From EDEN EDEN
<!--mstheme-->Lecture 1<!--mstheme--> <!--mstheme-->The Beginning<!--mstheme-->
A well-watered garden.
<!--msthemeseparator-->
"IN THE
BEGINNING." There have been many beginnings in the history of men
and nations. To which event or period, do we refer in our use of the
quotation, "In the beginning?" Obviously as our theme is God's
Plan, our appeal is to the Bible--to The Beginning, and development,
presented and outlined therein.
Whilst some
profess to disbelieve, and therefore reject, the Bible record, such rejection
does not necessarily disprove the account given in the Book of Books, which, to
many people, is still a revelation from God to man. No more satisfactory
account of the formation, or creation, of man is to be found than that which
the Bible presents with a definiteness which commands the attention of all men.
"At what
epoch of creation did man make his appearance upon the earth? Hardly more
than half a century ago unlooked for discoveries shattered all the old systems
of chronology, and proved that man himself had part in the geological
evolutions of our globe. Flints and bones shaped into axes, knives,
needles, arrow heads, and spear heads; bones of huge animals cleft lengthwise,
so that the marrow might be extracted for nourishment; heaps of shells and the
debris of repasts; ashes, the evident remains of antediluvian hearths; even
pictures traced on shoulder bones and slate rocks, representing animals, now extinct
or seen only in places very distant from those they then inhabited; finally,
human remains found unquestionably in the deposits of the quarternary epoch,
and traces of human industry, which seem to be detected even in the tertiary
strata,--prove that man lived at a time when our continents had neither the
fauna, the flora, the climate, nor the shape which they have today."
Durny's General History.
Interesting as this quotation, from the historian, is--and
hailed by some people as superior to the Bible account--it, nevertheless, does
not tell us when "man made his appearance upon the earth." Read
then another quotation, from Maclear's Old Testament History. "In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. With these simple
words begins the History contained in the Scriptures of the Old Testament,
teaching us that the world did not exist from all eternity, or, as some have
thought, owe its origin to Chance, but was called into existence by the will of
an Almighty Creator."
Many people have
rejected the Bible account of "the beginning," affirming that it does
not agree with, what are termed, scientific facts. The beginning of the
universe, the creation of the earth and of man, the purpose for which they were
created, and their ultimate destiny are themes which have occupied the minds,
and engaged the energies, of men upon the controversial platform.
Creation stories have been submitted, amended and rescinded in the field of
controversy; whilst the simple, yet definite, statement of the Bible has been
disregarded as though unworthy of serious consideration. A notable writer
and speaker once said, "Show me a man who objects to the Bible, and I will
show you a man who does not understand the Bible." --Thos. Williams.
Prejudice against, and ignorance of the true interpretation of the
Scriptures, undoubtedly has much to do with the world wide opposition to the
Bible. It would be well for those who object to the claims of the Bible
to consider this question: How is it that the Bible, although circulated by the
millions, is so little understood even by those who profess to believe and
accept its claims?
The many sects
and denominations extant, with their varied and opposing interpretations,
demonstrate the accuracy of the statement made in the above question. The
opponent often looks upon the claims of the Bible in the light of a divided
Christendom, and concludes that out of
In A.D. 1850,
Dr. John Thomas wrote as follows: "Revolving upon its own axis, and
describing an ample circuit through the boundless fields of space, is a planet
of the solar system bearing upon its surface a population of nearly a thousand
millions subject to sin, disease, and death. This orb of the starry
heavens shines with a glory similar to that of its kindred spheres.
Viewed from them, it is seen sparkling 'like a diamond in the sky'; and, with
the rest of the heavens, declares the glory of God, and shows forth the handy
work of Him that did create it. This celestial orb, which is a world or
system of itself, is styled THE EARTH. It is the habitation of races of
animals which graze its fields, lurk in the forests, soar through its
atmosphere, and pass through the paths of its seas. At the head of all
these is a creature like themselves, animal, sensual, and mortal. He is
called MAN. He has replenished the earth and subdued it, and filled it
with his renown. He has founded dominions, principalities, and powers; he
has built great cities, and vaunted himself in the works of his hands, saying,
'are not these by the might of my power, and for the honor of my
majesty'." --Elpis Israel, p. 1.
Consider now the opening words of the Bible, as we have
them in the A.V. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light."--
Gen. 1:1-3. Another statement, from the work of Dr. Thomas, is
worthy of quotation: "The general account of the work of the six
days is contained in the first chapter of Genesis; while in the second is
presented, among other things, a more particular narrative of the work of the
sixth day in the formation of the first human pair. Let the reader peruse
the history of the creation as a revelation to himself as an inhabitant of the
earth. It informs him of the order in which the things narrated would
have developed themselves to his view, had he been placed on some projecting
rock, the spectator of the events detailed. He must remember this.
The Mosaic account is not a revelation to the inhabitants of other orbs remote
from the earth of the formation of the boundless universe; but to man, as a
constituent of the terrestrial system. This will explain why light is
said to have been created four days before the sun, moon, and stars. To
an observer on the earth, this was the order of their appearance; and
in relation to him a primary creation, though absolutely pre-existent for
millions of ages before the Adamic Era."-- Elpis Israel, p. 8.
So we repeat the simple, definite proclamation which has
come down the ages, and which has survived the onslaughts of critics and
opponents: "In the beginning God created." Blind
"chance" fades away before the rising sun of creation's morning, and
we rest secure in the acceptance of the Word of the Infinite, whilst we try to
grasp the finite. A thought provocative of further comparison is to be
found in the following:--"Gen. 1:1. 'created: bara, to bring into
existence, to concrete. Rendered, 'made', Psa. 89: 47; 'make', Num.
Consider now the Bible
claim concerning "the heavens and the earth." We read:
"Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's, thy God, the
earth also, with all that therein is."--Deut.
10:14.
"Where wast thou when I laid
the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou has understanding.
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath
stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are
the foundations thereof fastened; or who laid the corner stone thereof; when
the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of
God shouted for joy?" Job 38: 4-7.
"Bless the Lord, O my soul. O
Lord my God, thou are very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty.
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest
out the heavens like a curtain; who layeth the beams of his chambers in the
waters; who maketh the clouds his chariots; who walketh upon the wings of the
wind; who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire; who laid the
foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever." Psa.
104: 1-5.
"But our God is in the
heavens; he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Ye are blessed of the
Lord which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the
Lord's; but the earth hath he given to the children of men." Psa.
115: 3, 15, 16.
"When I consider thy heavens,
the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; What
is man, that thou are mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou
visitest him? Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy
hands." --Psa. 8: 3-6.
The
prophet asks, "who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and
meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a
measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a
balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his
consellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed
him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and
showed to him in the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are
as a drop of the bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance:
behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing."--Isa. 40:
12-15.
"To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal?
saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath
created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by
names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one
faileth. Hast thou not know? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting
God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary? there is no searching of his understanding."--verses 25,
26, 28.
But that is not all. Hearken again, "I am the
Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I form the
light, and create darkness: I make peace and create evil; I the LORD do all
these. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands,
have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. For
this saith the LORD that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth
and made it; he hath established it, he formed it to be inhabited; I am
the LORD: there is none else. I declare things that are right."--Isa.
45: 7, 12, 18, 19.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament showeth his handywork."--Psa. 19: 1.
Is it any wonder that the Psalmist exclaimed, "O LORD,
how manifold are thy works! In wisdom has thou made them all: the earth
is full of thy riches."--Psa. 104: 24.?
<!--mstheme-->Man - In Formation<!--mstheme-->
AN early
development of God's Plan, "in the beginning," is to be noted in one of
the quotations from the prophets; a phrase of The Plan with which we are now
particularly interested. "for thus saith the LORD that created the
heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it,
he created it not in vain, HE FORMED IT TO BE INHABITED: I am the LORD."
Fresh from the
hands of the Creator we see man--"formed,"
"created"--presented to us in the simple language of Genesis.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them."--Gen. 1:27. "And
the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen.
2: 7.
Theories abound on every hand concerning the origin, nature
and destiny of Man; speculations originating in the minds of men--both
"religious" and "secular." Yet, whether these
theories profess to be based upon the Scripture record, or in opposition
thereto, they are contrary to--and out of harmony with--the Divine record.
Hence, even the supposed, or professed, acceptance of the Bible account
unfortunately interferes with the reception and acceptance of the true creation
story. "Created in the image of God" (Elohim) speaks to us of
the form of that which was created. There is nothing in the term
"image" which suggests, or requires, equality of nature. The
"man" was a formation "of the dust." This basis did
not guarantee continuity of life. The "man" was formed before
the "man" was alive. After his formation he became "a
living soul." This was accomplished by the application of
something not previously mentioned, or given, in the work of formation.
For, as we have read, God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life"; and in consequence of its operation upon the "man" or
dust formation, he became--what he was not until then--"a
living soul."
Much misunderstanding concerning the Bible Record, and the
nature of man, arises from the fact that theories which conflict with the Truth
are prevalent in the world; held and advanced by many people in the various
sects and denominations of the religious world. Were it not for such
theories, which for centuries have held captive the minds of men, the simple
truth of the Bible account could more readily be discerned and received.
Let me emphasize this thought--that whatever entered into the constitution of
"the man," before he was made alive by the breath of life, was that
which became the "living soul." The Bible does not teach here,
or elsewhere, that a "soul"--a separate entity from the body, and
immortal by nature--was put into the body. Dr. Young's Literal
Translation of the Bible gives a different rendering of the verse, under
consideration, as follows: "And Jehovah God formed the man--dust from the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becometh a
living creature." If you ask why one translation gives
"soul," and the other "creature," the answer is that the
latter more accurately describes the meaning of the term so
translated. Whilst "soul" is the usual translation in the
A.V. there are other texts in which the same word is translated
"creature." Reference to a concordance will demonstrate this to
be so. The following quotation, from Notes in The Emphatic Diaglott,
is worthy of consideration.
"SOUL. The Hebrew word,
nephesh, of the O.T. occurs about 700 times, and is rendered soul
471 times; life and living, about 150 times; and the same word is also rendered
a man, a person, self, they, me him, anyone, breath, heart, mind appetite,
the body (dead or alive), lust, creature, and even a beast;
for it is 28 times applied to beasts, and to every creeping thing."
Dr. Young, in his Analytical
Concordance, gives a list of words translated from Nephesh, in
which we have, "any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, dead (body),
desire, ghost, heart, life, lust, man, mine, one, own, person, pleasure, self,
soul, thing, will." Dr. Young gives "Breathing
creature," as the meaning of nephesh: also "animal
soul."
From the 30 times in which nephesh
is rendered "person" let us take one illustration. "Whoso
killeth any person."--Num. 35: 30. As this
"person" is nephesh, the same as "a living soul"
is nephesh, the nature of the soul must be the same as that of the
person. Any "person" who can be killed, obviously cannot be
immortal!
We must now pass on from this
phase of our subject, dismissing it--for the present--with the words of Paul,
"There is a natural body." "And so it is written, The first man
Adam was made a living soul." "The first man is of the
earth, earthy...As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy."--1
Cor. 15: 44-48.
<!--mstheme--> THE GARDEN OF EDEN<!--mstheme-->
CHAOS HAD REIGNED: for how long we are
not informed. We are not told why the earth was "without form, and
void" of life. We may speculate and make deductions, for such is the
way of the human mind, but we find little in the record upon which to
build. The Bible Message has to do with the world as we now know it; what
we may term The Adamic Era.
Its testimony does not go before this period. It shows there was a
"before," and speaks of a "beyond," but its revelation is
confined to the period between. It confines itself with a message
to the sons of men; God's dealing wit the Adamic Race. This is The Purpose of God with man on the earth. And this
brings us once again to the word of God from Isaiah; "God formed the
earth, not in vain, but to be inhabited."
Man having been created, we are next
informed that "the LORD God planted a garden eastward in
Josephus states: "Now the garden was watered by
one river, which ran round about the whole earth, and was parted into four
parts. And Phison, which denotes a multitude, running into
"We read in Gen. 2: 10, 14, that of
the 'four heads' of the river of Paradise, one was called Phrat and
one Hiddekel, and that the latter goes to the east of Assyria.
The former is still called by those who live in the neighbourhood El-Frat,
'the good' or 'abounding stream.' The Greeks called it
As
We cannot, however, depend upon
dictionaries to elucidate Bible themes which re behind, or embodied in, Bible
words. "Heaven, as a place for souls after death" is a popular
doctrine, but is it declared to be so in the Bible? If
The writer in Bible Educator,
from whose articles on Eastern Geography of the Bible I have already
quoted, says of
"Concerning
When therefore, we think of
I<big> </big>think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray.
Poems are made by fools like me
But only God can make a tree.
--Joyce Kilmer.
And so we read, "Out of the ground made the Lord God
to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food." --Gen.
2: 9. Two outstanding trees arrest our attention. They are
represented to us in the garden scene on the chart, nearby the illustration of the
mountainous region out from which flow the
Passing on to the third chapter of
Genesis we have the record of,
<!--mstheme-->THE
TEMPTATION AND FALL<!--mstheme-->
THE SUBTILITY of
the serpent is brought to bear upon the mind of the woman. A question; a
suggestion; false reasoning and a lie were all part of this subtility.
"Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
The restriction of the Edenic Law was remembered, for the woman said, "We
may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it,
neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Whereupon came the
lie--the serpent's lie, "Ye shall not surely die." Next, the
false reasoning. Is it not a tree of knowledge? Therefore,
"When ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil." There was truth in the statement, but it was
intentionally misapplied. The woman was lured thereby. The
Law of
"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him,
Where are thou?"
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was
afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast
naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou
shouldest not eat?
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with
me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.
And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this
that thou has done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me,
and I did eat.
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast
done this thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of
the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days
of thy life:
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.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow
and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall
be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam he said, Because thou has hearkened unto the
voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee,
saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake;
in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and
thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou
return unto the ground; for our of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art,
and unto dust shalt thou return."--Gen. 3: 9-19.
Lasting effects and world wide results
were the outcome of heaven's condemnation upon the sinners. The sentence
being passed, we are told, "The LORD God said, Behold, the man is become
as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the LORD
God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he
was taken."
Thus were the sinners cast out of
Eden--out of "paradise"--out from the place of delight, favour, and
communion with God, into the outer world to experience therein the loss of
those blessings which were to have been theirs as long as they continued to
walk with God, and to enjoy that felicity which cometh only to those who truly
are in fellowship with God.
To prevent their return "at the
East of the garden of Eden" were placed "Cherubims, and a flaming
sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
<!--mstheme-->AN ALTAR AND
IT'S SIGNIFICANCE<!--mstheme-->
ONE important
factor, having been passed by without comment and explanation, now, requires
attention. In Genesis 3: 21 , we read, "Unto Adam also and to his
wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." This
statement must be compared, and contrasted, with verse 7, where we read
concerning Adam and Eve, "they knew that the were naked: and they sewed
fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." The knowledge of
human nakedness, with the desire to cover the same, came after transgression,
when, as we are told, "the eyes of them both were opened." The
human contrivance was rejected and discarded by God, for though it seemed all
that was necessary "for a covering," it was an early illustration of
what was afterward definitely stated. "There is a way which
seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."--Prov.
14: 12. That God rejected their contrivance is manifest, being made
knows by the fact that He provided them with another covering, altogether
different from that of their own devising. To profit by this change they,
and we in our own time, must discern the principle underlying the necessity for
the same. That their own device was faulty, and more required, is obvious
even though not stated in this manner. Would there have been such a
change if the circumstances had not called for it? Whilst not stated in
detail the reason for the change can, and must, be deduced from that which is
given in the record. The significance of the coats of skins--an element
entirely lacking in the fig leaf garment--most probably gives the clue.
To quote one able expositor of Bible doctrine: "The intention of God to
remove sin from the world was made known at a very early stage in the disobedient
career of Adam and Eve. Before they were turned out of the garden, the
LORD God addressed to the serpent the following words: 'I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between they seed and her seed; it shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.'--Gen.
But how was this intention, and lesson,
submitted to the sinners? Not by oracular information only; for,
"The LORD God made coats of skins, and clothes them.'--Gen. 3: 21, an
act necessitating the slaying of animals, or shedding of blood; from which
incident may be learned this important, but much neglected lesson--that it is
utterly useless for man to patch together garments of his own device for the
purpose of covering or removing his guilt. No system of religion can give
a 'garment of salvation,' but that which has been instituted by the Divine
Being himself." --J.J. Andrew, in Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified. pp.
62-64.
"The man is become as one of us,"
said the Lord God. I what sense? To know good and evil!
We may well inquire, Had the Lord God also gone through this experience?
Such a thought is entirely out of harmony with our understanding of the
character of the Almighty, the Holy One of
"Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in
strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word....Ye
ministers of his, that do his pleasure."--Psa. 103: 20, 21.
"O Lord my God, thou are very great; who maketh his
angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire; who laid the foundations of the
earth, that it should not be removed for ever." --Psa. 104: 1-5.
It is therefore permissible to conclude
that the angels had passed through an experience "to know good and
evil," and had, fortunately, passed the test satisfactorily, even though
others may have perished in the catastrophe which engulfed the world, and
reduced it to the chaotic state in which we find it introduced to us in opening
of the Bible.
<!--mstheme-->CONDEMNATION
AND ITS EFFECTS<!--mstheme-->
IN REVIEWING the
circumstances outlined in the foregoing comments certain questions might well
be asked: Why was a sacrifice necessary? How can sacrifice "take
away sin?" And how may we benefit thereby?
Let us go back to
Alienation from God was thus the first
"effect" of the condemnation "passed," there and then,
"upon all men;" for this is the application given to the sentence by
Paul, when he wrote: "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death
by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned"--not
actually, but by reason of being "in him" (Adam, see margin) when he
transgressed the Edenic Law. Man would continue "alienated from
God" as long as he lived, unless God provided a covering for sin, under
which he could return to favour if he complied with whatever requirements were
stipulated; but, however long he might live, the sentence passed went beyond
"alienation," for it was unto "death." It is
essential that these two phases of the condemnation be kept in mind; otherwise,
there will be difficulty in interpreting and understanding much that is later
"written for our learning." The sentence passed, "dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," upon the sinner became a
physical law of his being--corruption was set in operation, a slow process to
end in death; and this physical "effect" was to be transmitted to all
his posterity. The thought of sin, too, having conceived in his
mind and brought forth fruit, became a part of his nature, to be passed through
all of Adam's race, so that each one would be "born in sin and shapen in
iniquity." This is in harmony with the question, given and
answered, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one!"--Job
14:4. Ass we have already seen in Romans 5:12, "death," with all
that the sentence involved, "passed upon all men." The
"very good" ceased to be, and in place thereof we have a creature, in
kind and condition, which must be described as bad--very bad! A viper can
only produce vipers; and from a poisoned stem we can expect but poisoned
branches; hence, the whole tree of humanity was condemned when the trunk
thereof fell. Upon the principle that "like begets like," and
recognizing that God cannot look with favour upon sinners, for "He is of
purer eyes than to behold evil," there is no injustice in thus condemning
those "not born," because of that "one offence." such a
thought being, however, repugnant to many, it is well here to force home the
fact that "the potter has power over the clay," and whilst it is true
that we had no actual part in that "one offence," yet every child
born, being an extension of Adam, is a standing monument before God,
significant of that "great transgression;" for each one born
under this constitution of sin, with all the evils that flesh is heir to, grows
up into the world to manifest the "carnal mind which is enmity against
God."--Rom. 8: 7. It is intended that we recognize fully
and appreciate, this truth; for the Apostle continued in repetition,
"Through the offence of one, many be dead;" "the judgment was by
one to condemnation"; "by one man's offence, death reigned by
one": "by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to
condemnation." "Sin hath reigned unto death."
"For by one man's disobedience many were made (i.e. constituted)
sinners."--Rom. 5: 15-18, 21, 19. What, then, is the
natural condition of every child born under this constitution of sin, and
dominion of death? Can it be any other than that which is stated by Paul?
Hear his words: "Remember that we being in time past Gentiles in
the flesh.....That at that time we were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope, and without God in the world. Y who sometimes were far off."--Eph.
2: 11-13. Although these words were addressed to certain men and
women who had changed their relationship, and were consequently no longer
"far off," but "made nigh," the fact of their natural
condition is emphasized by the very process of the change which had become theirs,
and the counsel given that they were not to forget what they had been, but to
"Remember." The opening verses of the chapter further
illustrate this. "You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses
and sins; Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and
were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."
"By nature the children of wrath" does not, indeed cannot, refer to
that condition of Adam when created from the ground, and designated "very
good." It can be applied to man only after his sin, from which time
henceforth "sin reigned unto death." Such was "the
fall" of man, by which Paradise "was lost" to him.
Paradise "restored" was beyond man; it could be accomplished only by
God, who would in His own time provide a WAY, by reason of TRUTH, which would
lead to LIFE.
<!--mstheme-->THE NATURE OF MAN AND THE REALITY OF
DEATH<!--mstheme-->
"AND ALL the
days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died."--Gen.
5: 5. This is illustrated on our chart. Somber, yet true, is the pictorial
representation. Appealing to all, "high and low, rich and poor
together," it cries aloud, "What man is he that liveth, and shall not
see death?" Stand, my friends, at the brink of the grave; look into
its depths when those we have loved, and lost, have been buried in the tomb,
and learn its lesson! Nearby we have another feature which must not be
overlooked. We read of it in the quotation from Genesis 3. It is
part of the sentence pronounced. "Cursed is the ground for thy
sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the
field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground."--Verses 17-19.
Is the ground cursed today? Ask the man
who tills it. Do thorns and thistles grow in abundance, and that
without cultivation? Is bread provided without labour, or does man obtain
it by the sweat of his brow? From this thistle (on the chart) goes forth a
line, the end of which cannot be seen in section one; it runs to the full
extent of Section two, where it finds a place on the Cross, which will be
demonstrated in due time. Here we can but emphasize the various items of
the sentence passed upon the sinner, and the ground--for his sake.
Returning to the quotation from Genesis 5: 5, where we read "and he died."
Do you, my friends, believe it? Do you wonder why I ask this
question? Have you not heard it said, "There is no
death?" Of course that is not in the Bible, but many accept it as
though it was. "And he died." What is it to "die?"
Did Adam live 930 years, and then continue to live? Was
continuance in life, under any condition whatsoever, the sentence pronounced
upon the sinner?
WHAT IS DEATH? Cruden says,
"The separation of the soul from the body." But we have seen
from the Scriptures, that the soul is the body. The idea of separation is
far better expressed in the language of the Bible. There we read,
"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no
help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his eart; in that
very day his thoughts perish."--Psa. 146: 3, 4. Here is
separation of a vital character. Can any of the animal creation live
without breath? In creation the breath of life was blown into the
nostrils; in the day of death man ceases to breathe. Hence, with the
cessation of the life energy, imparted by the breath of life, the body--which
under its influence is alive--becomes inanimate. And this is death.
This is strictly in accord with the sentence passed upon Adam.
"Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the
days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and
thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for
dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
The Nature of Man; The Reality of
Death, and the cessation of life when death comes, are subjects which form
part of "the first principles" of the Divine Plan in regard to the
salvation which is promised. The following scriptures are a
demonstration.
"Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken
upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes."--Gen.
18: 27.
"Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a
man be more pure than his Maker? How much less them that dwell in houses
of clay, whose foundation is in the dust."--Job 4: 17, 19.
"Thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me
into dust again?--Job 10: 9.
"Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full
of trouble. Man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost,
and where is he?"--Job 14: 1, 10.
"Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not; he is
like the beasts that perish. Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
death shall feed on them. When he dieth he shall carry nothing away; his
glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his
soul; he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see
light. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not is like the beasts
that perish."--Psa. 49: 12, 20.
"What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to
the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy
truth?"--Psa. 30: 9.
"For he remembereth that they were but flesh; a wind
that passeth away, and cometh not again."--Psa. 78: 39.
"Remember how short my time is; Wherefore has thou
made all men in vain? What man is he that liveth, and shall not see
death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?"--Psa.
89: 47.
"Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return,
ye children of men. All our days are passed away in thy wrath; we spend
our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore
years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is
their strength, labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly
away."--Psa. 90: 3, 9, 10.
"Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return
to their dust."--Psa. 104: 29.
"As the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have
all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast; for all is
vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust
again."--Eccls. 3: 19, 20.
"For the living know that they shall die; but the dead
know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them
is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now
perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is
done under the sun. Whatsoever they hand findeth to to, do it with thy
might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the
grave, whither thou goest."--Eccles. 9: 5-10.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; He that is
of the earth is earthy and speaketh of the earth."--John 3: 6, 31.
"As the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass,
and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth;
so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways."--James 1: 10, 11.
"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man
as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof
falleth away."--1 Pet. 1: 24.
"In Adam all die."--1 Cor. 15: 22.
"In death there is no remembrance of Thee, in the
grave, who shall give Thee thanks?-- Psa. 6: 5.
"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."--Acts 2: 29.
"For David, after he had served his own generation by
the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto this fathers, and saw
corruption; But he whom God raised again, saw no corruption."--Acts
13: 36.
These scriptures, with many others, clearly
teach that MAN IS MORTAL; that he lives by the breath of life, by the constant
process of inhalation and exhalation, which continues until "the day of
death;" when "no man hath power over the spirit to retain the
spirit."--Eccles. 8: 8. Therefore when "his breath
goeth forth, he returneth to this earth;" and ceases to be.
Consequently unless God provides a way of escape, man--having died--will remain
"in the land of forgetfulness"--Psa. 88: 12, and never again
see the light of day.
Death having been imposed on man, as a
punishment for sin, is not "a friend" as some have foolishly
declared. Death is a foe. Even as Paul teaches,
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."--1 Cor. 15:
26. Death is a very stern reality--the very opposite of life.
We ask again, Why do men die? And some may answer, Because man is by
nature mortal, a dying creature! That is truly the physical reason, yet
we must realize the prior cause. Death is "an effect," which
came by reason of "a cause." The apostle says, "By man
came death." If death came "by man," it obviously was not
a part of the man when created "very good." It "came" to
him after he was created and placed in the garden. And from that day
until now it has remained in man, both young and old. Therefore the
apostle continues, "In Adam all die." Every child born into the
world, of the Adamic family, is "in Adam" by birth and heir to all
that Adam could bestow upon them. What is the "cause" of this
extensive "effect" upon the sons of men? Hear Paul yet again: "The
sting of death is sin."--1 Cor. 15: 21-22, 56. This principle is
further elaborated in another Epistle "Sin hath reigned unto
death." To "reign" signifies the controlling influence, or
holding supreme power. And SIN hath reigned over mankind for
6,000 years, sending generation after generation back to the dust from whence
they came, and will hold them there unless God opens up a way of escape.
Now since the Plan of God involves salvation, let me here say that "the
way" will only provide an escape for those who come under the redeeming
influence thereof. The logic of Paul's argument is very appealing.
"For if through the offence of one many be dead." "The
judgment was by one to condemnation." "If by one man's offence
death reigned by one." "By the offence of one judgment
came upon all men to condemnation." "By one man's
disobedience many were made sinners." Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin."--Rom. 5: 15-19, 12.
<!--mstheme-->EVE<!--mstheme-->
Looking again at
the chart we
note that Eve is presented at the beginning of a line which is drawn the full
extent of sections one and two. Note also that the line is broken
and forms a second line which leads us to Abram, then to David, after which it
rejoins the main line. For the present we must stay at the beginning of
the line. Under the name "Eve" we have the scripture Gen. 3:15,
to which we direct your attention. God said to the serpent, "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." Long
afterwards another declaration was made by an inspired Apostle, which has a
direct bearing upon Gen. 3:15, and is connected therewith. "For Adam
was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being
deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in
childbearing."--1 Tim. 2: 13-15. Part of the condemnation
upon the woman was "in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;" and
this has continued until now. Paul's comment, therefore, does not refer
to "labour and travail," from which woman is not saved.
If we compare the A.V. with the R.V. and Dr. Young's translation we find the
thought presented is rather, "she will be saved through
child-bearing." The connection is with the "seed of the
woman," who was destined to bruise the serpent in the head. And
consequently a promise, and prophecy, of One who was to come; who--in God's way
and time--should take away sin.
In Gen. 3:15, we have the first promise
of the Saviour. In that scripture we have also the hope of the
gospel. For if ever there was a time when a gospel of hope and salvation
was needed surely it was when "sin entered the world and death by
sin." If a gospel had not been introduced, and man had continued to
live under the cloud of sin, with the sentence of death over, and upon, him;
with children born under the same condemnation, bearing in their bodies the
sinister effects thereof all their days, with nothing but death as the end for
them--what a sad, hopeless state life would have been! "As a tale
that is told." One generation passing away, and another taking its
place--but all, as Paul says, "dying off." All because
"sin reigned;" and mankind "having no hope, and without God in
the world."--Eph. 2: 12. But this was not he will and purpose
of God, who created the earth and "formed it to be
inhabited." God must therefore introduce a new law whereby
some, at least, of those born under the condemnation might escape from the
final effect of the same; this must be upon a principle of obedience to the new
law, by reason of which those so responding might be "justified from
Sin" otherwise they must all remain victims of that broken law--servants
of sin unto death!
God therefore gave a promise in which
was the germ of life, and a hope of better things to come. We find a
reference to it, later, in the words: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence
to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the
faith which was once (for all) delivered unto the saints."--Jude 3.
We also find it in the opening words of the beloved apostle, in his record of
The Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God."--John 1: 1. The "Word" was
the declaration of the plan and purpose of God regarding the salvation which he
alone could provide. "In it" truly "was life," which
was to be the "light of men." But think of the price at which
"the life" was to be obtained! "That God might be just,
and the justifier of him which believeth," as Paul expresses it in Rom.
3: 26. He who was to bruise the serpent in the head, for its
destruction, must first be stung in the heel.
So we follow the line, from the first
section to the end of 4,000 years, until we reach the Cross--Son of man and Son
of God--and thereby appreciate the concluding words of Paul when he says
"of him which believeth in Jesus."
<!--mstheme-->ABEL<!--mstheme-->
We now come to
Abel, of whom we cannot speak without remembering his brother. Cain and
Abel were diverse in character, aim and purpose. They represent the
two seeds, which were to be developed, as the Adamic race grew and extended
over the earth. As long as the Adamic dispensation continued there would
be perpetual warfare between the two classes represented in, and by, Cain and
Abel. The one should recognized as the serpent's seed, for
"they have gone in the way of Cain."--Jude 11. Jesus
met with, and identified, some of this class when He said, "Ye are of your
father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is
a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye
believe me not."-- John 8: 44. Whilst from amongst the sons of
men no class could be developed which would reach the height of holiness which
must characterize the true "seed of the woman," to whom the promise
was made, nevertheless there would be many who would seek to escape the
"way of Cain." To do this they must walk in the footsteps of
Abel.
<!--mstheme-->A MAN THE YAHWEH<!--mstheme-->
THE two brothers
were of diverse tastes and temperaments, they followed different vocations,
each good and necessary in regard to the daily requirements of family
life. The record is simple, clear and suggestive: "Abel was a keeper
of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it
came to pass, that Cain brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat
thereof. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of
the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his
offering. But unto Cain and to his offering he had no respect."--Gen.
4: 2-5. Long afterward an inspired penman, writing of Faith,
commenced his list of ancient worthies by saying, "By faith Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness
that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet
speaketh."--Heb. 11: 4. And then, connecting this early
part of Section One, with the latter part of Section Two of the Chart, we hear Paul
saying, "And to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood
of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."--Heb.
12: 24.
It may be asked, Why was sacrifice
necessary? What was its import? And what made one sacrifice more
acceptable than the other? There can be no doubt that instructions
had been given to Adam and his family concerning the law of sacrifices.
That the details are not given to us matters not. The Bible
presents facts, and these are expected to be accepted as such.
Details of every transaction in the beginning and development of God's purpose
with man on the earth could not be given in a volume of Scriptures, such as we
possess. Furthermore, these are not necessary in our day. We
have sufficient in our Bible to direct us in the Way of Life, which is the real
purpose of the Revelation, together with a recognition of the Majesty of God,
who is able to perform all that He has promised. Much information can be
obtained by interpretation, deduction, and comparison of Scripture with
Scripture. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the honour
of kings to search out a matter."--Prov. 25: 2. If we
are not interested to "search the scriptures," what right have we to
expect to participate in the glory yet to be revealed?
Abel was a "keeper of sheep,"
and as such a type of Him who was to be revealed 4,000 years later; who, when
He came, testified, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his
life for his sheep."--John 10: 11.
In confirmation of the foregoing we have the
following extract from The Ministry of The Prophets.. "Having
sinned, Adam and Eve took counsel between themselves and covered their
nakedness with a device of fig-leaves. But God rejected this, and
substituted 'coats of skins,' which, necessitating the slaying of animals for
their provision, brought a representation of death before them as the wages of
sin, and the necessary portion of the 'Counselor,' who, as the 'seed of woman,'
should afterwards bruise the serpent's head, and take away sin and death from
the earth. Thenceforward the counsel of God in its direction of human affairs
towards the goal of His purpose, as the first of its first principles kept this
fact to the front: that 'the wages of sin is death,' and that according to
divine appointment' without shedding of blood there is no remission,' no
effectual covering for sin apart from the recognition of God's insulted
majesty, and the humblest submission to His merciful provisions for
reinstatement. In harmony with these reflections is the history of the
accepted offering of Abel ('the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof');
and the rejected offering of Cain ('the fruit of the ground'). The
comment of Paul in Heb. 11 is that Abel's was 'by faith ..... a more excellent
sacrifice' than that of Cain, whose faith (or lack of it; A.H.) did
not hold of God's promise and instruction."
"We look back. We see Adam
and Eve, our first parents, at perfect peace with God in a fruitful
garden, in unclouded innocence, delighting before God in the dominion He
had given them over the creation of His hand. We see sin enter, and all
is changed. Fear, shame, suffering and death are introduced, and to this
day continue to be the natural portion of the race. God 'put enmity'
in the beginning between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman; a
sentence that finds illustration in the enmity existing between Jesus and the
'generation of vipers' that withstood him and at last compassed his
death. The earliest illustration recorded in Genesis is the murder of
Abel by Cain. The acceptance of Abel's offering by God, coupled with the
rejection of his own, stirred Cain's resentment, and he slew him. 'And
wherefore slew he him?' asks John. 'Because his own works were evil and
his brother's righteous.' Enmity, then, between the righteous and the
wicked is the express and unalterable appointment of God." pp 155,
174.
The secret of the superiority of one
sacrifice over that of the other is given in the statement, already quoted,
from Heb. 11., "A more excellent sacrifice that Cain;" or "a
sacrifice exceeding that of Cain;" yet again, "a sacrifice more than
Cain." To offer "the fruit of the ground" as a
thank-offering under favourable conditions, and in the right spirit, would not
be out of place; it might be considered natural to "a tiller of the
ground." But if in so doing a requirement, which had been made
known, was ignored and neglected there is every reason why "the Lord had
not respect" unto such an offering. Enlightenment is given in
the words addressed to Cain, "Why is the countenance fallen? If thou
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, at the
opening a sin-offering is crouching, and unto thee its desire, and thou
rulest over it."
WHY WAS SACRIFICE NECESSARY?
"The necessity for either a priest or a sacrifice in any community is evidence
of the existence of sin. Previous to the introduction of sin into the
World, neither the one nor the other were to be found. Adam and
Eve, as long as they continued obedient to the Edenic law, were able to commune
with their Maker without fear or shame. But when they transgressed, they
were no longer able to hold up their heads as one whose 'conscience is void of
offence toward God." Concerning the more excellent sacrifice of
Abel, and God's rejection of the other, this writer continues, "The
explanation of this is partly to be found in the fact that Abel's offering,
being a lamb, contained blood, which, on the life of the animal being taken
away, would be poured out; whereas Cain's offering had no blood in it.
Abel recognized the principle that 'without shedding of blood is no remission'
of sin (Heb. 9: 22), but Cain did not. There must have been some
special reason for ordaining sacrifices of this kind: they must have been
appropriate for the purpose they were intended to serve. 'Of man and
beast "they have all one breath.' The life of all flesh is the blood;' 'it
is the life of all flesh.'--Lev. 17: 11, 14. "That which
befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts, as the one dieth, so dieth the
other.'--Eccles. 3: 19. In view of these truths, it cannot but
be admitted that the act of taking the life of an animal was well calculated to
remind man of his own position; of the fact that he had sinned against his
Maker: that in consequence of that sin he had been condemned to death; and that
when subjected to this penalty he would become as unconscious and devoid of
life as the animals he slew as sacrifices." J.J.A. What was its
import? "It further taught him that he could only be delivered
from this destiny by a more perfect sacrifice in the future, combined with his
own obedience to God's commandments........the animal sacrificed was simply
deprived of life--an appropriate symbol of the death which man had incurred by
sin." J.J.A. in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
What made one sacrifice more acceptable than
the other? The answer has already been given in what has
been advanced upon this matter. In a few words--for any sacrifice
to be acceptable to God it must have been offered in faith; some recognition
must be shown that sacrifice, ordained by God, was with a view to man's
benefit, and the latter could only be conferred when the offerer realized that
those sacrifices were by typical of One who was to come, and that through Him,
and not the animal sacrifices, God's Plan would be accomplished.
When Cain was born we are told that Eve
said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord."--Gen. 4: 1.
Eve had not forgotten the promise made concerning the seed of the woman,
and probably thought this child was the "seed" referred to.
Subsequent events showed this was not so. Various renderings have been
given of the verse in question. "I have gotten a man with (the help
of ) the Lord," R.V. "I have gotten a man, a Yahweh, from the
Lord:" "A man, even Yahweh:" "eth
Yahweh-(the) He-will-Become." The preposition 'from' being omitted,
as not being in the original. The Name Yahweh is a prophetic
term; involved in it is the doctrine of the Name of Salvation, which will be
elaborated later.
<!--mstheme--> SETH<!--mstheme-->
At the birth of Seth, as
explanatory of the name given, Eve said, "For God hath appointed me
another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." In this statement
there is a recognition of the truth, and the same is hereby emphasized, that
the way of the Lord was within restricted lines. The ways of the two
seeds were diverging further apart. We therefore find that the record
proceeds, "And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called
his name Enos; then began men to call upon the name of the Lord."--Gen.
4: 25, 26. The marginal rendering for the last clause gives
another suggestion: "then began men to call themselves by the name of the
Lord." Another rendering is given by Dr. Young. "Then a
beginning was made of preaching in the name of Jehovah." But here
again we must leave this for a later demonstration; noting, however, that we
have a connecting line from Enos to the Exodus, associated with which we have
the MEMORIAL NAME, given in the A.V. as "I AM THAT I AM."--Ex. 3:
14. which line then joins the main line of the woman's seed.
<!--mstheme-->TWO FAMILIES<!--mstheme-->
"AND it came to pass, when men
began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto
them," Gen. 6: 1, they did what they have continued to do,
"they took them wives of all which they chose." The co-mingling
was of the "Sons of God" and "daughters of men."
There had been a development throughout these "generations" of the
two seeds. Not all who had lived upon the face of the earth had followed
the way of righteousness. To the "preaching in the name of
Jehovah" all did not respond. Those who did so were thereby
constituted "sons and daughters of God;" whilst others who rejected
the Word were merely "sons and daughters of men." They took
wives of all which they chose! This, irrespective of all that was
involved in the preaching of the Word. This simple record, interpreted in
the light of subsequent revelation, both in the Old Testament and the New,
shows unmistakably the evil associated with mixed marriages. Evil became
rampant in the earth. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually." Is it any wonder that "it repented the
Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart?"
Arising from these conditions "the Lord said, I will destroy man
whom I have created from the face of the earth." But there was one
man who pleased God. Noah, "a preacher of righteousness," 2
Pet. 2: 5, instructed by God, warned the people; but then, as now, the
multitude would not hearken. So "the flood came, and took them all
away."--Matt. 24: 39.--It was then that God "spared not the
old world."--2 Pet. 2:5. And "the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, perished."--2 Pet. 3: 6. Yet
not "all," in the strictly literal sense, "perished."
This I say because many people aver that "all" always
means "all" without exception, and do not allow
circumstances, and other testimonies, to illustrate the true application.
Such contention is the outcome of
desire, and determination, on their part to enforce the acceptation of their
own belief and interpretation, which can only be done at the expense of
disregarding other definite Scriptures. And so it came to pass, although
"the flood came, and destroyed all."--Luke 17: 27, we are
nevertheless told that God "saved Noah the eighth"-- "preserved
Noah with seven others" R.V.--2 Pet. 2: 5, "bringing in the
flood upon the world of the ungodly." The same apostle speaks of the
time "when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah,
while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by
water."--1 Pet. 3: 20.
As with other items of the Bible Story the
record of the Flood has not escaped criticism from those who, denying the
divinity of the Scriptures, present the traditions of men in place
thereof. Our present task is to travel the Highway of Truth, and we
cannot therefore step aside to wander in all the by-paths of error. The
record of the Flood is endorsed in the New Testament, and hence we cannot
reject the one and hold to the other. About 76 years ago considerable
interest was aroused in consequence of the discovery of an account of the flood
amongst the sculptured slabs brought from Assyria. to the British Museum.
Even though the account was largely mixed up with Assyrian mythology, yet its
identity with the account by Moses was striking. Reference was made to
the building of a large ship, into which the builder, with others, entered
along with various animals. After the storm which destroyed those not in
the ship, a dove, swallow and raven were sent out. Sisit and his
wife, go out of the ship and one of the gods--Bel--establishes a covenant with
him, after which he builds an altar and offers sacrifice.
Ten years later another sensation was
caused by the reported "Discovery of Noah's Ark." Josephus
claimed the ark to be in existence in his day--2500 years after the flood.
The Levant Herald in which the report originated said:
"The expedition was fortunate in making a discovery that cannot fail to be
of interest to the whole civilized world, for among the fastnesses of one of
the glens of Mount Ararat they came upon a gigantic structure of very dark wood
embedded at the foot of one of the glaciers, with one end protruding, and which
they believed to be none other than the old Ark in which Noah and his family
navigated the waters of the Deluge. The place where the discovery was
made is about five days' journey from Trebizond, in Armenia, about four leagues
from the Persian frontier."
The Evening News, March 21, 1934
reported an interview with Mr. C. Leonard Woolley, excavator of Ur of the
Chaldees, who stated: "We have now sufficient knowledge to produce a
complete history of Iraq since the Flood. It is obvious that before the
Flood, Iraq was a swampy country--really a series of Islands. The Flood came
and gave the country a level surface."
<!--mstheme-->AFTER THE FLOOD<!--mstheme-->
IN due time the waters of the Flood
subsided, and the Ark rested, as we read in Gen. 8: 4, "in the seventh
month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of
Ararat." When the waters were dried up from off the earth Noah, at
the word of God, went forth of the Ark with is wife, his sons, and his sons'
wives. The command went further than this; it included "every living
thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly
in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth."--Gen. 8:
17. When this was carried out "Noah builded an altar unto the
Lord, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." Noah, recognizing
the supremacy of the Lord, manifested his faith in God, and rendered his
thanksgiving for the mercy and goodness extended unto him and his family.
And in so doing he supplicated the continuance of the blessings from on high,
which he acknowledged to be so necessary. The Lord was well pleased with
this act of Noah, and the manifestation of faith which inspired it. The
Lord, therefore, gave His Word: "While the earth remaineth, seed time and
harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not
cease." Furthermore, "God spake unto Noah, and his sons with
him, saying, And I, behold, I will establish my covenant with you, and with
your seed after you.....neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the
waters of flood, neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth."
To emphasize this, "for perpetual generations; I do set my bow in the
cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the
earth......And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I
may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of
all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is
the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh
that is upon the earth."--Gen. 9.
The repeopling of the earth, by the family of
Noah, went on apace, of which we read, "the whole earth was of one
language, and of one speech." Onward, To the East, seemed to be
their plan, seeking, as men have done ever since, a resting-place for the soles
of their feet. "And it came to pass, as they journeyed eastward,
that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there."--Gen.
11: 2. Now it is written: "There is a way which seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."--Prov. 14: 12.
Had the people been content to dwell in the land of Shinar, there to serve and
obey the Lord God who had delivered their father, Noah, and blessed his
inheritance, all might have been well. But, settled in the plain, the
people conceived a plan for their own salvation and glory. They had not
forgotten the former judgments of God, and probably feared lest another flood
should overtake them. To make a name for themselves was their
cry! And to prevent calamity, should evil befall them, they conceived a
plan for a city, fame, and a tower of refuge. "Let us
build us a city," said they, "and a tower whose top may reach unto
heaven."
But all this was known unto the Lord,
from whom nothing is hid; perceiving their purpose God was able to effectively
check them in their endeavours. Progress among the people was dependent
upon their co-operation. So God spoilt their plan by interfering
with their co-operation. For there God confounded their language,
"that they may not understand one another's speech." And the
next step was equally effective, "So the Lord scattered them abroad from
thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off to build the
city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel."
The tower of Babel is significant of the
"way" of man, in opposition to the "way of the Lord."
<!--mstheme-->"WE HAVE AN ALTAR"<!--mstheme-->
DURING our journey down the stream of time we
have noticed two events which called forth the building of an altar, and the
offering of sacrifices. The altar, like the sacrifices, was not without
significance. More was elaborated under the Mosaic constitution, with
which we cannot now deal. Many things "in the beginning"
pointed forward to another "beginning," a new creation in Christ Jesus.
hence we read in Heb. 13: 10, "We have an altar, whereof they have no
right to eat which serve the tabernacle."So the significance has to do
with a second Adam, whose life of obedience would establish
"regeneration" and save from sin those who would come to God by, and
through, Him.
<!--mstheme-->SHALL BABEL PREVAIL?<!--mstheme-->
SIN entered the world, and death by
sin. Paradise was lost. Man fearfully and wonderfully made, sought
out many inventions. These, springing from the heart of man, could
only lead away from God. The tower of Babel is but a representation of
the stronghold of the traditions of men, by which they have sought to make void
the commandments of God; teaching for doctrine the imaginations of their own
hearts and minds. But this cannot continue. God's purpose in the
earth must be fulfilled. His Plan, even though it may involve 7,000
years , must be executed. At the end the vision shall speak.
This phase of our subject closes with a
lesson from The Ark. Heb. 11: 7, reads "By faith Noah, being warned
of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the
saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith." It is not difficult to
associate this with the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. The
apostle speaks of a time "when once the long-suffering of God waited in
the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight
souls were saved by water."--1 Pet. 3: 20. But can it be
that you and I, living nearly 6,000 years after that event, can find any
association therewith? It is one of those "things which
happened for ensamples."--1 Cor. 10: 11., and along with many
other things was "written for our learning." "They
are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are
come." So it was that Peter continued in his epistle, "The like
figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of
the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ." This association of the past with the
future is further shown in the colorful arch on the chart, representative of the Rainbow, proceeding
from Ararat until it descends upon Olivet. Not that it ends there, for as
the illustration shows, Rev. 4: 3, speaks of One sitting on the throne,
"And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an
emerald." And again, "I saw another mighty angel come down
from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his
face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire."--Rev.
10: 1.
JESUS CHRIST IS "THE LAST
ADAM." The firs man, Adam, brought sin and death into the
world. The "last Adam" by obedience, even unto death, became a
life-giving spirit. Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God
"through the blood of the everlasting covenant." The bow in the
cloud (though reminding us of the past and speaking of the Covenant made of God
after the Flood) is significant of a new covenant. It speaks to us of
Jesus Christ. As the Lamb of God Jesus was the
covenant-victim. But He was victorious over the tomb; the grave
could not hold Him.
<!--mstheme-->In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.<!--mstheme-->
God's Plan, as centered in Jesus Christ,
will be more fully shown as we proceed. In it we shall see the
fulfillment of the prophetic Word concerning Jesus: "Then I restored that
which I took not away."--Psa. 69: 4.
<!--msthemeseparator-->
<!--mstheme-->
Lecture<!--mstheme-->Lecture 2<!--mstheme-->
<!--mstheme-->THE CALL OF ABRAM<!--mstheme-->
Two Seeds, Egypt, Sinai.
The Old Covenant. Shadow of Good Things to Come.
The Cross Before the Crown
<!--msthemeseparator-->
THE former Lecture brought approximately 2,000 years down
the stream of time. We halted in the Land of Shinar. We saw the Way
of the Lord forsaken; ignored by men who followed their own heart's desires,
and meriting the condemnation of heaven, which was duly meted out to
them. We now take up another line of development, and find ourselves in
Ur of the Chaldees. Looking at the Chart we find a break in the line of
the Woman's seed. This is to demonstrate how, and through whom, the
promise concerning the seed of the woman should be brought about. The
fulfillment of the promise could not be brought to pass through any
woman's seed. God, who made the promise, would direct and guide until the
appointed end should be accomplished. In the promise much was
involved. It was not merely that a certain period, in the history of the
Adamic family, a seed should come through whom the things promised should be
accomplished. Four thousand dark and dreary years were to roll by before
the event. Meanwhile a Law of Truth was to be made known, and extended
among the sons of men to reach the hearts and minds of some who would hear it,
and believing would respond to it, that they might be saved. This we saw
in the quotation from Jude 3, "That ye should earnestly contend for the faith
which was once for all delivered to the saints."
The Law of
Faith, which is a Law of Truth, was made known after sin entered the world;
thereby to counteract the evil which had gained sway. Its development
was by precept--"here a little, there a little. Line upon line,
precept upon precept." The stream of humanity was ever widening in
its courses from the Way of the Lord. The faith appertaining to the
"common salvation" would reach some and direct them God-ward by the
Light of Life. Of necessity they must be guided by such revelation as was
given in their generation, serving God and manifesting their faith in His
promises; offering sacrifices in the light of their faith, both in thanksgiving
and in supplication.
Following the
account of the people being scattered, and their language confounded, the
record reveals "the generations of Shem," out of which we have
"the generations of Terah." To quote Dr. Thomas, "The
descendants of Noah were beginning to tread in the footsteps of the antediluvians.
They were ambitious of making 'a name' for themselves, irrespective of
the name of the Lord. This their was was their folly; yet their posterity
approved their endeavour. Idolatry was beginning to prevail; and they
proceeded to build a city. But the Lord came down and put a stop to
their enterprise. Noah had lived 292 years after the flood, when three
sons were born to Terah, a descendant of Shem, Terah being 70 years old.
Shem was a worshipper of the true God, whom Noah styled, 'the Lord God of
Shem.' Terah, however, seems to have departed from the simplicity of the
truth; Be this as it may, we find him in Chaldea at a place called Ur."--Elpis
Israel, p 202.
"Terah," we are told, "begat Abram, Nahor,
and Haran." They lived "on the other side of the flood," i.e
eastward of "the great river Euphrates," and there served the gods of
Shinar. "Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his
nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai. But
Sarai was barren; she had no child. Terah died in Haran."--Gen.
11: 27-32.
Such is the introduction given us to Abram and Sarai, who
were destined to play so important a part in the Plan of the Ages. It is
therefore both interesting and profitable to spend some time now in company
with the Patriarchs. While Terah's family dwelt in Ur, the Lord appeared
to them, and said to Abram, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy
kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee." They
therefore removed from Ur of the Chaldees, and dwelt in Haran, where Terah
died. In thus obeying the voice of the Lord they separated themselves
from the idolaters of the Chaldean district of Mesopotamia.
THE CALL OF
ABRAM is simply, yet clearly, stated in the first nine verses of Gen. 12, from
which the following quotations are given:
"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy father's house,
unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great
nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great: and thou shalt be a
blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their
substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran;
and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan
they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem,
unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give
this land; and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto
him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel,
and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east; and there
he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south."
A famine caused
Abram to go further, even into Egypt. Incidentally, is Egypt a symbol of
light, or of darkness? But Abram did not stay long there. "He
went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him
into the south....very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold."
Then on again, "from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his
tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai....and there Abram
called on the name of the Lord."--Gen. 13: 1-4. Lot
separated himself from Abram, after which we are told "Abram dwelled in
the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his
tent toward Sodom."
This
established another stepping-stone toward the grand climax, which, however, at
that date was in the far-distant future. This change having taken place
it was evidently appropriate for Abram to receive further instructions, and
more detailed information, which is made known to us in the closing portion of
Gen. 13. "And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was
separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou
art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land
which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I
will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk
through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give
it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the
plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the
Lord."
"Abram the
Hebrew" Gen. 14: 13, was not without trials and troubles.
His contact with the "battle of the kings" illustrates this. An
outcome of this incident was that Abram met Melchizedek, "King of Salem,
and priest of the most high God," by whom Abram was blessed, and to whom
Abram gave tithes. This notable event is stated in but three verses; it
is, however, not lost sight of, for long afterwards an apostle wrote of it, and
gave it the highest significance. Of this we cannot now speak
particularly. Attention must be directed to the definite statements
recorded in regard to the promise to Abram. And to these considerations
must be given if we would apprehend the full force of their application to the
development of God's Plan on the earth. For, as we proceed to unfold the
purpose of God and the hope of Salvation we shall find that the promises to
Abram constitute an important "first principle," without an
understanding of which we cannot perceive the Gospel of the Kingdom of God;
and, moreover, if we attain unto "the hope set before us" we must,
indeed, be "blessed with faithful Abraham."
When Abram was
99 years old, the Lord again appeared to him, and said, "I am the Almighty
God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant
between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell
on his face; and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is
with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy
name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of
many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful,
and I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in
their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to
thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after
thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God."--Gen. 17: 1-8.
Following this announcement instructions were given
concerning the covenant of circumcision, and the name of Abram's wife was
changed to Sarah. At the same time a definite promise was made that Sarah
would bear a son of Abraham. So unexpected, and--naturally
speaking--impossible did this seem to be, that Abraham laughed, and said,
"Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall
Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? But God said, Sarah thy wife shall
bear thee a son indeed; and thou shall call his name Isaac; and I will
establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed
after him."
STEP BY STEP
THE PLAN OF GOD WAS BEING DEVELOPED. We now retrace our steps to consider
more fully the details of this development. We are noticing the more
salient features; these help us to condense the Plan as it appertains to the
Abrahamic Covenant, whilst the details enable us to perceive the reason why
this "this hope of the promise, made of God unto the fathers" had
within it the scheme of salvation. Following on, therefore, our
quotations from Gen. 17, we have these pregnant words in Gen. 21: 12.
"For in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Isaac grew, and the
love of the father was centered in his son; hope also, for the promise that
this son should be born had been fulfilled. Why then doubt that all other
things contained in the promises would also be fulfilled?
FAITH IN GOD
caused hope to shine brightly, even though at times dark shadows mantled the
brow of the patriarch. "And it came to pass after these things, that
God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold
me. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou
lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt
offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."
Meeting the test, perhaps with a heart bowed down, yet not doubting
the ultimate outcome of this unusual demand, Abraham was ready early in the
morning, when, with two of his young men, Isaac his son, wood prepared for the
burnt offering, ass saddled, he rose up, and went toward the place to which he
had been directed. "Twas not until the third day that he saw the place
afar off. Then, leaving the ass with the young men, Abraham said,
"Abide ye here: I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come
again to you." So father and son went forward, with wood, fire
and knife, doubtless in quiet meditation until Isaac spake: "My father,
Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt
offering?" Heart-searching question: faith-testing words, yet not
hope-destroying thought! Isaac, as yet, knew not what had been required
of his father. Abraham, like another yet to come, in a much later day,
and for another more glorious manifestation, "kept these things, and
pondered them in his heart." For the immediate need all he said to
the lad was, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt
offering." What was said as the altar was being built, and
preparation for the offering being made, we are not told. The record is
wisely brief. "Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife
to slay his son."
CONFIDENCE IN
GOD alone actuated the compliance with Heaven's mandate. How much Abraham
perceived of the hidden meaning we are not told; he had, however, seen
sufficient demonstration of the power invested in the Elohim since he first
received the call to get out from his father's house, and the land of his
nativity, to allow his trust not to be broken. Whilst prepared to carry
out to the full the obligation placed upon him, the patriarch went so far as to
tell the young men, "I and the lad will come again to you."
That was not the voice of pretence, but of hope based upon confidence as the
outcome of knowledge. So we find it recorded in an epitome of men of
faith:--"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he
that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was
said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called; accounting that God was able to
raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a
figure."--Heb. 11: 17-19.
The knife in the stretched-forth hand was sufficient; it
demonstrated belief in God, and confidence that the Judge of all the earth
would do right. The angel called, "Abraham, Abraham," and
said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto
him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy
son, thine only son from me." What relief to both father and son,
and with what satisfaction would Abraham "lift up his eyes, and behold
behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: And Abraham went and took
the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son."
The place was
named "Jehova-jireh: i.e., The Lord will see, or provide." Now
all this had been seen, and noted, by the angel who was the name-bearer of the
Lord, and the executioner of His will. Proof of faith, hope, confidence
and obedience having been so demonstrably given; the Lord well pleased, and the
men of His choice strengthened to continue and endure that they, and others,
might at last "receive the promise" in glorious fulfillment, a
further stage in the divine (and human) drama was consequently
established. Heaven's proclamation was once more heard; "The angel
of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By
myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou has done this thing,
and has 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 the nations of the earth be
blessed; because thou has obeyed my voice."
And so it came
about that "Abraham and the lad" returned to the young men, even as
he had said. Together they went to Beersheba, and Abraham dwelt
there. Such is the record given to us in Gen. 22.
We note in
passing the death of Sarah, and also of Abraham. "Abraham gave up
the ghost (breath), and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years;
and was gathered to his people," being buried in "The field which
Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth; there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his
wife."
<!--mstheme-->ISAAC<!--mstheme-->
THE development
of God's Plan was now centered in Isaac, and therefore we find "the
promise" extended to him. Of this we read, "The Lord appeared
unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall
tell thee of; Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless
thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I
will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make
thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all
these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my
statutes, and my laws."--Gen. 26: 2, 5.
Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob, "two manner of
people." It was foretold that "the elder shall serve the
younger." The subsequent history of these "two peoples"
showed the accuracy, and the wisdom, of this divine foretelling. Our
present interest is in the development of the Abrahamic Covenant, which permits
our passing over much of the domestic happenings in their family circle.
<!--mstheme-->JACOB<!--mstheme-->
WE take up the thread in Gen.
28. "Isaac called Jacob and said, God Almighty bless thee, and make
thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that
thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto
Abraham." Isaac sent Jacob away, and Jacob followed the instructions
given to him. In the course of his journey, we read of Jacob: "And
he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun
was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows,
and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder
set up on the earth, and at the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the
angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood
above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham they father, and the God of
Isaac: the land where thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and
thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the
west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in
thy seed shall all families of the earth be blessed. 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."
What a dream
from which to awaken and wonder! Sensitive to the high calling which had
befallen him, he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it
not." Of the place he said, "This is none other but the house
of God," and of the revelation and promise extended to him, "this is
the gate of heaven," i.e., the knowledge of the will and purpose of God,
by reason of which an entrance may be found into the kingdom of heaven when the
promises made of God unto the fathers find their fulfillment; guaranteed by God
unto Abraham and his seed. Jacob called the name of that place Bethel, and
having "vowed a vow" went on his journey; found his uncle Laban, and
stayed with him twenty years.
A few years
later, again having been recipient of a divine favour, in that God once more
instructed him as to what he should do, and where to go, Jacob said unto his
household, and to all that were with him, "Let us arise, and go up to
Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of
my distress, and was with me in the way which I went." This was
accomplished, and in verses 9-12 of the chapter from which these events are
obtainable (Gen. 35) we read, "And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he
came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name
is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy
name; and he called his name ISRAEL. And God said unto him, I am God
Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and (or even) a company of nations
shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I
gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will
I give the land." The last verse of this chapter tells of the death
of Isaac. And in course of time Jacob (Israel) also died.
<!--mstheme-->WAS THE LAND RECEIVED ACCORDING
TO THE PROMISES?<!--mstheme-->
THE promise of the inheritance
of the Land of Canaan had been given to them all. Did they receive the land,
according to the promise of God? In other words, Were the promises of
God, made unto the fathers and to their seed, fulfilled in the life time of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? If not--why not? These questions are
definitely answered for us, in one scripture, where we read, "These all
died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth. And these all, having obtained a
good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some
better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."--Heb.
11: 13, 39, 40.
We must again retrace our steps, and in doing so lay hold
of some of the details, which, when fitted into the general picture already
presented, will enable us to comprehend why the patriarchs, and many others,
"died in faith," without having witnessed the fulfillment of their
hopes in the consummation of the Plan of the Ages; so vividly made known to
them in the promises and testimony of God. The fifteenth chapter of
Genesis is extremely interesting, enlightening, and of the utmost importance in
regard to the promise to Abraham. Indeed, so much is involved in the
revelation therein given that we may truly say, it is astounding. That
Abraham (giving him now his later name) had thought long and well concerning the
promises made to him is quite evident. Without any lack of faith, or
distrust in God, Abraham could not fail to see the difficulties in the
path. Before the promises could become actualities the difficulties must
be removed. But how? Must he, himself, open up a way to overcome
the obstacles? It was natural that, without further enlightenment, he
should conceive such a scheme. The plan, however, was of God, and his
mind must therefore ever be God-ward. Abraham had been with Melchizedek,
priest of the most high God, who had blessed him, saying, "Blessed be
Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth." And
Abraham had said to the King of Sodom, "I lift up mine hand unto the Lord,
the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth ......I will not take any
thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich."--Gen.
14: 19, 23.
God knoweth our
thoughts, "even before they are our own," and so, He who has "by
dream, by oracle, by seer" made known His Will, approached the patriarch
to answer some of his troubled thoughts. "After these things the
word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy
shield, and thy exceeding great reward." God knew the mind of the man who
had so well responded to His call; and would not Abraham feel, when the vision
came to him, that here was an answer to the inquiry which had been formulating
in his mind? He would feel that this was a message to give him strength,
encouragement and hope, all being sorely needed to help him carry on amidst the
trials of a period of waiting and watching. He, therefore, placed his
hand in the hand of God, when he said, "Lord God, what wilt thou give me,
seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Behold, to me thou has given no seed; and, lo, one born in my house is mine
heir."
There was the
problem which perplexed his mind. A promise to Abraham and his seed,
and yet he had no child. Was it that a human construction was to be
placed upon the promise, under the circumstance of his domestic difficulty,
which apparently was against the fulfillment of the promise, as the patriarch
might well have hoped it should be? The idea of an adoption seemed to
provide a solution. But if with man, it was not so with God. For
yet again the word of the Lord came, saying, "This shall not be thine
heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine
heir." Abraham probably did not realize that he was being tested
whilst also being prepared. Hence, the full knowledge of "how"
it should come about was not immediately made known to him. In God's own
time it would be imparted to him, and by the longer process Abraham would be
fortified to meet the requirements of the way. Having discarded the human
suggestion, and made known the seed should be direct, not adopted, the way was
not yet opened to Abraham. Nor had the time come for it to be made
known. Yet "the possessor of heaven and earth" thought well to
offer a means of strength to the man of His choice. He, therefore,
"brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell
the stars, if thou be able to number them; and he said unto him, so
shall thy seed be."
The experiences through which Abraham had passed had been
sufficient to engender in him a disposition of conviction, trust and
confidence. Therefore, even though he could not yet understand how and
when these things should be, he could still believe that what God had promised
He would fulfill. It is there recorded of him, "He believed in the
Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
Again Abraham
is reminded of the promise as it was first presented to him. And mark
this well, my friends; it was belief in the promise as given, and confidence in
the word of God that the same would be fulfilled "according to the
promise" that Abraham's "belief" was reckoned as the basis of
righteousness before God. This "hope of the promise" was a
"gospel" unto Abraham. Would any other interpretation placed
upon the promise, in regard to how, when and where it should be fulfilled, have
been acceptable to the Giver of the promise? Did it matter what
Abraham believed? Would any other view of this gospel-hope, than
that which is definitely stated, have been right before God?
And would any interpretation contrary to the specified terms of the covenant
have been acceptable, and sufficient to constitute Abraham "the friend of
God?"--Jas. 2: 23. Do you believe in the promise as
Abraham believed, and do you look for its fulfillment in the same way, and
in the same place, as he did? As if to emphasize the reality of the
"place," after God had directed attention to the "stars,"
and promised "so shall thy seed be," "He said unto him, I am the
Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to
inherit it." But years were passing, and Abraham was not a young
man, and his wife apparently (physically) unsuited for the accomplishment of
what was involved in the promise. Hence the question, "Lord God,
whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" Following is a
synopsis of what is revealed in Gen. 15. "In reply to this, he was
commanded to take 'a heifer of three years old, and a ram of three
years old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.' Having killed
them, 'he divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another,
but the birds divided he not.' This sacrifice was representative of the
qualities of the Christ, concerning which confirmation was about to be made,
attestative of Abram's and his seed's possession of the land in the fullness of
the times afterwards to be arranged. From the time of the sacrifice until
the going down of the sun, Abram was engaged in watching the carcasses, so as
to keep off the birds of prey. It is probable that the sacrifice was
exposed about three hours; at all events 'when even was come,' and the sun was
going down, Abram fell into a state of figurative death, by a deep sleep, and
horror of great darkness coming over him. This was a very remarkable feature
in the case before us. Abram had built altars, and had called upon the
name of the Lord before; but there were no such attendant circumstances as
these. Here, however, he stands watching the exposed sacrificial victims
until even; and then is laid powerless in the similitude of death, and in the
intense darkness of the grave. While he was in this state, the Lord
revealed to Abram the fortunes of his descendants in the ensuing four hundred
years; the judgment of the nation that should oppress them; their subsequent
exodus from bondage with great wealth; his own peaceful death in a good old
age; and the return of his descendants into the Land of Canaan again.
The following are the words of the testimony: "Know of a surety that thy
seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them;
and they shall afflict them four hundred years, and also that nation whom they
shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great
substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be
buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall
come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.'"--Elpis
Israel, p. 206.
Here, in part, was an answer to
the question, "Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?"
But that was not all. "And it came to pass, that, when the sun went
down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed
between those pieces." What did this answer reveal to
Abraham? "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the
great river, the river Euphrates." Affliction in a strange
land for the seed, i.e., natural descendants; a deep sleep--the sleep of death--for
Abraham; a burning lamp passing through the pieces of the slain animals; light
after darkness, i.e. life after death by a resurrection arising out of a
covenant-relationship, guaranteed by a sacrificial death. Truly
a revelation for one to contemplate! Especially for one who had been
told, on the highest authority, that he and his seed should inherit that
land--the Land of Canaan--for ever; "when as yet he had no
child."
The promise and covenant involved
a territory "from the river of Egypt, unto the great river
Euphrates." In Psa. 72: 8, we read, "from sea to sea and from
the river unto the ends of the land," i.e., the Mediterranean to the
Persian Gulf, and from the Euphrates at its junction with the Gulf, northward;
and from the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, to the entrance into Hamath.
Here, then, is a noble domain lying between Assyria, Persia, Arabia, the Red
Sea, Egypt, and the Mediterranean; capable, when peopled by an industrious,
enlightened, and well and strongly governed, nation, of commanding the commerce
and sovereignty of Asia, and the wealth of Europe and America. Such is
the land, containing, according to the survey of the British government,
300,000 square miles, concerning which God said to Abram, 'to thee will I give
it and unto thy seed for ever.'"--Dr. John Thomas.
It is interesting to note that
although the descendants of Abraham, at a later date, occupied this land, as a
kingdom and nation, they did not possess the full extent of the
territory. And when their past occupation of the land is compared with
the description of the land as it is to be divided among the tribes in a yet
future day we must realize that the past was but a partial fulfillment of the
terms of the promise and covenant.
We have already seen the record of
Abram's name being changed to Abraham; the covenant of circumcision; the name
of Abraham's wife changed to Sarah; the promise of the patriarch which made him
laugh, and yet how "The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord
did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bear Abraham a son in
his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him."--Gen.
21: 1, 2. We saw also the suggestion to provide "a seed"
through the house Eliezer, which however was rejected. Even Sarah tried
the idea of accommodation, for, seeing she "bare him no children,"
she proposed to her husband that he take unto him her maid, "that I may
obtain children by her." Hagar, the Egyptian maid, bore a son, whose
name was called "Ishmael." Then trouble arose, as might have
been expected.
God waited, for with Him
"time," as we know it, does not count. In all that took place
God considered the end, for to Him "the end is known from the
beginning." And whilst laws were given for the time then present,
there were also lessons to be imparted for those who should come after.
It was so with the ordinance of circumcision; it was something since "sin
entered" and man was cast out of Paradise. It had to do with the
uncleanness of sin, and was incumbent upon those who would follow the ways of
the Lord. It formed a part of the "types and shadows"
appertaining to the cross of Christ. This Paul shows in his epistle,
"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands,
in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ."--Col. 2: 11. The touching scene of the offering of
Isaac also engaged our attention, and which comes to mind as we look at the
pictorial representation of it on the chart.
One important feature of Heaven's
declaration of Abraham, after he had manifested such implicit faith in
God--evidenced by his obedience--must not be overlooked. It is found in
verse 17 of Gen. 22. "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." Here are two
seeds. Obviously the first is multitudinous, and refers to the natural
descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; whilst the second is an individual
seed, and therefore personal. Were these promises fulfilled? If, to
the full extend,they were fulfilled in the days immediately following the
giving of the promises to the patriarchs they would not, in later scriptures,
still be referred to as "promises." And yet, as time went on,
some matters were fulfilled, as is seen in the history of the natural
descendants of Abraham. The partial fulfillment, however, does not
interfere with the ultimate accomplishment of all that was spoken.
If in one instance we read
"Thou has fulfilled," and in another, "Thou wilt perform,"
there is no contradiction. It is a matter of "rightly dividing the
Word of Truth," and this we are able to do, if we keep before us the fact
that the promises involved "two seeds," and that certain features
could be fulfilled during the period of development of the natural and national
seed, but other matters having reference to the individual seed could not, and
would not, be fulfilled "until the seed should come to whom the promise
was made;" and these would only find full fruition at "the appointed
time." As these promises have to do with the scheme of salvation it
behooves us to see things in their correct perspective. To accomplish
this we must do, as others of old; "So they read in the book in the law of
God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the
reading."--Neh. 8: 8.
To illustrate
what I have advanced in the preceding remarks, I now quote: "Thou art the
LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the
Chaldees, and gavest him the name Abraham; and foundest his heart faithful
before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites,
the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the
Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and has performed thy
words; for thou art righteous; and didst see the affliction of our fathers in
Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea. Thou camest down also upon
mount Sinai, and speakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right
judgments, and laws of truth, good statutes and commandments. Their
children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest
them into the land, concerning which thou hadest promised to their fathers,
that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and
possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the
land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and
the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would."--Neh.
9: 7-9, 13, 23, 24.
Whilst this truly speaks of a fulfillment, and a possessing
of the land, it does not meet all the requirements of the covenant God
made with Abraham; therefore, there must be a further application. This
we find expressed by a prophet in these words: "Thou wilt perform the
truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our
fathers from the days of old."--Mic. 7: 20.
Hear now a summarization of "these things" given
by Stephen, when he answered the high priest, "Men, brethren, and fathers,
hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in
Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show
thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in
Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this
land, wherein ye not dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no ,
not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him
for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and
that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred
years. And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said
God; and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place."--Acts
7: 1-7.
This testimony is strengthened by the words of Paul, which
demonstrate conclusively to whom the individual aspect of the promise refers,
and clearly shows that though this individual seed is in process of
development, it yet remains for "the seed" to inherit the land, under
the terms of the promise, and "to possess the gate of his
enemies." Mark well the words of the Apostle to the Gentiles:
"Even as
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know
ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall
all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with
faithful Abraham. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith
not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is
Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of
God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot
disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if
inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham
by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of
transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made;
and it was ordained by angels in the hands of a mediator. Wherefore the
law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a
schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on
Christ. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs
according to the promises."
Such is the
remarkable testimony of Paul in Gal. 3. Jesus Christ is definitely
declared to be the seed to whom the Abrahamic promise was made.
The statement, however, goes beyond the direct seed, the person of Jesus
Christ. Yet it is here interesting to note the opening words of the New
Testament. "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham." Whilst carried beyond Jesus, we are also
carried backward. We recall "the way of the Lord," as made
known from the beginning. Men "called upon," and were
"called by" the name of the Lord. The truth underlying
"the name of the Lord" was embodied in the promises to the fathers,
and the highest Name-bearer was designated "the seed to whom the promise
was made." The work of the Father, in the Son, was to bring
"many sons unto glory."--Heb. 2: 10. These "many
sons" would also be "in the Name," because they would be
"in the way of the Lord." Hence, the word: "If ye
be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed." Thus the
individual seed was also to become multitudinous; but, first the natural and
then the spiritual. Howbeit, the spiritual, though multitudinous, were
one seed; "all one in Christ Jesus."--Gal. 3: 28.
That the promise to the fathers was not fulfilled in the
day when Jesus was upon the earth is so obvious that no one should hesitate to
affirm it; it must, therefore, appertain to a yet future period, of which we
shall see much more as we proceed.
And now, Paul,
what more will you say? "And now I stand and am judged for the hope
of the promise made of God unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve
tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which
hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews." "But when
the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I
had ought to accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore have I called
for you, to see you, and to speak with you; because that for the hope of
Israel I am bound with this chain."--Acts 26: 6, 7; 28: 19, 20.
Was Paul bound for "a hope" which had been fulfilled?
"The hope
of Israel" and "the hope of the promise made unto the fathers"
are one and the same. This will be abundantly demonstrated as we continue
to unfold the Plan of God for the ages. Referring to his "kinsmen
according to the flesh" Paul says, "Who are Israelites; to whom
pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of
the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and
of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came."--Rom. 9: 3, 5.
The "fathers," are Abraham, Isaac and Israel; the latter two being
spoken of as "the heirs with him (Abraham) of the same
promise." The sons of Jacob are styled "the twelve
patriarchs."--Acts 7: 8. And after many diversions, trials
and wanderings we are told "all the souls of the house of Jacob, which
came into Egypt were three score and then."--Gen. 46: 27. Great
events, and important developments, often have small beginnings.
"All the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy
souls." And yet it was decreed that the family of Abraham should
become "as the stars."
<!--mstheme-->ISRAEL IN EGYPT AND SINAI<!--mstheme-->
THE story of their going into
Egypt is known to every reader of the Bible. There the people grew
exceedingly, and this led them into sore travail. Egypt became, to them,
a land of horror and a furnace of affliction. Nevertheless, at an
appointed time, they came out of that land "with great substance,"
and were a mighty host. Moses, their leader, eventually brought them
"into the wilderness of Sinai," where we see a new chapter in the
development of The Plan. "In the third month, when the children of
Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into
the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were
come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there
Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord
called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house
of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the
Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto
myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all
people: for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of
priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak
unto the children of Israel." This did Moses, "And all the
people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will
do."--Ex. 19: 1-8.
The statues, ordinances and commandments of the Lord were
then given to the people. "The Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me
into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law,
and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them."--Ex.
24: 12. This law became known as The Law of Moses; it was designed
to instruct, and to regulate a people released from slavery, who henceforth
were to live under totally different conditions to those in which they had been
cradled. Though referred to as "Moses' Law," we must ever
remember that it was the Law of God given through Moses. The period in
which it was destined to play its part in The Plan, was one of great
importance. It was "added" to the promises, and (as did the
promises) the Law pertained to the people to whom it was given;
and--directly--to no other people. If this principle of application is
not recognized and maintained confusion will be the result. And although
God's Covenant with the Children of Israel, under Moses' Law, came after
the promises were made to the fathers, we find it spoken of as "the first
covenant," and also as "the old covenant."--Heb. 8: 7, 13.
It was also "a shadow of good things to come."--Heb. 10:
1, a "shadow" in the sense of being a dim outline, or
type. It was not intended to supersede the covenanted-promises, and,
accordingly, it was not perfect, or complete. The meaning of this is
clear when seen in the light of Paul's testimony, where, in reference to the
Abrahamic covenant, he says, "the law was added till the seed should come
to whom the promise was made."
Moses" Law
must serve its purpose in relation to The Plan, for the specified period; when
that period should expire it would necessarily cease to operate. Being
taken out of the way, something else would take its place, which would be
another development of The Plan. When "added to," the Law had
also a relation to the promises. The effectiveness of The Law, in its
relation to the Abrahamic Covenant, is embodied in the words of Paul, when he
says, "which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the
law."--Rom. 2: 20. If this "form" was merely seen
as a form by the Children of Israel it would fail to enlighten them in
the eternal riches of the promises. When the meaning of the
"form" was discerned by the light of "the truth," which was
"in the law," it transferred the Israelite beyond the Mosaic to the
Abrahamic Covenant. The Children of Israel were thus born in the way of
understanding; it depended however upon the fidelity of the parents,
associates, and themselves as to whether they discerned the hidden
wisdom. If they failed in this, "the knowledge of the truth"
would not benefit them, and this their way would be their folly, even
as it is written, "The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding
shall remain in the congregation of the dead."-- Prov. 21: 16.
Without the discernment of the hidden wisdom of "the
truth in the law" obedience to the statues and commandments could only
benefit in the present life. Obedience tot he Law of Moses could not
bestow Eternal life upon any of the Children of Israel. One only, of all
Israel, ever kept the Law in all things, and even He did not obtain Eternal
life by so doing (using the term "eternal life" in the ordinary
acceptance of it--implying "immorality"). When Jesus had
"honoured the Law," and magnified the Name of the Lord by His perfect
obedience, it was still necessary for Him to comply with a requirement of the
Abrahamic Covenant. This was typified in various ways "in the
Law"--which is the meaning of "the form of knowledge and of the
truth" hidden therein. That the Law could not bestow
"life" is beyond dispute, being clearly stated by Paul as follows: "Is
the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there
had been a law given which could have given life, verily
righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath
concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be
given to them that believe."--Gal. 3: 21, 22. When the time
came for "blotting out the handwriting of ordinances" (which having
served its purpose) the same was then "nailed to his cross."--Col.
2: 14. These statements indicate the meaning of "which are a shadow
of things to come; but the body is of Christ."--Verse 17.
<!--mstheme-->SHADOWS<!--mstheme-->
THE sacrifice
of Jesus was prefigured in many ways. To one of these "types and
shadows" attention is now directed. The people of God's choose were
not long, after leaving Egypt, in demonstrating that they had "a
rebellious heart," out of which they "spake against God, and against
Moses." For this they were punished, as God "sent fiery
serpents among the people, and much people of Israel died." By this
they were brought to realize that they had transgressed; so coming to Moses,
they said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and
against thee." And they besought Moses, that the Lord would take
away the serpents. Moses' prayer being answered, he was instructed of the
Lord: "Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall
come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall
live." This Moses did, "and it came to pass, that if a serpent
had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."--Num.
21: 6-9.
In that we have the "shadow;" and where shall we
find the substance? There is no room for guess, speculation, or
interpretation here. The Great Teacher Himself has answered the
question; hear His words: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; That whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life."--John 3: 14, 15.
Wherein is the parallel and lesson? All mankind has been
"bitten" by the serpent--they have felt the serpent's bite, and the
consequences of sin are upon us all. And as they only who beheld the
serpent of brass were relieved of the plague and lived, so also they only who
"Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world" can be
saved from the sting of sin, which hath reigned unto death. To look upon
the Lamb of God in this way does not require an actual sight of Jesus in a
physical sense. "Look unto me, and be ye saved."--Isa. 45:
22, is a mental process. Approach unto God is by "a strait and
narrow way."--Matt. 7: 14. That "way" is the Truth as
in Jesus. We may look upon Jesus by an intelligent understanding, and an
affectionate appreciation of the things of the Kingdom of God and the Name of
Jesus Christ. These things constitute the gospel of salvation, and when
we accept them, and are obedient to the requirements of the Gospel, we
"see Jesus," and may be saved by Him.
Now let us
demonstrate from the chart.
Commence with EVE, and follow the line marked "seed of the woman"
from its beginning to the cross, under which we have written John 3: 14.
"Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." Going back to the
Book of Genesis we hear again the words to the serpent, "Thou shalt bruise
his heel." The first break in this line brings us to Abraham.
The "seed of the woman" was to be developed through the line of
Abraham. He would therefore be the seed of Abraham, as well as the seed
of the woman. The line, however, goes further--even to David. There
are promises which were made to David (of which we shall deal later) and these
form a very important element of the covenants of promise. Take now
another span, marked "Son of David:" this carries on to Bethlehem,
where Jesus was born--Son of Man and Son of God. Another line from ENOS
connects with the upper line.
<!--mstheme-->THE CROSS BEFORE THE CROWN<!--mstheme-->
"HOW is
it that the cross of Jesus has come to be so impressive a thing among
men?" A writer has asked this question, and doubtless many answers
can be given. "The symbol of The Cross" (whether seen in the
light of Truth, or viewed through the colourings of the many and varied
perversions which have come down from the dark ages, when Truth had almost
perished from the earth) has exercised a powerful influence over men and women
of different race, colour and creed. Sculptors have wrought, artists
have painted, many have composed and sung the praises of The Cross. Whether it
be "When I survey the wondrous cross," "Beneath the Cross of
Jesus I fain would take my stand;" or, "The old rugged Cross,"
the underlying thought of hymns and poems has been the recognition of the death
of Jesus, as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the World. Comfort,
both true and false, has been the result to many through the generations.
God's Plan, as
revealed in the Scriptures, is to make known-- to those who will give heed--
what is Truth! Error is of darkness, Truth is of the
light. "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."--John 8: 12.
All who follow Jesus, in His way, and "continue in His Word"
are His "disciples indeed;" and consequently as they thus "know
the Truth," according to the Master's Word, "the truth doth make them
free." These "disciples indeed" look upon The Cross as the
climax of all that has gone before during 4,000 years in which THE PLAN had
been in operation, typically shadowing forth that "without shedding of
blood there is no remission."--Heb. 9: 22.
The true disciple sees in The Cross more than the cross of
Calvary. The sacrifice of Jesus was more than the death upon the
cross. That, tragic as it was, was but the culmination of a life of
sacrifice. "Conforming not to this world, but being transformed by
the renewing of the mind."--Rom. 12: 2. Oh, yes, this
principle can be applied to Jesus, even as to ourselves, for did He not say,
"nevertheless, not my will , but thine, be done"?--Luke 22: 42.
"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he
suffered,"--Heb. 5: 8. Jesus was not "made
perfect" until after He had suffered, as the next verse
shows. And they who would follow in His steps must remember that
"the servant is not greater than His Lord;" and yet, it has been
testified, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him."--2 Tim.
2: 12.
There is a battle to be fought, An
onward race to run, The race must come before the prize, The cross
before the crown.
Jesus Christ
lived and died, according to the will of God, to perform His part in the
execution of The Plan. To the Romans, Paul wrote: "Now I
say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God,
to confirm the promises made unto the fathers."--15: 8. But
God raised Jesus from the dead, and exalted Him "to be a Prince and a
Saviour." He will come again, for God "hath appointed a day, in
the which he will rule 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."--Acts 17: 31.
<!--mstheme-->IN HIS STEPS<!--mstheme-->
ARE we willing
to bear the Cross that we may also share the Crown? For such indeed is
the promise made to those who "follow in His steps." "Be
thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."--Rev.
2: 10. Are we satisfied with "the old covenant," the mere
"shadow," and fail to grasp the Substance which is in Christ?
Are we satisfied with the covenant of Sinai, "which gendereth to
bondage"--"Jerusalem which now is"?--Gal. 4: 24, 25.
Or would we rather find "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the
mother of us all"--verse 26? If so, we must find the
"two seeds'--the natural and the spiritual. We must comprehend the
"two covenants"--the old and the new. In so doing we will
"seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness." These
we may find in "the gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto
Salvation to every one that believeth."--Rom. 1: 16. Being
fully persuaded of "that power," and believing with the heart, our
desire will be to comply with any condition made known in the Gospel, so that
at last our lot will be, "Then they which be of faith are blessed with
faithful Abraham."--Gal. 3: 9.
<!--mstheme-->
<!--mstheme-->LL Lecture3<!--mstheme-->
<!--mstheme-->The History of Israel<!--mstheme-->
<div
align="center">
Two Houses. Many Days
Without a King
</div><div
align="center">
Destruction of Jerusalem
</div>
THE history of Israel involves not only the development of
the people but also that of the Land which was theirs.
Milman,
in History of the Jews, says, "The Jews, without reference to
their religious belief, are among the most remarkable people in the annals of
mankind. Sprung from one stock, they pass the infancy of their nation in
a state of servitude in a foreign country, where, nevertheless, they increase
so rapidly, as to appear on a sudden the fierce and irresistible conquerors of
their native valleys in Palestine. At length, united under one monarchy,
they gradually rise to the rank of a powerful, opulent, and commercial
people. Subsequently, they are weakened, overwhelmed, and are
transplanted into a foreign region. They are partially restored--are
engaged in wars of ...the most romantic gallantry in assertion of their
independence. Finally, they make the last desperate resistance to the
universal dominion of the Ceasars. Scattered from that period over the
face of the earth, hated, scorned, and oppressed, they subsist, a numerous and
often a thriving people; and in all the changes of manners and opinions retain
their ancient institutions, their national character, and their indelible hope
of restoration to grandeur and happiness in their native land."
"The most
remarkable race that lives or ever lived on earth, is the Jewish race; and the
most wonderful national phenomenon of this or any other age is the perpetual
existence and past and present condition of the Jewish people. With a
history that antedates the authentic records of all other nations, and a
literature more widely diffused than the literature of any other people; with
an experience more wonderful than that of any other race; they stand as they
have stood for thousands of years, a mystery which confounds the wisest, a
problem which baffles the skill of the most astute."
"The most
remarkable race that lives or ever lived on earth, is the Jewish race; and the
most wonderful national phenomenon of this or any other age is the perpetual
existence and past and present condition of the Jewish people. With a
history that antedates the authentic records of all other nations, and a
literature more widely diffused than the literature of any other people; with
an experience more wonderful than that of any other race; they stand as they
have stood for thousands of years, a mystery which confounds the wisest, a
problem which baffles the skill of the most astute."
"The first
republic known to history, consisting of the Twelve United States of Israel, established
and organized in the desert, on the basis of universal suffrage, the election
of officers by the people, representation by elders, or aldermen, selected from
the people, with inferior judges, and courts of appeal, was finally planted in
Canaan, the land being divided in fee--simple among all the people, one-twelfth
of whom were selected and appointed to care for the education and enlightenment
of the nation; one-tenth of their increase and of the produce of the land being
set apart for their support in their educational and religious work. This
federated nation, thus established, with an organic law, a written
constitution, and a form of government wiser and more humane than any which the
world had known; which guarded the rights of rich and poor, small and great,
servants and masters, rulers and people, wives and husbands, captives and
conquerors, protecting even the beasts of the field and the birds of the air,
and providing for the proper tillage of the soil, and the preservation of
trees, seeds, and fruits--was the pattern upon which all stable popular
governments have been based."--H. L. Hastings.
The foregoing quotations take us backward in the History of
Israel. Now a recent comment (1941) by Maurice Pearlman.
"The Jewish people, driven by an inspiration fashioned
by 20 centuries of tradition, history, hopes and longings, have wrought this
modern miracle of settlement and development. Half a million Jews,
manning Jewry's outpost, building Jewry's future, are the backbone of their
nation. Their achievements provide the main glimmer of light in the
darkness spread by the persecuting tyrants on the Continent. In the years
of twilight between the two great wars, there has been a steady upbuilding of
Jewish life in Eretz Israel, and a grim decline in Jewish life in Europe.
The last few years have seen the complete destruction of distinguished and
old-established Jewish communities on the Continent. Millions of Jews
have experienced at first hand persecution and discrimination, all the horrors
of Nazi brutality and torture....In the free countries of the world, the lands
in which Jews still enjoy the full rights of citizenship, the Jewish
communities are becoming increasingly aware of the indivisibility of the Jewish
problem and of the indivisible unity of the Jewish people."
<!--mstheme-->"THE PEOPLE SHALL DWELL ALONE"<!--mstheme-->
"THE
Land" and "The People" are so closely associated as to become
one theme. The reason is obvious. God made choice of the people for
Himself, also appointed the Land for their habitation. The Holy One of
Israel who made promises concerning the Seed of Abraham also made a covenant
concerning the Land of promise. And later, God made a covenant with David
concerning his throne, established in the Land, that "it should
endure." We are told, "In Judah is God known; His name is great
in Israel. In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in
Zion."--Psa. 76: 1, 2. "For he established a testimony
in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that
they should make them known to their children."--Psa. 78: 5, 8.
For our present purpose The History of Israel must
be confined to a brief outline of the development of this people, given in the
Scriptures, in their relation to the 7,000 years Plan, in which they play a
very important part. It commences with Abraham "the Hebrew,"
whose descendants are spoken of as Hebrews; they are also designated "the
children of Israel" and "the Jews." It is necessary to
recognize that all these terms apply to one and the same people, especially so,
since in our time some professing interpreters of Bible teaching and prophecy
have sought to establish a theory based upon a distinction between
"Israel" and "Jew."
We have already
seen that "All the souls...were three score and ten."--Gen. 46:
26, 27. A small beginning, but "the children of Israel were
fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceedingly
mighty; and the land was filled with them."--Ex. 1: 7.
Fearing the consequences that might be felt from this growth of the people in
their land, "the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with
rigour; and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage." In this
sore affliction they were not forgotten. "God heard their groaning,
and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto
them."--Ex. 2: 24, 25.
If you ask: Just what was the covenant that God
"remembered"? here is an answer. "Know of a surety
that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their's, and shall
serve them; and they shall afflict them 400 years; and also that nation, whom
they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great
substance."--Gen. 15: 13, 14. The people truly were in a
land "not theirs"; they had been afflicted, and the period of their
sojourn in the house of bondage was drawing to a close. And this is what
God "remembered"--not that He had at any time forgotten His promise;
rather, that at the appointed time God called to mind what had been promised,
and proceeded to find the means of bringing it to pass.
In the meantime
Moses was born, and providentially preserved from the fate of the
"sons," which, by the decree of Pharaoh, was that they should be
"cast into the river." We pass over the life of Moses in Egypt,
from whence he fled before the face of Pharaoh, and read of him as a shepherd;
"Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, and led the flock to
the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb, where
from the midst of the burning bush, which was not consumed, the angel of the
Lord, speaking for God, said, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob. I have surely seen the affliction of my people
which are in Egypt. And I am come down to deliver them.........and to
bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land
flowing with milk and honey. Come now therefore, and I will send thee
unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out
of Egypt."--Ex. 3: 1-10. As we have seen, they were to
"come out with great substance;" and so it came to pass. For
the sons of Israel did according to the word of Moses; "they ask from the
Egyptians vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments, and they caused
them to ask, and they spoil the Egyptians."--Ex. 12: 35, 36. Dr.
Young's translation.
Of necessity we pass over much detail, and now take a look
at the people after they were out of Egypt. "And the Lord spake unto
Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the
first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of
the land of Egypt, saying, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the
children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with
the number of their names, every male of their polls; From 20 years old and
upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall
number them by their armies." "These are those that were
numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being 12
men; each one was for the house of his fathers. So were all those that were
numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from 20
years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel: Even all
they that were numbered were 600,000 and 3, 550. But the Levites after
the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them" (consequently,
are additional to the number given in the preceding verse).--Num. 1: 1-3;
44-47. Such was the national growth at that time; it has been
computed that the people, men, women and children must have numbered "at
least 2,500,000." They had flocks and herds almost
innumerable. A mighty hose, indeed, brought out of Egypt from a life of
slavery.
But that was
"a land of civilization, thickly peopled, highly cultivated, well watered
and fruitful." And no small task awaited Moses and Aaron, to guide
and direct this people in a new land, and under such changed conditions.
This was quite the reverse of the land they had left behind. Moses speaks
of it as "a desert land, and waste howling wilderness."--Deut.
32: 10.
"That
great and terrible wilderness, where there was no water."--Deut. 8:
15. The Land of Promise was still behind them. Spies went out
to search the land, and to bring back a report. They brought back of the
fruit of the land, and said, "We came unto the land whither thou sentest
us, and surely it floweth with milk and hone; and this is the fruit of
it."--Num. 13: 27. Nevertheless, they gave an evil report,
"We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than
we." It is not altogether surprising that the heart of the people
gave way to weeping. In the face of all that had been done for them, they
had not yet learned to trust in the Lord. They said, "would God that
we had died in the land of Egypt; or would God we had died in this
wilderness."--14: 2. Little did they think when they so
expressed themselves that "out of their own mouth they would be
condemned." Yet so it was. "As ye have spoken in mine
ears, so will I do to you, saith the Lord. Your carcasses shall fall in
this wilderness."--29. The spies who brought back "a
good report" were not included, but the others should wander "forty
years," and so bear their iniquity. When reading the brief Bible
record of the waywardness of the children of Israel, we--in this our late
day--probably do so as a matter of fact. We see their sin and the
punishment meted out. But we should endeavour to visualize the situation
from their point of view, if we would have the true perspective, and so be able
to correctly apply the lesson. As yet they were not a people disciplined
by the hand of God. They had been subdued by long servitude.
Though submitting obediently to their task masters, in return for their labour
they received the necessities of life. These were guaranteed to them,
even as a man will care for his beast of burden, that he might obtain the best
results therefrom. In the land of their affliction the children of Israel
had seen the arm of the Lord revealed in their behalf through Moses and Aaron,
and were rejoiced to witness their own deliverance from Egypt, with the
overthrow of Pharaoh and his host. But the long period of slavery had
crushed their spirit, and spirituality was little known amongst them.
They knew by bitter experience that Egypt was not their homeland; but the
fullness of the promises, and the covenant made with the fathers, had little
chance of fruition in their hearts and minds amidst the darkness of
Egypt. Truly, they were but a natural seed, even though the seed of
Abraham.
With the
characteristics naturally developed in this former environment, and the
disappointment so keenly felt "in the waste howling wilderness," it
was very easy for them to forget God. So whilst not taking away "the
exceeding sinfulness of sin," extenuating circumstances may help us to see
the why and wherefore of the sinner. If this be so, why are these things
recorded for our learning? That these lessons are not to be overlooked is
evident from the use made of them in apostolic days. "Moses verily
was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things
which were to be spoken after, Wherefore as the Holy Spirit saith, Today if ye
will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day
of temptation in the wilderness; When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and
saw my works 40 years. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. The word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard.
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the
same example of unbelief." These quotations from Hebrews 3 and 4
clearly demonstrate the lessons referred to.
We must now
return from this digression. Balak, the king of Moab, said, "Come,
curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel." But Balaam, with the word of
the Lord in his mouth, answered, "How shall I curse, whom God hath not
cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied? For
from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the
people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of
Israel? Let me kie the death of the righteous, and let my last end be
like his."--Num. 23: 7-10. "How goodly are thy tents,
O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread
forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the
Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour
water out of buckets, and his seed in many waters, and his king shall be higher
than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of
Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the
nations his enemies, and shall break their bones and pierce through with his
arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion: who shall stir him up?
Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee."
Balaam said
unto Balak, "Now, behold, I go unto my people: come, I will advertise thee
what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days."
And what he said, was not what Balaam saw, or knew, of himself. His
"eyes had been opened." He testified that he had "heard
the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High," and having
seen the vision of the Almighty, he declared in prophecy of the things to come
"I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there
shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and
shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his
enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that
shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city."--Num.
24: 5-9, 14, 17-19.
The thoughts here expressed in prophecy concerning
"the latter days" are readily associated with the things foretold in
"the covenant," which were to be developed before "the hope of
the promise made of God unto the fathers"--Acts 26: 6. could be
fulfilled in the inheritance of the land "for ever;" and the
individual seed to "possess the gates of his enemies."
The wanderings
in the wilderness continued according to heaven's decree, and the long journey
was coming to an end; wherefore, "Moses spake unto all Israel on
this side Jordan, in the wilderness, on this side Jordan in the land of Moab,
began Moses to declare this law, saying, The Lord our God spake unto us in
Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: Turn you, and take your
journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh
thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and
by the seaside, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great
river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you: go
in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after
them."--Deut. 1: 1-8.
As for Moses (even him, of whom it was recorded, "My
servant Moses, who is faithful in all mine house."--Num. 12: 7)--who
was angered by the strife of the Israelites, "so that it went ill with
Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake
unadvisedly with his lips."--Psa. 106: 32, 33--we read "And
I besought the Lord at that time, saying, O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew
thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven
or in the earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy
might? I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond
Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. But the Lord was wroth with me
for your sakes, and would not hear me; and the Lord said unto me, Let it
suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. Get thee up into the
top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward,
and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes; for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over
before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou
shalt see." Deut. 3: 23-28.
<!--mstheme-->THE CHARGE BY MOSES TO ISRAEL<!--mstheme-->
MOSES accepted the divine conclusion; no doubt with sadness
of heart, but still with an endeavour to serve his God as he had continually
done. He must leave his people, but before doing so he must "charge
them before God" concerning their conduct, individually and collectively,
as a people to whom the Eternal God had revealed Himself in their behalf.
For our present purpose I can but give some definite quotations which show the
exalted position occupied by the people, and consequently the grave responsibilities
resting upon them. Moses submitted these to them, and urged upon them the
need to give heed thereto, and the absolute necessity of their compliance with
the "statues and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye
should do so in the land whither ye to to possess it:" if they would
remain the beneficiaries by divine favour.
Hear then the
charge by Moses.
"Now
therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statues and unto the judgments, which I
teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the
land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto
the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye
may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Keep
therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the
sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this
great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there
so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things
that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great that hath
statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you
this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest
thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from
thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them to thy sons, and thy sons'
sons. And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard
the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; save a voice. And he
declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten
commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. Take ye
therefore good heed unto yourselves, lest ye corrupt yourselves. The Lord
hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace.
Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should
not go over Jordan. But I must die in this land; but ye shall go over, and
possess that good land. Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the
covenant of the Lord your God. For the Lord thy God is a consuming
fire, even a jealous God. I call heaven and earth to witness against you
this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go
over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall
utterly be destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations,
and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead
you. For ask now of the days that are past.........Did ever people hear
the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and
live? Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice. And
because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them,
and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt.
Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command
thee this day, that it may go well with thee and thy children after thee, and
that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God given
thee, for ever."
The forgoing
quotations are from Deuteronomy 4. Following are from the seventh
chapter:
"When the
Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it,
and hath cast out many nations before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly
destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto
them. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars,
and break down their images, and cut down their groves and burn their graven
images with fire. For thou are an holy people unto the Lord thy God:
the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself,
above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did
not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in
number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because
the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto
your fathers. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the
faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep
his commandments to a thousand generations; And repayeth them that hate him to
their face, to destroy them. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments,
and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do
them."
<!--mstheme-->FROM THE JUDGES TO A KING<!--mstheme-->
When Moses
directed the men--one of every tribe-- to go and spy out the land, only two of
them brought back a good report. The others suffered the consequences of
their evil doing--"even those men that did bring up the evil report upon
the land, died by the plague before the Lord." "But Joshua and
Caleb lived still."--Num. 14: 37, 38.
"After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it
came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister,
saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan,
thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the
children of Israel."--Josh. 1: 1, 2.
After this came the time of the Judges, for about 450
years. These events were later summarized by the apostle Paul, in a
remarkable speech.
"Men of
Israel, " said he, "and ye that fear God, give audience. The
God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when
they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he
them out of it. And about the time of 40 years suffered he their manners
in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of
Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that the gave
unto them judges about the space of 450 years, until Samuel the
prophet."--Acts 13: 16-20.
We have already seen in quotations from Exodus 19, the
entry of the children of Israel into the wilderness of Sinai. By the
covenant of Sinai they were established "a kingdom of priests, and a holy
nation." Here I wish to emphasize that the kingdom and nation so
established was not a monarchy, but the divine arrangement continued under
Judges, until against the expressed design and purpose of the God of Israel, the
people themselves desired a king. Although their request was granted
it was to their hurt--not to the glory of God. With but a few bright
spots in their long line of kings their history onward was mantled in darkness,
and disaster was their portion until the time came when no longer a king could
reign over them, and "lead them" as they had so urgently demanded in
the day of Samuel. Samuel the good, a prophet of the Lord, was now an
old man, and his sons whom he had made judges over Israel walked not in his
ways, but turned aside, took bribes, and perverted judgment. Such
procedure could only engender unrest and confusion among the people; hence, we
find "All the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to
Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou are old, and thy sons walk
not in thy ways; now make us a king to judge us like all the
nations."--2 Sam. 8: 4, 5.
To change from
a Theocratic--democracy to a monarchy was the proposed solution suggested by
the people. They did not seek to remedy the evil by a readjustment of the
basic principle centered in the Constitution of Sinai, which would have been
acceptable to God. They were prepared to depart from God's arrangement,
and to establish their own way. In this, as in many things, "there
is a way which seemeth right to the sons of men, but the end" is not the salvation
of God! "Let us be like all the nations," was Israel's cry,
when Heaven's decree was for them to be a separated nation.
Samuel saw
beyond the vision of the people, and in his displeasure he approached
God. But the Lord answered, "Hearken unto the voice of the people in
all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have
rejected me, that I should not reign over them."--Verse 7.
There we have the true situation, "the whole matter in a nutshell,"
they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto
thee." Guided by inspiration of the Almighty Samuel did
"protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that
shall reign over them." They were told, "He will take your
sons, and appoint them for himself......he will take your daughters........ he
will take your fields, even the best of them, and give them to his
servants.......he will take the tenth of your seed......your young
men........your asses.......the tenth of your sheep, and ye shall be his
servants." How stubborn is the heart of man when set to do his own
way! "The people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said,
Nay; but we will have a king over us.......that our king may judge us, and go
out before us, and fight our battles."
SAUL WAS CHOSEN to be their
king. But tragic and sad were the days of his reign. A brighter
page opened when the reign of David, who followed Saul, even though many a
cloud is seen both at the beginning and the end thereof. We are told,
"The men of Judah came, and there anointed David king over the house of
Judah."--2 Sam. 2:
4. This did not find favour with
all the people, for Abner took the son of Saul and made him king.
"Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he began to reign over Israel, and
reigned two years."--Verse
10. "There was long war
between the house of Saul and the house of David."--2 Sam. 3: 1.
Throughout all
this THE PLAN was being developed.
The children of Israel were being dealt with even as Samuel had
foretold. During the troublesome reign of Saul the people had ample
opportunity to remember the words of the prophet, and their own determination
to "have a king." In the development of the purpose of God in
the changed conditions of His kingdom there was need for the transfer of power
and authority to one who was more suitable for the dignity of the throne than
Saul had shown himself to be; and one who should also reflect, in greater
measure, the attributes of the Invisible King. Hence the call of David;
"To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne
of David over Israel and over Judah from Dan to Beersheba." For, as
the record shows, Abner had transferred his interests from Ishbosheth to
David. "Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying,
Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you; now then do it: for the
Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save
my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all
their enemies. And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will
gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee,
and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth."--2
Sam. 3: 17-21. And so it came to pass; for we read, "Then came
all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron.........Also in time past, when
Saul was king over us, thou was he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel;
and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be
a captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to
Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and
they anointed David king of Israel. David was 30 years old when he began
to reign, and he reigned 40 years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven
years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned 30 and three years over
all Israel and Judah."--2 Sam. 5: 1-5.
<!--mstheme-->DAVID<!--mstheme-->
WE are now
about 3,000 years down the river of time, as you may seen on the screen, in the
Adamic Era. This is an epoch, as important as that of Abraham. For
whilst the covenant with the "father of the faithful" is never lost
sight of in all the developments of The Plan of salvation, "the sure
mercies of David" form such an integral part of the same scheme that we
persistently see its theme in "the things of the kingdom," and
"the only name given among men whereby we must be saved."--Acts
4: 12. The prophet Micah cries, "Thou wilt perform the truth to
Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou has sworn unto our fathers from the
days of old." And the Psalmist adds his voice, saying, "Lord,
where are thy former loving kindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy
truth?"--Psa. 89: 49. What was it that had been "sworn
unto David"? The answer is to be found in some of the most
remarkable testimony contained in the Bible.
"Say unto
my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote,
from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: And I was
with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of
thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great
that are in the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for my people
Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and
move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more,
as beforetime, And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my
people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also
the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days
be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed
after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish the
throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my
son. If he commit iniquity (or rather, in his suffering for iniquity), I
will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of
men (or, stripes due to the sons of Adam): But my mercy shall not depart away
from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine
house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne
shall be established for ever."
Such were the
words spoken by Nathan the prophet to David. They concerned David, his
house, his kingdom and his throne. They foretold the coming of a Son of
David, who would also be the Son of God. They depicted His suffering on
account of iniquity, though not His own wrong-doing. The mercy of the
Lord was guaranteed to Him. The throne to be given Him was to be
"for ever." And the nation of Israel after being moved from
place to place--afflicted, tormented--would at last find a resting place for
the soles of their feet, in their own land, under the beneficent reign of this
Greater Son of David. This future day of blessedness was perceived by
David, who "sat before the Lord" and acknowledged His
Supremacy. "Thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a
great while to come." In his ascription of praise David
declares, "Thou art great, O Lord God: there is none like thee, neither is
there any God beside thee, according to all we have heard with our ears.
And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel?
For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee
for ever: and thou, Lord, art become their God. And now, O Lord God, the
word that thou has spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house,
establish it for ever, and do as thou has said."--2 Sam. 7.
It is fitting to supplement the foregoing testimony with a
quotation from 2 Sam. 23: 1 to 7. I submit a translation of these verses
as given by Dr. Thomas in The Herald of the Kingdom, 1855. The
reader can compare it with the A.V.
"Now these
words of David, the last, are an oracle of David, son of Jesse, even
an oracle of the mighty man concerning an anointed one of the gods of
Jacob, and the pleasantest theme of Israel's songs. The Spirit
of Jehovah spake thro' me, and His word was upon my tongue; gods of
Israel spake to me, and the Rock of Israel discoursed, saying, There
shall be a just man ruling over mankind, ruling in the righteous precepts of
the gods. And as the brightness of morning He shall arise, the sun of an
unclouded dawn shining forth after rain upon the tender grass out of the
earth. Though my house is not perfect with the Mighty One, yet he hath
ordained for me the covenant of the age, ordered in everything and sure; this
is all my salvation and all my delight, tho' he cause it not to spring
forth. But the wicked shall be all of them as a thornbush to be
thrust away; yet without hand shall they be taken: nevertheless A man shall
smite upon them: he shall be filled with iron and the shaft of a spear, but
with fire to burn up while standing they shall be consumed."
That an
immediate fulfillment to the promises, in the preceding testimonies, was not to
be expected should readily be discerned by all who give heed to the language
employed. Indeed, such could not be. The house, kingdom and throne
of David were to continue. That which was spoken was "for a great
while to come." Hence, it is said, "David shall never want a
man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel."--Jer. 33: 17.
This does not teach that the throne of David would
"continue in perpetuity;" that it would always continue without a
break--that from that day onward there would be a throne somewhere in the world
which would be David's throne, and that a king would sit thereon and rule the
House of Israel! The facts are against such an
interpretation. The throne was established in the land which was the
choice of Israel's God. It is a land which the Lord God "cared
for."--Deut. 11: 12. Of that land we read: This is my rest
for ever; here will I dwell: for I have desired it. There will I make the
horn of David to bud."--Psa. 132: 13-17. It is a land not
forgotten even though for many generations a desolation.
The voice of
prophecy says, "Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time
to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. When the Lord shall
build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. This shall be
written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be
created shall praise the Lord. To declare the name of the Lord in
Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together, and
the kingdoms, to serve the Lord."--Psa. 102: 13-22. Where
is the throne of David today? Go through the length and breadth of the
land covenanted to Abraham, and will you find there the kingdom of David?
And is Jerusalem today graced with the throne of David? Read yet
again, "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto
David my servant. Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy
throne to all generations. If his children forsake my law, and walk not
in my judgments: If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments: Then
will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor
suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter
the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness
that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his
throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the
moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven."--Psa. 89.
DID THE SPIRIT OF GOD, thus testifying to the continuity of
the throne "as the sun and the moon," expect us to interpret His
words as signifying that there never would be a day when the throne would not
manifestly be in existence? The next verse (39) prohibits such a
conclusion: "But thou has cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with
thine anointed. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou
hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. Thou hast made
his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground."
There is no contradiction in these testimonies. The
reader who desires to understand The Plan of the Ages must acknowledge, and
follow after, the apostolic injunction: "study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word
of truth."--2 Tim. 2: 15. Failure to "rightly divide
the word" is the cause of many misconceptions and misapplications of the
Scriptures. As with the Abrahamic Covenant, which embraces a temporary
and a future inheritance of the land, so with the promise to David--the
continuance of the temporal kingdom was dependent upon obedience by the people
to the law of God. The final and complete fulfillment was dependent
upon the Son who should "suffer for iniquity," just as the
promise to Abraham looked for the "Seed to whom the promise was
made." The disobedience of the people which resulted in the
overturning of the kingdom, the casting down of the throne and profanation of
the crown, together with the scattering of the people--whilst creating a
suspension--did not negative the covenant. Therefore, in answer to the
question, in verse 49 of the Psalm, "Lord, where are thy former
lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?" there can
be but one answer. They are in promise still!
WE MUST NOW RETURN TO, and follow, the history of the
kingdom of God--for such was the kingdom of Israel. Before turning into
the bypath of divine beauty from which we have just emerged, we left David
established upon the throne as king over all Israel and Judah. We take up
the story toward the close of his reign. David assembled all the princes
of Israel, captains of companies, captains of thousands, and of hundreds,
stewards, officers, mighty men and valiant men unto Jerusalem. David the
king, stood up upon his feet, and addressed the assembly.
"Hear me,
my brethren, and my people: I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for
the ark of the covenant of the Lord. But God said unto me, Thou shalt not
build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed
blood. Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the
house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen
Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and
among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel:
And of all my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons), he hath chosen
Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.
And he said unto me, I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be
constant to do my commandments, as this day."
DAVID, THE
KING, urged the people to "keep and seek for all the commandments of the
Lord your God: that ye may possess this land, and leave it for an
inheritance for your children after you for ever." To Solomon he
gave the warning word: "if thou seek him, he Will be found of thee; but if
thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever."--1 Chron. 28.
Continuity was dependent upon obedience. David made
known his desires to the people, and in responding "The people
rejoiced, for that they offered willing to the Lord." And the
king blessed the Lord before all the congregation, and acknowledged,
"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the
victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is
thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above
all." "And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the
Lord............and did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great
gladness." After this they made Solomon king, and Then Solomon
sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and
prospered." Such is the record of 1 Chron. 29, which closes
with the announcement of David's death. "And he died in a good old
age, full of days, riches and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his
stead."
<!--mstheme-->SOLOMON--AND DECLENSION<!--mstheme-->
SOLOMON was now
king over all Israel. Times were good, and the people contented.
"Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude,
eating and drinking, and making merry. And Solomon reigned over all
kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border
of Egypt: And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under
his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon."--1
Kings 4: 20-25.
Solomon built--what David had designed and purposed, but
was forbidden to do--an house for the habitation of God. After the
consecration of the temple "the Lord appeared unto Solomon by night,"
and acknowledged the prayer of the king. In doing so, however,
conditional promises were extended to the king and the people: "As for
thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked.....Then will I
establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David
thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.
But if ye turn away, and forsake my statues and my commandments, then
will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them: and
this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight,
and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations."
And when any who pass by shall say "Why hath the Lord done thus unto this
land, and unto this house?" the answer should be "Because they
forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land
of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them:
therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them."--2 Chron. 7.
How lamentably sad that Solomon, who commenced his reign
under such magnificent and wonderful conditions, should at last fall so far
behind by disregarding the statues and judgments so definitely placed before
him! For of Solomon, when he was old, it is said, "his heart was not
perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his
father." Submitting to the allurements of the women of other
nations, concerning whom the Lord had said "Ye shall not go in to them,
for they will surely turn away your heart after their gods," Solomon
demonstrated the wisdom of God in forbidding such association. "For
Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians....and did evil in
the sight of the Lord." "Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon,
Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my
statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from
thee, and will give it to thy servant." Not immediately--"for
David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy
son." And then, as though looking down the river of time, and seeing
the unfolding of the calamities which would befall this people, and remembering
the seed of Abraham and of David to whom the promises were made, and knowing
that the servant to whom the kingdom was to be transferred would not follow the
Lord, another promise was given; "Howbeit I will not rend away all the
kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and
for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen."
As forseen and
foretold, so it came to pass. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite
of Zereda, Solomon's servant, "lifted up his hand against the king";
for the prophet Ahijah had met him alone in a field, and taking from him a new
garment had "rent it in twelve pieces." Ten of the pieces were
given to Jeroboam, and the prophet said, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of
Israel, Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will
give ten tribes to thee." Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, but he
fled into Egypt, remaining there until the death of Solomon, which occurred at
the end of forty years reign over all Israel. "And Solomon slept
with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam
his son reigned in his stead."
<!--mstheme-->THE KINGDOM DIVIDED<!--mstheme-->
THERE were now
two kings, and a divided kingdom. The position is stated as follows:
"And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again,
that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all
Israel; there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah
only. And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house
of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen
men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the
kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon."--1 Kings 12: 20, 21.
But this was against the decree of heaven, as the record proceeds to show; and
so being told not to go up, nor fight against their brethren, they
"returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord." But
Jeroboam was fearful, lest the tribes given to him might seek to return to the
house of David. "Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two
calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of
Egypt. And he set one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And
Jeroboam ordained a feast, and he offered upon the altar."
THUS JEROBOAM
SINNED, AND MADE ISRAEL TO SIN. Two chapters further on (1 Kings 14)
we have judgments against Jeroboam, which were duly executed; and down the line
of kings which succeeded him, we hear the oft-repeated cry, that they
"walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to
sin"; until finally the kingdom of the House of Israel came to an
end in B.C. 721.
<!--mstheme-->THE
HOUSE OF ISRAEL "REMOVED"<!--mstheme-->
THERE is
little, if anything, to the credit of the kings of Israel from the day of
Jeroboam to the end of their reign, when the ten tribes were led away into
captivity; the record of which is as follows: "The king of Assyria
came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three
years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and
carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the
river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For so it was, that the
children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God......and walked in the
statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out.......And the children of
Israel did secretly things that were not right......they set up images and
groves, and burnt incense in all the high places. They served idols,
whereof the Lord had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his
sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. For
the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; and
departed not from them; Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as
he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried
away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day."--1 Kings 17, see
also 2 Kings 18: 11, 12.
In the prophecy
of Hosea we have the same matter foretold in these words, "For yet a
little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu,
and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.....for I
will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them
away."--1: 4, 5. "Ephraim is smitten, their root is
dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they bring forth, yet will I
slay the beloved (or the desires) of their womb. My God will cast
them away, because they did not hearken unto him; and they shall be
wanderers among the nations."--Hosea 9: 16, 17. So, after
about 300 years as a separate house from the House of Judah, the kingdom of
Israel was "smitten," "dried up," "cast out of his
sight," and "caused to cease" from being a kingdom, with no hope
of restoration until the House of Israel shall be re-joined to the House of
Judah, in a yet future day.
<!--mstheme-->THE HOUSE OF JUDAH<!--mstheme-->
THE kingdom of
Rehoboam did not come to an end along with the kingdom of Jeroboam.
Hosea, in depicting the end of the House of Israel, added these words:
"But I will have mercy upon the House of Judah." Following
down the line of Rehoboam one might find a few bright spots amidst evil
days. We read, "The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in
the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; but sought to
the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings
of Israel. And his heart was lifted up (encouraged) in the ways of the
Lord: Moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah."--2
Chron. 17: 1, 6.
It is
interesting to note the development, in numbers, of the House of Judah so far
as figures are given in two chapters regarding the fighting men. In 2
Chron. 11: 1, we have mention of 180,000 warriors of the House of Judah and
Benjamin; whilst in chapter 17 we have a total of 1, 160,000, representing a
growth of almost seven to one. The contrast with the House of Israel is
very striking, especially in view of the claims of some present-day
theories. They are described as "two little flocks of kids."--1
Kings 20: 27. About seventy years before that they were
"800,000 chosen men," twice as many as the House of Judah which at
that time mustered "400,000 men."--2 Chron. 13: 3. One
hundred and fifteen years later (than this 800,000) the picture of Israel is
decidedly worse than that of Judah, for we have mention of both
10,000--"fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen: for the
king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by
threshing."--2 Kings 13: 7.
The beauty of
Hezekiah's faith and trust in God (which, when he was "sick unto
death," brought him the favour of heaven, in that fifteen years were added
to this days, 2 Kings 20:6) was overshadowed by his reception of the
men from Babylon, to whom he "shewed all the house of his precious
things," his armour and his treasures. This did not meet with approval,
for Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord. Behold,
the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have
laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon; nothing shall be
left, saith the Lord" verse 17. Hezekiah died, and
Manasseh his son reigned in his stead. And what then? But
twelve years old when he began to reign, Manasseh reigned fifty years in
Jerusalem: long and evil were his days. He built again the high places
which Hezekiah had destroyed, and "reared up altars for Baal, and
worshipped all the host of heaven. He desecrated the house of the Lord,
dealt with familiar spirits, and wrought much wickedness in the sight of the
Lord." "And Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the
nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel."--2
Kings 21: 1-9.
At the age of
twenty-two years Amon succeeded to the throne. But he did not improve the
situation. "He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as
his father Manasseh did." He was slain, in his own house, by his own
servants; who in turn were slain by the people. Then the cloud was lifted
for a while.
<!--mstheme-->JOSIAH AND THE PASSOVER<!--mstheme-->
JOSIAH came to
the throne, being eight years old. He reigned thirty-one years in
Jerusalem. How refreshing to read "he did that which was right in
the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and
turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." When "the
words of the book of the law" were read before the king, "he rent his
clothes." He humbled himself before God, and endeavoured to destroy
the idolatry which he found in Judah. In hope of bringing the people back
to "the way of the Lord" Josiah the king commanded the people to keep
the passover. This act of the king was one of the outstanding events in
the chequered career of the Houses of Israel and Judah. Having gone
through the land, "breaking in pieces the images, and cutting down the
groves"; also, "the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place
which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that
altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped
it small to powder, and burned the grove," he returned to Jerusalem.
From this "city of the great king" he issued his decree:
"Keep the Passover unto the Lord your God, as it is written in the book of
this covenant."
WHAT IS THIS
PASSOVER, which pertains to the covenant? Here let us look at the chart. We go
back to Egypt, represented by the Pyramid. There, as we have seen, the
Egyptians had oppressed and cruelly afflicted the children of Israel. But
"He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is
thy keeper: The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in."--Psa.
121. That was true in the time of the Exodus, even as when the
Psalmist so beautifully expressed his confidence in God. To Abraham God
had said, "That nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge." God
did not forget. "He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he
had chosen. They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of
Ham. He sent darkness. He turned their waters into blood, and slew
their fish. Frogs came forth in abundance. Divers sorts of flies,
and lice in all their coasts. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming
fire in their land. He smote their vines and fig trees. The locusts
came and caterpillars without number. He smote also the firstborn in
their land, the chief of all their strength." As for the children of
Israel, God "brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was
not one feeble among their tribes." No wonder that "Egypt was
glad when they departed."--Psa. 105.
Israel, however, did not come out of Egypt in full
strength, and with great substance, without first manifesting faith in, and
obedience to, God. On the chart we have depicted a small family outside
their dwelling. Mother and daughter look on, whilst the son holds a
basin: and the father is in the act of striking the lintel and the side posts,
on the outside of the entrance. This they did because they believed
in God. The Lord directed Moses and Aaron to speak unto "all
the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth of this month they shall take
to them every man a lamb......a lamb for an house. Your lamb shall be
without blemish, a male of the first year. And ye shall keep it up until
the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take
the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of
the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in
the night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs.....And
thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your
staff in your had; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's
passover."
IN WHAT SENSE
WAS IT A "PASSOVER"? God was about to show, very effectively,
His mighty power upon Egypt; and also to demonstrate how He could aid His
people and deliver them from their persecutors. This information was
given to His people, but not without impressing upon them the fact that they
could obtain His favour only by complying with His requirements. Hence
the detailed instructions. "For I will pass through the
land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of
Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods (or, princes) of Egypt I
will execute judgment: I am the Lord."
Did "all
the firstborn in the land" include the firstborn of the children of
Israel? Not is they obeyed God by keeping the law given concerning
the Passover! But if they disobeyed they, too, would suffer when the
avenging angel passed over the land of Egypt. By what sign were they
saved from the fate of the Egyptians? Could not God have saved them
without a sign? Was not the power of God sufficient of
itself? There are some today who reason along these lines in regard to
the "substance," of which the matter now being dealt with was but a
shadow! The power of the All-powerful is sufficient to accomplish all
His will, at any time and under all circumstances, should He choose to direct
His power to that end. But in the scheme of redemption God's Plan calls
for compliance, on the part of those to be benefited thereby, with whatever
laws and statutes He may see fit to impose upon them. Non-compliance
simply means that the benefits would not be conferred. Therefore the
sign. "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the
houses where ye are: and I when I see the blood, I WILL PASS OVER YOU,
and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of
Egypt. And this shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a
feast by an ordinance for ever." Further instructions were given,
after which we read: "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and
said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and
kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the
blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and two side posts with the
blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house
until the morning. For the lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians;
and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the
Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto
your houses to smite you."
THIS WAS TO BE
CONTINUALLY OBSERVED "throughout their generations." And to
their children who should ask the meaning of such a service, they were to
answer: "It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the
houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and
delivered our houses." This happened at midnight, and when the
Egyptians realized it, they urged the children of Israel to get out of the land
in haste. This they did after first borrowing of the Egyptians such
things as they desired and required. So "they spoiled the
Egyptians," and came out with great substance. "And it came to
pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It
is a night much to be observed unto the Lord, in their
generations."
To emphasize
its significance and importance, an "ordinance of the Passover" was
placed on record: "There shall no stranger eat thereof. When a
stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to the Lord, let
all his males be circumcised, for no uncircumcised person shall eat
thereof."--Ex. 12.
SUCH WAS THE PASSOVER, AND THE ORDINANCE THEREOF. In
the backslidings of Israel the ordinances had been disregarded, and abominable
practices had taken their place. It was the realization of all this that
stirred the heart of Josiah to such activity, that he took away those things
with which "the kings of Israel had provoked the Lord to anger"; and
which prompted him to seek the favour of God toward his people--by turning
their hearts, once again, to that Way of the Lord by which they had become the
people of God; separated from all peoples. The people responded to the
call of the king, when he commanded them to "keep the
passover." It was a red-letter day in the annals of a retrograde
nation; one bright spot on a clouded horizon--interesting and appealing while
it lasted; but it was unable to stem the tide, or to prevent the bursting of
the cloud, in which was the pent-up wrath and anger of the Lord, against that
people. "Surely," we are informed, "there was not holden
such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the
days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; But in the eighteenth
year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the Lord in
Jerusalem."--2 Kings 23: 21-23. What a tribute is extended
to him in the words, "And like unto him was there no king before him, that
turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his
might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any
like him."
The passover
was a feast intended--not only to commemorate Israel's deliverance from Egypt,
but also--to keep before the mind of the people the value of Sacrifices as
ordained of God. "Without shedding of blood is no
remission." This is Bible doctrine; its purport, necessity, and
application must be discerned before anyone, either type or antitype, can
approach God acceptably. Only when under cover of the blood, sprinkled
according to the ordinance, could even the houses of the Israelites be saved
from the avenger who passed through the land of Egypt; as if they themselves
were contaminated by the very association with the land of darkness and
iniquity. It was an added link to the chain of sacrificial instructions
and institutions, which originated when "sin came into the world, and
death by sin;" all of which were intended to show that none could escape
from the realm of darkness, sin and death, without the passover of,
and by, the Lord. This will be further demonstrated when we deal with the
anti-type.
WE MUST NOW
RETURN TO THE HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE. The sincerity of Josiah, in his
efforts to improve the condition of the people, was recognized by the Lord God;
even though that which Josiah had done could not change the decree which had
gone forth. l So it was said unto him, "Behold therefore, I will gather
thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and
thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this
place."--2 Kings 22: 20.
Josiah reigned thirty-one years, when he was slain at
Megiddo, where he sought to oppose the king of Egypt. The doom of his
kingdom had been foretold, "notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the
fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah,
because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.
And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have
removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen,
and the house of which I have said, My Name shall be there."--2 Kings
23: 26, 27.
Two sons of Josiah followed after his death, but both did
evil in the sight of the Lord. Jehohaz reigned but three months, when he
was removed by Pharohnechoh, who also made Eliakim king, and changed his name
to Jehoiakim, who reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. When "Jehoiakim
slept with his fathers, Jehoiachin his son reigned." He too,
"reigned in Jerusalem three months, and did that which was evil."
At that time Jerusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon, and Zedekiah was placed on the throne by the
king of Babylon. But the conqueror did not leave the treasures and might
of the kingdom behind him--those he carried away. "All the treasures
of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in
pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the
temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said......men of valor, craftsmen and
smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land."--2
kings 24: 13, 14.
Zedekiah, on the throne, likewise "did that which was
evil in the sight of the Lord"; he also "rebelled against the king of
Babylon." So, "in the ninth year of his reign," the
forces of Babylon again came against Jerusalem, "and the city was besieged
unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah." When famine prevailed, and
there was no bread for the people of the land, "the city was broken
up." The men of war fled, also the king; they, however, were pursued
by the army of the Chaldees. Zedekiah was captured and taken to the king
of Babylon to Riblah. The sons of Zedekiah were slain before him; his own
eyes were "put out," and then he, bound with fetters of brass, was
carried to Babylon. In the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, his
captain of the guard came unto Jerusalem, where, "he burnt the house of
the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and brake down
the walls of Jerusalem round about." Many of the people he carried
away, leaving "the poor of the land to be vinedressers and
husbandmen." The "brass of the vessels" taken from the
house of the Lord "was without weight." All this, in addition
to gold and silver, "the captain of the guard took away." Chief
citizens, the chief marshal, and threescore men found in the city were brought
before Babylon's king, who "smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the
land of Hamath." "So Judah was carried away out of their land."--2
Kings 25.
Did the Lord God of their fathers entirely forget and
forsake His people during this development of events before the conquering
forces of Babylon came upon them? No indeed! Further details are
given in the Book of Chronicles. Zedekiah was made "king over
Judah and Jerusalem." Yet he rebelled against the one who had
made him king, "who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck
and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel."
Not only the king "did evil," but also "the chief of the
priests, and the people." They transgressed, and polluted the house
of the Lord. Yet, for all this, the God of Abraham failed not to show
"that his mercy endureth for ever." As it is written, "And
the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up
betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his
dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised
his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose
against his people, till there was no remedy."
Then judgment fell upon the city and the people; "And
them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they
were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To
fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had
enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to
fulfill threescore and ten years."--2 Chron. 36: 9-21. Well
might the Spirit testify through the prophet, "And thou, profane wicked
prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus
saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not
be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn,
overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right
it is; and I will give it him."--Ezek. 21: 25, 27.
In this way the
Kingdom of Judah came to an end about 130 years after the Kingdom of
Israel. The separation of the nation into two kingdoms, being the result
of the iniquity of the people, was not to the credit of any concerned.
The captivity of the people, with the overthrow of the two Houses, was likewise
a punishment for their sins. There was a partial restoration of the
people to their own land, and a rebuilding of the temple and the wall of
Jerusalem in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. But the throne was not again
set up, and hence the kingdom was not restored. Indeed, it could not
be! The throne and kingdom were to be "overturned" until a
"set time" should arrive. And this "overturn" does
not signify that the throne should three times be turned over to
someone else-- a claim foolishly made by some people. The overturn was to
be an upsetting, or overthrow. The kingdom cannot be restored,
and the throne reestablished, "until He come, whose right it
is." If therefore a throne should be set up in Jerusalem, pretending
to be the throne of David, before He comes, USURPER would be the name
of whoever sat upon it. Now mark this well! The throne of
Israel cannot be set up in any other place than that in which it was
established in days of old. Zion cannot be found among the mountains of
the U.S.A. or the throne of David in the British Isles. "He whose
right it is" must be of the House and lineage of David. The true
heir to David's throne cannot be found on earth, among the sons of men.
He cam, but did not obtain His inheritance. He will come again,
and in that "day of His coming" He will obtain His
"right." The people continued, subject to the powers of the
kingdoms of men, until the time came for them to fill up the cup of their
iniquity, and then, they who did not perish in the siege of Jerusalem were
scattered, and remain so to this day.
These facts are
briefly presented by the lines and approximate dates along the top of the chart. The
illustration commences with the period of Israel's departure from Egypt.--B.C.
1491. Ex. 19: 1-6 tells of their going forth from that land, and
their coming into the wilderness of Sinai. God's message to them and
their declaration of obedience to Him. Then we have a cross line with
reference to Lev. 26, which chapter deals with blessings for
obedience, and punishments for disobedience. "Seven times for your
sins" (a matter for later consideration). Here we also have DAVID, B.C.
1048; the testimony of 2 Sm. 5, has already been given.
The next line presents SOLOMON, B.C. 1015. Then, having just
entered the fourth period (of the 7,000 years Plan) we have a break in the
single line with REHOBOAM, B.C. 975, and JEROBOAM; the upper line now
representing the Kingdom of Judah, and the lower line the Kingdom of Israel,
i.e. in their divided state. The latter, which first came to an end, B.C.
721, is shown in the short line, whilst the Kingdom of Judah, yet continuing,
is shown in the longer line. To one cross line we have the date B.C.
606, in which year "Nineveh was taken and desolated by the
Babylonians and Medes, according to the predictions of Nahum, uttered a hundred
years before. Assyria, now no longer an independent nation, was merged in
the Empire of which Babylon was the capital." "In that same
year the captivity of the Jews commenced by Nebuchadnezzer, who attacked and
made prisoner Jehoiakim, king of Judah."--See 2 Chron. 36: 6 and Jer.
25: 9.
By the next cross line we are directed to Ezek. 21: 27,
which, as we have seen, tells of the end of the "profane wicked prince
of Israel," and the "overturning" of the throne and
kingdom. B.C. 588 saw the desolation of Jerusalem, the captivity of
Judah, and Zedekiah, with others, carried to Babylon. The last date B.C. 536
refers to the release of the Jews from captivity, by the decree of Cyrus the
Persian, which led to a partial restoration, and rebuilding of the city wall,
and temple: which was finished and dedicated B.C. 515.--Ezra 6: 14-22.
We cannot emphasize too strongly that the calamities which
befell the two Houses of Israel arose from, and were the result of, their sin
against God: and were indeed the outcome of that which He declared to them
would arise in their midst, when they rejected Him, that "he should not be
king over them." Whether we consider "the ten tribes" of
"the two tribes" as separate houses or kingdoms the conclusion must
be the same. They sinned and were punished. There is
absolutely no foundation for believing that the scattering of the ten tribes
was for the purpose of exalting them to a position of greatness, in other land,
which they failed to accomplish in their own land. This will be further
elaborated when we deal with the restoration of the Jews to the
covenanted-land.
The way of both
the Houses of Israel--for such they were, irrespective of the necessary
distinctive appellations during the period of their operations as separate
"kingdoms"--is well expressed by Nehemiah. "Their
children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heave. So the children
went in and possessed the land. They did eat and were filled, and became
fat. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and
cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against
them to turn to thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou
deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the
time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven;
and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them
out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil
again before thee; therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so
that they had the dominion over them. Many times didst thou deliver them
according to thy mercies; and testifiedst against them, that thou mightest
bring them again unto thy law; yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not, but
sinned against thy judgments. Many years didst thou forbear them, yet
would they not give ear; therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the
people of the lands. Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty,
and the terribly God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble
seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes,
since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Thou are just in
all that is brought upon us; for thou has done right, but we have done
wickedly."--Chapter 9.
Hear now a
parable. "There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard,
and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and
let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the
fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might
receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat
one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other
servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last
of all he 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. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard and
slew him."
Compare this
parabolic language with the Apostle's later statement: "God, who spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son."--Heb. 1: 1. Having presented the foregoing
parable, to the chief priests and Pharisees, the Master asked, "When the
lord of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?"
To this they answered: "He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and
will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the
fruits in their seasons." Having thus committed themselves, Jesus
saith, "Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders
rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of
God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof."--Matt. 21: 33-43.
The Pharisees now realized that Jesus spake of them in His
scathing denunciations, and sought to excuse themselves; saying, "If we
had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them
in the blood of the prophets." Wherefore, said Jesus, "Ye be
witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed
the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers."--Matt.
23: 30, 31.
But before they "killed the son," Jesus came
near, and beholding the city "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. For the days shall come, that thine
enemies.....shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; because
thou KNEWEST NOT the time of thy visitation."--Luke 19: 41-44.
What depth of feeling, sorrow and compassion, was in the heart of Jesus when He
cried, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would
not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto
you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord."--Matt. 23: 37-39.
When the populace clamored for the crucifixion of Jesus
they cried, "His blood be on us and on our children." The
record of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem A.D. 70 constitutes one of the
most horrible pages in the annals of time. Though the Romans were not
"the people" of God, as were Israel, nevertheless the armies of Rome,
under Titus, became the armies of God, which went forth "to destroy those
murderers," even as the parable had foretold. The temple was
destroyed, against the order of Titus, who said, "When I came near your
temple, I departed from the laws of war, and exhorted you to spare your own
sanctuary, and to preserve your holy house to yourselves" Josephus.
When the Romans became "masters of the walls, they both placed their
ensigns upon the towers, and made joyful acclamations for the victory they had
gained. But when they went in numbers into the lanes of the city with
their swords drawn, they slew those whom they overtook without mercy, and set
fire to the houses whither the Jews were fled, and burnt every soul in them,
and laid waste a great many of the rest; and when they were come to the houses
to plunder them, they found in them entire families of dead men, and the upper
rooms full of dead corpses, that is, of such as died by the famine; they then
stood in a horror at this sight, and went out without touching anything.
But they had not the same commiseration for those that were alive, but they ran
every one through whom they met with, and obstructed the very lanes with their
dead bodies, and made the whole city run down with blood, to such a degree
indeed that the fire of many of the houses was quenched with these men's
blood." The "soldiers were already quite tired with killing
men," therefore the order was given f"that they should kill none but
those that were in arms, and opposed them, but should take the rest
alive." "Fronto slew all those that had been seditious and
robbers; of the young men he chose out the tallest and most beautiful, and
reserved them for the triumph; and as for the rest of the multitude that were
above seventeen years old, he put them in bonds, and sent them to the Egyptian
mines." When he entirely demolished the rest of the city, and
overthrew its walls, he left the towers as a monument of his good fortune,
which had proved his auxiliaries, and enabled him to take what could not
otherwise have been taken by him."--Josephus, Wars of the Jews.
Milman's History of the Jews gives the following
figures, based upon Josephus: Killed before the War, under Vespasian, 129,500.
During the war in Galilee and Judea, 118,300. At Jerusalem,
1,100,000. After the Fall of Jerusalem, 8,660. Total killed,
1,356,460. Total prisoners, 101,700.
It had now
become a broken kingdom--a throne overturned: a people scattered. "Many
days without a king" (Hosea 3: 4) as the prophet had foretold, it
was to be.
<!--mstheme-->
<!--mstheme-->Lecture 4<!--mstheme-->
<!--mstheme-->The Image and the Stone<!--mstheme-->
Seventy Times. The Latter-day Image.
The Two Babylons.A New Covenant.
"Arise, shine, for thy light is come."
<!--msthemeseparator-->
THE LAST
LECTURE closed on a note of sadness, sorrow, and almost despair. And so
it would be were it not for the reality of "the Hope made of God unto the
fathers." Hence, although Israel should abide "many days,"
without the favour of Heaven manifested in their behalf--wherein they should no
longer see the king, a prince, a sacrifice, ephod or teraphim--a ray of light
is extended in the verse following the one from which the former words are
taken: "Afterward," says the prophet, "shall the children of
Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall
fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days."--Hosea 3: 5.
Many things have been revealed for our instruction, in the
Way of Salvation, which are not so readily discernible as others. Such
things are embraced in the statement, "It is the glory of God to conceal a
thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter."--Prov. 25:
2. In a soon-coming Day, many--who have been unknown in the day of
small things--are to be manifested as the associates of One who was
"declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."--Rom. 1: 4.
These (now glorified ones) will sing a new song, in which they will ascribe
glory and blessing to Him by whom they have been redeemed, and through whom
glorified, saying, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the
seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And has made us unto
our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."--Rev. 5:
9, 10.
These are the "kings" who, in a day of small
things, honoured God by searching out the matter! The captain of their
salvation had said, "Search the Scriptures."--John 5: 39.
Giving heed thereto they sought as for hid treasures, and paying more attention
to the Word, than to the prevalent traditions of men, they found "the way,
the truth, and the life."--John 14: 6. By that
"way," they came unto the Father in hope of life; for without the way
of truth there is no access to God. But when will the good things
promised by fulfilled? "When shall these things be? And
what the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" were
questions which exercised the minds of the contemporaries of Jesus before He
left the earth--and have been asked many times since. Do the Scriptures
give, to the believers, any indications as to when they may anticipate the
realization of their hopes? "The day and the hour" is not
known: neither have we direct testimony of the "year." Earnest
men and women have searched deeply for an elucidation of the hidden things of
the mystery of God, in anxious endeavour to know when the Lord will come and
have made their hearts glad, and hopes intensified, when they have concluded to
their own satisfaction that they have rightly and definitely solved the
problem--only to find as time went on that they were definitely mistaken.
It would therefore seem to be the path of wisdom to dwell rather upon the fact
than to seek to know the day and the hour. If we are to be "like
unto men that wait."--Luke 12: 36 there is to be an urge of
faith, and an element of expectation, at all times; this would, in a measure,
be interfered with if we know the actual "day of His coming."
Paul, the Apostle, wrote: "But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have
no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day
of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."--1 Thess. 5: 1, 2.
"Times and seasons" are associated with a period spoken of as
"the day of the Lord." This is a day which, unless the brethren
are alive to their responsibilities--walking in the light, and not embraced in
darkness--they are in danger of being "overtaken." They are,
therefore, counseled not to "sleep, as do others." Various
periods are mentioned in the Bible which come under the designation "Times
and Seasons." It is evident that the Thessalonians, to whom Paul
wrote, were alive to the significance of certain matters which he designates
"the times" and "the seasons." The apostle does not specify
which "times" and "seasons" are referred to in his
statement. Their knowledge of those things, however, is submitted as
being a basis for their understanding and acceptance of a greater fact,
appertaining to a coming Day.
Of this Dr.
Thomas wrote, "In 1 Thess. 5: 1, Paul tells the faithful in that city that
there was no need of his writing to them of the times and the seasons, for that
they themselves knew perfectly that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the
night: and they they were not in darkness that that day should overtake them as
a thief. It was the times and the seasons that had
given them this knowledge, so far, at least, as they were not reserved of the
Father in His own power. The apostle also tells us in Col. 2: 16, that
holy days, new moons, and Sabbaths, are shadows of things which are to come;
and it is scarcely to be credited a' priori, that the times
of each Jewish rite, feast, and ceremony, should have been handed down to us
with such minuteness, unless they also, as well as the other scriptures, were
to be profitable to us. Besides, as the seasons refer to the
three times a year that all the males were obliged to appear before the Lord at
Jerusalem. The Passover, which was at the commencement of the
second feast of Pentecost, which was at the commencement of the second
feast of firstfruits; and the Feast of Tabernacles, after gathering in
the harvest of corn and wine; were inchoately fulfilled in the
sacrifice of Christ our passover; the gathering of the firstfruits of the
apostolic labors; and the ingathering at the end of their exclusive labors in
Judea, after which "the stranger," or Gentiles, became a gleaning of
the corners of the field. These feasts have only had a springing, or
germinant, which I have styled an inchoate, accomplishment; but will have their
fructiferous, or terminal, fulfillment after the appearing of the Lord in his
kingdom. The passover, Pentecost, and the feast of the tabernacles, were
commemorative and typical; the giving of the Law; and of their dwelling in
tents in the wilderness. They were typical of things spiritual and
national; sectionally, they were typical of things pertaining to the 'Sect of
the Nazarenes' during the apostolic ministration of the Spirit, as already
stated in brief. Nationally, the passover typifies the future vengeance
on the Gentiles, and the deliverance of Israel and the saints who are passed
over at the appearing of the Lord; the Pentecost, the wave-manifestation of the
firstfruits, and the giving of the law from Zion; and the feast of tabernacles,
the Lord's salvation, or rest for Israel and the nations, which come up to
Jerusalem to keep the festival there."--Herald of the Kingdom. Vol. 5.
As already stated, various periods are mentioned
in relation to "times;" as they refer to different epochs a citation
of various scriptures in which the terms appear will be helpful.
Psa. 102: 13. "Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion; for the
time to favour her, yea the set time is come."
Dan 8: 17, 19. "Understand, O son of man; for at the time of
the end shall be the vision." For at the time appointed the
end shall be."
Dan 11: 40. "At the time of the end shall the king of
the south push at him; and the king of the north shall come against him."
Dan 12: 4. "Seal the book, even to the time of the end."
Hab. 2: 3. "For the
vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall
speak."
Matt. 16: 3. "O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky
but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"
Luke 21: 24. "Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled."
Acts 1: 6, 7. "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore
again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them. It is not for
you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his
own power."
Acts 3: 21. "the times of restitution of all things, which God
hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."
1 Tim. 4: 1. "In the latter times some
shall depart from the faith."
2 Tim. 3: 1. "This know also, that IN THE LAST DAYS perilous
times shall come."
Thus we see
that although there is a "set time" appointed by God for His favour
to be poured out upon Zion, there was also to be a time of downtreading.
Whilst there was held out the prospect of the kingdom of Israel being restored,
there must also be a time when it should continue to be overturned. There
were to be "times of the Gentiles" before we could look for
the "times of restitution of all things spoken," and
revealed in the Word of God. There were to be times of declension, even
"perilous times," in which men would speak perverse things,
professing "a form of godliness," which would not be according to the
Word of God; but rather "denying the power thereof." The
challenge made by our Lord to "the hypocrites" of His day is
pertinent to all, even in our own day: "Can ye not discern the signs
of the times?"
Those to whom
Paul wrote did discern the bearing of times and seasons, consequently there was
no need for him to enlarge upon that aspect of the matter before his mind; he
could however, and did, credit them with the recognition of a basic truth;
"that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
So though we are now much nearer to the day of the Lord, than our brethren were
in the first century of the Christian dispensation, we are also further removed
from some of the things with which they were, by time and circumstances, more
familiar than ourselves.
There are some
outstanding features of the Eternal Plan, in its development, that all should
be able to grasp, and by interpretation --in the light of certain
scriptures--should be able to see the bearing of them upon the discerning of
the signs of the times (both past and present) in relation to the
downtreading., and subsequent uprising, of Israel. By this means we
should also obtain some understanding of the "day of the Lord."
Here we emphasize that a "day" in the scriptures does not always
signify the same length of time. To illustrate this--for the present--we
have the following testimony, given concerning the forty years wandering, of
the children of Israel, in the wilderness. "After the number of the
days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year,
shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years."--Num. 14: 34.
We must not forget, but ever keep in mind, that God's Plan
was being carried out from the beginning, and this consistently with a
pre-determined purpose. What might therefore appear to be changes, were
really developments. The call, on the part of the Hebrews, for a
king--whist obviously originating with the people, and not strictly in accord
with the way of the Lord--brought about a development which, humanly speaking,
presented a more striking picture of a kingdom than hitherto. So, as we
have seen, the people were developed into, what they conceived to be, a kingdom
of more practical dimensions. "Make us a king," cried the
people. And God answered, "I gave thee a king in mine anger, and
took him away in my wrath."--Hosea 13: 11. Appointments of
their own choice were to be thorns in their sides. "But if ye will
not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come
to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes,
and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell."
--Num. 33: 55. see also Judges 2: 1, 3.
Long and bitter was to be the conflict which would continue
between the kingdom of Israel and the kingdoms of men. Even when the two
Houses, of Israel and Judah, were no longer recognized as kingdoms--the people
being scattered, and their land desolated, even then the conflict would be
seen. The "severity of God" (Rom. 11: 22) so heavily poured out
upon this people was the punishment for their sins. If therefore we find
any clue to the long, dark night of sorrows being ended for Israel, we shall
also see something of the closing days of the kingdoms of men; it being evident
that the two systems cannot co-exist again upon the earth. Of this there
can be no doubt. Jerusalem was to be "trodden down" only
"till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
We therefore
ask, Was there, from God to His people, any intimation as to the length of time
He would punish them if they disobeyed His Will? Note how "the Lord
spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai," giving instructions to him that he
should "speak unto the children of Israel," placing before them the
demands of God concerning their manner of life in the land granted them for a
possession; the right of which, however, was to be retained by God.
"The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are
strangers and sojourners with me."--Lev. 25: 23. Blessings
"in the basket and store" were promised, but were dependent upon the
people manifesting in word and deed, their recognition of the supremacy of God;
and their desire to obey His Will. "Wherefore ye shall do my statutes,
and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in
safety."--Verse 18. This principle is further elaborated in
the next chapter. "Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my
sanctuary: I am the Lord. If ye walk in my statutes, and
keep my commandments, and do them." What then?
Would their performing the injunctions make their tenancy of the land worth
while? Hear the promise! "The I will give you rain in due
season, and the land shall yield her increase." That was something to
be assured of, but it was not all that God would do for them. "And I
will give peace in the land.....neither shall the sword go through the
land. Ye shall chase your enemies, and your enemies shall fall before you
by the sword."
Has peace been
maintained in that land, or has the sword gone through it? We know the
latter has been the portion thereof. But why? Did the people
"keep" and "walk" and "do" as they were
commanded? To ask, is but to answer these questions! And
the answer shows the reliability of that Eternal Power which foretold these
things, and which is able to perform even all the good which He has
promised. Read still further; "If ye walk in my
statues"--"I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall
be my people." What a promise! Then we have the other side.
"But if ye will not hearken unto me......if ye despise my
statutes.....that ye break my covenant; I will even appoint over you terror,
consumption, and the burning ague.....and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for
your enemies shall eat it." The chapter is full of what would
befall this people if they persisted in walking in their own way.
"They that hate you shall reign over you." "And if ye
will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven
times more for your sins." "I will bring seven times more
plagues upon you according to your sins." "And make you few in
number." "If ye will not be reformed......then will I also
walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your
sins." "I will bring the land into desolation."
"I will scatter you among the heathen....and upon them that are left of
you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their
enemies.....and they shall pine away in their iniquity."
THE VOICE OF
PROPHECY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED in the pages of history. Did God fail in His
purpose, or forget His promised blessings? Verily not! Israel were
a covenant-people; they accepted The Law at Sinai with its blessings and
curses, and undertook to be governed by those precepts and conditions.
God punished them because they deserved it, and yet to do them good--for
"if they shall confess their iniquity.....and their uncircumcised hearts
be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then
will I remember my covenant with Jacob, with Isaac, and with Abraham: and
I will remember the land." Severity of God? Yes! But here
we see forbearance, and goodness. "And yet for all that....I will
not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to
break my covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God."
<!--mstheme-->A "TIME" PERIOD<!--mstheme-->
IT IS GENERALLY
recognized, in relation to the prophetic periods of desolation and punishment
upon the land and people of Israel, that a "time" signifies a period
of 360 days. As, however, a literal day interpretation will
not--cannot--meet the requirements of the threatened punishment, it is obvious
that some other interpretation must be found which will more clearly help in an
endeavour to understand the time periods, as given in enigmatical form.
If the Bible did not furnish us with a suggestion, or alternative explanation,
the best we could do would be speculation on our part. Therefore our
first enquiry should be, Have we--in the Scriptures--any definite clue to
assist us in our efforts to "rightly divide the word of truth?"
Attention has already been directed to the testimony of Moses given to the
children of Israel; this scripture answers the question now submitted, and therefore
is worthy of repetition. "After the number of the days in which ye
searched the land, even forty years, each day for a year, shall ye
bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of
promise."--Num. 14: 34. Accepting this as a basis, we see
that a "time" being 360 days (literally), the same period
prophetically would represent 360 years.
To punish
Israel "seven times" therefore signifies a long period, even 7 times
360, which equals 2,520. A literal interpretation of this number "of
days" does not meet the situation, and we therefore must look upon the
number a figurative, not literal. A "day for a year" gives us
2,520 years, which unquestionably is nearer the mark than the same number of
days. Here, then we have a long period of time in which the people of
Israel were threatened with punishment if they failed to keep the Covenant
which God had made with them. "I will chastise you seven times for
your sins." In doing this the mantle of Heaven's favour would be
lifted from Israel, and yet the actual punishment would be effected by peoples
who were not Israel. "I will scatter you among the heathen,"
said God, "and will draw out a sword after you; and your land shall be
desolate, and your cities waste." This commenced to be fulfilled in
Old Testament times; and when we reach the time of our Lord we find they were
not ended.
When Jesus came
"to His own land" He did not fine "His own people"
established therein as an independent nation and kingdom. They had
already been "many days without a king," and were subject to a power
"strong as iron." Even so, Jesus foresaw and foretold of more
yet to come upon His people; "There shall be great distress in the land,
and wrath upon this people. And they shall be led away captive into all
nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times
of the Gentiles be fulfilled."--Luke 21: 24. During this
long period the kingdoms of men were to be in the ascendancy. The kingdom
of God had been overturned, and its throne was in the dust. It will
not again exist, and operate in the earth, until the kingdoms of men cease to
be. This is demonstrable from many scriptures, but one alone--in
words so well known, yet not so well understood--is for the present sufficient:
"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.
Now whilst all peoples, who are not Israel, are a part of
the kingdoms of men, be they great or small, there are nevertheless certain
great powers in the earth which are particularly designated "the kingdoms
of men." In the ultimate all smaller peoples are included, even
though all may not share the same fate. The greater powers are presented
as oppressor of, and in opposition to, the kingdom of Israel; which was the
kingdom of God. The drama of nations is a portrayal of the uprise and
fall of these two distinctive forces in the earth.
The Kingdoms of
men are presented to us in Daniel 2, as "an image." On the
screen we show the head of gold, and the feet of iron and clay. The
breast of silver, and the thighs of brass, are not shown. This is to
emphasize that when "the image, and the interpretation thereof" were
made known to Nebuchadnezzar, the nations, represented thereby, were not all in
existence. No difficulty need be experienced in identifying the powers
spoken of, and represented by metallic parts of the image. They are:
<!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist-->
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<!--msthemelist--> |
<!--mstheme-->Babylon<!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist--><!--msthemelist--> |
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<!--mstheme-->Medo-Persia<!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist--><!--msthemelist--> |
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<!--mstheme-->Greece<!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist--><!--msthemelist--> |
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<!--mstheme-->Rome.<!--mstheme--><!--msthemelist--><!--msthemelist--> |
<!--mstheme-->
Obviously all these powers, or
empires, did not as such co-exist. Rome, as in the time of the iron feet,
certainly did not occupy a regal position cooperating with the head of gold in
Babylonian days. The identification of these four powers is essential to an
understanding of the subject-matter of the image. If we were left to
speculate upon the matter we would doubtless encounter many difficulties; but,
fortunately, it is not left to us to do so. We have direct testimony
which provides the identification. The first of the powers, represented
by the head of gold, is plainly stated to be that which was symbolized in the
king to whom the dream and the interpretation were given; "Thou art
this head of gold."--Dan. 2: 38. The second and third of these
great powers are briefly stated to be "the kings of Media and
Persia," and "the king of Grecia."--Dan. 8: 20, 21.
The fourth is mentioned (though not directly in regard to the image of Dan. 2.)
in Luke 2: 1. "There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be taxed." In a brief epitome Daniel describes the
rise and fall of four universal empires, and presents a picture of yet another
manifestation of these four powers, which might be looked upon as a fifth
world power; then portrays their united demolition, to give place to another
kingdom more extensive than all preceding kingdoms and which will never be
destroyed. Has any human historian ever presented the equal in
descriptive briefness? Yet Daniel was a prophet, and testified beforehand
what should come to pass in the uprise and overthrow of these kingdoms--and did
so in a record which takes but a few minutes to read, and about thirty minutes
to write.
We cannot
emphasize too strongly that the nation of Israel occupies a prior place in
the Bible record, wherein many peoples and nations are spoken of, even to
the glory thereof. But Israel is first--all others secondary, and
referred to only in regard to their position and attitude relative to the Land
and people of God. The one is likened to a "vine," before whom
and for whose sake other peoples were cast out of their land, and the
"vine" planted therein. "Thou preparedst room before it,
and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land."--Psa.
80: 8, 9. The others were likened unto four beasts.--Dan. 7.
The "four great beasts" of Dan. 7, depict the same powers--from a
different viewpoint-- as do the metals of the image in the second chapter of
the same prophecy. The whole theme is worthy of a fuller and more extended
treatment than can be given in the present address. Now, our purpose is
to show the extent of the Kingdoms of Men in relation to the overthrow and
scattering of the Jews--the people and nation once planted and deep rooted in
the land of promise, but later uprooted, that it should no longer "cumber
the ground," and like the former inhabitants, "cast out" because
of unfaithfulness.
<!--mstheme-->THE DREAM<!--mstheme-->
"THOU, O
KING, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness
was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This
image's head was of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and his
thighs of brass. His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of
clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which
smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them to
pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the
gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for
them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth."--Dan. 2: 31, 35.
<!--mstheme-->THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF<!--mstheme-->
"THOU, O
KING, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom,
power, and strength and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell,
the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine
hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of
gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to
thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule
over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron:
forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that
breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou
sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom
shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron,
forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 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. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry
clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in
the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but
it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that THE STONE was cut out of the
mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the
clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what
shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure."--Dan. 2: 37-45.
<!--mstheme-->IN THE LATTER DAYS<!--mstheme-->
AS already
stated, these four great kingdoms were to be successive, not coexistent.
"After thee shall arise," was to be the process. These separate
dynasties appeared and disappeared, each in turn playing their part in the
drama of nations, and to that extent proving the validity of the
prophecy. But there is one feature of the prophecy we require especially
to note. Daniel, to whom the dream and its meaning were given from God,
"in a night vision," informed the Babylonian monarch of the
underlying significance of the dream-image. Before doing so, however, the
prophet--realizing that the information so much desired "concerning this
secret" had been granted unto him--expressed himself in an ascription of
praise and blessing to the God of his fathers, in whom he had shown his faith
and trust. "Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom
and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth
kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to
them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he
knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank
thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and
might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou has
now made known unto us the king's matter."
Having done
this, Daniel requested to be presented to Nebuchadnezzar, to whom he said,
"There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to
the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days" Dan. 2: 28.
The image--which by the very nature of things could not stand upon its feet in
the past--is spoken of as being "broken in pieces together."
There must therefore be a latter-day manifestation of the image, when that
which was made "known to the king" shall come to pass "in
the latter days." How will this be brought about? Will it
be necessary for the ancient kingdoms to be restored in their former glory in
the lands of their possession? Such will not be required. We cannot
contemplate a Babylon as of old, alongside of a Medo-Persian Empire, both of
these powers to be co-existent with a third, which should "bear rule over
all the earth;" and yet find room for a fourth kingdom, strong to break in
pieces the other three. Such a view will not fit the case and
circumstances. Rather it will be accomplished by an aggregation of
forces--of the latter-day kingdoms--existing in the earth, which are
established upon, or in possession and control of those territories formerly
held by the four empires of the image. And this combination will be
antagonistic to the Jews and the Holy Land.
Here I submit, for your consideration, a statement by Dr.
John Thomas, published in 1869. "By turning to a map of Europe and
Asia, the reader may trace out the territory of the Kingdom of Babylon as it is
destined to exist in its last form under the King of the North in his Gogian
manifestation. The names of countries furnished by Ezekiel will lead him
to a just conception of its general extent. Besides 'All the Russias,' it
will take in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Prussia, Austria, Turkey, Persia,
Tartary, Greece, the Roman Africa, and Egypt. This will be a dominion of
great magnitude, extending from the North Sea to the Wall of China and
Afghanistan, and from the Ice-Sea to the Deserts of Africa and Arabia.
The organization which this vast empire will assume, when fully developed, is
represented in the second chapter of Daniel by a Colossus in human form, which
as an apparition flitted before the mind of Nebuchadnezzar in a dream.
Daniel says that the scene of which it was the subject, was representative of
what should be 'in the Latter Days.' This being admitted, it follows that
what is recorded in that chapter is yet in the future. The scene exhibits
a Colossus standing on its feet in unrivaled brightness of glory, and terrible
to behold. Standing thus for a time not indicated, another object appears,
even A STONE representative of a Power not in mortal hands. This
STONE-POWER smites the Colossus on the Feet, and it falls; after which the
Stone proceeds to reduce the broken fragments to dust which, by the violence of
the process, is carried away so completely that not a vestige of the Colossus
remains; and the place left void by the disappearance of the statue becomes the
territory of the Stone-power, which by the operation becomes a
Mountain-dominion, and fills the whole Image-earth. This scene has never
been exhibited before the eyes of the world, because the constituents of the
Colossus have never yet been put together so as to form the Image of the
scene. These constituents are represented by the different metallic
parts, as the Chaldaeo-Assyrian golden head; the Medo-Persian Assyrian silver
arms and breast; the Macedo-Assyrian belly of brass; the Greco-Assyrian, and
the Greco-Egyptian, northern and southern thighs of brass; the Latino-Assyrian
and the Greco-Assyrian eastern and western iron legs; and the Russo-Greek
Assyrian and Latino-Assyrian iron and clay feed and toes. Now, while the
head, breast and arms, belly, thighs, legs and toes, have all existed, the Feet
have not yet been formed: so that it has been hitherto impossible for the Colossus
Image to stand erect, as Nebuchadnezzar saw it in his dream. It is,
therefore, the mission of the Autocrat to form the feet and set up the image
before the world in all its excellent brightness, and terribleness of form;
that all men subject of the Kingdom of Babylon may worship the work of its
creator's power. It is impossible that Nebuchadnezzar's image can
represent any other imperial confederacy of nations than that under the King of
the North at the time of the end. The names given in Ezekiel's list of
Gog's army, are representative of the countries known to have existed under the
dynastic rule of the gold, the silver, the brass and the iron. Part of
Assyria proper already belongs to the King of the North, and pertains to the
gold; Persia is to be with him as the silver element; his Grecism is typified
by the brass; and his Gomerians by the iron; while his Magogians, Roshi,
Muscovites, and Siberians, with the central Asiatic Tartars of Togarmah's
house, are the clay, which he commingles with the iron to form the Feet as the
connecting medium between the Legs and Toes. Besides, no two such empires
as that of the Image and the Northern Gog could coexist in the latter days;
there would be neither population nor space for them in the Kingdom of Babylon.
As then the time and place of their existence are the same, they must,
therefore, be one and the same confederate power, the image being symbolical or
representative of the Gogian dominion of the King of the North, or Autocrat of
Russia" Exposition of the Prophecy of Daniel, Eureka, Vol. 3.
<!--mstheme-->PROPHECY BEING FULFILLED<!--mstheme-->
WE see from
what has been advanced that we have two Babylons--one of old, and another (of
which the first was typical) yet to come. In the prophecy Babylon's king
was informed, "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without
hands (which was not in hands: see margin reference), which smote the
image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to
pieces."--Verse 34.
<!--mstheme-->WHO IS THE STONE?<!--mstheme-->
NO difficulty
should be experienced in answering this question, provided we are acquainted
with the true interpretation of "the things concerning the kingdom of
God," as outlined in the Promises, testified in the Psalms and the Prophets,
and assuredly preached to the Jews both by Jesus and His apostles. And
yet there are those who do not understand, and consequently misapply this
declaration. Being ignorant of the real Kingdom of God, and led away with
their own imaginations and what are actually fantastic notions, they seek to
apply "the Stone" to things present, rather than "to
come." They therefore teach that "the stone-kingdom" was
to be set up during and "in the days of each and all of those kings"
spoken of in Dan. 2, and therefore would be in existence, concurrent
with the image! They affirm "the Stone-Kingdom was intended to be
God's representative upon the earth, however imperfect and unworthy the
interpretation of the Image and its message, they ask; "Does the
Stone-Kingdom indicate the Christ?" Note the answer they will
give. "Nay. He is not the kingdom; never has been; never will
be. He is king of kings, reigns from heaven today--the spiritual king of
His spiritual kingdom."
It is not our
present purpose to wander down all these by-paths even though it would be
interesting to do so and to demonstrate the fallacies to be found in the
quotations given. We quote them to show how false foundations produce
erroneous ideas, and consequently men "teach for doctrine the commandments
of men," and no matter how sincere they may be, in believing what they
teach, the fact remains that "ignorance alienates from the life
of God." Eph. 4: 18, and it is only the "Truth as in
Jesus" than can save a soul from death. We dismiss these false
notions with but one observation; the "stone" which smites the
"image" accomplishes that work of destruction whilst it is still the
stone; it does not become a "kingdom" until later, when
--the wind of heaven having swept away the dust of the demolished image--the
stone becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth!
Who then is
the stone, or, who is represented by the stone? Here again, as in
many other matters, we must "compare scripture with scripture."
For Dan. 2: 35, is not the only verse in the Bible which speaks figuratively of
a stone. In the last blessing of Jacob, for his sons, mention is made of
"the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob;" and those words are followed
with the statement "from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel."--Gen.
49: 24. The prophet says of one:
"He shall
be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to
both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem."--Isa. 8: 14.
Again we are told, "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in
Zion for a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste (or, be confounded)--Isa.
28: 16.
Another testimony
is significant. "For, behold the
stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be
seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of
hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day."--Zech.
3: 9.
"Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel
thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the headstone
thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." --Zech 4: 7.
And concerning Jerusalem the same prophet declares
"For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and
will be the glory in the midst of her. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of
Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the
Lord."--Zech 2: 5, 10.
Speaking of the vision being yet for "an appointed
time," and making known that "at the end it shall speak, and not
lie" another prophet tells of a "proud man, who transgresseth by
wine, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and ladeth
himself with thick clay!" Hab. 2: 3-6. It does not require
imagination to associate this prophecy with, and to see a similar picture of
what was revealed in Dan. 2 concerning "what shall be in the latter
days." In this connection we have the following statement;
"For the stone shall cry out of the wall." When
"the wall of fire round about" Jerusalem is in manifestation, surely
"the shepherd, the stone of Israel" will be there! And
the stone shall indeed cry out effectively. As a result the
"proud man" will be displaced--it is "woe unto him that buildeth
a town with blood." Though he "gather all nations," the
proud man will not succeed. Like unto the image ground to powder by The
Stone, and no place found for the dust thereof, so it will be with the
clay-laden proud man who having "cut off many people" will come to a
well-deserved end; and "the earth," being freed from such a
confederacy, will then "be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord, as the waters cover the sea."--Verse 14.
ENLARGING UPON THE STONE ASPECT of the "Lord Jesus Anointed,"
Dr. Thomas wrote, "In speaking of the appearance of the Man enthroned,
John says, 'it was like to a jasper and sardine stone.' He is in this
likened to a Stone most precious; not to a common stone, but to a very
brilliant and inestimable living stone. He is symbolized here by a stone,
because he is so designated in the prophets........This Shepherd-Stone is
typified in the two onyx stones of the Aaronic ephod, upon which the names of
the twelve tribes were engraved in the order of the birth of their fathers, and
which were to be borne before Yahweh upon the two shoulders of the one man
officiating as High Priest, for a memorial.--Ex. 28: 9, 12. The
prophecy that He was to be "a Stone of Stumbling," has in part been
accomplished, and we wait now for this stone to be laid in the identical place
where it was stumbled over; according to the words of the Spirit by the prophet
Isaiah, chapter 28: 16." (which scripture has been quoted above) Eureka,
Vol. 2, pp. 20, 21.
<!--mstheme--> THE STONE SMITES THE IMAGE<!--mstheme-->
IN the
preceding Lecture reference was made to the parable of the Vineyard as set
forth in Matt. 21. Attention is again directed to the same matter, but
this time our quotation is from Luke 20: 17, 18. "And he beheld them,
and said, "What is this then that is written, The Stone which the builders
rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall
upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind
him to powder." This is indeed the destined fate of the Image, when
smitten on the feet by the Stone of Israel. This same challenge, presented to
the chief priests and Pharisees, is expressed by Matthew and Mark as "Did
ye never read in the scriptures?" and "Have ye not read this scripture?"
to which is added "This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our
eyes." Mark 12: 11.
What is the scripture to which we are directed? Here
it is, the spirit of Christ in the Psalms; "I shall not die, but
live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore:
but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of
righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord: This gate of
the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee; for
thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the
builders refused is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath
made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" Psa. 118: 17-24.
"The Stone that smote the image," and according
to the prophecy is destined to become "a great mountain," is said to
be "cut out without hands" (marginal rendering, "which was not
in hands") verse 34 whilst in verse 45 "the stone
was cut out of the mountain without hands." Jesus was cut out of the
mountain of humanity "without hands," inasmuch as He was born Son of
man and Son of God. All that is involved in the destruction of the image
by the stone is comprehended in, and required by, the promises to the fathers,
and consequently were dependent upon the birth of Jesus; and also His second
appearing on the earth. This latter phase of Bible doctrine, so essential
to an understanding of the image climax, will be more fully demonstrated
in another Lecture. Here it must suffice to say that Jesus taught,
"If I go away, I will come again" John 14: 2, 3. HIS
COMING AGAIN is absolutely necessary for the fulfillment of the
Abrahamic and Davidic covenants; and for the obliteration of the image.
Jesus must return to the earth before He can take unto Himself His great power,
and reign on the earth--"King of kings, and Lord of lords."
Jesus was to be "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence."
This He was to the Jews at His first coming, and what He was to them He will
also be to the Gentiles when He comes again. The Jews will ultimately
acknowledge the sin of their fathers, when they look upon Him whom their
fathers crucified; and the Gentiles in due time will acknowledge the follies of
an apostate "Christendom," when in the language of the prophet they
confess "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things
wherein there is no profit" Jer. 16: 19.
<!--mstheme-->SHINAR -- THE ENEMY'S LAND<!--mstheme-->
LOOKING now at
the screen, we see "the land of Shinar." After the flood, we
read, "And the whole earth was of one speech. And it came to pass,
as they journeyed from the east (or eastward), that they found a plain in the
land of Shinar; and they dwelt there."--Gen. 11: 1, 2.
"SHINAR is Babylon proper, the territory of the kingdom of Nimrod, the
mighty hunter of men and beasts before the Lord. It is the land of Babel,
where the children of men built the tower, and the Lord confounded human
language and scattered them; the land in which the Lord's nation was captivated
for its sins, and the vessels of His temple desecrated in the house of the god
of Babylon. It is the land whose chief city, as a golden cup in the
Lord's hand, made nations drunk and mad (Jer. 51:7.).......the land of
Shinar stands for all the territory of the enemy, where Israel is hunted
and captivated for their sins, and the saints, who are Jews inwardly, have in
past times shared the experiences of Daniel and his companions as far as
concern wild beasts and fire. The vision of Zech. 5, gives us this idea
of "Shinar" as Dr. Thomas has scripturally demonstrated (Eureka 1. p.
72). The house of the wicked woman there described, was to be built in the
land of Shinar, and established and 'set there upon her own
base'.....Babylon is condemned beforehand in the Revelation, and the prophets
and apostles are to rejoice over her downfall. In Isaiah 11, 'from
Shinar' suggests this secondary and antitypical view of a feature in the second
exodus. Of the number of Jews in the territory of ancient Shinar we know
little, but the spiritual extension of the territory necessitates the taking in
of nearly all the world; and the present estimation of the world's Jewish
population is from ten to eleven millions, whose rising watchword is ZION versus
BABEL, IMMANUEL'S LAND versus SHINAR." Ministry of the
Prophets, p. 232.
From an article dealing with the "Eastern
Geography of the Bible" by The Rev. H. W. Phillpott, M.A., Rector
of Staunton-on Wye, and Prelector of Hereford Cathedral; under the heading
MESOPOTAMIA we have the following quotation: "We notice that Nimrod was 'a
mighty one in the earth,' and that Babel, in the land of Shinar, 'was the
beginning of his kingdom' Gen. 10:10. The account of the tower
of Babel in Gen. 11 seems to tell us that as men journeyed from the east they
found a plain in the land of Shinar." Where, then, was the land of
Shinar? We find mention made of Amraphel, a king of Shinar, in Gen. 14:
1, and the name Shinar applied to the Assyrian country in Is. 11:11; Dan. 1:2;
Zech. 5:11; and also in the original of Josh. 7: 21, where our version renders
the words 'a robe of Shinar' by 'A babylonish garment,' a term which proves the
manufacturing celebrity of the district......Gen. 11:2, seems to say that Babel
was built by men who had come into the land of Shinar, 'from the east,' as if
the line of migration taken by this race of man had proceeded from its primeval
seat in Armenia first southwards and then westwards, a view which disagrees
both with the history mentioned above and with the native inscriptions which
have been lately deciphered. Accordingly, the phrase 'from the east' has
been interpreted to mean 'toward the east' as in the case in Gen. 13: 11, and
is thus made to agree with the view that the men who built Babel entered the
country from the south and west."--Bible Educator, Vol. 1 p. 263.
The obvious connection between "the land of
Shinar" and "the image" is discernible in the light of the
foregoing information. Throughout the ages there has been a conflict
between men and God. It was in that land that men sought to establish
their own way; but God tied their tongues and scattered the people. Since
then it has been Babel versus God: Babylon versus Zion, which
has been manifested in world conflict: "Babylon the great" versus
True Christianity. The Babylonian Image is to be destroyed by The
Stone and ground to powder; the ecclesiastical, or mystical Babylon is to be
"cast into the sea." Of this we read, "Babylon the great
is fallen. Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in
one hour is thy judgment come. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy
apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty
angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,
Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be
found no more at all" Rev. 18. Babylon therefore, in all ages,
is representative of secular and ecclesiastical powers which are antagonistic to
the Plan and Purpose of God, and in opposition to the rights and privileges of
His people. As the "head of gold" Babylon is
representative of the whole image when it is developed "in the latter
days."
The
subject-matter of the prophecy in Dan. 2, is extended more elaborately in
chapter 7, which records another dream--this one being Daniel's own;
"Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed." The
climax is the same. Being worthy of greater treatment than can be given
here, we must leave it for a separate treatise.
<!--mstheme-->LUCIFER'S FALL FROM BABYLONIAN HEAVEN<!--mstheme-->
IN the
controversy between Babylon and Zion it is assured that Zion will at last be
free. Briefly we present the demolition of the Image under quite a different
prophetic picture, which we find in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah.
Though long trampled in the dust, "a byword and a reproach," Israel
will yet rejoice in a redemption which is likened unto "life from the
dead." So the prophet declares: "For the Lord will have mercy
on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the
strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of
Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place; and
the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and
handmaids; and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and
they shall rule over their oppressors." When the time comes
for "the Lord to give them rest from their sorrow, and from their fear,
and from the hard bondage wherein they were made to serve," they are
instructed to "take up a proverb," or taunting speech, "against
the king of Babylon." As the people of Israel, the Jews, are not yet
delivered from their enemies, obviously the time for the "taunting
speech" has not come. Therefore, it is evident that the king of
Babylon against whom the proverb is to be directed was not the king whose dream
"troubled his spirit, and brake his sleep from him" 2,500 years ago.
And before the proverb can be placed where it belongs another king of Babylon
must be manifested as the oppressor and persecutor of "the cedars of
Lebanon." Were it not for the fact that Nebuchadnezzar had been
shown what should come to pass "in the latter days" we might wonder
how to unravel the mystery. Isaiah's prophecy must likewise be a
revelation of what will be developed in the latter days. Lucifer
has both a "heaven" and a "hell," but these must not be
confounded with erroneous ideas concerning "heaven for the good," and
'hell for the bad." This "king" who ascends into
"heaven" is described as having "fallen from heaven," from
which elevation he "smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, and
ruled the nations in anger." When the heights of heaven to which the
"king" had ascended could no longer retain his majesty the very
opposite of heaven was ready for him. "Hell from beneath is moved
for thee to meet thee at thy coming." HELL actually being the receptacle
of the dead, or the grave, "the dead" are represented as being
"stirred up," to make room for the king when he falls. Part of
the "taunting speech" is from "the kings of the nations"
who, having suffered at the hands of Lucifer, are found amongst the dead.
To this new-comer they say, "Art thou also become weak as we?
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave; the worm is spread under thee, and the
worms cover thee." Before this "king" did weaken the
nations, and was "cut down to the ground," he made great claims for
himself. Like the Babylonian king in the past, who "spake and said,
Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by
the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?"--Dan. 4: 30,
so this coming king of Babylon will boastfully vaunt his schemes. His
claims are
"I will ascend into
heaven."
"I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God."
"I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north."
"I will ascend above the
heights of the clouds."
"I will be like the most
High."
Comparing "scripture with
scripture" will help to an understanding of these similes.
<!--mstheme-->THE MOUNT<!--mstheme-->
Isa. 27:
13. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet
shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of
Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in
the holy mount at Jerusalem."
Psa. 48: 1, 2. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion, on the sides
of the north, the city of the great King."
<!--mstheme-->CLOUDS<!--mstheme-->
Deut. 32:
1, 2. "Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth,
the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech
shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb and as the
showers upon the grass."
Deut. 33:
28. "His heavens shall drop down dew."
Prov. 3:
20. "The clouds drop down the dew."
We are told in Mal.
2: 7. "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they
should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of
hosts."
The priests,
therefore, were in the position of "clouds"; from them the figurative
"rain" fell upon the people.
<!--mstheme-->STARS OF GOD<!--mstheme-->
THE sun, moon,
and stars--literally--belong to the heavens; in the Scriptures they are often
used symbolically, and are representative of the higher positions and those who
occupy them. Of the family of Jacob, Joseph "dreamed, a dream more;
and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to
me"; the interpretation, given by Joseph's father, being "Shall I and
thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the
earth?" Gen. 37: 9, 10.
When "the heavens" of Israel were established in
the kingdom of God, the sons of Jacob occupied their respective places of
authority, under divine arrangement, and were set in "the heavens" as
the "stars of God." "Stars," however, are not always the
stars of God. From the burden of Babylon, upon whose constitution
the destructive hand of God was to fall, we are informed "For the stars of
heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light....Therefore I
will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the
wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger." Isa.
13: 10, 13.
Of Rome also we read, "There appeared a great wonder
in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon
her head a crown of twelve stars." Rev. 12: 1.
Of Him in whom all the promises of God are yea, and Amen,
we are told: "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and
morning star."--Rev. 22: 16. But the "morning
star" will not shine alone, for, "they that be wise shall shine as
the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever
and ever."--Dan. 12: 3.
<!--mstheme-->LUCIFER'S
IDENTITY<!--mstheme-->
"TAKE up this proverb against
the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden
city ceased! (margin or, exactness of gold.)" Isa. 14: 4.
Compare this with the language of Rev. 18: 16. "Alas, alas
that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and
decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!"
For the
identity of Lucifer, the king of Babylon of Isaiah's prophecy, we may take a
clue from the past, but must find
<!--mstheme-->A MODERN ASSYRIAN<!--mstheme-->
That there is to be a modern
Assyrian, or power in the earth in "the latter days," which answers
to the description of "Lucifer, the King of Babylon," is evident from
the following scriptures: "The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, I
will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot;
then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their
shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth;
and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations."--Isa.
14: 24, 46.
It is interesting to compare the foregoing prophecy with
the record of what took place B.C. 710, when 185,000 Assyrians were slain in
one night."--2 Kings 19: 35.
Foretelling of One who was to come forth out of Judah, unto
God, to be "ruler in Israel," we read, "He shall stand and feed
in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Name of the Lord his God;
and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our
land; and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him
seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land
of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus
shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land,
and when he treadeth within our borders." --Micah 5: 4, 6.
Such is the prophecy concerning the work of The Coming
Man, who at His first appearance "came not to send peace, but a
sword." --Matt. 10: 34. But "peace" will follow
the destruction of the latter-day Assyrian by "the Prince of
Peace." Recall now what we have seen developed on the Chart
regarding the name of the Lord. With that before us we consider another
prophecy. "Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning
with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of
indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire; And his breath, as an
overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations
with the sieve of vanity; and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the
people, causing them to err. And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice
to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation
of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, scattering, and tempest,
and hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian
be beaten down, which smote with a rod. For Tophet is ordained of
old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large;
the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream
of brimstone, doth kindle it."--Isa. 30: 27-33.
The long war between Babylon and Zion will end "when
the Lord of Hosts shall come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill
thereof. As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem;
defending also he will deliver, and passing over he will preserve it. Then
shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not a mighty man; and the sword,
not of a mean man, shall devour him; but he shall flee from the sword, and his
young men shall be discomfited. And he shall pass over to his strong hold
for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose
fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem."--Isa. 31: 4, 9.
The glorious sequel will be, "Behold, a king shall
reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment."--Isa. 32:
1. Before this comes about the call goes forth to Zion "Awake,
put on thy strength, O Zion. Shake thyself from the dust, and loose
thyself from the bands of thy neck," for the day of captivity is
ending! "For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down to Egypt
at the first to sojourn there, and the Assyrian at the last oppressed
them." Louth's translation, Isa. 52:4.
In the soon-coming day when "Judah shall be saved, and
Israel shall dwell safely," neither Egypt nor Assyria shall afflict them
again; for the power of them both shall be broken for ever.
"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more
say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land
of Egypt; But , the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the
house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries
whither I had driven them: and they shall dwell in their own
land."--Jer. 23: 7, 8.
<!--mstheme-->"SET THY FACE AGAINST GOG"<!--mstheme-->
BEFORE the
Babylonian Image can stand upon its feet, "in the latter days," a
power must be developed and organized to such an extent that lesser powers will
comply with its demands, and be prepared to follow in its train. The
prophecy of Ezekiel, chapter 38, supplies the necessary indication, directing
the inquirer where to look for such a power. It is a mandate against a
European Power, which by its magnitude and intrigues will yet form a
combination of forces, the like of which has not yet been seen.
Quoting from Dr.
Young's Literal Translation here is the message: "There is a word of
Jehovah unto me saying;! Son of man, set thy face unto God, of the land
of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophecy concerning him, and
thou has said: Lo, I am against thee, O Gog, Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and
Tubal." As the prophecy proceeds other lands are mentioned which
come under the dominion of Gog.
The time
appointed is "in the latter years"; the place of onslaught "the
mountains of Israel." To this central spot, O God, "Thou shalt
ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land,
thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee." Language
assuredly akin to Lucifer! The mountains of Israel, to which God
determines an attack, will be open to this storm-cloud when "my people of
Israel dwelleth safely." The direction--in relation to the Holy
Land--from which this confederacy will come is clearly specified; "Thou
shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many
people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty
army."
From out of the
North, the home of Rosh, whose leader will have obtained control also of the
land of Magog, this determined leader of so many forces will, at an appointed
time, "think an evil thought: And say, I will go up to the land of
unwalled villages; to take a spoil, and to take a prey. And thou shalt
come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall
be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that
the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O God, before
their eyes." So great is the indignation of God against these Gogian
hosts that the Lord God of Israel saith, "My fury shall come up in my
face," and "Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in
the land of Israel."
This
"shaking" is in part caused by the interference of another power
against the progress of God, for we find "Sheba, and Dedan, and the
merchants of Tarshish with all the young lions thereof" (a lion-power in
the earth, which is said to sleep with one eye open). This Tarshish power
challenges the Northern forces, saying, "Art thou come to take a spoil?
hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey?" And with the second
eye now wide open the conflict begins. But God, who has brought Gog
against "His land," will not leave the decision to the forces of
Sheba and Dedan. God Himself will "call for a sword against
Gog." And saith the Lord, "I will plead against him with
pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and
upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great
hailstones, fire, and brimstone."
By such
dramatic means, and conclusive evidence, will God "magnify myself, and
sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they
shall know that I am the Lord."
As we have
already seen from the quotation given on p. 76 from Dr. Thomas, "By
turning to a map of Europe and Asia, the reader may trace out the territory of
the Kingdom of Babylon as it is destined to exist in the last form under the
King of the North in his Gogian Manifestation."
In the year
1849 Dr. John Thomas also wrote; "I have no doubt that the following
paraphrase will present the reader with the true import of the exordium to the
prophecy of Ezekiel concerning Gogue. 'Son of Man, set thy face against
Gogue., the emperor of Germany, Hungary, and autocrat Russia, Moscovy, and
Tobolskoi, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I
am against thee, O Gogue, autocrat of Russia, Moscovy, and Tobolskoi: and I
will turn thee about, and put a bit into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth
from the north parts, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them
accoutered with all sorts of armour, even a great company of bucklers and
shields, all of them handling swords; among whom shall be Persians, Ethiopians,
and Libyans; all of them with shields and helmet; French and Italians, etc.,
Circassians, Cossacks, and the Tartar hordes of Usbeck, etc.; and many people
not particularly named besides. Be thou prepared; prepare thyself, thou,
and all thy company that are assembled unto thee; and be thou Imperial Chief to
them.' From these premises, then, I think, there cannot be the shadow of
a doubt that the autocrat of Russia, when he shall have attained to the
plenitude of his power and dominion, is the subject of the prophecy contained
in the 38th and 39th of Ezekiel. This personage at present is only
"Autocrat of All the Russias,' that is of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl; while the
emperor of Austria holds the position of the Gogue of Magogue. But, as we
have seen elsewhere, the Austrian and German empire is doomed to extinction by
fire and sword; so that when this is broken up the Gogueship will be assumed by
the autocrat, or prince of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl." Elpis Israel,
p. 387.
A century has passed since that exposition of the
prophecies was written, and many changes have occurred in Europe; but nothing
has happened to interfere with the basic principle underlying that wonderful
treatise, to which the reader is directed for a more detailed elaboration of
the historic and prophetical development of the Kingdom of God.
<!--mstheme-->AFTER THESE THINGS<!--mstheme-->
"THE
DARKEST HOUR OF NIGHT IS THE HOUR BEFORE THE DAWN." And although the
things of which I have spoken portend a time of trouble and calamity for this
"sad, old earth," we must look beyond the horizon. In the last
message, given by divine inspiration, we are carried forward; "And after
these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying,
Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
For true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore,
which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of
his servants at her hand. And I heard as it were the voice of a great
multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. And
I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF
KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."--Rev. 19.
And so Israel now being saved from the hand of their
enemies, the ancient people--having their kingdom restored and their land
freed--will enter into a new covenant with the Holy One of Israel. This
phase of the subject, now deferred, will be dealt with in another Lecture, The
Wandering Jew.
We close with the cry of their prophet ringing through the
years, "Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee. The Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shalt be
seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to
the brightness of thy rising. Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the
ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far. And the sons of
strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for
in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour I had mercy on thee. For
the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those
nations shall be utterly wasted. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither
shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and
the days of thy mourning shall be ended."--Isa. 60. I THE LORD WILL
HASTEN IT IN HIS TIME! Amen.
<!--msthemeseparator--><!--mstheme-->
<!--mstheme-->Lecture 5<!--mstheme-->
<!--mstheme-->A Crown of Thorns and A Crown of
Life<!--mstheme-->
<div
align="center">
God
so loved the World. Christ died for our sins.
</div><div align="center">
Gethsemane.
Olivet. He will come again.
</div><div align="center">
Go
teach all nations. If we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him.
</div>
<!--msthemeseparator-->
ONE of the best known verses of the Bible is John 3: 16.
It has formed the basis of so many evangelical sermons, and
appeals--from many and varied sources--to the sinner, that it has been styled
"a well-worn text." Children have recited it; men and women
quote it, and preachers labour it, as though it is the whole gospel; and all
one has to do "to be saved" is to accept it. Now whilst the
verse is usually quoted, and generally read, as though its application was, and
is, to the world at large, there is a more restricted sense of its primary
application. "For God so loved the world." It is
within the scope of honest enquiry for one to ask. Which world?
In our version of The Bible the word "world" is found to be
translated from different words, and from words which do not have the
same meaning. Therefore the meaning of the word "world" in our
Bible cannot always be the same, and the word itself fails to convey the idea
to the mind which was intended when first used. The "world" of
John 3: 16. (Kosmos--order or arrangement) is not necessarily the same
"world" as that mentioned in Matt. 24: 14, "and this gospel of
the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come;" or in Luke 2: 1, "And it
came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be taxed." It is not Kosmos in
these two verses, but "Oikoumene," which signifies the
"habitable earth," "civilized world," and 2, "the
Roman Empire."
The ministry
and preaching of Jesus were confined to certain places and to one
people. This fact is definitely stated, and should be carefully
considered in relation, not only to the theme now before us, but, to many
phases of the Divine Plan. We read, "And Jesus went about all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of
the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the
people."--Matt. 9: 35. Having called unto him his twelve
disciples, and given to them power to deal with sickness and disease, Jesus
gave them a commission; "He commanded them, saying, Go not into the
way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; But
go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."--Matt. 10: 5, 6.
This restricted sense of the work of Jesus is further shown by the words He
spake to His disciples regarding the request of the woman of Canaan in Matt.
15: 24, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of
Israel." Yet Jesus helped her, because her faith was great!
The
"world" unto which Jesus came was the Jewish world, and although it
received him not, nevertheless that kosmos was the subject of the love
of God. "God so loved that world." Do you ask,
Why did God love a world which rejected His Son? Let the apostle Paul
answer: "For this is my covenant unto them, whom I shall take
away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for
your sakes; but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers'
sakes."--Rom. 11: 28. And the same Eternal Spirit, which
directed the Apostle to pen those words, spake by the prophet, "But I had
pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the
heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, 'Thus
saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for
mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye
went."--Ezek. 36: 22. Truly God loved that world,
for unto it He had given "exceeding great and precious promises," and
had watched over them in individual and national development, sending to them
His prophets, and last of all His Son; even through whom the sine of the world
would be taken away.
But we live in
a period of the world's development when the love and mercy of God has been
extended beyond the confines of Israel. This is truly a distinctive
advance in the 7,000 years Plan. It brings us to the third section of the
Chart. This extension of divine favour is made known to us in the
following words: "Paul called the chief of the Jews together" and
addressed them concerning "the hope of Israel," which some believed
and others did not. Disagreeing, they departed "after that Paul had
spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spirit by Esaias the prophet unto our
fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: Be it known
therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles,
and they will hear it." Acts 28: 25, 28. We must not
conclude, from these words, that all the Gentiles to whom the Gospel should be
preached would favourable respond to its invitation, or be saved by it.
Rather let our interpretation be in accordance with another scripture;
"Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to
take out of them a people for his name."--Acts 15: 14.
And again, "Then Paul and Barnabus waxed bold, and said (to the Jews), It
was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but
seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turn to the Gentiles."--Acts 13: 46.
The Plan was, To the Jew first. Some received
the Word, and were saved thereby. The majority "did not profit
thereby."--Heb. 4: 2. The record therefore continues,
"For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light
of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the
earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified
the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed."--Acts
13: 46, 48. The plan is to take out a people, not to save
the people as a whole irrespective of their response to the invitation of the
Almighty. The message of the Gospel, both to Jew and Gentile, is a call
for "the obedience of faith."--Rom. 1: 5. Why
faith? Because "without faith it is impossible to please him;
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb. 11: 6.
No one can "come to God" who does not believe in Him. To merely
understand what the Bible teaches as the way of Salvation --an intellectual
process--without belief and faith in the promises of God is not sufficient to
bring either Jew or Gentile to God. In such cases "the word
preached does not profit, not being mixed with faith in them that
heard." Heb. 4: 2. "Faith is the substance of
things hoped for"--not merely heard about. Also "it is
the confident assurance of things not seen."--Heb. 11: 1.
"Not seen," but promised by One who is able to perform what He has
promised.
No one can have
this "confident assurance" who is not persuaded of the promises,
and who is without faith in them. The Apostle appreciated this, for
the taught, "By grace ye are saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD."--Eph. 2:8. And what
is this faith? It is "the faith of the gospel." Phil.
1: 27. Faith in, and faith by, the gospel, alone enables
the readers to believe and obey, that they may be saved. It cannot be
emphasized too strongly that only such faith-inspired and faith-energized
persons can please God by accepting His Truth, as made known in the Gospel
of Salvation. To profess to accept the gospel for fear of hell-fire
torment, or any other kindred fallacy, would not bring about "joy in
heaven," such as is the case when --with a meek and quiet spirit, and a
contrite heart--a sinner truly and conscientiously repents, and seeks remission
of sins in the divinely appointed way. If such as are "poor and of a
contrite spirit," tremble at the Word of God, it is not necessarily for
fear of punishment, but rather because of the majesty and might of the God of
Israel--"who only doeth wondrous things"--in His magnificent offer
"to redeem a soul" from death. This true spirit of approach to
God is further illustrated by the Saviour, in His words to the woman of Samaria:
"God is spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and
in truth: For the Father seeketh such to worship him."--John
4: 23, 24.
The
"gospel" is "glad tidings," or "good news." The faith of the
gospel is something arising from that which is made known in the glad tidings;
something to be understood, believed, accepted and obeyed; if a person desires
to participate in the benefits set forth therein. Obviously the good
news, or the gospel, spring from "the Hope of the promise, made of God
unto the fathers" which we have elaborated in the previous Lectures.
The "promise" and "faith" are closely associated by Paul in
the following quotation: "For the promise, that he should be the heir
of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through
the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be
heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law
worketh wrath; for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it
is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise
might be sure to all the seed; not to that only, which is of the law, but to
that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us
all."--Rom. 4: 13.
Here then we have the gospel to both Jew and Gentile; the
basis of its operation in all cases being faith, like unto
Abraham who was "strong in faith," and which "was imputed to him
for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was
imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe
on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for
our offences,and was raised again for our justification."--Rom. 4:
22-25. In this extended light and application we read again the
words of "that old-fashioned text," "For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life."--John 3: 16.
As demonstrated in a former Lecture when God gave His Son
it was necessary that "the Son of man be lifted up." When
John--the Baptist--"seeth Jesus coming unto him," he saith,
"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."--John
1: 29. Could Jesus "take away the sin" while He still
lived, as He then was and had been from His birth? Throughout His life
His record was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners."--Heb.
7: 26. Could Jesus by these attributes alone take away sin? If
He could, what meaneth then the scripture which saith of some, "Whose
names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world."--Rev. 13: 8? And again, of the "Root of
David," we read: "In the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it
had been slain; And they sung a new song, saying, "Thou art worthy to
take the book, and to open the seals thereof: For thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and
blessing."--Rev. 5: 6, 9, 12.
Questions
may here arise, and rightly so. Why
must the Lamb of God be slain? Why did Jesus die? Could not God
save the people without the death of Christ? And, moreover, Could Jesus
obtain "the glory set before Him, without being slain?
THE TRAGEDY OF THE CROSS IS
OUTSTANDING IN ALL HUMAN HISTORY. Why was it "that thus it must
be?"--Matt. 25: 54. There must be some definite
principle involved which alone can account for this "must be." To
say that God required the death of Jesus, and therefore He submitted to have
His life taken away by wicked men, is not sufficient. Whilst true, it
does not explain why "thus it must be." Certain facts duly
considered will provide the answers to our questions and give a reason for the
necessity of a slain Lamb. We note that Jesus was "the seed of the
woman"; He was also "the seed of Abraham," and "the Son of
David." And whilst Jesus is spoken of as being "the Son of
God," He is also "Son of Man." In support of this
we have the following, among other scriptures:
"Thou
shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom
there shall be no end."--Luke 1: 31, 33.
"Jesus saith, the Son of Man hath not where
to lay his head."--Matt. 8: 20.
"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."--Matt. 3: 17.
"And the multitudes cried, saying, Hosanna to the
Son of David....Who is this? This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth
of Galilee."--Matt. 21: 9, 11.
"Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!"--John
19: 5.
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.
And to thy seed, which is Christ."--Gal. 3: 16.
"God ........hath glorified his Son Jesus."
Saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of
the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son
Jesus, sent him to bless you."--Acts 3: 13, 25, 26.
In Acts 2:22, 23, we have "a man approved of
God" taken, "and by wicked hands crucified and slain." To
understand and appreciate that all of this was according to "the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God," there are many things to be
considered which form the basis of the operation of God in the scheme of
redemption. Behold, then, the babe born in a manger, in fulfillment of
the word given by the angel. "Favour with God hast thou found, and
thou shalt bring forth a son! How shall this be? The Holy
Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow
thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be
called the Son of God." Over the fields of Bethlehem the angelic
host sang His praise; the strains of which have not yet died away from the
earth, but thrill the soul of man from year to year. At the age of 12
years, with Joseph and his mother, Jesus went according to the custom, to
Jerusalem, "at the feast of the Passover." There, in the temple, He
confounded the doctors, "both hearing them, and asking them
questions." The Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, making Him of quick
understanding in the fear of the Lord! The result being, "all that
heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers."--Luke 2:
42-47.
When "about thirty years of age" Jesus was made
known to the children of Israel. Having passed through, and overcome, the
trial in the wilderness, Jesus began to preach to the people, following
John--who had been "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye
the way of the Lord.....all flesh shall see the salvation of God."--Luke
3: 4-6. For a brief span Jesus "went about doing good, for God was
with him."--Acts 10: 38. Openly He condemned the leaders of
the people, because they failed to carry out the will of His Father, even their
God. Jesus said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and to; but do not
ye after their works; for they say, and do not."--Matt. 23: 1-5.
"Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all
manner of disease among the people."--Matt. 4: 23. It is
interesting to read that "the common people heard him gladly."--Mark
12: 37. How different with the Pharisees, even though they sat in
Moses' seat, and should have done as Moses did in his day! Of them it is
written, "Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how
they might destroy him." Jesus escaped, by withdrawing "himself
from thence."--Matt. 12: 14, 15. His condemnation of them
was severe and scathing: "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil,
speak good things?"--Matt. 12: 34.
Jesus unfolded many things, speaking often in parables, and
whilst many people could not understand and perceive His meaning, nevertheless,
they against whom His words were directed did discern their import, for
"when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they
perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on
him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet."--Matt.
21: 45, 46. Maddened as they were, by this open condemnation of
their ways by Jesus, the Pharisees did not fail to see that "the common
people" responded more favorably to the teaching of the Nazarene; and so,
fearing the people, they must wait for a suitable opportunity to be rid of Him.
Then, as now, force is a convenient weapon with which to dispose of an
enemy, even though "the enemy:" be a righteous man. They could
not catch Him in His speech, even though they tried sending "officers to
take him." But these men returned without Him, and in response to
the demand, "Why have ye not brought him?" They answered,
"Never man spake like this man;" only to be met with "Are ye
also deceived?"--John 7: 45, 47.
Little did those self-righteous Pharisees know, or care, that the Holy One of Israel was directing the steps of His own Son; and that only wh