Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Apr 23, 1912
IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YE
By Editor
This Inquirers' Department is conducted for the purpose of helping those who are studying the Bible. The answers are oftentimes only suggestive. They are never to be considered infallible, only as they agree with the infallible Word. The writer who may answer them does not consider that his opinion is infallible. He will simply give the best that he has, and plead with the inquirer to search the Word. Such questions only will be answered as, to the editors, seem to minister to the good of the readers and to the mission of the paper. We can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question, not for publication, but as an evidence of good faith, and that answer may be made by letter if deemed advisable. No letters are answered which do not contain the name of the writer. It is well always to enclose stamp for reply.
3730 — Waxing Worse and Worse
By Editor
Is there a text which says the world will wax worse and worse until the end comes? I know what is said in 2 Tim. 3:13. M. D.
The world is made up of men and women. It is not the mere earth itself which grows worse and worse, altho this will deteriorate. As stated in Hebrews 1, it will "wax old as doth a garment;" but the world is that which has moral accountability, and this of course is composed of men. 2 Tim. 3:13 would imply that the world itself would grow worse, influenced by men and evil seducers. These would grow worse as time passed on. "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." The first five verses of this same chapter are even stronger. They tell us that in the last days the very conditions will exist among those who profess godliness, as existed in the apostle Paul's day in heathenism. Compare the last few verses of Romans 1 with the first five verses of 2 Timothy 3. We are not surprised to find these sins in the heathen world; they belong there. But when we have eighteen such potent sins, these mighty elements of evil, among those who profess the name of God but deny His power, certainly we could find no worse condition possible. See also the picture drawn in Revelation 18 and Isaiah 59, and other scriptures. The harvest ripens the tares of which our Lord speaks in Matthew 13. And the ripened tares are worse than the green. All the various prophecies of God's Word show that the world ends its time of travail in evil things.
3734 — As the Days of a Tree
By Editor
Please explain what is meant by the tree mentioned in Isa. 66:17. J. M.
In our Common Version it would seem to indicate that those who are doing these abominable things would hide behind trees. It probably has reference to trees that were set apart to a sacred use in heathen idolatries. The Revised Version does not contain the word "tree" in this text, and it will be noticed in the Common Version that "tree" is italicized, showing that it is not in the original. The Revised Version reads: "They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go unto the gardens, behind one in the midst"—the margin of which is "one tree," or "Asherah," that is, a sacred emblem worshiped by the idolaters of old, a symbol of nature-worship—"eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together, saith Jehovah." It is simply a reference to the old idolatrous feasts, showing that the same in principle will be in existence when the Lord comes.
3728 — To Seek and to Save That Which Was Lost
By Editor
Since Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, will not the animals and birds that will be on the new earth be redeemed from this earth? E. A. C.
We do not know. We have no scriptures that would indicate that the birds or beasts who have died will be brought to life again. We are taught, it seems to us, quite clearly, however, that everything that goes to make life beautiful in the new earth will be there. In the 104th Psalm we read of all the various animal creation, that "these wait all for Thee, that Thou mayest give them their food in due season. Thou givest unto them, they gather; Thou openest Thy hand, they are satisfied with good." But there is another side to the picture. The psalmist continues: "Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created; and Thou renewest the face of the ground." If these beasts and birds had memory of the past, if they had longing for the future, if their hope were set on future existence, there would be reason why they should be brought back again; but we have no evidence that this is the case. They live for the present; and when the end comes, they die. All that would be demanded in the new earth would be a new creation. All that these other texts would indicate is that there may be animals on the new earth, harmless, peaceful. The Bible does not deal with these things. It deals with responsible creatures. We can leave all these other things outside of moral responsibility with God.
3729 — Removing Stumbling-Blocks
By Editor
Please explain in your "Question Corner" Matt. 18:8, 9.
The scripture in the American Revised Version reads as follows: "And if thy hand or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire." Our Lord is in the strongest possible way teaching us that anything whatsoever we may possess, however dear it may be, should not be retained at the loss of eternal life. There may be things in our lives, habits which we have, professions which we follow, avocations which we pursue, that seem to be as dear to us as the right hand or the right eye; but if they turn us from God's path, cut them out and let them go. Of course the world would say we are crippling ourselves; but in the language used by our Lord, it is better to enter into life with but one eye, than to be destroyed with two. We would not understand that our Lord desires one to maim himself, to cut off a hand or a foot, or to put out an eye; but if it were necessary, in order that we should not stumble, to remove one of these members, better that than the loss of eternal life.
3731 — Divisions of the Roman Empire
By Editor
A correspondent writes us that he finds different dates on the divisions of Rome from what has been given in the "Signs of the Times." For instance, the "Signs" has given the date of the Suevi as 406, while other authorities, it is said, give 409.
The answer to which our correspondent refers simply gave the first manifestation of these kingdoms. Both dates are found on pages 139 and 140 of "Questions and Answers." The first manifestation of the Suevi, A.D. 406 (see Gibbon, chapter 30, and par. 17); and in Spain, A.D. 409 (see Gibbon, chapter 31, par. 36). Thus the Burgundians' first appearance was December 31, 406 (see Gibbon, chapter 30, par. 17); located in Burgundy A.D. 420 (see Gibbon, chapter 31, par. 39). And the same regarding all the others. "Questions and Answers" gives the references in every case.
3732 — Promise to Abraham
By C. M.
Did the Lord fulfil His promise to Abraham and his children? Gen. 13:14, 15.
No, the promises to Abraham have not as yet been fulfilled. Of course the land was given to Abraham's seed temporarily, but Abraham himself died without seeing the land. As to the seed, and as to that particular land, Nehemiah tells us that God brought Abraham out of "Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham, and foundest his heart faithful before Thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it unto his seed, and hast performed Thy words." Neh. 9: 7, 8. But God's promise to Abraham included more than this. The looking eastward and westward and northward and southward took in the whole earth in God's great promise; and so we read in Rom. 4:13 that Abraham "should be heir of the world." The promise included the new earth, and the seed through whom it would be brought was our Lord Jesus Christ. The promise, too, was the promise through faith; and therefore we read, "If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise." Gal. 3: 29. Read Romans 4, Hebrews 11, and Galatians 3, in which the fulness of these promises is developed.
3733 — Trespasses or Sins
By Editor
I was taught to use the phrase "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us," in repeating the Lord's prayer; and most people that I hear repeat the prayer, thus render it. Was there ever a translation that gave it this way? J. N. M.
"The Bishops' Bible," from which the English Prayer Book was largely made up, rendered the translation in this way, we believe. By debts, of course, is meant our sins. This is shown in our common translation in Matt. 6:14, 15, immediately at the close of the prayer: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." It is perfectly proper to use the word "trespasses."
3735 — Income and Tithing
Should a person pay tithe on his gross income, or pay all expenses first, and then tithe the remainder? Which? C.
That depends upon what is meant by gross income. If money is hired in order to carry on the business, if labor outside of his own is employed to carry on the business, those things should be deducted from the income before it is tithed. If a place is carried on on shares, as it is called, or rented, the owner's share, or the rent, should be taken from it before the income is tithed. But one should not take the worth of his own living from it before it is tithed. It should be tithed previous to that.
Will you please explain Rev. 1:7? Does this mean that there will be more than the righteous raised at the first resurrection?
The text itself would imply that those only who are on the earth would see our Lord when He comes. Those who pierced Him, if it refers literally to those who thrust the spear into His side, should have a special resurrection previous to this time. Dan. 12:2 would seem to indicate that there was just such a resurrection as this—not a general, but a special—in which some of the righteous and some of the wicked would be raised to see our Lord when He should come. "Every eye shall see Him" would simply be every eye of those upon the earth.
Our Lord’s Betrayal and Crucifixion
By A. K.
3737 — A. K. — Our Lord's Betrayal and Crucifixion. — God foresaw that Jesus Himself should be betrayed and crucified. This is very clearly stated in Psalm 22 and in Isaiah 53. See also Acts 4: 27, 28. But apart from this, when our Lord gave Himself for His lost creatures and a marred creation, He gave His all, His very life; and while men in effect put Him to death, at the same time He "poured out His soul," or His life, and died of a broken heart. He would have died if He had not been crucified.
3738 — This Generation
By Editor
Does "this generation" of Matt. 24:34 include the falling of the stars in 1833? Does it mean that some of those who saw the stars fall will live to see the Lord come? W.
We understand that "this generation" is synchronous with the giving of the last threefold message of Rev. 14:6-14, the time between the expiration of the longest prophetic period, the 2,300 days, and the coming of the Lord, from 1844 until Christ appears.
3739 — The Administration of Ordinances
Who are the higher officers in whose presence the local elder should not administer the ordinance of baptism, or the Lord's Supper? J. W. H.
It would seem to be perfectly proper, or fitting, for an elder in a church, whoever he might be, to defer to an ordained minister, if he were present. An ordained minister is one who is given charge over churches. A local elder is supposed to act only in the absence of a minister, unless he is requested by the minister himself to act.
Schedule for Week Ending May 4, 1912
David, Solomon, and Rehoboam
By Editor
Our readings begin with the proud sin of David in numbering Israel, and close with the deplorable reign of Rehoboam, his grandson. In this week's reading we cover part of the reign of David, the magnificent and glorious reign of Solomon, which set in clouds, and the division of the kingdom because of transgression; the week closing with Psalms 33 and 34, which tell of God's power and His keeping, tender care of His children.
"Even as we have been approved of God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who proveth our hearts."
Fallen Man in Christ
By Charles L. Taylor
By Charles L. Taylor
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.
NO man wilfully and foolishly forfeited all right to life, and tho he did, in fact, deliberately choose death—eternal death—yet God's great Father heart reached out after him, and created for him a new opportunity. The very day that sin entered the world, and its dark and angry cloud entirely covered the heaven of man's hope, and shut him away from the blessed view of his Creator's face, that very day the rainbow of divine love, and life, and promise found a resting-place on earth, and a setting was given it in the very cloud which spoke only of complete disaster and final death. That day the Son of God was given to man.
The wonderful scripture of John 3:16 makes it very plain that had man been left alone, left unaided in the position and condition to which sin brought him, he would have ignominiously perished. The same precious scripture makes it equally plain that through the sacrificial gift of the divine One complete satisfaction was made, and man may again be put into actual possession of the same blessed life and fellowship which were his before his transgression, and again rejoice in the hope of immortality.
The Universal Gift
Jesus Christ, God's proffered gift, was universal Man, "the Desire of all nations." Given at the very foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), He was the divinely provided Substitute for every person, of every nation, of every age, of every clime. He was a world Offering,—"the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
The apostle Paul sets this forth most beautifully and forcibly in Rom. 5:19: "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous." Or, stating it differently, as he does in another verse, "If by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ." Rom. 5:17. In taking away the sin, He takes away the death. By Him eternal death is compelled to give place to eternal life.
Speaking of God's wonderful accomplishment in the gift of Jesus, the same apostle wrote to Timothy, saying, He "hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel." 2 Tim. 1:10. Coming, as Jesus did, "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10), His one great purpose, of course, was to give life—everlasting life—for this was the thing which had been forfeited.
He Came to Give Life
Listen to the repeated testimony of Jesus Himself: "I am come that they might have life." John 10:10. "I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14:6. "I am the resurrection, and the life." John 11:25. "For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself." John 5:26.
In view of all these striking statements, it must be exceedingly plain to every candid student of the Bible that by nature, apart from God, the children of men abide in death. That they are only mortal, subject to decay, and destined ultimately to go down into eternal oblivion, there can be no question. Every child of Adam could and should say, "In me . . . dwelleth no good thing;" "I am carnal, sold under sin." Rom. 7:18, 14. All need to see that they are irrevocably lost, and that they have no hope except as they find it in the gift of righteousness and life, proffered so freely to them in the Son of God.
Glorious, truly glorious, is the thought that God not only gave His Son for the world, but He gave Him to the world. Men are not saved by the death of the Son of God, but by His life. Reconciliation came by His death, and salvation by His life. Rom. 5:10. His life,—the actual life of the Godhead,—His presence, His power, are to be brought into and take the place of man's life, transforming the sinner into a son of God.
The Truth of the New Birth
This is the real truth of the new birth. Divinity is brought into humanity. Christ comes into man's soul temple and abides, taking control of all his surrendered faculties, and using each and all to the glory of God. And when the great transaction has been effected, man can and does bear witness, as did God's servant of old, "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." Gal. 2:20.
The key-note of God's great plan of life through Christ is faith. God gave His Son, "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish." As unbelief opened the way for sin and death, so faith opens the way for righteousness and life. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." John 3:36.
Faith, then, brings fallen man into touch with the infinite life of the Creator. The current of divine energy and holy virtue again begins its flow through the channel of the soul. The fellowship which was enjoyed in the garden, but which was broken off by transgression, is again established. 1 John 1:3. A new mind, the mind of the Lord Jesus, is imparted. 1 Cor. 2:16. Once again he truly becomes a subject of the kingdom of God's grace. Col. 1:12, 13. A complete transformation of life and character is accomplished; for "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5:17.
Known tho Unexplained
This work of God's grace, this bringing in of life, this enthronement of divinity with the human temple, is indeed a great "mystery." 1 Tim. 3:16. But while it can not be explained, it can be known and enjoyed. Everlasting life, the gift of God (Rom. 6:23), is a mighty demonstration to all who receive it. Every true Christian, every one who has been born again, can say with his Master, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen." John 3:11. Eternal life is a great and concrete fact, but understood, known, and enjoyed, only by faith.
The Gospel of Christ brings to light "life and immortality." He who has received the Son of God into the inner sanctuary of his life, becomes at once, as was man in Paradise4at the beginning, a blessed candidate for immortality. Day by day the great work of character-building is carried forward, day by day man approximates more and more to the divine, step by step he comes nearer to the great goal of perfection; and immortality will finally crown it all at the Master's coming. 1 Cor. 15: 51-54.
Eternal Life and Immortality
Eternal life now and immortality then! God's blessed spirit life during the earthly pilgrimage for the gaining of character, for the transformation of heart and life; God's glorious immortality at the Master's coming for the changing of our poor, weakened physical frame! Says Paul, "Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." Phil. 3: 20, 21.
Dear reader, is it not a blessed plan? And does it not bring to us a blessed hope?
May the dear Lord help us to prove faithful to our trust, and by willing obedience, maintain our connection with Him, and thus know eternal life here and hereafter.
Consecration
By Henry Burton
ONLY to-day is mine,
And that I owe to Thee.
Help me to make it Thine,
As pure as it may be;
Let it see something done;
Let it see something won;
Then at the setting sun,
I'll give it back to Thee.
What if I can not tell
The cares the day may bring?
I know that I shall dwell
Beneath Thy sheltering wing;
And there the load is light,
And there the dark is bright,
And weakness turns to might,
And so I trust and sing.
What shall I ask to-day?
Naught but Thine own sweet will.
The windings of the way
Lead to Thy holy hill;
And whether here or there,
Why should I fear or care?
Thy heavens are everywhere,
And they are o'er me still.
Give me Thyself to-day;
I dare not walk alone.
Speak to me by the way,
And "all things" are my own,—
The treasures of Thy grace,
The secret hiding-place,
The vision of Thy face,
The shadow of Thy throne!
—Henry Burton.
The Sanctuary
By Mrs. Dora Nester
By Mrs. Dora Nester
God's Great Plan for Man's Redemption—The Gospel in Type and Antitype
"By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5: 12. But God in His wisdom and mercy had completed a plan whereby man might be brought again into right relationship and perfect obedience to Him, and righteousness by faith be imputed to man, instead of sin. Now "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3: 4); also, "all unrighteousness is sin" (1 John 5: 17); and "sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1: 15. So we read in Rom. 3: 20-31: "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight [inasmuch as "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"]: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is He the God of the Jews only? is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
None with a Sinless Life
We conclude, therefore, from the foregoing verses, that no one can stand before God justified because of a sinless past experience, having never transgressed the law; for all have at some time in life broken a part or all of its commands. The law simply stands to the sinner as an accuser, a "schoolmaster," to bring him to Christ (Gal. 3: 24), to teach him his guilt and his need of a personal Saviour, an adequate sacrifice and propitiation for his sins.
Therefore in God's great plan, foreseeing that man would transgress His holy law, a sacrifice was given, to die in man's stead. And only a sinless Being, one who had kept every requirement of God's law, would answer that purpose; for it was to be His perfect life that would be offered to God instead of man's unrighteousness, in order that man might stand before his Creator justified. And thus we read in Christ's own words in John 15: 10, "Even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." Again, in Matt. 5: 17, Christ says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." And because Christ fulfilled in perfect obedience all His Father's commands, we may come before God's throne of grace and justice, bringing not our own imperfect past, but through faith in Christ, His own perfect life is substituted for ours, and His clean and holy record is laid before God as if it were our very own. That this great provision was made and the plan perfected from the very beginning of the world, even before man fell, we are assured in the following words found in Rev. 13: 8: "The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Also in 1 Peter 1: 19, 20: "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."
The First Expression of That Faith
The first expression of that faith in the efficacy of the blood of the Lamb of God of which we have an account is recorded in Gen. 4: 4. Abel offered a lamb without blemish, a firstling of his flock, a fit type, or symbol, of that sinless One whose blood was shed for man on Calvary's cross. And all through the patriarchal age, we find God's chosen, faithful children building altars, and offering thereon the firstlings of their flocks and herds. Noah and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob all gave outward expression, in this way, to their never-failing faith in the Seed whom God would send to bruise the serpent's head, and by His death atone for their sins.
That they believed in and were saved by the Gospel of Christ, we find verified in the following words: "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." Gal. 3: 8, 9. The wonderful experiences of many of the illustrious characters of Old Testament history are found recorded in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, faithfully witnessing to the one great fact that to them salvation was obtained through faith.
When Abraham's seed had so multiplied in Egypt, the land of their bondage, as to constitute a nation, and the time had fully expired which God had foretold would end their servitude, even the selfsame day that the four hundred thirty years ended, He led them forth to establish them as an independent nation, free to worship Him, and to become an example to the heathen nations around them, to show forth the true God and His character. It is then that we find the whole sacrificial scheme elaborated, and every detail brought forth, in the temple service instituted in the wilderness. God revealed through His faithful servant Moses the plan of salvation, as typified by the earthly sanctuary they were instructed to build, and the ceremonial ordinances to be observed. All this was a perfect shadow, or type, of God's great plan of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Rightly interpreted, that yearly round of temple service speaks to us of the Gospel of the Son of God.
Let Them Build Me a Sanctuary
To the children of Israel, so recently brought forth from galling servitude in Egypt, God sent the instruction and command found in Ex. 25: 8, 9: "And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it." "And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount." Ex. 25: 40.
That this earthly tabernacle which the children of Israel were to build was to be an exact copy of God's tabernacle in heaven, we learn from these passages, and also by a consideration of the entire eighth and ninth chapters of Hebrews. A few of the verses found in these two chapters will confirm this point. "We have such an High Priest, who is set 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." Speaking of the service of the priests in the earthly tabernacle: "For, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the5mount." Then in the ninth chapter we read that "verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made." Then continues a description of the furniture contained therein,—the candlestick, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense; and after the second veil, in the holiest place of all, were found the ark of the covenant, containing God's law of Ten Commandments, and the mercy-seat. "But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building." Heb. 9: 11. And verses 23 and 24 read as follows: "It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [that is, the blood of bulls and of goats]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these [even the blood of Christ]. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." The whole book of Hebrews in the New Testament is a complete commentary on the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament, tracing the priesthood and remedial work of Christ, as typified in every detail in the Levitical priesthood, and the complete round of sacrificial service in the earthly tabernacle. Truly these were the patterns of heavenly things.
The Plan of the Tabernacle
Now let us note the plan of the tabernacle as constructed first by the children of Israel in the wilderness, and later crystallized into more permanent and magnificent form by King Solomon in that glorious temple at Jerusalem. The form of the tabernacle proper was a rectangle, perfect in proportion, the width equaling the height. It was divided into two compartments, the first being called the holy place, while the second compartment, which was separated from the first by a veil or curtain, was called the holy of holies, or most holy place. The furniture of the holy place consisted of the following: the golden candlestick with seven lamps, the table of showbread, and golden altar of incense. In the holy of holies, the one article of furniture was the ark of the testament, built of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. Within the ark were the tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God. Above the ark was the mercy-seat of pure gold, typical of God's grace and mercy to the repentant sinner who stood condemned before His holy, eternal law. Overshadowing the ark and the mercy-seat, two cherubim stood facing each other, one on each side of the ark, in an attitude of holy awe and reverence, representing the spirit in which all the angelic host of heaven regard God's law and government, and His attributes of love and mercy, as manifested in the gift of His Son and the plan of salvation. Later were placed in the ark Aaron's rod that budded, and so forever confirmed his divine appointment as high priest in the earthly sanctuary, and the priesthood of the tribe of Levi, as a type of Christ's priesthood forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Also the pot of manna was placed in the ark, to be a reminder of God's provision in time of need, and the threefold miracle performed weekly for forty years, teaching the children of Israel the sanctity of God's Sabbath, the sign of His creative and redemptive power. Read Ex. 20: 8-11; Jer. 10: 10-12; Isa. 40: 25, 26; 37: 16-20; Rom. 1: 16; 1 Peter 1: 23; Eph. 2: 10; 4: 24; 2 Cor. 5: 17; Ps. 51: 10.
Furniture of the Tabernacle in Heaven
The furniture of the tabernacle in heaven is the same as that which was contained in the earthly tabernacle; for we read in Rev. 4: 5 of the seven lamps, and in Rev. 8: 3 of the golden altar of incense; while the ark containing God's holy law of Ten Commandments is also there, for we read in Rev. 11: 19, "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament." Here, then, in God's temple in heaven, in the holy of holies, is the seat of government of the whole universe; for God's law is there, the expression of His character, the perfect standard of righteousness, the whole duty of all His creatures. See Rev. 15: 5.
To review briefly the sacrificial service and ceremonial laws: Three times each year were all the males in Israel commanded to appear before the Lord at His sanctuary (Ex. 23: 14, 17; 34: 23; Deut. 16: 16; Leviticus 23; 2 Chron. 8: 13); each of these three festivals being fully met in the antitypical priestly service of Christ.
Type and Antitype in Christ
The first feast of the year was the Passover, celebrated in the fifteenth day of the first month (corresponding to the latter half of March and the first half of April of our time). In the evening of the fourteenth day, the paschal lamb was slain. So Christ, the Lamb of God, our paschal Lamb, was slain on the fifteenth day of the first month, Abib, at the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem, in the year A.D. 31. No bones of the Passover lamb were to be broken. Ex. 12: 46; Num. 9: 12. So of Christ no bones were broken. John 19: 32-36. We read further concerning the manner of making the sacrifice and atonement for sin in the Mosaic rites, in Num. 19: 2-6; Lev. 16: 27; and 4: 12, 21. The heifer without blemish or spot, whose ashes were to be used for purification for sin, was to be slain and burned outside the camp; and the bullock or goat for a sin-offering should be carried forth without the camp, and burned. And even this specification in the typical service was met in antitype; for we read in Heb. 13: 11, 12: "For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate." He was slain outside the sanctuary in heaven, as well as outside the gates of Jerusalem.
For further evidence that Christ is our Passover Lamb, and that this first feast of the year typified His sacrifice for us, we quote the following passages: 1 Cor. 5: 7: "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1: 19.
The Life That He Led
So he died for his faith. That is fine,
More than the most of us do.
But stay! Can you add to that line,
That he lived for it, too?
It is easy to die. Men have died
For a wish or a whim—
From bravado or passion or pride.
Was it hard for him?
But to live—every day to live out
All the truth that he dreamt,
While his friends met his conduct with doubt,
And the world with contempt—
Was it thus that he plodded ahead,
Never turning aside?
Then we'll talk of the life that he led.
Never mind how he died.
—Selected.
