A Slight Mistake by D. W. Hull

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 2, 1859

A Slight Mistake.

By D. W. Hull

Our No-Sabbath friends are firm in the opinion, that the decalogue, written by the finger of God upon tables of stone, has gone out of force with other ceremonies belonging to the Jewish polity.

If they do not over-look the work, there is certainly something imperfect, as respects the change of the priesthood, for while we read of a change of the priesthood or mediators between God and man, we do not read of a change of God or any change in his law. We read of the temple of God in heaven, containing "the ark of the covenant" [See Rev. 11, 19] or "testimony" [Rev. xv, 5.] which is the literal ten commandments given on Mount Sinai. Ex. xxxiv, 27, 28. Lev. xxvi, 15. Deut. iv, 13. Josh. xxiii, 16. Ex. xxv, 16, 21; xxvi, 33, 34, with which comp. Ex. xxxi, 18; xxxii, 15, 16; xxiv, 12; xxxiv, 28, 29. Deut. ix, 9–11; x, 1, 4.

We read that Christ is constituted a priest after the order of Melchisedec; and we also read that he offered his own blood (upon the altar in the temple of God, of course) for our transgressions. The question then arises, what law has been transgressed? The Jews transgressed the law written upon the tables of stone which were in the ark of the testimony before which the priest ministered.

God gave Moses a pattern in the mount [see Ex. xxv, 9, 40; xxvi, 30, 33] which was like the original in heaven. Paul's testimony is very conclusive on this point. "It was necessary," he says, "that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." Heb. ix, 23. If the pattern of things in heaven contains the ark of the covenant, testimony, or ten commandments, what does the original contain? If the priest on earth made an atonement for the transgression of the law, contained within the ark, what does the priest in heaven make an atonement for? These questions answer themselves.

The Jewish ceremonial law died indeed with that nation, or at least, with the entering of Christ upon his ministry. The peculiarities of this law were their national holidays &c., which they celebrated in commemoration of some event which had occurred in their history at some early day, and for the transgression of which they were not required to make an offering to the Lord.

Here our friends stumble; they read of this law going out of effect, and they suppose that God's law, the Decalogue lead-en in the rock [Note: typographical error in original text rendered as leaden, but here preserved or corrected as printed], falls with it. If this were really the case, there would be no need of a temple in heaven, nor a priest to make an atonement, for God's law being put away, there would be no transgression—hence a universal salvation.

If our friends will look at this matter right, they will find that there is only a change of the priesthood; that the two temples, the two tabernacles and the two arks, are precisely the same with the exception that one is in heaven the other was on the earth.

By this process the penalty of the transgression of God's law was taken away from the Jews and transferred to heaven. Soon our Priest will appear as Judge, and inflict the penalties of high heaven, for the transgression of God's holy law.

We have then the genuine priest, offering his own blood in our behalf upon the original altar which is in the genuine tabernacle which "the Lord pitched and not man." D. W. HULL.

Russiaville Ind., May 20th 1859.