NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.
By Alonzo Trevier Jones
The Priesthood of Christ.
"A WORLDLY sanctuary." "Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the show-bread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second vail, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat: of which we cannot now speak particularly." Heb. 9: 1-5. THIS is the inspired synopsis of the description of the worldly sanctuary. The complete description is given in Ex. 25-31 and 35-40. When the Lord first gave directions in regard to it, he said: "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Ex. 25: 2-8. The sanctuary, therefore, was the dwelling-place of God among the people. It was so in the wilderness; it was so in the time of the judges, of Samuel, of Saul, of David, and until Solomon built the temple after the same pattern that this was built, and which, from the day of its dedication "when the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord," was the dwelling-place of the Lord, amongst the children of Israel. THE sanctuary was about forty-five feet long and about eighteen feet wide. It was divided into two apartments by a vail, and these two apartments were called "the holy place and the most holy." Ex. 26: 31-33. In the holy place were placed the candlestick (lamp-stand) on the south side, the table of show-bread on the north side, and the altar of incense at the west side, close to the vail. Within the vail, in the most holy place, was placed the ark of the covenant. In the ark were the tables of stone, on which were the ten commandments, and the other things above mentioned by Paul. The top of the ark was the mercy seat, and on each end of it was a cherub, both of them stretching forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings. Ex. 25: 18-20. "And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." Ex. 25: 22. THIS sanctuary was all arranged for the service of God. "Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God." Heb. 9: 6. This service was altogether for the purpose of taking away the sins of the people. When any one had "done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord his God," when the sin which he had sinned came to his knowledge, then he was to bring his sin-offering to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, he was to lay his hand upon the head of his offering and confess his sin, and it was accepted for him. Then the offering was to be killed before the Lord, the blood taken343by the priest in a basin and taken into the holy place, some of it sprinkled before the vail, some of it put upon the horns of the altar of incense, some of it on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering that stood before the tabernacle, and all the rest of the blood poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering. Lev. 4. Thus, when the blood (which was the life, Lev. 17: 10) of the offering was taken into the sanctuary and placed upon the holy vessels, the sins which by confession had been laid upon the offering, were conveyed into the sanctuary. THIS was done every day throughout the year, morning and evening, for the whole congregation, and at any time for individuals who brought their offerings. But in the end of the year "went the high priest alone" into the most holy place, "not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people." Heb. 9: 7. This day in which the high priest went into the most holy place, was called the day of atonement. And the service which he that day accomplished was called cleansing the sanctuary. That was to remove from the sanctuary all the sins that had been conveyed into it during the year. This was done by the high priest first casting lots upon two goats, one of which was thus chosen for the Lord, and the other left to be the scape-goat. Then the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell was offered for a sin-offering, and the blood was taken by the high priest into the most holy place, and sprinkled upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat seven times; then he went out into the first apartment to the altar of incense and sprinkled the blood upon it seven times. This was to "make an atonement for the holy place," and for "the tabernacle of the congregation," and for the altar, "because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of all their transgressions in all their sins." This uncleanness was because of sins, because no person ever went into the sanctuary except the priests, and they only in the service of God, and no person ever went into the most holy place except the high priest. AND when the high priest had "made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar," he took the live goat and laid both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confessed over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and sent him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness; "and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness." See Lev. 16. This was the completion of the yearly round of the service of God as conducted in the sanctuary according to the ordinances established by the Lord. BUT this sanctuary, with all its services, with all its offerings, with all its priests, and its high priest, was only "a figure for the time then present." "The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing." Heb. 9: 8, 9. These things upon the earth were patterns of things in Heaven. Verse 23. These holy places made with hands were the figures of the true holy places in Heaven itself. Verse 24. Christ was not a priest on earth (Heb. 8: 4), therefore he did not enter into these holy places made with hands. But he is a high priest in Heaven, and there he is a minister of the true sanctuary of which the earthly was but a pattern. "We have such a high priest, who is set at 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. 8: 1, 2. THIS sanctuary that was upon the earth, was a figure of the sanctuary that is in Heaven. The offering of beasts that was made and which could not take away sin, was a figure of the offering of "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." The blood that was brought into the earthly sanctuary for sin, was a figure of the blood of Christ by which he has entered into the heavenly sanctuary now to appear in the presence of God for us. The high priest on earth was a figure of Christ, our high priest in Heaven. The ministry of the high priest in the sanctuary on earth was a figure of the ministry of our high priest, Christ, in the sanctuary in Heaven. The ten commandments which were in the ark of the testimony in the temple on earth, were but a copy of those which are in the ark of his testament in the temple in Heaven. Rev. 11: 19. That which was sin then, is sin now. That by which sin was made known then, is that by which sin is made known now. That is, the ten commandments, and they read now exactly as they read then. By the commandment the seventh day was the Sabbath then, by that same commandment the seventh day is the Sabbath now. ALL these priests, services, and offerings, could not really take away sin, "could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience." Heb. 10: 4; 9: 9. Christ's service, his offering, his blood alone can take away sin, theirs as well as ours. "And for this cause he is the Mediator of the new testament, that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." Heb. 9: 15. Through these offerings, all from Adam onward, looked to Christ for redemption from their transgressions; through his own offering, all from Christ to the end of the world, must likewise look to him for redemption from their transgressions. Thus, he is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. There is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Rev. 13: 8; Acts 4: 12); there is no other priesthood by which we can be reconciled to God; neither is there any place where real atonement is made for the sins of men, other than in the most holy place of the sanctuary in Heaven. A. T. J.