Two Reformations—Type and Antitype
By I. E. Kimball
Two Reformations—Type and Antitype.
THE concluding work in the building of the typical temple came in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. Then a third decree for the consummation of the work was promulgated, B.C. 457. These three decrees are put together by the God of heaven; thus we read: “And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree [margin] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” Ezra 6:14. It took all that the three wrote to make up the full decree for the restoration. Thus from the time of Artaxerxes, who finished the decree, the longest prophetic period of the Bible dates—the period of 2,300 years of Dan. 8:14, which brings us to the final decree of the God of heaven for the finishing of the Gospel temple, the finishing of the mystery of God, at the conclusion of that period; and the announcement of the time when their work began, is marked in Rev. 10:6, 7, etc. So from the times of the early Reformation we are brought down to the year 1844 for the last decree. Then the great announcement went to the world: “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” I have marked how wonderfully propitious the decree which finished the temple of old. All the coffers of the province of Babylon were thrown open, and abundant provision was made. Many thousand now returned from Babylon; but this was a period of reformation, and withal the work dragged slowly for a time. The holy seed commingled with the world, and a radical separation had to take place; but they went up with full determination to finish the work. It will be noticed by reading the decree in the seventh chapter of Ezra that it pertained more especially to the teaching of the law. Ezra “prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” About the first thing accomplished was the separation of the holy seed, who were amalgamating with the world. Of this work we read in the eighth chapter of Nehemiah how the people gathered together as one man, and Ezra stood before them on a pulpit erected for the occasion; how he blessed the God of heaven, opened the book and read, and how Joshua with the Levites and Nehemiah caused the people to understand; how they wept when they heard the law; for they were convinced of the law as transgressors; how the people were stilled with the assurance that they should rather rejoice, and that the “joy of the Lord was their strength;” and, finally, how they celebrated the feast of tabernacles, an unmistakable type of the day of eternal deliverance, and the people entered into a solemn league and covenant of obedience. Now it will be seen that it is more than coincidental that the last work in the restitution of our own times is witnessing just such a reformation. This world will never appreciate the work begun in 1844. William Miller and his coadjutors believed in the speedy restoration and conclusion of the work. A backslidden church was warned, and the cry was raised, “Babylon is fallen.” About fifty thousand came out from various communions; they declared the proximity of the second advent of Christ, and the immediate finishing of the mystery of God. The message stirred the world in almost an unprecedented way. It sounded out to the ends of the earth. Such was the inauguration of the closing work for the church of Christ. That message is onward still with a mighty cry—going over all the earth—the same things spoken, the same explanations given. There was, indeed, a mistake in the conjecture that the cleansing of the sanctuary meant the cleansing of the world by fire. The period of 2,300 years foretold, ended in 1844. “Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Their opinion that this cleansing would be by fire was a mistake, but that opinion was no part of the Bible message. Their mistake was immediately rectified when they saw that the typical cleansing of the worldly sanctuary foreshadowed, not a fiery visitation, but the taking away of sin, preparatory to the appearance of the Lord. Of this one may learn more fully by consulting a work on “The Sanctuary and Its Cleansing.” Separation from the world was effected, and is now being effected. The decree of Artaxerxes, under which anciently the people finished their labors, was more particularly for the restitution of the temple service in full and of the law of God. When the people heard the law, they wept; so now many are being convinced of transgression. Reformation on the Sabbath.
If one will look carefully to the teachings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and consult also 2 Chronicles 36 and Leviticus 26, he will be fully persuaded that Sabbath transgression was the primal cause of Israel’s overthrow, and of the Babylonian captivity, for the Sabbath was the sign and seal to certify to them that the God who sanctified them was the living God—Jehovah—who had created all things. The Babylonians served another God. Israel never forgot the Lord when they kept the Sabbath. A reformation on the Sabbath would have saved Israel even at the last moment. Jer. 17:24-26. So in the return from the captivity it would be natural and we would expect them to give special attention to the Sabbath law, and this they did. Neh. 9:14; 13:17, 18. So, since 1844, this point has especially engaged the attention of the church of Christ: The Sabbath as a sign, a witness of our recognition of him, as opposed to the “mark of the beast,” a counterfeit institution, which shows subservience to the Catholic authority and power. This sealing of the servants of God with the sign of God in their foreheads has gone steadily forward. But I must notice Nehemiah’s work as a supplement to Ezra’s, when the walls and gates which at the first were set up, but broken down again, were finally restored. “Let us arise and build,” said Nehemiah. Then a trio of notable men called it rebellion, mocked, and ridiculed; but “the people had a mind to work.” The dwellers in Jerusalem began to build in earnest over against their own houses, and were helped by the brethren from all quarters. Then the Arabians, Ammonites, and Ashdodites conspired to fight, and so put an end to it. And Judah weakened, and said, “We are not able to build;” but Nehemiah encouraged them, and with the sword in one hand and implements for labor in the other, they finished. But this was not accomplished until another and more weighty matter was settled. It was a day of utmost scarcity, and some of the people and their wives were terribly burdened, while the rich reveled in plenty. The poor had mortgaged to the rich to get corn to eat because of the dearth; some had borrowed money for the king’s tribute upon their houses and lands, and they even brought their children into bondage to get food; neither could they redeem their children. But the rich gave back the lands and vineyards, and equality was more fully established. Many of the nobles even were sworn to Tobiah, the enemy, and the work went hard; but Nehemiah pulled through, and the walls and gates were completely restored. Now the Gospel city, the holy city, has walls and bulwarks of salvation (Isa. 26:1, 2), which were set up when the foundation in Christ was laid 1,800 years ago. This salvation is to be again fully restored. As then they built over against their own houses, so now it remains for each to bring salvation into his own life and household, so that, as with Job, there may be a hedge about him and his house and all that he hath on every side. And the gates of “praise,” which open for the gentiles, must be restored. God, like a mighty guardian, all powerful to save, will make his salvation known to all who trust and fully obey. All promises to Israel are sure to-day. All should be animated with the thought that the work is about to be finished; none should fear the derision of enemies or the drawn sword; none should say, “We are not able;” none should now be as an oppressor of the poorer brethren. God would not have some eased, and others burdened. Pentecostal times will witness free distribution as every man has need.