said
that all such study to be fruitful must bear either directly or indirectly on
the discerning of Christ in the pages of Scripture. To
suppose, then, that Christ may be found only in the books that treat fully and
more or less contemporaneously of Him, such as the Gospels and the remainder of
the New Testament, is an error, if persisted in, will immediately impoverish
Bible study. For “the testimony of Jesus” is spread
throughout the entire Scriptures.
There is not a book of the Old Testament that does not, either directly or in type, show forth the Christ.
Let us, in order to make clear this central theme of
prophecy, consider some traces of “the testimony of
Jesus” in the Old
Testament. The very first book of
Scripture is extraordinary rich in Messianic 9 prophecy. Not only in the initial chapter but even in
the opening verse, one can discern the Redeemer. For scholars have noted that the designation
for God in the Hebrew of Genesis
1: 1 is a noun of uni-plural type.
Consistent with this is such a statement as occurs in Genesis 1: 26. “And God said,” writes Moses, “let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” A similar use
of the plural in connection with the words of God is found in the divine
comment on the proud effort of man expressed in the
9 From Messiah, the
Hebrew term for the coming Christ.
10 Genesis 11: 7.
The
above instance is like the tiny gleam that announces to the anxious mariner the
lighthouse miles across the troubled sea.
Shining down the centuries and millenniums of human history it points to
the One whom Malachi, the last of the Messianic prophets, called “the Son of righteousness,” 11 But the gleam of Genesis
1 very soon becomes a brighter beam, then a flashing ray, and finally
the effulgence of the Sun, Himself.
11 Malachi
4: 2.
Let
us follow it, as it waxes brighter through the pages of God’s book. Genesis 3: 15 marks the
first definite statement of the coming Redeemer. In connection with the Adamic Covenant we have already explained 12*
the exact meaning of this protevangel.
Yet we may well pause to note the eloquent comment of Dr. Alfred Edersheim
13 on the verse. “It is,” the great
12* [The author’s writing on God’s Covenants are shown below.]
[* Revelation 3: 21. cf. Luke
22: 28-30,
R.V.]
13 Cf. The Life and Times
of Jesus The Messiah, by Alfred Edersheim.
The
Abrahamic Covenant, as has already
been shown in an earlier chapter, points unmistakably to Christ. “In thee,” said God to
Abraham, “shall all families of the earth be
blessed.” 14 How
incredible the statement to the wandering Abraham venturing forth into the
unknown! Yet it was [and
is yet to be literally] fulfilled in the
Lord Jesus, the great descendant of Abraham. In Him truly all families, all nations, all
peoples of the earth have been, are, and will [during the coming
millennium]
be blessed. He alone is the hope of humanity.
Through Him alone is God’s grace available for a fallen race. He only is the way, the truth, and the
life. “For,” as Paul so
rightly said, “There
is … one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 15
14 Genesis
12: 3.
15 1 Timothy 2: 5.
But
the book of Genesis is full of Messianic prophecy. Through writing history, Moses also recorded
prophecy. Indeed, merely from the types in Genesis, the
silent witness of the lives of men such as Enoch and Melchizedek, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, one can discern a representative portrait of the
Christ.
Before
passing to the prophets later than Moses, however, we must take notice of the patriarch Jacob’s dying words to his
son Judah. Calling his twelve sons
together, Jacob gave each his blessing, the blessings being prophetic of the
future of each as representative of the twelve tribes. On his
son Judah, Jacob bestowed a most significant blessing 16 with a definitely Messianic trend.
16 Genesis 49: 8-12.
The reference of this whole passage to
the Lord Jesus Christ has been recognized by commentators from the earliest
times. Indeed, John two thousand years later refers
to it in the Revelation, for he sees Christ
enthroned as “the Lion of the tribe of
17 Revelation
5: 5.
But
the tone of Jacob’s blessing being so far very definitely regal, one may well pause to ask how it can be
applied to a [promised] Messiah who
neither reigned nor legislated, but who hung instead upon a cross of shame,
repudiated publically and irrevocably by His own brethren. Surely at the crucifixion Christ’s brethren
neither praised Him nor bowed down before Him.
The object is well worth consideration, and leads us to another
distinction fundamental to the understanding of prophecy.
It
was John in the Revelation who spoke of Christ as “the Lion
of the tribe of
18 John 1: 29.
But why this intimate admixture of diverse strains of
truth? The query leads us back to the [millennial and] eternal
purposes of the Almighty, “the deep things of God,” 19 to use the Pauline phrase. Touched with divine mercy, God provided a
Saviour for the sin of man. That Saviour was the Christ, the Messiah of
royal descent. He it was who should [and most
certainly will one day] sit upon
David’s Throne in accordance with the unchangeable covenant. All this was
prewritten in sacred prophecy. Holy men
of God, moved by the [Holy] Spirit,
recorded these facts centuries in advance.
And the Messiah came.
Virgin-born, of the seed of
Abraham and the line of David, He came as the prophets had written. But He was rejected! As John has it in a verse of infinite
tragedy, “He came unto His own, and His own
received Him not.” 20
Blinded by [Satan* and] sin, proud in their own conceits, the Jews, the
chosen race, spurned Him with a hatred voice in the terrible cry with which
they answered Pilate, “His blood be upon us, and on
our children,” 21 and
expressed in the shame of the crucifixion.
The Messiah had come and had been cast out by the very
race whom in the plan of God He was to rule.
19 1 Corinthians 2: 10.
20 John
1: 11.
[* That is, blinded to the good
news about their Messiah’s coming glory: “But
and if our gospel (good news) is veiled,”
said Paul, “it is veiled to them that are perishing:
in whom the god of this age hath blinded the minds of
the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of
the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should
not dawn upon them:” (2 Corinthians 4: 4,
R.V.).]
21 Matthew
27: 25.
And
God knew in advance of the Messiah’s rejection.
He foresaw the hostile attitude of His brethren, the indignities that
were heaped upon Him, the deep humiliation of the cross. Foreseeing it all, He wrote it into the
prophetic record. Grieving at the
shameful treatment of His matchless Emissary, God caused His prophets to tell
in detail the very excesses of cruelty with which the enemies of Christ thought
to erase Him from the pages of their national life. And God’s forevision was correct [to the minutest detail], for His Word is truth. As the
prophetic word states, Christ was “despised and rejected of men.”
Thus
it is that side by side with the prophecy of a kingly Messiah we have the [divine] forecast of a
suffering Saviour. Thus it is that all will be fulfilled [when the Lord Jesus returns].* He who suffered and was rejected is coming
again to reign. God’s covenant
regarding the [true] Messiah
as King will [then] be honoured. Though He was
crucified, dead and buried, He
yet arose [out] from the
dead** and will return, a mighty King, to judge
the quick [i.e., the
living] and the dead.
[* 1
Corinthians 1: 7;
Revelation 22: 12,
R.V.]
[** See Acts 2.
31. cf. verse
34. Also 1
Corinthians 15: 20, 23: also Paul’s address to the Athenians, - “He has fixed a day,”
[i.e., ‘the God who made the world and all things,’ verse 24], “in which He will judge
the world in righteousness through a Man [i.e., Christ Jesus] whom He has appointed,
having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead: (Acts
17: 31, NASB). Translated literally the last words read: “… having raised him [the Messiah] out of dead ones.” Christ’s resurrection was selective:
no other soul was resurrected “out of dead ones”
at that time.]
Having
seen Christ in Jacob’s blessing as the “Lion of the tribe of
22 Mark 15: 24.
Such
details, however, by no means exhaust the prophetic significance if this
wonderful Psalm. It must be
read in its entirety after the phrases have been searched with a devout
spirit. For David has set down the very
thoughts of the Son of Man as He suffers the penalty for the sin of the
world. Over-shadowed by the Holy Spirit,
for what he wrote was far above the reach of his own intellect, he writes a
poem that affords a fleeting glimpse into the holiest of holies - the heart of
the dying Saviour.
One
of the leading characteristics of prophetic Scripture is its harmony. Such a passage as we have just examined does
not stand alone. Rather it is surrounded
by the corroborative witness of different prophets of different ages. Isaiah, for instance, offers in his fifty-third chapter
an equally striking picture of the suffering Messiah. Yet he writes nearly three centuries after
David. Very beautifully he describes the
sorrows of the Lamb of God. “He is despised and rejected
of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and
we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was
despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded
for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was
upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the
iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was
afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.” 23 These are memorable words. They are fulfilled exactly in the crucifixion
of our Lord. While David seems to
describe the actual physical sufferings, Isaiah is concerned with pointing out
the significance of this torment as comprehended in the fact that the Messiah
was suffering in behalf of others, and
that He died in our stead, not for His own iniquity. But like David’s forecast of the passion of
Christ, Isaiah’s prophecy is marked also for accurate detail of the far-off
event. He speaks of the humiliation
which the Messiah suffered. He mentions
the stripes that were laid upon His unresisting back by the Roman scourge. He points out His quiet in the hour of
accusation. “But He answered him nothing,” 24 says Luke before
Pilate. Most shocking of all, however,
is Isaiah’s prevision of a detail of the burial of the Messiah. “And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death.” Matthew,
recounting the burial of Christ, tells how “there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph … He went to
Pilate and begged the body of Jesus … And when
Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a
clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new
tomb …”25 And, as in the case of David’s prediction of the
gambling soldiers, all four of the Gospels agree in their mention of this
detail, foreseen so definitely by Isaiah more than seven hundred years before.
23 Isaiah
55: 3-7.
24 Luke
23: 9.
25 Matthew
27: 57-60.
So
much for fulfilled prophecy. God’s book, however is not dead, but
living, and one must remember that the working out of the divine plan of the ages
is not yet complete. Consequently
much of prophecy still awaits fulfilment.
While this is true of portions of the Old Testament predictions, it holds especially for New Testament
prophecy. When Christ said, “I go to prepare a place for
you. And
if I go … I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,” 26 He was clearly speaking of a future
event, an event even now unfulfilled. He had in mind that phase of His second
coming when, as Paul describes the scene in Thessalonians, 27 “the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout” and those who are alive [… “that are left”*] at the time of His coming will be gathered at once to
be with Him, being in an instant metamorphosed from mortality to immortality, the dead in Christ [at that time. That is, at His Second Advent] having
risen first in obedience to the trumpet call. This again much of the book of
Revelation is unfulfilled prophecy. Its
elaborate and striking symbolic pictures of the consummation of God’s plan for
the world follow closely the mould of our Lord’s Olivet Discourse, the greatest
single bit of prophecy in the Bible. 28 So too certain passages in the Epistles, such as
Paul’s second letter to Timothy and Jude’s brief but important Epistle, in their prophetic abomination of the
coming apostasy picture with
startling vividness the present widespread denial of the Faith. Indeed,
we have in these cases an example of the fulfilment of prophecy in our own
times. And they are by no means
unique. The close student of
international affairs who knows his Bible sees prophecy fulfilled in the daily
papers [and by images on television screens]. Recent press accounts, for instance, on
Zionistic activities in Palestine are fully in accord with the Old Testament
Scriptures, which speak of the ultimate return of the Jews to their own land,
first in unbelief and finally in acceptance of their King. It is the return in unbelief that we see in
the Zionistic movement [today].
26 John
14: 2,
3.
27 1
Thessalonians 4: 13-17.
[* 1
Thessalonians 4: … 15, R.V.
Those “left” will be “left unto the coming of the Lord,” after
others “prevail to escape” the dreaded end time
events! Luke 21: 34-36; Rev. 2: 10, R.V.]
28 Matthew
24, 25.
But
enough examples have been cited to show the nature of prophecy and to make
clear its great purpose. Once the fact
that the Lord Jesus Christ stands out as the central theme of prophecy is
grasped with all the implications, the treasures of the prophetic word are
within reach. Other themes there are in
prophecy: the history of the Jews, the fate of the great nations of antiquity,
the religious conditions and the international alliances of the future - all
these have their place. Yet they are
each of them subsidiary to the great unifying theme of the Messiah, for they
derive from Him their permanent significance.
The Jews were chosen as the bearers of God’s unique revelation, and of
their race Christ was to come.
That
this should be the case is but fitting.
According to John, Christ was “in the beginning”
with God. 29 He had an active part in the great work of creation
and now abides in everlasting unity with the Father. According to Paul, “by Him were all things
created, that are in heaven, and that are in the earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him: and He is before all things and by Him all things consist
… that in all things He might have the pre-eminence,” 30
29 John
1: 1, 2.
30 Colossians
1: 16-18.
To
the pre-eminence of the divine Son of God prophecy makes an essential
contribution. It is infallibly accurate
prediction of scores of hundreds of details from the exact place and unique
manner of Christ’s birth to His atoning death and His future Kingdom consists an unanswerable authentication of His [messianic] claims as the saviour of the World. Whoever would reject the Son of Man must
reckon with the great fact of fulfilled [and
unfulfilled*] prophecy. Until
Messianic prophecy be rationally explained, the supremacy of Christ will remain
unshakable. The supernatural prophesies
are the credentials of the supernatural Christ. “For the testimony of Jesus is the
Spirit of prophecy.”
[*See Psalms 2: 8; 46: 9-11; 47: 3, 4; 53: 66: 4; 67: 3-5 and all of Psalm 72; and compare with (Luke 24: 25-27, 44, R.V.).]
-------
[PART
TWO]
[From chapter 8 in the author’s book under the
heading]
GOD’S IMMUTABLE PROMISES
OF like importance to the dispensations are the
covenants. If as we have seen* the
dispensations [or past ages] are to be regarded as periods of time during which
God tests the obedience of man to a specific revelation of His will, then the
covenants may be considered as God’s enunciation of those specific revelations
under which man is tested. As a sort of
plan or chart of this chapter, let us, therefore, first of all sketch out this
significant relationship between dispensations and covenants. This plan should be constantly referred to
during the reading of the following pages.
On one side we shall list the dispensations; on the other the
covenants. The order, of course, is
chronological. It should be noted that
the correspondence in time is not absolute.
For instance, the Dispensation of Human Government continues in force
through the Mosaic Covenants and indeed overlaps in respect to the Gentile
nations some of the latter dispensations.
[* See Footnote at
end.]
Dispensations Covenants
INNOCENCY
EDENIC
CONSCIENCE ADAMIC
HUMAN
GOVERNMENT
NOAHIC
PROMISE ABRAHAMIC
*
*.From the time of Abraham the covenants are primarily
Jewish.
LAW
MOSAIC A (Sinai)
MOSIAC B (Palestineian)
GRACE*
*
Grace, being universal and opening the
way, spiritually, for the Gentiles,
does not
have an exact covenantal explanation, as do the other dispensations.
KINGDOM
DAVIDIC B (Consummated)
NEW
The
meaning of the term “covenant” is
perfectly obvious. It is simply another
way of saying “promise” or “agreement.”
One caution, however, must be made as to its application to God’s
dealings with men. When used in this
manner the word has an accommodated sense.
In the human covenant, the two covenanting parties contract together
regarding certain mutually agreeable conditions. But in the divine covenant, from the very
nature of the case, man merely receives
the terms of the agreement and has nothing to do with fixing these terms. To be sure, his free will enables him to
reject the covenant, divine though it be, but he has no power to change in any way its
provisions.
The
covenants of God are divine provisions or conditions for the guidance and
government of God’s people throughout the ages of God’s dealings with the
race. The fact that they emanate from God makes their terms obligatory rules
to be obeyed. Consequently, it is not
surprising that blessing attends obedience and judgment disobedience. And it is just here that the peculiar covenant
character of these divine pronouncements enters in. Along with their absolutely binding
authority, they are truly promises. God
says in effect to man - “Here are certain provisions
for your guidance. Follow them, and
blessing and the highest good will attend you.
My word is the guarantee of this compact.” Indeed, God is actually represented as
confirming His covenants by an oath,
as is brought out by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews
in speaking of the Abrahamic Covenant.1
1 “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to
show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath.” Hebrews
6: 17.
The
major covenants, of which there are eight, rank with the dispensations in
importance. The dispensations, however,
apply in some cases to all men; the covenants are more exclusively Jewish in
scope. Scripture is God’s supernatural
revelation to humanity. And of what is
the revelation? The answer obviously is
that it is a revelation of God’s mind, particularly as regards His purpose
towards humanity [upon this earth]. And in the
covenants we have the great key-statements of that revelation. God spoke to men. He spoke to them progressively. As the ages passed, He spoke again, with
wonderful grace and mercy accommodating His edicts to man’s needs. The dispensations mark the ages or periods of
God’s dealings with man; the covenants are God’s enunciation of the principles
of guidance, judgment, and blessing accompanying these ages. They may be likened to the major points of
God’s discourse to man. Understand them
and you begin to see the logic of the divine mind.
And
now, always bearing in mind the corresponding dispensations as shown in our
diagram, we may proceed to examine more especially each of the covenants.
[1]
The Edenic Covenant
First
is the Edenic Covenant, stated in Genesis 1:
28 and the following verses. This of course, particularizes the test
conditions of the Dispensation of Innocency.
God covenants to bless man by giving him sway over the whole earth and
its creatures. Man’s part of the
contract is to fulfil the following responsibilities: 1. To reproduce his own kind so that humanity might dominate the
earth. 2. To subdue for humanity’s use the earth. 3.
To control the animal realm. 4. To subsist upon herbs and
fruits. 5. To cultivate the divinely appointed Garden of Eden. 6.
The one prohibition is to abstain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. Lastly, with this
covenant there went a single but awful penalty - death.
The
responsibilities fulfilled, man was to enjoy the world and all creation to the
glory of God; but were the responsibilities unfulfilled, the sentence of death
was to fall.
[2]
The Adamic Covenant
(Genesis 3:
14-20.)
The Adamic Covenant … deals with humanity after the
first sin in
1 Revelation
21: 5.
These
conditions, broadly, are as follows: 1.
The serpent, utilized as the agent for Satan’s malignant subtlety whereby man
was morally ruined, is cursed. From a
most beautiful creature it becomes the loathsome reptile, a perpetual object
lesson of the repulsive effects of sin. 2. A glorious hope is held out for the
encouragement of the blighted race. The
Redeemer is promised. The “seed” of the woman is to bruise the “head” of the serpent.
2 In
other words, the poison of sin no sooner infects mankind than God heralds the
divine antidote - the only-begotten Son who, though He knew no sin, is “made sin” and suffers the penalty of death that a corrupted
humanity might become whole. 3 3. Woman is
henceforth to bear unusual suffering through multiplied offspring and the pangs
of motherhood. She is also to be under
the headship of man. 4. For man’s ultimate welfare the earth
is cursed, so that only by wholesome, cleansing toil may the essentials of life
be wrested from it. The fallen nature of
man requires the stabilizing influence of toil.
5. Life is to be marked by
inescapable sorrow. 6. The earth being cursed, the light occupation of
2 Genesis 3: 15.
3 Note on Genesis
3: 15. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
The
monumental importance of this verse has been recognized by commentators from
ancient times. Its gospel character is
so marked that for centuries it has been known as the “protevangel,”
i.e., “first gospel,” for it is the first hint
of the good news. The interpretation,
while not fully apparent on the surface, is made plain by common-sense
application of the rules of grammar. The
matter simply hinges on the pronouns and their logical antecedents. “and I will put enmity …” (Who is the
antecedent of I? Very evidently, God, as we see by reference
to verse 14) “…
between thee and the woman …” (Who is the antecedent of thee?
Clearly the serpent, addressed by way of cursing in the preceding
verse).
In
this simple bit of grammar lies the key to the protevangel. Remembering the antecedents of the pronouns,
we continue – “and between thy [the serpent’s
or Satan’s] seed [i.e., Satan, the principle and personality of evil] and her [ the woman’s] seed [i.e, Christ, the second Adam, the perfect representative of
humanity]; it [the woman’s seed, or the
Redeemer] shall bruise thy [the serpent’s
or Satan’s] head [i.e., render Satan a mortal blow, as indeed Christ did at the
resurrection], and thou [the serpent or Satan] shalt bruise his [Christ’s] heel” [i.e.,
deal a transient blow, as in the crucifixion, after which Christ overcame
death].
4 Job.
14: 1.
5 “The tree of the knowledge of
good and evil.”
[3]
The Abrahamic Covenant
Back in the ninth century before Christ the Moabites
and the Ammonites, heathen enemies, invaded the
[* That is, for as long as God allows this
creation to remain, He replaces it with “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21: 1).. See “The Thousand Years” (pp. 349-378), by Nathaniel West, D.D.]
1 Romans
4: 3.
Abraham’s
story is familiar. As the record of Genesis 11 shows, he lived with Terah, his father,
in
2 The
3 Genesis 12: 2, 3.
4 Genesis 12: 4.
5
Genesis 15: 5.
6 Genesis
17: 4-22. Here,
as a token of fulfilment, God changes the name
of Abram (high father) to Abraham (father of many nations).
But
Abraham’s obedience is again
tested. An old man, he is commanded to
take his beloved son Isaac and sacrifice him to God upon
7 Genesis 22: 7.
The
sequel to this magnificent display of faith rewarded is the final reaffirmation
of the covenant of promise to Abraham.
Notable is the manner of reaffirmation. 8 And
the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven a second time, and
said, “By myself
have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast
done this thing, and hast not withheld thy
son, thine only son, that in blessing I
will bless thee, and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and
as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies; and in thy seed shall all
nations of the earth be blessed; because
thou hast obeyed my voice.” 9 The
covenant is witnessed, witnessed by an oath of tremendous import. “By myself have I sworn,” said God. The Creator, being
supreme, can call only Himself to attest His [millennial
and]
everlasting covenant with Abraham His friend.
8 It is worthy of
note that the covenant is also reaffirmed to Abraham’s son, Isaac, and his
grandson Jacob. Cf. Genesis 26: 1-6; 28: 10-15.
9 Gen
22: 15-18.
So
much for the background and instruction of the Abrahamic Covenant. Equally illumination is a summary of its provisions and their glorious fulfilment. First of all, the land was promised to Abraham: This was fulfilled in the
Israelitish possession of
10 Cf. Genesis 15: 13-16; Jeremiah 25:
11, 12,
and the Palestinian Covenant.
11 Galatians
3: 29.
12 Genesis 13: 14-17; 15: 18; 24: 34, 35.
13 Genesis 15: 6; Romans
4: 3; John
8: 56.
14 Galatians 3: 13, 14.
[4]
The Mosaic Covenant
Simultaneously with the Dispensation of the Law, God
gave the covenant known by the name of Moses.
Moses was a great lawgiver, and this covenant exactly explains the test
of the corresponding dispensation under which the Israelites were tried by
their obedience to the Law.
In
a chapter such as this it is too easy to descend to a mere listing of abstract
principles, devoid of the vivid colours of actual life. We might well pause, therefore, to glimpse
through the eye of the imagination the majestic circumstances that ushered in
the Mosaic Covenant. For legal though
this covenant be, its legalism is that
of fundamental morality. Far from being entirely abstract, its
multitudinous provisions reflect the various hues of life itself. In its religious sections there is a glorious
pageantry of worship never to be surpassed for the majesty of its ceremonial.
At
the time, then, of the institution of this covenant the hosts of the Israelites
were encamped in the midst of the desert
There
they wait before the towering red mass of Sinai, outlined like a monstrous
Throne against the burning glare of the sands and the empty vault of the
sky. How the call came to their leader is
not given us to know. The record simply
says, “And Moses
went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him
out of the mountain.”1 But what a depth of sublimity undergirds the simple
words! God speaks. Moses hears and transmits the word to the
elders of the people. They hear and
assent. The momentous decision is made,
for God has proffered the Law. If the
people would obey it, God would make of them “a peculiar treasure” unto Himself “above all people.” They would be “a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”2 And so Moses returns to the Mount, bringing the
affirmative answer of the people. Then
God issues a warning. The people are to be sanctified and made
ready for the third day, for on that day the Lord Himself will overshadow with
His glory the Holy Mount. But let
the record speak. “And it came to pass on the
third day in the morning, that there were
thunders and lightenings, and a thick cloud upon
the mount and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought
forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace,
and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of
the trumpet sounded long,
and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered
him by a voice.” 3 The
modern may criticize and assert that the foregoing narrative is primitive and
crude. But he who reads it with the mind
of the spirit, he who is in the least responsive to the sublimity of great
literature, will, like the waiting multitudes, remain afar off and in awe.
1 Exodus
19: 3.
2 Exodus
19: 5,
6.
3 Exodus
19: 16-19.
Descending
from the mount the tremendous display of the Lord’s might, Moses, as the divine
spokesman, enunciated the law. As this
constituted the covenant, it would be well to see in what it consisted. It had three parts. 1.
The ten commandments,4 the expression of the holy will of Almighty God. Of their importance as the ultimate
foundation of all law and morality it is hardly necessary to speak. 2. The rules for governing the social
life of
4 Exodus
20.
5 Exodus
21: 1-24: 1.
6 Exodus 25: 31: 12.
As in the other covenants, so in the
Mosaic Covenant judgment attended disobedience but blessing followed obedience. Yet the history
of the Jews, sad to relate, is predominantly the record of just penalties
imposed for repeated violations of this covenant.
[5]
The Palestinian Covenant
Further explanatory of the Dispensation of the Law is
the Palestinian Covenant. In fact, … it
is really another Mosaic Covenant. The
statement preceding its instruction gives ample warrant to this view. “These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of
1 Deuteronomy
29: 1.
The
conditions of this covenant are seven in number. 1. Dispersion and expulsion from the land will follow disobedience
of God’s laws. 2. While under the sentence of this dispersion,
Thus
briefly stated, the provisions of the Palestinian Covenant are somewhat
difficult to grasp as a whole. Related
to the great forecast of the prophets, however, these provisions stand out as a
mighty panorama of the past and future history of a great people.
[6]
The Davidic Covenant
During the long centuries covered by the Dispensation
of the Law, God gave still another covenant in explanation of His will. Like the compacts made with Abraham and
Moses, this covenant was given to a highly-favoured servant of Jehovah. Unlike the Mosaic, yet similar to the
Abrahamic Covenant, it has to do primarily with the individual as the head of
the nation, although the nation itself shares fully in its provisions.
As
Abraham was known as “the friend of God,” so David, “a man after God’s own
heart,” had a scarcely less
unique title. The seventh chapter of 2
Samuel sets before us the instruction of
the covenant which God made with him.
David through the Lord’s favour rests in his palace at peace with all
his enemies. As he contemplates the
magnificence which surrounds him, he speaks to Nathan, the prophet [of
God], of
the discrepancy between the royal dwelling and the tabernacle. The latter was a portable, tent-like
structure which housed the sacred Ark of the Covenant round which shone the glory of God. Yet king David lived
in “a house of
cedar.” And so it came to the heart of the impulsive
king to build for his God a more fitting temple.
The
very night there came through Nathan, the prophet, a message for the King. God did not want David to build a
temple. Rather would the task be
reserved for Solomon, David’s son [described in Scripture as a man of peace]. Far greater,
however, than the distinction of building the temple was the honour inherent in
the Davidic Covenant, which formed the chief portion of Nathan’s message from
the Lord. This covenant is in the great
evangelical line, starting with the protevangel and continuing through the gracious promises of the Abrahamic
Covenant. On it the glorious [divine
promises and] Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is to
be founded. It is
essential, therefore, to remember that, while it was given to David during the
legal dispensation, it was interrupted by reason of the disobedience of the
[* See for example the word “glory”
in Habakkuk 2: 14 and Zechariah 7: 12-13, R.V. and compare this with Christ’s words
recorded in (John 5: 44, 45a) where the context (verses 39-41),
make it perfectly clear that our Lord Jesus is speaking about His own coming
“glory”:
“How can you believe [in Me] receiving
glory one from another; and the glory that
cometh from the only God ye seek not? Think not that
I will accuse you to the father…” R.V.]
But
the Davidic Covenant demands a closer view.
Its provisions are simple but momentous.
It establishes a Davidic “house,” or
family. In connection with this house,
the throne is mentioned as indicative of royal authority. So also a Kingdom is named as a place of
exercise of royal authority [upon
this restored
earth]*. Finally, all
- house, throne, and Kingdom - are established forever [i.e., for an “Age”]. The covenant
has but one condition; in the event of
disobedience of God’s commands, the posterity of David is to suffer
chastisement, but never in such a form as finally to annul the covenant.
[* See for example
Hosea 2: 18,
21-23; Jeremiah 12: 14-17 and
compare Jeremiah 31: 1, 3-7 with Romans 8: 19-22; 2 Peter 2: 8,
R.V.]
This
condition illuminates a somewhat puzzling phase of the Davidic Covenant. “How,” it has
been asked, “can one speak of David’s throne as being
established forever, when, since the time of Zedekiah, the last king of
1 The Gospel
genealogies of Christ are clear proof of His Davidic ancestry and hereditary
right to the throne [promised to Him by His heavenly Father, (Psalm 110: 2b.
R.V.).]
Matthew 1; Luke 3.
Thus
the Davidic Covenant remains in abeyance.
But God’s oath is immutable. At the Dispensation of the kingdom [i.e., during the “age to come”
(Heb. 6: 5ff.)] the throne will be re-established, the
Kingdom will [then have] come, and
Christ will reign on the throne of David, not only as King of His people, but
as the acknowledged “King of Kings and
Lord of Lords.”
[7]
The New Covenant
In
the plan of God’s Word one book of the New Testament is reserved for a most
illuminating comparison. The ordinances
of the Old Testament, the sacrifices and the offerings, are explained by
relating them to Christ. In every case
He is seen to be the divine fulfilment.
The laws and ordinances of Judaism had their place, but their higher
significance related to Christ, of whom typically they spoke in a thousand
different ways. Where it not for the
Epistle to the Hebrews, which discharges the functions above stated, Leviticus would be a closed book and much else in the Old
Testament obscure.
But
not only are the ceremonial ordinances illuminated by Hebrews,
but the covenants are summed up in a final comparison with the excellences of
the New Covenant - the culmination of the line of compacts made by God with man
through the ages. Fittingly enough, it
is the eighth covenant, this
speaking of a new beginning [after
the Resurrection of the holy dead] through the law of numerical symbolism.
Although
the comparison is instituted chiefly between the Mosaic and the New Covenants,
yet all the preceding covenants are necessarily in view. The great basis of superiority lies not in
morality - for all God’s covenants are perfect in righteousness and judgment -
but in efficacy.
The
key to the New Covenant and its superiority lies in the following words: “For this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my
laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” 1 Herein is the gracious excellency of the New
Covenant. Just and merciful the
preceding compacts were, but, so deep in sin was man steeped that the wilful
corruption of his nature constantly prevented his obedience. He needed, in short, a new heart in order to
be well-pleasing to God. The dispensation
of Grace, through the atonement, provided a way whereby all men might receive
this new heart through the simple acceptance of the Saviour.
1 Hebrews 8: 10.
But
the Israelites, to whom the covenants chiefly pertain, have been, since the
rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah, blind to the grace of God by reason
of their unbelief. 2 And to insure them the new heart so necessary for
acceptance by God, the New Covenant will come into effect at the time when the
glorious Dispensation of the [Millennial] Kingdom opens.
Into the minds of the rebellious and spiritually blinded Israelites, God
Himself will put His laws; into their hearts He will write His commands. Thus they will know their King as Messiah.
2 In the great
parenthesis in Romans (chapters 9 through 11)
Paul explains this. cf. particularly Romans 9: 25-33 and 11: 7-12.
More
specifically, the points of superiority of the New Covenant are as follows: 1. It is better than its predecessors
not morally, but efficacy. 2. It is better established on
unconditional promises. Before, God
said, “If ye will”; now He
says, “I will.” 3. It is better than the preceding
covenant, because obedience to them resulted often from fear of consequences;
under the New Covenant obedience springs from the renewed heart and mind. 4.
The New Covenant, by putting the laws in the individual’s mind and writing them
on his heart, secures the personal revelation of the Lord to every one under
its provisions. 5. The New Covenant secures the complete effacement and oblivion of
sins. 6. It rests upon a finished redemption, not upon a future,
uncompleted redemption. 7. It consummates the Davidic Covenant
by securing the perpetuity future conversion, and blessing of
These,
then, are the covenants. They give us a
large glimpse into the eternal counsels of God. They deal, to be sure, directly with
-------
[PART
3]
A FOOTNOTE
[From pages 103-110 at the end of chapter 7 in the author’s book entitled:]
GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES
The
Dispensation of Grace 1
1 Instituted by Christ’s work on the Cross. First
New Testament reference - John 1: 17. Extent: From the Cross to Christ’s
second coming.
The sixth dispensation partakes of the nature of a
transition. In its beginning Israelitish
like Promise and the Law, it later broadens to universal scope and comprises
all mankind. Furthermore, it has special
interest as the dispensation under which we are living.
Grace
is briefly defined as the unmerited favour of God towards man. Or, to use the words of Paul, it is “the kindness and love of God
our Saviour toward man … not by works of
righteousness which we have done.”
2 Here
we have succinctly expressed the distinction between Grace and the five
preceding dispensations. Grace depends
upon what God does; man, undeserving and in himself
unworthy, has but to believe to receive divine favour. On the other hand, the rewards under Law and
the earlier dispensations are more nearly dependant on what man does. Or, to phrase the point differently, under
Grace belief is chiefly tested. In this sense, grace is perhaps the simplest
as it is the broadest of the dispensations.
It emphasizes the love of God, while the Dispensation of the Law, for
instance, stresses His just wrath.
2 Titus 3: 4, 5.
For
the sake of clarity, it is well to divide Grace into two parts. The first we shall call the Jewish division;
the second, the universal division. The
Key to the dispensation as a whole is concisely stated in John 1: 17: “For
the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ.” It is clear, then, that the dispensation is
to be thought of as peculiarly related to our Lord. He inaugurated it, and He will close it at
the great consummation when He appears again in glory.
As
our four gospels clearly show, the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly
ministry proclaimed His Messiahship and offered Himself to the Jews as their
predicted King. This was the Jewish
division of the dispensation. But,
instead of receiving Him, they hated Him, rejected Him, and by shameful crucifixion
put Him to death. The test, then, was
national acceptance or rejection of the Messiahship of Christ.
Now,
with the death of Christ, the dispensation broadens; the test is still
acceptance or rejection of Christ, but Gentiles as well as Jews are
concerned. Was Christ the Saviour of the
world, did He shed His blood for the sin of the world, did He die for the
individual whether Jew or Greek, bond or free?
That was the great test question in the first century. That is the great test question in this
twentieth [now the 21st century] of Grace. An
affirmative answer through simple belief in the crucified One brings a new
heart and eternal life. Rejection means
continuance in sin, the dominion of the baser elements of life, and final
spiritual darkness apart from the presence of God.
As
we are now living during the Dispensation of Grace, its end is not a fact of past history but rather of prophecy, the
history of the future.* According to the predictive portions of the New Testament,
this [evil] age is to end
in widespread apostasy of falling away from the truth. The result, as given in the Book of Revelation, will be a series of [divine] judgments culminating in the end of the present
dispensation.
[* That is, in “A new
heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21: 1,
R.V.): after Messiah’ millennial reign and after “books were opened … and death
and Hades were cast into the lake of fire” (Rev.
20: 7, 12, 14a,
R.V.).
Those
who neglect Messiah’s millennial reign and teach contrary to the Word of God,
are in my opinion making a very costly mistake, they show their disbelief in
unfulfilled prophetical truths, (Psalm 72; Acts 17: 31,
R.V.); seek to blind the Lord’s redeemed people to “the
gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4: 4; 1 Peter 1: 11, R.V.); and thereby seek to deprive out Lord
and Saviour of His promised inheritance! (Psalm 2: 8; Luke 1: 32, R.V.).
This is the apostasy of which Peter speaks of in his epistles.]*
The Dispensation of the [Millennial] Kingdom. 3
3 Institution: Christ’s second coming. Old Testament reference – 2 Samuel 7: 1-17; New Testament reference - Ephesians 1: 10. Extent: 1,000 years, from Christ’s second
coming until He delivers the Kingdom up to the Father (1
Corinthians 15: 24).
The
last of the dispensations is indissolubly linked with a covenant God made with
David. In 2 Samuel 7: 1-17, we have the record of the incident. David, at peace with all his enemies, desired
to honour the Lord by building a suitable temple for the sacred ark. In answer to this desire God sent a message
to David through Nathan, the [divinely appointed] prophet. The gist of it was that David should not
build the temple, but that the Lord would establish David’s son Solomon to
construct the temple. Then, as is so
often the case in sacred prophecy, the message broadened to universal scope, and
the Lord sealed the covenant with these words: “Thine house and thine kingdom shall be
established for ever* before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever,” 5 This is the promise of the [millennial]*
kingdom, and the seventh dispensation of its divine fulfilment.
4 2 Samuel 7: 16.
[* Keep in mind:
Messiah has two kingdoms. In
Scripture, the context must always be examined to show and make known which “kingdom”
was promised to our Lord Jesus by His Father as His inheritance upon this earth during the “age to come.” (See Psalm 2:
8. cf.
Psalm 110; Acts
1: 3ff; Heb.
6: 5,
R.V. etc.).
The
following short quotation, from Dr.
Nathaniel West’s writings; will, in my opinion, be found to be a tremendous
help in understanding many unfulfilled prophetic texts relative to our Lord’s
thousand-year reign upon this earth:
“The word ‘Olam,’
‘Ever,’ does
not of itself, and by fived necessity, always denote the annihilation of time, but as
frequently, in Hebrew usage, denotes simply unbroken continuance up to a
special epoch in history, or to a certain natural termination. It has
a relative as well as an absolute sense, a finite as well as an infinite
length. It means ‘Here’ as well as ‘Beyond,’ and applies to a kingdom that comes to ‘an End’ as well as to one that has ‘no End.’ For this reason, a World-Period
or Age, is called an ‘Olam,’ and World Periods, or Ages, are called ‘Olammim,’ and in
order to express infinite time, the reduplication is used, ‘Ages of Ages,’ ‘Olammim Olammim.’ It is
therefore a false conclusion to say that because the term ‘Le Olam,’ ‘Forever,’ is applied to the
Messianic kingdom, therefore the Hebrews contradicted themselves, when they
assigned to it limits at the same time. Messiah’s kingdom is Temporal and also Eternal, and in
both senses, Olamic. … True to this view, the Jewish Teachers ever held to a
Old
Testament history tells us, of course, that the immediate posterity of David
proved untrue to their sacred trust.
Solomon, who began so gloriously, finally turned
away from the truth. His son Rehoboam
was a misguided weakling and through his utter lack of true leadership
alienated the ten tribes of
But
there was one ray of light. All through
the chequered history of the Kingdom, the Davidic dynasty remained intact. This was a fact almost miraculous, when one
considers the intrigues and treacheries of those bloody days. During a period more than a hundred years
shorter, the neighbouring
5 Matthew 1.
Had
death conquered and had Christ failed to rise from the dead, the
6 1 Corinthians
15: 14.
[*
Luke 24: 39, R.V.).]
And so, at the close of this dispensation, the Kingdom
[which the Father has
promised to His only begotten Son as His inheritance*] will come into its own. The [present day Christian] apostasy in the form of a world-wide departure [by the Anti-millennialists] from the faith 7 will be man’s answer to God’s forbearance and mercy
under Grace. Judgments will follow; the
Lord will come for His Church, there will be a time of unprecedented trouble
and disaster, and finally at Armageddon Christ, described in Revelation as the Rider “on the white horse,” 8 will overthrow the rebellious hosts of man. And then will be fulfilled the long-awaited
promise [of reward*]. As “King of Kings and Lord of
lords,” the divine Ruler will enter upon a glorious rule. For a thousand years Christ will occupy the
throne of David.
7 2 Timothy 3: 1-9; 2 Peter 2.
[* Psalm
2: 8.
cf. Psalm 110: 1-3, 5-6: see also exposition of this psalm.]
8 Revelation
19: 11-16.
[* See Hebrews
11: 6,
13, 26. cf.
Colossians 3: 23-24; Revelation 22: 12, R.V.).]
This
is the period known as the millennium, 9 the time of blessing of which the prophets [of
God]
sang. It will be signalized in a unique
way. Satan will be temporarily
restrained and the curse will be lifted from the earth, 10 and
there will be unheard-of productivity.
Sickness and physical death will be the exception, not the rule. With Christ, the Prince of Peace, as King,
wars shall cease, and the long-sought day of universal amity will at last be
realized. Even the wild beasts will
forget their enmity, and “the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid … and a little child shall lead them.” 11
9 Revelation 20: 1-5.
10 Isaiah 65: 17-25.
11 Isaiah 11: 6.
But,
even under such favourable conditions, evil will persist in the hearts of
some. Giving feigned obedience and
honour to the King, they will conspire together. At the end of the thousand years, there will
be a brief and final flare of evil, Satan being loosed, after which the rebels
will be destroyed and Satan cast forever into the lake of fire. 12
12 Revelation 20: 7-10.
The
dispensation of the Kingdom is over; Christ delivers up the Kingdom to His
Father; 13 the Great White Throne is set up; the wicked dead are
judged [after their resurrection out
of the books] according to their
deeds, and Heaven and earth flee away. Then, in
eternity, as the twenty-first chapter of Revelation tells us, is prepared “the new heaven and the new earth.” The
translation to eternity is complete, and God is all in all.*
[* Here the sequence of the author’s events has been
altered. - Ed.]
Thus
ends the plan of the ages. How glorious
is its scope! How boundless is its
sweep! And how wonderful is the truth
that all merges and finds fulfilment in our Lord Jesus Christ. In him Innocence is unbroken, Conscience
undisturbed, on His shoulder the government rests, in Him promise and Law find
fulfilment, and in His kingdom, the power and the glory forever!
13 1 Corinthians 15: 24.
* *
*
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them,
I will liken him
unto
a
wise man, which built his house upon a rock:”
(Matthew 7: 24).
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven:
but
he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven:” (Matthew 7: 21).
Do is still the key-note of the chapter.
He that doeth
righteousness is righteous. He that doeth the will of the heavenly
Father, he and he only shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.* By this we are to know false prophets, testing their
doctrine by their deeds. Holiness is not
in saying, “Lord, Lord!” Pious phrases, pious tones, pious looks,
pious professions, count for nothing, unless there is the doing of the Father’s
will. He that heareth and doeth not, builds his house upon the sand; he that
heareth and doeth, builds his house upon a rock.
[* Literally: “the kingdom of the
heavens.” Presumably
this is a reference to the heavenly sphere of Messiah’s millennial
kingdom for resurrected saints only, after Jesus returns to resurrect all martyrs
and the holy dead! Luke 20: 35-36; 1 Thess. 4: 16. cf. Luke 14:
14; John 14:
3; Rev. 3: 5; 6: 9-11; 20: 4-6, etc, R.V.]
Then
our Lord closes the sermon with the parable of the two builders: he that
heareth and doeth; and he that heareth and doeth not. The figure continues the line of thought
which immediately precedes the parable.
Each house was a doing - a labour. Probably, building on the sand is the
greatest labour of the two. But the wise
man’s labour was to get on to the Rock.
As soon as that was his foundation the Rock gave its strength to the
whole building.*
Every stone in it was firm, because the foundation was
good. THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST.
[* That is, provided the builders are not “teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men” (Mk.
7: 7b,
R.V.)! The builders’ teachings are to be
synonymous to those of their Lord and
His Apostles! See Luke 13: 27; 1 John 3: 24; 1 Cor. 3: 10b, 13; 4: 2, 6; 2 Cor. 5: 9-10; Gal. 6: 7, etc.]
-
Mark
Guy Pearse.
What
we should be done to purpose; effect something; not only move ourselves, but
move others - out of their sins to Christ; move the Church, and better it, and
not be at an everlasting standstill.
Erasmus
tells of a man, named Rabirius who wanted his servant, Syrus,
to get up, and called to him to move. “I do move,” replied Syrus. “I see you move,” rejoined the master, “but you move
nothing!” Now, there may be
much religious activity, and yet not a sinner moved out of his sins, and the
Church very little advanced in holiness [and spiritual understanding]. When we move, we should move to some purpose, and
accomplish something!
- James Caughey.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,
that giveth to
all men liberally, and upbraideth not: and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering:
(James 1: 5,
6).
“Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves
with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
(1 Corinthians 6: 9-10, R.V.).
I
have not sufficient wisdom to meet these difficulties so as to be able to know
what steps to take, but He is able to [give understanding and] direct
me. What I have, therefore, to do is this: in simplicity to spread my case
before my heavenly Father and my Lord Jesus.
Then I have to believe that
God will do so, and go with good courage
to my business, and expect help from Him in the next difficulty that may
come before me. I have to look for guidance, I have to expect counsel from the Lord;
and, as assuredly as I do so, I shall have it. I shall
find that I am not nominally, but really in partnership with the Father and
with the Son.
- George Muller.
Being perplexed, I say,
Lord, make it right,
Night is as day to Thee,
Darkness is light.
I am afraid to touch
Things that involve so much:
My trembling hand may shake,
My skill-less hand may break,
Thine can make no mistake,
Lord, make it right!
Being in doubt, I say,
Lord, make it plain,
Which is the true, safe way,
Which would be vain.
I am not wise to know,
Nor sure of foot to go:
My poor eyes cannot see
What is so clear the Thee –
Lord, make it clear to me,
Lord, make it plain!
- Anna Warner.
THE END