p. 154 | THE DIFFERENT OFFICES AND POSITIONS OF JESUS CHRIST

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 11, 1869

THE DIFFERENT OFFICES AND POSITIONS OF JESUS CHRIST.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

God created the world and all things by Jesus Christ. Heb. i, 1, 2; John i, 3, 10; Col. i, 16.

Christ was in Heaven with the Father before the world was. John xvii, 5; i, 1-3; Prov. viii, 22-30.

He consulted with the Father and made man. Gen. i, 26; Col. i, 16. Man, being placed on probation, soon fell and lost his life. Gen. ii, 16, 17; iii, 1-6, 17-19. God loved the world, and so gave his Son to save man. John iii, 16. Jesus came down from Heaven to seek and to save that which was lost. John vi, 50, 51; Luke xix, 10. When he was about thirty years of age he was baptized and began his work. Luke iii, 21-23. Christ was not a priest nor a king while on earth, as some teach; but he was a prophet, or teacher. Speaking of Christ, Moses said, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me." Acts iii, 22. See also John vi, 14. Luke records that he was "a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people." Chap. xxiv, 19. He could not be a priest while on earth, from the fact that he was of the tribe of Judah, while all the priests had to be of the tribe of Levi. This fact is clearly stated by Paul thus: "For he [Christ], of whom these things are spoken, pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood." Heb. vii, 13, 14. Hence, of course, he could not be a priest in the service of the sanctuary on earth; for those who served in the temple on earth had to be of the tribe of Judah. Says Paul, "For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law, who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." Heb. viii, 4, 5.

When Christ had finished his work as a prophet, he was crucified, he died, was buried, and on the third day he rose from the dead. 1 Cor. xv, 3, 4. Then he ascended into the Heavens, and sat down on the right hand of God, his Father. Heb. viii, 1; xii, 2; Eph. i, 20, 21. But what did he sit down upon? Ans. Upon the throne of his Father. After his ascension into Heaven Jesus said, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev. iii, 21. This is decisive, showing that Jesus not only sits at the right hand of God, but sits in his Father's throne with him. Paul states the same fact; for he says that Jesus "is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb. xii, 2. The Greek preposition (en) here rendered "at," is the same that is rendered "in" in Rev. iii, 21, and in many other places. Greenfield gives in as the first definition of en. So Paul agrees with Jesus that Christ "is set down in the right hand of the throne of God." So in Rev. xii, 5, it is said of the man-child (Jesus) which was born to the woman, that it was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And when John had a view of the throne of God in Heaven, he said, "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain," &c. Rev. v, 6. David intimates the same when he says of Christ, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool." Acts ii, 34, 35. These scriptures prove beyond dispute that Jesus, when he ascended to Heaven, sat down in the throne of his Father.

We will now inquire where that throne was located. In order to do this, we must look a moment at the types. I must take for granted that my readers have studied the subject of the sanctuary. Moses built a sanctuary for God to dwell in. Ex. xxv, 8. This was divided into two apartments. The first was called the holy place. It contained the golden candlestick, the table of show bread, and the altar of incense. The second contained the ark in which were the ten commandments. Over it was the mercy-seat and the cherubim. Heb. ix, 1-5; Ex. xxv. The priests began their ministry every year in the first or holy place, and continued to minister there every day till the day of atonement. Heb. ix, 6. While they thus ministered in the first apartment, the glory of God was manifested there continually, and there God met with his people and spoke with them. Ex. xxix, 42-44. On the tenth day of the seventh month, the day of atonement, the ministration of the priests in the sanctuary was changed from the holy to the most holy place. Heb. ix, 7; Lev. xvi. Here the glory of God was manifested above the ark, between the cherubim. Lev. xvi, 2, 13; Ex. xxv, 22. Was, then, the glory of God in two different places at the same time? No; for when the ministration of the priests was changed from the holy to the most holy, the cloud of glory which represented the presence of God, also removed from the holy to the most holy. Then the high priest went in there and made an atonement for the sins of the people during the past year. Lev. xvi.

Now all these things were only types of the true sanctuary, and of the priestly work of Christ in Heaven. Heb. viii, 1-5; ix, 1-26; x, 1-9. This being true, when Christ ascended to Heaven he must have begun his ministry in the first apartment, or holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. Says Paul, "We have such an High Priest, who is set down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man." Heb. viii, 1, 2. If Christ began his ministry in the holy place and at the same time sat down on the throne of God, then the throne of God must have been located in the holy place while Christ ministered there. Several reasons show that this was the case. 1. In the type, the glory of God was in the holy place while the priests ministered there. Ex. xxix, 42-44. So it must be in the anti-type. 2. Christ could not minister in the holy place, and at the same time sit on the Father's throne, unless that throne was in the holy place. 3. If Christ ministered in the holy place, and the Father's throne was in the most holy place, then the Father and Son would be separated. 4. John, in his vision on Patmos, saw the throne of God in the holy place. "And immediately I was in the Spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and one sat upon the throne. . . . And out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings, and voices; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." Rev. iv, 2-5. These seven lamps of fire were the anti-types of the seven golden candlesticks which were in the holy place. Heb. ix, 1-5. 5. John saw Jesus clothed in his priestly garments, standing in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. Rev. i, 12, 13. These golden candlesticks were always in the holy place; hence Christ was ministering there. In Rev. v, 6, John saw Christ, the Lamb, in the midst of the throne; hence the throne was where Christ was ministering, i. e., in the holy place. These facts show that the ministry of Christ, and the throne of God, were in the holy place at the beginning of the gospel dispensation.

Jesus Christ was a priest after the order of Melchisedec. Heb. vi, 20; Ps. cx, 4. Now Melchisedec was "king of Salem, priest of the most high God." Heb. vii, 1. He was king and priest at the same time. So Christ is both king and priest. Thus Zechariah says of him, "Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is THE BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord; even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." Zech. vi, 12, 13. This is the position which Christ occupies before his Father's throne.

He is our great High Priest, Heb. viii, 1, the "mediator between God and man," 1 Tim. ii, 5, "our advocate with the Father." 1 John ii, 1.

At the end of the 2300 days, Dan. viii, 14, in 1844, the ministrations in the heavenly sanctuary was changed from the holy to the most holy, according to the type in Lev. xvi, 2. On the day of atonement the holy of holies was opened, the high priest went in and the Lord appeared in a cloud upon the mercy-seat in the most holy place. Lev. xvi, 2. So when the seventh angel sounded, and the time had come to judge the dead, "the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament."

Rev. xi, 15-19. Then the temple of God is not opened till the time comes to judge the dead; but it is opened then. Then was fulfilled the majestic vision of Daniel. Chap. vii, 9-14. "And I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame; and his wheels like the burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the Judgment was set, and the books were opened. . . . I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him."

1. Here is an unmistakable description of the setting of the great day of Judgment. 2. There is a manifest reference to the change of the presence of God from the holy place to the most holy of the temple. 3. The Son of Man then goes in before his Father. Mark, he does not come to the earth, but to the Ancient of Days. 4. Then there was given to the Son a kingdom. Malachi evidently refers to the same in chap. iii, 1-5. "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap; and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment."

Here we have, 1. The coming of the Lord to judgment. 2. His sudden coming to his temple. 3. The inquiry, "Who may abide the day of his coming?" showing that it will be a fearful day. In Rev. iii, Christ says to the Philadelphian church, "Behold, I come quickly." Verse 11. This shows where the prophecy applies. To the same church he says, "These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." Verses 7, 8.

1. This applies at a time when Christ is about to come. Verse 11. 2. It is at the time when Christ receives the key of David, i. e., the throne or kingdom of David. Compare Isa. xxii, 22, with Luke i, 32, 33. This is the time referred to in Dan. vii, 13, 14, when the Son of Man goes in before the Ancient of Days and there was given him a kingdom, &c. This we have seen was at the Judgment. Christ sits on his Father's throne till that time, then the Father gives him David's throne. 3. At this time Jesus says to his people, I am he that openeth, and I am he that shutteth, and I have set before thee an open door. This describes the change of Christ's ministry in 1844, from the holy to the most holy place. He opened the one and shut the other. Here was an open door set before the people of God.

When Christ went into the temple of God it was that he might receive a kingdom. This is shown by Dan. vii, 9-14; Rev. iii, 7, 8. Christ did not receive the kingdom when he came to earth the first time; but he went away to Heaven to receive it, and will not return to earth till he has received it. This is clearly shown by the parable which he spoke in Luke xix, 11-27: "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said, therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. . . . And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, &c. This can not be mistaken. He spoke it to show them that the kingdom of God was not then immediately to come. He must first go into a far country and receive the kingdom. Then he would return and slay his enemies. Who is to give Christ the kingdom? Ans. The Father. Ps. ii, 8. This earth is to be the kingdom. Rev. xi, 14, 15; Ps. ii, 8. But God would not give Christ a kingdom that was in rebellion and unsubdued; hence when Christ ascended to Heaven, the Father gave him a seat on his own throne and bade him sit there until his foes were made his footstool. Acts ii, 34, 35. Hence Paul says, "But this man [Christ], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." Heb. x, 12, 13. What is he thus waiting for and expecting? Ans. The kingdom. This is confirmed by the fact that the kingdoms of this world do not become the kingdoms of Christ till the sounding of the seventh trumpet. Rev. xi, 15.

This also is when the time has come to judge the dead and destroy the wicked. Verse 18. Here also at the same time takes place another event called the marriage of the Lamb. 1. Christ is the Lamb. Rev. v, 2. The New Jerusalem which will be the capital of Christ's kingdom, is the bride, the Lamb's wife. Rev. xxi, 9, 10. "And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God." This language is decisive; the New Jerusalem is the Lamb's wife. Isaiah says of this holy city, "Thy Maker is thine husband." Compare chap. liv, 1-5 with Gal. iv, 26, 27. 3. This marriage takes place before the second coming of Christ. It is described at length in Matt. xxv, 1-13. In Luke xii, 35, 37, Jesus says, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching." Thus we see that when the Lord comes it is his return from the wedding. He does not come to the wedding; but that wedding is already in the past. So of his receiving the kingdom; he went into a far country, and having received the kingdom he returned. 4. The New Jerusalem, the Lamb's wife, is the mother of all the saints. Gal. iv, 26: "That Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." So Isa. liv, 5. 5. Jesus is the father of all who are saved. This, of course, would be true if Jerusalem is their mother, and he is her husband. Heb. ii, 13, 14: Jesus says, "Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." This is good reasoning. The father must, of course, be of the same nature as the children. The children—the saints—are flesh and blood; therefore he also must take the same nature in order to become their father. By what act does Christ become the father of the saints? Ans. By raising them from the dead. By this act he gives them a birth into eternal life. Probably Isaiah refers to this when he says, "Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Chap. lxvi, 8. These are the ones who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. Rev. xix, 9.

May the Lord grant us to be of that number, is my earnest prayer.

D. M. CANRIGHT.